flashback friday: parker - a year in review.

we played p-ray's one year video at his party last saturday & i have watched it at least 384,927 times since then.  i love this little bugger.

in other news, we were nominated to be in the top 25 baby journals over at circle of moms!  yay!  only thing is, i have to earn my spot in the ranks through votes.  you can vote once a day per device & the voting ends may 16.  so if  you like my little bliggity blog, i'd sure love a vote from you to help solidify me a spot in this list.  thanks friends.

{just click the link & then click the little thumbs up sign.  that's it!  thanks again.}



yup, still doing this too.  don't worry, circle of moms ends may 16.  top baby blogs?  maybe forever.

twelve months.

welp here we are.  one year old.  time flies when you're having fun, yeah?

i look back at parker's monthly pics & i hardly remember that little one month old who stared blankly up at me & cooed.  but that may or may not be because that first month was a sleep-deprived blur.  i look back at the 2, 3, 4+ month old pics & those ones?  feel like yesterday.

and then here we are.  one year old.  parker's birthday came & went & i never did get super emotional about it.  everyday with him gets more & more fun & i wouldn't go back in time for the world.  he picks new things up on the daily & is figuring things out so fast it's like i can actually see the gears in his brain turning.  he is so affectionate & loves everyone he meets.  he gives the best hugs & his face lights up when he sees people he knows.

i'm pretty sure he's growing, but we won't know for sure just how much until his one year appointment next week.  but just check this kid out... he officially dwarfs sock monkey.

please ignore the tightness of his one year shirt... i ordered him a size twelve months & it fits him like a muscle tee.  and yes, this was the best picture of the bunch.  what qualifies it as the best?  he's laying on his back with his feet out.  which as you can see by the photos below is a pretty big deal.

parker changed a TON this last month.  he's really started communicating & jabbering non-stop.  he says mama, dada, baby, ni-ni {g'night}, & other sounds that debatably mean something.  he signs "all done" & "more" & loves to clap when he gets excited.  he still loves to play "where's parker?" and giggles as he covers up his eyes until he's "found."  he's not walking yet but he gets where he needs to go & gets there quickly.  he stands up, he cruises around, he gets back down, he sits up, & he crawls on his way.  walking just doesn't seem to be on his radar yet.

he still hates diaper changes & getting dressed.  his favorite time of day is when dad gets home & he is glued to him until bedtime.  he loves anything that rolls & will play with his basketball, racquetball, or soccer ball for hours.  he is the best self-entertainer ever.  i can get completely ready for the day while parker crawls around my room & plays with toys.  he especially loves to park in front of our full length mirror & check out his reflection.  he's officially dropped his second nap & is a one-napper.  he goes to bed at eight pm, wakes up for the day around eight-thirty, & naps from about noon to two.  not a bad schedule.

he is taking three to four eight ounce bottles of formula a day & eating three meals of solids like a champ.   he's wearing eighteen month onsies, size four diapers, & twelve to eighteen month clothes.  although, i still squeeze him in some of his six to twelve month clothes because i'm not ready to pack them up yet.  ok, so maybe i am sentimental afterall.

and?  he is still so dang cute.

love this kid.

i love your votes too. i really really do.

wordless{ish} wednesday: good morning p-ray!

i love getting parker out of his crib in the morning.  he is always so happy to see me & it makes my entire day.  plus?  his super groggy eyes & flush pink cheeks melt me.  every.  single.  morning.

{linking up with a little king & i, paper mama, supermom, parenting by dummies, live & love out loud, baby baby lemon, angry julie monday,  a beautiful mess}

vote vote vote! 

hey parker - it's your birthday!

today my baby boy turns one year old.  

we celebrated last saturday & it was perfect.  i had so so SO much fun planning this & putting all my ideas into action.  with lots of help from sam, our family & our friends, we totally pulled it off.  i think parker had a good time & i'm pretty sure our guests had a good time.  

here are a few details:

{cupcakes, veggie cups, drink bottles, candies.}

{parker's very own smash cake, cupcake toppers, fruit, party utensils.}

{party favor pails.}

{buntings, balloons, banners, & drinks.}

{barbeque.  mmmmm, sam's bbq.}

{friends.}

{opening presents.}

{sam & my present to parker - a bike buggy for family bike rides!  we forgot to bring this out during present time so half our guests didn't even get to see it.  but this is what we gave him.  i can't wait to try it out!}

{p-ray's pre smash-cake moment.}

{checking it out...}

{parker was not happy about getting frosting on his fingers & it was downhill from there.  so we ate his cake & it was delicious.}

{waiting for dad to clean his hands after the smash cake fail.}

{the living room.}

{friends & family.}

{our little family.}

happy birthday baby boy.  i can't believe you are one year old today... where does the time go?  i hope you look back at these pictures years from now & see how much your mom & dad love you & how much we have loved our first year with you.  you are our everything.

vote for parker's b-day?  yes please!

last week recap - {in iPhone pics} w.23

whew what a weekend!  a huge influx of family on friday, parker's party on saturday, then easter festivities all day sunday made for a crazy fun blur of a weekend & left for very little computer time.  which was great.  my parents are still here & are snoring on the air mattress next to me here in the office as i type, so i'm gonna make this short & sweet.

first & foremost:  parker's party was a BLAST.  it went off without a hitch, i was completely stress-free, & everything was just so much fun.  i have approximately three hundred pictures i want to post, so look forward to a photo dump soon.  it may even take a couple of posts.  i mean, this only happens once a year & we took enough pictures to memorialize it forever.  every detail has been preserved & i love it.

