The Ultimate Stare Down

Dog versus baby.



Parker has taken a huge liking to Sydney the past couple of weeks. When Sydney is around Parker is all smiles and if Sydney tries to lick her, the smiles get even bigger. Parker is now reaching out with both hands to grab whatever is around her and that includes Sydney's fur when she's not looking. Poor Sydney is not a fan of this and gets out of the way very fast when this happens.

Parker also apparently enjoys seeing other babies cry! Our neighbors stopped by a few days ago with their darling baby Sophia who is only two weeks younger than Parker. I'm so looking forward to them growing up together and see many playdates in our future. Sophia was getting tired and started to cry and what did Parker do? She started grinning like crazy and kicking her legs around! She thought it was hysterical! We have a big troublemaker on our hands!

The Royal Wedding

Are you sick of hearing about the Royal Wedding yet? I can't believe how much media hype this is getting, but I will admit that I can't wait to see what Kate's dress looks like. I'm dying with anticipation. While I don't have plans to attend a 4am Royal Wedding Party (I'm home taking care of a sick baby), I will be keeping the wedding footage on TV all day long. You would think that one would get over weddings once they've had their own, but not me! I still love everything about them...the invitations, the centerpieces, the food...and of course the dress! I can't wait for the next wedding I get to go to.

My wedding dress is stored in the guest bedroom closet. I had it cleaned after the wedding but didn't want it preserved in a box. Why? Well I have a vision of Parker in a few years wanting to play dress up with it it :) Oh how I'll love getting that dress out for her, even though it will be huge! Now I never expect her to wear the dress for her own wedding (I'm sure we'll be laughing at the out of date style of the dress in twenty plus years) but I'd like to hold onto it forever just because. Parker has a 529 account (for when she goes and spends the best four years of her life at OU), but doesn't have a wedding fund yet ;) We should get on that, haha!

Hopefully Kate and the prince have just as much fun at their wedding as Kris and I did!





Happy Royal Wedding watching!

What's For Lunch?

I hear this question every day at the office. Normally someone asks it around 10am, it's discussed on and off until about noon, then everyone is starving and a decision has to be made. Fast. I typically bring my lunch since it's almost always healthier then what I can order out, but I have a very hard time saying no to Sy Thai Cafe. It's delicious Thai food that's right down the street from the office. As I was eating it this week I thought how easy Thai and Chinese food is to make at home. Since I absolutely do not have the time to spend hours on a meal like I used to, I'm always looking out for easy, healthy recipes so that Kris and I dont' starve ;) I decided to make fried rice with a ton of veggies added it. I didn't use a receipe and threw in whatever sounded good. Try it out!



Brocilli
Green Onions
Red Onion
Peas
Carrots
Garlic
Green Peppers
Brown Rice
Eggs
Chicken Breasts
Olive Oil
Soy Sauce
Red Pepper Flakes

Saute the veggies over low heat in olive oil. Meanwhile, start the rice in your amazingly handy rice cooker. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Cook in olive oil over medium heat. Remove when done and add whisked eggs to pan. Add cooked rice, chicken, and scrambled eggs to the veggies. Top with red pepper flakes and soy sauce. I could pour the whole bottle of soy sauce on the meal (yum yum!) but I refrain. Must be healthy.

I used to keep a cooking blog, but rather than keeping it sepearate from this blog I'll add it yummy new receipes as I try them out. Since I find most of my recipes online (Martha Stewart and The Food Network, you have kept my family full and happy for years) I find it easier store them online rather than in a cookbook.

Enjoy!

Happy 6 Months!

On Thursday we had Parker's 6 month pediatrician appointment and she is still growing like crazy--17lbs 12 oz (75th percentile), 26 3/4 inches (75th percentile) and her head circumference is in the 90th percentile. For anyone that is planning on having kids in the future, let this be my one piece of advice. Very important advice ;) -- be careful buying clothes that do not have a stretchy neck or aren't button ups! I can't tell you how many shirts I had for Parker that I could not get over her head!
































Parker of course has changed a bunch this month. Sitting up is old news. She's been doing it for a month and loves having a pile of toys in front of her that she can grab, transfer from hand to hand to mouth, and shake and bang around to make noise. Parker also loves rolling over. If you lay her on her back, she immediately flips to her tummy. She does this whenever she pleases, especially when she's on the changing table! Peek-a-boo is one of our favorite games to play now. This little girl has very strong legs and is now able to hold herself standing up on the couch. It's going to be no time before she's running all around the house! Parker started on food this month--first by sucking on hard fruits and then moved onto things she could actually eat. So far she has had avocados, bananas, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Parker still loves chewing on Sophie the Giraffe. I was skeptical when I first heard about this toy. It's basically a must have for babies and everyone raves about it. Well now I know why. It's bendy and chewy which is perfect for a babe who likes to put everything into her mouth! Another one of Parker's favorite things is her exersaucer. She loves playing the piano and grabbing onto all of the fun things. It's funny to see her move around in circles in it!

I have a ton of pictures in this post. I've been bad about blogging all of them so here they are all at once!











Tummy time is tiring!






























































































































































































































































As always, it's been a terrific month. We are so very blessed to have a wonderful, perfect, healthy baby girl!