Island Park

Parker had his first trip to the playground today complete with time on the swings and slides! He had so much fun and it made for a wonderful Mother’s Day! Enjoy all the pictures

Thoughtful Thursdays

I’ve been meaning to do something for a Thoughtful Thursday ever since the Freeman’s issued the challenge a month ago. Since I don’t leave the house too often because of Parker, I knew it had to be something simple to start out with. I got to thinking, and here is what I did:

Micah LOVES twice baked potatoes and while I enjoy them as well, they are pain in the butt to make because of the amount of time they take. With Parker around it is hard to find the time to make them and get everything else ready for dinner. I decided to fix that today. I started the potatoes when I was making lunch and got them assembled so when it comes time to make dinner, I simply need to put them in the oven and let them bake. I’m also making one of his favorites to go with the potatoes– tereyaki glazed salmon. It should be delicious!

What will you do to bless someone this Thursday? Make sure you let the person know they have been touched by Kayleigh!

A new skill?

Yesterday I mentioned that Parker was pushing up on his toes while on his tummy. Well, the knees aren’t far behind! I managed to capture him trying to get a toy today. Enjoy!

Dedication, 5 months old, and Croup

Parkers dedication went so well! It was wonderful having so many family members celebrate such an important day in Parker’s life. Breck and Kayla were kind enough to bring a video camera and capture the event for us. I added the video below so everyone can enjoy it. We just want to thank everyone again for making the trip and for the wonderful and generous gifts Parker received.

Parker turned 5 months old last week and is doing so many fun new things! He can sit on his own now and each day he lasts a little longer than the day before. He is even starting to balance without his hands so he can play with toys and if he starts to topple there are times when he catches himself and pushes back to center. He tries so hard to get toys that are out of reach when he is on his tummy and gets so frustrated when he can’t figure out how to get them. A few times today I caught him pushing his butt up in the air to get on his tiptoes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the “baby butt rock” is only a few weeks away– or sooner!

Most of you know that Parker developed an icky cough over his dedication weekend. We, along with most everyone else, figured it was just a cold. It probably started that way, but Monday night he had a slight fever and by Tuesday morning it was 100.4 so we brought him to the doctor’s office where he was diagnosed with croup. They gave us prescriptions for steriods and antibiotics. He has finished both and is doing much better. He only coughs a few times a day now and his nose has pretty much stopped running. Praise God!

We plan on making two trips to visit family in April. The first weekend we will go to the cities and the last weekend we will head to the farm. We are so glad the weather is starting to make a turn for the better so that we can travel again! Nothing like tons of snow and cold to make you want to stay inside! Thank you to everyone for being willing to travel to us so frequently!

Love you all

Give4Kayleigh

Kayleigh Anne Freeman is an amazing little girl who was supposed to make her appearance in September but came 12 weeks early and weighed only 1 lb,1 oz. Micah and I have been following her story for quite some time and have been moved to tears on many occasions. She is the youngest person to ever undergo open heart surgery and has had many other surgeries in her 8 months on this earth as well. Her parents, Adam and Aimee are real estate agents struggling to make ends meet in this horrible market and are actually in forclosure for their own home because they can’t afford the mortgage and $1000 insurance bills each month.

The reason I’m writing about this is to spread the word. They are an amazing Christian family in need of everyone’s help. If you have a few minutes, go to their blog, read some of their story, and ask God what he would have you do. Even if you can’t donate, you can pray. Kayleigh has been close to death several times but through faithful prayer, she has pulled through and is now doing better than anyone could ever have imagined.

Thanks, and God bless!

Still no teeth

Apparently that tooth was just teasing us, because it has yet to make its appearance. Parker is doing really well, other than the crabby bug that seems to bite him once a day, lol. He had his four month appointment on February 16th and he weighed 16 lbs (71%), measured 25 1/8″ long (57%), with a head circumference of 41.8 cm (36%).  His doctor says he is very strong and is happy to see he is meeting all his milestones. She is having us hold off until 5 1/2 or 6 months for solids, which we are totally okay with. He is obviously growing just fine on breastmilk!

I updated Parker’s page so all his weekly and monthly pictures are up to date. I think I was 5 or six weeks behind- Bad Mommy!

We are so excited to have Parker’s dedication in just under two weeks. March 8th, at Heartland Community Church, Parker Eli McGowen will be dedicated to the Lord! Lots of family is coming up for the service and reception afterward. I’ve started buying the supplies for what should be a good lunch, but we are still debating on the complete menu. I am going to try my hand at cake decorating. If it doesn’t look great, at least it will taste good!

I really need to get better about this!

Sorry I’ve been so bad about updating, but I figure most people who read this blog talk to us on a fairly regular basis and know what’s going on in our life!

Our big news: We are pretty sure that Parker is getting his first tooth! He keeps yelling out as though he is in pain, he is drooling like crazy, and there is a very small white dot just to the left of center on his bottom gums. I guess we will find out for sure in the next few days!

