Happy Thanksgiving!

The Parmers want to say Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!! I wanted to start the day with a fun T'giving story. I asked Lydia first thing this morning to tell me one thing she was thankful for,and she replied... "biscuits!" She cracks me up. So, Lydia is thankful for biscuits and we are thankful for so many things, all of our friends and family, good health, but most of all I'm thankful for our Lord and Savior and His unchanging love for me and my family. Let us remember His goodness today! Pics will soon follow.

The Zoo

If you look really close in the background you can see a very large iguana with an orange-colored stomach. We see iguanas here all the time, but they are usually not this big.
Ben took this "bottom" picture, which I thought was pretty hilarious, so I had to post it! In case you are wondering those were two HUGE rhinos!!!

We went to Mayaquez (West Coast) yesterday to go to the zoo. It was so much fun! We went with Bryan and Jennifer Hayes and their four boys. I took Lydia to the B'ham zoo when she was about 3 months old with my niece and my mom, but of course this time around was much more fun. She LOVED it! She woke up at 4:00 this morning saying, "see animals" over and over again. She has talked about it all day.

It was a really fun day and the zoo was awesome. It was not as big as the B'ham or Atlanta zoo, but it was a perfect size for our age kids. The kids had a blast, and I'm so glad we went.

Timmy and Lydi were hanging out watching the rhinos.

We stopped at Burger King on the way, and they gave Lydi this crown. Going to the zoo with five boys definitely made her feel like Queen for the day.

Our Christmas Tree

We put up our Christmas tree last weekend. You might be wondering... why so early? We are leaving in three weeks to go back to AL for the Holidays, so I wanted Lydi to be able to enjoy the tree for a little while. It's nice having it up, and Lydi loves it!!! It was a little strange decorating the tree and sweating at the same time, even though it is getting a little cooler. It was 73 degrees when we got up one morning last week! That's the lowest we've seen. Anyway, I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!!

Pedicures and Playtime

Beth and Margarey or Ray Ree as Lydia calls her came over yesterday afternoon and while they were here they painted Lydi's toenails. Beth had pink polish on her toes and Lydi thought it was the coolest thing. She kept pointing to her toes and saying "pink!" So, Beth asked her if she wanted her toes painted and she responded with an enthusiastic "yes!"

She has been walking around since saying "pink toes...cute." I'm so thankful that we are on a team with others that will do these things with our little girl. I can't even remember the last time I painted my toenails, so needless to say Lydi has never had it done.

She was so excited, so thanks to Beth and Ray Ree!!! Lydi loves her cute pink toes!

Here are some pics of Lydi and TW playing together. He is getting so big, and it's becoming more and more fun for them to interact. He was sitting in his exersaucer and Lydi was playing peek-a-boo with him. He was laughing at her, but of course when I got the camera, they both toned it down. I still managed to get a few cute pics.

Ants!!!

OK, so some of you know that here in PR we have a bit of an ant problem! It may seem weird that Ben took this picture, but he thought (and so do I) that it was pretty amazing how the ants surrounded this piece of candy within minutes of it falling on our floor. Ben was eating a jolly rancher, and a piece of it fell on the floor. He went back to pick it up and this is what he found. Pretty crazy huh?

Our most recent encounter with the ants happened last week when Lydi comes to me holding one of our books from our bookshelves in our dining room. She walks up to me in the kitchen with the book and says "read Bible." I look down and realize that there are tons of ants on the book she was holding. So, of course what do I do? Freak out... I take the book and put it outside as Ben is getting the ants off Lydia (they do bite).

Ben walks over to the book shelf and finds hundreds of ants!!! They were covering one shelf and the books that it held. He begins to move the books, and more ants show up. He took a couple of books off the shelf and tapped the binding of the books, again hundreds of ants come crawling out. AHHHHH!!! This has become such a frustration for me, because both of the kids have had bites on them. I have seen a few even in their beds!

I know that my house is not spotless, but it isn't gross enough to have bugs in my kids beds. Does anyone have a good cure for how to deal with ants in the house? If so, please leave me a comment, because these little pests are driving me crazy! Here is a picture of Thomas' most recent run-in with an ant. I have no idea when it bit him and where he was when it happened...HELP!

