The Davis Family

My 1st Blog

How times have changed...

Can you believe that when I was a little pup, my most prized "firsts" consisted of dolls, coloring books and my games. Now....twenty-something years later, I am writing about my little boy's firsts - and it is about his first BLOG! Back then a "blog" was imagined to be the creature that lived under the bed waiting for you to go to sleep and just ever so slightly let your hand or foot hang off the bed so it could reach up and suck you under - never to be heard from again! Now, a blog is the forefront of journalizing the most precious moments of our children's childhood. You can literally watch your child grow up all over again each time you go back and look at an entry. Seeing how I have had Parker for 16 months and how it easy it is to forget all the special little things that happen along the way, I thought I had better get busy with this blog thing - so I will always remember all the things that made me smile. I hope to capture the essence of our family so I can sit back in years to come and watch our little family grow up all over again - and SMILE.

Some of my favorite pics....

Parker is starting to get such a little personality. Here are a few pics that capture the essence of his persona!

Night, night little one!

Sweet Dreams....

Some of the most precious times to remember are when we just watch you sleep. In a world that is so vulgar right now, it is a blessing and comfort to just see the innocence that can beam from a child's sleeping face. If I could only remember a glimpse of what it was like to live in a world where I only knew of love and admiration...those years fade so quickly. I just want you to hold on to them as long as you can, baby!

For now I will just watch you sleep and dream your sweet dreams and try to remind myself that with every tiny child who goes night-night with that same innocent face, there is a big rainbow of hope for the days to come. Sweet dreams, pumkin!

funny little things you do

Parker - sometimes you do things that just make me shake my head and laugh...like today. I gave you a bowl and spoon to play with, thinking you would play it like a drum. BUT, for some reason you are obsessed with wearing bowls, baskets and anything else that you can think of on your head!

Uncle Pee Wee - In Loving Memory

This past weekend we went to Forrest City for my Uncle Pee Wee's funeral. God blessed us by making you take a nap during the service. You were a great little boy during the whole thing, although you didn't really know what to make of your Uncle Pee Wee. We went to see him a month ago and he was taking his teeth out for you and smacking his gums. You thought that was too funny. You just seemed to watch him waiting for him to do something silly.

You got to see alot of your cousins that you don't normally get to see - Renae, Blake, Grant, Clint, Skylar and Peyton. It is such a shame that you can't play with them more often, especially since Brandon, Warren and I played together so much when we were growing up. I sure wish we could see each other more often - I often miss my cousins! That's why I am thankful you will have Katie and Noah to play with. I hope you will grow up adoring them like I do Brandon and Warren.

I brought my camera...but I never took pictures! WHAT WAS I THINKING???? Oh well, maybe someone can email some pics!

Uncle PeeWee...may you rest in peace - we love you!

Nursery Sunday School

The little angels...

Since you have been born, Mommy has been in charge of the church nursery. You have so much fun with your church buddies. Here are a few pics of you and your friends, Ella and James. Tori is usually there, but she missed this Sunday. I hope that you will grow up to be good friends with your church buddies - it's good to have true Christian friends by your side.

BURGER KING!!

Okay...so its not McDonald's, BUT....

BUT....we had a blast anyway. Heather and I took the kids to Burger King for a play night. The kids had a blast. Although Parker's head does seem to take a beating when he plays with Katie. At one point, she used it as a stepping stone to get to the slide. Another time, he fell face first onto the tile floor. So if you see a bunch of red marks on his head, please don't call the authorities on me... I promise we don't abuse our child! He is totally 100% BOY! He is as tough as a nail!

Parker would get SO mad when Katie could climb up the slides (Heather - I can't believe you let your child run around those things sockless with all those germs!!! - heehee) and he couldn't. At one point, he was laying in a "block" just crying. I thought there is no way I am going to be able to get him out of there - I can't fit through the obstacles! Thank goodness I was able to send Katie in after him.

The pic where Parker is sitting with a scowl on his face is where is his doing his "doody". This play center was totally enclosed and Parker STUNK up the joint. Heather and I laughed so hard - it took both of us to hold him down to change his diaper without getting "doody" everywhere. He was wanting to play and wrestle the whole time and would just LAUGH at us!

I am really glad Katie and Parker are able to grow up together. I think they will grow up appreciating each other for what they have been and meant to each other. Even though you body slam him and put him in headlocks, we love you, Katie Grace!!!

Me and my Daddy

After a long, playful evening at the local B.K., you were plum tuckered out. You only wanted your Daddy to hold you for a little while. I guess you needed some guy time with your ole Pop. I peeked in and saw your Daddy rocking you and just thought the moment was too precious.

I know there will come a time when you will question why your Daddy doesn't come home until late every night and why he can't play with you every night. Since your Daddy's a farmer, there are many nights he has to work late into the evening. Many instances for weeks at a time. I want you to see that your Daddy cherishes every moment he gets with you - even if it is just a few minutes. You couldn't ask for a more adoring father. He loves you more than anything in this world and I hope you never doubt that. You Daddy is and always will be your biggest fan.

First Hair Cut

You're not a baby anymore!

Today, your Daddy took you to get your first haircut. Mommy couldn't bring herself to do it - just the thought of cutting your little blonde locks brought a tear! BUT - Mommy sent Daddy with the camera so we wouldn't miss it!

Daddy wanted Ms Sandy to cut your hair b/c that who he likes to cut his, but she wasn't there so her assistant cut it. Daddy said it was amazing - you sat up there just like a big boy and didn't squirm a bit!

Big Brother

SO....mommy found out she was having another baby. I am now 4 months along and officially in my 2nd trimester. The first trimester has flown by - I guess that is because we didn't know we were pregnant or how far along until I was three months along!

Anyway, Mommy's tummy is starting to get a little pudge and you are finding this interesting. You keep poking me like I am the Pillsbury Doughboy! You still have no clue about what is going on. The due date is March 13th and your birthday is March 8th. That means we will have a two year old and a newborn at the same time. Mommy has officially lost her mind!

18 Months!

Even though you turned 18 Months on Sept 8, we took you for your 18 month check up today. The doctor said you were in the 90th % of heigth and the 10th % of weight...which means you are tall and skinny just like Mommy and Daddy were. You are:
*33 in. tall
*23 lbs.
*We just moved you up to size 5 diapers
*You are eating marshmallows, cheezits, cheerios, anything Chef Boy Ardee, fish sticks, tator tots, bananas, cereal bars and Happy Meals! You love milkshakes and ice cream cones, but you usually only get those when you are with Daddy.
*You are running everywhere. You are even hopping now. You can run and kick a ball without stopping. You love playing with balls. You have even climed in your high chair all by yourself when Mommy wasn't looking. I still wonder how you did that.
*You love playing with your cousin, Katie, whom you call "Radie".
*You are not as advanced on your speech as you are everything else. You can say momma, dadda, nanna, duck, radie, ball, puppy, dog, and you have just starting saying poopoo. I am hoping we can get you to expand on your vocabulary soon!
*We bought you a potty so you could get used to it being around. You like to sit on it and put your toys in the bucket!
*You love looking at your books and riding your John Deere tractor that PaPa got you, even though you aren't quite big enough to push the petals on it.
*You love bath time whether it is in the shower with Daddy or in the bathtub. You aren't even afraid of the water and even put your face in.
*You hate it when you can't do something. You tend to throw fits!

That is all I can think of right now.... things change so fast. It will be nice to look back on this to see how far we have come!
Love you -Mommy

Harvest Time!

You and your Daddy went out to do farming stuff! You helped him check wells for his beans! Daddy has already got all the corn out and is in the middle of rice. It won't be long before the beans you are standing in will be ready to cut as well! You love going to help Daddy!

Mom of the Year

Okay....I have two pictures here. If you can see the little wooden high chair behind Parker - that is where he started out and he ended upon the the counter top! I put him in his high chair to eat some cheerios. I went to brush my teeth and came back to find him sitting on the counter top eating salt! I was so amazed to find him there - and it scared me too! I definitely have a little dare devil on my hands - I need to install a seat belt on the high chair! We have officially retired the high chair until #2 gets here and are looking a kids table and chair sets that he can't climb very high on!

Wild and Crazy!

Just a fun bathtime photo! He's gonna kill me someday for giving him this stupid mohawk...and then posting it for the world to see!

Me and PaPa

Tonight was Aunt Mindy's 24th birthday and we celebrated at Grandma and Papa's house. All you cared about was that there was chocolate cake and ice cream! You got to have some play time with your PaPa too, whom you love b/c he gets down and wrestles with you. You also were impressed with Aunt Sherrie's little dog! She was quite tiny.

Just another day....

Okay... so I am at work, my email has been down for a whole 16 hours and counting. I am all caught up on paper work, no customers have called and I am just sitting here waiting in anticipation for my email to go back up so I can have TASKS to do again, YAY (I know - I'm sad). Since I have some time to kill - literally - I thought I would throw in a little post.

