Oh, the Places We Go...

3 months

2009-05-24T18:40:00.001-07:00

Sayonara, Subaru!

2009-05-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY sold Matt's car and may soon be making the switch to a mini van! Wow...I never thought I could see myself driving a mini van, but I am actually looking forward to the room! I really hope we find one! I will miss Ryan telling (or yelling at) his daddy to "Go fast, Daddy...GO FAST!" from the back seat of the Subaru! I don't think he'll be pushing the pedal in the van!

My Little Cowboy

2009-05-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

3 things Ryan loves - 1) his cowboy hat (he also has a galloping stick pony he rides around the house and an extra cowboy hat he likes for us to wear), 2) Curious George (he would wear this shirt everyday if he could) and 3) his Crocs (he will occasionally still put them on the wrong feet).

Reading Time

2009-05-16T09:48:00.001-07:00

I put Jacob on the sofa in his Bumbo this morning and Ryan jumped up there and started "reading" his "I'm a Big Brother" book to him...

...and then he got down and kissed him.

Enjoying the Outdoors

2009-05-16T09:24:00.001-07:00

Ryan loves playing with his bubble maker lawnmower...especially when daddy is outside cutting the grass, too. He will push it around the yard for hours. I wonder if he really thinks he is cutting the grass?

What a swing! Many days Ryan doesn't want to change out of his pajamas, so he ends up in the backyard playing in them...it is getting a little hot to stay in them these days though!

Everytime we color with the sidewalk chalk Ryan wants us to draw a bus...he has been very fasinated with buses for a while and has several different ones he likes to play with. When we were outside the other day and I drew with him all over the concrete, he kept telling me "Good job, Mom, good job". It was so sweet!

What a Face!

2009-05-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

Good Night Brother

2009-05-14T16:21:00.001-07:00

Ryan likes to climb into Jacob's crib and tell him goodnight...I don't think Jacob liked it as much this time from the face he is making! Jacob is now sleeping in the boy's room (for the most part) and it is hilarious to listen through the monitor as Ryan talks to Jacob...as if they totally understand each other.

Mother's Day

2009-05-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed my Mother's Day with all the boys! We went to church (although we only made it a few minutes before we ended up in the cry room because Ryan was talking loudly and calling for his daddy and Jacob was crying - oh well!), took long naps and ate dinner with good friends. I feel incredibly blessed to be a mom and many times can't believe these two boys are mine. They are precious and God is good to entrust them to me!

Buck Creek Festival

2009-05-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

Matt, Dan, MC, Daniel, Olivia, Evelyn, Ann Marie,
Ryan and me (with Jacob)

Matt and Dan listening to the band

Sweet Daniel enjoying his drink

Someone enjoyed their nachos & cheese!

Saturday we spent part of the day at the Buck Creek Festival with some of our best friends, the Godfreys. It was great to be with them enjoying good food, good music (Act of Congress) and good weather! All the kids did great playing on the playground and shopping at the vendor booths!

Sweet Jacob

2009-05-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

Jacob is cooing and smiling so much now, but I can never seem to capture it! My camera is very slow these days... He is just so much fun and Ryan is enjoying him more and more. Although, he does tell him to "Be patient" and "Calm down" when he starts crying. I wonder where he gets that??

Brotherly Love

2009-05-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

It melts my heart when Ryan asks to hold Jacob or tries to pick him up or kisses him when I don't ask. (Although, in the same moment he could throw a ball at him or squeeze his hands or feet!) Oh, I love these boys!

4 Generations

2009-05-12T18:38:00.001-07:00

Ryan, Pop, Granddaddy Dover, Matt and Jacob

Caught playing on Granddaddy Dover's lawnmower!

Enjoying some snuggle time with Nana

Matt's parents came into town recently and we enjoyed some family time with grandparents, great grandparents and cousins! I wish we had more times together with them! We miss you Nana and Pop!

2 Months

2009-05-12T18:31:00.001-07:00

The past two months have flown by and it has been wonderful being at home with my boys. I know I have the best job in the world! (Although, it has been almost three months since Jacob was born, but these were taken at two months! Three month pics to come very soon!)

Hanging with Friends

2009-05-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

Aunt Tracy and Logan getting the kite ready to fly

Jack, Caleb, Logan, Ryan and Ben on the slide

"Cabub" and Ryan in the jeep

Since school was out for our friends, we met them at Spain Park to fly kites and play on the playground. It was a beautiful day and Ryan did not want to leave! He is very attached to Caleb and talks about him all the time!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-11T18:44:00.001-07:00

Easter Sunday was a great day. Ryan enjoyed playing with his bathtub crayons and watching his Leap Frog DVD that the Easter bunny left him. We had a wonderful sermon and great worship at church and realized how thankful we are for our church family. Ryan did really well sitting in church and Jacob slept the entire time!! And, we ended our day at my parent's house for dinner.

Egg Hunt

2009-04-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

This was our second year to attend Helena's Annual Easter Egg Hunt. It was a little cold, but it was fun to see all the toddlers trying to figure out what to do! Ryan was a little unsure at first, but managed to collect a few eggs. I think his favorite part was the cookies and juice at the end!

Easter Egg Fun!

2009-04-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Since the forecast called for rain on Friday, I planned an indoor project with Ryan dying Easter eggs. He really enjoyed it...it wasn't too messy and we only ended up with a few cracked eggs!

Trying to decide with color to use...

Patiently waiting for the egg to dye...

An orange egg for Jacob!

A Day Out with Thomas

2009-04-10T17:16:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went on our first family outing (besides the park!) to the Heart of Dixie Railroad in Calera to see Thomas the Train. This year Ryan has become fascinated with trains...he has a train table set up in the living room, train sheets on his toddler bed, several train books that he loves to read over and again and Thomas the Train pajamas that we can't get off him! And, when we get stopped by a train, he loves to tell us the names of the train cars as they pass...hopper cars, gondola cars, flat cars and "boose"...it is very cute!

We had a great day riding the trains, having our picture made with Sir Topham Hatt, feeding the animals at the petting zoo (Ryan especially loved the goats) and eating lots of fair food! Jacob loved being snuggled up to mommy in the sprout pouch and slept the entire time. It was a beautiful day and so fun to be together with the family!

Our Family of Four

2009-04-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to start this blog since Ryan was born (over two years ago!) and am sad that I am just now getting to it. But, I figured there is no better time than with the birth of our new son, Jacob Parks!

Jacob is already seven weeks old and growing like a weed. We went to the doctor and weighed him yesterday and he has almost doubled his birth weight! He started tummy time at two weeks and by four weeks he had already rolled over three times (I am such a proud mommy!).

Ryan has started to adjust to having another person in the house and sharing his parents attention. The first couple of weeks were challenging, but he is enjoying "helping" me with "Jabub". He helps give him a bottle, enjoys holding him and likes to put his pacifier back in his mouth when he has cried too loud or too long! I think he is going to be a great big brother!

I have really enjoyed being at home with our boys and I look forward to our adventures as a family of four!