Say CHEESE!

Whenever Parker sees the camera these days, he flashes me the biggest grin he can muster (while saying CHEEEEESE). Here are a few of the cheesiest! (I hope the naked bum doesn't offend anyone....)

Ansku Tagged Me!

10 years ago:I was getting ready to graduate from High School!

Five things on my to-do list today:
1. Shave my legs.
2. Paint my toe nails...or make Joe paint them. I can't reach and you have to have pretty toenails to deliver a baby, right?
3. Pack my bags!
4. Play with Parker so that he has some vague memory of a fun mommy (and stop worrying about him adjusting to the new baby...he'll be fine, right?)
5. Take a nap!

I Enjoy:
Reading, singing, running, making Parker laugh, cleaning (weird, I know), eating, baking, sleeping through the night, reading blogs, spending time with family and good friends!

What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire:
I would probably spend it all and end up broke! I would buy a bigger house, plus one in San Diego and Tennessee along with a private jet to get me there! I would hire a housekeeper (I don't enjoy cleaning THAT much!) My husband would probably make us invest the rest...he's the sensible one!

Three of my bad habits:
1. Not getting enough sleep!
2. Being emotional about silly things like bread.
3. Eating too much chocolate.

Five places I have lived:
1. Placentia, California
2. Yokohama, Japan
3. Santiago, Dominican Republic
4. Finland (Jyvaskyla, Turku, Helsinki)
5. Utah!

Five jobs that I have had:
1. Front Desk Clerk, Woodfin Suites Hotel
2. Taco Bell in the Cougareat (and I still actually love Taco Bell)
3. Telemarketer (sorry everyone...)
4. Receptionist and Data Entry Specialist (American Insurance)
5. Personal Trainer

Five things people don't know about me:
1. I can't stand going to bed without brushing my teeth or washing my face...even if I fall asleep watching a movie and wake up at 3 am, I still get up and wash my face before going to bed!
2. I auditioned with my sister for American Idol...we met Chris Daughtry before he was THE Chris Daughtry.
3. I am super competitive.
4. I broke my leg on my first date.
5. I am being induced to have the baby THIS FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!

Tell me more about YOU!

It was JUST BREAD!

Parker and I have been sick all week with colds (he has an ear infection). Perfect timing...right before the baby is born! Last night I really needed to go to the store, but Joe had a meeting which got out a lot later than he'd planned. He offered to go to Sam's Club for me on his way home, so I willingly agreed. My body ached, I'd spent the ENTIRE day scrubbing the house (which I'll probably feel the urge to do again if the baby doesn't get here in the next few days), Parker was super grumpy all night, etc. So my hormones had already reached their limit. Poor Joe was definitely not prepared for what happened when he got home from the store.

I guess I have to explain something first--sorry if this gets a little too personal! I am pretty uptight about the things we eat in this house. We don't eat anything white...just whole grains/wheat. We're talking tortillas, pancakes, waffles, bread, pasta, rice, etc. My main motivation for this is that I got hemorrhoids REALLY bad after having Parker. Using the bathroom was worse than giving birth to a child. I'm not kidding. Anyway, I live in FEAR of that happening again, so fiber is VERY important to me! I also look at other things on the label and avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup and some other silly things.

Joe got home and told me that they didn't have the bread I like, so he'd gotten another kind of "wheat bread". I took one look at the label and started bawling! Sure, the label says "wheat," but there is also less than 1 gram of fiber (not to mention the high fructose corn syrup--which he actually had looked for on the label, but didn't care). It didn't matter that he'd gotten everything else right...I was livid. I cried over the stupid bread for probably an hour...even all through our recorded American Idol. Luckily I have a super easy-going, doesn't-like-to-fight husband who is used to my raging pregnancy hormones. I woke up this morning feeling pretty stupid about the whole thing and finally decided not to be mad at him anymore. Do you think he'll go to the store for me again anytime soon?

Singing Girls

I have a very inspiring friend, Kandis. Her husband Colby was Joe's best friend in High School (and still is), so luckily Kandis and I hit it off and are just as good of friends as our hubbies are! She is a very motivated person...in ALL aspects of her life. About a year ago, she got a group of friends to meet together weekly just to sing. It has been GREAT, and I've made lots of new friends in the process! Last Sunday they all came to my ward to sing. I actually really hate this picture of me, but oh well. A girl at playgroup today said, "You know that really skinny girl you were standing next to while you sang? Well, she made you look REALLY pregnant." Thanks...just what I need to hear right now! From left to right, we are: me, Kandis, Kristie, Aimee, Wendie, Jesyca, and Michelle. Michelle has a video of us practicing on her blog...check it out here!

Baby Showers!

I just uploaded some pictures from my camera and realized that I never did a post on the fabulous baby showers I've been given! Since it's my second baby, I really haven't wanted people to make a big deal out of it, so I didn't solicit any sort of special attention. A few really thoughtful people had other plans, however. In the middle of December (when my baby should've been the farthest thing from her mind), my sister-in-law Erin threw me a baby shower. She has two little boys and a girl, so she was super cute and tried to make it super girly...she understands the importance of making a big deal out of GIRLS! (There was lots of pink!) I didn't take any pictures, but felt really loved! Erin is an amazing person who is ALWAYS finding ways to do things for other people. She's a breast cancer survivor and is an amazing, strong person. Thanks, Erin...you're the best!

A few weeks ago, some more super thoughtful girls threw me another shower! Ansku and Eliisa (friend/companion from my mission) went ALL OUT for our small gathering of mission friends (and one roommate). It was really fun to sit and chat and see how things have changed since we were in Finland! Here's everyone that came...Annina, Ansku, Gretchen, Katrina, Eliisa (and baby Nathan), me, and Adrienne (with baby Cala).
The four of us lived together at one point...Ansku was a mini-missionary for a few months as Eli's last companion, and I was Adrienne's first companion. Ansku and Eli slept in the kitchen. There were a lot of crazy female hormones in that tiny apartment, but somehow we all survived and are still friends!
Anyway, I feel really blessed to have such thoughtful people in my life! I need to be more like that! Thanks everyone!

