Monday, April 28, 2008

Stay At Home Dad Guy

Today was my first official day as Stay At Home Dad Guy! April went back to work for the first time in over a year, which is really weird, but we stopped in at lunch to say hi because Parker wondered where she was. Since April couldn't be with us on our adventures today, I took photos every where we went (which wasn't really any where exciting, but we had to get some errands done). So here we go on an photo essay of Garrett And Parker's First Day:




The main goal today was to try and put Parker back on his pre-Myrtle Beach schedule of two naps a day and 5 meals a day. But to do that, we needed to actually have food to eat. So our first trip was to CostCo for formula. Here's Parker admiring all the different brands of diapers.




And here we are in the checkout line, spying on what the person in front of us is buying. OMG YOU SHOULD TOTALLY SEE WHAT THEY BOUGHT. OMG. The cashier thought Parker was cute.


Here we are in the parking lot, after our successful purchase of formula (which Parker is guarding from potential thieves). It was rainy and miserable so Parker had to use his super awesome hood to stay dry.



Here's us, hamming it up in the parking lot while people were waiting for shopping carts. We were in the way, and they had to wait while we took photos of ourselves! Haha!


Here we are at the grocery store in the vegetable section. Mmmmm... vegetables.


And here we are in the checkout line. Parker is looking at the magazines, wondering what's up with baby Suri and how Mariah lost 20 pounds.


The rest of our day consisted of eating, sleeping, and playing! Pretty standard stuff. So far so good!

Myrtle Beach!

April, Parker and I just returned home from a great vacation in Myrtle Beach with Nana and Papa! We weren't sure if we wanted to drive or fly down, but we opted for driving. It's about 13 hours from Amherstview I think, but with a cute little boy in the backseat you have to make plenty of stops for snacks and leg-stretching. And we also didn't drive overnight so that he could have a good night's sleep. Parker was awesome the entire drive down! He sat in the back, giggling at stuff, looking out the window, eating his little Cheerios, and taking naps. We brought his (and I say "his" loosely) Hi-5 CD to listen to on the drive, so I think that helped too.

The weather was awesome, and it was nice to get away from home for a little bit! We've spent the last year just hanging out and watching Parker grow, so it was fun to get away and spend some time on the beach and in the pools! We think Parker grew a bit while we were there, because he seems a bit taller. And his hair seemed a bit more red, but it could have been the sun. This will be a looong post because of the bazillion photos, and they're not in chronological order (curse you, Blogger Image Uploader) but I'll try to put a few little descriptions here and there. On to the photos!

April and Parker playing in the sand on the beach!

Parker learned quickly that sand is not a snacky snack.

The hotel had a nice lazy river, where you could float along in innertubes and relax! The only bad part was that the water was salt water and tasted like dirty gym socks. This little waterfall pouring down from the bridge was our nemesis.

The view from the front of our hotel room, looking out over Myrtle Beach!

The beach!

Parker looking at the ocean, probably trying to figure out what it is.

Parker stepping into ocean water for the first time ever!


Parker and Papa on the beach!


Parker in the hotel room (which was more like a 3-bedroom apartment). He enjoyed climbing the drawers and pulling on those metal handles.

Parker sporting his new "Band Practice" t-shirt from Scott and Gemma! Thanks guys! He's also wearing some Myrtle Beach pants! Ooooo!

Parker showing off his fine physique in the new swimsuit Nana and Papa got him! He looks ready to surf with Matthew McConaughey and Lance Armstrong.

Parker sporting a baby-mohawk after his bath.

Beach!

Us swimming in one of the bazillion pools! Parker's Starfish swimming skills have totally paid off!



A random palm tree outside our hotel. Palm trees make everything better.

Parker wearing his little Gilligan hat and riding in Nana and Papa's big car!

Parker and Nana, hanging out.

Parker and Mommy on the balcony at the back of our room, looking out over the ocean!

Us getting splashed by gym-sock-smelling salt water! Yay!

Parker and Mommy being cute together!

This story has nothing to do with the photos, but April and I noticed that Parker REALLY wants to play with other boys. It was so funny! We were lounging in the lazy river, and there was a group of kids maybe 7 years old doing flips and goofing around, and every time they would come near Parker he would smile all nice at them and try to be their friend. He totally wanted to play with them. Super cute.

Parker having lunch at a Cracker Barrel on the way down! They make good pancakes.

Parker sitting in a rocking chair outside the Cracker Barrel. He was eating a piece of straw and playing a banjo, but I didn't get a photo of that.

One of the hotels we stayed at to break up the drive on the way down.

The view from our hotel window (looking out over Vienna, Virgina).

Parker giving me a much-needed break from driving.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

More Visitors!

Parker had some more visitors the other day! Anne Marie and Brielle stopped by for a quick chat and to feed Parker lots of Cheerios! April and Anne Marie grew up in Brockville together, and now everyone has kids because we're all so old. Anne Marie's sister, Janique, just had a baby before Claire did a few months ago! Everyone has the baby fever. Here are some photos.







Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Parker And Meat!

We went to CostCo today to pick up some more diapers (Parker is up to size 4 now) and while we there I took a few photos of him in the cart. Also of note is the Christmas shirt that Aunt Claire and Uncle Shawn got him! Stylin' and profilin'.

Here's Parker in front of the meat section! Yay meat!


And here's Parker down the milk aisle! Yay lactose!


Parker looooooves mommy.


He also loves tossing Superman out of his crib for some reason. We pick him up and put him back in, only to have Parker lob him over the side again like a hand grenade.




Parker loooooves Superman.

Cheerios Cheerios Yum Yum Yum