Fall is starting to creep in and I have been feeling a sense of rejuvination. Every new season around the corner seems to bring new and exciting things for our little family. Here are somethings that have a renewed respect this season b/c I get to do them with Parker:

*High school football games (we love those gigantic pickles!)
*Playing ball in the yard b/c it is finally cool enough to play without sweating like a pig
*Pumpkin Hollow Pumpkin Patch!
*Halloween
*Wagon Rides
*ASU Homecoming
*Thanksgiving at our house with the whole family
*Harvest Festival
*Christmas shopping for toys!
*Riding combines with daddy and papa
*Post-Thanksgiving Branson Trip and Silver Dollar City Christmas lights!
*The St. Louis Zoo trip with Daddy!
*Breaking out the blue jeans, overalls and fleece pull-overs
*Decorating for fall - buying mums at Mitchell's!
*All the Fall birthdays - Aunt Mindy, Uncle Matt, Papa, Carrie, and Aunt Heather! And of course Daddy's and Uncle Don's is in December! Happy Birthday!!!
*The Davis family heritage trip to Arkansas Post!
*and last but not least...getting those gorgeous Fall pictures!

You tend to forget how all these little things can be so much fun. Thanks, Parker, for reminding me! Love you SOOOO much! Mommy

WISHING YOU A HAPPY FALL!! The Davis Family

Busy, busy bee!

Boy, have we been busy at the Davis household! Since I have been feeling much better, we have been on catching up on our outings. We have been to the Pumpkin Patch with Nana and to the Memphis Zoo with Daddy! (Pictures will be posted soon!) We celebrated Grandpa's 50-something birthday and Uncle Matt's 25th birthday. My expandng stomach may be in coorelation to all the birthday cake I ate this month!

I am starting to feel baby Roman move around! We go to the Dr next week to get a 20 week ultrasound. I can't wait to see him again! Hopefully, it will rain and Daddy can go with us. I can't tell you how fast pregnancy seems to go when you are chasing a toddler around!

We have Harvest Festival this weekend and I am supposed to work in the morning, but our friend Cassey and her little girl, McKenzie, is going to come over for a visit and to ride a few Harvest Festival rides. I will post those pics too!

Daddy is about 7-10 days away from being done with Harvest. We are getting done early this year since it has been so dry. Hopefully the hurricanes will not keep Daddy in the field too much longer - we have to get him done so we can start working on Parker's big boy room and the Roman's nursery!

Anyway, now that my monitor is fixed, I can post pictures shortly!

New Pictures!

A week...okay a month...in recap!

Have I told you we LOOOOVE Home Depot?????

Parker, you are SOOO funny!!! You were terrible when we went in to get Papa's gift card - that is, until you discovered their "kid cars". You had so much fun "driving" around the store! I know all the customers thought I had to be NUTS for taking your picture in the middle of store. Oh well!
Love you - mommy

Happy Birthday!

Today is Uncle Richard's 71st birthday! Uncle Richard is your Papaw's oldest brother (he has a bunch of them!) If we lived closer, he would be one who would teach you to fish and hunt frogs! Just wanted to note this special day and wish him lots of warm birthday wishes. Love you - gina

Your laugh...

Your laugh is SO funny! You were getting so tickled at your daddy that you could hardly catch your breath! It was so cute!

Harvest Festival

We had a blast at Harvest Festival. You were pretty good considering you wouldn't take a nap for Nanny before you came! You loved riding the cars and playing the kiddie games. You also loved funnel cake! Your friend McKenzie came over and visited with us for a while! We were so glad to see her and her mommy!

Boo At The Zoo

We had a great time at Boo at the Zoo! Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Heather, Cousin Katie, Daddy and Uncle Jim Mark went with us to the zoo! There were SOOO many people there, but we definitely didn't let that stop us from having fun! My favorite part was the haunted train ride! Your Aunt Heather was snapping pictures of all the ghosts and goblins - and blinding me! You were SO brave and did not get scared at all! You liked it when Uncle Jim Mark took you and Katie to ride the camel and when Grandma raced you with Katie down the giant slide!

TRICK OR TREAT!

Your 2nd Halloween!!!! You had alot more fun this time around! This year we went trick or treating with Katie Grace. Ms. Judy was your first official trick or treat. She is your babysitter and she kept Katie too. By the last four houses, Katie had figured out that if there was light on, we needed to go there! You thought it was fun to run up and down the sidewalks! She was Snow White, you were a frog and baby Noah was a chicken! You three were too cute! After a rainy night of trick or treating, we went to Uncle Matt's for chili! You and Katie just had candy - and you two were CRAZY! You went straight to bed when we go home and you crashed!

My little farmer!

Here is the Harvest Festival picture that Norma Taylor took. He is such a cutie!!! :)

"Friends" trip

This weekend we made a mad dash to Conway/Greenbrier. First on our agenda was a get together with Helena buddies. We met up with Anita, Daniel & Blakely; Tambrey, Ben & Kole and Andrea & Owen. I wished we lived closer to Andrea and Owen. You two are only 3 weeks apart and you played SO well together! It was the first time we met any of the babies! All the girls looked fabulous and their kids were adorable.

Our next stop was our college buddies. We met up with Anita, Daniel & Blakely; Rhonda, Scott, Abigail & Brady; Celeste, Jimmy, Walt & Audrey; and Wendy, Joe, Reid & Riley! It was a mad house! All the kids were just adorable. All 8 kids were under 4! It was way past your nap time, so we had to cut the day short. As soon as we got into the car, you were zonked out! I just regret I didn't think to take any pictures! I totally forgot to even get my camera out of the diaper bag!

Next we went to Uncle Don's house and met up with Aunt Linda and Blake. We ate dinner at their restaurant. We ate SOOOO much that Mommy was hurting! We spent the night and headed home the next day - but not before stopping to visit with John, Pam, Sidney & Jonah Ashworth. You really liked Sidney's toys!

Anyway - Mommy is still recovering from the weekend! I was exhausted after that trip, but it was good to see our friends! Anway - Mommy will have to post more pics when she digs her camera out of the diaper bag!

Thanksgiving & Branson

We had Thanskgiving at our house. Daddy fried 2 turkeys and we had a big pot luck! Grandma D, Papaw, Nanny, Uncle Jim, Aunt Heather, Katie Grace, Uncle Matt, Aunt Mindy & Noah all came to eat. It would have been the start of a fabulous holiday weekend, but you were sick! We thought you just had a cold so we cleaned up and headed on to Branson to see the Christmas lights and Silver Dollar City. We ended up visiting the Branson Urgent Care Clinic b/c you had bronchitis! You were so pitiful! Mommy and Daddy felt SOOO sorry for you! We did take you through to see the drive-thru Trail of Lights since you just stayed in the car and didn't have to get out and you liked it alot. You kept crawling back and forth from me to Daddy and pointing to the different displays. I think your favorite was the historical America display. You kept dancing to "Glory, Glory"! Anyway, we made it home and you seemed to be perking up a little bit. Hopefully, you will be back to your old self soon!
Love you - mommy

Meet Roman Scott Davis

I was going through my files and found my ultrasound pictures of Roman and remembered that I wanted to post them! I don't know if I will ever get organized! I am a poster child for that commercial where the kid is hanging in mid-air from a jump off the diving board in his mom's digital camera...begging for her to get him out of the camera after being suspended for 6 months! Oh well - I guess I will make that a new year's resolution! :)

Anyway...please meet Roman Scott Davis, estimated due date: March 13, 2006 (also Uncle Fred's B-day)

3rd Anniversary

Yesterday, December 7th, was our 3rd wedding anniversary. I wish I could say that we did something romantic...but being 7 months pregnant really doesn't allow for anything fun! So, Jim finished his Christmas shopping in Springfield and I attempted to wrap Christmas gifts with Parker - please remember this when everyone gets their gifts. Toddlers and gift wrapping just don't mix. Usually I am very careful to wrap each present with love and care to make for a beautiful display under the Christmas tree. This year - I started out trying to wrap each gift with love, but soon learned that I had to work alot faster with a toddler. Parker kept wanted to climb on top and jump off the presents and pull out each and every bolt of ribbon I had. Not to mention running off with my pens and scissors! SO this year it is as many gifts as possible crammed into a recycled gift bag with 1 peice of tissue paper. I am pretty sure the next couple of Christmas's will be the same way - oh well...atleast I got the shopping done! :)

Anyway, back to the anniversary. It seems that every anniversary we have had, we have either been pregnant (year 1 and 3) or had an infant (year 2 and next year). Looks like our 5 year anniversary will be the next time we can actually do something fun and celebrate. It seems like the last 3 years have really flown by, so I am sure we will be at 5 years before we know it! In the meantime, I just want to remind my darling husband how truly blessed we both are to have such a sweet little family. He is truly a great father, husband and I admire him so much as a person. I look forward to the years and anniversaries to come! Love you - gina

"MERRY CHRISTMAS"

Okay...if you know my husband, then you know that he is a political junkie. I usually don't try to fuel his fire with any of my own political interests b/c frankly, I rarely have any. BUT - the hot topic in the news lately has been whether retailers should say "MERRY CHRISTMAS" or something generic. This really irks me. Retailers enjoy reaping the benefits of Black Friday and the following month of holiday purchases. They even use Black Friday to define the success of their annual profit margins, not to mention the health of the economy - but they are refusing to acknowledge why millions flock to their stores for 1 months and spend drones of dollars???? Name a bank out there that doesn't offer a "club" account for the specific purpose of the annual shopping frenzy. Why do we do this--- because its CHRISTMAS! And I understand not everyone out there shopping is a Christian and they are not buying for Christmas - but why on earth would anyone be offended by offering a "merry christmas" salutation??? I wouldn't be offended if someone offered me a "happy hannukah" just because I am not Jewish. To me "merry christmas" or "happy hannukah" is just a simple wish of happiness toward the recipient. Retailers need to acknowledge why their sales sky rocket for one month - it is because of Christmas. It is because of the millions of Americans who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ that they even have a Black Friday. Now, that I have said my peace - "MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS"

Big Boy Bed

Last month we put you in the a big boy bed so baby Roman could get the crib. It has been back and forth on how well you go to bed. Now that you can get out of bed, you are up and down 20 times a night! But, once you finally get to sleep you stay there all night. Here are some pics of your first night in the big boy bed.

