Accessorized

Ears...check! Mittens...check! Bottom lip pout...check. LET'S ROLL!

When it's time to take a ride around the house on the trike, Parker's got to have on all his gear -- hats, mittens (or socks on the hands), the works. And no matter the task, you know Parker's fully committed when the bottom lip's invested in the activity.

Monkey

Oh yeah! Someone's now eatting bananas like a big boy...er, monkey. Or would that be a gorilla. Do gorillas eat bananas? Hmmmm...

Happy Chinese New Year!

Last time we went to the zoo, I wanted to avoid the long line at the box office. So, I bought an annual family pass, which was a much short line. That said, I've got to make the most of my investment and with Chinese New Year I figured, what better place to visit in celebration of the year of the pig than the zoo!

The songs and dances were fine but what Parker really enjoyed was the petting zoo where he got to go head-to-head with a goat.

Not to mention, check out the flamingos…Those crazy birds!

Wait, what was that Parker?

Oh yeah! Josephine and Carly joined us later that day. And they weren't alone. They brought Uncle Eric and Aunt Amy with them. Together we walked all over the place and saw the seals, otters, orangutans, and other animals…including pigs -- not the farm kind, but real boars! YAWN! HA! (Sorry, I had to put that joke into play eventually.)

Two Lips

Two Lips,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is my favorite flower to receive from Chris, mainly because it's the punch line of a corny joke.

What's perfect about Chris is that he know I don't wan't a bunch of dead cut flowers. No, I want the opportunity to do the killing on my own. :o)

Just kidding. Actually, I save the bulbs and we'll see if they sprout next year. (Either that, or the moles will get a chance to partake in a buffet of delicious flower bulbs.)

First Birthday Party

Parker attended his first birthday party. It was Hailey's birthday…or as Parker calls her…"Lailey". Also in attendance was his fellow daycare pal, Lucas ("Lukee").

As usual, it took Parker a few moments to warm up to the event but soon he was playing with the best of them.

Uh, two candles on a cake isn't much of a fire, Parker.

Ah wait, I see. An opportunity to save the damsel in distress…a.k.a., the birthday girl.

What's a birthday without a few trust falls with daddy!

All in all, it was a great day. Happy Birthday, Hailey!

Body Fusion

Take it to the limit! I just had to post this because I know it'll make Geoffrey laugh out loud. :o)

I guess I should write about trying to lose the baby fat. Two years after Parker's birth and I'm still 10lb over what I weighed before I got pregnant, which was 10lb over what I preferred to weigh. Hey, I spend all day typing at a computer. With deadlines and other obligations, it's hard to find the time (or at least remember) to get off my butt and walk around. That became blatantly clear when I bought a pedometer.

It all started when we were in Tahoe and I saw this Frontline epside on losing weight called "Diet Wars". It was surprisingly pretty interesting and boiled it down to this...no matter the diet, if you want to lose weight you need to limit your calories and exercise. DUH! Simple. And yet people spend millions of dollars to do just that. You'd think if you ate less you'd spend less and more.

And exercise...all we need to do is, yes, get off our butts and walk. Basicly, we need to count our steps. People who have lost weight (and have kept it off) take at least 10,000 steps a day. The average person takes 4,000 steps. Me...and this is where the pedometer comes into play...less than a 1,000. EEK! I'm a slug!

So my inital goal is to just match the couch potato 2,000. That's tougher than it sounds but walking to my food (aka, lunch) helps. Another thing is relying less on IM to ask questions and take a walk. I guess I'll eventually have to use the gym membership (yes, part of the millions of dollars spent).

I guess this is where I layout goals for myself. Hmmmm... Well, how about this. Let's be generous and say I'm at 1000 steps a day right now. I aim at upping those numbers by 500 steps a month and by July I should be on par with the average 4,000. I pledge to check in with you guys again in a couple of months to let you know how I'm doing. In the meantime, you should trying counting your steps. The results could be a surprising wakeup call.

Well, in the meantime, I just happen to have a couple of pencils here so I guess I can throw in a quick low impact workout.

WOO!

Always funny...

Kicks in the crotch (to other people, of course) and men in drag. Let that be a lesson to you, kid. (Geez! I need to dust my TV.)

The Critic meets The Brusher

Lately, bath time has not been Parker's favorite time. However, he does love to go into the bathroom and play at the sink...especially since we got him a step stool.

Like everyone, Parker can't help but be a bit critical of his image. (If only he realized how cute he looks when he scrutinizes himself.)

Once he's done checking himself out he gets to work brushing things -- his teeth, his hair, even the mirror. And, of course, all these tasks require a ton of water...all over the place.

Jasmine & Disneyland

What? Jasmine has never been to Disneyland? Well we have to fix that situation. (Mainly because I work for the mouse and can get into the park for free.)

On our way, Jasmine entertained us with her skills on the dry erase board. The first image is of me. Who knew my legs were so long and thin. Very flattering! Parker, on the other hand, wasn't too impressed with his portrait. Evidently, he wanted something a bit more serious, less smiley.

Now yes, Parker's been to Disneyland on several occasion but, believe it or not, he had never met Mickey. So we headed over to Toontown, waiting in line and got our picture taken with the famous guy. Once again, Parker wasn't too impressed. I guess he looks shorter in real life.

We also met Woody, but, having never watched Toy Story, Parker was clueless. Judging by the expression on his face, he must think Woody's a bit weird. (It is a weird half costumed character, half actor hybrid.)

