Cozy coupe time

Austin was finally figuring out how to move around in the cozy coupe... but he only figured out how to move in reverse. He seemed perfectly content with that though. Cute boy.

For some reason, I have not felt a draw to blog lately. I love the blog for documentation and journalling purposes, but I have a hard time wanting to write lengthy entries lately. Anyone else go through a blogging funk? So sorry for those of you who long for longer posts... just not feeling it right now. But at least I'll try to keep up on the photos. That's what really matters anyway, isn't it?

Afternoon at the train

This video makes me so happy. Grammy and Papa took the boys to Old Poway Park to ride the train on Saturday, while Pete and I escaped for a date night. They had a wonderful time. Check out Austin's enthusiasm...

Priceless memories for these boys, I tell you. And Chloe was working at the event for her internship... hence the awesome overalls. And she bought that conductor hat for Parker. He hasn't taken it off in three days.

The plague that hit our home

Collectively, our home has been a hotbed for germs for the past two weeks. First, I wasn't feeling great (not terrible, but not great... boy do I long for that feeling again). Then the boys got runny noses. Then Parker got pink eye. That's a rough one because even though he was feeling okay, he looked awful. But even if we had wanted to go somewhere, the next day he started screaming about his ear hurting, so we went to the doctor to reveal a double ear infection. Poor guy. So with eye drops and antibiotics in hand, we headed home. Then the next day while the boys were at my mom's house during my Kids Sing rehearsal, she texted me with a picture: Austin has pink eye. It was the most cheerful face with the goopiest eye. All the while I maintained my underlying sore throat and lack of energy. Then Pete came home the next day feeling terrible (sore throat, body aches, etc...) The day after that I got hit hard with the same symptoms, though Pete was feeling a little better. Sunday, Austin's pink eye flared up again. 

It's been fun. I've tried to keep perspective on all these things, as there has been so much going on in the world in the personal lives of friends, but c'mon... I'm ready for a break. 

We couldn't have made it through without my parents. They have been amazing at watching the boys so we could rest or helping out during doctor's appointments. Their help was invaluable. 

Here's to feeling better very soon... all of us!

Here's Parker at his first little league game with his first snow cone, looking very patriotic. Thanks Papa. 

 Mr. Ping Pong playing at a graduation party.

 On the trail with Papa. Special alone time, while he had pink eye and couldn't go to church with us.

Play time with Austin

Love this kid. He has so much personality and he is liking to play more with us and with Parker. He's also an amazing cuddler. Can I just clone him for my next baby?

Superhero Song

Parker literally sings all day long. When he's not talking your ear off, he's singing. He sings songs he's been taught, but my personal favorites are the ones he improvises. He likes to change the words to common songs, but here is one of his compositions that is completely original. He calls it his Superhero Song being performed on his "stage". 

Battles

Overall, Parker is a delightful, precocious child. He is very smart and says the funniest things all the time. He is constantly making us smile. HOWEVER... he can also be very challenging as he tries to exert power in every situation. Today, he had many meltdowns and tantrums before 10am. I didn't know if I was going to make it until naptime. So when 12:30 rolled around and I was eagerly starting the nap routine, I could feel that he wasn't going to go down willingly. I got him in bed, but then he kept getting out. I put him back many, many times (an hour's worth) and eventually I just shut his door and pretending like he was in bed. I heard him moving some toys, but as long as he was staying in his room, fine. I go in to check after an hour and a half, and he's finally surrendered in his bed with half his toys in bed with him and half strewn around the room. Well... at least he was asleep! I won...:)

 Then Austin woke up before Parker, and he crawled straight into his room to check on his brother. He was shaking the pack n play trying to wake him, but it didn't work.

 Then Aussie enjoyed playing sibling free with the all the toys for about 45 minutes. We had a great time. He also liked helping me fold laundry.

Parker quotes

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Parker is hilarious. You never know what he's going to say, but you can bet he is always saying SOMETHING! 

We went to the Wild Animal Park the other day when the boys woke up early from their nap and it was a really pleasant afternoon. Parker sat in this egg and said, "Look! I'm hatching!"

 Austin is so cute. He generally a very happy guy, but has become much more aware of what he wants lately, which has made him a lot more ornery. But when he gets what he wants, he's a little angel:) Currently we're trying to figure out the nap situation, as he's not been going down easily for the afternoon. One day he was crying and Parker said, "Don't worry Austin. Don't be scared. There's no animals in your room. Or white guys, or black guys..." WHAAAAAA?????

 We also got him a big boy seat and flipped him around. He yells, Mama mama mama, the whole time I'm driving now that he can see me.

 We have been going to an awesome music class with my old voice teacher. It's a dream to now have my boys hearing her singing voice and learning from her like I did.

We got a cd from the class, which Parker loves, and when we were driving home he said, "Mama, when I was a little girl I LOVED this song."

Parker loves preschool. He told me yesterday, "Mama, all the girls love me because I'm so funny." One mom told me her daughter said, "I want to have real babies with Parker."

