Four!

As is becoming the norm these days, here is another post that is well over a month old.

Our baby turned FOUR back in March. I think this birthday hit me harder than any of the ones before. In fact, I felt like I was going to burst into tears the whole week of his birthday. I just didn't know how it was possible that we could have a four year old. He just transformed from a little toddler to a big kid right before our eyes.

He was very specific about what he wanted for his party this year. I guess the days of us having ideas for his parties are over :) About six weeks earlier, he had gone to a birthday for one of his friends at church and from them on, he was very clear that he pretty much wanted the exact same party his buddy, Canaan, had. So, at his request we had a Cars themed birthday party at a park near us. It could not have been a more gorgeous day (Pics Below).

I think the most important thing about Grayson turning four is that it means that we survived three! :) Although there were many moments during his "terrible threes" that I wondered if we both needed counseling, his little season of rebellion and defiance went away just as quickly as it began. Of course, we have now entered an arguing phase, but that is nothing in comparison. I will take arguing any day over the daily outbursts of anger and wondering fearfully every time we went out in public if I was going to have to pick him up over my shoulder kicking and screaming and carry him out of whatever restaurant or store where the meltdown happened to occur.

Now, I find myself looking at him daily and just thinking what a beautiful, good big kid he is. We did resurrection eggs with him this Easter, which was so neat. It was so special to see him understand for the first time the very thing on which our faith is founded. About a week after Easter, he even told me, "Mommy, that toy is red, just like the blood on Jesus' head from the crown of thorns."

He is also in a phase right now that he loves to use big words even if he doesn't know what they mean. Recently, he'll just go around yelling: "Japanese" or "Guacamole." He also started really emphasizing his vowels in certain words that comes out as a twang, making it really clear which state we live in, although, with the accent you would think he's from Podunk, TX instead of Houston :) It's incredibly sweet to watch him with his little sister too as I frequently hear him say, "It's okay, honey" or "Camdyn, you are so precious!" OR "Stop all that fussing, I can't concentrate." :)

While we hate that he is getting big so fast, we are so proud of our big four year old and it is such a gift to watch him grow up!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We are so thankful that you were born 28 years ago so we could have the most wonderful husband and father in the world! Love you!

Party Animals

Just a few pics from Gray’s Bday week

His Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Whitney and Uncle Day took him to the rodeo on his real Bday!

And we had his party on Saturday

Yummy cookies made special by Aunt Elaine

We didn’t get a good pic of Gray hitting the piñata, but I love Jon Michael’s face in this one (he was serious)

It was also our little neighbor Nick’s Bday so we sang to him too.  When we started singing, Grayson started singing Happy Birthday to himself! Smile

And he wanted to stop after each present to play with it before he opened another one (which made opening presents quite the process)

He got a motorized car for his Bday (I’m afraid we won’t have any more present ideas after this year…I think he got it all)

Monday, when my neighbor saw me (and my pregnant belly) driving the car back by myself from the park because Grayson refused to finish the trek, she told me she wanted to video it and put it on YouTube (currently I don’t break the weight limit, but I’m sure that will change in the next month).

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

My baby turned three today!

It’s hard to believe that our early arrival who didn’t even cry when he was born is now this rambunctious little boy who never stops!

We surprised him this morning with a swing set that his wonderful Daddy spent the past three days putting together! (You can tell he’s still half asleep.)

This is the first year that he is fully aware of exactly what is means for it to be his birthday. In fact, we have been talking about it all month. He kind of loves his birthday (like his Mommy)!

My phone has rang off the hook today with people calling to wish him a special day although so far he has refused to talk to any of them. When I accused him of being grumpy, he said, “I want to stay grumpy!” I started telling him if he didn’t start talking to people they weren’t going to come to his party or give him presents and he quickly got on the phone and said, “Please still give me presents!” (Little stinker!)

And he doesn’t quite know what to say back when I tell him Happy Birthday. He keeps responding with “Happy Birthday Mommy!”

Brad and I laid in bed this morning before our little angel woke up talking about that day three years ago. We were laying in bed early that Sunday morning (after returning to San Antonio from my sister’s wedding) when I woke up with what I thought was me peeing uncontrollably. As I sat on my hands and knees leisurely cleaning up water on the floor, Brad suggested that we call the doc (good call). We brushed our teeth and in no real hurry made our way to the hospital (still sure I was not in labor). We arrived approximately 45 minutes after my water broke. About that time, I went from feeling nothing to the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life, when a nurse decided to check me to see if I was dilated. She then informed me I was 8 cm. And I then yelled at the top of my lungs, “Are you kidding me?” While Brad finished our hospital paper work (cause who registers at 7 months?), they took me straight from the examining room to the delivery room, where I received a spinal in just enough time to push. And an hour and five minutes later, our little boy made his arrival into this world. We didn’t get to hold him and he didn’t make a sound, which was utterly terrifying at the time, but just before the NICU nurses rushed him out, they gave us a peek at his full head of hair (which later fell out) and beautiful blue eyes (which later changed to a beautiful brown). It was both the most terrifying and wonderful day of our lives and we will never forget it!

Happy third birthday Grayson Parker! You bring so much joy to our lives!

Another Year Older

Tomorrow (July 27) is my sweet husband's birthday! So, if you're reading this and are his friend and not just a blog stalker :), don't forget to text/email/call him to wish him a Happy One!

We were discussing our birthdays this weekend (since we turn 27 within 2 days of one another)and how we can tell we're getting old because....

