Over the weekend

Tyson and I wanted to do something fun and different, and since he had Friday off of work, we decided to go head down to Vegas.
I don't particularly love Vegas. It's super dirty and very congested, but I figured a weekend out of town could be good for all us before the baby comes.
We took Parks to the Lied Discovery Children's Museum. It seemed like it was in the "hood", but once inside, we had a lot of fun.
Parks was in absolute heaven touching and playing with everything he could imagine. He really loved the "bubbles area" and the airplane. I was glad we got an opportunity to take him to do something he's never done. I only wish they had more kid oriented activities here in St. George.
We also went down to visit our friends, Mary and Kelly, whom just recently purchased a home on the west side of Vegas. We went to dinner with them at Buffalo Bills and spent time with them. It was a lot of fun to go out just as adults. We wish they lived across the street again, but are excited for them and their brand new purchase!
I didn't take as many photos as I wish I would have... but here are a few.

I've Decided.

I've decided that I really do need to work on making our blog a book and writing more things on here that I need and want to remember.
So I'm going to continue to work on that.

Tyson and I have felt that ever since Parks could walk and talk he has had a few different anger issues. Which are very hard to deal with some days. Extremely overwhelming. We didn't understand where they were stemming from or why he would act out in the ways that he does... in fact I just wondered if that was "normal" because he is our first child. We recently started looking into all of this and discovered that Parks might have ODD (Oppositional defiant disorder) it's where your child has a persistent pattern of tantrums, arguing, and angry or disruptive behaviors toward you and other authority figures. So we are going to look into all of it and see if there are different ways to help us parent and help him to overcome his little battle.
Here's a few picture of him in the last little bit.
He drew all over his self.
Little turkey.

 Photos of him and Maya in the bath tub. They love to play together...

Parks says:

The funnies.

Last week I layed Parks down to take his nap... and through the wall we had quite the convorsation.
Parks: Mom...?
Me: Yes Bubba?
Parks: Mom 'ome ere (come here)
Me: Nope.. It's nap time..
Parks: Well, It steents (stinks) Mommy.
Me: Why?
Parks: I faw-ted. Gwoss. Ewww... steenty. ( Farted, gross)
Me: (laughing) Go to sleep "P".
Parks: Otay.

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In the car driving home from My mom's house.
Tyson and I were talking about random things.
Out of no where Parks pipes up.

Ky-it  ( quiet) ssshhhh... No talk.
Tyson and I laughing.

Again Parks says: Ky-it  ( quiet) ssshhhh... Ky-it Dude!!!

Such a goof.

-------------------------------------------------

Parks.

I have been home with Parks a ton lately. 

He has been really really wild fun for me. :)

He is, in no doubt, two.

I thought I better update a little more about him while I have the time to do it.

He is still very much a momma's boy but LOVES to play & wrestle with his daddy.

His speech has improved tremendously. 

He understands [slightly] that I have a baby brother in my belly and he has felt the baby move.

When he says "I love you", it sounds more like "I ruv roo" Which we call his "Scooby voice"

He carries things with him EVERYWHERE. 

Things like: his favorite car, Gator boots (his favorite alligator), blanket, Sippie Cup, etc. He'll take these things to the store, to his grandmother's houses.. wherever we go.

AND

If he happens to find something at their house that he wants to carry he'll HAVE TO add it to his collection that he's got to carry around. 

Some days he'll have three items he's got in his hands-- and then tries to juggle eating, or drinking, etc.

Such a goof.

He dances. Shakes his "tail feather".

He loves to read a book at night at sing "Silent Night"... however, he calls it "Sigh-ya-nigh"

He is learning to spell his name out loud, but usually will only say "P-a-r". 

It's a work in progress.

He loves animals and would live at the Zoo if we had one here in Southern Utah.

I take him to see the ducks and horses at least once a week.

He also really loves Diesels and tractors and Tyson and I joke that P will be in construction or a Truck driver one day because he has an obsession. 

He tells me that "Tractors dig dirt" every single time we see a tractor. =)

He enjoys looking at himself in the mirror and checking himself out... He'll dance in front of the mirror, check out his backside, and smile at himself. 

Such a little turkey... makes me laugh every time.

If he could, he'd live outside.

He really enjoys being outside.

He loves the Park, dirt (even eating dirt =/ ), rocks, riding his bike, swimming... anything that he can do outside is amazing to him.

He loves to go to nursery at church and is currently learning more about Jesus and praying.

He's been a lot of fun at this age. I really love being a mom.

