Life lately

We are starting to settle into our “school routine” over here. Well, sort of. Ainsley is the only one who has started. Parker starts next week and then BSF starts the following week. I’m stepping into administration this year at BSF and i am excited for what this year holds. The Lord very sweetly orchestrated this change in leadership for me, and I can’t wait to see what He is going to do this year. 

Parker did get to go meet his new teacher, Mrs Monica. Nanny took him and said she is very sweet and Parker seemed to really enjoy her. He’ll be the big boy in class this year since he is repeating the 2 year old class due to his late August birthday. 

Ainsley is starting to tell me more about her days. She seems to love science and the animals that are in that class. She is starting to speak in some Spanish words, but also just some random noises she claims is Spanish. 

We have been lucky enough to walk her to and from school most days, which she says she likes but leaves me dripping sweat. I’m ready for fall temperatures! 

Our church had a carnival and Philip took the kids to it while i had dinner with an old friend celebrating her marriage. 

We also spent last Saturday morning with Uncle Bubby and the girls, playing outside and having a picnic at the park at Ainsleys school. 

Other than that we have been soaking up the last pool days and the end of summer! 

Parker is THREE

I feel like it was days ago I heard the words “it’s a boy” and my heart swelled out of my chest. Now here he is, 3 years old, and i can vividly remember seeing his sweet face for the first time. My love for him is just as fierce as it is for Ainsley, but it’s different too. He’ll always be my baby boy. 

Height/ weight: 37.5 in  (50%) 32.2 lbs (40%)

Things to remember: 

Parker loves all things boy. He loves super heroes, trucks, shooters, swords and smashing things. 

He sleeps with several stuffed animals, currently he loves his scuba diver, Simba, and spider man. He also sleeps with his favorite blanky and his “baba” (paci). He goes to bed around 730/745 and wakes up around 7/730. His schedule is changing due to Ainsley going to and from school, so who knows what his sleeping will be next month. He still sleeps in his toddler bed. 

He LOVES basketball, and is pretty good at it. If he’s good in kids care at the Y, he gets to go to the gym and practice. He loves to “shoot ball”. 

He has to go to the bathroom “all by myself” and asks me to “leave him alone”. 

He has such a caring heart. He consoles sissy when she’s crying, tries to help me in little ways around the house, and always seems to be aware of the people around him. 

To celebrate his big day, we had such a fun day with just Parker. I made birthday pancakes and we did presents before Ainsley went to school. He got his “power star” he has been asking for, for over a month. 

Then we took him to Build A Bear and let him pick out a bear. He chose a storm trooper and got to put a special “birthday heart” inside. He pushed the pedal, rubbed the heart on his head, nose, and foot like instructed. He also chose the theme song from “the incredibles” to put in his paw, and named him “credible”. After that he got to pick out a piece of candy from the candy shop, and he chose a gummy dinosaur. One of the men at a toy kiosk sold him a ball that “splatted” on the ground then popped back up, for $3. He came home and “splatted” the water right out of it, but it entertained him for s few hours so i consider it money well spent.

Then we let him pick where to eat lunch and he chose Gold Star (his daddy’s influence). 

For dinner we went to Puchinnis with his cousins and then walked to orange leaf for dessert. 

I think he had a pretty good birthday!! 

Parker’s 3rd Birthday Party

For months Parker has been asking for a bounce house for his birthday. Whenever we mention his birthday he says “bounce house”. He goes to my blog books, finds the pages of his party last year and just sits and happily looks at pictures of his beloved bounce house. So this year, when the forecast called for 80% rain, we decided rain or shine, he would have his bounce house. 

We went with a Superhero theme because this boy is obsessed with some superhero’s (he calls them supers). He really loves dressing up like them, play fighting like them, and reading books about them. 

Since his party was the Saturday after the first day of school, i was pretty low key with decorations and food. As in, i ordered a bunch of chik fil a, cut up a bunch of fruit, bought a tub of cheese balls and ordered cupcakes. Simple, easy, kid-approved.