While we were in Toontown, we also caught up with Minnie Mouse and Pluto. Okay, the truth is we were stalking Minnie but it was all for Jasmine -- who looks like she fell asleep but really, unlike Parker, she was jazzed to see Minnie As for Pluto, ideally I wanted this to be a pic of just Jasmine and Parker with Pluto but Parker was not working from the same playbook.

At the end of the day, Parker could care less about Disneyland, Mickey, Minnie, and (yes Thommy) even Pluto. What he enjoyed most about this day was spending time with Jasmine, especially sliding down the slide in Toontown with her.

BTW, you wouldn't think it but going to Disneyland on MLK Monday was surprisingly very nice. Not over crowded at all. Bonus!

No More High Chair

That's right, Ladies and Gents. No more high chair for Parker. And this little...er...big guy has no regrets -- which he makes quite clear with his spoon salute.

Speaking of spoon...did you notice the big guy spoon! Of course, there are times when one must ditch the spoon and dig right in. Now most people wouldn't think eating cereal would be one of those times but Parker, evidently, disagrees.

YUM! One meal down and many more to go.

Daycare Anecdote

There was a wonderful moment with Parker and Tereza (one of the daycare teachers) today. Parker was grabbing her head and giving her kisses on her cheeks. It was adorable.

This little chair...

Teamwork.
We went to Ikea yesterday and got a bunch of furniture -- a bookcase for Chris, a desk for me, and a few items for Parker, including chairs that are just his size.

This morning, Chris and Parker worked together to build the two new chairs.

After all their hard work, Parker enjoys the fruits of his (and Chris') labors. Mmmmm...this little chair is just right.

Daycare Anecdote

Parker has been saying a lot of words today such as yellow, bird, bus and car. It has been the most I have heard him say.

Daycare Anectode

We let the children on the climbing structure for the first time today. Parker really enjoyed it. He first needed to hold both of my hands to go down the slide. At the end of our yard time, he was comfortable holding one of my hands. He was very excited the whole time.

Happy New Year's Eve!

We spent New Year's Eve in San Francisco. Luxi and Niko were, as usual, full of energy. The bouncing balls only amplified their playful spirits. Too bad the camera couldn't keep up. And Parker, you're going to have to work a little harder, too, if you want to keep up.

As for you, Domo, Parker's big on his carbs so it's not likely that he'll drop that piece of bread.

Tahoe

December 27th - Day 1 in Tahoe
Our first day in Tahoe and boy it's cold! Even colder at night. But aside from the cold, Parker didn't seem to notice much else in Tahoe, not even the snow. I think I would have tried to push the issue more but since I couldn't get him to wear his gloves, I didn't want him to get...yes, too cold.

December 28th - Jasmine joins the fun
Add two cousins to a hotel room and your bound to have fun! You get more bounce on a king-size bed. And bath time is even more giggly and fun.

Actually, I guess I should also mention that Jasmine wasn't traveling alone. She was accompanied by Gram and Ken who also came up to join in on the snow fun.

December 29th - Snowboarding
I know Chris may disagree, but the big reason for coming to Tahoe was not the casinos but the snowboarding. Our stay started out windy and cold but we were soon given a couple great days of weather, of which we quickly took advantage. Here's Chris, showing how he rules the mountain.

December 30th - Sledding & then some
Weeeeeeee! Parker's first trip down the slopes; however, the idea of going solo was a bit too intimidating for the little guy so that means Mommy's going for a ride, too.
And a one, and a two! Two rides down the slope with Mommy but Parker's still not ready to go down the hill solo. So we ended up doing solo slides on level ground, which seems to be just fine by him. (Notice the new, red gloves that he refused to wear...sigh.)

Cold Hands!
''Gram, my hands are cold.''
''Well Parker, maybe you should try wearing those gloves.''
Good luck with that endeavor, Gram.

While Parker was sledding, Jasmine was taking skiing lessons. But even with professional instruction, a little pep talk from Dad is always appreciated. Soon, Jasmine is once again sliding down the hill and waving at her adoring fans. GO JASMINE! HURRAY!

Last Night
Last night in Tahoe means one last chance at room service. Hmmmm...Parker will have the yogurt and fish crackers. Oh, and macaroni and cheese...and the cookies. Oh...and don't forget the milk and juice. And the bananas.

Holiday Party

Holiday Party! I'm one who likes to mix "my worlds" so I love it that two of my worlds -- home and work -- can come together in a fun atmosphere. Working for Disney, that fun atmosphere means Disneyland. Bonus! On the left is another attempt at a family picture. On the right are a few of the guys from work -- Ravi, Geof, and Larry.

Of course, with the parting starting at 8pm, we quickly cut into Parker's bedtime, as you'll notice with his blank stares and heavy lids. He did catch a quick catnap at dinner, which I think helped keep the grumpies subdued.

Here's a shot of Thommy and Geoffrey, who, with Ravi (his first time) and Larry, went to the park with us.

Even though Parker has now been to Disneyland a bunch of times, we've never hit Small World and with it all decked out for the party it seemed like a perfect time to torment the little one. Once again, another attempt at a family photo in front of the ride. I thought will all the pretty lights we'd get a smile out of the little guy...but no luck.
As you can see, Small World was in top form but it wasn't enough to excite Parker.

Hey Parker! Look over there! It's the rare blue walrus who's been hunted to near extinction for it rare gold tusks…Yeah, not working.

That said, we decided to wrap things up early. Not even the Mad Hatter could antagonize Parker to the point to get him to stay.

Family Photo #6. This is the free photo you get at the holiday party. Looking at the shot, we should have opted to stand rather than sit in the (not so attractive) chairs, which I conveniently cropped out. (Makes you wonder why the professional photographer included them in the shot.) I would say that we all should have taken off our jackets but it was just too darn cold.