The Most Magical Place on Earth

 

Last weekend we actually had some cooler (Below 90 degrees) weather in the evening, so we decided to take Parker for his first stroll around the Magic Kingdom. Of course, like all plans with the best of intentions, it never goes as perfectly as you think it will. We parked at the Polynesian resort in order to get some pineapple ice cream take the monorail. After getting up to the loading deck on the 2nd floor, we were informed the entire monorail system would be out for the remainder of the evening due to some difficulties after the storm rolled through. We had to make a game time decision - fight the ferry and the hundreds of people leaving the Magic Kingdom with only one exit at park close or go home. We decided to go ahead and attempt the Magic Kingdom. Looking back now, probably not the smartest decision, but still it was a memory made.

"Really, Mom, they are just plants. Do we really need a picture?"

"I guess I'm getting used to this. I'll just sleep through every picture, then maybe she'll stop or at least I don't really know the difference."

As you could expect, the ferry was quite crowded. However, once we arrived in the park, we made sure to get a few pictures. I mean, that's really what the trip was all about, right?

"Mom says I'm really going to enjoy this place when I'm older. We'll see about that."

"Now this seems a bit interesting. Should I wake up?"

"Nah, don't think so."

For his first ride at Magic Kingdom we decided on It's A Small World, but only by default. We actually went to Pirates first and it was down (another example of best laid plans going awry), so we made our way over to the building full of that famous song that sticks in your head forever. Unfortunately, the few pictures we took here didn't turn out. I think Parker was happy.

After we exited the ride, the wonderful, cool temperatures began to quickly disappear into lovely, after-rain mugginess. Due to the temps and the thought of everyone exiting at once, us fighting the crowd with a stroller, and many people now being taken down to one method of transportation, we decided to start heading back. It ended up being a short trip, but an enjoyable one still.

When we exited the ferry, the fireworks had just started, and the boat platform posed as the perfect viewing area. We decided to stop and take a few pictures watch. Unfortunately, many of them came out with Parker being insanely blurry. I told him we'd have to go back and try again. He was thrilled.

"I'll watch these next time. Sleep is more important right now."

"Later, Dudes (and Dudettes)"

 

 





A New Start For Our New Family

Another week has passed in the life of little Parker and just like the others, they were full of new and exciting things. Since we had to be at Epcot this weekend to get a friend of my Dad's in, we decided we would stay for a short while and let him have his first true Disney experience. We were very limited on what we could do, as well as how long we could stay, because we were hitting record high temperatures. Since Florida summers are always hot and the effect of that heat on his little body makes us a bit nervous, we decided the best investment we could make was a stroller fan.

While the fan doesn't make it much cooler, it's better than nothing. Plus, it keeps him entertained.

We were able to grab a quick lunch at The Land pavillion, as well as take him on his first Disney ride - The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends. He was so alert throughout the entire ride and couldn't take his eyes off all the colors and creatures. He didn't show much excitement in terms of smiles, but we know that is only a short time away. We made sure to get his picture in front of a Disney landmark to document his first trip. I choose to believe that his expression in the picture below is not him showing his dislike of Epcot, but rather being stripped from his comfortable stroller and brought into the intense heat and sunlight.



While he may seem a bit unpleasant here, this picture is very special and he will have many more taken just like it. The fountain at Epcot was my mom's absolute favorite thing in the park. She would often get up before any of us were even thinking of waking and head to the park to sit by the fountain and have her morning coffee. If she were here, I know she would be sharing this with Parker, just as she did with us, so because of that, he will be photographed in the very spot as he continues to grow. 



In front of the Living Seas and the Nemo ride

Parker and Mommy looking at the fish at The Living Seas aquarium

Parker and Daddy in The Land pavillion

We also took a trip to Universal to eat at one of our favorite restaurants: Margaritaville. Thankfully, (for the ease of our dinner experience) Parker spent most of the time asleep, but he woke up just enough at the end to have a few pictures taken. Perhaps I am training him afterall.

