Change

It's been awhile since I've posted, but since I got a new camera for Christmas I've been taking more pictures lately! Christmas was a lot of fun this year, filled with lots of family as usual. Bridger just keeps getting bigger, and Parker just keeps getting busier:) But the biggest change as of late is the closing of Parker's Drive In. Parker's as some of you know is a little burger joint that my husband's grandparents opened 58 years ago and since has become kind of an American Fork icon. Frank was really close to his grandpa, and has helped out there since he was just a little boy, he still goes there daily to stock and change the oil in the fryers on Sunday. Needless to say it's been a huge part of our lives. It breaks my heart to see it go and I've only been apart of it for the 7 years we've been married, so I can only imagine how the rest of them are feeling. Anyways it's been kind of a sad week, but I'm grateful to have been apart of it.

Christmas Eve jammies at grandma's

Parker's favorite Christmas present, his own razor and shaving cream:)

The Fam

Parker's favorite little cousins and great grandma Parker

last ice cream cone from Parkers :*(

This is how I found Bridger when I got out of the shower, poor kid doesn't get to nap too long very often with brother around

He's getting big!

Pictures of Bridger

These are just a few of my favorite pictures taken the other day at Camera Shy. Bridger has been such a sweet baby. We don't get much sleep, some nights are better than others, but we're surviving:) He doesn't cry much except when he gets gassy or has his bum changed, but even then it doesn't last long. Parker's still adjusting, but all in all he's been a really good big brother. Now I just wonder how I ever got anything done before and if I ever will again:) but I guess that's just having a new baby. Even with all the sleepless nights I truly love my boys and am so grateful to stay at home with them thanks to an amazing husband who works so hard that allows me to do so. I am so blessed!

Just a Few Pics:)

All my boys:)

What a good big brother, he really has been so good I've been really surprised:)

Such a cute baby:)

Bridger was born Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. at 6 lbs 13 ozs. I'll have to write a full story of his arrival but I'm still catching up on lack of sleep from the hospital..seriously I don't know how anyone can get any sleep there. He's been such a good baby, but part of me still feels like I'm waiting for the storm because that's how Parker was. Anyway I've been really blessed he's been so sweet, he literally sleeps, eats, and poops lots of poops :) all day and Parker has been so good he's such a sweet big brother I've been truly blessed with the sweetest children:)

Ticking Time Bomb

So all of a sudden this week I realized how soon this baby could really be here. I've wanted to make some freezer meals, but decided to put it off until this week as I wanted them to last as long as possible after having the baby. Last week it felt a month away, and now it feels like it could be tomorrow. That's partially because after going to the dr. yesterday and finding out I'm already dilated to a 4!!!..gulp..I kind of ignored all those aches and pains, but now I notice them all and feel like I don't dare move, ok that's a lie, that's kind of my problem, I can't stop especially now. On top of it all Parker is getting a cold which means he woke up every time I got up to go to the bathroom and I'm sure I'll most likely get his cold as well..ugh! Anyway this is my panic mode, I'm sure it'll go away, I did the same thing with Parker as I was dilated to a 3 this same time with him and still went another 3 weeks.. and no, we still don't have a name picked out, I'm sure we'll figure that out at the hospital..yikes!

What's in a Name

Wow so when I got pregnant this time I was so excited to be able to get to choose a name. As a lot of you know Frank has always wanted the name Parker, so when we found out we were having a boy there was no question that his name was going to be Parker which I was ok with. I have to admit not that I disliked the name, but it had to grow on me a little, and now I love it and it definitely fits. This time has been a totally different story and I've realized that we have totally different ideas of what type of names we like. Anyway needless to say we can't agree on a name. Frank gets stuck on a name, one that I obviously don't really care for, and I suggest different names almost daily only to be told "I don't really like it." So when I said awhile ago that I am going to have veto power it looks like I really might have to..lol. JK but really he could be here in 5-7 weeks and we still have no name! So some of the names I like are Dylan, Dallin, or Corbin. Frank likes Max, but I'd really like a 2 syllable name to kind of go with Parker..I know it's weird but it just seems right to me. Anyway any suggestions would be much appreciated, I feel like I've seen every website of name and I've suggested about half of them to Frank and the only one that wasn't totally shot down was Corbin, but maybe because he knows I'm sick of being shot down:) Anyone???

