Hunter is 7 Weeks Old!

Our big man is 7 weeks old today!!! AHH only 5 more weeks of maternity leave. How am I ever going to be able to leave Hunter... do I really need to work Matt??? Can I just be a stay at home mommy please!!!

Well Hunter is growing so much... Here are some highlights from this week.

• Feedings - Emma gave Hunter a bottle for the first time... She only lasted 5 minutes before her arm got tired... We will have to put a pillow under it the next time.

• Bath Time -  Hunter continues to love his bath time. A few nights ago I made the comment that he likes it so much because it reminds him of being in my belly... and Matt made the WORST comment EVER! He said, "At this point he probably does not remember being in there anymore.. it just reminds him of something but he does not know what..." What a HORRIBLE thing to say! I of course immediately started crying. How could he not remember being in there!!! The really sad thing is that it is probably true. Time is moving way too fast!

• First time Mommy and Daddy left Hunter with Someone else - We left Hunter with my mom last Friday and went out to dinner at the Capital Grille. We were gone for 2 hours and 45 minutes and I called home twice to check up on Hunter. It was nice to spend some one on one time with Matt and we actually talked about non baby/Emma things!
• First Hurricane - We braved the storm just fine here in the Park Household. We were lucky enough to not lose power and only have a few small tree limbs and leaves to pick up.

 Tonight Will be Hunter's First time Trick or Treating!

Happy Halloween from the Park Family

Happy Halloween to all! Wanted to share some decorations from around our house and share photos of the pumpkin carving fun that we had last night!

Even Sophie wanted in on the fun... She loves pumpkin and kept trying to sneak pieces.

Emma originally wanted to carve both pumpkins herself but after completing the first one she decided she was done so I took over... I will share the final products tomorrow.

Now here are some decorations...

I have framed photos of Emma's past costumes that I pull out each year. These were taken at the annual Army Navy Country Club Halloween party. Last year Emma was Harry Potter (age 7) and the year before the whole family dressed up as the scooby gang (age 6).

Dinning room...

Tomorrow I will share some trick or treating photos! Cannot wait to share what Hunter will be!

Mount Vernon Family Fun Day

On Sunday we decided to pack up the car, crab one of Emma's friends, and head to Mount Vernon for their annual Fall Family Fun day! 

They started to pack up the festivities a little early (due to the fast approaching storm) but we had an opportunity to do most of the main activities. 

Here are some photos from our fun day! 

First Hay ride for Hunter!

Mount Vernon! They were all boarded up for the storm... but it was interesting going through the house with candles.

Heading down to the farm for all the activities...

When we were walking by the slave quarters I found this old nail on the walkway! We asked at the museum and they told us to just keep it!

6 Week Update

Hunter turned 6 weeks yesterday... please forgive the delay in the post but we had some unwanted house guests come home with Emma... LICE! So I spent 5 hours yesterday treating Emma's hair. It was HORRIBLE.


Here are Hunter's 6 week highlights:

• Smiled!!!! We had our first non gas related smile! It was such a perfect moment... on Sunday when we pulled Hunter out of the bath and wrapped him in his turtle towel he looked up at both of us and just smiled. It was so sweet that we were both there with him to experience that moment.  
• Wore shoes for the first time. Super cute Janie and Jack shoes the I got at a thrift store for only 5.99 (originally $40)... yes I sanitized them with wipes before putting them on baby. 

• Started to nap in crib. We have had a few naps in our crib this last week. They do not last very long but we hope that they are getting him use to sleeping in there. I think that this week we are going to try for our first night in the big boy crib. 
• Had 5 hour sleep stretch at night! Slept 5 hours and 15 minutes last Saturday... only happened once but fingers crossed that it becomes a regular occurrence! 
• Went to first Farmers Market. Went to the Falls Church farmers market on Saturday to get yummy veggies for the week. The weather was great and Hunter really likes being outdoors. If he is cranky he will stop crying the second we walk outside. 

 

Yesterday Sophie turned 4 months! She is getting so big!

 

Basil Chicken

Last night I made "Spicy" Basil Chicken from my April 2012 Cooking Light magazine and it is going to be a repeat recipe in our house. I left out the ingredient that would make the dish spicy so that it could be enjoyed by all in the family. Emma loved it! The recipe also lived up to the promise in the magazine of being quick and easy!

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 garlic cloves
6 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons chili paste with garlic (left this out)
1 teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sliced basil leaves

Directions
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.
Add shallots and garlic to pan; cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add chicken to pan; cook 13 minutes or until chicken is done.

Combine fish sauce and the next 6 ingredients (through salt) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add fish sauce mixture to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until mixture thickens, stirring to coat chicken. Remove from heat. Stir in basil.

Ehhh.. let's get this done already...

Here in the Park household there are a TON of projects that we have started but due to life taking over they have gone unfinished.  So... with family coming into town for Thanksgiving and since I am home from work... there is no better time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Here are the main items that I plan to tackle in the coming weeks:

• Upper level doors painted... about a year ago we purchased new doors for our upper level and guess what... still not painted white! We are major slackers! 
• Master bedroom-- Curtains, artwork, and photos up on wall
• Hunter's bedroom & bathroom finished-- My mom is still working on the bedding and I need to find some artwork or a small piece of furniture to go on one wall... I owe you all an update.
• Complete stencil wall in basement... I've also been working on this project for over a year. I literally probably only have 30 minutes left on this project. It is so sad that I haven't finished it
• Gallery wall in upper level hallway. Now that I have our maternity/family photos and Hunter's newborn photos back I can finally tackle this project. I've always wanted a gallery wall!
• Basement family room... I would like to get a sofa down there and make an old coffee table into a play table.
• Find a new dresser and refinish for master bedroom... Part of another little project to get rid of all of the IKEA furniture in our master bedroom.

I've already started working on the gallery wall and I cannot wait to complete the project and share later in the week.

Evan Hunter wants in on the action

Maternity Photos

The amazing Cherie Cullen of Wars to Weddings took some maternity/family photos for us a few months back. I was 8 months pregnant and I love the results!

My cute little man was in that big old belly...