OAP is 11 months old!!

Olivia Ann is 11 months old! I can't believe we are 1 month away from her first birthday. She is talking and babbling constantly. The cutest thing she does right now is she will shake her finger at you and say "no, no." I probably shouldn't laugh at that but it is pretty cute. She is walking EVERYWHERE! She started walking at about 10 1/2 months and now that is all she wants to do. She loves pushing her baby stroller and lights up when she sees Zack and Lily. She has also started staying with her Nanna and Papa on Fridays. She loves playing the piano with Nanna. She went through a baby food strike and didn't want to eat anything from a spoon so we have started a lot of foods that she can pick up herself. Did I mention she will be 1 next month??

Halloween 2014

Trunk or Treat x 2!!

 This year we attended 2 Trunk or Treat events. We went to Trunk or Treat at our church and also at River Dell Elementary. At church we had our own trunk where we did cookie decorating. It was a busy 2 nights but both nights were a lot of fun. Zack was The Flash, Lily was Apple White (from Ever After High) and Olivia Ann was a cupcake!

OAP's First Halloween!

Hill Ridge Farms 2014

We had so much fun at Hill Ridge Farms last year that we decided to go back! TJ and I love taking the kids to this pumpkin patch. They enjoy all of the activities and so do we! My favorite is the barn filled with corn. TJ loves the hay ride to pick out a pumpkin, and Zack and Lily love the bouncing pillow. It is always a great time and gets you in the mood for everything Fall!

OAP is 10 months old!

Olivia Ann is 10 months old! I feel like I was just doing this for her turning 9 months old. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Olivia is getting stronger on her feet. She has taken a few steps by herself this month and can walk well as long as she is holding on to something. She really likes walking while holding on to her baby doll stroller. She is also starting to say things a little clearer. She will look at me now and say "mama." She will also say, "dada" when TJ comes in the room. A couple of new words this month have been "meme" and "baby." Her new favorite thing is puffs. Any flavor, she loves them all! She also like playing with everything she is not supposed to play with! You can dump a whole bucket of her toys out in front of her and she will go straight to the curtains or the end tables. This is such a fun age and we are loving every day and every new adventure with OAP!

OAP is 9 months!!

These pictures pretty much sum up life with Olivia Ann this month! She is EVERYWHERE and is into EVERYTHING! She loves to smile, blow kisses, make noises, play with everything we say no to, and stand and walk (as long as she is holding onto something). She can stand by herself but we are still working on walking without help.  She says, "no, no," "ma-ma," "da-da," and "hey."She is such a happy baby and has the best laugh. Zack and Lily can make her laugh more than anyone else. She is so much fun and her personality comes out more and more everyday!

Lily's First Day of 1st Grade!

Little Bit is in first grade! She isn't looking so little anymore!! Lily has Ms. Lowe this year. She is a great teacher and Lily is very lucky to be in her class. Lily's 2 BFFs are also in her class, Julia and Elizabeth. She is really excited to have them in her class. Her favorite part of the day was recess. Today she came home and did her homework by herself. It was a writing assignment so we were very impressed. She did a great job! Lily has changed her mind from Kindergarten and now wants to be an artist when she grows up!

Zack's First Day of 4th Grade!

Zack is a 4th grader!! I can't believe it!! He had a great first day. He has two teachers, Ms. Wiggins and Mrs. Merrall. Both are fantastic and he is lucky to be in their class. He is really excited because he has lots of friends in his class including his best friend Mason. He said his favorite part of the day was seeing all of his friends. He also really enjoyed getting to change classes. He hasn't changed what he wants to be when he grows up. He still wants to be an athlete!

Beach for the Day

This post is a little late but we went to Surf City for the day a couple of weeks ago. The kids had so much fun! They loved playing in the waves. They also enjoyed building a sand castle.

OAP is 8 months old!

Olivia is 8 months old! I can't believe she is growing so fast. She is cruising around everywhere now. As long as she can hold on to something she will walk. She has the strength to stand by herself but she doesn't have the balance and is too scared to try. When we try to get her to stand she will crouch down. She still only has 2 teeth and has started eating more solid food. Her latest thing that she loves is chicken and vegetables. She still doesn't like sweet potatoes. She is very independent and strong willed! This week she has started clapping and is getting better at waving. We can't decide what her first word is because she has now babbled hey, da-da, and ma-ma. She has said these 3 words for a while now but she has just started using them in the right context. So we aren't sure what to count as her first word.

Fourth of July!

For the Fourth of July, we went to Pilot Mountain. On Friday night, we went up to Brown Mountain to watch the fireworks. It was great seeing the fireworks everywhere. Zack liked that we could see them but we didn't have to hear them! On Saturday, we went to Pilot Knob Park to the pool and that night we went to the cruise-in.

