Boo dude!

Here is a glimpse @ our weeklong Halloween festivities...

First we had to leave Chris behind since he was hard @ work last Tues. afternoon so we could make our annual visit to the pumpkin patch. We meant for it to be a preview & then we could return in next week with Dad in tow, but sure enough! it ended up being our only outing so glad we did instead of settling for a grocery store pick! Thanks to Kristie & Seth Marcotte for joining us even though repeat tour for them! They told us about this one & we liked 'cuz free except pumpkins of course & their company! Luke fit in well with the lil' ones-

Beck & boys x 3I was grateful they provided a variety of ways for 'em to exert energy but not surprised they still had some to spare even after the corn maze & sawdust hill!

Onto the serious business-Dane thought he'd found his right away, but switched to a ghostly white one by the end!

Then Daddy got to maintain 3-yr. tradition & carve pumpkin (after I was nice enough to scrape out inner goop beforehand:)) with Dane @ preschool-Left pic. courtesy of his preschool teacher:)



Meanwhile Cole & I worked on our own @ home so he wasn't left out; bad enough that he didn't get to wear his costume to school! Their hauntingly handsome t-shirts are courtesy of Grandpa & ma Parker:)Our good friends, Kanekoas, have way more creative mom than I & hosted us for a spooky dinner. They turned their dining room into a restaurant called Ghoulish Grind & invited us over for a bite (literally 'cuz the boys who served us were dressed up as vampires:)) They had a fabulous menu, gross food for all to enjoy (really it was delicious-thanks!) & I contributed dessert=Graveyard Dirt complete with gummy body parts-eww yuck!










































We have some other good friends whose dad had to move to Yakima ahead of the fam for a job change, so we watched the Hill kids in efforts to give Krista & Dave one more hot date before they had to divide & conquer! If you know of anyone who wants a lovely house in Puyallup, let us know although we're not too excited that they're leaving us:( Took advantage of our evening playdate to decorate some sugar cookies! Feel free to have a cookie with your sprinkles Daner!















Both Cole & Dane missed out on the YMCA costume parades due to school schedule, so we took 'em to Harvest Party there since we also skipped the ward Trunk or Treat while @ the UW vs. Notre Dame game! Unfortunately we didn't get there until almost over besides not being old enough to enjoy bounce house/obstacle course (in background), but still had a good time & fun to have excuse to put on costumes for more than just Halloween night?! Instead of waiting in line to redeem boo bucks, Chris took Cole to McD's with ice cream coupon & Dane chose to frost some sugar cookies @ home again!So the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (TMNT) theme really started out as the boys' idea, but I know I will have to come to grips with expressions of their individuality vs. always coordinating their costumes let alone daily apparel. They changed their minds a few times & are already planning on what they want to be next year. In the meantime, I'd already bought the gear & we were set as TMNT for this Halloween. Chris was not amused by my dictatorship of their costumes but humored me for a couple pics. @ least! Here are Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael & Michelangelo in all of their glory!Luke wasn't too sure about the headband either, but weather cleared up enough for him to join 'em trick-or-treating...None of 'em were as die-hard as Chris recalls being when he was a lad! Dad decided that TMNT needed to end the evening with their fav=pizza! Never mind that I had just made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner?! The boys would've been happy just dining on all of their candy...Happy Halloween from Parker boys including our tiny turtle in a half shell!

Indoctrination

This post will probably be a bit random but wanted to capture the essence of our baby's first weeks in action!:)
Luke has had a few dr. appts to make sure his kidney is okay but I forgot my camera every time so didn't even capture his new pediatrician or him in a hospital gown-oh well! In case you're wondering, he appears to be fine but we are still being referred to pediatric urologist who will be able to confirm all is well?! Has also managed to gain a lb. per week making him a whopping 9 lbs. 3 oz. as of 10/29. Plus he's already gone to the dentist's office (mostly to meet the staff & then bond with dad next door while big bro Cole & mom had appts).
On his first Sun. we decided to cheer on the Seahawks vs. going to church-priorities? oops!











