Flying Pigs...

The pigs must be flying somewhere, because after nearly a year without blogging, the notion struck me to write a post. Why, I'm not exactly sure, but I thought I'd go with it. There is no monumental news to share, no great epiphanies to pass along, no grand declarations. Really, things are pretty much as they usually are, but I've missed putting my thoughts down, so here I am!

This year has been so many things. Parker has grown from a toddler into a brilliant, hilarious, and independent little boy. I fall in love with him every single day. Chris has transitioned from working in the corporate world to teaching part time and running a business of his own. I have made it through yet another year at the Academy (shockingly, my fourth!)and will be diving into the next school year in a few short weeks. Where has the time gone?

The truth is, although there is no news to share, I feel the winds of change stirring in the distance and I feel ready for something new and different to come in and stir things up a bit. I'm not sure what will manifest itself this year, but I feel it coming, and welcome it with open arms. Although there are no concrete identifiers that this is the case, I can tell I am at a transition point in my life, and am excited to be headed toward my 30th birthday knowing that this is going to be a year of growth, exploration, and forward motion.

Here's to whatever's next!
-L

Little Boy Blue

I'll have to follow up on this post with a picture once I download, but for now I can only describe the hilarity that was Parker this weekend when he colored himself entirely blue with a Crayola washable marker. I probably should have stopped him, at the very least when the diaper came off, but to be honest, it was just too funny to interfere. While growling and saying "I'm a tiger- rawwwwr!" Parker covered pretty much every inch of himself (including areas that probably should never be blue), whith 'Brilliant Berry Blue.' Have I mentioned I have a funny son? Later that day Parker's bath water immediately turned Carribean blue as the little boy inside that blue tiger began to reimmerge.

'Dress up' has been one of Parker's favorite activities lately. Outfits have included hats, leis, dog collars, necklaces, socks on the arms, pants on the head, collander on the head, mommy's shoes, daddy's shoes, and a wide variety of other objects on a wide variety of body parts. You just never know what he's going to come up with or what he is going to describe himself as. It's the best entertainment ever! I know I say this in every post, but I have never in my life had more fun than these two years being Parker's mom.

For a while now Chris and I have been mulling over trying to sell our house and move outside the city... closer to my work and into a bigger house. After meeting with a realtor and anguishing over everything it would take to make this happen and the money we would lose trying to sell right now, we have decided to relax and stay put for a couple more years. I can't tell you the relief this decision has granted us. I think neither one of us realized how much pressure we were putting on ourselves trying to make all of this happen, and it reallys feels good that we've come to the realization that what we have now is pretty darn great and that we should take a deep breath and enjoy it. I have a nasty habit of obsessing over "what's next?" instead of living in the here and now. As the old saying goes, 'Life is what happens while you're busy making plans,' so my recent goal is to open my eyes and enjoy every moment of the great life Chris and I have created together. We are blessed with what we have, and I know it's important to be grateful! My friend Brooke is always great at helping me remember that things nearly always happen as they should, and it is my job to trust that this is the case. :)

Ok, well there's my two-cents for the day. I'll try to get some photos up really soon!

Love,
Laura

That's right... two in one month!

Funny- When I wrote that title I meant "two blog posts in the same month," but looking at it I realize it has double meaning... Parker will also BE TWO in one month!!! TWO!!! My little baby boy has grown into the most wonderful little person who gives great hugs, tells funny stories, and says "I love you, Mommy!" He is my best little friend and the sunshine in every one of my days.

Speaking of sunshine, this is the first time we've seen it for a whole week! For those of you not in Georgia and who haven't watched the news recently, we have had torrential rain for the past week, leading to serious flood conditions in some areas of Atlanta and other parts of the state. Astonishingly, 10 people died in the floods, which is a true tragedy. We've experienced some water damage (small roof leaks, water back-up against the back of the house), and although these things are a concern and a nuisance, we are thankful that our house is not submerged and that we are all safe and sound.

My parents were visiting from Oregon for the whole week and couldn't believe the rain! My dad and I usually go for walks every day when the are in town, so I was sad to miss out on that special time together, but we had lots of fun anyway. Parker had a great time getting to know Grandma and Grandpa a lot better and showing them all of his new talents. They read a lot of books, and played a lot with Playdough, which is his most favorite activity these days! Grandma, of course, is quite a Playdough sculpter, and made many beautiful animals and creations for Parker to squish! They fly out today, and I miss them already!

Eating out with Parker has been quite a challenge lately, as he has no interest in sitting in a chair or high chair, and has very little interest in eating most of the time! He just wants to get up and go exploring, which is not very condusive to leisurely dining. Terrific Two's here we come! :) Parker is the pickiest little thing on the planet- it's a wonder he doesn't just blow away! He seems to survive on little bites of grapes and yogurt and toast here and there, so I guess I shouldn't worry, but it's hard not to. Toddlers are really something else! :)

Well- back to work for me, but I'll give another update soon. Pray the sunshine stays with us long enough to get our roof fixed!

-L

And you thought it would never happen....

