Olivia and TJ turn 2!!!!

The kids turned two years old yesterday! I cannot believe that it has been two years since I stood in front of our Christmas tree wearing Terry's 2X shirts and shorts because I couldn't fit into much else.  


I cannot believe that it has been two years since I brought my little babies home from the hospital. 



Hard to believe that those little infants that I brought home that used to do nothing but sleep, eat and poop are now little people who are learning new words/phrases everyday (like "no thank you" and "no sing!"...that is what they say when we sing to them now), who love to play with each other/give each other hugs & kisses, who love Mickey Mouse and who love to read and watch Noggin cartoons (their favorite...and mine...is Backyardigans).  

For their two year birthday, I decided to postpone the "kiddy birthday party" for yet another year, at least.   In place of a party we decided to take the kids on their first zoo trip.   Star and her fiance, Travis, were in town and came along.   We saw birds, alligators, giraffes, rhinos, and so many other animals that I care not to list.   Good times were had by all. 

The zoo trip occurred on Saturday, two days before their actual 'date of birth'. Their actual birthday turned out quite nice.  I decided to not get another Publix cake since TJ broke out from it last year.   Bless his heart.  Instead I decided to make cupcakes for them using Soy milk so both kids could enjoy them.  Star was nice enough to volunteer to bake and decorate the cupcakes and they were excellent.  We didn't actually begin the celebration until about 6 at night for a number of reasons but it was a great party!  They kids loved their Mickey balloons and decorations, they LOVED the "lights" (aka candles) on their cupcakes and loved the cupcakes as you will see in the pictures.  It was a nice stress free gathering and everyone seemed to have a good time.  They got their own set of Mickey keys so I don't have to worry about them losing my car keys (thanks Star and Travis!), they got an interactive book with a 'matching' stuffed animal Mickey and Pooh (thanks Jen and Jason) and of course they got more books from Mommy and Daddy.  

The finale of the birthday celebration will occur on New Year's Day when we go to Disney World!!!!!!  We are taking the kids for the first time...should be interesting...

Enjoy some pictures!

Christmas Portraits 2008

We took TJ and Olivia to get their Christmas portraits done a few weeks ago. TJ was a little shy as you can see. He lightened up when he saw their basketball. Go figure. Olivia had no problems. She is so easily entertained...

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy!

Johnson-Parks Christmas

Well the Johnson and Parks family had another wonderful Christmas! My family (Mom, Dad and sister) came to Palm Bay to celebrate for the 3rd year in a row which is really nice. It's especially nice because my mom and dad also bring the food since I have yet to attempt a holiday meal. Terry, the kids and I woke up before my family came, ate breakfast, and opened gifts from the Parks' family in Columbus since they were unable to travel to Florida for the holiday. I did a separate post of those pictures. Shortly after we finished opening the gifts from The Parks, my family arrived. The kids, as expected, were not as interested in what was in the bag/paper as they were the bag and paper itself...until Tara's gifts of Crayola "Mess-Free Color Wonder" and "Aquadoodle" coloring and painting supplies were opened! From that point on they were only interested in coloring. What is nice about these gifts is that I don't have to worry about finding crayon on my walls (which hasn't happened yet, thankfully) since these markers and paints only show up on the special paper. Good job Crayola and Aquadoodle (and good job, Tara for giving them such a wonderful gift!)

Another hit was a gift from Terry and I...their "band in a box". It included a tamborine, morracas, symbols, a triangle, a clacker thing and a wooden noise maker "thing". Upon opening that gift, the entire family proceeded to make 'music' for a good 2 or 3 minutes. The kids LOVED IT...and, quite franky, so did the adults! I can't remember who all had which instrument, but we certainly put on a show! Good times. The kids were also fortunate to get gifts that they needed, like undershirts, shirts for school and cute pajamas! TJ got Superman pajamas (complete with the cape) and Olivia got "Disney Princesses" pajamas. They also got these cute 8x10 alphabet cards with animals on them to put up in their playroom...after I take down all of their Christmas decorations. They were fortunate to receive several books which will be a nice replacement for the mangled books that are now in their playroom. They received books from me (of course), my coworker who adores them and our beloved BCC Montessori school. And, as if they didn't have enough of these, their Ti-Ti (Aunt Tara) got them more mini-volleyballs from the women's volleyball national tournament in Nebraska that she bravely attended last week.

