The Caldwell Clan

Summer lovin

2011-06-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Parker Turned 4 on the 11th of June. Every year in the past we have done little birthday parties for him and have been pretty prepared. But as his birthday rolled around on a Saturday we had nothing planned. I knew Chase would be at the station so celebrating it without him was not an option. Since he was at the station and Parker loves going to visit him, I took him and Oliver to go for a visit and a little birthday fun. The boys had a great time running around the station, going for a ride in the truck, opening presents and eating cake.

Oliver and Parker having fun on the ride.

Parkers birthday cake made by Chase, decorated by another firefighter.

Parker is getting sung to by all the firefighters, this the look on his face, he was trying not to smile.

Chase didn't capture them singing but this was right after.

The older guys were more impressed with Parkers toys then he was. It was funny.

Chases Captain in the background showing off the toy fire extinguisher

Playing with the fire truck

again

and again. He really was quite impressed.

Parker had a great time at the station and later had another birthday party with friends. I will post those pictures when I get them. My mom was the photographer. We are Love our little Parker boy so much. He is a ball of energy and keeps us on our toes constantly. Yes there are days we want to pull our hair out, but when he calms down for the night and climbs up on the couch and asked to snuggle, it makes it all worth it.

And just a little on Paisley, she is now crawling everywhere. She started crawling around 9 months. She pulls herself up on everything, and trys to stand on her own. We had high hopes of her walking as soon as her brother did, but he was walking by 10 months and that time has come and gone from her. I am ok with that though, so I don't have to chase her everywhere. She has started to develop a cute personality and has slowly become a happier baby. Sleep could still be better, but I suppose in time it will improve. We love our little Paisley and the joy she has brought us.

A couple of weeks ago we went to Portland to go to the zoo. When we saw that it was going to 85 degrees, we knew it was the perfect weekend to go. Parker has been once, but it was 2 years ago, so I figured it was time to take him again. I was hoping he would appreciate it more this time, and actually care about seeing the animals. So we packed up the car, drove to Vancouver to stay with family friends, Jack and Lisa Bodner, and headed to the zoo the next morning. Turns out we were not the only ones who thought it would be a good day to go to the zoo. They were really busy, but we left around 1:30 when it really started to pick up. Parker had a good time, and it was fun to see his reaction of the animals. I still don't think he really cared, he just wanted to run everywhere. Paisley was not to thrilled about being in her stroller the whole time, but we made it through without any major fits.

Look closely at Parkers face and you can see that he is making tractor noises as he is pretended to draw. He is really good with his automobile noises.

I would have to say this exhibit was my favorite part. I was just amazed at how human like these monkeys were. It was amazing to see their features up close and to watch them use there hands to pick up things. I could have sat and watched them for quite some time.

Parker even found an area where he could do what he does best, and that's being a monkey. He loves to climb and swing on anything and everything.

Paisley even got a chance to play

And of coarse we let her get out to stretch her legs. She loved being on the blanket but wanted nothing to do with the grass.

This is an "owe mom it's hot on here" and me saying "to bad take a picture with me"

Parker enjoying the telescope, to bad he didn't use it to look at the animals.

We decided to fork out the millions of dollars to go on the train ride. It was ok, relaxing, but for me kind of boring.

Parker enjoying the train

I haven't posted any pictures of our new place, not that it matters because we are leaving in 4 weeks, but I need to get them up anyways. We could not have done any of this without Chases parents. They came and spoiled us like no one would believe. We are so grateful for their generosity and for their help in making our place a lot more like home. Liz you are awesome with such a great talent! I hope your ready to do this again in a month :)

This is our entry way as you first walk in the door

this is when you first come up the stairs

This is our computer area, eventually will have some more decor to go with all of this stuff.

Here is our living room before. Where the armoire is, is now where the computer sits. And I did take this picture when we were still moving in, so don't judge at the random placement of things. And the pic was taken on my cell phone.

After. The sides of the entertainment center will have doors. The top will be glass and the bottom is solid. We will eventually have things to put on the shelves.

Living/dining before

Dining after. This pic was taken on my cell as well, but the colors are so bright and cheery!

Kitchen before

After

BeforeAfter

We have loved this place the short time we have been in it, and are very sad to have to pack everything up again. Not to mention the nice amount of space we get for a good price compared to Portland area. Oh well, here's to the next chapter in our lives!

Finally

2011-06-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

WE DID IT!!!!!! After years and years of testing, Chase got his job offer with Portland Fire and Rescue. We could not be more happier, and are so excited for this next chapter to start in our lives!

Easter

2011-05-02T19:20:00.001-07:00

2 months in a row!? That is some kind of record for me. This month has been pretty busy, which has been nice for me. Chase has been gone at the station a lot, so having things to do to pass the hours by quickly are much appreciated and invited. My Dad got released as Stake president at the beginning of April so we had all of our family in town. It was nice to spend time with my sisters. And to have a busy house. I will miss hearing my Dads talks, as they are always so good. He is one speaker I could listen to over and over again. However, I will not miss feeling anxious at every Ward Conference and Stake Conference, wondering if he will call me up to bare my testimony. I have learned so much from my Dad and am so grateful for his dedicated service to the church for 9 years. His testimony has strengthened mine, and I am so thankful for that. While my sister was here she took some cute pics of Parker and Paisley. I love that she is so talented and is always willing to take pictures of my kids. Thanks Megan, I will always owe you. When we have all of the kids together (the young kids), they tend to get restless and always end up fighting over who gets to play with what toy, or who sits by who at the table. My mom is such a great Grandma or Draddy as the kids call her. I hope I can be half of the Grandma that she is. She is so good with all of the kids and makes sure to play with them or keep them entertained. She took the kids to the Park to get the wiggles out. The grandkids just love their Draddy! Mom even does bedtime with the kids. Here she is reading bedtime stories to them. And of coarse Darcee too. She was feeling a little left out, and wanted to hear stories from her Mommy :) We all need that sometimes. Megan and I were in there to, but just not in the picture. Parker loves to stay busy, and loves to have friends over. Oliver is one of his only friends that he can play with for a pretty long period and not fight. So here is just a random picture of the boys. This year for Easter both my brothers were home. Brady came to visit for the week, and Tyler is home until his mission. I was so glad they were here to make Parker's Easter a little more exciting. Chase was at the station, so it was our first official holiday without him. We did survive. Here the boys and Paisley are for the traditional Holiday picture at the top of the stairs. No one is allowed downstairs until a picture is taken, and a good one at that. Then once the picture is captured the youngest to oldest run down the stairs to try and gather up as much Easter candy from the floor as possible. The Easter bunny lays it all over the floor, and all the candy has to be picked up before you can find your Easter basket. Parker of coarse was the first one down the stairs, and he was excited to see all of the candy and to start picking it up, before his Uncle Brady came running down the stairs like a mad man, yelling and picking up way more candy the Parker approved of. So Parker whined for a bit and wouldn't pick up anything, until Brady settled down and let Parker get most of the candy. Paisley wanted the candy too, but I told her she couldn't have any until she learned to crawl for it. So she missed out. Parker with his Easter basket and his new remote control Monster Truck. The Easter Bunny did a superb job on picking out his present. His was one happy boy.

Tyler looking so enthused about life. I am pretty sure he found his basket pretty easy.

Brady on the other hand had quite a hard time. He was the last to find his, and couldn't find it until Mom played the classical hot and cold game.

Here he is finally getting hot

So happy to have finally found the basket! Yay!

Picture with my handsome brothers before church.

And of coarse one with my handsome son too.

And who could forget about my beautiful mother

Mom and Dad together.

Parker is so glad Tyler is home. We had a countdown for when he would get home. Parker would ask me everyday if Tyler was going to be home. When I would tell him no he would say, "AWWWWW!" Really pathetically though. One day he was sitting on the couch and turned around and said, "Mom, I miss Tyler." It was really cute. Parker sure does love Tyler and will miss him when he is gone for two years. Parker had two Easters this year. Since Chase was at the station, they invited the families there for an Easter egg hunt and dinner. Parker scored on the candy this year. Not a good thing for this Momma. So that is our month in a nut shell. Hopefully next month, or technically this month I will get 3 in a row!

Parker

2011-04-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

Parker Loves to help make cookies

Parker at the Monster Truck show with Papa

Christmas at the Caldwells

These moments are few and far between. He never falls asleep on his own, and never in random spots.

Pumpkin Patch

In his undies!

All ready for work

Jolly Green Giant

Yes he does get into makeup

Where to start with Parker....he is our little monkey, and ball of energy. He is now 3 years old, but wants to be 4 so bad. He asks me every day, "Mom am I 4 yet?" I continue to have to tell him no and that he won't be 4 until it gets hot out. He still continues to ask though. When there is a commercial on the TV with a toy he will scream for me, even if I am upstairs. If I tell him I am busy he will continue to scream, "HURRY MOM, HURRY!!!!!" I will run as fast as I can to catch the commercial, and he will say so sweetly, " Mom can I hab that for my birtday?" I always just say maybe. Parker loves to jump and climb on anything and everything. He is always climbing on the back of moms nice couches, and that is always a no, no. But he continues to do it. He is also always walking across the kitchen counters and getting into everything. He is not the best listener, and I am not the best at disciplining him. Anytime I try he just laughs in my face and I just get more frustrated, because I want him to realize he is being naughty and to listen. I feel like I am being tough, but I guess I need to figure out a better method. Any ideas would be much appreciated. I also need to work on the education part with him. I look at my sister Megan who is so good at teaching her kids things, and I am some what envious that I can't get my act together and just do it. And really that is all it is, it's me being lazy and saying I will eventually do it. So for now he is pretty close to writing his name and can count to 14. After 14 he just skips to 18 and then just spouts out random numbers. My mom is really good at pulling out worksheets for him, and I give her all the credit for him learning his name. I will now have a goal to work on with Paisley, and to do a better job with Parker. Parker is still skinny as ever. We will usually fine him running around in just his underwear. He hates putting clothes on. So seeing him with nothing on always reminds me of how tiny he is. He can still wear 24 month clothes, but they are getting to short for him. So we have a hard time with pants fitting him. The only thing he ever wants to eat is sugar. Go figure he takes after his Mom. That's another goal I have is to do better with getting healthy things into his body. I suppose I should take him to the doctors to get him checked out, to make sure he is not withering away. Parker sure does love anything to do with his dad. Parker loves anything to do with the Fire station. The other night when we were saying our nigh time prayers, he said," Thankful for that I could here the fire station." We had heard fire trucks right before bed and he always calls them fire stations. Another time we were driving to my work, and he saw a boy walking on the side of the road, and he said, "Look mom, its a missionary man like Brady!" So I asked him if he was going to go on a mission when he got older. So he said, " Yeah, and a fire station man like my daddy." So I asked him why he wanted to be a fire station man and he said, "So I can drive fire trucks, play with water, climb on top of houses, but I won't get hurt cause I am strong man!" I just love that Parker looks up to his Dad so much. When Chase gets home from the station Parker just gets a big smile on his face, because he has missed his daddy so much. We sure do love our little Parker, he has taught us so much about being parents, and continues to teach me new things everyday.

