The Tarbutton's

We’re Back In Action!!!!

2012-02-10T22:25:00.000-06:00

So we have been out of computer commission because someone (me) was trying to multitask and dropped the computer. Better than dropping the baby. That’s my pitch.

A phone conversation with a man living half way around the world (“Joe”) and trying to convey that yes I am married to the computer’s owner and Joe could have my credit card number, many visits with the intimidating Geek Squad, and $200 dollars later…..sigh. I got my computer back.

And the craziness continues……

At the exact moment I sit down to type this G is claiming that Reese is sucking his arm so I need to feed her and our son is coughing up his right lung due to a prolong cold that has been ceremoniously passed to all in the family. I won’t go into the gory details of last nights baby feeding frenzy at 3am and the toddler vomit fest at 4am. sigh. sigh.

While pregnant with John Parker I received more advice than I could wrap my brain around. But with number two NOT ONE “FRIEND” mentioned that having two will be the craziest experience a human could ever encounter (unless of course you have three…four…five kids and you at least have a clue as to what you’re getting yourself into). Thanks. We could have used the warning. I know. I know. Some day we will look back and wonder where the time went. But I’m pretty sure Greg and I will be well rested and contemplating that from the comfort of our sofa after eating a warm meal, carrying on an adult conversation (minus the words “poop” and “Katy, you can’t say that in front of John Parker”) while watching the most current episode of The Office.

Enough honesty…here are some pics that make my oh so crazy life seem perfect! LOVE these two beautiful children and wouldn’t trade this time in our life for the world.

New Year’s Eve Party…in the third pic they are toasting in the New Year with a little Welch’s. My son is the one that started it. His Ma taught him to “cling” and toast. This is a common occurrence in our home. Not just holidays.

No New Year’s party is complete without “Ring Around the Rosie.”

They all fall down….

Church outfits…these pics ALWAYS go south but I love taking them. This always makes G annoyed because we are either running late or it’s after church and they are in meltdown mode. The kids. Not Greg.

In this set of pics John Parker is literally running from me while I take his picture.

Reese turns 2 months and John Parker turn 2 1/2 years old. John Parker did not cut his own hair, it’s just laying funny.

Did I mention John Parker turned 2 1/2 and he acts every bit of 2 1/2? Sigh. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. 3rd pic I left him unattended and he put on my lipstick. Greg was not impressed. The Santa hat is an every day favorite.

Not only is he sitting in R’s carseat but he also put on a pair of her leggings.

But bless his heart…he LOVES his Weese. Sigh. These are random pics from my “stay at home mom” time with the kids. JP took the random on of me. It’s obvious if JP sits remotely close to Reese I grab my camera.

Yes. Reese is under his blanket.

While on break I got to take John Parker to story hour then to lunch dates with his buddies. We even took Reese with us a few times. We had soooo much fun!!!!

This is how tonight night ended. A little R and R after a crazy week back at work. I couldn’t ask for a more wonderful life!!!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T17:34:00.000-06:00

The annual girls get together….

This year we were short Melanie (who was having a baby!) and Steph. It’s always fun catching up with the girls. We have all been friends since pre-school!!!! It’s so amazing having these girls as friends! Notice I am feeding Reese…there is NO stopping her. She is always eating!

John Parker’s Christmas Party at Miss Tonyas….

Greg and I went to the party. Reese stayed home with Gi Gi. It’s so funny to see John Parker on “his turf.” He asked Greg and I to leave after a while.

As Santa was leaving John Parker made a bee line over to say bye and as Santa started walking towards him he made a sharp right turn in the opposite direction but he never stopped waving.

This picture cracks me up! John Parker with his buddies Hunter and Luke. Luke and JP were born on the same day!

Grandma Betty and Pop’s Christmas…

Ashton reading the Christmas Story. He did awesome!!

Then John Parker wanted to attempt to read….

This picture cracks me up because my son (the blurry figure in the bottom left) was throwing a football at the Gisi family as hard as he possibly could and they were all trying to dodge it. His throwing skills are impressive!

Greg’s “Dirty Santa” win.

Tyler and Reese

Visit from Hillary…

Christmas Eve at mom and dad’s…

This sums up our wild and crazy night….John Parker in Caroline’s Barbie Van box.

Christmas Eve at our house…
Preparing our snacks for Santa and his reindeer. I love these pics where we “inserted” Reese.

Christmas Morning….

John Parker escaped from his bath and ran back in to play with his train table. It’s a hit!

All the cousins at church….Emily & I accidently dressed our kids alike!

Christmas lunch at Ma & Pa’s….

Riding Mocha after lunch….

Opening gifts from Arkansas! We were sad we couldn’t make it down for Christmas this year. It just didn’t seem the same.

We’ve been a little busy with this girl….

Can you believe she turned a month old on Christmas Day???

And for my memories….my Christmas card tree. I heart pintrest.

Story Hour, Playdates & Christmas Mischief

2011-12-22T10:59:00.000-06:00

I took John Parker to story hour Tuesday. We met his buddies there and then we went to the Mills for lunch and cupcake decorating!

Notice the mushroom hair style. I brushed, sprayed, rubbed it down with a wet towel, and had him wear a hat. Same result every time.

1) I had this same hair when I was his age….really. 2) He needs a haircut & I turned this job over to his father. 3) His father finally decided it was looking like a mushroom & he’s getting a cut Friday. Merry Christmas John Parker.

Playing with buddies Lanie & Claire. John Parker chased them around the house growling (he informed me it was a scary monster) and they ran from him squealing. Ahh what the future holds!

Jiles & his mom Stephanie came over to join us. He is one and that child can eat like no other. In this pic he is walking around the table stealing food. Too funny!

This sweet girl stayed behind with her Gi Gi so I could enjoy some much needed one on one time with her brother.

Last night we did take out and while waiting for G to pick it up I frantically fixed JP something to eat. I put Reese in her swing (which usually lasts 2-3 minutes) and asked JP to keep an eye on her (we have found if we give him a job when it comes to Reese then he is less likely to do something that will result in him getting in trouble;). The kitchen is right next to the playroom so I could watch both of them….this is what I saw…..

Not signing him up for sitting services anytime soon. There are 3 chairs at this table. One that faces the tv and swing, one that faces the wall, the swing and his toys on the table, and the third chair he NEVER sits in. That is the one he is sitting in with his back to his sister. Strike 87.

Later that night during his bath he told us he was pumping. That would lighten my load if I could pass that job off to someone else. Unfortunately John Parker, those vitamin bottle caps will not get the job done.

We have been getting lots of gifts in the mail & JP has done a great job of staying out of the tree (thank you Chippy). He is very inquisitive about all the gifts & wants to know who they are all for. When we are naming them off he will say “and me?” He has also been carrying on some in depth conversations with Chippy. Last night we let him open one. He picked the “one” that was actually three separate gifts tied together. Smart kid. This gift was from Aunt Nancy, Arnie & Jordan all the way from Fairhope AL….

(this pic cracks me up….we have to work on our “cheese”)

If you look closely, John Parker got his Jimmy Buffet starter set. Too funny! Aunt Nancy & Arnie are the biggest Parrotheads so apparently they want their great nephew to be also! He also got a tee shirt but he wouldn’t hold it up. He thought we were going to make him change out of his pjs & him wanting to stay in his pjs is a weird phase he’s going through right now. Thanks Aunt Nancy, Arnie & Jordan!!! We are just thankful it wasn’t an Ole Miss starter set!

And this morning…..Reese played with her hands. The same hands that will be performing brain surgery some day.

I love this girl. I love maternity leave. I love that Christmas is only a few days away. I love that I get to catch up friends today then a girls party tonight. I love that Saturday we are making salt dough ornaments with Reese & John Parker’s hand prints. I love that Greg has not started putting John Parker’s train table together and will probably be up all night on Christmas Eve and I will get to say “told you so” hee hee!

Kelly V- that was my Thursday Loves

Family Fun…

2011-12-18T21:03:00.000-06:00

I am trying REALLY hard to update more than once a week. Due to sleep deprivation, it is hard to remember what is going on in the pics if I don’t write it down quickly.