But he did reverently attend Church the following Sun.- here's a pic. of my future missionaries for the record!Luke has learned how great a binkie, an occasional nap on his tummy & swaddling can be for him not to mention his parents' sanity (even tried a bottle & liked it much to his dad's satisfaction:)) He amazed us all by sleeping 8 hrs one night, but alas! has not repeated that trick although I will take the 6 hrs. he's given me on more than one occasion!
I swear he's tried to smile or just had a lot o' gas as even his ultrasonagraphers could attest internally?! but he hasn't seemed uncomfortable & didn't mess his pants for entire first weekend home (sorry for TMI-should've been thanking my lucky stars vs. complaining 'cuz he's since made up for it!!)He has made it clear that he doesn't like baths or changing his clothes/diapers for that matter-














However he's had no choice but to model some of his cute new clothes & join in the color o' the day fetish courtesy of his OCD mom:)















Meanwhile he's become very acquainted with his big bros as well as their noise & coughs-ugh! In the pic with the new duck towel I will let you refer to 'em as huey, d(an)ewey, and (co)luey although the older two are pretty convinced they are superheroes (I thought I had to have girls to be into dress-up but these lil' guys are constantly in disguise & usually carrying a weapon these days?! not to mention fact that every game has some aspect of chase or wrestling involved)

















He was featured as show and tell @ Dane's preschool:)on Purple Fri.He's been introduced to his Aunt Amy, Uncle Rich & cousins Erin & Lindsey (though we call the girls "aunts" half the time 'cuz they're closer to my sisters' ages:)) Of course we couldn't skip a week o' sad but true Husky football hence the delivery during a bye, so Luke visited Husky Stadium for the first time @ week old. I'm not gonna lie: we're hoping the dawgs' losing seasons will be a distant memory for him! Perhaps it'll just be like a bad dream since he slept through the entire game & only awakened momentarily to cry about the final score with exception of bonding with us on the bus ride home! His jersey onesie is one of a few designed by my sweet sister Britt & sent with love from UT:)


















He also got to meet Aunt Brooke when she came back to WA for homecoming weekend-sorry I don't have a pic. of him with Cait 'cuz she's another adoring aunt! Altogether he would probably tell you that he's spent a fair amount of time seeing the world from his car seat... 'cuz I can't stay home for long though I should by the looks of my house-ugh! I can now attest to the fact that a third child gets to just go along for the ride:) Not to fear, I make up for it with the amount of our quality bonding in the wee hours o' the a.m. when he gets plenty o' one-on-one attention!

Using the Force...with a little help from Mother Nature & Pitocin:)

First of all, only a mother of boys would nest like this & I seriously finished assembly with hours to spare; also managed to clean carpets & weed front entrance to subdivision 'cuz I'm OCD like that (not a good combo with nesting!): Secondly, couldn't help the Star Wars reference to announce that Luke Houston Parker is here!:)Sorry for the delay-Induced on Fri. 10/10 @ 12:45P so missed my target time by half hour:) I wanted to have him @ 1:10P 'cuz Cole arrived @ 3:30-granted it was AM-but he was followed by Dane @ 2:20P, so ya gotta love a good pattern:) oh well! Here's the re-cap:
Since I'm not a morning person, I was thrilled with extra hour the hospital gave us before we checked in & we took a lil' more time 'cuz I thought a Jamba juice would calm my nerves:) & be the "light breakfast" per their recomm. Dr. Nickel was @ hospital for another delivery, so broke my water first (about 9:30A). I was given pitocin an hour later & told that he had a surgical procedure @ noon. This was very much a mental labor for me third time around & I was determined to wait for him, but sure enough felt like I needed to push right as the clock struck that hour! ugh! I made 'em turn down the level in hopes to slow it enough for him to make it! I was more than ready to push @ 12:30P right when he ran through the door & out came the baby! My mom and dear husband were fabulous doulas and photographers:)

"Luke, I Am Your Father!"

