The Evans Family

Spoonies

2012-01-14T19:46:00.003-06:00

I have been neglecting the blog lately. Things are going great, just super busy! I have been at my new job for about three weeks now and I absolutely love it! God has blessed me with the most amazing job! I could not be more happy. I am working for a wonderful, nice, christian neurosurgeon and I just can't wait to see what the future holds!

Last weekend I went duck hunting with Dennis and I killed my first duck. Above is a picture of the view from my hunting spot. It was so beautiful!

I shot and killed a flying duck right out of the sky, go me!! Of course, Dennis is so excited that I killed my first duck (a spoon bill, or spoonie) and is already planning on how I should get it mounted =)

Duck hunting was so much more fun than I thought it would be. It was so beautiful watching the sun rise over the water. It is also so fun to spend time with my husband doing his favorite thing in the world!

\This cutie was at home waiting on us when we finished!

Parker is doing great since starting back to school! He went his first two weeks without getting his named moved!! He got to go out for ice cream as his treat!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful new year!

Parker learns to ski!

2011-12-30T17:50:00.008-06:00

The day after Christmas my family loaded up and went to Jackson Hole, WY. This is by far one of our most favorite places on earth!
We have been going there a few times a year for about 5 years but Parker has never gone with us. We have always been too nervous to take him to a higher elevation because of his heart condition. Since he has finished his series of heart surgeries, his cardiologist, Dennis and I decided it would be ok to try. We really had no idea how he would handle it but we were prepared with oxygen in the hotel room and a pulse ox on hand.

He was so excited to see all of the snow!

He handled the elevation just fine and didnt need the oxygen the whole time!! He was thrilled to go to ski school the first day!! I thought he looked so cute in all his ski wear...

Everytime we were in the car, Parker was amazed with all the snow and all he wanted to do was ski!

His first day of ski school he made it to a level 2 skier. He was so proud that he could stop all by himself using the pizza wedge ;)

His favorite part was riding the "magic carpet" up the hill...Here is Parker and his teacher, Mr. Billy! (the yellow vest was for new skiers).

I am just so proud of him! He didnt complain at all and just had the time of his life! (I guess I was expecting some complaints about the cold temperatures or the uncomfortable boots). His ski boots were the smallest size the rental place had...so cute!

We had such a fun family time! We spent most of our nights watching movies together, ate lots of smores and hot chocolate and of course, lots of fun skiing!! Such a fun way to spend Christmas break.

Now, back to real life...I start my new job as a nurse pracitioner tomorrow!! aaahhh!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T15:45:00.003-06:00

Christmas was so wonderful this year!! We spent so much time with our families but I didnt take many pictures =(
One picture I will always cherish is the one above of Parker and my grandparents (his great-grandparents). They love him so much and I am so glad we all spend so much time together!

My mom always gets us a funny matching gift and this year it was Santa Snuggies =)

Parker was so fun this year and loved everything about the holidays! His favorite gift was his train tracks.
On Christmas Eve my mom and I took Tyler and Parker to their very first movie! We went to see the Chipmunk movie and they LOVED it!!

They danced in their seats the entire time!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends this Christmas and that yall have an amazing holiday season!!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wishing you....

2011-12-23T10:55:00.004-06:00

...and your families a very merry Christmas....

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2: 11-14

A new look and a bday party

2011-12-22T20:34:00.003-06:00

I have been wanting to change my hair for a while but was just too scared. I mentioned it to my sister (who looks a lot like me) that I wanted to dye my hair brown. On Sunday she texted me and told me that she dyed her hair brown. She looked great and it gave me the courage to go for it!!! I am still getting use to it.....

Tonight we celebrated Tyler's 2nd birthday. It is so hard to believe that it has been two years since my parents adopted him. He has been the perfect addition to our big family and is a built in best friend for Parker...they really do love each other.

I couldnt get a good picture of the birthday boy because he is just all over the place these days. I did manage to get a quick picture while he was blowing out the candles!

Happy Birthday Tyler!! Two years ago my family became complete with the addition of my fifth sibbling and I couldn't love him more!!

Sweet Parker. you cant really tell in this pictures but his left eye is so swollen. We have been to the doctor twice in the last two days for antibiotics and then an antibiotic shot. He got a sty and then it got infected and then it turned into cellulitis. It is so sad but I think we are getting it under control. He woke up this morning and couldnt even open his eye and said "mommy, I cant see!!" He is acting normal, just looks a little funny. =) He really is a trooper!

A girls trip

2011-12-21T21:06:00.002-06:00

A few months ago Diane, Brittani and I planned a girls trip to Destin after I graduated. This past weekend we spent three glorious relaxing days in Florida with no husbands, babies, alarms, jobs or responsibilities!!

This was the view from my room....gorgeous! We each had our own rooms in a three bedroom condo (I think that made it even more relaxing!!)

We slept late, laid around, watched tv, read, at lots of yummy food, went to the outlet mall (a few time!) and just did whatever we wanted!

The weather was so nice, it was in the 70s and sunny everyday. So nice!

We rode the water taxi to the beach one day (it was a little chilly on the boat) and then just played on the beach for a while. We didnt go on the trip to lay out and swim but we had to make a trip out to the beach at least once ;)

We thought it would be funny to take a picture like you see on people's Christmas cards, our little family =)
It was so amazing to get away for a few days.
Thank you husbands for taking on all the resonsibilities for a few days to let us re-charge!!! LOVE Y'ALL!!

Miracle Ball, ACH!

2011-12-18T17:35:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we attended the annual Miracle Ball fundraiser for Arkansas Children's Hospital. It is such a fun night to celebrate that amazing place, get all dressed up and raise lots of money for ACH. We are SOOO lucky to have such a wonderful hospital right in our backyard. This year is their 100 year anniersary and all year will be a celebration!

I love that my family is so involved in ACH and can't wait to see what this next year has in store!!

Love my sweet husband =)

My amazing mother!! Love her and so thankful for such a wonderful role model =)!

Go check out ACH at their website!!

Christmas fun!

2011-12-18T16:43:00.003-06:00

The last few days have been filled with lots of fun activities. We had a family birthday party for Parker's 4th bday.

He loves the Happy Birthday song and just lights up!!

We went to Parker's school Christmas program. It was the K3-1st grades and they did a little musical about baby Jesus. It was so cute. Parker's class pretty much just sat on the steps and sang all of the songs and the "older" kids did the actual acting part. He really got into all the hand motions!

He was so excited to see us at his school!

That weekend we went to the Christmas tree farm. I have been to the same Christmas tree farm since I was little and it so fun to watch Parker run around and pick out his favorite tree.

His favorite part of the entire trip is the tractor ride out to the trees.

Tyler is such a cutie!!

Parker did such a great job helping Daddy cute down the tree and yelling "timber!"

Such a big boy!

I love this tradition and we love having a real tree in the house!

Now we get to decorate it!

Treasure chest and a job!

2011-12-04T20:36:00.001-06:00

With two weeks left in this semester for Parker, he finally made it an entire week without getting his name moved (aka: not getting in trouble)!!! Everyday last week he came home so proud that he didn't get his named moved and then at the end of the week he got to pick something out of the treasure chest because he Made it a whole week!! It's funny because we didnt even know a treasure chest existed until I heard a mom talking about it last week!! Ha!! He really only gets in trouble most of the time for talking at nap time...he just likes to talk ;)

I have some exciting news too! I went through three rounds of interviews and landed my dream job as a nurse practitioner!! I will finish school on Wednesday and will start my new job on January 3rd!! I am so excited about it!!! It's the perfect job for me and fits so great into my family and our lives!!

Mr Elf

2011-11-30T19:55:00.004-06:00

Last night we brought out the Elf on a Shelf. Parker was so excited! I read him the book about how the elf will watch him for Santa, everynight he will go to the North Pole and tell Santa if Parker has been good or bad, and every morning he will be in a new place for Parker to find him.

We started this tradition last year but Parker wasnt that into it. I think this year he is going to love it! He really cares if he gets in trouble or if someone thinks he is being bad.

Parker has named the elf, "Mr Elf"...so original =)

This morning Mr Elf was hanging out in the Christmas tree and Parker thought it was so funny!

He wanted to play with him but one of the rules in the book is that he cant touch him, Mr Elf is only there to watch Parker and report back to Santa. He was ok with that and is hoping he will still be in the tree when he gets home from school!

I have some cute ideas for Mr Elf this year!

FOUR!!!

2011-11-23T09:32:00.003-06:00

Today Parker turns FOUR!!!

Four years ago our lives were forever changed!! It has been a crazy four years but I wouldn't change anything!!

We walked into Parker's room this morning singing "happy birthday" and he could hardly stand it, he was so excited!!

He got to open a few presents this morning. He LOVED this big dump truck from his papa.
And also got a few birthday cards in the mail!!

Dennis and I took Parker to eat his favorite breakfast....donuts!!

It has been such a fun day already.

Can't believe Parker is FOUR!!

Happy Birthday Parker, we could not love you more!!

Thanksgiving Feast

2011-11-21T15:05:00.003-06:00

Last week Parker had his Thanksgiving feast at school. All the parents were invited to the classroom for a feast and a little program.

Parker made a placemat with the things he told his teacher he was thankful for. (It says: Playing with toys, Mommy, Daddy, and Going Outside).

They had a little program for us.

They sang a scarecrow song and said all of their bible verses that they have learned since the beginning of the school year.

Parker was just so excited that Dennis and I were there =)

They ate chicken nuggets, mashed potatos, cookies and some other "thanksgiving" food.

He also made this turkey picture with his handprint.

Parker's favorite girls!

Parker and his sweet teacher! We are so blessed to have her as Parker's teacher and he loves her too!

It was a fun morning and I love Parker's school more and more as the year goes on. We are so blessed to be able to send him to such an amazing Christian school!

Randoms

2011-11-15T09:19:00.004-06:00

Last week at school the kindergarten had "kite day" for the letter "K". Parents were asked to attend if they could to help fly the kites. It was a windy and pretty cold morning.

We got Parker's kite up a few time but he mostly just liked running with it =) It so fun to show up at school and see Parker's face light up because Im there!! He is so cute around all of his friends.

I love this time of year because it means lots of football! My brother's team has made it to the playoffs and Friday night was the first round. We won 62-7 and Justin (my brother) scored the last touchdown! We head to the second round this Friday night...it's so exciting!! And it is such a fun time to get to spend with my family!

A few funny pictures from my phone....Parker thought it was hilarious that he put Woody's hat on our dog, Bentley. He asked me to take a picture...

