Happy Birthday!

Last weekend was Parker's birthday party - she is very happy to finally be 4 like her friends. To count down the days until her big day, we made paper chain - one link for each day - and tore one off each night. I had Bob take a picture of it.....but forgot to ask him to make her bed or brush her hair first.


For her party venue, she chose a bounce house place, Pump It Up Jr, which has smaller stuff for younger kids. She's been to a couple other parties here, and enjoyed it I guess, so that is what she chose. She really had a ball, and all her friends had a great time too.

Leading the pack.....

Group picture....she had a good turnout.

This is the big chair she sat in to sing Happy Birthday. She was worn out at this point, and got stage fright when it was time to blow out the candles, so I had to do it. She refused.

We opened gifts at home...a new Barbie nightgown, and some lipgloss w/ a clutch purse carrying case were among her gifts.


After gift opening, we went out for a family dinner. Here's the clutch purse in action:

Loving the pool

I'm still working on birthday pictures.....here's a pool picture in the meantime.

Parker is LOVING pool. This picture really isn't accurate, because she's in the baby pool with goggles on, neither of which she'll do now. She wants to be in the 'big pool', and wants me in with her....no floaties. Last year, she wouldn't go NEAR the big pool if there were other kids there, but this year, she's over that, thankfully. I guess.
The shallow end is low enough for her to touch bottom along the edges, so she spends most of her time bobbing up and down, back and forth along the edges. She's trying to teach herself to swim WITHOUT putting her face in the water, so she's hopping up and bicycling her arms and legs and then landing again. Today she did that for 2 hours, and the bottoms of her toes are raw. She took a great nap though.
Otherwise, she likes me to hold her stomach and swim her around while she kicks and paddles her arms. Still with her head up though. Either way, this is waaaaaaay more time in the pool than I spent all of last year I think.
She is also taking swimming lessons this week and next. These are old-school lessons, where you go under the first day, no matter how much you're screaming. Today was her 4th lesson, and the first day she didn't cry going in and have to be peeled off of me. When we did lessons when she was 2, it was the same way. She hated it at first, but by the second week, she liked it. The trick is going to be convincing her to swim underwater at home, not just at lessons. I told her that as soon as she could swim underwater, she could go down the slide at the pool, and that has really motivated her. Hopefully she'll put it all together soon. Stay tuned.

Ballet Recital

This weekend was the big ballet recital. Apparently, it's recital season for everyone, and dancers across the metroplex have been working on their recital numbers for months now. And Parker's class is no different. We got things rolling with a dress rehersal friday night. I was super worried about this because it meant leaving her back in the dressing room until time for her dance....her class was the eighteenth one to go. There were teen assistants assigned to each class, so I knew she'd be fine, but wasn't sure if she'd freak out or not. She had no issue with me leaving her, thank goodness.

Parker and dressing room chaos:

The next morning was the big show, and again I was super nervous. She has really done great all year in ballet, especially considering she is the youngest one in her class by a year at least. She keeps up and tries very hard and does a great job...and not just by a mom's standards. But as recital time grew closer, she's had a few freakout/meltdown issues at dance class....refusing to dance, running out of the room crying and balling up in my lap, etc. So it was anyone's guess if she was going to totally freeze or not.

But she did great!!!
And neither one of us cried or wet our pants.

She's the 4th one from the left.

I have some very grainy video of her that I'll try to get posted. I have to do some editing on it, so it might be a while. We chose not to buy the professional video for her 2 minute performance. Not did I get the professional pictures done...although I might take her up to JCPenney and get a picture in her outfit. It is amazing how much money you can spend on recital if you take all the options. And the bigger girls do TWO dances....so 2 costumes, etc, etc.

Afterward we went out to eat and got ice cream. In costume of course.

Another tradition is to give your dancer flowers afterward. Conveniently, I could order them in advance and pick them up at the show. Bob presented her with her roses afterward, and she also got a metal on stage when they did their final bow. She really liked that part - all the dancers come out and they introduce the groups ("Tinkerbells") and the do a big bow holding hands. The back of her metal says "Parker - First Year".

