Brothers and Friends

 

I know I'm biased, but when I sneak up on these two enjoying spending time with each other it melts my heart and gives me hope for what's in store for them as both brothers and friends.

A Boy and His Dog

 

There is a new dog in the house. No, both Olive and Parker's beloved Brown Dog still live here. But Conway has discovered his own stuffed dog and although he hasn't named it yet, Parker is referring to it as - wait for it - "Conway's Brown Dog". We love Parker for many reasons, creativity in his name selection is just one of them. Conway has recently been known to drag his dog around the house with him and see below as he gives it hugs. And then look below that for the smack down that followed. Love can be a tricky thing, people.

 

  

Night-Night

 

Seriously, how sweet is this little boy all cuddled up next to Brown Dog and sleeping under his "Go Cougs" blanket!?

Parker finally decided that he was ready to give up his sleep sack. Yes, this was probably overdue, but Parker had become very attached to sleeping that way. It basically became uncomfortably too short for him to wear, though, and I suggested he sleep under a blanket instead. He use to sleep with this blanket, but recently removed it from his crib because he would just get frustrated when it inevitably became a crumpled mess. The reintroduction of the blanket has taken on a new format, though. We tuck it into the edges of his crib while he lays there. We're basically making the bed with him in it and the most remarkable thing has happened. This kid who was previously known to basically do gymnastics for an extended period of time in bed before finally falling asleep is now laying there nice and still as he drifts into dreamland. David came home from a work trip late one recent night and went in to give Parker's blanket a re-tuck (or at least that was his excuse - I'm pretty sure he just wanted to see him because he missed him). In addition to giving him a couple of kisses, he also snapped this precious shot. Next transition, turning his crib into a big boy bed. I know, we can hardly handle the suspense.

Balls or Vehicles?

 

I think it was our friend Tiffany who once told me that boys in particular are usually either into vehicles or balls. Although Parker enjoys kicking or throwing a ball from time to time, his first love is definitely cars and trucks and anything that goes. Conway plays with a lot of cars because he wants to play with anything Parker is playing with, but the look of pure joy on his face when he was playing with this ball leads me to believe that he's going to be a ball kid. I know the pictures are pretty fuzzy, but I think that just further illustrates how excited Conway is by this ball.

 

 

 

Potty Trained!!

 

I think we can officially say that Parker is potty trained. As you can see by the multiple sticker charts, it has taken some time to get here. He started out by earning stickers that then resulted in prizes. Now we've graduated to just stickers, which Parker seems equally as pleased with. Below you'll see him telling me about each of his stickers. He's pretty proud of himself and anyone else who uses the toilet. It's very sweet, but telling me how proud he is of me when we're in a public bathroom can get a bit of laughter from the neighboring stalls. This kid!

 

 

Snow at Maison Rouge

 

Chelan in the winter is obviously a very different experience than Chelan in the summer, but it's still filled with lots of fun - especially when you're there with some of your favorite people. We recently got to spend a long weekend in Chelan with Sarah, Matt, Philip, and Samantha (also known as the Camas Johnsons). The outdoor pool is clearly not an option in this weather, but in addition to dips in the hot tub, cold and snowy Chelan had lots to keep us busy.

 

As always, there were seemingly endless trips around the loop on bikes/tricycles/scooters. Parker tended to get a little distracted by the piles of snow, but riding down the big hill in front of the house is still his favorite pastime.

 

 

 

Flag football and soccer in the field kept the heart rate up in freezing cold weather. I'm pretty sure Parker still doesn't know the point of the game, though, because as soon as he gets the football he runs a few steps and then falls to the ground as he yells "TACKLE!!".  

 

   

Philip and David had very different visions for how to use the piles of snow on the back patio.

 

 

Here is Philip preparing for an upcoming snowball fight.

 

 And the perfect evening activity/dessert? S'mores!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Of course the snow really started to fall as we were getting ready to head back home. Bye Bye Snow! Bye Bye Maison Rouge! Bye Bye Chelan!

Conway is Eleven Months Old

Conway hasn't shown many big changes this month. As he nears his first birthday, Conway continues to be full of smiles and full of energy. Also...

 

He's still...cruising around as he holds onto couches, chairs, and coffee tables. He hasn't stood on his own or taken any unassisted steps, but he's definitely getting more stable. A couple of times he's looked like he was about to keep going when he got to the end of the coffee table, but then he stopped, dropped to all fours, and scurried like a little beetle across the floor just like all the other times. He can crawl pretty darn fast so I think the incentive for him to switch to walking isn't really there.

 

He's still...just as opinionated as ever, which means changing his diaper or clothes is as challenging as ever. Usually Conway can be distracted by toys for some amount of time, but even that isn't foolproof. The kid just doesn't like to be restrained. I guess I can't really blame him.

 

He's still... eating like a champ. Conway can eat most of what the rest of the family eats now as long as I cut it up small enough. The trickiest foods are actually those that are the softest because he has a difficult time picking them up without them turning to mush on his tray (i.e. ripe bananas and pears). We're still feeding him spoonfulls of puréed baby food at each meal as he devours finger food on his own. He'll pretty much eat anything that's put in front of him although his current favorites are cheese, garbanzo beans, and Cheerios. He also loves scrambled cheesy eggs (see previous Eggs! Yum! post) and meatballs (he ate about seven small turkey meatballs in one sitting the other day). Although he eats basically everything, he definitely voices his opinion about his favorites by picking those out of the mix on his tray first before moving on to the less desirable options.

 

He's still... sleeping pretty well and taking two naps each day, but those two naps are slowly getting further and further apart. It will actually be much easier when Conway switches to one nap so that he and Parker are more in line, but we aren't there yet. So getting two naps in and still being able to fall asleep at a normal time at night is going to be a little awkward for a while. He's also still babbling/grunting/whining a little bit at some point during the night most nights. I'm not even sure if he's awake when he does this, but I am. While I'm laying there I like to imagine that the babbling is him telling me he loves me. I'm sure that's it.

 

He's still... SO CUTE!! Am I right?!

  

 

Parker at 11 Months

 

 

Super Bowl ILIX

 

We just spent Super Bowl weekend at Maison Rouge in Chelan with the Camas Johnsons (aka Sarah, Matt, Philip, and Samantha). More documentation of the fun weekend will be covered in a later post, but here are a couple of photos that capture our feelings during the big game.

  

beginning of the game

 

end of the game

It was a tough one in the end, but we still love our Seahawks. So, until next year -
Go Hawks!!