Pics of John Parker hanging around the house…

The balloon is still around…getting a little flat but he is still rather attached to it. I have a feeling I will be making another trip to Southeast Hospital to purchase a replacement in a few weeks.

John Parker acting like a scary monster and trying to attack me while I am holding his sister and obviously a camera.

This is what Reese does when I talk to her. She starts flapping her arms and becomes overjoyed with excitement. Not sure if it’s me or gas.

Further proof of a family member that sleeps with their hands behind their head. I am the only sane sleeper in the family that sleeps with my arms down.

Friday night we had a big family outing to Holcomb (shout out to KT in Finland) to their latest restaurant. The new trend going on in Dunklin County is not Strawberries but their sister restaurant which is a steak house. This is the BEST steak ever. Each part of my meal was comparable to all my favorite steak eateries! That texas toast had me reflecting on my days at Jerry’s. It was Reese’s first big outing & she did great! Number #1 not so much. He was being somewhat of a handful. Three positives for him….he let the entire restaurant know he had to pee which we are so happy he is admitting….which he did in the toilet of the men’s restroom. Second positive….he chose his father had to take him. Third positive…there was a Santa look alike eating. JP started shaping up when we pointed him out. Before we left he even went over and told Santa he wanted choo choos for Christmas. See zoomed in pic below….

I also want to add that this event took me 2 hours to get two kids and myself ready. Sigh. That’s how long it use to take ME to get ready for a party in college. Oh how the world has changed.

Cookie time! John Parker, Greg, and I made Christmas cookies yesterday. Greg took some actions shots. Yes, I am the only one still in my pjs. Greg just loves it when I wear my Christmas pjs. We made peanut butter reindeer cookies and Christmas tree sugar cookies. We delivered them to grandparents and aunts and uncles. It was a lot of fun. John Parker had his own dough he worked with. I had Christmas music playing and while he worked he danced! It was too fun!!! This is a tradition that my mom use to do with us when we were kids. I cannot wait for Reese to join us. She missed out this year due to her excessive napping.

I took John Parker to church today while Greg stayed home with Reese. This is what I dressed him in. Greg nor my father approved but I think he looks dashing. I thought if I bought a long-all with ducks on it they might like it. It reverses to a brown and blue check pattern with footballs. I tried to cover my bases with the long-all theme. It was either that or alligators. This is the outfit that we will get lots of wear out of….which the two family fashionistas I am sure will not approve. I love kelly’s kids!

After church we ate at Gi and Pas….

John Parker is saying “cheese” in this pic.

And because John Parker and I were so strongly criticized over fashion choices I thought I would snap a pic of Greg, Gary, & John Parker playing “Ring Around the Rosie” after lunch. How manly of them. Ahh Revenge.

This is what my sweet girl did while the men were playing their after dinner games. Unfortunately that pink blanket does nothing for her coloring. But she’s asleep. We wanted to keep her that way. She stayed. I got my pic.

One week until Christmas and one week until Reese is one month old! My kids will be 18 before we know it!!!

We have a BUSY week ahead. Playdates, Christmas Parties, wrapping gifts, baking, cooking, and visits with friends!

Our Week….

2011-12-10T17:02:00.004-06:00

Our week has shown considerable progress:0) with our first born adjusting to our second born. John Parker (we think) has come to the realization that Reese is staying put. Our biggest obstacle is sharing…for example he does not want her to use his wipes, his blanket, or be around his grandmas, dad, etc. Other than that we are adjusting fine. John Parker has finally come around with me and actually lets me hold and love on him! Hopefully I am off his bad list.

A little behind on posting but....last Saturday John Parker fell asleep watching college football. This has happened a handful of times and every time I think I need a picture because I am so amazed that he is soo tired and will just fall out any where. We also had a visit from Danny and Karen. It so nice of them to drive all this way to meet Reese and play with John Parker. He LOVED playing with Karen and had the best time with his Poppy and Inga! We love you guys and thank you for coming up!

I snapped this pic while Reese was sleeping. Notice the hands above the head…this is how Greg & John Parker both sleep.

I took this pic to show John Parker with his balloon that Reese got him from the hospital gift shop. He carries it every where and if I ask him where it got it he tells us Gi.

This is what I do all day….I stare at this precious baby! We are between sizes of newborn-0/3 months. This is a Target newborn and it is sooo big which seems to be the case with all the cute Target newborn onesies I bought. Urgh. We are currently wearing a size 1 diaper so when we go to the doctor Monday I am anxious to see how much the little eating machine has grown!

Proof of the break through…

Oops…never mind. Regression.

C came down to meet her new cousin. She did sooo good holding her. C told John Parker that it’s neat that he has a new baby cousin. Hee hee. Between that and breastfeeding she is probably going home full of questions for her parents!

Then C took these pics…

(yes it’s blurry and I look horrible…I haven’t been out in public in ages but I am finally back in good graces with my son. I want to commemorate the moment.)

JP took this one of the Fresh Beat Band on TV…

I took this one…they are both saying "cheese"

This is one of John Parker’s art pieces from story hour. It is suppose to be a porcupine. Once upon a time it had body parts but they have all disappeared. John Parker always likes to stop and talk to it but I have made the decision it has to go after two and half months of lurking around our house. Really this could be impossible to put in a ~~scrapbook~~ scrapbox so I thought a pic on the blog would be the next best thing!

One last pic of my girl….thought I would try the bow thing. Each pic took about 1 second. Then the bow made her MAD. My goal is to have her wearing bows by the time we make public appearances. A little practice each day…guess I should start with the smaller ones!

Today is Greg’s 31st birthday! Last night we celebrated with friends at a winery. It was our first big night out since Reese was born. We were gone exactly 3 hours. The winery is less than 15 minutes from our house so it was a quick dinner out. I didn’t take any pics but it sooo nice to have adult conversations and catch up with our good friends! Happy birthday Greg…We LOVE you!!!!

1 Week

2011-12-02T20:47:00.001-06:00

One ago today Reese was born!

Here are some pics from the past couple of days. I attempted to update sooner but we had a crazy night Wednesday night and I am just now feeling like myself again. Sleep deprivation. Sigh. Thankfully she slept 4 and then 3 hours last night with only one feeding! I am anxious to see how tonight goes. She has grown leaps and bounds (which could have something to do with the CONSTANT feeding sessions we are having. She eats then crashes on me, fills her diaper, wakes up, and wants to eat again. It’s an interesting schedule she has already put herself on. Very efficient!

Few pics from the past few days….

We had a little tummy time Wednesday and it went south quick. She is not a fan. This is the ONLY way John Parker would lay. The first pic she is looking tortured but she sent herself over the “barrier” I made with her blanket. Too funny. Second pic is what she did during her tummy time.

Content sleeping on her side….

Wednesday afternoon mom watched Reese between feedings so I could go pick up John Parker. I was anxious (not only because I wanted to see my kid but also leave the house and see other humans) to go get him because he wanted to stay home with me that day but I knew I could not handle the two of them just yet. He wants me to constantly pick him up (which I am not suppose to do yet) and wants me to put Reese down to play with him. I still have lots to figure out.

Once we got in the car at the sitters we headed to McDonald’s for a little bribe since I am still on his bad list. Once we were sitting in the drive through it hit me that when we got home I would be alone for the first time with a two year old and a 5 day old. Gulp. It never crossed my mind that it would happen at that moment. I have to admit it was funny yet scary since John Parker is living in his own bubble, with a mind of his own right now and I have another kid that is demanding I feed her constantly. It was a very eye opening moment! Tonight we did have a break through. I read to him while I fed Reese. Multi-tasking at its best!
On a side note: I did have my camera ready to snap my pic of “Jimmy Huff” working at the Dexter McDonalds but apparently he wasn’t working the window that day.

Bonding time….

Tonight we had a MAJOR breakthrough…..

