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Thursday, September 13, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Catching Up (Summer 2011)
Dear Parker,
Little boy! It's been a busy few months and we have lots to catch up on. First of all, you were quite a trooper for your first summer in Austin, especially considering it was the hottest one on record! 70 days of triple digits meant a certain little boy spent a lot of time at the pool. Besides for swimming, had enjoyed many other adventures.
July - We started out July with a trip to see Rocket and YaYa. You were very excited to see them and their pups. You enjoyed saying "Rocket Birthday" and playing with Remo. Mostly you enjoyed climbing in and out of Remo's doggy door but you also liked playing with the pups themselves. You also got to participate in a parade in the neighborhood on the 4th. You were a very patriotic trike rider. You again showed your musical talents by giving many impromptu concerts at the pool. I'm sure the fellow swimmers enjoyed your special rendition of "You Are My Sunshine". Smart boy that you are, you've figured out a pretty sneaky way to delay bedtime. A recent farewell went something like this: "Night Night Mommy. Ok. You have a good one. Night Night! I'll see you next time. Goodnight. Ok. I love you!" It's just fine with me if you want to keep up all that cuteness all night (and by "all night", I mean approximately 5 minutes past bedtime).You ended the month with an exciting boat trip with Daddy for his work party. You sure looked dapper in that life jacket!
Little boy! It's been a busy few months and we have lots to catch up on. First of all, you were quite a trooper for your first summer in Austin, especially considering it was the hottest one on record! 70 days of triple digits meant a certain little boy spent a lot of time at the pool. Besides for swimming, had enjoyed many other adventures.
July - We started out July with a trip to see Rocket and YaYa. You were very excited to see them and their pups. You enjoyed saying "Rocket Birthday" and playing with Remo. Mostly you enjoyed climbing in and out of Remo's doggy door but you also liked playing with the pups themselves. You also got to participate in a parade in the neighborhood on the 4th. You were a very patriotic trike rider. You again showed your musical talents by giving many impromptu concerts at the pool. I'm sure the fellow swimmers enjoyed your special rendition of "You Are My Sunshine". Smart boy that you are, you've figured out a pretty sneaky way to delay bedtime. A recent farewell went something like this: "Night Night Mommy. Ok. You have a good one. Night Night! I'll see you next time. Goodnight. Ok. I love you!" It's just fine with me if you want to keep up all that cuteness all night (and by "all night", I mean approximately 5 minutes past bedtime).You ended the month with an exciting boat trip with Daddy for his work party. You sure looked dapper in that life jacket!
August - The heat wave continued in August so we tried to stay at the pool as much as possible. You started going to school full time at Hyde Park and really enjoyed getting to know new friends and playing new games. We discovered you in the midst of one game that we found very interesting. As I walked in, you were happily wearing a ski cap. Per your teacher, you enjoy throwing things over your head and running around the room. Your teacher also told me that you are especially friendly at school and are the only one who knows all the teachers names. Daddy reported one day that you greeted the gentleman who cleans the school by name. He returned your greeting with an enthusiastic, "Hi Parker!" Our little man - such a politician!
One exciting first for you was your first trip to Chuck E. Cheese! You loved Chuck E and his friends (especially the ones with wheels).
In addition to your social pursuits, you became more interested in reading. A favorite was Carrot Soup. You were able to recite some of the best lines by memory and read back to me. "No carrots? Have you seen them, Dog? Discouraged, Rabbit went home. No carrot soup tonight".
Finally, you were very cute singing your new songs to us. I especially liked the end of the Bumblebee song - "Won't my mommy be so proud of me?" Sweetest one, we are so so proud of you :)
September - Still hot in Austin so we escaped to Wisconsin. It was wonderful to get a break from the heat! You enjoyed going to the State Fair although you were a bit suspect around the animals. You definitely loved the tractor though! Perhaps you have some farming in your future.
The highlight of the trip was getting to meet Baby Alex, your new cousin! You loved holding him and looked to be getting some good tips on being a big brother from Max. One of my favorite memories from that trip was overhearing you trying to persuade Max to make an escape from your pack-n-play. You two plotters may have a future of getting in trouble together.
We took a trip to the Sheboygan Children's Museum and you and Daddy enjoyed playing the drums. I certainly see where you get your musical talents!
We ended the trip with a visit to the Dells where you loved playing in the pool. Mom even got in on the action a little with a trip or two down the lazy river. I love riding the "rapids" with my little man!
Love, Mommy
In addition to your social pursuits, you became more interested in reading. A favorite was Carrot Soup. You were able to recite some of the best lines by memory and read back to me. "No carrots? Have you seen them, Dog? Discouraged, Rabbit went home. No carrot soup tonight".
