fall happenings.

as each season approaches i think "hooray, we barely have anything planned...we can relax!" 

then fall arrives (or spring, summer or winter)

and i realize that we have quite the list of events and things to do

equaling not much time to relax.

this fall was no different...we've been busy with youth group, youth group events and activities, work, cooking auction dinners, travel, birthday parties...plus working in time for fun and naps ;)

it's been busy.

and of course we have to fit in time for post nap snuggles, ball chasing, eating lots of cherrios ;)

we are trying to enjoy every moment of parker at the age he is...he is too much fun and reminds us daily of how grateful we are!

we currently are gearing up for thanksgiving, a visit from garth and mary, and heading into winter (december is always full of youth group, xmas parties, and hopefully snuggles by the fireplace!)

thought i would share some of our favorite pictures from this fall.

happy fall! 

meeting lincoln.

this weekend we headed out to richland to meeting the newest family member, lincoln!

we drove out on friday evening.

parker entertained us with babble, whining, and finally falling into a deep sleep.

we checked into a hotel on friday night and geared up to meet lincoln on saturday!

we went over to the mcg's first thing on saturday with coffee and breakfast.

discovering how to jump on hotel beds!

lincoln was asleep so parker decided buckley was a better playmate!

 we hung out all saturday. parker napped in lincoln's crib.

we went out to dinner...yum!

 parker found buckley's cage awesome!

 sooo windy on saturday...came back to the hotel to huge piles of leaves!

 so what does this kid do?

 lunch!

 uncle andy and aunt allysha

sunday was more visiting, church and lunch!

it was so great to meet lincoln and hang out!

halloween

we spent wednesday yg with this group...

 the yg had a disney themed fall fun party. it was a blast! everyone costumes were great. we had mary poppins and bert, pirates, minnie mouse, daisy duck, loin king animals, cruella, robin hood, the scare crow (from an old old movie...thanks dean!), the incredibles (us!) and more!

it was soo fun!

 parker was not so sure of dean's scare crow costume...

 can you see why?!?

 he was a very cute jack jack though!

he spent most of his time running around...until the kids started games. he decided it was safer to rest and play with the balloon!

14 months

first of all, sorry its been pretty quiet on the blog front. i've been doing battle with two cameras...neither will let me download the pictures onto the computer :(

i'm super bummed about that...especially since there are some cute ones from the farm!

anyways! parker turned 14 months on sunday! man, time is flying....it feels like he just turned one!

well, here are some cellphone pictures of him in the chair ;)

and some stats!
likes: playing with balls, mega blocks, grilling spatula, yelling and walking, chasing dad around the house, the washer, high fives, you give hugs and kisses! love the park, playing with friends, shaking maracas, reading books
dislikes: being told no, morning naps (down to one :( )
food loves: hummus, pita sandwiches, bananas, fruit, cheerios, anything mom and dad are eating
food dislikes: eggs, brussel sprouts
 teeth: 12? you wont let us get a good look!
height: getting taller! you can't stand under the kitchen table anymore
weight: about the same
  words: mama, dada and lots of gibberish...and yelling

giggles

we had a fun day yesterday.

hopefully I'll be able to download the pictures soon!

in the meantime...a little boy was super tired and giggly all during dinner :)

six years.

yesterday brandon and i celebrated six years of marriage!

well, by celebrated i mean...we slept in til 7:45 (thanks, parker), drank coffee,

went to church, ate greek food, and sat on the couch all afternoon!

it was good for a rainy anniversary day :)

six years.

it's been good. we got married, moved, moved multiple times in the seattle area, we've celebrated, cried, celebrated others marriages, mourned loss, rejoiced in new life, 

traveled, taken looong road trips, camped, made new friends, reconnected with old,

celebrated holidays, changed jobs, watched a lot of sports, ate lots of good food, food made by brandon, food in tasty restaurants, bought a house, bought a car, and not to forgot the most important things....

we loved each other and expanded our family.

six years....it's been so great. i'm so excited for the next 6 and 60.

one year old.

we finally had the 12 month doctor appointment.

whew...shots and crying get worse as they get older.

we survived!

parker loves. loves. loves the fish tank in the waiting room.

stats:

height- 29 inches

weight- 22lbs 8 ounces

head circumference- 46.5cm

this puts him in the 25% for weight, 25% for height, and 50% for head

sorry kid...you've got a big head ;)

labor day.

ahhh. we survived.

brandon and i spent the weekend camping with the jhyg.

parker spent the weekend with the borsts.

we were re-united on sunday afternoon and spent monday relaxing and enjoying the sun!

we headed over to the ballard locks post morning nap.

we were hoping to see some salmon in the fish ladder.

no luck.

just one lonely fish.

parker was excited about the water though.

and pretty pumped about the water/lots of boats combo!

birthday fun...continued

first birthday party.

yesterday we celebrated parker turning one.

hooray!

we had some folks over to celebrate and eat cake...yum!

 mom...is this okay? i just ate the blueberries...what is this white stuff?

 yum!

 tunnel fun!

 new toys!

 I'm one!!

this was my first attempt at a real cake! it was white chocolate blueberry cake with white chocolate buttercream frosting!

so tasty but whoa! next time i'm going to try and cut down some of the sugar and butter ;)

parker loved it but was super hesistant at first. we had to cut the cake before he would even try it!

it was an awesome day spent celebrating our little guy with friends!