Bentley doesnt look too thrilled =)

School update: I competely finished all of my clinical hours yesterday!!! I have one test and a project left. I can't believe I am so close to being finished. Im sure all of my family and friends are ready for it to be over so I will stop talking about it =)

Cardiology update: We went to the Cardiologist last week and Parker is doing great! His pulse ox did drop a little from last time. so I am going to check it once a month and just keep an eye on it. No worries and we dont have to go back for 4 months! Can you believe the next time we go it will almost have been one year since he had surgery...wow! time flies when everyone is healthy and happy =)

Happy Veterans Day!

2011-11-11T10:29:00.003-06:00

Eight years ago Dennis and his unit were in Iraq serving our country.

He is my hero and I can never thank the veterans enough for all they have done and will do.

Thank You!!

Parker's bday party!!

2011-11-07T18:27:00.006-06:00

This weekend we had Parker's 4th birthday party at a bounce house place. We always try to do it early since his birthday is usually the day before or after Thanksgiving.
The party location was a bounce house warehouse with tons of huge inflatables and Parker was in Heaven!!! I also got his birthday shirt off Etsy, isnt it so cute?! It has Buzz Lightyear in the Four because that was the theme.

After jumping for 1 1/2 hours, we had pizza for everyone.

And then cake. My mom and I make Parker's cake every year. Buzz was kinda hard this year =)

Parker was so thrilled to have everyone singing him happy birthday. He had this huge grin on his face the entire time!!

I think this was the best birthday party yet, they just keep getting more fun as he gets older =)

Since Parker's birthday is so close to Christmas and he just received so many gifts while he was in the hospital, we asked all of the kids to bring unwrapped toys for Parker to give to the kids at Children's Hospital. We have so many toys to take and I am so excited to show Parker the joy of giving! I think a few of the kids are going to come with us when we take the toys!

A funny story: Parker's friend Sydney could not stand that she wasnt taking Parker a present. So, she went and found an old toy in her closet and competely wrapped the present all by herself and told her mommy that Parker would love it!

It was a really old blue babydoll!! She said it was a boy because it was dressed in blue and didnt have any hair =)

Parker was thrilled (Daddy not so much =))!! He has not put that doll down! I think he mostly loves the fact that it is from Sydney!

Still can't believe my sweet little baby is 4! Thanks to everyone who came to the party...It was so special to Parker! I think he will be talking about it until Christmas!

Reunited

2011-11-06T14:18:00.004-06:00

Last weekend was my 10 year high school reunion. On Saturday morning we had a park day with the families.

It was such a fun/relaxing time. The kids all played so well together and all the moms talked and talked and talked some more =)!

I seriously love all these girls so much!

That night all the adults went to cajuns for dinner.
10 years later and still bestest friends....

Dennis has become really good friends with a lot of the spouses of my high school girlfriends. He was such a trooper the entire night!

The entire class didnt come but we had a good group and had so much fun !

I can't believe it has been 10 years since I graduated high school. It seems like yesterday! Cant wait till the next reunion!!

Halloween

2011-11-01T06:22:00.003-05:00

Halloween this year was full of fun events!! We attended a fun festival at the church!

Of course, Parker was so excited to see Mallory!

We also got to play with Tyler the dragon!

On Friday night we went to a party at the country club

Parker was Woody for Halloween! He has been talking about being Woody for a few months. Isnt he the cutest Woody!??

We did lots of trick or treating in my grandmother's neighborhood and our neighborhood. By the end of the night Parker was a professional!!

We had such a fun night! He was so into it this year!

Something I want to remember: Parker has a big huge woody stuffed animal and a little woody doll.....the other day he asked me if the big one was woody's daddy. Just something cute I dont want to forget =)

Playdate

2011-10-23T08:07:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was a perfect fall weekend! Lots of footbal...the Razorbacks won!!

Parker posed in his Razorback gear in front of my front porch fall decor.
Parker also had his first play date with his new classmates!

Savannah, the one in the back, invited a few friends to her house for the afternoon. The weather was perfect and the kids were so excited to see each other outside of school!

She had a fun swing set!

And we all decorated pumpkins!!

The kids had a blast and I am so excited to get to know all the parents better. Most of us will probably have our kids at this school together for the next 14 years!

2011-10-20T21:02:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we went to a birthday party at the pumpkin patch.

It had a fun playground

Tractors

It was such a fun place to have a party!

Report Card

2011-10-20T08:35:00.004-05:00

This week we had parent/teacher conferences with Parker's teacher. It is about half way through the semester and they evaluate all the K3 kids and give them a "report card". Parker is doing great. His teacher says he is the best one at memorizing things (bible verses, songs, etc) but he needs some work on letters, writing and coloring. We made some flash cards for his letters/numbers and he has been tracing and drawing every night for a little bit. I know he will catch up quickly, it is just going to take a little extra work at home.

We are also still having some issues with him talking during nap time, but it is getting better every week. There are 9 boys and only 3 girls in his class and I think that has a little do with it =)

I wanted to share this cute video, it is parker saying his pledge of allegience....

YouTube Video

The weather has all of the sudden gotten really cool and Parker has started wearing pants and a sweatshirt to school. He calls his sweatshirt his life jacket...I think he wants it to be summer time again =)

Weekend and Oliver

2011-10-17T21:01:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we went to a fall festival at the Promenade. The coolest thing was the hot hair balloon!!

There were also bounce houses

Parker and Mallory sat and watched people riding in the hot air balloon for like 20 minutes. They loved it! It was so big and beautiful!

The best thing that happened this weekend was that Oliver came home from duck hunting training!! He has been gone for two months and we have all missed him!!

Parker has not stopped talking about him or hugging him since Friday!! Oliver really is the sweetest dog ever. He didnt forget about us and has settled back into our routine just like he never left!

He is doing so great since being home and I know that Dennis CANNOT wait until duck season!

Hope everyone is have a great week!

Pumpkin patch and 7 years!

2011-10-10T20:05:00.008-05:00

This weekend we did one of my favorite things...we went to the pumpkin patch! I think it is one of my favorite things because it means it is Fall and the holiday season is beginning!! This year it was about 92 degrees out, which makes for a hot fall day!!

There was a petting zoo area. Parker touched the pigs nose and laughed so hard!!

We had such a great time! Dennis' parents came along as well. It's always fun to share traditions with our families.

There was a big corn box (instead of a sand box)! He loved it and was so dirty after playing in that thing!

My sweet little family =)

Dennis' parents

I think his favorite part was the hay ride...

He was so sweaty by the time we left!! It was such a fun day!

This weekend we also celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary!! Parker spent the night with Dennis' parents after the pumpking patch and we spent Saturday night and all day Sunday together. It was so nice to spend time with just Dennis =)

Dennis is the best husband, dad and friend! I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else!

Our week

2011-10-07T09:54:00.003-05:00

This week has been busy but we managed to get some outside play time!

We, of course, did Parker's favorite thing....ride the ranger!

This week at school was Homecoming week and each day had a different theme. We did something small each day to go with the theme.

Monday was Camo day...

Tuesday was crazy hair day...(Parker was so excited about his blue hair!)

Wednesday was school colors day...(they were suppose to wear either blue or red head to toe)

Thursday was western day...(we dont have much in the area of western wear but we managed to pull a few things together, and Parker was thrilled that he could wear his cowboy boots to school!)

I ahve been studying alot this week and Dennis has had the job of keeping Parker busy so that mommy could study. I walked into the living room the other day and found this...

So, Parker has spent every evening playing with his cars and toys in there and every morning eating breakfast in that tent! They also have been practicing their duck calling skills!

Everything is going great, I am so close to finishing school I can hardly stand it! Parker is absolutely loving his school and learning so much and Dennis is about to start hunting season and I know he is excited about that. I may have to get out there with him some this year. This weekend we will be starting the first of many fall traditions and I am just so excited aboutthis time of year!!

Fishin' at the creek

2011-09-29T11:46:00.003-05:00

This week Parker is learning the letter "F" and the school organized a day for the K-3 class to go Fishin' at the creek. Fishing and fish for the letter "F". All of the parents were invited and it was so neat to see Parker in his school element. The kids walked outside in a line with the their finger over their mouth, so disciplined!

The kids were so good sitting on the blankets listening to the teachers.

There was facepainting! Parker's favorite teacher (besides his own) painted a football on his face and he was so proud!

There was side walk chalk. It was so funny, all the kids laid down on the parking lot and had their parents trace them.

It looked so funny with the body tracings all over the parking lot.

There were also bubbles!

....And horshoes!

And then they "fished". It was actually the teachers behind a table putting bags of candy on the hook. But the kids LOVED it!!

I feel sorry for the teachers after the kids ate all that candy =)

Then, we finished the morning with a picnic lunch. Parker was so excited that we were there!

This is his little group of friends...arent they so cute!!

It is still so hard to believe that Parker is in real school! He is learning so much and LOVES his school, friends and teacher!

Happy birthday Mallory!!

2011-09-26T20:36:00.005-05:00

Today is sweet Mallory's 2nd birthday!!

This past weekend was Mallory's Minnie Mouse themed birthday.

Parker and Mallory, of course, had a blast together!!

The party was at the church and the kids had so much fun in the indoor playground, bounce house and just running crazy in the gym.

Parker got a little rough with Mallory in the ball pit. He was treating her like one of the guys!

Parker stole on of Mallory's presents and went to town. Good thing she was willing to share that morning.

She got LOTS of fun presents!!

Parker did stop moving the entire two hours and got so sweaty!!!

I cant believe how big she is! Mallory is such a blessing. She is the sweetest, happiest little toddler!! Thanks for such a fun bday party!!

Diane (Mallory's mommy), me and Brittani. love these girls!!

Weekend with friends

2011-09-18T11:33:00.003-05:00

This weekend we went to the lake with Stephen, Sarah and Sydney. The weather was not warm enough to do the normal lake activities but we made the best of it.

We took the kids to ride go karts for the first time! and Sydney and Parker were in Heaven!!
Of course, Daddy and Parker won!

On our way back to the house we saw a big festival and the kids had to stop!
There was a fire truck, bounce houses, face painting, games and more games!!

After naptime, the weather warmed up and we took a boat ride!
The boat ride was fun but there were fire ants and tics on the boat (not sure why or how tics got on the boat). I had 10 tics on me that night!! SOOO GROSS!! Parker only had one on him but still....GROSS!!

I love this picture, It is for sure a picture to print and save for when these two are teenagers!!

We also watched the Razorback game (we wont talk about how horrible that game was, even though we won). It was great to spend some time with great friends!

Fun fall weekend

2011-09-08T18:14:00.004-05:00

Last week a water pipe burst at Parker's school and I had to stop everything and go pick him up early from school. I was frustrated at the time but we had such a fun afternoon. We got a strawberry milkshake and french fries for a snack and Diane and Mallory met us at the park!

