First Hair Cut

On Friday the 21st Bennett turned 9 months old and got his first hair cut. It was tough for me to admit it, but the time had come...his hair was beginning to look quite scraggly, growing well over his ears and overlapping the collar of his shirt. We took him to a place that specializes in kids cuts and Jeff and I were amazed at how well he did.

Bennett loved sitting in the firetruck and Miss Sandy who cut his hair was very kind and patient with his squirminess. She even allowed him to continually steal her combs. He would grab one out of her hand and she'd just get a new one. Again. And again. Bennett enjoyed that little game.

I know it is silly but I was just so proud of him sitting there and having his hair cut without a fit. I always brace myself for the worst but time and time again Jeff and I come away from new experiences with Bennett saying "he did so great!". I guess we should be used to his easygoing nature by now, but I'm afraid the moment I start to expect him to be amenable in every situation he'll throw me for a loop. Better to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised, right?

Bennett, thrilled to be at the wheel. I didn't know he was old enough to enjoy this yet!

With one of the coveted combs.

Who took my baby and left a big boy in his place??

Family Christmas: Take One

Last weekend we celebrated Christmas with the Jackson family in Fort Worth because Grandmama and Granddaddy were visiting from Alabama. I love that Bennett is getting to know his great-grandparents and that they have a chance to enjoy him. We all delighted in our time together eating, talking by the fire, laughing and playing lots of card games. I think my favorite part of the visit was Lisa, Mom and I learning to make my grandmother's traditional Christmas candies under her watchful tutelage.

Bennett got to open his first present...books!

My parents got a new camera recently and my mom and I had fun playing photographer with the B-boy. He was a good sport,

Keeping Us On Our Toes

Bennett is certainly not an infant anymore and he reminds me of this fact every time I think it is ok to step away for "just a second". He is endlessly fascinated by doors and drawers - including their contents, anything electronic, anything dangerous and, of course, the shiny Christmas tree and pretty gifts. It is so fun (and also exhausting) to watch him grow and learn!

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks of our Mr. B exploring his world.

Oops! This plant table has found a new home now.

The is the "baby friendly" cabinet where Bennett plays when I'm in the kitchen.

During a visit to Nanny and Papa's house we discovered that Bennett can climb. Look at him go!

I can't look at this picture without thinking "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be".

Gran was smart to put only plastic ornament near the bottom of her tree.

Notice that he is surrounded by colorful, made-for-baby toys and yet chooses to eschew those and partake of a little light reading.

This is the B-boy this morning getting an up-close look at our movie collection.

This Blog Made Possible By...

I want to give a shout-out to our friends Alli and David Penuel who designed our awesome blog header (that's the picture and title at the top of our page here). A few of you have asked how our blog got to be so cute and they get all the credit!

As you might know I'm not remarkably artistic or creative so I needed some help to get this thing looking decent. Happily, our friends recently started a company to design and sell headers, logos and other custom graphics. They are so talented! If you are interested in getting one for yourself or just checking out their work go to loudmouthlogos.com (click the "blogheader template galary" on the left to see the entire collection). I chose one of the more simple designs but they have everything from sweet and cutesy to quirky and funky.

The Penuels are dear friends of ours and their son Chapman is one of Bennett's favorite buddies. We are blessed to have them in our lives and are excited to support them in their new business venture!

Flashback #1

After a trip to the mall in early October I sat down and wrote down the following story of my day's adventures. I imagined that one day I would look back on the experience and laugh so today I will share it with you.

Without further ado, I offer a glimpse back in time to October 1, 2007:

Sit back, relax and let me tell you a tale of my shopping trip. It began innocently enough with a nice afternoon, a well rested and fed baby and $75 worth of gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. So I decide to head to the nearest mall. Now this mall is in a well to-do area of town and is mostly full of stores that I dare not enter because I would blow our entire clothing budget on a pair of socks or a belt. But some odd soul gave me a gift card to Neiman Marcus and this mall does have a babyGap so off I go!

