Archive for October, 2005

Brrr!

Parkers at Blanchard Springs

We've been busy the past few days! Friday we went to the Hidden Valley Pumpkin Patch with Mammy and some of my siblings. We rode on a hayride and picked out a pumpkin to take home. The kids jumped and rolled around in a big haystack. We also got some cute pictures. It was kinda windy and chilly, but we still had fun!

This weekend Jay took us for a fall ride up to Mountain View, AR to go see the mountains. We went to Blanchard Springs Caverns, where we toured the cave and walked to the spring. We stayed in a hotel Saturday night and drove through Greers Ferry and Heber Springs Sunday on our way home. It was a quick trip, but it was good to get out of the house! We have some good pictures from that, too! The leaves were just starting to turn, so it was pretty, but it will probably be gorgeous in a few weeks!

James is learning about forgiveness, but he has it a little backwards. He accidentally hit Mammy in the face the other day while they were playing, and so I told him to say he was sorry:

• JAMES: Sorry, Mammy.
• MAMMY: That's okay, James.
• JAMES: [very earnestly] I forgive you!

Yesterday James wanted some of the lemonade I was drinking out of a big plastic mug… sort of a stadium cup with a handle. When we drink out of big-people glasses, I always make him hold on with two hands, but this time he had seen me waving the mug around in one hand and also wanted to just hang on to the handle. I pushed his other hand onto it and told him to hold on with two hands, but he jerked it off and explained the situation to me: "No, Daddy, I not hold on with both hands; I take this hand off and hold on with the other hand."

Is is just me, or would most two-year-olds have just said "No!" ?

James and Daddy at Sardis Lake

Mayos and then some

We went to a family reunion this past weekend at Sardis Lake in Mississippi. We had a lot of fun showing off Eliza and James. It was pretty windy and cool, but the sunshine made it a beautiful day. Check out our pictures. James had fun at the playground with my cousins and siblings, sliding on the slides and playing in the sand. Once he walked up to a few of the kids playing in the sand and said, "What you guys doin'?" No one heard him, so he went a few steps closer: "What you guys doin'?" Again no answer, so he repeated it a third time, but was still ignored. He ran back to where Jay was standing and asked plaintively, "Daddy, will you look at me?" He wanted someone to pay attention to him!

Later we were walking along the spillway of the lake, where people were fishing. We saw someone catch a huge spoonbill-type fish, and James got to see it up close. While walking further, there were some small dead or dying fish that someone had left on the ground. James was walking behind Jay when Jay turned around and saw something flipping around in the rocks below. "I take care of the fish, Daddy!" James exclaimed. Jay figured that James must have picked up the fish and threw it towards the water!

Jay and I went to dinner at Chili's Wednesday night without the kids! We had a little time before choir and the kids were with Pappy and Alayne so we decided to make it a date. There was a couple sitting across from us with a little girl who was probably not quite 2 years old. She was not enjoying having to sit still and they were taking turns trying to keep her occupied while they waited for their food. Jay and I were sitting close together on one side of our booth, with Jay's arm around me and my head on his shoulder. We were having fun just being us for a few minutes! I overheard the woman kind of laugh and say to her daughter, "Your Daddy and I used to do that." I'm sure she thought we were dating or newlyweds, and I really wanted to go up to her as we left and tell her I had a 2 year old and a 3 month old at home, but I didn't. I'm glad that Jay and I can still snuggle at a restaurant when we get a chance!

James was eating lunch at Mammy's house yesterday and he was ready to get out of the high chair. We were trying to think of something else he would eat besides the pineapple he had just had. "Popcorn chicken?" Mammy asked, and then regretted it bacause James said, "Popcorn! I want popcorn!" I decided that would be okay, so Mammy went to fix some popcorn. But then…

• JAMES: I want down! I want down!
• MAMMY: Don't you want popcorn?
• JAMES: I want to get down and eat popcorn!

James is aware of all the options, even if you don't want him to be! He has also learned how to work the VCR, taking out the old tape and inserting a new one, and turning on all the different pieces to watch his favorite videos.

Life has been flying by. Eliza will be three months old next week. It's hard to remember life without her, yet at the same time, she can't be that old! Wasn't she born a few weeks ago? She is very articulate with her cooing—she makes the funniest noises! She has been going through periods of sleeping 6 hours a night, to sleeping 3 or 4, to sleeping between 5 and 5 1/2 hours (which is what she's been doing the last few nights). I am tired, but making it.

We are going to Memphis this weekend and then down to Sardis, MS for a family reunion Saturday. I can't wait to see the whole family and show off Eliza! She's a cutie! There are a few new pictures on our gallery.