For my daddy! From Parker

He doesn't normally have a camera staring him in the face. But this will work! Hopefully we'll have it perfected by the time Dad gets home!

I could be singing this song totally wrong; it's been a while since Primary!

President Obama is off to a running start...

...and I'm a little nervous. To say the least. What has he done in his first week of Presidency?
The two most concerning issues to me are the "changes" he's made pertaining to gay marriage and abortion. His first day in office, the official White House webpage had some updates under the "civil rights" category: Support for the LGBT Community *please check out exactly what it says concerning this topic on their webpage*. Is this not alarming to many of you? Just today he reversed a policy set by our former President George W. Bush. This reversal will allow federal funds (our tax dollars) to support international groups that promote or perform abortions.

In anticipation of some of my blog readers who are Obama fans, I would like to set the record straight. I think it is amazing and incredible that we have elected a black man as the president of our nation! I think it reflects the equality of all men and women in this nation and that race, religion and gender have no bearing on what you become; only you decide what you become. My problem is not his race. My concern lies in the vast chasm that seperates his and my morals.
He is our president and I will support him in the good changes he makes. However, I have yet to see any good.

But I am hoping and praying for the best!

My goal: be better!

Why is that I save up a million things to post about over 1-2 weeks? Why don't I just post every day? or whenever I have something post-worthy? It would be a lot easier that way. Anyway, there are a million new posts on here, so make sure you read the down far enough!

*this has nothing to do with the post. it is just random*

Parley is always getting after me for not putting enough pics of me on here,

so this one is mostly for him!

In this post I've got a couple videos.

Parker has been obsessed with basketball since about September. So I had been watching for a free/cheap one on Craigslist. But we got even luckier and got this as a hand-me-down from some friends of ours--thanks Gibsons! Parker loves it and any time the weather is nice outside, he wants to go out and play "backaball."

This was the first time he was consistently (for a 1 1/2 yr old) able to make it. He made about 4 shots total while we were out there!

This next video is of Parker and his great friend "A" (we'll call her that for the sake of privacy). Parker's laugh is so contagious in this, plus you can't help laughing about how cute A is as she smells the flowers and with the cute faces she makes! It's adorable!

Warning: this contains graphic images that may cause vomiting!

...at least it makes me want to vomit! I thought I'd post a pic of my feet at 36 weeks this pregnancy and let you see how they compare to my feet at 36 weeks when I was prego with Parker. Seriously it is gross!

First up, my feet now:

*notice the great job I did painting my nails!*

WARNING: THIS IS GROSS!

my feet at 36 weeks with Parker:

Can you say "holy chubby moly"?!

And just so you don't have to end with that horrible image in mind, here is the picture of my feet now:

Yes, the feet and ankles are slightly puffy, but I can SO handle that!

I apologize if any of you were severly affected by these images. Just remember: I warned you!

The Hiding Place

I never know where I will find Parker! The other day I came into the kitchen and found him here. I wonder what he was thinking...is my cooking really that bad?!

Then the other day I found him here:

with an icecream scoop!

He loves watching vehicles, but especially big trucks. So the other day he was in Heaven when the street cleaner was going up and down our road. I think he sat there for about 30 minutes watching them work (they were also cleaning out the drains).

And a personal favorite of the week...he found a stray chocolate chip and hid in a corner to eat it! Guilty pleasures! I'm afraid he might take after me!

"No, Mom, I haven't been eating chocolate chips!"

Em's Vacation!

Please disregard my matted hair and how incredibly fat I look!

This is up at the top of the Space Needle.

So one of my fantabulous friends, Emily, an old roomie from school, came up to visit from CA! We had so much fun sight-seeing in Seattle and this area, plus just relaxing and reminiscing about the past!

Parker also loved her; he called her "Money"! So here are a few pics from her time up here!

Parker and Em at the aquarium

Here, she is helping him touch the sea creatures.

They were alive and SLIMY/STICKY!

Parker said "yuck!" when he touched the anemoni (sp?)

We took a trip to Mt. Rainier. This little guy was trying to sneak up on us and steal our food, but I scared him away! Actually, he scared us; we packed everything up and finished our picnic in the car. He just looked a little too hungry! Is it a black fox? Anyone know?

Just relaxing! Practicing the "pound it"

*see video below*

One of our friends from the ward taught Parker how to "pound it." Emily thought it was the cutest thing on earth, so she got it on video:

Clarification

So as to allay any concerns from my previous post: I was exaggerating. I did not pass out. However, had it not been for the frequent breaks I took to lean back and catch my breath, I really might have!

The perils of pregnancy

Tonight I was desiring a little pampering. I decided to paint my toenails! Why did the thought that this might be a difficult thing to accomplish never cross my mind? I've really never experienced anything during pregnancy that was difficult to do (w/in reason). Yes, sometimes putting on my pants is a little difficult, but I don't think that really has anything to do w/ my expanding belly; the problem lies more with my expanding hips (grrr...). Sure, sneaking through small spaces is pretty much impossible. But the shoe thing?! Heck that's easy. All you have to do is wear flip-flops or slip-ons, and never untie your shoes so that you can just squeeze your foot right on in there! Hence, I had never considered that painting my toenails might be difficult.

The process began as normal: shake the polish, remove the brush. Then it became difficult. As I bent over, trying to get the best angle for making those beautiful strokes on my gorgeous toenails, I reached an impass. Bend as I might, I could only bend so far. So, while hovering over and around my gigantic belly, I began painting! Pretty soon however, I began to get slightly out of breath. Then stars started to appear. Then...darkness.

Yes, there are some things that just should not be attempted on your own while pregnant! Anyone want to volunteer for the next time I want a little pampering on my feet?! :)