Finally, you were very cute singing your new songs to us. I especially liked the end of the Bumblebee song - "Won't my mommy be so proud of me?" Sweetest one, we are so so proud of you :)
September - Still hot in Austin so we escaped to Wisconsin. It was wonderful to get a break from the heat! You enjoyed going to the State Fair although you were a bit suspect around the animals. You definitely loved the tractor though! Perhaps you have some farming in your future. 
The highlight of the trip was getting to meet Baby Alex, your new cousin! You loved holding him and looked to be getting some good tips on being a big brother from Max. One of my favorite memories from that trip was overhearing you trying to persuade Max to make an escape from your pack-n-play. You two plotters may have a future of getting in trouble together.
We took a trip to the Sheboygan Children's Museum and you and Daddy enjoyed playing the drums. I certainly see where you get your musical talents!
We ended the trip with a visit to the Dells where you loved playing in the pool. Mom even got in on the action a little with a trip or two down the lazy river. I love riding the "rapids" with my little man!
Love, Mommy
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Dear Parker (22 - 27 Months)
Little boy,
I've done it again. Let too many months pass between letters. In partial defense, I will say that I do make daily notations of our days in a journal and I (or more specifically, your dad) take lots of pictures and videos. It is the act of summing it all up in a monthly letter that gets to be a little overwhelming. Plus, I have picked up a bit of a laundry habit that keeps me very busy these days.'
You are now two and are a bundle of energy and singing and dancing. Around 25 months, you started talking in complete sentences and we are delighted at finally being able to have full conversations. We think you always have very interesting things to say :)
I will try to include some highlights from the past few months below:
January (22 Months)
More talking this month - favorite sayings include: "elcome" (You're Welcome), "Hi Dorothy" (said enthusiastically at the beginning of Elmo's world when he says hi to his pet goldfish) and "Hip Hip Hooray"! You enjoyed coloring on the easel,
wrestling with Daddy, taking trike rides, singing "Bible Songs" and doing flashcards. A big first this month was your first snow! Austin doesn't get snow often so we tried to take as much advantage of it as possible. 
February (23 Months)
Big excitement this month as the Packers won the Super Bowl! Go Pack! Our garden court had a super bowl party and you loved running around, eating snacks ad staring at the giant screen. Your daddy of course had to have some brats - I know he was very proud of his home state and was very thankful to be able to celebrate with his little Packer.
Also, you got to meet Elmo at Sesame Street Live. You were initially a little tenative about the whole arrangment but soon you were singing and clapping with all your old friends.
March (24 Months)
You started to get lots more verbal this month. I guess all my reading and singing is paying off! You finish songs like This Little Light of Mine and shout "No!" at the appropriate moments. Also, you like to grab my face and say "Hi Mommy" and "Ok Mommy". You can draw on demand on your easel AND spell your name (You like to spell it "K-E-R". Perhaps that is a hint that you would like a new nickname?) Your love of movement continued with festive jig dancing on St.Patrick's day. Your affection for Elmo was replaced by Ernie "uhr-nee" and your kind heart was shown by sharing with friends and sweetly caring for the baby dolls at school (you will probably be very embarrassed that I wrote that one day but that would require you to actually read all of my letters and I just can't imagine that you would ever have the patience for such a thing). You also have a brand new responsibility that you enjoy very much - getting daddy's white T-shirt each morning for the closet. We are very thankful to have such a helpful guy in the house!
April (25 Months)
A very eventful month! You turned two! We had a nice little party at the park near our house and several of your best buds made it including your cousins Brooks and Luke and Rocket and YaYa. You also enjoyed other birthday parties - including one with a bouncy house! You were a wild guy once you got the hang of all that jumping. You enjoyed our day at the Children's Museum and refused to leave at closing time. You were especially interested in the guitar and drum set. Again, your musical inclinations are evident. You also got to try out having a dog in the house when our neighbors had a baby and we watched their dog, Ozzy. You LOVED Ozzy and would shout "Hi Ozzy!" every time you saw him. You also enjoyed taking Ozzy on walks. Ozzy was slightly less enthusiastic but he was a pretty good sport.
May (26 Months)
This month was all about vacation. In the beginning of the month, your dad and I left you in the capable hands of your grandparents while we went to Costa Rica. It was very hard to leave our little man for so long but I think you really enjoyed getting to know your Grandma and Grandpa Gorr and your Nashville Grandma. I know they loved spending time with you. Towards the end of the month, Daddy and I went away again but this time you got to come with us! We went to a nice hotel in San Antonio and you enjoyed the big pool, the lazy river and of course, the live music in the evenings.
