Parker's 'Miles'tones...

Parker has learned so much lately.  He truly is a toddler now.  Joel and I are in constant amazement at what he understands and can do!  Here are a few of his latest...

Walking...took him a while but he finally has it down! (14 months)

Signing...we have taught him to ask for more food, to say when he is all done eating and how to say please/help!  These has proved to be very helpful especially during dinner time.  No more throwing food!!  (14 months)

Understanding exactly what we are saying and carrying out simple commands...it still makes us laugh every time he does something that we say because we just are not used to this new stage of communication yet.  Common things we ask him to do are to throw something away in the trash and go to get a book to read.  (15 months)

Library Loot...

While visiting the Zeeland Library one day we realized that Parks was eligible to enter the Summer Reading Program!  So we signed up, brought our chart home and started reading!  Eighteen books was the 1/2 way mark and we easily made it to that in a couple of days.  We went in and Parker got to pick out a snack (Goldfish), bubbles and a free cookie from Zeeland Bakery!  This just encouraged us all the more to keep on reading...we filled the chart and went in to claim our loot...free fry from McDonalds, ice cream from Drenthe Dipper, free book, and a free pizza from Pizza Hut!  Since Joel and I did all of the reading we think we deserve some of the prizes!

Da' U.P...

Aimee was up in Rudyard again for part of the summer and invited us girls and our kids to come up and stay at the cottage for a few days.  So we packed up in Jodie's van and ventured up north for an action-packed 3 days!  The kids did awesome for the most part in the car, but I think they were all happy to be there and get out and run free!  We spent our time playing at the park, riding the Razor at Aimee's parents, playing outside in the mud, going for walks and talking a lot (mostly us girls)!

The boys found a "peeing toad"...they thought it was cool.  I was skeptical!

Maybe...

Maybe I like to live in a small house.
Maybe I am really glad we live so close to Captain Sundae.
Maybe I feel guilty when I wish for a little more personal free time.
Maybe I wish that we could pay off our house before we have to start paying for Christian Education.
Maybe I hope that some day we will be able to help at-risk children in a real way.
Maybe I wish that we had a bigger dining room so we could have a large farmhouse table.
Maybe I get annoyed sometimes by hearing the same music come from Parker's toys every day.
Maybe running makes me feel so free and invigorated.
Maybe I daydream about inventing something that will make it big time.
Maybe I enjoy going to work so I can go to the bathroom by myself without a little one on my leg.
Maybe I wish I could pull off dressing funky with clothes that don't match.
Maybe I love action/murder shows more than the average girl.

Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.  Just maybe.

1st Trimester...

Celebrating making it through the 1st trimester is exactly what we are doing in the Nagelkirk household!  It was a rough few months for all of us...I was tired constantly and felt nauseous most hours of the day.  I never felt so sick that I threw up except on a few occasions.  One most memorable and funny...while changing Parker's diaper the smell overwhelmed me!  Joel was in the other room so he ran in and took over while I ran to the bathroom!  Joel was laughing the whole time while I was being sick! 

I was thankful it was summer and that Joel was around a lot so I could take my mandatory two naps a day and lay around the house when I felt I needed to.  Poor Parker could definitely sense something wasn't right.  He started taking a very keen liking to Joel and wanted nothing to do with me!  Joel thought it was fun at first but then it became challenging because he wanted nothing to do with me so Joel had to be 24/7 parent.

We heard the little ones heartbeat at 12 weeks...the doctor said the baby is a squirmer!  I haven't felt any movement yet, but we are really looking forward to it!  I feel like I have popped way sooner than with Parker!  My belly button popped out at 7 weeks already!  Both of those things made us have to share the news earlier than we would have liked, but I was getting sick of sucking in at the fax machine!  So I shared with the girls over dinner at Boatwerks and my co-workers at our staff meeting. 

What has this pregnancy been like so far...

Foods I crave...each day is different but whatever the one thing is I MUST have it...pancakes, PB Capt'n Crunch, applesauce, soup, green beans to name a few!

Abnormal behavior..."CRABBY", says Joel!

Thing I am looking forward to...feeling the baby move for the first time!

What I have not been enjoying about being pregnant again...the CRAZY dreams!  So out of this world and I remember them all so vividly in the morning.

What I am loving about being pregnant...seeing my belly grow, being able to eat more of the foods I love, seeing Parker lift up my shirt and kiss and hug the baby (I think he thinks my belly button is the baby...he is in for a rude awakening in February!), thinking about decorating Parker's big boy room and imagining our soon to be family of four!

2012 Grill Off...

Another great Grill Off year at the Lambert household!  Joel and I made Tahitian Bananas this year.  They were good, but definitely not in contention for the win!  It was a fun night with great food and good entertainment!

Windows down and feeling the breeze...

Parker's new favorite thing is to play in the front seat of the car when it is parked in the driveway.  Seeing him in the front seat and pretending to steer already makes me nervous for the day he turns sixteen...hopefully by then the law will have changed to teens not being able to drive until eighteen!

We've got a mover and a shaker...

Parker is officially a walker!!!  Mom Lambert was over to see Parks for the last time before they left for Hawaii and I think she was bribing him to make his move today so she didn't miss it all...and he did!  Determined as can be he repeatedly stood up and took a 4-6 steps for about 10 minutes!  We captured the whole thing on video which is very funny!  We were obviously thrilled at his newest accomplishments which was evident by high pitched voices, cheering and laughter!

Pinterest vs. Real Life...

I thought it would be fun to announce our recent pregnancy with a picture...I got the idea from Pinterest, of course!  After several...close to 20...attempts I realized that my life is nothing like Pinterest, and I just need to embrace it!  

Joel did a great job standing where I instructed him to, but after a few shots his enthusiasm for the project was waning!  Parker, on the other hand, did not want to cooperate at all...you would have thought the ground was hot lava or something!  We attempted bribing with 1 tennis ball then 2 tennis balls then both tennis balls and a paci...nothing worked!  We decided to ditched the picture idea, but not without getting some very funny shots first!  There were plenty more to choose from, but I only picked a few!

And that is what real life with the Nagelkirks looks like!  And I have to say that I absolutely LOVE IT!!!!

2nd time is the charm...

Well, the 2nd pregnancy test gave us a much clearer certainty that we are actually having another little one!  The "pregnancy line" appeared before the "control line" and was solid and red!  We were elated and are really looking forward to having a little brother or sister...most likely brother...for Parker and to see how this child will add to our family!

Heat Wave...

Wow this has been a hot summer!  We have had 90-100 degree weather with no rain for almost 4 weeks!  We have tried to keep Parker in the air as much as possible because he overheats so quickly.  If we are outside we are in the kiddie pool, at a Splash Park, at the beach or at the MVP pool (we ended up getting a membership just so we could have access to the pool).  We pretty much let Parker bare it all in order to stay cool...hope the neighbors don't mind the show!