Parker turns 2!

We celebrated Parker's 2nd Birthday on May 30th. On his actual birthday, we spent the day eating his favorite foods, opening presents, and then playing with them all day long. The morning started with his first present - a Fisher Price basketball hoop. He immediately learned how to say the phrase "slam dunk" and wanted to shoot baskets all day long. We had crepes with strawberries and cream for breakfast.

After Rich got home from school and after Parker took a nap, we let him open some more presents from us and from his grandparents. It was fun to let him open them one at a time so that he could enjoy each present. By doing it this way, we had a full day of fun!





Now that he is 2, it is time for me to put some little facts about Parker:


Hair Color: Blonde and holding strong!

Weight: 28.4 lbs (56th percentile)

Height: 35.25 inces (74th percentile)

Head Size: I put this because before Parker was born, Rich was sure that his kid would have a dome and thus be part of the dome club, however, Parker's head isn't so big, so I guess the he doesn't qualify. 48 (32nd percentile)

Favorite Foods: Pasta, Quesadillas, String Cheese, Pizza, & Bananas

Favorite Toys: Balls, Balls, and more Balls. He loves shooting basketballs in the hoop, hitting balls with golf clubs, throwing a football, and playing in his ball pit. If he had his way, we would take a ball with us EVERYWHERE!

Favorite Books: This changes by the week. For some reason, he seems to love the same book over and over again for about a week and then we (luckily) get to move onto another one! Some that are always on the list are Bears on Wheels, Three Little Pigs, and The Cat in the Hat.

Biggest Fears: Strangers! We officially hit the stranger danger point in his life. He definitely takes a while to warm up to people. He still hates loud noises like the vacuum and has a fear of me leaving him!

Favorite songs: Open Shut Them, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...in that order. You can't just get away with sing one - you need to sing them in order (he learned that from story time!). He loves most music though and loves to dance to it :)

Favorite non-toys: The computer, remotes, and anything that his Mommy is currently playing with. He does think that it is pretty fun to "play" wii or xbox with his Daddy by pushing all of the buttons. He also loves pushing chairs still occasionally, carrying bags and purses, and playing with SHOES!

What he's doing now: Playing by my feet in the den because he just woke up from his nap...again, he loves being close to his mom!

Things Parker Mimics: Words and sounds, talking on the phone, dancing, cleaning up, reading books, playing on the computer, etc. Now, he is less into mimicing and more into actually playing!

Favorite Games: Sneaking up on people or having people sneak up on him. The other day, he even wanted our friend Morty to stand in the same place over and over again to jump out at him. He loves to tackle our little football player, play rough with daddy, and of course play any game with balls!

Soothers: Will this one ever end??? The answer would have to be sucking his thumb and rubbing his belly at the same time. When he is really sad, it also works to cuddle with his Mommy, have us tickle his arms and legs, & going for walks.

Mischevious Things He's done lately: Climbed on top of the piano and tried to play it with his toes, turning the computer off, throwing an important wood piece away, and making messes!

Least Favorite Things: Having his teeth brushed by anyone but himself, having his hands and face washed, going under water at swim lessons, and not getting his way.

Favorite Sounds: Motorcycles and trucks. Whenever we hear the garbage truck, he runs to the front door because he wants to see the "big guck" (big truck). He loves music and animal sounds.

Proudest Moments: When he makes a basket or gets the football in the hole. Also, when he says something that we understand. He is loving to learn new words and use them. Since we are on words, words that he says at the age of 2: without prompts. I must preface this with the fact that these are words that I can understand and he says because he identifies it with something - not just a mimic...I'm not saying that very many other people would understand him though!

ball, basketball, football, baseball, motorcycle, big truck, Mama, Dada, Angie (gi gi), Morty, backpack, book, duck, quack quack , ruff ruff, hi, giraffe, blankie, shoes, cheese, please, thank you, welcome, what's that, what's this, where'd it go?, car, Let's go, teddy bear, wall, block, towel, bath, little einsteins, show, more, uh oh, one, two, three, juice, water, slam dunk, chair, pasta, banana, light, funny, pass, door, touchdown, help, me, bye, night night, vroom, ssss, dog, outside, inside, elmo, swimming, candy, tree, cookie, up, Lance, baby, Mema (Emma), and of course the word NO.

I am sure that there are more...but it seems like he learns a new word each day. He is starting to learn phrases and it is so much fun to see him make the connections between words and objects.

Sleep Schedule: Parker sleeps about 11-12 hours at night, usually about 8:00-7:30. He then takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.

Favorite People: The people he sees the most- Mommy & Daddy. He loves our friends Morty and Angie - and generally takes to boys faster than girls. He also loves little kids and babies. He loves babies and wants to hold them and he loves kids (especially kids that are a few years older than him and pay attention to him!)

Favorite T.V. Show: Parker doesn't really watch tv much - he just doesn't care. He does act interested in American Idol and sports because of the cheering and the music. The only kids show that he has ever really liked watching is "Little Einsteins"...probably the music factor again!

Best Features: His dimples, blonde hair, and big blue eyes.

We can't believe that he is 2! He is so much fun and we love him so much!!! Happy Birthday Parker!