This weekend we tailgated all day on the golf course at War Memorial Stadium and then went to the Razorback game. It was such a fun day!! And this is the only picture I took!

The stadium was so cool! Every section was assigned a color of shirt to wear to make an American Flag that wrapped the stadium (the student section wore blue shirts). It was such a neat September 11th tribute.

Parker stayed with Dennis' parents all weekend and was spoiled like crazy! =)

They went to the park and Parker got to ride in a firetruck!! He could not stop talking about it when he got home

He even got to spray the water hose!

AND! My little brother scored a touchdown in his football game on Friday night. SOO PROUD!

I love these fall weekends! The weather is still pretty warm but it is getting cool at night and it just makes me so happy! I couldnt wait any longer to change my blog to a fall theme, isnt it cute?!

Football and friends!

2011-09-06T14:43:00.004-05:00

This weekend was the beginning of my favorite time of year!! Football season!!....
It means cooler weather!

Parker was actually able to play outside for more than 3 minutes!!

Dennis and I went to watch my brother (he is a junior in high school) play football at my old high school and they won!! Justin did so good and I cant wait to watch him every Friday night!

On Saturday we had a fun football party at Stephen and Sarah's house. The kids played outside, we all ate really yummy food and watched the Arkansas Razorbacks football game.

I just dont think there is anything better than watching football with some of your best friends!

After that we went to the lake with my family for Labor Day celebrations. Sunday was such a fun day. We went on the lake, watched movies and we all practiced shooting my brother's pellet gun (isnt that what all families do on holidays?).

Parker got to shoot his first gun and I will say, he is definitely a fan!! Daddy was so proud =) We all stood in line and waited our turn and whenever it was my turn Parker would tell me "Momma, its OUR turn!"

Monday (Labor Day) was not so fun, I woke up sick sick sick!. I wont tortue you with the details, but there are absolutely no pictures because I was in bed the entire time. And now everyone in my family is getting it one by one. Sorry everyone!! Thankfully, Parker hasnt gotten it. Pray pray pray he doesnt!!

Now, I am on the mend and have a lot of catching up to do!! Cant wait for the weekend...more footbal!!

Mallory, shoulders and a wreck

2011-08-24T15:31:00.006-05:00

This week I had the pleasure of keeping Mallory for a little while! I took her with me to pick up Parker from school and he was so excited! We stopped and played on the playground for a while.
These two are just about the same size and have so much fun together!

The other night Parker thought riding on Daddy's shoulders was so fun and he especially thought it was fun to have to duck under the door frame.

Since Parker was little he has loved to ride on daddy's shoulders and I have taken pictures every few months of them.
I thought it would be fun to look back at some old pictures of Parker on Daddy's shoulders!

about 6 months

one year (his teeth were so funny!)

3 1/2

Isnt it amazing how much better his color is now? I never realized how blue his lips, eyes and fingers were until he had his third surgery, he looks so pink now! He has grown so much! and turned into a little boy.

And this week we had our first little boy accident. Parker had his first bike wreck. He got a really big scrape on his elbow and one on his finger. Thanks to the Coumadin, they would not stop bleeding!! He woke up with some blood in the bed but nothing too dramatic :) Yesterday and today he has walked around with his right elbow up in the air!

He is fine but Im sure I will be hearing about this new boo boo for a week or two! Im just glad he woke this morning and told me that it was doing better.

Relax

2011-08-21T19:40:00.004-05:00

On Friday, Parker came home with this fancy hairdo! He was so excited to show me his hair. One of the teachers that helps Parker's teacher in the afternoon used to be a hair dresser and she said that the kids LOVE it when she does their hair after nap time (and she has fun doing it!). I will just say, when I went to this school...I would have been send home or put in detention for hair like this! They have come a long way!

Dennis and I have had ALOT going on. So we decided to go tot he lake and try to relax for a day.

There wasnt a ton of relaxing but this boy had a blast!!

Parker and Tyler have so much fun together...these boys are going to get into a lot of trouble =)

This is Parker holding up the bridge as we went under (dont you remember doing this as a kid!)

Well, my school starts tomorrow. It is going to be the busiest few months I have ever had but on December 7th I will be a graduate!!

Parties and school

2011-08-15T17:48:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was filled with friend's birthday parties!! On Saturday it was a swim, slip n slide party! I wish I had a video of parker going down the slip n slide. It was so funny because he just wouldnt do it. He would run to the end and then belly flop into the splash pool.

On Sunday, we had a party at the Wonder Place. Parker loves this place!

He played at this train table almost the whole party!

On Friday, Parker got his first note sent home in his back pack! Yes, on the second day of school =) It said that he has been talking during nap time. He is not required to sleep but must allow the other kids to sleep if they want to. So, we talked about this all weekend! Im sure he was just excited about his new friends and school! He did much better yesterday but we will still remind every morning =)

Parker's teacher sends home a news letter every Monday to tell us what they are going to learn that week. This week they are learning the letter "A". There is a song to learn, Bible verse, stories, show and tell and much more that all go with the letter of the week. Last night Parker and Daddy read through the news letter and talked about what he is going to learn this week.
and learned his first Bible verse for the letter A! "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23.
I am so proud of him! He ran up to the teacher this morning to tell her the verse and she couldnt believe he had already learned it!!
Parker loves his new school and so do we!! Some talking at nap time will be easy to fix =)

First day of K3!

2011-08-11T14:22:00.006-05:00

This morning Parker was so excited about going to his new school!! He jumped out of bed and hurried to get dressed and could not eat his breakfast fast enough!! He was so excited about his new uniform, new shoes and new backpack!!

He looked so darn cute in his uniform!

And his backpack is as big as he is =)

We had so much fun taking him to school this morning.

It wasnt a sad time, no tears were shed. He could not have been more happy to be there and I could not be more excited that he has made it to K3!! Of course I am a little sad that he is getting so old but he just keeps getting more fun!

A few years ago, we didnt even know if he would be able to go to school but look at him now!!

He is absolutely in love with his teachers!

He ran to get in line, most of the kids wouldnt let go of their parent's hands but Parker was so excited to get this show on the road and get to his classroom!

He ran right into his classroom, found his hook and started playing. We waived goodbye from the door and he was a happy camper!

My sweet boy is getting so big and growing up right in front of my eyes! I could not be more excited about this next year for our family!!

I pray that Dennis and I as parents and Parker's new school help mold him into the young Christian man God wants him to be.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Summer's end

2011-08-09T08:32:00.003-05:00

Summer is winding down (not in the weather department!!) and we have been having lots of fun!

All Parker wants to do is swim!
We have been eating snow cones too!

It has been HOT, temps in the 110s! When we get home, this is Parkers new place to lay when he is worn out from the heat! He sits up on the arm rest with a pillow under him.

All of the sudden Parker has become an expert on his bike! We can only ride it early in the morning or late at night but we fit some riding in every day!!

He has gotten so fast we can't keep up with him. So, daddy got a bike to ride with him! Parker was beyond excited!!

Today, Parker got to meet his new teacher at his new school. I think he is already in love with her!! He could not stop talking about his new classroom and his new teacher!! This got me so excited about this coming year!!

He had fun playing in the classroom. He went over to this babydoll, stuck the bottle in its mouth and turned around for a picture!

I am still pretty sad that my little baby is starting K3! He has gone to Montessori school since before he was 2 but this is so different!! It is a structured school environment and he gets to go through the lunch line! Is he old enough for that?!!

I know this post is all over the place but I havent had any time to blog lately. I finished my summer semester and I am about to start the very last semester of graduate school!! Awww!!
I will for sure blog about Parker's first day of "big boy" school at the end of the week (he starts Thursday!!).

Mexico 2011

2011-07-30T13:37:00.003-05:00

Last week Dennis and I were able to take a short vacation to Mexico with two other couples. It was so fun and much needed!
First I wanted to show yall the coolest thing we did. We got to swim with dolphins. I know that alot of people have done this but to me, it is one of the coolest things I have ever gotten to do!

We rode on their belly

Danced
And gave kisses

We had so much fun with our friends and no kiddies. We missed them but it was nice to have a little us time.

We went to the Riviera Maya and it was absolutely beautiful the whole time.

We went to neighboring town to shop and got to hold these fun little monkeys!

This one wanted my sunglasses and was going to do anything to get them!

We all had a romantic lobster dinner on the beach one night.

We mostly relaxed, got some sun, went to the spa and laughed!!

Now back to real life....

WRC, Diuretics and Uniforms oh my!

2011-07-13T22:23:00.004-05:00

I have been quite the slacker on the blog this summer!!
Last Saturday we took Parker to Wild River Country for the first time and he absolutely loved it! I havent been there in over 15 years, so it has changed a lot! We went with Diane, Bj and Mallory to night water, so we went in the evening. The kids couldnt go on the big slides, so the adults took turns going on some rides. There was a kids slide that look just like the big slides. A parent could get in a double tube with their child and go down. I seriously have never seen a bigger smile on Parker's face! He could not get enough! I wish I had my camera, but I didnt want to risk taking it in and it getting ruined or stolen.

When we got home Parker was wiped out! He wanted to lay on the couch with a blanket (I dont think he has done this since he was 2 months old!!) He layed there for an hour and then went to bed. I had to document this because it will probably never happen again! =)

On Sunday, I started noticing that Parker was looking a little puffy around his eyes (remember we stopped his diuretics last week). I thought maybe he was just tired and I would watch him. On Monday, he still looked puffy and his teacher at school even noticed it. So, I called his Cardiologist. Well, he is out of town until next week so the nurse and I decided to restart the diuretics this week and then call him next week to see what he wants to do. No biggie, I just feel bad for Parker because he has to use the bathroom ALL THE TIME!! but we want to keep his heart happy =)

A might just get teary writing about this next event! We went to the Toggery to buy Parker's school uniforms for his new school!! He will be starting K-3 in August. His unform is khaki or navy shorts/pants with a red, white, light blue or navy collared shirt. The smallest shorts they had were a 3. The waist was pretty big but they should work if we just put a tack in the waistband and then we can let it out in the Spring. They only had one shirt in his size, so we ordered those and we also ordered a tiny school sweatshirt! He is just going to be the cutest little school boy!

He was so excited! I just cant believe he is old enough to go to school! I know its not "real" kindergarten but to me its a big deal! I am so glad that his surgeries are behind us and now we can just focus on Parker's future with nothing hanging over our heads! God is so good and his plan is perfect!

A long day at ACH

2011-07-06T19:54:00.005-05:00

This morning Parker's school took all the kids on a field trip to Jump Zone and he had a blast but he was also worn out!

