Phe-MOM-enon Ramblings

More March Happenings...

2013-04-30T21:10:00.004-07:00

Our cousin, Macy, was Skuttle in "The Little Mermaid" and we were able to go watch her perform! She did great and Parker loved every minute of it...

It finally warmed up for a few days and we went to the park with some friends..

Fresh outta the shower

Pajama Day at school

Easter 2013

2013-04-30T21:03:00.001-07:00

We had a really good Easter this year, Parker got to go to an Easter Egg Hunt at the Sesser park and our church had a big service at the Civic Center in Benton. After church I had to go to work but Parker went with Uncle Jared and Papa to Aunt Lynn's for Easter dinner.

Opening his Easter basket

Dying eggs

He loved hunting eggs, even though it was freezing cold outside!

Kollins, Parker, Kadence

Trips in March...

2013-04-30T20:53:00.001-07:00

We went to Kentucky for my goddaughter Addyson's first dance! It was a daddy daughter dance, and she looked beautiful. We stayed the weekend and enjoyed getting to spend time with all of them...

Fixing her hair...

My sister had to have surgery, so I went to Ohio for the week to help take care of her and Chase. We had so much fun just lounging in our pjs all day and hanging out together.

9 Months Old!

First pic with the Easter Bunny

It's always so hard to leave this sweet boy, especially since the next time I see him will be when he comes her for his 1st Birthday! I love and miss him sooo much!

February Happenings...

2013-03-23T16:28:00.002-07:00

Kadence & Kollins turned TWO years old!

Opening presents

Playing with Parker

Kadence

Kollins

Parker, my brother Jared and I took a trip to Columbus, OH to visit my sister, bro-in-law, and nephew Chase! We had so much fun, Chase is old enough to play with Parker now and they both loved it. We even went to Chuck-E-Cheese!

Christmas Time....

2013-03-23T15:49:00.002-07:00

I'm not even going to discuss how far behind I am on blogging, I'm just going to catch up while everything is still fresh in my memory! :)

Reading Rudolph to the kiddos

Kadence, Parker, Kollins

Jumping on the bed

My Awesome Sunday School Class at our Christmas party!

Andrew, Sis, and Chase got to stay with us for a few days for Christmas, we had so much fun...

Papa and his boys

Parker loved all of his presents! His favorite was probably his Thomas the Train motorized set, and his playdoh set

Snow Day! Our tiny little snowman was pitiful but it was way too cold to be outside for long

That about wraps up our December. As always, we feel so blessed to end another year with our wonderful family, who could ask for more!

Photo Card

2012-12-08T15:57:00.001-08:00

Stitched Memories Christmas

This season, send Christmas cards personalized with family photos.

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy 3rd Birthday Parker James!

2012-12-03T18:40:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I have a big THREE year old! =) He had such a good Thomas the train birthday party, and today he got to take cupcakes to school for all of his friends, too.

Today I asked him if he had a good birthday and he said "Yeah, yeah, my birthday, my trick or treated!" haha I guess he associates gifts (treats) with Halloween, still. We are so thankful that we have some many friends and family that love us and came out to wish him a happy birthday!

Children's Museum

2012-11-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

We met my sister, brother-in-law, and adorable nephew at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, IN. It is conveniently located pretty much halfway in between Benton, IL and Columbus, OH so it was a good place to meet. Before we went there we stopped to eat the The Spaghetti Factory, yum!! The museum was huge! It had so much stuff to do, we weren't even able to see it all.

Digging for fossils

Bumblebee

Parker and Uncle Andrew

Lifesize hotwheels car

Scuba Diver

There was a lot of cool stuff to do, but for me the most exciting part of the day was getting to love on my baby nephew. It's hard living 6.5 hours away from him, but when I do get to see him I just enjoy it that much more.

Parker & Mommy Pictures

2012-11-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

We hadn't had pictures with Jessica Hollis Photography since Parker was a year old, so it was definitely past due. She always captures the best pictures, and I find it hard to pick my favorite that's for sure! Here are just SOME of my favorites...

