California Family Vacation!

Adam, Everett, and I headed out to California a couple Saturdays ago and had a blast on the West Coast. In preparation for the trip, we pushed Everett's bedtime back about 15-30 minutes each night to help him get on West Coast time by the time we arrived. We are thankful that it worked because the transition couldn't have been any smoother! We were fortunate enough to stay with dear friends, Brandon and Melissa, while in L.A. During our tour of the West Coast, we visited Adam's Aunt Jeremy in Orange County.

Aunt Jeremy and Everett

Everett enjoyed swinging at a park near Aunt Jeremy's house

On Monday, we visited my brother at Lulu's Cafe. He is the manager there and needless to say, we got great service! We also spent the day visiting Hosea and April along with eating Pinkberry's Frozen Yogurt and dining at El Cholo. Yum!

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in Carlsbad at my Uncle Perry and Aunt Helen's home. My parents had already been there for a few days, so Joshua and I joined them with our 2 boys. Our parents were thrilled to see their grandboys together for the first time and we loved all the time with our family. From shopping to walking along the beach to eating lots of delicious food, it was a blast. We think it must have been Everett's best day of his life thus far as he laughed the entire day! It was just so sweet and such a memorable day!

I put these sunglasses on Everett while we were out shopping. He was laughing and hamming it up that my mom had to buy a pair for him. Needless to say, he's the coolest baby on the block!

Everett got this cute monkey and I love how it matches
his pajamas....he is just so cuddly!

We took lots of family pictures while we were all together, so here are a few highlights:
My brother and I with our boys, Tice and Everett

Our happy family

Our whole family together for the first time: Dad, Mom, Joshua and Tice, Adam, Everett and I

My two cool studs

Loving the beach together

No matter Everett was doing this day, he was laughing and smiling up a storm....couldn't love it anymore!

We spent the rest of the week spending time with more friends and family. From walking around in Malibu to eating a ton of great food, we all just had a fantastic vacation. It is definitely a trip we won't soon forget. These are just a few pictures from our week in California. If you'd like to see more, click HERE and view all of our fun times! The Parken Family is back home in Raleigh and glad to see the weather finally warming up over here!

Being a Mom...

Being a mom no doubt changes your life. So many people told us that and I definitely was expecting it. Having Everett is like nothing else we have ever experienced. Here is this sweet, innocent, wide-eyed boy just ready to soak the world all in. In a few days Everett will be 10 months old....where has the time gone? He is no longer a tiny cuddly baby, but this extremely huggable boy with such a charming personality.

A few lessons that I've learned as a Mom....

• I can't keep the house fully stocked of all my baking products like I used to. I think I actually ran out of something for the first time once I had a baby.....
• No one cares if I don't shower until 4pm in the afternoon - it's even okay to not shower if I never leave the house in a day!
• It's okay to do things one-handed....that means I'm holding my baby in my other arm and what a blessing having a baby is
• Spending time as a family has a whole different meaning - Adam and I love our time together and we love our time as a family....we are enjoying making memories and treasuring them dearly. We leave for our first big family vacation to California on Saturday!
  
• It is nice to have time to be outside in the real world...even without my precious son
• I love cooking and baking and spending time in the kitchen and I have loved making all of Everett's food! Who knew making baby food would be so exciting to me!?!
• I don't know near as much as I wish I did - thank you to all you Moms, friends, and family for all the advice and encouragement along the way....keep 'em coming!!!
• Patience - really can't have enough of it
• Watching your baby change before your eyes as he grows is a miracle and a gift from God...it is fascinating to see how fast Everett learns something new
• Getting a hug and a kiss from my son is about the best thing in the world...yep he can do that now!
  

The Lord our Creator formed this precious boy and entrusted Adam and I with his life. We are constantly humbled by His gift and find more joy each day as we continue on our journey of parenthood. Needless to say, being a Mom is really the best job in the world....