Paisley

2011-04-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

I am going to do a few different posts to make this easier for me, so here is an update on our little Paisley. I obviously have not posted since she was born, so she was born August 17, 2011 by c-section. She weighed 6 lbs 11 oz. She was quite small compared to our little Parker when he was born. I was really nervous for the transition of 1 kid to 2. Worried of how Parker would treat his little sister, and if he would torture her. But the transition went great!! Parker was not quite sure what to think of Paisley at first, but shortly warmed up to her, and wanted to hold her and give kisses all the time. He loves his little sister, and Paisley sure does love him. Paisley may be cute, but she sure has been a tough baby. The first couple of weeks of her life, I thought what a piece of cake!!! She slept all the time, and never cried. The only part I had a hard time with was nursing. For some reason my children hate nursing and it is so stressful for me. My mom finally asked me one day if I was enjoying it, and I said no. So she told me to just stop. I had so many mixed feeling about it, because I wanted to be a good Mom and give my baby the best nutrition that she could get, but she was not having it. So to formula we went. Anyways, after the first month of Paisleys life, our honeymoon was over. I realized I had a baby with Colic! It was AWFUL, and I never wish it upon anyone. She would scream and scream anytime we put her down, so getting anything done was out of the question unless she was sleeping. And even that was not for very long. She would nap from anywhere from 20 mins to an hour. Anything longer then that was very rare and still is. It is sad that I didn't get to enjoy the first 6 months of her life. I just wanted her to grow up so she would be happier. Paisley is now 7 1/2 months old and we just love her so much. She still has her bad days, but nothing like before. She has been sitting for a couple of months now, and is trying her hardest to learn to crawl. She can roll from front to back and she can scoot back on her belly. She doesn't last long before she starts crying, but she will get there. Her big brother has set the standard high for her, he was crawling at 6 months and walking by 10. So we will see how she does. For now we will enjoy her not getting into everything.

One of the outfits I made for Paisley

Paisleys first trip to the pool

Halloween outfit. She was the pea in a pod Parker was the jolly green giant

Paisleys blessing day

We're Back

2010-07-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

Well after month and months of not blogging, I figured it was time to get my act together. Well kind of. Chase and I are house sitting for six weeks so most of my pictures are on my parents computer. So when I get a chance to make it over there, I will upload some more. So this will just be a short post. My sister Megan and her family were here for Tylers graduation and while they were here she took some maternity pictures for me. At this time in my pregnancy with Parker I never would have dared since I weighed so stinkin much, but since I have not gained quite as much I figured it was ok. Oh wait...I am pregnant!!! Everyone already knows that, but I was not pregnant my last post. So yes, we are expecting a girl come August and could not be more excited. Everyone who know me, knows that I will just have so much fun dressing her up and doing her hair. I try and imagine what she will look like, will she look like Parker just with more hair? I can't wait to find out. I am however not quite prepared for a baby like I with Parker. I have purchased absolutly nothing and I am not sure why. I guess I should be working on that since she will be here sooner then we know it. So here are the pictures my sister took. Now I did say I haven't gained as much this time around but I still am not one of the fortunate ones to gain only 25- pounds my whole pregnancy. But I am starting to come to terms with it.

October Happenings

2009-11-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

I know this is a much needed update, so sorry for the length of it, but it's been a while so I have lot's of pictures. We are still living at my parents house, and it has been such a blessing to be able to have a nice roof over our heads. I know it is not always easy to have us here , especially with Parker in his TERRIBLE TWO's stage. He is constantly into anything and everything. When we tell him no, he just looks at us with this devious look on his face like, "I am going to tell you!" His favorite thing to do is climb up onto the counter and get into the cupboards, or play with the water faucet. He is very independent and wants to do everything on his own. Anytime I try to get him anything he just starts yelling, "No, I do it!" I guess all kids reach that stage sometime in their lives. I just wasn't quite ready for it.

I am sure my parents miss their nice clean house. And sometimes I miss a smaller place so Parker has less of an area to make messy. This is what I saw one morning after taking a shower....

He had pulled out every game he could possibly find. This picture does not give the mess the justice it receives. But we continue to love him regardless of all the messes, screaming and tantrums he likes to throw.

Parker had his first friend over to play a week ago. Jonas is 3 1/2, but Parker just loves him. Every blonde hair kid he see's he calls him Jonas. I was also happy to have him over, hoping that it would keep Parker occupied. When they were inside playing with the toys, they kept to themselves for the most part, but once it got nice enough to go outside, they had fun riding bikes and playing in the leaves. They did a good job sharing the bikes as well. The would ride the scooter and a little diego three wheeler. They rode down to the mailbox and back, and would switch after every time. It's fun to be able to see Parker around other kids. He doesn't get the opportunity a lot.

A couple of weeks ago, Chase and I celebrated our birthdays. Our birthdays are a day apart so we always celebrate them on the same day. We had our good friends Lea and Nathaniel over to come join the festivities (there wasn't much happening). Chase and I didn't do gifts this year, but my Mom and Dad got us some clothes, Chases parents gave us money and Lea and Nathaniel got us some gift cards. Thanks everyone for making our day so special.

Halloween this year was a lot of fun. To start of the Halloween season, Chases parents sent Parker a fabulous costume, some yummy pumpkin cookies, and some money. Thank you guys so much. Here is Chase and Parker enjoying the cookies

Mmmmmm.....so yummy

Look I even have a green tongue

And here is Parker getting into the Halloween spirit.

Carving pumpkins this year was a lot of fun. Parker was not to thrilled about the insides of the pumpkin and would not touch it. But he sure wanted to have the knife. He did a great job in letting Chase help him.

Chase and I didn't do the normal pumpkins this year. We wanted to be a little more creative. Chase for sure won the best pumpkin contest this year. His was pretty good!

Chases finish product. Spongebob in all his glory! We watch a lot of spongebob in this house.

The pumpkins all together

This year for halloween Parker was a dalmation and Chase was the firefighter. The idea came from Chases creative mother. Parker had a great time trick or treating. He loved getting all the candy. We went to the trunk or treat at the church and then hit up a neighborhood for more candy. Parker was very good at saying trick or treat, and then kindly saying thank you. Towards the end of the night when we started going to house, he would knock on the door, and then when someone opened it, he would yell "Happy Halloween" it was so cute. He would also try to go into the houses too. He is just a friendly guy in that way. There were a couple of houses that he was a little scared to go up to the door because of the decorations, but most of them he had no trouble.

I should have taken a picture of it, but my Mom decorated the front of the house with cobb webs, spiders and a scary monster. Everytime Parker would come to the front porch, he would want me to pick him up, and he would say ,"Scary, Monster." He eventually got used to it, but there was one night he woke up screaming and crying. I ran in there, thinking something was wrong and he was pointing at the window screaming, "scary, scary,scary." Poor little guy was terrified. He slept with us that night. But I am glad it didn't last. Sometimes when we go up the stairs for bedtime he will start saying, "scary" but all I have to say is, it's not scary, and he is fine. I am sure there will be many more nights of monsters, and scary things in his room.

One of the trick or treating spots was Cotton candy, made from Courtney. It was the most popular spot to go. Parker downed his.

We were supposed to decorate the trunk, thus the name trunk or treating. Well, I am not that festive, so we decided that the decorations would be us. That's good enough right?

Fish Hatchery

2009-09-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my Mom and I took Parker to the fish hatchery for the first time. He loved seeing all the fishes and watching them jump for their food. It was a perfect day to venture out towards the mountains. I am sure it won't be our last trip.

Mom and Parker Parker running across the small bridge

Watching the fish jump

Mom and Parker feeding the fish

These were the smaller fish. They had bigger ones too.

We took a little walk in the woods. We didn't make it very far cause Parker wanted me to hold him. So that was when we knew it was time to turn around.

He found this huge stick and was running after my mom and I with it. Another time he grabbed a smaller stick and was hitting a random older guy with it. I was so embarrassed. What kind of mother am I?

Parker was so fasinated with the drinking fountain. I think he liked it better then the fishes.

Summer is over

2009-09-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Chase and I got to go to Utah to see his younger sister Chelsea be sealed in the Temple. We had such a great time with his family, and were glad that we could be there for Chelsea's special day. We left Parker here in Oregon with my parents because we figured it would be a much less stressful trip with him here. So we not only got to go for a nice wedding, but we also got a little break from Parker. We missed him by the end of the trip and were so ready to come home to him. Thanks Mom and Dad for watching him, and thanks Caldwells for a fun week! The beautiful bride and her husband. Chelsea looked so stunning in her dress! Tara and I got to do her hair and make her perfect for this big day.

Chase and I looking so excited. It was really hot outside. And black is not the best color in the heat.

Here is the family all in our black and red. The boys looked great in their suspenders too!

Me enjoying the yummy cupcakes

All the Beautiful brides maids!

While we were in Utah we got the chance to go see a soccer game. Real Salt Lake vs. Chicago Fire. We went with my sister and her husband Shane, and Chases little brother Channing. It was quite a good game. The first half was a little boring and slow but the second half picked up, and the game ended in a tie. It was my first experience at a MLS soccer game, so it was a good first experience.

They had this group of Hispanics who played this loud music the whole time, and sang the entire game. They were quite intense. I think they had drank quite a bit before the game started.

We also got to visit one of my best friends from college and her husband. Stef and I spent the day together and then were met by our husbands later in the evening. Stef made a fabulous dinner for us. I think she was afraid I wouldn't like it, but I am proud to say I was quite impressed cause I have since made it here at home. For those who know me really well, you know I am quite the picky eater. So good job Stef!!! To end our perfect night with them, Justin picked out a fabulous movie for us to watch. I think Chase and I were the only one's who stayed up and finished the whole thing. It was a pretty lame movie! So never watch Rock Band, it's a waste of time.

So we had a great week with family and friends!!!

Reunited again!

2009-08-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I got to see Kira again for the third time this summer! I was so blessed to have her come into my life, and I miss her like crazy! Anyways, her family came to Redmond for their annual trip to Lake Billy Chinook. Usually they rent a house boat, but this year they decided to stay out at Eagle Crest. Well unfortunately the weather was not so great the first day they were here, so they had to skip out on the boating, which was a real bummer because Chase and I were going to join them. So instead we spent the afternoon out at Eagle Crest swimming and mini golfing. Now when I think of mini golfing I think "mini" coarse. Well this was not a mini coarse to me, and Kira and I struggled to stay out of the sand. But no matter how horrible our scores were we had a great time!!!

Saturday was a much better day so the lake was a go. Chase had to work so he was not able to come. I was able to enjoy the day in the son childless, thanks to my awesome Mom and Dad. We spent the day on the boat, laying out, and of coarse eating. Now Kira and I only went on the tube once and that was plenty enough for us. We had watched Kira's dad whip the stuffing out of her two sister, and Brian, so we told him we wanted to take it easy. Well I don't think that was the case. The first time we fell off the tube was not to bad, so we were up for a second round. We again told her dad to take it easy because he didn't quite do it the first time. So we were going along, hanging on for dear life might I add, and we hit some waves. Kira and I went flying. And I mean flying. I knew the landing was not going to feel good, and I was right. After I came out of the water I looked around to see where Kira was and she was lying face down in the water. At first I thought she was just getting her face wet, but then I realized she was not moving. My heart stopped and I started screaming her name. She was not responding to me. So I was trying to swim as fast as I could over to her. When I got close she finally snapped her head out of the water and started looking around like she was lost. I continued to call her name but she would look at me. She finally turned around and snapped out of it. She had completely blacked out and she says she doesn't remember anything. So if you couldn't guess, we were down with the tube for the day. We had one quick ride on the wave runner and then called it a day.

Just another quick story, again for journaling purposes. After the Lake, Parker and I were going to meet Kira's family for pizza. My family was all gone, so Parker and I were on our own. Well I had taken the car seat out of my car earlier in the day for my mom to have so I needed to put it back in before we left for pizza. So Parker came out to the car with me and was just playing up in the front seat while I put it in. When I was done, I set Parker in his seat closed the doors and ran in to get his sippy cup. When I came back out to get in the car I realized the doors were locked. Parker had been playing with the locks while he was in my seat. Well I had no spare key and was all alone. So I began to panic. I called Chase at the fire station to see what I should do, and he said he would call dispatch to get a cop over to help me. So I waited for about 15 mins before a cop finally showed up. And as the car was pulling up, my first thought was, crap it's a girl. Now I am usually all for girl power, but in this case I really wanted a guy to be the one to help me. She grabbed out all of her tools and began trying to open the door. In the meantime Travis and Brittany Kohler showed up with their kids for moral support. Apparently Chase thought I was not strong enough to handle it on my own. And of course he was right. I was just about in tears by the time they showed up, because the cop had been trying for about 15 mins and was not having any luck. So Travis asked to take a stab at it as well, so now there were two people trying to help out. Chase had also called Kira and Brian to let them know where I was at. Once Kira heard what had happened they left the pizza place to come for support as well. So they pull up, and Brian starts looking at all the cops tools and grabs this one and takes a try at getting the door unlocked. Now Brian is very good with cars so I was relieved when they pulled up. And believe it or not he opened the door in like a minute. I was SOOOO HAPPY!!! THANKS BRIAN!!!!!

