Papa Bear

My dad reading books with the kids. A few minutes later Harrison got very upset about sharing his Papa with Lillian. It is tough to have grandparents all to your self for a few years.
I really think it was the very first moment he registered,
"oh, these people are going to like her too and do special stuff with her."
He was not a fan

My dad came to speak to Harrison's class. It was quite comical, but I think overall it went well

Checking out the cool space patches

Harrison was again not happy that Papa had to leave. He wanted to go with him on more "adventures." They went on lots of secret adventures as they called them-the hotel pool, the park, bike riding, and knowing those two Hardee's for a hot ham and cheese

Double the joy

My very dear friend Stuart is expecting twin girls in April. She and her husband along with their son, Hayes, drove all the way from Richmond, Virginia for Harrison's party. Since she was in town we all decided to have a little baby "sprinkle" for her. It was such a good time. She was craving Mexican food, so we all met at our favorite spot for cheese dip and margaritas! It was a really nice time and she got some great girl staples; pink loafers, monogrammed bloomers, smocked gowns, diapers and wipes! We are all looking forward to meeting the two Fisher girls. Lillian, Carly, Claire, Isabella, Beatty Grace, Emma and all the other junior Meredith Angels are excited to have more playmates

Peek-a-boo

Hmmm. There appears to be a large lump in the shower curtain. What ever could it be?

Peek-a-boo!
and off she goes.

This is Lillian's new game. She grunts from the hall bathroom until you come to "find" her. Sometimes she even crawls into the tub and I can hear her laughing at herself from the other room. She really can entertain herself with just about anything-cracks me up.

You can tell a lot about a girl by her shoes

My mom got Lillian her first pair of "real" shoes.
They are adorable. Pink with white polka dots and flowers.
They are just perfect for our bubbly spring baby!
She is so cute getting around in them

When I grow up...

I am way too tired to be creative tonight. My mom and I have shopped 'til we dropped.
It has been a great day. My dad spoke to Harrison's class today (will post pics later). Quite entertaining to talk to 3 year old's about space. My dad asked them if they knew were the moon was, most kids replied "at my house." One little boy did ask if my dad had seen a "meteor." That was impressive. Harrison told my dad in the middle of his astronaut spiel "I like your shoes Papa." I laughed out loud. The kids did seem to enjoy their new space patches though. Later in the day, Harrison asked my dad what he was going to be when he grows up-guess the astronaut stint really stuck with him ;) Harrison then informed us that he was going to hunt bears and ride surf boards when he grows up!

After my dad returned from his speaking engagement in Fayetteville he took Harrison on an "adventure" to the hotel pool. A big time favorite outing. Harrison put his face under and said, "Papa I put my face under water and almost liked it."

My mom and I checked out the new Trader Joe's as she is a professional Tarder Joe's expert. We then took Harrison and Lillian to the K and S cafeteria. My mom was a real trooper. We each pulled a highchair and held our trays at the same time-I so should have taken a picture of us. Quite a sight. Lillian got her first pair of shoes. They are pink with white polka dots-adorable!

Gotta get some rest. Tomorrow is the big pirate party. Aaaaarrrr matey!

Untitled from Joe Parke on Vimeo.

Lillian and the boys part 2

Lillian and Harrison had a play date today with my friend Amy's two sweet boys;Sam (4) and Ben (1). Lillian has no shortage of male suitors that is for sure. These two are both easy going mellow younger siblings. They were so fun to watch.

Harrison and Sam had fun eating blue yogurt and hiding from their brother and sister in the other room playing with cars, transformers, and other "big kid" stuff. Harrison was beyond impressed that Sam had bunk beds and that he was able to play by himself with the door closed. I reminded Harrison that if he quit being so mischievous, that he too could play with his door closed. My fingers are crossed.

Lillian hoping for some dropped goodies

No, I do not put product in Lillian's hair. She coated herself in fruit smoothie this morning when Joe fed her breakfast and I could not get it out. Crunchy is an understatement

Much unlike the older boys, Lillian and Ben enjoyed sharing toys back and forth!