The next day when she woke up,
she said "do we get to do recital again?" and was very annoyed when I said no. We're going to take a break from ballet this summer....namely a break from driving her talkative self across town and back every week....and start back up in the fall when school starts. I hope she gets as much enjoyment out it next year as she did this year.

Happy Birthday Paula!!

Happy Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Emily!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Memorial weekend

We stayed home for Memorial weekend....but we had plenty to do around the house to keep us busy. Bob cleaned out the garage, and Parker kept him company riding her 3-wheeler while wearing her slippers and a ballerina skirt.

On Sunday night we broke out the Slip-N-Slide. Parker was THRILLED with it....although she's not quite coordinated enough to slide very far. She sort of runs to the end and falls down. But she has a ton of fun doing it, and it really wears her out.

This is her starting to run....she rares back like a baseball pitcher and then takes off.

Water collects at the end and makes a big splash.

Then she runs back for more.

Today's exciting event was Bob dismantling the freezer. For months now it's been leaking at the bottom, so he took the whole thing apart to fix the clog in a water line that was causing it to leak. At least we're crossing our fingers that will fix it. That might not sound like a fun holiday event to you, but if it's actually fixed, and we won't ever walk into the kitchen first thing in the morning and step into a puddle, it will be way worth it!

Pizza dough and a progress report

Friday night is pizza night. Either Bob picks one up, or I make one. Actually, I make 3 - we each get our own. Normally Parker is occupied when I'm making pizza, but this time she helped. She rolled out her own dough....over and over and over again, and eventually cut out shapes using a cookie cutter. With some help, she also added the canadian bacon and "topping" (she won't eat cheese if she knows what it is). I guess the little shapes tasted the best because she ate those first.

Today was her last day of 3 year old preschool. I think the teacher was a little sad saying goodbye to everyone...she had a really nice group of kids this year, and Parker has loved every minute of school. I can recall only 1 time when I had to coax her to go....and I think she wound up throwing up in the car on the way there. Last week she got her final progress report - here are her latest skills:

MASTERED SKILLS:
1. Makes plans with three or more details
2. identifies the beginning letter or sound of a word
3. writes a string of letters and asks to have them read
4. arranges objects in a series
5. recognizes a written word

EMERGING SKILLS:
1. Offering a solution to a conflict
2. arranging objects in a graduated series
3. counting two groups of objects and saying which one has more

SUGGESTIONS FOR HOME:
Parker spends a lot of time role playing. Puppets would promote her imagination, creativity and language skills.

None of those were really ground breaking news to me. The other day she spelled 'job' aloud by sounding it out, so she's getting pretty reading ready. She likes to be read to, but isn't terribly interested in any of the early reading books (Bob Books) I have for her. She has to do it all on her own terms, I guess. As for the suggestions for home, I think I'll pass on doing any more puppeteering than I already do. I'm not sure I can handle her having any more imagination or language skills.

Fun full family weekend

We had a nice full weekend at home. Parker is detoxing from being the center of attention last week at her grandparents house, so we've endured a lot of whining and fits, but I think maybe she's past it.
We planted a TON of annuals in the front flower beds...the usual zinnias and some verbena. I got Parker some sidewalk paint, and she painted and experimented with mixing colors. It's pretty cool stuff, and it kept her amused for several minutes.

Throwing a fit in the yard.....isn't she pitiful?

After nap, she finally came around and was in a pretty pleasant mood.
This evening after all the work was done, Bob turned the sprinklers on for Parker to run through while I assembled dinner.

She was pretty cold afterward.....here she is all bundled up eating dinner. She's eating a ciabatta roll in this picture. She got a kick out of the name.

As part our quest for a pleasant dinner time, we've started taking turns talking about the favorite part of our day. Tonight Parker said her favorite thing of the whole day was,
"Right now, eating this nice dinner". I'd believe her had ~I~not said the exact same thing last night. She realized that was a nice thing to say, and so she's using it now because she knows we'll say "awww, how sweet". Prior to this, her favorite canned phrase was to say:
"....and I put a heart on it....because I love you"
- a line she stole from her aunt Paula, and has gotten a lot of mileage out of.