Of course, throughout the day, we enjoyed my mother's cooking and baking (mostly baking in my case...I couldn't put the pound cake and sweet potato pie down!). My mom was able to braid Oivia's hair (yes!...that means I don't have to do it!) and most everyone except myself and Olivia was able to take a nap.

I had such a wonderful time with my family...and especially loved seeing TJ and Olivia have so much fun with them.
Everyone has gone back home now, the kids are asleep and Terry is watching his 4th Christmas Day NBA game (the boy is obsessed...although I must admit there were some great games on today...). As soon as I post this blog, I am off to sleep as well...

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!!

Christmas Morning

Here are are few pictures from this morning before my family (Johnson Family) came into town. Enjoy! Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Parks (and Uncle Chris) for the gifts. The kids LOVE their riding horse and I, of course, am particularly excited about their Auburn gear!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday

My parents, the kids and I traveled to Pensacola this weekend to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. Although no one was allowed to say how old she is, I believe she turned 88 years old today. It was an amazing weekend, that felt more like a family reunion than a birthday party. Since Pensacola is pretty far, we don't get to see that side of the family as often as we'd like. It was nice to be able to fellowship with family and celebrate my grandmother's life while is still alive!!! 5 of my 6 uncles were there along with countless (literally, my grandmother has lost count) of her grandchildren, great-granchildren (none of her great-great-grandchildren were in attendance), friends and family. TJ and Olivia had a blast! Once they got some food in their system, it took no time at all for them to warm up to their cousins. Thank goodness there were balloon bouquets because the balloons turned into instant entertainment for all of the little cousins that were there. Unfortunately I failed to charge my camera battery so when I took my camera out to take picture #1, my "low battery" indicator was flashing. I don't know why this happened to me because there were so many kodak moments that I would have captured had I had a working camera. There were a lot of people taking pictures so hopefully I will get some from my family. Anyway, the kids had a great road trip, a far cry from our 1st roadtrip last Thanksgiving. They are now sleeping peacefully...hopefully for the entire night. Once I get some unpacking done, I will be doing the same.

Happy birthday, Grandma!!!

Thanksgiving Week Medley

The Parks had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We went to DeBary and spent the holiday with my family...good times! The kids got to spend quality time with their grandparents and aunt Tara:) Terry and I were also able to slip out and attend the Old Spice Classic, a college basketball tournament held at Disney's Wide World of Sports. We saw Tennessee play Siena and Wichita State play Georgetown. It was good to be back in the major college basketball environment that's for sure. We were there, in particular to see Wichita State play because Terry's friend is an assistant for them. We sat with the Wichita State fans and it was so much fun! Because we were sitting directly behind Wichita State's bench we were able to make our Sportscenter debut!! Almost 5 seconds of fame! Anyway, here is a video...a medley, if you will... of this past week. Nothing too exciting, just some clips of days in the lives of my kids! A summary of what you'll see:

1. TJ and Olivia holding hands and walking through our house...a common scene these days. They LOVE to entertain each other.
2. TJ and Olivia at my parents house playing with their old crib toys that are on their cribs that my parents have not taken down yet. Still a great source of entertainment for them...
3. TJ and Olivia sitting in my dad's work truck (i.e. his "motorized wheelbarrow"). They must have sat in that truck for 30 minutes one morning just writing. They were so content.
4. TJ and Olivia eating a waffle for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.
5. Olivia and her G-pa (which she now calls P-pa) spending some quality time together.



That's all for now...

A Month of Fun

It's been a long time since I've posted. So long, that it's just too overwhelming to give an overview of the month of cuteness that was November. I am in the process of getting some videos together, but for now you get a slide show. Kids are 23 months now...1 month away from their 2 year birthday! Can't believe it! Enjoy!

Waiting Patiently...

Had to post this pic. As I was getting myself and all of our 'stuff' ready for the BBQ I put on an episode of Blues Clues (DVR is my best friend) to keep them occupied. When I was finally ready to load them up (...Terry and I have now decided to just meet at the BBQ) I noticed that they were especially quiet...this is what I found.



