Parker Progress & A Proud Momma

Parker started daycare back in August at 20 months old.  Although we were so blessed to have his grandparents watch him for so long, it was a mistake to start him so late I think.  I know with the 2^nd one (if God blesses us with a 2nd one) we will start him/her a lot earlier.  For 6 LONG
months Parker cried EVERY.SINGLE.DAY when I dropped him off AND when I picked him up.  It was heart-wrenching to say the least.  For the first 4 months, Parker was in the “1’s” room.  Although I was not happy with the teacher and her lack of engagement with the kids, I knew he was in a safe place, so I held out hope that he will be moved to the “2’s” room soon enough and just maybe he will have a better experience.  In the “1’s” room, every time I picked Parker up in the afternoon all the kids were just roaming around doing nothing educational and nothing fun.  My sister-in-law would peak in on him in around lunch time and would report back to me on how Parker was doing.  Same thing…. Lots of roaming.  No wonder he hated the place, he wasn’t engaged!  On top of that, the “1’s” room is so very small and there wasn’t a whole lot to do.  I was also not happy because I stopped getting notes on what and how he was doing each day.  For the first 2 weeks or so, I got at least a few sentences on what went on each day in that teeny tiny room, but once Parker wasn’t considered “new” anymore, the notes stopped coming home.  I had NO idea what his day looked like, and that made me mad!

               Picture Day at School.  This was a BAD day. We like to call this his mug shot.

                               My SIL captured this little gem one day.  Happy? I think not.

Then came November, I went to pick Parker up one afternoon and to my surprise he was moved to the 2’s room.  What?!?  Nobody told me he was going to be moved, but a sigh of relief came over me that maybe, just maybe, he will have a better experience in this room.  They said did great that day! Happy momma!  And notes! I was receiving notes EVERY.SINGLE.DAY on what the class learned and did each day.  It was awesome.  On top of that, his new teacher, Ms. Tessa, is A-MAZING.  She is new, young, vibrant, fun, and entertaining.  In addition to all of those great qualities, she is well educated with a college degree and is even trying to get certified as a teacher.  I had such a good feeling about her right from the start.  I don’t know what it was, but I knew she and Parker would just fit well together.  Well, about 2 months went by and he was still crying when I dropped him off on Mondays and Tuesdays, but was pretty much okay on Wednesdays.  Ms. Tessa always said he was perfectly fine after I left.  Yes, I still had to hand him over to her every morning, whereas the other kids just walked happily to the table and sat down, but I was okay with it, and was actually happy because even though he cried when I left, he was happy when I picked him up and I was actually bring stuff home!  Notes everyday on what he did and… art projects! Nobody told me how much momma’s LOVE art projects! 

Then came last week.  A change of heart one might say.  Parker all of a sudden stopped crying when I dropped him off.  Last Tuesday, we walked in, put his stuff in his cubby, and my little boy happily walked over to the table, sat down, and waited patiently for his breakfast to be served.  What!?! Who is this little boy?  Where is the sad crying little man that I know and love?  No longer was it baby Parker.  He is definitely a big boy now.  And I am such a proud momma.  That morning, I got in my car and immediately texted my mother-in-law and Matt and told them the great news.  Then, the day got even better…. When I picked him up that afternoon I was able to sneak in without him seeing me.  All the kids and Ms. Tessa were holding hands in a circle and singing “ring around the rosie”.  Parker was joyfully screaming out of excitement and was having the time of his life.  BEST.MOMENT.EVER. I still picture that moment in my head and a huge smile comes across my face.  It was so amazing to see him having so much fun.  I mean, they told me that he’s been happy there, but this was the first time in 6 months that I actually witnessed it.  Now every day when I pick him up he gives Ms. Tessa I huge “bye bye” hug before we leave.  He LOVES her!  I seriously don’t know what we will do when she is not his teacher anymore.  I pray pray pray she moves up with the kids when it’s time to change classrooms.  She is simply the best. 
I brought my phone in this morning so I could capture his "big boyness".  Happy little guy....

It's like he's saying... "Don't worry, mom, I got this".......

The Greatest Love Of All....