Parker-isms

Sometimes I feel like time can't go fast enough...I want Parker to grow out of his tantrum-throwing phase, be potty trained, dress himself, get his own food. I want to hurry and have this baby so that I can get through the sleep-deprived newborn phase, nursing phase, teething phase. But then I watch for a moment with wonder at how amazing each phase of childhood is, and I want life to slow down!

Parker is learning SO MUCH, SO FAST! Over Christmas he figured out the real way to say "Michael" for example. I was so sad when he stopped saying "Mah-Null". Here are a few more Parker-isms that I will miss (and also a code to his language if you're wondering what in the world he's trying to say):

Mo-nurt=Yogurt
On=On
On=Off
Glout=Get Out (of highchair, carseat, etc.)
Do It= You Do It
Jay Putt=Jacob
Some=I want some of that
Ot Choklit=Chocolate Milk
I Chair=High Chair (or any other kind of chair)
Han=Hand (Meaning, wipe off my hand)
Pees=Please
Hud=Hug
Mmmmm=Pucker Up (I'm about to give you a kiss)
Push=Fish (Goldfish Crackers...Parker's staple food)
Mote=Remote Control
Mooey=Movie
Tee Dee=TV
Kleepurd=Clifford (The Big Red Dog)
Dabba=Yo Gabba Gabba (his favorite show)
Mouse=Mickey Mouse
Lellers=Letters
Nummers=Numbers
Four, Nine=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 (His counting sequence is always 4, 9)
No Man=Snow Man
Ay Deer=Reindeer
Ah Ah=Monkey
Oosh=Shoe
Doh? (with a shoulder shrug/hands up)=Where did it go?
Is!=There it is!
Kuh-Lit=Cut it (food)
Meer=Pick me up, hold me (Come Here)
A-Go=Give that to me (Here you go)
No=No
No=I don't want what I'm holding, take it from me

The list could go on...I just know that once he starts learning the right way to say things, I might forget that a monkey was an "ah-ah" and that is so sad! So no more wishing time away...I love this fun phase!

Cheap Entertainment!

Marci and I met at the mall the other day for some free entertainment...the Dinosaur Playland. Parker and Jacob saw the cars just outside, though, and thought they looked much more appealing! Here they are on obviously the greatest roller-coaster ride ever!
Hold on, boys!
We didn't even have to put money in this one...why pay when pushing the buttons is all they care about anyway?

Black Eye Tantrum

I hate doing more than one post on the same day...then I miss out on all the comments on the previous one! Since I'm actually in blogging mode right now, though, I thought I'd better keep posting! Maybe it's part of this crazy nesting phase...I can't leave anything undone...only 4 weeks to go! Feel free to leave comments on BOTH posts, though! (No pressure!)

I know Parker's only (almost) 20 months old, but I'm pretty sure he's already hit his terrible two's. He has been throwing some pretty amazing tantrums lately. A few of them have Joe questioning his mental state...please tell me that he's normal! I've mentioned before that Parker has become pretty particular about what he wears lately. He's still in that phase, but has moved on to being very particular about what blankets he sleeps with, carries around, etc. The other day he had about 5 blankets that he wanted to take with him to the living room (specifically his car, doggie, cowboy, star, and silky blankets). He was getting upset because he couldn't carry them all. I thought I would help him by folding them up so he could carry them all at once. This made him mad beyond reason! He was sitting on my bedroom floor and started flinging himself around. This ended in him banging his head on our bed frame with a nice black eye. The pictures don't do it justice, but they're the best I've gotten...he seriously looks like he has dark black and purple eye shadow on his right eye. Funny boy...I love him, but does he have to be SO opinionated? And no, the chocolate chip cookies WEREN'T a reward, although these tantrums tempt me to give him whatever he wants just to calm him down. Supposedly parenting only gets harder...geez!

New Year's Eve Sleep Over!

Joe and I have talked a lot about sleep overs when our kids get older...we've decided that we're pretty much against them. Joe got in the most trouble growing up when he was sleeping over at friends' houses, and I always came home grumpy and tired with warnings that I would never be allowed to have another sleep over. We decided on New Year's Eve, however, to let Parker have his first FRIEND (Carter) sleep over...and he had a blast! Luckily he's only 19 1/2 months old and still went to bed at 8:30 without a fight! Joe and I got to have a sleep over with our friends Colby and Kandis (Carter's parents) too...only this time I got to sleep in, and Joe and Colby made us all breakfast (so the tired grumpiness wasn't such an issue)! Here are some pictures of the event...it was great having friends over so we actually felt like staying up and ringing in the New Year! Here are some pictures of the event (some that I stole from Kandis' blog...thanks!) Parker and Carter bouncing off the walls, filling themselves with sugar!
Parker's Christmas puzzles...he LOVES them!
Proof that I was there!
Colby and Joe (and later Michael) staying up until 3:30 am playing Halo!
Parker and Carter...still eating the next morning!
Kandis and baby Brooks!

Thanks for the fun sleep over, guys! It may be Parker's last, so good thing he had so much fun!

Side note: New Year's Day was also great...we took Parker to see his first movie in the theater (The Bee Movie). He actually sat through the whole thing! It was amazing. We started with a movie in the dollar theater in case we had to leave...maybe we'll splurge and give him the full movie theater experience next time. Then again, maybe not...$2.00 for a few hours of mindless entertainment...good way to go!