Too Much Fun

We had planned on taking a group sailing lesson while we had visitors for Thanksgiving/Kate's blessing, but because it was raining the morning of our reservation, we didn't get to go.  This was a major let down for Paul, who had been looking forward to strapping himself to the mast and shouting "I SAIL!" a la Bob from What About Bob.  Who would have thought that the weather would be bad?  I mean, ever. But despite not being able to sail, we still had a lot of fun. 

We rode a surrey:

 

Went to the tide pools:

We toured Paul's office and Trudy got a checkup:

 

We hung out at the hotel that Grandpa Norm, Grandma Sue, John and Trudy stayed at on Coronado:

 Parker got a kick out of this duck in the pool.  Can you see the Coronado bridge in the background?

  

 I love these pictures John took of Kate and her Grandma Trudy:

We went and saw the lights at the San Diego temple:

 

Kate's Blessing

Last Sunday we blessed Kate and we were lucky to have many of our loved ones in attendance, although it was brought to my attention that the showing was a good example of second baby syndrome- there were definitely more people at Parker's blessing.  Our next child will be lucky if even Paul and I decide to show up for his/her blessing.  Well, I went through the ol' blog archives to see who was at Parker's blessing and found that I never blogged about it!  Let the record show that he was in fact blessed by Paul on May 15, 2011 and here's a picture to prove it:

When Parker was blessed I was so proud that I was able to time his feeding just before we left for church so that he would be content during his blessing.  And I was feeling pretty good that I had done the same for Kate.  However, we have church at 1:00 and Kate had already been woken up from several naps that day... I can't remember exactly why, but no doubt one of the reasons was Parker's talent at waking the dead through screeching.  If you know Parker then you know what I'm talking about.  She had fallen asleep on the car ride over to the church and after taking her our of her carseat we didn't have enough time to soothe her back to sleep before it was her time in the spotlight.  Anyway, she cried through the whole thing.  I like to think that she was just giving Paul a few suggestions on what she wanted to be blessed with.  A few minutes later she was fast asleep and stayed that way for the rest of the meetings.  We took a few pictures after Sacrament Meeting, but let her stay asleep.  After church we woke her up to take more pictures- we couldn't leave without taking pictures of her beautiful blessing dress.  This dress, lovingly made by Paul's sister, Dakin, was simply stunning.  Honestly, the first time I saw it, it took my breath away.

Words can't properly express how thankful I am that Kate is in our family.  Going from one to two kids is no joke, but I can't imagine her not being here.  Our family would not be complete without her sweet little spirit.

(Front to back, left to right: Grandpa Norm, Parker, John, Trudy, Grandma Sue, baby Kate, me, Paul, Grandma LeAnn, Grandpa Bob)

Parker and Kate were both about three months old when they were blessed.  Here they are with Grandma Trudy on their special days.  I wish we had gotten a better picture of Parker's little outfit.  Trudy made it for him and it was absolutely darling!  I definitely think that Parker and Kate look like siblings, but they each have their own unique look.    

Trains!

It's no secret that Parker loves trains.  While my dad has been visiting, we've been to the model train museum (the largest in the US) and we built a gingerbread train.  Choo choo!!!

Thanksgiving

We had one of the best Thanksgiving dinners on record... sooooo delicious!  We went to Paul's aunt Karen's house where we had dinner with her family, Paul's parents and Grandpa Norm.  Karen made the dinner and Trudy and I supplied the desserts- chocolate pecan pie, Dutch apple pie and a layered toffee pumpkin cheesecake.  Isn't Thanksgiving the best?!  Good food, good company, fun games.  I love it!

 

 

Balboa Park

I had a long to-do list yesterday and really had every intention of being productive and getting my chores done, but sometimes you just have to throw responsibility to the wind and have a little fun.  We decided to go to Balboa Park and ride their miniature train.  I've been to Balboa Park before, but apparently I had just skimmed the surface of what it has to offer.  There are at least ten museums, a fancy pants restaurant, an outdoor amphitheater, a Japanese friendship garden, CHURRO STANDS (!!!), an enormous fountain, a homeless guy preachin' the Word, and I'm sure so much more that we didn't see on this trip.  The train didn't disappoint, and just for kicks, we also rode the Carousel.  By the time we got home, we were all exhausted and had a much needed nap.  I am so grateful that Paul doesn't have to work on Saturdays anymore and that we were able to spend such a fun day together.

Happy Halloween!

Paul is so clever/hilarious when it comes to thinking of amazing Halloween costumes (see here, here, and here) and it's usually on the fly- like an hour before we're supposed to be at a Halloween party.  Since it takes me about quadruple the amount of time to get anything done these days, I took the reins and decided on our costumes this year.  Once Paul saw the "tunic" I got him from Goodwill, he really wanted to be Steve Jobs, but he was a good sport and humored me by dressing in our family theme.

Can you tell what we all are?  If you guessed that Kate is supposed to be a headless princess, you guessed only half right.  

 

Parkerisms

The way Parker talks cracks me up.  It's so fun to witness how his language skills are developing, but I'm really going to be sad when he speaks proper, fluent English.  Almost a year ago, Paul tried to teach Parker how to say bumblebee and it came out "bumbee bumbee."  So cute!  The other day I asked him to say bumblebee and he said it perfectly.  Darn.  I guess he really is growing up.  I decided that I'd better record some of his Parkerisms before they no longer exist.

* Mama share it for Parker.  (Mama share with Parker.)
* Not go on the freeway, Mama.
* Get it the ladder!
* Parker want it yogurt.
* Have a good bike ride today?
* Air conditioner garage (Garage door opener)
* It's getting daytime? (Is it still daytime?  Said when it's almost time for nap or bed.)
* Parker not go night night.
* Dada have a good work today?
* Parker do it.
* It's maybe lost?
* Parker not a little nerd.
* Parker go first.
* Eat it all for me. (I ate it all.)
* Don't fall for me. (Don't push me.  He said this the other day in the bathtub when Paul was washing him and he was sliding around in the tub.)
* Dada doing, Dada? (What are you doing, Dada?)
* Dada don't want keep me.

This last one he said on Saturday night and it was a little heart wrenching.  I think it was the first time he'd really gotten his feelings hurt.  Parker, Kate and I had been gone all day to Orange County and when we got back Paul was about to leave to go for a run.  He often takes Parker with him in the stroller and he asked if Parker wanted to come.  Parker said that he wanted to go, but that he wanted to ride his tricycle.  Paul said that that wasn't an option and after a few screams, Parker finally consented to go in the stroller.  Apparently he changed his mind just moments into the run because he started throwing a tantrum so loud that I could hear them down the street from our apartment.  With that Parker lost his going on a run with Dada privilege and Paul brought him back home and dropped him off inside.  Parker was fuming.  Once he finally calmed down enough to speak, he kept saying, "Dada don't want keep me" over and over again.  It was pretty sad.  I explained that he can't go on runs with Dada if he cries.  When Paul got back he assured Parker that he does want to keep him and hopefully he can go on a run with him next time. 

Can you believe that this cute boy would ever throw a tantrum?