The Parsons Family

Spring is here!

2009-04-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

What's New

2009-04-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

We are so excited for Easter. I dressed Sarah as a chick and Ryan as a duck for daycare today. They are going to have an Easter Party there. This is going to be Ryan's first Easter and Sarah's second. I can't wait to start the fun Easter traditions!

I think she looks like an angel here.

Sarah's on a big kid swing for the first time and loving it. She held on tight and had a great time.

Ryan loves to smile

Now that Sarah is sleeping in her big girl bed, she has been exploring other sleeping places. We found her in the hallway between her room and our room. She is so funny!

He has got his eye on you.

Ryan looks so tiny on the huge couch.

My sleepy baby

Sarah and Ryan on St. Patrick's Day. I think they are safe from any pinching.

Jo-Jo's second Birthday Party (Sarah and Ryan's cousin)

Happy Birthday JO-JO!

Is it me, or can you tell that my kids are exactly alike. They both put their arms up at the same time. It is so weird!

Beautiful Babies

2009-04-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

What a big yawn!

This is the shirt from Ryan's baby shower that everyone signed. He looks so handsome in it.

Sarah hiding in her tent.

One cold and rainy day we made a tent. It was so much fun!

This is Sarah's favorite puzzle.

This is one of the games Sarah plays to learn how to read. It's a matching game with with picture and the word. She does pretty good with it.

Sarah is going to be a ballet dancer someday, I can just tell

What a face!!!

Wide Awake and smiling

Daddy and his son

My sweet baby boy

Sarah likes to read to Ryan

Awww...daddy's little girl

Silly Daddy

Sarah's first time sleeping in her big girl bed.

Valentine's Day

2009-04-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

Ryan's first Valentine's Day and Sarah's Second Valentine's Day

smart brains

2009-04-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

The last time I posted a message, Sarah was just learning to recognize letters. Now she knows all the letters and she is starting to read! She is able to read about 5 words now. She's only 22 months!!!! She amazes me everyday. She is also counting to 20 and she can recognize numbers 0-10. She knows a ton of songs too. She can hear a kids song one time and she is able to repeat it. I took her to pre-school screening to make sure she is at an age appropriate level in all aspects of her life and she received the highest score (60) in everything except for drinking from a cup. But I have never given her the opportunity to do it. So as soon as we got home I gave her a cup and she drank out of it like she has always been doing it.

Ryan is such a sweet baby. He smiles so much. I love to see his smile, it just makes a bad day so much better. I swear he is talking already. (I know it's impossible, he is only 3 months) but I think he has been saying hi to us. It sounds just like it and he is always saying it. He is such a handsome little man.

Pro Pictures Look Alikes

2009-02-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

We went and had our pictures taken and it was a nightmare. I overpaid and I didn't get very good shots. Plus the kids were not being good. Both were crying for no reason. It was crazy. So I decided from now on I'm going to take the pictures. So I did a little research and looked at professional pictures online to get some ideas. One of the hot trends that I noticed is to put your baby on common household items to show how tiny they are. I think most of the ones online was photo shopped. But I don't have that program so I decided that I could do it on my own. These pictures are very artsy, so I hope you like them.

The many faces of Sarah Kate

2009-02-13T12:56:00.001-08:00

It's so amazing to me how many cute little faces Sarah can make all within a couple of minutes.

WOW!!

2009-02-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

I feel like I should brag a little about my kids. They have been learning and growing so much that I just have to tell everyone about it. We have been teaching Sarah letters and colors a lot within the past few months. So yesterday I decided to test her. She knows 17 letters and the sounds and she can associate a few of the letters with words that start with that letter. She also knows all of the colors and some of the sign language for the colors. I can't believe how smart she is. She just turned 20 months old! It is very unusual that someone as young as her would know the letters already. She is also amazing with puzzles. The puzzles that are for 3 year olds are too easy for her. She knows all her body parts and animal sounds (and she has since she was one). And yesterday she recognized 0-3 and 9. (which was the first time she has done that). She is fantastic at matching too. However, she is more than just smart. She is a very well rounded little girl. She loves playing with her babies and with Ryan. She is so sweet and cuddly, she is respectful too. If we tell her something is dangerous she very rarely does it again. However, she does continue to stand on the furniture even after we tell her not to. She loves to rough house with Josh and do all kinds of flips. It scares me to death! She mimics everything we do with Ryan and everything we say. She has an amazing imagination. I don't know how she comes up with the stuff she does. It is so awesome. She is so much fun!

