Sunday Doughnuts

Once Baby Sister comes Mommy may have to close her Pinterest account. It shows her amazing things like how to make quick, easy, delicious homemade doughnuts!
Today we tried out a recipe that involved cutting the middle out of canned Buttermilk Biscuits - frying them - and then adding a chocolate glaze.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Parker's favorite were the doughnut "holes" that we created because I used a little star cookie cutter to cut the middle of the doughnuts. He at them with some strawberries, but he was a HUGE fan of the star doughnuts...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Mommy (and baby sister) also enjoyed the doughnuts very much! They were so crispy but doughy and delicious! Daddy enjoyed his fair share as well - which resulted in the declaration that he was taking Parker in the BOB on a run down to the park that is about 3.5 miles away. Mommy is a bit past the "running" time of the pregnancy, so I met them there in the car after cleaning the house and taking a shower. Great Sunday Morning!

Playdough

After some hesitation Mommy has finally decided that Parker can experience the magic of Playdough. Of course the hesitation was due to my own craziness - such as the fear of all the colors being mixed together...ah Mommies with OCD...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

We decided that since fall has arrived we would wash off the kid picnic table and take it down to the basement for inside activities. We got out some plastic cookie cutters and even a plastic knife for "cut-cutting" the Playdough...Note, in the beginning Parker only had 4 colors...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

The Playdough kept him very entertained for about 30 minutes, but as he "cut" each color into pieces he kept coming back over to ask for more of the colors from the variety box...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

After a little over an hour of Playdough time I realized a few things:

First, a two year old does not care if all the colors are mixed together.

Second, Daddy's get just about as excited about Playdough as toddlers.

Third, Mommy has quickly given up her control freak tendencies about Playdough and the next purchase will probably be the "Fun Factory" to truly demonstrate the art of mixing colors!

Library of Congress National Book Festival

This Saturday we took advantage of living in the Nation's Capitol by attending the Library of Congress's National Book Festival. We took the metro down to the National Mall and headed over to the festival. On our way there we decided a potty break was a good idea and so we ventured into the Museum of American History.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Of course it is not possible for Daddy to go into that museum without going to see the train near the entrance (Parker didn't mind either of course)!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

The festival had a lot of tents with sponsored areas. Lego was there to promote their new Duplo Read & Build books. They had a bunch of mats set out with Duplo Legos for the kids to play with.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

They even had some neat Lego crowns for the kids to wear.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

We headed over to the PBS tent where they had coloring stuff and some PBS characters who were singing and dancing.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

He was pretty worn out after the Festival so we headed over to one of Daddy's favorite restaurants Capitol City Brewing for some lunch.

The festival was pretty cool - and Parker saw Abby from Sesame Street and Clifford the Big Red Dog, but overall I think he will enjoy in more in the next few years. But, it is a great event and we were all impressed with how big it was and how nice the turnout was!

Pirate Costume...

This year for Halloween Parker will be dressing up as a pirate. Two years ago I made a bear costume for him that was so big that it lasted him two Halloweens. This year I decided to try something that would be a little easier to alter in case the pattern ran large.
Parker went to the fabric store with me a couple of weeks ago to pick out the fabric for his pirate costume.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

The first project was the pirate pants. We found some great pirate fabric and the pants ended up being pretty easy. The were long, but that was easy to fix and luckily my model didn't mind trying them on so I could figure out how much elastic to put in the waist.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

After the pants I had to tackle the vest and sash. The vest was a pain in the butt! It had a silk "lining" and that made it a bit of a challenge for the novice sewer. I guess the good thing about sewing pregnant is there is not the threat of the wine consumption effecting my stitches! It worked out pretty well and the sash was much easier. So, now we have to find some boots, accessories, and a shirt that will work for the costume.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

But Parker loves his pirate pants so much that I used the extra fabric to make him a second pair. With a little over a month before Halloween I have hidden one pair of pants with the rest of the costume, but he likes to hang out in his spare pirate pants whenever they are clean...

Big Brother Class

The hospital where Baby Sister will be born offers a sibling class so younger kids can learn about the new baby that is coming to their home. Parker was the youngest one in the class, but he still had a good time...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Checking out the "baby sister" doll...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Looking for her belly button (they were talking about the umbilical cord)...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Getting ready to watch the movie about being a big brother...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

He quickly lost interest...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

On our way home he picked out his very own "baby sister" doll. He likes to feed her and take off her diaper - and then ask mommy to put it back on...Not sure this will lessen the shock of baby sister's arrival in a few weeks, but at least it was fun!

New Park

We found a great new park near our house. Parker's friend Ella goes there sometimes and so we met her there one afternoon.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

There is a really big, fast blue slide (this park has since been named the Blue Park).

