News Flash!

Today in Amarillo, TX it was 72 degrees, yes you read that right, 72 degrees!!!! Bust out the swimsuits and sunscreen! Ha! I am a NUT for warm/hot weather so therefore today was an awesome day! No more snow on the ground, the sun was out and that meant we were outside for a good chunk of the afternoon!

Of course we headed off to the park for a very long walk and to let Waco run her little heart out. While we were there, the swings on the playground caught my eye. Parker has never sat in a "park swing" before, so we gave it a shot and he LOVED it!

We are going to pray for continued warm weather and sunny skies. I know, I know, this is Amarillo and it's been known to snow in May before, so my hopes aren't up too high, but I'm still lovin this weather! :)

It's going to be a great day!

Ready to roll!

He really did like it, he was focused on Waco.

(It was super windy)

What's down there?

This was our set up just a couple of weeks ago when is was COLD! :(

Still smiling though!

Just a cute, random pic from lunch the other day!

He adores those Cheerios!

9 months old!

It's a weird month, there is no 29th to February so we are celebrating Parker's 9 month birthday today, March 1st! It's a great day anyway, we made it to March...Spring is SO close!

Sweet Parker, you are 9 months old today! You are getting so big, sometimes I look at you in your crib and notice how much of it you take up now. Your little personality is so much fun and is really starting to show.
This month...

* You are on the move!! You are crawling all over the place and you love to follow us around!

* You still love sweet potatoes and really anything I put in your mouth these days. Mommy has had fun getting creative with making your food.

* You're the best self entertainer! You don't mind playing in the floor all by yourself for "long" periods of time while mommy makes dinner.

* You say "dadadadada" all the time but we have no idea if you really associate that with daddy. I'm holding out for "mamamama" one of these days! :)

* You love your big boy car seat and just stare out the window when we go places, as if you're taking in all the scenery. You have become so aware of your surroundings.

* You are ready to go to bed at 6:30 pm, my little early bird!

* Pulling up on things is your newest trick, it's so much fun to watch you grow and learn!

Mommy and daddy love you SO much and we are so blessed to be your parents!

My big 9 month old, sitting still for just a moment!

What's that behind me?

On the move!

Pulling up on his toy

Parker's girlfriend, Blair

(yes, she was yanking on his shirt!)

The three musketeers

Jack, Blair and Parker

Holy Moly Macaroni!

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE to cook and get excited over finding and trying new recipes. I want to share this fabulous recipe I made the other night so others can take part in this goodness! I took a mac and cheese recipe from Cooking Light and jazzed it up a bit and it was so delicious! It's really easy, don't be scared by the list of ingredients

Bacon, Ranch Mac and Cheese (with some flare)

4 teaspoons flour

11/2 cups milk

2 cups of any cheese you like (I used a combo of fontina, sharp cheddar and mozzerella)

1/4 c. sliced green onion

1/2 c. Bacon bits (the real kind not the fake Bacos)

1/2 can of diced tomatoes drained

1/4 c. chopped roasted bell pepper (these come in a jar usually found in the olive/relish aisle)

1-2 c. spinach

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t dried dill

1/2 t onion powder

a dash of Lawry's seasoning salt

12 oz elbow macaroni

Cook macaroni according to pkg directions. During the last 2 minutes of cooking time, throw spinach into water and let it wilt and then drain it all together.

In a large saucepan whisk the milk and flour together. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 1 minute, it will thicken at this point. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool. Stir in cheeses then add seasonings, onions, bell peppers, bacon and tomatoes. Pour pasta and spinach into cheese mixture and stir until coated. Pour into a greased baking dish and top with more cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes.

If you like a more simple mac and cheese then by all means leave out the "confetti" as James calls it. We both loved the flavor of this and by the way, the ranch flavor comes from the dill, onion and garlic powders, no bottled dressing involved!

Another side note, start the sauce right when you start cooking the pasta, that way they'll finish around the same time! ENJOY, this is something else!!

YUM!!

Nursery Duty

Today at church it was our turn for nursery duty. We got assigned to Parker's Sunday school class which was extra fun because we got to see him and his friends play and interact together. Of course I came armed with my camera to capture our fun! There were only two other babies there today, so we got to spend some great one on one time with them. We also got to witness one of the funniest things I've ever seen... Parker's friend, Tate, doesn't crawl, he scoots. He seriously sits on his bottom and takes his hands on the floor and scoots himself to where he needs to go. James and I got a kick out of watching this, it was too cute! The other hilarious thing was the "bye bye buggy". This buggy cracks me up every time I see it in the halls at church. The pictures just don't do it justice!

