School Program

Well I actually did two posts in one day. Here are the pictures of Parkes at his school program. We had a Thanksgiving dinner beforehand which Parkes spent most of his time running around with his friends rather then eating. Then each class got up and sang 5 songs...we have it on video for anyone who wants to see just how cute it was.

Parkes has gotten really into thanking God for everyone and everything so I put up a "Thank You" tree which we felt was fitting to put up for how much love has been shown to us from family and friends that we wanted to make sure Parkes starts to understand the blessings that he has. So everyday Parkes adds someone or something else to his tree (I have to limit how many he can put up a day though because otherwise I would spend all day cutting out leaves for it).

And finally for a baby update...I had a doctor's appt today which I almost missed because I couldn't remember if it was this Monday or next but they didn't call to remind me like they always do so I figured it was next, but decided to call and check and happened to call right at the time of my appt so luckily it is just 5 mins down the street so I told them I was walking out the door which meant Parkes went with me in a very interesting outfit. The baby is good and size and heartbeat look right on, but they're a little worried I'm not getting enough protein so I get to start drinking Ensure at least every other day which I am not looking forward to on top of my added iron pill everyday. And as for the job hunt, Brandon's still interviewing with some of the same companies and some new companies...he's got two more this week and has been told from one company he is the guy that they will hire once they get the okay to hire another sales guy, but aren't sure when that will be. He has been very busy though doing handyman work which he enjoys that he hasn't been around the house too much. Thanks for all the prayers and please continue to pray.

Finally Pics of Upstairs

Okay well I had been asked awhile back from a friend to post pictures of the upstairs and Parkes' room, and I have been a very bad blogger lately. So here are pictures of half the upstairs (I will not post pictures of the bedroom side until I finally get through the mountain of clothes I am trying to weed through or Parkes' room until we get his new bed and furniture painted). We have been asked by several people about cutting cost on doing remodeling and although our most cost cutting tool was having Brandon do all the work which is not possible for everyone, here's a few tips. First, we saved tons by shopping on craigslist.com for building materials...we were able to get all the shingles, tar paper, carpet, and more from there were people had over bought for their remodels and would get it at a third of the cost or less (always check out the free section too you just never know what you'll find). Second, we took stuff like doors and trim out of houses that were being torn down for bigger house to go up which takes some labor time but you are recycling perfectly good materials. On that same note we tried to reuse everything we could from our house...some didn't happen like taking the oak planks from the roof to use as floors due to Brandon is just one person and time, but then we could resale the stuff we didn't use on craigslist to make some extra money for the new stuff. And thirdly, although not a huge savings but every little bit helps is "Ooops" Paint at Home Depot. It is how we paint our house and one of mine and Brandon's favorite things to go look at to see what colors are out there. It used to be much better when you could return any color if you didn't like it when you got home but they stopped that, but you still have the colors that are mixed wrong or the ones people don't pick up and can buy a $20 can of paint for $5. We just check out the colors everytime we are there until we find the color we were looking for which eventually shows up if your patient. Now these tips are not for those that need things done quickly as they do take patience and storing issues as you collect materials, but can drastically cut down the cost of renovating and remodeling. I put the picture of the bathroom to show the radius wall my extremely talented husband built (it might be hard to tell but the wall is a semicircle).

And then here are some pictures of Parkes painting canvas that are going into the baby's room. I am going to write some Bible verses over them so I'll take pictures of that when we get the baby's room completed. It is getting close, I got it painted chocolate brown the other day (don't worry I wore a mask and checked it out with my doctor before I painted). Parkes and Brandon flew to Houston last weekend to go see Brandon's mom so I had a quiet weekend to work on things and rest because we have 7 weeks left until this baby is here and I'm sure it will fly by with the holidays (actually I know it will as I had Parkes 3 years ago around this time, but like when I was pregnant with Parkes I have all my Christmas shopping completely done and actually wrapped...don't get too impressed if I weren't pregnant I would still be shopping Christmas Eve). Okay I do have more pictures to post from the week....Parkes had his first school program which was adorable and he did a great job singing which when he sings he sways back and forth the whole time so it was very funny. So I will get those pictures up as soon as I can, I'll try this afternoon, but no promises as we are still on dial-up internet so it either works or is too slow and I get frustrated and just get off the computer.