A Pirate and a Tractor

2012-11-11T08:47:00.002-08:00

Parker had two costumes this year for Halloween, he was a Pirate and a Tractor (not at the same time!) My mom wanted something easy to take him trick-or-treating in the Saturday before Halloween because I had to work, so he wore his pirate costume.

On Halloween I was able to take him trick-or-treating so for the first part he wore his tractor costume..

After awhile it got too heavy and we changed back to our pirate costume! I'm really glad we had a back up.

I think the most fun Parker and the girls had all night was when we got to grandpa & grandma's to eat supper and let them play. It was a very fun Halloween!

Grant's Farm & Family Pictures

2012-11-11T08:34:00.002-08:00

We went to Grant's Farm in St. Louis and we had so much fun. Parker got to bottle feed the goats, we were able to see so many different animals, including the famous Clydesdales!

Every year we do "October Birthdays" at my grandpa's house, usually in the pole barn if it's warm enough. This year it was beautiful outside and we had planned ahead of time to take a "cousin" picture. The last one was taken when I was 12! Unfortunately one of my cousins couldn't make it so I am waiting on the picture of her to photoshop her in before posting it, but I can post some of the other pictures.

My Brother, Parker, My Dad, My Mom and Me!

Grandpa Cecil, Jared, Parker, Kollins & Kadence... right before Kate the mule tried to buck the kids off! (No one was hurt!)

Parker & Uncle Jared

Parker and Great Papa Cecil

Hugs for Kollins

Ring Around the Rosey

We are so blessed to have our family so close, I am thankful that Parker gets to grow up playing on grandpa's farm with his cousins the same way I did.

Pumpkin Patch

2012-10-10T17:31:00.001-07:00

We went to the Pumpkin Patch for a birthday party and Parker had a blast. In this first picture he was not very happy, he wanted to go on the hayride and it wasn't our turn yet. I couldn't resist taking a picture of that sad little face.

Riding his bike- one of his favorite things to do

Gator Ride with Great Papa Cecil

We made a turkey today, he was so proud.

Parker is turning into such a funny little boy and I am loving every moment. His vocabulary gets bigger everyday and you would never know that six months ago he could hardly say anything at all. He still has speech therapy once a week, but that will stop when he turns 3.

I now work full time and he seems to be adjusting well, but the other morning my mom said he ran into my room when he woke up and I wasn't there and he said "Oh NO! Momma's workin!" haha It's nice to know that he misses me, but makes me sad at the same time. We've also realized that we need to be careful what we say around him, I don't use bad words and neither do my parents but today my mom said something about "Well that's stupid, isn't it?" and guess what we heard in the back seat.. "dats stupid, isn't it?" While it was funny at the time, it was a good lesson for us to watch what we say. I definitely don't want those words coming out of my sweet little boy's mouth!

Parker & Chase

2012-10-05T17:31:00.002-07:00

Parker was so excited when Chase came to visit. He is a great big cousin, and they got to spend lots of time together. Of course, we had to do some photo shoots of them together.

Here is some of Chase by himself, 11 weeks old.

Me and my sister with our babies =)

Watching Spongebob

The visit was a lot of fun, unfortunately Parker DID give Chase his first boo-boo (what are big cousins for, right?) but it was an accident, he dropped his sippy cup and it fell right on Chase's head and left a little bruise! He even bled a little bit, poor guy. He was tough, though, and soon forgot about it. We can't wait to see them again!

August Highlights

2012-09-01T02:39:00.003-07:00

I was doing SO well and then I went the whole month of August without one post. Well, it's been a crazy month and I have been on midnights so I feel like I have an excuse. So, I'll just post the highlights!

(This was actually July 30th!)

Meet Jax! Tim and I drove 4 hours to pick this little guy up, and he is the sweetest thing ever! He was 8 weeks when we got him, and now he is 12 weeks old and only 2 lbs 15 oz. Love him!