Thanks Sweetie

Ben,
I have thought so much today about how blessed I am to have a husband like you, and how blessed our children are to have you as their Daddy. Thank you so much for being such a faithful man to us and to the Lord. We are thankful for you and all that you do for us. I know that I would not be able to walk with God as I do without your constant encouragement! I also know that I would not have been able to survive these past eight months without the hope and perspective you bring to our family. We love you!

G-Mommy and G-Daddy's Visit

G-Daddy and G-Mommy came to visit us this past week. We had so much fun with them, and of course hated to see them go. It's not so bad this time, because we know we'll see them again in a few weeks! So, we had a great time while they were here. We traveled to a new city called Ponce above are some pictures from their time there. WE love you G-Mommy and G-Daddy! (By the way, Lydi came up with those names for Ben's parents) There is a picture of them on our fridge, and we had been calling them Grandmother and Grandaddy, but Lydia decided one day that she would call them G-mommy and G-daddy, it's been that way ever since. Thanks for coming!!!

Trick or Treat

I wanted to post some pictures of our Halloween Weekend. We had so much fun trick or treating with our neighbors. There was a party down at our neighborhood pool, so we joined our neighbors for some Halloween fun. Lydi had fun until the big Kung Fu Panda and Tyrone (from the Backyardigans) showed up. She is still walking around saying "I scared of Tyrone, I scared of bear." I really think she might tell me this 100 times a day. We danced and shared some yummy treats with our friends. Here are some pics...

We were practicing "trick or treat" before we left the house, she was walking around saying it as Ben and I put candy in her pumpkin. As you can see Lydi was an Alabama cheerleader, she walked around saying "Roll Tide", "Go Bama!"

This picture cracks me up, it's like TW is saying "I don't know why my mommy put me in this crazy outfit." Brenda (neighbor) let me borrow this glow-in-the-dark skeleton shirt for Thomas, because I didnt' have a costume for him. Bless his heart!

Lydi has learned to say "cheese" whenever she is having her picture made. She is in mid-"cheese" in this picture. Thomas is still wondering why he's dressed the way he is:)

Lydia and Marcelo playing at Marcelo's casa before we left to go to the party.
What a fun night!!!

Thanks NeNe!

Lydia recently received a package from her NeNe! I'm not sure if I've posted anything recently about Lydi's new favorite friend, but it's Dora!!! So, my mom (Nikki's mom) found her a Dora doll and sent it to her along with a Dora umbrella and Dora stool. She loves her new doll and all that came with it! Thanks again NeNe for the fun package!

Fall Fun

Fall here in Puerto Rico is a little different than what we are used to back in AL, but I will have to say that the other day I was sitting in the car as the sun was shining in the window and it was pretty refreshing (the a.c. was on full blast in the car, but still it was nice).

Today we had our first annual Harvest Party! It was so much fun. All of the kiddos and some adults dressed up and we had games, food, and fun in one of our neighborhood parks. We invited some local people and of course everyone on our team. It was a very full day, but the kids had a blast! Lydi dressed as a butterfly and Thomas wore a cute little onesie which you see in the pics above (in case you can't read it, the onesie said "this is my costume").

Finding costumes for them was a bit of a challenge since it was about 90 degrees here today. So, I had to get creative not wanting them to suffer from a heat stroke or dehydration! We ate way too much candy, and Lydi took a nasty spill on some steps, but all in all it was a great day. As I was saying good night to Lydi tonight, she looked up at me and said "go to party." I explained to her that we had been at the party all day, and that we should be so thankful for all the fun we were able to have! She says... "UH HUH!"

Thanks to all those that put so much effort into making this day happen, it was a blessing!

So Big

I went in to get Thomas up from his nap the other day, and when I walked into his room I was struck by how big he is! I can't believe that he will be four months old this upcoming week. He looked so peaceful, and like such a big boy. I am amazed at how quickly the time is flying by with him; what a joy he has been and continues to be! We are so thankful for him!

