Could it be??

Could it be that summer is here??  I actually took Parker outside to play two days in a row.  The sun was shining and there were no rain clouds.  We are SO excited . . . but I haven't heard a forecast lately so if rain is coming, please don't tell me so I can basque in my summer bliss for as long as possible.  

On to other things . . . life is busy and wonderful with the kids   Kambri is becoming so much more expressive and is still as sweet and mellow as ever.  She is a good baby and so patient with her brother (not to mention her parents).  Parker will kiss her, rub her head, tickle her, and who knows what else, but she just calmly looks at him with her big eyes.  I love her sweet little smiles and how she kicks so energetically when she is happy.  We think that her eyes will be blue and that her hair will stay dark.  

She has slept through the night a few times, but usually just gets up once.  She is still sleeping in her bassinet in our bedroom . . . I'm not sure what happened to me.  I was so strict with Parker - he NEVER slept in our room.  I've turned soft and am having a hard time moving Kambri out of our room.  Maybe it's her soft little cries or her her sweet little disposition, but she has us wrapped around her finger. She is such a sweetheart and we just couldn't love this little girl more!  

As for Parker, he is developing quite the personality and we love it.  He loves to do whatever we are doing.  He has helped me with all sorts of chores: dusting, cleaning the bathroom, sweeping, etc.  Although his "helping" usually results in the chore taking about three times as long as it usually does, it is well worth his company and the proud look of accomplishment he gets whenever he helps.   

Also, his vocabulary is starting to expand!  I'm not sure if I have mentioned that Parker has been taking his sweet little time learning to talk, but within the last couple of weeks, he has started saying a lot more . . . I'm starting to think he just lacked the proper motivation.  For example, recently I put Kambri in Parker's high chair while I was making dinner.  This did not bode well with Parker and he started yelling "GET OUT!  GET OUT!"  This coming from the child that we can barely get to say a word, let alone two words together.  Like I said, I think he just needed the right motivation.  We've been working on his alphabet and animal sounds and it's exciting to see him make progress, even if it is just a little at a time.  He loves his animal flash cards.  Sometimes he will do really well and say all the different sounds like a pro - and other times, he seems to think that every animal in existence growls like a bear . . . I personally think he does the growling thing just to get to me!  We have started putting each letter of the alphabet on a sign to hang in his room.  So far we are to the letter C . . . like I said, we're just taking it slow.  When we had A and B up, we would try over and over to get him to say the letters and sometimes he would say them, sometimes he'd get them mixed up, and sometimes he would say who knows what.  Yesterday, when he woke up, I went into his room to get him and the first thing he did was point to the letter A and yell as loud as he could, "A!"  and then he pointed at the letter B and yelled, "B!"  It was pretty funny . . . maybe he just needed to sleep on it before it sank in . . . or maybe he just tells me what I want to hear on his terms and when he feels like it.  Either way, we love Parker and love his funny little personality.

The other day I went jogging and when I came home, he sat right with me and did all the same stretches as I was doing:

He is also very much into "driving" the car.  Anytime we return home from somewhere, he has to take a few minutes and just sit in the driver's seat before he will come in from the garage.

Recently, I got the house all clean and ran upstairs briefly to grab something.  When I came down the stairs, the following two pictures document what I saw.  I seriously don't know how in the world he got so many things out in such a short amount of time . . . he is amazing . . . and I'm lucky he likes to help clean up!

Finally, here he is in his football stance.  Dave took these pictures just before Parker tackled him.  He is still begging to watch Rudy every day.  He has started tackling us in slow motion and it is hilarious!  In the movie, many of the football shots are filmed in slow motion so Parker apparently thinks that is how it is done!