Parker is 1! Holy cow!

What a day we had yesterday - the weather was great (29.7 C) for an outdoor shindig! Parker was a little grouchy at first, but luckily he warmed up a little and had a great time!

The best part was when we placed a mini cake in front of Parker. He looked at it, then after I fed him a piece, he finally got the idea and started slathering his face in blue and white icing. When Sailor figured out what was going on, she stepped up on Parker's highchair and started licking the icing off Parker's face all the while Parker was giggling uncontrollably! It was too funny! When I find the camera - I am still trying to clean up -I will download some pictures!

Parker is turning 1!

Oh my, Parker is turning one tomorrow.

This afternoon, Ginger, and Lily came for Parker's second haircut. He was quite patient until the hair started accumulating on his face. He lost it after that - poor little guy, it must of been very itchy! He looks like a little boy now - not a baby, sniff, sniff!

Shawn, our friends, Ryan and Nicole and I spent this evening putting up streamers and blowing up balloons for Parker's first birthday party. Thanks to Shawn's aunt for the awesome frog cupcake cake, and the mini cake for just for Parker! Stay tuned for pictures from this event!

Summer Finally!

With the big countdown starting...sniff, sniff, three more weeks until I go back to work after maternity leave, Shawn, Parker and I, are at the lake. I say "summer finally" because it has been freakin' cold these past few weeks (for those folks who are not living in MB). It feels more like the beginning of October, than spring! Today the mercury hit 23 C! Whoohoo! I have to say the best thing about the weather being so cool, is that we have virtually NO mosquitoes! Hard to believe, I know!

Today, we bought Parker a small kiddie pool and filled it up in the veranda, so that Parker isn't baking in completely in the sun. So now we call it Parker's Pool and Spa. He tries to climb in on one side and out on the other but has trouble lifting his meaty leg high enough to clear the side of the pool.

Hey, did I mention Parker can walk?! OH MY GOD! The other day while grocery shopping in Kenora, I saw Shawn walking with Parker holding on to only ONE hand - I couldn't believe it! Parker had a humongous, toothy smile the entire time - he's quite proud of himself. Then two nights ago (June 10), Tracy had trouble catching up to Parker. He had a death grip on Tracy's finger meanwhile Parker was motoring in front of her...aka, Parker was not relying on Tracy for any support. He did numerous laps of the kitchen, and can surprisingly recover from small stumbles without face planting. He still prefers holding on to someones finger while he walks, even though, it has no purpose other than functioning as emotional support. The cutest thing is when Parker walks you can hear his little chubby feet slapping the floor.

One more announcement - Parker sprouted another tooth yesterday! He has 6 in total.

I just remembered, tomorrow is exactly one week until Parker's 1st birthday party - wow!

I love New Brunswick!

The Theme of our PEI leg was "Nothing is Open Yet!"

PEI was somewhat disappointing. When we got to the island, we headed directly to the visitor information centre only to be told repeatedly that "nothing was open yet". Oh boy, I couldn't wait to see this province!

Once there, a few things became apparent - holy cow the province is TINY! Yes, I know this is somewhat of an obvious statement for some, however I didn't realize until we drove around for a while how small it is. Literally if you blinked, you could miss a town.

While on PEI, we saw Anne of Green Gables...Shawn and I smooched at Lover's Lane, hehhehe. We also saw the "famous" red cliffs - What a joke that was. We drove all the way up to the North Cape, on the northwest tip of PEI because we were told we could see these "red cliffs". YOU CAN'T SEE THEM FROM THE SCENIC HIGHWAY! It wasn't until we pulled off the road to change Parker's diaper, that we saw some! How frustrating! The Confederation Bridge was totally cool! It took 14 mins, going 80km/hr to cross it, I thought it was never going to end!