Now I'm going to brag about my beautiful little boy. Ryan is such a sweetheart. I love learning more about him and his personality. Ryan has gotten into the habit of wanting to be held while he sleeps. Last night I put him in his bouncer chair (he likes to sleep upright vs on his back) and I laid down next to him. We just stared at each other in the eyes for the longest time. Then he slowly closed his eyes and I did the same. That was the best way to go to sleep that I have ever had in my life. I felt such a connection to my one month old baby boy.

I love my kids so much. I feel so blessed to be able to be their mom. I just hope that I don't let them down.

Ryan's Blessing

2009-02-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

Ryan had his baby blessing Sunday Feburary 1st. It was a beautiful blessing given by Josh. My mom and Josh's mom came to see his blessing.

Josh's mom, JoMarie

My mom, Cindy

How Cute!!!

Sarah and Ryan

2009-01-31T12:19:00.001-08:00

Sarah in her playroom. What a cutie.

I love this picture. I love little hands and feet and this just shows how fast time goes.

Sarah loves to be a little mommy. While I feed Ryan, she is feeding her baby.

Ryan's little socks that look like shoes. So CUTE!

Sarah waiting for Ryan's bottle to warm up so she can shake it and give it to him. She is such a good little helper. Notice she is waiting to put her baby's bottle in next.

Ryan was crying, so Sarah thought she would share her juice with him.

Mama's little boy.

Grandpa Wayne holding Ryan at his baby shower given by my mom.

Uncle Joey holding Ryan at his baby shower.

Josh, Wayne and Hyrum playing a game at the baby shower. They had to find out what it was like to be pregnant and tie shoes. Wayne's shirt was already filled out and he said he didn't need the balloon. :)

Ryan's baby shower given by my mom Jan 24th at the church. It was a ton of fun. We played a lot of games and we received some awesome gifts.

This is the first picture I was able to get of Ryan smiling. What a cute little guy.

Our wonderful family of 4!

Sweet dreams Ryan

Sweet dreams Sarah

Sarah loves to try and play with Ryan. Although, Ryan doesn't really understand what is going on yet, that doesn't stop Sarah from trying.

My sweet children.

I can not believe how sweet Sarah and Ryan are to each other. Sarah loves her Ry Ry so much and is such an awesome big sister. I never imagined that she would be this good with him and express her love toward him. It's amazing. She is still a baby herself, and yet she displays so much empathy toward him we sometimes forget she is only one.

2009-01-30T16:05:00.000-08:00

Sweet Little Boy

Ryan came home.

2009-01-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

Ryan got to come home Jan. 6th at 8pm. We had to take him back up to the hospital after we had a problem with his circumcising, but that was easily taken care of. He is doing great now. Sarah is doing so good with having him at home. She loves him so much.

Ryan Tyler is Born!!!

2009-01-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

Ryan Tyler Parsons was born January 5th 2009 at 2:57am. He was 7 pounds 9.6 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. He came fast and was born on his due date! Which is also my dad's birthday! He came so fast that they didn't have time to give me an epidural (which is what I had planned). He was ready to be born and see the world. He is such a sweet baby boy. Right now he rarely cries and doesn't mind of Sarah pokes at him or plays loud. Sarah is so sweet with him and is a fantastic big sister. She really doesn't seem jealous and is very attentive and caring with him. She always wants to know where he is and if he makes any noise she goes directly over to him to make sure he is ok. Ryan had a touch of jaundice so they are monitoring that with some blood tests, but this morning the Dr called and said that the billirubin is going down and they don't need any more tests. Yeah!! I am so thankful for both of my beautiful, wonderful children and we love them both dearly.

A much needed update

2009-01-14T07:10:00.001-08:00

It has been a long time since I have updated this blog. So here is what has been going on in our lives in a nutshell.

Christmas was so much fun this year! This was Sarah's second Christmas and she really got into it this year. She had so much fun learning about snow, Jesus's birth, Santa, (anytime she saw Santa's picture she would say "ho ho ho" it was so cute!) and she loved looking at all the colorful Christmas decorations. But the best part of living through Sarah's curiosity about the holiday. It wasn't about money or presents or having everything picture perfect. It was about the little things like seeing the lights, hugs and kisses, the cuddles, the simple things that make the holiday what it is suppose to be about. Love and caring for each other. Jesus's birth and what he did for us and what he taught us. To love with all our hearts and to give, not with money, but give our time and our talents to each other.

Christmas with Josh's side of the family. Joey, Angie, JoJo, grandma JoMarie, and Todd all came over to our house for dinner and opening gifts. It was a lot of fun watching the kids play.

Right now, Sarah is going through a little phase of having temper tantrums. Here is a great picture that will be black male when she gets older. HAHA!

Christmas was so fun over at my mom's house. We got spoiled as usual from grandma Cindy Fox. Josh and I got a Wii Fit (which is SO much fun and I love it!)

