Big Boy Underwear!

Today Parks did something really cute. We have been singing the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song and trying to show him the movements. Well, this is what he decided. "Eye, eye, nose, mouth." It was so dang funny! He was saying it over and over until he decided he was done. So, Jer and I decided that we are sick of diapers. What parent isn't?! Parks has been showing signs so we decided what the heck. We put on big boy underwear after Park's bath tonight and let's just say....we have some work to do:) He told us he peed after the fact and by the 3rd underwear of the night, we put a diaper on. I'm hoping by Christmas, we can be "diaper free" but I won't push it.
P.S. My mom bought him these underwear and he loves them:) He is obsessed with Elmo.

Update!

Ok. So I am not good at this whole blogging thing. I realized that it was time to update since the last time I wrote on here was at Christmas! What the??!! So I am going to give you and update on my family. Jer is in his 2nd year of law school and studying very hard. Parks and I are so proud of him:) He works hard for our family and I appreciate that. I stay at home with Parks still, but we have been going on adventures more. He is very busy but such a good kid. He really is a sweet boy. Sometimes he comes up to me to give me a hug and a kiss and it almost makes me cry. His vocabulary is soaring! He is learning new words each day and gets excited about it. We have been working on identifying colors and he is still not quite there. He likes the word "yellow" so every color to him is yellow. He knows his alphabet, lower and upper case, 1-10 and now we are working on 11-20. He learns very quickly:) He likes to share and is always willing to help me. He likes to help with chores! I know, I know. I probably brainwashed him somehow. He's really into baseball stuff and Disney's Cars. He is becoming more independent and wants to be a "big" boy. I am still obsessed with working out and now trying to get that "ripped" body. I did a half marathon several months ago and want to do another one soon. My goal in life is to complete a marathon. I know I'll get there someday but I will tell you what. When I crossed the finish line at the half marathon, I thought to myself, this is only half. I really think you have to be out of your mind to run 26 miles. But that has been our life in a nutshell. I will be better at blogging, hopefully!!

Christmas!

It's been sooooo long since I have updated the blog. Sorry! Life has been crazy for the past month. Jer had finals for 2 weeks so Parks and I didn't see him for 3...and we were busy with Christmas. I did bake the usual cookies and gave them out to people. I love doing that! My mom started that tradition and I guess I just followed but I love doing it! So I have to say that I didn't gain weight at all during this time BUT when I went home, I did eat a little more than normal. Jer and I went to New York for Christmas and surprised my mom! The entire family was in on it except her. We had to leave a day early because of a snow system so to make a long story short, we arrived at 4 in the morning their time. It was a crazy day! It was clear until we hit the Pennsylvania border and then it was like a blizzard. That took a lot longer than expected but was so glad we arrived safely. I did wake my mom up and she was confused. She is a deep sleeper and she thought that I was my sister holding some doll (I was holding Parks). Let's just say, she was super excited to see us. The last time I saw my parents was for Park's blessing, which was 16 months ago. My family has not been together (all of us) since our wedding which was almost 4 years ago. So it was a much needed visit. I see my in-laws all the time so I convinced Jer that it was MY turn. Sometimes I think he forgets that I have a family too. I had so much fun though! Parks was loving every minute of the attention he received. My parent's house is open so Parks was free to go anywhere. And he learned how to open doors at their house...not a good thing! I love hanging out with my sisters and goofing off! I am sad that it went by way too fast but I think we are going to make an effort to get together more often. We got home safely and in good time! I will post all the things we did another time...this one is already long enough!

Thanksgiving!

I love to eat!! Thanksgiving is the only time you can really pig out and not feel guilty about it. Well this year, I didn't eat as much as I thought I would have. Jer and I actually went to 2 dinners. We met up with a bunch of law students who weren't going home for the holidays and then we went to Jeff and Brookley's house. It was so much fun! There was good food and good company. Since we didn't have our own Thanksgiving this year, I only had to make the stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, and a dessert. My stuffing didn't turn out as well as before but that's probably because I quadrupled the recipe and didn't leave it in the oven to get as crunchy. I don't like mushy stuffing...I like to have a little bite. It still tasted really good it just wasn't as crunchy as I had hoped. I decided to make a trifle this year instead of the usual pumpkin pie. I was a little nervous since we are pie people but this trifle...it was really good:) It was a pumpkin and gingerbread trifle. I made my own cranberry sauce and it was so yummy! It is like a cranberry jelly. I was up all night making and preparing the food but I am so glad I did because everything turned out so well! I am glad that Kelsey Ann (Jeff and Brookley's baby) is home now. She gave everyone a scare when she was born and had to be in the NICU, but she is at home now. She is such a calm baby. She is a little over a month old and still does not weigh as much as Parker when he was born!! lol! He is a tank!