Thank You

I went to drop Parkes off at school this morning and realized I had forgotten my checkbook to pay for his monthly tution so was thinking to myself I needed to remember to bring it when I picked him up. And when I went to put his lunch in his cubby there ws a note for me, I opened it up and saw the word tution and then just folded it up not really thinking much of it because I knew I still needed to pay. So then as I was talking to the director on my way out she pointed to the note and said that she was not suppose to say anything about that which I thought was a little bit of an odd thing to say but I just said that I had forgotten my checkbook and I'd pay that afternoon. Which she responded no you didn't read the note, so then I opened it and saw that it said that his tution had been paid for Novemeber and immediately started crying. The director said she had been ordered not to tell us who had paid, but that we had very good friends. So thank you to whoever did this it means the world to us and to Parkes as he loves his school. It even made Brandon cry although I'm sure he doesn't want me telling people. It has been a very hard month on us and me being pregnant has not helped with my crazy emotions, but I know we'll get through it especially with such great family and friends. God has blessed us so much that I know he has a plan for this next part of our life that will be wonderful and better then we could ever imagine.

Trick or Treat

On Saturday we went up to Parkes' School for a Fall Fest and Trunk or Treat. He had a great time once he realized all the games resulted in him getting prizes. He, also, very much enjoyed Trunk or Treat but returned all candy to the people if it was not yellow (the yellow phase continues). Yesterday morning he had his Halloween party at school and I completely forgot to take my camera, but it was lots of fun with cupcakes and cookies with his friends. Then last night for Halloween we went over and meet his cousins, Abby James and Draper, at their grandparents house and my parents and sister came as well. Parkes had had a rough night and day with some asthma and allergy problems that only got worse when we got out in the cool air and he was running around from house to house so we only did a few stops before heading to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine. But we did get one funny story from the night where instead ofsaying "trick or treat" when one guy opened the door Parkes instead said, "I come in." And then proceed to let himself in and try to go up the stairs in their house as Abby James followed him in. Brandon went in and got them and luckily the people were really nice. Parkes' lastest thing is pointing out everyone's favorite football teams. He himself goes back and forth from his team being either Roll Tide or Hotty Toddy, but then he likes to point out the gators for Matt, Georgia for Keri (which he added Green Bay as one of her teams since they have a G on their helmets, Broncos for Ms. Laura (she's the only one that gets a ms. for some reason), and then he likes to tell us that "we don't like Nathan's team" whenever he sees a big orange T (sorry Tennessee fans but he's right, I still say they would be more likable if they would get rid of the prison orange color...there is just no need for that much of that color). I am very proud of some of the SEC schools for letting their bands wear t-shirts and khakis....i have been saying for a very long time that it is just cruel to make the band were those polester outfits for the heat and the looks so finally someone listened to me though I said they should wear polos and khakis. But I have noticed it on Ole Miss and Georgia's bands so far so hopefully everyone else will follow. Okay well enough of my random thoughts, I leave you with the best picture I got of Parkes and Abby James from last night (Abby James is the poodle and Parkes is in midcough).

Baby's Coming Jan 7th!

I had my first doctor's appt of the third trimester so we scheduled the the c-section and as long as everything goes as planned (hopefully picking up some insurance in the next 2 weeks because my doctor doesn't take TennCare which was our backup plan since cobra is ridiculously high for us with Brandon being diabetic) we will have the baby on Jan. 7, the day after Brandon turns 31 and 11 days after Parkes turns 3. So we don't get two tax breaks this year like we wanted, but I really didn't think that my doctor would of let me have it that early with Parkes being just 3 days early and weighing 7 lbs (this baby should be bigger then Parkes though because with him I measured a week small the whole time and this time I'm measuring a week big). And I tried to push for the Friday before the 7th so my little sister and Brandon's wouldn't be in school, but she didn't want to go any earlier with my due date actually being the 16th.

Pumpkin Carving

We carved our pumpkin last night so we could make some curry pumpkin soup. Parkes enjoyed helping get all the seeds out and very much enjoyed eating the roasted pumpkin seeds but would not try the soup. I absolutely love themed dinners and have all sorts of recipes printed out for all different occasions, so I'll leave you today with my Halloween Dinner for anyone that might want to try it.

