Happy New Year!

Welcome 2013!
Don't you love the start of a new year?  A chance to set goals and have dreams of how to make this the best year yet...you know, goals like blogging more!
2012 was a wonderful year.  Fun times watching Parker grow, new friends at work, and honestly, every year I am with Tim it really does feel like the best one yet.  I have high hopes for 2013!
Here are a few of my fave pics from the past year...

UNO!

Parker's party was a success!  I think everyone had fun and the birthday boy was super cute!  He hadn't had a nap and it was hot outside, but he smiled, ate cake, and opened presents like a big boy!  The only problem was that there are no really good pics!  I'm still bitter about this...even though it's been 2 months!  Here are some of the good ones from the day...

Here are the cake push ups!  I was so proud of them.  Apparently they were pretty good because they were all eaten!

He didn't get too messy.  He has texture issues when it comes to touching his food...he gets that from his dad!

He loved his lawn mower!  He wouldn't slow down long enough for us to take the tags off.

Here's the after party.  I was really impressed with Tim and myself because we had it all cleaned up 2 hours after everyone left.  Then we went to bed...early!

We're so blessed to have this little man in our lives.  He is nothing but joy!

Pins I can Can Check Off the List

With my addiction to Pinterest in full speed due to the big b-day party for the little man, I've decided I should create a new board of pins that I can actually say I've done!

For Easter, I made this incredibly delicious...and easy...ice cream sandwich cake. I've made it twice now, and it keeps getting even better. Here's my version...

and here's my inspiration

Source: thyhandhathprovided.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

from here!

Speaking of the party...here's what came today in the mail.

The push up holders for the cake came as well, but they're not as cute for pics!

Less than 2 Weeks

I can't believe that Parker will be one in less than 2 weeks. Time really does fly! Just like last year, his birthday is while we're on Spring Break, so I should have lots of time to get things ready for the Par-tay! It's going to be an Uno party...you know, because he's turing Uno. I've made the invitations, but we haven't printed them yet. Of course, this is a great chance to spend hours on Pintrest pinning away at birthday ideas! The best part about this theme is that we can just go with primary colors! Here are a few of the ideas I'm thinking about right now...

Source: tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: jacolynmurphy.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: blogs.babble.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Throwing parties for little people is so much more fun than throwing parties for 30 year olds! :)

Easter Pic

Well, I'm still having issues uploading more Easter pics, so I'll just put this super cute one on here...

Easter!

First, let's pretend that it hasn't been a year since I updated this...now, on to business!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. What a great time of friends and family, but more importantly to celebrate our risen Savior! I was thinking yesterday how exciting it will be to share the Easter story with Parker when he's old enough to understand.

Here are some highlights from the weekend...

On Saturday, we had a fun egg hunt at Tim's parents' house with his sisters and their families. Parker was getting sleepy when we went outside, but he was a good sport...except when we tried to hold his hands for a cute picture. Instead we got a fit on film! We always have tacos, and they were as delicious as ever. I made an ice cream sandwich cake, which was pretty good too, if I do say so myself!

Saturday night was prom, and Tim and I went for a little while. It's always fun to dress up and have a hot date. We went to Outback for dinner when we left.

Over night the Easter Bunny came and left us each a fun basket with lots of yumminess for Tim and myself!

After a great church service, we came home and had our own little photo shoot in the front yard. We got several cute shots of Parker and even managed some of the 3 of us!

Then, we headed to my parents' house for lunch and a little hanging out/ napping time!

What a great weekend!

I'm having issues adding more pics, so I'll try on another post later!

A month of Thanks...

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm trying to focus on one thing a day that I am thankful for. God has blessed our family so much, that this will be easy...but getting on the computer to update is another story!

Day 1-This is a tough one...do I pick husband or baby first??! I'm going with...husband!

I'm so thankful for Tim! I was telling a student today about he and I got together. God had a perfect plan for us coming together; it was in His timing, and at a place in both of our lives when we were ready to find each other. One thing I love is when people ask how we met, and I can say church. I want people to see that Christ is the center of our marriage and now the center of our family.

Tim is so thoughtful and always wants to do what's best for me. He puts Parker and I above himself. He's working so hard to finish school, and I'm so proud of him for that.

There's TONS more I can say about him...but it all comes down to how much he loves me. I never doubt this, and that's one of the bazillions of reasons why I'm thankful for Tim!

Day 2- Parker!!!

You always here that a baby changes everything...and it's so true! Sure, there's the lack of sleep, stress from feeding and changing, and all the other baby-things...but there's so much more. There's the first smile, the point when the weight loss (or whatever your baby is struggling with and you cry about every day) finally turns into a gain, now comes the rolling over and the almost crawl. It's pure joy! Parker brings a smile to my face just thinking about him. When I'm at work, everyday I get a PPoD (Parker pic of the day), and it gets me through to the afternoon. I love learning all of the little things that he likes/ dislikes, things that make him laugh or smile, but more than that I love watching him learn things. I've been so impressed with him this week. If you move something, he looks for it. He knows where to look...so hiding things is starting to be a new favorite activity. I could keep going on and on and on...I just love him so much!

Day 3- My Mom...

The older I get the more I appreciate her, but now, as a mom myself, it's doubled (probably more!). She is the reason Parker doesn't have to go to day care, and for that I will forever be grateful. She has taught me so much, and there are so many things that I hope to pass down to Parker that she has shown me!