September activities

So, I'm way behind again. It's been a busy couple weeks it seems. Parker has given up his nap for the time....so that makes for more fun. We've been keeping busy and trying to find new things to do. We've found a church we are going to go to, so that is one thing out of the way. I'm going to a ladies bible study now on Thursday mornings, and Micheal will go to a men's Bible study on Tuesday nights. Tomorrow we were invited to a story time and lunch by a lady we met at church. Her kids are the same age as Parker and Addison, so I'm excited about this connection.

The first cold front came in yesterday, it's only 48 degrees outside right now, and I haven't seen the news yet today, but I wouldn't be surprised if it froze last night. Well, most of what we've done, I'll describe in the captions, that seems the easiest!


Parker loves to read! He spends time each day reading or being read to. He likes to sit in his wagon and read, and sometimes we get Addison in the wagon too, and take a ride. Addison loves it when Parker invites her into the wagon and he pays attention to her.


Parker is 2! When he gets mad at us or even if we get after him for something he goes and lays on this rug by the door. It's either out of pouting or embarrassment. I had to take a picture so we could remember his terrible two's!

Parker took this picture! But, as you can see, Addy is quite strong on her legs. She can push her walker and stand up well, but she can't keep her legs going with the walker...so what happens is she is holding on tight while her legs and body become parallel to the floor! She can't crawl yet, but yesterday I did get her to stay on her knees for a couple of seconds when I put her on the floor.

I love to stand! In fact, Addison doesn't want to be sat on the floor anymore, she wants us to hold her up to stand all the time. She has steps figured out for the most part, but no balanced of course.

I can even stand well enough mommy will leave me at the couch to cruise all by myself!

Addison and I, under a tree in Rochester. Fall is here!

A river at a park here in Rochester. We like to walk here, there's a nice paved walkway trail, and a playground area. The leaves are starting to change. I feel like we have to take in every season right away since we are only supposed to be here a year.


A bridge in the park we were walking at. But, I took the picture, because as you can see, Micheal and Parker are all the way at the other end already, he's riding his tricycle! But, when we cam to the the bridge, he knew it was a bridge and said "bridge!" I didn't know he even knew that word, and it's not a word we use everyday, especially in Lubbock where there are no bridges, or real ones over water anyway. I guess all the train track building and playing has paid off!


Parker riding his bike down a hill, all by himself! We decided to let the stroller go by itself down the hill too, and Parker and Addison had a race, Parker loves the word race and to race (thanks Grandma Shields!). It was way fun though!


A view of Rochester skyline from the park.


Addison is happy about being an OSU fan! Getting ready for her cheering at homecoming!


Yes, even in Minnesota, Parker and Addison where their OSU gear on game day!


Parker loves the cartoon, Go, Diego, Go still. He can watch it on the computer, and it holds Addison's attention too!


Mommy bought Parker some water color paint! He loves to paint now, we do it almost everyday!


Addison can't crawl yet, but she can scoot on her tummy backwards wherever she wants to go.....this time she was mad because she scooted across the whole rug and "crashed" into this table toy, she had her legs straddling one of the legs, so she was very stuck since she won't pull herself forward.


My two cute and beautiful babies!


And finally, the day is done, it's time to rest! Addison has always loved her hands. She holds them all the time, when she is sleeping especially. I think she's always praying for us. Sometimes we have to pry them apart to change her.

Flower garden

I took some pictures of the flowers in the touch and smell garden. It's not winter here yet! There were way too many bees for us, and the the monarch butterflies migrate south from this area in the winter.

Red Wing, MN

Addison, admiring the Mississippi River. Ok, she probably doesn't know what she's looking at yet, but she still looks beautiful and was happy to be out and about.


View upriver.....towards the town of Red Wing, of the Mississippi.


Down the river, we saw several boats go by while we watched and played.


A view of some of the pumpkins waiting for their turn to be weighed. This was an official weigh-off, as they called it. There were many rules like the pumpkin could have no holes in it and the vine had to be all the way cut off. They used trucks with trailers to bring them in....and a pulley system to get them moved around.

Parker and Addison by one of the giant pumpkins!


Weighing one of the pumpkins...I think this one was 856 pounds.