It was an exciting weekend, but definitely a tiring one. So much so, that Parker spent most of the next day resting and in his pajamas, as did I.

In other family news, we were given a HUGE answer to prayers this week. I received word that I will be teaching English 1 with Florida Virtual School, an online school/institution in Florida, which means I will be able to stay home with Parker and still earn money for our family! This has been a prayer in our family ever since a friend of mine was given the same opportunity 2 years ago.

Since we have been married, Ryan and I have always hoped for the opportunity for me to be able to stay home with our future children. However, it never seemed like the opportunity was going to happen. When my friend made her transition to FLVS, I spent an evening at her home picking her brain about all the school had to offer, as well as the principles and mission of the organization. After learning of the student-focused heart, as well as the opportunity to be with my future little ones, I eagerly applied. Plus, this was only weeks after the passing of my Mom and the idea of being able to work from home, heal, and help my Dad and sister out back in Kentucky seemed beyond perfect. For two years we prayed and applied and prayed and applied with never so much as a bite. Ryan would get disappointed with the lack of interest, but alway seemed to have a positive attitude. It was never "if" I get virtual school when it was being discussed, but "when", which oddly enough, is a complete roll reversal of our personalities. I was also disappointed, but tried to remember that God was in control and when or if He felt it was good for me, it would happen.

The time came for Parker to make his arrival and out of our desire to keep him at home, we agreed that since Ryan worked midnights, we would do opposite schedules. He would take the day shift of child care and I would take the afternoon and evenings. Many told us there was no way this would work, but we were determined to do what we felt was best for our family, which was keeping Parker at home. We knew this was what God was placing on our hearts, and no matter how difficult it would be, He would provide if we trusted Him. While the idea of FLVS still lingered in the back of my mind, especially as I spent more and more hours with Parker, I began to prepare myself for a new school year and the idea of leaving Parker. Obviously, this was difficult for me, but I knew that if FLVS was still not happening, it meant that God wanted me at my school and had plans for me there. Amazingly, two and a half weeks after Parker was born, I received an email to set up a preliminary phone interview with FLVS. Ryan was thrilled; he knew I had the job already. I was excited, but trying to be realistic. I didn't want to let myself get too excited about the idea of finally getting the job I had tried to get for 2 years. In short, after 2 phone interviews and a face-to-face meeting, they offered me the job of English 1.

I can't even begin to share with you our happiness at this news or just how incredibly blessed we feel. I could spend days trying to find the exact words that perfectly express the joy and amazement we feel over this opportunity, but it would still never be quite right. It's not only an example of God answering prayers, but an example of His ever perfect timing, His care for us, and His provision. All of those prayers before were not a "no", just a "not right now". He knew that I still had things to learn and people to encounter before I was truly ready for this opportunity. Every day Ryan and I mention, even for a short time, how thankful and blessed we feel and how it truly was a God moment - one that He deserves all the credit and praise for. I look forward to this new beginning He is giving us and seeing how He is going to use this for our family, but more importantly for His good.

Moving, Morfar, and Much More

HEY!!! Do I have your attention?? That scream always gets Mom and Dad's attention so I thought it might work for you all as well. Mom is busy, not exactly sure doing what, so I thought I would update the blog, otherwise it might not ever get done. Parents, huh? It has been quite a weekend in my life, and of course, Mom made sure to take pictures of everything. I started trying to do things to stop her from taking so many pictures....

... But of course that didn't work. She just took pictures of that. Anyway, I digress. Like I was saying, this has been a big weekend in the life of me. I met Morfar for the first time. Now, I know what you're thinking - No, it's not the name of a Disney character. My Mom's Dad is 100% Swedish and in Sweden, Morfar (I've been told you say it like Moo-fah) means mother's father. If he had been my Dad's father, I would have called him Farfar. I wasn't so sure what to think of Morfar at first and I think he could tell I was a bit skeptical.

