Annual Easter Pictures

It has become something of a tradition at the Parkers to attend Sherry Owens' Easter mini-sessions. This year was no exception, and although I did not purchase any 20 x 24's this year (HA!) I think she got some cute shots. And let me tell you she and I both WORKED for them....so grateful for Sherry and her amazing talent. Hope you enjoy!

Fun at the Zoo!

I just can't tell you how much FUN I had with Preston today at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo! Now let me clarify--this is not the Ft. Worth Zoo---but to Preston it may as well have been Disney World and for just the two of us to meander and listen to his commentary it really was just about the best time I have ever had with him :)

LOVE the pic of him "reading" the map...he was quite serious about it as you can tell. Pic of him smiling very big was when the peacock started running after him...he wasn't quite so sure about that. We also very much enjoyed the boat ride together--he was getting tired and was all cuddly--as the weather today although overcast could have not been more perfect.

All of this was made possible, of course, by Preston and John Cole's Aunt Kristy who watched John Cole so P and I could have our outing. Can't wait to make another trip in a year or so with both. Happy Weekend!

Mrs. Tory's Egg Hunt

What a fun day it has been! The McIntyre's had the perfect setting to host Mrs. Tory's egg hunt today, and we all had a great time. I think these pictures pretty much speak for themselves. I took a ton, but not a lot of them turned out because these kiddos are always in motion. Even though this was Preston's event, I must admit my favorite pic is of John Cole and Charlotte. John Cole was just a talking to Charlotte and it was the cutest thing I have seen in a while.

Thanks again Joanna (and Mrs. Nancy!) for all of your trouble-love making these sweet memories :)

Joyful Noise

This post is mainly for Preston's Nana as I am sure she would have driven from Winnfield to see his three minute first choir performance if she didn't have a choir performance of her own :)

Before I get to Preston, though, I would like to report that although he is not 100% I can tell John Cole is feeling a little better. He was up once in the night last night, not sure if he was hungry or just needed to suck to feel better, but here's hoping he makes it through the night tonight and is back to his normal low key self tommorrow. Not that he has ever been that bad...

This afternoon, P and I attempted to dye some Easter eggs. I did not buy the fancy kit, but I think I should have bought a little nicer one, as our eggs didn't turn out so hot. Have no fear, though, P thought it was a blast and he doesn't care that all three of his eggs are pink because that's the only dye that stuck....

On to the JOYFUL NOISE! I was one proud Mama watching P sing on stage at church for the first time. (I use the term sing very loosely.....but basically the girls were singing and the boys were standing there :) What I was proud of was that he stood like a soldier, followed directions and even sat with his family to watch the ENTIRE 45 minute older kids musical afterward. We are making great strides over here, and I am really enjoying this sweet time with my little man.

Thanks K-K for coming to see him sing--I could tell it really made him feel special

Have a great week!

A Tale of Two Children...

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

Preston has had a magnificent day! He has been with his grandparents since Thursday afternoon, and went to Shreveport this morning to see his cousin Madison play soccer. He then hit the Trinity Easter Egg Hunt and then practiced a little t-ball with Daddy. A good day.

Sweet baby John Cole and I spent 2 1/2 HOURS at the Green Clinic this morning at their Saturday clinic. He has been snotty for two weeks, but when I looked into his little eyes this morning I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, he has a double ear infection. I certainly hope this does not become a pattern, but since I firmly believe ear problems are usually anatomical, I fear it is...

But, ending on a positive note, Jeff and I had such a great time at Jerry Seinfield Thursday night. We also very much enjoyed our overnight stay in Shreveport and our time together Friday. Thanks so much family for keeping our boys!!

Happy Spring!

Leprecaun Leap

Ooops! I'd been calling today's race the "Shamrock 5K" and although it has been called that in the past today's 5K was called the "Leprecaun Leap." You get the idea...

