Celebrating Easter

On Tuesday, Thomas' class had an Easter party. Thomas, as usual, was excited about the promise of a "special snack," and this one did not disappoint. There were chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A AND a cupcake (and grapes and crackers and cheese...and apple juice).


Of course Thomas wasn't acting quite right after the snack time and later, after we got home, he told me he ate too much and his belly hurt. No wonder!

After the party, the kids headed out for their Easter egg hunt on the playground.


They were all rushing around, picking up eggs and shaking them to see if they sounded like "keepers."


Thomas quickly had a few eggs in his basket...


But as I said, he seemed a bit off, like he didn't feel quite right. And this picture shows it...


Even so, he was eager to see what he had scored...


Parker just hung out, wanting to get down on the ground so he could eat a handful of woodchips. I managed to keep him contained for a short while during the party. He says "hi!"

Down under

I've long called Parker "monkey" because he squirms and moves like a little monkey. He does not like to be still unless he is sleepy (then he can be a fabulous cuddlebug). With his newfound mobility, he goes as quickly as he can to the strangest places. He likes to go under things...tables, chairs, baby gear, the crib...whatever, he just likes to go under anything. In fact, the other day he was so tightly beneath a chair that I had to lift up the chair to get him out. I'm not sure how he got in there! This is another of his favorite spots:


He gets so proud of himself for finding new places. And if he is heading somewhere that he knows he shouldn't be, he will look back at me and give me a slick smile as if to say, "Catch me if you can!" Then he giggles as I chase him down, pick him up and return him to a safer spot. He's a mess!

11 months old!

Parker is now (as of 4/02) 11 months old!


And he's quite happy about it...


Really happy...


Aside from being generally happy, at 11 months, Parker is:
* Seemingly not as big as his brother was at this age, but everyone says he is big to them. He's wearing mostly 12M clothes (some 12-18 and 18M things...though still 6-12 & 9M pants. I look at all of the summer clothes hand-me-downs he has from Thomas and I can't figure how he's going to fit into them anytime soon. We'll see!
* Babbling all the time. He mimics sounds very well, though lately he seems to be on strike against saying "mama." He has said it before. He tries to repeat words like "dog" when he sees the dog and "ball" when he holds a ball. Whenever I applaud his efforts at anything (ie. eating all his food, saying a word) by saying "Great job, Parker!" he claps for himself. It's quite cute. Whenever I ask him something about Thomas, he starts excitedly exclaiming babble and gets the biggest smile on his face.
* Sometimes shy about waving, but usually loves to wave "hi" and "bye bye" to people.
* Still using a commando crawl to get around. At the beginning of his crawl he will usually attempt a typical crawl, and he is getting better and has managed a few "crawls" here and there on all fours, but usually resorts to a commando/army crawl to get where he wants to go quickly.
* Not ready to walk tomorrow...and I'm glad that makes him my little baby for a bit longer. He will stand if I'm holding his hands and sometimes take a step or two if encouraged strongly. He's still not completely steady when holding himself up and he can pull himself up to kneeling, but not standing.
* A much better eater than his brother! He is really starting to dislike baby food, so I'm quickly trying to increase his opportunities to try table food (though it's a little hard since I'm trying to avoid dairy (for him) for at least one more month (to hopefully avoid the same intolerance problems his brother has had)). But when we give him non-baby food, he cannot eat it fast enough. He just shovels and shovels and I don't know how he can get it down as quickly as he can. We give him the baby food first and he usually takes a few bites and then starts screaming for something else. He gets so happy when he just hears the crinkle of the bag when I reach in to grab him a handful of Cheerios. For example of what he is eating these days, tonight after his baby food (squash/apples), he ended up having chicken, apples and lima beans (so he really didn't need the baby food!).
* Nursing 5-6 times a day and still will not even consider the thought of a bottle. This complicates life a bit in that I can never be away from him for too long.
* Napping two times a day (usually down at 9:30 for about 1.5 hours and at 2:00 for 1.5-2 hours). He's still not a great napper, but hopefully one day when he goes to one nap he will be better. On the days where he doesn't get a morning nap he sleeps very well for his afternoon nap.
* Down for bed around 7 and on a good day, he sleeps until 7. Though lately he's been waking around 5:30 and crying out for a second (just long enough to wake me) and again during the six o'clock hour a few times. I'm hoping it's teething because it has not been enjoyable to get such early wake-up calls!
* Possibly working on another tooth. He has four on top that are all still coming through (and they are impressively crooked...thumbsucking is bad!) and two on the bottom.
* A mommy's' boy! :) And though it bugs his Daddy sometimes (understandably!), it makes me smile. Can't say I want him to be that way forever, but for now, it's sweet.
* A sweet, precious little boy; and I cannot believe he is almost one year old!

See what I mean, he's a sweet boy...


He laughs frequently and heartily...


He has a lot of hair, but it's a bit wild and crazy...


And he just makes me smile all the time...


I realize I'm sharing too many pictures, but how could I choose from this sweetness. I love baby feet...




Parker says "bye-bye! See you soon!"

32nd annual Cooper River Bridge Run

Today seemed like a beautiful day to walk the Cooper River Bridge with tens of thousands of other folks...


Today was the day for the 32nd Annual Cooper River Bridge Run. Apparently more than 30,000 people participated and Trey, Parker and I were among that impressve number.

