Memorial Day Weekend

We didn't go out of town for Memorial Day, but we had a fun long weekend in Nashville.

Every other Saturday morning, we get a free babysitter for about 30 minutes. The guys come to cut our grass and Ford runs to the front door to watch. He doesn't move until they load their stuff back up on their truck and drive away. Sometimes Griffin watches too!
Mary Ann, Jason and Will took a walk over The Shelby Street Bridge a few weeks ago. On Sunday, we borrowed their idea and took Ford for a walk after his nap. In 2003, the bridge (which was a bridge for cars when I first moved to Nashville) was built in 1909 and was in danger of being torn down because it was no longer structurally sound. It was the first bridge in Nashville to join the west and east banks of the Cumberland river. Because of it's historical significance, it was repaired and converted to a pedestrian bridge. The east bank side starts by the Titans football stadium and at the end of the west bank side is the new Schermerhorn Symphany Hall, which has some really cool fountains that Ford loved. Scott got some great pictures on the bridge and when we crossed over, we walked down to Broadway and got some ice cream.
Ford with the skyline behind him:

A view of the the Nashville Skyline from the east:

Ford with the Titans' stadium (LP Field) in the background:

The biggest fountain at the entrance to the symphony hall:

Me letting Ford put his toes in the fountain:

Getting ice cream at Mike's on Broadway:

The next pictures are just because I like them!


Monday, Mary Ann and Jason had a cookout at their house. It was beautiful all weekend, but right before the cookout, it started to rain. But, that was okay. It didn't dampen the fun!





I was lazy and didn't get pictures of everyone at the cookout. It was fun to see everyone. Mary Ann was kind enough to let us put Ford to bed at his regular time in Will's pack n play. So, Scott and I didn't have to leave at 5:45! We woke Ford up at about 10:00 to go home. He looks so cute when you wake him up (which doesn't happen very often, thank the lord).We got home and put Ford to bed with no problems and we all got some restful sleep after our fun and busy weekend!

Top Ten Reasons to Not Take a Nap

Here are three...

Scene: Scott going into Ford's room after what should have been his nap.

Scott: "Ford, why didn't you take a nap?"
Ford: "It's not dark outside."
Scott: "Ford, you take naps when it's light outside and go night night when it's dark outside."
Ford: "You [which means I] heard garbage truck."
Scott: "No, the garbage truck comes on Tuesdays. This is Friday. You didn't hear the garbage truck."
Ford: "Heard motorcycle."

The child doesn't stop!

This Week

Each week, Ford goes to playschool on Monday and Friday. We go to bible study at my church in the morning on Wednesdays, where childcare is provided. Ford's school and bible study are over until the summer sessions start in a few weeks. What does this mean? Ford and I had an entire week to spend together! I knew this ahead of time and tried to plan some things that would be fun for us to do.

Will and Mary Ann came over on Monday morning to play. It's so cute to see these boys together. They love each other and have started to actually play together (my second favorite part of child development...second only to sleeping through the night). Since they can both talk, they play and talk to each other. Not for more than five minutes at a time, but it's still cute to watch!



My friend Shannon has three girls and for the last several summers she has created a summer fun jar. The fun jar consists of fun activities they can do once a week during the summer. Going to the Percy Priest Lake, visiting the Frist Center and going to the spraygound are examples of things in the fun jar. Ford is too young to participate in some of the activities, but yesterday they went to the Greenway at Shelby Park, which is minutes from our house. We all walked on the Greenway and then had a picnic.



We had a fun week. We played outside most days and I let Ford wash dishes one day. Note the suds still on the dishes:


I'll end with some pictures of Scott and Ford reading books before bed. I hope you have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

Papaw

Let me tell you about my papaw. Lawrence Douglas Parish was born on this day, May 21, in the year 1920. He went to heaven at the age of 81 on February 24, 2002. I was fortunate to live just a few miles from my mamaw and him growing up and blessed to have him on this side of heaven until I was 30.

He was born in the small town where I am from and my parents and Mamaw still live, Grand Rivers, KY. He had a fabulously dry sense of humor and was great at one-liners. He used to say that he graduated seventh in his class...and there were only eight students.

