Sleepover

Dear Parker,

Last night you had a sleepover with your cousins.  You were so excited.  You were going to a concert first and you thought you were BIG stuff.  Two days before you kept asking if it was time to go to the concert yet. We met Uncle Stu and Aunt Lauren at the concert and you were such a big girl.  You were just like, "Bye Moms!"  We had to ask for hugs!   You had a great time.  But, Aunt Lauren said that you were scared of the smoke detector in the room you slept in and so you didn't fall asleep until 2am!  Yikes.  Then you got up at 8.  This did not make for the most fabulous of days.  But, we all made it through and now you and I are cuddled up on my bed watching Wall-E while your Mom is at her meeting.

I love you, bits.  I hope you always want to snuggle me and watch movies.
Love,
Mommy

Trip to the Dentist

Dear Parker,

This isn't going to be very long because I don't really know what I want to say about today, but I feel like it's something that I'm supposed to document.

We took you to the dentist for the first time today.  I suppose we should have taken you earlier, but we are neglectful parents like that. ;)  Anyway,  you were amazing and great!  I thought that you were going to cry or get all shy, but the hygienist and the dentist were both so amazing with you.  You got to wear little sunglasses when they shone the lamp on your face.  The hygienist pretended that the toothpaste was sparkles and she put them on your teeth with the brush,  You thought the sucky thing was hilarious.  I was just really impressed that you did so well and that they were so good with you.  You are often a pretty tough sell and they sold you.  I was very proud of you.

I was not as pleased with the potential retainer/orthodontics prediction, but we have at least a few years to worry about that!

I love you so much, baby girl.  I can't believe that you are big enough to really go to the dentist!
Love,
Mommy

Making friends 'n stuff

Dear Parker,

I am typing this from the deck with the sun glaring on my computer screen.  I am out here because you are playing next door with the neighbor.  She is 6 years old, in kindergarten and you adore her.  I'm not sure how much actual playing happens, but you seem to enjoy each other's company.  I feel a little anxious about you being over there by yourself as you are only 3 years old and there isn't an adult in the backyard, so I sit on the deck and sort of monitor.  Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I think you are still pretty little to be hanging out with such big kids by yourself.  But, anyway.  You just like having friends.  I hope that it works out and you can keep playing with her.  Right now they are trying to explain Girl Scouts to you.  It's kind of interesting.

Today, I went to Orchard's Parent Preview while you went to school in the morning.  I really like Orchard - particularly the lower school.  I think it would be a really good place for you.  I do worry about the music program as you get closer to middle school  The band program, at least, is pretty crappy right now, but I'm hoping that by the time you are in 5th grade someone else gets hired.  We'll see.  I suppose we can always supplement your musical education.  It does make me a little sad that you won't have the same band experiences that I had, but I think having a better overall education is worth the trade off.  While I say this I still don't know if you have been accepted or if they are going to offer us enough money for it to be a reasonable thing for us.  We'll just have to wait and see.  It's going to be okay no matter what ends up happening.

I went to your school to pick you up around 10:45.  You were in your centers and wanted to stay, so I just hung out with you for awhile.  It was interesting to watch what your day is like.  You were more aggressive than I thought you were, which makes me both a little happy and sad.  I don't want you to be aggressive, but I do want you to stand up for yourself.  It's a fine line.

We came home, took a nap and then went for a cupcake picnic.  We got cupcakes from the Flying Cupcake and then went to Holcomb Gardens at Butler.  You had SO much fun playing in the leaves, sitting on tree stumps and looking at the flowers.  You made a leaf pile and jumped in it, lied in it, took a "nap" in it and threw it in the air.  We played hide and seek in the trees.  You picked a million little berries, flowers and leaves to bring home to your Mom.  It was  a great time.

And now, you are home and sitting in the fort with 2 big girls.  I think this may have been a perfect day for you.  Here are some pics of you from today.

Laughing in the leaves

Sitting in your pile of leaves

Throwing leaves in the air

I love you so much, P.  I had a great day with you.

Love,
Mommy

Mish Mash

Dear Parker,

Okay, so now I have been writing this post for multiple days (weeks) and it’s all over the map.  These stories are weeks old, but I had written these little snippets, so I wanted you to read them later.  We are about to embark on a break together, so hopefully, I will write more soon!  Until then, here is your mish mash of memories...

It has just started to be cooler outside.  So, we have been trying to play outside in the yard after school.  This is good both for you and your Moms!  You love to play tag, although you are very demanding about who is tagging whom as well as kickball and Frisbee.  For some reason, whenever we play Frisbee, you feel the need to place your Mom and I in specific places along the fence.  You then go to the opposite side of the yard and throw the Frisbee.  You can only throw it about a foot.  And we are much more than that away.  You get very upset if we try to move closer to you. It’s pretty funny.

The other night, for some reason, you insisted that you and Mom look at the sky for airplanes.  When I looked up, you got very upset.  You kept telling me that I could only look at the ground.  This evolved into you telling both your Mom and I to “snuff the grass.”  For some reason, you forget the word “sniff” and say, “snuff” instead.  It’s hilarious.

The other day I came to pick you up at school and you were playing with your friend Abby.  You were just walking around the playground, hand in hand.  You came up, gave me a hug and asked if you could go play.  I let you.  Then, you asked me to play with you.  Apparently, you were playing house.  Abby was the Mommy and you were the baby.  It was cute, but also interesting to see how you interact with other kids when you aren’t paying much attention to me. 

I love you, Bits.  You are becoming so grown-up.

Love,

Mommy