This has been a full month for us. Between people coming and going to work on the basement, Daddy being away for a week for work and traveling to Cincinnati for Christmas, we’ve been a bit all over the place. I wish I could bottle up your energy because I am tired! That could be because I’m growing your little brother or sister inside of me, too. Which, by the way, we think you’re excited about. When we ask you where the baby is, you try to lift Mama’s shirt up to see my belly and often offer a kiss. You are going to be a very sweet big sister.

While Daddy was away, I whisked you away to do something very fun and exciting…

your first haircut! { Please, contain the joy. }

Really, though, you did great, babe.

You probably enjoyed our trip to the mall play area with your friend, A, the day before more. You had so much fun running around, climbing, sliding, hiding…it was a fun day for you.

You love your puppy dog! Parker makes you giggle out of no where. You love retrieving his toys when they get stuck somewhere and he usually has a very willing little person to throw his toys for him to fetch. He’s very appreciative that you now know his name, too!

You stay on guard when there’s food involved, though. Smart girl.

Christmas in Cincinnati was a treat for you. You woke up ready for whatever the day held and greeted everyone by name each morning.

We ate a lot of good food all week long and decorated Nana and Poppa’s Christmas tree.

You went to the grocery store with Nana where you put a smile on everyone’s face when you greeted them up and down the aisles.

You went to the bookstore with Poppa where you “organized” the shelves.

We slowly unwrapped gifts throughout the day so you could enjoy what you had been gifted.

Thank you, Uncle Erik, for the colored bubble launcher. It’s bound to be a favorite. However, it’s hiding until summer.

On our last full day, we went to see the trains at the Museum Center…

…made a gingerbread man with Nana…

…and in the evening took a drive with Nana to see the lights at Sharon Woods in our pj’s. What a fun and festive day that was!

When we returned home, we took advantage of having no plans and hung out with Daddy for the rest of the week. We wore our pj’s a lot. You played with all of your new toys quite contentedly. Some days you entertain yourself so well.

Other days require a project like painting { so focused! } or playing with water at the sink { messier than you may think }.

But you still love to color in your coloring books and are even trying to color specific areas instead of just all over the page. Nana would be proud.

In fact, most evenings before bed, this is what you’re doing:

Butt up. Tongue out.

Love you, Analiese!
Mama & Daddy

He is typically tired after getting a do, or as Missy Elliot would say, after getting his hair did.

Parker’s sniffer.

Happy 4th Birthday Parker! Here’s the first ever The Weekly Parker post. He has grown up.

We watched the movie How to Train Your Dragon a little while back, and for some reason the Night Fury dragon (pictured above) reminded us a little of our dog Parker. While this picture makes the dragon look a bit more fierce than Parker, they do have some similarities: color, four-legged, trainable, and friendly once you get past the initial bark. So for those of you who know Parker or follow The Weekly Parker posts, what do you think? Could Parker be part Night Fury?

Parker used to have a frog toy that was his favorite. This one, not this one. Well, since the frog was pretty much destroyed and has been thrown out, he taken a liking to a bear, which happens to be from the same line as the frog.

Aren’t you glad that you know this? :)

Remember Parker? Yep, he’s still around, and he’s never far when Analiese has a cup of cereal. She often and accidentally shares her Cheerios with Parker. Here Analiese is giving me a bite as Parker watches very closely.

I had to dig through the archives for this picture. Parker no longer has this frog toy, which was once his favorite. I can’t tell if Parker looks mad here or just tired. What do you think?

This is a common situation when we visit Heather’s parents. Heather’s Dad keeps Parker away so their dog, Hoagie, can eat in peace.

Parker posing in the in living room.