AWANAs Award Banquet

Last night was Parker's last night of AWANAs at church.  This was his first year to participate in AWANAs and he has done a great job memorizing his Bible verses every week.  He loves to go on Wednesday night and was excited about receiving his first Cubbies award.  He was so proud of his certificate of completion.

The biggest surprise of the night came when they made a special announcement for Cubbie of the Year.  They honored the one Cubbie who had finished their book, had great attendance, and a great attitude.  We were shocked when they called Parker up on stage to receive this special award.  Cory and I were so proud of him and he could not wait to show everyone his new trophy!  Way to go, Parker!

We are so thankful for his teachers, Miss Suellen and Miss Mandy, for all of the time and effort they put into making Cubbies so much fun every week.  Parker had such a great year and learned so much!

Brotherly Love

Parker can be quite an annoyance to his sisters at times, but usually he is loving, caring, helpful and thoughtful.  A few weeks ago, he came home from Awanas so excited because he had gotten an extra piece of candy for doing a good job.  He had chosen Smarties because he knew it was Eden's favorite.  As soon as he got home, he begged me to let him sneak into her room (she was already asleep) and put it on her chair so that it would be waiting for her when she woke up the next morning. 

The next morning he woke up earlier than normal and ran to my room to ask if Eden had found her candy yet.  As soon as she appeared, he led her back to her room to give her the surprise he had left her.  She was thrilled and even shared her candy with him.  (Yes, I let them eat candy before breakfast that day.  How could I not?  They were both so excited about it.) 

I was so proud of how thoughtful Parker was.  I love watching the big brother/little sister relationship develop between them.  I know things will not always be perfect but I hope the bond they are developing now will last well into their teenage years and even into adulthood.  I always wanted a big brother to look out for me and am so thankful that Eden and Lily will have Parker to lead the way for them.

The funniest part of this story is that when I asked Eden who had left the candy on her chair, she excitedly exclaimed, "SANTA!!!!".  I guess in her little three year old mind Santa is the only one who has ever left her a present while she was sleeping!  Don't worry...we made sure that Parker got credit for his thoughtful deed after we stopped rolling on the floor laughing!

WTS Program Videos

Here are two of the videos from last nights performance.  The first one is Eden's class singing "Old McDonald Had a Farm".  It is hard to watch.  I want to rush up there and give her a great BIG hug as soon as the tears start flowing. 

The second video is the entire preschool singing several songs.  It is kind of long and I am only posting this for my sisters who were not able to come last night.  Last night, I was so worried about Eden that I didn't pay much attention to Parker.  As I was watching this tonight, I was so proud to realize that he is the one on the back row singing so loudly, doing all the motions, and... picking his nose.  Such a proud mommy moment for me!  Enjoy Aunt MerMer and Aunt Emily!  We missed you last night!

WTS Program/Graduation

Last night was Parker and Eden's end of the year program/graduation at Thursday school. Each class sang a song and then the entire preschool sang several songs together before presenting the graduates their "diplomas". 

Parker's class recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang two songs about going to kindergarten.  They were very cute and he did a great job!

Next up was Eden's class.  Just to give you a little background on Eden- she has always hated singing.  She also hates when other people sing.  She will usually tell me "no" or "stop" when I start tuning up.  One of my biggest desires was that she would learn a few songs and enjoy singing them this year in preschool.  About three weeks ago, we were driving to meet my sister for dinner when my mom and I realized that Eden was in the back seat singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".  I have never felt so happy and proud.  Over the last few weeks, I have caught her several times singing songs that she learned in preschool.  She will even join with me now when I sing "Jesus Loves Me" to her at bedtime. 

I knew that Eden would more than likely not sing a word at her program, and I was perfectly fine with that.  All I wanted was for her to get up on stage with her class without throwing a fit.  That would be a successful program for me.

Her class sang "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and she was one of the pigs.  She talked all week about holding up her pig picture during the song and even seemed a little excited about it.  I was thrilled when Eden walked up on stage with her friends and the music began without any tears from her.  The cows sang their verse and then it was the pig's turn.  As soon as she realized the spotlight was on her group, the tears started flowing.  Not loud, fit throwing tears, just scared-out-of-my-mind-and-I'm-going-to-cry-quietly-so-hopefully-no-one-will-notice-me tears.  It was heart wrenching.  I wanted so badly to run up on the stage and rescue her, but she finally made it through the song and a teacher picked her up to console her. 