I picked him up at lunch and we headed to Arkansas Childrens Hospital for his cardiology appointment. First we headed to the outpatient lab and got his blood drawn (to check his INR) and then we headed to the clinic.

We waited for a while and then Parker got his echo. He was so great during the echo and I think the tech fell in love with him! The appointment was great and Parker's echo looked great. His right ventricle function has improved since his last echo in April and his valve leakge has improved slightly (they repaired it during surgery). AND His diuretics were stopped!! woohoo!! So, we will just watch him the next few days for puffiness and make sure his breathing doesnt changed. If he does get puffy, I will just start the diuretics back. We are not expecting to have to restart them because of the summer heat and how much he sweats. His INR was a little low so we increased his Coumadin slightly. He wants him on the Coumadin at least untilt he end of the year. He told me that taking him off the Coumadin would be his Christmas present to Parker.

We dont have to go back for a cardiology appointment for 4 months!! Dr. Seib went over the long term complications that can happen after the Fontan and what to watch for. I wont bore you with those because Im sure we have to worry about them =)

Oh yeah, Parker's pulse ox was 95%!! This truely blows my mind!! No wonder he has more energy than he knows what to do with!! I told Dr. Seib that he gave parker too much energy =)

After being at the hospital for 5 hours we were finally finished! On the way out we stopped at the huge train and the outside playground.

By the time we got home at 6:00 pm, Parker was out and went straight to bed. He doesnt do well when he is worn out AND has to skip his nap.

It was a really long day but a great appointment! It is so strange to not have any plans for surgery in our future and Im loving it =) This next year is going to be so fun for our family (Parker starts K-3, I graduate with my Masters Degree!!), I just cant wait!!

4th of July weekend

2011-07-05T15:21:00.005-05:00

This weekend was so fun! We spent the weekend at the lake and some friends joined us! Diane and I went to Hot Springs after lunch on Friday with the kids. We got everything ready and swam with the kids.

Parker has always been very timid around the water. This summer is no different but he is doing so much better!! By the end of the weekend he was jumping in from the first step.

Mallory on the other hand is a dare devil!! She is a fish!

Parker loved jumping in to his boogie board.

That night, the boys got there from work and we ate dinner and just relaxed.

The next morning we got up and went out on the boat and took the kids tubing! Parker loved it and Mallory loved it as long as it was for a limited amount of time.

Danny and Brittani also came up on Saturday to play. We ate dinner and then went out on the boat for the fireworks.

The kids stayed up so late and did great!

Diane and BJ left on Sunday and we stayed until Monday. We had the most relaxing time! Parker's favorite thing is to "drive" the boat!

...And to fish! He would sit there for hours and reel in the fake fish!
On Monday we came home, unpacked, and then went to Diane and BJs for an afternoon cookout.

Parker went without his shirt most of the time (because he spilled juice all over it). He played golf with the big boys.

Parker and Mallory are so cute together! At the lake, when she would come in wearing her pajamas he would say, "Mallory you are so cute!"
Mallory is getting old enough to play with him and it so fuN!

Mackenzie was there too! she is getting so big also. We have some fun years ahead of us =)

Hope everyone was able to enjoy the long weekend and celebrate our freedom with family and friends!

No cavities!

2011-06-23T10:34:00.001-05:00

Parker went to the dentist for the first time about six months ago but that was just an initial visit where they just looked at his teeth and counted them. This week he went to the dentist for his first official cleaning!
Before we went he had to take a dose of prophylactic antibiotics (because of his heart, we do not want an infection!). Teeth cleaning is a leading cause for heart infections in patients with heart defects or transplant material in their heart (like Parker's shunt). So, we want to take every precaution we can.

He was such a big boy when it came time to get his X-rays!

And he loved the frog chair!

The tech said we would see how he does and TRY to clean his teeth. Well, he did amazing! He just laid there and watched the cartoons playing on the tv mounted to the ceiling.

They cleaned, scraped, poked and flossed.

The dentist came in and poked some more with that scary dentist tool!! Parkers teeth look great and no cavities. The only issue is that his baby teeth have no spaces or gaps between them (most kids do, to leave room for permanent teeth). He showed me the X-ray and Parkers big teeth are huge and take up the space of two baby teeth! Those teeth are going to be crammed in there. Poor little guy got my height and my teeth!! It's bad when the dentist prepares u for braces when your child is 3 1/2!!

Overall it was a great visit, And parker LOVED the spongebob toothpaste in his goody bag!

Some catching up to do...

2011-06-20T20:40:00.007-05:00

It has been a few weeks since I have posted, life has been more than crazy. My school is in full force and Dennis is busier than ever at work. We are just in a crazy season of life right now and it will all be worth it very very soon!

Last week Parker got a new helmet for his bike and we cant keep him off of it!

This past weekend, we went to stay in a cabin at Lake Catherine with Stephen and Sarah. We had reserved this cabin over a year ago and I couldnt believe it was already time to go. I spent some of the trip studying but it was nice to get away for a few days.

We thought we would see if the kids would sleep in the sofa bed together but that did not work out so well =)

They were a little too silly! Sydney slept in the sofa bed and Parker got the roll away (no rails!!). They both slept in the living room and did great! The first morning they slept until 9:45.

We spent some time at the swimming area and it had a beach! Parker LOVED building sand castles.

We went on some hikes, we went to the waterfall but it wasnt running. It was still beautiful though.

We buried our feet in the sand!

We went on A TON of boat rides!

Parker and Sydney had a blast with each other!

We celebrated Father's day at the lake also. Parker and Dennis had so much fun fishing. Parker has never been interested until this weekend. He LOVED it!!

Also, on Monday night I got to celebrate Father's Day with my dad. AND we celebreated his 50th birthday. I really do have the best dad! I could not imagine my life without him.

The past few weeks have been hard. I have neglected my friends and family...Im sorry everyone!! I have tried to spend as much of my free time as possible with Parker and Dennis but this summer is just crazy busy with school. I am so glad that I was able to go to the lake with Parker and Dennis. We definitely needed some quality time together.

Another fun weekend

2011-06-07T09:59:00.004-05:00

We had another fun weekend at the lake but it was soooo hot!!

We did Parker's favorite activity, rode the boat.
We had to get in a few evening boat rides because of the heat. It was really ridiculous how hot it was.

Parker didnt care when we went on the boat. Besides, It was so much nicer to go at night. He could still count all the boats and ducks.

We also did some swimming. At the beginning of every summer Parker is terrified of the water. He got over it pretty quickly and was swimming all by himself and jumping in!

These chest/arm floaty things are AWESOME!
I grew up going to the lake and I am so glad we can spend time there and that Parker can grow up going to the lake as well.

When we got home we played fetch with Oliver for a while and while we were outside, Parker spotted a huge hot air balloon!

He was so excited, it got really close and we could even hear them blowing the hot air! We see this balloon all over the city but this is the first time it has been so close!

And then we continued playing with Oliver =)

parker is so proud when Oliver will fetch the ball for him.

Before bed, Parker wanted to have his picture taken! His hair is so funny! It is always so perfect before he goes to bed (because we have just washed and dryed it)

he says its "so pretty".

Now, we are all back to the work week. Parker started summer school this week and LOVES his teacher! It is the assistant from his old class and he adores her =) Im back in school as well! Im hoping to keep my school work and clinical hours within the week days so I can spend the weekends playing =)

Happy birthday Granny!

2011-06-05T15:01:00.001-05:00

Last week we went out to eat to celebrate dennis moms birthday.

Parker LOVED the card he got her. It was a toy story card that that he picked out. It played "you've got a friend in me".

Granny and Parker had a blast!

Happy birthday granny!!

Memorial Day weekend 2011

2011-05-30T21:00:00.004-05:00

Sunday we went to the lake with my family! Parker has always loved being out on the boat. This year was no exception. His favorite thing to do is counting all the boats out on the water (in English and in Spanish, of course!).

On Sunday night we got out on the boat at night to go see the fireworks. It was so neat to be out on the water in the dark. Parker was pretty tired because it was way past his bedtime.

This is my Papa and Parker.

He absolutely loved the fireworks. He saying "those are so pretty" and "that one is so beautiful"! He is at such a fun age, this summer is going to be so much fun =)

This weekend marked a little milestone for Parker. Whenever we go anywhere, Parker still sleeps in a pack n play because there arent bed rails everywhere we go. Well, we decided to let Parker try to sleep in bed without rails at the lake house. It was a twin matress on the floor but it was still a bed with no rails =) He could have still fallen off but he did awesome! He still didnt get out until we came to get him. He just sat and played in the bed when he woke up and wouldnt get out.

We didnt really get in the lake this trip, it was still a little chilly but we spent a lot of time out on the boat and swimming in the pool.

Across from our the lake house is an island. We took the boat over there and let Oliver play, fetch and swim. And Parker threw rocks in the water the entire time.

Oliver had the best time in the water! Im glad he likes the water because that is how he is going to stay cool this summer! Its going to be hot!! It is already 95 degrees in May!!

This was an amazing first weekend of summer and we are all looking forward to more =)

Happy Memorial Day!!

Crawfish 2011

2011-05-30T20:06:00.003-05:00

Happy Memorial Day weekend!!
Saturday we had our annual crawfish broil at our house. We cooked, ate and played all day long. It was sooo hot but we had a blast!! Tank tops, shorts, bathing suits and ponytails were the attire for the day.

We got out the bounce house but added to water to the ball pit and this was the highlight of the day for the kids!! Mallory was the first to arrive! Parker absoluely adores her =)

The kids had a blast all day, this makes the parents very happy =)

There was also a slip n slide! Our backyard will never look the same =) But it was so worth it!!

It was such a fun day hanging out with all my friends. We had people stopping by all day (from about 9am-8pm). I was exhausted by the end of the day but had the best time! I am so glad the weather cooperated.

My sweet, handsome husband! Happy Memorial Day to Dennis, he is my hero =)

My very best friends! Thanks for all the help girls!

I think about 60 lbs of crawfish were eaten in one day!

Randomness

2011-05-27T21:21:00.002-05:00

Parker got some new goggles for the lake/pool!! At first he wasnt too sure about them but, as you can see, he thought they were hilarious!

A funny little story....
Yesterday we went to Children's hospital to get Parker's blood drawn to check his Coumadin levels. When we were walking into the building there was a school bus parked beside the sidewalk. Parker was beyond excited. Apparently he has never been this close to a school bus in real life (FYI, Parker is OBSESSED with school buses, he screams in the car whenever we see one and he has a small army of school bus figurines at home). He turned around gasping for air and asked if I would take his picture with the school bus!! (he must know I would want to blog about this amazing school bus!!). He wouldnt even look at the camera because he was so into looking at the awesome school bus. He told me he was "so excited!" and that school bus was "really cool".