Then he said “all done” and he was right back into Elf on the Shelf Chippey movie. Something we have watched every day at least 3 times a day. It’s Extravaganza ‘Lorious (you totally have to watch it 100 times like we have to understand it)! Luckily he is associating Chippey with our Elf of the Shelf and I can use our Elf who is now named “Chippey” as a pawn for things we need him to do. Chippey is currently sitting in our Christmas tree warding off a 2 years old and it’s working. Too bad they don’t have Chippey’s for all holidays.

A few funny things that John Parker has done lately. When we are giving too much attention to his little sister he will come walking through the house without his pants on. So random and a little too Will Ferrell. Perhaps some counseling with Pastor Phil will resolve this. When I get my breast pump out he always wants to try it out. Today when I was feeding Reese he pulled up his shirt and told me he wanted to feed her. I told him that’s very kind but he didn’t have right equipment and she could potentially starve. When I am feeding Reese and he walks in the room he will run up to us and say “hot Reese, hot!” Too funny!

We are learning a lot being parents of two. Our tag teaming tactics are working and we feel on top of our game at this point. hee hee. Thankfully we are surrounded by a wonderful family that is willing to help. We are eating up every moment with these two kiddos!

Nose

2011-11-29T22:15:00.000-06:00

Today we got some “nose” (snow) according to John Parker. While we took Reese to her first appointment with the pediatrician John Parker went to Gi and Pa’s house to play in the snow. They said he was fearless and kept going down a hill on their sled on his stomach. Here are a few shots of our day…my camera is messed up so the pics look funny. I am pretty sure John Parker messed with my settings last night when he snatched it off the table. Today was definitely a harder day for him being a big brother. He wasn’t as into Reese. I think the realization that she’s staying is starting to set in. Thankfully we have wonderful family and friends that are willing to step in and spend a little extra time with him. Tonight the Mayo's came over to visit John Parker and Reese. This is just what he needed after a touch and go afternoon!

These pics crack me up because he is showing us how his footprint is in the snow.

A sneak peak of our new norm….

I can’t enough of this….

Today at the doctor Reese weighed 6 lbs 14 oz which is up one oz from when she was born BUT when we left the hospital Sunday she was 6 lbs 5 oz. So all those feeding are paying off. She eats like a champ! Totally different experience with this one. She even sleeps like babies are suppose to! And hardly cries! Granted it’s day 4….lots can change.

We are so blessed and I have loved being surrounded by my little family for the past few days. Tomorrow Greg goes back to work and John Parker back to Miss Tonya’s so we are about to see change. I wish it could stay like this forever.

She’s Here!!!!

2011-11-28T20:51:00.000-06:00

This is rather boring, but I want my daughter to know all about her arrival especially when she is a rebellious teenager. I need her to know that she did not float down from heaven on a stork….well it seems she did “float” down from heaven but not on a stork.

Well the story of how Reese got here falls between Thanksgiving Dinner and Arkansas/LSU Kickoff. We have impeccable timing! I had been feeling some pretty STRONG contractions for the past week and half, typically happening throughout the night. So this past Monday night we were up counting some pretty strong and consistent contractions. I called my dr and she wanted me to start over counting. Two contractions later it stopped. I worked Tuesday but felt achy and tired so I left at 2. Slept and rested Tuesday night then went to the doctor to an already scheduled appointment (Greg and John Parker took me) Wednesday morning. Knowing I was probably already dilated to 10 because of the horrible aches and pains of the week…we took bags and I made contact with my epidural man (thanks J) to prepare for the potential delivery of #2. Well that plan was shot out the window when I was only dilated to a 1 again for week #2. Urgh all that work and no change AND the nurse told me they were probably just strong Braxton hicks. Umm, don’t think so. I’ve given birth before. Those are the labor pains that Eve handed down. I knew something wasn’t right. But we headed back home (it was a tearful departure) and I cleaned, packed, and organized everything because I knew she is coming soon. Wednesday night I got hit with stronger contractions again and we debated going to hospital. After LOTS of prayer and thought it was decided to wait until they were closer together. Then they stopped from 6:30 am until 11 ish. We ate Thanksgiving Dinner at my parents and left right after lunch. I knew it was time when I was eating my food curled up on the couch. I was not going to give up my meal no matter what. I was looking forward to this holiday! Jill and Greg took my to the hospital after we called Dr. Woolard and got the go ahead. We arrived around 2 where they proceeded to tell me that I was only a 1! At that point I was a little worried. I did not feel right at all but was not progressing. She hadn’t even dropped like she should have. To make a LONG and gruesome story short. They let me “sit” after a delightful nurse sent me into labor and I progressed QUICKLY. I progressed sooo fast that I kept sending Greg to ask for my epidural (which my person was tied up in some life saving surgery…at that point I was feeling pretty selfish and didn’t care) I finally got it around a 6 and it only went down half of my body. What? That only happens on the videos they force you to watch…you know that part where they list potential side effects. I had one…and it sucked! MY BODY HURT. It just felt sooo weird to have strong pain (a 6 going on 7 pain) radiating down one side of my body. SO they came back and had to re do the epidural. It finally worked and slowed me down. This all happened by midnight. By 4:00 I knew it was time to push and by 4:30 I was pushing and she was here at 4:46! I labored for what seemed like 12 days and only pushed for a matter of minutes. During this entire pregnancy I prayed for easy delivery and that is what God gave me. Praise GOD! I would not trade those hard days for what happened in the end. Especially that arrival of our sweet Reese.
We got home Sunday afternoon! Since we have been home John Parker has bonded with his new sister and Greg and I have been readjusting to a 2 1/2 year old! The newborn eats, sleeps, poops. The two year old plays, runs, screams, demands, laughs, hugs, doesn’t sleep, eats, and poops. Ahhh sigh. We are LOVING life right now.
Here are some pics from the past few days….
The tree that I worked hard to get up before the birth of Reese!

A few pictures taken at Thanksgiving before we left for the hospital. The random pic of Grandpa Deardorff eating is the only “adult” pic I got. Usually we do the typical women/men/kid/family pics but this year we cut out a little early and I did not have a desire to take pics.

The last photo of our little family of three! Nice shot of the the pregnant chick…but I wanted to keep this photo since it’s our last picture together before Reese came along (literally hours later). The hardest part for Greg and I was leaving John Parker that afternoon. We felt so guilty that his world was about to be rocked. We knew it was a good change but we both cried knowing that he wouldn’t understand that just yet. He didn’t want us to leave either but Caroline informed him that where we were going was for adults only. Such a big girl! Luckily we have such a great family that has helped us to take care of him for the past few crazy days.

The hospital pics….
First two are I have to put on here…again not the most glamorous shots but things I want to always remember. First one is of me and Reese with Dr. Woolard who is a complete rock star! I LOVE my doctor. The second pic is one I will always remember…this is me holding my daughter minutes after she was born and surrounded by my mom and sister. We were all talking and laughing at how bad Jill and Greg did during this delivery (they got me through JP’s I got THEM through this one). I will always hold this image in my heart! I love those two women!

LOTS of pics from our 4 day stay in the hospital…..

Greg watching that tragic Hogs game with his daughter on Friday. Luckily the birth of our child overshadowed how bad it really was. You can sense Reese’s frustration in these pictures.

Deliveries and Visitors…I didn’t get pics of everyone that came….I was really bad about that but here are a few of family. The fruit duck was so cute I had to get a pic. This is from the Mills Family. It was the BEST fruit ever! We devoured this in minutes! I told Marissa it was our tailgate food for the game.

This picture makes me laugh because Pa was posing by Reese and Ma and he was trying to sit on the arm and missed it completely because we were talking so he just slowly wedged himself in the floor. We laughed so hard he could barely get up!

John Parker’s first visit. Mom and dad brought him up on Saturday afternoon. Ma and Pa were there to witness the “first encounter.” John Parker did sooo good. He was proud to be Reese’s big brother. Every nurse he encountered on the floor ooh and ahhed over him becoming a big brother. I think it went to his head.

Posing with his balloon that Reese went to the gift shop and purchased for him.

Unfortunately he though this was the most entertaining thing in the room…all the big brother gifts we purchased just for his excitement and he liked the rolling stool. Little blurry but he’s spinning.

