Proud Mom.

Last night I was helping Parker get ready for bed. We were putting all the puzzles together then putting them away. Parker was working on the numbers puzzle and counting out loud. Usually when I ask him to count he will say 'tree, two, one.' Last night though he started at one and went all the way to eight! I was so excited. We tested him out today and he counted for us at dinner. We are working on the ABC's too, I think it may take some time for him to get all of them.

Lincoln has made progress as well. On Sunday he started trying to crawl forward. He scoots his knees then moves his hands. When he wants something bad enough he will get to it. I'll try to put myself just out of his reach and he never wants me bad enough because he goes backwards. I guess he knows that I can pick him up. The toys just stay in one place and can't move.

We are starting a goal chart to try to get Parker drinking milk again. Maybe he will be encouraged by putting stickers on his space.

Week with Joan and the girls.

An entry from our trip to Utah. I love to take pictures and while we were with Joan we took a lot of pictures. Please be aware that there will be many to view. Also, they are not in order of when we did them.

We enjoyed miniature golfing one evening. Parker did really well until about hole number 14. I enjoyed a sunset. We all had close shots and perfect swings. Terrah we enjoyed your 10 + hole. Anna what a great hole in one victory leap.Willie tried his best to get it in the hole a few times, I still beat him by one stroke. I had a victory dance caught on video, but I have chosen not to post it. :)Here is Lincoln having a photo shoot up on the campus at Utah State. We ate lunch with Terrah while she was on break. The grass and shade made for a great place to have a delicious lunch.Sidewalk chalk. Wow we had fun all drawing up some pretty cool designs. Sister B66 left her mark. Wall-e and Eve made it into the mix as well as a hot dog to represent the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song 'hot dog.'
We visited Ryan's Place in Logan. Ryan was a two year old boy who died by drowning. His parents raised a TON of money and built this playground to remember him as well as other people who had died. This was such a fun playground.
Parker helped to push everyone on the swings. He loved playing with Anna in the sandbox. I think Anna left with more sand on her person than Parker did.
Lincoln had great times with Grandma. Terrah was a kid again, we love seeing her like this.
Willie took me for an airplane ride, it was so romantic. Then he sang to me from below as he climbed up my beautiful blond braid. Willie took a break to get some lemonade with Parker.

We were happy to visit with a few of Willie's friends from High School. We don't have pictures of our visit with the Bingham family but we helped in celebrating Jason's birthday. The Lichfields came over to Joans house to enjoy some dinner with us. Parker had fun with Lydia and Collin, what fun kids you guys have.
This was the night we celebrated Parker's birthday. We sang to him, or should I say he sang to himself. Lincoln made his rounds that night, he loved being with his awesome aunts. 'im' and Terrah. We love the way Parker says your name Kim. 'Uncl Jer!' was always fun to have around too.
Parker and his shopping cart. He LOVED pushing the shopping cart around. As you can see through these few pictures Parker was having a blast.

Grandma made some great dinners for us. Most nights were so beautiful outside that we decided to enjoy dinner out back. I loved seeing the cloud formations during most of our trip. Anna had her badminton set up and of course we HAD to play.
Lizzy took us for a walk one evening. I loved getting outside and enjoying the weather.

Willie and Parker were sent to husk the corn. Willie worked hard while Parker chowed down on the raw corn. He was one hungry kid.

90's in Boston means water time.

I was watching the news the other day and when Boston get's in the mid 90's that means it is record setting time. I couldn't believe it. I think it feels so great outside. We have been going on walks around the area and at the first of this week we invited our new friends Sunnie, Joohun, Joowon, and Joohyung to go to a Sprayground/water park just down the road from where we live. I really love that we have sidewalks!We had fun playing at the sprayground. This will have to be a repeat activity in the weeks to come.

Two Months, No Milk.

Willie and I decided to get Parker to drink milk from a straw over two months ago. Two days after he started drinking from the straw and we threw the bottle nipple away he stopped drinking milk. We took off to Utah without a plan. We kept encouraging him to drink milk. We tried getting him to drink from many types of containers and we've tried Chocolate Milk. Willie tried injecting it into him like you would nasty medicine, yuck. I tried tricking him and also tried using food coloring. We made it back to Atlanta and told our Dr. about it. She said, 'you need to get him to drink milk.' That was the advice she gave us. At that point we had been trying for nearly a month. Willie noticed a few weeks ago that Parker doesn't really eat anything dairy. He will eat a little bit of cheddar cheese. He doesn't like the milk, yogurt, ice cream, and all other cheeses. So for those of you who have kids or great knowledge in calcium intake do you have suggestions? By the way Parker doesn't like cold items (Popsicles, ice cream, etc.), he won't try juices and he seems to be a little obsessive compulsive. Should I be that worried?
The other day on 'Word World' there was a great episode that we watched where Ant wouldn't drink milk because he didn't like it. Then he ran into Duck and Shark and they were having a 'try it out picnic.' Ant eventually tried the milk and decided he liked it. I thought it would be a good influence on Parker, he did try a pickle but he wouldn't try the milk.