So that was our exciting weekend. Sorry for the long post.

Family Fun

2009-08-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Now that the summer is almost over, I need to catch up on this whole blog thing. We really have not been terribly busy since we got back from our trip to Utah. So I don't have anything to interesting to write about.

In July my sister Megan came to visit with both of her kids, as well as my younger sister Darcee. It's not very often that we all get to be together so it was so fun to have them here. Unfortunately, non of us had our husbands here to share the memories with. Parker loved it when Adallyn and Beckett are here. He just can't get enough of Addy. He follows her around like a little puppy dog. She is so great with playing with him, and also great at bossing him around. She may be the oldest and can be a little bossy, but we witnessed a mean side of Parker as well. I didn't see exactly what happened, but I am guessing he got mad at her and threw his bottle at her head. She had quite the goose egg on her forehead. Parker was quick to say sorry, but she was to busy screaming to notice. The only places we really went while they were here was to the swimming pool and shopping, but we still had a great time!!

And of coarse we had to have a little photo shoot:

Parker pushing beckett in the stroller.

Parker getting ready to go down the big water slide with Draddy (grammy).

And then enjoying the little slide!

Parker is definitely a boy because he LOVES cars and trucks. I was in the kitchen and Parker was quiet, so that usually is never a good thing. So I walked into the living room to find this. He had lined up all of his trucks in a perfect line. What a smart boy. He also LOVES to be outside. Anytime the door is open, he goes a runnin'. So this summer he has spent a lot of his time out in the sun.

And although he may be outside a lot, he has been cursed with the Perdue whiteness. I was hoping he would get the Caldwell skin, but so far it is looking pretty bad. And as you can tell he is quite the skinny boy. He is still stuck on a bottle, which is the vain of my existence. Anytime he falls down or starts to cry he always asks for his bottle. He has never really sucked a pacifier, so that is what his bottle has become. Sometimes its the only thing I can get him to put in his body. It becomes quite frustrating when he won't eat anything. I know he will let us know when he is hungry, but I still feel like he is starving. So I guess there are many things that I have to work on with him. One is taking the bottle and two is potty training. And to tell you the truth I really don't think I want to accomplish either at this point in time.

He loves to play with the hose. Anytime Draddy is out watering the plants, or Papa is out washing the car, Parker just screams for the hose. If it is to cold outside and he can't play with the water he will throw quite the fit.

(For journaling purposes) Although Parker is at the age of being a holy terror, he is also the love and joy of our lives. He continues to learn so much. On our way to Utah I taught him Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and he just sings it over and over again. It is pretty dang cute. However since it is the same tune as the alphabet, he gets a little confused. He will start singing his ABC's and then will switch to Twinkle Twinkle. So I am in the process of trying to teach him "I am a Child of God" but he has no interest. He tries to count as well. I sometimes have to help him, but he can for the most part count to 13 when he wants to. We have also been having him say prayer, which is really cute. He can't say really say sentences so it is always the last couple of words in our sentence that he will repeat.

Here are Parker most recent phrases or words:

"What doing?" He asks this over and over again.

"I help you"

"I hold it"

"Oh man" as it is said on Dora, from swiper the fox

Anytime he gets hurt he will have me kiss his owie and then right after he says, "better"

"Bless you" It's so cute when I will sneeze and he will say it, or it's even cuter when he will pretend to sneeze and he says it to himself.

adios

see ya later

We had one week here that was really hot, so we decided to go up to a lake outside of Sisters. I forget the name. It was 94 degrees when we left our house and when we got up to this lake it was barely 70 degrees and was off and on raining. I was not to thrilled with all the bugs that were flying around, and being cold, but besides that it was a good time. Chase, Tyler, Hailey and I rented some paddle boats that were a lot of fun to ride around in. We had a race with Tyler and Hailey and totally whooped their butts. Let's just say they lasted maybe 10 mins on the paddle boat until they decided they had enough and handed it off to my parents. Tyler is always bragging at what an all star he is, but now I would have to beg to differ.

4th of July fun

2009-07-08T19:20:00.001-07:00

This year for the 4th of July I made the trek down to Utah to be with Chases family. Chase was already in Boise doing his internship so Parker and I met him there so we could drive to Utah. Originally we were not going to make it to Utah until Saturday afternoon because Chase does not get of shift until Saturday mornings, but they gave him Friday off, so we got a couple of extra days with the family. The last time we were in Utah was for Christmas so I wasn't sure how much Parker would remember everyone, but he had no problem warming up to them. He got plenty of attention from everyone, which was a nice break for me and Chase because he was a bit stubborn on the trip. I guess you expect kids not to sleep well when they are not in their own beds, but usually Parker does a pretty good job when we are not at home. However, Parker was sick with a cold, which makes for a grumpy boy, which in result causes no sleep, and then made him even more grumpy. So as much as I was hoping for a relaxing trip, it was not quite the case. But we still had a blast regardless of the little man. Chase and I got the chance to go to dinner with Tara and Spencer on one of the nights. Thanks Mamma and Papa C for watching Parker!! Anyways, we went to this place called Happy Sumo. It's a Japanese place so they serve your sushi and teriyaki chicken stuff. Well, I have never tried Sushi before, so I decided to stay safe and stick with the teriyaki chicken, which was very yummy. Spencer and Tara both got some sushi rolls and I was told that I had to try one. So the first one I tried was a cucumber one, so it had no fish. I wasn't sure what to think of the seaweed, but it didn't kill me, so I was feeling pretty good. Now, another one Tara had was called the California roll. It had Avocado (which I LOVE), and crab. Now she assured me that it was not going to be bad and that is was not a fishy taste. So I was daring and tried it. And I didn't just try it, I shoved the whole thing in my mouth at once, as told by the boys to do. So I started chewing and knew that it was not going to be pretty. I literally felt like I was going to throw up. I got hot and sweaty and could no swallow it, for the life of me. So I tore off a piece of paper that was on top of our table cloth and spit it out. YUCK!!! I definitely will not be eating crab anytime soon! But besides going out that one night, we pretty much were home bodies. For the 4th, we just played outside and ate food. So sorry for all the pictures. I got a little camera happy!! And sorry Tara, for putting so many up of you. But what can I say, Parker loves you, and of coarse everyone else. Here is my fourth of July fruit platter. Strawberry's, whip cream and grapes. Yummy. Parker loved their Duke. Poor dog was so tortured while we were there. Parker did everything from hugs and kisses, to pulling his tail and ears, and of coarse trying to catch a ride. Duke would run every time Parker came into the room. Poor dog got no sleep while we were there. Guess we weren't the only ones. Here is Parker getting ready to go on his first bike ride with Grandma or drada as he calls her. They bought Parker his first real bike, and he loved it!!! Thanks!!!!

Parker and Grandma, fourth of July morning.

Duke wearing the captains hat that Chases parents brought home from the airport for Parker. He loves airplanes so it was so appropriate. Oh and plus the little delta plane too.

Here we are taking a bike ride. Parker loved the basket.

With daddy too!

Family picture on the bike. Parker is blowing a kiss.

Tara and Parker playing with the bubbles. He had so much fun with them.

And so did Spencer. If you can't tell, he is trying to be a fish. Good acting I would say.

Tara and Parker taking a little ride!

Chelsea playing with Parker on his bike.

And of coarse Tara helping Parker with his sweet tooth.

So I knew that Parker was going to have a hard time with the fireworks. Chase had tested a few of them before it got dark and Parker was not a happy camper. He would just scream and scream when he saw the lighter come out. So we decided that we would put him to bed before we did the big fireworks. It worked for a while, but then he woke up screaming and scared to death of the noises. I tried wrapping him up in a blanket and taking him outside, but he would not have any of that. I even tried watching from the inside, but he still was freaking out. Brings back memories of when I was little and would hide in the car, because I didn't like the noise. So the sparklers are the only thing we could get him close to.

As you can tell from the look on our faces, it was a struggle!

Here is spencer lighting off one of the illegal fire works. We had a couple of close calls. Tara and I were so nervous about these ones.

Tara with a sparkler

Grandma staska with a sparkler and Mom with a ice cream bar. Yummy!

The three girls

Chase and I

On our last night in Utah Chase and Channing decided to make a homemade slip n slide. They had so much fun on it, and it was quite entertaining to watch. Parker was a little reluctant at first about it, but finally took his turn going down.

Thanks Caldwell for such a good time. We already miss you!!! I can't wait until we are all together again!! We love you!

Trip to Portland

2009-06-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Parker and I got to make a little trip to Portland to visit one of my besties Kira and Parkers best bud Jaiden. It was a very long weekend with grumpy boys and some bad attitudes, but it was still good to see Kira again! We took the boys to the Zoo, and Parker was so excited to be there for the first time. His favorite part was definitely the aquarium, where he just stood at the window in awe of the curious creatures that were swimming around in the water. He was surprisingly on good behavior for the amount of time he had to stay in his stroller. We kind of powered through the zoo since I went with people who had already been, so next we go we will definitely have to capture the moment a little better. It was fun to see the little boys interact with each other again. It has been quite a while since Kira moved to Seattle, so I didn't know if Parker would remember Jaiden. Both of the boys were a little shy at first, but eventually they warmed up to each other. However, there were times during the weekend where we wished they would ignore each other. They definitely had they share of fights and tantrums. We had two trucks for the boys to share, but sometimes Jaiden would take Parkers, Parker would scream, Jaiden was told to give it back, he would shake his head no and say,"MINE", Kira would take the truck from Jaiden and give it back to Parker, and then Jaiden would scream and throw himself on the floor. And this sequence happened over and over again. It was quite exhausting. I think the highlight of the weekend was when we were at the Outlet mall and we had gone into GAP to look around. Kira had given Jaiden her chocolate smoothy to hold, and he got mad and chucked it on the floor, splattering everywhere, not to mention all over the white pants that were hanging up. So Jaiden was screaming and then Parker was screaming because he wanted one of the balloons that was attached to a clothes rack. We were so embarrased of our boys. Needless to say, by Saturday night we were so exhausted and were ready for a much needed break. And since we were both husbandless, that was not going to happen. So instead we have planned a girls weekend, kids free, in Portland in two weeks!!! But all in all it was a good weekend. And when the boys were not fighting or throwing fits they were very cute playing together.

Parker would have just stood here for hours

The other weekend my mom spotted a little bunny hopping around outside that was headed straight for a backyard that has mean dogs. I was not at home to witness the capture of the bunny, but I heard it was pretty funny. Since my mom couldn't catch it, she of coarse called on Chase to try. I guess he was diving around for it like a mad man. But as you can see, he caught it. Parker loved holding it and petting it. And he was much more gentle with it then he is with the cats. When I came home from working out I had the pleasure of holding it for probably an hour so it would not escape. Mom wanted to figure out what to do with it, so she called on a lady named Peggy Zierlein from our old ward to see if she would adopt this cute bunny. When we were younger we had a couple of bunnys and had gotten them from her. So she said she would take him/her in. She said she could tell the it had not been eating because you could feel the ribs on it. So I am glad Chase and my Mom saved the poor thing from being dog food.

And last but not least, a picture of my cute boy right before church. Now the reason I post this picture is because of the tie that Parker is wearing. Chase is pretty good at making Parker match. But on this particular morning, he definitely failed. I argued for him to take the tie off, but I did not win the battle.