Parker got a Tee-Ball set so he has been working on that... it's so fun to watch him try.

He is very obsessed with his trains right now, he would rather play with them than anything else...

We had a few birthday parties this past month and they were all a blast. Last weekend the party was at Tim's cousin's house and they had so much for the kids to do, Parker's favorite was definitely the water slide..

He was pretty into the pinata too...

One of our biggest highlights is.. We are officially potty trained!! So proud of him, one day he took his diaper off and decided he was going to start peeing on the potty, and a few weeks later here we are completely potty trained.

Carder also came to visit and we got to go swimming in the hotel he was staying at...

Tim and I have been together for over a year now (crazy, I know!), and he got me an iPad for our anniversary. I must say I am in love with it but I think Parker loves it even more! He asks to play "mouse" (Micky Mouse) about 50 times a day. Other than that, my sister, brother-in-law, and wonderful nephew will be here this afternoon to stay for the weekend and I am so excited. I will have lots of pictures to post after that visit for sure.

Priceless

2012-07-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to get some new pictures of Parker and I for awhile now, but we had some crazy hot weather here for awhile and this past week it cooled down so we were finally able to get some. I may be a little picture crazy, but I never want to forget how it felt to hold and cuddle my baby boy, to laugh over his silly behavior, and to kiss his little cheek.

He really is the light of my life, and I wouldn't trade any moment with him for the world.

One happy little boy...

2012-07-15T15:50:00.002-07:00

Parker is officially in a big boy bed, no more crib! For real this time, ;). I got him a race car bed and he loves it, from the first night he has slept it in wonderfully and even sleeps in. I am super happy about it, considering he figured out how to climb out of the crib.

In other news, since Parker named our car "Lightning McQueen," I decided to make it fact...

And although I'm a little overprotective of Lightning McQueen, we went out for ice cream the other night and Tim convinced me to let Parker have an ice cream cone IN THE CAR. Surprisingly, Parker did awesome and didn't spill any of it.

Summer is almost over and I feel like it just began. In another month, kids will be going back to school and soon after football games with start and the fall air will kick in. Of course, with the wacky weather around here it might be 90 degrees in the fall!

Independence

2012-07-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

Parker has newfound Independence in so many things lately. His speech has improved greatly, while he isn't saying many sentences, he is able to express exactly what he wants (for the most part) and he is loving it. So am I... most of the time.

The picture above of him looking so innocent and sweet was only moments before a major fit. We were out to eat with my mom and her friend Lynn, when we got to the restaurant he wanted to sit in booster seat in the booth with nana. We had never sat in a booster seat, but I told him if he would sit there and be good he could. That lasted about 5 minutes. He then wanted to get up, I told him if he got up he would have to sit in a highchair. After 3 warnings, I got a highchair and put him in it... oh my. We were that family with the ridiculously screaming child, flailing arms and legs and screaming "my chair, my chair, my chair!" I am not sure if I have ever been that embarrassed. I told Parker to either stop crying, or I was taking him home. He would not stop crying so we left... even more embarrassing. Luckily we hadn't ordered yet. He cried for about 10 minutes on the way home and I tried to explain to him why we left, but I'm not sure if he quite understood. All I know is, I hope this never happens again!

In more exciting news, we had a great 4th of July. Tim and I went to my friend Brandy's pool party during the day (was way too hot for Parker at 106 degrees!)

Miss Lennon

That evening, we went to Tim's brother's house for a barbeque and Parker had so much fun. He got to swim with Tim's niece and nephew and he thought he was so big. This is the first time he has gone swimming without his puddle jumper, just a little ring and I was so proud of him.

Parker and Bella

Parker, Bella, and Matthew

Mommy's Boy!

Tim and I

We have had quite an eventful few weeks, it has been so hot here but that hasn't slowed us down too much. We are supposed to get a break from the heat next week, and I think everyone is more than ready. We haven't had this long of a heat wave in Southern Illinois since 1936!