Sarah received so many gifts from grandma Fox and she loved them all! It was great spending time with my mom over the holidays. (Elmo Live is so hilarious! I think we like it more than Sarah does though)

Christmas morning at our house was so magical. It was so fun watching Sarah see everything for the first time.

Sarah loves balloons, so we thought it would be fun to give her some for Christmas.

Santa came and gave Sarah a kitchen set. That is one of her favorite toys now. She stands behind it and takes our orders. Then delivers them to us. It is so adorable!

One of our Christmas traditions is to read "The Night Before Christmas" on Christmas eve. We read a book every night right here in Sarah's room. That is my favorite time of day.

Sarah wasn't too excited about Santa this year. We went to see him on the Santa train and she seemed really excited. She loves trains (since we live next to the tracks she sees them a lot). So I thought it would be a great thing for her to do. Well when we finally got on (after an hour wait in the freezing cold) she saw Santa and freaked out. She didn't want to have anything to do with him. But all I can say is this picture is priceless! (Take a good look at Santa's face, then Sarah's and then look at Josh. It cracks me up every time I look at it.

Sarah decided she found a new cold seat at grandma's house. She opened the door all by herself and took a seat. She is so funny!!

My mom's baptism. She was baptized LDS November 29th 2008. I am so happy for her! The baptism was very Spiritual. Josh gave the opening prayer and I gave a talk on baptism. It was beautiful to watch my mom go into the waters of baptism and to come up clean. The only sad part was after my mom was baptized, they close the doors to the font so that you can't see her anymore and Sarah started to scream cause she couldn't see grandma anymore. It wasn't just a little scream, it was a blood curdling scream. So I had to take her in the bathroom to see her. She loves her grandma!

We had a little visitor in our yard. Sarah loves animals !

Halloween was so much fun! Sarah got so much candy! At first she didn't really understand what was going on when we were going door to door to get candy. But at the end she would say "bye bye" to the people.

Can you guess which pumpkin is Ryan?

Sarah was the cutest little lion that I have ever seen. She even had the "roar" to match. It was adorable!

Trick or Treating at the neighbor's house.

Fun Times!

Sarah's so cute! She has a big ol' grin just like the pumpkins.

She didn't really like carving pumpkins. She didn't like the texture of the goop inside. Maybe next year she will want to do it.

Ultrasound Pictures

2008-09-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

Face

Arm/Hand laying palm up

Face 3-D
Face looking at "camera"

Face 3-D

It's a Ryan

It's a Ryan!!!!

2008-09-24T17:56:00.001-07:00

We got to have a another ultrasound today!! The hospital I am going to got new equipment and they wanted someone to test it out. Of course I was more than happy to volunteer. They played with the machine for an hour and a half and I got to see my baby! It was amazing. They had 3-D on it so I got to see my baby in 3-D just like I did with Sarah. I didn't think I would get that opportunity this time cause I went to a different hospital with Sarah. During the whole process my baby slipped us a peak and we found out that it's a BOY!!! We now have the perfect little family and boy and girl. It was easy to pick out the name because Sarah's name was going to be Ryan if she was a boy. The cool part is Sarah means princess and Ryan means little king. So we have very royal children.

2008-09-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Sarah is learning how to feed herself with a spoon and fork. What a messy baby! She doesn't like it if we feed her anymore. She is very independent.

I was 23 weeks along here. My belly is so big and I am so proud of it.
Sarah was taking a little rest on her new "pillow".

Josh's sister Shelly and her son Aiden came from California to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversery.

We went to Michigan for Josh's grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. We had a great visit. There were over 100 people there. Unfortunately, on our 6 hour drive there, Josh and Sarah got sick, but we kept going. Luckily they were both fine after about 24 hours.

Sarah stopped to smell the flowers at Josh's grandparent's house.

I love this picture of Joseph. He is so cute!

Joseph and Sarah playing

Sarah looks so beautiful in her dress.

HAPPY 23RD BIRTHDAY JOSH!! Josh celebrated his birthday on August 30th. I made him a special ice cream cake, and if you know me, cooking is not something I am good at or like doing. So making him a cake was a big deal for me. Plus it actually turned out Delicious!
For Josh's birthday we went to a little country fair. It didn't have typical fair activities but it did have lawn mower pulls that Josh was really interested in. He is thinking about entering in next year. At the fair there was a little petting zoo and train. Chloe (my mom's boyfriends grand-daughter) came over and played with Sarah. It was a fun.

Sarah enjoyed the train ride until she saw my mom and Josh, then she wanted off. Typical one year old style, she has a short attention span.