Who knew nursery duty could be so entertaining?? :)

First time to see bubbles!

They were a big hit!

Buggy time!

Every Sunday they go to the kindergarten room to do "music class".

Let's roll!

It's even more funny when the whole buggy is full! So cute!

A Whole New World!

It's true, Parker is officially crawling and the world as we know it is over! For weeks he's been up on all fours rocking back and forth but as of this past Wednesday, he finally figured it out.

It actually happened in the gym nursery. The sweet old lady who keeps Parker every morning while I workout is named Marla. Parker LOVES Marla and she is so good with him. I was in spin class and when it was over, Marla was standing at the door motioning for me to come over. It scared me at first because I thought something was wrong, but she wanted me to come watch Parker crawl! I was beside myself, I couldn't believe what I was seeing!

Now anytime I put him down, he's on the move which is so weird because I'm used to him just staying right where I put him! Ha! Those days are over and our world has changed!! On our agenda this weekend: lower crib mattress (he's trying to pull up too), cover outlets, install cabinet latches, etc. Go Parker go! :)

Hey mom!

There he goes!

Focused on a toy

Got it!

Going after my heels I kicked off after church!

My parents were here last weekend and completely missed Parker crawling since he decided to start on Wednesday. So these videos are for you mom and dad and anyone else who wants to listen to me act like a goofball trying to get him to crawl for the camera! By the way, am I the only one who hates the sound of her own voice when I hear it played back??

Fun Weekend!!

What a FUN weekend it has been! The fun started when I got to babysit Parker's bff, Jack, on Friday afternoon. The boys had so much fun playing together, Parker even made several grunts at Jack, just like he was telling him something very important, too cute!

Then Friday night mom and dad flew in for the weekend. We had so much fun just hanging out, eating good food, and running errands together. Dad and James even found some "handy man" projects to get into. They installed a new faucet at our kitchen sink and mounted something on the wall in the garage.

Mom and dad got their Parker fix which was so fun to watch! We had big plans of making homemade pizza and watching the Super Bowl together on Sunday night, but their flight for Monday morning got cancelled (more winter weather) so they had to leave Sunday night. :( As always it was sad to see them go, but we're already counting down until Parker and I fly to Dallas in March!! Here are some pics from the weekend...

CUTE boys!!

Sweet Jack Hickman

Some serious playing going on

I know that thing is supposed to go in my mouth!

Playing in the floor Saturday morning.

Mommy and her little man

Neesie and Parker

I know I've talked about her before on my blog, but here I go again. If you don't know the Pioneer Woman, please do yourself a favor and visit the cooking section of her blog. These cinnamon rolls (pre -icing) are make your face sweat good! I mean they were SO delicious!!! I probably could have rolled them out thinner because they just kept rising, but the bigger the better right? Go ahead and splurge, try them!!

This weekend I also made her homemade salsa and baked beans, both of these are a must try, especially the salsa!!

Good morning, where are my cinnamon rolls??

Showing off his skills

Posing for Neesie's camera

Waco just hoping that someone will throw her ball. She is driving us NUTS, she's been inside because of the snow and her energy level keeps building!

In the zone...drooling and trying to crawl at the same time, tough work!

Neesie and Grandad about to go to the airport. :(

Family pic

Haircut time!

It was time once again for Parker to have another haircut, number four to be exact! I'm pretty sure there aren't many 8 month olds out there that have had four haircuts! :) Since Junior's barber shop is in the bottom of James's office building, he gets to come down and take part!

As always, Parker did great! We plopped him in his Bumbo chair and set it up on the big barber chair and Junior worked his magic. He actually said his hair is coming in even thicker. I promise you our next child will be completely bald because Parker took all the hair genes!! (our next one will be a bald baby girl, do you know how much fun I could be having with bows right now??)

He was little nervous at first, he even poked his lower lip out a couple of times before Junior got started.

Daddy reminding Parker that he's done this before and that it's FUN! :)

I'm good as long as I can see my mom and hang onto my toy.

Having a little more fun now.

OK , good to go!!

I forgot to take a finished product shot, I'll have to post one later! He sure is handsome!