Recent Happenings

We had a great Thanksgiving. We had an early Thanksgiving with Curtis' family and then spent Thanksgiving day with my family. We feel really blessed to have such great families.

One Monday night before Thanksgiving it was Curtis' turn to give the lesson for Family Home Evening. So he suggested that we just try to list all of our blessings. I'm sure we didn't even get half of them listed, but we sat there for a good 20-30 minutes listing blessings that we had received. I guess it just made me EXTRA grateful for all that I have been given in my life. It was also a lesson that I will probably never forget. Now with Christmastime here, I am truly grateful for the gift that Jesus Christ gave all of us--that precious and priceless gift of the atonement.

I LOVE Christmastime. Mainly just because it is an extra time to celebrate the birth of the Savior and reflect on all the things that he did for us. However, I also love all the decorations and things--even though I'm not that great at decorating. (A couple neighbors, Alex and Cooper, helped us decorate our tree this year...thanks guys!)

So before Thanksgiving my Mom wanted to get pictures of her 3 grandchildren taken together. Here are a few that were taken. JC Penny did them, and I think they turned out so cute!

Also I bought Parker some church clothes for Christmas (12 months) thinking that they would fit about right in time for Christmas...and then I started to realize that they were probably just right for now. He is getting so big! I thought this picture was SO good.

Finally, Parker is getting to have such a cute little giggle...I hope this video works because to me it is priceless!



Isn't that what life is all about?

Washington DC

Our trip to Washington DC was so fun! We went to Gettysburg the first day we were there. (There were a lot of really cool red barns! So I had to include a picture of one.) I think that this was one of my favorite parts of our trip. I learned tons about the civil war that I didn't know before.


Our second day we went to Mount Vernon. It was so fun to see how George Washington lived. This is us behind his house with a gorgeous view of the potomac river. The trees back there were beautiful! We picked a perfect time to visit.

In front of George Washington's home.

On Sunday we were able to go to the visitors center, see the temple, and walk around the temple grounds.

The rest of the time we went into downtown DC. There were so many things to do there! When we went to the natural history museum, Parker loved looking at the bright colored fish.

We also got to visit some of the monuments. They were so neat. Going to visit all the historic places made me really proud to be an American...and also really grateful for the people who sacrificed for our freedom.

Parker loved his stroller most of the time. He also loved his little suit we put him in. He would be so calm and usually fall asleep in it. We started to call it his "magic suit" because it always put him to sleep.

In front of the capitol.

Most of all, we had a great time visiting Bill and Deanne. It was so fun to see them and let them see Parker for the first time.

Our House

So here are a couple of pictures of our new house. We've been doing some remodeling...so the before and after pictures inside the house will come later!

A couple of our favorite things about this house are:

The backyard...

The park across the street...

and much more...

I just had to include a picture of my favorite boys!

And so it begins...

Father and son watching football...I guess it is that time of year! (I just didn't think that Parker would be as into the game as Curtis.)

We also bought Parker a bouncer. He loves it!

Here's just a couple of pictures of him smiling...he is getting so fun! He giggled for the first time the other day when I was tickling him. SO CUTE!!!

As for other news, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! We are so excited!

Family Events

So we have had a lot of family events this past week. Parker was blessed on August 1st. We were glad to have most of our families at his blessing. I was going to try to get more pictures of Parker in his blessing outfit, but he decided to poop all over it after this picture...so needless to say, it didn't happen.

Then Jason and Charity got married on August 7th. We are so excited to have Charity and Jace in our family!

I thought this was a great picture of Grandpa Falslev and Parker...

Then the next day was baby Jane's blessing...I didn't get any pictures of that, but it was a great day!

Parker keeps growing and growing. He's getting to be a big boy! He still loves his bathtime. He's grown all the way into his robe...

He is such a good baby! We love him. He rolled over for the first time this past week. I couldn't believe it!

Parker's First Adventure

Last weekend we went down the Snake river with my family and some of my cousins. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! We were a little nervous about taking Parker camping, but he did great! (Don't worry, Parker didn't get to go down the river....Grandma Falslev watched him while we went.)

Here's all of us that went down the river the time that Curtis and I went.

So when it was time for bed, we bundled Parker up really well! It was really cold, so I was nervous he would be grumpy, but he slept the whole night, like usual. When he woke up at about 6 to eat, I needed to change his diaper. So since it was still super cold, I changed his diaper as fast as I could. He didn't know what to think of being that cold. But when I wrapped him back up in his covers, I got straight smiles for about 10 minutes. He loved being warm again!

Isn't he just the cutest little guy ever?!

Parker and his daddy all bundled up.... All in all it was a really fun trip! We were glad we got to go.

As for other things happening...baby Jane arrived and Parker is no longer the youngest cousin! Crazy how time flies. This is the two of them together.

I really couldn't believe how big Parker was compared to Jane. He is growing so fast! Parker is also getting really good at holding his head up and looking around while he is on his tummy...

He is just our little happy boy!!!

1 month old and counting!

Some things that I have learned about being a mom:

• You have no idea when pee or poop might come. (Including when you are changing a diaper!) As Curtis would say, "You never thought you would love someone that peed on you, did you?"
• I'm grateful for a washer and dryer so I don't have to wash all his dirty clothes by hand, because he goes through a lot of them!
• Sleeping babies are so cute.
• Time to do things that doesn't involve changing diapers, feeding, or rocking isn't as free as it used to be.
• Having a baby snuggle up next to you and sleep is priceless.
• I never knew that you could instantly love someone so much.
• A smile can melt your heart.

All in all, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being a mom. Parker is such a good baby as well. Last night he slept for about 7 and 1/2 hours. (I know, I'm SO lucky!) We feel so blessed to have Parker. He has brought a very special spirit into our home. Having a little baby completely changes your life, but it is so worth it!

Now, I will give you a WARNING: This post contains A LOT of pictures! What can I say, he is just so cute!!!Parker in his robe after getting a bath. He loves his bathtime! (I even get him wet sometimes and he doesn't seem to mind. He usually just looks at me seeming to say, "What are you doing?" I'm getting him started on being a good waterfighter for the future. What can I say, he does have Falslev genes...)
Parker asleep on his daddy. (Curtis is such a good daddy by the way!)

Parker and his cousin Max.

Here is one of the cutest smiles ever!!! He gets really happy in the morning and smiles a lot.

He also loves to sit in the rocking swing. It never fails that he usually falls asleep in what looks like uncomfortable positions. However, when I tried to move him the other day he started crying. Then when I left him alone he went right back to sleep. It must not be that uncomfortable for him.

He is also a pretty strong little guy. His neck muscles are getting strong and so are his legs! He loves to look around everywhere.

Another one of those cute little smiles that can melt your heart...

I just love this picture...it just goes to show that he is a happy baby.

In this picture he was almost giggling. It was so great. I'm glad that I got some of it on camera!

Parker and his other 2 cousins. Trey is about 6 months and Jace is about 2 months.

Parker, Jace, and Trey again.

Jace was really happy in this picture. Parker was asleep and even though his ear is being grabbed, it didn't bother him in the slightest. (He sleeps like his mom...)

Parker with his cousin Justin.

This is when we were taking him home from the hospital...This was the other day...He is getting SO BIG!