Togetherness

On Friday, we began our weekend early after Joel had worked 11 am to 11 pm in the ER for four days straight. Joel was ready for a weekend and I was sure ready to have Parker's daddy around. It would be so difficult being a single parent.

We had such a fun day! We had lunch with friends downtown, took a walk around the park and went on the gondolas over the river. The weather was perfect and we spent the day thinking how blessed we are to be able to live in this little city of ours. Here is a picture from the gondola:


Parker was in prime form the entire day! He was flirting with the waitress and waving at all of the people in the passing gondolas. We are so proud when we hear comments about what a happy little boy he is. I guess it makes us feel like we might be doing something right. Here are a few pictures from the day. Parker loves the kitty...as you can see from his grin.


Parker was trying to act cool here even though I made him wear the silly hat.

My "Giving Birth" Day and Parker's 1st Birthday

Parker's 1st birthday was last week and I just wanted to share a few pictures and thoughts about the big day.

Here is a picture of Parker and my sister Kelsey. She was teaching him to say "green" as they looked out on my parent's yard.



Parker woke up on his birthday and somehow knew that he was now a big boy. He decided to start saying a bunch of new words and taking more steps than he ever has-- 16!

I spent much of the day replaying the whole birth experience. What a life-changing day that was! For the most part, though, I was so thankful for our amazing first year with our lovely little boy. I hope that he knows that he is one of our greatest delights!

Here is a picture of Parker eating his first birthday cake. He wasn't so sure about the cake but he chose to pick the m&m's out of it. He sure impressed us with the fine mess he made.

Is this really a good idea?!

I can't believe I am doing this...I'm not even an avid reader of blogs! I feel nervous about putting myself out there but I also feel kind of excited about sharing my life with people. Could be fun because I really like my life:) I can tell that this is really going to be a work in progress because I'm not really sure what I want this whole thing to be about. I guess that I'll just let it evolve and see how I like it.

I've been kind of resistant to starting a blog for some time. At times, I've been interested but I guess I just have some strange hang-ups.

Here are some reasons that I haven't wanted to do a blog in the past:

• I don't want it to replace one-on-one communication with people I care about. It would make me sad if people just read my blog (or told me to read their blog) instead of talking to me.
• Wierd people scare me. There are some crazy people online these days...
• I don't want to start sounding like someone else. I am annoyed when I read blogs that don't really sound like the true voice of the writer. I think that happens when people try to use all of their fancy vocabulary and make everything into a philosophical debate.
  
• I've been afraid that I don't have much to say that is interesting to other people and the things that may be interesting might be too personal to share for an introvert like me.

Here are some reasons that I've decided that now is the time to jump on the bandwagon:

• I like the idea of sharing tidbits of everyday life with those that I don't see often....you know, things that wouldn't necessarily be shared in a Christmas letter or at a wedding. I hope that this can be used as a supplement to communication, not a replacement.
• Wierd people still scare me but I think that there are ways to protect myself and my family.
• I've read a few blogs lately that are really well done and enjoyable without sounding forced or as though they are trying to impress anyone. I like that.
• I've come to the conclusion that if someone cares about me, they will care about the little things in my life that seem insignificant to everyone else and will enjoy knowing what my life is like on a normal day.
• Here's the big one: We have family who we don't see often enough and I want to be able to give them a little peek into Parker's world.

Here is a picture I took of us today...