Off to the BBQ!

ABCs and BBQs

Just a little video of the kids saying their ABCs. They are talking up a storm these days. They love their trikes and are beginning to understand how to operate the pedals...although they can't quite reach both pedals at the same time. TJ loves his colors...he is forever pointing out the colors that he sees. His favorite color shirt to wear is ORANGE. I think we might be able to work with that;) Olivia got to spend Friday with her Daddy at work because she had another bout of pink eye. The school gave Terry her favorite toys and books to take to his office so she'd have something to do. Have I told you how much I love that school! He has a couch and a tv in his office so she was right at home. They got to watch the women's team practice as well so she had a great time. At noon I left work and picked her up and we went to vote. She slept the ENTIRE time and, of course, I had the car with no stroller so I was left to hold her for 1 hour and 15 minutes. It really wasn't bad. The people in line we very considerate and kept offering that I got to the chair and sit while saving my place in line. I decided to just stay in line like everybody else. It wasn't bad at all. We voted and came on home. I was able to vote at the Supervisor of Elections office that is literally 0.25 miles from my house:) Pretty convenient. Yesterday, the kids and I went to the gym b/c Terry's team had an intrasquad scrimmage. They had a ball. Like I often say, the gym is the PERFECT babysitter. They can run and run until their heart is content. Towards the end of the game, however, they kept wanting to run out onto the court, which made me a little nervous. I ended up taking them in the halls outside of the gym and letting them run around there, instead. After the scrimmage we went over to some friends' house to celebrate a birthday/eat some good BBQ. Kids were well behaved:) We are headed to another BBQ whenever Terry gets home from giving basketball lessons. Same people, different house. You can never get enough BBQ!!! That's all for now.

House of Infections/Christmas in October

Well it has been quite a week in the Parks' household. It started out with TJ getting taken back to the doctor because, despite finishing 10 days of antibiotics, his sinus infection/coughing was not getting any better. So we went back to good ol' Pediatric Wizards, and to get some x-rays, to make sure that no fluid was in lungs. Thankfully there was "only" fluid in his sinuses, so back on a different antibiotic we went. Well, because the infection in his sinuses backed up into his tear ducts, I also self-diagnosed him with pink eye. And, of course, Olivia picked it up from him. Terry and I alternated days staying home with them while they were recovering from pink eye as they were not allowed to go to school because it is highly contagious. Whoever decided that eyedrops were an effective way of administering medicine to toddlers were WRONG. Although Olivia doesn't mind it, TJ literally acts like he's fighting for his life everytime (3x a day) we have to give him the eyedrops. (Somehow, this has also translated into him strongly disliking me brushing his teeth.) Only 3 more days of this hopefully. We sent them back to school after 48 hours of eyedrops because after 24 hours they were supposedly no longer contagious. Oh yeah, and while all of this happened, Terry started getting sick. He went to the doctor and was diagnosed with something contagious and is also on antibiotics. I started to have a very bad sore throat but decided to ignore it because I didn't have time to be sick.

So my off Friday from work could not have come at a better time. I treated myself to Waffle House in the morning before heading to Wal-Mart to pick up a few necessities...picture below.

I put these together in about 1.5 hours...it took me twice as long to put together the first one, but then I got the hang of it and zipped through trike #2. They kids LOVE it. It has working blinkers and lots of sounds.


Money well spent.

Last week my parents brought bean bags and a very cute alphabet table that they LOVE. I tell you, it's been like Christmas in October for them.

In other news, Olivia is becoming quite the little lady. She loves to put on her own shoes (she has velco Mary Jane's) and whenever I am giving them both something (their clothes, a cup of milk, etc) she always points to TJ's and says "TJ's" and proceeds to give him his before she takes her own. It is very sweet. On the opposite end of the spectrum she is very into screaming "MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE" at the top of her little lungs...which isn't very loud to be quite honest. It is pretty funny to tell you the truth... Also, TJ definitely is counting to ten and identifies some of his colors. (Thank you BCC Montessori School!...again, money well spent!) I truly believe that Olivia also knows how to do this, but is just holding back.

