Four years old!

It’s terrible that Parker turned four nearly three months ago and I have yet to blog about it.  Talk about falling off the wagon!  But I’m going to do it right now and eventually back date it so it will look like I was far more on the ball.  Perhaps I’ll even add pictures to it!  But for now, I’ll have to stick with words…

How do I start talking about Parker at age four?  The first thing that comes to mind is something I’ve long said about him: he is fiercely independent!  Thomas is two years older but still perfectly content for us to do everything for him.  I think he’d be happy if we fed him all his meals.  But not Parker.  He wants to do everything by himself at all times and will sometimes pitch a royal fit to do so.  He wants to pick out his clothes, dress himself, peel his own clementines, turn things off/on – whatever it is, he wants to do it!

He had a great year in school.  I’m not sure he learned a great deal, but it wasn’t because of his own aptitude.  That’s another issue for another post for another blog (ha ha), but whenever he had the opportunity to learn something new, he did and he did it very well.  He got along well with the other kids in his class and was always kind and sensitive to the needs of his friends (or so I am told). 

He can write his name and he knows all of his letters/numbers (he can trace all letters, but can only independently write the ones in his name).  It’s funny to compare your children, not in a judgmental way, but more just to see how children truly develop so differently.  Thomas was extremely verbal at Parker’s age (and Parker is too, but not as much as Thomas).  Thomas had perfect enunciation and had a strong vocabulary.  Parker has to work harder with his actual speech (though it has improved so much since his tonsils were removed last August), but his fine motor skills are far more advanced than Thomas’ were at that age.  At the end of the 3s, Thomas knew all of his letter sounds very, very well, but could only write the “T” of his name.  Parker knows all of his letter sounds (on a good day – and this is partly due to the fact that Parker had a different 3s teacher), but can write each letter of his name and has been able to do that since the beginning of the school year. 

In other areas, Parker is also different from his big brother.  He loves to eat.  Most of the time I think it’s more an issue of boredom, but he frequently says, “I’m hungry” and I feel like during the summer I am giving him a snack at least once every 30 minutes.   He would live off fruits and vegetables if I let him.  With each meal, he usually eats his fruit (or veggie) first and we often have to ask him a few times before he will eat enough of his meat to be excused.  He has gotten better, but for awhile I thought he was going to be a vegetarian.   Still though, if I put a bunch of food on a table, say chicken nuggets, pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, rice, broccoli, green beans, oranges, grapes and applesauce – he would make a b-line for the fruits and eat all of those without even considering anything else first.  I have to be careful because he will sneak and start eating grapes in the fridge and he will eat until he is nearly sick!

He loves being outside, though he loves it best if he’s outside with his big brother.  They have a great time riding their scooters and bicycles.  Parker has mastered riding without training wheels (we took those off quite awhile ago).  They still drive their same Power Wheels jeep that they have had since Thomas was 2 1/2.  We had to replace two wheels this year, but it keeps on going!

They don’t watch a ton of television, and somehow this summer I’ve managed to stick to our minimal tv rules (about an hour a day).  Their favorite shows to watch are Word Girl and Wild Kratts – two wonderful ETV programs (one teaches vocabulary and the other teaches about animals). 

Parker is obsessed with Batman.  He has a short-sleeved and long-sleeved Batman shirt and Batman pajamas and if it was up to him, that’s what he’d wear every single day of his life – all Batman.  He enjoys playing with Batman vehicles (Imaginext toys) and Batman legos.  And he and his brother still love to dress up and of course we have multiple Batman costumes in our dress-up bin!

We made him stop sucking his thumb after his 4th birthday and that has gone relatively well, but as a result, he no longer takes a nap and he doesn’t go straight to sleep at night as easily.  We also have not been able to allow him to share a room with his brother because he does have a harder time going to sleep and he wakes up pretty early.  Most days he is up by 6:30.  This is quite a change from his thumb-sucking days when he would go to sleep in about two minutes whenever it was bedtime and he would easily sleep until 7:30 or 8:00.  Oh well, at least his teeth have already straightened (in the front) significantly.  Some days I must admit I am ready to give him back his thumb!

Parker’s favorite person in the world has to be his big brother.  They fight sometimes, but most of the time they love each other dearly and play with each other quite well.  One of the many downsides to Parker’s early wake times is that he often has to wait up to two hours for Thomas to wake up (at least now during the summer).  He is not accustomed to entertaining himself and has a hard time waiting for his brother to wake up and play with him.  I love watching their relationship and I am so thankful they have each other. 