-We are actually starting to take it as a compliment when people think we're a couple years younger than we actually are. But, not too old that we don't still get offended when people think we're 19/20/21 :)
-We can actually now be classified as "late 20s" instead of "mid 20s"...scary
-11pm actually qualifies as a "late" night for us
-Redbox is an exciting date night for us (or maybe that just classifes us as cheap, I'm not sure)
-It takes a second to remember how old we are when someone asks

Historically Brad's birthday is not a really big deal to him (unlike me) and rarely does he actually want something. But thankfully today Brad got on a shopping kick (which happens maybe once a year) and actually went out and purchased himself a new fishing pole and pair of chacos (from me of course) for his birthday! I think maybe I've been a bad influence on him in teaching him how to be selfish and milk his birthday for all it's worth! :)

Anyway, Happy Birthday my Love! I hope you have a Wonderful Day!

Two!

A few weeks back we celebrated Grayson's second birthday with an impomptu party at Chuck-E-Cheese. He's lucky in the fact that his birthday always falls during the week of Spring Break which brings lots of family and friends to town regardless if we plan a party. Despite him being under the weather and starting the day with a trip to the doctor for an ear infection (no longer contagious), he enjoyed his fun filled day/week of birthday celebration! Of all his presents and fun adventures, his favorite was a baloon from his Uncle David! It's all about the simple things in life when it comes to kiddos.

Gray with Great Uncle Larry!

My 82 year old Grandpa still going down slides with his great grandson!

Gray's cool new toy chest from Grandma (Mommy and Daddy were really excited about this present)

Cool new light-up car shoes from Grandpa (Gray prefers to play more with these than actually wear them :)

We really didn't even need tokens, Grayson was just thrilled to run around and "sit" on the rides....but Brad bought a ton anyway...and in the end, it was Brad I was having to drag out of there, not Grayson

With Brad's red shirt, he was confused as an employee a couple times, with one kid complaining to him about how a machine took his token

A much cleaner cake experience at two than one!

The Wonderful Williams family came to make Grayson's birthday so special (Carrie even missed Beth Moore to come)!

Amy spent her time at skeet ball playing "with Grayson." I was trying to be the "good" Mom and not let my child climb on the machines, but then Amy started setting a bad example :) and all control of our child was lost after that.



Amy helped make the cake. Being the perfectionist that she is, she thought it was pretty bad, but we were happy! And obviously so was Gray!


Gray's Bday playdate with Megan Luff

"Helping" put together his new John Deer Tractor Tri-Cycle from Nana & Pops

Happy Birthday Friend!

I can only think of a couple people who are as big of freaks about their birthdays as I am (2 actually, Amy Shelton and Courtney Roberts) and TODAY is Courtney's birthday!!! It also happens to be my half birthday, and no, I don't really celebrate half birthdays, but it's still kind of cool that I have two friends whose birthdays are on my half birthday (Happy Birthday DREW!!!). But, I want to take this opportunity to wish Courtney a very special day and tell her how much I love her!!!

For some reason, when you get married it gets even harder to make friends because not only do you have to click with someone, but you have the click with their spouse and your spouse has to click with both of them, it just adds a whole different dynamic to the friend making process. In fact, I can only think of a handful of couples to where all the factors have lined up. But, Josh and Courtney are definitely one of those couples.

As we've been preparing ourselves to close our San Antonio "life-chapter," I've been getting pretty emotional about leaving our friends here (shocking I know, me emotional?) I just am overwhelmed looking back over our lives to see how God has provided for us no matter where we are. I have to confess that I drug my feet quite stubbornly when we moved here to San Antonio, but once we arrived God blessed us immediately...from giving us a great place to live, friends, a wonderful church home and a son, which we didn't even have to wait nine months to meet :) With all those blessings, we also have faced lots of challenges over the past 2 1/2 years and we were forced to learn a hard lesson....how to ask for help! I know it is our, as I'm sure it is for most people, tendency to want to be the ones who "have it all together" (HA!) and we'd just rather be serving than the ones being served. But, out of all the lessons (and let me tell you, there have been quite a few) that we have learned here, that is definitely the one that really stands out. In learning that lesson, we also have realized that it takes a special kind of friend to let your guard down with and ask when you need something. And usually they're only the friends that you have a long history with, but that is what has been so wonderful about San Antonio, God gave us that special connection with people here without having to have a long history, the kind of relationships that only he can ordain.

So, I would like to thank ALL of our wonderful San Antonio friends for seeing us through one crisis after another during out time here and for loving us even though we so DON'T have it all together :)

Courtney, Happy 25th Birthday!!! Brad and I feel so lucky to have you and Josh in our lives!

Happy Birthday Brad!!!

In honor of my wonderful husband's 26th birthday, I have dedicated this blog post as a tribute to him wishing him a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Because our birthdays are only 2 days apart, Brad likes to give me a hard time that his birthday sometimes gets overshadowed since girls like to have birthday weeks :) So, this year as to not let the day slip by without making a big bang out it, I declare Monday (July 27) NATIONAL CELEBRATION OF BRAD DAY!

For anyone who knows Brad even a little bit, you know that he has a little hobby of taking pictures of himself by himself making the most goofy and sometimes sickening faces. As a public birthday message, I have taken the liberty of putting a few of those photos together to share with anyone who might be reading this! You are welcome, Brad :) For those of you thinking I have entirely too much time on my hands, I assure you as sad as it is, there are SO many of these pictures that I was able to compile them in a matter of minutes! So, please take a few minutes out of your day to wish Brad a Happy Birthday!!!

































As goofy as he is, I know I have the most wonderful husband in the world. Happy Birthday my love!!!

P.S. I'm glad you don't look like this all the time :) And I will never understand how someone so skinny can have a double chin in photos