Happy 5th Birthday Parker

Parker turned 5 today.  Five years seems like way more time than should have passed already.  Here he is right at 12:10 this morning, the time he was born.

 He has been such an amazing big brother the last 7.5 months and I am so proud of how well he has adjusted.  Esme is so lucky to have him and she loves him so much!

 Perkins has become our new birthday tradition (3 years running.)  Breakfast is Parker's favorite meal, so it is a good fit.  Esme snoozed through dinner, but Parker scarfed his pancakes!

Happy Birthday Parker.  You will always be my baby and I love you so much!  I am excited to celebrate more this weekend.

Mick Dundee and Other Weekend Fun

My dad and I woke up early Friday morning to go shopping!  I have mostly sworn off Black Friday shopping since my retail days ended, but it was fun to tag along.  Fleet Farm was giving away stuffed koalas to the first 500 guests.  There was a ridiculous line so we didn't think there would be any left (and I didn't want one anyway.)  To our surprise there were still some available.  I stuck to my guns and refused the koala, but my dad grabbed one.  Before we were even home I was coveting the super soft plushy fellow.  It was proclaimed that the koala would live at Grandpa and Nana's for Esme when she visits.  Since Esme can't name her we threw around some (Australian) options and he was dubbed Mick Dundee.  Esme loves him already!

Four day weekends are a glorious thing.  You get through two days and still have a WHOLE weekend left!  Saturday was pretty relaxing.  We watched my cousin Kaylee play on YouTube.  OK State is broadcasting all their home games online this year, which means we get to watch a lot more!

We went to the Mall of America for dinner and to stretch our legs.  We tried out a new place, Naf Naf Grill.  They serve a variety of Middle Eastern food.  We tried the chicken and steak shawarma in pita.  I wasn't a huge fan of the spice combination, but will probably go again and try the falafel.

Parker enjoyed his pizza as always and Esme was just along for the ride.

The St. Paul Children's Museum will be shutting down this weekend for a few months to finalize renovations, so we will be frequenting the MOA location more.  They have been switching up the exhibits every few months, which is nice.  The current main one is Curious George and there are SO MANY wheels to spin.  Parker is in heaven!

Esme even found a little wheel at her level.

Esme was having a pretty rough time with teething, so I took Parker to church by myself.  After that my parents and I checked out the Linden Hills Holiday Market.  We went two years ago and I was excited to go again.

We didn't get anything as far as craft vendors go, but I got a tamale that I loved (I got another on the way out and one for Jimmy.)  My parents also found some Chinese food so good that they went back for more too (I may have helped eat it!)  They have new vendors every week, so I may go back again before it ends.

This week is Parker's birthday and we have lots of fun planned.  I can't wait to share it will you!

Thanksgiving 2016

We had a busy but fun Thanksgiving.  We started the morning with Esme's weekly pictures.  Happy first Thanksgiving sweetie bear!

Our first stop was Jimmy's parents.  We got there about 10:30 to hang out for a while before eating at Noon.

It has been quite a year for this family with Jim getting his heart and March and Esme arriving in April.  We have so much to be thankful for.

As always, the spread Cherry made was amazing!  And you can't argue with 4 types of pie!

The Vikings played at 11:30 and Jimmy didn't want to miss a minute!  Esme took a nap on the floor while we got our fill.

Our next stop was a brief one at Jimmy's extended family gathering.  We are going to miss the Christmas gathering with them so I wanted to make sure they got to see and meet Esme.  She was really eyeing up cousin Chris' pumpkin pie.

The final destination was dinner with my parents.  Another delicious spread!

We invited friends from church who don't have family in MN.  I am bummed I didn't get a picture of all of them, but we had great time with Caleb, Cindy, Russell, and Paul.

Our annual pool tournament has been pretty small the last few years, so it was nice to have more players.  We gave Caleb and Cindy first round byes out of courtesy, but Cindy ended up winning!

My dad was going for the three-peat, but got beat by her in the winner's bracket and I beat him in the loser's bracket.  He said they won't get special treatment if they are brave enough to return next year!

We ended up spending the night and got to hang out with Grandpa and Nana all day Friday.  The perfect start to a 4 day weekend!

Another Tooth and Other Ramblings...

It has been quite the week of teething at our house.  We had a few rough evenings and Esme is still being a finicky eater.  Her lower central incisors came in early October, her upper left lateral incisor came in today and her upper left central incisor should be poking through soon!  She has also discovered the mirror next to her changing pad and loves to check herself out!  She giggles and reaches out and it is so adorable.  She also started babbling more this weekend and added "B" to her repertoire of consonants.

 We got Parker's school picture last week and it turned out great again.  I can't believe how much more grown he looks compared to last year.

 I got a walker toy for free from another mom at daycare.  We brought it to my parents this weekend and Parker decided it was just his size.  Of course you aren't limited to rolling when you are tall enough to lift it up and walk.

 And the Huskers won on Saturday!  #GBR

Esme June - More Seven Month Photos

We went to my parents yesterday to watch the Nebraska and Minnesota games and  I decided to take some more pictures of Esme while we were there.  The first two are her weekly pictures taken at home.

This is one of my new favorites!  She looks so big!

Oh and that tongue!

Esme June - Seven Months Old

Esme is 7 months old today.  She is sitting independently, but still like to arch back and sometimes falls over, so we make sure to sit with her or surround her with blankets.  The tummy sleeping phase didn't last long, which I greatly appreciate!  Parker was a tummy sleeper for a long time (and still is sometimes), but Esme seems happy on her back.  She weighs about 19.5 lbs and is wearing all 9 month clothing.  She is still in size 3 diapers and is doing well with her 8 oz bottles most of the time.  She loves when people talk to her and likes to babble back.  She especially likes to laugh!  Parker has been very affectionate, which really gets her going!

 I am going to blame this week's super moon for Esme's crazy teething!

 He upper gum is so red and swollen, but no teeth have popped yet.  She had a low fever over the weekend when Jimmy's parent's were watching the kids and even threw up a bit on Saturday night.  She was having a tough time going to sleep last night, so we gave her a dose of Ibuprofen and that did the trick.  She has been a little more hit or miss with eating, but is mostly in good spirits.

 We had a fun visit with our cousin Carter last night.  He is expecting a baby sister in the next few weeks.  It took him a bit to warm up to Esme, but was loving her up by the end.  This was his very sweet attempt at a hug!

 I will try to set up a fun photo shoot this weekend, but here are her weekly pictures from last week and the monthly pictures from today.  Have a great week!