A family affair (August 2009)

So, yes you may note that we haven't posted anything since July. Well, we have had a lot going on and I will update you on all of it in time. There is just too much to tell you in one post. Let me begin by going back to August when we had an almost complete family reunion (at least on the Parson's side that is) here at my house. Not only did Grandma Anne and Grandpa Jack come out to visit, but also my Uncle John, Marla and cousin Gail. To top it all off, mom's cousins Anne and George also came out.

I love to be around lots of family and Josh and I absolutely loved every minute of their visit. We did all sorts of fun things including driving out to Stinson Beach. I loved the ocean and running from the waves and Josh enjoyed playing in the sand with cousin Gail. See the attached pictures of the visit and enjoy!

Adorable Quotables

Mom says she may be a little bit biased (I have no idea what that means) when it comes to me and my little brother, but she is constantly telling us that we are very smart and cute and very verbal little men. Here is a collection of our most current and most notable quotes that we have said in the last few months. I continue to amaze mom and dad with my vocab and Josh is catching up quickly. His most recent words include pancake, bumble bee and Mickey mouse. His most common sentence these days is "I WANT (insert here) ! But he is also generally polite enough to add a please and thank you to his toddler demands! Enjoy!

Matthew quotes:

1) When daddy was cleaning the side of the tub, I told Daddy "Here daddy, let me show you how a professional does it!"

2) "I am so frustrated right now!" "I need a break!"

3) "I need my privacy please".

4) Upon seeing an infomercial for a multipurpose wood working tool I said to mom "Hey mom, we can buy that and cut a big hole in the wall in the toy room. Then we can use the multi-tool to fix the wall again!"

Josh quotes:

1) Upon injuring himself (which is quite often these days) or when holding anything at all which needs some comfort, Joshie always says "KISS IT!"

2) Upon receiving anything from anyone "Thank you!" or upon hearing Thank you from someone else "You're welcome!"

3) When he has something and he gives it to you he says "Here you go!"

I am sure there are many others to list, but these are the most recent ones. See you soon!

Pool boys

The weather here in San Ramon has been cold one day and hot the next lately, but a week or two ago it was really hot and it was time to pull our little pool out of the garage. Daddy filled it with air using the "air conditioner" (also know as an electric air pump) so that we could fill it with water, cool off and have some fun. As most of you know, I love to swim and I love water so I couldn't think of anything that could be more exciting than playing in the pool. Josh was a little hesitant about getting into the water at first, but once the water warmed up and he realized I wasn't going to drown him, he also jumped in and had some fun.

I had lots of "destructions" (also know as "instructions") for Joshie about playing in the pool, but he didn't really seem to be following my lead. After a while I just gave up and let him play the way he wanted to and we still had lots of fun. See the above pictures of me and my little brother enjoying our time in the pool as well as running around the backyard and playing.

After our swim, Mom brought out the picnic blanket and we had a picnic of delicious grapes and cheese. As you know, we love to eat, so this was especially fun for us.

Could we be any cuter?

A visit with "Pa"

Grandpa Marvin came to visit us a few weeks ago and we loved seeing him. Josh now affectionately refers to him as "pa" but I still like to call him "Grandpa". We kept him VERY BUSY the whole time he was at our house. We did catch him trying to take a little cat nap while he was outside watching us play in the pool, but we took care of that by making sure water was splashed on him or by tugging on him. We literally sat on him alot, made him watch us eat (which is generally all the time) and had him read books to us. We showed him all of our toys and he accompanied us to the park on more than one occassion.

Unfortunately Grandpa Marvin had to go back to his home in Ohio, but not before Josh picked up almost every single object in our house, brought it over to Grandpa and told him what it was called. Grandpa's vocabulary must be very advanced now:)

See the attached pictures of us with Grandpa Marvin. We miss you!

In the clouds (at least mom's head seems to be there!)