Daddy's Little Helper

Your daddy got you some little chairs to go in your new room. You were entranced with Daddy putting them together. You were too cute when you tried to help him "build" the chairs.

"It wasn't me..."

You were so funny....you were sneaking some chocolate pudding and acting like it wasn't you! You are still too little to realize the obvious evidence that was left behind - the chocolate all over your face! Ha!

Christmas pics

We finally got your picture in front of the Christmas tree this year. You were such a little ham for the camera....saying "cheeeeeeze"!

Getting into things...

You are such a little stink! You have now learned how to access the family DVD collection. Okay, so Mommy was not good about locking the cabinet - so she was kind of asking for it. You drug out every DVD that we have and brought The Matrix for me to play.

Santa....he's kinda scary!

We took you to see Santa at the Corning Bank and just got our pics in. You didn't cry, but you weren't too sure about him either. You just kind of sank into his lap and wouldn't move! Here's a pic that Norma Taylor took!

Last Trimester - Yay!

I am finally getting on the downhill slope of this pregnancy. Went to the doctor yesterday and am beginning my last trimester this week. The doc said all looked good. I had to drink that nasty stuff for blood sugar counts, but I haven't heard back from them today so I assume all is well on that issue too. So far, the only problems I have had are getting worn out really easily and heartburn. Atleast I don't have to drive back and forth to Jonesboro every day this time!

It seems this baby likes to stretch out in my ribcage! He is moving quite a bit these days. He really likes to be awake and active right when I am getting ready for bed. You can see my stomach moving around when I lie in bed at night.

Anyway, everything still looks good and we are still set for March 13th. I will start going to the doctor every week in February - so the time is closing in!

Getting sick...all the way around!

It looks like we have hit a family curse or something this last week and a half! First your PawPaw Davis had surgery on his shoulder and had trouble with "pain management". Then, you got sick with all kinds of ulcers in your mouth. Mommy had to take you to sick call on Friday to get medicine, but it still hurt you to eat and drink. You couldn't get comfortable at night either so you were up ALOT! Then Aunt Heather got the stomach bug Sat night. Mommy got it Sunday evening during our church Christmas dinner. I tried so hard to make it through you getting your little gift from Santa. Then, Nana got it Sunday night. To top it all off, Monday morning, your Aunt Mindy had to go to the hospital for appendicitis!!!! I think everyone, with the exception of Mindy, is feeling better today. I think it will take her a couple of weeks to recoup from her surgery. I am glad that we are all feeling better and that it didn't happen over Christmas!!!

Christmas 2005

Finally feeling better....and catching up!

After two months of passing around various illnesses, Parker and I are on the rebound. Daddy is starting to come down with the cold that we had plus an infected tooth which has given him a chipmunk cheek!

Anyway, now that we are feeling better I am finally getting around to posting our Christmas pics. As you can see from the pics, Parker had a very good Christmas. Fred and Renae came through for a night and Parker entertained them while they were here. They got Parker and Daddy a shooting game where they shoot cans off a log - I think Daddy took it over so Parker had to find something else to play with! We had Christmas Eve with Nana and spent Christmas Day with Grandma & Papa and the rest of Daddy's side of the family.

Here are a few pics of your 2nd Christmas! Love you, baby!

Me and my ride...

You loved the Little Quad that Nana got you for Christmas. Here are some pics of you and your ride.

Daddy's big fish

Daddy went trout fishing for the first time and brought home a treat. He caught a 3 1/2 lb, 19 3/4 in long rainbow trout. All I know is that it was a really big fish. Congrats Daddy!

New Year's Thoughts and Blessings

New Year's Eve was a bummer for me and Parker. We were, of course, sick so we stayed home and watched the "ball" drop at the big apple and then went to bed. Daddy went and played cards at some friends house solo and made sure all his friends got home safely.

I couldn't help but reflect over the last year and be absolutely amazed with how things can change in a year. This time last year, I was happily working at ASU with a fabulous group of folks. I had a 9 month old baby who was entertaining me with all his little tricks and accomplishments. We just found out little Noah was on the way. How could life get any better??? Well, it did.

In a year's time, God opened a door for me to work at a job that has been challenging and rewarding for me AND eliminated the 2hour a day commute. I have been blessed with being closer to my son and my husband. We have switched from a great daycare to two great babysitters, Ms. Shelby and Ms. Judy. Ms. Shelby kept Parker during the summer and he had so much fun at her house. In August, Parker started with Ms. Judy, whom he loves. He blows her kisses everyday when we leave. He even has three little guy buddies he likes at Ms. Judy's whom I hope he will be friends with when they get to school. Rhett already greets Parker every morning with a big hug and says "Parter"! I even get to go home and eat lunch with my husband when his schedule permits. Since Parker is at Ms. Judy's it is like a little mini-date for us!

We found out in August that we were pregnant with #2. We found out in October that it was going to be a boy. Roman Scott Davis will be here in March. Parker still isn't aware of anything different other than his mommy is getting bigger!

My neice, Tamara, found out she was pregnant with #2 in the fall! And we are getting another new cousin this year from Warren & Sara.

September brought us Noah and our dear friends, Anita & Daniel had their little girl - Blakely a few days later. Chris & Holly had their 2nd little boy in November. Steve & Amber just had their 1st little girl this week. We found out Toby & Sara are having their 2nd one this year as well.

We have done some work on our house - which is always fun and rewarding for me. We did a bedroom "make over" for us, Parker and the new baby's room. Although we still have some finishing touches on all of it, it still feels great to do something different.

I have let go of some unproductive friendships, rekindled some old friendships and made some new friends along the way. All of which have been precious to me. Jim and I have had a wonderful marriage and I find myself still learning new things about him everyday. I couldn't imagine my life without him in it. He has proven to be a great husband and a loving father.

I think about all these things that have happened over the last year and I feel truly blessed. I know that new years bring new opportunities and change, but I just want to take some time to soak in all that we have been given in 2005. I couldn't have asked for a better year.

2006 will no doubt bring us many new challenges and blessings as well. A 2 year old toddler, a new baby, new cousins and new neices/nephews. I will be turning the big "30" in February - not sure how I feel about that yet. I think my only resolution this year is to sit back and appreciate the blessings that we have been given everyday this year and watch how life blossoms into beautiful things. Hope you have a wonderful year in 2006!

Aunt Marie

Parker - your Aunt Marie passed away this week. She is your Grandpa Leslie's sister, the only girl of 6 children. She was married to Bobby Ervin and they had 5 children. She was like us - she always lived far away, so we never got to see her too often. She was very ill and fraile for along time, so I hope that she feels better now. I am sure that your Grandpa Leslie and Uncle Pee Wee were there to welcome her to the other side. I know that she loved her brothers, so that would have made her happy.

I hope these entries will mean alot to you someday when you start to become curious about your family heritage, especially since you will not have the opportunity to know them like I did.

22 1/2 months

New things

It seems that after they turn 18 months the milestones that we document turn to annual entries. I just want to stop and do atleast one more before you turn two in March - especially since the new baby will be here in March too!

You are quite the little clown. Your Nana is still your favorite person - even more so than me and Daddy. When Nana walks in the room, all is okay in the world. You adore your PaPa because every time you see him, you ask for a "kucker" and he gives you as many DumDum's as your little heart desires. You love to wrestle with Daddy and you have some smooth moves with your little plastic sword. We still have to work with you on hitting, because you still have the random outbursts were you slap someone across the face. You LOVE your cousin, Katie. You two play so well together even though she is 2 years older than you. I have always teased Heather that she was going to be Angelica off of Rugrats - AND SHE TOTALLY IS. She is quite the little Diva of the family.

