Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving, 2009, my how time does fly...we were just looking at pictures from last Thanksgiving, when we thought Parker was so big. He was so little & bald & now he's a "real boy". It makes me sad but very Thankful at the same time.
There is lots to give Thanks for this (& every) holiday season; here are a few of mine (in no particular order):
1. Family!
2. My husband
3. Shelter
4. A table full of food
5. Our church
6. Our church family
7. New Life!
8. Ace's job
9. Unexpected blessings (a friend at church reminded me of this one)
10. Health

There are many, many more things I am thankful for, too many to write. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, from the Howell family to yours...

It's a GIRL!

So we officially have a baby girl on the way! I am so ready for little dresses & bows! Here I am 20 weeks pregnant with Baby Girl Howell. Yes I am huge, well, I have a bigger belly than I did at this point with Parker but I have gained less weight - who knows! Girls are so dramatic...

15 Month Dr. Appointment

Parker had his 15 month doctor's appointment today. He is 31 inches tall (25th - 50th percentile) & 23 lb, 12oz (25th - 50th). So 2 things, he isn't growing quite so fast now, & I have been way off on his weight...I have been telling people for a while now that he was about 26 lbs. - whoops. When people say that they slow down on their growing after they turn 1, that's very true...he's only gained 6 oz. since his 12 month check-up. But the Dr. says that's normal.

Since his flu shot from last week was still fresh on his mind, he went from happy to screaming as we walked into the exam room. He of course screamed & cried when he got his shots, poor little guy. But when we were leaving, standing at the check-out desk, he was standing there, holding my hand, just looking around, when all of a sudden the nurse who gave him his shots today came around the corner & Parker LOST it & started screaming. It was too funny not to laugh, all of the ladies in the office were cracking up too.

He still only says a couple of words, "Dad", & "Yea" are pretty much his vocab right now. Everytime the dogs bark & run to the door, everytime the phone rings, everytime the doorbell rings, he points to the door, looks at me & says "Dad??". He used to say MaMa & Dog but those have all but been forgotten since his Daddy has become his most favorite person. But I love it, his daddy is so proud.

Here he is today eating his favorite, bananas.

Little Kicks

So I am sure I'm finally feeling the baby...everyone else has felt their 2nd (or 3rd) baby very early so I was starting to get worried when I hadn't felt the baby at all...at least it is hard to tell what is the baby for a while. As I laid in bed this morning I realized I was definately feeling the little kicks from Baby Howell!

Many of you know what the baby is already, as I found out very early at my 13 week ultrasound, but I haven't posted it on the blog yet because it was so early & I want to make sure before I go & publish it. But I have my 20 week ultrasound next Monday so I am so excited to finally get confirmation. So I will post a belly picture & the gender next Monday after my appt. Sorry there are no pictures with this post, but I assure you I do look pregnant & Parkie is cuter than ever :)

Halloween

We had a quiet Halloween here at the Howell house, with only about 10 trick-or-treaters. Parker-The-Duck may have been the cutest trick-or-treater on the block!

Halloween Chicken Dance

My grandma always gives "singing" gifts to Parker, which he LOVES. This one was a singing chicken dressed as a pumpkin that plays the "chicken dance" song. Here he is dancing in his new gloves (with fingers - which he wore for 3 hours straight one day) & hat.

Cold October Days

These are from a few weekends ago when it was really chilly in Atlanta, just playing outside on a lazy Saturday...