If I was asked what people say the most about Parker, I would have to say that they comment constantly on his size and his hair.  His curls get a lot of attention (especially from elderly ladies in the grocery store) and just about everyone who has a small child comments on how big he is.  Most do not believe me when I tell them he is four.  At his 4-year WCV, he measured (I think):

44.5 inches tall (literally off the charts)

46 pounds (98th percentile)

His head circumference remained in the 90-something percentile as well.  I frequently get asked if the boys are twins (not that they look all that similar, but I guess because Thomas is only a few inches taller than Parker).   Just for fun, Thomas at Parker’s age was 40.75 inches tall and 38 pounds.   Parker’s shoe size (12.5) is only a half size (or a size, can’t remember) smaller than Thomas’ and he can wear his brother’s clothes; though he generally wears a size smaller. 

My favorite thing about Parker is his loving nature.  He wants to make you happy and if he thinks for a second that he upset, scared, hurt or bothered you, it really bothers him.  He used to just completely break down.  He also loves on our dog so sweetly.  I love to see him go to her in a quiet moment and talk to her or sneak her a treat. 

I cannot believe our baby is four; these years have passed far too quickly.  For all the mornings I wished he’d sleep a little longer, I’m so thankful he is waking up in our house as part of our family.  He is a little love and I love him dearly.  I only hope these next four years don’t pass us by quite so quickly!

Eviction notice

We’ve endured many firsts in our parenting journey--stitches (traditional and glue), a minor fracture, pneumonia, Bells Palsy, nebulizers, food allergies and intolerances, asthma and many other maladies and injuries—but tomorrow will be a first. First real surgery. I am a nervous wreck.

Tomorrow morning Parker will have those monstrous tonsils and adenoids removed. They have been served with their official eviction notice! I know it’s for the best. I know that in the end he will sleep and breathe better, but goodness, the thought of anesthesia and the fact that he has no way of fully understanding what is coming his way just breaks my heart! We’ve told him there will be some pain…but he doesn’t know it’s going to last for so long.

I just have to keep reminding myself it is for the best. His pediatrician, ENT and allergist ALL agree it is necessary, but it’s hard not to keep returning to the fact that he is three and it is SURGERY. Oh, and to make things better this week, Thomas has been sick with a high fever since Tuesday afternoon and it’s taken all that I have just to keep the two of them away from each other since then! Hopefully Thomas will be better soon too! I felt terrible for shipping my sick son off to be with his grandparents, but it was for the best.

Here's Parker talking a little about what is to come...

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Please pray for a successful surgery and a quick and easy-as-it-can-be recovery. Many thanks!

First day of school for Parker!

Today was Parker's first official day of "school"!


He will be going two mornings a week and as I mentioned in a previous post, he has the same teacher(s) that Thomas had for his 2s class. I'm very happy about that.

Parker was a bit nervous about school this morning, but his big brother kept trying to assure him that he was going to have fun.


He was, however, excited about using his bookbag. I think he was so happy because now he has one like his big brother!




As I said, he was a bit skeptical about school and told me more than once that he didn't want to go. But he didn't start crying as soon as he saw his teachers (as he did at the school's open house on Saturday!). I walked him in and we checked everything out together. I tried introducing him to a few of his new friends, and when he started getting a little fussy, I decided it was time to go. He cried and wailed, but I quickly left.

When I returned, he was full of joy to see me. That moment is something I must capture on video because it makes me so happy to see him so thrilled to see me. I know it won't be long before he doesn't want to leave school, just like Thomas! His teacher told me that he had a great day. Apparently every time he started to get a bit upset, the teachers reminded him that I would give him a lollipop if he was good and didn't cry (and it worked!).

We'll see how things continue, but I think his first day was a success!

First school experience

Thomas is at his school every morning this week for camp. His two best buddies are there so he is happy as can be. He runs into his class every morning and never even takes a moment to tell me goodbye. On Monday it was so sweet to see how the other boys were so excited to see him. I remember when Thomas was in his 2s class and some of the other children had obviously bonded, but I didn't feel like Thomas had made any strong friendships. No big deal, he was only two! But last year in his 3s class, he became best, best buddies with two other boys. They were the three musketeers of their class. Everytime they had a class project that asked a question about friends/classmates, each boy ALWAYS answered with the names of the other two. One of his buddies is not actually in his class this week, but they still get enough playtime on the playground and group activities, so they are just thrilled to see each other again.

But that's not the "first" experience I mentioned in the title. Parker will start in his 2s class next month and will go two mornings a week (Thomas will be going four mornings a week...and one of his two buddies will be in his class). To get him ready, I signed him up for a couple "camp" weeks this summer at his school. This week I signed him up for two mornings and this morning was the first. I didn't know what to expect. He always says he wants to go to school and he frequently wanted to stay in Thomas' class last year. BUT, I don't think he wants to do any of this without me or his brother. We can't even get him to stay in the church nursery anymore (unless Thomas stays with him). He just screams bloody murder until the nursery workers relent and send us a page to come get him.