Nightly Prayer

Oh, our sweet Lydi...
Tonight we were praying with her before she went to bed, and lately she has really taken an interest in saying her own little prayers. They sound a lot like a language only Lydi knows and can understand (we also believe God understands), but at the end there is a very clear and enthusiastic AMEN!!! So, tonight we ask her to pray for her brother (who she affectionately calls Tobby). After she prays for him, we ask if she wants to pray for anyone else and she says... "Pray for Dora!!!" It was so cute! She is really enjoying Dora these days, which I love because it keeps her entertained and at the same time she is learning more Spanish words. It's great!

LOOK

Yesterday I was folding laundry on our bed, and Lydi was playing on the floor in our room. She had some books and was "reading" them, which means that she flips through them asking me, "what's that?" about a million times. I will often tell Lydi "mira" when I want her to look at something. (mira is "look" in espanol). I will say "Hey, Lydi look, mira!" So, she was looking through her books, and I hear her say "mommy, look, meeera!" It was so cute! I wasn't sure that's what she said at first, but then she kept saying it. I know that she has no idea she is using a spanish word, but she just repeats everything she hears us say! I just thought it was absolutely precious, and I had to tell the story!

Minkies!!!

One thing you can always find in the Parmer house is a minky. In case you are wondering what in the world a "minky" is the pictures should answer that question...
Lydi as I have mentioned before loves her white blanket. So, several weeks ago she started asking for it and she would say "Minky!" It took me a while to figure out what she was saying, and we're not sure why she calls her blanket this specific word.

We think maybe it's a spanglish word. Blanket in espanol is "manta", and Ben and I were calling her blanket "blanky." If you mix the two then you get "minky." If you'll notice in the picture of Lydi there's not just one minky but four! Yeah, she has her favorite one which is the huge white one, and then she has 3 smaller ones that she sleeps with and every once in a while she will ask to carry them around during the day. When she wants one of the smaller ones she will say, "minky two." It's hilarious.
(Aunt BB; this is a sidenote for you... if you will look closely at the picture Sally is not the only baby in Lydi's bed. She is still faithfully loving on Skylar. She actually carries her around now like a real baby instead of by her hair! I think she has watched mommy and now she knows that you shouldn't carry your babies that way! Thanks again for such a sweet gift!)

Now, brother has his very own minky, and he also loves it! We made sure that this time around his blankie would not be as big as Lydi's. We ordered this one for him, and he loves snuggling up with it. So, it's official our kiddos love their minkies!!!

KZ Ladies

We recently had a going away party for one of our friends, and at one point in the party all of the women that were in KZ together were sitting in the same room chatting. We realized that since the Lindsay's arrived that was the last of the KZ crowd to join the work in P.R. We had to get a picture! I love these women, and I'm so thankful that we are all a part of this work, fighting for faith together!!!

He Found It!

I knew it was just a matter of time before Thomas would find his thumb! I told Ben when we first brought him home that if he ever found his thumb, he'd be a thumb-sucker, and it looks like I was right. Just the other day he was lying in his bouncy seat and the next thing I knew he was sucking his thumb. It's so cute! Now, he really has the hang of it, so if he starts getting upset he finds the thumb and the world seems better! Lydi was always a pacy girl, but for now the thumb is much more convenient, because I don't have to keep putting it back in when he loses it. What a big boy he is!

All Smiles

This is my most recent attempt to catch Thomas smiling! He is all smiles lately, and it is so precious. He's cooing and smiling so much more. Every time I get the camera out to get a picture of one of his huge smiles, he stops! It's so frustrating, maybe soon I'll get a better picture, but for now this is the best one I have. Some people are saying that he is starting to look more like me, but I'm not so sure. He still looks very much like his daddy to me, but we'll see...

Bathtime

I have been having a little trouble lately with Thomas being awake enough to eat for his last feeding of the day. I usually feed him around 10:30 or 11:00 and then he goes down for the night. This was working out really well until about a week ago when he started sleeping through this feeding. He was not eating well; therefore, he would wake up earlier than he should the next morning. Anyway, I talked to my friend Kim who I always ask my "mom" questions to, and she gave me the idea to give Thomas a bath right before I feed him. This would help him to wake up, and also relax him before bed. I thought what a great idea!!! Well, below is a picture of my attempt to wake Thomas up with a nice bath before bed. He literally slept through the entire bath! It was so funny we just had to get it on camera...