Your vocabulary is really starting to come along, which is good since you were about 6 months behind. You say all kinds of stuff now. You try to have full blown conversations with me, but Mommy is still trying to understand what all you are saying. You are really good at naming most of your body parts. You are starting to name your clothes. You can name quite a few animals. For some reason, you are obsessed with bears right now. I would have never figured out that you knew what a bear was until we were looking at a picture book and it showed a bear standing up and you pointed and said "beeer". Now in the middle of the night you will wake up with tears and point into the other room and say "beeer". I am not sure if you are having bear dreams or what...but it is really ironic, b/c your Daddy is scared of bears too! Also, when we look at picture books of the farm, you point to the tractors and say "traker" and then "daddy". You think everyone on a tractor is daddy! You are also getting better with your foods. You can tell me you want "duffins" for muffins and "loops" for Fruit Loops and "cacker" for crackers. You are also telling me "dink" for drink. You are telling me up, down, and on and off. You have also learned about "fur" for fire and can say hot. You did the cutest little thing last night...you said "mommy, cum her!" and patted the little chair next to yours so I would sit down with you at your little table while you ate. It was adorable, how I could I resist such a sweet invitation!

You still LOVE your "bankie" and "lillow". We cannot go anywhere without one of them. I have washed them so much they are getting pretty ratty! You love to look at books, play with pocket cars, your tools, blocks and balls, and you love to watch Nemo, Incredibles and Shrek.

You are now sleeping in your big boy bed pretty regularly. You actually are staying there when we put you to bed more often than not now. Although, you still get up during the night a few times, it normally doesn't take much to put you back to bed.

You like to drink Apple Juice, Milk and sweet tea (you steal it from Mommy's cup!). Your favorite meals are "fiss stiks", "chiken" nuggets, and anything Chef Boyardee. For breakfast you like Cheerios, Fruit Loops, Blueberry and Chocolate Chip mini-muffins. For snacks you like bananas, yogurt, cheese crackers, graham crackers and apple cinnamon cereal bars. I was worried because you weren't eating enough fruits and you are not eating any veggies. Doc said that as long as you were drinking milk, not to worry about it. Well, you drink about a gallon a week, so you should be okay.

You like to wash your own face, wipe your own mouth, wipe your own nose (no your shirt sleeve!), brush your own hair and brush your own teeth. You are just starting to tell us when you "poop". You do not like your diaper to be dirty anymore. So, we are starting to work with you on using the potty.

Mommy and Daddy haven't done a very good job with the table manners so it has been difficult for us to take you out to eat, but you are even starting to get better at that.

You still aren't fully aware of Roman. You will look at Mommy's belly - and then head butt it or slap it. Poor Roman is already getting beat up and he isn't even here yet!

You are starting to be such a little boy and so independent. I don't know exactly when it happened, but we are definitely beyond the baby stage. In two months, it will be official. You will a two year old. I can't wait to see what you will be doing then! We love you - mommy.

A memory I cannot forget...

The perfect entry to share with all your girlfriends!

This morning was totally chaotic for mommy! I just have to say that although you completely stressed me out this morning, I am now over it and it is hilarious to think about. Normally you sleep until it is time to leave for the babysitter's house. This morning you got up a little early and proceeded to entertain yourself until mommy could get your ready for Ms. Judy's. So, I finished getting ready for work, went outside to start the car so it would be all warm for you, and went back to your bedroom to pick out your clothes for the day. I kept calling you to come change your diaper and get dressed, but you never came. So I went into the bathroom and found you with brown stuff smeared all over your mouth, face, hands and pretty much everywhere else your pajamas weren't covering. When I walked in, you just looked at me and said, "I poop!" I was horrified! I just took you (very carefully) and tried to get it all off with about a gazillion wipes...but it didn't smell like poop. You had gotten into mommy's brown lipstick and tried to make your self pretty for the day. Then after I got all that cleaned up, we went to change your diaper and sure enough you were in mid-poop! Now, if I were a good mommy, I probably would have taken you to the potty to try out some potty time - but I was a stressed out working mommy who was late for work! So, I cleaned up what I could and then rushed over to Ms. Judy's house. I confessed that you were in the "process" and I didn't think you were through - and she may have one to change shortly. Needless to say, I called daddy when I got to work (10 minutes late) and told him that unless he wants his boy to be a drag queen when he grows up, he needs to start letting him watch him get ready to go somewhere rather than me. You were waaaay to intersted in mommy's make up! Anyway... believe me, I will never forget this precious memory! Love you, mommy

Hide - N - Seek

The other day, I was doing some laundry and got distracted with something else. I noticed that you were hiding from me, but I couldn't find you. THEN, I noticed all the clothes from the dryer on the floor and your little head peeking out of the dryer. You have been dying to climb in the dryer for months! I guess you finally made it. You are SO silly!

Sharing.....with "Bear"

The other night you were too cute! For some reason you have recently taken up with "Bear". You wanted him to eat with you, so Nana put him at your table. Next thing we knew you were trying to give Bear a drink and feed him "loops". You were sharing all on your own! I was amazed! So, I definitely had to write about that...who knows if that will ever happen again! Love you!

Baby Update

35 weeks

Here's the latest on the baby update. We went to see Dr. Hong on Tuesday. He said that Roman was head down and in position, but he was still really high. So, the chance of having him anytime soon was pretty slim. He seems to think that Roman will come a little bit early though, but it is still too early to tell. Everything else is looking good. I am not near as swollen with this one as I was with Parker. No "hobbit feet" this time around! :) Anyway, we are now seeing Dr. Hong weekly and our next appt is on Valentine's Day. Hopefully Jim and I can got have a nice quite Valentine dinner after our appt.

I am getting really excited about a new baby coming. How quickly you forget how a neworn baby looks, feels and smells. It went so quickly with Parker - I am really going to try to hold on to this one as long as I can.

Identity Confusion

Your Daddy...aka "Dim"

I guess with all the Jim's in our family, you are having a hard time deciding whether your daddy is "daddy" or "dim". All the Jim's in your family include: Daddy, PaPa, Uncle Jim Clifton, Uncle Jim Clemmons, your GGrandpa Jim Clemons and you even have a GGrandma Jimmie!

Anyway...it's killing your daddy that you call him "Dim" more than you call him Daddy. I find it quite enduring. We pull up in the driveway and you see his truck and you bust out with "DIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!" And I can hear you run through the house calling for "Diiiiim" to "com her"! Your daddy refuses to answer to "dim", but I think it is adorable. And then there are sometimes that you call out for "daddy". I guess you will get it all figured out with time. I am just really glad now that we decided to notname YOU Jim III, then you would really be confused. You might think every guy is named Jim! Thank goodness we have a Matt to break things up!

Roman's Room

We have finally come close to being finished on Roman's room. We painted the walls a baby blue and painted all the mismatched furniture a denim blue. The theme is "Old MacDonald Had A Farm". One of my favorite finds is the old 1945 edition of the "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" book that we put into a shadow box. The only thing we have left is to redo the closet. I bought some paints to paint a mini-mural over the crib so we wouldn't have anything hanging over the crib....just in case the 1811-12 earthquake repeats itself, but I haven't been inspired by anything yet. I might just paint his name over the mobile. Anyway, if anyone has any inspirational thoughts - please send my way!

Here are some pics of the new room!

Last few weeks of pregnancy

Since this is the last few weeks of pregnancy and this could very well be the last pregnancy for Jim and I, I wanted to remember what my belly is like! It is different when you look down at your tummy and can see your little one rolling from side to side and poking out here and there. It is much different looking down at your own belly than looking at someone else who is expecting. It is just a memory that is worth remembering after it all goes back to normal!

Baby Watch

36 weeks

We are now under baby watch. Next Monday I will officially be full-term. I visited the doc yesterday and he said I was dilated to 1 cm. (which means nothing since I was dilated with Parker at 1 for over a month!) But, atleast we are moving forward....last week I was not dilated at all! Everything still looks good! He is still head down and he is lower than he was last week, but I wouldn't say that he has officially dropped yet. For some reason, I don't think I will make it to March 13th though. I guess we will see! It is definitely not as easy to do this when you are 30 than 28! Anyway, only 4 more weeks left until his official due date! Does anyone want to place any bets on when he will come? :)

Happy Love Day!

My sweet valentine! After our Dr. appt, my darling husband took me to one of my favorite places to eat. Since I am 4 weeks from giving birth, eating is about the only guitly pleasure that I can partake in. No travel, no late nights, no strawberry margaritas, no nothing! SO, we made the quick trip over to Memphis to the Rendevous for a delicious, uneventful supper. For those of you with toddlers, you know what a rarity it is to be able to go somewhere and not be on guard the whole time with what food is going to go flying across the table or just how many times are you going to pick up those crayons off the floor?? And there should be a waiter rule if there is a toddler at the table, ALWAYS bring the crackers with the highchairs. Okay... so, maybe its just our kid! Anyway, he even stopped at Dixie in Jonesboro to get us some ice cream.

Thanks, Mom, for picking up Parker and letting us have a relaxing dinner. Hope you enjoyed your ribs too!

Thanks, Jim, for giving me a relaxing evening with my hubby. I had such a great time with you and I will even forgive you for making fun of my math skills, or should I say lack there of? :)

Baby Update

37 weeks!

Well....the doc said that I am still at a 1. So, still no baby anytime soon! I was so hopeful that he would tell me that I had progressed to a 2 and we might have a baby within the next week. So, I wasn't smiling when he told me I was still at a one...although he chuckled at the grimace on my face as I sat there letting the "still a one" phrase ring through my head. But, other than heartburn and being tired, I still feel great. I have only gained 30 lbs with this one....so I think it is safe to say that I won't be hitting the big 5-0 like I did with Parker. I have this thing with oranges right now that is crazy. I can sit and eat a whole bag in one sitting and I usually never eat oranges! I guess I am just getting in a last minute craving in before Roman gets here! So, needless to say, as of today I still have about 2 1/2 weeks left to go until the official due date. With my luck, I will have it on Parker's birthday party day or his actual birthday! I guess we will see!

