Hip-Hip-Hooray, It's a Gymboree (Open Gym) Day!

Today we met some friends at Gymboree for the Open Gym time and then had lunch afterwards. This, followed by a (currently on-going) 3 hour nap.

The snow, ice, sleet and very cold weather is on it's way so we wanted to get out before it gets yucky!

A Much Needed LNO @ Maggiano's

Other Scenes From the Heard Museum...

And last but not least, we had to circle back around to see T-Rex one more time. If you look real close at this picture, you will see Parker holding his T-Rex. So cute!

NOTE: I forgot to mention that the dinosaurs were animated

Here Come the Dinosaurs!

Today we made our way out to the Heard Museum in McKinney to see the dinosaurs. Parker LOVES dinosaurs so he was not afraid and loved every moment of it. It also helped that it was a beautiful day (2 days before a big winter storm is to arrive) and we enjoyed being outdoors.

Parker, meet T-Rex:

Daddy, are his teeth sharp:

Oh, you don't have any teeth:

Mommy said I need to stay behind the rope so the dinosaurs don't bite me:

See Mommy, I am behind the rope and he is not biting me:

Let's Get Ready to T-U-M-B-L-E

Today was our first tumbling class (through the City of Plano). Since Grandma is in town, she joined us...which is why there are a couple pictures of me. Luke, Noah, Austin and Cruz are all in the class as well. FUN!

Today we learned how to "use" the balance beam, trampoline and bars. Our teacher, Ms. Tiffany, also taught us: how to do a pencil roll and a somersault, and a fun hula-hoop game.

Before class I was giving Parker the run-down on what we were going to do:

Hanging like a monkey and looking at himself in the mirror:

Ms. Tiffany helping Parker:

After class, the boys ran some more energy off in the gym:

And since it was a BEAUTIFUL day, we went over to the park and played for an hour or so:

Parker and I came home and took a nice, long nap. Grandma came over later so she and Parker could go for a wagon ride. This allowed Bryan and me to go to dinner. I hope tomorrow is just a pretty as it was today!!!

I'm So Hungry!

This is what happens when I am a little late getting dinner to the table....NAPTIME! Oh and the bears are filling in for Bryan because he went to a going away party after work.

Parker went 2 1/2 weeks without eating a lot of food and I figured it was just a phase he was going through. This past week, however, has proven to be his catch-up week. He is eating EVERYTHING under the sun!!! Here is what he ate today (just today!):

Breakfast: a piece of raisin-cinnamon bread, 2 cups of breakfast casserole (including eggs, potatoes and sausage) and a cup of milk

Snack & Lunch: 1 cup of snack mix (including craisins, popcorn chips and cheerios), a slice of cheese, 1 cup of steamed veggies, 1/2 PB&J sandwich (thanks Luke!), 2 meatballs, 2 cups of water and a banana

Snack & Dinner: a piece of banana bread, a piece of cheese, 2 pretzel chips, 4 cherry tomatoes, a cup of milk, 1 cup of chicken spaghetti, 4 strawberries, a peanut butter granola bar and a cup of water

I am not sure what you think but I think that's a lot of food for a little boy! WOW!

We Have a BIG Announcement!

We just found out that Parker was accepted into the Mother's Day Out program that we applied for a couple weeks ago. We are very excited! He will not start until the fall and will only go one day a week. I think it will be really good for him to be in an environment without me around. More information to come....

Blog Updates

I have a lot of posts from October - December that I am trying to catch up on. I have back-dated all the posts to the day they actually happened. If you do not receive blog update emails, please go back to these months to catch up.

My Domestic Journey Has Begun....

....before Bryan left to travel to Atlanta last week, he bought me a freezer so I could start cooking and freezing meals. This is the first item in my beautiful freezer.....Banana Bread. More freezing to come!