I talked it up to him for a few days and told him how much fun he was going to have. Then this morning after we took Thomas to his class, I told Parker it was time to go to his. He quickly realized I was going to leave and he was not interested. I tried to reassure him, but he just latched on as tightly as he could manage. He wrapped his arms around my neck and his legs around my middle. He was like a little monkey. Then I peeled him off me and handed him to his teacher. He looked at me with a face that nearly brought me to tears and screamed like his world was ending. I didn't get a picture of it, but he looked a bit like this child (only older and not being held by a former president!)















I rushed out the room and listened to him wailing as I walked down the hall. I decided to sit and wait and it was not fun for me or anyone else walking down the hall.

He quieted for a moment and then started up again. The director came out of the office because she had been watching me (and listening). She thought he had stopped, but quickly realized he had not. She told me she'd go check and see if it was possible he wasn't going to be able to stay. I must have waited 10 minutes, but finally she came out and gave me the good news that he had calmed down. Whew. And then I had two hours to myself! :) No, :-D.

When I came to his class for pick-up, he was playing quietly with some other children at a table. As soon as he saw me, his face lit up with a big smile and he rushed over to me. I asked him if he had fun and he said, "Mommy, I want to go home now." We'll see how Thursday goes!

When I picked up Thomas he told me something about how he and his class walked by Parker's room and his teachers told him to tiptoe and be quiet so Parker wouldn't see him. I guess the word was on the streets of his school that Parker was on the edge. Ha ha.

At least we picked a week with ice cream as a theme. Yesterday Thomas and his class made ice cream from scratch. And today the boys enjoyed a visit from the ice cream truck. Parker said he got a red popscicle and Thomas inexplicably got an ice cream sandwich (he hates chocolate, so he said he didn't eat it), even though he told me he had many other interesting choices. I bet that's what his buddies got so he wanted to do the same!

Oh, speaking of firsts, today I signed Thomas up to play soccer in the fall. I can't wait and he really cannot wait. I had to ask him about it to make sure he was interested, and now he asks me about 22 times a day if he gets to play tomorrow. And when I tell him "no," that it's weeks away, he gets very upset. Oh boy. I hope it's all he expects it will be!

"Parker looks just like..."

When Parker was born, I was so surprised by how much he did not look like Thomas! It wasn't long before Trey said he thought Parker looked a lot like him. I agreed.



Smiles like that always reminded me of this picture (below) of Trey as a baby.


I definitely could see the resemblance.


Then Parker's hair all fell out and came back in quite curly. This caused Trey's family to proclaim the resemblance to Parker's grandfather (Trey's dad), who had very curly hair as a baby.


Definitely can see the resemblance there...


But strangely enough, I also heard that he looked a lot like my family as well.


In particular, my dad. Here was my dad as a baby (below).


Sometimes I look at those and I think the resemblance is uncanny. And I'm not sure what it says...does my husband look like my Dad? I digress. :) Definitely similar features...


And as for the hair, my brothers and I all took after our Dad with our curls. This is me and my older brother.


But I think of my brothers and I, Parker looks most like my younger brother, Andrew (at least as a baby). Here is Parker...


And here is Andrew...


Is it just me, or can you see the resemblance?


Parker's hair definitely reminds me of Andrew's as a child (not the best picture of a picture, but hopefully you can see).


So who knows!??! I think sometimes (at least I do this), the more I compare pictures, the more EVERYONE looks alike! I've been collecting these pictures for a long, long time and intending to make this post. I thought it would be fun to share!

Happy birthday Parker!

It's so hard to believe that it has been two years since we held this little newborn:


He hardly even looks like the little (big) boy he is now!

(Not the best picture, but I thought it was good that the expression was similar and the direction is the same)

He is such a ham, and makes it very hard to catch one of his cute smiles on camera, but he does smile all the time.


Sometimes he is a mile a minute, but we manage to keep up.  :)


Happy birthday today to our sweet Park-Park!  I will do a more fitting and complete post later.

15-month WBV

Once again, I'm tardy in posting a monthly update for Parker. I did try to take some pictures of him in his chair yesterday and he was too tired both before and after his nap to give me much more than this:


That's his "I'm tired" pose. He sucks his thumb (of course) on his right hand, while twirling his curls in the back of his head with his left hand. I think it's cute. Trey thinks it's a sign that he really needs a haircut.