Back at home!

2009-06-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Chase and I moved in with my parents. Chase leaves for his internship to Boise tomorrow, so it was a perfect solution for us to move in. Plus Chase will not be making any money all summer, so the no rent is just a plus.

There are a couple of reasons why Parker loves being able to live at Papa and Draddy's (this is what he calls my mom) house!

He get's hair cuts, since we have never bought clippers

He get's treats, even when Mommy says no

He get's to wrestle with the boys

He can lay on the table and watch cartoons.

He has a huge backyard to play in!!

We are so greatful that my parents are taking us homeless people in. My goal this summer is to learn to be a better homemaker from my Mom. Before I was married I didn't really care to learn much of anything. But now that I am a mom, I wish I would have had more of a desire to know how to do half of the things my mom can do. So here goes to a summer of new experiences!!!

We will miss Chase a lot, and wish him good luck on his internship!!!

Bring on the toddler years

2009-06-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

We have made it to the toddler years! It is crazy to me that Parker is already 2. It really does just seem like yesterday that they put Parker in my arms for the first, and I was overwhelmed with my new responsibilty of be a mother to this precious child. There have been days that I wish I could crawl in a hole and never come out, but no matter how many poopy diapers, screaming tantrums, messy houses, throw up messes I have to take care of, I would not take back that day, June 11, 2007, when our baby boy was born, for anything in the world . Parker has become the center of our world, and the joy of our lives. It has been fun watching him gain such a contagious personality. He loves to laugh, whether it be a fake laugh or him laughing so hard he can't catch his breath. He wants other people to laugh with him! And he will try to make that happen by twirlling in cirlces just make himself fall. He hates when people are sad, and if anyone is crying he gets a sad look on his face and makes sure to give them a hug to try and comfort them. After being home with me all day is soooo excited when we get any guests. He is quite the show off, especially to Tylers girlfriend Hailey. I now say with as much confidence as I can, "Bring on the toddler years!"

I debated back and forth for a while of what to do for Parkers birthday this year. I really wanted him to have a birthday party with some friends but in his case, he does not have to many. There are a couple of boys at church who are older then him, but none his age. So I decided to invite a couple of those boys. We decided to have a little party at Mcdonalds because Parker loves to play there. We really do not go there often, but anytime we drive by he always points to it and says, "Play, Play, Play!" So we figured Mcdonalds was the perfect place for him.

Parker had a good time at his birthday. He really didn't play as much as I thought he would, But he might have been intimidated by all the kids. However, he was just as happy standing back and watching with his balloons. When it came time to blowing out the candle, he was a little scared but finally realized that the fire was not going to hurt him. However I don't think he even tasted the cake. But Sawyer did it for him. Him and Hannah just sat and picked at it. But I guess that's what happens at a kid party.

When it came time to opening presents I think he felt a little overwhelmed by the other kids. He just kind of backed away when they started helping him tear the wrapping paper off. I don't think he knew what to do. Their reaction to each present was pretty funny. Parker said a couple of "Wows!" but thats all we really got out of him. But all in all it was a great birthday.

So the pictures are in reverse order. So sorry!

This is Parker after we got home. He was just a happy little boy!

haha this one is for the Perdue girls!!! Parker is Mocking us on the serious model pose. We all know how are serious pictures turn out!

So happy!!!! And this is with no sugar!

Uncle Tyler playing some b-ball with Parker

Enjoying his new bubble lawn mower.

Here are the shoes Jonas got for Parker. He was so excited for Parker to open them.

Here is one of the "Wow" expressions!

Sawyer picking at the cake.

Blow out the candle.

Parker not quite sure what to think of the candle.

Enjoying his balloons!

Eating a nurtious meal

I decided to make Parkers cake this year. He loves cars, so he got a racetrack cake.

Little surprises

2009-05-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well I figured I would try this whole posting a little at once instead of having a mile long post. I will try to do my best. But this first part will be long, just because it's my only form of journal, so I have to write details that I know not everyone cares about. So sorry!

A couple of weekends ago, I surprised Chase with a little getaway to Portland. He usually does not have to many days off during the week, so when I knew he had most of a sat. off and then all day Sunday, I knew I needed to take advantage. I had to think of ways to get him to drive to Portland, which is not an easy task because it's 3 hrs away. So I decided to tell him that I was feeling rebellious and wanted to drive the Dee's hamburger for lunch. Now Dee's is a really old hamburger place that Chase grew up eating in Gresham and of coarse got me hooked on it. They have the best hamburgers ever! So Chase has said on many occasions that he just wants to drive to Dee's for lunch or dinner and then drive back. So I knew it would be a good excuse. I had already dropped Parker off at my parents and had put the suitcase in the trunk before he got home. When he got home from work I told him my plan. His first reaction was, "really?" Not an excited really but a really are you crazy? Then he said, "that would make it like a 60 dollar hamburger, it's kind of a wasted trip if we don't do anything else." So, trying to play it cool, I told him I would leave it up to him. I also told him we could always stop by the mall if that would make the trip more worth it. "Well....what about Parker? Your parents don't want to keep him that long. " So I called my Mom up and asked her if she would keep Parker for the day, and that we probably would not get home until late. Of coarse she already knew, so there was laughter on the side of the phone. So finally he agreed and we were off to eat our 60 dollar hamburger. After Dee's I told him that I wanted to head somewhere else, but I would not tell him where. I told him to wait in the Dee's so I could call my sister and get directions to where I wanted to go. I really just needed an excuse to punch in the address to the navigation so he wouldn't know I had already planned on going somewhere. So we got in the car and started to drive. As we got to the exit, it said Washington Square Mall. Chase just looked at me and started to laugh. "We are going to the mall? I already knew that!" So I said "SURPRISE!, now wasn't that fun, you thought I had somewhere fun to go." Now Chase was supposed to be following the navigation, but instead drove to the mall. So I had to tell him to turn around. He of coarse asked why? I told him he didn't follow the navigation. So he said, "Embassy Suites?" Then I said surprise again. This time his reaction was, "your just joking." I said no. "But we don't have any of our stuff!" So I told him it was in the trunk. He was quite surprised so that was fun. We ate at Claim Jumpers, which was sooooooo good, shopped, and just relaxed. Thanks Mom and Dad for watching Parker!

Parker is still changing everyday. He is starting to get more and more freckles which is so cute. This is the best picture I have to show his freckles. You have to click on it to really see them.

He has really learned to test my patience, which I always thought I had a lot of. His latest phase is throwing his food on the floor. The other day I turned my back for one second and he threw his spaghetti on the floor and broke the plate. I am never quite sure how to react and I obviously don't react how I should cause he just laughs at me. Chase is better at getting angry then I am. Another day I gave him some popcorn and ran upstairs for a minute and then when I came down it was spread out all over the living room floor. But I guess I asked for that one. Never give an almost two year old a bag of popcorn and expect him to keep it in the bag. There has only been one time that I have actually laughed about the mess he has made. The other night he asked for a banana. So I gave him a little bit of one. He ate it just fine and asked for more. So I gave him some more. I was finishing making some cookies, so I was not watching him to carefully. Well he had squished the banana on the kitchen floor with his shoes and was sitting by it. When he tried to stand up, he just fell right back down. He continued to do this a few times until he got really frustrated. It was pretty funny. I think he got what he deserved. I know, mean mamma!

When there are moments I just want to quit, and think to myself I am not cut our to be a mom, Parker will make me laugh, or give me a big kiss and everything is suddenly okay. He is such a joy in our lives and I can't believe he will be two in less then a month. I never thought I could have so much love for someone. In those times of stress and frustration, I have to remind myself of what a good kid he can be, and think of what life would be without him. And quite honestly I wouldn't have our lives be any other way. We are blessed to be parents, and blessed to have Parker in our family.

Parker and dad eating otter pops!

Baking cookies with Mom!

He loves giving kisses!

Some old some new

2009-04-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Some of this post is going to be a little delayed so sorry for the old new. First piece of old news, Chase and I celebrated our 4th anniversary in March. I had planned a weekend in Portland but had to cancel that when I found out Chase had to work. So then we delayed it a little more and I had planned on spending a weekend at the Inn of the Seventh Mountain resort in Bend. Well I ended up cancelling that as well because of illnesses in the family. So we then decided to just make a day trip to Portland. We went to the Temple to do a session, shopped and went to a Blazer game. Unfortunately we did not document the trip very well. The only picture is one that Chase took at the Blazer game.....

yup that's right, the Portland cheerleaders. Go Blazers!!

The second piece of old news is from Easter. This year we spent Easter at my parents house. They were out of town for an early anniversary trip, so I again was put in charge of Tyler. I figured since our house is a lot smaller, it would be more exciting to do our Easter traditions in a bigger house. I woke up earlier than the rest of the family and spread all the candy around the house as well as hid the Easter baskets. Tyler has been finding his Easter basket for years now, and I really wanted to find a hiding place where he would not find it right off the bat. And I must say I was very successful with both his and Chases basket. Parker loved the candy all over the floor. His first reaction coming down the stairs was "wow"! He was not quite sure what to do at first, but soon learned to put the candy in the bag.

After about 20 min Chase and Tyler both found their baskets,.

I procrastinated and didn't go to the store for Easter stuff until Sat. night, so to my surprise there was nothing for me to buy. So it was a good thing my mom bought Parker a very cute outfit, a book, and a hopping, singing, Easter bunny. Parker was a little scared of it at first, but it didn't last long and we were blessed with listening to this bunny over and over again.

This is the outfit Mom got for Parker.

We tried getting some family pictures before church, but Parker did not want to cooperate, so the only good shot I have is of him.

Parker continues to grow and learn new things every day. It's been fun watching the new things that he picks up on. His newest saying is, "I don't want it." He says it to everything, whether he really does want something or not. So although his speaking capacity is growing, I can't say the same for his skinny body. It is always a miracle when we can get him to eat 3 meals a day. It's hard finding things he likes to eat, but then when we do, he will eat it for 3 or 4 days and then be sick of it. He usually loves anything with noodles.

But he will always eat a cookie (oreo), or a good bowl of ice cream.

Parker still loves putting my shoes on. He kind of reminds me of the cat or mouse, I can't remember which, from shrek with the tall boots.

Parker is such a joy to be around, and although he is hitting the terrible 2 stage a little early, we still laugh uncontrollably at his corkiness and the silly things that he does or says.

These past couple of month we have been able to see some of our family who lives in Utah. Taylor came for a short visit to say by before he left to go serve our country. We are proud of him and his decision he made to this. He will be in our thoughts and prayers as he starts the next stage in his life.

Darcee also came for a week to visit and it was fun to see her. We had a girls night with mom and went shopping and had a yummy dinner at Johnny Carino's. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard. Darcee bought Parker a cute outfit from the Children's Place and he has already gotten to wear it.

Chases Mom and Dad were also able to come visit for a couple of days. My parents left for Darcee's graduation so we needed a sitter for Parker. Chase's Mom was so gracious to come and watch Parker for two days. Dane had to work, so he ended up flying here on Friday afternoon and then flew back home early Saturday morning. Parker loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa Caldwell. He was all giggles and loved showing off for them. We didn't take any pictures, but are soooooo glad they could come for a little visit!

Off to Prom they go!

2009-04-26T17:40:00.001-07:00

With my parents gone in Utah for Darcee's graduation, I was given the responsibility to send Tyler off to prom and do the whole mom thing. I am sure my mom would have done much better at capturing the moment, but I tried the best I could to do justice. Tyler looked so handsome and grown up. And of course his date/girlfriend Hailey, looked Beautiful.

Here are the before pictures.

The during pictures, and notice how he doesn't even need a mirror to get ready. Boys are so different from girls. He didn't even check himself out in the mirror before he went to get Hailey. He is a confident boy as you can tell from his muscle pictures. Haha.

