Park City, Utah

We had a great few days away on vacation with the Haneys in Park City, UT.  Parker did great on both flights and didn't disturb the other passengers.  It amazes me how no one will really talk to me before the flight, but after Parker proves that he is a good traveler, everyone wants to talk to me as we taxi the runway at the end of the flight.

We were lucky enough to be able to go out to dinner each night of our trip, so we had some delicious dinners in the area.  Chimayo and the seafood buffet at the Deer Valley Lodge were our favorites.  We also discovered the new Montage Resort and more importantly, its amazing spa, on the last day of our trip.  I did my best to see celebrities that were in town for Sundance, but I saw no one exciting.  We did make it to one Sundance premier, The Future, but it was way too artsy and out there for my taste.  Although it was neat to see the Q & A live with the directors and the actors after the screening.

Benton and the Haneys skied while I hung out with Parker.  We did a mountain walk with the jogging stroller, did some shopping at the Redstone shopping area, and went sledding.  Parker was a great traveler and took some naps, slept great, and enjoyed the new white scenery.  I do need to remember that he drinks more formula when he's at higher altitudes.  At least they sell Similac everywhere, and hopefully he'll be drinking whole milk the next time we visit the mountains.

Here are some pictures from our trip - enjoy!

 Our Hosts - Carolyn & Matt Haney

Our couple pic wasn't so great - but doesn't everyone look better in black and white?

Baby rides in the laundry basket - Parker was trying to escape...

Mischievous? I think so...

 Carolyn & Abigail sledding, almost a complete wipeout!

 Next year he'll need a full snow suit so he doesn't get snow up his back.

Abigail, the happy snow bunny.

 Eating snow, just like a puppy would...

We were on a ski trail across the street from the house...

 Starting to get a little cold, I'm sure his face was numb from his snow eating contest...

 Daddy joined us fresh off the ski slopes.

Parker was done with the snow by this point, but its still a good picture of daddy...

Abigail was having a blast...

Parker was ready to go inside...

Abigail with her daddy.

One try at a family picture, too bad Parker was cold & covered in snow!

Parker is Nine Months Old!

Wow - he's nine months old, as long as a school year, but it has definitely flow by faster than even the best school years I've had.

He hit nine months on Sunday and we went to see Dr. Conoley this morning.  He jumped up to 31 inches in height (98th percentile), 20lbs in weight (50th percentile), and he still has a big noggin.  Dr. Conoley laughed about his height and said he was probably wiggling when the nurse measured him on the paper.  I told her that anyone in my family will take 98th percentile for height when we can get it.  There is no way he's going to be a 6'4" basketball player, but we all can dream about shopping for extra tall clothes.  He's healthy in every other way, so that's always good news and we didn't even get shots today!

I try not to post to many pictures that may embarrass Parker in the future, but this one is too good not to share.  We've been debating about whether or not we need to give Parker a slight "trim", since we want to wait longer for his first 'real' haircut.  The longer it gets, its starting to curl and its cute when its tucked behind his ears.  But, when it hangs down like side burns, it may appear that we're trying to have Parker's hair styled into a good ole' fashioned mullet with lamb chops for side burns.

On the same lines of avoiding future embarrassment, I don't have a lot of naked hiney pictures.  But lately, Parker is so excited to get in the bath tub that he would run around screaming and laughing if he could (I know this will happen soon enough).  He loves to unravel the toilet paper and try to eat it while I'm gathering up his PJ's and a clean diaper.

I also have days where I feel like I'm puppy training with a 20 pound lab puppy in my house.  Remember the toilet paper from above?  He also likes to chew on wooden furniture including, but limited to, his crib, side tables, armoirs, kitchen chairs, etc... He also has started trying to pick up Jack's balls just like Jack does - he gets on all fours and picks the ball up with his mouth.  I guess we can give him kudos for eye - mouth coordination and mimicking the dog.  My mom suggested we start having more playdate with human children he can mimic instead of the dog. I'll try to get a picture posted of these feat soon - just don't report me for letting my dog and child share toys =)

Chicken Taco Soup Recipe

Very easy for a cold day meal!

Chicken Taco Soup


1 packet Lawry's Taco Seasoning mix
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 can Ranch Style beans
1 can pinto beans (drained)
2 cans Mexicorn (drained)
1 can Rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cooked Rotisserie Chicken (shredded)
4 cups chicken broth

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for one hour.  Reduce heat to low and cook for an additional 1-2 hours.  Makes a ton of soup - freeze leftover to eat the next time its chilly outside!

Parker & Snow

Today was Parker's first day to see snow. It was a great run through to try on his clothes for our upcoming trip to Park City, UT. Here are a couple of pictures of our snow bunny!



He also got some new size 4 kicks this weekend - big boy shoes with rubber bottoms!




There really were great big flakes falling when we took this picture, but they didn't show up on the iPhone camera.

P.S. - Tooth #5 appeared on Friday morning. It's on the top right side and apparently didn't hurt too much coming through.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Parker's First Christmas

Here are the long awaited pictures from Parker's first Christmas.  I guess I may always wish that I had taken more pictures, but I was also trying to enjoy the moment and remember how great everything was.

We woke up at Benton's parents house, went to my parents house around 10am, Parker crashed and took a Christmas overload nap from 11am-1pm, then we ate lunch at Benton's parents, and then Parker decided not to nap again until 6pm!  Benton and I went to see Little Focker's with the Haneys and Parker was not very cooperative with Mimi and Daddy B and would not nap.  I got him to nap at 6pm, and then Mimi and Daddy B had to wake him up for dinner, bath and bottle duty while we went to my brother's house for the Appling Christmas.  Maybe Parker will be able to make it up past 7:30pm for Christmas night next year!

Christmas Eve before bedtime...

We were all still a little sleepy at 7:30am on Christmas morning...

On the move to the next gift..

Oooh, dad's fish fry mix...

The infamous piece of wrapping paper he threw up later...

Is there more?  I'm worn out...

I guess we could have just gotten him electrical cords for Christmas.  They're his favorite at the moment...

Mom, seriously...

Yum, socks...

Notice the lovely fire in the fireplace?  Made me nervous all weekend, but he never got to close to it.

New chair from Pottery Barn Kids...

Can I just climb on top of the box?  I really don't care about what's inside...

If you notice that he seems to be sucking on his arm in lots of pictures, I'm going to blame it on teething. =)

Is it time for breakfast Parker?

Not near as many pictures from my parents' house, but we were short on patience by that time anyway.  We love Tickle Me Elmo, but Parker's attention span is still too short to really appreciate the giggles...

Christmas overload, nap please!

Out of order...brushing teeth on Christmas Eve...

He got his two front teeth for Christmas...

Another cute shot of Parker with my dad, a.k.a. Pops...

Christmas morning at my parents, pre-meltdown...

Sunday night after Christmas with my mom, a.k.a. Nonnie...

My brother, Jason's girlfriend, Erika, on Christmas night...

Watching the Cowboys' game at Jason's house...

My Aunt Susie and Cousin Sarah...

Jack roasting by the fire (literally)...