Last Celebrations

The big move begins tomorrow so my parents arrived yesterday to help. We had a small "party" to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday (July 23rd). I can't believe he's SOOOOO old! ;) Maybe I should be nice... We're giving him a lot of work to do this week! Happy (late) birthday, Iso! 

Iso and Mummu's first picture EVER with both boys!

Tackling Iso!

My dad saved Isaac's birthday message from last year. It was so cute to hear him say, "Happy bir-day, Iso!" in his 20 month old baby voice!

Parker enjoying the show!

 

On another note... We're finishing up with some last minute packing. I'm done with DVD cases so, while Isaac was napping, Parker helped me take them all out and put them in two cases. Amazing how much more room we have in the entertainment center now! 

Here's a picture of Isaac taking that nap. Because his closet is empty, this is where we have been finding him...

He's out! I don't see how this is comfortable!?

Another beach trip...

On Saturday we took another beach trip... I am loving our California summer!!! This time we met up with Arizona neighbors, the Fullertons. They were in Oceanside for a week of beach, cool weather, and relaxation. Kyle (8th grade) and Ryan (4th grade) were the ringbearers in our wedding. It's hard to believe they were only three and six years old then. Actually, it's harder to believe that I used to baby-sit Kyle when he was Parker's age! I know I'm still young but that makes me feel really old! It was a great visit and I'm glad we were able to see them!

Parker all ready to go!

Kyle, Ryan, Isaac, and Parker

 

Burying Ryan in the sand. Yeah, he's not very deep... It was a little shovel.

No idea what he's doing... We stopped asking a long time ago!

So handsome!

Again, not sure what to think of this picture!?!

Parker had a rough day. He's been a little sick... Fever, runny nose, and a cough. Tooth five and six will be making an appearance any day now! 

When we got home, Parker was thrilled to sit on the couch and watch a tv show with Isaac!

What's a Higgins' blog without a collage? These were just cute pictures that I thought needed to be shared! Isaac so badly wants to carry Parker. Nope, not happening anytime soon!

Four days to go...

Almost done packing... We're just trying to stuff two more priceless items in some boxes! Hopefully they'll make it through the move without breaking! Don't worry, we wrote "fragile" on the box! :-)

San Clemente

Last Saturday we headed to the beach with our Young Marrieds Bible Study group from church. It was beyond crazy due to fact that it was their annual Ocean Festival. Thankfully we still managed to enjoy ourselves... Kinda. There were two words used to describe the day: Happy and Sad! Let me show you...

 

Happy!!!

Sad!!!

Happy!!!

Sad!!!
(he's sitting under a bridge for timeout while screaming because there is sand on his hands! We were glad that our group was gone by this point and we only had to endure looks from strangers)

Happy!!!

(this is bath time when we got home. Parker was in the shade all day, yet still managed to get his fair share of sun... Looks worse than it was though)

Sad!!!

(oh this little man is really testing our parenting skills lately)

Hey Ladies...

How YOOOOOU doin'?

Looking back...

 

I was cleaning out and packing when I came across these pictures. Four years ago today, Shaun and I moved into our first home... What an exciting time it was! A lot has changed since then (like, I'm not blonde anymore... Sniff, sniff, wipe a tear). Oh how this front porch has been transformed. It now has a swing, a little swimming pool, a basketball hoop, a cozy coupe, three (or is it four) tricycles, a push car, and a plasma car! Yes, it looks like a daycare! :)

Getting our key and welcome home basket!!!!!!

Our first family picture in our new house with our baby Cloi. We've added three boys to the mix... Weezer, Isaac, and Parker! May Nemo x 4 and Dory (yes, we lost her) rest in peace!

2/3 of a year old

 

Besides the fact that he is wearing 18 month clothing, Parker has stayed my little baby much longer than Isaac ever did. By 8 months, Isaac was crawling (up the stairs), pulling himself up and then taking steps, saying mama and dada along with other sounds, eating finger foods, and had eight teeth! Parker, on the other hand, only army crawls (but he is amazingly fast and efficient), loves to click his tongue, suck on his bottom lip, and blow bubbles, has yet to master a consonant, gags like crazy anytime something that isn't perfectly liquid-smooth goes into his mouth, and only has two teeth!

Ok, let's stop and get the obvious mistake of this post out of the way... Yes, I am breaking the number one rule of parenting: Don't compare your kids! BUT It's no different than talking to friends about where their kids were at a specific stage OR reading books about what your child should be doing by a given time! Isaac is my personal reference point so I'm naturally going to use him. Now that I've confessed, let's move on! :)

Parker may not be as "up to speed" as Isaac was at 8 months, but that's the part I am absolutely loving. There are times that I feel like I need to rush him and then other times I try so hard to cradle him in my arms hoping he'll stay little forever! I already have one kid that talks back big boy, I don't need two! Even though Parker is more reserved than Isaac, I can see how that isn't always going to be a good thing. I can already picture him as the sneaky kid that feeds the dog his veggies from under the dinner table or finishes all the cookies from the jar without anyone knowing. Isaac flat out tells us that he is NOT going to eat his veggies and that he IS going to take a cookie... So different!