How to pack.

In our four and a half years of marriage we have moved eight times. We were married and moved in together (1). Three months later we moved to Boise for an internship with Micron (2). Then we had to go back to Logan to attend Utah State (3). School was fun but we missed being in Boise during the summer so we headed back for another internship with Micron. Actually it was the money (4). We hadn't finished school so we moved back to Logan (5). This time we signed a ten month contract kind of scary! We finished up our school year and had Parker come along just a couple of weeks before Willie moved our life out to Georgia (6). I followed Willie with Parker a month later. We stayed in that dungeon for a year. We needed light so we moved across the street (7). Willie really likes internships as we have found out by our previous moves. So our most recent one has taken us to Waltham, Massachusettes. It's near Boston (8).

This last move takes the cake though. As I was packing I decided to color code with stickers. Green stickers meant that the boxes would 'go to Boston'. Red/Orange stickers meant the boxes would 'stay in Georgia'. Whatever went in the luggage meant that it was 'going to Utah'. The best boxes are the following; Kitchen Aide, Toaster, A big cereal box, rice cooker, George (meaning george foreman box), and newly becoming our favorites the Diaper boxes. These boxes have lasted through all eight moves. I'm sorry I have not taken a picture of our cherished boxes. One day I will have to bury them in my backyard, that is if we ever decide to settle somewhere.

If you ever plan to move, stock up on diaper boxes. If you can't find diaper boxes go to your local book store and get some good ones from there. The diaper boxes have handles though so that's what makes them nice. Stock up on old grocery bags, use them to protect your valuables. They do give a nice coushin. Be sure to leave scissors out so you don't have to 'find' a way into your boxes when you arrive to your new home. If you are LDS, talk to your Bishop to get the phone number of Bishops in the area you hope to move into. This works if you plan to live in an apartment for a little while. Also the Bishop can send help on the end where you may not know anyone.
So here is a poor picture of our new apartment. We love the place. We look forward to exploring. We appreciate visitors, so come on by.

To Grandpa and Nana Harrison.

Thanks for letting us stay with you Grandpa and Nana! We had so much fun visiting with you.
The sunsets were beautiful. For one, because we could see them and for two we could take pictures to always remember them.

Thanks for taking us to Willow Park where we enjoyed some monster snow cones. We loved running around looking at all the animals the Willow Park Zoo had to offer; peacocks, tortoise, monkeys, eagles, deer, ducks, coyotes, bobcats, etc.
Thanks Aunt Kim for helping Parker to feed to ducks. He loved spending time with you.
Three generations looking for wildlife.
What a studly man in the white shirt. Cheesy smile, but hey I like it.

Hanging out at Grandpa and Nana's house. Nana loved holding Lincoln.
Nana really loved being around the boys. Parker had a great time at the library reading books and coloring. Grandpa had to keep his distance because he was really sick during our stay with them. Good thing he is all better now, too bad we aren't able to play with him though.

You can't go to Logan and not eat at the Juniper Take-Out. Lincoln and Jer became really good friends. Finally Parker gave Jer some attention. Anytime Parker saw him he said 'unc-l Jer!'

A picture with the two of us rarely ever happens. I printed it off and it's hanging up with our family pictures. Aren't we so cute?
Willie was REALLY excited to go to Juniper!

Life Happens.

An updated picture of the boys. They are getting bigger and wiser.

Here is an outline of our last month and a half. All of which will hopefully get posted in full as time allows.
-Willie visiting Germany.
-Packing for three separate occasions; Utah, Georgia, Massachusetts.
-Vacation in Utah
*Five crazy days with my family which led to us catching colds
*Five relaxed days with Willie's dad.
*Five entertaining days with Willie's mom.
*Five days spent in bliss (Combe cabin).
-Travel home to Atlanta, stressful.
-Six days packing and preparing to move to Boston.
-Three days of travel in the car with two little boys. I only went insane a few times.
-Moving into our new home, for the eighth or ninth time.
-Relax. Walks. Willie putting in 40 hours a week.
-No milk for about 2 months, any suggestions?

This is where we have been. Life has been good, bad and in between. We have been blessed along the road. I am so grateful for my family who is supportive of the decisions we make. I love my husband for taking us on all of these wild adventures. I read a quote on a blog somewhere; 'when you are home you wish you were having an adventure and when you are on an adventure you wish you were home.' I am grateful for the friends that we have made along the way. Most especially the Merkley's and Salmons.