Our Snow Day

It snowed last weekend and we went out to play! You are still not very crazy about the snow. Every time you got it on your hands you would cry for me to wipe it off. The snow was very pretty at our house!

It's getting closer!

1 and 1/2 weeks left!

We went to the doctor late yesterday afternoon. We have one and a half weeks to go until the official due date, but I don't think I will make it until the 13th. I am dilated to 2 1/2 right now. We made an appt for next Thursday at 8:30 and if I make it to Thursday, he will talk to me about inducing. He said that it was strictly my preference and there was no medical reason to induce. I just want to make through Sunday so we can get through Parker's birthday party. I thought scheduling his party on the 5th would be early enough to avoid having a conflict - but who knows right now! I just hope that I don't have Roman on the 8th b/c that is Parker's birthday!!! What are the odds of having two boys born on the same day and not be twins AND also have the same birthday as their Nana????

I don't think it has sunk in with either Jim or I that we will be parents of two very soon. I still focus all of my attention on Parker and can't imagine how I will juggle two kids with two different sets of needs. I guess I will be like everyone else and just figure it out as we go along.

Finally...a pretty day to play!

You are SO anxious to go outside, you can hardly stand it. Since the days are getting longer you really want to stay outside when we get home in the evenings. So, finally we had a day that was nice enought to let us play outside for while. Here are some pics of you just piddling around!

I'm 2!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

You will turn 2 on Wednesday, March 8th, but we went ahead and had your birthday party today at ChuckECheese in Jonesboro. I have to admit, I didn't expect the party to be SO easy! They catered to us hand and foot and your 39 week pregnant mom didn't have to lift a finger other than pick up our cake and that was just by our choice. I HIGHLY recommend the ChuckECheese party package!

We had SO much fun! Your guests were Rhett, Fisher, Katie Grace, Brianna, McKenzie, Noah and our family. You were even high-fiving ChuckECheese by the end of the evening. Here are some pics from the party and then one were you were all tuckered out when we got home. We love you, pumpkin!

Baby Update...yes, we are still going!

We had our Doc visit yesterday and not much progression since last time. Dr. Hong offered a "social" induction for me today if I wanted to, but for some crazy reason I declined. So I am between 2.5 and 3 centimeters and 60% effaced. I asked in all reality how much longer does he think this baby will cook. He said I should have it within the next 10 days. These will be the longest 10 days of my life! I think the hardest part will not be the pregnancy in itself, but chasing Parker around while being pregnant!

Nick, my boss, thinks that he will come on the next full moon - which is Tuesday. I guess that is quite a possibility! The only catch there is that is Katie's bday! So maybe I will go in to labor on Tuesday night and have him on Wednesday. Anyway, IF I am still going after 10 days I think I will just pack my bags and go the hospital and tell them I am not leaving until they get him out one way or another!

Announcing Roman Scott Davis

Born: 3-14-06

We are finally settled into somewhat of a routine. Roman decided to come on March 14, 2006. I woke up around 1:30 and thought I might have a contraction or two and ended up having Roman at 6:27 that morning. There was no dilly-dallying with Roman. He weighed 7 lbs. 9.3 oz. He was 20 3/4 inches long. The feedings have taken awhile to adjust to, but now that we are supplementing, it is helping with that and his sleeping patterns.

Parker is still adjusting. Although he has not been outright mean to the baby, he has been throwing louder, longer and more aggressive tantrums. Hopefully, when he gets back into his routine, all will mellow out.

Now for the long awaited pics!

Motherhood has changed as I know it....

The only thing that I can say is that one is a piece of cake. Two is a whole other story! Roman is actually a very good baby. He sleeps from about 11:30-6:30 at night. He may wake up once during the night for a diaper change or a snack, but not very often. He is on week 3 right now and is having his first growth spurt, so he is eating like crazy right now. I can usually get he and Parker to take a nap between 11:00 and 2:00, so I atleast get lunch, wash a load of clothes and do the dishes from the night before! That is about all I can handle right now.

Parker is so much more demanding right now than Roman. Roman is pretty content with a full belly and a dry diaper. Parker, on the other hand, needs alot more "hands-on" guidance in his everyday living. He wears me out at the end of the day! They don't say its the terrible twos for nothing. Parker is testing every boundary known to man right now, including gravity! If you look at his forehead he has a huge goose egg from banging his head on the french door. He is constantly jumping off of any and everything and he is really into fit throwing right now. Parker is adorable with Roman. He wants to hold him, rub his little head and will give him kisses. BUT, he is not very nice to mommy and daddy right now - he wants to hit, kick, spank and throw things at us. He is all but cussing us right now. Everyday is crazy, but hopefully after the new wears off, it will get better.

1 Month

4-14-06

Roman is now one month old. He is such a good baby. Feedings are going well and he is starting to get a belly! I tell him he is going to be my chunky-monkey since Parker was always so little! Our schedule is usually waking up around 9:00 and eating/napping until about 8:00 that night. Then we eat at 8:00, sleep from 9:00-11:00, eat, sleep from 11:30-4:00, change diaper, sleep from 4:00-7:00, eat and then sleep from 7:00-9:00. SO we are usually getting up 3 times during the night cycle from 9:00-9:00. Since he doesn't eat so much during the night, he is starving during the day. SO, it seems like I am feeding him all day long!

Parker is being so good to him. Someone has taught him "hon" - so he goes around saying "what's wrong, hon?" whenever he hears him crying. I can find Roman with all kinds of little balls and blocks and even Parker's favorite blanket laying on top of him where Parker has attempted to share! It is too cute. Parker loves to pat his head and point out all his face parts. We are still working on NOT poking Roman in the eyes.

Here are some pics. The family pic is the day we came home from the hospital.

Easter

2006

This was Roman's 1st Easter and Parker's 3rd. We started off the day going to sunday school and church. Parker got to participate in the sunday school's Easter egg hunt - Roman got to go to Sunday School with mom & dad. Then, we headed home for lunch and naps. That evening we all went to Granny's and PawPaw's for dinner with the family and the kids hunted eggs again. What a wonderful, special day.

Random pics

Although it has been challenging and tiring, I have had the best time with my boys. I finally had a moment to download some pics off my camera.

Roman is really growing and is starting to smile and laugh. Parker still loves his little brother and just thinks he is pretty cool. Roman loves watching Parker do all his silly dances and loves it when he tells him stories.

We now have added two kittens and a turtle to our little family. One is named Sassy because she hisses and runs from you! The other is yet to be named, but she is such a sweetie. Parker harasses the kittens, but he thinks his turtle is pretty cool. Anyway, now we have two dogs, two cats, two boys and a turtle. At the rate we are going, maybe we need to build an arc!

Daddy must love you....

Daddy must love you in order to sleep with you! You were having bad dreams so Daddy decided to sleep with you instead of bringing you into our modest queen size bed with Mommy and Roman. The next morning I got up early and found you both sound asleep just like this. I thought it was quite funny that even with your legs draped across Daddy's neck, he never flinched!

All smiles!

Roman, you are starting up with all your smiles and cooing. You are really quite a happy little boy....as long as someone is holding you or playing with you. :)

Mother's Day 2006

This is my first Mother's Day of two! I have to say that the "congratulations" cards were very creative of Daddy. ;) I am SO lucky to have two healthy, beautiful boys. I truly have a wonderful family and I look forward to what the next year brings. Love my guys!

Lessons Learned

"Mommy's Meltdown"

I have been asked by other expecting mothers of soon-to-be two what it is REALLY like having two, especially when you have a two year old and a newborn. My answer, which I think is quite profound, is it is only as bad as your two year old. Now, I have something to add...expect to have that one moment when you are out in public, your toddler is crying and throwing tantrums AND your baby is being "fussy" (to put it kindly) - when you have no daddy there to help manage all the emotions. The moment WILL come and you will realize that you have no control over anything and your spirit will break and then the panic and doubt sets in. Your confidence as a mother plummets and a total meltdown begins. When you hit that point, just remember that after you have spent the entire night in tears, you will eventually go to sleep and when you wake up it WILL be a new day. Although you may be a little worn out from all the chaos from the night before, everything will seem a little clearer and your children will make you smile again. So my lesson learned is that those moments will happen, so just get thru it and make sure that you invest in great make up so you don't look like hell the next day.

Fishing Day

We had the kids from our chruch out for a fishing day and food. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and fried up the fish that we caught. The kids pictured are Tanner, Parker, Emily, Tori, Ella, James, Katie, Elizabeth and Will is down in front. Roman, Noah and McKenzie didn't make it in to the picture. Thanks for the great time!

"Nemo", "Ouch" & "The Chicken"

AKA Elmo, Grouch & Big Bird

Nana and I took Parker to see Elmo's Coloring Book Live (thanks to Uncle Jim for the tickets). We don't get PBS on our DirecTv, so he was a little confused as to who some of the characters were. To him, they were "nemo", "ouch" and the funniest of all was "the chicken". But, he still had fun anyway!