BTW: his Coumadin level was perfectly therapeutic. We dont have to change his dose and we go back in a month (who would have thought this would be so easy)!

I also wanted to document that Parker is getting some freckles (like his mommy). They are only on his nose and it is the cutest thing I think I have ever seen =)

Its hard to see in the picture but they are right on the bridge of his nose (which is the cutest nose ever!). He really is getting so big and is such a little man.

Anyways, this post is kinda all over the place but that's how our life is right now!!
We are so excited about Memorial Day weekend!! It's going to be a fun filled weekend filled with family, friends and lots of crawfish!!

Graduation

2011-05-25T15:18:00.005-05:00

Last night Parker's school had their graduation. He goes to a Montessori school and he graduated last night from the Toddler class to the Primary class. How is he old enough to graduate?

This is Parker and his amazing teacher, Mrs. Lynzee. We LOVE her and we are so sad that she wont be Parker's teacher anymore=( He wont be going there much longer anyways, but we are still sad.
Parker's class sang three songs.."You are my sunshine", "Im a little tea pot" and "Rum Sum Sum". I have heard these songs over and over again the last few weeks. He knew every word and every motion.

One of Parker's best friends at school, Carson....

He was so proud of his diploma!

After his graduation we went home and he played fetch with Oliver.

and Granny (Dennis' mom) came over to play with Parker!

I am so proud of Parker! This year has been crazy! He has learned so much in school this year. He missed about 2 months for his surgery but went back and never missed a beat! What an amazing kid! I honestly didnt think he would go back to school before the end of the school year but he has been back for almost a month! He will be in a summer program and then he starts K-3 in August...I cant even talk about that yet :)

Congrats Parker!! We are so proud of you !!

Bounce house fun

2011-05-21T20:48:00.003-05:00

Staruday we didnt do much but we did go to my cousin's 8th birthday party (Natilee)! She had it at a bounce house place. I had never been to this particular place but it was so neat because they have a big room for little kids where the bounce houses are easy for them to play on and climb in.

Mckinzee is my other cousin and she is 3 months younger than Parker, they had a blast chasing each other around and playing with each other!

You can barely see Parker in this picture because he was going so fast down this slide!!

He had the best time and got so sweaty!

This is Parker and Mckinzee

He was so sweaty. It just showed me how much he has changed since his surgery. He played for a hour and a half straight without stopping to rest. It is just amazing how much more energy he has and how well he can keep up with the other kids now.

Than it was cake time. He is smiling so big because one of his favorite things to do right now is to sing "happy birthday"!!
Now all Parker wants to do is go back and jump!

boys....

2011-05-14T16:53:00.003-05:00

Parker is in the cutest stage right now and one of his most favorite things to do is to go "potty on a tree". I am trying to control the situation and only let him do it when we are playing outside and he just HAS to go. He really only does it on the weekends, at our house and thankfully we have a pretty secluded back yard.

He is also saying some of the funniest things right now! He has learned who is a girl and who is a boy and tells everyone what they are. Now if anyone asks him his name he says "Parker Lee Evans the boy". If I do anything for him or hand him anything he will say "thank you mommy the girl!" He also wants to count everything but he has to count them in English AND in Spanish. Such a smarty pants!

This weekend the weather was kinda cold but it was a great weekend because Oliver came home from duck hunting training!! Parker missed him so much. We took the boys on a walk at 2 rivers park. I had never been there until Saturday, It is so close to our house and it the perfect place to have picnics, walks, runs, and maybe even family pictures =)

I dont know if it was Oliver's homecoming or Mother's day last weekend but Dennis decided that I needed a shot gun. I am one lucky girl =) I dont know if yall remember but I went duck hunting with Dennis last year and I used my brother's gun. Well, it was huge and my short arms could barely hold it up and pump it at the same time. So, Dennis decides I needed my own little gun. So, he got me a youth model and it fits me perfectly. Of course, this gun will most likely be Parker's when he starts hunting, but for now I get to use it.

And we had to shoot it!

Here is a picture of my new gun and Oliver. He didnt get too much bigger over the last two months, and he is still the sweetest most laid back dog. He has adjusted to being back with us perfectly. We are all glad he is back, he really is a fun dog to have and he keeps little Bentley (our shiztu) on his toes!

animals, music and a bump

2011-05-11T21:12:00.000-05:00

This week the weather has been amazing and Parker has wanted to ride the Ranger everyday after school. We have ventured out of the normal path we drive and found a whole new world right outside of our neighborhood! We found some really nice horses to talk to! Who knew that there was a horse "farm" less than 1/4 a mile from our house in the middle of the city.

Last night my brother Cory was in town and he played an acoustic show at the Rev Room in downtown Little Rock. he is always so busy touring around the country and he doesnt get to play much in Little Rock, so it is nice when we call all go see him sing. Click on his name to hear his music. I know he is my brother but I think he is really good!

The past few days I have started to notice a "bump" on Parker's chest near/under his incision. I started thinking about it and decided to email his cardiologist with a picture. He got back to me in like a hour (BTW, we LOVE LOVE LOVE our cardiologist!!).

He told me that as long as it is hard, nontender, not red or draining that it is normal. Because the right side of his heart is larger than normal, it pushes out on the incision as it heals. He said that this should look less prominent as he grows. It really doesnt look that bad, It doesnt make his shirt stick out or anything. I am just a mom and got worried =) I wanted to share this information because I know a few heart moms read this blog and a few of them are post-fontan now!! woohoo!! and might see this "bump" and wonder what it is. Now you know!

Mothers day weekend

2011-05-08T21:33:00.002-05:00

This weekend was spent celebrating our mothers. On Saturday Dennis' family came over. We grilled and played outside, the weather was amazing!!

Parker had a blast! He was sooo dirty and sweaty.
I hate that I didnt take many picture!
On Sunday Parker brought me breakfast in bed. And then we went to church.

We spent the afternoon with my mom and both grandmothers. This is a weird picture of Parker and I but I wanted to remember him bringing me a hand picked flower. Such a sweet boy (most of the time). =)

My sweet husband pampered me on mother's day. He is the best!

I am so thankful for my family. I thank God everyday for allowing me to be a mother to such a brave, strong and full of personality son. He truely brightens my day every single morning when he gets out of bed. Being his mommy isnt always the easiest job but it is the best job!!

Sweet gifts

2011-05-06T18:14:00.001-05:00

Today Parker came home and was so excited to give me the mothers day presents he had made me in school!!! He gave me a box filled with hugs and kisses and some macaroni art!

He is so sweet, he kept hugging and kissing me and telling me he loves me this much!

After school we played outside until bedtime. I LOVE this time of year!!

Parker is getting so big...he has started calling me mom (so sad). He will wake up asking for a specific pair of underwear and a certain shirt (this morning it was his school bus shirt). Something funny...he has been waking up for the past three morning with his hand asleep (I'm guessing). He will shake it and hit it and tell me to look at it...I think it is pretty confusing for him! So funny!

Heart wise he is doing fantastic. He has so much more energy and is keeping up with the other kids pretty well. Still resting a bit during playtime, but not as much. He doesn't go back to the cardiologist for an echo for two months! I still can't believe the Fontan surgery is behind us...a prayer answered, PTL!!

Happy mother's day!!

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Mid America

2011-05-01T22:34:00.001-05:00

This weekend we were in hot springs for my friend sarah's birthday. It rained all weekend so we took the kids to mid America museum. I hadn't been there since I was in elementary school!!

This was my favorite thing when I was little!

Digging up dinosaur bones

Parker and Sydney had a blast!
When we got home our neighbor was under water! It hasn't made it to our house. Hopefully this rain will end soon!!
Hope everyone is staying dry!!

Stormy weather

2011-04-27T10:26:00.001-05:00

The last three days have been filled with excessive rain, winds and tornados!

This is my back porch during a hail storm. We had larger than golf ball sized hail. It was about a 2 inch layer of hail and it sounded like the roof was going to cave in!

It looked like it had snowed. And our front yard looked like A lake.

Everytime it thundered Parker would say "I'm not scared!"
We all hope the tornado season is over!

Busy Easter Weekend

2011-04-26T10:14:00.008-05:00

This weekend was so busy but a lot of fun!

Saturday morning, we went to an Easter egg hunt at the country club. There was a really fun petting zoo! Tyler loved the little pigs =)

And Parker loved the goats!

We went and saw the Easter bunny and then it was time to hunt! Of course, as soon as Parker's age group is running to the egg area, Parker has to go to the bathroom! We were a little later but he still managed to get about 5 eggs!

On Saturday afternoon we went to Sydney's third birthday party. It was a my little pony theme and there was a real pony!!

Parker played soccer most of the time, but we did manage to get him to ride the pony for a very short time. (Isnt it cute? they painted it to look like a my little pony)

Saturday night we went to a park, we played and hunted Easter eggs with Dennis' family. It was very relaxing and a lot of fun. He loved granny pushing him on the swings. I think he would do that for hours!

Sunday morning we went to an amazing church service and then had a family lunch.

My favorite boys =)

All of the brothers and sisters.

The best family picture we could get.

It was such a great weekend! This is one of my favorite holidays...It is in the spring! Cute little boy clothes, seeing sweet Mallory in her Easter dress =) and it is the most important holiday for us as Christians...He is Alive, the tomb is emtpy and we are forgiven.

Thank you Jesus!

Eggs...

2011-04-23T12:53:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to remember our fun night of dying Easter eggs with the family....

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Parker, friends and school

2011-04-21T10:34:00.005-05:00

This week has been a little crazy! Parker is back in school full time and loving every second of it! He is just so much happier when he has a schedule and a routine. I have been busy wrapping up this semester of school. A few papers and presentations have been turned in. Only a few more papers, one more test and about 44 more clinical hours to complete!! A two week break is in my very near future!!

On Monday night Sarah, Brittani and I went to a fundraiser for the Rep (a local theatre thats puts on some great plays). It was called Pashion for Fashion. It was a spring fashion show of bathing suits, sundresses, and more. The play that is going on right now at the Rep is Hairspray, so the cast did some bits from the play and they were hilarious!! I may have to see this one before it leaves town.

This week Parker had his Easter egg hunt at school. It was rainy and cold yesterday but they were still able to do it outside. Parker's teacher sent me a few pictures.

He had a blast and could not stop talking about how many eggs he found!