Our lovely dinner - bbq chicken sandwiches (mine w/ mustard too) and quinoa/cucumber/tomato/chickpea salad and a tasty chardonnay (the brown thing is a rock).
A nice end to a nice weekend. Awwww, how sweet!

Bird verdict and homecoming

For those of you on the edge of your seats about the birds on our porch fan, I think I have a verdict. My mom and I reached the same conclusion....that they're swallows. I think these are Cliff Swallows, but people call them barn swallows too (people who are wrong). According to my mother, if they find a place they like, they are very persistent about building mud nests and it makes a huge mess. I'm pretty sure this was a family, and they were 'parking' the fledgling up on the ceiling fan while they caught bugs. Any time he flew off, they'd fuss at him and make him go back to the fan. I've seen these types of birds out here all the time, zooming around catching bugs, but I've always thought they were Martins. And prior to that I thought they were bats. This is the first time I've ever seen any of them stop and perch anywhere, which is why I think it's a family. Anyhoo, to foil their nesting attempts, I'm keeping the fan turned on. They weren't too happy about that.

Blah, blah, blah, what about Parker........Parker has had a nice day. Bob has been out of town all week for work, and she's been missing him. On the phone they were talking:

Parker: "I miss you"

Bob: "I miss you too."

Parker: "I miss you....one hundred!"

This week we've been working on table manners, and not making a BLECH face when you get your plate and see your dinner, and not playing with toys or getting up and down out of your chair or singing or dancing or crying, etc etc. I made a chart and tonight she got all her stamps...although it was easy since it was pizza night.

bird id

What could these be? Click on the picture and it will enlarge. They made a big rucus flying up there, all snipping at each other (there are 3). My guess is lazy Martins taking a break. They look like they had a little blueish/purple on their backs.

some quick pics

I've been a blog slacker lately. I don't really have an excuse....except that we're busy as usual. Here's Parker with her Gigi and Papa - acting goosey of course. And a picture of her riding her big plastic tricycle. She has very strange posture in this picture for some reason. She was really pleased with the outfit she put together....tank top and jeans and matching headband. She likes to wear the headbands at the front of her head like that......which doesn't really do any good to hold her hair back, but I guess it is more comfortable that way.

Observations

Some things that Parker has mentioned to me lately:

"A school bus doesn't need a caboose."

"No one else can touch your private parts. They might get germs."

And this one shocked me - I told her about a trip I was planning to Austin, and she asked:

"Austin, where Emily lives, or a different Austin?"

I have no idea how she knew or remembered that.

Like the glasses? She picked them out to go with her outfit and wore them to school.

Flower bed overhaul

As Parker says "ta-daaaaaaa!"
We have finally finished redoing one of our existing flower beds. It's been driving us crazy and an embarrassment since we moved in. It was full of overgrown weeds, brush, tree stumps, poison ivy, fire ants and existing plants that didn't belong. After several weekends of hard work (mainly Bob's hard work, although I did help more than usual) we are finally done! Now it just needs to grow.

There was an existing cedar/cyprus (?) tree that was odd and out of place. Bob used his brute strength and iron will and dug it out....along with many other large thick-trunked 'weeds' that had grown into small trees. We replaced it with an Autumn Blaze Maple. The other plants in the bed are purple verbena, Compact Pomegranite, Goldmound Spiraea, Blue Star Juniper, multi-color Sage, Frost-Proof Gardenia, Crimson(?) Barberry, and Dwarf Burford Holly...which will eventually grow in a bit to provide some screening of the house behind us.

Here's the before.....it's taken from behind the bed...it was the only before I could find.

During.....Bob v. Tree

All the stuff that was dug up.....and Parker (for scale)

And the finished product. It will look really great in 3 more growing seasons....but I'm happy with the results already.