It finally snowed! It has been cold here but my mentality has not sunk in since there is no snow on the ground. I have had the attitude like, oh it's sunny outside, I can wear my flip flops and sweatshirt and be ok. We are not in Cali anymore!!! That's all I have to say.

Twilight

So I finished Harry Potter (finally) about 2 months ago and decided that I needed something else to read. Long story short, it ended up being the Twilight series. I had heard of them but didn't really know what it was about. So I picked up the first book and was hooked! I'm only on the 3rd book right now since life has been a little crazy but I am in love with these books!! On Friday, a bunch of us girls went to go see the movie. There were so many high school kids there and probably younger...it felt so awkward for us "moms" to be there. It was so fun though!! Saturday was the the "holy war" or the BYU vs. Utah game. Personally, I don't care for either team...BYU has been bad for so long that I gave up on them. Now I just cheer for the Bulldogs! I'm hoping we move back to Georgia someday but who knows. Anyways, we went to a huge party and it was so much fun! Jer decided to cheer for Utah and wore red while Parker wore a onesie that my sister Ashley bought him that said "Lil Cougar". It was so fun!!!
Go Team Edward!!!! or maybe join my friend Brit, Team Carlisle!!!

Jer's Birthday!

Last night I threw Jer a surprise birthday party. I decided to do everything myself including the cooking. I was nervous since I haven't cooked for a lot of people before, but it turned out awesome. Now I know I can throw dinner parties! Since I am a Rachael Ray fanatic, I decided to cook her chili dog chili. It's a large pot of chili with hot dogs in it. You make cornbread and put spicy mustard in it so when you eat them together it tastes like a corndog! It probably sounds really disgusting but it isn't. I am not a hot dog fan but I will eat it in this! I also made twice baked potatoes loaded with bacon, cheese, sour cream, and scallions. It was really good! FYI, turkey hot dogs tastes pretty good. I started buying turkey everything about a year and half ago since it is healthier for you. I was surprised at how well everything turned out. Jer does not like cake, so he asked for brownies. I found a Paula Deen recipe...all I can say is 500 calories a bite?! They are awesome! So I will have to hit the gym a little harder on Monday.

Friday night, we hung out with a bunch of couples from our ward. We went out to eat and then went to play laser tag. Since we decided to go last minute, we had to take Parks with us to eat. No big deal though, because for the most part he acts pretty good. It was fun!

Halloween!

So I am trying to become better at this whole blogging thing. My goal is to write once a week! Yeah right!! So I decided last minute what Parker was going to be for Halloween. Thing 2 and Jer would be Thing 1 from the Dr. Seuss book "Cat in the Hat". We had trunk or treat at the church and Parker was so confused by the whole getting candy. I didn't go with him since I was passing out candy, but Jer said that after he watched him put the candy in the pumpkin, Parks started to do it. He is such a smart kid. He picks up on things so quickly! Sometimes it's a bad thing!! We had a good time though. I have to say, I kind of felt bad since Parks didn't get to eat the candy. Oh well! He is growing so fast! He is such a big kid and I sometimes forget that he is 16 months old. I still can't believe that it's been that long.

Last night we went to our friends house to watch the Texas game. We didn't really care for the teams playing...obviously, but we went to hang out. I have made an effort to be more social in the ward. It's hard though since there is no one our age, with one kid, and going to school. It is more of a military ward and they are a little older with a couple of kids. The girls are all nice though, so it's been pretty easy for me to "fit in." In fact, they started playing volleyball one night a week and I decided to go. Oh my gosh! Even though I am fit, I was sore after I played! My arms were tore up!! It was so much fun though! I am liking it here the longer we are here. Not enough to live here permanently but for the time we are in school. Yeah it was such a good Halloween!!!