Since strollers are supposed to stay at the very back of the pack, we waited around at the starting line and let the other walkers and runners pass us by. Parker was not quite sure what to make of his maiden race experience:


Eventually we made our way up toward the bridge:

A beautiful day! Not a cloud in the sky!

Finally we reached the bridge and began the slight climb uphill...


Parker was quite chilled out...


And Trey opted not to run as he had planned, and instead hung back with us. We enjoyed it...

(That is as we were walking over the bridge.)

Parker finally fell asleep for the last mile (of the 6+ mile trek), but I didn't take a picture for fear of waking him. When the end was in sight we could also see the church (to the left (with the columns), Trinity UMC) where we were married:


We made it!


Parker woke up while we were hanging out in Marion Square after the race, and once he figured out where he was (sort of), he enjoyed the beautiful day too.


It was a perfect day and a fun event and I look forward to doing it again!

Day at the park

I hate it when I sit down to blog about something and realize that I don't have any decent pictures to share. But there was one event of note, so I'm going to blog anyway. :)

Last Friday, the boys and I joined some friends and their little boys (three adults and six little boys) at Charlestowne Landing. It was a beautiful day and finally we saw more of the animals. In addition to the usual otter, turkeys and bison we finally saw a puma and a black bear, too. Of course when I went to take a picture of the bear, Thomas fell trying to get out of the stroller and by the time I tended to him, I missed a great shot of the bear and got this instead:


The boys had a great time running about (Thomas is in the red shirt):


They stopped to check out the bison...


An attempt to get the four older boys in a picture only proved to show one thing that I already knew...boys don't stop:


We tried to have a picnic in the park, but the gnats ran us back inside. It was still a lovely day and I look forward to going back soon!

A California surprise

This is how a mother might look when she arrives at a restaurant to join her children (who live locally) and grandchildren for a celebratory dinner:

And this is how that mother looks when she realizes that her oldest son has traveled cross-country for the occasion!
You'd think I had a picture next of my mother and this traveling son, but I don't. :)

My mom retires tomorrow after more than 22 1/2 years with her company. She has worked very hard and we hope that she will thorougly enjoy the happiness she has earned in retirement. I know I'm definitely (selfishly) looking forward to the increased availability for babysitting!

Pete, my oldest brother (who lives in sunny California), decided to come for the occasion (her work is throwing her a party tomorrow), but we all agreed it should be a surprise. It has been a hard surprise to keep and I was so afraid I would let it slip! But luckily, the cat stayed in the bag and she was completely (and quite happily) surprised. Unfortunately Trey couldn't be there tonight (nor Pete's wife and daughter), but it was great to have an almost-full family dinner tonight! We look forward to celebrating the retirement more tomorrow!

35 months old!

35 months! Last week Thomas turned 35 months. It's hard to believe that in three weeks our little boy will be three! I'm not sure where the time goes. It's scary to see how quickly it passes. I feel like if I blink he will be graduating from college. But for now, he's still our little guy.



At 35 months, Thomas is such a little boy. I don't know when toddler-dom ends, but I definitely feel that he is more little boy than toddler these days. He talks up a storm and runs full speed (and talks full speed) most of the day. That boy would be in constant motion sometimes if he was allowed.

I don't know how much he weighs, but when he went for a flu vaccine a few weeks ago, he measured at 38.5 inches tall (in shoes). I've been looking for a picture I took when he was a baby to compare to this one, but haven't located it yet (need to look on our other computer)...but for now I'll post this one alone. It's hard to believe how much he has grown in nearly three years! It seems like just yesterday that he barely came up to this window sill (like Parker does now...his head is just above the sill).


People are always commenting about what a happy boy he is and how well he talks. I suppose they could just be trying to be nice, but I like to think there is some truth to it. :) His teacher tells us he is a very happy boy at school.

One area where he is not progressing is potty training. His teacher always tells me that they ask him if he wants to go (I think most of his friends at school are potty trained or are potty training at this point) and he always says "No, I'll just use my diaper." That's about how it is at home too. I keep hoping that one day a little switch will flip in his head and he'll be more willing to try, but then again, I think it's too much wishful thinking on my part and we're going to have to start pushing the subject a bit more soon. Though I do believe a child has to be ready for it and I just don't think Thomas is there yet. We are close though. I hope! I sure would love to only have one child in diapers!

Just for fun, compare that with Thomas at 11 months (two years ago):

And Thomas at 23 months (one year ago):


He is doing great in his "big boy bed," and we can't wait until we can transition him to his real "BBB" here soon. I know he is going to love it. He stays in his bed pretty well for naps and bedtime, even though he can get out on his own.

The biggest challenge to growing up, as far as we are concerned, has been his growing need for discipline. He certainly knows how to punch our buttons, and he is constantly testing his limits. It's a test of patience, and sometimes tough love, for us, but I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary. It is quite a challenge some days (especially when he is tired or not feeling well). Some days he will not nap, and that's fine because then he goes to bed easily at night. But the downside is that he is a monster by early evening. He is definitely not ready to give up his daily nap (HALLELUJAH!).

Thomas absolutely adores his brother and loves to make him laugh.


For some reason I've thought a lot lately about what a struggle it was just to get Thomas into this world...complicated pregnancy, water breaking at 16 weeks, bedrest for 20 weeks...yada yada yada...and then I cannot imagine had things not turned out the way they did, how my life would be right without him in it. For all of the days he drives me crazy, there are many, many more days where he makes me laugh and smile and feel so thankful to be his Mom. I am so very thankful for the gift we were given in him.