Our church had it's annual pool party and cookout. We had a fun time but the water was so cold that Sarah couldn't get in.

We took Sarah to see the circus for her first time. It wasn't really what we had expected, but it made a good memory.

Fun at the Fair. We were able to win her some GREAT prizes, plus it was a lot of fun doing it.

Waz up! Is it my imagination, or does she look like a little teenager.

This is the shirt I made for Sarah to wear when we told my mom that we are expecting another baby.

2008-09-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

Ever since I have started back to work I have really slacked on updating this blog. So I will try to recap on all the fun things we have been doing. First of all, Sarah has been doing great with her ear tubes. She is finally getting use to putting plugs in her ears anytime she is around water. In fact, she tries to put them in herself which is a huge change from all the screaming she would do if she even saw us with them in our hands. The tubes have really changed her speech. She did have some hearing loss but it has come back now and she can say about 16 words now. Before she really could only say maybe 5 words. She also has much better balance and she can maneuver through doorways easier. Before the tubes she would always run into the doorway instead of going through the door. It was really concerning for me but I guess it was because of all the fluid in her ears. She is doing so good and she is learning so much everyday.

The pregnacy is doing great! We found out that the bleed has healed!!!! That has been such a relief. I still have to be careful because I was talking to a girl who had the same problem, and she said hers had healed but then the next day it came completly apart and she went into labor. But I have a good feeling that everything will be ok. I am so proud of my growing belly. I love the way it looks and I love the way it feels when the baby moves and kicks. It is the best feeling.

Josh and I are doing good too. We have been busy tring to fix up the house and chase after Sarah. We have hit the fairs like crazy this summer too since Sarah is too young for a theme park, fairs were the next best thing.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of our family.

Sarah's surgery

2008-08-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

Sarah had surgery bright and early at 5:30 this morning and she did great! When we got to the hospital she was very cheerful and happy. She is such a morning person. They gave her some medicine they call the "happy med" that made her very loopy just to make her relaxed. We had a lot of waiting around to do before she was actually taken back for the surgery. She kept the nurses pretty entertained with all the smiles and waving. When they took her back to surgery it was a quick procedure and we were home by 8am. When she came out of anesthesia, the nurses said she was the best baby they have ever had. She didn't cry like most kids do, instead she smiled and was very curious about her new environment. Josh and I didn't get to go back to see her in the recovery room because they only let parents back if the kids cry. But we were waiting in the waiting room when we heard a little voice say "da?" Then they let us sit with her in the holding room to make sure her she was able to hold down fluids (which she did). As soon as she saw daddy she had a huge smile on her face. She is such a daddy's girl. I think the worst part of the whole situation for her has been when we took off the tape that held the cotton balls in her ears. She did so good and she has been talking and making a lot more new sounds in her speech. I don't know if the tubes have anything to do with her making all these new speech sounds, but it's been hilarious to hear her talk up a storm. When we got home I think she was very hungry and tired. So we fed her and she played for a little while. Then she slept for about 4 hours. When she got up she ate lunch and has been playing ever since. She is acting like her normal happy self with a lot more to say. We have to put ear drops in her ears and she hates that. I feel so bad for her. She is so tired of people messing with her ears. Other than that she is doing great. I am so happy that it is over. Now hopefully we have seen the last of the ear infections.

Medical Update

2008-08-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

This week is swamped with Dr visits. We are not done with all the visits but I thought I would give an update of what we have learned so far.

Monday-
Baby:
I had another OB appointment and the heartbeat was a strong 130 bpm. The Dr was impressed with how strong it is. She wanted to check on the bleed so she scheduled an ultrasound for me on Tuesday.

Sarah:
Sarah had to go to Champaign for a hearing test. The results were a little different than I had expected. She does have some hearing delays. Not too bad, she just can't hear whispers. It's a little below average but I am hoping that it will come back when she gets tubes in her ears. But of course there is no guarantee. I wasn't expecting there to be a problem. She seems to hear things that are outside while she is inside very easily. So if it doesn't come back I don't think it will effect her during her life.

