Olympic Styles

I took some photos in Brockville at the Y for April's mom the other day and brought Parker along with me. He hung out with Grandpa and got to hold one of the official olympic torches! Sweet. Next to him is super running all star Mike Woods from Ottawa.

Splash 'N Boots!

Last night we went to a free concert at Willie Spratt Sports Field here in Amherstview featuring Splash 'N Boots! I went to school with them and actually played drums in a show they were singing in, so it was cool to see them doing what they love and being successful! And they put on a GREAT show! I think my favourite part was when they made animal sounds in a song about animals, but they asked kids in the crowd to name their favourites. One little girl stepped up to the mic, took a big sigh and said, "A unicorn." Nick's unicorn sound involved him making a horn on his head with his finger and going, "Naaaaay.................I'm special!" Good times. :D

Pre-show meal.

Nick rockin' the guitar.

Taes doing a wacky dance.

Taes went around the crowd with a mic to get animal suggestions and laughs.

Probably surprised by the fact that he had to figure out what kind of sound a unicorn makes.

Definitely a great live show! Hopefully they come back because Parker really seemed to like their stuff. He was sitting in our laps tapping his foot, and afterwards asked to say hi to the lady (that's what he calls all girls, it seems) and the man (what he calls all guys, it seems). And the concert also featured a special guest appearance by Gabriel, Kristyne, and Jeff! Thanks for stopping in on your way back through town! :D

Random Photos

Here's Parker in the backyard peeking out from a little window thing in his play structure. He likes to poke his head out and go, "I SEE YOU!!!!!" or, "AHHHHH!!!!" like he's surprising you.

Smiles for Mommy!

Cheeeeeeese!

Random portraity photo of Parker sitting down in the living room. He wasn't into photos at all that morning (he looks really grumpy in most of them). Check out how long his hair is! He has a hair helmet!

It's been so hot out that we thought it would be fun for Parker to run around through a little sprinkler. Here he is testing out the new underpants.

Our Big Nerd!

I also have glasses now! What's up with that?

And just because, here's Parker hiding in one of our kitchen cupboards.

This reminds me of the classic (well, classic to me because I think I'm the only person who has seen it) "supplies" scene from UHF.

Potty Training, Days 3 and 4!

Days 3 and 4 went really well! He hasn't had any accidents and he pretty much goes pee on the potty every time! Still no poo, though. And he's not actually telling us he needs to go pee -- we're still just putting him on the toilet every hour. And I made up for Tuesday by having a 100% success rate with Parker this morning! Boo yah.

Our Little Nerd

Also, I guess I should post our potty training strategy. This is something April heard from a friend and it worked for her, so it's what we're going with for now! Yesterday we told Parker he wasn't going to wear diapers any more and that he was going to wear underpants, which he was really psyched about. We told him to only go pee pee in the potty and that he had to keep his underpants dry. So every hour we (well, April) take him to the potty and sit him down until he goes pee, which is usually pretty quickly. And if he does it successfully, we give him a little mini Rolo candy. Mmmm.... bribery... So he's really into peeing on the potty (for the most part) and he's also really into eating mini Rolos. Getting him to poop is going to be more difficult, I think. Hopefully tomorrow is more of a step forward because today was a bit of a step back after yesterday!

Potty Training, Day 2

So far day 2 has not gone as well as day 1. :D He went on the potty multiple times yesterday and I think his only accident was during his nap in the afternoon, but even then it was right at the end after sleeping for 2 or 3 hours.

So today, April slept in while Parker and I ate breakfast and played a bit. For whatever reason, I couldn't get his potty timing right. I'd put him on and he wouldn't go, so we'd jump off and 20 minutes later he'd pee in his underpants. So I'd change him, and we'd sit on the potty after another 15 or 20 minutes, and he wouldn't go. So then we'd jump off again and sure enough, he had another accident. We went to go get his hair cut (but the hair cut place was closed), so we went to the park and brought his little portable potty chair. Again, he didn't have to go, so we played at the park until he finally went pee in his underpants again (while saying, "Uh oh...."). It seems like I was 15 or 20 minutes off no matter what we did.