Yesterday Parker also got his blood drawn to check his Coumadin levels. They were pefectly in the range he needs to be in and we dont have to go back and get his blood drawn for a month!! I am just so shocked at how easy this Coumadin transition has been. Everything else is going great for Parker. He is still a little timid when it comes to jumping but he does everything else without hesitation. Everywhere we go he has to show people his booboo and tell them that it is doing better! He is such an amazing kid!

This weekend will be filled with family time and Easter celebrations.

Happy Birthday Diane!

2011-04-18T11:33:00.003-05:00

Today is my best friend's birthday. This weekend 20 of us went out to eat with no kids to celebrate hers and another friends birthday. We had the best time!!

It is so rare that we all get together. I havent laughed that much in a long time!!

God has truely blessed me when he gave me Diane as a friend! She is such a wonderful mom, friend, an amazing support system, shoulder to cry on and someone I can complain to and know that she will not judge me.
Happy Birthday Diane!! You are such an amazing friend...thank you!

Baseball!

2011-04-14T20:55:00.003-05:00

Tonight was the opening game for the Traveler's baseball season. I have actually never been to the new stadium, so I was excited!! The weather was perfect and Parker was beyond excited to see Sydney!! They havent seen each other since two nights before his surgery. So, it has been over a month!! He missed her =)
Parker was very excited to go see a baseball game! I think that he thought he was gonna get to play!
There is a kid play area. I was a little nervous about him playing around other rowdy kids, but I found a small bounce house that was empty (except for a tiny little girl). He had a blast jumping and it didnt seem to bother him at all. I still cant believe that he had heart surgery 4 weeks ago!
We sat over on a hill behind the out field so Parker and Sydney could run around. Well, Parker spent most of the time sitting in my lap. Im glad that he limits himself and rests when he needs to. I thought this picture was funny...He is definitley Mr Personality!
When he wasnt in my lap eating cotton candy, he was throwing the baseball back and forth with Stephen.
We had such a fun evening, thanks Stephen and Sarah for inviting us! I can see lots of evening at the Travs games in our future. We stayed out kinda late tonight and parker went to bed later than he has been, but he handled it great! We love this time of year! The neighborhood is coming back to life and everyone is out in their yards and hanging out on the driveways...my favorite time of year!!

A little catching up to do

2011-04-12T15:42:00.003-05:00

Parker has been home for over a week and it has been heavenly!! He is a different kid and after this past weekend, we are different parents! Dennis and I were able to go to the lake for a night without Parker and just relax. And that is exactly what we did!! We fished off the dock, got some sun, rode around in the boat, got a little more sun and laid around. We havent really had a chance to sit and talk very much lately and if we have, it has only been about hospital stuff or heart related things. I love my sweet husband!
Today was a big day....Pareker got to go back to school for a few hours this morning. He was beyond excited!! I told him when he got up and he would NOT eat breakfast and could not get dressed fast enough.
He was a little shy when we got there and would not let go of my leg! This is sooo not him. I think he is still adjusting to everything.
When we got home, he took a very long nap. He was worn out after playing with all of his friends. His teacher said he did so good. She was surprised at how little he whined! He really is a different kid since his surgery. WAAAYYY less whiny. I think he just feels better and isnt as tired.
This afternoon we played golf for a very long time! I hope he can get into this sport...it is a sport I can actually see him being able to tolerate (endurance wise).
Daddy got in on the action too! The club was a little small!
He has lost quite a bit of weight (but he is gaining it back, slowly) since his surgery. I didnt really notice until we got home and all of his clothes are falling off of him!! I tried to capture his saggy pants in the above picture. He is so funny, walking around pulling his pants up all the time. I cant put a belt on him because then he wouldnt be able to go potty a million times a day (those diuretics are tiring!). Things are going great! He will go to school a couple of morning this week and then maybe go a little longer next week. I still cant believe how fast he is back to normal. He does still have some soreness but nothing too bad. He loves to lift his shirt up and say "my booboo looks better!!" in this high pitched voice. I guess thats what I sound like =) so funny!

Cardiology post op appointment

2011-04-06T20:47:00.004-05:00

Today was Parker's post op visit. We have been home for 4 glorious days. Even though I have spent most of them studying for a huge test that I had this morning, It has been amazing to be home.

Parker did great today. I am so glad that he did not kick and scream when we went to the hospital today, he was so happy to go see the doctor!! His pulse ox was 95% WOW!! 95!! This is so amazing to me. What is even more amazing, is how pink he is. I just cant believe the difference. He is still skinny but has gained a little weight since discharge. 12.2 kg to 12.4 kg (thats like 27 1/2 lbs). He really has been eating everything in site (well, everything that is low fat of course!!).

His chest xray lookd perfect, no fluid. His INR was 2.4 so we decreased his coumadin a little and will start getting his blood drawn at our pediatricians office. We will get it checked again in 2 weeks. Two weeks isnt so bad, I was expecting every week for a while. All of his other medications will remain the same. He is on Diuril, Aldactone, Enalapril, Digoxin, Aspirin, and Coumadin. I dont think it is too bad of a list.

Dr Seib told us that if we felt comfortable with it, Parker could start going to a few half days of school next week!! NEXT WEEK?? didnt he just have major open heart surgery?? He truely is the stongest person I know. Everyday we have been home he has done more and more. He is back to his old self with a little fatigue here and there and still some soreness. We still need to watch what he does (no jumgle gym or climbing high), we dont want him to injure his chest, still cant lift him under his arms but other than that he can pretty much get back to normal. Since it is late in spring, he isnt worried about the flu or those kinds of sicknesses. Of course, we will need to make sure he isnt around anyone sick and have good hand hygiene, but we can get out and about!! woo hoo!!

All of this is blowing my mind. I guess I thought we would be in seclusion for 6 weeks. Praise the Lord that Parker is doing so great. He is the same Parker but different at the same time. I am so excited to start living without a planned surgery in our future...so weird!!

Smiles!

2011-04-03T18:27:00.001-05:00

Sunday was our first whole day at home. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so we decided to go out on the boat. We went out on little maumelle river. It Is a small river off of the Arkansas river that is really smooth and we could go really slow. Didn't want to bounce Parker too much. He loved it! I just love that sweet smile!

After a really long nap, we did Parkers most favorite thing...rode the ranger! We went and saw all the neighbors. They were all praying for him and were so excited to see him out and about.

Then Parker flew a kite for the first time, he was so proud of himself!

Parker is doing great at home. Having some nightmares and issues being alone, but we are working through those. He is eating and drinking better and is doing really good on the low fat diet (except he HATES skim milk...but who doesn't?)!!

We go back for our follow up appointment with cardiology this week. We will see how Parkers INR looks and get another xray. I'm sure everything looks great :)

Home

2011-04-03T08:51:00.003-05:00

After battling another day of dehydration and doing everything I knew to bribe Parker to drink, drink, drink, we got to come home yesterday!!
It was the absolute best feeling! and Parker did not know what to do with himself!! On the car ride home he started remembering all the fun things there are to do at home!
And when we got there all he wanted to do was swing, pajamas and all.
Then he got to wear real clothes! It was so funny, when I put shorts on him, he was very confused. He kept telling me to fix them and was trying to put them down like pants.
He has done so good at home so far! We are all getting back into our normal routine and we all slept so good last night! I was worried that Parker would wake up a bunch (because thats what he was use to in the hospital), but he slept from 8:00 pm to 8:30 am.
This picture is of Parker putting on daddy's chapstick (a part of his night time routine at home). We are just thrilled to be home! We still have to watch his water intake, but everything is going pretty smoothly. Thank you for all the prayers, gifts, notes, and dinners! We could not have made it through these 2 1/2 weeks without them! I know that we were in the hospital for a short time compared to a lot of people and that we are so blessed, but my bed was so heavenly last night =)

Post op day 14

2011-03-31T22:18:00.001-05:00

Wow! Can you believe it has been two weeks! This morning Parker went down for his morning xray and woody got to go!his xray looked good and Parker got his chest tube out today! woohoo!

After that, the day was pretty uneventful.

Parker spent the day charming the nurses (they love him because he always tells them thank you, no matter what they have done. Such a sweet boy), playing in the playroom, and eating Popsicles!

Parker was slightly dehydrated this morning so they decreased his diuretics. His INR was 1.5, so his coumadin dose will remain the same. All things are looking good and if everything stays how it is right now we should go home tomorrow or Saturday (maybe!).

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Blessed.

2011-03-30T21:24:00.001-05:00

We are so blessed. Parker is out of the woods and we never had a really scary moment during this hospital stay. Everything really has gone "textbook", even the effusion was expected. I was reminded of how blessed Dennis and I are when I walked by our neighbors room and the nurse was in the bed with the one month old patient doing chest compressions. Parker and I were playing in the playroom as the bed rolled by with 15 people surrounding it and two people in the crib with her working hard to help her survive. Wow. It was very emotional. I can't say what the outcome was But I'm pretty sure it is grim. That family may have only had one month with their baby girl. I have been blessed with over 3 amazing years with mine, and thanks to ACH and Dr Imamura, I will get many more!

Today was another day of progress! Parker's chest tube has been clamped off since yesterday and his xray this morning showed no fluid! Woohoo! There is talk of taking it out tomorrow if the xray in the morning looks good. His INR was 2.2 this morning (in the range we want!) so we will also see how that is tomorrow. If all looks good and he continues to eat, we may get to go home as early as Friday!! I will keep you posted.

Freedom!

2011-03-29T22:15:00.001-05:00

This morning Parkers central line dressing came off and the catheter came out of his neck a little bit. The consensus was to take it out because pushing it back in would put him at a very high risk for infection. So, I figured out a way to hook all of his other stuff to his body so he can walk around freely! He is loving it and I can hardly keep up with him.

His chest tube drain is hooked on his collar and tucked in his pants, but it works!

We spent the majority of the day in the playroom.

We also got a huge delivery of balloons from the ACH auxiliary! He played with those things for hours today!

Today was kind of a big day. Parker had some xrays done this morning and they showed only a tiny bit of fluid around the lungs (we all have some). So, his chest tube was clamped off this morning to see if any fluid accumulates. We get xrays every day and if all looks good they will remove it in 48 hours!! He has been tolerating it as far as i can tell. Parker also ate so good this evening, he hasn't had the best appetite and hasn't really liked his new diet :) the nutritionist came in this afternoon and had a fresh pair of eyes and really helped me get creative with his diet. Low fat, low sodium and high protein is not the easiest! his diuretics were also changed to a home regimen and dosing (something by mouth and manageable to give at home).

We are still getting the coumadin levels where they need to be, this morning they were 2.5, so he was restarted on a low dose tonight. Now that his central line is out he will have to be stuck for labs every morning :( but they are going to send the phlebotomist up to do it (specially trained). This is better than getting an infection with that line.