Time with Chase

2012-07-07T15:33:00.005-07:00

I got to spend a few days with my sister, brother-in-law, and new nephew a couple of weeks ago and I was in heaven! I missed my own baby boy, but he was with nana and pawpaw so he didn't mind at all. Mostly my sister, Chase, and I just lounged around the house and it was great. I did a few different little photo sessions, and here are a few of my favorites... sorry, it's hard to narrow them down!

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to spend a few days with them, they live 6.5 hours away so it is a little rough on me being that far away from my first nephew, but I will be taking Parker to meet Chase next month and then they will be coming here to visit in September so that makes it a lot easier!

Life's a Circus!

2012-06-24T16:10:00.002-07:00

We braved our very first circus! It was actually a lot of fun, but some of the things were not very interesting to Parker, like the ladies hanging by their hair... However, he did love riding an elephant!

That was quite the experience for both of us. Fun fact: I also rode an elephant at my first circus, I was about 4 years old and I still remember it... Maybe I'll try to find that picture. Parker really loved the motorcycle show the most out of the whole thing, which is why we stayed to the very end. He was amazed, for some reason he is really in to motorcycles.

In other news, I got a new car!! =) It is a Hyundai Elantra and I love it, it has navigation so it is very handy when you need to get somewhere. Parker calls it McQueen, so I guess that will have to be his name...

Parker thought he could be smooth and tell his momma that the regular seat was where he was supposed to sit... sorry little man, not for another 6 years at least.

I love this little boy so much. He is starting to talk so much, and he will now repeat just about anything you say. He calls Tim "Tip" and my sister Kathy "Kacky" and he loves saying his bedtime prayers, we pray for just about everyone we can think of. I am so blessed.

Welcome to the World Chase!

2012-06-19T03:17:00.001-07:00

I went to bed Saturday night at 11:30 and at 2:35AM woke to a call from my brother-in-law telling me my sister's water had broke! I was so excited. Only problem is, we live in Southern Illinois and they live in Columbus Ohio.. so they're about 6-7 hours away. I called my dad and we left as soon as we could. After a long drive, we arrived at 11:25 in the parking lot of the hospital. My adorable nephew was born at 11:29AM, 7 lbs 7 oz and 20 in long!

I am so glad we got to be there, he is absolutely precious, and I think they are pretty proud of him!

My dad got to hold him first, then I held him, then we let all of Andrew's family have a turn ;)

What a great Father's Day present for Andrew! After we got to hold Chase my dad and I went out to eat and Olive Garden so they could get settled into their permanent room. When we returned to the room he was all cleaned up and just as adorable as ever. He makes more little noises than any newborn baby I've ever seen, even in his sleep it sounds like he's singing to himself. That evening we made our way back to Sis and Andrew's house to clean up (her water broke in bed!) and get some sleep then came back the next morning...

I really didn't want to leave, but I had to be at work at 9PM so we had to leave around 1:00. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, even knowing I'll be back in a few weeks. He will change so much in that time, and I'd love to be closer to help my sister out, but I will just have to be happy with the time I get with them. Parker loves his cousin Chase, he hasn't met him yet but he loves to kiss his picture it is about the sweetest thing ever. Welcome to the world Chase Maddux!

Visiting our Besties

2012-06-03T07:17:00.002-07:00

Our besties recently moved to Taylorville, which is about 2.5 hours away from us. At first I thought this was a bad thing, but then I realized that just meant we would have to go see them often and this past week was our first visit. We really had a good time. The best part about Taylorville is that it is about halfway between my house and our other best friend's house! So of course we had to go surprise Joy in Chicago, you know, because we were so close =)

We've all came a long way since we met two years ago, but through it all our friendship has only gotten stronger. Looking forward to many more visits!

The Zoo!

