Since I've last written, a lot has happened. Daniel got word of his deployment, and though I can't post all the details publicly, he will be headed to TX for some training in June, then over to Iraq sometime shortly after that. Parker and I plan on visiting the states a few times while Daniel's gone, and I'm really thankful that Parker will get to know his relatives better.

We celebrated our 2-year anniversary on February 16. We had a nice grown-up dinner and a even few grown-up conversations! I don't know HOW I got to marry the best man on earth, but I couldn't ask for anyone better... Well, maybe if he sang to me more often... But then he'd be too perfect and I'd probably despise him. :)

Mister Parker can officially roll over to his tummy, and often gets "stuck" and needs some help rolling back over. He is 18 pounds, and growing by the minute. I'm not kidding: Every time he wakes up from a nap, he is bigger. I can't keep up with him! We still are using cloth diapers, and its really easy, affordable (more fun money and less trash), and surprisingly it's not gross. I'm so glad we made that decision to buy from www.mapleleafbaby.com , our friend Chelsea owns that business and helped us out a lot. So if you're about to have a kid, look into it! No potty-dunking, no leaks, and my favorite part: no BLOWOUTS because the covers have elastic waists and keep everything in.

He had his first taste of big boy food, and we gave him pureed PEAS. The first bite was received with a funny face, but each bite afterwards was welcomed with a wide-open mouth. CHOMP! He was ready! I spiked them with L-glutamine to boost his brain. That night we celebrated by putting him in a lime-green diaper, and a sleeper with little green froggies on the feet! I figured if his food is green, we should deck him out in green. A little overboard? maybe.. Fun? Absolutely!

For some reason, my option to put photos up is gone.. So I will get them up as soon as possible!

3 videos that I forgot to put up

Hey Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles, and Cousins... You'll probably appreciate these more than most people :)  We enjoy them, but then again, he is OURS!  LOVE YOU!

Newsflash:  We are visiting VA after our 11-day vacation in Turkey.  Once all the details are set in stone, we will make sure to post it!  Expect us sometime around April 21, and we plan on staying about 8 days!  We are so excited!!

Here's one of Parker and I playing on the couch.  He really thought "gooby gooby gahby" was funny!




This Video was taken just a few days before he rolled over to his tummy. (He waited til Dada was home to actually do it) You can tell by my voice how excited I was.  He sure can scoot though! I love how he's so wiggly and happy.


This boy LOVES his Dada, probably because he's such a goofball with him :) (And lots of other reasons) I'm really loud in this one, sorry!



Being a parent is so incredible.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were busy days for me and Parker. All the snow melted, and Rheinland Baptist Church hosted the Euro-wide women's retreat. It was fun and I learned a lot. I missed a bit due to Parker needing to eat or sleep, but I learned enough for now! We studied the life of Joseph, who passed a lot of the tests in his life and is a great example for us when we go through trials. He had a great attitude and realized that even though people may intend evil against us, the Lord works it all out for GOOD for those who love Him.

After the weekend, we were just plain exhausted and on Sunday morning, Mister P woke up with his first bout of being sick. He had a very stuff/runny nose and was definitely not feeling well, but he sure was trying to be a good sport... Except when we had a "booger attack" with that blue sucker bulb thing, affectionaly known as the Booger Squooger-- he HATES that thing! Thankfully, he is feeling mostly better. It's amazing to me how Love can make me be perfectly OK with snot, slobber, and milk on my shoulders, terrible hairdays, and a PALE face due to all the cuddling that rubs my make-up off. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

He says "mamamama" and "buhbuhbuhb"a lot. Daniel always makes "monkey noises" to him, and I think Parker's name for Dada is "ah ah ah ah ah" and it almost sounds like a cough, almost like a laugh... but its definitely a term of endearment for his Daddy. It's so funny.

Yesterday, Parker rolled over from his back to his tummy, and Daniel and I both got to see it happen the first time! It was so exciting! He is getting so big! It took him a good 3 or 4 minutes to finally decide to roll over all the way. I'm so glad we both got to see it!  Here you can see him playing on the floor.  He loves those toes!

Here are some more photos of Parker.. I do think he's pretty cute! He's not as camera-shy as he used to be.

I'm a terrible mom:  I took some Nakey ones! haha(You can click on the photos and they should come up bigger on a seperate page if you want to save or print them)

He's going to want to KILL me when he's 15 and sees that his lil bum was on the internet! haha.  Love yall!

Every Day is Something New

Daniel and I went on our first date last night, and left Parker with our friends Stu and Missy for 3 hours.  It was fabulous.  We walked around Toom (its like Home Depot) for about an hour to dream, then went to a nice Italian restaurant called Taormina's in Landstuhl.  It was fabulous.  We really enjoyed having time to talk to each other.  We held each others' hands while we were walking downtown, instead of the carseat.  Don't get me wrong, we LOVE having Parker tag along with us for everything, but the ''big people'' time was very needed and appreciated!

Daniel received the honor of "Top Cop" for the month of January! What a great way to start the year!  He was recognized for his hard work, college credits, and volunteer hours, and I'm so proud of him!  He should get the award every month.

We've been having SO much fun the past few weeks.  Parker's personality just keeps shining through, and the more we get to know him, the more we enjoy him!  It's been snowing a lot, so our fun has stayed indoors.

A few "big" baby things have happened this week.  Parker really likes his feet, and now he can grab both feet (one in each hand) and rock side to side with his feet in the air.  It's very cute.  He loves the stinky feet game, and has been spending a lot of time focused on wiggling his cute little monkey toes.  I spend a lot of time kissing them. 

The other day, I laid Parker down in the playroom on his tummy, went to the computer, and heard a small thud and fussing, and when I came back to him, he was lying on his back.  He ROLLED OVER for the first time, and I missed it!!!!  I guess it won't be the first thing I ever miss... Its hard to believe that this little baby is actually ours,and then watching him change daily is even more mind-blowing!!

Parker has become very observant, so we talk to him all the time and tell him what everything is.  He just stares when I drink water so I always say "water, water, this is Mommy's water."  He wants some so I give him a little swig. One time he said "WAH" while he was staring at it.  He's getting it...  He knows he's the baby, and I'm Momma-ma-ma-ma, and Daniel is DaDaDaDaDa....

Well yesterday, we were all in Parker's room hanging out, and Parker looked straight at Daniel and said "Da".   So I guess Daniel wins the "Will he say Mommy or Daddy first? game"!!!  It was so special and fun!  He now thinks its funny when he burps, and the thumb-sucking is more common, but not a habit so to speak..  He can pick his nose while he sucks his thumb though.  Gross. And hilarious.  Mostly hilarious.



 A Few Of Parker's Favorite Things...


Parker likes books (Jan. 25)

  
     

and naps (with toys)..... (Jan. 24)

 

  and playing in the Pack.n.Play (Jan. 19)  

(Look how big he is!!)
He REALLY likes floor time, especially if he can play with a silky soft blanket (Feb. 3)

If he has a blanket, he will rub it over his face til he falls asleep. He just LOVES soft things!  This blanket is from Poppy and Nana Karen, and if we put him on it, he can twist around and do 360s on the floor.  He sure can scoot on his back! 
Here's a cool photo Daniel took a few weeks ago of P holding his wedding band (completely supervised, of course)

Hope you all are doing well.  We love you and miss you and hope you had a great Groundhog's Day!!