Magic Kingdom

Here are pics from Parker's first trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Armed with his Pluto hat and ready to go!



Outside of the entrance.



Handsome boy on the monorail (which he LOVED!)





Posing with Pluto (by the way, he looks serious in all of the pictures because there was just so much stimulation that he couldn't focus on any one thing.)



Outside the Dumbo ride.





On Dumbo with the grandmas.



Seriously over Dumbo. "Get me off of this thing!!" Poor baby.



With Pooh. This was the sweetest moment ever. He closed his eyes and smiled while he was Hugging Pooh and it looked like he was going to fall asleep! He was so content to just sit there holding him. My heart melted over this moment.





After a LONG day.



Disney ears? Check. Pluto stuffed animal? Check. Mickey balloon? Check.



Riding the monorail back to the parking lot. He could seriously have ridden this all day.



These two are courtesy of Aunt Meg.

In Daddy's Shoes

"These fit me just fine mom."

Portrait of a Toddler

I love my Nikon 50mm lens meant for natural light use. The only problem with it is that any movement at all on the part of the subject makes for a blurry picture. As a result, I can't take as many portraits of the munchkin as I'd like to because he is a fast moving little guy. However, I have learned that right after nap time is the perfect opportunity to catch some natural shots and if I'm balancing a container of Play-Doh on my head, I can even get him to smile. Here, I snapped two shots before I lost his attention to the Play-Doh that I had to fork over as payment for his stillness.





Here, he's biting his lip in concentration while he plays. Play-Doh is very serious business.

Santa Who?!?

One of the Irishman's coworkers dressed up as Santa and we decided to take Parker in to see him since the mall Santa is a little bit scary to me (call me paranoid, but I have no clue what screening process they use). These three pictures show the progression of emotions that Parker went through when faced with a pseudo-Santa. I know that I shouldn't laugh, but seriously, kids + Santa = good material for laughs.

Stage 1 - Apprehension. "Dad, are you sure that I should be sitting on the strange man's leg?"



Stage 2 - Marginal Acceptance. "Ok, well since no one is flipping out, I guess it's alright."



Stage 3 - Flight. "I'm over this now, please help me!"

Love.

Love is sitting in your car for 1 hour because your precious boy is napping in the back seat and you know that he'll wake up if you try to move him.

Of course, my sacrifice is somewhat diminished since I live in Florida (not Alaska) and I can access my home's Wi Fi connection. Plus, I have an iPhone, which provides endless hours of entertainment. Seriously though, I would be sitting here even without Wi Fi or an iPhone or even if I lived in Alaska because the thing that no one tells you about motherhood is that you would do most anything to make sure that your little love is happy/rested/content.

Sugar High

Before:



During:



After:



Oh my.

Day at the Museum

I recently bought our family annual passes to the local Children's Museum. I thought that it was time for Parker to be exposed to science and art...plus, it's a place that he can run around like a maniac when the weather is bad and we're going stir crazy in our house.

So, Meg joined us as we set out on our maiden voyage to the museum. Parker is definitely into touching things, so this type of hands on setting is perfect for a curious little boy like him and even though he's still small, he didn't have any difficulty interacting with the exhibits.



Here, we're pedaling (ok, I'm pedaling and he's supervising my progess) to generate enough watts of energy to run certain household appliances. The faster you pedal, the more power you generate. I'm wondering why they don't have generator-bikes on the market for the general public because I would definitely buy one for the house. "Alright boys, you can't have dinner until you generate enough energy to start the oven!"



And here, Aunt Meg is hoisting Parker's considerable weight, while he's (again) supervising.



At this particular exhibit, you could replicate a hurricane. May I bring your attention to the adoring look on Parker's face? Yes, he certainly had enough of mom that weekend and was thrilled to have someone else to interact with. He also insisted on holding Meg's hand the entire time we were outside instead of mine. He certainly is learning at a young age how to work his way into a girl's heart. I'm pretty sure that Meg would have taken him home that day.



And here is my alien child. I was actually quite terrified by this exhibit (my worst nightmare!) so we didn't go into it, but Parker looked cute peeking through the sign. I'm still not sure why they would have a Roswell exhibit at the Children's museum (shudder), but fortunately it was tucked out of the way. If you are reading this without a clue as to why I'm so freaked out, trust me, you really don't want to know.



I had to post this picture simply because I got yelled at for taking it by some 18-year-old who thought she was guarding the Mona Lisa. Plus, it shows all three levels of the museum.



