And her name is....

Reese Elizabeth Parker!!!

Matthew and I are happy to finally announce her name! She already has plenty of nicknames (thanks to my granddad) such as: Reese Piece, Buttercup, and my granddad's favorite--Sparky.  We actually had several other names picked out for a baby girl, none of which were Reese or Elizabeth, but Matthew and I both really liked the name Reese, and Elizabeth is my Sister Kat's middle name as well as my granddad's mother's name. And there you have it!
I was 30 weeks in this pic. I made the blocks with: 2" wooden blocks, super cute scrapbook paper, and glue! I was really excited with how they came out!

I am 31 weeks today...we are now in single digit weeks with 9 left! Mom and I started making her crib skirt today--my first "real" sewing project with many more to come, I'm sure! It is going to be super cute! I will post pics of the finished product.  

We are so excited to meet Miss Reese Elizabeth in December!!!
Here are a few more pics...

 

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30 weeks!

It's hard to believe that I only have 10 weeks left--if that! I am posting pics of our pumpkin patch adventure to facebook this very moment. So make sure to check those out. Madden loved it!
Also, I will be revealing baby girl Parker's name later today! I was planning on doing it Friday when I was officially 30 weeks, but we were at Matthew's family reunion at The Heart of Texas Lake Resort on LBJ.
The reunion was fun. Madden had a blast! There was a TON of food and I'm pretty sure I gained about 6 pounds (just a guess--I don't make it a point to step on a scale these days!) I met all sorts of Matthew's family members (as did he!). I took a few pics of Matthew and Madden on the swing set and will try to get to those later. That's about it for now--stay tuned for Baby Girl's name! Pin It

The Final Stretch

First, I must say Happy 17 months to Mr. Madden! I cannot believe he will 18 months a.k.a. 1 year & a half next month! He is my hilarious, adorable, energetic, awesome little man!
Currently, he is working on teething his molars and a few other little teeth. One molar is already in! This makes him a little cranky some days, but apparently also very tired. He has always been a great sleeper (12 hours/ night) but recently he has been sleeping for about 14hrs/night and taking about a 2hr. nap!

The last weekend in Sept. Mom, Madden and I journeyed to Dallas to see Kat and go to a consignment sale. We got some great things for Madden, Baby girl Parker, and baby girl Grahn! Last week there was a sale in Boerne, so Mom, Madden, and I decided to go. Couple of things:
1. Kendall County Fairgrounds=no AC= HOT!
2. Madden does not like to stay in his stroller anymore=chasing him around KCF while trying to shop=EXHAUSTING!
Madden is FAST! Lesson Learned.

On to Baby Girl Parker--
We are now officially in the 3rd trimester! Which means:
-I now go to the Dr. every 2 weeks, and...
-there are less than 12 weeks/82 days till she's due!!!

I've been thinking about this for a while now, but there are definitely differences in carrying a boy vs. a girl.
1. Cravings- they say that when you are having a boy you crave salty snacks/food, verdict- TRUE. And with a girl, you crave sweets. Def. TRUE! I want/NEED something chocolate everyday--even if it's only a few choc. chips! Crazy.
2. The "way" you carry them- With boys, most women carry out in front and lower, and generally when looking at them from the back, you would never know they were pregnant! With girls, it is said, most women carry them higher and out the sides! The higher part--i dont know, I can't tell the difference this time. However, this little miss is def. side to side! I can feel the difference.

At the moment those are the only differences I can think of/remember. Baby brain is clearly inevitable--boy or girl!


(I was going to insert a few pics but apparently things have changed in blogger and I will have to do it in another post :( bummer.)

So with that said, Yay for Madden growing up (even though I wish he wouldn't do it so fast) and Yay for the last trimester! Baby Girl's name will be released soon!

Till next time! Pin It

"OH! We're Half Way There....

...OH OH!!!" While we may not be "living on a prayer", (or are we?!) we are most definitely half way there-- 20 weeks to be exact! Only 20 weeks left, and if this little missy is anything like her big brother, she will make her GRAND entrance a bit early! (Here's hoping, at least!)

Yes, Yes...I know I have been a horrible blogging momma, but life gets in the way sometimes! For starters, this post will be sans pictures :( sad I know. My hard drive crashed in May, and my amazing Dad had to completely re-do everything. And since I couldn't find the reboot disc for my comp. he had to install a new system as well. Which as of now I still have yet to be able to download my camera's software to, and therefore cannot upload any photos!!! Very, very sad. The memory card for my camera is in desperate need of emptying.
But enough excuses, on to the good stuff!...

In case you are not one of my FB friends and have not already figured out from the first sentence--Matthew and I are expecting baby #2, who just happens to be a GIRL!!! As surprised as were we to find out, we are most definitely thrilled about this new addition!
Madden is full-throttle these days! He is a whopping 15 months old, and there is so much to say about him that y'all have missed out on!