So, we will still have no idea when we are going home, but all of these things are getting us there!
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Still draining.

2011-03-28T19:25:00.001-05:00

Well, spring break was over today for me and I had to go back to school! I hated to leave Parker but i knew he was in great hands with his daddy. Honestly, I think it was good for me to get out of the hospital.

Parker was feeling great today and was in the best mood! He is still draining into his chest tube, but it is decreasing. His chest xray looked better this morning! But his INR (coumadin levels) were extremely high this morning (3.9, if anyone cares....Lauren). So, we are holding his coumadin dose today and will recheck it in the morning. Parker has also been scratching his incision (I guess it is itching as it heals), and he scratched off a scab. Well, with an INR that high, he has been bleeding pretty bad from that area. His nurse just changed the dressing and I think the bleeding is finally under control.

When I got back this afternoon we headed to the playroom!!

We found this pouch to put his heart monitor in and Dennis figured out a way for his chest tube drain to hang on his IV pole, so we can just follow him around. It gives him a little more freedom.

His favorite things to do in the playroom is bowling with the Mickey mouse bowling pins!
He will get tired and go sit in a chair to throw the ball.

So proud of himself....

And his other favorite thing is sit in daddy's lap and play basketball.

When we got back from the playroom he was exhausted and fell asleep before we even knew it!

So, today was a good day. We are just waiting on the chest tube to stop draining and the coumadin levels to be corrected. I am anticipating at least another week. We are doing great and have such a great support system!

I still can't believe Parkers pulse ox is ranging from 93-97 on room air! Just AMAZING!

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A step in the right direction

2011-03-27T15:32:00.001-05:00

This morning parker was not feeling good!

He got his chest tube and it made a world of difference! It drained 300 cc when they put it in! That is a lot for such a little guy.
He did so great and was back to his old self before knew it. Immediately he was taking deeper breaths and breathing slower.

This is him waking him...he was acting drunk and funny! And all he wanted was water .

After his procedure the nurse changed his central line dressing and he wanted to wear a hat like her....

Also, the fluid that drained from the tube was clear and was not a chylothorax!! So, it should be able to be cleared up with diuretics and we won't have to change his diet to no fat.
The chest x-ray this afternoon showed quite a bit of fluid on the left side (chest tube is in right side), so we will hopefully get all that fluid with the diuretics and not have to put a tube in the left side.
He is completely off oxygen!! As soon as the fluid was drained his pulse ox came right up! They did have to reverse his coumadin, so that will be our next step...get that back to a therapeutic range.
There are a few more issues but overall Parker is doing so much better. We definitely had a little scare last night, but God is so good! We will for sure keep an eye on the left lung tonight and tomorrow. We also will be walking Parker around the hospital ALOT over the next few days to get that fluid moving.

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Chest tube

2011-03-27T09:45:00.001-05:00

This morning Parkers effusion was worse. He peed his brains out last night and it didn't seem to help. So, he will be getting a chest tube sometime this morning. First they are giving him some fresh frozen plasma to reverse the coumadin effects.

After Parkers first surgery he developed chylothorax. This is where he can't absorb fat and it collects around the lungs. This might be the case again since the diuretics didn't work. The only way to know which problem it is, is to see the color of the fluid (it will be white if it is a chylothorax). The fix for the chylothorax is to drain the fluid and then .change his diet to absolutely no fat until he heals (6 months)

Parker is doing pretty good but you can tell he just doesn't feel good. He slept pretty good last night in between the diuretic doses. I will update after the procedure.

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One step back

2011-03-26T21:58:00.001-05:00

So, we did not go home today. Parkers INR (coumadin level) was good today but his x-ray was not. It showed a small pleural effusion (fluid collecting around the lungs). The cardiologist was just not comfortable sending him home yet and told us he would increase his diuretic and we would probably go home tomorrow.

This is what Parker looked like this morning....

He was feeling great!

Praise the Lord we did not go home this morning! Parker started looking pale, breathing really fast and shallow, and was really tired. His pulse ox also dropped drastically in only 2 or 3 hours this evening. He was placed on oxygen and had another chest xray. The xray showed a pretty large effusion. We have moved back to the step down unit and have started aggressive IV diuretics.

The cardiologist said normally with this size effusion he would go ahead and just do a chest tube to drain the fluid, but Parker has been on strong blood thinner. He would be at a very high risk for bleeding. He will be watched very closely tonight and if he gets worse or if in the morning it isn't better they will reverse the blood thinner and put in a chest tube.

He is doing good and still has a pretty good attitude, except for the oxygen in his nose! Hopefully he won't need that too much longer.

So, we will for sure be in the hospital for a little while longer...prayers for my sweet Parker ;)

I don't want to be too optimistic, but....

2011-03-25T14:01:00.001-05:00

I think we will be going home tomorrow!! Woo hoo! I am definitely not going to get my hopes up too much because they still have to look at his lab work and he will have a chest x-ray tomorrow too.

Today I got many lectures on Parkers new diet that he will need to be on. It needs to be heart healthy (low fat, low salt), high in protein (his albumin is low, and low protein is side effect of this surgery), can't eat certain foods because he is on coumadin, and he still needs to gain the appropriate amount of weight. Whew! I have a lot of food lists to go through and some menu planning to do. This will be good for Dennis and I too, we always need to eat better. It will just take changing our routine and then hopefully we will get used to it.

Today Parker and I just played and were silly. We went on some walks, rode in the wagon, and Parker took a four hour nap this afternoon. He was feeling so good today. I can't wait for him to not be connected to the stupid IV pole (the IV pole and I do not have a good relationship!). I want to take him to the big playroom but I am afraid it would make just make him mad that he couldn't just run. So, we find other fun things to do that can accommodate a huge pole and heart monitor :)

So, hopefully I will be blogging tomorrow from my comfy couch or my queen sized bed! I think the chair bed I have been sleeping on is about 2 feet wide and my butt is not much smaller than that!

Our prescriptions have already been called in, we have all our appointments set for next week. They will consist of a lot of blood draws to get his INR level where they want it. The first blood draw is first thing Monday morning. We will also be watching his protein levels over the next few weeks to make sure he doesn't develop Protein Losing Enteropathy (PLE), it is a risk after this surgery and since his protein is low, we will be watching it. It is definitely too soon to know anything though.

Overall Parker is doing amazing! He is only requiring Tylenol a few times a day and the occasional oxycodone. We aren't allowed to lift him under his arms and it is so hard! It is just what you are used to. I am getting good at it, though, thanks to the million times he has to pee pee and he is too short to get on the big potty by himself. Last time he had heart surgery he was a little baby so it was easy.

I am just so thankful for how well Parker has done and that he is in good spirits for the most part. He is going to be so excited to get home and back to his normal OCD routine (that is a whole other post!!).

Goodnight!

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Another move!

2011-03-23T22:28:00.001-05:00

The last two days have been pretty uneventful. Parker is doing well enough to go home, but we r waiting on his INR level to become therapeutic.
So, we have been hanging out in the playroom...

He is still pretty sore and has to be followed around with his huge iv pole and his heart monitor whenever he gets out of bed. Going potty is a chore! And he is on 3 diuretics!!

This morning we headed to get an echo. Parker got to ride in a fun wagon!

He did great during the echo. Mickey mouse was playing and he found a slinky dog to play with! I will tell u it was not fun having to leave that dog behind! But The good news is that the echo looked good.

Since parker is doing so great, This afternoon, due to staffing and patient acuity, we were moved yet again! To the over flow CV floor. We are in a semi-private room with no roommates yet. The only bad thing about this unit is that there is not a close playroom, but we will make it work.

Still not sure when we will be going home. I'm hoping for the weekend.

Today, I was also able to go home and get a real shower and take some time for myself, thanks to my wonderful husband. It felt so good to take a shower with actual water pressure :)

I will update tomorrow when I hear a tentative going home time.
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Moving across the hall!

2011-03-22T14:20:00.001-05:00

This morning Parker got his pacing wires out! Now is belly is free of any tubes and no dressings! He was feeling much better this morning. Look at how greatness color is! Pink!!

And then, the big news of the day....Parker moved OUT of the ICU! We are across the hall in the step down unit in our own little private room. On our way over to our new room, Parker was screaming and crying. I think he thought we were going somewhere bad. He is not liking any hospital staff right now!

On this side of the hall we pretty much do everything for Parker and take care of him by ourselves. They have a playroom over here too! We went this afternoon and Parker lasted about 5 minutes before he got too tired and had to be carried back to the room.

After the playroom he was exhausted! He took a short nap and then ate a little dinner. After dinner, he started acting scared and would not let me go. I had to be touching him at all times. And this is how he fell asleep....

I definitely did NOT mind! But I felt so bad for him. Its like he hasn't gotten enough holding and touching over the last week and he just needed it. I am so glad I can do this for him :)
We are so excited to be in the step down unit because we are getting so close to going home! I can't believe my sweet little boy had open heart surgery 5 days ago! Crazy. It has been way easier than I could have ever imagined. God is so faithful.
He really doesn't have any issues, and I'm not sure how long we will be over here. Maybe we will get to go home by the weekend?

I have also gotten some questions about parker going home on the coumadin. This is a blood thinner and the cardiologists like for post-fontan patients to be on this drug for at least 6 months after surgery. Parkers new blood flow to his lungs is strictly a passive flow system, because now it bypasses the heart, goes straight to the lungs to be oxegenated, and then it flows to the right side of the heart to be pumped out (before some of the blood was pumped to the lungs by the heart). Since there is no pumping action taking the blood to the lungs, it increases the risk for clots. It is so amazing what surgeons can do, isn't it?
Because he is on coumadin, he will have to get his INR checked pretty frequently to make sure it is in a therapeutic range. If not, his coumadin dose will be adjusted. This will require frequently blood draws, not sure how that is going to go because Parker is already so scared anytime anyone walks into his hospital room....We will cross that bridge when we get to it. Until then, we are focusing on getting this sweet baby home!!

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Post op day #4

2011-03-21T13:49:00.001-05:00

Today has been another good day! Parker got the rest of his chest tubes taken out today, and he did so good! They sedated him for the procedure and he slept for a long while after! See those two gauze dressings? That's where they were.

This is the face we saw for a good part of the day...

He was kind of pitiful with a really mad/serious face for a good portion of the day. He also kept saying his belly hurt. He complained about the pain from chest tubes coming out more than the heart surgery!

He walked today but relaxed most of the day. He was really tired after his procedure this morning.
He got s new Woody doll today and would not let it out of his sight! He even had to take it on his walk!

This evening during his bath we decided he needed his hair washed (really bad!). So, we found a shampoo cap. These things are awesome, you just put it on their hair and massage for a minute and then dry with a towel. And he looks pretty darn cute in it!