And this is the balloon that John Parker picked out at the gift shop…

We are getting settled! Greg has taken a few days off so it has been sooo nice to just all be together in the house, especially when it has turned winter and is snowing outside. I am so thankful for my healthy and happy little family!

Reese Kathryn

2011-11-27T18:58:00.000-06:00

She’s here! Born November 25th at 4:46 am. 6 lbs 13 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. She’s perfect and we are so blessed! John Parker is doing great and is being the best big brother a 2 1/2 year old can be. More details to come when we get settled!

The John Parker Update

2011-11-15T19:37:00.000-06:00

Updating LOTS of milestones for our little man…

John Parker you are the most active and happy little man. We have so much fun watching you grow! You LOVE making music using your instruments or anything you can get your hands on that makes a loud banging sound.

You love horses, cows, ducks, dogs, cats, and frogs. You are all boy. When we ride out to the farm you name each animal we see on our way. When we see hay sitting in a field you say “oh no, pa pa, put the hay in barn.” You know the difference between a tractor, combine, and all other heavy machinery that your daddy has taught you. You like to dress up in your cowboy hat and bull riding vest (that pa pa bought you) and fake fall off your fake horse, just like a real cowboy. You even hold one arm in the air like you are riding a bucking horse. You get this from watching too many rodeos on tv with pa pa.

You LOVE playing with trains and always want us to make your train track on the floor and sit with you while you play with them. If we don’t sit with you then you get mad. You only allow us to play with certain trains and like to crash your train into ours as we play.

You also LOVE the Hogs and will randomly say “Go Hogs” and throw your arms in the air. You know the difference between baseball and football (which we have watched a lot of lately…Go Cards and Hogs).

If you wake up before we get out of bed you come up to our room and will stop at the door and scream “raaaa” and run into our room and proceed to climb into our bed. If we turn cartoons on you will stay for another 15 minutes but if you are hungry, you demand we get up right then and go eat cereal. This typically only happens on the weekend when we would greatly appreciate sleeping in. Through the week you tend to sleep longer. Sigh.

You will eat just about anything we place in front of you. You LOVE egg rolls and started this appreciation for them when you started going with Ma and Pa to the senior center where they randomly serve them (which by the way you are a celebrity…people know you in public due to your “politicking” amongst the older sect of Dexter). When we pick you up from Miss Tonya’s, Ma’s or Gi’s and ask you what you ate for lunch that day you always tell us “dog dogs” which is 99.9% false. You love a good bagel, oatmeal, Honey Bunches of Oats, orange juice, eating the marshmallows out of Lucky Charms, bananas, apples, chicken, hotdogs, anything an old man will eat, pies (and you know what a pie looks like and can spot them from 50 yards away). If we have coffee you always tell us yuck and will make the craziest face then proceed to blow on it for us. You ALWAYS ask us if your food is “hot” and will not even look at it until we tell you its cooled down.

You have started this new thing where you hold your ears if something is loud but will look at us to see our reaction. If we tell you it’s okay you put your hands down. You’re still a little unsure about thunder and will run to us if you hear it. When we tell you again, it’s okay then you go back to whatever you are doing.

You LOVE tacky yard décor. Halloween décor was your favorite and I am guessing houses that are overkilling décor for Christmas will be also be your favorite.

You know where people live and EVERY TIME you pass Gi’s you get really mad if we don’t stop. If we are out somewhere you will scream in the backseat “no home” and this can occur anywhere from the time we pull out of the driveway until the time we return home. Apparently you do not like being home (although you go right on playing as soon as we get in) and would rather be on the go! When we pop over the hill to Ma and Pa’s you immediately start saying their name and talk about the farm and Pa Pa. You know where the parks are, McDonalds, church, my work, Walmart, etc. You also recognize cars and if we are in the parking lot at church, you can tell us what family members are already there.

You have this obsession with the claw games at Walmart and Town and Country. Your father introduced you to them and you have only won twice and according to him we have spent your college fund trying to win. If you find out your daddy is going to the store you want to go with him because you know he will let you play the game. I haven’t witnessed this, but apparently after you reach for the prize with the claw you drop down to the floor and put your head in the prize door. Momma is not a fan because I am pretty sure your father is going to let you get your head stuck.

You have this new obsession with Max and Ruby (you even named a prize from the claw game Max) and still like Toy Story. You LOVE books and constantly want us to read one with you which tickles me to death! You like playing “match” (memory) and working your puzzles. You are quite the little scholar! You know how to count pretty well but LOVE the number 9 and will get on this kick of calling all numbers 9. You will count anything we are doing such as putting a snack in the bowl….you want to count the pieces. You recognize some letters and will act like you are reading (you have great book orientation) Because of your mommy’s profession, we have been working on letter sounds and you know what sound the letter “d” and “s” make. We are currently working on “m” which you already say but won’t associate it with the letter…you just like to say MMMMM when something smells good. You say most words and will talk up a storm when you are in the mood. Most of the time we can understand completely what you are saying or what you want. If we don’t, it frustrates you to no end and you throw a “Deardorff” fit as your daddy likes to put it.

You have the best memory and problem solving skills. You know how things around the house work and how to reach or get what you need. You remember where we keep things (which comes in really handy) like when a toy dies you know we keep batteries in the hall closet and will tell us your are getting “batts” out of the closet. We are currently working on left/right so when you put shoes on you will know which foot we ask for. So far so good most of the time. Sometimes you are in such a hurry you seem pretty annoyed that such a crazy question is being asked and you will immediately grab your boot and just put it on yourself. No patience.

Your buddies are Lanie, Hunter, Libby, Evan, Caroline, Nathan, Will, and Cash (you reallllly like saying his name). You love to play with other kids and do really well when we have playdates at the park with our buddies. In the toddler room at church you are friendly with the other kids but you “taunt” them more than anything. I think it has to do with the kids changing so much that you just make due with what ya got.

You are very particular about where you are going the next day for a sitter. It’s still hard for you when we get to Miss Tonya’s. You walk in fine but the staying is the hard part, but you always go to her and just rest your head on her shoulder, like you have given up. You always have fun with her. You love to play with Hunter, Libby, and Evan (when he’s not biting and you always let us know if he’s provoking others…being somewhat of a tattle tale). You love the days that Gi Gi comes to the house because you get to stay in your pj’s most of the morning before she takes you to Story Hour where you break most of the rules and like to raise your hand to answer questions. You always light up when you see Lanie there. When you go to Ma and Pa’s you always tell us bye before we can get out the door. As soon as we walk in you go for the candy jar but will let us know we need to go because they have you trained enough to know they aren’t giving you the candy until we are out the door. You are loved by so many and it makes going to work each day a little easier.

John Parker, you have this affinity for nice pj’s and will not wear a certain pair that I bought at Sam’s. Not sure what the aversion is but you will throw a major fit if we even pull them out of the closet. You always have to wear some type of hat and when we get home, you hang it on the rack. Very old man of you. You also have a new obsession with rubber boots, which I knew would come at some point since you like wearing cowboy boots, but you always want your rubber boots on. You wear a size 18-24 months dress shirts/pants and 2t in most other clothes. You wear a size 5 diaper and are not potty trained, although Miss Tonya informs us that you pretty much are for her. You will sit on the potty every time we ask you if you need to go and will tell us when you poo poo but you will not take the initiative and just go yourself. This is a big tackle before Reese is here.

We love you little guy and cannot wait to see you as a big brother (which by the way you are in complete denial about and want your little sister to sleep outside….gulp). You have made us proud parents and could not ask for a more enjoyable child. Your personality is so fun and outgoing. We are so proud that you will interact with just about anyone. We love that you can belly laugh when something funny happens! We love that when someone is walking in the door, that you go hide and will yell “surprise” and jump out. We love that you have certain ways you want things done and know exactly what you want. We love that you get so excited over the little things. We love that you are so proud of learning something new and will show it to both of us when you do it (like drawing a picture). We also love that you go through phases loving one of us a little more than the other, but not too much to make us jealous.

John Parker we love watching you grow and change before our eyes!

Buzz & Ducks

2011-11-12T14:42:00.003-06:00

We ventured out for some trick or treating. We made a stop at ma and pa’s. Buzz took all their candy then harassed their cats.