And of the after pictures. Parker loves Hailey and wanted a picture with her. I wish he would always be the happy in pictures for me. But I guess that's what happens when you are young and pretty :)

Tyler is really really excited to go to prom if you can't tell by his face!

Here are Tyler's Best friends, Jake, Cole, and Cody. It was nice to see them all so handsome and dressed up nice.

And yes, they are flashing a gang sign. It's the Mormon Mafia.

So that is all the details I know, so if you want to know anything about dinner and the dance, then you will have to go straight to the source.

Make me babies

2009-03-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

So there is this website where you upload a picture of yourself and someone else to find out what your babies may look like. Ha ha it's so funny. I think our Parker is much cuter then the boy they came up with. And what's with the red hair? Anyways I got a good laugh about it. Here's my beautiful babies.

Happy Anniversary

2009-03-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say Happy anniversary to my wonderful loving husband. I can't believe that we have been married 4 years today. It's seems like we have been together forever, and although at times that may not be a good thing, and we get on eachothers nerves, I still want you to know you are my best friend! Thank you for everything you do for me and Parker. I know how busy you are with school and work, and I am so grateful that you still can find time to spend with us. Thank you for putting up with my horrible homemaker skills these past 4 years. I am slowly learning though and promise to continue to get better. Thank you for choosing me to be your eternal companion! I love you so much!!!

Here we were then:

And 4 years later:

Yes I know it's been to long

2009-02-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like I am in the habit of updating my blog every two months. And again we haven't had a ton of exciting things happening in our lives so we just have to build up all the excitment to write in one blog.

A couple of weeks ago we got to go to Adallyn and becketts birthday party. Parker is always so excited to see Adallyn and he sure didn't care being the only boy participating in the Dora the Explorer birthday festivities. He loved hitting the homemade pinata with the tennis racket and was pretty good with his eye hand coordination, until he whacked a little girl sitting behind him on the couch. Oops. We had a great time being with the family on Valentines day, and even got treated to a Valentines dinner by Mom and Dad at PF Changs. I know it's a late thanks, but Thanks Mom and Dad for the great treat.

Chase and I also had a little photo shoot with Megan while we were in Forest Grove. I felt like we were having engagement pictures taken. Here are a few of them.

Parker is continuing to learn and grow. And I am just so amazed at the things he is learning. He loves getting into everything, which I know is normal for a 1 1/2 year old. His new thing is opening the oven door and climbing up on it to reach the stove. He doesn't seem to understand when we say no, cause he continues to do it. He also loves to do anything Mom and Dad are doing. He always wants to help vaccum and it has gotten to the point where I don't like to vacuum when he is around cause he screams and screams when we put it away. Anything he can get pugged into the wall becomes a vacuum. When he is at grammy's house he will drag the hand mixer out and plug it into the wall and start vacuuming the floor.

Parker has become very good at throwing tantrums and throwing himself to the floor. Tonight Grammy took his makeshift vaccum away and he was not happy so he arched is back and fell straight back onto the floor. And as you can imagine once he reached the hard floor it didn't feel to good. But besides the tantrums he really is such a joy.

He had a well baby checkup a couple of weeks ago and is still pretty small. He weighs 23 lbs, so it put him in the 7 percentile for his weight. So he is a tall string bean. He takes after his aunt Darcee and Uncle Tyler. We still have a hard time getting him eat food so that becomes frustrating so if anyone has good tricks let me know. Another thing we are told we need to do is get him off the bottle. He is at the point where he always wants it and is always running to the fridge and saying "dottle, dottle!" And when he doesn't get it in a timely manner he gets frantic.

This is more for my purposes but here are a list of words he can say:

Mamma, Dadda, Grammy, Papa, help, No, Yes, Light, Nana (banana), Balloon, Cookie, eat, bite, drink, boo, please, thank you, hi, bye, pillow, night night, I love you, stinky, ewww, bike, doggie, kitty, meow, nose, eyes, mouth, ear, shoe, sock and go. I know there are more but I can't think of them. He will try to say anything you want him to repeat. He has gotten some of his ABC down, to be precise, it is usually the Q R S, and he says it over and over again. He can count to 3 but after three he always says Go! We love watching him grow and learn everyday, he has been such a blessing to us.

Parker also get's to play with his friend Jaiden a lot, but mostly because Kira and I like to get together as much as possible. We recently went to this play place we have here in Redmond that is very cool. They have all of these toys set up that are very age appropriate for our kids. The boys can't escape, so it is perfect!!! Kira and I just sat on the couches reading magazines and chit chatting while the boys ran wild. And the best part about it is, you don't have to pick up after them. I have discovered that Parker is quite the bully. He usually takes takes toys away from Jaiden all the time, but he was actually stealing toys from the older kids as well. And when I am saying older kids they are like kindergarten age. He screeches real loud while pulling the toy away until he get's it. Is that what kids are like when they are the only child forever? I put a video up just to show you the toy Parker kept stealing from the kids. He loves pushing anything and everything!

Chase is still gone all the time trying to get through school, so when he is home Parker and I are very happy. Parker loves to be just like his daddy and to always be by his side when he is home.

This is the one of the tunnels that Parker got for Christmas. He always loves getting them out and playing in them.

What can I say, Like father like son!! Parker saw daddy doing his hair so of coarse he had to get his done too. It was pretty long in these pictures and has since gotten a cute haircut from Kira!! Thanks Kira!!!!

And really don't mind the mustache. Chase knows I hate it and he look much more handsome when he has a clean shaven face!

Parker also gets to have his moments with his mommy as well. He especially loves putting on my shoes and parading around the house. Which by the way he has lost one of my favorite shoes and I can't find it anywhere!!! Maybe it really is possible to flush a shoe down the toilet, because it is nowhere to be found!

Christmas Fun

2008-12-31T09:39:00.000-08:00

Yes it really has been almost 2 months since I last posted. But in my defense I really have not had anything to write about, and more importantly I had no pictures to post. Because let's be honest here, most people look at blogs to see pictures. So I am back and have lots of pictures to post! This Christmas was a Caldwell year, so Me, Chase and Parker packed up the car and made the long trek to Utah! We were both really excited to go, however I was terrified for the car ride. Roads were snowy and icy, and anyone who knows me well, knows I am a wreck when it comes to those driving conditions. Chase told me to take some Dramamine so he wouldn't have to deal with me telling him to slow down, to stop getting to close to other cars, to not pass, and reminding him we have a baby in the car. But, against his will I refused to do it and he had one nervous wife for the first 5 1/2 hours of the car ride. But once we hit Idaho we had great roads and made it to Utah safe and sound.

We had a great time with Chases family! We ate tons of food, watched movies, ate food, shopped (the girls), ate food, Skied (the boys), ate food, and just sat around and enjoyed each others company. Oh did I mention we ate tons of food! Cause we did. And speaking of food, I need to mention that Chase, Spencer, Channing and Jeremy had a pancake eating contest with a Caldwell favorite, Sourdough pancakes. Now since I have been married to Chase I have gotten used to this. I never like it, but I can't stop it. But this year they took it to a whole other level. Channing came in last place with I think 1o pancakes. Then came Jeremy with maybe 14, I can't really remember. So it came down to Chase and Spencer. Now us girls went shopping that morning and before I left I told Chase to promise not to overdue it. He said he would quite before he made himself sick. Well...first game 5 then 10, then 15 and then 20 and yup then 25. And finally 26 pancakes. I hope you are all saying sick!! Because that is gross. Well Chase had to use the restroom after his 26 1/2 pancake and from inside the restroom he hears Spencer call his name. So Chase says, "Yeah?" And then Spencer says," 26 9/16th" So yes after all those pancakes, Chase lost! Serves him right. Great job spenc of taking the family title!

Parker had a great time getting to know all his other uncles and aunts better, and he sure did get the attention from them.

Sorry Chan and Chels and didn't have any pics of you guys with Parker. Parker always wanted to be the center of attention. However, when he would not get his way he would fall on the floor and try to act as pathetic as possible. It is always quite entertaining.

Isn't he CUTE!! He learns it all from his Dad, I swear.

I know both of my sisters have already posted this but, we had to opportunity to have a breakfast all together. We were all in Utah so of coarse we had to see each other. Darcee was so kind to host this breakfast at her new apartment. Parker and adallyn had fun going into aunt Darcee's room and taking out all of her shoes from her closet and trying them on. Parker always wants the high heels and I am not sure why :) We also had fun playing guitar hero, where we all laughed at Megan because she got booed off the stage. Poor girl, first flag football at thanksgiving and now this. I will be nice and not post the picture of Chad having a little of after breakfast dessert, but it was pretty funny. I am sure a joke to live a long time in our family!

Christmas eve was full of last minute shopping, a nap (for me), a fabulous dinner, new pajamas, and of coarse some Christmas traditions. For dinner we had ham and turkey, twice baked potatoes, homemade rolls, spinach salad, and of coarse the infamous holiday salad.

After dinner we read "Twas the Night before Christmas" a Perdue family tradition passed on, and had fun passing the gifts around the circle.

After the silliness we of coarse all settled down to hear to the true meaning of Christmas, and were given a short quiz on the Christmas story. It was interesting to see how commercialized Christmas has become, and to see what is really mentioned in the scriptures and what we have all come to assume. Then we continued the night with some Caldwell traditions of watching the Nativity story to the song "Mary Did you Know?" After this we were graced with a sweet story of the 3 little Christmas trees from Chelsea and Channing. I wish I would have taken pictures of this but I didn't. And of coarse who can forget the new pajamas. I don't have any of everyone together but I have some of Chase and his brothers and Sisters. What a cute family!

Christmas morning we woke up, and had fun opening all of our gifts. Chase spoiled me way to much this year with clothing and jewelry. And of coarse Parker was spoiled by both grandparents and got lots of fun gifts. One of the gifts Grandma and Grandpa Caldwell gave him was a huge tent with tunnels. He had fun playing in it. Aunt Darcee and Uncle Shane gave him some trucks that he also loves. And there were many other gifts as well. We had a GREAT Christmas and were so glad to spend it with Chases family!

We also had the opportunity to go to the Salt Lake Temple to go do a session. I had never been to a live session before so it was a fun experience. Thanks Megan and Chad for watching Parker so we could go to the Temple!

We had a great time in Utah and look forward to the next time we can all be together again!!

Halloween

2008-10-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

Parkers first real Halloween was a HUGE success. We started the night off by having a fancy meal at McDonalds (perfect halloween dinner), and then we headed to the church to check out the halloween party. Parker had a fun time running around the gym and destroying anything that he could get his hands on. We wanted to stick around long enough to be able to go trick or treating around the church doors. Well...we stayed but there was only about 6 doors to go to and Parker was really getting the hang of taking candy from people and getting it in his bucket, so we decided to test out the real thing in a neighborhood. Usually Parker gets shy around strangers but he was really friendly on this particular night. Yes, it was only because they had candy but hey it works. We had fun watching all the people goo and gah over him. He was the cutest turtle around.

It's About Time!!

2008-10-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

Well the title of this blog is for a couple of different reasons. The first is for the fabulous weekend that I had with my mom and sisters at Time out for Women. And honestly It was About Time I had a time out from the life here in Redmond. I know both Megan and Darcee have already posted this as well but here is my perspective.

Mom and I drove over to Portland Friday afternoon to meet up with Megan and Darc. Our plan was to get there a little early so we would have time to do a little birthday shopping for me. Well when you get two girls in the car who are not from Portland, well...you can probably guess. Mom was sure we were going the right way but once I started seeing signs for the airport I knew we were on the wrong path. But Mom reassured me she knew what we were doing. So, we ended up in Washington. OOPS! But, we turned around and soon found our way to our hotel. However, in my Moms defense she said there was a way to get to downtown Portland from the airport. After getting checked into our hotel we headed to the Lloyd Center where we found my super cool 80's shoes/boots. Thanks Mom for the birthday present!

