Monday Night Manners

When we got home today, with little preparation we were able to sit down at the dinner table thanks to Terry:)  He came home for his pre-game nap and prepared dinner so I didn't have to do it when I got home with the kids.  I love that boy.  Anyway, while they were still buckled in their booster seats after we finished eating, I utilized the time that they were interacting with each other to clean up the kitchen and get the dishwasher ready to run before we headed for bathtime.  Well tonight while I was cleaning up this is what happened:

TJ:   <<'burrrrrrrrrrp'>> Excuse me.

Me:    <<'mouth wide open'>> Good job with saying excuse me, TJ!!!!

TJ:  You're welcome.

A few minutes later, after Olivia reminded me to give her her Flintstone vitamin (by pointing to the cabinet where I keep them and saying "vitamin!  vitamin!") she accidently dropped it on the floor.  So, naturally, I picked it up for her since she was still buckled in (3 second rule was in full effect) and she proceeded to say: "Thank you, Mom!"

I think I have the most polite 2 year olds on the planet.

Bathtime!!!!

Lazy Weekend

The Parks family didn't do anything dramatic this weekend. We just hung around the house and relaxed. Here are a few pics from the weekend:

I had to capture this moment. I had asked TJ to stay in their room until he calmed down (not sure what he was 'excited' about). As always, Olivia took care of TJ by, first, bringing him something to play with (a VeggieTales movie case) and then going to get herself a book before plopping on the floor beside him...I guess in support...or protest. I love that they take care of each other like this:)

Gma and Gpa came last night as opposed to tonight and did Olivia's hair. She was extra resistant so it took a looooong time to finish her hair. My mom and dad insisted that I take a nap while they were here. Terry had been in and out due to practice and a function at the school so I certainly did not turn down that opportunity. They had a great time with their 'grands' as you can see.  Here is a picture of Gma and TJ reading their favorite Backyardigans book.

This is TJ and Olivia climbing on their Gpa.  You can also see a picture of Olivia and her afro before her Gma got her hands on it.


Here are TJ and Olivia spending some time in their playroom reading in their wagon, one of their favorite activities:)


Olivia, I'm sure with TJ's help, got into their armoir of clothes and decided to put on as many items of clothing as she could.  It's hard to see, but underneath her tights are her Christmas socks that light up.  It was a hilarious sight to see!




Our favorite Backyardigans episode and book has a character "Pirate Captain Moody" and they LOVE to make the pirate sound "Arrrrrr" along with the hand motions just like Pirate Captain Moody does.   I guess at this point Olivia and TJ thought Olivia looked like a pirate because they started making their pirate sounds and hand motions.  

TJ also got a haircut today. He did pretty good. Towards the end, as is usually the case, I had to occupy him so Terry could finish. With Olivia sitting on my lap and TJ sitting in the chair getting a haircut, we read a few Berenstein Bears books.




What I thought was pretty funny was that at this point in the haircut, TJ yelled out "TJ allllllllll done!". And all we could say was...not quite, TJ...not quite. Can you imagine if we let him go out in public with his hair looking like this?!



Of course after TJ got a haircut, the entire house had to listen to Daddy for the rest of the evening say to TJ:  "Nice haircut, TJ! Who is your barber?!" As long as it's free, I guess it's worth it!

Lastly, here is a picture of TJ and Olivia eating daddy's pasta like it was the best meal they've had in days. This happens EVERY time Daddy gives them their dinner (even if I cooked it...which, in this case, I didn't). They did eat my spaghetti/mixed veggie concoction today at lunch, so I guess I shouldn't be too mad...



That's about all. Off to bed...Good night!!

It's been awhile, I know.   Here is an outline of the events of the last few weeks.

• Went to DeBary to visit the family...Gma, Gpa and Ti-ti.  We were also able to see our friend James before he is deployed to Afghanistan again for 6 months. This was also an eventful weekend for me as I decided to cut my hair.  The ponytail is history!  But that has nothing to do with the kids and this blog so...moving on.
• They have a new favorite toy - their "notebook", fashioned after the Blues Clues notebook.  If TJ had a choice he would eat, sleep and bathe with this notebook.  
• TJ and Terry got sick, thankfully not at the same time.  TJ's fever got up to 105.5!  Thankfully he is okay.  But in order to help with his ongoing sinus infection and related illnesses, we are having to give him his breathing treatment more often.  One good thing that has come out of this is that he now sleeps through the night...probably because he can breathe.  Interesting concept.  Oh, and potty training got put on hold while TJ got over his sickness (which included diarrhea...enough said). 
• On Valentine's Day, we visited Tara at a volleyball tournament that her team was in (she coaches)...Terry's team had an away game in Miami. The kids had a blast.  They ran and ran and ran. TJ got to sit on the bench withe team during their match; and Olivia sat at the scorer's table during the match that Tara's team had to referee.   
• Gma and Gpa came to visit us this past weekend so they could see their "grands".  Mom, of course, braided Olivia's hair so I don't have to worry about it during the week (unless she gets too excited in the sandbox). 

That's about it...time for bed!  Enjoy the pics...Good night!

January Randomness

Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks...  

We are embarking on the wonderful world of potty training in the Parks household.  I took the first step and bought the potty, however, I'm not exactly sure what to do next.  I set the potty up in the living room so they could first get used to the process.

Despite these pictures, I think we are ready to go live.  I'll keep you posted.

I love this picture of my mom and TJ.  G-ma and G-pa came last Sunday just so my mom could braid Olivia's hair for the week...and of course because they missed their grandchildren! 

Olivia is very animated when she likes her food.  As you can tell she really likes grilled cheese sandwiches!

Here are my kids just being cute:) They love to say "cheeeese" when I take their pictures now! I love it!

Parks family at a Super Bowl party thrown by our friend Gabe. We had a great time with our group of friends here in Palm Bay. The kids were very sociable...everyone had a great time!


That's all for now!