Trip to the Store

So most of you know about Parker locking me out of the car a couple weeks ago at the store, but seriously I almost wanted to crawl into a hole just a few hours ago when Parker did the same thing, AGAIN! But before I tell you what happened, let me start at the beginning. It started out with a small cart for Parker to push around the grocery store..what was I thinking? Way too much freedom for Parker. He was running all over, putting everything into his cart, making a mess of every aisle we went down, it was like a little tornado following me around or me chasing after it. Anyway about halfway through the store I realized it was a huge mistake so I hurried and got what I needed and hurried to the check out. There they gave Parker a balloon, which of course he took off as soon as they put it on, so they grabbed it from the ceiling and put it back on him, which he took off again but this time I grabbed it before it floated to the ceiling. In the middle of all of this I'm putting food on the conveyer and I reach in to grab my wallet and can't find it!! I couldn't believe it, I had no clue where it could be, I never take it out of my purse other than to pay and put it right back in. I was humiliated! They were really nice and said I could just leave it there and come back when I figured it out. I also couldn't see my phone either which I tend to forget a lot, but I was just so flustered! I started to walk out to the car to see if by some chance it fell out, when I look down and notice I'm holding my wallet under my arm, what a dork! So I walked back in, tail between my legs, and paid for my food and hurried out..oy! Then we walk back out to the car still chasing after Parker, I finally gave up and just hurried and threw Parker in the car just so he couldn't run around anymore. I got the groceries in, by this point Parker was sitting in the passenger seat and so I told him to get into his seat and as he climbs back I close the door and go to open his door and realize it's locked..they're all locked!! I could have crawled into a hole..game over I'm done! How could I dare go back in there and explain that I now locked my son in the car. Then I realized if I could just talk Parker in to unlocking the door I was good. He hurried and grabbed the keys and unlocked the door..phew! I was so excited I hugged him, told him thank you a 100 times, and completely forgot about how naughty he had been the whole time..almost. I probably shouldn't even admit to any of this, but I thought it was too funny to not write down some where. Anyway that's been my day..someone needs to invent something for me that doesn't allow me to lock my keys in the car!!

Camping 2011

Sadly, this is the first family camping trip we've had since having Parker, but hopefully not last. We went up to Granite Flats just for a couple days. So nice just to get away, and the best part..no cell phone service, so Frank's phone wasn't ringing non-stop which is always nice! Anyway these are just some fun pictures.

Cascade Springs

Not a flattering picture of me, but this me at 27 weeks pregnant:) You know those pictures where you wish you would have just stood up straight, or fixed your necklace or hair..this is one of those!

Spotting fish with grandpa

Snuggling with daddy to keep warm:)

Riding his favorite bike!

Roles Reversed

Parker putting Daddy to sleep:)

More Pictures..

This is the kind of stuff I find when I get out of the shower..yikes! If you can't tell it's an avocado with just about every knife I have stabbed in it.

This is Parker's newest obsession..flags! He spots out all the flags everywhere we go. He was so sad the following day when his flag was gone:)

Gotta love the q-tips:)

Parker hopped on and started shouting A-HA, A-HA..he hasn't figured out the yeehaw yet.

And the last photo I wanted to share, but I couldn't bring myself to do it seeing as Parker was completely naked with only his hands to block his goods, but it was too funny. Parker standing with nothing but a cowboy hat and a big old grin, what a cutie! I'm so grateful to be his mom. He's so sweet and friendly with everyone. He has no boundaries, he just goes and goes and goes. I only hope I can keep up with him this summer being big and pregnant. Everyday feels like a marathon with Parker around. We've already made a trip to the Splash Pad, swimming, and of course lots of friends and cousins. I feel so blessed to be Parker's mom and I'm so excited to add to our family. We still can't think of a name yet, nothing seems to really stand out to either of us, but we still have a few months so hopefully we'll come up with one before then. Anyway that's our life in a nutshell.

IT'S A...

