Parker's first birthday: Part two

The fun continued through the weekend celebrating Parker's first birthday! We headed out to the ranch on Friday and my parents, grandparents and Ryan and his family drove up from Dallas for the fun! It was so special having them all there!

James's family was there as well, we had the whole gang!! It was the most beautiful weekend, not too hot, sunny and just perfect! Not only did we celebrate Parker, but we had plenty of pool time, riding four wheelers, games in the evenings and of course, tons of food!! It was a fabulous weekend!

My birthday boy eating his first "Flinson". A family recipe that is like a cross between a pancake and a crepe. It's tradition to have them on Saturday mornings.

Everyone just hung out and played Saturday morning. This is Leah with her eye on the pool!

And there she goes!

Bad shadows I know, but here is Mema and Papa enjoying the arbor by the pool.

Me and my sweet mom

Ryan and mom

Ruben and Olivia

Their little "bunny" is due August 4th!

My water dog doing her laps in the pool. She gets in and swims laps back and forth from end to end. She is part otter I always tell her.

Dad filling up the basketball goal...some serious games take place in this pool!

For the birthday lunch we had grilled chicken sandwiches on ciabatta rolls with basil pesto, roasted red bell peppers and avocado...a delicious sandwich if I do say so myself! :)

Love the colors of the fruit salad

Sweet boy enjoying his lunch

Mommy and daddy with the birthday boy

The little barnyard cake and cupcakes I made!

This picture cracks me up! It's like he's licking his chops and knows exactly what his plan of attack is going to be! By the end of this whole deal, we were all laughing until we were crying!

A little dip of the finger and taste of icing.

Forget using my hands...

I'm going for it!!

Awesome!

I'd say he enjoyed every single bite!

We went straight to the bath tub after this!

I have video of this...does anyone know how to take video from my little Sony camcorder and put it on my blog??

Present time!

It was really me doing all the opening, Parker was busy chewing on the cards and playing with the bows!

Parker and Leah having some serious fun in their own little pool!

They provided some great entertainment for everyone! :)

This was Mema and Papa's first trip to the ranch, it was so much fun having them there to join in on the fun!

Cute Mema in the mule.

James, Ruben and Steve launching the canoe into one of the ponds.

A Saturday at the ranch can't be complete without a project!

Wee! Ruben looks a little scared going in!

One of the overflow pipes was clogged, James was trying to unclog it with a pool pole...he was successful!

Mom, Carrie, Mema and Leah watching the fun!

Sweet niece!

Neesie and her grandbabies.

The ranch house

I love how green everything is! The ranch has had 16 inches of rain since the beginning of the year!

View of the pool house from the ranch house yard.

Parker and Friday watching all the action! He will be on a tractor or mower helping out before I can blink an eye. :(

Hot hubby on the tractor

Parker's first birthday: Part one

Our baby boy turned one on Saturday the 29th! (tear) I can't even begin to describe the joy that this first year has been filled with! We are so honored that God chose us to be Parker's parents and He continues to bless us each and every day!

This weekend was jam packed with family, friends, fun and food!! To kick off Parker's big birthday weekend we had a "friends party" at our house on Thursday. All of Parker's little friends who are also about to turn one, came over to the house for a barnyard themed party! Parker loved having his friends over, he clapped his hands as he saw them walking through the door! The weather was perfect for a fun picnic out in the back yard. Here are some party pics...

Decorations!

These were the party favors set out in the entry hall so our guests could take one when they left.

I had baby trail mix in the cow pails.

It consisted of Cheerios, Gerber puffs and dried fruit bits.

The food table

Cupcakes!

I make carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, the babies loved them!!

These were the food labels I made that I placed in front of all the dishes.

We had pasta salad, chicken nuggets, fruit salad and pimiento cheese sandwiches.

Parker was SO excited when his friends started arriving!

Jackie with Maddie and Elizabeth with little Reese

Julie with Chloe and Heidi with Jack

Parker devoured his cupcake

He's thinking where has this been my whole life??

Family pic

James came home from work to join in on the fun!

Opening presents

What a year sweet Parker! You truly have been the best baby and mommy and daddy can't believe you are basically a toddler now. You are growing up so fast and are learning new things every single day! As of your first birthday you...

* say "dadadada" I am STILL waiting on "mamamama"

* cruise around the furniture

* just starting waiving

* clap your hands when I sing "If you're happy and you know it..."

* eat anything I put in front of you

* just started milk, you're not too sure about the flavor

* are still nursed at night, we just dropped the morning feeding, you're on your way to being weaned!!

* are the fastest crawler I've ever seen

* still sleep 12 hours at night and nap 21/2 hours in the afternoon

* smile all the time

* are still trying to cut your two front top teeth

* LOVE the water, bath tub or swimming pool, your head is in the water

We love you Parker and we look forward to many more happy birthdays!!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

On the move!

Parker is one active little guy these days! He no longer wants me to hold and cuddle him, if he's in my lap he wants DOWN so he can take off! It makes me kind of sad to think the days of just rocking him whenever I wanted are over. He's growing up fast and he keeps me on my toes for sure! :)

He LOVES the vacuum cleaner! I mean, when I pull it out of the closet, he squeals in delight and claps his hands. He follows it all over the house!

In the box.

I have to put him in his play pen so I can sweep/mop the floors, he loves to follow that around too!

My water baby!

Yes, he lays down in the water on his own as if he's trying to float on his back!

Pretty days

I know I haven't posted in a while, it's been too pretty outside to sit at the computer!!

Last week Parker was sick with hand, foot and mouth disease. Anyone ever heard of that?? I hadn't and was shocked to hear the diagnosis. Poor baby had blisters on his hands, feet and inside his mouth. He screamed when I tried to feed him and he had an upset tummy because it's actually a stomach virus. Anyway, we had to stay away from other kiddos for a week and thankfully we are back to normal this week!

The weather has been beautiful here (except for the wind). We've spent the pretty days playing outside, running with the jogger, taking Waco to the park and just playing on a blanket in the yard to enjoy the warm weather! Here are some pics to show you what we've been up to!

Beyond excited about his lunch!!

Loves to chew on my iphone. This would be his favorite toy if I would let it!

Kisses to Waco

Don't worry, there was actually no mouth to nose contact here.

He has just learned to throw his toys, it's hilarious to watch!

Big throw!

What a patient dog.

Somebody help me!

Our favorite song is

"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands". He LOVES to clap. In fact, when I go into his room in the mornings, he's always sitting up, smiling and clapping! Love my morning baby!

And now we're ready for bed! No clapping goes on after bath time! :)