Ozarks - Take Two!

The first weekend of August, we trekked back down to the Ozarks for a nice, long weekend.  As soon as I got out of work that Thursday afternoon, we loaded up the Highlander for a late night ride.  As usual, Parker did great.  He actually stayed up a lot longer than I thought he would considering the time of night!  I was so worried he wouldn't sleep well that night, especially considering he was up playing with the crew when we arrived a little after 11pm!  But, just like his mom and dad, that kid loves to sleep.

The weekend was so great and Parker enjoyed the water both days.  In fact, he's so comfortable in the water that he actually fell asleep again.  Yep, our boy is a water baby.  And I'm not talking a quick snooze, this was at least a 10 minute nap and probably would have been longer if I had allowed it.  I'm sure the fact that it was basically bath water (all those warm days seem to have heated the lake right up!) and the wave motion completely lulled him to sleep, heck he may have thought he was back in the uterus! However, something about letting my baby prune up in the water for nap time just didn't feel right, so eventually we took him out and inside for a bath so he could take a real nap inside :)

Scott did manage to click a few pics of him snoozing away....

The rest of the weekend was filled with many board games (Clue, anyone?) including a stomping on Scott, Rachel and Jonathan by yours truly in Monopoly and yelling at Scott to get Parker closer to the dock.  I will not go into details, but let's just say somebody (Scott) thought it would be fun to take Parker out WAY too far.  I'm just thankful Jeanne stepped in and convinced him to head back since he would not listen to his wife (grrr)!  Men.

Latest and greatest of Parker

I know, it has been WAY too long since an update.  I've missed both his 5 and 6 month posts, so guess what.....this is going to be loaded with pictures from both!  So settle in for a long one ;)

First off, five months.  Seems like so long ago as this little guy is changing on us quickly!  Last month was full of firsts - first ear infection (boo) and first try at solid foods (as solid as pureed baby food can be)!  We're thankful that the ear infection cleared up fast and have enjoyed watching him figure out the food thing.  I have learned that Parker is not yet a fan of avocados and for the first time heard and watched a baby gag.  I mean, really not a fan of avocados, I just wish I could have caught that expression on camera, man was it a doozie!  He was up to 17.2lbs at his trip to the doctor for the ear infection, so it will be interesting to see how much he's gained in the last month or so.  In the words of Amy Allen (who so graciously met us to capture Parker's six month photos today, here's a sneak peek http://amyallenphotoblog.com/?p=1410) - "that boy is a tank!"

Locked and loaded for his first feeding....only looking a little scared!

I'm not so sure about this mom.....

Seriously, you call this food?  I'd like to see you eat it.

Dad giving it a go, with Parker trying to take over.

The drool is non.stop. these days!

Oh great, another photo shoot.  My favorite.

Take one more picture and I'll bop you mom!

Our all American hunk celebrating the 4th of July

Mommy dresses me in some silly stuff, who is this Dave guy anyways?

Cheering the Cubs on to a win (for once!)

 
And now, six months.  Half a year.  I say it so much, but it truly is going so fast.  They say time flies when you're having fun and that is the truth.  Every day is a new journey in his little life and every stage is more fun.  So I just try to sit back and soak in the memories of my little tank growing and learning!  I haven't caught a pic yet, but his latest trick is getting up on all fours, so looks like the crawling stage is next.  The house is so NOT baby ready yet, so I'm enjoying the non-mobility as long as I can..... ;)

Another meal time pic, squash anyone?

6 months, woohoo!

Sitting up like a big boy!

Ok dude, it's time we plan an escape from the crazy photo lady

Yep, mom, we're done.

Raising this boy right....

....is there any other band to love??!! ;)

Could that face get any cuter?!  Love him!

The bottom half of the shirt continues to say "Just like my daddy" - this was Parker's personal gift to daddy on Father's Day :)

The blog is in desperate need of an update, so this cute pic of the dude will have to suffice while I work on that.  Have a great weekend!

Fast but fun weekend at the Ozarks!

We had a wonderful time at the Ozarks, thanks so much to Nim and Nini for the hospitality!  Parker did fantastic on his first long road trip, I'm hoping this will be a common occurrence.  We took off as soon as I was off work Friday afternoon and arrived at the house just shortly after 6:30pm, including a few stops.  We definitely made it down in record time (don't worry moms, Scott didn't speed too bad) and was able to relax, enjoy dinner and a cold drink with the rest of the crew before heading to bed.

One of the most precious parts of this weekend was watching Gracie and Adam interact with Parker.  They were so excited to play with him and I just cannot get over how attentive they both were to him.  It truly warmed my heart to watch.

 

Parker woke us up about 6:45 Saturday morning (yay for a kid that sleeps through the night even on trips!), so after a morning feeding and a short nap, we were ready for the day.

