What's Goin' On With Us . . .

Friday has arrived.  Last weekday before school starts.  Last night it hit me as I was re-reading Zach's school handbook and orientation papers. . . he's only ONE year away from Kindergarten.  I had tears come to my eyes.  Time is a crazy thing isn't it?  I sometimes wish for days to be over and done with five minutes after I get up in the morning.  Then again, there are days that I wish would last forever.  There are moments that I wish would burn in my memory and never go away.  I cannot believe that Zachary has already reached four years old.  Time is amazing.  Cruel, and yet a blessing.  I love my little boys so much and want them to grow up so I can see what kind of men they will turn out to be.  But, I really sometimes wish that wouldn't happen.  I sometimes wish they would always need me as much as they do right now, love me as much and WANT to spend time with me like they do now.  I'll have to figure out a way to bottle up all that.  In a sense I bottle it the best way I know how through videos and pictures.  So, don't make fun of me too much!

Ok, enough sappiness. . .

We enjoyed a fun week. I've already blogged about Trevor's visit but on Wednesday evening the kids enjoyed their Uncle David and Aunt Deke coming over for dinner and playtime.  They arrived around 5:15PM so they would have some time with Chase Parker before he went to bed.  Chase enjoyed playing with them but especially swinging in the "nana swing" with Uncle David.  The picture below is very special to me.  I tease both of my brothers alot but, secretly between you and me, they are two of the greatest men I know besides my husband and father.  Both my brothers are awesome examples to my kids so I feel fortunate that my boys have the uncles they do.

After dinner Uncle David and Aunt Deke went upstairs with Zach to watch the train show he put on.  He loves having an audience.  Especially one as fun as his uncle and aunt.  Aunt Deke has so much experience playing with boys since she was a stay at home mom for years and years.  Zach loves her to death!  I caught this cute picture of the two of them. . .

We had a great time with them on Wednesday. 

Thursday was another fun day.  Zach and Chase's friend Scarlett came over to play.  I always love watching them play together.  They get along so well.  And, I enjoy "adult mom" time with Scarlett's mom, Vicki.  She is an awesome friend.  Not many people I can truly say I can be myself around and feel comfortable.  Vicki is definitely one of them.  Unfortunately their family is moving soon so we will miss them so much.  Thankfully there is Facebook and telephones and hopefully we can visit each other too.  We have only known them a short while but long enough to know they are special people!

Here are a few pictures of our playdate. . . 

Thursday evening was Zachary's Orientation at school.  We had a great time touring his new classroom, seeing his cubby and seat, and seeing all his friends come back.  We loved talking to his new teacher, Mrs. Candace Duclos.  Zachary was so blessed to have a wonderful teacher, Mary Forrestall, last year and is lucky again to have another awesome teacher this year.  It is nice that it is a small school and he already knows Mrs. Duclos.   It is going to be a fabulous year I know.  

Today I caught a few cute pictures of Zachary in Chase Parker's crib this morning!  When we were walking down the hall to get baby brother up this morning Zach asked me if he could snuggle with Chase in his crib. I thought that was so sweet!  Chase's face lit up when I put Zach in his crib.  He LOVED it!  They both had a crazy wild time together.  Of course I got video too.  Here are a few pics:

LOVE LOVE LOVE my sweet boys!!

Tonight we are going to stay in.  Well, all of us except Zach. He's headed over to Grammy and Papa's house for dinner and croquet under the lights.  They are waiting til darkness falls to turn the big yard spotlights on and hit the croquet course.  I know, crazy!  But, that's good fun to a four year old and I thank my parents for always making his days (and nights tonight!) so much fun.

In other miscellaneous news, Chase Parker has been challenging me recently with the cat food.  He finds it so amusing to dump all their food out.  Thankfully I have not seen him taste it yet but I'm sure that is coming soon.  I'm not going to get there in time every time!  He also is fascinated with the kitty pet door. Back and forth, back and forth he goes.  And, heaven forbid he see me working at the computer.  He LOVES the mouse and the keyboard.  I gave him an old keyboard to play with thinking that would appease him.  Nope.  Only the one Mom is using.  These are the things life is made of though.  I'll try to remember that.

Ah, the weekend is almost here.  Hubby has a golf tournament for half a day Saturday but after that he's all mine I hope.  See you soon.

Good Times, Wild Times = One Pooped Out Mom!

Everybody knows school is about to start. . . . even Pre-K!  This year Paul and I decided to send Zach to school 5 mornings a week instead of three like we did last year.  Inching closer and closer to Kindergarden (as much as I hate to admit it!) so we are getting him more and more used to spending his days at school (and getting Mom closer and closer to reality that her baby is growing up way too fast!)

Since this is his last week before the school regime starts we have been really focusing on having just pure fun around here.  Zach and Chase have had several playdates recently (cousin Trevor, Logan and Lucas, Cooper and Cassidy, Scarlett) so we have been working hard on playing around!

I will share a few hundred (just kidding, or am I?) instagrams that tell the story of our fun much better than I could ever write.  However I will tell you a few details about our insane fun today.  Trevor (Z and C's cousin) came over again today.  While it got rather loud, chaotic and hairy at times around here it was all good.  Even Chase Parker enjoyed every second.  The louder it got the better it seems for him.  He was right in the mix!  Here was our agenda. . .