Tuesday-
Baby:
The ultrasound was awesome. I love looking in there and seeing my little baby. It's so funny because I think the baby knew that we are looking in. When we were looking and getting the pictures taken, the baby held up a peace sign. It was so cute! Josh says that it already seems like this is going to be a fun baby, like Sarah. We weren't able to find out the gender of the baby. It had it's legs crossed the whole time, just like Sarah did. This might be the last ultrasound we get so we were pretty disappointed. But there is an intern tech that is wanting some practice on OB patients. And since we live in such a small town she really doesn't get too many chances to practice. So I told them I would be her ginny pig. So they took my number and it sounds kind of promising that she will call me. So I will get free ultrasounds and she gets practice. Hopefully we will be able to find out the gender. I asked the tech if she saw the bleed still. She said she really isn't suppose to tell me what she sees (that is the Dr's job) but she said she does still see a small bleed. So I'm not out of the woods yet. But the heartbeat was a strong 143 bpm and the baby looks healthy. It has all it's limbs, good heartbeat and it seems like already a great personality. I have a feeling that everything will be ok. I still can't lift anything but I feel the baby flutter in there which is a very comforting feeling. Plus my tummy is growing like crazy so I know the baby is growing too. They said right now the baby is 8 oz which is right at 18 weeks 2 days which is how far I am exactly. So things are going well in there. I just wish the bleed would heal. I haven't had any pains for awhile. Maybe every now and then, but they don't last as long as they use to.

Wednesday-
Sarah:
Today we have a Dr appointment to make sure she is healthy enough to have surgery tomorrow. I hope that she is. Right now she has fluid in her ears, on medicine and has been having a slight fever. So we will see what the Dr has to say.

I will update this again after the surgery and let everyone know how Sarah is doing.

Nauvoo IL

2008-07-21T16:19:00.001-07:00

These pictures are all out of order, but it took me so long to put them on here I'm just going to leave it like this. This is the Nauvoo Temple.

Going home after a long fun weekend.

Parker Clegg watching the Nauvoo Play.
This is a sneak peek at the play
Sarah watching the Nauvoo play
Josh got bored waiting on me checking into the hotel.

All snuggled in during nap time.

My mom and Doug going to the play with Sarah.
Before the play there were pre-show activities. This is a game the pioneers use to play called stick pull. The object of the game is to pull the other person over. Josh and Spencer played and Josh won. Then Spencer played against his son.

Left to Right: my mom, Doug, Spencer, Josh, Sarah, me, Erin, Parker.

This is a statue of Jesus Christ.

Sarah was all dressed up like a lil pioneer. How adorable!!

Learning how to make bricks at the brickyard.
Doug and Sarah playing around.

Sarah wasn't too excited about riding on a fake sheep.

Nauvoo was great. We went to the brickyard where we learned how the pioneers made bricks, we went to the family cultural center, where we learned how the pioneers made rope, candles, rugs and many other things. We went to pioneer past times where Sarah got to dress up like a pioneer and play with other kids her age. The best part of the trip was at night when we saw the Nauvoo play. There was probably about 200 people in the cast and it was all outside. The play was about Nauvoo and how it developed along with doctrine about our church. It was very entertaining with lots of colorful settings, singing and dancing. There were lots of kids in the play dressed up like pioneers. They were so adorable. We also met up with Spencer, Erin and their son Parker Clegg. Spencer served a mission in Mahomet where I used to live and he baptized me. Over the years we have been able to keep in touch and we were able to get together again in Nauvoo. It was so great to them and to get to know their son who is almost 2 years old. Erin is also expecting their second child in Nov. They are a great family and I was so happy to see them. It was a long hot day but it was great to be in Nauvoo right next to the Temple. Sunday we went swimming and then left for home. What a great trip.

First Stop of the Weekend in Nauvoo

2008-07-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

Our first stop was at Carthage and we toured the historic jail where Joseph Smith was shot and died.

This is a statue of Joseph and his brother Hyrum Smith.

Sarah enjoyed walking around on the property. She is at the stage where she doesn't stay in one place for very long now. It is getting harder for me to take pictures of her face. Most of the time I get pictures of her back walking away. :)
This is the real bullet hole that went through the door.

This is the window that Joseph Smith fell out of to his death after being shot.

We went on a road trip this weekend to Nauvoo. My mom and her boyfriend Doug came with us on our trip. We left on Friday night and went to Macomb. Then we finished the journey to Carthage Saturday morning. Before we toured the historic jail there was a short film explaining who Joseph Smith is. Then we toured the jail where he was kept on false charges. Mobs came in and killed him. Josh and I have been there several times but this was the first time my mom and Doug have been there. Our next stop was Nauvoo IL

Brown Eyed Girl

2008-07-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

About a week before we went to the fair, I went to get Sarah out of bed and I found her with her diaper off and her entire body was covered in poop along with her bed, sheets, and crib railings. It was so disgusting! But she was having a great time playing in it. I couldn't believe that she did that! Now we make sure she wears shorts to bed. I took some photo's of it, but I wasn't sure if I should but it on the blog since she is naked.