Grandparents.  From the time Parker was born they have been nothing short of perfection.  Matt and I are so blessed to have amazing parents on both sides.  Who in turn have become the most loving, supportive, helpful, and incredible grandparents to Parker.  The love between the grandmothers and Parker began early on.  My mom and mother-in-law came over to help me just about every day I was on maternity leave.  God.Bless.Them.   They fed him, rocked him, and fell in love him instantly.  Don’t get me wrong, the grandfathers loved him just as much when he was itty bitty, but their love for each other didn’t ignite until around the time Parker became mobile.  At that point, their love was so obvious.  And that is where the obsession began.  Parker’s grandmothers soon became “chop liver” (as my MIL likes to call it) in comparison to his grandfathers.  Once I went back to work after maternity leave, we were so lucky that our parents offered to keep Parker full time for a year and half.  As you can imagine, this is a huge task for his grandparents...  Let’s face it; they are not spring chickens anymore. Ha!  They did such a great job for that 1 and a half years, but at 20 months old, it was time for Parker to start socializing with people younger than 60.  Haha!  So, to daycare he went!  He currently goes 3 days a week, but still gets some TLC from his grandparents 2 days a week (1 day with each set). It is truly the perfect situation. 

My mom has said since the day Parker was born that she had no idea how much she could have loved a grandchild.  She has always said she never understood why grandparents would rave about their grandkids.  Well she now knows the greatest love of all…. The love between a grandchild and a grandparent.  It is indescribable. 

My biggest wish in life is that Parker will continue to grow up with his grandparents in his life.  I never met my grandfathers, and I certainly want Parker to remember his (and of course his grandmothers too).  So, God, if you are listening…. I pray for my parents and in-laws to live for many many more years to come, so Parker can be as blessed as Matt and I were and still are. Thank you. Amen.

Here are some quotes I love:

Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.  ~Welsh Proverb

Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting.  ~Author Unknown

Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete.  ~Marcy DeMaree

The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent.  ~Sam Levenson

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.  Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.  ~Alex Haley

Relief...

Matt and I took the day off on Friday for Parker's ear tube surgery.  Parker has had about 4 ear infections and constant fluid in his ears for about 2 months, so the doctor FINALLY recommended this procedure.  I was so happy that he was going to have this done, and finally feel some relief in his little ears.  I had tubes when I was little, as have so many of my friend's kids, that I really wasn't nervous at all.  The doctor described Parker's hearing as it being "muffled" and like he was hearing under water. Poor guy.  So, we got to the surgical center at 7:45 a.m.  Then we got Parker dressed in this cute little purple gown and cute surgery socks... which HE HATED... who can blame him though... he was wearing a purple gown!  He eventually calmed down, but then FREAKED out again when the nurses took him from me to take him back for surgery.  Poor little guy was crying out for "mama" as they walked away from us.  Matt was sweet, and comforted me as I shed a few tears.  Not 10 minutes later, the doctor came out to tell us everything went great! Ahhhh, relief! The doc said that he had sucked a lot of thick mucus out of Parker's ears, and his hearing should be so much better.  Ahhh, another sigh of relief.  Then we were allowed to go back and see my groggy drunken little man.  Oh he was so sweet and so cuddly.... and so thirsty too.  Matt go a video of him post-op that I think is just so dang cute that I have to post so I can re-watch it later in life. 

Pre-surgery Snuggles 

                                                                  Post-Op Cuddles

Post-Op Grogginess....



By the time we got home Friday morning, Parker was back to his normal silly self.  Poppie and Grammie brought over a sweet "get well" pirate ship present.  However, we already have the pirate ship, so Matt, Parker, and I jumped in the car and heading over to Target to exchange it for something else.  We ended up getting him playdough.  My friend, Christine's, little boy loves playdough, so I thought we'd give it a shot.  Outcome... successful! Parker LOVES playing with it.  So thank you Nannie and Poppie for another new Parker obsession!

           We spent the rest of our weekend with lots of snuggles and kisses.  And mohawk making....



Obsessions

Parker has some new obsessions lately.  Here are just a few...

Drawing! This kid is obsessed with drawing on his new easel he got from Grammie for his birthday.  He would draw all day if we let him.  Unfortunately, this activity has to be supervised for obvious reasons, so we keep this easel out of site in the garage, and bring it in about every other day for him to enjoy.  He loves for mommy and daddy to draw things too.  His most popular requests for us to draw are: "Bowwow" (dog), "kitty", "Dada", "Mama", "Parker", Spiders, "Papa".