June (27 Months)
Summer started in earnest in June so we spent as much time as possible indoors. You got to know a new friend, Mo, and we even had her over for a triple date. Lest any of our users fear that you are too young to date, I must mention that the outing was closely supervised but a certain popular red monster. We also headed up north to Dallas to visit with some friends and you got to meet "Baby" Jake (who actually didn't really care too much for being referred to as a Baby. You and Jake had a good time watching a movie and enjoying popsicles outside.
Love,
Mommy
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Dear Parker (17 - 21 Month),
Dear Parker (17 - 21 Month),
What a bad mommy blogger I’ve been! I will attempt to catch you up on all the excitement of the past several months.
August (17 Months) was characterized by fun times outside and temper tantrums inside. Your dad and I discovered the free concerts at Bluebird Canyon and boy did you enjoy the tunes! From reggae to the eagles to jazz, you were one boogying guy. Dad and I had a hard time keeping up with you as you kept trying to get closer and closer to the band. You began saying more clearly, no (you said this quite a lot), mommy, daddy, hi, bye and towel. You enjoyed imitating animal sounds such as a dog panting, a duck quacking and a cow mooing. You also loved hair pulling! Mommy was a bit embarrassed to pick you up one day at school and be told that you had pulled hair approximately 20 times that day! On the bright side, I’m pleased to discover that you certainly are
r
persistent. This month we went to the fair and although the barbeque smoke hurt your eyes, you loved clapping for the pig races. In addition to your emerging persistence quality, you also displayed quite a flair for drama. The performances are thus far limited to expressions of supreme disappointment (read: temper tantrums). Who can forget the infamous graham cracker incident? Upon being told that you could not have graham crackers for dinner, you threw yourself down on the ground and began tearing at your clothes in a manner reminiscent of the incredible hulk. Silly P.
In September (18 Months), you and Daddy traveled to Wisconsin. Here you got to see Grandma and Grandpa Gorr and you got to meet your great grandma Visser and cousin Max! The word on the
street was that you were fairly preoccupied with talking on the phone (or more accurately, item you believed resembled phones such as the remote control) and thus, had minimal time for family bonding. However, you were able to squeeze in some good times at the Wisconsin Dells where you had a great time floating around the lazy river with Dad. You were particularly fetching in your life vest. This month you also had some fun times with Emersen. We stayed at Emersen’s house while her mom and dad were out of town. I think you loved all the extra space and the new toys. You and Emersen were like an old married couple fighting over who would drive the Cozy Coupe. This month you became a little shadow of mine as you attempted to do everything I was doing. You brushed your hair, brushed your teeth, pretended to drink out of my water bottle, attempted to scan yourself into school and tried to blow your nose.
October (19 Months) was a very hectic month. Your dad took a job in Austin, Texas so we learned that we were moving! Mom was a little bit of an emotional mess this month but you seemed to take all the changes in stride. Amid all the goodbyes and packing, we managed to have some good times. One of those good times was decidedly not the petting zoo. As soon as we arrived, it became clear that you were a bit frightened of the guinea pigs and rabbits. After a few additional moments, it became clear that mom and dad were a little bit scared of all the critters as well. We took some pics at a pumpkin patch, played in a corn “sand” box and called it a day. One of your hardest goodbyes was with your friend Emersen. You and Emersen love each other so much – sometimes mom found it difficult to separate you two at the end of the day. You enjoyed your second Halloween with your new friend Dylan. You were quite a cute pachyderm!
November (20 Months) was our first month in our new state! While we were looking for a permanent house, we stayed at the Residence Inn. You made fast friends with the staff and tried your best to help as much as possible behind the desk. You and I had a lot of quality time going to library storytimes and parks. You were also a good helper as we looked at houses. Your key responsibility was testing out the faucets – I’m not sure what we would have done without our 
What a bad mommy blogger I’ve been! I will attempt to catch you up on all the excitement of the past several months.
August (17 Months) was characterized by fun times outside and temper tantrums inside. Your dad and I discovered the free concerts at Bluebird Canyon and boy did you enjoy the tunes! From reggae to the eagles to jazz, you were one boogying guy. Dad and I had a hard time keeping up with you as you kept trying to get closer and closer to the band. You began saying more clearly, no (you said this quite a lot), mommy, daddy, hi, bye and towel. You enjoyed imitating animal sounds such as a dog panting, a duck quacking and a cow mooing. You also loved hair pulling! Mommy was a bit embarrassed to pick you up one day at school and be told that you had pulled hair approximately 20 times that day! On the bright side, I’m pleased to discover that you certainly are
r
persistent. This month we went to the fair and although the barbeque smoke hurt your eyes, you loved clapping for the pig races. In addition to your emerging persistence quality, you also displayed quite a flair for drama. The performances are thus far limited to expressions of supreme disappointment (read: temper tantrums). Who can forget the infamous graham cracker incident? Upon being told that you could not have graham crackers for dinner, you threw yourself down on the ground and began tearing at your clothes in a manner reminiscent of the incredible hulk. Silly P.
