ELMO!

For any of you who have spent time with Parker in the last few months or even been keeping up with us on the blog you will know he is quite obcessed with Elmo these days. I'm pretty sure he would be best friends with Elmo if he could. In honor of his best buddy Elmo, we decided to dress up in Elmo shirts for a family photo...evne Saide didn't want to miss out on the fun! Here is our homage to 2010, Parker and how much joy he fills our lives with. We can't wait for 2011!

Family Photos

Catch me if you can...

Beautiful fall colors

sitting still...for a couple seconds!

See ya later...

And he's off...

A few weeks ago we headed down to beautiful Falls Park for our annual family photo shoot. We are so lucky to have a "professional" photographer in the family to try to capture that perfect picture for our holiday cards. Last year's "shoot" was a little easier as Parker wasn't on the go quite yet...this year proved to be quite challenging as we attempted to capture a shot where Parker was sitting still. Most of the photos are good of Patrick and I and then there is a blurry streak where Parker is supposed to be. That bluury streak is Parker attempting to run away just as Uncle Drew snaps the photo. Here is your sneak peak of some of the "action" shots...we are reserving the best (we managed to get a few good ones) for the cards. Thank you to all of our friends and family that have supported us this year as our journey through parenthood continues. Life is good and although we can't be near many of those nearest and dearest to our hearts we think of you often and send lots of Christmas cheer your way. Hugs to you all!

Special Visitors

Parker's best buddy!

Such a cool dude!

Like Father, Like Son! Anything Daddy does I must do too!

Like mommy, like son...anything mommy does I must do too! Notice a theme here?

He is OBSESSED with pumpkins! It takes us an hour to go around the block because we have to stop and say hi to each one!

Relaxing at Heritage Park

WEEEEEEE!

Choo Choo time with Grandma and Grandpa

All smiles!

Hello...can you hear me now?!

Enjoying the back yard!

Two generations!

Last weekend we enjoyed a quick but very fun weekend with Grandpa Denny and Grandma Sue from MN! We have never seen Parker smile so much- he really had fun running around and showing off his latest tricks! It was pretty cold but we bundled up for a trip on the "choo-choo" and playtime at Heritage Park. We wish we lived closer but are thankful for the time that we do get to spend with our family no matter how far apart we are :) Thanks for visiting- we had a blast and can't wait for our visit to MN in January.

Impromptu Date Night

Last week Patrick and I had a VERY impromptu date night. We had been trying to score tickets to Darius Rucker for weeks but the concert sold out and we couldn't find any. At the last minute our good friend Steve, who manages Clear Channel Radio in our area was able to hook us up. We even got backstage passes and a chance to pose for a photo op. It was nice to get away for a few unexpected hours just the two of us!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was a blast this year...the celebration just kept going and going making for a very tiring and long weekend, but of course we squeezed in tons of fun!

The fun for the adults began on Saturday night. We headed to a neighborhood get together...(after MUCH thought and preperation) as hippies. My dress is circa sometime in 1970 (thanks Mom) so my outfit was truly authentic...Patricks? Not so authentic but he looked pretty good too.


Then on Sunday it was time for some pre-trick or treating fun. We headed over to our good friend's Ali & John for the Annual Farm Chili Cook Off. We didn't win but Parker had fun chasing all of the older kids around and even snuck in a taste of a sugar cookie. I decided to make a "fool" out of myself and dug out another one of my mom's "relics" and went as a Mommy Monkey. See below picture...ok...you can stop laughing now...thank you!


It was so much fun watching Parker really get into the spirit. He absolutely LOVED his monkey costume! Every time he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror he would start speaking in "monkey" at himself. Too cute! We were suprised how well he did Trick or Treating. He ran up to each house alll by himself and even tried to go in the houses of our friends thinking that they were opening up their door and welcoming him in. He even tried to run off with a pumpkin figuring that was more fun than any candy he would get.




Harry Potter (Kenneth), Disco Dolly (Payton) and the Little Monkey!

Let me go Daddy...I am READY!

So cute!!!

Happy 5 Years!

Last weekend we celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a little trip to San Antonio, TX. We are so thankful to Nana and Papa Mathews who kept the little man so we could escape for a few days. This was our first time away, together, just the two of us since Parker was born and it was such a nice break. We relaxed, swam, read, played cards and enjoyed some yummy food. The first two nights we stayed downtown San Antonio and had fun exploring the Alamo and the Riverwalk. I was excited to finally have some authentic Mexican food. San Antonio is such a bustling, vibrant city. Patrick and I definitely took some time to people watch...something we love but don't have the time for anymore. After staying downtown we headed to the Hyatt Hillcountry Resort. Wow! I loved it here. SO RELAXING. The grounds are built on an old cattle ranch so there is tons of land with gorgeous old oak trees everywhere. I wish I would have taken more pictures. We rode bikes, went on a nature hike, spent the day at the spa and even took a lap in the lazy river. Although it was nice to getaway we missed the little man and were excited to get home.

And...we're off!

The Riverwalk and a yummy Mexican restaurant

Riding the sightseeing barge

Remember the Alamo

San Antonio downtown

Dinner out at Budros Cafe

Pesca- cheers to 50 more years!

Riding bikes at Hyatt Hillcountry

Apple Picking Fun

I love the South! There are SO many family friendly things to do and they are ALL fun! A few weekends ago we loaded up the SUV and headed up to Sky Top Apple Orchard in Western NC with our great friends the Nagles! Ali and John have two beautiful girls, Ellen and Marlie so between the three car seats and 4 adults...plus tons of snacks, sippy cups, books, stuffed animals, blankies, Elmo and two DVD players the car as you can imagine was full to the gills! We were a traveling circus headed for some fun.

It was an unseasonably warm...ok HOT day so its felt kind of strange picking apples in summer weather but we had fun never-the-less. Parker had a blast and Daddy was a trooper carrying Parker up and down the steep hills. As you can see Parker loved the apples and even picked a few himself.

Thank you to the Nagles for a fun day filled with many memories...next on tap for the traveling circus? Denver Downs Pumpkin Patch...stay tuned!

A little piece of paradise- Western NC

Our Little Apple Picker

Family Fun

Yum yum!

"Hello there...I'm not sure what sound you make...do you Moo?"

Uh...wait just one minute please!

The Daddy's and kiddos!

The fam

The Park!

Last weekend we finally had some cooler weather so we headed to the park so that our little energizer bunny could get out some of his NEVER ENDING energy! He had fun checking everything out and running all over the place. He loved the slide and of course his favorite swings.

After the playground we took a ride on the train (choo choo) in Heritage Park. We took Parker last summer when he was younger but this time he actually knew what we were doing and had an absolute blast. He loved the horn and the tunnel!

This is such a fun age!

His tribute to the Bordessa family- Moo Moo!

Peek-a-Boo

How tall am I daddy?

Our little music maker

Always making funny faces! he has a million and one expressions!