Fun at the Fair

2008-07-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

Fishing game

Fun at the Fair

Petting Zoo

Merry Go Round
Mardi Gras Castle

Thursday we went to the local fair in Crescent City. It was a very hot day, but we had a great time. There was a petting zoo, Sarah rode the merry go round and went through the maze of mirrors and windows in the Mardi Gra castle. She ran right into the glass not knowing it was there. It was so funny! Josh said he wishes he would have got it on video cause it would have won America's funniest home videos. She was so happy walking around then BOOM smack into the window. She liked the merry go round at first but then it got faster and that scared her a little. She also played a fishing game and caught a shark and won a toy trumpet that toots. Then I won her a little stuffed flower by playing balloon darts. She was so sweaty and hot that we only stayed for about an hour. We had to get home and start packing our stuff to go to Nauvoo for the weekend.

Twins? The answer is... not what we expected.

2008-07-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Many people have wondered, including us...are we expecting twins? Well the doctor visit did not go how I rehearsed it in my mind. We listened to the heartbeat, which was a strong 160 beats per min. Which is perfect. That is what Sarah had. I asked the doctor if there was only one heartbeat and she said yes. I told her on the ultrasound they saw another flutter and thought that it might be twins. She read my ultrasound report and they never mentioned the possibility of another baby. So the answer is only one baby. However, there is a small internal bleed which was probably the flutter they saw. In other words, the baby is starting to pull away from the wall. So I am at high risk for a miscarriage. I have been having cramps and sharp stabbing pains, but I kind of just thought it was all in my head. I didn't realize how serious that could be. I didn't experience that with Sarah and I just thought maybe it was because this is my second child. So now I am not allowed to lift anything heavy, including Sarah, which has been the biggest challenge and rest. This was not what we were expecting to hear. It seems so ridiculous now to have worried about having twins and now we are praying that this baby will go full term and will be healthy. The good thing is the heartbeat is strong and I have not had any spotting. So we will just keep praying that everything will turn out fine.

Fun Saturday

2008-07-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

American Girl!

What a beautiful baby

Splash Valley

Got the essentials, sunscreen and juice.

This way daddy!
Sarah went all the way in, sat down and had a great time. She eventually went out to the deeper end and Josh swam her around a little.

Josh surprised me with a fun trip to Splash Valley on Saturday for an extended birthday celebration. I have been wanting to go for such a long time. It was so much fun! Sarah even got in the water deeper than she has ever been before. There was another little girl there, Sarah's age, and that girl loved the water. So if Sarah saw her in the water, she decided it wasn't so bad, and she followed her in. Sarah even liked it when Josh put her on her stomach in the water and swam her around a little. Luckily that little girl was there, otherwise I don't think we would have been able to get her in the water. It was so much fun!! Afterwards we went out to eat and then we went to a campsite to visit Josh's mom who was camping. Sarah was walking at the campsite and had a hard fall. Now she has a big sore on her forehead. I was going to put her in a basket that she was in when she a newborn on the 4th of July just to show the size difference. But now I am going to wait until the sore heals.

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-07-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

The church gang watching fireworks.

This is how Sarah watched the whole firework show.

Celebrating my birthday

My friend Alison came to join the fun!
Playing with grandma

Playing outside after the parade

At the Parade

Oooo, my first candy!

Wave to the people

We had a great time on the 4th of July! We celebrated by going to the local parade, going to the church cookout and of course watching the wonderful fireworks! We also celebrated my 26th birthday by having cake and gifts. My friend Alison came over for the church cookout and my mom came over for a few hours after she got off of work to visit with us and play with Sarah. Sarah enjoyed all the festivities more than I thought she would. She loved the parade and getting a few pieces of candy. She wasn't too sure about all the fire truck sirens, but she took it like a champ once we showed her to wave at them. She waved at everyone and they gave her a lot of feedback because of that. It was so cute! She had fun at the cookout, mainly because there was a dog there and she LOVES animals. The other night she really surprised me. We were reading a book and there was a picture of a dog and she pointed to it and said dog. She is so smart. She even recognizes cartoon dogs. Sarah even enjoyed the fireworks. They started around 9:15 and she is usually in bed by 9 so she was pretty tired. But she cuddled up next to her daddy and watched the whole thing. She wasn't even scared with all the big booms. But that's because her dad is always play scaring her so I think she used to loud unexpected noises. It was a long but fun day and a fantastic birthday. It was great celebrating this day with friends and family.

What a face!

2008-07-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken within seconds of each other, and as you can see she has quite the facial expressions. She knows how to work it to get what she wants (which was the camera). All week of the 4th of July she sported her red white and blue to get in the holiday spirit.