Thanks to Gala, we have some pictures to show for it!

A picture is worth a thousand words....

Roman's Baptism

Roman was baptised on May 7, 2006. The whole family was there and Brother Larry performed the ceremony. We are blessed to have such a wonderful church to share his life with.

My boys sharing toys

My Boys

We had our 3 month birthday yesterday. Roman, you are growing too fast. It seems with the first child you don't realize how fast they grow out of each stage b/c it is all new and you are anticipating every new thing they will do. When you have the second one, you realize how fast it goes and you just want to savor every little step they take.

Roman - you are still a mommy's boy. You love nothing more than to be held and talked to. I am still breastfeeding you and you are starting to play with mommy instead of eating during meal times. You have the most adorable toothless grin and you love to show it when people talk to you (as you can see in your picture that Ms. Norma took the other day). You can lift your head up, roll over from tummy to back and you are starting to be interested in your hands. You eat about 8:30, go to bed at 9:00. You sleep until 5:00 am. I feed you for about 10 minutes then you are fast asleep again until I wake you up for the sitters. You like to sleep in your cradle and your swing. We are starting to put you in your bumbo seat and exersaucer more now that you can hold your head up well.

You are just a little angel. I love it that you will let me hold and snuggle with you. I feel sad and helpless about how fast you are growing up already. If I could just freeze these moments in time, I would.

PARKER - you are turning into such a little boy. I love it when you wake up in a good mood, walk in and say "good mornin momma!" or when you do something that deserves a Thank You, you look at me and go "welcom momma!" I just have to stop and turn around and say "thank you, Parker". You are infatuated with airplanes right now. You love to chase your "katty", and she loves stalking you. You talk so much and I still can only make out half of what you say. Some days we have bad days and some days we have GREAT days. They both generate some pretty interesting memories.

Love my boys - momma

Busy at the Davis Household....

Update

We have been awfully busy at our house! Uncle Jim got us tickets to the Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Fed Ex Forum. If Uncle Jim didn't have access to the Ford Credit Box, I don't think I would have taken the two of you! The box has a sink, frig, and sofas - all which are very convenient for a nursing infant and a toddler with no nap. Regardless, we had a great time. Parker was especially impressed with the acrobats and the elephants. Afterwards, we all went to eat at Joe's Crab Shack and you, Katie, Abby & Dawson played on the indoor playground for what seemed like forever! Here are some pics of Parker at the circus!

Happy Independence Day!

From the Davis clan

The fourth was a very busy day for us. We started out at the parade, which happens to go down Uncle Matt & Aunt Mindy's Street. So, we hung out over there for the parade. You and Katie saw horses, fire trucks, tractors and lots of beauty queens. You even saw several presidents!

Mommy had to work at the picnic at the muffin pan stand, so Nana took you boys home for naps. Mommy came home and crashed for a while too. Then, we went to Aunt Heather and Uncle Jim's for dinner. Then, Mommy had to go back to the park for another shift at the muffin pan stand. Her friend, Richie, won the Ford F150 that they raffle off every year! Congrats to Richie!

Update....

We have been really busy the last few weeks. Jim has been busy watering his crops. I have been working in Pocahontas several days a week. Parker has been especially challenging these last few weeks. He is going through what everyone keeps referring to as a "phase" - he is hitting, pushing and just rough-housing all the time. Jim and I have had to stay on top of that situation...which is wearing us both out. Consistency is the key...but it is really tiring. Bless his little two year old heart - he goes to the babysitter and there are 5 other two-three year old boys and they just wrestle and play hard all day long. I am working to get him potty trained so we can get him into preschool for a more structured environment. Maybe he can use all that energy for good rather than evil! ha! Roman is just growing like a little weed. He is just such a happy little fella. As long as he has a clean diaper and a full belly he doesn't give us a bit of trouble. I am not kidding myself though...Parker started out that way too. :) I can't believe how much personality he has at such a young age. He is SO social...he just loves to laugh and "talk" to anyone who will listen. He loves to be held, but he is starting to like to play by himself in his exersaucer and on the floor. He thinks Parker is a hoot. He just watches and laughs at Parker all the time. That is about that has been going on in our little lives. I misplaced my camera ... sorry I can't post any pics! I am hoping to get a new one soon.

Where the heck have you been?

Long time .... no post!

Sorry for the delay in our blog postings. I promise I have not been neglecting the blog...we were just having some technical difficulties on the posts. BUT, now everything seems to be as it should and we can blog on!

Sorry for the tease, but we must get ready for Noah's 1 year birthday party. Hard to believe that Roman is almost 6 months behind Noah. 6 more months...and we will have having another 1 year party. Where does the time go? Everything seems so surreal with the second one. You are more at ease b/c you know everything (well almost everything) that is coming down the road, yet you long to hold on to each moment even more b/c you know how fast the moments fly by. Anyway...back to getting ready for Noah's 1 year fiesta!

Adios! I will post more later..with new pics!

Potty Training

To Use or Not to Use? That is the question....

Potty training must be an art form rather than a science. Science explains certain senarios by proving cause and effect relationships. There is absolutely no explanation as to why or when or how Parker decides to go potty. Some days we use it all day, some days not at all. It is extremely frustrating...for mommmy, that is. Parker could seem to care less that his diaper is compeletly wet or full of poo. We've tried it all - "pee pee candy", big- boy pants, no pants, big potties, little potties, the potty book and even the Elmo Potty Time movie(which he refuses to watch again after he saw what it was about)! I guess he will do it when HE wants to! Ugh! Anyway, here are some pics of our attempts at the potty.

Smiley!

Roman is such a happy little thing. I can't get over how social he is. He loves to talk and play and laugh. He just adores anyone that will pay attention to him. He will be 6 months on Thursday...I still can't believe it. I just love you so much my little munchkin!

Happy Halloween!!!

My camera broke...so I haven't been posting lately. Maybe if I am a good girl, Santa will bring me one - with more megapixels and less delay! (Any suggestions on a great camera would be helpful)

The boys had a wonderful Halloween. We went to Uncle Matt & Aunt Mindy's for trick or treating and chili supper. I thought Parker's costume situation was going to be a dilemma. I let him pick out his costume this year. He picked a "nectar", which means monster in Parker language. When we got it home, I wanted him to try it on to make sure it would fit...he was terrified of his Halloween costume. He clung to me and cried "I scard! I scard of Nectar!" Two days ago I had to sneak it on him and bribe him with candy to keep in on him just so we could "practice" trick or treating in his costume. At that point he became attached to his candy bag, which he has carried around like his man purse ever since. Oh, his version of "trick or treat!" is "candy in da bag??" It was a comical Halloween. Here are some pics of my little skeleton "nectar" and my little devil! Katie, of course, was a princess. Not just any princess, but a BEAUTIFUL princess or at least that was what she was telling everybody! Noah, was the cutest little cowboy. He even had the little cowboy walk down.

My little baby boy....

is growing up fast. On Nov 14 he will be 8 months old. He is already eating his way to the stage 3 foods. He is crawling and pulling up on his own. He is even trying to walk while holding on to things. He says momma and dadda. The cutest things he is doing is when he makes this popping sound with this mouth and when he shakes his head "no". He has also taken it upon himself to continue to play peek-a-boo by himself after we have stopped the game. He puts the blanket over his head and sits there waiting for you to take it off and say "peek-a-boo"! It just goes by too fast!

Love you boo - mommy

Winning the war!

...Of potty training that is! Although we are still loosing a few minor battles here and there, we seem to be winning the proverbial war. We just sucked it up and did away with the pull-ups altogether and in a matter of a week, Parker seems to be becoming a potty master. We even had our first #2 this week, which was the Holy Grail of our potty quest. When I finally saw him do it, I literally thought I was going to fall to my knees and hear angles singing! I am SOOOO proud of this little one! This has been a hard little task to learn, but we finally did it! YAY!

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful, crazy Christmas. We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas as well. The Davis Family

My munchkin

10 month stats

I was a little late getting you in for your 9 month check up. So here are your 10 month stats:

Height: 30
Weight: 19.4 lbs

You are eating LOTS of stage 2 foods. You really aren't fond of the stage 3 yet. You would rather have REAL food. I give you mashed potatoes, yogurt and chocolate pudding. You are a cruiser! You love people and have an infectious smile. You love to flirt...I am sure you will be a little ladies man when you grow up. You love to talk - dada, mama, baba, nana. You love games and love to be tickled. You have the cutest laugh that comes straight from your gut. We aren't experiencing any separation anxiety yet and we are trying to learn to wave bye-bye. Your favorite time is bath time. You and Parker love to take baths together and splash. I couldn't ask for a better baby! Love you!

Growing Up

Parker starts his first day of preschool tomorrow. I am excited and nervous for him. I know that he will love it. He will love the other kids, the toys, the projects, the songs, the games and all the other fun stuff. I think I am more nervous for me than for him. I feel like I am going to be judged as his mommy for his knowledge, his skills, his abilities and most of all his behavior. I am nervous to find out how well we have done. Hopefully, we are in the "respectable" range. Good Luck, Parker!