Not sure what we'll get into today. The fair is next door to BCC's campus, but I'm not sure if I want to take them since I am not a fan of the fair myself (except to get my annual funnel cake and candy apple). One of Sarah's previous posts has made me feel a little guilty/selfish so I may try to take them anyway. As I have been told many times since they were born..."it's not about me anymore!" I'll let you know how, or if, it goes!

Videos!!

It's been quite a week of funny videos! TJ and Olivia are talking up a storm! They LOVE books and are now saying and recognizing the majority of the alphabet. It is absolutely amazing how fast they are growing up. Here are some videos that I thought you would enjoy.

This first video is of one morning at the breakfast table. We (meaning Daddy) wakes the kids up between 6 and 6:15 to eat breakfast. Usually they wake right up...but this particular morning was difficult for Olivia.



This next video was taken after school this week. DJ TJ went into our room, with Olivia following of course, and turned on our stereo...I am not exactly sure why the top of the video/their heads are being cut off, but you get the picture.



Lastly, this video was taken this morning. The kids and I were hanging out while Daddy was at basketball practice. To translate..."ya" means "Olivia".



Enjoy!!

Daddy Daycare

The BCC Montessori School was closed on Friday, unfortunately, due to an air conditioning repair. Since I had to work, Terry took the kids to work with him...the first of many days spent in the gym with Daddy I'm sure. Friday also happened to be the day that the team took their pictures for their basketball program for the upcoming season. Little will the BCC Titan fans know what was going on behind the scenes when Terry took his headshot for the program. (I especially like the suit jacket/basketball shorts fashion statement that my husband is making. He's so fashion forward.) Go Titans!

Basketball Stars

I do believe our own Olivia Janae Parks might just be the next Candace Parker. Here is a video of Olivia at work this morning. She scores, grabs the loose ball, stares down TJ and then scores again. 20 months folks...mark my words. I'm pretty sure we'll be sending this video to Pat Summitt.

To his credit, TJ has similar skills...unfortunately, he was a little camera shy this morning.

Way Too Long

It's been way too long since I've posted. Here are some random pictures from this week...Enjoy!!

Weekend in DeBary

Well, the Parks (minus Terry), just returned from a weekend at my parents. We had a great weekend! My parents got to spend quality time with their 'grands' and I got some rest and an opportunity to watch football with some friends:) I also got to visit my old neighborhood where I/my parents lived when I was in high school and throughout college. It was so surreal to see that 3 houses down were houses still under water from Tropical Storm Fay a few weeks ago. Pics are below. Crazy.

Fay, Fay Go Away!!!!!!!

It's been quite a week of firsts...

TJ said his first sentence 2 days ago. He grabbed some bananas that were on our kitchen table and asked "What is this?". I believe my mouth is still open in complete shock. Of course he hasn't said it since...

TJ and Olivia are experiencing their first tropical storm, Tropical Storm Fay. (Thankfully they are not experiencing their first hurricane!) They have been home from school for 2 days now and we are just finding out that school is closed tomorrow as well. Thankfully, when they are off Terry is also off because they follow the same schedule as BCC. The kids seem fine...they are just getting some extra playtime in the house...TJ took a loooong nap this morning and they both have enjoyed running around the house in their raincoats. Anyway, Fay came yesterday and has stalled over Brevard County...it has been raining for 1.5 days straight and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. To tell you the truth, it hasn't been that bad - just extra rainy and windy. No thunder or lightning...no damage or flooding around our house...and we haven't lost any power. It's been a good first tropical storm for the kids! I just wish it would leave already!!!!

Here are some pics of TJ and Olivia (in her raincoat), of some palm trees blowing in the wind in front of the townhomes across the street from our house, and of the grassy area (which is now a lake) across the street from our house.

Love...part 2

...here's the video to go with the pictures:)

Love

My babies were so cute last night! They were hugging and kissing each other and holding hands:) I have some video but I've got to edit it so I can upload it...it's apparently too big of a file...so, for now, pictures will have to do. (Oh, and excuse Olivia's shirt...apparently it's a magnet for spaghetti sauce!)

