Hello Again!

I'm so disappointed in myself for taking such a long sabbatical, but things have been a whirlwind around here since Christmas.  Remember, that's back when we were in between houses living in an apartment. And the ONLY nice thing about apartment living is you tend to have more free time because you aren't keeping up with a house :)

So, here we are in late April, all moved in and  thoroughly enjoying the new casa.  We've done a lot, but there are still many details undone.  We'll get there though, slowly making it ours and gathering those details that truly make it OUR home.

Along with the move came a new school for Reese.  We loved her previous location, it just wasn't going to be very convenient anymore, so we decided to simply transfer to another of the same school location.  Reese adapted well and moved into the 3-4 year old class.  She continues to LOVE her school days and we are thrilled to be living near such great public schools--Kindergarten will be here before we know it :)

Today marks 38 weeks in my pregnancy and boy am I ready for this little one to come out.  We had planned on not finding out the baby's gender beforehand, but JP and I both saw the same thing on an early sonogram to which we decided to confirm several weeks later.  Reese was thrilled when we let her know that she was going to have a baby sister and has really embraced it throughout the pregnancy.  Here's to hoping she continues to "embrace" all that comes with bringing a new sibling into the family.  I have a feeling she's not going to make it as easy as I'd like her to :)  Feel free to leave any advice on making the transition an easy one on the older siblings without completely making them rotten.

Baby Girl Parker #2, dubbed Cleopatra by my parents since her name has not been disclosed yet, could be making her appearance any day now.  She's measuring a bit bigger than Miss Reese and has been quite the mover and shaker in my ever growing belly.  Overall though, it's been another enjoyable pregnancy that I can't complain about.

Now we just sit and wait, which by the way has been kinda nice.  Our calendar is usually filled with work travel, weekend travel, events, projects, etc, etc. and I guess you can call it the calm before the storm, but we've enjoyed some fairly low key weeks and weekends lately.

Here is a quick catch up in pics:

At the neighborhood Easter egg hunt

Loving her new sunglasses

Before church yesterday--the sun's all over the place, but we're all smiling :)

I've Joined the Club

Yep, I'm there plus 2 weeks. I joined th 30 club on March 28. The day came on the third day of back and forth business trips to San Antonio, so the day itself was low key, but I did get to enjoy some of my fave sushi for dinner.

But then came the weekend. Several weeks earlier JP had suggested we get everyone together for crawfish to celebrate. Sounded like the perfect idea to me and the perfect way to celebrate my Dirty Thirty.

It was a ball of a time being with friends and family. And the crawfish and beer was delish and the perfect companion for enjoying the backyard on the summer-like day. (if only it would stay thar temp through summer)

Love.It.

Pretty sure this is my little lady giving me a high five after I tried to pretend like I was 21 again.

So what happens now? Eating a little better, working out a little harder and wrinkle cream, right? All those things might be needed, but Praising the Lord for another wonderful year and looking forward to what He has in store for me for the next 30 is what I'm thinking about. It's a beautiful life...bring it 30!

A Fine Photo

We had a little Dirty 30 celebration on Saturday (more to come), and my talented brother-in-law captured this image of Miss Reese.  She fit right in with the theme with a little dirt on the face and dress, but in my opinion, this photo wouldn't be the same without it.  Thanks, Matt!

2two!

Two weeks ago we celebrated Reese's 2nd birthday.  All I can say is where did the time go?  We enjoyed another nice January day and even though there was a little chill in the air, it was a great day to be outside!

My friend Megan, had the thought several months ago of doing a tutu them since we are celebrating 2 years, and I loved the idea...just needed to figure out how to fit all of our little boy friends into it.  So, I took to the web, did some digging around, and settled on the Tutu's & Ties theme.  It was a fun theme to plan, especially with the help of Pinterest--I mean who plans a party these days without it?

Can you tell she loves wearing a tutu?

We borrowed Grammy's bouncer again this year.  It's always a hit with the kiddos!  I also rented a bubble machine which I was a little disappointed in.  It provided some great ambiance, but not really worth the cost.

We haven't quite mastered "blowing out the candles".  The look on her face in the pic says it all..."how do I blow out candles? Just look really hard at them and THINK about blowing them out and they will--it's all a mind trick".  And she probably thinks that's really what works since she had a little help from the wind. Oh, and she is obsessed with the Happy Birthday song.  Just this morning she was looking at her cupcake Legos Uncle Mike gave her and singing "Happy Birthday Reese".  Yes, it's been 2 weeks!

Our best attempt at getting a pic of all the kiddos--even if it is just feet.

Here we are enjoying some of our new gifts.  And yes, that is a real tiara (not a toy version).  Thanks, Megan--as soon as she gets that "princess" complex, I'm sending her to you!

Summatime...

...and the livin's easy! 

This week has been CRAZY busy for Team Parker, so I haven't had time to craft up any good content on our lives, but wanted to share this awesome pic my oh-so-talented bro-in-law took over Memorial Day weekend.

It's that time of year for living in swimsuits...especially in this Texas heat!  Little Miss was enjoying the morning in the backyard frolicking in her pool and sand box.  Uncle Matt captured some awesome images in her summer outfit of choice, so I just had to share her cuteness and his skillz.

Hardly Lifting a Finger

We spent Easter weekend out at the ranch again this year, which is always a good time, but an even better time for me when you combine a toddler that doesn't stop and "big kids".  It's so true that kids love kids.  Reese was so entertained the ENTIRE weekend by all of the "big kids".  Miss Reese was so smitten with the Beverly boys, and Laurel and Kelsey Lowke were the ultimate little moms.

 getting the eggs ready!