Curry Pumpkin Soup

2 cloves garlic

1 med. onion

1 lg jalapeno

2 stalks celery

3 lg carrots

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 3/4 lbs pumpkin (peeled and seeded)

3 cups chicken stock

1 bay leaf

2 tsp curry (for Brandon I have to double that and then he still adds more)

1 tsp turmeric

pinch of cayenne

1 1/2 tsp salt (I don't use because we don't really use salt)

ground pepper

sour cream

Chop all of your veggies into small pieces. Heat olive oil in a lg pot. Add onions and garlic and let them saute for about 6 mins. then add jalapeno, celery and carrots and saute 5 more mins. Add pumpkin, chicken stock, bay leaf, curry, turmeric, cayenne, and s&p and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover for about 20 mins or until veggies are tender. Then the recipe calls for putting it into a food processor where I cheat and use an emersion blender instead to make the soup smooth. then serve with sour cream piped out of a zip lock bag with a corner clipped off to make a spider web over the soup.

Hairball Salad

Avocado

Mix spring greens

Dressing of choice

Mash avocado and mix in the greens. Then form into balls and serve with favorite dressing.

Making a Scarecrow

As promised here are the pictures of Parkes at the Scarecrow Workshop at his school. He had a blast. And last night thanks to the hard work of Brandon and Matt, Parkes slept in his own new room!!!! After a year of sleeping in his toddler bed crammed in the office next to the desk he finally has his own room, and we finally were able to bring his train table home from my parents house which made him so excited. Also, please continue to pray for Brandon's job search as we found out he no longer has 5 weeks left but only until the end of October (we really wonder if he ever had the 6 weeks he was initially told as the person that told him seems to be contradicting everything that is coming out of the head management team at their headquarters who Brandon talked to yesterday so who knows who is right, and it really looks for the best for Brandon to start a job search as where this company is heading so things do happen for a reason we just are waiting for the rest of it all to fall into place). As for now he is doing handyman jobs so anything you need done let him know and he can get that done starting the end of next week (he still has to finish up our house by midweek). Thanks to everyone that has helped him on the house or volunteered to help this weekend or volunteered to help yet we never took you up on it we sometimes feel bad asking for help even though we know y'all do want to help...we really appreciate how wonderful all of our friends and family are for being so selfless and volunteering their time. We are so blessed to have y'all in our lives.

Annual "Wee" Vacation

We headed down with the Essner's and Engesath's last Friday to Gulf Shores for our annual vacation. This year we had scheduled to rent a 3 bedroom duplex with a pool, however, a month

ago I got a call saying that they were actually not suppose to rent that house in the month of October and they would be moving us. After a few calls back and forth and some explaining that we would not take less then we had booked we ended up in a 6 bed/7 bath beach house with a pool. (I highly recommend Meyer Realty if you book a beach rental on the Alabama Gulf) So each family got their own floor and we were spoiled with how nice and spacious the place was. The weather was beautiful, the company was wonderful, and we had a fabulous time. We went to the beach each morning where Parkes enjoyed playing in the sand, each morning Brandon and he would dig out a hole and he would play in it by sliding, diggin or fishing in the hole. He finally got in the ocean the last day which was surprising as he was running in it last year, but did make it easy to watch him on the beach and not worry about the water. Then we would head back to lunch and put the boys down for a nap and we could go hang out by the pool. Brandon and I, also, celebrated our 4 year anniversary while we were down there and enjoyed some alone time with a drive along the coast down to the edge of the pennisula and then took Parkes over to Orange Beach that night to ride the huge ferris wheel and have some dinner. After our relaxing week at the beach we all headed up to Huntsville for our friend Joel's rehersal and wedding. And finally got home at midnight on Saturday night with a very worn out Parkes who actually slept until 9:30 on Sunday morning. However, with the mess of the house there was no time to rest and we got up and got what will be Parkes' room (currently was being used as storage) all cleared out and went and picked up his floors which Brandon will be installing Tuesday night. Then we headed over to Parkes' school where they were doing a scarecrow workshop...I'll post those pictures later, but Parkes had a great time playing with some of his friends in his class....he kept running over to tell us who all his friends were (it was nice to get the faces with the names we have been hearing). And now it's back to our normal life. Please say a little pray for us as Brandon's company is shutting down all of their small markets and that includes Nashville so we have 5 weeks left for a job and insurance. I know Brandon will find something as he is the hardest worker I know just not the best timing with the baby, and he was happy in his job and I have told him not to take a job just to take it because I would much rather him be happy again the rest of it will somehow figure itself out. So anyone that knows of any builders, building supply companies or related companies looking for a sales or account management position let us know. He's got a few leads going already that he talked to while we were on vacation, one of which he is excited about finding out more and would be an even better fit then his last job so hopefully something will come up in the next few weeks.