More Fun at Scribbles & Dribbles

I wanted to post some pictures of what Parker is doing/learning in Scribbles & Dribbles. The theme for this semester is Nursery Rhymes (and books) so each week we have a story to read and a song to sing that goes along with the art project for that week. But before class starts, kids are free to paint on the easels:

So, last week was "Rock-A-Bye-Baby" week and Parker painted the face of his baby and then we put on the eyes, mouth, nose and hair. And then we used sponges, stamps and rollers to decorate the blanket:

The first week was "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" week (based on the book) and Parker hand-painted the bear with the flavored brown paint that I spoke of previously. Last week, after the bear dried, we put the eyes and nose on. We also laced up and stuffed the bear. We have a cut-out of each animal (see all the cut-outs below) that is referenced in the book:

Each week the kids are given different tools to paint with. This week they used fly swatters, dish scrubbers and a loofah sponge. Parker seems to enjoy himself and I have finally calmed down a little. When it's time to go home, I tell Parker to go thank Ms. Marjorie for a fun class. He always goes over and gives her a hug and tells her bye-bye. CUTE!

Football with the Pfenning Family

I wanted to share this picture because it makes me say "grrrrrr". Paula, Deon and Ian invited us over last night to eat dinner and watch the Steelers and Jets play. Before going over there, I was teaching Parker how to put his hands up in the air and say "touchdown". He finally started doing it and I was so excited to show Bryan what I taught him. So, when we went over to see the Pfenning family, Parker showed them what he learned. However, for this picture everyone else is doing the touchdown sign except Parker.....GRRRrrrrr!!!!

New Words

Tark (shark)
Tur-tle (turtle)
Torry (sorry)
Par-Par (when I ask him what his name is)
Preese (please)
Juice (anything that is liquid)
Tain-too (thank you)

Playing at the DMS

Last week before S&D we checked out the children's section of the science museum. Here are some of the things we saw:

Children's Aquarium @ Fair Park: Sharks

And then we checked out the outdoor shark tank:

VERY fun day....I can't wait to take Bryan (and some out-of-town guests)!

Children's Aquarium @ Fair Park: Stingrays

And then we went outside to see the stingrays and sharks. You can feed the stingrays but we didn't do it this time. The stingrays were very friendly (meaning they swim up next to the glass when people approach):

This is what happens when you don't feed the stingrays and they are really hungry:

Parker didn't care much for being splashed (especially when it's 35 degrees outside) but he really enjoyed looking at all of the sea-life.

Children's Aquarium @ Fair Park

Today we went to the Children's Aquarium at Fair Park (not to be mistaken for the Dallas World Aquarium). This aquarium has been at Fair Park for years but was recently remodeled and updated. There are a lot of fun things to do: touch tank (where Parker got to touch a snail, hermit crab and rock lobster), lots of fish and sea creatures to look at, a stingray feeding area and an open shark tank.

A Glance @ Last Week

I am a little behind on posting but since Bryan was out of town last week and because I slept all weekend, this was the last thing on my mind. So, here are a few pictures from our week:

First attempt at Play-Doh....this face means that he is going to put it in his mouth even though I asked him not to...

I introduced the color blue.....I found several things around the house and put it on his table. He mainly knows blue as the color of Bryan's car and the color of his ceiling...

And then on Thursday we went to storytime at the Frisco Library....we got there 30 minutes early by mistake so we had to wait patiently outside until they opened the doors:

Sci-Tech Discovery Center Video: Last One

Sci-Tech Discovery Center Video: Wood Activities

Sci-Tech Discovery Center Video: Square Wheels

And Then There Was Sunday...

Since Bryan was feeling better today, he let me sleep until 10am, took Parker and me to lunch and then we went to the Sci-Tech Discovery Center in Frisco. We had a fun day!

I got 4 pictures at the Sci-Tech Center before the battery in my camera went dead....boo! The center was so fun and there were a lot of things for Parker to do. We will be going back very soon!

Once we got home, Parker and me met Cheryl and Luke at the yogurt shop (again!) so Bryan could nap. The last picture is of the boys being silly. They were laughing so hard because they could see themselves in the base of the table. Silly!

Bryan will be leaving tomorrow for Atlanta so I pray that he is 100% by then and that we all stay well until he returns!