"I Did It!"

WARNING: This video contains extreme cuteness. Watching it will cause your heart to melt.

As you can see, the fun continued into the evening! The Learning Home was a major hit with Ryan and Evan. They play with this toy all the time. I wish i could count how many times we've turned that light on and off. Now everytime Ryan does something he yells, "I did it!" Love, love, love our boys!

Christmas Morning

Ryan and Evan weren't sure what was happening! They didn't know what to do first:)

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas eve was busier than we expected! There were last minute errands to run and visits to make. We even hosted an impromptu Christmas eve dinner. We were blessed to spend the evening with our dear friends and their adorable three children. Ryan and Evan must have known that there was something in the air because they stayed up until 11pm! Actually they both fell asleep before 9 and them woke up and stayed awake until 11. There was still so much to do that night, and the Peas certainly changed our schedule!

Finally they fell asleep and Daddy P and I could get started setting up their gifts. One of the best memories I have of Christmas with my mommy is waking up on Christmas morning to find unwrapped gifts under the tree. I don't remember having wrapped boxes at all, though I'm sure we got clothes and things. All I remember is coming downstairs to find all those toys on Christmas morning! This is something I was excited to pass on to Ryan and Evan. It took a lot longer than I thought to get the everything ready. (Dear toy companies: must you put soooo many thick plastic ties on your merchandise?!) Daddy P had a few things to assemble and my job was to open all the packages and set things up. I was giddy with excitement just thinking about Ryan and Evan waking up to all their goodies. Here's their loot:

It was massive! I didn't even unwrap the gifts that were given to them by family and friends. These were the things their dad and I got for them. By the way, my new favorite toy company is B.Toys. They have the neatest toys ever! There's a section for B. Toys in the specialty toy department at Target.

Finally it was time for bed! Our two munchkins slept until 8am, which is late for them! We couldn't wait for the big reveal!

Church Family

Have I ever mentioned how much we love our church family? The people of Union Baptist Church have been such a blessing to our family. The day before Ryan and Evan were born and I was admitted to the hospital people came to see me in droves. When I was transferred to Yale they were there. When the boys were born I don't think there was a moment when somebody from our church (and churches around the nation--literally) were not praying for us. They sent flowers and visited. I pretty much lived in New Haven the summer the boys were born and one family drove up on a regular basis--to New Haven--in rush hour traffic--to bring me a home cooked meal. The condo I stayed in that was walking distance to the hospital? Courtesy of a friend of a church member. They threw us a surprise baby shower that was out of this world! I still have things from our shower that I haven't used yet--18 months later! The biggest surprise was my grandmother, sister, and Cousin Betty were all in attendance. I'm telling you, they thought of everything.

One day, I was at the hospital and I was at my breaking point. I'm talking, I'm about to lose it, admit me to the psych ward right now breaking point! I went to the chapel to pray and my phone rang. Something told me to answer it and it was our pastor. How in the world did he know that I needed a word of encouragement right then at that very moment?

Their love and kindness have only continued since the boys have been home with us. This time last year the director of the children's choir brought the kids to sing Christmas carols to the boys through the window, since they knew we couldn't come outside and they couldn't come in. When we didn't bring the kids to church for months they didn't push and respected what we had to do, even though I'm sure they couldn't wait to see them.

We go to church every Sunday now, and their support starts as soon as I pull into the parking lot. The deacons save me a parking space, get the stroller out the truck, help strap the boys in, and insist on pushing them inside. If it's raining or is too cold, they let me pull to the front and get the boys out. They even park my car for me. Once we get inside, the church mommies step in.


Miss Ina is Ryan's church mommy, even though she loves her some Evan too! She brings yummy snacks that she knows they'll love and has the perfect spot for them when they need to run around.

Miss Laverne is Evan's church mommy, but I know Ryan has a special place in her heart too. Laverne is quick to go with me to the cry room when the boys need a break. She'll grab the diaper bag to change a diaper before I even realize they're wet.

Without these two, I don't think I would be able to come out to worship. On second thought...not true. There are many more mommies-in-waiting that I'm sure would come to my rescue at a moment's notice.

By the way, Ryan hates to take pictures now. Would you look at him?!

This one was taken immediately after Laverne put him down, though! Crocodile tears??

Even the kids get involved with the after service fun! When the boys were still in the hospital someone said to us that one day our babies would be running around Union in no time. Guess what happens every Sunday after church? God is awesome and I'm not talking about what I heard. I'm telling you what I know.


I know there are many church members who read our blog and I want you to know that we love and appreciate you. We are so very grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you for loving us and for loving Ryan and Evan.

Ball Players?

Did you know that Daddy P was a big-time football star when he was in high school? (I'm officially dead for posting this!) I wonder how he's gonna feel when he sees these videos of the Peas. Maybe they'll be basketball players!

If you know my grandfather then you know about being "Humpty-Dumptied." Grandaddy Humpty-Dumpties every single child in our family. We all know the nursery rhyme, but Grandaddy puts a twist on it...he has a medley of Humpty-Dumpty, Peter Peter , and Ol Jack Horner. He made us promise to sing these songs to the Peas when we left Alabama this summer so they wouldn't forget him. Well, we kept our promise and tonight we found out that Evan has been paying attention! I had no idea he knew how to say "dumpty!" Check him out!

Oh, and excuse me in advance for my singing...a singer I am not! :)

Christmas 2010 Outtakes

First, you should know that I had high hopes for this year's Christmas picture. I imagined all the cute shots we could get of Ryan and Evan sitting in front of the tree, playing with ornaments, or maybe even holding their stockings. I didn't even consider that getting them to stay seated for any amount of time is nearly impossible. Take one...you see how well that went over

OK, fine. We'll hold them; surely this will work...

wrong...


Maybe if we sit on the floor this will be easier...

wrong again

So let's stand...

nice try, but wrong again

Yeah right...

Finally, we were all so frustrated that this was it! Sure, Ryan is rubbing his eye and Evan looks terrified because Fallon was making noises to get them to look at the camera. Never mind all of that! Everyone is looking at the camera so this is what we went with! It's not perfect, but if we hadn't used this one, there would have been no Christmas 2010 photo of the Parkers. I actually think it's hilarious! I'll look back at this year's Christmas card and remember all the craziness we went through just to get one not-so-perfect shot. Maybe next year...right?

Merry Christmas from The Parkers!