Lydia and Marcelo

Mad Face

Who's Sally?

I just had to put some pictures up especially one of Lydi with her new best friend. Everyone meet Sally... Here's the story. We were over at the Teagues' house for one of your life group meetings recently, and all of the big kids were playing outside.

Lydi isn't quite big enough yet to hang with them without getting severely injured, so I was trying to keep her content playing in the house with all the grown-ups (not that much fun for her I'm sure) anyway, Bethany brings this baby doll for Lydi to play with. I have never seen her so excited, it seemed like Bethany gave her the most precious gift a girl could receive. From the get go Lydia was attached to this doll. So, the doll saved the night and she was perfectly content to stay indoors for the rest of the evening playing with this doll. When it was time for us to leave, I tried to explain to Lydi that the doll did not belong to her, and that it belonged to Bethany. She did not want to go home without this baby.

So, Bethany said that she didn't really play with her anymore, and that Lydi could borrow her for a little while if she wanted, and she told us that her name is Sally. This baby doll has gone everywhere with us! Where Lydi is; Sally is there also! It's so funny. She feeds her, changes her diaper, calms her when she is upset... today she fell while she was holding Sally, so she immediately stands up goes over to the baby and asks her if she is OK!

It's so funny to watch her take care of this doll. One of my friends made a good point that now that mommy has a baby to take care of, she wants one to take care of too! This turned into a much longer story than I meant for it to, but I thought it was worth sharing. The bottom line is we love Sally, and the day tht she has to leave the Parmer house, we'll probably have to go get another one:) The other pictures are just for fun!

Just for fun...

Here's Thomas on his new tummy time activity mat, he really looks like he's enjoying all the activity!
Lydi often lies down on our tile floor while she is playing. I am pretty sure it's to cool off, because the tile is always somewhat cool.
The monkey and pappy in action, this was taken right before bed time.
Thomas has really started smiling a lot lately, we've attempted to get his smiles on camera. His smile quickly turned into a yawn in this picture. Maybe I'll get to post a picture of him really smiling soon!

Game Day

Saturday was an exciting day as it marked the opening of college football season. It ended well as Bama had a victory over Clemson (good game by the way). Most everyone reading this will know that I did not grow up as a Bama fan, and I do have to stay true to my roots and say that I am still a Vols fan; however, I am bending a little. I realized this year at the opening of the season, that I want Ben and Thomas to really enjoy football together. He wore his Bama outfit and we cheered them on as they played. Lydi walked around the house all day saying "Roll Tide!" It was hilarious. I do still love my team, but I think this year I will be able to cheer for Ben's team as well. It was a fun day, and as you can see Thomas didn't make it to the end of the game, and I didn't either. At the end of the day when all was said and done, Ben was a happy man! Go Bama!!!

First Hair Cut

Ben finally agreed to have Lydi's hair cut. It needed it so badly!!! She had a serious mullet there for a while. Even though her hair is still much shorter in the front than in the back, but I'm hoping the front will catch up at some point. We at least evened out the back. It looks so cute! She's looking more and more like a little girl and not a baby! Her Aunt Em cut her hair at her house right before our life group meeting. She did great, she was introduced to an Elmo video that she had not seen, so she was totally focused on the t.v. which was a good thing.

"Night, Night Mommy"

I believe that these are three of the sweetest words... The other night Ben and I were doing our nightly bedtime routine with Lydia. He had just finished praying for her, and I sang to her and then put her into bed. As I was leaving the room she says... "night, night mommy" My heart melted!!! It's the first time she has said "night night" followed by my name. It might not be a big deal to anyone else, but to me it meant the whole world. It's so fun to really start seeing her learn and grow into this precious little girl. I just had to share that sweet tid-bit! This is a picture of Lydia one night when Ben and I went in her room to cut off her air and open her windows this is what we found...

A Day in the Life...

This pretty much sums up what life looks like at the Parmer house. We have a lot of fun!!! Thomas and I right before his last feeding of the day, Lydi trying on her daddy's hat (she is obsessed with hats), the last one is of Lydi reading to her brother!