Me at almost 7 months pregnant

Parkes and Jay taking a break to play during picture time

Parkes and his Hole

Brandon being buried in the sand

Then deciding they should bury me

Keri teaching Parkes some dance moves

4 wonderful years together!!!

Quick Tidbit

I am waiting for the carpet people to come at some point today...don't know when so it could be a long day. But thought that I would share the latest exciting news I discovered on Friday....the Nashville West Old Navy is open and they have maternity clothes. No more having to go to Opry Mills to shop for cheap maternity clothes. Of course I don't need any as my sister who was pregnant for two years straight with a short 3 month break in the middle brought me two massive tubs of clothes and I have my old ones which I realized really aren't cute anymore or maybe they never were and I'm just now realizing it. For now you will just see me in my normal jeans that still fit for some crazy reason so I'm wearing them until I can't. I'll post some pictures sometime this week of our new upstairs!!!!!!! I should be sleeping up there tonight as long as all goes well.

My Favorite Color is Yellow...Yea!!!

That is a normal saying out of Parkes' mouth these days. And these are his only yellow pjs we have for him compliments of Vanderbilt Children's Hospital when he had his hernia surgery a year ago and as you can tell they are getting close to not fitting. I have to wash them on a regular basis as they are the only pair he wants to wear. He talks about favorite colors all day long going through mommy, daddy and parkes' favorites then going on to ask me what other friends and family members favorite colors are....he knows Uncle Brian, Matt and Keri's favorite colors so they are spoken a lot as well. And we have also now moved on into letters as well, and he likes to announce that his favorite letter is "P" for his name.

We had our monthly doctor's appt today to hear the baby's heartbeat. Parkes was so excited to go with me, and he behaved very well. He announced last night pointing to the ultra sound picture that "that's my baby sister." So we will see. The heartbeat was 145 which is right about in the middle for those guessing. I did wonder at the beginning of my pregnancy how much Parkes really understood about it and that a baby was in there, but I'm starting to believe he really is starting to get the idea now that my belly is growing of course just to the level of a almost three year old.

And finally, sorry it has been awhile since I have posted (for my many many readers out there), we are in the process of having to get everything for the most part wrapped up on our home renovation/remodel (or at least this stage of it) before an appraisal and all has to be completed by next friday. So if you wonder where we have been or where we will be for the next week or so that is it. And if you do see us and we seem in a daze and not really up for communicating that is what is wrong with us. Poor Brandon who has worked amazingly on the house is about exhausted from waking up at 6 to go to work to only come home and go to work upstairs until 10:30 or 11, but at least there is an end in sight. And the joys of an older home which we do so love he doesn't always love right now when he is trying to get things to line up and floors not to slop.

School Picture

Our little boy had his first school picture last week and I got the proof today and it is the most adorable picture (of course I am his mom so I'm a little biased, but even his teachers said how his was the cutest...I think it's the hair and I'm sure they told every mom that) so I thought I would share it with y'all. He still loves school and adores his teachers. He is such a social child that it is so funny to watch him interact with the other kids. I get a glimpse of what he is like in school because this year he is in my mom's and my class on the Tuesday morning Bible study we do and he has found himself a little friend in that class that they run around together talking to each other nonstop and playing games constantly. Hopefully she will have better luck then I am at getting him potty trained because she likes to tell him about how she used the potty and that he should to. Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!!!