- Daddy gave Madden his first haircut--(this deserves it's own post! Will get to the details later!)
-His first birthday was May 9th--he had a rubber ducky themed party! His
favorite word is "Duck" and he says it all the time, every time he sees a duck, or anything that resembles one
- May 20- Madden's first Hickman cousin was born- Brevin Peter Hickman
- June- He started really walking even though he took his first step at 10 months, he was an expert crawler and decided it wasn't worth giving up the speed!
- separation anxiety set in- especially at church!
- July- Matthew and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary!

-Words Madden says: Duck, Doggie, key, light, mama, dada, stinky (when referring to his diaper!), fish, banana, all gone, hi-ya for hello, shoe, I'm sure i am missing a few...and in reality, most of these words he says don't actually sound human!
- He eats pretty much whatever I give him--however if he had his way he would probably only eat fruit, zuccinni, and cheese! Those are by far his faves! Oh, and ice cream!
-He is an expert moocher--it's hard to say 'no' to his sweet face! He has Grandmommy and Aunt Jenn wrapped around his finger!
- He is 33 inches tall (90th%) and weighs 23lbs. and 12 oz. (50th%).
- He loves his sleep!
- He wears size 18 mo. clothes, size 4 diapers, size 5 shoes.
- He is very interested in how things work--he will sit for a good 10-15 min. playing with one car/truck just pushing it back and forth. We think he's going to be an engineer!
-He loves reading books!
- Best of all--He's going to be a GREAT Big Brother!
I know I'm missing so much, and I will try to be better at posting--hopefully soon with pics!

'Till next time!



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Sweet Dreams

I was initially going to post pics of our beach trip a few weeks ago. However, while editing the pics, and waiting for Madden to finally go down for his afternoon nap, something more important came up!

For the past couple of weeks, Madden has decided that he does not want me to rock him to sleep anymore for his naps. So I put him down in his crib, turn on the music, and he eventually winds himself down. I'm thinking this is a GREAT thing!
Today, however, he felt he needed a little rocking action to do the job. As I rock my sleepy baby boy, his eyes get droopy and eventually close, and I can't help but notice how perfect he is, and how much I am blessed by him! My thoughts go swiftly back to when he was a bitty-baby (and slept ALL the time), and how peaceful he always looked! It just reminds me of how AWESOME God is, and brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart!


Madden- 6 days old



Asleep in Daddy's arms at the beach- 10 1/2 months old

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"Sunny Day, Keeping the Clouds Away..."

He LOVES Telly-Monster!

Here are a few pics from our trip to Sea World to meet some of Madden's favorite characters!

CooKie Monster is also a FAVE!

Family photo with Zoe and Telly-Monster

 March has been pretty exciting so far. Madden is 10 months old. His two front teeth are finally out and about, and two more are budding up on the bottom, giving Madden a grand total of 8 teeth!!!! EIGHT!!!! He is full of personality, and starting to test mommy and daddy!

We are just waiting for him to start walking any day now!

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Back To Life, Back To Reality...

For the past week or so, Madden has decided he only wanted to take one nap during the day. However, due to the fact that he has been "under the weather" the past couple days, he brought back the much needed (on my part) morning nap! Generally when he naps, I do laundry, make myself something to eat, check email and whatnot, sit down and rest, or as I did today--take a nap!
Today, Madden took a longer nap than normal...as did I! I nodded off on the couch with SA Living in the background. While napping, I had a dream, with the TV as the narrator. I dreamt that I was back in high school, where life was pretty much care-free. In my dream I was shopping for a new purse (I think they had a guest on the show that had something to do with shopping). There was more to my dream, such as the weather and other random parts of SA Living making its way into my subconscious. And just as I was really getting into it, I hear Madden crying on the other end of the monitor.
Back to reality... Pin It

Wordless{ish} Wednesday!

The stink eye!

Madden has learned to sniff. So stinkin' CUTE!

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To Condition? Or, Not To Condition?

Just a quickie: 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioners have become a norm for this 1st time momma. My whole life I have lived by the notion that my hair (being as thick as it is), absolutely NEEDED it's own conditioner. I even went as far as bringing my own conditioner whereever I went.
Now that I'm a mom, things have changed.
Time has vanished.
And therefore, showers are much shorter. I was never a bath person to begin with (something about sitting in my own dirty water, never appealed to me) so I don't feel deprived in that department. But I do miss being able to shave my legs on a regular basis!
There are a few rare occasions where I can completely relax and enjoy. (Thank you Matthew) But all the other days...2-in-1 it is. Pin It

Love and Marriage

Happy Valentine's Day, all! Madden decided he was super excited about today and woke up at 5:30am, and instead of falling back asleep when I turned on the music, like he usually does...he stayed awake. The morning started looking brighter when Matthew came through the door with a giant balloon (that sings I might add), a sweet card, and 30 pink tulips!
As tired as I may be, I am super excited about my date tonight with Matthew! We are going to PF Changs, yummmmm! It would be awesome to add a movie to our night...but Matthew now works overnight to produce the morning show. Therefore, we will go eat and then he will drop me off at home, with a kiss goodnight. It will feel like we are dating again! Which, honestly, is kind of fun! The sleeping alone part --not so much.