Marbles Museum

Lily, Olivia, and I went to Marbles Museum with Lisa and Taylor. It is amazing all the things they have for kids to do. It is so much fun! After the museum we went to the mall and had pizza and a cookie in the food court, then the girls went to the Disney store while they were having story time. It was a fun filled day!

Lily is Dancing

Lily is taking dance this summer and she LOVES it. She is taking a Frozen class which teaches dances to the sound track of Frozen. It is really cute because the instructors dress up like characters from the movie. One even dresses up like Olaf!

OAP is 7 months old!

Olivia Ann is 7 months old! She is pulling up on everything...especially things we don't think she should pull up on. She can hold on and "walk" or wobble across the ottoman and the couch. She is starting to eat more solids. Her favorites are bananas, avocados, green beans, and peaches. She isn't too sure about sweet potatoes and squash yet. She is a strong willed little girl. She wants things the way she wants them which makes me a little nervous for when she is older. 

Olivia has also started babbling more. She has always made lots of noises but the noises are actually starting to sound closer to words. 

OAP's First Beach Trip

We took Olivia to the beach this weekend to see Uncle Gary, Aunt Shelva, and Cousin Jennifer. Saturday morning we took her out to see the ocean and play in the sand. She LOVED it! She kept trying to eat the sand and we decided she would just have to figure out for herself that it doesn't taste good. She took a nap in her tent for about an hour and by the time she woke up the tide had gone out. We took her down and let her sit in the tide pools. She really enjoyed playing in the wet sand. 

She also loved hanging out with Uncle Gary, Aunt Shelva, and Jennifer. Uncle Gary rode her around on the golf cart and Aunt Shelva and Jennifer played with her and gave her lots of attention. We are so lucky to be part of such a loving family!

LKP

This picture is of Lily on the first day of school and on the last day. She has grown up so much. She has had a very successful kindergarten year. It is amazing to see the growth she has made academically and socially. Lily had 2 best friends in kindergarten they were Elizabeth and Julia. Everyday we asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was and Lily always said playing with Julia and Elizabeth at recess. She is such a girly girl and I think there were very few days this year that she didn't have on a headband. When she finds something she likes she sticks with it. We have signed Lily up for dance this summer and I know she will be great!

ZJP

This picture is Zack on the first day of school and on the last day of school. When I took the picture I didn't think I would see much of a difference but WOW. He has grown up so much!! Zack has accomplished a lot this year. He has played basketball and soccer. On his EOG he made a 4 in reading and a 4 in math. He also received the physical fitness award, a citizenship award, and A/B honor roll all year. He is a very well-rounded kid which is so awesome! He has become extremely into sports this year. He likes watching sports, reading about any sporting event or athlete, and playing pretty much any sport. He says he is a, "sports guy." When I asked him what his favorite part of third grade was, he said the ice-cream party he had and having in door recess.

Big day for the Parrish Kids

Lily's Kindergarten Graduation:

Lily had her kindergarten graduation today. It is crazy to think that she is already finished with her kindergarten year. She was blessed with an AMAZING teacher and has shown so much growth academically. She has become a great reader and her writing is fantastic. We are so proud at how much she has learned this year.

Zack's Awards and Field Day:

Zack had awards day and field day today. He received awards for A/B honor roll, citizenship, and he also received a fitness award. We can't believe he will be a 4th grader in the fall!!!

OA's 6 month appointment:

Olivia had her 6 month appointment today. She is 18 pounds and measured in the 80th percentile. She had 2 shots and took them like a champ!

OAP is 6 months!!

Olivia Ann is 6 months old!! I can't believe it. She has changed so much. She is discovering everything and has to touch everything that is in front of her. She loves feeling different textures and making noises. She likes making noises with her mouth and she likes to tap and scratch things. She can also sit up by herself now. She has started to pull up a little. She still has a hard time getting her one foot planted, but I have a feeling she will have mastered it pretty soon. This little girl is into EVERYTHING and when she learns to walk we will be in big trouble. 

She is getting 2 teeth on the bottom. The tip of one on the right side has peeked through and the other one is one its way. 

She is such a happy baby and loves to smile. She has a great personality already. I have a feeling that she may be a little hard headed like her mom! I can't wait to see what the next 6 months will bring with this sweet girl! 

Lily is 6!!

This past week we celebrated Lily's birthday. I can't believe she is 6 years old!! We had a cookout Saturday night and invited close family and friends.  Lily was very excited to have the Chestnutts there!

Graduation and Mother's Day

This was a very busy and very special weekend! I graduated with my Masters in Instructional Technology from ECU and it was Mother's Day. Saturday we went to Greenville for graduation. That night mom and dad grilled out to celebrate. Sunday was Mother's Day. We went to eat breakfast with Ellen and Tommy and for dinner TJ cooked for my parents. During the day we just hung around and TJ did a lot of yard work. It was a great weekend!