I don't know if I will ever be brave enough to wear them with a shorter skirt but they are way cute with jeans. So, after shopping for a bit Darcee and Megan finally joined us for a gourmet meal in the mall. Subway and Chinese food was the assortment we had. After we stuffed our faces we headed to the convention center to start our Time Out experience. We had a great night filled with speakers and fabulous music. After the evening session was done we headed to Red Robin for a healthy snack of decadent mousse pie and Megan's request French Fries. We chowed down the Pie and minutes, and fought over the best pieces of it. Darcee even licked the plate clean :)

And of coarse there has to be a goofy pic of the sisters in here somewhere. I think I am the only one who really made a face...

After Red Robin we headed back to our hotel where we stayed up late watching Selena, and talked about old times. Saturday our day was full of great speakers who in each of their own ways had a message that was perfect for me. I love being able to be uplifted and rejuvenated to come back to real life. And what is a great adventurous trip without having car troubles. Well let me tell you it isn't one, so I am glad we got the opportunity to experience a shot clutch. It's even greater when you have four girls yelling in the car because we feel like we are going to die. Okay maybe not four girls but definentley two of us (Darc and me). But after hours of trying to figure out what we were going to do, we finally made it to Megans house. Mom and I had to rent a car to make it home the next day. It was another Memory to put in the books. Thanks for a great weekend Mom and sisters!!

The day we traveled back from Portland was my 25th birthday! It's About Time! We arrived home just in time for me to catch the last two hours of church and to see my boys who I missed so much. When we came home from church I was granted to opportunity to go take a much needed nap, since mom and I got up at 5:00 in the morning. When I woke up I went downstairs to find a decorated house by Chase.

He invited my family over for a wonderful Sweet and Sour chicken meal, and cake, that he also made and decorated.

Now one thing that I love about Chase is that I can trust him to go clothes shopping for me. He got me a cute outfit from AE and had it in the box so perfectly with all the layerings.

So with Chase making my birthday so perfect, I wanted to do the same for his which was the next day. However, I am afraid I am not much a cook so I didn't want to attempt the whole dinner thing. He wouldn't tell me what he wanted for his birthday so I had to find something, which he took back, and I didn't have time to decorate the house so he got the left overs from my birthday. We did however have a great dinner at Johnny Carino's and our favorite dessert, Italian Chocolate Cake.

So we both had great birthdays, I think mine a little better, but we are both one year older and hopefully a little wiser as we get into our old age. I am a quarter of a century now. I would say that is a pretty big deal!

About a year and a half ago Chase and I had some really good friends who moved away from here, and we were super bummed. I am always complaining that we have no friends and I have always been jealous of Megan and Darcee for always being able to go our with different couples. Well I am proud to say that It's About Time we had another young couple move into our ward who has a 11 month old son!!! YEAH!!! I had to come out of my shell and introduce myself to Keira because I was so excited that someone was our age. It's been only about two weeks and our families get along perfectly. Even weirder, Keira and I were delivered by the same doctor in Salem. I know, we were destined to be friends. Well last weekend Keira and I took Jaiden and Parker to the Pumpkin Patch, hoping for a good time and some cute pictures. Well we started off okay but then all we had were tears and more tears. All Parker wanted to do was pull the wagon around, and of coarse when I took it away he screamed. But boys will be boys. So here are a couple of pictures from out adventure.

So Sunday we had Keira and Brian over for dinner and so we could carve pumpkins. The boys did most of the work. Okay maybe they did all the work. I did have a pumpkin but it's hard to do more then 2 at once when you have 2 little kids in the house who require all your attention. So Keira and I stood back and watched while we tried to figure out what the pictures were on the pumpkins. We could not tell until after they were lit.

After the pumpkins were carved and lit, we had yummy carmel apples to end our festivities. We are so grateful to have new friends.

Oh one last thing. I forgot to mention Parkers new best friend. This best friend goes everywhere with Parker. He eats with it, rides in the car with it, and you better believe it is the first thing he grabs when he wakes up in the morning. So what is it?

Yup, that right a birthday balloon from my birthday. But, whatever makes the kid happy.

I was tagged by Darcee

2008-10-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

THE RULES: You have to post the 4th picture in the 4th folder in your pictures folder. Then give a brief description before you tag a few others. So here it goes!

Well thank goodness it wasn't a scary picture of me. So this was the picture I found. The two loves of my life, Parker and Chase. I am not sure where we were going, so I don't have a fun description. Parker does kind of look scary though. I never thought he was an akward looking baby, but in this picture he kind of does. I tag, Breanne, Jessica, and Stefanie

Wedding Hair

2008-09-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this yesterday, but I did a girls hair for her wedding on Saturday, and I thought it turned out pretty good. I forgot to take pictures of it, which was stupid, so this is all I have.

Hats

2008-09-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well I don't have a ton to write about this time, but I know my sister Darcee gets a little antsy pantsy when I don't update the blog. So if it is incredibly boring, blame it on the sister.

I have been back at work since the end of August and it has been pretty good. We lost 5 fifth graders last year, and they were kind of the life of the party. They always kept us entertained and laughing. This year we have a lot of young kids and it is a completely different vibe. I work with the same 2 kids almost the whole afternoon which can sometimes be challenging. Especially when I get frustrated, because I don't really get a break from them. Both of my kids are 3rd graders. One of them is just a sweet angel and she is pretty easy to handle. The other one, well he looks just about as sweet as an angel but does not quite act as one. He always wants to do what he wants to do. So getting him to work for me has been very tough. However, when he does happen to work with someone else he does just fine his work. I don't get it!!! Everyone tells me I am not mean enough, and that I am to sweet. Well I try to be mean, and I think I am being mean but he still doesn't listen. So that is work for me so far. I only work 3.5 hours and come home quite exhausted.

Chase is back in school full time. 1 year to go!!! The countdown is on. He goes to school M-Th, puts in time out at the fire station and has just started a new job. Drum Role........Chase is a new cashier at LOWE's. So if you ever see him tell him hi for me because I don't see him much anymore. But we are very excited he got the job because funds are quite tight now that he can't work full time. So really any job would do. However there is some rivalry in the Caldwell family now. Chase's dad and sister both work at Home Depot, and Chelsea is a cashier there. She claims Home Depot is a much better place, has much better costumer service and makes twice the amount of money Lowe's does. The only come back Chase had is that Home Depot has had someone die on the job.

So which is better, Lowe's or Home Depot? Really I could care less. If they give us money that is all that matters.

Parker continues to grow each day, and is such a blessing in our lives. It's fun to watch the new things he learns everyday. Some of the things good, and some of the things not so good. For instance he has learned to hit. We will be sitting with him on the couch and he will just hit us in the face. When we tell him no, he just laughs. Another thing he has learned about is a razor. Uh Oh! A lot of times Chase is gone in the morning so I have to get ready with Parker in the bathroom. Well the other day I was shaving my legs and Parker was playing with his toys so I didn't think anything of it. Well, Chase and I went to a wedding reception last night and Dropped Parker off at Grammy and Poppy's house. When we came to pick him up, my mom told us she had a funny story. She said Parker had gone upstairs and was really quiet for a while. Usually he doesn't go upstairs when no one else is up there. Well he came down stair with one of my dad's razors and was trying to shave his legs. Thank heavens he didn't cut himself. So Grammy took the razor from him and that was that. Well he went upstairs again and was quiet yet another time. Then he came downstairs with another razor and this time is trying to shave his face. Chase and I just laughed. So we tried to get him to do it again today so we could capture the moment. Yes that is shaving cream on his face, and yes he did try to eat it.

I guess we need to be more careful what we do when he is watching. I actually think he learned the hitting from me cause I like to hit chase on the arm when he is being a pest. OOPS!

He has not learned anymore words that I can think of. He does love to give high fives, wave goodbye, Blow kisses, and when we say all gone he shrugs his shoulders and holds out his arms. So cute.

Another thing Parker has been enjoying is hats. If he sees a hat he puts it on.

Yes he looks like a homeless child. But a cute one at that!

Go BYU!!

Parker loves his Uncle Tyler so much, and we are so glad Tyler is always willing to watch Parker.

Parker Loves wearing this life vest that Chase brought home from the fire station. He always puts it on and then we just laugh so hard when he falls and can't get up because the vest is so big on him. And of coarse you can't have a picture without a hat.

Here is another thing Parker likes to play dress up in. He especially loves the boots and always wants to put them on. Of coarse they are way to big for him, so yet he falls some more.

And last but not least, here is an example of what happens when you leave Parker and Daddy all alone.

He gets fabulous tattoos. Chase is really stressing the whole firefighting thing on the kid.

Beach Trip

2008-09-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

For Labor day weekend we had the chance to take a little road trip to Waldport, OR. For those of you who have no clue where Waldport is, it is on the Oregon Coast. We met up with the Perdue side of the family minus Brady, Darc and Shane, to have a little reunion. Mom planned this trip way back at the beginning of the summer and thought it would be fun for the family to all be together before school started up again. One thing we didn't know was that we would see Megan and her family a lot during the summer. However, we still had a great time and it was fun to be in a new location. We stayed in a condo that was right on the beach. We had a beautiful sight. Now those of you who are not familiar with the beach in Oregon, it is not your typical warm beach. In fact, you are lucky if you have 60 degree weather and it is not raining. We happened to be pretty lucky. We had a little of rain but all in all it was great weather.

This was Parker first real experience of sand. We went to the coast last summer but Parker was only a month old so that did not count. I was a little worried how he would react, but he had a great time. He ran in the sand, wrote in the sand, fell in the sand and even ate the sand. Yup, he ate it all right. I just don't think he was very happy with how it tasted.

(Parker Running)

(Parker Writing)

(Parker eating the sand)

(The result of eating the sand)

(Parker Falling)

(Parker be pushed by Grampy, JK Parker falling again!)

Parker had a great first experience at the beach. He loved playing with adallyn and wanted to do whatever she was doing.

(I stole this picture from Megan)

(Playing on top of the sand castle before it was built)

He also had fun building a sand castle with his dad, uncle's, and aunt. Actually he mostly wanted to play in the trench protecting the castle. But when he could he got in on the action he would. When it was time to build the castle it was all business. Chad and Chase started by building the trench around the castle. Megan worked on the big pile of sand and making sure it was level to build the sand castle, Tyler, well to tell you the truth I am not sure what he did. He was building something outside of the trench and by his breathing and grunting every time he dug deeper into his hole, it must have been hard work. He did however leave a nice final touch to the sand castle. And that was by writing Mormon Mafia on the outside of it. He was pretty proud of that. As for me, well I just took the pictures. Yeah for pictures!!

(See look at Tyler he is working so hard on something)

(The finish product it was still there in the morning and there were people admiring it)

Besides the funness of building the sand castle, some of the braver ones enjoyed the water, we played frisbee, and the girls killed the boys at Taboo.

(Chase and Ty playing frisbee)

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great weekend.

A Busy Summer

2008-08-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well now that work has started up and summer is over I thought I would write a little on our summer. A lot of my summer has been spent over at my parents house. My Mom and Dad have been quite the hosts this summer and have had a full house, so of coarse Parker and I are right over there so we can experience the funness the Perdue household has to offer. Parker especially loves it when kids around. Particularly his cousin Adallyn. We have been fortunate to have Megan and her cute family visit quite a few times this summer.

This pic was taken on my phone so it is a little blurry.

Parker is adys little shadow and when he is not with her you can always here ady calling for him ,"Parker. Come on Parker. This way Parker." Or as the picture illustrates above "Can Parker take a bath with me?" This last visit, their new thing was to pull the cushion of the rocking chair and spin each other round and round in circles while laughing. I didn't get a picture of that one but it sure was cute. Parker loves his cousin and it has been so nice to let him play with another little kid. And they are entertained so easily which is great!

We love our cute niece adallyn and all her entertainment.