A GIANT pumpkin! Can you read the sign? It was 1502 pounds! This one stunk, like it was rotting from the inside, none of the others smelled at all though.


Parker pointing at the barge on the river, he was pulling 3 of those things. I don't know what they are called, I missed river education.

Look at us! In front of the river, with the barge floating by.


Addison in her swing, She giggled every time it swung forward, she loved it.


Addison looking at the flowers, in a touch and smell garden by the cool playground we found.


View of Red Wing, MN from the bluff. Imagine what it will look like when the leaves are all red and yellow.

This past weekend we decided to go to a small town (16,000 population) nearby, well about 45 minutes away. We went to see the leaves that are supposed to be turning and to see some giant pumpkins being weighed. We had a wonderful trip. We first went to the visitor's center, so we would know what was going on in town and hopefully get some good directions. We then went to the park where the pumpkins were being weighed. It was right on the Mississippi River. The side of the river we were on was Minnesota, the other side was Wisconsin. We watched boats in the river, both recreational ones and work ones...like barges, etc. We found a really cool playground at one of the parks we went to, it had a great view and lots of playground stuff that was perfect for Parker. Addison even sat in a swing! We the ate lunch and went and had some ice cream at a little local store on one of the downtown main streets. The ice cream was very yummy! Our last stop was a trip up the bluff, to have a big view of Red Wing....beautiful. Things we didn't get to see in Red Wing, were all the leaves changing, we came too early I guess, so hopefully we can make another trip before it's too late. I was really looking forward to that. We also didn't see the giant Red Wing shoe that is there.....has us waiting in suspense!

Growing is amazing

So, the other night, Parker woke up with a bad dream, and came to my bed....I had heard him talking in his sleep and awaited for his arrival. In he came of course. He does this often, and falls right back asleep as soon as I put him in our bed. As I was laying there holding him, I was thinking, is he asleep enough to put back in his bed yet? and then I thought do I want to put him back in his bed? He's so sweet, and he'll only be little for so much longer and I want to enjoy this time with him. So, then I started thinking about him growing. I could feel how long he was from his head by my head, and his feet by my knees......and I thought about what it would be like if I was holding Addison right now instead and how their size is so different, but that Parker used to be where Addison is now, and that before that...they were both microscopic...Wow! God is amazing to create us, so small, and we grow so fast, but then not so much in the same ways....I mean think about what would we look like if we always grew at least a foot a year? It's just so amazing to think about our lives and how God created us, and we grow each day....Parker and Addison are still so small, I can't imagine what they will look like in 6 months, but 6 months ago? They were so much different, and the time and the change goes so fast, it seems unnoticed at times...but wow, stop...look at your kids, look at you....how have you grown for God, because He's the one who has allowed it......I'm so thankful to God for my children and the glorious and wondrous changes and "growing pains" we will experience together.

Food

Hmm...what could a post with title food have in it? Well, it's not about Addison and her new foods as she grows and tries a new one each week. But, about Parker and his pickiness. A while ago, we were eating dinner, it was a rice and meat casserole type thing, all ingredients Parker has eaten before and has liked, but on this night, as soon as I put it in front of him, he said "Yuck!" I told him he didn't even try it, and showed him how we were going to use a tortilla to eat it. He decided he would eat the tortilla, but not with the rice in it.....the funny part is that if there was any part of the rice that had touched the tortilla, he gave it back to me and told me "eewwww" and wouldn't eat that part. So picky, and observant~! It reminded me of me.....I am still picky and I remember being that picky. It's interesting to me how this is occurring, like it's hereditary or something. I don't really know how to handle it yet....I want him to have healthy eating habits, and I know he liked what we were having, just being picky that night for some reason, but I also know how miserable I was having to eat all these foods I did not like. And believe me, some of these foods, I would much rather eat, my life would be so much easier, but I still do not like them, even if I try them. For example, Micheal and I don't really like green beans, but we eat them now because we know they are good for us, and to set an example. But, can I really force a 2 year old to eat green beans just because they are good for him? So, Parker had a piece of plain bread for dinner instead, when he asked for snack...that's our solution for now....as he gets older, maybe I can convince him to try it and eat a little, but I don't know how I will force him to eat something he doesn't like.......sometimes we just don't like things!