In his early twenties, he joined the Army rather than wait to be drafted, and was sent to Europe to fight in World War II. He was a mechanic during the war and his job was to ride a motorcycle to find broken down Army vehicles and repair them. He fought in the worst battle of the war, The Battle of the Bulge, where there were more American casualties than any other battle.

He came back to Grand Rivers after the war and married my grandmother on May 7, 1946. I remember my Mamaw traveling all over the world when I was younger. I asked her why Papaw never went with her. Her response was that Papaw had to be in Europe for three years during the war without coming home. He said if he ever made it home, he was never leaving, and he didn't.

I think my favorite memories of him are of his singing. He had a beautiful, deep bass voice and you could always hear him singing the bass parts at church. I can still hear him singing the old hymns. Many of those old hymns are my favorite songs because of him.

One of my favorite pictures of him is a picture from World War II. I'm not sure where it was taken, somewhere in Europe. But it's of Papaw kneeling beside a cross...the grave of a fellow soldier. I asked him if the soldier was one of his friends and he said he was just an aquaintance. It was another soldier from our small town. Papaw had that picture taken and sent it back home to that young man's mother so she would have a picture of her son's gravesite. That's just the kind of man he was.He didn't ever get in hurry. He would make up any excuse to take us to Wal-Mart or Dairy Queen. He loved Little Debbie Cakes and MoonPies. When we spent the night at his house, we'd always have midnight snacks at about nine o'clock. He handed out Juicy Fruit gum to the little kids at church. He wasn't a man of many words, but when he spoke, boy was it funny.

I have only fond memories of him and he was a very important fixture in my life. He would have been 88 today. Happy Birthday, Papaw! I love you!

It's a Beautiful Day

The weather has been beautiful here and we've been hanging out outside working on the yard some. We had some foundation work done on our house several months ago. The subs who did the work did not clean up the mess they made which consisted of a big pile of dirt with broken concrete blocks dispersed throughout (in our front yard). Lesson learned...make sure when getting a bid it includes labor, materials AND clean up. Lucky for us, it has helped us keep Ford busy!


Here are a few more pictures of Ford playing peek-a-boo on the porch:
Wearing my tennis shoes:

School's Out for Summer

Well, not really for the summer. Ford's school is off for two weeks at his playschool until it starts back up for the summer session. Friday was Ford's last day in his current Toddler class and he will be switching to the 2's class on June 2nd.

I can't even describe in words how much I love and appreciate his teachers, Miss Emily and Miss Kelli, and their teacher's aid, Ms. Joyce. They seem to love their jobs and to love the kids even more. Ford is always excited to go to school and it is obvious how much he loves his teachers. I believe they have a gift for teaching and caring for eight two-year-olds everyday and they always do it with a smile. Ford's school truly has been a blessing for Ford and me. I am very sad that Ford will not be with Miss Emily and Miss Kelli anymore. But, most of his current classmates will be moving to the 2's class this summer. And, Ford already knows his new teachers, Miss Julie and Miss Mandy AND he has mentioned that their class is the "big boy" class. So, I'm hopeful the transition will go smoothly.

Here are some pictures from Ford's last day in the Toddler class. The little girl in the pictures is Ava and she and Ford have been best buddies since the first day.

Happy Mudder's Day!

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to my mom and to Scott's mom. Now that I am a mother, it makes me appreciate all the things that my mom does and has done for me even more. Happy Mother's Day, Mama! I love you!

When I picked Ford up at school on Friday, his sweet teachers had helped the kids make their handprint with paint on a ceramic tile. They also helped Ford practice saying Happy Mother's Day.

On Saturday, Scott and Ford ran errands and when they came home, this is how I was greeted at the door. Ford reinacted this so I could get it on video. I'll try and post the video so you can hear him say, "Happy Mudder's Day."Today after church, Scott and Ford took me to brunch. We went to a new East Nashville restaurant called Mad Donna's, in the building where Radio Cafe was for years. It was yummy! After brunch, my sweet husband gave me the day "off" and took care of Ford and cleaned the house. I even got to take a nap! Thank you for making me feel so special today, Scott!

Without my sweet son, I wouldn't be celebrated on this day. I am thankful for him and grateful to be his mother. And for all the moms who have children and for those who don't have children yet; for all the moms who wait for the next baby to add to thier family; for all the moms who have had miscarriages or lost a baby or child of any age whether years ago or recently, may God fill you with the peace that passes all understanding today and always.