Five Years Old

Parker-
Today you are turning FIVE!!!  That means you get to hold up every finger on one hand when someone asks you how old you are!  I'm not sure why this birthday seems so much bigger and more grown up to me...maybe because you will be starting kindergarten soon...but I feel like you are reaching a huge milestone today.  I remember after you were born thinking that five years seemed so far away, yet here we are, lighting five candles on your cake, and it feels like only a few days have passed since you were entering our lives.  What a joy you are!  You are always putting a smile on our faces and we never know what you will come up with next!  Here are some of the things that I always want to remember about you as you turn five:
-You continue to be one of the tallest kids in your class.  I can't wait to see how much you've grown at your checkup next week.

-You are still strong willed but I feel like we have gotten a pretty good handle on it.  We went through a rough few weeks at the beginning of this year where you regressed back to throwing lots of fits, but you finally realized that mommy and daddy were not going to allow them and, for the most part, they have stopped. 

-You are ALL BOY!  You love cars, sports (especially baseball), Nerf guns, fighting big guys, building with blocks (and knocking them down), riding your four wheeler, and throwing rocks.  The only two boyish things that you have never shown much interest in are trains and bugs/frogs.

-You are so ready for kindergarten next year.  You love school and love to learn.  You have started reading some very easy, predictable books.  Watching you learn to read is probably one of the most exciting milestones I've experienced with you yet. 

-You love your sisters. You are (usually) very sweet to them and play so well with them (as long as you are the boss and they are doing what you tell them to do!).

-You are obsessed with poop and toots and I am constantly having to tell you to stop the potty talk!  Because I grew up in a house full of girls, this is completely foreign to me.  I am pretty sure it is a normal boy thing but I am hoping it ends soon.

-You taught yourself to whistle last week which I thought was quite impressive. 

-You love to color and draw and your favorite thing to draw is a treasure map.

-Your favorite color is still yellow, your favorite food is still spaghetti, and your favorite book is still your Bible stories book.

-You still love to play video games but we recently had to take them away completely because you kept throwing fits when we told you to turn them off.  We still haven't decided if or when we will let you earn them back.

-One thing that I love about you is the passion that you have for everything.  At times this is a good thing and at times it is not so good, but I know that this is going to be one of your greatest assets in your life.

I am so thankful for you, Parker, and can't imagine life without you.  You bring so much fun, laughter, joy, and drama into our family.  I am so proud to call you my son. I hope that you will never doubt how much you are loved both by Mommy/Daddy and, most importantly, God.  I pray that you have a lot of success as you start this next phase in your life and look forward to all of the changes that lie ahead. 
I love you to the moon and back, Mommy

Happy 5th Birthday, Parker!

Happy Birthday to the coolest 5 year old I know!!!

We love you, Parker, and can't wait to celebrate you today!

Problem Solved

Lily has entered that stage that every parent hates: the I-can-do-it-myself stage.  She wants so badly to do things without my assistance, just like her big brother and sister.  One thing that I am constantly battling with her about is holding my hand while she is walking.  She loves walking instead of being carried, but refuses to hold my hand, which results in me carrying an unhappy toddler.  Not fun at all. 

Sunday at Wal.Mart, I had a lightbulb moment.  Lily loves her big brother and wants to copy everything he does.  After Parker took Cory's hand in the parking lot, I asked Lily to hold Parker's hand.  Without a fight, she instantly reached up, took his hand, and didn't let go until we were inside. 
Problem solved!  Think of all the fights I could have avoided if I had only thought of that sooner!

Like Father, Like Daughter

This weekend, Eden got a new pair of sunglasses to wear this summer.  When we went into Target, I realized she had put them in her shirt, which is exactly what Cory does when he's not using his sunglasses!

Yesterday, she put them on top of her head, which is exactly what I do when I'm not using mine!

It's funny how kids pick up on our mannerisms without us even knowing it. What a reminder that little eyes are ALWAYS watching our every move!

(On a side note- Eden's hair is finally long enough to put into an itty bitty ponytail.  I think it is one of the cutest things I have ever seen!)

Do You Look Like Your Dog?

Remember this sweet picture of Eden and Brinkley?

Well, apparently both of my girls enjoy trying to make themselves resemble their favorite furry friend!  Lily even thought it would be fun for her and Brinkley to have matching smiles!!

They always say people look like their pets.  Maybe I should think about entering them in the Do You Look Like Your Dog? contest!!

18 Months Old

My sweet Lily,
How on earth are you turning 18 months old today?  It seems like just yesterday that I was finding out I was pregnant with you.  My, how time flies when you are having fun!  Here are the things I always want to remember about you at this stage in your life:

-You are still a big girl!  You wear size 6 diapers and size 2T clothes.  You have already outgrown ALL of Eden's clothes from the summer that she was 18 months old.  Luckily, Aubrey was in 2T clothes last summer or I would be buying you a completely new wardrobe!  I can't wait to see how much you weigh at your appointment in a couple of weeks.