Upon entering Neiman’s I notice immediately that I stick out like blue flamingo with my ponytail, flip-flops, and Target pullover. Fortunately for me, most of the pointy-toed shoe wearing, What Not To Wear graduates perusing the store are distracted by my smiling, cooing baby and fail to notice how out of place I look. I’ve never been in the store so I wander around aimlessly looking to see if there is anything I might be able to purchase with my $50 gift card. What was I thinking? I see nothing that will fit in with my current wardrobe of jeans and cotton tops. After discreetly peeking at a few price tags I’m too intimidated to look at any more.

Looking for the exit, I wind up in the kids area and decide to make a last ditch effort to spend some money and see if there is anything cute for the little one. By the way, did you know that they make Juicy Couture stuff for babies?? Including a little girl’s onesie that says “Give me my Juicy!”?? Ridiculous! But I digress. The sales lady in the baby section is not enamored with Mr. B and does not seem exceedingly interested in helping me so I move on. I finally ask for help to find my way out of the self-esteem-crushing store but I don’t make it before beginning to feel very, very low about my sloppy, un-trendy self (and this on a day in which I showered and even applied lip gloss – a good day for me!).

Of course the babyGap is on the complete opposite side of the mall but I decide to have a good attitude about it and count my swift walk as a quasi-workout. I stop by the Anthropologie store because I like to check out their home décor items – you never know when you’ll find a good deal on a cute gift. Bennett is not nearly as interested in the knick-knacks as I and soon starts fussing. Of course I’ve forgotten his paci so I hurry on to spend my Gap money.

I’m thinking surely I’ll find some good summer clothes on sale to tide us over until it starts to actually get cool around here. Bennett is bigger than I expected him to be at this age and most everything I have that fits him now is long-sleeved – but it is still getting into the 90s each day. Lo and behold they are having a great sale at the Gap! BUT even the clearance items are thermals and heavy jackets. Don’t they realize this is Texas...no one will be wearing that stuff for at least another month! Grr…

Bennett is getting fussy so I get him out of the stroller, determined not to leave without spending some free money. He begins to ratchet up the whining and so I stupidly hand him my cup of ice to rattle as I skim through the sale rack. In record time he has the top off and has spilled ice water all over himself. Now he’s screaming.

I’m directed to a restroom with a changing table and discover a blow-out diaper to go with the cold, soaked onesie. Good thing I brought a change of clothes today! As I’m strapping him to the table I get one of those post-labor urgent signals that my Dr. Pepper has made its way through my system and is ready to exit – NOW! Usually if I’m walking around or something I can wait, but as I stand there deciding if I can hold it long enough to change the screaming baby the answer is undeniable.

No. There is not enough time. I am leaking.

I wrangle the red-faced, wailing child who is dirty, soaked and half undressed off the changing table, rush into a stall, undo my jeans with one hand and finish leaking into the toilet. But the damage has been done.

I trash my underwear, hang my jeans over the hand air-dryer and stand bare-tooshied in the bathroom to complete the clean-up and redressing of my little one. Fortunately, my cheap-o Target shirt is nice and long. A lovely young sales girl enters the bathroom and I can only manage to smile and offer no explanation for the strange scene.

Finally, we are both somewhat dry and decently dressed so I hunker down and speed out of that evil place. One afternoon gone…no purchases made.

Maybe I’ll try again next week.

Winter

I'm not one to get excited about cold weather. I love wearing summer clothes. Flip flops, tank tops and sun dresses make me want to skip and play whereas sweaters and coats seem stifling and itchy. I prefer to feel the sun on my shoulders and a warm breeze in my hair to facing biting winds and gray, dreary days where the sun disappears by 6:30.

But around the holidays I'm willing to stand some cooler temperatures. It seems that a bit of a chill in the air adds to the festivity of the season. I just have a hard time singing "Jingle Bells" or wrapping Christmas gifts while running the air conditioner. Alas, we have had quite unseasonably warm weather in early December. This is Bennett playing outside on Friday, December 7.



What a difference two days makes! Winter weather finally decided to arrive with a cold front on 9th. Yeah! Here is Bennett Sunday. We went for a walk so we could get some use out of his winter coat. He enjoyed the ride.



I'm not keeping my fingers crossed for a white Christmas or anything, but I'll enjoy the frosty weather while it lasts. Or at least I'll stay inside where its warm, snuggled in my blanket and drinking hot chocolate. Maybe a little bit of winter isn't so bad after all.