We stopped at Uncle Bill’s and Aunt Vera’s after Ma & Pa’s but I didn’t take any pictures. Then off to Gramby and Pop’s for MORE candy.

To Aunt Beck’s and Uncle Ron’s for candy AND powdered donuts. That just made Buzz 10,000 times crazier!

Then to Mayo’s for candy and to play for a bit….

Last stop…Gi and Pa’s to get candy but while we were there he started to hand out candy! John Parker did really good handing out candy to other kids…we actually had to ask him to back off from handing out tooo much, especially to the pretty girls.

This was the process…knock at door….buzz gathered candy.

Then he would check the candy after trick or treaters to make sure there was still plenty.

In between visitors he would rest for a bit.

If he heard a car….the door was open. Very aggressive.

Halloween was sooo much fun this year! We enjoyed every minute of it. The costume definitely changed his personality. He was really into the Buzz character!

On to other things…..thought this was hilarious. Greg was “working” on the computer so John Parker put his bean bag chair on top of G and then got his computer to do some letter/number work.

Last weekend was opening of the “glorious duck season” in MO soooo I was home with John Parker and to occupy our time (a 2 year asking where daddy was 8000 times and a 9 month pregnant women….you learn to get creative to keep him busy) we made roads out of tape (got this off another blog). We had the best time playing with it until G walked in and started making fun of my engineering feat….then John Parker ripped it off the rug. I felt unappreciated.

Life has truly changed…..once upon a time I use to spend a weekend with the gals in Little Rock now we have become mothers and someone has to keep the kids so our husbands can hunt. Greg informed me he is the hunter for our family’s sake. Bless our hearts. I know some day John Parker will be hunting with Pa and Greg so Reese and I will be shopping with the girls!

This is John Parker chilling after church Sunday….I thought the time change would get to us but JP was a trooper in the toddler room. When I went in to pick him up he was running around the room “weaving” in and out of all the other kids that were sitting dazed in their little chairs watching a movie. A little time change has not slowed John Parker down one bit!

This morning we chilled while daddy killed innocent birds again. The Hogs hat actually goes to an outfit from Cracker Barrel. A lady I work with knows our family likes the Hogs so when she spotted it…she thought JP needed it.

Then John Parker took my camera and this is what I got…..

Funny! I complain that Greg gets up at the crack of dawn and wakes everyone up just so he can shoot innocent birds while sitting amongst fake birds in a grave like pit BUT I love this “quiet” Saturday morning time I have with JP. I usually get a few hours with him alone after school before G gets home but that is after the hustle and bustle of an exhausting day and cooking dinner. We have sooo much fun during our Saturday morning breakfasts and train playing! This is our special time together and I appreciate it even more now that his time with us will be different since he will have a little sister.

On the baby front….

I have been going to weekly doctor appointments (37 weeks). Reese has slowed down and is no longer moving like crazy. She is out of room and it’s obvious because when she stretches it feels like she is going to bust out of my stomach. She is measuring 6 1/2 pounds and I am right on track for Dec. 1. Since she is out of room and moving less I am sleeping better at night. I actually slept 9 hours Thursday night! Whoo hoo! God knew I needed some rest. My appetite has slowed down. It’s hard to eat “normal” servings because I am out of room. If I make it to Thanksgiving…I will make it work.

I have been feeling pretty good except on Saturdays…which is random but I think it has to do with working all week, having doctor’s appointments every Friday, then each Friday after my appointment I have been doing some type of Christmas or baby shopping. So by Saturday morning I feel like a zombie! That’s when I’ve been having the most contractions (some pretty strong) BUT this Saturday I am taking it easy…even though I REALLY want to tackle that “to do” list! I even decided to not go to a friends wedding shower since after I took a shower today I was exhausted and swollen. Don’t remember it being like this with John Parker! Maybe I was just too sick for 9 months to notice anything else!

Greg and I are working like crazy at home trying to get everything done before she arrives. We have been working hard to get Christmas shopping finished since I know it will be hard once the baby is here. The nursery is baby ready with a few minor things to finish. Greg has the carseats ready to go. Hospital bags are packed. Work is the only thing that is a little nutty. I am still making lesson plans through the month of FEBRUARY! This is the craziest part to get done, especially when it’s a new position for me. Luckily the lady doing my maternity leave is the place I took and she is wonderful!!!! Still, that feeling of not having everything in place before Reese gets here is nerve racking! I am ready to meet our little girl, wear normal clothes, and for John Parker to be potty trained. Nothing too demanding. If she can stay in until Thanksgiving Break that would be perfect! We’ll see. 3 weeks until my due date!!!!

So what have we been up to???

2011-10-30T23:01:00.002-05:00

Drinking orange juice and playing Toy Story Memory.

Sleeping in our big boy bed.

Growing.

Playing superhero with Caroline.

Eating pops with Caroline. Beer (rootbeer) is our favorite.

Helping mom fold clothes.

Chilling with Delaney.

Chilling with Blue (the blanket).

Trying on our Halloween costume. The reveal pics are below:0)

Going to the Fox to watch Yo Gabba Gabba with Caroline.

Then to Magic House for more fun!

Into wearing dad’s shoes.

Going to Sto. Co Parade with Lanie Grey.

This pic deserves a post all on its own….lots of kings, queens, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 10th place parade riders. This truck had one runner up and then entire family decided to ride in the parade with them. Notice people are sitting on the TOP of the truck and hanging out the window. I am pretty sure this is something you would typically see in Cross County but Greg did not think so.

Going to the fair with the Mills.

Parade #2. Bloomfield Fall Fest.

Waving at Pa in the parade.

Only in Bloomfield….

The Eric Vaught encounter. We see him everywhere we go. This county has a lot of twins of people we know. Jimmy Huff works at McDonalds. Some day I will get enough nerve to take his pic in the drive through window. Until then…take my word for it.

Mother/Daughter day out to brunch/shopping/movie!
Going to Cash’s first birthday party.
Notice he’s in a diaper. He fell into his plate and had to strip down to his diaper at the party. Oops.

Having baby showers. This is my high school girlfriends shower. Melanie and I are due the same month and we are both having little girls. It’s sooo exciting to be having little girls at the same time!!!!! We had a double shower….at my house. Long story short. Crazy weekend for everyone and it was the easiest location. It was sooo much fun because we had our mom’s there. I had a wonderful time & love spending time with these gals!!!!!

The day after the shower the same group of gals had Kickin’ Cancer with Kathy event at the park. Lora’s mom has been battling breast cancer for a very long time and this was her “fight back” party! It was soo awesome. Lora did a GREAT job organizing the whole event. At the event Mel and I also got gifts from Lora (it wasn’t ready at the shower) for our girls. TOO precious. I can’t wait to get our little girl’s pic in this!

Going to Lanie’s birthday party at the bounce house.

Opening Halloween gifts from Poppy and Inga!

Playing in the leaves with our pj’s on.

School baby shower.

Family “Annual Halloween Party” at Mom and Dad’s house. This year the kids and their fathers took a hayride. It was a relaxing 15 minutes for the moms.

We also celebrated Gramby and Caroline’s birthdays!

Getting ready for family fall fest at church tonight. This is the first year I have skipped out but I stayed home to get some things done. Including updating this blog!

The theme of this post is “going” and it seems like things are finally starting to slow down. Only 4 weeks until my due date so we know there won’t be too much going (outside of the home) once our little girl arrives!!!! The biggest thing on our plate is putting the finishing touches on baby stuff and getting my lesson plans together for maternity leave. Gulp! Big changes are on their way and we cannot wait!!!!

Timmy Tarbutton

2011-08-23T22:16:00.002-05:00

We have a new mascot.