Hey, I think I forgot to tell you that Mom has officially gone nuts...squirrels in the brain...early dementia, etc. as a few weeks back she seemed to completely forget her MANDATE to my dad that Josh and I would not be able to go for a flight in Daddy's plane until much later in our little lives. YES, you guessed it - the old girl caved in and we all went for a flight in the plane together. Much to mommy's dismay, everyone loved the flight and did very well. Of course, our first flight only consisted of a few trips around the pattern at the airport, but still, it really made Daddy's day. Needless to say he is a VERY happy camper! Don't worry, Daddy is an excellent pilot and our carseats were transferred from the car to the back seat of the airplane to ensure we were safe as possible.

Daddy took just me for a flight one other day too and Daddy said I was a great co-pilot. Once Josh is a little bit older, Daddy has big plans (of course, with Mommy's approval always) for us all to take mini family trips in the plane to nearby fun places such as Monterey, San Diego, etc.! How fun! The only disadvantage that I currently see with Daddy's plane vs. the big airlines is that he doesn't serve the little drinks in a cup and offer little snacks.

See above for a few pics of me and Josh and Mommy at the airport hanging out. Mom and Dad especially love the last picture above as they say it most accurately captures mine and Josh's personalities! Hmmm, I wonder what they mean by that?? Mom says for you to just take a look at our expressions and you will understand what they mean!

San Diego or BUST!!!

Mommy says to tell you that she is sorry we have been so slack at posting to our blog lately. For some reason, she seems to think that she has a lot going on and a lot of distractions and people to take care, etc. Really, what is so hard about managing three boys?!? (Ha, ha, I hope Daddy is in a good mood when he reads that one, but you know, it really is the truth!)

We all headed to our favorite vacation spot a week or so ago - San Diego. This time we stayed in a hotel and Josh and I thought it was the most fun thing we have ever done. We were both excellent travelers per mom and dad. We were both good listeners, happy and polite at the airport (even with a 1 1/2 hour delay right at dinnertime) during the flight and upon our arrival that evening. We searched every inch of our hotel room including opening every possible cabinet and door until we felt satisfied that there was nothing else to see. We both went right to sleep in our own sleeping places (J in crib and me in a big bed all to myself) and slept all night without a peep from either one of us!

The next few days were filled with trips to Sea World, Legoland and the San Diego Zoo. We really had a blast and I can't wait to go again. Another fun perk of staying at the hotel is that we also got to go swimming twice in the indoor pool which I absolutely LOVED! Josh and I were also very taken with the super huge KOI fish in the atrium and the all you can eat breakfast bar that was available to us every morning. Josh would yell at the top of his voice "FISH" upon exiting our room every morning. It was very funny!

Mom and Dad asked me during our last night what I thought was the most fun thing about our trip. Mom and Dad both said that they liked Sea World the most, but you know what I said?....I said that I liked staying at the hotel!!! Ha! Ha! Enjoy our pictures and Mommy says that she and I will post another update very soon this time.

Hi, NO, and who's your Bobby?

Baby J is now walking and talking up a storm, however, a lot of the things he says don't really make sense and make me laugh and laugh. He definitely understands "Hi" and loudly greets anything and everyone who comes across his path. He waves his little hands and everyone who sees him gives him a big grin, greets him and laughs. We love this and hope it continues.

A less desirable use of his communication skills involves the word "NO". For instance, whatever question you ask him now is vigorously responded with a head shaking "NO". I think this is hilarious, but mom and dad don't really think as much as of it as I do. I like to say "Josh do you want to do {insert here} and he responds in his cute little voice "No" and shakes his little head side to side. It really is very cute, but I am helping mom to also teach him to nod his head and say "Yes"! It really doesn't matter what you ask him, you will always get the answer no. Tonight daddy asked Baby J if he wanted to ride a pony and eat cupcakes all day long and guess what response he received? You got it!

Um, by the way, did I mention that Mom and Dad say that I was INSTRUMENTAL in teaching him this new "NO" skill?

The other funny thing that Baby J has been doing is calling everyone "Bobby". We are not sure where he came up with this - perhaps Bobby is poltergeist that only Baby J can see or perhaps he is just messing with us, but it is funny as ever. He just says it over and over and addresses people as Bobby. I can't wait until we meet someone that is actually named Bobby - they will think the little guy is a genius! Of course, we all think he is a genius anyway - I mean, come on, he is MY brother!

Later.