Frozen moments

Parker is seeming so grown up these days. Here he is deep in discussion with Gran. 

 Love the sunglasses.

 And then he found my phone...

 These two:)

My cuties

When naming our first born, I loved the name Parker. But we thought twice... in our family we already had a Peter... dare we add a Parker? But I think we made a good move because my Spiderman-loving boy is so proud to have a superhero namesake. And lo and behold, how awesome is this shirt I found? 

 My mom was watching the boys one morning. She thought they'd like to paint. They did. She left the room for a minute, only to have Parker come find her a few minutes later, "Grammy, I need a bath. And it happened to Austin too." Uh oh. Good thing it was washable, but she did have her work cutout for her cleaning up.

 Parker and Grant have recently become great buddies. They get along so well and have the same energy level, so are very well suited. Cute blondies.

 And Austin loves his house too because of this cool truck:)

 Austin looks up to Parker in every way. Parker is very into soccer right now, and Aussie is right on his heels. And much of the time kicking with his left foot. Pete would be so proud.

More funnies...

Austin has learned his ability to exert his power and opinion through raising his voice lately. He often yells back at me, enunciating every syllable. "I WILL NOT GO TO BED!" "I AM NOT TI-ERD!" He also likes to show he's mad by saying he wants to punch whatever it is he's mad about. If I ask if he wants some water: "NO! I'm going to punch the water!" If Austin is going to nursery at church: "I'm going to punch nursery... I'm going to punch the snack." He even says it about stuff that's typically a good thing in his book, for example he has said he wants to punch: Disneyland, clouds, swimming, naptime, dinner, and baseball. And he says it with the most ridiculously cute pouty face with puffed out cheeks. Hilarious.

Austin also loves the ASL ice bucket challenge videos. Now he thinks any video on Facebook will involve the person getting water poured on their head. We were watching a sweet baby cooing and then he asked, "Now they pour water on her head?"

Parker is very smart and likes to know how things work. When I prompted him to brush his teeth so he won't get cavities, he asked, "Do the cavities happen right away, or does the sugar stay on your teeth and make holes along the way?"

Parker has also taken to lying. I was a bit of a liar/exaggerator as a child, so I know he's mine. I once told my second grade class that my leprachaun trap had a laser on it, but my dad didn't want me turning it on because it could hurt someone. My brother was talking about going to China and Parker said, "Oh I've been to China..." And he proceeds to tell about what he saw there. He also made up a story to my mom, but told her not to tell me because I wouldn't be happy about what had happened (really he didn't want me to know because I would refute that the incident happened).

Parker and I have been sleeping together while staying at my mom's house. The room is pretty removed  so he makes sure I lay down with him til he's asleep at night. I really like the wind down time with him, because regardless of what happened during the day and no matter how many times he said he hated me, at night he tells me I'm the best mom. He tells me his whole heart loves me. He tells me he prayed that God would give him the best mom ever and he got me (that is a spinoff of how I tell him that I prayed God would give me a baby and he gave me Parker). And then the best is that he scratches my back. He also wakes up in a very good mood, so it's win-win. Even though I do have to endure various position changes during the night and grinding of teeth.

We were at In n Out the other day, when I saw a man walk in who had very theatrical makeup on. He looked like a park ranger kind of guy so the makeup didn't fit. But it was very obvious. I began to worry that the boys would notice and say something. Well, just that morning we had been talking about giving compliments and finding the good thing about someone else. Then I saw Parker studying the man. And before I could do anything, Parker told the man, "Hi. I really like that bear on your shirt." And then Austin echoed the compliment. That struck up a few minute conversation and I was so relieved that the most obvious thing of all was never pointed out.

That same day, a man was ordering at the counter and he had a pronounced bald spot on the back of his head. Parker saw that and asked, "Mom, look at his head. Do you think that really hurts?"

In case you were wondering, Parker wants to be a police officer someday because he likes throwing people in jail.

Funnies

Funnies:

After I told Parker to do something, I left the room. Then my mom followed up and reiterated the same instruction, Parker says, "Umm... are you my mom?"

Parker asked me why everyone in the world doesn't live together. I responded that there's not a house big enough for all of us to live in. He replied, "Oh, I thought it's so we don't see each other's privates."

Parker has become a major cheater at board games. In Candyland he will rig the cards to move himself forward and move his opponent backward. How does he already know that cheating is a thing?

Parker and Austin like to pretend together. One morning, Austin pretended to be Ryan (human) and Parker was Stanley (the dog). Austin ordered him around with commands. Sit, stand, touch, shake...

Catchup

It's been a full house at the Lieber's for the past few months. In May my grandparents moved in for a month after my grandma's surgery. At the end of May Ryan moved back home. Then at the beginning of June, they left and Chloe moved in. Then in August we moved in. And Jeff visited for a week. It has been fun having everyone together. The boys love all the attention they get. 

Chloe and Austin. 

 I was trying to take a pic with Austin and asked him to put our heads together, but somehow he kept hearing "put your hand on my head." ??????

 Parker and Ryan.

