10 months old

Oh my goodness, where is the time going and how did my baby get so big?? Parker, you are TEN months old now and like I say every month, I can't believe it! You are so stinkin fun and cute, I'm not sure how you can get any cuter!! You are pure joy every single day and it's so much fun to watch you learn and grow. You are my little explorer, on the move ALL the time! Crawling has opened up a whole new world for you and it's just precious to watch you on the go.

This month you...

* Are into EVERYTHING!

* Are trying to cut your top two teeth.

* Cry when I put you down for nap or at night, you just don't want to stop exploring for sleep!

* Love to give kisses (this entails sucking on our chin)

* Are still the best eater, you eat anything I give you. Mangoes and yogurt are two new favorites.

* Are trying to pull up on just about anything you can get your hands on, I even caught you in the M&M bowl on the coffee table the other day...you're a man after my own heart, love that chocolate!!

* Seem very aware of faces, you cry when a stranger comes up and talks to us.

* Are still the happiest baby ever and you self entertain so well!

Parker, you are so much fun and such a blessing from God! I'm so grateful daddy and I were chosen to be your parents! We love you and happy 10 months!

Here are some pics of what you've been up to (most of these were taken with my I phone, so the quality isn't that great)...

My ten month old handsome baby!

Still loves going on walks in the jogger!

Enjoying warmer weather outside!

Such a big help in the kitchen!

Pulling up on the window sill

Look what I can do!

I cleared off the bottom shelves of our baker's rack and now it has become a fun climbing toy!

Yikes!!

Spring Break in Dallas!

Once again Parker and I hopped on a Southwest flight and headed down to Dallas to spend Spring break week with my family while sweet James worked and held down the fort in Amarillo! Oh how good it was to see my family and feel those warm temps! Dallas is in full bloom and I love it!!

We were on the go non-stop while we were there. We hit the arboretum, shopped North Park Mall, Grapevine Mills, and shops in Colleyville, had portraits made of Parker, pedicures, haircut, biked White Rock Lake, visited grandparents, ate good food and enjoyed being together!! Needless to say, Parker and I are worn out from our trip, but it's the good kind of exhaustion from too much fun!! Parker came home with tons of cute Spring/Summer clothes, I can't wait to see him in all his new outfits. Thanks mom and dad for such a great time and for spoiling us while we were home!!

On the airplane heading to Dallas!

Aunt Carrie, Leah and Ryan came over to visit us!

Parker and Leah playing together. I think they look alike here!

Arriving at the Arboretum Sunday afternoon.

Toy in hand and ready to go!

First taste of dirt!

Kisses

Aunt Sissy and Parker

Pretty

The waterfall is one of my favorite things out there!

My beautiful sister

Grandad entertaining Parker with the waterfall

Family

Cute boy!

Peekaboo!

Stylin

Grandad and Neesie with Parker

Love that picture!

So Lindsey made my son look like a homeboy in Gymboree, very cool sis! :)

My all time favorite lunch...a delicious salad at La Madeleine in the middle of North Park Mall!

Happy boy! He's a good shopper!

This is one of my favorite portraits we had made!

Visiting Grandad at his office

Going over a set of plans together

Lindsey and I rode around White Rock Lake Wednesday afternoon. It was beautiful and it was one of my very favorite things to do when we lived there!

Visiting Dede in the nursing home. He is still recovering from a stroke there.

Cute cousins...Leah was pulling Parker's hair!

Mema and Papa came over to tell us bye. We were sad to leave as always!

Fresh

I don't know about you, but this time of year when the weather starts warming up and Spring fever hits, I get so ready to ditch my comfort food recipes I've been eating all winter and make something fresh! Lately I've been busting out my spring/summer recipes and cooking them and it has been SO delightful! I am so over eating casseroles and bowls of chili for a while! :)

The recipe I am sharing with you today came from this website: www.epicurious.com. It is called Island Pork Salad and the flavors truly make you feel as if you are eating something tropical. The ingredients are so fresh and work very well together. I encourage you to add this to your menu this spring/summer, it's just too good and healthy to pass up! Of course I can't just follow a recipe exactly, I have to change it a bit! Ha! I only used spinach and didn't add Napa cabbage and I halved it for just the two of us. Those were the only changes.

Here are the main ingredients...pork tenderloin, spinach, avocado, red bell pepper, an orange, golden raisins and a random lime that is used for the dressing.

The only thing I'm not showing you are the ingredients for the dressing (easy) as well as the pork glaze (brown sugar and garlic).

The lighting is bad here, but look at those colors! So inviting and delicious!

I added roasted almonds for another punch of flavor.

In the meantime...

Parker got haircut #5! I assured Junior today that I would not be bringing my camera to Parker's haircuts for the rest of his life! :) As usual, Parker did a great job. He sat there like a pro and let Junior cut away!

Mom, really, stop taking pictures of this!

I think it's funny how you can see James and I watching him in the reflection of the mirror!

Getting brushed off

Home again, home again, jiggity jog!

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