Knock on wood, Parker is potty trained. #2 is still not happening in the potty, but he goes in his diaper first thing in the morning without fail. He has had NO wet undies. I'm pretty proud of him, especially since now we are out and about and he still tells me when he has to go. Except he says, "Mama, I'm going potty!" We're trying to change that to "I need to go potty" but I'll take what I can get. Good work Parker!

Nice weekend...

It was a great weekend. Pete was actually home for a change and we soaked up every moment with him. We loved eating meals together, going on bike rides, wrestling, watching Conference, singing, and watching Michigan win their basketball game! Go blue! Can't wait for the game tomorrow night. 

Since it we didn't have church, I decided to give potty training a try. I was so scared, given Parker has given me no indication that he's ready to be in underwear. First of all, he doesn't really listen to me. I can be calling his name or asking him to do something and I completely tunes me out. How on earth could I expect him to respond when I ask him to go potty? And he has absolutely no problem wearing diapers. He doesn't care his friends all wear underwear and he's in diapers. He doesn't seem to mind the feeling of being wet (or poopy for that matter). Some kids reach a point where they become more self-conscious, but not my boy. He can literally poop while he's still running. 

TMI yet? Anyway, on Thursday we went to Target and I let him pick out undies. He chose Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and some pixar character ones. He also chose a bubble gun that he was going to earn after filling up a sticker chart after using the potty so many times. He was excited. So after naptime on Friday, we put the undies on and it was go time. It took about an hour of drinking and trying to potty every 10 minutes or so for him to finally go. It was thrilling! He was so proud and so was I. Over the course of the afternoon, I continued setting the timer but he actually only went when he told him he had to go. While he may be on the older end to be trained, there is something to say for him being more mature and in control of his body at this age. Over the last three days, he hasn't had ANY wet accidents in his underwear. We're still trying to figure out #2, but he's still wearing diapers during sleep times, and I try and get him to do it then. Any tips for #2? He just doesn't have enough warning to make it to the potty. For some reason it's very different than his warning for just going potty. But here is my proud boy... so thrilled by his progress. Tomorrow is the first day we leave the house for a while. Preschool will be his first test. Wish him luck. 

 The boys were so happy with daddy around. Austin is literally giddy when he sees him.

 Ryan had a volleyball tournament in Dallas, which my parents were able to attend, so we were repping SDSU back here. Word on the street is that Ryan was AMAZING! Go Aztecs!

 Austin loves pushing things around on the tile.

 Austin was not so happy to be left behind after the boys left on a bike ride. Sad:) Everytime a car would drive by his would go back and look out the door and say, "Who's that?" That's his new phrase he says all the time! It's precious. Mama, dad, uh oh, woof woof, and Who's that? are his only words.

Amber beads and other witchcraft

My friend asked me the other day if I needed a witchcraft intervention:) Austin has been teething for a while now and the drool is out of control. His shirt is matted to his chest. It's pretty gross. So I heard about these amber bead necklaces, that are supposed to help with the teething process. My mom was talking to someone at the park who's child had one, and she swore that it reduced drool and crankiness. I figured it was worth a shot. Well, when I described it to Pete, I told him it would be concealed under his shirt. It was surprised when I showed him a pic the other day and the necklace was clearly exposed! However, many of said he looks like a cool surfer dud, or a Backstreet Boy circa 1996. Anyway, I haven't noticed a difference yet, but I'm going to give it some time. 

 I give Parker all his haircuts and I really have no idea what I am doing. So I am never sure how it's going to turn out. Usually I don't botch it, but there is definitely unevenness. Anyway, yesterday I did some of my best work. It looks seemingly even and can be style in a part or looks cute with bead head. Here he is with his new do and ceremonial post- haircut lollipop.

A few more cute ones.

Parker got really into the egg hunt. 

 Austin instantly loved Uncle Jeff. I was really surprised considering he's been so clingy with me lately.

Jeff is on a new project for work which will be in San Diego, starting in June. We are beyond excited to be able to see him more in the coming months.

Spring break

Though Parker is not in preschool for very many hours, when we have days off school, it really makes a difference in our schedule. We loved having more flexibility and had a lot of fun last week. But I am really looking forward to him returning to school tomorrow:)

Some fun things we did last week...

Went to dinner with Daddy out by his work. He's been working very long hours and it's nice when we get a chance to see him. Sometimes the boys will go a few days without seeing him. 

 We got to play with friends. Carter and Park are such good buddies.

 Sadie's mom planned a preschool class egg hunt at the park. Parker was really into it... but more into the powdered sugar donuts she brought to snack on. Hence the white lips.

 Sea World was offering a free preschool pass for the little ones, so we decided to take advantage of his free year long pass and I bought myself one. There is a baby Shamu right now that is so cute swimming around with his mama. Parker loved it.

 Our Legoland passes ended last week and we used them on the very last day they were valid. Worth it... we had so much fun and got to ride Parker's favorite boat ride again and again. He loves it because it features the Big Bad Wolf.

 Austin is smiley as ever. Love this one.

 Parker is such a crack up.