After a few loads of laundry, he's now trying to nap and April has had him back on the potty successfully since we came home. So far she's about 7/7 and I'm about 0/5 on the potty training. Go me! :D

Update: So Parker is asleep for the night and he had multiple accidents and multiple successful pees on the potty. So it was a so-so day today (definitely not as good as yesterday!) but hopefully tomorrow is better! Still no poop on the potty, but I think we'll work up to it as he gets more comfortable peeing on the potty first.

And So It Begins....

Okay, so this video has nothing to do with potty training, but it seemed dramatic so I thought I'd post it. Plus, Lord of The Rings is awesome. :D We're starting potty training today and so far Parker hasn't had any accidents and has gone pee on the potty twice three four five times! I think it'll be tough to convince him to poop on the potty, but we'll see how it goes. He's loving his underpants so that's a good start!

Playdate With Shigeen And Babriel!

April, Parker and I went over to the Ross' house the other day for another playdate with Kristyne and Gabriel (and this time I didn't lose my car keys and have to stay in Ottawa a few days). Parker was really excited about bringing his little booster chair over so we could lunch. Here he is carrying it all the way to the door (well, in the direction of the door, at least) all by himself! He was pretty psyched.

Gabriel has a cool train table!

Normal cars fit on the track, too, which is pretty sweet.

Here's Gabriel driving around on his bus-thing!

Parker eating some delicious apple slices. Mmmm.... apples.....

Parker's not quite as dextrous as Gabriel when it comes to getting in and out of a chair.

Kristyne making Parker giggle.

Hugs! Awwwwwww...

Curious George hanging out.

Gabriel's all like, "Wha happen...?"

Sitting on the little step and eating some pretzels! Awwwww yeah.

Gabriel is so fast and agile! He rolls around and does all these crazy things that Parker can't do! It's pretty impressive. Here he is rolling around with a blanket and pretending to sleep with some funny snoring noises.

Parker putting something (bread, I think) in the microwave so he can make some toast! He looooves toast.

Parker doing some weird arm thing while Gabriel zooms by.

Thanks again for having us over! :D

Top Secret Boy Stuff

Earlier this week Parker and I went on a top secret adventure to pick up the last bits of April's anniversary present! We told her we were going to Canadian Tire (which we did) but we also made a few other stops. Here are some photos of our morning:

Before we could leave, Parker put his hand in the grease on the inside of the car door, so Mommy had to do some quick wiping. Parker looks thrilled.

Once I started taking photos he wanted to run to the camera so he could check out the baby on the back.

Buckled in and ready to go! His hair is still wet from a shower (which are his new favourite things).

Here we are outside of the mall after we picked up a part of April's anniversary present! Parker thought the handicapped parking sign was pretty awesome to climb on. He is quite pleased with his new height, and made sure I knew it by saying, "Taaaaall! :D"

Here's us outside of Canadian Tire! Parker thought the words "Canadian Tire" were pretty funny, actually, although you would never know it from this photo. Kristyne told us they had a little zoo in the back so I wanted to check it out!

Here we are in the lawnmower section checking things out. I picked up one of these babies! And the secret to getting toddlers to smile at the camera? Make up random words. For this photo I said, "Hey Parker!" and then when I sort of had his attention I'd go, "Pooperschlooper! Shmigglyboo!" and he thought it was pretty entertaining.

We found the little zoo! April and Parker had been there before, so he made sure to tell me there were chickens out there some where.

A peacock!

And a chicken!

And a goat! And a horse!

And a second chicken!

Checking out the animals.

On the drive home, Parker thought it would be funny to eat his own toes. He always alerts us by giggling like a crazy person, and then I look back and say, "Nooooo!!! Not your toe-toes!!!!" and he laughs. And then tries to eat them again.

Toes successfully eaten and top secret boy stuff mission accomplished!