What's been going on???

February 2007

We have been really busy since the new year began. Daddy has been slaving every spare minute to get our utility room and his bathroom remodeled. Just a few minor finishing touches and we should be back to normal soon.

Parker started preschool, Noah's Ark. We just completed his third week. He is still adjusting and getting better everyday. He has had a tough time learning "the rules"! We have officially had our first "naught note", the dreaded tri-folded, photocopied page with one piece of tape from the parent handbook that outlines "the rules", with a nice personalized note outlining what behaviors your child is projecting that are not in line with "the rules". Ours went something like this.... he is hitting, running, throwing toys at the other kids, and running away from the teachers. I guess we had the naughty LIST. BUT, we met with the teachers and with the consistent efforts of 5 teachers, 2 parents and 1 Nana, I think we are finally on the right track. We are reverting to the "it takes a village" theology. I am happy to say his "naughty chair" time is getting less everyday. He seems to love all the activities and loves classtime.

We also had a snow day. Parker took his first sled ride. Jim tied it up to the 4 wheeler and drug him around. His little pup, Scrappy, was chasing after him. He loved it and did not want to come in, even when his teeth were chattering!

Roman has decided that he is a walker now. He is really getting around pretty good now. He has also decided that he no longer needs baby food and only wants to eat what Parker is eating. He truly a bottom feeder. He goes around looking for scraps off Parker's plate or crumbs that he may have dropped on the floor. He also goes after Parker's sippy cups. He loves puffs and cheerios. He has also just gotten three teeth in...two on bottom and one on top. He other top tooth is trying to break through and it has been a long painful drawn out process. I can't wait for it to come through.

That's about all that has been happening in our life!

NO MORE BABY FOOD!

I wanna steak!!!!

The other night we were having TBones for dinner. As I was cleaning up the kitchen I turned around and Roman had fished one of the TBones out of the garbage and was walking around gnawing on the bone! Luckily it was sitting on top and he didn't have to go dumpster diving to far down into the trash to find it.

Fishsticks are now Roman's meal of choice. He loves to wait until Parker gets up from eating and sneak some of his "leftovers"! :) I guess we are officially over the baby food stage!

Parker-poo

Since Parker has started school, he has developed a whole new personality. Sometimes I swear he has split personalities. Today, he was looking out the window at the rain and said, "come here, momma, check it out - its raining!" CHECK IT OUT????? He could only have picked it up from school. He also told Jim that he was SOOOOO proud of him today. Then he started fussing at me and ended it with "do you understand me??" I guess I got that one thrown back in my face! You can also tell what the bigger kids tell him at school, b/c he comes home and gets really righteous with Roman - things like"You NO hit Parker...that's mean!" Oh, is it getting intersting at our house! :)

SURPRISE!

We pulled off a 60th surprise birthday party for my mom Saturday. She really didn't have a clue - and was really touched by all the people that attended. She especially loved seeing all those babies! Here are some pics:

My Guys...

A sweet moment

Big Birthdays!

Parker turned 3 and Roman turned 1!

We had a big Backyardigan birthday bash for Roman and Parker planned outside in our backyard. Wouldn't you know, the one day in March that is snowed, yes I said snowed, was the day we had picked for a party. So we moved it indoors and we were packed in like sardines! We really need a bigger house. Anyway, the kids really didn't seem to mind too much. Can you tell Roman LOVED his cake???? I have never seen a 1 year old devour their birthday cake like that.

Finally...some warm weather!

Since the snow day, the weather has been quite nice. Daddy added on to the "park", as Parker calls it. We now have it bordered in and filled with pea gravel. The boys love it.

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

God Bless!

Some pics from Easter -

I have no idea....

We were getting ready for our first ragball practice and Parker thought he needed his helmet, Diego Rescue Pack and his Whack A Mole hammer. Who knows????

Noah's Ark Olympics

Parker had his first performance at school. They did a mini Olympics. Parker got scared b/c of all the people and wouldn't perform. He basically ran back and forth between us and the teachers. He was still cute though. :)

Long overdue update...

It has been exactly one month since I posted last. We have been so busy, it has been unreal! We took the boys to the St. Louis Zoo and then visited my brother and his family. Parker completed his first season of rag-ball (pre T-Ball). I would love to say he was a natural...but really all he did was run around in the outfield and climb the fence - if he agreed to go out on the field at all. Oh well...there is always next year. Parker went through all kinds of screenings b/c he wasn't adjusting to school very well. We decided to put him back with Ms. Judy these last two weeks and it seems everyone is happier with the new arrangement. Parker seems to be coming out of his terrible twos. He is becoming quite an enjoyable little boy. I think God is giving me a little rest before Roman hits his twos. Roman is quickly coming into his own. He loves to interact with Parker. They just gut laugh at each other. Here are some pics of Roman (aka Pigpen).

Hello.....

We haven't fallen off the face of the earth!

We have been so busy lately. I haven't even been able to check blogs lately, much less add anything to ours. I will have to post a catch up page soon. Here are the 1 & 3 year old pics of the boys.

Ragball 2007 Season

Parker in action

Catching up on news...Parker started ragball this year. These pics make him look like a pro, but he really spent the majority of the season running around in the outfield and climbing the fences. I didn't really mind since he was "fenced" in and couldn't really go anywhere!

4th of July

The boys...

Roman, Parker and Noah enjoying the 4th of July parade!

Catching Up

It's been a short, crazy summer...things are starting to get back into a routine now that school has started again. We switched Parker from Noah's Ark to the ABC program at Park - mainly b/c my good friend's wife started with the program this year and she is Parker's teacher. I feel like it takes a special person to "handle" my child and she is a very special soul. I think the 8-3 schedule is better than the 8-5 schedule, but it makes it crazier for me since I have to work around getting him picked up and to Ms. Judy's in the middle of the day.

We are now exploring the possibilities of "sensory seeking" issues that Parker may display. We are going to get an evaluation from an OT soon, so maybe that will shed some light on some things with him. He is basically a mini-dare devil and extreme sports junkie. The kid knows no fear. His favorite cartoon is Go Diego Go! No wonder....have you ever noticed that Diego flies parachutes and has a rescue backpack that turns into a kayak??? I would definitely say Parker would be a Road Rules, not a Real World kid.

Roman....on the other hand....he is a sly little devil. He works it to the hilt. He reminds me of Bond...James Bond. He is so sly. He can actually distract Parker and steal his french fries before Parker ever knew he had any fries to begin with. And when Roman gets caught...his eyes swell up like Puss (in Shrek 2) and you just can't help but love him. The funniest thing he is doing now is when he gets mad at me for taking something away, he will walk right up to Parker and slug him. Poor Parker didn't do anything and Roman just lights into him. He has quite a little temper. We are trying to get that under control asap or I really will have a bully in my house.

Maybe I will get some pics soon to post.

Uncle Don

December 21, 1963 - October 29, 2007

For the past four months I really haven't felt like blogging much. Uncle Don (my brother) had a short battle with unknown primary cancer that was diagnosed in June 07. Treatment started in July and it seemed to make the cancer worse instead of better. He put up the most incredible fight, he never complained, was never angry and his faith never waivered. But, I guess God had another plan for him. He lost his battle on Monday. Fortunately, I was able to spend his last week with him and my family. He had a lovely service in Conway/Greenbrier Thursday and Friday. Pastor Sanders service was perfect. I couldn't imagine my brother wanting anything more. The prayers for my family are appreciated. Please keep Linda and Blake in your prayers as they adjust to life without Don. This was one of the last pictures we got of him...I think it is particularly sweet.

You can leave comments for them in an online guestbook at:
www.rollerfuneralhomes.com. Just type in "Leslie" in the last name search field to find Don's memorial.

Halloween 07

We had our annual trick or treating and chili supper night at Uncle Matt and Aunt Mindy's house. The kids were too cute...Roman was a frog, Noah was a pirate, Parker was Diego and Katie was a rainbow princess (of course). Here are some pics of the cuties.

Our Family

Just a family pic that we took before the funeral.

Too Sweet

Roman loves bath time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are thankful for our family.

We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Uncle Fred, Renae, Aunt Linda and Blake joined us this year. We had a really great time visiting with them. We are truly thankful for our family. We love you.

Merry Christmas To All ....

and to all a good night.

We are having a wonderful Christmas break. We left for Branson Saturday morning and just got back Christmas Eve. We visited the big waterfall at Bass Pro in Springfield, went to an awesome pizza/acrade place for kids, went shopping at the outlet mall, went to see the giant Christmas tree at Silver Dollar City and went to the indoor waterpark. The unbelievable part was our kids were actually pretty dang good the whole trip. Parker started getting whiney on the way home, but I think he was just warn out since we were going so hard with no naps. We made it back to Corning just in time for our traditional Christmas Eve communion at church. Then we went to Nana's for supper and Christmas Eve presents. We came home and had baths, "fed the reindeer", and made cookies for Santa. The boys were out in a matter of minutes when they finally got to bed. Anyway...we are looking forward to Christmas morning with our babies! Merry Christmas to you all!