I was shocked when she joined all the classes on stage for the group singing.  She did not utter a sound, of course, but she stood there without crying.  Hopefully, she will outgrow her stage fright by the time her next program rolls around, but seeing as how she is just like me when I was three, I don't have much hope! 

After all the songs were sung (or heard, in Eden's case!), it was time to "graduate".  They announced all of the kids going to kindergarten next year and presented them with a diploma and a backpack that had a Bible in it.  Parker has been carrying or wearing that backpack all day today and we have been reading and rereading lots of his favorite Bible stories.  It was a perfect ending to a great final year of preschool.

Parker and Eden both had such wonderful teachers this year.  Ms. Donna was encouraging and patient with Parker and Ms. Debbie was loving and nurturing to Eden.  It was exactly what each of them needed.  They made some special friends and lots of wonderful memories.  I am really sad to see it come to an end this Thursday but so thankful for another wonderful year!

Bicycle Safety Day

Last week at Parker's preschool, they had Bicycle Safety Day.  The kids got to bring their bikes and learn about bicycle safety rules.  Parker has a bicycle but chose to bring his Hot Wheels instead.  They were put in groups of three and rode their bikes through a safety course that taught them about the different street signs that they might see when riding their bikes.  The weather was great and Parker enjoyed getting to ride around with his friends.

A Few More Birthday Pics

I know that Parker's birthday was over a week ago, but it was a busy week and I just didn't get around to posting the last few pics of his birthday that I wanted to.  In fact, May is going to be extremely busy (there are only 2 days on my May calendar right now that don't have at least one thing to do) so my posting might be pretty scarce for the next few weeks.

Anyway, the night before Parker's birthday, Granna and Granstan came over to give Parker his gift.  We knew his party would be chaotic and I wanted him to enjoy opening his present from them.  They gave him a sack full of fun SpiderMan things, including a cool hat, swimsuit, stickers, and sprinkler.  He's already enjoyed playing in the sprinkler this week!

On Parker's actual birthday, Granna made him special pancakes for breakfast before he headed off to preschool.  He was so excited about them!

That night, we let him open his presents from us.  He had to wait until Cory got home from work to open them and I seriously thought he wasn't going to make it.  I'm pretty sure he made me call Cory 573 times to ask him what time he would be home.  He just could not wait to see what was in those wrapped boxes!  After presents, we took him to eat at his favorite Mexican restaurant, Barrera's, where he ate his weight in "chips and cheese".  That boy could live on chips and queso if we let him!  It was a fun day celebrating our special five year old!!! 

Parker's Spider-Man Party

Saturday we had Parker's Spider.Man themed birthday party at a local bounce house place called Jumpin' Apes.  This is the first time that we have not had a birthday party at our house, but I thought turning 5 deserved something extra special, and I have to admit that I loved it!  No making sure my house is spotless before the guests arrive and more importantly, no cleaning up after the party is over. 
Parker has been so excited about his party but I have to admit, I was a little worried about our chosen venue.  Jumpin' Apes can be crazy busy on the weekends with wall to wall kids- most of them bigger than Parker and his friends.  I called on Friday to confirm our party and they told me that there was only one other party booked for Saturday.  When we arrived on Saturday to set up, I could hardly believe our luck. The place was nearly empty and we had the entire place almost to ourselves.  I could not have planned it better if I had tried.

Parker was beyond excited, especially when he walked in and saw a few of his friends that were already there.  He immediately took off running and jumping and I do not think he stopped for two hours.  This is also the first party that I have allowed him to invite someone to his party that is not a cousin or really close family friend.  He was thrilled that a few of his friends from preschool were able to come.

When it came time for cake and presents, Parker became horribly shy and hid in my mom's shirt while we sang to him.  He finally got brave enough to blow out his candles before enjoying not one, but TWO birthday cupcakes! 

This year, I decided to change things up a little bit and make a cupcake cake rather than a traditional sheet cake.  I thought it turned out great and the cupcakes were quite a hit, especially with my three kiddos!

Parker got a lot of fun new things for his birthday.  We are so thankful to all of our sweet family and friends for spoiling him on his special day!

After cake and presents, they were off to jump some more.  Parker was so tired by the time we left, but I know he had a great time celebrating with his friends.  Happy Birthday Parker! I still can't believe you are FIVE!!!

 A huge thanks to my sisters and parents who helped me tremendously during the party either by taking pictures or watching Lily so that I could focus on the birthday boy!  I couldn't have done it without you!