The rain held off and the sun even came out! The kids seemed to enjoy bouncing, playing on the playground, and running around the yard crazy. 

We let him go crazy on his small birthday cake, and he made quite the mess. He ripped into his presents and was so happy with every single one. 

We got to keep the bounce house until that evening so after his nap we went in for round 2, puddles and all. 

We had a great day celebrating our favorite boy with our favorite people. I always love Parker’s birthday party because we make it big so we can see family and friends we don’t get to see as much as we’d like.

Putting Parker to bed that night he talked about his bounce house, his new pirate ship, his super heroes, and said “i wanna do it again!” 

First Day of Kindergarten

Monday night we had Open House at Ainsleys new school. She got to meet her teachers, see her cubby, drop off all her school supplies, and tour the school. We walked her there and back, and mom and dad watched Parker for us so we could focus on A. 

Ainsley has been asking me “what will i do when i want to talk to you while I’m at school?” So i got her and I matching bracelets. I told her to touch it whenever she was sad or wanted to talk to me, and i would do the same. We also read the book “the kissing hand” and kissed each other’s palms. I’m trying to reassure her in any way i can. 

Also the day before she started, during Parker’s nap time, we went to the new trampoline park with Avery, got ice cream, and her nails painted. Those girls were kindergarten ready! 

She also got a sweet book from one of her previous teachers, and confetti to put under her pillow from her new kindergarten teacher. We are so blessed with so many wonderful and thoughtful people in our lives. 

That night Philip had gotten me wine, chocolates and flowers. To keep ourselves from melting we watched one of favorite movies, Bad Boys 2 and drank some wine from a bottle Aunt Ellen for Philip for his bday, “Liberty”. 

The day of kindergarten, we had to wake her up, tried to get some breakfast in her, and get her excited for her big day. Our sweet friend Kim insisted on coming over to watch Parker so we didn’t have to wake him up and drag him with us this morning. Which was so nice. We snapped some pictures and walked Ainsley to school this morning, trying to get her to talk about how she was she feeling. She said she “really just didn’t want to go” and “just wanted to go back to her grey room”. It was cracking my heart right open but i feel like we did good reassuring her and not crying (me). 

Once we walked in and got to her room, we found her cubby and helped her hang up her backpack. She got to sit with her friend Lola (which really helped her anxiety), and we made our goodbye quick. 

Literally as soon as we walked out of her class, i lost it. Like couldn’t get it together kind of crying. I had random moms hugging me, telling me it would be ok. We stopped by the “boo hoo breakfast” for kindergarten parents , where i was the only hot mess. So we didn’t stay long, and walked home, with people stopping me on the way out to hug me. I was totally THAT MOM. 

I tried to stay busy so i didn’t sit around in my sorrow, but i was basically counting down the minutes until 2:35. As i was preparing to leave to go get her it started raining, putting me in my first ever car line. I anxiously waited for my turn to pick up my baby, and when she came out of the school my heart was beyond joyful. She wasn’t all smiles, i could see the reservations in her face as she walked to my car. She got in and said “it was ok”. But then she told me about how Senorita Lucia did a magic trick with a wipe, making it disappear. And how she asked Mrs Caudill if she could curl her tongue (she can), and how she found my note on her lunch box and carried it all through recess, and how she touched her bracelet twice because she missed me. Then she sighed and said “ it was just really long, and a lot. And took a long time to get back to you”. And i wanted to cry, but i didn’t! Then she came in and ate 3 waffles. Because they don’t get a snack time. Isn’t that insane?!

She come home and Parker hugged her and they told each other they missed each other. Don’t worry 10 minutes later they were fighting again. 

So we survived day 1. Now just hundreds more. Which is the saddest part to me, it’s the end of a chapter for all of us. But we will get into our new normal soon. I’m counting today as a {mostly} success! 

I can’t thank everyone enough for your encouraging words; texts, emails, phone calls. It meant so much to all of us today, and we could feel the prayers for peace today! Thank you all of you, we are so lucky to be loved by so many!