Parker's new adventures

We decided with such nice weather to take a day trip to the beach. It was Parker's nap time and we thought he'd just sleep the whole way there. We got 45 minutes into the trip and he still hadn't fallen asleep so we stopped at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum to let him run around and play on their amazing play structure to tire him out. We went inside to use the restrooms and saw that they had a ride for kids. Parker loves planes and every time he hears or sees one he shouts, "Pane, Pane." He wanted to go on this ride! We were worried since he HATED the carousel, but thought we'd give it a shot. It had straps like a car seat, so I think that made all the difference in making him feel safe. He was pretty serious as he rode it; no giggles or smiles, so we were unsure how much he really liked it. I think he was just tired. When it stopped, he was mad and cried. He rode one more time before we left (and he cried again when it stopped). I felt a sense of pride that he was such a big boy to ride this 10+ feet in the air by himself. I teared up a bit! He fell asleep real quick when we got back on the road.


When we got to the beach we were surprised to see that it was completely foggy and cold. We left 83 degree weather to come to a 60 degree beach. That's Oregon for you! We went to the outlet mall first, hoping it would burn off, but it didn't. Grant forgot a sweatshirt so he found a sweater at Old Navy for $6 and we had to buy Parker a sweat suit because his diaper leaked a bit and his back up clothes were wet and it was too cold for his first outfit of shorts. Next time we'll each take like 4 outfits for a day trip!

Parker has never liked the sand. He doesn't like his hands dirty. That is in the past!
We brought lots of shovels, sifters, and his dump truck. He loved it!I love this boy!
He loved sitting in front of me and shoveling and then flicking it behind him to hit me with the sand. It was everywhere!
Oh, the feeling of sand in your hands!
I love the progression of the following pictures, except the 4th.
Bird!Wonder what this sand tastes like.Gross! Gagging! He tried wiping the sand off his tongue and then more sand got in his mouth and he started gagging.
Back to having fun! No more tasting sand.
That was all we saw of the sun that day. Driving 5 miles east was perfectly blue skies.
What a pair!

Parker is 18 months

Stats:
35 1/4 inch tall. Basically our 18 month old is 3 feet tall, almost as tall as an average 2 1/2 year old! Off the charts!
28 pounds 2 1/2 ounces. 75th percentile.

What Parker can do:

Says: no, shoe, car, mama, dada, ball, Elmo, cookie, light (which he pronounces Dit), stuck (cuck), Duck, quack, boat, robot (bot), ewww, tree, bird, bee, plane (pane), two, shirt, hand, head, ear, nose, eye, hand, sock, "I did it!"-- (that really surprised us!), truck, choo choo, wheel wheel, fish, coin, clock, tent, book, bus (more of a but), hat, hot, balloon (bloon), uh-oh, hi-ya (with karate chop motion), bye, spoon, good (once he said good boy), baby, flag, flower, cookie, boo

When he sees a ___________, he _____________.
Lion/ Roars
Plane or rocket/ says sssssshhheeww and points towards the sky and waves his hand back & forth
Dog or cat/ chases it and yells
feels the wind/ he says brrr

• Points to his head, ear, eye, mouth, nose, hand, & feet when you ask them where they are.
• Will follow directions, like put empty pop cans in our can bin. Will hit certain buttons when you point to them.
  
• Sings along to songs he likes. He made me tear up at church on Mother's Day when the primary kids sang and he sang along in Grant's arms.
• Gives kisses. Many are unexpected. He will just look us sometimes and focus on our mouth and give us a wet smooch.
• Dances. Bounces to music and claps.
• Tries to jump. He crouches and then pops up.
• Brings books to you and sits in your lap expecting you to read.
• Opens and shuts doors
• Plays well with other kids
• Scribbles with crayons & loves pens
  
• Knows sign language for no, duck, bird, plane, and others
• Crosses ring finger and pinky and is proud of what he can do
• Climbs up on chairs and the couch
• Pushes anything with wheels: toys, the high chair, strollers, old peoples' walkers.... you name it
• Walks down steps holding my hand
• Offers food to you and smiles if you actually take a bite
• Eats just about anything. Not picky. Likes green beans and broccoli. Mac n' cheese is another favorite
• If you say zipper or button, he looks down on his outfit or pulls on yours.
• He loves to peek around objects and say Boo. He loves to step on the bottom of the frame of the couch and peek over the top when I'm sitting on it and Boo me.
• Takes one nap at 12:00 every day for 2-3 hours.
• Turns light switch on and off when he stands in recliner.

I love my sweet Parker sooo much! I love being his Mommy. He is such a joy. He makes me laugh every day. He is such a happy kid. I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I sure did!