EUC

Last night was the Divine Consign Children's show. Seriously, there are few things that get me as excited as awesome deals on kids clothes. I live in Raleigh, NC-aka:the land of fabulously dressed children. With Harrison I spent a fortune and was forever scouring Ebay for killer deals. Once I had Lillian, my friend introduced me to the world of boutique consignment shows. I will never go back. Almost everything I buy is either brand new or in EUC (excellent used condition). Harrison gets things dirty just by looking at them, so barely worn does not phase me. I will gladly spend $20 for a $75 church outfit. It is awesome. Here are all the clothes I got (minus 2 ADORABLE brand new smocked newborn gowns for my friend having twins). I got everything for $200. 14 brand new items, including a Kate Mack bathing suit and Widgeon coat for next winter. I am still on a bit of a sale shopping high. You got to go early for a preview session last night if you brought a grandparent. Super smart marketing. You should have seen all those grandma's going crazy for smocked goodies! These mom's have the right idea. Here are the websites if you want to check them out.
http://www.dcskids.com/
http://www.themonkeyexchange.com/

Genius

My mom and sister introduced me to the "wine cubes" at Target. Based on their reactions when I told them I had never heard of them, I have been living under a rock. They are on sale at Target for $7.99 right now for four. Such a great idea. I wanted the Sangria cubes but they were all sold out. They are perfect for going to the movies, sitting in your lawn chair, picnics, places you can't take glass, etc. Mom-wonder if we can smuggle them in our purses when we go shopping Friday? They are like juice boxes for grown ups!

While at Target hunting down wine cubes, I found these yummy soup kits. They were much healthier than canned soup. Today was a cold, rainy, yucky day. We like to do "Panera at home" sometimes on cold days. I usually make soup and mini grilled cheese out of a french baguette. Since french bread is too tough for my kids I made "squishy" grilled cheese for the four of us. I added diced ham to the soup and topped it with sour cream. It was a great rainy day meal.

"I peed...in your shoes"

Joe went into work late today because it was "donuts with dad day" at Harrison's school. I took full advantage of having Joe home until 9, and took the dog for a walk (by myself-such a treat!). Joe said he was changing Lillian and Harrison walked in and said, "daddy, I had an accident. Joe asked where, and Harrison replied "I peed...in your shoes." He peed in his pants and it trickled into Joe's Cole Haan loafers! You know you are a parent when...

Goggles

Harrison was playing with our 10 year old neighbor Josh. Josh had super cool racing goggles on, and a really hip bike. Harrison went it to the house to go potty and came back out wearing these for our walk around the block. Look mommy, "I have goggles like Josh!"

Lillian must be thinking, "you are so weird. I am going to show all my friends this picture when we are older and they tell me you are cute."

I think it took us about 50 minutes to go around the block. Harrison launched himself off his bike on accident twice (lots of tears), and the whole steering concept is not going well. It was fun though and thankfully our neighbor Katie enjoys hanging out with us!

Fast Forward 10 months

Joe and Harrison reading books with Lillian when she was 5 days old

Harrison thought his favorite stuffed animal would make her stop fussing-good thing he did not notice her trying to "latch" on to it

10 months later they are still enjoying bedtime together with daddy

Now Lillian shares her favorite book with her big bro

In response to "Where does it all go?"

I regularly read the blog "Home Sweet Home," and today Erin asked "Where does it all go?" Great question. I totally envy her organization on steroids ideas (Erin, I want to chat once you have two kids one day-I clung to the label maker as long as I could-reference my Out with the old, in with the new blog.)

I keep a recipe/take out menu/restaurant coupons binder in the pantry. This is mainly for recipes that I print out.

Then, I have a binder that I keep on my desk with tabs for church, pre-school, holiday ideas, coupons, birthday parties, etc.

