Uh-ohs, toilet paper, and the great Christmas celebration!

Whew. We have had a very busy holiday week here at the Parrish home. First and foremost, JR has mastered the phrase "uh-oh" and uses it all the time...when he falls down, when toys make a loud noise, and when things drop on the floor (or before he drops something on the ground)! He is also known to repeat it over and over again...just because he can. He is on the verge of lots of other words and seems genuinely interested in trying to say new sounds and phrases. So far, "dada" and "didi"are under his belt, as is "ba-ba" for bottle. He is getting the hang of "bu-bu" for bye-bye, says "heeeey" for hello, waves and claps.

JR has also discovered his love for, albeit not conservation-minded at all, unrolling toilet paper. He had a field day with it, causing quite the ruckus in his bathroom. He delighted in spinning the paper at first, and then realized the magical tp comes off in vast amounts and can be pulled and eaten and draped and dragged. Lucky for us the camera was close by and caught most of his devilish toilet paper caper.

And on to Christmas. What a special first Christmas it was! We discovered that not only does JR love all of the presents from family and friends, but he also LOVES the bows and ribbons that adorned the packages! He had so much fun! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Parrish Cousins' Christmas

Cousins' Christmas in Easley

Last weekend we celebrated Christmas with Remsen's cousins, mom, aunt, and grandmother. A fun time was had by all...some photos are below:

Mackenzie and Abby JR in the holiday spirit

Ella and Groves

Christmas on its way!

We finally feel like Christmas is upon us! We bought our Christmas tree today, and let JR do the picking. Of course, procrastinating the task meant slim pickins in the Christmas tree lot, so it made his choice pretty easy. After getting the tree, JR posed for some pictures at Gance and Poppy's house...pictures we will be sending out with our annual Christmas card.

Tomorrow we head to Easley to celebrate the Parrish Cousins Christmas! JR is very excited to see his see his cousins ( cousins Mackenzie and Abby and Groves and Ella, second cousins), his great aunt Stella, Emme, and Nena.

JR hearts the Hipps

This past weekend, JR met his Uncle Aaron and Aunt Pam for the first time:

This guy makes silly faces just like me!

What I'm thankful for...

This Thanksgiving, after the turkey had settled and the shopping commenced, I realized I have a lot to be thankful for right now. Below is the top five, narrowed down after much deliberation...

5. I'm thankful for employment. I know this may seem silly, but in this crap economy, working for a non-profit organization (who sells real estate, at that) is not the most secure job in the world.

4. I'm thankful to be a fan of Wofford Football...they are a hard-working team and deserve kudos for a season well-played. Thank you, coaches and team, for making it a season worth cheering for.

3. I'm thankful for leftovers from a wonderful Thanksgiving meal and thankful for the family with which we shared it.

2. I'm thankful to have such a good kid. It doesn't hurt that he is cute as pie and sweet as sugar.

1. I'm thankful to have a great hubby. Wow, what a lucky life I lead.

His name is right there, just in case we forget

I have found that there is no mistaking our kid and his stuff. It is hard to do. Not only is he absolutely unforgettable (of course I would say that, I'm his mom), but his name is also on practically everything....spoons, dishes, sippy cups and bibs. So, in case we forget, we have a trusty label to remind us.

Speaking of sippy cups, JR has finally mastered the art of drinking from a sippy cup. He is so proud about his feat that he chatters about it while at the dinner table and is hard pressed to let go of the cup....sipping even though he isn't thirsty. He sips because he can. And he is so very happy about it.He's recently warmed up to bananas, too. We can now officially say that he eats everything...

And now to the new toofuses. We are excited to announce that teeth grow in pairs. Yes, JR has two new teeth coming in on top. Four teeth for tackling corn on the cob! With the new teeth, though, JR has decided he is a big boy and has effectively given up the booby juice. This obviously bothers me more than it bothers him...I guess it is just not the hip thing to do anymore! Don't worry...he's definitely not starving, what with the 23 pounds he is carrying around, not to mention his size 4 1/2 double wide feet.

The Parrish family has kept busy the last week or so...filling our days with tailgating, cheering for Trust intern Patrick, football wins and upcoming playoff games (go Terriers--beat JMU!), rashy viruses, celebrating birthdays (Happy Birthday GANCE!), preparing for a Thanksgiving feast at Emme's house, and a LONG weekend-yay!

So in case we don't post, have a happy turkey day everybody! Enjoy your feast wherever you are and be thankful....I know I am.

BEAT FURMAN

One team stands in the way of the T-dogs' spot in the playoffs.....LET'S GO WOFFORD! BEAT FURMAN!

Rupert the bear

J.R. has been enjoying the company of his bear, Rupert, and we wanted to share some pictures...

Cousin fun

JR and cousin Abby had a big time this weekend....

Hey, that's my cup!

Concentration

A hello pat on the head

Picture perfect

Blaming the dog, the dsl, and everything else

Ok, ok, I know it has been a while. Before I start making excuses for my lack of blog-prowess, I'll just come out with what has really been happening! Top ten highlights are:

1. Went to the beach for Adam Brannon's 30th birthday. Had a blast; did some shopping; played putt-putt; drank wine; watched Wofford get killed on t.v.; played with our kid in the nicest beach house ever. EVER. Figured out that yelling (even if at a football game on tv) really upsets our child.

What's all that yelling for?

2. Visited with Mark, Erika, and McLain Roberts on our way back from the beach. Miss the Marion, SC family so much and can't wait to meet Baby Roberts!

3. Rocked the vote on Tuesday. JR was especially excited to wear his blue turtleneck in support of our favorite candidate. The polling ladies were excited to see such a politically-minded and socially conscience little boy, and I was excited that voting only took me ten minutes.

4. Watched JR go from crawling to pulling up and standing on just about anything in just under one week.

5. Saw Noises Off at the Chapman Cultural Center. By far the best play I have ever seen. Brought tears to my eyes and deep, rolling laughter from my lungs. Yay for date nights!

6. Took both Polk and Sadie to the vet....realized there is no spending money left for the month after the trip. So much for starting my Christmas shopping early.

7. Cheered on our Terriers...for the first half, at least, on Saturday! Congrats to those T-dogs for the 10th straight victory against the Citadel.

8. Visited with family friends Judy and Ron, up from Tallahassee...it is so wonderful to spend time with them!

9. Napped on Sunday afternoon. Enough said.

10. Realized JR must have another tooth coming in somewhere, what with all the drool and chewing and such. Just can't seem to figure out where that toofus will be!

So, there it is...the nutshell for the delay. No worries, I'll post more photos soon. My to-do list is full, but "download pictures" is on there somewhere....

Happy Halloween!

Carving pumpkins with sharp knives is not the safest, most baby-friendly activity (plus it is messy and time consuming!). We took the safe and lazy route which proved to also be the option that proves I have no artistic talent....our W pumpkin is in NO WAY a W for Bush--you guys know me much better than that! Our W is the original W--the Wofford one! I felt it was the best way to pay tribute to our tough Terriers, who will be playing on Halloween night at App State. It is on ESPN 2, which is where our eyeballs will be glued come tomorrow night!

GO TERRIERS!

We will be heading to Pawley's Island this weekend for the official 30th birthday celebration of friend Adam Brannon (of the Brannon Report). We decided to celebrate Halloween early by visiting Emme and Gance's houses last night.

Yes, JR is in a hot dog costume. And yes, he has on a "costume" under that (Charlie Brown onesie). And yes it is true, I bought the hot dog costume last year...before JR was born. How did I get it so right?! He is the best hot dog ever!

We wish everyone a fun Halloween!