I've been tagged . . . and a Parker update

The very few times I've been tagged, I've rarely responded, but since I need to do better and Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I thought I'd respond to this one. Thanks Melissa!

Where we met: We were in the same ward at BYU . . . the first time I saw him, he was up on the stand at church and I thought he was so good looking! We officially met shortly after at a ward activity, but didn't start dating for a few months!

We went on our first date: This is up for debate . . . Dave would say that he took me to the film festival at BYU. I would say I tricked him into going out for milkshakes before that. Here's what happened: some friends and few people from my mission would go to the Malt Shoppe in Provo every week. I invited him to come with me, but no one had told me that the get-together had been canceled that week. I told him to come along, that lots of people would be there . . . but it was just us. I was so worried that he thought I had planned the whole thing to get him to go out alone with me!


How long we dated before we got married: One and one-half years . . . kind of. We broke up in the middle of that for about three months . . . so however you want to count it.


How long have we been married: three years and eight months


What is my favorite physical feature about him: His eyes . . . he has the bluest eyes I've ever seen and his eyelashes are are so long it should be a crime. Luckily Parker got his eyes . . . I have high hopes for our little girl, but I'll try not to be too sad if she gets my green eyes and tiny eyelashes.

What's my favorite quality about him: Dave is SO good at meeting people and making them feel comfortable . . . which I love because this is not my strong point. People love being around him because he includes everyone and he is so enthusiastic. One of our friends from BYU told me that he liked hanging out with Dave because it made him "feel cool."


His favorite color: Blue- BYU Cougar blue to be exact.


His favorite sport: His favorite sport to play is basketball, his favorite to watch is football.


Who said the L word first: Dave did . . . and it about put me in shock because it took him a year and I was planning on it never happening!


First kiss, where and when: I so don't know if I should put this because he's kind of embarressed about it . . . we were in his apartment . . . watching Sports Center . . .I always tease him about it because OF COURSE sports were involved somehow. Oh well, it was very romantic.

Favorite couple thing to do: We love to just be together . . . doesn't really matter what we're doing. After grad school, just having more time together has been wonderful!


His hidden talent: Hmmm . . . I would say his hidden talent is rapping . . . it is quite funny.


His favorite music: He likes all sorts of music . . . mostly country and pop.


What I admire most about him: His ability to get things done . . . I always say this, but he can accomplish in one day what it takes me a month to do. Not only does he get many things done, but he knows how to prioritize and to the most important things first, like spending time with family. I love this about him - maybe because, once again, it isn't one of my strongest qualities.

His favorite pasttimes: Watching sports, playing sports, being with his siblings, reading self-help books, being with me, and playing with Parker.


Will he read this: I think so . . .


I tag Shauna, Tina, and Shellie!


Now for a Parker update. I don't want to sound like a mushy mom, but Parker has been a JOY. We love having him in our family and there are so many fun things that he does, I thought I'd give you all a glimpse into why we love our boy so much.

One random thing I love right now (but I'd love him even if he wasn't doing this) is that he has been sleeping past 6:30 every day this week! Usually Parker gets up between 5:30 and 6:30 and then only takes about an hour nap. Well, he just started sleeping until about 7:30 and taking a two hour nap and I am loving my little bit of extra time to sleep or read! Dave says it's the calm before the storm (before the baby is born).

We've been trying to get Parker ready for a baby - he really has no clue what is coming. So we've been checking out cute little baby books from the library and we try to get excited whenever we see a baby or a picture of one. The other day, I got him up from his nap and when I took him out of the crib he said this high pitched, "ohhhh" and ran over to the box of diapers and kissed it . . . there is a picture of a baby on his box of diapers. It was so cute. Now whenever we look at his books with babies in them, he'll start kissing them and it is very adorable. We're hoping he is as sweet with his baby sister!

Parker loves to be sneaky and hide. We used to tell him to go hide all the time because he always hid in the same spot and would get so excited when we found him. He has now realized that he can hide other places and be really quiet . . . and I really can't find him. I've had a couple of panic moments when I haven't been able to find him! He still gets so excited when we actually find him. He also likes to sneak into my make-up - I have one compact in particular that he has a need to play with. Everytime he gets his hands on it, he goes and hides by the toilet (I wish he'd find a new spot) and opens it to look at the mirror. Everytime I find him with it, gets this bashful look on his face because he knows he is not supposed to have it. Here's a picture:




One of my favorite things right now is how cuddly he is and how he loves to be with us. He went through an un-cuddly phase and I was very sad, but now he loves to sit on my lap. Everyday when I put him down for a nap, I have to lie by his crib and hold his hand until he falls asleep. This used to be hard for me because I'd be thinking of all the things I needed to get done while I was lying there . . . but now I love it . . . maybe I've realized that he won't be little forever and I'm very much going to miss holding his hand while he falls asleep.

He has started saying some words! I was starting to worry because the little guy just wasn't talking, but I think we're finally making progress . . . I've learned that all kids have a time-line and if I try to compare his progress to other kids, I just get stressed! Anyway, he can officially say "shoes", "ball" (of course), "mom", "dad", "banana" (more like "nana"), dog (more like "da") and "more" ("mo"). He understands much more than he can speak and is very good at following directions. We are loving it!

Parker, maybe like many boys his age, is obsessed with balls! He loves to play catch and begs me all day to play with him. He expecially has a thing for big basketballs, not his miniature ones or smaller balls, but the actual big basketballs. Everytime we leave the house, he has to be carrying one. He has to sit in his carseat with this large basketball sitting on his lap . . . I'm sure everyone that passes our car wonders why this 17 month old has a basketball bigger than him on his lap. Here's a picture with his beloved ball:



I thought for Valentine's day, I end with this kissing picture. Parker's cousin Alyssa was at our house and she was pretending to be alseep at the bottom of the stairs, so Parker just kept kissing her as she "slept". She was very good at acting asleep while Parker did this! Here's the picture. Happy V-day!

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