Outside! This boy is obsessed with being "outside".  Too bad it's been so cold out or we would venture out there more often.  We live in an awesome cul-de-sac were there are tons of kids to play with.  His all time favorite friend is "VJ".  VJ is 7 years old, and absolutely loves Parker.  He is so good with him, and it is so sweet to watch.  Our neighbor Ethan is about 3 1/2 and likes to play with Parker too.  We have a lot more neighbors with kids, but these are the ones he sees most frequently.  I'm posting a video that VJ insisted on taking.  It's pretty funny if you know the kid.  He is a hoot!

                                             VJ teaching Parker how to ride a scooter

                                         
                                                                  Ethan and Parker

                                                                      VJ's Video

Vacuums!  I wish I loved to clean as this boy does! Thank you Aunt Molly for giving Parker his own vacuum for his birthday.  He is ob-sessed with it!

ChooChoos! I made the mistake over Christmas break by taking him to the mall and on the choo choo train.  Now he expects it EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. we go to the mall.  I was so embarrassed the first time we rode the train because #1) we were the ONLY people on the train #2) everyone at the mall had to move out of the way for the train to go by.  Parker made up for it by waving at everyone as we went by. He's lucky he's cute!
                                                              Riding the Choo Choo

Lolipops! So we have a drawer in our kitchen that is filled with dum dum lolipops.  Parker's favorite is the "BLUUUE" ones.  He only gets 1 a day (after a meal) if that.  And boy does he throw a fit when I tell him no. 

Cheersing! Dada taught Parker how to "cheers" to each other, so of course, now Parker is obsessed with cheersing.  He also like to "cheers" lolipops with his mama when she has a lolipop too.  Here is Parker cheersing himself. So freaking cute.

His Grandpas! Last, but certainly not least, are his "Papa" (my dad) and "Poppie" (Matt's dad).  Parker is OBSESSED with his grandfathers. And I mean OBSESSED.  Yes, he absolutely LOVES his grandmothers, and goes to them to be fed, cuddled, nurtured, snuggled, and if he gets hurt, but other than that he has to be right by his grandfather's sides at all times.  Matt and I are so blessed to have such amazing parents (on both sides) who have become unbelievable grandparents.  We can only dream to be as good as parents as they were to us, and hope to live up to their grandparent status one day.  We seriously don't know what we would do without all their help, love, and support. 

                                                    Papa teaching Parker about tools

Poppie and P having fun with bubbles

Well, here I go....

I've decided it's time I start a blog.  Not that I think anyone cares what I have to say or what is going on in Parker's life, but honestly, this is just my way to keep up with all that my beautiful son does.  So this is basically my place to jot down funny stories and milestones and everyday happenings in my life (aka - Parker's life).  I know I'm a little late with this, but my boy just turned 2, so better late than never, right?.  I haven't been keeping up with his baby book as much I thought I would, so this will have to do.

2 Years Old!

I cannot believe my baby boy is now 2 years old.  He is the most amazing little man I know, and he completely controls me! Ha!
At 2 years old Parker is...

• Saying around 50 words.  I know, I know, he is so behind in talking, but he has made so much progress over the last 2 months that I'm starting to believe that he will be ok and is just a late talker. 
• Climbs on EVERYTHING... tables, dog crate, shelves, window seals, tv stand.  You name it. He's climbed it!
• Thinks it's funny to call Matt and I by name... Seriously, he sometimes calls us "Matt" and "Mayme (aka Amy)" to get our attention.  He only says "Mayme" when he frustrated with me or I am not giving into what he wants.
• He is OBSESSED with his mamma.  At home, I am the only one that he allows to change his diaper, play with him, feed him, bath him, etc.  It can be suffocating, but I sure do love him, so I deal.
• He has an incredible memory. It.amazes.me.
• He is starting to learn his colors.  He can say and identify "blue, pink, and yellow".
• Can correctly identify almost any animal you can think of.
• He refuses to nap at daycare, but will take 3 hour naps at home (thank god).
• Goes to bed at 6:30 - 7 on daycare days, and between 7:30-8:00 on the other days.
• Weighs 22 lbs (2%ile) and Height is 33 inches (13%ile).  Lord help us.  I have accepted the fact that Parker is just a teeny tiny precious boy that just doesn't like to eat a lot.  The doctor is not worried, so neither am I.
• Loves playing with our I-phones and actually knows how to work them quite well.
• Goes to daycare Monday-Wednesday, My in-laws on Thursday, and my parents on Friday. He sure is a blessed boy!