Play Play Play

It's been about a week since my last blog, so I figure I should update you on our little family way out here in Minnesota! It's been a good week. I'm really loving staying at home and it keeps me plenty busy. It's so nice to be able to be there and pay attention to my family each day, and not be stressed by worrying about other children, being on-call, or other work duties. Don't get me wrong, I still loved my job, and do miss it....I will work again someday I'm sure, but right now my place is at home, and I'm so at peace with that. I find one of my biggest struggles right now, is balancing time for me, keeping things clean the way I want, wanting to start projects like mail out pictures, scrapbooking etc.....is all overpowered by playing with the kids. They need to learn to become independent, but with me home I also want to give them all my attention and enjoy them while they adore me and need me so much. It will be all too quick before they don't want hugs or to hang out with mom. I hope that never really happens, but I know there will be a time when I have to share their wonderful personalities with others.....I don't want to share! So this past week, I spent it playing, taking walks, and playing. Thankfully, cooking is therapeutic for me, so I've also been able to cook each night and not feel like I have to cook whatever is the easiest and quickest to meet my familys' needs....I can cook what we want and plan ahead...it can be simple or something that takes some time. I made some yummy french toast, homemade meatballs to go with spaghetti, and taco salads to name a few.

Parker continues to learn new words all the time. He has also decided this week that Diego the animal rescuer, and asks to watch it ALL THE TIME! All of our walks and playing have also increased his coordination at running, and I'm amazed at how fast he can run....I was never a runner.

Addison continues to love to eat and play. She loves to watch Parker and loves it when he talks to her or plays with her. She is slobbering like crazy all the time, but still no teeth. She can't crawl yet, but is very strong on her legs. When you try to put her down, she wants to stand and hates it still when we put her on her belly. She figured out this week that it makes a fun noise when she babbles when she is on a bumpy road in her stroller or when she sits on your leg and it shakes. She loves to give hugs, but is still a mommy's girl. She's super fast at grabbing things, and is always on the look out for something she can grab. You have to watch where her arms are in relation to what's around you whether you put her down on the floor or are carrying her around...she can also bend from the waist in any direction but backwards and get herself back up, so she has a very large wingspan! And did I mention, she is FAST!





Parker and I made cupcakes one day....we even made our own frosting that Parker taste tested throughly as you can tell. We put fruit roll-up pieces inside the cupcakes for a fun sour gummy surprize when you bite into the cupcake! The frosting was made out of a marshmallow creme, it's yummy. Parker preferred to eat the frosting alone, using the beaters as a spoon!



We went to another playground we found, we're getting good at finding them! This was a truck Parker was driving....Addison looks concerned he's not watching where he's driving, if only she could talk! She loves to go to the playground here in our community and elsewhere. Even though she can't do much yet...she loves to watch Parker laugh and run around and go up and down. Parker loves the playground and loves to try to climb everything. He is getting better and better at figuring out how to climb by himself, and he climbs so high. One playground here has a slide that he has to climb up 3 levels to get to....he climbs all the way up the ladder and goes down the long tube slide with no fears at all. He loves to wave at mommy from the the top of the slide.



This isn't the tall slide I was talking about, but a picture of Parker getting ready to go down another slide. Notice the green grass in the background.



This is Silver Lake Park, it's really close to downtown. There's a lake as evidenced by the name in the park clearly, but a walking trail with "little kid" stuff, like shapes to name, colors, letters, etc all painted with signs to give parents hints on how to interact and teach their kids. There's alos a skateboard park, a large swimming pool (that's already empty), and a very nice playground. I took this picture, even though it's kind of dark to show you the scenery around here. I love the trees and the green, it's beautiful and a breath of fresh air. You can see the geese on the ground, which apparently summer here I think? I read somewhere that they thought that they were an extinct species of geese until 1914 or around there, when they found a gaggle of them here in Rochester.