2012-06-02T10:53:00.002-07:00

We went to the zoo with our friends last week and it was a perfect day. The weather was great, and Parker and Lennon were both little angels! While this age can sometimes be frustrating, it is also a lot of fun... now that Parker can talk more and pays attention to what I'm telling him, everything is more enjoyable. He never tried to run away from me, and even didn't mind holding my hand or riding in the stroller when I told him to. This is a big deal for us. =)

The gorilla was HOT lol. Love the old man in the background =)

Parker was so observant, he loved pointing things out to me. His favorite part of the zoo was the Reptile house. He loves turtles and snakes, and we spent quite a lot of time in that stinky place lol

Ssssssss.....

At the end of the day we decided to stop and make Parker's first Build-A-Bear. His name is Elliott the Elephant and him and Parker even have matching pajamas. He really is cute.

Night Night!

Flintstone Boy

2012-05-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

Lately Parker has been obsessed with going outside and riding his tricycle. Now, he doesn't pedal it, but instead uses his feet on the ground like a Flintstone haha. He is so fast, though, I have to job to keep up with him! I am trying to teach him to use the pedals, but he prefers his feet on the ground so we go with it.

Parker likes to come into my room in the morning and cuddle for a few minutes before we get up for the day. Let me tell you, that is one of my favorite parts of the day. He usually faces my and he will put his hands on either side of my face and say (in the tiniest, sweetest voice) Hi =) I guess you just have to be there, it is adorable. Anyways, I guess he didn't remember that it was Saturday today because my mom said when he woke up this morning he ran into my room saying "Momma, Momma!" It sorta makes me feel bad that he misses me when I'm gone, but I love coming home to his hugs when I get off.

Playing in the bath tub =)

We had to buy a backpack for school, and he loves it. I'm a fan as well hehe. When we take the backpack home on weekends he will bring the backpack to us and say "School, school" in a very convincing voice, trying to say it's time for school. He does not like when you explain to him that it's not a school day. I am so blessed that he loves his preschool, he gets so excited when we get there and runs right over to the sensory table to do whatever is there that day.

Parker and Kadence playing in his room after church

Happy Mother's Day!

2012-05-13T12:34:00.003-07:00

Parker made me the sweetest little art project at school for Mother's Day =) Best present ever!

I love being a mom. I knew from the time I was a little girl that I was made to be a mommy. Yes, there are days when I want to pull my hair out, but one little smile from my little man and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Thankfully the speech therapy has finally started to work. Parker talks non-stop now and it is so funny. Of course, to the average person, a lot of it probably sounds like jabbering but he is getting there. The other night he was climing up on my lap, then back down, then back up, over and over again. I said "Oh honey!" and he looks over his shoulder at me in the cutest little voice says "hoooneey!" haha He knows how to make me smile, that's for sure.

He has finally started to use sentences, and his first one was "My want it!" and he uses that a lot. While driving in the car, typically he talks the whole time and usually it goes a little like this "What's that? A bug. My want it! What's that? A car. What's that? A boat. Me!" As you can see, he answers himself mostly.

Happy Mother's Day to all, and especially to my wonderful mother who has always been there for me and taught me to be the mother that I am today.

Nashville, Tennessee!

2012-05-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

We took a weekend getaway trip to Nashville, Tennessee and it was so much fun. Friday night we went to eat at Demo's and Saturday we went ziplining! We had never been and it was actually a blast, scary but fun.

We went to the Opry Mills Mall after ziplining, I forgot how big it is! I really wish we had a mall with that many stores close to us. After shopping we went to see "The Lucky One" at the movie theater in the mall and it was a good movie, but not nearly as good as the previews looked. That's always disappointing, but it was still nice.

Sunday we went downtown to walk around and check some things out before heading back to good ol' Southern Illinois! The best part of Sunday, was that we stopped in Paducah on our way home to eat at Olive Garden... haha

Sometimes it is good to get away, even if it's just for the weekend. We had a great time just enjoying each others company and not having anything we HAD to do. It was also nice to have a weekend off for the first time since December! It was definitely hard to come back to work yesterday, I can tell you that. =)