Bad Week and It's Only Thursday

Well I started out this week on Monday shocking myself on a plug and getting to go into the hospital to get hooked up to a fetal monitor for a couple of hours, but luckily everything was okay and I had some small cramps probably due to dehydration, I learned the aderaline of the shock dehydrates you, but no contractions or anything and baby was moving and strong. So if that wasn't enough for one week last night after getting Parkes to bed Brandon calls me upstairs to help him move a door over and sure enough that same plug (which is the only one out of the wall as the electrician got the rest in but for some reason this one has stayed sticking out just enough from the wall to get me) got my leg as I walked by it. I don't think it actually shocked me this time, but did feel warm so called the doctor again who proceeds to ask me if my house was safe to live in, but I didn't have to go into the hospital this time as I had no contractions and the baby was kicking like crazy (probably mad at me). So needless to say I have been banned from going upstairs by Brandon and my doctor until it is completed, and first thing Brandon is doing when he gets home tonight is fixing that plug. So just say a little prayer for this baby that I can stay accident free for the next 15 to 17 weeks. And we should hopefully actually be moving our bedroom upstairs in October as carpet is scheduled for a week from Monday so I will post pictures of it soon...it looks so good now that there is drywall and paint on the walls. Oh and to keep everyone in the loop with our baby names I think we are actually leaning towards Bryant Edwards now for a boy (and yes I know it came from Bear Bryant, but I do like the name on it's own and I got the name Sage from my soap so I figured I couldn't say no to something from Brandon's favorite sports team).

High School Football

We took Parkes down to see his Happy and Memaw (he did call Brandon's dad what we thought was Pappy but we have now noticed he is actually calling him Happy like our neighbor's name) and we stayed to watch Brandon's high school's homecoming football game (I know they have it really early). Parkes was very taken with the cheerleaders and thought that they were singing to him as he said. Brandon and I then left him with them so we could come back saturday and go to the Ole Miss/Vandy with Matt and Keri which sadly Ole Miss did not win as they did not seem to be able to tackle anyone, but did have a terrific fake punt. But it was fun to get to yell out a few Hotty Toddys even though we were in the Vandy section with were our season tickets are (the people around us are very confused by us as for the past two weeks the four of us have showed up in the colors of the other teams too bad we won't be able to make it to the Georgia game wearing Keri's teams colors and that they aren't playing Florida there this year and wear Matt's teams colors because then they would really think we were crazy). Then with just 5 mins left in the game Brandon saw the Alabama/Arkansas score and got really stressed out, but luckily we found a tent right outside the stadium after the game where he was able to watch the exciting last 6 mins of that game and Alabama win so he was in a good mood for the rest of the night. We went and got Parkes Sunday night and got to hear all about his fun night at the fair were he rode every ride he could with his Aunt Brittany who he adores. And lucky for me he slept in until 8 this morning from his long, exciting weekend!!! Maybe here soon I will have a post that doesn't involve football, but with a football fanatic husband it pretty much consumes our fall which I don't complain much except for too many NFL games I could do with only watching the Titans and Giants.

Day out wth Thomas

This Sunday we went with our neighbors and their three boys to ride on Thomas the Train. It was raining pretty hard when we woke up but luckily let up for when we got down there. Parkes had a great time on the train and playing around afterwards. Here's some pictures from the day.

Our Polite Little Man

Just a quick post about how sweet Parkes was last night at dinner. He really doesn't ever eat much dinner anymore unless it's cheese and crackers so last night he was excited that with the mexican lasagna we had cheese dip and chips which he moved the bowl of cheese dip onto his plate and used his spoon to eat it. But then when he finished he proceeds to look at me and say "thankthank for dinner mommy. 'cuse me please." What a sweet boy...I have tried really hard to push all the manners so they just become second nature for him, but it still usually takes me asking him to say it so it was a nice surprise for him to do it on his own.Then he went and got Daisy's food from the kitchen and took it to her in the den and feed her piece by piece. Daisy has really come around on her feelings towards Parkes as she has realized he is her ticket to getting all kinds of food.

Where Parkes likes to sleep now...

Last night we put Parkes to bed with his cars and books so he could play a little before he falls asleep...it usually takes him about an hour after we lay him down so he takes some toys with him. Well when we went in there to check on him before we went to bed this is where we found him. He had moved all of his pillows and blankets to the floor and fallen asleep there on the hardwood floor. Parkes has also developed quite the imagination lately. He is always making up stuff whether it is to hide under the butcher block and tell me he's in the doghouse or to hand me some imaginary object that I am to juggle. And in the last month he has finally started to sing for us. Parkes refused to participate in any type of singing activity for the first two and a half years of his life whether it was at church or with just me, but he has finally decided to start singing and serenades us all the time now with "Jesus Loves Me". He, however, from riding in the car with Daddy prefers to sing a heavy metal version that he sings while headbanging or playing the air guitar.