Parker and Micheal went swimming last week before the pool closed for winter. It was way too cold for Addison and I to brave, and we only let Parker stay in it a few mintues before he was shivering! It wasn't cold outside, but the water was definitely not Texas warm! They've already started emptying it out for the winter....guess we should start getting ready to be cold! A lot of things here seem to end their season at Labor Day, not to mention that school didn't even start until the day after Labor Day, a vast difference from those in Texas and Oklahoma who started way in August!




The next one, I just thought I should include a close up of Addison for all to see. She has the biggest blue eyes and a smile like Parker's that comes so easy and rarely leaves. She also has a cute dimple, and as you can see from the slobber, a hope for teeth to come soon.



Who says you have to have girls to play with their hair?! Parker let me put his hair in a mohawk for fun one day. I don't have strong enough gel to keep it up all day...besides his daddy says that boys don't wear product in their hair. But he looks cute and he thought he laughed when he saw himself in the mirror.



Addison took her first bath in the sink! Yes, 7 months before her bath in the sink....usually we put the kids in the tub together, it saves time and water I suppose! But Addison needed a quick bath, and I didn't want to take the time to fill up the tub, so I put her in the sink. She really thought it was fun....and probably enjoyed not being splashed by Parker!


They have Kemp's ice cream factory or something here, not really sure yet...but there's a big billboard downtown with a cow on it, and every time we pass it, Parker says "MOoooo" We decided to try this ice cream, and it really is good...as you can see Parker is a fan already and he's only had a couple of bites!

A walk to get out

Yesterday Parker would not take a nap! So after 45 minutes or so of fighting with him, I told him he could get up, but he had to read some books quietly for a while, which he did. But, as the afternoon went on, he was grumpier and grumpier. Addison woke up from her nap then of course all happy and rested. We decided to take a walk. I am very talented, I must say, as I had a boy on a tricycle, and a girl in a stroller...and the boy on the bike can't quite pedal up hills and such so I had to push a stroller and a trike! You should have seen us go! We were super wide, taking up the whole sidewalk. Anyway on our walk I saw a grasshopper, calmly perched on a railing. I told Parker to look, but he couldn't see so I picked him and brought him closer to the grasshopper. He looked at it, as it sat still and watched us. Parker started saying "die, die" (who taught him this during the few weeks up to and during the move by the way?? He says this when we swat at flies too) We talked about how the grasshopper wasn't bothering anyone and didn't need to die. Not sure what he really understands about dying other than he sees us swat a fly and put it in the trash, and he knows the trash is "ewwww" Then the grasshopper started walking....this freaked Parker out...he wanted down and away from his sight immediately. Amazing how he can be so fearless sometimes, feeding a deer even, but this tiny grasshopper left him terrified of the unknown, not knowing what the grasshopper would do. It makes me think about and remember how much our children learn and take in everyday. It's so nice to be here with him to experience and watch new things.

A positive on our walk though, I found a Dairy Queen within walking distance! Now, in the warm days we have of course, we can take an afternoon walk and go get an ice cream for snack if we want! How fun! We'll have to try it out soon.

Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo

We found out about a county park, very near by to our home. They were having activities so we though we'd check it out, plus it was a nice day out. The park was so pretty, it had so many trees, and fields of green. You could go camping there if you were set up for that (which we are for sure NOT), a playground area, walking trails, and picnic areas. The zoo had lots more animals than we expected...from wolves to a cougar, to birds of prey to otters to turkeys, goats, and chickens, to deer and buffalo! Parker loves to look at animals. He sas able to feed a deer some grass from his hand and wasn't even scared! He is 110% boy and not afraid of anything if mommy and daddy are around. Parker did very well riding around in the stroller, following directions as asked this time and not fighting getting in and out of it. Addison got to ride in the sling around daddy....which she totally loved and it kept her warm and out of the wind. Everyone who passed us smiled and many commented on how she looks like a real baby doll. She is rather cute I must say!

Trip to the Minneapolis Science Museum

Parker and Addison at the Dinosaur exhibit.

We had a weekend before Micheal started work, so we decided to head to Minneapolis, before the winter comes, and while we had the chance. We were going to go to the zoo, but got lost...or misguided by the GPS, and it looked like it was going to rain so we decided to go to the Science Museum instead. They had a dinosaur exhibit, and Parker is so into growling and roaring and dinosaurs!