Update

Things have really been crazy this month. After a lot of prayer, I gave my notice at my job the first of December and my last day was Jan 31. God works in crazy ways ... 10 minutes after I gave my notice without any plans for the future, I was approached about a new job. All I can say is that God orchestrated the whole thing.

Giving a two month notice is completely stupid. I thought this would give them plenty of time to find someone and train them, but for whatever reason, I had exactly 8 hours to spend with the new person and her actual start date isn't until Feb 4th.

Anyway, I am now starting a new job that is completely exciting. I made a mental list of what I really wanted out of a job. I wanted to do something that added value to what Jim does as a farmer, something that has flexibility in time/location and something that is visionary and challenging. God has met all of those needs and I excited about my new opportunity!

As for the family...the boys are as crazy as ever. It is pretty bad when YOUR kid can be good in school all day the ENTIRE class gets a party. Parker has been working on just that and last week he actually accomplished a popcorn party for the class. Maybe we can get another party soon! :) Roman is quite the clown. He tries to mimick Parker on everything. Jim has been busy trucking and whatever else he does in the winter...

I will have to take some pictures to post soon!

Boys and Trucks

The boys got to ride their Monster Truck. Parker likes to ride while Roman holds on tight!

"Elmo"

Jim's Grandma Clemons, aka "Elmo", came down for a visit. We got pics of her with all the family.

Day at the Races!

We spent the weekend with Toby & Sara and Anita & Daniel at Hot Springs. We stayed at the Velda Rose, which I swear is haunted. :) We had a fun day at the races! I pulled through at the last race and won! :) We definitely need to make this an annual event.

He has risen!

Happy Easter!

The Big Flood of 08

We must always remember the big flood of 2008. This was the worst flood in NEA that anyone around here can remember. Grandma and Papa's house had 2 ft of water in their sunroom, office and den! I have lost both my cameras...so I didn't get any pics, but maybe Aunt Heather can send us some to post. We actually road in a boat from Papa's house to Aunt Heather's house. Mommy had to buy her first official pair of rice boots just so she could walk through the water. Luckily, the water went down about as fast as it came in and there was only moderate damage. This was one for the books!

2007 Ragball

Corning Savings & Loan

Parker did 150% better at this years round of ragball. Considering how terrible he was last year, that means he actually stayed on the field and tried to hit the ball. I was so proud of him. Roman, for the most part, was a great supporter for Parker. He ate lots of popcorn and cheetos and had lots of Diet Dr. Pepper, which was a real treat for him as we do not give our kids soda very often. He clapped and cheered for Parker. Here are some pics from his first game.

Elementary Hoe Down!

Parker's PreK school is in the elementary school. So, he got to go to the same dance that Katie Grace did. Daddy and Uncle Jim even cut a little rug!

Growing UP

Long lost camera! FOUND!

I lost my camera last fall when we were staying so much at the hospital with my brother. It was such a blessing to find it buried in my car. I thought I might have left in the hospital room and would not see it again. Here are some random pics of the boys during that time. We took Katie & Parker to see the Go Diego Go LIVE show. We had spent quite a while at the hospital with my brother so we took the boys to the park to play and we also took them to the LR Zoo. Blake went with us too.

Happy Fourth of July!

2008 Homecoming Picnic

We had another wonderful 4th! Blake J. worked very hard on this year's Homecoming Picnic as the Picnic Chair and I think it was the best one ever! I admire his drive and dedication to make our community a better place. He is definitely what they call a pioneer....and pioneers often get arrows in the front and arrows in the back. But, he never lets that stuff get him down.

Our church even got more involved this year as we built a float for the parade. It won the "most original" prize. The kids had a great time riding and throwing candy. Carletta, Angela, Ms. Linda and all the kids road with us.

Happy 4th of July!

Update - Fall 2008

Okay, I am updating since this summer. We spent alot of time swimming this summer. Both of my boys are like little fish in the water, which scares me about Roman since he is only two. We went to Uncle Jim Mark's in Texas this summer to meet new baby Sidney (they spelled it differently, but I couldn't remember the correct spelling). Anyway, we went with Heather and Katie. The kids were amazing in the car b/c it was around a 14 hour drive with all the stops and all. Hopefully, we can go back with Daddy this winter so he can meet her as well.

Parker started preschool (2nd year) with Ms. Blayne. We LOVE Ms. Blayne. I especially adore her as she is from around my old stomping ground in Marianna. She used to teach 4th grade alternative students, so Parker is doing very well under her this year. :) He has already had Grandparents Day, which his Grandpa was the only grandfather there.

Roman is still going to Ms. Judy's during the day. It is just down to him, Wyatt and Kyson. The three amigos! I have started p/t with my job until we get our funding secured. I absolutely love the schedule as I am working mornings. I started out *practicing* for the 5K in October. I have been a little slacker the last week or so. Between Ms. Judy being on vacation and rainy days, I will have much to catch up on this week.

We spent Labor Day with Linda and Blake. Blake had to drive me to get ice cream. I was very surreal. I can't believe his is already old enough to drive. I love my little guy. Tamara, Jacob & Emily came over and visited and swam. The kids played really well together and we had so much fun. I do have to mention, in case any of my Conway friends here of this story you will know it was me, Parker, Roman and I were in Target in Conway. Roman decides he is going to have a 2 year old tantrum in the middle of the bedding aisle. He screamed bloody murder for 15 minutes. I told him we were not moving from that spot until he got happy. He eventually did, but not without letting everyone in the store know about it. I even had one stupid lady who just stood at the end of the aisle and stare at me the whole time. I wanted to say something really rude to her, but I just flashed a really big, fake smile at her. UGH!

Our hunting cabin burned down the other night. Not sure what happened. Very likely it was arson, but it could have just been an electrical problem. We are figuring out how to rebuild. Too bad, we will have to use our camper this hunting season.

Ike could have been worse, but we certainly didn't come out unscathed. We still had some corn in the field which alot was blown over. We had a lot of rice to pancake as well. The winds were incredible. I thought we were in a tornado when I woke up this morning.

We had our first Corning Youth Soccer game this weekend. None of us know what we are doing, but we had a great time doing it. Parker pouted the first half, but he decided he might want to play the second half. We have 4/5 year olds, which Jim is coaching. I will post more on that experience later. I will try to gather some pics for updates.

That is all I can think of for now....

Happy Harvest!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween & Harvest!

We wrapped up our first year of Corning Youth Soccer, a faith based organization, with a family fun day. All the kids got to eat hot dogs and chili, play on inflatables, and receive their medals. Well....all but Parker, he threw a huge fit during the game and mom had to take him home. So, he missed out on the fun. :( Roman had a blast though.

We went to Harvest Festival and I started the day with the 5K. This was my first time so my goal was just not to last, which I succeeded! LOL! I usually *practice* during the afternoons so I had no idea how mornings could play such havok on the sinuses. I swear I ran about 3/4 mile and it felt like they swelled shut. Eventually my nose opened back up and I was back to normal. Maybe that is why the big timers use what looks like smelling salts?? Anyway, the women's division was won by a 12 year old girl...22:xx, at least I wasn't beat by a 72 year old woman! ha!

We had an All Hallow's Eve party at our house for the church. The kids and youth came. We had a bon fire, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, made smores and caramel apples, made some crafts and had a hayride. I think we all had fun. I dressed up as a kitty and parker and roman wore their Transformer costumes.

Halloween came and we had chili at our house and then went trick or treating. We all piled up in the hay trailor and had another hayride. Noah was a Ninja, Katie was Hanna Montana, Parker was Bumblebee and Roman was Optimus Prime. They had the best time. Thanks to Mr. Miller who gave them all chocolate milk and Ms. Stacy for making them all cupcakes! Happy Halloween!

Gina is....guilty of cheating on my blog!

Okay.....I didn't mean for it to happen. It just did. I wasn't expecting for it to be so fun. So seductive! Once I started, I just couldn't stop myself. I cheated...on my blog...with facebook. SO, I have totally neglected my blog for about 3 months!

We have gone through Christmas and New Years and I have yet to post to the blog...alhtough I update my FB status weekly. Mom got me a new camera for Christmas, so I am vowing that I get the pics downloaded and posted soon.

As for current news... Christmas was fun even if Parker had pink eye which kept us homebound for three days. New Years was a blast .... enough said about that. Sorry, Anita. You know what I am talking about. LOL. We are starting to rebuild our cabin at the Deer Farm. It is looking awesome. We do catch alot of grief b/c we got the "big" bedroom! Ha! Anyway, the guys have been working their butts off every single night trying to get it done....we still have a long way to go.

We are getting ready for a fun filled February. Jim and I are going with a bunch of our friends to see Larry the Cable Guy in Jonesboro on Valentines Day. We are such rednecks! We will get to visit with our other friends at a Hot Springs trip. Then, Melanie and I are taking the Youth to Veritas in Hot Springs the next weekend! Busy, busy month ahead. Parker and Roman both have birthdays in March so we are planning for that little party too! Ummm...Transformers or Cars or Spongebob! Oh to be 5 & 3 again.....the depth of your decision making! LOL!

I will try to get pics posted soon!

Merry Belated Christmas