It's a hard job, but at the end of the day I wouldn't want any other job. :)

I remember.

This is a photo of Parks when He was one month old.
It feels like he has grown into a crazy two year old far to quickly.
I remember these sweet moments though, when I would hold him close and he would just curl up in a tiny ball on my chest.
*sigh*
Heaven.

Now, I'm about to have another one month old.

Wow.

I'm excited, nervous, anxious.....
8 more weeks & I will be a mother of two boys.

BUSY!!! Need to catch up.

December was a pretty busy month and really flew on by.
I haven't updated for quite some time so I really need to get on the ball.
I've been trying hard to spend some one on one time with Parks, as I know, he's going to be an only child for just a little longer and then he'll have to learn to share time with his little brother.
I'm a little worried about how that adjustment will go. I'm sure eventually it'll smooth right out.
Parks isn't one to love to share... something we'll have to work on even more.
I've also been working with him on potty training.
It's been a slow process.
We just work on it a little at a time. I'm hoping that if I don't force him, he'll take hold of it better.

This year we started a new tradition of doing a ginger bread house together.
I really wanted Parks to do the decorating on his own.. I just maneuvered the pieces together so it looked like a house. :) So here is a few pictures of that event.

Right around Christmas we went with Tyson's side of the family to eat at Pirate Island.
Parks thinks it a little bit scary in there.. but loves the play area and arcade.
He thinks he's a big boy and can play all of the same games as everyone else.
You can tell he did not want me to hold him. He wanted to run around and play...

Christmas Eve Parks was really sick with croup. It was horrible. He was on antibiotics though, and the doctor approved us taking him outside to play, regardless of his cough/cold.
So, we went to Brian Head and did went sledding/tubing.
Parks was falling asleep in his little tube because he was so dang lethargic...
BUT when they'd push him down the hill in his tube he'd look up, smile, and say "fun! A-din!" (Again)
I was a little worried about how high the hills were that they were pushing him down on..
But the people that worked there, assured me that it wouldn't be a big deal to get a refund if he hated it, and that even a 16 month old had gone down it....
P monkey ended up loving it!!

Christmas morning Parks was still sick and a little lethargic still..
Once he saw what Santa had brought him tho, He was as happy as a clam.
He played.... then laid down... then played.. then wanted to cuddle.. then play again.
We were happy that it, at least, put him in a little bit of a better mood. Poor guy.. =/

Tyson and I both had a great Christmas together.
It was really fun...and Tys spoiled me rotten..
He's terrible at keeping on budget when it comes to Christmas time.
You can tell we're both a little tired and out of it still.
None-the-less, still taking pictures and enjoying these moments.
It's so much more fun to be a parent, and observe how much your kids are loving the toys and the spirit of Christmas.
I love the giving part of Christmas, and seeing how excited people get when they see what you've made/purchased for them.

I try really hard every year to get people gifts that are more on the thoughtful end, and that have meaning. So I gave my parents a quilt that I had made.. and my mom a necklace that has all her kids' names engraved on it.
This is a photo of my dad's face when he saw what my mom had purchased for him for Christmas. He's in shock. He had no idea.

New fishing boat.
Parks was out there wanting to get in and play in it.

My mom with the quilt and her necklace.

My dad with his new rug for our lake house.

Stacey, Tyson's mom, with a necklace I got her as well.

Tyson's dad, With his new hunting backpack. :)

Trevor with his new shades.

December was a great month. We had a really good time and stayed busy.
NOW I'm at 29 weeks pregnant and SOOO ready to be done.
We're getting close, and I've been doing some preparing here and there.
I really don't love to be pregnant.
I'm having Braxton hicks as I type this and I'm feeling a little bit large lately....
But I love that I'm more aware of our little monster in this pregnancy and I can feel his little limbs more often and when he turns.. It's been fun to watch my belly wiggle around and feel him move.
I'm excited to meet him...
We have two names FINALLY picked out, so we'll see what he ends up with.

Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. We played a bunch of games together. This is a photo of the kids playing the "Snowball game" aka Vaseline and Cotton ball game... and my mom playing along with the grand kids. It was super funny to watch. =)

My cousins, Joy, and Josh (and Josh's wife, Melody) came down from Provo to join in our festivities. We're glad they came. It's nice to have a big dinner with lots of family all together.

IF you haven't heard, we're having another BOY. In this photo I'm about 21 weeks. So, just over half way. I can feel him swimming and kicking a TON! I really enjoy feeling him move, but I'm starting to think he's more of a wiggle worm then Parks was. ;)