Pierce is 8 months!

8 months...REALLY?  I was asking myself the other day..."How come when babies are in the womb it seems like FOREVER for 9 months to come and go?" "But when the baby arrives time FLIES???"  That is exactly how I feel.  It seems like yesterday we were bringing this sweet baby home.

Pierce is seriously the smiliest baby and we love it!!  Of course he can get madder than a hornets nest but there are always tons of smiles to follow!  He crawls everywhere and is fast!  His big brother loves that he crawls so he can lure him in a room and shut the door.  We have to rescue him because who knows what would happen!  Pierce is starting to learn if Parker does something to him he will cry and look at me like "are you going to do something about it?" 

Pierce has 4 teeth with more on the surface.  This has caused him to be cranky and wanting his Mama.  The holidays were a little trying at times but we made it!  Now that he has teeth he is loving feeding himself.  He will eat black beans, cheese, peas, peaches, puffs, mum mums, cheerios, eggs and today I made the mistake of giving him a very small piece of goldfish.  He was following me around the house wanting more! :)  I offer a sippy cup every now and then at dinner and he will drink out of it however, he still loves his bottle and nursing before bedtime.  Speaking of nursing, I am still trying to hold on until he is one with the morning and night feedings but he is starting to bite...hard.  So we will see how long I can last.  Those teeth are SHARP!

He can say "Mama and Dada".  This week he has started pulling up on the couch  and ottoman.  I have a feeling it won't  be long before he is walking.  I attribute it all to watching his big brother.

Parker at 8 months...they look nothing alike to me

 A sweet picture of our two boys

and...this is what really happens behind the scenes.  Boys will be boys!

Happy 8 months baby boy, you have brought so much joy to our family!!

Parker's Christmas Program

RCCA put on a Christmas program for the parents and it was absolutely precious!!  Parker loved being the center of attention!  Here he is coming in just noticing Matt, GiGi and me.

 He was so proud that  we were there he shouted "That's my Daddy" to a stranger! :)

 We weren't sure how he would do up on stage but he performed like a champ!  I was laughing so hard at him dancing away!

While he was dancing he spotted his Muhney (Matt's Mom) and shouted "Hey Muhney"! :)

 Parker and Audrey after the program. 

What  a great performance Parker!  We were all so proud of you!!  Can't wait for the many many more to come!

Parker's Christmas Party

I was determined to go to Parker's Christmas party since I missed his Thanksgiving feast.  So I took my lunch hour to go and loved every minute!

My big boy with his classmates.  He acted so proud that I was able to make it which made me so happy!

Ms. Katie helping the kids play "Hot Potato" for their book exchange.

Amanda and Parker's friend, Audrey

 Parker was one of the last to open a book...he was super excited!

 A school bus book!!!  Just perfect because he loves school buses!

 That's my boy...throwing away his trash :)

 Ms. Katie decorated their door for Christmas.  I thought it was adorable!

 After the book exchange they each made an ornament.

Ms. Katie poured the paint in the ball for them and they had to swirl it around.

What a fun lunch hour I had!

After Santa

After the boys Santa pictures were taken my Mom and I took them to do a few more fun activities. 

My Mom loves to take Parker on the Merry Go Round.  So they rode the "Horsie"

This picture just melts my heart!  P's arm around his GiGi...precious!

We then went to find the big Christmas tree in the middle of the mall...I got a "sticky" kiss :)

Parker loves his GiGi!

What a fun tradition this has become!  Can't wait to do it again next year!  Oh yeah...if you are wondering Pierce is sleeping through all the fun. :(

Santa's Lap!

I was SO proud of my boys for sitting on Santa's lap and not throwing a fit!  Pierce just loved Mrs. Clause!  I thought this was a great "1st Christmas Santa" picture!

 Parker had already sat on Santa's lap at school so he had practice! :)  I think having Mrs. Clause on the scene is a great idea for little ones who might now sit on Santa's lap!

 I took Pierce away and then Parker started talking to Santa!!  This Santa and Mrs. Clause were so sweet to my boys and took their time! 

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good night! 

Reindeer Food!

I wanted to feel like a SAHM for a day, so I took the day off to bake and take the kids to see Santa!  I loved every minute of it!  It's funny how before kids I savored all my vacation days for actual vacations...now I just love to take days here and there to stay home with my boys!!

Parker is VERY independent these days!  So I thought he would enjoy helping me bake some treats for his pre-school class.  It's called Reindeer Food and it is super easy and yummy!  3 ingredients...Chex mix, vanilla baking chips and crushed peppermints!

Mommy's big helper! I mean Santa...:)

I said "Parker, tell Mommy your done".  I got this...too cute!

The finished product.  I am so upset I didn't take a picture of the cute peppermint bags I put them in.  I filled them with the reindeer food and plain M&M's, tied a peppermint cane around it and put a peppermint tag on it and wrote "Merry Christmas".  It was a fun project for Mommy and Mr. P!

Christmas Fun!

Is Christmas really here so soon?! This year I have tried really hard to not look ahead each week knowing Christmas will be here before we know it.  I really want to enjoy this Christmas season with my kids and begin new traditions!  This year Parker is really starting to understand Christmas and loves all the lights!  We have tried to teach him the meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate.  In turn he says all the presents under the tree are for Jesus because it's his birthday! :)

Parker and Pierce lining up Santa and Frosty for music class

Let me just say it took me 2 HOURS to get this picture!  I saw this picture on a blog and wanted to see what our camera could do.  I have never really explored the options our camera had so it was cool to see the different shots I could take, but also somewhat frustrating.  I was happy and called it a night when I shot this pic!

I found these adorable pj's on Personal Creations.com and thought I might as well let them wear the cute pj's before they grew out of them.  They loved them!

Love those two bottoms! 

A couple of nights we have loaded up the boys to go look at Christmas lights.  Matt took Parker to see his first movie, the Muppet's.  Parker sat on Santa's lap with a SMILE at school!  He also has his Christmas program this week.  So much fun stuff...I love this time of year!!