Sarah's surgery

2008-07-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

July 3rd Sarah had a doctor appointment with the ENT specialist to see if she possibly would need tubes in her ears. She has had an ear infection almost every month since last October and the doctor said because there are no environmental problems we could change, she would need to have tubes put in. So my poor little baby will need surgery Aug 7. Josh and I have never had surgery before, so I am so scared for her. My baby will have to experience something that I have never had to deal with before. I know that this is a very common procedure, it's very quick and she will be in outpatient. But it's my baby and I just want to protect her from any pain or problems. Sarah is such a strong little girl, and I'm sure she will surprise me how well she takes it. We will give her a blessing before surgery and I will keep you updated on her progress.

Funny Story

2008-07-01T08:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Sarah and I went shopping in Kankakee while Josh was at work. We went in the first store and a Mexican man was walking out. Sarah saw him and started waving at him. He waved back and walked away. Sarah started screaming and crying and holding out her arms for him to hold her. She thought that he was her daddy!! He looked a lot like Josh, same build, dark complected, dark hair. It was hilarious! I felt so bad for Sarah, but I knew she would be so mad at Josh when she saw him for not picking her up. And she was!!! When he got home from work she ignored him and didn't want anything to do with him which is VERY unusual. She is such a daddy's girl and is his little shadow. She got over it, but it was so funny!

Then we went to McDonald's for lunch and there was a little girl Sarah's age next to us. Sarah went crazy over her. Waving and playing peak-a-boo with her. The little girl wasn't excited about Sarah, but that didn't stop her from trying to play. We were really close to them, we were at a table and they were at a booth. So I accidentally overheard the mom and dad talking, and basically it was a very important conversation trying to mend their relationship. Well, my daughter would not leave them alone. It was so embarrassing. I tried to entertain Sarah so that she would stop interrupting them, but it was not working. That's Sarah for you, a little too social. They didn't seem to mind though, and I think it was probably a helpful tension breaker for them. But I just acted like I didn't know what they were talking about and tried to redirect Sarah.

Playing in the yard

2008-06-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

One of Sarah's favorite outdoor toys is her playhouse.

Giving baby a ride

2008-06-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

Sarah giving her baby a ride on her zebra in her playroom. What a sweetheart!

Girls day at the BEACH!

2008-06-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

Lisbeth, Sarah and I went to the beach (well, a man made lake) this weekend for a fun girls day out. It was a beautiful day, warm but a strong warm breeze. Unfortunately, when the wind would blow it blew sand in our eyes so we only stayed a few hours. But we had so much fun! Sarah wasn't as excited about the water as I was. I love swimming and playing in the water, but I think Sarah is going to be more like Josh who hates the water and really doesn't want to have anything to do with it. So I tried to convince her how much fun it is, but it didn't really work. I was only able to get her feet in the water and that was it. Maybe next time she will put her knees in it. Playing in the sand was more her style. At first she wasn't too crazy about that either but then she got used to it. She loved shoveling sand in her buckets and dumping them out. It was such a fantastic day at Clinton Lake.

Girls day at the BEACH!

2008-06-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

Playing in the sand was so much fun!

My friend Lisbeth and Sarah had a great time playing together!

I tried so hard to convince Sarah that playing in the water is fun. But she didn't believe me. This was as deep as she would allow me to take her.

Sarah wasn't too sure about this new feeling on her little feet. She kept picking on one foot or the other. It was hilarious!

Daddy's BIG helper

2008-06-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

Sarah's such a BIG helper! This was the first time she mowed with dad and she LOVED it!

Brookfield Zoo!

2008-06-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had a great family trip to the zoo with Josh's mom and her husband Todd, Josh's brother, Joey, his wife Angie and their son Joe-Joe who is 3 months older than Sarah. It was so much fun!! We got there right when they opened at 9:30am and right away it rained, well more like poured. We were so bummed cause we thought it would ruin the whole day. After we hid under some trees and gave the kids a snack the rain let up a little so we could sneak inside to see the fish. Sarah was so afraid of the aquarium. We don't really understand why she was so scared but she was holding onto our shirts for dear life and shook her head "no". Joe-Joe was also afraid of it. I think it's because it was so different than anything they have ever been exposed to. So when we left and went back outside the sun was shinning the rain was gone and it was perfect the rest of the day. Later we went to see the dolphins and Sarah was no longer afraid of the aquarium part.

The kids were so well behaved and they LOVED all the animals! I was surprised they were so well behaved since we left the house so early and we didn't leave the zoo till 5pm. I was so proud of them.