The forecast was a bit shaky for the day and we soon found out that some rain was headed our way.  We decided to get Parker in for his first dip in the lake early before the storms hit just in case we wouldn't have a chance later on.....

Getting his swim gear on!

Hmmm, what do we have here?

If Parker could talk, I'm pretty sure he would have said it was no big deal.  The lake was even a bit chilly at first, but he never flinched. 

The rain kicked in shortly after this, so we headed inside to dry up and wait the storms out.  We definitely didn't let the rain stop the fun for the day, so some of us settled in for an intense game of Uno.

Don't let these smiles fool you, it was definitely cut-throat ;)

While that game was going, Parker was hanging with the rest of the boys.

Chillin' with Sophie.  I don't know what it is about this toy, but kids seem to love it!

Eventually Adam and Scott settled into a game of checkers while Parker and Nim cheered them on. 

I love this pic of Parker gazing at his Grandpa Nim, so cute!

Thankfully the storms decided to clear out pretty quickly, so by early afternoon, we were back out on the lake.  Nini was so sweet to stay inside with Parker so that Scott and I could enjoy a little fun in the sun.  We did take Parker back out after his nap and I wish I could have gotten a picture, he actually fell asleep in his floaty!  It was so adorable, I guess the movement of the water lulled him to sleep :)

Sunday morning came all too soon and it was time to pack up the car and head on back home.  He did great on the ride home as well....seriously, could this kid be any better?!

We're looking forward to our next trip down in August and who knows, maybe Parker will go for his first boat ride then?  Thanks again to all of the Scholten family for a fun and relaxing place to enjoy the summer weather!

Daddy's Day!

Parker and I were so excited for Father's Day to arrive!  We were looking forward to spoiling Scott like he's never been spoiled before :)  He certainly deserves it, I mean the guy will go to all ends to keep a smile on P's face.  Who else would willingly throw a diaper cover on their head to entertain their son after bath time?! (PS - it was a clean diaper cover ;))

Look at those cute little chubby legs of Parker's!!  I just want to squeeze and kiss 'em!

We started the day off by taking Scott out for breakfast.  We were out the door early and back in time for him to mow the lawn before the heat hit.  In my defense, he requested to be able to get the lawn mowed.  As many of you know, taking care of the lawn is a passion of his, so he was excited to get this done so we could spend the rest of the day relaxing and hanging out.

Mid-afternoon, Scott took off for his dad's house to help with some computer stuff, so I ran Parker out to my parents so that we could hang with Grandpa and Grandma Jensen for a bit.  My mom's birthday was just a few days earlier, so they appreciated the time with Parker.  It was also my last chance to see the house my parents have been in for the last 20 years, they just recently sold it and are getting ready to move to Urbandale.  Hmmm, I wonder if the arrival of Parker has anything to do with that......just kidding mom and dad! ;)

Gift time came a day early, I just couldn't wait to give it to him!  Scott has been eyeballing this watch for several months, in fact I'm pretty sure the sales staff at Joseph's know him on a first name basis now.  Needless to say, I wanted to shower him with the love and attention that he always gives me, so Parker and I decided this would be a perfect first Father's Day gift.  I had Scott's initials and the year 2011 engraved, knowing this would be meaningful should he decide to pass it down to Parker someday.

That evening we headed out for Chinese food, which is a treat for Scott since it's not one of my favorites and don't usually pick that for our dinner's out.  After dinner, we made a stop at Grandpa Nim's house to say hi, then headed home for a little quality time before the start of a new week!

Scott, you have jumped into the "dad" role with such ease and excitement, it's like you've been one all of your life!  In many ways, you have taught me to be a better, more patient mother.  I cannot thank you enough for everything you do for our family and I hope you know how much we all love you!!

My boys just hanging out!

Ready for summer fun!

Bring on the warm weather and swim time (this is my mantra on a gloomy Saturday)!  Parker is officially ready to head to the lake.  A dear friend of the family (who also graciously helped us out the week our air conditioner went kaputz and got it running again  - thanks Dean!) noticed this life jacket at Sam's Club and decided it had Parker's name written all over it. 

Next Friday we will be making our first trip with Parker to the Ozarks, heading down right after work on Friday afternoon.  While it will be a short first visit, we can't wait to introduce him to the Scholten lake house for the first of many memorable summers down there!  Naturally, a photo shoot is necessary.  Gotta get the kid used to it, right? ;)

Daddy strapping him in, not too happy!

Ok, maybe it's not that bad.

Fine....I'll act like I like it.

Weeee!  This is fun!

Dad, I love it when you swing me in the air!

Yeah, ok guys, I think I'm done now.

I'm serious, get me outta this thing!

Whew, that's better.  Ok, I'm happy again :)

It will be interesting to see how Parker likes the lake and how long he'll tolerate the life jacket.  We're hoping to get him out for a short boat ride later in the day, hopefully when the lake is calmer.  Wish us luck!