Notice Chris conceded on the name, but don't be surprised if he still calls him Houston or even Huey:). His big bros could hardly wait to be done with Primary activity and preschool respectively before Grandpa Gar brought 'em down to the hospital! Don't worry if Dane's shirt was a bit snug 'cuz Cole wore it a year sooner:)Cole acted like it was Christmas morning:) He was very chatty & observant, asking about everything including why his hands were foggy?! Since I know you'll miss the weekly BabyCenter update, he was referring to one more interesting part o' fetal development that I learned: In addition to the fact that it takes a while for the blood to flow out to extremities and pink him up naturally, he was covered in vernix, a Desitin-looking substance 'cuz he made his appearance sooner than later-You could tell Dane, on the other hand, was proud although he didn't say much besides being kind enough to offer his baby brother some chocolate from the celebratory Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the delivery room:) Luke surprised us all even after recent ultrasounds by weighing 7 lbs. 14 oz. I thought he'd be smaller considering he was two weeks early! We were a little concerned about his activity level in the womb & he didn't disappoint us on his first night by only sleeping about an hour before 5A:( with an occasional cat-nap in meantime?! Thankfully he's caught up on some zzz's so we could too in last 24 hrs. We think he looks most like Cole, but a pound less @ birth. Little did we know that Chris' features were so dominant but I think they're all pretty handsome Parker boys myself!!














Here we are before we got to leave with traditional photo shoot...We hurried a bit 'cuz the power was out @ hospital all Sat. So much for recovering leisurely with a.m. o' college football and a shower not to mention blow-drying my hair before concluding my luxurious stay:)

















Contemplating whether or not we should keep him 'cuz it was so comfy with just 2 & they're already buddies plus mom is outta baby mode! Too late now, eh?:)
















Thanks to all well-wishers & chefs via phone, e-mail & in person! We feel so blessed to have such great family & friends as well as our third healthy boy safe & sound @ home! My mom said her biggest challenge during my labor was keeping up with my sisters' text msgs. so they could track the progress long-distance & greet their newest nephew!:) Our porch was even decorated when we brought him home yesterday afternoon:) by a mystery fairy! Please let me know if you can help me solve the case & thank her myself!?! Luke was pleased to meet his WA grandparents, my friend Melissa (Williams) Oswald from high school and good Puyallup friends Kanekoas @ the hospital (sorry that had to be part of your date Kasey:)). Then his 2nd cousin Cru who is 6 mos. older & other good Puyallup friends Hills & Paivi Flannery were part of his homecoming on Sat. afternoon. I'm kicking myself that we didn't get pics. with his first guests-ugh! But you can rest assured we have enough other pics. so far that we won't feel left out as third child:)
We truly have been showered with gifts, food (thanks to my parents, Chris's cousin Chad & wife Kyla & Chris' sis Amy), flowers (from Chris' parents who have to wait until after Thanksgiving to meet him up close & personal), visits & care from all of you not to mention the many offers to help in coming adjustment...We want you to know you are loved in return & we are grateful for your support even though we were kind of hermits this weekend.
The real test will be braving the weekdays ahead that have a lil' more of a routine! If tonight is any indication, my Gymbucks were redeemed online @ last possible minute, all 3 boys are finally asleep in bed, Chris is satisfied with his computer time re: fantasy football but of course, now that I have a minute to myself instead of happily catching up on the blog I just want to go to sleep while I can 'cuz I skipped a nap this afternoon...Guess the night-owl mind is willing but the flesh is weak; thus multi-tasking is proving to be a bit tough with my eyes half-closed?!
Enjoy these pics & I guess I'll have to add more later when the thought of a slide show doesn't overwhelm me:) Plus now, my newborn is calling my name:) 'cuz as I mentioned, he's nocturnal!