We call him a mascot because if he’s a pet…he stays. If he’s a mascot then he can’t live with us. Mascots just represent the family and live in the wild, returning to our home to help promote family spirit. This is what Greg and I have adopted in our policies and procedures. It can be used with most animals such as (and not subject to) wild cats, dogs, frogs, etc. It’s ironic that our first family mascot is a turtle since we claim to be a family of fast people (well me…not sure about the other two…most stolen bases 1997). This is a farm turtle. Dad stopped shelling corn to bring him in 10 MILES to John Parker. This is the second turtle that he has brought to our home. True story…my father BARELY made it to my birth because he was too busy cutting wheat and couldn’t steal himself away from providing America with food to watch his second child be born. Sigh.
This is John Parker and his turtle posing. I asked him to pose with his turtle and he flipped out telling me NO. Then I bribed him. These are completely fake poses. As soon as I finished he ran off. He is only touching the turtle for added drama.

Other pics from the past few days….
My first day of school, his first day at Miss Tonya’s. It was harder on us than him. The transition has been totally different but thankfully right now he is still staying with mom and grandma a couple days a week so he is still getting grandma interaction along with some quality kid time. This is will make sending him off to a sitter sooo much easier when Reese is here!

Train time! Notice the socks. He is very into wearing socks every since the Mayos came over one day after riding their bikes and had their socks/tennis shoes on. So if they come in the house or he is about to head to bed, he needs sss-ocks. He rolls the s. Very Russian.

Bath time. Notice the empty tub. He becomes very difficult to get out especially when it’s me and my belly.

Playing in his big boy room but still not sleeping. He enjoys the goods in the room but refuses to sleep in the bed. He still wants his crib. We’ve tried it all short of locking him in the room. Looks like he’s going to be sleeping with his sister.

Eating cookies for breakfast. This is not in our policy.

I asked Greg to take a picture of me and John Parker before church and this is what I get. Very Olan Mills-ish.

When I was running his bath water he climbed into the closet and into his clothes basket. This is where he stayed until his bath was ready. Wish I could lounge in a dark closet while someone prepared my bath.

The theme of our life lately has been change! Being back at school is a huge change and it does not feel like the beginning of the year since I do not have a class full of kids. I love my new position and finally had small groups for the first time today. I cannot wait until we get into a set routine with our title kids. Greg has been busy with work…saving the world one construction project at a time. This weekend is the annual skeet shoot with a bunch of buddies. He’s totally pumped. Really his only change is that I work again and he now has to step up his help with “chores” around the house. John Parker’s biggest changes are going to the sitter and he is talking up a storm. We can understand every 3 words but that does not slow him down. We are pretty sure he is making fun of us under his breath. Another change for him is the new Scottish accent…he says things such as LLLLL-ock. Rolling his tongue every time he says it. Of course we think it’s impressive and have him say it over and over. I am instilling great word skills with my own child. Hee hee.

Summer Wrap Up….

2011-08-15T16:46:00.001-05:00

Ooh how I have dreaded this day alllll summer. The last day of my summer break. I have been planning this day for so long and how I wanted to do nothing but play with John Parker. Well that all changed last night at 2:15 when John Parker was crying in his bed (crib…still not in big boy bed) saying “no bed, momma….no bed, momma” Ugh. My initial thoughts were why not dad and too late, you’re already in bed but I finally went to get him. 45 minutes later he fell asleep on me then I laid him down where he proceeded to wake back up, jumping to his feet, & screaming. I ran out of the room. WHAT? He has not done this IN FOREVER. He cried “no bed” off and on for quite some time (more than I will admit on a blog) until he (or maybe I) crashed back to sleep. He slept in until 9:15 which has never happened. It has made for an “off” day and the only thing I want to do is go back to sleep until tomorrow morning. Off to a good start on that new back to school schedule. Sigh.

We have a lot going on right now with John Parker (obviously since we are up all night) going to a SITTER for the first time tomorrow, I am starting school and my new position tomorrow, finishing the big boy room (almost done!), starting on Reese’s nursery, cramming in a big boy trip with John Parker before he is no longer an only child, and finding time to birth a 2nd child this year.

Here are some pics from our final summer fun from the past few weeks.

This is how I was able to cook dinner one night last week. This is what he does when he stays at grandma d’s and she is trying to get dinner fixed for the farmers.

Playing Hide and Seek….we have to work on our hiding skills.

One of our last playdates at Cape Swim Park….

Spending one last weekend with Caroline at Bootheel Youth Museum & then to dinner at Dexter Queen…

This is a Hogs jersey that I bought JP at TJ Maxx and he wants to wear it CONSTANTLY which makes me nuts. It’s cute and all but the obsession is wearing me out trying to keep it washed. Right now it’s on “vacation” and hidden in a closet.

Heading to church with our backpack and dollar for Jesus

Not 100% sure what’s going on in this pic but John Parker is playing it cool in the back…

Cleaning out my car and JP got away from me. This is very common lately. If I don’t immediately put him in his carseat completely buckled in (aka not stand him up in the car while I load stuff) then he takes off in the car and I have to climb in one side to attempt to get him out while he runs to the opposite side. Thankfully no one (as far as I know) can see this embarrassing display of bad parenting occur in our driveway.

This pic quality is HORRIBLE but this was the LONGEST day of the summer when JP would not nap all day. That night we snuggled on the couch to watch Toy Story 3 (shocking) and I had to walk out of the room to help Greg with something. I came back in to John Parker sleeping on the couch. In his 26.5 months of existence this has never happened. He always falls asleep in his crib or occasionally in his carseat.

This is another example of what happens when I leave my child unattended…

This is an even better example of what happens when John Parker is left unattended for seconds. Yes, I should be hotlined for leaving my child unattended. I had to pull each limb of his body out of my cabinet. Luckily nothing was broken, kid or trinkets. He is JUST LIKE HIS FATHER. I am pretty sure this is something Greg would have done ~~in college~~ as a child. Look closely on the bottom shelf. Sigh.

This past weekend consisted of us going to our annual Anniversary Outing to STL for a Cards game. This year the Veazey’s joined us and we were able to meet up with the Woodards. It was sooo relaxing to get away with adults. I didn’t even take my camera and since I was the only loser in the STL metro area without an iphone….I have no pics of the wknd. As soon as we got home Sunday we had a church swim party then headed to Guethles for a cookout where again, no pics where taken. It was a great close to the summer!

Locks, Daufers, Stomach Bugs & Pintrest…

2011-08-02T18:42:00.004-05:00

The past few days have been crazy (I seem to put that at the beginning of every post…but that’s the way it always seems around here). Saturday we went to Daufer’s to eat with the Mill’s. It was good food with some exciting entertainment since we took our kids along. Then we went back to the Mill’s so the kids could play.

This pic was taken right before we left…John Parker is showing off his problem solving skills and unlocking the deadbolt using his stool. This is the start of something really bad.

Greg, JP, Matt, & Lanie walking home from the restaurant. Their house is downtown and around the corner so they thought a stroll in the summer heat would be nice. Uhh Marissa and I opted to drive. I took this pic from the car….John Parker’s face was hilarious when he spotted me hanging out of the car with my camera. Paparazzi.

Lanie & John Parker playing…

Sunday before church. I left that afternoon to see Beth in Jonesboro. I didn’t get one pic of her beautiful girls but I absolutely enjoyed my visit. We stayed up late talking like teenagers….definitely not the thing we are use to! The next morning I woke up with a stomach bug so I headed back home (2 hours in a car I might add) as quickly as I could…I had my speech ready for the cop that was going to pull me over. I came home, slept, slept, slept. Luckily Greg and JP are holding up! Sad I had to leave early but so thankful for the time with one of my best friends! I miss ya Beth….I will be back to make up for the missed day of eating and shopping!

So I have started this obsession (thank you Beth) with Pintrest. Oh my. The hours I have wasted away (well actually just sick in bed if that counts for anything) pinning my life away. I am NOT a facebooker at all. I actually just deactivated my account...which I realized I needed to do when I had 154 people wanting to be my "friend" since I hadn't checked it in sooo long. Oops. This overwhelmed me, making me feel guilty for not friending people so I made the decision to deactivate my account. How unamerican of me. So I deemed it okay to take on another media outlet. If you need to track me down try http://pinterest.com/ I am pretty sure I met my limit pinning for the day. This will hold me over until MySpace makes a comeback. Hee hee.