It's a....boy!! lol, another boy for us. I have to admit I was a little surprised, but not at all sad just grateful for healthy! Originally I was kind of thinking a boy would be easy because it's what I know, but then everyone got me really excited for a girl and in my mind "he" was already a "she":) So now for the fun part of picking out a name, which I totally didn't experience last time since Parker was already a predetermined name by Frank. He doesn't know this yet, but this time it's all me. He can have an opinion, but that doesn't mean he can veto..lol we'll see how that goes! Anyway, any name ideas would be much appreciated, I'm somewhat at a loss of names.

Random Pictures

Easter egg hunt at grandma's!

I got out of the shower to find this little ham eating him a piece of pineapple he grabbed out of the garbage..he has no qualms with eating out of the garbage..what do you do?

Parker's muddy adventure:) If you can't tell he rubbed it all through his hair.

Our House

I just have to laugh when I have days like today..otherwise I might strangle my child..jk. This week Parker has fed his toothbrush, toothpaste, Frank's phone, and my phone all to the dog (those are just the few I can remember). He has gotten into things, climbed up to things, opened things I never thought he would be able to get to, at least not for awhile. What we have accomplished this week is....NO MORE PACIFIER!! Not to say it was easy, but what I was really worried about was waking up in the middle of the night and not having the ease of just popping a pacifier back in and him falling quietly back to sleep, but it has only happened once! Now if I can just get him back to sleeping in until at least 7:00 we'll be back on track:) I love Parker! I love that I get to be home with him everyday and learn patience the days when I wish I wasn't:) I'm grateful for a husband who works so hard to provide for our family, and puts up with his grumpy wife. Anyway what I'm trying to say is, I am blessed!

Bye Bye Binkie

So as I write this, the battle is at its peak over the pacifier!! I've wanted to for awhile, but just with Parker's personality and other reasons I chose to put it off. So originally I was just going to cut the tip off of his pacifier over a few weeks until there was nothing left, unfortunately it seems to be failing miserably. Cutting the tip off his Nuk pacifier wasn't exactly possible because of the shape, so what was suppose to be the tip ended up being much more..woops! Anyway, this started Friday night and has been a continual battle every nap and bed time since and only seems to be getting worse. So I'm writing this now to see if anyone has any tips. As we speak I just took it away all together. I'm worried that if I continually cut it it will only prolong the battle, but as any parent knows it is no fun feeling like the big meanie. Typically I consider myself pretty "tough" about this stuff, but sometimes it can be very wearing! That and it feels like there's not really a purpose for taking it away, in his view at least. Anyway I love my child, and I'm sure one day I'll be grateful for his strong personality, but for right now it is hard!!
...SILENCE.. there is actually silence coming from his room, can it be? Did he actually give up so quickly? Cross your fingers!

Parker Turns 2!!!

I can't believe my baby is already 2! I'm not going to lie the first 9 months of his life were the longest of my life, but once we worked out all the kinks with each other and he started sleeping through the night the time has just flown by! Don't get me wrong, I've always loved Parker even on those sleepless nights, but it was rough:) He has been the best part of our lives and neither of us could picture life without him. I always say he is all boy, but my mom is quick to comment that he is just like me. As of right now Parker is the busiest child I know. Everyone is always asking me how I keep up with him, and I honestly don't know. Thank goodness we have a fenced in yard with a dog that he can go out and play with. He loves his lawn mower, dump truck, and his new wheel barrow and yard tools. He could play out there for hours, but it doesn't mean I don't have to be careful seeing as he has gotten out a few times. He is so fast, I can't turn my head for a second without him taking off out of sight. Needless to say our doors are now all child proofed along with a chain lock on the sliding glass door. The funnest part about Parker is how excitable he is. Anytime we mention something he loves, like going for walks, he flaps his little arms, squeals, and just gets so excited, but of course these emotions go both ways:) He loves playing with other kids, especially in nursery (yay!) Right now he loves watching Curious George, Elmo, and his favorite Toy Story 2 (Buzz!) He's actually sat through the entire movie before which just blows me away knowing how busy he is. He loves all of his grandmas and grandpas, but he is especially attached to his Dad these days. All day long all I hear is dad dad dad. I love how much he loves being with Frank and how much Frank loves being with them. I know they will always have a special relationship. I really love everything about my little boy from the top of his blond, calicky hair, down to his chubby little feet and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him, although I wouldn't mind if time just slowed down and I could keep him all mine forever!