Pictures from the weekend

Star tells me that I should be fined if I post without pictures...soooo here are some random shots from this weekend. Enjoy!!!





I couldn't get a shot with both looking...so you get two wagon pictures:) They had just come in from an evening stroll with G-ma and G-pa (my mom and dad).

Toddler Bed Update

I must report that when I announced it was "bedtime" last night at 8:45pm, TJ calmly walked into his room, crawled into his bed and put himself to sleep. I tested him to see what he'd do if I just left the room and he didn't make a peep! He whined a little bit around 11pm, but didn't get up. He didn't wake up until 4am!

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, Princess Olivia was completely opposite. She enjoyed a peaceful night beside me on the pillowtop king size mattress.

Weekend in St. Augustine

I am pretty tired right now, but I have GOT to get this blog out before the events of the weekend completely leave my mind...

First thing is first. TJ and Olivia are now sleeping in their 'toddler beds'. They have gotten into the habit of going down for a nap at school so we figured they were capable of doing the same for bedtime. Up until now they have slept best on two sections of our couch, but we have made the transition. Not going as well as we'd like, but then again, it's only day two. At this moment, Olivia is asleep and TJ is still fighting it. (It probably has to do with the fact that he fell asleep on the way home from school and slept until 7:00.) I'll keep you posted...

Secondly, the Parks family was able to enjoy a change of scenery this weekend as we traveled up to St. Augustine for a little getaway. It was nice and relaxing:) We went up on Friday evening and returned on Sunday evening. We didn't do much of anything on Saturday...in fact we didn't even leave the house until 4:30! We just "napped" away the day...which was perfectly fine since we had no plans. We ended up going on to eat and then riding around Jacksonville to see what had changed since we lived in the area. It was a very nice ride around the city and the kids slept the entire time! We ended our night by stopping by our friends' house to celebrate or friend's 30th birthday. It was a nice low-key, kid-friendly gathering that was the perfect ending to our lazy day.

Before we left on Sunday, Terry's old roommate while coaching at UNF, Terrance, came by with his wife and beautiful baby girl, Evelyn ("Evie"). It was a house full of Terrence/Terrance's! Little Evie was so adorable and TINY! TJ and Olivia looked like giants sitting next to her. It was my first time meeting his wife, Rachel, and she was just the cutest new mom! Terry and Terrance ended up getting subs from Publix and, once again, we had a nice relaxing visit. After they left, we packed up/cleaned up the house and headed home:) Again, the weekend was not very eventful, but it was good to get out of Melbourne to spend some quality time together as a family.

By the way, TJ is now asleep in his bed. Olivia has since woken up and is now resting peacefully on her spot on the couch...

Video of TJ and Olivia playing before Church

I was able to take some video of them this morning as well. It took me a little while (actually, a LOONG while) to figure out how to edit the video so it was small enough of a file to upload. It looks like I figured it out:)

As you can see, TJ and Oilvia have not yet mastered the word "cup"...oh well! Enjoy!!!

Playing before Church

As promised, I am back to blogging about my beautiful babies! We had a pretty uneventful weekend. Terry FINALLY got back in town so after a wonderful week with grandma, we just relaxed around the house. (Long story short...Terry went to Vegas for a coaches convention and on his way back ended up sleeping in DC at Dulles airport b/c his connecting flight got cancelled). Here is a pic of the kids with their "GMa".


My aunt Belyndia came by last night and we were able to unload some of our old baby equipment...her best friend's grandson is coming in town and she was in need of some 'baby stuff'. Even though there is only one baby we kept asking if she needed two walkers instead one, two jumpers and a double stroller. Can you tell we are eager to get rid of our baby stuff?!

Anyway, as we were getting ready for church this morning I left them in their rooms playing and this is what I found when I came back for them. If TJ plays basketball later in life, I'm sure he will enjoy this picture. I think he might like his basketball, what do you think?!?!



(For the record, this is not what my children wore to church. Sometimes they just insist on putting their shoes on for no particular reason.)

We enjoyed an excellent service this morning (and the volunteers in the toddler room enjoyed TJ and Olivia) and now the kids are fast asleep.

Enjoy!!!