We also received Parker’s crib from Uncle Jon. It looks amazing and I think this weekend we will test it out. We have been waiting because we want to make sure the smell from the finish is gone. We have placed Parker in it for short amounts of time to do pictures and he seems to like it, so hopefully night time will go well also. And if he does get up a bunch, at least Micah will be home with me during the day so I can nap if I need to

The Christmas tree is finally packed away, but the garland is still on the archway and stairs. Those don’t take up any space so we are in no real hurry to get rid of them. Plus, they look pretty and really hurt to take down

Parker’s dedication is set for March 8th. I’ve been working on getting the invites made and I will try to get those sent out the first week of February. The only issue is what address I need to put on the invites for the church. Most of you know that our church is in the process of buying a new building. Two weeks ago we were told that they hoped to have us moved in by the middle of March; this past Sunday Pastor Scott said it could be earlier than that. I guess I will put the current address of church and then tell people to contact us the week of the service just to confirm the location.

And finally, a new video! Nana Anna brought up the play gym since Parker is at the perfect age for it now. He loves it!

And we’re back!

The lack of updates is obviously because of the crazy holiday travel schedule, but we are back now, safe and sound!

Christmas was fabulous. We started out on Monday, Dec 22nd and went to Champlin for a night with Nana and Grandpa. It’s nice having a pit stop midway through the trip to the farm so we can rest. It would have been even nicer if it hadn’t taken us 45 minutes to go the five miles from Albertville to Rogers! There was a semi that had gone off the road so traffic had to merge into one lane and it was absurd. Of course the moment we passed the accident the traffic was gone. I hate gawkers!

Tuesday morning we headed to the farm but stopped in Mankato to meet up with Grammy, Papa, and Raymond for lunch at Applebees. Yum! Of course Parker had to have a huge poo right through his pants for the one time I didn’t bring a set of clothes. There were clothes in the car, but I didn’t have any in my purse with the diapers, so he got to ride the rest of the way to the farm in a onsie and sweatshirt. Luckily we had plenty of blankets in the car for him.

We had tons of fun hanging out with all the family on the farm. Uncle Jon finally got the courage to hold Parker! He also showed us the progress on the crib and it looks fantastic. I can’t wait for it to be finished and in the nursery. It will make the room look so much more finished. Parker got spoiled with toys at Christmas and I have no idea where we will put everything, but I know we will find space somewhere!

On Friday we went back up to the Taplin’s and after a wonderful dinner of steak, shrimp, and baked potatoes, we opened gifts. Parker again got spoiled. We also got tickets for Phantom of the Opera in June and I can’t speak for Micah, but I am so excited!

Saturday was the party at Dot and Pete’s place. It was nice to not be in a constant cloud of smoke since they asked everyone to smoke outside. I think this was the calmest that party has ever been with everything wrapping up around 1130. Parker did great with all the noise and slept through presents completely.

After visiting with Great Grandpa and Grandma Klosinski, we hit the road back to Fargo. It felt great to be back home. We weren’t able to fit everything in our car, but almost everything we brought back up is still sitting in the dining room. I really need to get motivated and put stuff away. I did manage to get all Parker’s new clothes put away though. His closet is definitely starting to fill up!

For New Year’s Eve we went to the party at the church for a few hours, but only stayed until a little after ten because Parker couldn’t fall asleep with all the flashing lights from karaoke and all the country music was starting to really take a toll on Micah’s well being. We welcomed 2009 in our own living room with just our family; not a bad way to start the new year.

2008 was an amazing year filled with so many blessings that it would be impossible to list them all. We are so thankful for God’s faithfulness to us, even when we aren’t always as faithful as we should be. I hope that all of you who read this understand His love and compassion for all of us.

God Bless!

He already loves the computer!

Look at Parker go!

Just typing away…

Parker’s Doctor’s Appointment

Parker had his two month check up yesterday. Check out how much he has grown:

Birth: 6lbs, 15oz; 20 inches

2 weeks: 7lbs, 4.6oz; 20 1/4 inches

9weeks, 2 days: 11lbs, 3oz; 22 1/8 inches

He is turning into such a big boy! He got his shots as well and was not a big fan of them in any way, shape, or form. He screamed and little tears streamed down his cheeks. Luckily he recovered quickly by sleeping most of the remaineder of the day away.

And for some new pictures, here is Parker is his newest toy, his exersaucer:

A new toy! December 18th, 2008

Lots of toys and colors!

New video!

I know that the grandparents have been begging us for new video of Parker, so while he was in a good mood, I decided to have him talk to the camera. Apparently he wasn’t thinking the same because he started getting crabby once the camera was on, but I swear he was smiling up a storm before I hit record!

We can’t wait to see you all next week! Our plan right now is to leave on Monday when Micah gets off work and spend the night in Champlin. When Parker wakes up for his morning feeding around 5 or 6, we will get packed back up and hit the road when he is done so that we can say goodbye before Nana Anna leaves for work and Grampa Jim goes to bed. We should arrive in Easton between 8 and 9am on Tuesday and we will stay there until Friday afternoon.

We of course have to stop by Legoland on our way back to Champlin, but plan on getting to the house around the time Nana Anna gets home from work. Saturday morning we will celebrate with my family and Saturday night is the big Christmas party at Dot’s house. After church and visiting Great grandpa and grandma, we will head back to Fargo on Sunday the 28th.

Oh, and here is Parker’s week 9 picture.

December 15th, 2008

Love you all!