On to Baby news: Madden is 9 MONTHS OLD...and stats are in:

Height: 30 in. (90th %)
Weight: 20 lbs. (25th-50th %)
Head: 45cm (50th %) <--at 6 months he was in the 10th %!!!

Our string bean is growing  fast! He is pulling up on EVERYTHING...and he even lets go and stands on his own for a few seconds! He will be walking any day now : / Lord, help us!
I would love to post some recent pics, however, we had a play date yesterday with one of Madden's girlfriends, and I accidently left the camera at her house :( So you will have to wait.

Happy V-day! Pin It

Soap Box Alert!!!

I have kept silent for long enough...I can't stand the first few episodes of American Idol! I was going to post this last week after the Armadillo costume made it's appearance, but decided that my rant could wait. Until last night, when the autobot was aired. SERIOUSLY?!?!? I think it's ridiculous that these people make it on TV! This is a singing competition. I don't think it would bother me quite as much, if I didn't know that these people stood in front of 10 other 'no-name' judges, and were passed through to the celebrity judges. When I guarantee you there are other people who have good voices that don't get a chance to get the coveted golden ticket, b/c they have to make room for these idiots in hopes to boost ratings!

Just so you know...when those (I'll say it again) idiots are allowed on TV, I change the channel. I refuse to support it.
Now this next comment refers to last year...If you are above or below the age limitations you SHOULD NOT  a) try out for American Idol, and b) if you do [try out], I should NOT have to watch you sing "pants on the ground"! There are other shows (America's Got Talent, The 'X' Factor, etc.) where you can showcase your talent and stay within the show's rules.
Ok, I'm done, I think. :) Now that they are in Hollywood,  I can finally watch the show without screaming at the television.
on another note--Mr. Madden is now 9 months old!!! I will post his stats and whatnot later! Pin It

Full

Well, I guess a "Happy New Year" is in order here...albeit a little late :/ Life has been....Full. I think that's a great word for it!
Christmas was great! Madden met Santa...and well, while he loves most strangers, there was something about Mr. Claus that he just didn't like...

And speaking of our little man-- Madden is now a whopping 8 MONTHS OLD! 

- He is weighing in at around 18 lbs.

- Has 4 teeth!!!!

- Pulls up to stand at any chance

- Says "MAMA"!!!!!

- Has outgrown most of his 9 mo. pajamas, and is now wearing 12 mo.

 I'm sure there are things I am leaving out.

New Years for the Parkers is a little different these days :) I fell asleep on the couch with Matthew, but managed to wake up just before Midnight to get my kiss, as Matthew went out the door to go to work. He has been given a little "promotion" (that's what his boss called it at least). He is now producing the 5 am newscast, so he is there from 10:00 pm- 7:00 am M-F. Which, on the bright side, gives him weekends off! YAY!!!!

Matthew is amazing! He works so hard, which enables me to stay at home with Madden. I am so blessed!

As for this new layout-- I'm not thrilled. I was playing with it earlier today, to get rid of the Christmas background, and well, in the process I lost the original template (minimal blah blah blah- you know what I mean)  and I can't seem to find it. I'm rather annoyed. Any help in finding it would be appreciated!

So until I can figure it out, I guess this will do...it's happy, I guess!

I have also started coaching my club vball team again. I have 14 year olds this year. We've had 2 practices so far, and well...there's definitely room for improvement!!! :) It will be fun though, they are a good group of girls!

Quick trip back to New Years-- I have never really done resolutions. I don't really have a reason as for why not. Just never have. However, this year, I am determined to lose these 15 lbs. I've been carrying around since Madden was born. So I bought my first Groupon! You've heard of those right?!? I'm pretty sure everyone has. I am a little late to joining that club. Anyway, it's for 2 months of unlimited personal training! I wish I loved to run...but, let's get real...I HATE it! Strong word, I know, but I can't lie. And since the thought of running makes me tired, I decided I needed someone to Make. Me. Work. I'll let you know how it goes...I still need to print off the coupon :)

I suppose that enough for tonight....I'd upload some more pics, but it's taking too long. So check on FB :)

'Till next time!

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