Learning About Domains

For not updating in the past week I apologize to all our loyal readers (all 3 or 4 of you). Jeff and I bought a domain name and it has taken me this long to figure out how to get our blog to show up when you type in www.learningaswego.com. In the process I rendered the entire thing completely unfindable. For days I was getting nothing but a page of ads for godaddy.com or a "sever not found" error when trying to access our blog. It was quite frustrating.

I certainly knew ahead of time that I'm not exactly web-savvy, but I thought that I had the patience and brains to figure out this seemingly straightforward task. I don't. But a with a quick call to customer service I was able to undo the mess I made and get our blog up and running again. Turns out it was quite a simple fix.

All this to say, have no fear, we will continue to blog and regale you with tales of our fascinating life and pictures of our adorable son. So, dear readers (er...Mom, Dad, maybe Tricia?), thank you for your patience and loyalty. We are much obliged.

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Here at the Parker household we have flung ourselves full force into the Christmas Season. This weekend we bought and decorated our tree, wrapped gifts, attended Forney's "Hometown Christmas" celebration and visited Santa! It's too bad we have to keep the air going because of the spring-like weather we've been having. Oh well, I guess we can hang snowflakes on the tree and imagine that there's a chill in the air.

Helping Daddy find the perfect tree.

Our tree!

Here is the final product after I spent many hours over two days putting on the lights and Jeff made two trips to the store to buy MORE lights. Honestly, I'm slightly obsessive about the lights. I think I might have a problem.

Outside of my nutty lighting issues Jeff and I really enjoy doing our tree each year. We make hot chocolate, watch our favorite Christmas movies (always Christmas Vacation first then one or more of the following: Elf, Love Actually, Family Man). We collect ornaments from the different places we travel and like to spend time recalling our trips as we decorate.

It is our last Christmas in our Dallas condo. Kind of sad. Next year I'll share with you the our adventures in outdoor lighting!

Forney's Hometown Christmas is a fun Saturday in early December where the whole town (and then some) turns out to visit Santa, watch the kids perform dance routines or Christmas carols, purchase gifts made by local tradespeople, check out the petting zoo, and more. Even though the streets are swarming with people there is a great friendly, small-town feel to the event. We had a good time visiting with Jeff's family and getting in the Christmas spirit.

Waiting for Daddy

My beautiful boy is pulling up at every opportunity these days. Thursday we had a good time watching out the window for Jeff to come home.

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with our families last week. The Parkers hosted us out in Forney and were kind enough to invite the Jackson clan along for the celebration. We all ate well, zoned out in front of the less-than-thrilling Cowboys game and ate some more. Perfect.

Jeff and I are thankful for so many things. This has been an eventful year - I quit work, we had a baby, we are building a house and trying to sell our condo. There is no one I'd rather be navigating these day-to-day adventures with than my wonderful husband. We have had a blast getting to know our precious son and learning how to be parents together. We've been able to look forward and plan and dream for our family's future as we prepare to move. We have taken time to look back and be thankful for where God has brought us in four and half years. I am so blessed.

We are thankful for sweet time with our wonderful families. Thankful for parents that love the Lord and love us well. Thankful for fabulous siblings that are fun to be around and care deeply for us and for Bennett. We are thankful for the friends that surround us and bring joy, encouragement and wisdom to our lives. Above all and even if none of this existed we would still be thankful for our precious Savior and the grace freely offered to us that we in no way deserve.

There are not enough words for all of the ways we are thankful. I pray that I am able to live a life that is simply an outpouring of my grateful heart. God is so good.

Bennett and His Boys

We have had a full week this week! Between Fort Worth, Allen and Dallas Bennett got the chance to hang out with some of his favorite friends. I love taking pictures of him with other little boys that I hope will be a big part of his life in upcoming years.


Wednesday we went to Fort Worth to see Tricia and Elliott. Tricia is one of my most dear friends and we've been "BFF" since 7th grade. It is so fun to be figuring out this whole mommy thing along with her! We are both working hard (along with our husbands) to teach our children that the Mavericks are the only NBA team worth cheering for.