Yep, that's a pink cake, it was going to be a pig I just ran out of frosting and time:)

Blowing out his candle!

Mouth full of marshmallows

Eating his cupcake with a giant play fork
I made pig, cow, and dog cupcakes but I guess I forgot to take pictures of all of them but you can use your imagination. Parker was picking off marshmallows and chocolate chips all morning.
He was determined to get his hat to fit, but he could barely squeeze it on the top of his head

Vroom Vroom

Sorry for another picture I just can't help myself. I thought this was pretty funny until I went to start it and it started smoking:( Don't worry it's been on it's last leg for years, it was only a matter of time.

My Silly Child

Teach Them While They're Young

There's nothing better than a man doing the dishes:)

The New Year

Not only was it a new year, but it was the first time I was able to go to Sunday school and Relief in several years. I've been in the primary and nursery for over 5 years. It's been fun to serve and get to know so many new people, but I'm so excited to enjoy Relief Society again! I enjoy having someone teach me. I loved my primary class, but it's been a hard year, and the last 2 months have been on my own, since my sister-in-law got married, needless to say I really enjoyed someone else having the stress of preparing a lesson and me getting to enjoy it! Me and Frank were able to attend the Family Relations class, which is actually a new thing for us as well. Before I was in primary, Frank was the Executive Secretary which meant we never attended Sunday school together. The lesson was on positive communication which I think me and Frank both needed to hear. Our Relief Society lesson was about the New year, being positive, attending the temple, and just bettering ourselves all together. I felt the Spirit so strongly all three hours, and was inspired to be better.
I really want to make Family Home Evening a regular thing. I try really hard, but Frank has had to work a lot of Mondays, so I want to be better about still doing it, even if it means it has to be on another day.
I want to attend the temple at least monthly.
I want to be more positive, and this is a huge one for me. I am naturally a negative person, but I want to be less judgmental and find the positive in everyone especially in my husband.
I want to make every day an important day. I think being at home sometimes can turn into a routine. The days run into weeks, and into months with little being accomplished.
I want to read more, but especially my scriptures!
These are just a few of the things I hope to work on this year, but I'm sure there will be more to come!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas for us actually starts the day after Thanksgiving. It's the day our decorations go up, and it's also the Parker Christmas party at the senior center. It was also the first time Parker got to sit on Santa's lap, too bad his mom forgets everything and forgot to bring her camera:(. Parker wanted nothing to do with Santa until he saw the bag of candy and then he hopped right into his lap..it's kinda scary really, it takes so little for him to sit on some stranger's lap. Anyway, as tradition Christmas Eve is always spent with Grandma Pulley. The last two years she hasn't quite felt up to the task so we do it at my in-laws house which is actually a little more roomy, although I don't know how roomy it can feel with 40+ people in one room. Like most families, all the kids have pajamas to open up and of course they all have to put them on and take a pictures. It's always good to see everyone together. My husband's family is full of get togethers and fun traditions. My family on the other hand is a little crazy. My immediate family is normal, but there's only me and my brother so there's only so much our little family can do. My extended family has been a little up in the air these days, sadly. Anyway Christmas day is the only day my family gets together, and sadly that was even canceled this year due to my mom having bronchitis. Instead we celebrated Christmas on New Year's Eve. It actually turned out nice, we got an extra turkey dinner thanks to my mom who is amazing to put it all together, because again her daughter can't remember anything to save the life of her. I forgot the ham!! So my dad went and got one and she cooked that as well as stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, and my grandma made pies.
We were so blessed as we are every Christmas to spend time with family and be spoiled with lots of gifts from everyone. These are just a few of my favorite pictures, sadly I forgot my camera, AGAIN!!! so I don't have any from my mom's.

Parker couldn't still long enough to take a picture so unfortunately I'm in the pic as well!

Helping Dad put together his new toys

Parker's new favorite toy:)