Busy Family Saturday

We had a busy but exciting Saturday as a family. Our day started bright and early (okay, not so bright...it was actually pitch dark) on Saturday as we loaded up the car and headed downtown for the Indianapolis Corporate Challenge. The Corporate Challenge is a sports competition between local companies. David was participating with Valeo's team, so Ford and I went with him to cheer on him and the team! Ford had a GREAT time running around the field and watching all the people.

 

 

After the Challenge, we went for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants downtown, where Ford chowed down on a peanut butter sandwich and we rested our feet. Then we dropped off David for the CANvitational -- a craft beer festival -- where he was meeting up with Kirk, Laura and Emily. He stayed downtown tasting beers with them while I took Ford home for a nap.

 

Oh, but our day wasn't over yet! Ford and I headed back downtown later in the afternoon to pick up David and the gang and headed straight from one beer festival to another. We met a bunch of our friends at a small park for Oktoberfest, with more local beer and food truck vendors and different local bands. The weather was perfect, so we enjoyed hanging out with our friends, chowing down and listening to music.

 

 

 

Needless to say, after our busy busy busy day, we were all whipped. Today, we're recuperating at home with football and pajamas. :)

 

 

Super Ford to the Rescue

*VIDEO*

when there are toys to be saved... when there are dogs to chase... when there are empty cups to put in the sink... when there are pillows to throw off the couch... when there is laundry to put away... when there are crackers to be eaten... 

you can count on....

SUUUUPER FOOOOOORD!

Our Baby's Graduating

To our complete surprise, Ford came home from school tonight with a Certificate of Achievement, meaning his school is moving him up to the next class....2 months early! He wasn't supposed to move up until his 2nd birthday, but his teacher says he's outgrown the Toddler room. He recently had a lot of younger kids move up into his class, so now that he's the oldest he gets really bored and frustrated with the activities. And when he's bored, he gets in trouble. He gets sent to the office 2-3 times a week for not listening, and we think (or at least I HOPE) it's because he isn't stimulated enough. So he'll have one more month until he joins the "big" kids in the 2-Year-Old room! Ohhhhhh boy!

Football, Friends, and Food

*VIDEO*
i'm really getting into this football thing. i can see why daddy loves it so much. today i was sitting in mommy's lap when football came on the tv. i pointed at the tv and said "FOOTBAAALL." mommy cracked up. i think she was surprised i knew what it was. i mean, come on, really mom? you've been dressing me in green and gold since i was born. i don't talk good, but i understand more than you think. give me a little credit. here i am cheering on the packers (and saying "cheeeeese" for the camera...hehe):

when i wasn't watching football, corwin and i played.....A LOT. we ran circles around the house until i could hardly stand. i like it when corwin and his parents come over for football on sunday. i think we should do it EVERY sunday. :)

when corwin and i weren't running wild, we would read books together. he would even teach me words. he'd point to a picture, say the word, and i would try to repeat it. he's really smart.

in other news, mommy wanted me to show you how good i'm getting at eating with a fork like big boys do. she's so silly. i'm finally getting the hang of how to "scoop and score":

Footbaaaaaall

my new word this week is FOOTBALL.

so it's no secret i love sports. i can't sit still, like, ever. i like soccer, basketball, gymnastics, rock climbing, and dancing. one thing i haven't tried yet is football. BUT i do like watching it on the tv. daddy taught me how to say FOOTBAAAALL. i like to say it really loud and hold my arms up in the air like those guys in the black and white stripes do on tv. it makes mommy and daddy laugh. i can't sit still for more than a minute to watch FOOTBAAAALL, but every now and then mommy and daddy will get really excited about it and that's when i join in their fun. they act really silly sometimes. i like it when they jump up and down or run in place. that's fun.

now daddy's trying to teach me to say "GO PACK GO." i don't know what that means, but i'll say anything to keep them laughing. :)

in the meantime, happy FOOTBAAAALL!

Three's Company

We just said goodbye to Dave, Connie, and Aunt Sharon after a whirlwind weekend visit. The trio came down Friday night, ran around all day Saturday, and returned home early Sunday afternoon. Had I not had photographic evidence, I would have hardly believed they were here at all.