Low and behold, I woke up this morning and felt like blogging. It was a busy summer, and there's way too much to try and recap, so I'm just going to move forward from here. As I was writing my friend Leah an email yesterday I realized that Parker is doing way too many fun and hilarious things these days not to record them and share them. Now that work has slowed down a bit (today is the last day a new student can enroll for fall term, so I can breathe a sigh of relief!), I've got more down time to sit down and type a little. It feels nice to sit here sipping my coffee and eating some fig bread a colleague brought into the office and reflect a bit.

Parker will be two in two months. TWO! Just like every parent for all time has said, I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW FAST THE TIME IS FLYING BY!!! P now talks in 4-5 word sentences, makes jokes, can count to ten, spell his name.... he's pretty much amazing. He's still happy as can be, but is also learning to communicate his likes and dislikes more clearly. (AKA "NOOOOOOOO BEEEEDDDDDDDTIIMMMMMEEEE") My favorite thing he is doing a lot of is playing make-believe. He will wrap up a stuffed animal in a blanket and carry it around like a baby, singing it "night night songs," or ask for a piece of cheese to feed to the animals in the Fisher Price farm at Deborah's house. He says "My" instead of "I'm," so everything comes out really cute. "My eating my banana." "My jumping on this!" He even says lots of complicated words like alligator, bicycle, dinosaur,... Can you tell I'm still the proudest Mommy there ever was?

Well, I'd better get back to work, but wanted to let you all know that Parker Peanut and his fam are still live and well. More later. -L

A fun, relaxing weekend

I don't have any big news to share...just that we had a really enjoyable family weekend together, got the house cleaned up a bit, and did some relaxing. On Saturday we took Parker to a place called Leapin' Lizzards- a huge warehouse sized building full of inflatable castles, slides, jumparoos, and animals. We met Parker's friend Henry, who is a few months younger than he is, and his parents and had a really good time playing. After that we tried a brand new restaurant in our neighborhood- Saba- which was delicious and kid-friendly. Yay! Needless to say, our little guy slept like a log that night. On Sunday, Parker and I walked to our community pool which has a whole section for little people and spent three hours playing in the water with other toddlers and their parents. It was a perfect pool day and we had so much fun! We took a little break from swimming and had a little picnic lunch by the pool. Sitting there with Parker, eating slices of cheese, grapes, and cereal and sipping on a juice box watching other kids splashing around in the pool was just one of those perfect moments in life that I want to hold on to forever. We walked back home and both took a long nap. I'd call that a perfect Sunday afternoon!

Hope you all have a great week. Everyone send my friend Christi happy labor thoughts- tomorrow is her due date! We can't wait to meet little Matt!

Let's do something nice in memory of Marvin...

Most of you know that Starvin Marvin was a stray kitten who I adopted after he was left on his own at 5 weeks old. He was a special needs kitty with many disabilities, but even more wonderful attributes. Today I went to the Atlanta Pet Rescue website and donated a small amount towards the surgery for another injured kitten, Twinkie, whose leg was broken by a dog and requires surgery. I'd like to ask that, if you can, you pick an animal organization in your area who helps animals in need and make a small donation in Marvin's memory. There are so many animals out there in need of care, and although there are also many great organizations who work to help, they count on donations to provide medical care to sick and injured animals. Thanks for helping me keep Marvin's memory alive by helping another animal in need.

Best,
Laura

At long last, another post...

To anyone who is still stopping by to see if I finally got around to updating my blog, thanks for sticking with me! The spring flew by in it's usual whirlwind, and now that our students are out of school for the summer and our end-of-year meetings have come to an end I can take a deep breath and a moment to reflect on the past few months.

Over the past few months we celebrated Chris' 31st birthday, mother's day, my dad's birthday, our 3-year wedding anniversary, and the graduation of the BA class of 2009. We traveled as a family to San Francisco, congratulated our friends the Burts on a new addition to their family and await an addition to the Thompson family (any day now), and have had fun visits with friends and family who have come to visit us. 2009 has been a busy year already, and we're only half way done!

Parker is still the apple of my eye, the most joyful part of my day, and the person who can make me laugh the loudest. He tickles his mommy and daddy with funny jokes, dances, songs, and activities on a daily basis. He knows more words than I can count, and is using sentences more and more often. He can even identify and write the letter "P" and says "P for Parker" whenever he sees one. I just can't say enough about what a wonderful experience being Parker's mom has been and continues to be every day. I know Chris feels the same way.

This past weekend Leah came to visit from Oregon, and I was so grateful to her for traveling great distances to be with us for a few days. It was so special to spend the weekend with one of my oldest and dearest friends. We spent a lot of time relaxing, talking, taking walks, and eating good food. I'm also particularly glad that Leah was in town this weekend because it was time for us to say goodbye to our darling Starvin Marvin. I won't say much... just that he was the best cat ever to walk the earth and that he will be missed always. His strange little body wasn't built to last, but I know he lives on in a special place in the hearts of everyone who knew him. I'm so glad that Leah was here to be my support and to help me make a really tough decision, but undeniably the right decision.

Well, its Monday, and I'm exhausted after a long weekend. Now that summer is here and the dust has settled after the end-of-the-school-year-mania, I should be back to posting a few thises and thats more regularly. In the mean time, say a little prayer for Marvin's safe journey to the fields of catnip that await him in kitty heaven. He was, and always will be my little angel.