He seemed to mimic a lot of the things I did, which I've noticed most adults do. Don't they know I don't like this??

However, in the end, we became good friends and I think he's alright.

I also met his dog Wrigley. Apparently, there is this baseball team in this city called Chicago that my Mom's family likes a whole lot. So much so, that my Morfar named his dog after their home. Personally, I think it's a bit crazy, but Mom assures me I too will like them one day. Now, Wrigley, I was not a big fan of. He was just a little too excited to see a human close to his size.

I made him keep his distance and I think that made him a little sad. One day I'm sure I'll like Wrigley - when I am not eye level with him.

This weekend we also helped Aunt Rachel move into her own apartment. Mom tells me it better be a long time before I think about moving out. Like I said, we helped Aunt Rachel move, but who are we kidding - I helped Aunt Rachel move and the rest of the adults didn't really do anything. Actually, I was still pretty tired the morning they started, so I rested for a bit longer while the adults brought everything in to the new apartment.

However, once all the boxes were in, that's when they really needed me and I made sure I took charge! It's a good thing they had me telling them what to do or I think they'd still be trying to figure out how to move in to that place. Please excuse my appearance - telling people what to do is hard work!

I did finally take some time to stop yelling orders and actually help a bit - a short time.

We finally were able to finish all the unpacking and get Aunt Rachel settled. Even though she and Mommy say it's time for her to live on her own and have her own place, I sure am going to miss seeing her every day.

Along with meeting Morfar AND the unpacking, we got to celebrate my friend Samantha's 2nd birthday! It was a lot of fun. It's nice to already have friends. It will be even better when I can actually play with them. As always, I started off the evening resting, but there was no way I could stay asleep with all the fun going on! Mom says she can't wait to celebrate and plan birthday parties for me and now I can understand why.

Also going on in the world of me - remember how Mom said I sleep a lot? Don't worry, I can still rock a good nap (as you can see below), but I am awake a looot more. I am a pro at holding my head up now. At my 1 month doctor appointment she said I had "excellent head control". She was also very impressed with the fact that when she put me on my tummy to test out my head control, I rolled over. I think it shocked her! It shocked me too, but don't worry, I didn't let her know (at least not too much). I am growing like crazy as well. At my appointment I weighed in at 11 pounds 5 ounces. I also do a pretty good job of sitting up, as long as I have something to rest against. I'm sure you all are wondering just how cool I look doing all this - don't worry, as always, Mom took pictures.

That's pretty much all that is going on in my world for now. Hopefully next time Mom will write the blog entry and stop forcing me to work. Doesn't she know anything about child labor laws?? So until next time...

1 Month Down, Many More To Go

On Tuesday we reached the 1 month mark with Parker. We didn't do anything special to celebrate, not even a cupcake this time. However, we were sure to get lots of pictures to document his ever changing appearance and personality. We ordered stickers off Etsy to document each month. Unfortunately, because they are just stickers and Parker tends to be a bit squirmy, they didn't stay on too well, just long enough for pictures, which is good enough for Mom. Unfortunately, he still doesn't quite understand his Mom's love for pictures and the fact that the camera is not going away. Because of that, he can get a little frustrated from time to time. Poor child just needs to learn it's a losing battle.

After he realizes the pictures will continue, he tends to get a little bored with me...

Despite his many mood changes, we were able to get some decent pictures to document and forever remember his 1 month birthday



Apparently now that Parker is 1 month old, he thinks he is a Super Hero. "To infinity and beyond!"

It's crazy how much things (and Parker) have changed in a month. It's even crazier that it has only been a month. Ryan and I have mentioned many times how it seems that he has been with us MUCH longer than a month. A month seems like a such a short time and it really feels like he's been a part of our family forever. We have the converstion many times how blessed we really are and how thankful we are for those blessings in our life.
This first month has been an adventure, with lots of learning experiences, challenges, smiles, laughters, and tears. We are all anxious to see what the months ahead hold. I'm sure a lot more of the items mentioned above.