In September (18 Months), you and Daddy traveled to Wisconsin. Here you got to see Grandma and Grandpa Gorr and you got to meet your great grandma Visser and cousin Max! The word on the
street was that you were fairly preoccupied with talking on the phone (or more accurately, item you believed resembled phones such as the remote control) and thus, had minimal time for family bonding. However, you were able to squeeze in some good times at the Wisconsin Dells where you had a great time floating around the lazy river with Dad. You were particularly fetching in your life vest. This month you also had some fun times with Emersen. We stayed at Emersen’s house while her mom and dad were out of town. I think you loved all the extra space and the new toys. You and Emersen were like an old married couple fighting over who would drive the Cozy Coupe. This month you became a little shadow of mine as you attempted to do everything I was doing. You brushed your hair, brushed your teeth, pretended to drink out of my water bottle, attempted to scan yourself into school and tried to blow your nose.
A big first this month was your first hair cut! You were so well-behaved! You loved sitting in the airplane chair and watching movies. Mom was sad to see your sweet curls go but you were such a handsome little boy with your new do.
October (19 Months) was a very hectic month. Your dad took a job in Austin, Texas so we learned that we were moving! Mom was a little bit of an emotional mess this month but you seemed to take all the changes in stride. Amid all the goodbyes and packing, we managed to have some good times. One of those good times was decidedly not the petting zoo. As soon as we arrived, it became clear that you were a bit frightened of the guinea pigs and rabbits. After a few additional moments, it became clear that mom and dad were a little bit scared of all the critters as well. We took some pics at a pumpkin patch, played in a corn “sand” box and called it a day. One of your hardest goodbyes was with your friend Emersen. You and Emersen love each other so much – sometimes mom found it difficult to separate you two at the end of the day. You enjoyed your second Halloween with your new friend Dylan. You were quite a cute pachyderm!
November (20 Months) was our first month in our new state! While we were looking for a permanent house, we stayed at the Residence Inn. You made fast friends with the staff and tried your best to help as much as possible behind the desk. You and I had a lot of quality time going to library storytimes and parks. You were also a good helper as we looked at houses. Your key responsibility was testing out the faucets – I’m not sure what we would have done without our
faucet tester! You began talking more than ever and I was able to count at least 20 words that you said consistently including tweet tweet, choo choo, milk, night night and yogurt. You also added shaking hands to your repertoire. You would stick out your hand whenever someone said, “Nice to meet you”. So cute! ! We spent Thanksgiving in Cedar Lake visiting Rocket and YaYa. You were a little nervous about their dogs, Bama and Remoh but soon all were taking turns chasing the others around. You even tried to share your beloved snacks with the pups. Such a generous Parker! We had other fun times including visiting a fire station, playing at the train table at B
arnes and Noble, eating Amy’s Ice Cream, visiting new baby friends Lauren and Hope in Dallas and pointing to our nose, eyes, mouth, head and toes.
December (21 Months) – This month was characterized by early mornings and boxes. While still at the Residence Inn, you decided 4am was a great time to start the day. Dad and I were less excited about this new phase but went along with your enthusiastic wake ups so as not to get kicked out of the hotel due to noise complaints. Midway through the month, we closed on the house and then began unpacking in earnest. “We” is probably a bit of an overstatement as most of the actual unpacking fell to me while you took on the equally time consuming task of examining all items that had been out of your supervision for the previous 6 weeks. We celebrated your 2nd Christmas and you were very very cute in your special Elmo themed PJs. Favorite gifts this year included a tricycle of your very own! You were excited to finally get some wheels!
arnes and Noble, eating Amy’s Ice Cream, visiting new baby friends Lauren and Hope in Dallas and pointing to our nose, eyes, mouth, head and toes.December (21 Months) – This month was characterized by early mornings and boxes. While still at the Residence Inn, you decided 4am was a great time to start the day. Dad and I were less excited about this new phase but went along with your enthusiastic wake ups so as not to get kicked out of the hotel due to noise complaints. Midway through the month, we closed on the house and then began unpacking in earnest. “We” is probably a bit of an overstatement as most of the actual unpacking fell to me while you took on the equally time consuming task of examining all items that had been out of your supervision for the previous 6 weeks. We celebrated your 2nd Christmas and you were very very cute in your special Elmo themed PJs. Favorite gifts this year included a tricycle of your very own! You were excited to finally get some wheels!
And so we wrapped up 2010 - quite an eventful year. I am looking forward to more fun in 2011 and hopefully being a better blogger. We love you, Sweet P!
Love, Mommy
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