Shocker Fever

As of last night, basketball season has started for the Shockers. I'm not sure what Park enjoyed more, the loud jock jams or the cute girl sitting behind him. Go Shox!

Sew and Tell: Tie T-shirt

When my friend Jenna enlisted my help to create a t-shirt for her son William, I was both flattered and completely nervous. Yes, I made a shirt like this for Park's halloween costume last year and this year (I'm obviously lacking originality), but this task came with pressure. I couldn't mess up! I had no back-up shirt to count on and every stitch would be seen by someone other than me. Yikes! But I did it. I thought of adorable little William and how cute he'd look in the shirt and fabric combo that Jenna had picked out. I tried a few other tricks that I didn't do on Park's version last year, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. It also helps to have a great photo of the end result. This is just one example of the talented work Jenna produces with her husband through their photography business. She's got a great eye, a super cute model and style! Check out more of her work here.

The diaper was actually part of the costume

Halloween is difficult for us, mainly because we make it difficult. Like most things in our lives, we tend to over think it. Last year, even though we had pretty much settled on Park being Toy Boy early on, we re-evaluated and critiqued our decision right up to the last minute. This year we didn't know what he was going to be until four days before Halloween. We had a couple of ideas floating around in our heads but ultimately, when push came to shove—and just as time was about to expire, we decided to play to our strengths.

While Park may not be the most mobile kid around, he just might be the friendliest. Take the kid to the grocery store and he'll say "hi" to everyone he sees … at least five times each. And when it's time to go they'll each get an equal amount, in both quantity and volume, of "byes."

So of course, Park had to be a …










Walmart greeter.












Carrie made the vest and shirt (which, if you can't tell, features a tie much like last year's Toy Boy costume) and I made the flair by creating the graphics on the computer and then printing them out on iron-on transfer paper.

As for Halloween itself, we first hit up an elementary school/middle school/high school party before heading over to the parents' house of some of our oldest friends before our little greeter got so wound up we weren't sure we would ever be able to actually get him to bed.

Oh, and the true spirit of procrastination, we also went to the pumpkin patch (or depending on how you look at it, the side yard of a church) the day before Halloween.

Crib Notes: Months 17 and 18

Over the last two months, Park's vocabulary and body have taken off. Around 17 months, Park got very comfortable saying "no." Today, he's saying "hi," "bye," "nana (banana)," "uh oh," "fffff (fish)," "car," "ollie" and "biggie" (two of his favorite characters from books), something to the tune of " happy" or "abby" and "go! go! go!"

At the same time, his little legs have decided to go! go! go! as well. Two months ago, the munchkin was just figuring out how to stand up in his crib on his own. Today, he's taking the stairs up and down, walking his firetruck up and down the driveway, and walking his balance bike around the living room. We've already celebrated his first skinned knee (when you wait this long for it, it's a celebration) and he has finally let go of the morning nap. Now we just have to convince him to give up the pacifier (baby steps).



As for broadening his horizons, we took Park to his first musical - a local junior high rendition of High School Musical. We had no idea how this would play out since it started at Park's bedtime, but he sat quietly in my lap up until the last two numbers. At that point, he decided he had observed long enough and was ready to participate. We were in the front row, so after Park got down from my lap, he took off for the stage, clapped and danced in circles just close enough that everyone in the gym and on the stage could see him. He was about two seconds from climbing the stairs and stealing the spotlight before we pulled him aside.

And while he may be a lightweight for his age, Park continues to eat pretty much everything we do and with a sense of adventure. We're waiting for those terrible two's to kick in and have him decide he only wants to eat pickles at every meal, but so far he continues to make meal time fairly easy ... but messy.







While Park's mobility has sped up, our productivity around the house has slowed down. But every day, we enjoy seeing what he's going to discover or say next. It's a wild ride!

Mr. Miyagi of Boxwoods

People think I'm kidding when I tell them I have to trim the Boxwood hedges in our front yard every week. I'm not. This is what happens when I skip a couple of weeks. What you're looking at is 16 inches of new growth.

The process of trimming them back each week usually takes about 30-45 minutes, partly because they're big (one segment is probably over 10 feet long) and partly because I'm extremely anal. They look great when I'm done and the cool thing is that they're so dense that you can shake one end and the whole thing will wiggle and jiggle like a bowl full of Jello.

Home Depot Derby

Park got his hands on a steering wheel for the first time during a recent trip to Home Depot. I'm not sure what I'm scared of most -- Park driving or his dad teaching him how.

Weekend Fun

We're all still recovering from a busy weekend in Kansas City - we seem to cram as much as possible in our time up there and this weekend was no exception. The main event for the weekend was family portraits with everyone ... I'm pretty sure the last time we did this with my parents and sister I was in college. Or perhaps high school. A lot has changed! Add two husbands, three kids and a few wrinkles/pounds/gray hairs to the mix, and we finally have some updated photos! (or at least we will soon) It was obviously time to do this, but the main reason we got our act together was it was Erin and my present to our parents for their 40th anniversary they celebrated this summer. They had only hinted a couple of times that updated photos would be nice. Hint taken. ;)

Before we ever got to the photos, however, we thought we'd take advantage of some gorgeous fall weather by heading to the Kansas City Zoo. Apparently, we hadn't been there since I was in a stroller, so yet another thing that we were way overdue for. While we didn't make it completely around the park, we did get to see the new polar bear exhibit (he is super cute) , watch a sea lion perform some tricks, and introduce Park to the kid's play area. I think he loved feeding the deer and going down the slide the most. I also got to take him on his first carousel ride. He wasn't crazy about the up and down motion of a zebra, so we ended up taking a seat on a peacock. That was much more his speed.



Following the zoo, we did the family photos late Saturday at Loose Park - I think we were one of about 54 photo sessions taking place there that day. What a great park, though! And whether or not they're all smiling or looking in the same direction in the photos, the kids were all great sports for the session. They also put up with us dressing them in fall attire when it was a blazing 86 degrees.

And because the weekend was full of adventure, it only makes sense that the ride home be anything but boring, too. It started with us noticing a nail in our tire before we ever left town. An hour and a half and a picnic at Chipotle with the ENTIRE family (Craig, Park, me and the two dogs) later, we had a puncture-free tire and peace of mind for the three-hour drive home. Whew. I think we need a weekend to recover from the weekend.