We had a lovely, yet extremely overpriced, lobster dinner in Charlottetown (the lobster was $26/lb even though you could buy cooked lobster at any grocery store for $7.99/lb). I had a heart attack when Shawn ordered the 2lb lobster at the restaurant! Our bill was over $90 for two freakin' lobsters. Oh well, we made up for this on Mother's Day...Shawn and I headed to Superstore and bought four, cooked lobsters of $34, four potatoes, two cans of corn, a block of butter, and some pop and heated everything up in our hotel room microwave for us and Shawn's parents! A HA! How's that for being frugal!

I would move to the Maritimes for the food alone!

Our trip out East was amazing! We flew to Halifax then rented a mini-van and toured around PEI, New Brunswick and then back to Nova Scotia. Shawn's parents joined us for the first week, then flew out of Moncton. Shawn, Parker and I continued on our travels for another week.

Being a "vegetarian" who eats seafood, I thought I died and went to heaven - there was lobster on every menu from seafood chowder, lobster rolls, lobster BLTs - yummy!

Here was our itinerary of the major places we travelled to...we sure covered a lot of ground. We hit Halifax, Peggy's Cove, Stellarton (NS), Charlottetown, Cavendish (Anne of Green Gables area), Summerside (PEI), Moncton (NB), Hopewell Cape (Hopewell (flower pot) Rocks), Fredericton, Saint John (NB), Digby (NS), Yarmouth then back to Halifax.

Parker's First Birthday Invitation!

So Parker's first birthday is drawing near...in two weeks tomorrow to be exact. I can't believe it! I still remember thinking after he was born, "Now what I am going to do with this baby?!?!!"

Well, I have to say I really surprised myself. I survived the numerous, around-the-clock-feedings and months of sleepless nights! But above all, both Shawn and I have amazing memories of his first year. It is unbelievable in a few short months, Parker went from being what I call a "blob" that did nothing but sleep, poop and eat, to the cute little guy he is today! He scoots around the house, climbs up stairs, feeds himself...the list goes on and on! He's come along way, that's for sure! God, he's a cutie-pa-tootie!

Here's his first birthday invitation!

Make a Smilebox invite

We're Back!

I had to add more pictures! Parker and Jeffrey got along sooo well. I have the feeling Jeffrey can't wait for Parker to get a little bigger. Here is Parker attempting to wrestle with Jeffrey!

Parker is quickly racking up the frequent flyer points. Parker and I spent 5 days in Victoria in early April, and on May 19, Shawn, Parker and I got back from our two week trip in the Maritimes!

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Victoria!
(clockwise: 1) Me, Parker, my cousin Carolyn's husband, Kevin, and their kids, Claire and Jeff; 2) Me, Parker and Claire going for a stroll; 3) My Auntie Mar and Parker.)

Will Spring Ever Come???

What a LONG winter! Even though the calendar says it is spring, the view outdoors suggests otherwise. I know I joke about saying WINTERPEG, MANISNOWBA but this winter it was true. Just when I thought the snow was all going to finally melt away, we were hammered by, not one, but two snow storms! Ahhhhh! Today, I must admit it is good to see sidewalk pavement not covered by snow. C'mon, sun do your stuff and melt the dreaded stuff! Here are a few pictures of us "enjoying" the snow!

Parker's NEW front top chicklet(s)!

Awe, I am going to miss that adorable, gummy smile!



Parker has one, honkin' huge chicklet popping out of the right-side of his upper gums. The one beside it is coming along too. When I get a picture of the elusive teeth, I will post it! Parker has lips like a steel trap. If you come within a few millimeters of his mouth, he shuts his lips. It is like he knows you want to see his little chicklets, but he's not going to let you!

Parker's First Haircut (March 19, 09)

Parker got his first, and somewhat over do, haircut at the Hair-Do Zoo! He sat on a horse while the lady chopped away! At first he didn't mind because he was facinated by the pink hairclip the hairdresser gave him. Afterward, he caught on to what was going on, hence why the hair on one side of his head is ever so slightly longer. Overall, he looks so cute! Awe!

Thanks for the awesome soccer outfit for the Parkermeister!

