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!

Blues

Isaac took this picture of himself and I LOVE it! His eyes are so baby blue and his lashes look so long!

(Our Lake Havasu trip post is in the making. Warning: There will be a lot of pictures!)

Priorities

 I'm busy doing this...

... So I'll post when I'm done.

Maybe I'll even put some make-up on and do my hair! Yikes!

June 26th - 6 years

Oahu, Hawaii 2004 Honeymoon

This was Shaun's first mistake in our marriage...taking me to Hawaii. I now crave and dream about it everyday!

 Las Vegas, Nevada 2005 1st anniversary

Not the typical Vegas picture. Our hotel was beautiful though. You'd never guess it was right in the middle of the strip!

Maui, Hawaii 2006 2nd anniversary

This was Shaun's second mistake in our marriage... Now it MUST become a tradition to go every other year!

Oceanside, California 2007 3rd anniversary

Pregnant with Isaac

(Can't for the life of me find our pictures from this trip... Just the postcard from where we stayed)

The Big Island, Hawaii 2008 4th anniversary

Keeping the tradition alive...

We waited til Sept to take this trip... It was one month after Shaun had surgery from rupturing his achilles tendon. Poor guy had to hop all over the island.

Big Bear, California 2009 5th anniversary

Pregnant with Parker

Kauai, Hawaii  :( Lake Havasu, Arizona 2010

Pregnant with... Just kidding!

This is Shaun's third mistake in our marriage... Killing the tradition!!!

Mr. Shaun Tyler Higgins, I love you to the moon and back!

Bringing Hawaii to California

 

Sadly, I still can't convince Shaun to take me back to Hawaii this year (yeah, yeah... He bought me another house). However, it's not going to stop me from dreaming I was there. Seeing my boys dressed in aloha/surfer clothes helps to ease my disappointment a little... A very small little!