Finally, here are some other random exhibits that I couldn't figure out, but Parker instinctively knew what to do. I'm sure that there's merit to the theory that people lose intelligence with age. I'm definitely dumber than a 5th grader.

Mule Day

Every year, we drive up the road to Calvary, Georgia to attend Mule Day. Mule Day is no other than a celebration of mules. Yes, you read that correctly and no, it isn't a tiny country festival. Tens of thousands of people attend Mule Day every year. They have a mule parade, mule contests and even a mule beauty pageant. It's random, I know, but so much fun!

I didn't get to take that many pictures at Mule Day for two reasons: (1) I was too busy chasing Parker around. That child is in a stage where he just wants to run free as a bird. Unfortunately, in a crowd of thousands, all I see are numerous pedophiles and child abductors just waiting to snatch him up. I'm pretty sure that my level of paranoia is limited primarily to criminologists, but I'd rather be safe than sorry; (2) Mule Day is a cash only event and while I put all of my cash in my back pocket, I then proceeded to change jeans. Sigh. I never used to be this scatterbrained, but it seems to be a permanent affliction.

Anyway, here are the pictures that I did get this year at Mule Day.

I guess these are mules, but they look a lot like regular horses to me.



And this one looks a lot like a donkey.



This definitely is not a mule. I'm not sure exactly what to say about this picture. I do feel sorry for the pony...or is it a little horse? Does anyone know the politically correct term to use for this particular animal? I would hate to be offensive. Thank you.



Here's the Irishman and Parker checking out the mules, horses, donkeys and little horses/ponies.





There was another military helicopter there so, of course, Parker had to get in it. I let him try on the hat, but I stopped short of letting him handle the semi-automatic weapon they had on display. Call me crazy, but I think that two is a little young for firearms.



Finally, there was a man (or woman?) dressed in a lion suit. Parker went running over to him (her?) and would not leave. He was hugging the lion and petting the lion and, as evidenced in this picture, roaring at the lion. It was very cute.



The great thing about Mule Day is that there's always another one next year. If you happen to live in the North Florida/South Georgia area, I highly recommend going out there and experiencing all that Mule Day has to offer.

Halloween

Halloween is a conflicted time for me. I love the holiday itself (pumpkin carving, dressing up, chocolate!), but I don't particularly care for strangers coming up to my door. I don't like answering the door in the best of circumstances and when it's a bunch of teenagers dressed like mass murderers, well, I'm a little freaked out. So, I generally make myself scarce and let the Irishman do all of the door answering. Listen, I never claimed to be well-adjusted or normal. Having a child old enough to trick or treat, however, allows me to enjoy the best of Halloween without having to deal with my xenophobic tendencies. I was therefore thrilled to take Parker trick or treating this year.

We let him pick out his own costume and it was no surprise when Thomas the Tank Engine was the one he picked. Parker isn't usually a fan of hats, but he knew that the conductor's hat was an integral part of the costume so he was all about looking the part. Here we are outside prior to leaving for trick or treating. Please notice the matching bucket that he is carrying.



I decided to get into the Halloween spirit this year by dressing up as well. I was initially planning on being Cleopatra, but I waited too long to get my costume and they were out. So, I decided on a Greek Goddess costume instead. (No, I don't think this is what Greek Goddesses really wore and yes, I did change before we took him around the neighborhood.)





The first house was a comedy of errors on Parker's part. First, he tried to go inside. Then, he tried to take the entire bucket from our neighbor. We explained to him that you say, "Trick or treat!" and then "Thank you!" but he generally skipped the trick or treat part and lunged for the candy instead. He did get the "thank you" and added his own "bye-bye" along with it though. He was definitely a hit with our neighbors who don't get that many little trick or treaters. Oh and he wore that costume for a good hour after we got back. I'm just glad that he didn't decide that he wanted to sleep in it.

It was a lot of fun seeing him participate in Halloween and you better believe that I'm excited to see how much fun he has at Christmas!

The Pumpkin Patch: Then and Now

In what's become an annual tradition, we took Parker to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend. He was running around trying to lift all of the pumpkins and I could not for the life of me get him to actually look at the camera. I realized that it was the exact same thing last year. Well, except for the running around part since he wasn't walking yet. However, both years, he was caught up in the pumpkin frenzy and had no time or patience for photographs.

When we got home and I downloaded the pictures, I compared them to the ones we took last year. Here are last years pics.









And here are this years photos:













I've come to several conclusions:

1. Parker is just as cute, if not cuter.
2. One year makes a huge difference in terms of growing from a baby into a little boy.
3. I now have a much better camera.
4. Thank God I'm no longer nursing!