Holy cow, what a cute little oufit! We tried staging the pictures however we only have a football and not a soccer ball. Zam , Hizee and Ziko, you guys have great taste! Those little white shorts are too cute especially when you see pudgy legs, complete with rolls sticking out of them!

Recognize the sweater Parker is wearing?!?. Ironically, last night, I found a picture of Zam wearing it!

UH OH...We're in TROUBLE!

Parker sure is a happy little guy! I love his little gummy smile and his adorable giggle!

Here he is riding on my shoulders while grabbing very tightly to my hair, ouch!

We bought Parker some foam lettters for the tub, however, Shawn appears to have more fun with them than Parker!

PARKER CAN CRAWL!

He mastered his crawling technique on Monday (March 9). Shawn placed Parker in the basement surrounded by his toys as per usual and the went to jump in the shower. Normally, Parker happily sits and plays with his toys...but before Shawn had time to jump in the shower, Parker was in the bathroom with him! For the last few weeks Parker had been scooting along on his butt...unfortunately, those days are gone. Awe nuts!

Parker also loves walking while holding on to someones hands. Here I naively thought he would be slow and uncoordinated - the little guy can sure motor! He's quick and determined to go where he wants, he doesn't fool around, that's for sure!

Parker's New Talents

Parker has just recently figured out how to get from his tummy to sitting upright. In fact, he now keeps his arms completely stiff while you try to lie him down so that is can quickly back up over his leg in order to sit up. He's amazingly quick too. He has also started to rock back and forth on his hands and knees. Somehow I am already regretting our numerous "let's practice crawling" episodes. What was I thinking :)! All I can say is "we're in TROUBLE"!

Five days ago, Parker discovered that he can stand up in his crib. Although afterwards, he tends to let go of the railing and fall straight backwards - we got to work on a safer technique. Shawn lowered his mattress in his crib none to soon. Parker also likes "walking" while hanging on to either Shawn or my hands. Great - if he doesn't crawl soon, he may be walking!

Bomber Fan Already?!

Here's Parker and Shawn with Buzz at the Baby and Kids show.

Hubba, Hubba!

Look at these cuties! Parker, Shawn and I were heading out to celebrate my Aunt Helen's (my Mom's sister) 65th Birthday at the Keg. Gotta love the little tie - it was TOO CUTE!

Parker also has developed an affinity for "bling". If it is shiny, he'll try to eat it, just like my Aunt Joyce's necklace.

Assortment of Funny Photos

Parker does the darnedest things!

Parker the Fish

Parker loves to swim. Shawn and I took him to Centennial Pool and the little guy couldn't get enough. He surfed, played with a flock of rubber duckies and splashed around for nearly an hour.

Where did January go?

I can't believe March is right around the corner. In a way I am sad because I only have a few more months left to spend with the Parkermeister before I go back to work.

I can't wait until spring. I feel that Parker and I have been cooped up inside for too long. Of course when it actually warmed up outside, we ventured out for a walk but unfortunately those days were few.

Above are few pictures of Parker, Shawn, Sailor and I walking along the Assiniboine River skate/walk way. The path was awesome (I say "was" because ever since the two-day-long rain event we had in mid Feb, the path has been closed - bummer). You could get from the Assiniboine Park walking bridge all the way to the Forks downtown by walking on the river.

For the month of January, Parker, Shawn and I were busy helping to take care of my parent's dogs, my sister's cat and frog while they were were all gallivanting in Mexico and other tropical locals for three weeks. Ugh, I was so glad when the babysitting of the animals came to an end. I spent hours making and re-vamping a schedule so that the dogs would be let out at least four times a day by Shawn, my sisters Cristen and Vanessa or me. It doesn't sound like it would be a lot of work, but oh man, I was counting the hours until my parents came home. Then I found out from my Dad that my Mom and him were contemplating staying for another week - I told them that would have put me right over the edge. No more pet babysitting for us for a while.