Brandon and the Smoker

If you have talked to Brandon in the last 6 months he has probably mentioned the smoker he is building. Well here it is, not quite done but enough that he could use it this weekend (the doors will be replaced with some custom made doors that will look a lot nicer). So just as a little background, Brandon has never used a smoker before in his life nor does he know anything about smoking food, but still decides to build a smoker large enough to smoke a whole pig with the brick from what used to be the chimney on our house (he cannot waste anything). So Friday night he decides that he will build a fire in there to get the walls built up with a little smoke before he actually smokes briskets on Saturday. I walk out there after he had been out there for about 30 minutes to check what was going on and there was smoke covering our whole back yard and the neighbors. So after me convincing him that maybe something is not right, i told him that he had to put out the fire before the firetrucks showed up, go apologize to the neighbors and promise me he would never use it again. Well luckily our neighbor knew a little more then Brandon about using a smoker and gave him some very helpful tips and he was able to use it without all the smoke and cooked up some wonderful brisket and ribs for us to enjoy with friends on Saturday. I wish I had pulled out the camera Saturday night and captured Parkes, Jay and Abby James running around playing because they were having a great time. And yes the background of those pictures is what half of our backyard looks like right now (I did have Brandon fence in an area that was kid friendly so Parkes and I can go outside) as we attempt to consoldate Brandon's shed, refence in the backyard with the added space from removing all the shrubs, and of course all the things Brandon just can't throw away because one day he might just need them.

Parkes and Football

Well I was so excited about football that I forgot to even say anything about Parkes (the reason y'all even check this blog)....he too is very excited about football season. And much prefers to yell out "Hotty Toddy" over "Roll Tide" which Brandon is starting to get really mad about and keeps telling me very seriously, "Katie, this isn't funny football season is here." Parkes has been practicing his kicking and throwing. And he cheers on the teams although not always the right team playing as he was yelling at the TV last night in the LSU game "Go Eli!" (the last game he watched with us the Giants were playing).

College Football has Started!!!

Well NFL Preseason has been on for a few weeks, but I much prefer to watch SEC football so I was very excited last night for the opening game of LSU vs. Miss St. and very happy to see LSU win (sorry Jim and Brad). Being an Ole Miss girl I love nothing more then the beginning of Football Season. Of course the Grove is the best place in the world to tailgate (even Brandon, the diehard Alabama fan, will admit that you can't beat the Grove), but we are going to attempt Vandy this year. We bought season tickets with both Alabama and Ole Miss playing there this year. So anyone that will be at those games let us know and we can all tailgate together. But we are going to start out this weekend with trying out Brandon's new massive smoker he built (we had to change cable providers this year as well so Brandon will be able to get all the alabama games which works to my advantage as Ole Miss doesn't often make it to TV).

Holt or Sage?

Well, this is the best picture we got of the ultra sound. The baby is healthy and right where he/she should be in all of it's measurements. It is, however, very stubborn and only wanted to show it's back. In fact, the ultra sound technician almost didn't even get to see if it was a boy or girl, but it finally showed her....and for those wondering the sex is only now documented as "normal" so there is no way of finding it out now. But since we will not be revealing the sex of the baby I thought I would share the names (they still could change, but we think these are the ones we are going with). For a girl...Riley Sage Waymire and for a boy...Holt Edwards Waymire. And for those that would like to join the guessing here's a few of the old wives tales for your enjoyment. The baby's heartbeat was 152 and the tale is above 140 girl (however, Parkes was above 140 as well and fooled all the doctors and nurses). I'm carrying higher then I did with Parkes which the tale says would be a girl. I did have morning sickness this time around which I did not with Parkes...again the tale says girl. I did actually eat a bite of chocolate the other day which for those that know me well know I do not like chocolate, I didn't like it after I had eaten it though...the tale says sweet cravings are girl. And finally the Chinese Birth Calendar says girl. So we will just have to wait until early January to find out.

Our little Fish

Finally, here's some pictures of Parkes at his swim lessons. He is able to keep himself afloat on his stomach now by himself, but he likes to swim with his head out of the water which causes his legs to sink and therefore he does. His swim teacher, Kelsey, got him some goggles so he could search the bottom of the pool to help him keep his head in the water, and said to go ahead and let him try on his own so he realizes that he has to keep kicking or he'll sink. My brother, Jim, was swimming and going off the diving boards on his own by the time he was three so I think Parkes is taking after him in his swimming. So, hopefully, by the time we go to the beach in October he will be swimming for the most part on his own...since we have a pool at the house we are renting I was a little worried about him jumping in whenever he felt like it and me with a big ole belly jumping in after him.