Friday we went to Allen for my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting and to check out progress on our new house. After MOPS Bennett and I went to Chick-fil-A with Haley and her crew, Cobb (4), Charly (2) and Ridge (almost 1). We foolishly thought Ridge and Bennett would sit with us and watch the older kids in the play area but they had other plans. These boys wanted to be a part of the action! Ridge and Bennett will soon be neighbors and I'm excited for them to grow up together.


Saturday night Jeff, Bennett and I hung out with friends from our community group, David, Alli and Chapman Penuel. The adults had fun just eating dinner and talking about our babies. Bennett tried to eat Chapman, but Chap is a pretty cool, calm kid and didn't freak out about it. I'm not sure if you can tell from this picture, but Chap has the most awesome baby hair ever. No joke.

Lesson for Dad #1

Well, here I am. I will surely weigh in on the most random things - and will focus often on what God is teaching me from watching my baby boy. I don't presume that these things are original thoughts or new truths. But I do believe that there is a big difference in hearing truth and experiencing it.

Now let me move on. Yesterday, I was playing with Bennett on the floor and I was evidently pretty entertaining. I kept batting/juggling one toy in the air and he got the biggest kick out of it. He was laughing so hard and few things make me happier than hearing Bennett laugh. I really look forward to those moments and getting my son to laugh and just have fun with his dad.

I also love watching him explore the world and his world. The way that he watches cars as they drive by or plays with the fountain near our community pool. With much curiosity, he roams around our house. I love presenting him with new things to play with or carrying him on my shoulders as we walk to new places. There's nothing like sharing that with him.

Then there are moments where we must develop discipline (as best we can with an 8-month old) for him whether it's sleeping or diaper change time. There are times that he needs protection and longs for that security. There are times when he needs to be consoled. Times where he needs nourishment. Times where he learns just how much he is loved.

You can probably see where I'm going and that's fine.

But fatherhood has caused to me to sit back and wonder about God in new ways. How great is God to put me in situations where I can have fun and laugh. I'm sure it makes God happy to hear me laugh. And I bet He loves to watch me explore new places and reach new heights in my marriage and understanding of Him. I do not doubt that He is there watching my every move and pointing out things that I may be missing.

And how well I know and trust in His discipline, protection, consolation, nourishment and His love for me.

As I explore being a dad, it's so fun to watch my boy and give him the gifts that I can offer him. But I really enjoy putting myself in Bennett's place and thinking of the gifts my Dad is offering me. And don't I just know that as I delight in my son, my Father is reminding me that I too am beloved.

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

Moving Along

Well over a month ago I declared that Bennett would be crawling "any day now". With much grunt-filled practice my boy had learned to get on his hands and knees and was rocking back and forth, often raising one hand and putting it down again in the same spot. I just knew that with a bit more practice he'd get all those appendages coordinated and be scuttling around our little place.

Fast forward to today. He is certainly on the move...just not quite the way I expected. I love that he is learning to get places independently (although I also realize this is the beginning of the end of my going to the bathroom alone). One of our new games consists of me crawling from room to room and calling him to follow me. Yesterday he made it from the hall bathroom into the living room and around the corner to the kitchen, doing his "wounded soldier" crawl all the way.

Why do we call him a wounded soldier, you may ask. Certainly you've heard of the "army crawl" when a baby scoots around on his belly, propelling himself by pushing with his feet and pulling forward with his forearms, as a soldier avoiding gunfire. Bennett has modified this typical style by using only his left arm and right foot, dragging the rest of his body along like so much dead weight. He's getting pretty quick at it too, especially when making a beeline for electrical cords or any other dangerous prize.

It's pretty cute, if you ask me. But feel free to form your own opinion after watching it yourself - Bennett "crawls"

And We're Off!

Well friends, I have given in and joined the world of mommy blogging. I look forward to archiving some of our day-to-day adventures and sharing them with you! Jeff will pop in from time to time to contribute his take on life and daddyhood as well.

It just drives me batty that I didn't start this up as soon as Bennett was born (or before). But I guess jumping in at 7 and 3/4 months is better than nothing. Don't be surprised if you see some "throwback" posts from me as I attempt to play catchup from all the months and milestones I've missed.

Jeff and I are both hoping that this serves as a place to stay connected with those we care about and also that it helps us take time to slow down, reflect a bit and record snippets of our lives.