like this one:  parker's pre smash-cake moment.  but seriously how cute was p-ray's smash cake?  it was made by sam's sister & fit our theme perfectly.  i DIY'ed the topper & love how it came out.  it was all so much fun.

more to come soon!

and now, a quick recap of last week in iPhotos.   and i mean quick.  i'm exhausted.

post-bath shark baby, sam mows the lawn, & i get crafty cake-topper-style.

p-ray throws back a few while i eat mexican {YUM} with one of my favorite co-workers sophal.

parker woke up clapping on wednesday & didn't stop all day.  it's his new favorite trick.  we picked up three dozen {delicious} chocolate cupcakes for the party, & i baby-wore parker all over costco.

i got my horrible mirror face on at work {seriously, i can't NOT make that face... you have a mirror face too right?}, ate at my favorite burrito bus again, & tackled a huge pile of work while parker stayed at home & got tickled by the babysitter... which he loved.

on friday we got to enjoy a sunny day at stroller strides, parker had a stare-down with his cow-duck & then proceded to look adorable in the shopping cart at fred meyer as we shopped for party food.  no big deal.

hope everyone had a happy easter!

did you take your "week in camera phone" pictures?  link up!

there's only one rule to linking up:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

optional:
grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog .  if you wanna be really cool, post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.  the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=86195" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:



missed the party?  make it up to us by voting here!  best gift ever.

this is the last one.

i just spent the last hour typing up a post that i've decided to save & post another day.  one of those long, deep, reflection type posts.  it didn't seem fitting for the day before p-ray's big party.  so you can look forward to that next week.

you guys, this is me one year ago today.  i was thirty-nine weeks pregnant and freaking out about how the baby in my belly was going to get out.

now i'm freaking out about how 20+ people are going to fit in my house tomorrow to celebrate that baby's first birthday.  both are good types of freaking out, but i definitely like the latter one more.

we have a big day ahead of us.  shopping for food, putting up decorations, cleaning the house, & waiting for the grandparents to arrive {both sets get in tonight!}.

i can't wait to share all the details on the blog, & to see for myself how it all comes together.  i've never planned or thrown a party like this before & i have totally enjoyed the whole process.  a huge part of me is going to be so sad when it's all over.  and also?  i might have to actually start accepting the fact that my baby is actually one year old.  weird.

but in honor of a day full of party prep, here is one last sneak peak into what i'm hoping to accomplish.  behold, my pinterest party-planning-board.  and if you haven't joined pinterest yet, you totally should.  i'm addicted & so should you.

{click to enlarge}

and lastly, i want you to know that i debated a good half hour whether or not i should put my thirty-nine week bare belly shot in this post.  obviously i decided against it, so mom, you can be proud.

did i make the right choice?  what're your guys' thoughts on bare belly prego pics?  let me know.  i could still maybe be convinced.

hey!  we moved into lucky #11!  thanks for the votes guys.

parker hates spring.

well, actually he just hates sitting on grass.

we had another gorgeous day here in the pnw {i know, right??} and i said to parker, "hey little monster {that's actually a term of endearment, despite what the glaring lady at the pediatrician's office might have thought}, let's go sit out on the grass & wait for your dad to get home.  and?  bonus.  i'll take your picture & you'll look cute."

it all sounded good in my head.  too bad p-ray hates sitting in the grass.  i got all sorts of puckered lips, furrowed brow, & squinty-eyed frustration shots.  and not even the cute kind.  the kind where you're like, geeze kid... lighten up.  but here's one of the cuter-ish ones.

so i resorted to taking headless shots.

...because without a head you'd never know this kid has a deep seeded fear of death by grass exposure.

and then i attempted to make things better by plopping him down on a blanket.  he didn't like that much either.  i can tell because he's obviously plotting something terrible to get back at me for all of this.

right?

definite payback brewing in that mind of his.

but then i reminded him that his birthday was in five days & we'll be celebrating it in two days.  and that seemed to help him come around a bit.

silly p-ray.

and in closing, i have to give a shout out to target who knows how to pick me up when i'm feeling down.  yes, i'm referring to you mr-eight-dollar-clearance-blue-stripey-sweater.  you made my day.

just sayin.

vote vote vote!  please?

wordless{ish} wednesday: fedora fotobooth.

a couple weeks ago parker & i found ourselves at the gap trying on his & hers fedoras.  yes, they have baby fedoras, people.  photobooth fun ensued.  it's the little things in life, ya know?

and just in case you wanna mark your calendars, it's t-minus six days til my little man turns one & t minus three days until we celebrate robot style.  it's gonna be sweet.

{linking up with a little king & i, paper mama, supermom, parenting by dummies, live & love out loud, baby baby lemon, angry julie monday,  a beautiful mess, & black & white wednesday.}

voting for us is fun.  just try it!  i dare ya.

we now interrupt all the p-ray party planning to bring you...

...five minutes of spring.  and that's about how much of it we had today.  luckily p-ray & i got to get out just as the sun was setting to enjoy a bit of it.  the lighting was amazing & my camera wanted to come too, so we set off in search of evidence that it was spring time.  sometimes after days of rain we need reminders around here.

{linking up with sweet shot tuesday at my3boybarians}

nothing says spring more than cherry blossoms, daffodils, & fresh cut grass.

and you'd never know judging by parker's face that it was fuh-reezing out.  but the dead giveaway is his little hands & arms that are tucked inside his blanket & never came out during our whole thirty minute walk.  ok, maybe it was more like ten minutes of walking & twenty minutes of picture taking.  either way, parker didn't seem to mind.

vote vote vote! please?