Reese Kathryn

2011-07-29T15:01:00.000-05:00

It has been a MAD HOUSE at the Tarbutton Manor the past week! We have not slowed down and it looks like we may not for a little while longer. We have been working on the the big boy bedroom/kid friendly bathroom remodel One day everything seems to fall in place then the next it seems like nothing is working (or people are not listening to me…hee hee). The madness of remodeling…makes me appreciate a BRAND NEW house but I wouldn’t trade my little cottage for the world.

In the midst from all the visits from painters, carpet layers, and air conditioner repairmen this week John Parker and I have managed playdates, swimming, doctor appts, haircuts, and nightly trips to VBS. We have kept busy trying to stay out of the way of all the people invading our home. This has really infringed on good napping.

Yesterday I went to the doctor for an appt/ultrasound. I am currently 21.5 weeks and everything with the baby looks great! We had the best ultrasound lady and she spent sooo much time with us. Greg loved her because she was not only overly friendly with her ultrasound wand and pics but she is also a huge Hogs fan. So Greg and ultrasound lady got to converse over the SEC while I watched the screen and got to check out my little girl! It was like the baby and I weren’t even there! I knew when she got out her Hogs mug to show Greg….my unborn child and I were spam. Sigh. I will say it again….we could to the South Pacific and run into someone from Arkansas. I even found out this week that our carpet layer is originally from Forrest City. Well God Bless America, there are Arkansans lurking everywhere!

Back to the baby….She was kicking, moving her arms and legs, turning her head so we could see her lips, and looked like she was talking to us. It was awesome! She is right on track with all her “growing milestones” and we are so blessed. Since this week she has also been kicking me like CRAZY which means we are probably headed down the same path as her ACTIVE brother. I am so excited to see my baby girl.

We have decided on the name Reese Kathryn! It is a name we originally picked out with John Parker if he were a girl so I am excited I get to use my girl name. We cannot wait to meet our Reese!

Here are ~~some~~ many pics from the week!

Funny pic of him “helping” daddy put a light up. I grabbed my camera quickly so they are blurry…

Playing a game of memory:

Cleaning the house…John Parker thinks he is vacuuming the house with his weedeater.

Having a farewell lunch with Princess Caroline Monday at Hickory Log. She is actually a superhero and John Parker is her assistant Snap Boy. She said they are saving the world from a giant meatball. (She HATES spaghetti). Vivid imagination! Snap Boy just plays right along.

We went went through the carwash after lunch. I had to take a pic since this is a favorite summer activity. Look at the excitement on that face!!!

Tuesday was playdate at Bootheel Youth Museum. I felt like I ran 10 miles by the time we left. John Parker went to every exhibit at least 300 times. I had to climb these TINY steps to pull him out of the tree house and off the high bridge because he decided that he did not like the covered slides that were the only exits off the exhibit. This pregnant momma was worn out but we had a blast….this was our first visit and we will definitely be going back!

I like the pic of the red tractor…we text this pic to pa pa and his response back was “traitor.”

This is what Lanie and John Parker played on most of the time. It is some type of ball race where they drop the ball in on the rack and watch it roll to the bottom. My camera died after this. I told Marissa that I need to branch out and take other kids pics but John Parker and Lanie love to play together so most of my pics end up being them. It was so cute because L kept letting us know when JP would run off to the next exhibit. She is already looking out for him!!!! Afterwards we went to Pizza Hut and ate as quickly as possible since JP was melting down. He slept all the way home and woke up as soon as we hit the driveway….it was a long afternoon in his world!

Getting our haircut….sitting outside with a treat worked wonders again. Today he had a turtle. Yes, I am that parent, but on our way out he spotted it on the counter and he used me knowing I would give in just to get him to Miss Melinda’s. Once we were in the car he CRIED for Gi so we stopped by and picked her up on our way. Again, working it to get everything he wants. Love these pics of him chomping on his chocolate turtle while getting his hair cut.

Here are some VBS pics from earlier in the week. Greg was assigned his own group (we were suppose to handle a group together) but the even crazier side of this was we were assigned pre-k which is not my forte. Every year we’ve been upper elementary. I am an elementary teacher and there is HUGE difference between hanging out with a bunch of 3 year olds than 4th graders. Greg was freaking out because he said they are not self sufficient like the older kids. Umm ya, I got that memo when I took the same girl to the restroom for the 100th time. God has a sense of humor and has taken us out of our comfort zones! Next year we are shooting for trash detail.

My group…

Greg’s group…he’s down to 2 kids….I am up to 5!

John Parker at the closing ceremony…I took a pic of the back of JP dancing because I love how they put the name tags on the back of their shirts so they won’t pull them off. He didn’t know it was there until he were about to get in the bath tub that night, he then put it on his vitamin bottle where it still sticks today.

I snuck into JP’s room to take pics. Grandma D is in there with him so he is having a blast. He isn’t old enough to be in VBS so he is in the worker’s kids room. Greg and my mom have stayed with him 2 nights because we usually don't get home until 9:30ish which means he has been getting in bed by 10:30ish...gulp...but on the nights he has been there, he's had a blast!

Greg playing a game with the kids…and while he was doing that I ran in to take a group pic of John Parker’s class. The kids seemed content with sitting still while we took pics….but notice the ONE that did not. When John Parker finally settled down all the other kids where done. Sigh. This is the story of our lives.
Tonight’s the last night of VBS and tomorrow we are HOPEFULLY getting most of the house back in order before I head off for a quick trip then back to work next week!

Sunday

2011-07-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Today has been BUSY. This morning at church I had Children’s Church, Greg had soundbooth, and we were running extremely late…which is never good when you have to drop John Parker off at the toddler room. If they are not eating a snack or coloring (luckily today it was playdough) then he wants to leave and go find something else to do…sigh. SO being the good baptist folks that we are, we have come up with a system. We give him a dollar on the way to church and REALLY talk it up how he gets to put it in the offering. This gives him a goal to look forward to as he goes to class. Last Sunday he did not make it to class with the dollar (we feel he might be hoarding somewhere) so I was a little concerned when Greg took him to class, I checked with his teacher and he gave it to her as soon as he walked in. After church I did not find him in the toddler room but playing in this VBS “pond” décor with his cousin Caroline…we predict he will end up in here before the week is over.

Tonight we went back for VBS kickoff. Greg and I are group leaders again this year (I always sign us up against Greg’s will then he ends of enjoying it more than anyone…we usually end up with a few kids that he needs to put in a headlock…his kind of people). It has been a crazy day trying to coordinate naps (for me too of course), store, making food, organizing a house in the middle of a remodel, etc but we managed and even squeezed in some C time at Gigi and Pa Pa’s at the end of the day.

Some quick pics of our day:

Hanging out with the Templemire’s before kickoff and checking out the exotic animals they had for kids.

The fountain AGAIN. He cleaned out Ma and two other innocent women of their change. Luckily all money in the fountain goes to Faith Home in Haiti. I decided we will take some change from his piggy bank the rest of the week since Greg and I have given him every single coin we have.

Getting a VBS tattoo with Heather….

After church we headed to mom and dads to play with C and Aunt Jill…
They are doing a coin trick with Greg.

Playing dress up in Pa and Gi’s closet….in the second pic JP is saying cweese!

The wig is from a surprise party my parents attended…it was a 70’s theme. JP and C know how to rock it. Jill and I think C looks like a Russian spy.
This pic is for Christian and Krystal….John Parker LOVES his new tool stand. Thank you! He showed Greg his new toy as soon as Greg got home from his trip. He has played with it constantly since you left. Thanks again and we LOVED seeing you! We hope your flight back was safe and easy.

This week…

2011-07-23T11:12:00.002-05:00

This has been a crazy week. Greg has been out of town since Monday for work. First, he went to North Carolina to ~~work~~ golf then off to Florida for job bidding. I’ll be honest I was really nervous being “alone” and pregnant all week since I know how exhausted and “pregnant” I feel at the end of each day (like 5:00) expecially after just getting home for vacation. I'm a wimp. Our normal routine during the day is play, swim, eat, nap, play, daddy is home…play with daddy…pregnant mom cleans up and rest. Well the second I heard Greg was going out of town FOR A WEEK I knew that “rest” part would change. It did. I know…grumble…blah blah. But I am very dependent on Greg. They are the biggest buddies and love to hang out, which gives me moments of sanity and focus on taking care of #2. I also knew he would ask where daddy was all week.