From Photos of Parker Year 3

There is also a really cool swing - Parker kept coming back to the swing a lot!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

There is a bridge over the creek by the park and we spied some ducks sleeping...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

"Mommy, what are those ducks doing in the water?"

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Showing the ducks his stick from the park...

It was a great day at the park - we will have to add this one to our list and come back soon!

Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes

Over and over and over and over again!

Bath Paint!

Parker decided painting in the bath sounds like a great idea.
It started pretty mellow, but shortly ended up with paint all over the tub...he sure had fun though!
And the great news is all the paint wiped off with a quick swipe of the washcloth! So fun!

Labor Day Fun!

For Labor Day our friends the Klatzko's invited us up to visit them at West Point in New York. Parker was going to see his best buddy Joselyn for the first time since we moved away from Oklahoma!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Joselyn showed Parker her favorite summer water spot - a man-made lake right by her house! The kids got to play in the water and squirt cannons at each other!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Parker needed some instruction from Daddy on how to use the water cannon...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

But soon he figured it out!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

There was a great tube slide that Parker loved to shoot down into the water!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Joselyn liked that slide too!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Sometimes it was fun to just sit in the water and dig in the sand...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

After a shower and a nap back at the house we headed out to see the fireworks! Parker even showed Joselyn his new BOB - they loved riding together!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Joselyn's Daddy brought some Chem Lights for the kids to play with while we waited for the fireworks...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Mommy was so happy to spend some time with Miss Helen!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Unfortunately Parker decided to grow his molars while we were visiting. He was feeling a little under the weather for a few days of our trip. He wanted lots of cuddle time - which meant Daddy got some practice having 2 kids in his lap at once - only about 5 and a half more weeks until he will have to put that practice to good use!

Thanks for a great visit Klatzko family!

Back to the Zoo

The weather has finally calmed down a bit and we can head back to the zoo. Last Thursday morning Daddy had to head to a work meeting and Parker said he would like to go see some elephants - so we headed to the zoo!
It was a beautiful day and there was hardly anyone at the zoo!


The lions were out early and they were also enjoying the nice weather - these two are father and son - sounds like some conversations that happened in the Bosworth house between Pa Lar and Uncle Jim once upon a time!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Checking out the snakes...not Mommy's favorite part of the zoo...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Telescopes are pretty cool!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

There were five Gorillas out playing and eating when we went by - we have never seen so many out before!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

The elephants are still the big highlight for any Parker trip to the zoo...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

We even stopped to play with some kids by the misters...

And now the zoo has just finished the new American Trail exhibit! It will have beavers, sea lions, bald eagles, and all sorts of other great animals - we are so excited to check it out on our next zoo visit!

We love books!

Grandma Sterr sent Parker a great new train book! The Little Engine that Could! Parker was so excited we read it twice right when we got it, followed by a lot of Parker reading it to himself. It may be in a tie right now with Good Night Construction Site for Parker's favorite book.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Mommy's Birthday Dinner

Daddy had class on the night of Mommy's birthday, but luckily Aunt Andrea lives so close! She treated Parker and Mommy to dinner at a great Mexican restaurant. We even got to sit by the waterfall!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Independence

Dressing ourselves shows a lot of independence, but sometimes it takes a little redo...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Patriotism

Mommy found a great deal on some baseball tickets and so we all headed out to the ballgame one Friday night. Parker had a great time watching the game, eating game food, and exploring the ballpark, but Mommy's favorite part of the night was the National Anthem, when Parker stood quietly with his hand over his heart listening to the song. Perfect moment!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

4th of July Visitors

Parker was really excited when Ma Pat, Pa Lar, and Uncle Jim came to visit around the 4th of July. Ma Pat has a lot more photos I will add of the trip later, but here are some random ones from Mommy's camera...

From Photos of Parker Year 3

He excitedly watched all the planes come in to their gates and wondered which one was Ma Pat, Pa Lar, and Uncle Jim's.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

As soon as we got settled back at the house he wanted to make sure Pa Lar had a lot of help unwrapping his Father's Day present.

From Photos of Parker Year 3

We went to Daddy's favorite DC museum - The American History Museum. The transportation wing is great and has a lot of ships, trains, and cars. And apparently a girlfriend for Parker! He walked right up to this little girl and started holding her hand and looking at the station wagon with her - really didn't seem to mind she was a statue!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Chance was more than happy to have visitors. Especially when he found the big blow up mattress that Uncle Jim was using unoccupied one evening...That sure is a nice big dog bed!

From Photos of Parker Year 3

Ma Pat found Parker a Pilot's hat from the National Air and Space Museum and Pa Lar got some super cool sunglasses from the Washington Nationals baseball game. Parker sure is stylin'.