 -Your personality seems to be a perfect mixture of Parker and Eden.  You are easy going like Eden but can definitely be strong willed and stubborn like Parker.  You are also very funny and keep us laughing with the things you do.

-You are still learning lots of new words and can usually, with words and gestures, always get your point across.  You are a girl who knows what she wants, and if it is something out of your reach, you motion for us to follow you and lead us to whatever you want.  

(You love candy, especially the kind that melts all over your face!)

-You are finally starting to be much better about playing on your own, although you still love for mommy to sit and play with you.  Your favorite toy that you always choose first is the shape sorter.  You are also finally getting big enough that Parker and Eden want to include you in their play.

-You love music and love to dance!  Anytime you hear music, you immediately start moving to the beat!  When I was pregnant with you, I would turn on Pandora on my phone, put my phone on my belly, and let you listen to music while I worked on the computer.  I did this almost every day of your pregnancy and I often wonder if this is one of the reasons you love music so much!

-You love to be outside.  You are constantly pointing to the door and saying "ou-si".  You love to swing and have recently learned how to climb the ladder on the swing set all by yourself.  You still do not like to slide without me close by.

-You are a pretty good eater and will always try new things.  You are very independent and do not want anyone helping you eat, which makes for some very messy meals.  Your favorites are fruits and vegetables and you are not a huge fan of meat and cheese.  Just like your daddy and Eden, you LOVE sweets! 

-You are a great sleeper at night (8pm-7am) and take one nap in the afternoon that usually lasts about 1 1/2 hours.

-You are a momma's girl and have been very generous lately with your hugs and kisses.  The one drawback to this is that you are so jealous of Eden and HATE when I hold her or let her sit in my lap.  We are really working on sharing our time with mommy!

-You LOVE to color and could spend hours scribbling with crayons and markers.  You can already hold your crayon the correct way.  I wonder if you will be our artistic child.  By the way that you love to color on mommy's walls and floors, I would think so!  I guess only time will tell!

I know I say this all the time, but you are the perfect completion to our family!  I love the little girl that you are becoming and can't wait to watch you grow over the next 6 months.  I feel very lucky to be your mom!

I love you to the moon and back, Mommy

Let's Go Rangers

Thursday we took Parker and Eden to the Rangers game.  Parker has been going with us the past two years, but this is the first year that Eden has been big enough to join us.  Parker was so excited that she finally got to come with us and has been telling her all about what to expect at the game.

We could not have asked for a more perfect day for the game.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and by the second inning, our seats were in the shade. 

Eden has been so excited about the game, but since she is not that interested in watching baseball on TV at home, I wasn't sure how she would last for a three hour game.  My fears came true when she started asking in the second inning if the game was over and if it was time to leave.  Luckily, the nachos we got her for lunch kept her busy for an inning or two!

Parker spotted the cotton candy vendor within minutes of arriving at our seats but we told him that they had to wait until after lunch to get some.  As soon as his nachos were finished, he started looking for another vendor.  They were both in heaven when we finally found one- I think it was the only picture I got of Eden actually smiling!

One funny Eden story from the game-
At one point during the game, Ian Kinsler came up to bat.  Several fans in the section next to us started chanting over and over again, "Let's go Ian!".  I could see Eden watching them and after a few moments I realized that she thought they were saying, "Let's go Eden!".  She was so excited that they were cheering for her that I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth!

And it wouldn't be an outing without a Parker story-
When the opposing team has a pitching change, they play a little cartoon on the Jumbo tron of a pitcher getting booted out of the game by a player wearing a huge pair of boots.  Parker has always HATED this cartoon.  He named the player Bootsy Boots, and he has been telling Eden for weeks about how much she is going to hate Bootsy Boots too.  Sure enough, in the middle of the game, they had a pitching change and the cartoon started to play.  Parker became scared to death.  He buried his head in my lap and was literally shaking until it was over.  We still can't figure out why he is so scared of this silly little cartoon.  Eden, on the other hand, was laughing and saying, "I like Bootsy Boots!".

We had so much fun with the kids!  They both did a great job and lasted all 9 innings.  And to make it even better, the Rangers won 5-3!  I can't wait to take them to another game soon! 

Gone Fishin'

Last weekend, Heath and Jewell came over and we all went fishing in the pond behind our house.  We went fishing a couple of months ago with Addison and Aubrey but didn't catch anything.  Within minutes, Heath had caught a huge fish.  The kids were so excited, but unfortunately, our luck ended there.  The kids all tried so hard to be patient but the fish just weren't biting.  Maybe it was the rocks that kept being thrown into the water or the fact that they took their lines in and out of the water every 30 seconds, but Heath's fish was the only one we caught all day. 

