Parker's First School Picture

It's hard to believe that my first baby is old enough to have school pictures!

Here's a quick update on my awesome boy:

Stubborn - he gets something set in his mind and it is ridiculous trying to get him to change it. We almost didn't get a school picture because he was fighting me so badly on it... (but I'm the mom, so I always win... right?)

Smart - he is learning so much everyday in preschool and I just love to see the connections he makes outside of the classroom to what he learned inside of the classroom. He is learning to read ( and doing awesome!) and now he points out letters everywhere we drive, sounding them out for me and talking about when he learned that sound. This week's letter is "D" and he was so excited that he got to eat a "D"onut in class. He's trying to convince me that I need to buy some now.

Forgiving - Devri can drive Parker nuts (and vice versa), but Parker never EVER holds a grudge. He may be upset or hurt, but when I tell Devri to say sorry, he immediately forgives her and lets her smother him with kisses and hugs. I love that!

Silly - He is always creating new and silly things to do with his little sister. She goes around copying everything he does and it is a delight to watch (most of the time... ha ha). In the car, Parker frequently informs me when his favorite song comes on the radio (he has a lot of them) and Devri is quick to pipe in and announce that it is her favorite too. Parker doesn't argue with her or get upset... he just laughs with her and enjoys the moment.

Jaker's Jack-O-Lanterns

Children of the Corn

My Cutie Pies

Bowling

When Greg's family was in town last weekend, we went bowling! The kids (and the rest of us) had a ton of fun and it was great to get out and do something different.

Parker and his new love of Soccer

So, the MBA Spouses' Association is awesome! We have tons of activities for ourselves, our families, and our children. One of them was a sign up for soccer (ages 3-4). It was free (I love that) so I thought, let's give it a try. Parker has never played soccer before and boy does he love it! From the moment we get out of the car, he has his game face on. He runs to the field, hunts down his coach, and takes all the warm up exercises seriously. It cracks me up! They have been playing once a week for three weeks now. The first week was getting the kids familiar with the rules of the game. These second two weeks Parker has scored a combined total of 5 goals out of 7. Who knew! Yesterday, when the fourth goal was scored (by someone other than him), he ran up to his teammate and said, "I'm so happy that you scored a goal for our team!" That's what I love to hear... a team player.

So, I filmed a part of the game yesterday and I was having trouble getting the footage to load onto the blog. If you want to see it, you'll have to get on Facebook. Thankfully, one of the other moms took some pictures and she managed to catch Parker in a few. So, here they are:

This was during practice drills... the kids aren't always just standing around... ha ha.

Notice Parker is missing a shoe... he was kicking the ball and had just cleared the group of kids (so close to getting another goal!) when... whoops... there went his shoe. I guess I should get him better shoes for sports.

A special shout out to Erynn for sending me these pictures. Thank you!

Hiking the "Y"

Today we hiked the "Y" and Parker did it all by himself!!!!!! I am so crazy proud of my little boy! Now every time he sees the "Y" he'll know that he hiked up to it and sat on it. And seriously, Parker did not complain at all! He did get a little tired at the end and then had to go to the bathroom on the way down (which resulted in me carrying him most of the way down), but he went UP all on his own... unless you count his walking stick. The kid picked one out all by himself. We never even mentioned walking sticks... what a smarty.

Here he is... all business!

Here's my little delight... relaxing on the "Y" and enjoying some sunshine!

This is Devri's posing face whenever she puts her sunglasses on...

Settling In...

One day I'll get my camera out again, but for now, just a few words...

We've been living in Utah for two weeks now. The first week felt much like my usual visits here and it was hard to comprehend that I was not going home a week later. The second week was spent roaming our new city as well as tons of unpacking. This week, Greg just started orientation (that lasts for 7 days... wow) and now Devri asks for her daddy every morning, confused by my statement that he is at "school." She is not familiar with that word and well, its been awhile since we have had to use it. This morning she asked me again and I felt like smiling when I told her "school" again. I am so happy that Greg is back in school. He seems to be enjoying orientation thus far and I am excited for all that that entails, not to mention there is an awesome spouses association that I've joined that already seems to have a million fun things to do on its calendar. I know I'll have a busy husband the next two years, but if I can survive any tax season, I can survive this. All in all, I am excited to be here and excited for new adventures!

