Let
us start with Christmas. We are in my father's home in Pittsburgh,
and we just opened Parker's present that was sent by his aunt Sharon.
I guess she knows we like camping, and so not to leave Parker out she sent
him a tent (for indoor use only - hey, is that like opening an umbrella
indoors and getting seven years of the Bubonic Plague or Tooth Decay or
some other form of bad luck? Well, maybe not). At this time,
my wife and Parker's mom, Tamara, is trying to coax Parker to enter the
tent.
As
you can see, Tamara accomplished her task beyond her wildest dreams.
Parker entered the tent, and as he tried to leave it, he stood up and tried
to take it with him. We should have put a "Low Clearance" sign inside,
so Parker would know not to stand in it again. However, after much
time, he did enjoy his time with the tent.
Parker is trying on
a shirt his aunt Carol gave him. It has a number of foot prints
on it, made by a plethora of animals. The shirt goes down to his
knees, but he still looked cute in it and he will soon grow into it. Since all the presents were opened at this time, Parker was very exhausted (as you can see in this picture).
This is another present Parker received from
his Grandpa on Christmas. It is a Director's Chair, which fits him
quite nicely. The strap around his waist is supposed to be used for
strapping the Director's Chair on seats, not for strapping Parker in.
However, we find it does keep him seated, and an added bonus is watching
him try to stand and walk with the thing still strapped to him. The
editor just noticed that Parker is drinking from a bottle. That idea
has gone the way of the dinosaurs, because he now drinks from Sippy Cups
and eats solid foods! (Oh, my, how he is growing?!?!)
It is still Christmas Time, and we are
in a different place, my aunt Donna and uncle DJ's home. Parker
just received a gift from his uncle Pete and aunt Joyce, which has brought
more joy to him than he thought. It is an Elmo toy which plays three
different songs (The Sesame Street theme, BINGO, and This Old Man He Played X-Amount-of-something on my Knee. How do I know all this? It is all Tamara
and I hear almost every day! Just squeeze his right hand, and let
the music begin!). Along with the music, Elmo's feet, chest, and
eyes light up, along with that dog in his left arm. Parker really
seems to like this toy, because it does so much. He also received
a similar toy from Joyce and Pete - it's Ernie with a rubber ducky in his
left arm (it, too, lights up and plays different music. How do I
know this? Well....).