Monday was eventful in the morning because we went to Ma and Pa’s and helped put up sweet corn. This is something I’ve done since I was YOUNG but I really thought the pregnant mom would get sympathy this year….nope. My job was to pull the silks off each cobb, better than shucking. No complaints….I enjoy my time visiting with my grandparents while we put the corn up, just as much as I love eating it.John Parker created his own job…soaking everyone with the water hose. I was planning to leave John Parker at Ma and Pa’s so I could unpack from vacation but he was MELTing down…I think he was just trying to get back to normal after vacation so we came home and had a low key afternoon waiting on Greg to get home from work before he had to eat a quick bite and head to STL to catch his plane. No pics from this day….we were too busy I guess. It was hotter on this day than any other day we were at the beach!

Tuesday was playgroup at Will’s house. Tuesday was HOT. Will and JP playing golf. I tried to take more pics but by the time I grabbed my camera everyone was winding down. A glimpse into what the future holds for these two….

Wednesday was a busy day getting the house ready for remodeling/painting. The lady who is painting John Parker’s big boy room called Sunday and said she could squeeze us in this week. Our house was torn apart all week…of all weeks. John Parker even had to sleep with me one night because the fumes were strong, which went about as well as one could imagine. His poor unborn sister. On Wednesday Mom watched JP off and on throughout the day so I could get things ready for the painter. I spent wayyyy more time picking out light cover switches, closet doors, and carpet than I would like to admit. Here are some pics of the bathroom we are also redoing, since I already posted some pics of bedroom….the gold fixtures are GOING away..whoo hoo!!!! Wednesday was HOT.

By Thursday morning I had this extreme spurt of energy (could have been my iced coffee) so at 9 I thought John Parker and I would go outside, water plants, pull weeds, and just get the yard back together from being gone on vacation. We were in by 10 with mild heat strokes and kid #2 was ~~sitting~~ dancing on my sciatic nerve. I could walk only at a turtle pace…which does not come in handy when your #1 child is part cheetah. I did make it with only God’s help and the ingenuity of laying on the couch while Caroline and JP entertained each other. That night I had a nice little break from JP when my grandparents and dad (along with Caroline) took the kids to Cowboy Church (a outreach ministry through our church..literally for cowboys…in a barn….dirt….horses…etc). I then went to a ministry thank dinner for Casey (Hyten) Sludder. It was so great seeing her and catching up. I did not take one pic, I was so busy visiting. Casey and her husband Jacob are in college missions and work with Campus Outreach in Peoria, IL. She is one of my dear friends from college and she was an AGD with me. Did I mention that it was also hot this day???

Friday morning was another paint day so John Parker went to play with his cousin in the morning so I could run more house errands. That afternoon Krystal (my roommate from college) came to visit. She brought her son Christian. We had the best time catching up and I would have given anything for her to leave that precious child with me. Ugh I could eat him up with a spoon! She is a professor in Finland (the country…although in MO I am sure there is a town called Finland, MO). I just love visiting with my roomie….even though we hardly see each other…we always pick up just like one of us walked back in the door from class (her coming back from class WAYYYY more than me….hee hee). It’s been many years of wonderful friendship! I love ya Krystal and cannot wait to see you and that PRECIOUS son again!

After they left we went back to Gi Gi’s and Pa Pa’s to spend the afternoon/night playing with Caroline. They ran and played the entire time. I took John Parker home kicking and screaming…that’s after he bit his Gi Gi. Ugh! A little throw back to our 1 year old days???? I blame it on his father being gone this week.

I love the previous blurry picture because it sums up C and JP’s relationship…running at a high rate of speed chasing each other. Notice JP in the background. Hee hee.

Previous pic: This is how I kept John Parker happy all week. When he started asking where daddy was I told him he was flying in an airplane (which tickles him to death). So every time he would mentioned dad he would say “dad, air” and point to the sky. I think he did that 3,000 times from Monday until Saturday morning. This is a picture of John Parker pointing to the sky when he spotted a really high airplane (I would have never noticed it otherwise it was soooo high).

Looking back this week was unpredictable, fun, and also made me even more grateful for you Greg! You are the greatest father and husband. Welcome home….your son will be shadowing you all weekend. He missed you like crazy!

Just to give an example of how awesome my husband is….after getting home late last night and traveling for the past two week….as we speak they are already (this Sat morning) at the farm riding Pa Pa’s new gator with C! I am childless…without errands to run….I’m not even sure what to do!

Coming soon…VBS week!

Day 7 & 8 (Friday/Saturday): Last Days of Vacay

2011-07-18T15:15:00.001-05:00

This is what we spent our last morning eating….ahhh. We ate at Another Broken Egg in Baytowne and it was wonderful!!!

Saying goodbye to the fish and the fountain which both got a lot of our change…

One last pic of what JP did the entire time we walked in from the parking garage…he would hide behind something (while saying “hide, hide, hide”) and jump out to scare the last person coming through the door.

Caroline & Jill seeing us off…

We left at 2:30 on Friday and drove to Jackson MS that night. We stayed at the Hilton where they were having a family reunion….bongo band and all…we were exhausted but our son was completely entertained. I “slept” in a bed with John Parker so Greg could sleep in order to drive us home safely. I was kicked (as was his sister) and pushed to the edge of the bed ALL night. It was a long night so I was relieved when we left Jackson 7:30 Saturday morning and we were home by 2:00ish. John Parker was a trooper! It was a wonderful vacation & we had so much fun watching Caroline and John Parker playing together. It was hard traveling with a toddler but we figured it out as we went and still had a wonderful time. It was a great trip and we have already started planning vacation 2012! Thanks mom and dad...we love you!!!!

As soon as we got home we started on this project…..

Big boy room coming soon!

Day 6 (Thursday): Beach, planes, & meltdown at the “Mellow” Mushroom…

2011-07-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

Almost to the end….have I mentioned how awesome Windows Live Writer is? The old way would have taken me HOURS to download all these pics but using this program….I have done most of our vacation posts within and hour!
Most of the beach pics were taken by Greg. Dad worked hard on a sandcastle for the kids….John Parker just knocked it all down.

This is my favorite pic of the entire trip (which I took by the way). John Parker is pointing to the sky at an airplane (which he did every time he heard a plane). Caroline couldn’t find it in the sun/sky to he is holding the back of C’s neck and pointing her head in the right direction. TOO CUTE! They are such good buddies. We are a little nervous that they are going to gang up on the new baby when she is born. Bless her heart.

watering plants….

attacking pa pa….

attractive…

mom “sunblock queen” putting on her 30th round of sunscreen for the day.

So we were getting ready for dinner and to meet everyone in the lobby and our son had a total melt down. So we thought we would head to Mellow Mushroom to pick up a pizza….that turned into this…

We left as soon as we ate one piece (we were starving ) and went back to our condo…where we met up with the family after their dinner so the kids could play.

Vacation Day 5 (Wednesday): Walks, depression, & beach!

2011-07-18T14:32:00.000-05:00

We were all up early (again) so we decided to take a walk around Sandestin…

John Parker threw a ball off our balcony so dad went down to get it…

this was all before 9am…sigh.

Beach time! John Parker had a small bout of depression because when we got to the beach Caroline was not there yet….Greg had to walk John Parker up and down the beach while he rested his head on Greg’s shoulder. He did not pep up until C came down. Funny or just a little sign that he LOVES his cousin.

We actually went back to Baytowne for dinner but tonight changed it up and ate at Poppy’s which is cajunish/seafood. It was GOOOD. I didn’t take many pics because I was chasing JP most of the time. Jill and I took the kids to dance while we waited on our food. My child copied the craziest dancing kids in the group (no pics…couldn’t pull him off the ground and take pics) and was dancing on all 4’s most of the time. Just like his father….

Back playing with our trains in the condo before bed….