You're Suppose To Be Asleep...In Bed!!

 

Yes, that is Parker you see on the video monitor and he is laying on the floor just inside his bedroom door. We had a pretty good run of him staying in bed when we first converted his crib into a toddler bed. Well, we have reached a new phase. This phase sometimes involves Parker climbing out of bed to: A) lay on the floor and look under the door (pictured above); B) come out of his room and stand "quietly" in the hallway; C) wander around the house in the middle of the night and eventually come up to our bedroom. The first two versions are annoying, but relatively harmless. Parker getting out of bed in the middle of the night is scary for a few reasons, one of them being that waking up to find him staring at me mere inches from my face pretty much scares the $#!% out of me. Oh, and he's figured out how to open doors with child locks over the knobs, so there's that. Fun stuff!



Reading with Papa

 

This started out with Parker and David cuddling up to read on the couch together, but of course Conway didn't want to be left out of the action.

 

 

  

Kimiyo's First Birthday Party

 

 

 

Order's Up

 

Parker loves food (usually - although he has gotten quite a bit more picky/particular lately, which I'm not thrilled about, but I digress). He loves talking about food's texture, what it tastes like, and he especially loves smelling it. He also enjoys playing make-believe with food so here he is with our play kitchen. Notice him spreading every piece of food out on the ground. He has so much fun "making food" for us and below you'll see bowls of the cookies he made for himself, Conway, and me.

 

 

Conway & Morgan

 

Conway LOVES dogs. He squeals/screams every time he sees a dog while we're out walking and yet our own dog Olive is not at all interested in the love he wants to share with her. So Conway was the happiest kid on earth when our friends the Hueys let us take care of their dog Morgan while they were on vacation. Morgan is so sweet and put up with a lot of attention (sometimes gentle, sometimes not so much) from both Conway and Parker. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 And of course he was equally as entertained by Morgan's bed.

Shirt Off!

 

Parker went shirtless for this meal. David was out of town, but he would have been so proud.

 

Conway Is Walking!!

 

Okay, so this post is LONG overdue. Conway was trying to walk before he turned one and then finally strung together a series of actual steps the day before he turned 13 months. I'm convinced he would have done that a lot sooner if he didn't have someone constantly knocking him over (ahem Parker). None the less, at 14 months he is now a walking - and dare I say borderline running - machine. He still looks a bit intoxicated as he saunters around and Parker continues to "work on" being gentle and not knock him down, but he's all about walking now. Really, he's all about getting to where he wants, when he wants, how he wants. Conway is motivated and persistent, in the most wonderful and the most painful (for me) ways.

And here's a link to a short video of this crazy walker from a while back if you're interested: 

https://youtu.be/pzTDetWxbQw

Happy Mother's Day

 

I rarely get to see my own mother on Mother's Day, but I am so thankful that I have been able to learn from the very best. I did get to spend the day with my two beautiful sons and their wonderful father, though. It has become our Mother's Day tradition to visit West Seattle's Alki Beach and once again it was a gorgeous day. We played in the sand, threw rocks into the water, kicked soccer balls around, and had a little picnic dinner. Conway wasn't sure what to make of the sand and pretty much decided that he was incapable of walking in it - so he basically stayed put until we spread out a blanket. Parker on the other hand had the time of his life. His only disappointment was that he didn't get to go swimming in the frigid water. For me, the day couldn't have been better - toes in the sand, sun on our faces, and lots of laughter from my three boys.  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

Lil' Kickers Dads

 

  You may have seen last week's Lil' Kickers Bros post - and here are the Lil' Kickers Dads. They're pretty cute too. :-)

 

 

Oh, and check out Conway and Yael waiting for their brothers as they play soccer. Is it just me or does Conway look mischievous and Yael look annoyed to be sitting next to this little boy?

Ice Cream Truck!!

 

We heard the ice cream truck for the first time this year and Parker was SO EXCITED! David, Conway, and Parker rushed out to the front porch to watch for it. We saw it turn down the street next to ours and Parker sat mesmerized. I don't think it was even about eating the ice cream (although obviously he would have enjoyed that too:-). Parker just wanted to see the truck and listen to the music. Love this kid!

 

Where do you think it is Parker?

 

Oh, that way.

 

At one point he said that he needed to get closer to see better. Seriously, love this kid!

Nannabutter and Ants on a Log

 

One of Parker's favorites snacks, the nannabutter (peanut butter spread on a banana in case you aren't familiar), was introduced to us by Uncle Damo. When Uncle Damo found out how big of a hit it was with Parker, we received the below picture via text of him enjoying ants on a log and we had to give it a try. Of course Parker loves it and he especially enjoys helping the ants crawl onto the log. Yum! Thanks Uncle Damo!

 

 

 

Peek-A-Boo

 

Lil' Kickers Bros

{The Three Lil' Kickers Amigos - Santi, Finn, & Parker}

Young Botanist in Training

Parker's Grandma Connie, the soon to be retired science teacher would be so proud. As I was encouraging Parker to ride his bike fast, he instead got off his bike and sat down to inspect the plants next to the sidewalk. He said, "Mama, come over here real quick and feel this plant. It's spiky, but soft. What's it called?" Grandma Connie may be retiring from full time classroom teaching at the end of this year, but I think she has at least one future student who will benefit from her passion and sometimes crazy excitement for our living world. 

Go Rip City!

The ending was not what we had hoped for, but these two (well three if you count Brown Dog) had a pretty good time together rooting for their Portland Trailblazers. David decided to wear his old school Zebo Blazer jersey to put a jinx on the Grizzlies. Apparently it didn't work, but there's always next year. Go Blazers!

Goodnight Moon

Parker and I along with Shannon and Finn went to see Goodnight Moon at the Seattle Children's Theater and my expectations were actually blown away. Parker generally can't sit still for more than a few minutes, but he sat and enjoyed himself for (almost) the entire 90 minute production. We also had fun getting bagels and running around before the show. It was such a fun little double date!