Sarah's favorite animal was the polar bears. They were so fun to watch. They played with balls and swam in the pool. I think Sarah wanted to get in there and play with them. It was so funny to watch her face light up when she saw the animals and point at EVERY animal. She kept trying to talk to them and at times she was in deep conversation with them. It was so CUTE!!! We walked around the whole zoo and saw most of the animals. Sarah slept through the monkeys and elephants but she saw the rest of them. But I think the best part of Sarah's day was playing with her cousin Joe-Joe. She loves him so much and is so interested in him. She's always getting into his face and tries to make him smile. She is such a sweetheart. Sarah has learned how to kiss so she tries to kiss everyone and everything! The picture of Sarah and Joe-Joe Eskimo kissing is my favorite picture ever! Sarah of course initiated it and Joe-Joe just let her do what ever she wanted to him. I think we are going to have our hands full when she gets older. :)

Overall, it was a perfect day! I hope we can make this a summer tradition. It finally feels like summer vacation now that we have gone somewhere fun.

Brookfield Zoo!

2008-06-23T06:57:00.001-07:00

Sarah loves Joe-Joe so much! Sarah was trying so hard to get Joe-Joe to smile and look at her and play with her. Poor Sarah has so many mosquito bites from earlier in the week.

Sarah loved walking around like a big girl.

Sarah and Joe-Joe playing.

Looking at the zebras.

Sarah's favorite polar bears!

Mommy and baby monkey. It was so interesting to watch the monkeys because they have so many human characteristics.

This picture was taken before she had seen the polar bears and she was already obsessed with them. I think it's because she has a white teddy bear at home that she has not put down since she got it for her birthday. So I think she associates it with the polar bears. So cute!

Beautiful Zebra.

Sarah just woke up from a little nap a little confused on where she was at.

Joe-Joe (the tall wolf) and Sarah (the small wolf). Sarah was waving through the hole while Joe-Joe gave his cute little smile.

Daddy and Sarah looking at the dolphins.

Sarah couldn't keep her eyes off the polar bears even for a quick picture. :)

Daddy and Sarah.

Sarah and Joe-Joe Eskimo kissing. SO CUTE!

She's got personality!

2008-06-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

The many faces of Sarah Kate

GOOD NEWS!!!

2008-06-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

Sarah is going to be a big sister!!! I am going to be 3 months along on Monday. We are so excited and surprised. We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and we might be having twins!! However, that is not definate yet. There was an intern in the room with us while we were having the ultrasound so the lady was talking her through everything that she was seeing. After we looked at the cutie lima bean baby, she saw another little flutter every now and then like another heartbeat. We never actually saw a second baby and only one heartbeat was detected, but at this stage, they are so tiny (the size of my finger) they may be hiding behind each other and their heart beats may be in sync. Honestly, we are freaking out about possibly having twins. We only have a 3 bedroom house and if we are having twins it will be tight. Not to mention all the other fears you have when you have twins, or in our case 3 children under the age of two. But if we were ment to be parents of 3 wonderful children then we will try to be the best parents that we can be. However, we are tying not to get to scared until we know for sure how many babies are really in there. My next Dr. appointment is July 7 so hopefully we will know more then. Sarah is going to be an amazing big sister. She loves kids and babies so much. Her face just lights up anytime she is around kids. She is my little social butterfly. I think it will be so good for her. She will be 19 months old when the baby/ies are born so she will be a big help, I'm sure.

Favorite spot in the house

2008-06-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sarah's favorite spot in the house! She has discovered that her legs are now long enough that she can sit on the bottom step all by herself. She also loves playing with the remote control, cell phone and anything else she sees mom and dad using. If we can't find something, we just look for it at her favorite spot, and usually it is there. :)

Sarah's First Birthday

2008-06-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

Sarah, my mom (grandma Fox) and my friend Karrie from work were walking back from playing on the park swings.

First Birthday

2008-06-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

The Parsons family moves into the next century by blogging. I love staying up to date on my friends lives, so I thought maybe we can keep others up to date on our lives by starting our own blog. I don't know how often I will up date this, but hopefully I will be able to keep up with it for awhile.

Sarah just turned one years old May 24th. I can't believe my baby is ONE!!! She had a great time at her birthday party! We had beautiful weather and she had so much fun playing with everyone. She loved the icing on the cake, but she wasn't too crazy about the actual cake. But her favorite thing was opening all her presents and ripping everything out of their packages. It was so funny to watch. She has grown so much in just one short little year. She is able to sign "more" and we are working on "all done" and "milk". She is also able to say "hello", "duck", "thank you", "mama" and "dada". But the best communication tool that she has is that she shakes her head no if she doesn't want something. That has been great! It has really cut down on the screaming which we have been working VERY hard on stopping. Six days after her birthday she started walking and now she almost never crawls. It is so cute to see this little person just walking around with a huge agenda on her mind. She is so much fun and has a very loving and funny personality.