It's always good when Megan is town because the means family picture time. Thanks for the great pics Megan, you are soooooooooo talented.

Besides spending time at my parents house I have spent the summer watching my little boy grow up. I can't believe he is almost 15th months. He has three teeth and 3 more coming in. He was a late bloomer there. We love that when we say give us kisses he puckers up his lips and runs towards us. If we are really lucky he keep his mouth open for a wet slobbery kiss. Yummy!! He is also started to say some words. Mamma, dadda, that (while pointing at what he wants), ow, hi, and my favorite CHEESE!!! He loves to hold my phone up in the air and say cheese. The things kids pick up from the parents.

This summer we have also tried the whole swimming thing. The first time I went by myself with Parker out to Eagle Crest and this was his reaction...

The second experience was with Megan and Darcee and well you don't see a picture, so that's how well it went. The third time was with Chase and...

I guess we know who Parker likes the best. However we did go a fourth time to Juniper Swim in Bend and Parker had a blast.

It's fun to be able to keep Parker busy, and that is what he loves. We love to just watch him laugh and be goofy.

Friends Forever

2008-08-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

(When we were in High School we always posed in front of this wall so of coarse we had to do it for old time sakes)

These past couple of weeks of have finally been able to get out and have a couple of girls nights. I am not going to lie, it was a first for me since I have been married. I love to be able to get out once and while to have girl talk instead the baby talk that most of us moms know all to well. Me and my High School best friend Breanne were both husbandless so we thought it was a perfect time to play catch up. Our usual get togethers have been about once every 3 or 4 months, and it has just been a quick lunch date. So we had an all time record and saw eachother 2 weeks in a row. Our first date was to go see the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (loved it), and the second date was a little shopping and a fabulous dinner at Johnny Carinos. Thanks Brea for keeping me company and here is a little blast from the past for ya. LOVE YA!!!

This is for Darcee

2008-08-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

So last summer when Darcee was here, Chase and her enjoyed drawing stupid pictures of each other in church. Yes we should have been paying attention, but...we had some pretty good laughs. So last Sunday Chase wanted to draw a picture for you Darc!!! I hope you enjoy. We love you!!!

Megans Modeling session

2008-08-07T11:32:00.001-07:00

Since Megan and the fam were in town for the week she of coarse got some cute pics. of Park Park as she calls him. I just wanted to post them.

Darcee says he looks girly but I think he is the cutest boy ever!

Will I ever grow up?

2008-08-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

So I am sitting here at home, my husband gone at the fire station, and I am scared. Now you may ask of what, well let me tell you!!! I am scared of thunder and lightning. Yes I know pathetic. This goes back to my childhood, when everytime there was thunder and lightning I would be either hiding under the table or right by my parents side. If it was during the night you better believe I was to be found on the floor of my parents room. Well now that I am a mother I should be a protector for my little one when he is scared, but instead I jump everytime the thunder rolls and I find my heart racing fast, wishing my husband was here to protect me. Will I ever grow up?

Speaking of growing up. We had the annual Deschutes County Fair and Rodeo last week. I make it a goal to go to the fair atleast once during the week for a couple of reasons. For one, fair was mine and Chase's first date. Thanks Britt and Travis. So I like to go for the purpose of all the good memories. I also like to go because I know I will see old high school friends and it is always good to catch up with them. And who wouldn't want to go to the fair for their greasy, oily, and fattening food. Chase has to get an elephant ear, and I always have to get the famous Beaver Burrito. And no it does not have Beaver in it (people have asked that). This year Chase worked at a booth for two days for a guy he works with so he was there all day Wed. and Thurs. Wed. night was Pepsi night so Parker and I went with Megan and Chad to enjoy all the funness fair had to offer.

Yes Parker is riding a donkey. The rest of them were horses but I felt bad for the donkey cause he is kind of the under dog. So Parker had his first experience of riding an animal on a cute donkey.

Now you also go to the fair to ride the rides. Well rides have never been my thing. I have a super sensitive stomach and get woozy pretty easily. So I have always been the one sitting off on the sidelines while the others have fun risking their lives on the crazy rides that are put up in a day and tested only a few times. Um...no thank you.

And every year the fair has three singers or bands come and perform. This year it was Little Big Town, Alice Cooper and Kellie Pickler. We only made it to one of the three. Alice Copper of coarse. Just kidding. To tell you the truth I did not even know who he or she as I thought was. We saw some friends who told us they were going to the concert and I asked who she was. The response was blank stairs and "uh Shayla it's a guy." Oh okay. So for those of you who are not caught up on the rock singers. Here is who Alice Copper is.

He is quite the handsome man if I don't say so myself. So no we did not grace Alice Cooper with our presence. We did however go to the Kellie Pickler concert. I was really looking forward to this one because I have been a big fan of hers since American Idol. Yes she was ditsy and said stupid things but in ways I could relate to her. When I was sitting with Chase in his booth there were some people walking by and a guy said that he wanted to go to her concert only to see how stupid she was. I thought that was really rude, and despite what people may think, she was not stupid or ditsy at all and she did a great job. We were right on the side of the stage which we thought would be a good spot, but we were also behind the speakers so it was hard to hear the words. But despite that and the screaming girls behind us it was a good concert.

So as I get older, and I continue to go to fair and I continue to be scared of thunderstorms. I keep asking myself, Will I Ever Grow Up?

haircut

2008-07-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well I did it. I CHOPPED my hair. I have always wanted to be like my big sister and everything she has gotten I have wanted. So I bucked up and cut it all off. I waited for so long to have long hair and now it is gone. I did not tell Chase I was doing it and he was very suprised when he walked into the house after work.

A magical place part 2

2008-06-27T16:42:00.001-07:00

Sorry I had to go to a new page because it was getting a little long and taking forever to drag the pictures down. Here are some more of the magical kingdom. The first couple of ones are from the pirates of the carribean ride. The next ones are from some jamboree Chase wanted to see. And then to end the perfect day and a great vacation we saw the famious parade and fireworks. Oh and one more thing Chase and I got a portrait done of us. It was amazing to see the outcome. S0 that was our trip. We had a great time and maybe someday we will take Parker. But not until he is in High school.

A magical place

2008-06-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

Chase and I just got back from a very long much needed vacation. We decided to use our tax return to go on a vacation before we would never get the chance to go alone again. So we contemplated the many places we could go. Hawaii, Las Vegas, another cruise or Florida. So we picked Florida. We figured there was a lot to do there and I had never been to Disney World, so why not? So we celebrated Parkers birthday on Saturday and on Sunday we were off to the races. Now none of this would have been possible without my mom and dads willingness to take Parker for 10 days. Yes I said it 10 days!!! Thanks Mom and Dad for watching him, I always know he is in good hands with you. Our first full day there we hit up Wet n' Wild. It's a huge water park and unfortunatly I did not capture the park as well as I should. We spent most of the day here and then went back 3 more times.

That night we went downtown disney to check out all the shops and things down there. It was pretty cool, and we ate and amazing dinner at the rainforest cafe. After dinner we just walked around and killed some time. It was fun to just people watch, because people from all over the world come to this so called magical place. It was kind of nice being out at 11:00 at night and still having the weather be really nice.

These last pictures are from lego land. It was pretty amazing what they could build out of legos.

The next day we were off to see 2 parks of Disney world. The first one we attempted was animal kingdom. I am not going to lie, I was not to impressed. Partly was because of the lines, and it was to stinkin hot to wait out in the sun. So the only so called ride we went on was the African Safari. We waited in line for 70 minutes, which was crazy. But we finally made it to the front and we were off. Unfortunatly I do not think it was worth waiting that long, but it is all part of the experience.

After the Safari we walked around a little bit more and saw that everything had a long wait so we said forget it. We could have opted for the fast passes but you can only do one at a time and we really did not want to wait around any longer. So we went back to our condo, ate lunch and took a nap. I know we are real adventurest. So that evening we went to hollywood studios which was the old MGM. It's the same place just a new name. We happened to strike out at this one as well. We saw the little mermaid and went on the backstage tour and that was it. When we were at our condo there was a lightning storm, so a lot of the rides were down because of electrical issues. We really wanted to do the rock'n rollercoaster but that was not going to happen. So two parks down and two to go. We were not all to excited to see what the next ones had in store for us. So we took a couple of days off from disney world and did other things. One of the nights we went to a baseball game. Tampa Bay Rays agains Chicago Cubs. It was pretty fun. I was really excited to eat baseball food until I saw the prices. It was worse the Disney World food and Airport food. I got a pretzel for 6.00. That's not even with the cheese. Ridiculous. But we had a great time at the game, and what made it even better was that the devil rays won!!!

Like I said we took a couple of days off from Disney World and decided to head back there on Sunday (I know we are bad), but I now know why they call it the magic kingdom. It was quite magical that we got to ride all of the rides, and a couple of them twice. The longest we waited was probably 20 minutes. But we got there right when it opened and headed to the back of the park where splash mountain was and another roller coaster. We got right on, and were pretty hyped about that. Because we rode splash mountain first, we were soaked for a while. But it was well worth it.

Parkers 1st birthday

2008-06-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday our little Parker turned 1 year old!!! It is crazy how the time flys. We were so busy getting ready for Florida that we did not have a huge bash for him. His birthday was on Wednesday but we waited to celebrate it so some of Chase's family could be here for it. So on his real birthday the only present he got was 4 shots and a prick in the heal. It was quite the rough afternoon for him. When we got home from the doctors he was walking on the driveway and face planted it. So you will see he pretty bruise in all his birthday pictures. Chases parents, Chelsea and Chan all were in town so it made it a even more special day for Parker. Thanks mom for letting us have his party at your house!! We were sure glad to have both sets of grandparents there. Parker loves his Grandparents and they sure do love him back!!

The afternoon was filled with a yummy dinner, cake, and presents. I think Parker enjoyed all three of them.

Parker saw a plate of watermelon and grabbed it all on his own. He stuffed the whole piece in his mouth and attempted to eat it. It was pretty funny and not to mention messy. As far as the cake went...he was not to keen on the lighted candel. He has some kind of fear of flashing lights and fire. Looks like he developed that from his aunt Shayla and Darcee.

So daddy had to help him out. He also did not get really messy with the cake like we hoped. It always makes for a good picture. He just stayed on the safe side and played with it a little.

After we ate cake, we gathered to the living room to watch Parker open his very first presents. He did a pretty good job with the first one, and then he just wanted to play with the paper.

He had a fun time playing with his new toys. He got great gifts from everyone. Thanks for everything!!!

We have enjoyed this past year with Parker. We have had many poopy diapers, wet beds, fevers, colds, sleepless nights, and laughs. We are so greatful for our little one in our lives. He has brought us much joy and is such a blessing to us. We look forward to watching him grow and learn.

I've been tagged

2008-06-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the format it is not supposed to look like this. Four jobs I've had: 1) Waitress at the inn cafe out at Eagle Crest 2) Bike lady out at Eagle Crest 3) Sun Mountain Fun Center, YEAH!!! 4) Receptionist at SunWest Builders (miss you guys) Four movies I've watched more than once: 1) Cinderella Story 2) The Wedding Planner 3) Pirates of the Carribean (only because of Chase) 4) National Treasure Four places I've lived: 1) Redmond 2) Rexburg 3) Bend 4) Redmond Four TV shows I watch: 1) So you think you can dance (my fav) 2) American Idol 3) Gilmore Girls 4) Oprah Four places I've been: 1) Mexico 2) Virginia 3) New Orleans 4) Washington DC Four people who email me regularly (doesn’t include blogging comments): 1) My sisters 2) My mom 3) My Dad 4) Swearingen Four of my favorite foods: 1) Chocolate covered strawberrys 2) Chicken 3) A good salad 4) Can't think of anymore, I am pretty picky Four places I would like to visit: 1) Paris 2) Fiji 3) Hawaii 4) New York Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year: 1) Florida (Disney world and all the works, 5 days!) 2) Chase to be done with school 3) Summer 4) Parker to be 1 Four friends I'm tagging: 1)Megan 2)Darcee 3) Jessica 4) Resa

Keeping it quick

2008-06-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to add a couple of pictures on here that I thought were so cute of Parker. To start we have detected a lazy eye in our little one. If you click on the picture you will be able to tell. It is inherited through the wonderful Perdue side. Megan has one and sometimes I do too. Next thing we have come to realize is Parker makes a big mess when he eats. Ever since he has been able to feed himself, I never hesitate to let him do it. But I have learned that somethings I probably should help him with. For instance spaghettio's. He had a nice long bath after this dinner! Parker also loves being outside and he wants to do anything that dad is doing. Chase was washing the car so Parker was trying to help. And then after a long day of work, he sometimes just crashes on the floor. Those are my favorite times. But.... It doesn't last long and he is up and ready for more!