Chase and Laurel helping Reese on her hunt

I think back to when I was a kid, and if there was a baby around, I was attached to it.  I loved babies when I was younger (and still do), but we all know it's not quite as novel when you are a parent of one.  I think we can all agree that being able to sit back and relax vs. constantly chasing and entertaining is always a nice break.

In true ranch fashion wearing Reed's boots 

                       and here wearing Reed's (or Kelsey's) titanium necklace (they're both ball players and both wear them) 

We also celebrated our 6th anniversary over the weekend, and 3 of the kids were flower girls and ring bearer in our wedding.  My how time flies!!!

We enjoyed a lovely weekend with the family and even had a few rain showers. 

Reese became spoiled as ever being pushed in her Cozy Coupe and pushed in the swing.  Hardly lifting a finger makes me a very spoiled mama of a toddler!

For that matter, by the looks of this spread, we're all spoiled!!



Dressed for the Occassion

A couple of weeks ago, we enjoyed our first crawfish of the season.  I know, I know, I can't believe I've waited this long, either, but if you know Team Parker, you know we LOVE these little creatures and all that goes along with it...a cold beer and friends and family!  I wouldn't say that fancy clothes have any symmetry with a crawfish boil, but it was the perfect opportunity to get Miss Reese in her cutie patootie lobster....errrr crawfish dress!  Considering she's not into them just yet, she was perfectly dressed for the occassion!

Happy 1st Birthday to Our Sweet Little Monkey

Wow!  What a glorious, magical, amazing and beautiful year it has been.  I can hardly believe the 1st year landmark has already come and gone.  We have been so blessed this year to have our sweet little lady in our lives and we thank the Lord everyday for what a blessing she has been!

Of course, we had to commemorate the joyous occasion with a par-tay, and what a glorious, magical, amazing and beautiful day it was.  Since Reese's birthday landed on a Saturday this year, the actual day was the perfect day to celebrate with our family and friends.  And, thank goodness for the beautiful weather we had so that we could enjoy being outside--otherwise we probably would have been a bit cramped in the house. 

I enjoyed every minute of planning this soiree and I was just thrilled with the way everything turned out, so of course, I'm going to have to share some of the details.

These adorable invites were an inspired by a design I found online, but I'm totally into doing my own invites because I can do them exactly how I want them and a lot cheaper!  So, with a little help from JP, Snapio (and Illustrator, of course!), the end result couldn't have been cuter!

You are probably starting to see a trend here of all things pink (and green).  I just think gerbera daisies are the perfect fresh flower for a little girl's day.  And I was able to reuse the paper lanterns from our wedding to add a little flare.

I decided to go with cupcakes rather than a cake, because they are just too easy to deal with, and you can't beat the tasty ones SAMs makes.  Then I went one more step and ordered these ADORABLE toppers from threekidspartyshop on Etsy.  I have to say, I'm a bit obsessed with Etsy right now and it was the perfect go-to spot to put some personalized touches on this party.

Of course, the birthday girl had to have her own little smash cake too, and she loved every minute of it (pics and video to come).  Threekidspartyshop did this topper too, and it was just perfect!

And, if you're a Parker grandkid, you're sure to have the cutest, and tastiest cookies at your party too!  My MIL (Grammy) is so stinkin' talented and creative and everyone went home with one of these adorable monkey cookies.

And here is a glimpse of the birthday girl in her party frocks.  Again, all ordered from Etsy.  MaddieBugBaby did her adorable shirt (which we plan to wear all year!) and her pettiskirt came from TwoAngelsBoutique.  If you're in to pettiskirts, they have EVERY color you can think of at really reasonable prices.
 

Celebrating 106 Years

We headed to the ranch this past weekend to celebrate a very special lady's 106th birthday.  Yes, you heard correctly 106 YEARS!  Aunt Cornelia's birthday is actually a week and a half away, but with other scheduling conflicts, this was the weekend to celebrate.  And, you know you have to celebrate when it's something like 106 years!

As I mentioned in my post about her last year, she did not have any children, so her nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, great-great, and so on are like her children!  About 35 of us gathered at the ranch to celebrate this past weekend and what a beautiful day it was!  Aunt C arrived from San Angelo a little after 10 am and didn't leave until 4:30 in the afternoon...I think she was pooped!

Of course, it's always great to see her and celebrate with her, but an event like this also brings lots of cousins we don't get to see very often.  I think Reese grew up a bit this weekend.  She had to run with the big dogs, and I mean that literally.  They were pushing her little walker around and Reese was literally running behind it trying to keep up and laughing the whole way!  The great thing about the new Lodge at Schulz Ranch are the large open spaces to get up and go!

And Aunt C loved every minute of being with Miss Reese.  She couldn't take her eyes off her and really got a kick out of her being an "endless pit".  It's so fun watching the interaction between them and remembering their age difference.

So, I'll leave you with the chorus from the song that was written for at her 90th birthday celebration, which is a true testament to how special this lady is to her family and really everyone who knows her.

Aunt Cornelia, we're here to say we love you

Your cheerful ways and kindness warm our hearts
You know we're thinking of you, we celebrate your life
And we say Happy Birthday now to you,
God's blessings too!

Family Photo Shoot

My main goal in scheduling a family photo shoot was to get a good shot of the three of us for our Christmas card this year.  I achieved my goal, but was a bit disappointed in the print job I had done as the picture looked like there was a major shadow cast on it.  But, I was not about to go through a re-print, as I just wanted to get them out, so if you recieved one, this is how the picture was supposed to look.

We had a fabulous time posing for these pictures with Meredith from Meredith Greager Photography.  It was the first part of November (just after daylight savings time) and we chose to do them behind the Four Seasons next to Lady Bird Lake here in Austin.  I have to say, the setting was superb...it's beautiful back there!  Here are some of our favorites.