0)  First and foremost, throw out a healthy breakfast and just eat chocolate chip muffin tops!
1)  Wagon ride in the cool morning air.  (ah!  what NICE weather for a change!)
2)  Train Scavenger Hunt (went very well!).
3)  Toilet Paper Art Class (ok, was INSANELY fun for the kids but not the cats!!).
4)  Building a cool train track for Zach's new train.
5)  Lunch at Red Elephant.
6)  Swimming at Grandma's.
7)  Crashing on couch and watching cartoons.

ALL were done and checked off our list.  Even the house was put back in order before Daddy got home.

Then, on top of all that, Zachary gets to spend the night at Grammy and Papa's house tonight and tomorrow head to Thomasville for another train adventure.

What a day.  The very best part of my day was, after sending hubby a few pics of our day, I get a text from him saying, "You are such a great Mom!"  That made my day definitely.  I don't feel like I succeed in that area very often but maybe today I did.

Here are a few pics and videos from today and recent fun in the last couple of weeks. . .

The calm before the storm began today. . .

My secret to success. . . 

Other recent fun days. . . 

FUN with Logan and Lucas!!

Chase Parker Going Cold Turkey!!

Since Chase Parker turned 1 year old a couple of weeks ago I have been contemplating how to start weaning him off the bottle.  I really don't remember exactly how I did it with Zachary.  I THINK I just started slowly and dropped off one feeding here and there and finally he was down to one bottle at night and then quit shortly thereafter.   However I DO remember that I started getting Zachary off the bottle the week of his first birthday.  So, I've kind of felt like I've been "behind" a little in working with Chase.  When I woke up this morning I guess I felt like Superwoman because I made the decision to try it cold turkey today.  I really don't know what made me decide that but I'm glad I did.  It worked perfectly!  Chase gave me a few "what is going on?" looks today but otherwise he has been his happy go lucky self and has not let it disrupt his daily routine one bit.  When it was time for his morning bottle I took him in his room and sat down in the rocker and gave him his sippy cup instead of his bottle.  He sat up in my lap and gave me a look of "what is this?" and then got a little cranky.  He pushed his sippy away totally.  So, I just put him on the floor and put his cup in front of him and let him decide what he wanted.  He decided he would take a sip or two and then he played around in his room for a few minutes.  He kept coming back for more milk until finally he had it finished.  He seemed satisfied and happy so we went on about our day. Really that has been the extent of it.  I have given him a little more food today and offered his sippy more often but he has handled it wonderfully.  I'm SO proud of him.  I thought maybe he would have a hard time when it was bed time but not a peep so far.  He has been sleeping soundly since 5:45PM.  Hopefully he will have the same great attitude tomorrow!

And in other Chase Parker news. . . 

He went for his one year checkup recently and got the dreaded one year shots.  I have had such a difficult time with this for some reason.  I don't remember having "issues" when this time came for Zachary but for Chase I did.  All the autism reports and all the pros and cons of having shots vs. not having them is all very scary to me.  But, after much research and prayer Paul and I decided to stick with the shots.  Thankfully Chase had absolutely no reaction to them.  Even the day of the doctor's visit he wasn't even cranky at all.  I credit God for answering prayer!  

Here is Chase Parker in a nutshell at 1 year old:

--weighs 23lbs. 6oz.

--height 31.25 inches

-- says a few words:  "DaDa", "Mama", "Uh Oh!", "Bye bye", "Ah Choo!" (sneezing!), "All done", "Nana" (for banana)

--waves bye bye to you.

--claps his hands.

--LOVES swinging!

--loves to be "on the go".  Whenever I turn the house alarm on before we leave he gets SO excited.  He knows he is going "bye bye".

--LOVES  his big brother so very much.  When Zachary calls me after waking up from his nap Chase perks up and usually starts talking loudly while he heads to his brother's door.  When we go in Zach's room Chase gets on his bed and cuddles with Zach. It is the CUTEST THING EVER!  They love each other so much.  

--loves turning the lights on and off!  (SO annoying at times!  The light switch in his room is right by his changing table!)

--loves to eat eat eat!  Definitely different eater than Zachary was at this age.  He loves all his fruits and veggies.  Not really keen on meat yet but he will eat chicken pretty good.

--getting very close to walking.  He is cruising and pulling up on everything and probably will be walking very soon I would guess.

--sleeps from 5:45PM to 7AM every night.  Can't complain there!  He's not the greatest napper in the world but I will take my long nights any day!

--favorite toys are definitely things with wheels.  He loves his brother's huge monster truck.  He also loves balls galore!  And, when there is music playing he will shake shake shake that little bootie!

--when I'm holding him in my lap he loves to turn my head and check out which earrings I'm wearing that day.  

Paul and I are so very blessed to have our sweet baby boy.  He really has completed our family.  His bright, fun loving personality and sweet little spirit make him so very loveable.  Zachary feels the same exact way too.  I often times hear him say sweet things to his baby brother -- even tells him he loves him.  It warms my heart each time I hear or see love between them.  Paul Birdwell was definitely RIGHT in talking me into having two.  EVEN as much as I complain about how tiring it is sometimes.  

This parenting thing is hard.  And wonderful.  And joyful.  And amazing.  I am so blessed.