When he outright refuses…

Today Parker wanted nothing to do with my mini portrait studio.  When I asked him if he wanted to have his picture taken he said “NOPE.”  So I asked him if he wanted to have his picture taken with his new Buzz.  “NOPE.”  How about Woody and Buzz?  “Nope.”  How about Daddy’s truck from when he was a little boy?

This option got him interested so he carried the truck from the upstairs all the way to the basement where we put it in the portrait area.  Then the little stinker walked away and refused to be in the picture!  So this is all I got today.  A picture of the truck…

When he doesn’t cooperate…

…we get pictures that look like this…

When he cooperates…

He takes such great pictures when he cooperates!  Now if I could only get him to hold still and smile for me more often.  Maybe when he is three?  Or not…

Hawaii…

We had a nice little get away this past November to Kauai, Hawaii.  Parker was so good on the plane ride and the whole time we were there.  We had a great time relaxing and playing in the pool as well as exploring the island.  It was a different vacation for Justin and me because we are so used to vacationing at a faster pace.  With Parker we were forced to do a bit more relaxing!  The little man still needs his sleep.  The three of us got well rested and had such a fabulous time and we can’t wait to head back to the islands!

Here is my adorable little man:

I can’t wait to go back.  I miss the warm weather and sunshine!

Flowers…

As you probably know I have become quite fond of photography lately.  I am still just learning but I have so many ideas and so much I want to do.  The main thing that I am lacking is time!  So between working and spending time with my wonderful little family I try to squeeze in some time to study photography.  Here are two pictures of flowers that I have taken.  The first picture was taken at Pike Place Market in Seattle and the second picture was taken at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

I’m bad…

I’m such a bad blogger.  I was going to start posting more frequently starting last summer and we all can tell how well that worked out!  Well now it is February 2010 and Parker is a big boy.  He has graduated from his crib to a toddler bed (out of necessity b/c we couldn’t get him to stop climbing on top of his dresser).  He is speaking more and more every day.  It is so cute to listen to him tell you a story and try to figure out what he is telling you.

Parker is also such a smart boy.  It is amazing to just watch him play and figure things out.  He has such intense concentration at times (much like his Mommy, I’m sure!).  We have been working a lot on ABCs and counting.  He is a bit stubborn when it comes to counting (he refuses to say the number 1) but he does really well with his alphabet.  At 2 yrs 3 months he can already identify almost all the letters.  It is very cute to listen to him speak his letters as well.  To him the letter ‘M’ is ‘Mem’ and ‘N’ is ‘Nen'.  The letter ‘W’ is a ‘double-double’.  It really is a delight to watch him learn and grow!

We are also starting to experience the joys of toddlerhood.  We are struggling to cope with Parker’s drive for independence!  It seemed like just yesterday he was this sweet innocent boy and now everyday we are reminded that we have a two-year-old.  But I really can’t complain.  As far as two-year-olds go I am pretty sure I have the best one!