Parker is the sweetest little boy. Yes, he has a scream the size of Texas and he isn't afraid to use it. Yes, it is getting very hard to hold him down for diaper changes. Yes, somedays he will not nap... BUT his hugs, his smile, the way he reaches for me, the welcome I get when I walk in the room... It's as if cupid used all his arrows and sent them right to my heart! I never knew I could be this in love again! First Shaun, then Isaac, and now Parker... The boys in my life are breath taking!

My little man Parker James, You have stolen every inch of my heart and I can't believe we'll be celebrating your college graduation 1st birthday in just four short months! 

Trying to get over that darn back leg!

He'll play with the star puffs but don't expect him to put them in his mouth! I don't get it!? He'll put my shoes in his mouth!

Instead, Parker would much rather laugh, eat, pull, and climb all over big brother!

Saying good-bye

We got the call on Saturday that our moving date is August 1st. 18 DAYS!!! A whole month sooner than we were planning! The renter at our new house has decided to move out early. We are beyond thrilled because we bought this house back in February and it's been hard having to wait (to read about our house story click here)! Drive bys just aren't enough! ;) It is going to be a crazy move so anyone that wants to help is more than welcome! We hope to have our current home rented by the 5th (time is money). This only gives us four days to move. I know, sounds like plenty of time. BUT it's NOT. First we have to attack the new house. DEEP clean, take wall paper down, paint EVERY wall, get new carpet in, and then fill it with all of our stuff. Who knows how long it will take to unpack and get set up because Shaun works the 5th and 6th and then is gone the 7th through the 14th for a mission trip with our church to Mexico (my prayer is that he can still focus, knowing what is going on back home). The timing isn't exactly what we would have chosen but we've decided to make the best of it! Shaun's family has been practicing their brush strokes and sharpening their claws for the wall paper removal. My family has also postponed their Michigan vacation to come and help! What wonderful family we have!

Four years and two kids later... We are finally saying good-bye to our first home! While we are moving on to bigger and better things, there is still a level of sadness. We never intended to stay this long, but, because we did (thanks to the economy), the roots have grown deep and it becomes harder to pull away. We've made sooooo many memories here... This house is where we became a family!

This is where I told Shaun he was going to be a daddy...

March of '07

Back in '08 we took looong walks every night for four months straight!

Isaac learned to crawl/walk up these stairs...

We love the beautiful flowers that make wonderful backdrops...

Family fun time. Enjoying the paddle boats...

Isaac always loves going and feeding the ducks... and then of course chasing them back in the water...

Some of our hand painted touches. The blue squares in the boys room, the flowers on the bathroom wall that match the shower curtain, the big palm tree in the laundry room, all the door frames that Weezer clawed, and the stripes in the down stairs bathroom.

As we pack up and move on, it is comforting to know that no matter where we end up, there are three things that we can always take with us... Faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Lake Havasu

Over our anniversary weekend we took a trip to the river. Yes, it was killer hot but thankfully we had the water and the condo that Ammah and Papa rented that was right on the water. It was an absolute life saver when it came to nap time... Just had to clean off the feet and head right in. Isaac loved everything about the trip! Well, except Uncle Brent's boat. He's still not about going fast yet. His favorite spot was in the water. Parker enjoyed all the attention from the cousins and got to spend a lot of time with Ammah and Papa while I went out on the jet skiis and boat! Thanks! We had a great time and look forward to the next trip!

Isaac had the time of his life!

 

My handsome little Parker enjoying the river!

On the way out we stopped in Parker, Az for lunch. It's a small town so I think we got a picture of every sign.

Parker and his cousins

The view from, to, and around the water! :)

Ammah and Papa with their six grandkids - Isaac, Julieann, Justine, Parker, Payton, and Collin.

Water play time. Auntie Courtney and Auntie Kimberly throwing the nieces around!

Isaac and cousin Collin

Shaun and his boys

We tried two times to take a family picture. Either Isaac was mad or Parker was crying/wasn't looking... Never happy at the same time. I don't know how families with lots of kids get a good picture!

A very rare, kidless picture!

Do we look tired? Isaac went to bed well after ten and was up by 6:15! Ugh!

Our little dare devil nephew, Collin, went wake boarding with Shaun. They did great!