Labor Day @ Fox Lake

What a busy couple of weeks it has been! I'll work my way backwards...

We just got back yesterday from another great weekend at Fox Lake in Cassody for Labor Day. We left Saturday morning when Parker woke up and arrived right around noon to find everyone making their way over to the horseshoe pit for their daily dose of shoes. We quickly fed Parker lunch - yummy pears and peas! - and headed over to join them. JD - there will be no comment made on how shoes came out day 1! (Day 2 was more successful!) But meanwhile it was great to catch up with Grandma Chris, Grandpa Tom, Aunt Jenny (who find out in 2 weeks - boy or girl!!), Uncle JD, and tons of family friends! Early afternoon Parker wanted a nap so Kevin, Parker and myself headed back over to Grandma and Grandpa's camper for some AC. And when Parker woke up he found his cousins had arrived! Aunt Denise, Uncle Jason, and cousins Brileigh, Jase, and Lily had made their way over and joined our campsite. We had some speghetti and garlic bread for dinner and afterward played some volleyball. Parker loved all the entertainment all around and we enjoyed him entertaining us!

We pitched a tent and tried to call it a night. Parker had a different idea! At first he was okay, but then as the night went on he kept waking up. I think he just didn't know where he was. I don't think we ever had any full out screams - thank goodness because it would have waken up all the other "tenters," but I had to keep picking him up. As soon as he was in my arms he was fine, but heaven forbid I put him down. Kevin ended up taking over the morning "shift" for me so I could get some sleep. Don't think Parker is quite the camper yet.
Sunday morning Grandma Chris made us some biscuits and gravy (WAY GOOD STUFF). And thanks goodness Parker was game for a nap, because both Kevin and I needed one! So curled up and took on and then later joined everyone at the horseshoe pit. Jeremy and Gina, Shannon and Steve (planning a wedding in about a month), Phil and Trina all took their turns passing Parker around, but then we had to head home. We ran into some rain coming home, but once again there is no place like home.

And we got our first swing ride at the Lake. The first day we did it, he was all smiles and loved it. The second time (and the day I had the camera), it was a little too close to lunch time to have too much fun...

One of the neighbors caught a fish, so Parker had his first encounter. Not for sure what he thought about that one...

Uncle Jason even brought his kite out and flew it awhile.

Then, last Thursday was Uncle Eric's birthday, but we celebrated it on Friday night with some cake and ice cream (plus we got to check out their new carpet - super nice!!!). Eric's sister Ashley was over with her family - husband Brian and most adorable little daughter Riley. Riley is 2 and was trying to teach Parker to crawl, super cute! Basically it was love at first sight. They were caught smooching on several occasions though out the evening. It was caught on film...I will have to post later!

Big Truck Night was last Tuesday evening. It is put on by the parent group that Parker and I are apart of - Parents as Teachers. They had ambulances, fire engines, tractors, motorcycles, and just about any big truck that you can think of. Swan's Ice Cream was giving away popcycles - too bad Parker is too young for that!! And they had a guy dressed up in a dog costume (poor guy, don't know how he did that - it was only 100 degrees out!). We thought we would see if Parker would be scared of him, but obviously not - he reached right out for a hug. He is not scared of anything yet!

After Big Truck Night, since we were in Maize we decided to drop by Grandpa Kirk's house. We got to play with Mario (the dog) and then some football.

So to keep you up to date of Parker progress, once again I'm typing that he is SO close to crawling. His legs do the right thing crawling forward, but he hasn't figured out how to move his arms in the right fashion just yet. Therefore we get a lot of face plants! Kevin and I were predicting by the end of Labor Day weekend...we better get on that, we only have a couple more hours!

Then his new fun "face" is to make a fish face. He sucks in the sides of his mouth when he is eating...silly goose. And he is definitely learning the cause and effect thing. He loves to throw things over the side of the high chair and watch them fall to make a loud bang. Or maybe he is not learning cause and effect...maybe he just likes to make mom and dad fetch!

We have graduated Parker to a big boy car seat. He was using the one that came with the stroller that just attached to a base, but he outgrew that. He likes the new one now because he can sit up more and see outside better. It is still facing the back and it is not a comfortable for him to sleep in, but naps are becoming less and less.

Obviously he is loving food. He does just about any type of fruit and veggie and we have tried animal crackers and saltines. Bananas and sweet potatoes are still number 1. And this weekend tooth number 4 broke through. They are so pearly white! I've tried to get a picture, but he must think they are pretty sacred because he doesn't show them much.

Grandma Lisa came over the other day and we were watching some funny animal videos on YouTube. Parker is so smart...he was laughing at just the right parts. This is the video that he thought was so funny.

And he still does that funny noise when he gets excited. The one that I taped when he was sitting in his high chair. Parker definitely keeps me going! When I'm at school and need a pick-me-up I can play that video and it helps me get though my day! He also shakes his head no to mimic us too. He thinks he is tough stuff!