It's been awhile

2008-05-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

Nothing to exciting has been happening in our lives. We just got back from Darcee's wedding, which was in Utah. Chase and I had the pleasure of a long car ride there and back. On the way there we drove through the night, (which I was not to thrilled about) but we made it in one piece. And the nice thing about that was, Parker slept pretty much the whole ten hours. I was dreading the car ride home, thinking we would have to stop a few times to get Parker out of the car, but he did a great job. We stopped once for dinner and that was it. But we had a great time in Utah being with both of our families. Since Chases parents moved there we do not get to see them very often, so it was nice to say with them for the week.

Chase took Parker to go visit Grandpa at work.

Chels looking so excited to be stuck with Parker :)

Grandpa and Parker playing.

Here is a video of Chelsea, that Chase happened to capture on camera. Thanks for being a good aunt Chels, and fetching Parkers binky.

We also had the opportunity to watch Shane and Darcee be sealed in the Temple. It was such a great experience. When Megan got married I could not go into the temple, so it was nice to be able to see one of my sisters. Darcee looked beautiful, and we lucked out with no rain. Our whole family except for Brady was there. But Brady we did not forget about you!!!

Brady we miss you!!!

Here are some other pictures we took.

The Bridemaids

Me and Alicia

Uncle Tyler playing with Parker. I think Parker spit in his hair :)

The beautiful couple

The Bride at her best moment

Parker being a little monkey

Parker not wanting to take a picture with mommy! He has become quite the daddy's boy. :(

Besides the wedding, life has pretty much been the same here. Chase is super busy with everything he tries to fit into his life. He is taking 21 credits, putting in time at the fire station, and still trying to put in some time working construction. He also got excepted into the paramedic program next year, and that will be full time. So we are going to finally live the life as poor college students, living off of student loans and love. One more year though and he should be done. YEAH!!!

However, through all the craziness in his life he always makes time for us. Parker is always so excited to see him when he gets home. If I am holding him, and Chase walks in, Parker will start whinning and walk right over to Chase. He has become quite the daddy's boy. I know a lot of mothers would love the break, and yes I sometimes do, but it is sad when all he wants is daddy. I guess it is just another one of his stages. Oh...I guess since I last wrote, Parker has started walking. He quite the cruiser. He has attempted a few times to run, but he usually just ends up face planting it. But it is fun watching him grow and learn new things. It is so crazy to me that he is almost 1!! Time sure does fly. We are hoping by the time he turns one he will have some teeth. We think some are coming in, so hopefully.

As for me, I am just counting down the days for school to be over. I love love love my job, but I am ready for a break. Chase and I are going to take a little vacation by ourselves and leave Parker for the first time. We are going to Orlando for a week. I have never been to Florida so I am so excited. And I will not lie, I am pretty excited to sleep as well. Thanks Mom and Dad for agreeing to watch him. My only hope is he does not keep them up to much. He does pretty good here sleeping in his crib, but my mom is having a hard time getting him to take naps in the portable crib.

So that is it for the Caldwell Clan.

Parkers Room!

2008-04-07T19:33:00.001-07:00

I know a couple of my friends have been asking for me to post some pictures of Parkers room, so I am finally going to do it. And it has been one week since Parker has been sleeping through the night!!! What a miracle. And not to mention in his own crib. Chase was at the fire station last Monday so I decided to buck up and stick Parker in the crib. Usually he just comes into bed with me because I don't like to be alone. But I knew I had to break his terrible habit. So I read him a bed time story kissed him goodnight and stuck him in his crib. And then I waited and expected the worst. Of coarse my poor baby cried and it took all my strength not to run in and love him. So I went downstairs and called my sister to keep me occupied. Parker cried for about 15 minutes and then it was silence. So I went to bed, and not being able to sleep, snuck into his room and slept on the little bed in there. He woke up once, but I just gave him his bottle and he was asleep for the rest of the night. So tues. night comes around and I did the same thing. Read him a story, kissed him goodnight and laid him down. He cried for about 5 minutes this time. The rest of the week, there was no crying. It was FABULOUS. So not that I have written this I hope I do not jinx it. So here are some pics.

This is Parker bathroom!

This is where we keep his books and blankets

The sign says I am a child of God.

The extra bed, and the picture with the fire truck is Chase when he was little.

The door, and another picture of Chase when he was little.

And last but not least the crib. And the sign above it is homemade from chase and myself. It is kind of hard to read but at the top of the sign it says, EST. June 11, 2007 and then on the bottom it says Fire Co.

So that is Parkers room. FIRE FIRE FIRE. So when we have a girl, I am going to make it so frilly and cute Chase is gonna hate it. Not that I hate this room. I had a fun time decorating it and making it our own.

Busy life in March

2008-03-26T13:23:00.001-07:00

Just thought I would start this blog off with a picture of Parker and his very first swing experience. Gee, I have been depriving the poor boy. Anyways, at the beginning of March our little family took a road trip to Seattle for Chases interview with the Seattle fire department. It was Parkers longest car ride, and towards the end it became a little rough for him. We got the chance to stay with my old roommate Jessica and her cute family. She has a son who is just over one, and it was fun to see our little boys interact with each other. They were definantly boys, fighting over toys, and crying when sometime got taken from them. As you can see we are teaching Parker to be tough, so his cousins can't pick on him. Another thing I realized while we were staying at Jessica's house, is that it would be so wonderful to have a baby who sleeps by himself and through the night. Jessica made it look so easy. Every two hours Caleb goes down for a nap and not to mention without a fuss. Then at night she brings him upstairs, lays him down and he is out for the night, and her and Braydan can enjoy the evening. So Jessica count your blessings. You saw what we had to put up with :) So on the way back from Seattle we took a little detour to Megans house, to visit little Beckett. He is such a cute baby. It's hard to believe that almost 1o months ago, Parker was that small. It was good to visit with Megan and Chad and to get some free professional pictures done of our cute boy. I know most everyone has already seen them through Megans sight, but I am still going to put them up anyways. Thanks Megan. This month we also got the pleasure of Chases Mom coming for about a week to watch Parker, while Grammy Perdue was in Utah. I always dread when my Mom is gone, because that means I have to find a babysitter for Parker in the afternoon. And truthfully, I am not very good at asking people to do this. So Chase got a call from his Mom telling us she was going to come babysit. YEAH!!!! It was so great to have her here and Parker had so much fun with her. Not to mention the great Chinese food we had and Italian! Thanks for all the help MOM!

Chase is still keeping busy with all his work and school. He just finished up finals this last week and I think is enjoying his little bit of break before school start up again in a week. So last Saturday, Parker and I took a little field trip to see daddy at the fire station. Now when I think of Firemen, I think of manly men, who can be hard and never smile. But I tell ya, when you bring a little baby into the station, they all get googly eyed and start talking baby talk. So it was fun to be able to bring Parker down to see his dad on the job.

As Easter rolled around, I was not quite as excited about it as I have been in the past. Yes it was fun to be able to dress Parker up in his first Sunday easter outfit (thanks grammy), but as tradition goes in my family, the easter bunny goes around the house and lays candy all over the floor and you race to pick up as much candy as you can. Then when all the candy is found, you have to go find your Easter basket. Well Parker is not quite old enough for candy yet. Yes I could have laid some candy around the house, but it just would have gone in his mouth. Plus with church at 9:00 and no husband at home, well it made for a complicated morning. Parker and I left for church without Chase, and the two of us sat alone. Usually it would not have been to bad cause my family is normally there, but with spring break, they left for a couple of days. However, Chase finally showed up about half way through sacarament meeting. Usually during church, I have a hard time paying attention to the talks, but I was glad on this Easter Sunday I got to catch one of them. Elder Buchanan (missionary in our ward), gave a wonderful talk on the ressurection that touched my heart. I am so thankful that Christ gave his life for me and that I although I am not perfect, I am able to repent, and I will someday be able to return to my Heavenly Father and Jesus. With Chase being a Firefighter I always worry that something bad will happen to him. But, I know that because we are sealed for time and all eternity, I will never lose him and we will be together with our families for eternity. So after church our plan for dinner was just to do some meatball subs and pasta (nice dinner), but that plan was changed when the Brittany Kohler invited us over to Allens house for dinner. We greatfully accepted. It was fun to be in a setting with a bunch of kids to bring back the little bit of Easter excitment I had lost. Thanks Kohlers, Ridings, and Allens for the fun time.

Sorry I know that was long, but it hard to find time to keep it update weekly.

Cautious, training in progress!

2008-03-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

Well I am hoping I can keep this as updated as possible. Our lives are not all to exciting, but we love to be able to fill our families and friends in that live far from us. First things first, Parker is growing like crazy! It is fun being able to watch him learn new things. Right now we are trying to get him to stand on his own. He can do it for a couple of seconds, and is very good at bringing himself back to the ground without falling on his face. He is a little reluctant at first to be let go by mommy or daddy, but eventually he let's go of his death grip and stands on his own. Chase's goal was to have him walking by nine months, but that time is coming up in a week, and it is not looking promising. So he has bumped it up to 10 months. So we'll see.

While training him to walk we thought we would also train him in the bathroom as well. He is not quite tall enough to sit on the toilet yet, but he sure has mastered the flushing part. Anytime Chase or I go into the bathroom, Parker is right on our tails chasing us down. He loves to be in the bathroom whether it be playing with the toilet, pulling down the toilet paper, or taking a bath. Hopefully it is a sign that he will be a well groomed boy who takes more then one shower a week!

With all the training we have been doing, we thought we ought to train him for his job in the future. Grandpa Caldwell is a retired firefighter, Daddy is a firefighter, so we thought it fit perfect for Parker to follow in their footsteps. He loves playing with his huge toy fire truck that Grandma Caldwell bought for him.

While you watch your children grow and learn, you also learn strange things yourself. For instance, we cannot for the life of us figure out why Parker is terrified of balls. Whether they be big or small, the poor boy just screams if one comes close to him. Now this can not be a good thing, as he is to be a soccer player when he get's older. Hopefully he will grow out of this strange stage.

Chase is still busy with going to school and working. We are hoping and praying he will find a job soon in the fire profession. He applied in Seattle, and passed the written test. So he goes on March 10th for his formal interview. There will be hundreds of guys that go through this whole process, but hopefully Chase will stick out to them and he can get started on what he loves doing. I am staying busy with work and playing mommy! I have to say that I am so grateful for being able to work half days. Especially that later half of the day. Parker is still not sleeping through the night, and yes he spends most of the night in our bed. However, we have made a step up in the world, because he starts out in his crib. He usually last an hour and then he has had enough. But we are taking baby steps, and hopefully it will continue to get better. So back to my point, with not getting much sleep at night, I am glad to have the morning to wake up and get moving. I usually stay pretty tired until I walk in the doors at work. What I love about my job is that, two days are never the same. Yes the kids can be quite challenging, and they know how to test your patience but on their good days, they are so fun to be with. I have come to love these kids, and I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to work with them.

We hope everyone is doing well, and we miss all of you who we don't get to see very often.