After about 20 minutes, the kid's patience was gone.  They abandoned their poles and were off to throw rocks in the pond.  They had so much fun together and even though the didn't catch anything, I definitely think they had a great time fishing!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

The kids woke up on Easter morning to see what the Easter Bunny had left in their baskets.  We didn't talk at all about the Easter Bunny this year.  In fact, the kids didn't even know anything about him coming until I remembered at bedtime that we needed to leave our baskets out for him.  They were very excited when they woke up and realized that they had some fun things in their baskets and that the eggs that we had left out had been filled and hidden around the living room. 

After they looked in their baskets, they went on a hunt to find the hidden eggs.  Parker found most of them but the girls didn't seem to mind.

They were most excited about the money that they found in the eggs.  They each got a special egg with a dollar in it.  They decided to combine their money from Granna/Granstan's egg hunt and Easter morning to buy a toy at Wal.Mart later that day.  Eden picked a Barbie doll and Parker picked a car. 

I think this wraps up all of our Easter 2012 festivities.  It was a great week with lots of memories!

FUMC Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday was the annual FUMC Easter egg hunt.  It is the only public egg hunt that we attend for two reasons: 1) my mom takes the girls to their toddler program every Wednesday morning so we know the children's director and several of the kids that come and 2) it is less crowded than many of the other ones around town. 

I almost chickened out and didn't take the kids this year.  Usually my mom or sister comes along with me to help out, but this year they were both busy.  That meant that if we were going to go, I was going to have to take all three of my unpredictable under-the-age-of-5 children by myself.  This was also the first year that Parker and Eden were in different hunting groups so that also meant sending Parker off to hunt without me.  I was fine with that but wasn't sure how he would react to not having me there.  At the last minute, I got brave, put on my SuperMommy backpack/diaper bag, dressed the girls in matching dresses so I could keep track of them easier, and we headed off to the hunt. 

I am not sure why I was ever worried because all three kids did GREAT!!!  I couldn't believe how smoothly everything went.  Parker found a friend from preschool to hunt with and didn't even care that I wasn't around to watch him hunt his eggs.  Luckily, his group was fairly close to Eden/Lily's group so I could keep my eye on him the whole time. 

Before the hunt, the children's director asked that the parents not pick up the eggs for the toddlers, which was fine for Eden but not fine for Lily- she still needs LOTS of help.  Luckily, the daughter of one of the teachers from my school was there to help any of the kids who needed it.  She was so sweet to Lily and took her around to hunt eggs.  I think Lily only ended up with a total of 5 eggs but she didn't seem to notice at all!

I tried to get a good picture of all three kids but the sun was bright and we forgot Parker's sunglasses at home.  This was the best that I could get.  From the way he was complaining about the sun, I'm pretty sure that Parker's eyes might have fallen out if I'd made him stand there any longer!

After the hunt, we enjoyed a hot dog lunch provided by the church.  Not to pat myself on the back, but I got all four of us lunch and made it through the entire meal without any major catastrophes.  The kids begged me to play on the playground for a few minutes after lunch, and since they had done such a good job during our outing, I just couldn't say no. 

Even though our egg hunt was very successful, I was reminded that taking three little ones anywhere by yourself is hard work.  But in the end, making fun memories with Parker, Eden, and Lily was completely worth it and I am glad that I decided to take them.

Easter with Granna and Granstan

Thursday night we had an early Easter celebration at Granna and Granstan's house.  Aunt MerMer worked on Friday and Easter Sunday and Uncle Jon was on shift on Saturday, so Thursday was the only night we could all be together.  The kids didn't care- they would hunt eggs on July 4th if we let them!

After a great dinner, the kids enjoyed a special treat from Granna/Granstan before heading outside to hunt eggs.

Lily was excited about her new flip flops until she realized that there was candy in one of the bunnies.  That girl has a one track mind when it comes to food, and especially when it comes to candy!

Each of the kids had 12 eggs to find with their name on them.  The only one who needed a little help was Lily.  I couldn't believe how excited they got when they found one of their eggs, especially when they discovered there were coins in the eggs. 

Last year, Lily was not even crawling so this was her first year to hunt eggs.  She did a pretty good job as long as someone pointed out the egg that she needed to pick up.  She has definitely inherited Parker's enthusiasm and passion for things.  She would get so excited and ooh and aah every time she picked up an egg!

After all the eggs were found, the kids couldn't wait to see how much money they had in their eggs.

Baby Ryan didn't do a lot of hunting this year but he sure enjoyed watching the big kids hunt.  I'm pretty sure he was already thinking about his egg hunting game plan for next year! 

As always, it was great to spend Easter with my family, even if it was a few days early.  I am so thankful that God has blessed me with a family that I love and enjoy so much!