It was a HARD 3.1 miles to me...slugging through the mud, making sure I didn't trip, running up the MASSIVE hill, running up all of the other hills....but I did it and it felt SOOOOO good. Now, the last race I did out here I think I finished 26:15 or so and my time today was 28:04 which is NOT a good 5K time. However, for 16 weeks postpartum on that course I was happy with it...especially since I brought home 3rd place in the 26-35 year-old female division :) Kira White won our age group (tall blond in the picture) and I enjoyed running some of the race with Amanda DeMoss (who actually was #4 in the 26-35 females-yay!)The overall winner--of course a high school guy-finished in 19:30 or so and that is not a super fast winning time either...but kudos to him because that was booking it!

More later....

Slip-N-Slide!

These past few days have been SO warm when I saw the Slip-n-slides out at Target I picked up one for P. Then, I realized he would have infinitely more fun with someone to slide WITH, so I set up a little playdate this morning. We invited Davis and Cullen, but since Cullen was not feeling well just Davis came over this morning for some ALL BOY fun :)

It was actually a little chilly this morning, so before I even set up I asked Amanda if it was ok wih her for Davis to get wet. She was cool with it so we were good to go. Can I tell you they LOVED the Slip-N-Slide? Really, it was love. And what I could not get over was how fast they would run and HARD they would fall. I would love to have a playdate for P's little girl friends but honestly had they been here today we would have had to separate them! But as with any toy for a preshooler, we were on to bigger and better things after about 30 minutes. We jumped on the trampoline, played with the Play-Doh, and capped off the fun with some watermelon. Davis did not want to leave when Amanda came back so that made me feel good :)

John Cole joined in for the first part of the action. I had him in the yard in his stroller. But watching those rowdy boys tired him out so he came in for a nap about halfway through. Can't wait for him to really be able to play....

Hope you are having a good Friday! Wish me luck as I run my first post-natal 5K tommorrow--the KD Shamrock run out at the Lincoln Parish Park. THAT COURSE IS HARD!

Fun Spring Day!

Couldn't ask for a better day than today...except for a little story I will share at the end of the post. Mom and Kendal joined me for the Squire Creek Spring Style show today and it was a real treat! Our table was fun, the little cocktail was delicious, the food was pretty good and we had a great time. Thanks Mom and Sis for joining me!

After I picked up P from school, I took the boys to the park and although it was quite warm for March 14th, we all had a blast! John Cole loved the swing, much to my surprise, and big brother really loved pushing him. P fell off the big boy swing at a pretty high rate of speed and landed on his left arm, and for a minute I thought we were headed to the ER but he shook it off and seems fine...

Last pic are the boys in their new matching car jammies watching some Dora. It was a good day......

EXCEPT for the phone call I got from my mom while we were at the park. Apparently, my sweet grandmother got scammed into wiring $2900 to someone in Mexico posing to be a family member today. It looks as though they are going to be able to stop the wire and get the money back, but it is SO scary....especially since this family member lives far away and you would have to know their business to know they are related. My opinion is this: (excuse me for being crass) There is a special place in you know where for anyone who scams Senior Citizens. Please pray that their identity is safe and they can put this ordeal behind them!!

More later...

EXEPT for

3 Month Picture

I absolutely love this picture of my sweet John Cole at 3 months. It is uncanny but he as changed since this picture was taken 2 1/2 weeks ago! That is why I spend money on pictures because you can never go back.....

Baby boy has had a stuffy head since Saturday night. Jeff seems to have it too so we are a little puny right now. Preston and I remain unscathed (FINGERS CROSSED) and I credit our Singulair. I LOVE SINGULAIR! But that is a whole other post. John Cole can start Singulair granules in his bottle at 6 months and I plan to do it as he obviously is suffering from seasonal allergies.....

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather! It is a little warm though....

Spring Sunday Morning

We are very rarely-if ever-ready early to go anywhere nowadays, so when we were miraculously early for Sunday School this morning I asked Jeff to snap a few pics of me with my sweet boys. Didn't get much, but these were the best. John Cole, to quote Kevin Hawkins, is a squinter. He squints his eyes when he smiles so picutres of him are very difficult to get. I am glad to have these shots though....Happy (almost!) Spring!