I keep a weekly calendar on the back of our pantry door and that helps me with our week at a glance. It also has a cork board section where I can hang reminders, birthday invitations, bills, etc.
As far as my grocery list...well, it is not too impressive. Before Lillian, I used to make a list that flowed with the way I walked through the grocery store and I had a pouch for coupons. Now, I keep a chicken scratch list on the side of the fridge along with a Real Simple shopping sheet, and it never fails I always forget something! Oh well-noone is starving.
For fun ideas visit:
http://thehofmannfam.blogspot.com/2010/02/where-does-it-all-go.html

http://thehofmannfam.blogspot.com/2010/02/whats-for-dinner.html

Sneak Peak

The weather this weekend was fabulous. I love when spring starts crowding out winter. Joe and Harrison worked in the yard all morning, and Harrison was in hog heaven. I need to do a slide show of all the yard shots of those two over the years. We raked the yard, Windexed the doors and windows, went for a walk, ate lunch outside, and just enjoyed the sunshine on our faces. who knew 60 degrees could be so exciting!?!?

Our sweet neighbor Katie came over to invite Harrison to play on their trampoline. She is the best and I had to take her picture, because Lillian adores her. She actually reaches for her when I am holding her. She reminds me of myself when I was 13. She is more responsible and into kids than most college girls I know. Today Lillian had a stinky diaper and Katie said, "I will change her, poop really does not bother me Ms. Kate." On a side note, totally cute too when Katie holds Lillian as I am certain Lillian weighs half as much as her

Cutest Chick

Rocket Boy

Space shirt-check
Rocket pants-check

Can you tell who's grandfather was an astronaut?
Must be genetic

Cute little canibal

LJP encounters HLP_Feb2010 from Joe Parke on Vimeo.

Exhausted

So, I pick Harrison up from school today and when I ask him how his day was he tells me it was "exhausting!!!!!" I ask why and he says, "because I was in charge of the kitchen center today. Playing and being in charge of the kitchen is a lot of work and I am exhausted mommy."

Tell me about it!

Little Things

It really is about simple little things for me. Things I love:
getting my car cleaned, the red cups at Starbucks, finding earrings that match my outfit, pedicures, yummy candles, a blow up pool in my front yard, organizing, Target, Seabreezes, gossip mags, a killer deal on Ebay, surfing Etsy, making photo books, front doors, my kitchen flower box, flower markets, personalized stationary, sending cards, taking pics of my kids, peppermint ice cream, etc.

Here are a few things that made me smile today. 1. my parents are in frozen Niagra (right where they want to be considering Annapolis has over 3 feet of snow). How cool to see a rainbow over such a spectacular view.
2. I got this little sign yesterday at TJ Maxx for $3.99. It makes me happy. I like bird stuff-have bird houses and framed egg prints in my living room, and my mom and I always talk about how much we do not like for people to "mess with our nest." I come by my desire for a neat house honestly.
3. My Amarylis is rockin' out. There are four blooms with another stem sprouting. When I wash bottles I like to look at it and feel like I somewhat have a green thumb (yes, I do acknowledge that all I do is water it-don't burst my bubble).

PW's Sleepin' in Omlette

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/05/sleepin-in-omlette/

Uh, no words for this really. If you ever need to take breakfast to a new mom this is the recipe for you! I pretty much like anything the Pioneer Woman makes (my scale does not, but I do). Fantastic. She has done it again.

"This is a delicious breakfast-or-shower-or-brunch-or-luncheon casserole that is not only flavorful, it’s disturbingly easy to prepare AND can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time and kept in the fridge until baking time. (GOSH, I’m into the run-ons tonight.) The recipe comes from the annals of my mother’s recipe collection, and I believe it originated in the Junior League cookbook in the town where I grew up. And can I get a big “AMEN” for the following statement?

“The best recipes in the world reside in Junior League cookbooks, particularly those whose origin is in the southern states.”

Thank you for letting me get that out. Oh, and Amen. AMEN! PW"

Lillian June Parke-10 months

This is my new favorite picture

Ladie's Choice

Lillian and Bremen checking each other out

You play with the princess teapot and I will play with the train

Can I touch your nose?

and your toes too?

Lillian and Davis (born on the same day). Too cute!

Lillian went to her first organized playdate today at our friend Amy's house. She was the only girl, and really enjoyed meeting all the kids her age. She would crawl right up to the boys and touch their faces. She was a hoot!

A Moment Like This

I just got around to ordering pictures from Lillian's last photo shoot. These two pictures are just so sweet. Our friend Bianca owns "A Moment Like This," and has taken such great pictures of our kids. Thanks Bianca!