Parker was great every weekend at amusing herself - a miracle. She'd play on her swingset and trampoline or with toys we brought out while we were digging, and endured several trips to the plant store. It was definitely a family project!

pretty in pink

This is an outfit that Parker picked out for school one day this week.....but she's taken off the polka-dot headband that went with it. She was feeling super cute in it I guess, and wanted me to pretend to be a photographer and take her picture...and handed me her toy phone. Sign of the times I guess - she's used to seeing us take pictures with our phones.

She found her purple recorder/clarinet thing under the couch, much to my displeasure, and has been toot toot tooting on it every time I need to make a phone call or hear myself think.
In the next week or so we are starting renovation on her playroom, so if her instrument doesn't 'disappear' before then, eventually she'll have a place to practice without my disruptive pleas for quiet.

Grumpy girl

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We've had some busy weeks and we've been spending a lot of time outdoor enjoying the great weather we've been having. Parker has had a grumpy week for some reason. Grumpy and grouchy and throwing lots of fits. Maybe she's growing and isn't getting enough rest, or maybe she's getting sick or getting over being sick or maybe she's bored, or maybe it's a combo of everything. I'm ready for cheerful Parker to return.

Last weekend we had some friends over and enjoyed a nice evening outside. This is the perfect time of year....the weather is nice and mild and the plants are beginning to bloom, and it's not hot or buggy yet. The grownups had a nice time visiting, and the kids had a great time playing. Here's Parker getting ready. She requested 2 ponytails/pigtails, and Bob is the master of those. She also picked out a *tank top* and glitter sandals for the occasion.

The kid's table - they all played really well together and were all exhausted at the end of the evening.

Soccer, writing and swinging alone

I should probably split all these up and save them until a dry spell, but hopefully we'll continue to have fun and interesting things to photograph and post as spring continues.

Parker had her last soccer game this weekend. It was a big deal because she played willingly (no whining, crying or bribing) and she actually kicked the ball a couple times! Bob has it on video, or I wouldn't have believed it. They handed out trophies to all the teams and she's very proud of hers. The coach said she was 'most improved' which we are choosing to view as a compliment. I wouldn't let her take the trophie to school, so I did a picture and printed it out for her. She put on her pagent-ready smile and pose for the photo.

She'd also like you to notice that she's wearing a tank top. All weekend she's been fixated on tank tops, and wearing a tank top and did anyone notice that she's wearing a tank top?

This is what I'm saving as Parker's first written name. Her K's a little strange, and her E has too many bars, but you get the idea. She writes it on her papers at school now instead of her teaching doing it for her.

And yet another milestone.....swinging by herself! This is HUGE! Bob gave her a push to get started, and then she pumped her legs and swang and swang for as long as she wanted. I don't know if I captured it, but she had such a proud look on her face. Yes, those are pajamas.

So big and grown up

Parker has been 'growing' so much this week. Usually, when we put her to bed, she just lays there until she goes to sleep....and if she needs something, she'll call us upstairs. We've been lucky that, until now, she didn't realize she had any other options. 3 night ago, Bob heard her get up and adjust the volume on her music (louder), and 2 nights ago, she was very determined to look at books for a while, and then turn out her own light and tuck herself in.
Usually, in the morning, she'll holler when she wakes up for me to come get her. But this saturday, Bob heard her calling (I was gone running), but her voice wasn't coming through the monitor. He looked around upstairs and then found her sitting at her spot at the breakfast table, with a very proud look on her face. And she did it again this morning too. It doesn't really sound like a big deal, but for her, it's huge.

She's also been toying with the idea of not sucking her fingers anymore. Her friend Ava sucks her thumb, and Ava's mom and I had a ( purposely) loud conversation the other day about how we should have a contest to see who could stop sucking their fingers/thumb first, Ava or Parker. They overheard us of course, and Parker's competitive nature has latched on to the idea. Every couple of days she'll tell me "I think I want to try that contest." But then a few hours later....usually at bedtime she'll back out. The other night she made it all the way through story, but then called me up there after she was tucked in and said "I've changed my mind, I'm not doing the contest today. Maybe at school on monday for nap." I just think it's so funny that she's so conscientious about starting and stopping 'the contest'.