First Day of School

Well today Brandon and I sent Parkes off for his first day of school. We went last night to meet his teachers and fill his cubby with all his stuff he'll need for naptime. He is in the Tweens class (older twos and young threes) with eleven other kids. He will be very excited when he finds out that on wednesdays they have a cooking time where they help prepare their snacks...Parkes loves to cook and always runs straight to the play kitchen when there is one. He was so excited and could hardly even tell us goodbye because he wanted to sit down and color with the other kids. We did manage to make him pose for a few pictures. So I am off to see what all I can get accomplished on my first day alone....although the pool is sure sounding good right now, it's been awhile since I've been able to relax and not chase a 2 year old around.

Weekend Getaway

This weekend we took Parkes to his grandparents and Brandon and I headed to Bardstown, KY with our good friends Matt, Keri, Nathan and Meridy. It was Brandon's father's day present from me for a weekend away from all the work on the house. So we headed up there early Saturday morning with a few bumps in the road (Keri's purse contents falling in the McDonald's bathroom toliet when the shelf above the toliet gave out) but all ready for a fun weekend and we had a great time with lots of entertainment thanks to the guys and the locals of Bardstown. For those that have never heard of the town it is a very small, very old and historic town just south of Louisville. We took a trolley after lunch to see all the historic sights with a trolley driver that was lacking in the comedy department but sure tried hard. We got done with that just in time to drive out to tour Jim Beam's family home which sits on a beautiful hillside and walk around downtown area where the boys entertained us with a little middle school game of "i bet i can jump further off of this then you" which I did have to get my mommy voice out when Brandon decided he would attempt to put his feet in the hand shackles outside the Jailers Inn and was about to land on his head. Then we headed back to our bed and breakfast which was built in the 1700's and was suppose to be haunted and had a very nice dinner....that's when the fun started. We had heard when we made the reservations that our b&b had live music on friday and saturday, but little did we know that it was the place for all of Bardstown to come for their nightly entertainment. As Keri, Meridy and I entered we got some looks from some local girls as if they were letting us know that this was their hangout and not to think about talking to their men. We sat down and the boys joined us and for the rest of the night we sat just watching what was going on around us. It was like we had never seen with all the girls in love with the lead singer who thought he was just the coolest thing and sadly to say it was as if he was the celebrity of the town. And the dancing can only be described as dirty dancing to the extreme...we felt as if we had entered a different world. We stayed for a good while and then left to go up to the balcony by our rooms to laugh at what we had seen. The next morning Brandon and I took a tour of a beautiful church after breakfast with some artwork from the 1800s. Then we all checked out and piled in the minivan to head to Loretto, KY home of Makers Mark. It did not open until 1 but we thought there might be something to do in Loretto but we were extremely wrong as it was one of the smallest towns I have ever seen so we head over to Makers Mark which had a chain blocking the drive in because it was only 11:45, but that didn't stop the boys from thinking they could get past it so Matt and Nathan go to work on the locked chain as Brandon waits to pull the van through, and just as they are holding the post that held the chain over the heads out of the ground a very country camoflauge truck pulls up next to us to inform us they don't open until 1. We politely thank him as Matt and Nathan put the post back into the ground and he tells us of the back way to go in so we went and waited for them to open. We toured the grounds and then headed home. All and all it was a very fun weekend and a great getaway with good friends...here are some of the pictures. We are having swim lessons tonight and I plan on taking my camera so I will post some pictures of our little swimmer here soon.

Remembering a Friend

Two years ago we lost a dear friend, Betsy. And although I rarely post more then the normal activities of our days I wanted to take a minute to post a picture and remember all the kindness and laughter she brought to us. We are so thankful that she could of been a part of our lives even if only for a short while, and continues to bring us lots of smiles and happiness in our memories.

Here's a few pictures of what Parkes has been doing on these hot, hot days....stickers all day long. He loves them. We have, also, started taking some private swim lessons in the evenings since the last time we went to the pool Parkes has decided he should swim by himself and takes his wings off to swim underwater to and from the stairs. And jumps in the pool whether I am there to catch him or not. I had trouble finding a second level class for kids under 3 so we lucked out in finding someone who was willing to try to teach him how to swim and at a pool right near us. I will remember to take my camera one of these days and get some pictures.