Go Cougars!

Love this Picture!

I'd like to think Grandpa was sharing milkshakes with all of us on Saturday. I can almost hear him saying to me, "Chocolate?! Why'd you get chocolate?!" I still laugh thinking of it now. Love you Grandma!

Take Me With You!

I was looking through pictures on my mom's computer and I stumbled across this one. It made me laugh. This was right before Brandon left on his mission and Devri was trying to go with him. It is crazy to see how much she has changed now and how much more she will change before Brandon gets home. She won't even remember him.

Actually, I just noticed the outfit she is wearing... maybe she hasn't changed all that much... she is still wearing it a year later. Ha ha! At least her hair has grown since then... :)

Anyway, we love Brandon and can't wait to see him in 13 1/2 months!

Happy Fourth of July!

Who's ready for BYU?

This guy!

4 Years Later...

And he's still making faces!

Parker is four today and that is just unbelievable to me. It feels like just yesterday that I was in the hospital, with him in my arms, and wondering what life would bring me as a new mother. Well, Parker wasn't about to let me off easy. This boy had a stubborn streak right from the beginning and tried to make everything as difficult as possible. Ha ha! He still loves to put up a good fight, but I have never had so many laughs as I've had because of him. I just love the way his creative mind works and his facial expressions... there are more than a hundred of them! I'm always trying to find new ways to phrase things when dealing with him because he always finds loopholes to everything. I remember about a year ago we were in the car and Parker was acting up. I told him he needed to behave or he was going to be put in timeout. His reply was, "Mom, we're in the car. There is no where to put me in timeout." Now that can seem sassy, but I think he was honestly curious about where I would put him! He's always catching me with things like that and keeping me on my toes.

My absolute favorite things about him are watching him with Devri. He is such a loving brother. Of course, they have their fights, but he is always quick to forgive Devri when she scratches, bites, pinches, pulls his hair (the list goes on and on). She says sorry and Parker gives her a huge hug and a kiss and tells her he loves her.

Parker recently started this conversation with me and now we have it all the time (in varied forms):

Parker: I love you Mommy

Me: I love you too

Parker: I love you more

Me: I love you most

Parker: That means I'm the winner!

I originally laughed, thinking that he had it backwards, but he's right... to be loved so much truly makes someone a winner. I'd like to think we're all winners in that regard. So, to my awesome son, Parker: Happy Birthday and I love you most!

Guess Where We Went....

DISNEYLAND!!!!!!

Loves and hates:

Parker LOVED the Buzz Lightyear ride! He went on it five times and probably would have gone more if we would have let him. Parker tells me there was nothing he didn't like, but I don't think he enjoyed the thought of taking pictures with all the characters around the park. He was a little scared on Pirates of the Caribbean, but said he liked it after it was over.

Devri LOVED the cotton candy. Ha ha. Every ride we went on, Devri just put her head on one of our shoulders the entire time... except for It's a Small World. She liked that one and clapped at the end of it. Devri would point to the characters she knew in the park... like Minnie Mouse or Donald Duck, but she didn't want to get near them. It was cute to see her quacking at Donald Duck though.

We saw Cinderella right when we entered the park. When we asked the kids if they wanted to meet her, Parker said no and Devri just shook her head. Ha ha.

The kids thought the castle was pretty.

Toon town!

Devri's favorite part of the day...

Watching the fireworks... Parker enjoying his bubble gun...

At the end of the day, we made them meet Minnie. You can tell Devri wasn't thrilled. Afterward, Parker said, "I wanted to take my picture with Micky Mouse, not Minnie Mouse!"

Parker now tells us that we need to go to Disneyland EVERY time we come down to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa. Uh oh...