So since I don't have the pictures and I'm too tired to compose his update anyway, i thought I would drop off the stats from his 15-month WBV. At 15 months, he measures as follows:
Weight: 24 pounds, 2 ounces (40th percentile)
Height: 38 3/4 inches (70th percentile)

I think those were the right measurements. I actually left the little slip where they wrote it down for me. Oops. His head measured in the 65th percentile. The doctor felt he is doing great developmentally. While he is still not walking, he is definitely progressing in that direction and the doctor felt he was ahead of the curve with his verbal skills. Fine and gross motor skills are great too.

Hopefully, I'll be back with a more in-depth update (with pictures) soon!

More birthday party memories

I forgot to share a picture of the cake for the rest of us folks...


And a few videos too...

Parker tries the cake and gets a bit more brave...


More cake eating. In the background Thomas notices the tiger paw on Sarah Ellen's bloomers and asks us why she has a "hand" on her bottom. It should show below, but I don't think it will... so click here.

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And since Clipshack is taking too long tonight and Dropshots doesn't link well...that's it for tonight!

Parker's first birthday party

Nearly a week ago, Parker turned one and on that day we celebrated his birthday with family, his godfather and his closest friend (Sarah Ellen). It was a beautiful day and Parker was just happy there were balloons!


Parker loves balloons! He tries to say "balloon" and says it so well that I'd have to call it one of the few words he "says."


I picked the invites first and they featured a monkey face (well, one peeking up from the bottom), and then the only/best option I could find for an outfit for Parker had monkeys on it, but it was orange gingham. As a lifetime Gamecock fan, it took me a bit of effort to get over my orange aversion, but I decided it was silly and Parker would look cute in orange regardless. So, orange, green and blue became the colors for the party!



I was so pleased with Publix for the cakes! I had planned to do little monkey cupcakes myself, but after Thomas' birthday two weeks prior, I decided to leave it to the pros. For Parker's cake, they really copied the monkey on the invite quite well!

It was a gorgeous day and first we enjoyed a yummy lunch outside...






While we ate, we put the "babies" (Parker, cousin Eliza and Sarah Ellen) in a little pool with balls. It worked well at entertaining them for a little while!


They seemed to enjoy it...


Though it did seem that at least one was trying to make a break for it at all times...


We had to keep Thomas out of there, but eventually he took to entertaining the crowd with his funny stories...


Eventually Parker decided he wanted to make a break for it and eat some cake...


When I first put him in the chair he started fussing (I think he wanted to be back with his buddies), so I gave him a couple balls to keep him happy. Well, then he held on to one of those things like it was his life support. I realized after he had been trying out the cake for a few minutes that he was still firmly holding one of them in his hand. Funny (you'll notice it in all of these first pics).


He was very, very unsure of this cake thing. He immediately stuck his finger in the monkey's eye (not sure what that's all about), and not long after getting a bit on his hands, he just wanted me to wipe off his hands. His brother tried to encourage him...


But he just couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do with it...

(Notice the dog hanging out, hoping for a few crumbs, I'm sure!)

Finally, since he was getting a tiny bit upset, I cut a small piece and encouraged him to eat it. I think I ended up just sticking it in his mouth a little bit. And there it stayed for a moment...


Then finally he seemed to get the hang of it...




And then he said, "Enough!"




At Thomas' first birthday, his cake was completely smashed and totally unrecognizable once he was finished with it. We had to take it away for fear that he would, in fact, eat the whole thing. Parker, on the other hand, tired rather quickly and we took it away so he'd stop fussing. And in the end, the cake was very much intact (relatively speaking, that is. See the recent post about Thomas on his third birthday for a picture of his first cake). :)


The big kids took their turn in the balls (that is Addie, Parker's godfather's daughter) since the Jeep wasn't working...


And then a sure sign that it's time for naps...babies with their thumbs/fingers in their mouths. Parker and his cousin, Eliza, compared fingers and curls...


The cousins enjoyed some time with their grandparents, but clearly looked ready for bed!.

A rare attempt at a family photo is probably better timed then sometime other than right before naptime. The end result is two smiley parents and two not-smiling kiddos.


After naptime (and after dinner, actually) we let Parker (with the help of Thomas) open his gifts...




Yes, after dinner.... Unfortunately I didn't realize until after I had been snapping pictures that he had a bit of black bean in this eyebrow...


He pulls himself to standing all the time now, but this was the first time he stood up in this direction like this:


He was kind of in a daze until he opened the drum... He loved that (and so did his brother! His parents...not so much. :-) ).






Thank you to everyone who made his first birthday such a special day. It's so hard to believe that a year has passed so very quickly. I feel so very blessed to have these two wonderful children and I cannot imagine not having them in my life.