In Stelsel fashion, there were too few hours in the day to do everything that "needed" to be done. Connie and Sharon hustled about on several shopping expeditions, including a trip to Carmel's Farmers Market. The weather was perfect for spending the weekend outdoors! Dave spent most of Saturday working outside at Kirk's house, pulling out landscaping and laying the foundation for a backyard fire pit. Everyone came over to our house on Saturday night for takeout from Friendly Tavern (yum!). And in the mix of it all was little Ford, entertaining as always.

My only complaint from the weekend was it went by too quickly. Next time, guys, stay a little longer! :)

These two make quite a pair. Must have been a rough Friday night.

Got my shades on at the Farmers Market.

Let's see who blinks first.

Hanging our new dining room fixture. :)

Uncle KK and Ford get up close and personal.

Konked out after a busy weekend!

Swimmin' and Swayin'

*VIDEO*
like a fish
last weekend was so fun. mommy and daddy took me swimming at their friends' pool! i had no fear of the water. i loved splashing and swimming and going under water. i think mommy was really nervous the whole time, but daddy took good care of me. they said next year i can take swimming lessons! i can't wait.

i had so much in the pool, that i want to be in water every chance i get. tonight, as chase was getting ready for his bath, i snuck in the tub. hehehe.... daddy had no idea i could climb in the tub on my own! they made me get out cuz i had all my clothes and shoes on, even though chase and i were having so much fun splashing in the water.

like a rockstar
tonight mommy came home to me and daddy busting a move in the living room. dance parties are fun!

Parker Pack Back in Town

We enjoyed a nice, long Labor Day weekend. No work. No stress. No plans.

Oh yeah, and my parents were here! :)

Okay, so actually that "no plans" thing turned into football-watching, beer-drinking, furniture-shopping, house-decorating, toy-packing, party-hosting, and toddler-entertaining plans. But with a three-day weekend, we got it all done without even breaking a sweat.

It was quite a productive holiday weekend. My mom and I got some things down around the house, including a little decorating, packing up Ford's baby toys, and changing out Ford's clothes from summer to winter (he now has a closet full of 2Ts.....how time flies!).

New lights for the dining room!
Trading out our silver fixture for bronze.

Our house is definitely looking more homey with the addition of some antiques from Gigi and Boppa's house. My first project is completing the dining room with some window treatments, table centerpiece, and new light fixture. We got as far as purchasing the light fixture — and I'm hoping my amazingly talented father-in-law will install it for us (wink, wink).

My second project is decorating our reading room. I'm looking for new furniture (chairs and ottomans) to replace our old couch. We didn't have any luck finding anything at the stores (well, except for the $2,100 chair that I really liked). So now I realize I'm going to have to have our chairs custom made, which is actually pretty fun and should cost less than $2,100. A trip to Kentucky is in order, where I know I can find my custom chairs at less cost than what I could do here. My mom and I already have a plan.....

Yeah right! Only in my (and David's) dreams could we ever
have a library like this. But it's good to dream.

And of course as you decorate, you have to go out with the old to make room for the new. So mom and I spent some time clearing out Ford's baby toys and clothes, as well as sorting, washing, and putting away his next set of clothes that should (fingers crossed) get him through the winter. We sure got a good workout moving bins of clothes up and down two flights of stairs! So all in all, a successful day.

While we were busy with the house, Dad kept Ford entertained with Elmo books, dinosaur puzzles, Fraggle Rock, and singing songs. Ford is a big fan of his Grandaddy; he runs to him every time he enters the room and loves to sit in his lap. Chase and Ford usually had to fight for room, one on each leg. But I don't think Grandaddy minded one bit.

Showing Grandaddy how to work the puzzle.

 Ford also got to play with his best bud Corwin, who stayed the night with us on Monday. They had fun reading books and playing outside. Sharing toys can sometimes be an issue at this age, but they did pretty good. We're trying to reduce Ford's use of the word "mine" — which he recently picked up from the kids at school (UGH!) — but he did okay with Corwin.

Book club

Chase spent the weekend, well, exhausted. He tried to sleep as much as possible, but of course it's quite a challenge with so many people in the house. He had TOO much fun, I think.

Throw in a fantasy football draft party, two trips to Home Depot, a trip to Target, brunch, an afternoon making Jennifer's famous lasagna, and a trip to Kirk and Laura's new house, and that would just about sum up our weekend. :)