18 month Appointment

We had our 18 month appointment today. The doctor says Parker is looking good, and is recovering from his two ear infections that he has had these last two months. He does have another runny nose though so we are keeping our fingers crossed that doesn't turn into another one. He measured at 33 3/4 inches and weighed 25 lbs 13 oz.

I can't believe my baby is a toddler. Although there are many days when Tony and I are amazed at how much he can do, and the developing personallity there are those days we just wish we could go back to before.

Parker is walking up and down our front steps much better now. He even can go up and down himself while holding onto the railing. Although sometimes he prefers to hold mommy's hand as he walks down. He also has discovered how to get in and out of his highchair by himself. This has been very useful, but in the same day he discovered how to climb up on the kitchen table. I can only imagine where he is headed next. I am excited and scared to see what the next 6 months hold in store for us.

Looking forward to summer!!

So it has been awhile and things are changing so quickly so I thought I would give a general update. So we have been eagerly awaiting the sun here in Oregon. Finally it looks like it is here!!

Parker is starting to talk more, but still hard to understand. He says words like thank you, dog, bye, and of course Mommy. He also points to lights and says something which I have had a hard time understanding. According to the babysitter it is the word "on". He is running everywhere and loves playing at the local playground. It is amazing the difference in a year. At the very end of last summer he barely was crawling, and this year he is running and playing like a mad man. Yesterday while I had a wisdom tooth pulled Chelsea watched him at a sprinkler park near their house and he had a blast. It was hard to keep him out of the water when we were ready to go home. We also went on our first sail a few weeks ago on Papa Wayne's new boat. We had a rough start, but then I think he enjoyed it in the end. I think we will be spending lots of time at the outside this summer which I am looking forward to.

Tony has been trying to get out and golf, but probably not as much as he would like. He gets off work at 2:30 so he can fit in a round of golf after work. Unfortunately many evenings he needs to come home since I have to go to work. Hopefully he will be able to do this more now that I am not working evenings this summer. It is always nice to have your own playtime.

My newest adventure is my garden box. We had one behind our house when we first moved in, but it had become overgrown with weeds and grass over the last 4 years. Mom spent many Friday's helping me get it cleaned out and ready for planting. I then planted most of the standards like tomatoes, lettuce, beans, strawberries, and even a watermelon. I have never had much of a green thumb, but thought it would be fun to give it a try. I don't have high hopes, but I have already harvested 3 huge batches of lettuce!! Everything else is growing well and I am anticipating a lot of fresh vegetables this summer.

Hope everyone else is enjoying the summer weather and hopefully we will get to see most of you during this summer.

Tulip Festival

We went to the Tulip Festival today in Woodburn, OR. We thought the weather was supposed to be nice, but woke up to rain so it made it a little muddy. They had lots of fun activities for the kids, and we got some good pictures. However we found out today that Parker has his first ear infection so he wasn't quite feeling up to it. I am hoping that later this week when the weather is nicer, and Parker is feeling better Tony and I can go out there and give it another try. Also I need Tony there to take the pictures because I am horrible. I think I need to take a class.

1st Easter Egg Hunt

So the Easter Holiday weekend has begun. Today we had a very exciting day. We started the morning by coloring eggs at Chelsea's House with Avery and Oliva. Then after nap time we went to our first Easter Egg Hunt at Great Grandma's Apartment complex. We didn't get too many eggs, but we did manage to find the special gold egg after some help from a very nice lady. Funny thing was that we had been playing in this sitting area for a good 10 minutes without noticing the egg sitting right there. Then we were sent back by one of the workers to look for the special egg and another lady pointed it out to Parker. It was quite exciting to see probably the youngest child there get this special prize.

Parker wasn't too sure about the Easter Bunny, but he was quite impressed with Buddy the Bunny. Buddy is the pet of a resident there and was very friendly. We all enjoyed Petting him. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and I am just hoping that tomorrow will be just as nice. We are planning on going to another egg hunt tomorrow so Tony can join in on the fun, and hopefully we can get some good pictures of the actual hunt. I have also heard there are some other real cool picture opportunities so we will see what we get.

Our Easter weekend will be ended with a nice family brunch and afternoon at Chelsea's House on Sunday. It will be a busy but exciting weekend. We will post all the pictures after the weekend was done, but couldn't wait to post this one.

My Super Hero!!!

Saturday was Super Hero day at the Children's Museum in Portland. We dressed up the boys in their superhero pj's and let them enjoy the special day. It was a packed house. They had a group that was dressed up in Star Wars costumes that did a little skit. We didn't know they were going to be there when we made the plans to go, but it gave something for the daddy's to enjoy as well. Parker wasn't quite sure of what to make of them in their costumes and pretty much stared at them with a look of concern. After we got done with looking at all the costumes we let the boys play.

Parker had a great time playing with Carter, and the many other kids that were there. I was afraid it was going to be hard to get him to want to go, but unfortunately he hurt himself just as we were getting ready to leave. It is amazing how active he is getting and starting to learn what he likes and doesn't like. Sometimes I had a hard time getting him to move onto the next exhibit, and then I was chasing after him because he decided he wanted to move onto something else now.

Here is a link to the rest of the pictures we took. We haven't really had a chance to go through them so beware there are a lot. Super Hero Pictures

Stacking and Climbing!!!

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the Abbott household. I just finished Winter term, and am enjoying what I can of Spring Break before the start of the next term. Last weekend I left Tony and Parker at home, and went to a Scrapbooking retreat in Lyons, OR. It was productive, and I had a good time. However, I was ready to come home on Sunday.

When I got home I discovered that Parker was doing many new things. His newest accomplishments are that he can now climb up on the kitchen chairs, and is trying hard to get on the couch. Luckily our couch is still a little too high for him, but it won't be long. He also is trying so hard to start talking. It is mostly mimicking our sounds, but it melted my heart on Sunday when I said "I love you" he would say "I u". Of course it is still very hit and miss, but we are getting there.

The last thing you can see in the picture behind Parker's smiling face is he is starting to stack things. While I was passed out on the couch trying to recover from my long weekend Tony let him play with the Paper Towel Rolls I just bought. He got them stacked at least 3 high at one point, and Tony said he did it all on his own and had a blast. I am glad to see that he is finally getting a little constructive because up till now I swore he was going to be a demolition man.

So that is it for now. Looking forward to the upcoming Spring so that we can get out and play.

Bath Time Fun

So it has been awhile since we have posted an update and he is growing so fast. He got this towel for Christmas. I have been dying to get a picture of him in it, so tonight after bath time we let him run around a bit. He loved it as can be seen in his big toothy grin!! He is basically running everywhere. This makes getting ready in the morning a little complicated as I have to chase him around the house trying to get his coat on. We have all been dealing with cold and flu symptoms the last month or so. No fun. Parker also has his 13th tooth, and we expect to see the 14th any day now. This has also been making him a little miserable. Can't wait for this winter to be over, for the weather to be nice and sunny, and the flu season to be over with.

However we have been keeping busy during this very cold winter, and Parker is learning more everyday. Parker is saying many more words now. He will say Uh Oh, Yeah, and of course the dreaded No. Still not really with meaning, but he definitely is picking up new words and sounds everyday. He is also getting big into mimicking me as well. Today I was putting a toy on my head and then he started putting a similar toy on his. It was way cute. He has also learned how to stick his lower lip out to pout, probably learned that one from me as well. Tony does not find this very funny, but it makes me laugh every time I see it.

Hope everyone is staying healthy and warm during these Winter months, and looking forward to the quickly nearing spring time rain.