Phone Photo Fun. {May}

The Parker Weekly. May 25 - May 31

- Week Six -

05.26.11 Dinner at BWW with your grandparents
05.27.11 Play time on your mat - you grabbed a toy!
05.27.11 First long roadtrip to ETX for Eli's graduation. You did great in the car and at graduation. You slept so good!
05.29.11 Five generation photos with Uncle Wink.

I Can Do It Myself

For the life of me, I can't remember where we were going, but I was in the backseat feeding Parker and he grabbed his own bottle! My six week old boy is TOO BIG.


I love that his feet are dangling in the water! Parker loves bath time and I love watching him enjoy it.

Five Generations.

For the first week and a half of his life, Parker man had a great grandmother we called Bebe. Sadly, he never got to meet her. We'd planned on taking him to visit this weekend while we were in ETX for Eli's graduation. Instead, Bebe was called to Heaven and Parker had the pleasure of meeting his great-great-great Uncle Winfred, one of Bebe's younger brothers. Winfred and Vivian so kindly allow us to stay with them every time we visit ETX - whether they are home or not. Wink asked for a five generation photo so we stepped outside for a few quick pics. I hope Parker gets to continue to visit his Uncle Wink so that they can laugh together as we did when I was young. Wink is so full of spunk and is always so happy!

Baba, Cookie and Park

Parker is the new generation.

Milk Face

Parker did so wonderfully on his first over night road trip! The drive to East Texas was his longest car ride yet. I had to spend some of the time in the backseat with him, but it was fun because I got to see this silly face the whole time

The boy LOVES his milk!

Eli's Graduation. West Sabine High School Class of 2011.

Parker's first overnight roadtrip. My day began with Harley having explosive liquid poop on the carpet. Yikes. Lots of cleaning to do. Then it took all morning and a good part of the afternoon once Daniel got home to pack our suitcases and get out of town. Thank goodness for the nyew car! Traveling to ETX was not promised to be easy with 2 dogs and a 5 week old boy. Daniel packed the car to the ceiling...we didn't know what we'd need for Parker so we just threw it all in. I know I'll look back and laugh at the fact that we actually carried his swing with us. It was easy to transport, but still - he didn't really use it! We made several stops along the way, both for Parker and Harley, but arrived just in time to change and head to graduation. I'm proud that we were not late!

Eli, You have always impressed me: first with your ability to suck your bottles down in just a few minutes, then with your wild tales of creatures you wrestled. As a young boy you always had knowledge of wildlife and weapons. I love that you are so passionate about the outdoors. Three years ago, your life came to a screeching halt but you persevered. I know how you loved to hate your sister and visa versa. Growing up, you two were almost too much to handle! The relationship between siblings is complicated and so indescribable. I am so proud to have watched you find an inner strength that I don't know that I possess. You've had to live through an experience I'd wish on no one. As the oldest of your "second sisters", I hope that you know how proud we all are. You are smart and funny and such a cutie. You've kept us guessing from the moment you were born...I know that you have an adventurous life to live out. I hope and pray for your future to be filled with happiness and good fortune. We are blessed to call you ours, dear cousin. I love you as if you were my very own baby brother. Congratulations on such an accomplishment.









Oh, you used to look at me like this when you were little.




Eli's favorite girls






Boy cousins




The best Baba a boy could ask for!


The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing together as a family. We had a wonderful time with everyone. Parker did so good being away from home!

Smiles and Playtime! A Video.

One of Parker's first smiles on video!
Parker LOVES to watch the fan in my bedroom!

Hey, Mr. Octopus.


Getting some play time...Parker doesn't like to play for long, but he's getting better and is okay as long as someone is talking to him.

Three Generations

Wearing the same onesie...look how much he's grown. There's more chin and a lot less loose skin!

Three generations of Shalley men.

The Parker Weekly. May 18 - May 24

- Week Five -

05.18.11 To make things FAST, you took a shower with Mama today.
05.18.11 Baba is here to help out for a few more days.
05.19.11 ONE MONTH OLD. Cried when we took pictures, put yourself to sleep in your swing.
05.20.11 We hung out as a family all day...most of our time was spent holding our sweet boy, watching tv and lounging in bed.
05.21.11 Blueprints Crawfish Boil at the Larkins
05.22.11 1st time in church!
05.24.11 First little hint of a smile, said "GOO" and went to an Astros game with our bible study

Go 'Stros! and My Heart May Melt

This morning, I put Parker in bed with me like I always do. Only today, for the first time....HE SMILED! It was only half a smile, but ohhh how my heart nearly burst at the sight. He also said "goo". I didn't get a picture of the grin, but I know that his smiles will become more and more frequent so I'll keep the camera close by!

I sure hope Parker likes baseball! At 5 weeks old, he's already made it to both a college and professional game. Our bible study was gifted with 20+ tickets to the Astros game tonight. We had a great time hanging out at the game! I spent part of the afternoon with Liz and Lily and then we loaded up the 2 babies and all our bags in my Escape. Wow, we ran out of room fast! It's time for a bigger car. Liz, Lily, Parker and I met Jim for dinner at Chipotle before heading to Minute Maid to join our friends for the game. Daniel couldn't make dinner but was able to enjoy the game!

I laid Parker down to change him and when I turned around, Lily was staring him in the face. This was such a sweet moment. Of course, by the time I grabbed my camera Parker was crying and Lily didn't know what to do with him.

Bible Study Boys

Lovely Ladies
Our first picture together as Mommies!

These two are MUCH happier with pacis in their mouth!

Sweet Trish and Lily!

Parker's little personality is showing and he is more happy and talkative these days. I love our time together when he is awake.

My sweet man is getting so big! Look at those thighs.

Little talker.

I think he's saying "ohhhhhhh".





Most of our little photo sessions end like this. I don't think Parker yet understands that his Mama loves taking pictures, specifically of him. Still, tears and all, I love this boy.