 Brothers.

 Last night under the same roof. Chloe and Ryan have moved with their dog Stanley to Orange County.

Swim-time

This has been a summer of swimming. The boys are at great ages to just float around with their wings on, while I sit on the sidelines and monitor with a drink and a book. Love it. And it's even more fun when we have friends to swim with. We've been to about 5 different pools this summer. 

 Parker loves just floating on his back. The pool was so chaotic at this moment, but there was parker, peacefully floating.

I tried a new yoga studio. It's super nice living with my parents, so I can leave the boys at home and they are so kind to always offer to watch them. I had a free week pass, so I went as much as I could. I had tried hot yoga before, and it was too much for me, but this place claimed to be moderately heated. The first day I did a level I class in an "unheated" room which I think just meant that the air wasn't on, so it was still very warm. It was a lovely class and I really enjoyed the peace I felt during and after.  The yogi's are so affirming about one's self-worth and purpose.

 Day 2. See, not too bad after, though I was sweating a good amount throughout.

 But then I went to the "candlelight" class. Doesn't that sound nice? It was a different style class, but it still said it catered to all levels. From the second I walked through the door, I should have known I was in for it. Holy smokes! Within 10 secs in the room, every inch of me was sweating. I hadn't even DONE anything yet! Anyway, I can't believe I made it through. Difficult postures, extreme heat, etc... that was rough. No amount of candles could have made that better. But I did it!

Hot Wheels

The other day Parker got a Hot Wheels car from Albertsons after grocery shopping for a while. Before opening up the packaging he said that he wanted to film a video talking about his car. He has found on Youtube how people film themselves (usually Asian or little kids) opening toys and discussing all their features. It's a weird thing to watch, but he digs it. So he wanted to make his own. So here's my little Youtube celebrity:

Ice Bucket Challenge

I'm sure you've all gotten sick of watching the ice bucket challenge videos floating around the internet, to raise awareness for ALS. But when Parker was challenged by Chloe and he was all excited, I couldn't resist. The key to his success: no ice, little water, and jump in the pool after:) 

I'm back...

After a few months of keeping the blog private, I've decided to be public once again now that we aren't living on our own anymore. It's just easier this way, and now I'll show up on people's feeds again. Voila!

Anyway, we've been busy with our summer quickly coming to a close. Parker still has two more weeks before preschool starts, but we are definitely feeling our freedom coming to an end. It's been fun, but I prefer having a schedule and having more stability for the boys. Parker will go to preschool here for the month of September and then we'll move the second weekend in October. He's excited to have Mrs. Valdez as his teacher (she assisted in my mom's class last year). He'll have lots of friends in there.

One of the most fun things we did for him this summer was soccer camp. I was worried it would be too much for him, but he LOVED it. 5 days for 3 hours each day (very hot days may I add). He was one of the youngest but he gave it his all and even won the MVP award for his age group at the end of the week. His buddy Chace did it too.

Everyday I picked him up the same way... hot, dirty, and sweaty!

Parker and Chace Parker. 

It's so cool when you get a glimpse at what your child might excel at later on. He's always been athletic, but beyond that, I was impressed by his competitive spirit and his determination. Even when it was hot, he gave it 100%. That's really cool to see. In addition, he was a good teammate, always encouraging those around him. What a great experience he had on the Green Giraffes.

A little more reverence...

We've really been working on Parker being able to be sit and listen in Primary. It's amazing what he's able to retain when he's tuned into singing time and the lesson. I've been very impressed lately when I ask questions about what was taught that day. The songs we sing in church have a profound impact on children. It helps them to learn about the attributes of the Savior, they teach about our role in the world, and they help invite the Spirit into the room. Parker gets VERY into music time. The kids were reminded of how behave when singing and this is Parker's response... so touching!

Rockin' it

It's like Austin has a continuous soundtrack running in his head. He'll be quiet for a moment, but then he'll burst out in song. 

Same with dancing... he's always on the verge...

Summer days

Welcome to our summer..

Swimming like little fish...

 Lunching with good friends...

 Consuming large amounts of ketchup...

 Building Legos...

 Lounging on the bed with Stanley... (umm... his head is on my pillow!)

And lounging by the pool...

This is the life!

Family pictures

These make me want to cry. We were fortunate enough to have a sweet mom gift her son's preschool teacher (my mom) a photo session as the end of the year gift. We met her with my parents at Old Poway Park and took some new family photos. I love how they turned out. 

 My parents and their pride and joy... can't you feel the love?

Little pretenders

Love watching these kids at the Children's Museum. The alligator costume is Parker's go-to. 

 Puppet shows are a must.

 Parker was working very hard at the grocery store. He and another bossy little girl were getting everything ready for the shop to open at 9:00. Parker was sweeping and dusting like crazy, and then he handed Austin the broom and told him to "get to work." Parker reported back to the girl, "Don't worry... I got my brother to help out."

 Austin the customer.

 Parker the master builder. He was so cute and complimented the older child across the table who was constructing a very impressive tower. "I really like how you are building that. You are really good."