Today Parker got the last of his chest tubes out!! Woo hoo! His heart rate has also been in a good normal rhythm since yesterday, no more pacemaker. The only thing he has left are his pacing wires (the orange wires) and a heparin drip. These should both be gone tomorrow, and we should be moving out of the ICU and to the step down unit tomorrow!! He does still have his central line (iv in his neck) but that will probably stay until just before he leaves. He will probably start his coumadin tomorrow and he will be on that for the next 6 months. Once he starts that we should be on all the home meds and will just have to adjust the doses before we can go home.
So, tomorrow when he moves, it will be constant hospital for me :) I'm ok with that because it means we r closer to going home!!

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Post op day #3

2011-03-20T12:56:00.001-05:00

Today had been another good day. Parker was pretty grumpy and pitiful when we got here this morning. But he did sleep pretty good last night!
He didn't end up getting all of chest tubes taken out today. He got the mediastinal chest tube taken out but the two pleural tubes were still draining a little too much to remove. He also got his RA line taken out (an IV that goes directly into the right atrium of his heart). We should get the other two chest tubes out tomorrow (that is the plan at least).
Parker did play with a toy for the first time today! Aunt Diane gave him this toy and he played with it for a few minutes. Thanks di!

Today he was also being silly and we got a big smile and even some giggles!!

Parkers great grandma (mimi) made him some adorable hospital gowns! He got to wear one today for the first time. He chose the toy story gown.

He wore it while he was walking today. He only made it one lap today but he still did so great!
He also was able to sit in mommy's lap today!! Doesn't he look thrilled! Well, I was!!

We also had lots of visitors today! While Parker was taking a much needed nap this afternoon we went out to the courtyard with Danny and brittani to enjoy this gorgeous weather!!

This afternoon parker took about a 3 hour nap and Tonight He has eaten much better! I am so glad! He ate some heart healthy pizza, an apple and some baked tator tots. I didn't realize how bad Parker ate until we got the heart healthy menu he could chose from and nothing he wanted was on it!! Ha! Guess that will have to change...sorry Parker :)

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Post op day #2

2011-03-19T17:59:00.001-05:00

Today has been a great day! Of course we have had some rough moments, but overall it has been so good. Parker is truly amazing and God is so good.

He has been resting a lot more today. This is how he has been falling asleep...can you imagine sleeping like this with all those chest tubes, lines and hurting chest? He is comfy though!
Parker hasn't eaten much but I did get him to eat an entire thing of applesauce.

This afternoon Parker has been completely off oxygen and his pulse ox is staying between 85-95!! before surgery he was at 75 on a good day. He is so pink :) love it!! His x-ray looks much better today and the little pneumo is pretty much gone! He also got his bandage removed from his incision and it looks so good! And he got up out of bed to a big boy potty that they brought to his bedside. I told him he can go in his diaper but He will not go in his diaper!
He can't eat anything after 4:00 am tomorrow so that he can get his chest tubes and RA line out in the morning. After that our only obstacle will be to get completely off the pacemaker.
We have also been so blessed with lots of visitors and gifts. We haven't even had to eat at the cafeteria yet (thank you friends!!).
Excited to see what tomorrow holds!!
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He is on the move!

2011-03-19T11:16:00.001-05:00

Parker had a great night! His precedex drip (sedation drug) was stopped and he is more like his old self. He was sleeping so good when we got here this morning.

This morning he smiled for the first time! So good to see!
And then the big event of the day so far...he got up and walked!

We are so proud of him.
He walked around the unit 5 times! All of the nurses were very impressed. It took a team of a few people to hold all of his stuff and push his iv pole, but it was worth all the work!

Then he got to sit in daddy's lap for a while. He started falling asleep because he was totally worn out after the long walk.

Our first family picture
Once he fell asleep in daddys lap we transferred him back to the bed but daddy had to go with him.
He curled up with Dennis and fell right to sleep...I must say I was pretty jealous!

Now he is taking a nap.

Today he has done a 180 when it comes to his emotional state. I am so glad he is feeling better and that he is able to rest today. He also got to use the bathroom in a urinal...he told me that he got to pee pee on a tree! Tomorrow he will probably get all 3 of his chest tubes out and his RA line out! He is making huge progress and will probably only be in the ICU for a few more days.

A pretty long day!

2011-03-18T14:11:00.001-05:00

This afternoon was pretty eventful! Our nurse definitely got her money's worth today! The first event was getting a CPT treatment. This is when the respiratory therapist places a vibrating instrument on Parker's chest and back. This breaks up the secretions in his lungs and hopefully prevents pneumonia. Imagine how that feels on his hurting chest...I can't!

You can also see the little bear he hugs whenever he needs to cough. Coughing is hard work and not fun at all, but he keeps pushing on!
Parker was also able to turn on his side today! This is how he sleeps at home and he seemed a lot more comfy.

The next event was the chest X-ray. That hard board under his chest did not feel to good! Parker had a small pneumothorax in both of his upper lungs this morning. The X-ray this evening showed no change (not getting any bigger) so that's good news and doesn't require any change in treatment.

He also got to sit up this evening! I think this was his favorite part of the day. Even though he doesnt have the happiest face, he was enjoying himself!

He actually fell asleep like that!

Today was a long day of being uncomfortable and trying to find Parkers perfect "cocktail" for pain control. He finally went to sleep around 7 and his night nurse made this sign for his door.

And this is how we left him tonight.

He had a long day but made a lot of progress! Today he got his catheter out, his arterial line out, the dopamine drip turned off, started on pain medication by mouth, and started eating!! He even got his long awaited chicken and French fries! He is still on the pacemaker, but I'm not stressing too much about that yet.
I am sure tomorrow will be filled with a lot more progress, can't wait to share!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Post op day 1

2011-03-18T10:04:00.001-05:00

Parker had a pretty good night. His heart rate dropped some so he was placed back on the external pacemaker but he hasn't used it in the last few hours!

His pain has been pretty well controlled but he still has some moments. He really starts hurting when he has to cough. He has been drinking as much apple juice as they will let him! He is on fluid restriction (this surgery causes lots of fluid accumulation so they limit his fluids for a while), so he can only have 30 cc of liquid per hour (that equals one ounce), just enough to tease him!

In between the tiny bits of apple juice, I have been dipping a sponge in the juice and he will suck and chew that thing till it is bone dry!

I asked him this morning if he needed a kiss and he quickly said no, but then turned his head and Said "I need a kiss"! Love my sweet baby!!

The doctors just came in and they are going to take his catheter out and let him eat something today!

He LOVED the pudding! He ate the whole thing and then fell right to sleep. He is a happy boy with a full belly! I am so glad he is getting to eat and that he is able to eat!
Today they are also going to get him up into a chair! It will be so good for him, but it isn't going to be very fun!!

I will update again tonight...I am so glad I have this journal for Parker to read when he gets older. I want him to know how strong and amazing he is!

Update #3

2011-03-17T15:12:00.001-05:00

Parker has been out of surgery for a few hours. They started him a fentanyl drip (continuous pain medication in his iv) because he has been hurting.

His nasal cannula (oxygen) is bothering him the most! He will not leave it in his nose. He also wants something to drink so bad. He keeps asking for milk, apple juice, chicken and French fries. Poor thing. He is loving the mouth swabs and sucks them dry!

Right now we are in the waiting room because his heart rate was increasing and nurse wanted him to have less stimulation. They did an EKG to look at his heart rhythm and it was normal, so that is a praise! They decided to start a Precidex drip to help relax him. He is also on Dopamine for his blood pressure. Right now he is resting comfortably and watching toy story 3! Such an amazing little guy :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

He's out!

2011-03-17T12:11:00.001-05:00

Parker is out of surgery and in the ICU!! We haven't seen him yet but will be able to in about 30 minutes. The breathing tube is out and he is already trying to sit up and get out of bed!! Little fighter!! Will update once we see him.

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Update #2

2011-03-17T10:48:00.001-05:00

He is already off bypass and his heart is beating on it's own (with a little help from an external pacemaker). This makes my heart so happy!! They said if the echo looks good, he should be done in a hour or so!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.

Update #1

2011-03-17T10:25:00.001-05:00

Just got an update. He is on bypass and they are about to stop the heart and do the connections. He is doing good. Things are going pretty fast (faster than I was planning for). He didn't have as much scar tissue as they thought he would! The next update should be of them checking everything! Thanks for all the prayers!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Surgery Day

2011-03-17T09:43:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a long day of pre-op testing at ACH. It was also my birthday! We went out to dinner with my family. It wasn't my ideal way to spend my birthday but at least I got to spend the entire day with my two favorite guy!

This morning we got to the hospital at 5:00.

We spent the morning playing.

Parker kept showing us his "mr pump". He kept telling us that the doctors are going to fix his "mr pump"!!

He also made a fort!

We got him a brand new buzz lightyear for his hospital stay. He needed a new clean smaller one. He LOVED it!!
They came and got him at 7:15. He did get some "happy" medicine so he was happy to go with the nurse, he just loved riding on the bed!
Dennis and I are doing good....we have lots of family and friends keeping us company. I will definitely keep the blog updated today.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Keeping Busy

2011-03-15T21:10:00.004-05:00

The past few days we have just been hanging out with Parker and getting some last minute things done.

We played outside.

He wore me out!!

Got a hair cut...

And tonight we ate dinner with Stephen, Sarah and Sydney. These two certainly are a pair =)

We also took them out for ice cream.

I am just so thankful for all the wonderful friends and family we are surrounded by.

I dont really have much to post about or say. Tomorrow is our big pre-op appointment. This is where Parker will have a lot of testing done to prepare him and the surgeons for his surgery on Thursday. It is going to be a long day for Parker. Keep him in your prayers.

Last day of school

2011-03-11T20:53:00.003-06:00

Parker's doctor wants him to be out of school the week of his surgery. This will decrease his risk of getting sick or beig around anyone sick before his surgery. So, today was Parker's last day of school before his heart surgery and his class threw him a pary! It was so sweet. They had cookies, ice cream sandwiches and punch. These are his best friends at school (Carson and Carter)....

This is Parker and his teacher, Miss Lynzee. Parker had just woken up from his nap in this picture =) All of his teachers are so sweet and they love him so much.

The kids and parents in his class are wonderful too. Parker got a present from one of his friends, he loved it and he calls it a polar bear!

Parker's class also made him this sign and they all "signed" it. It says "we will miss you Parker, Get well soon".

This week Dennis and I also got the opportunity to give blood for Parker to use while he is in the hospital. I just love that we could do this for him. I am a planner and there is just no way that I can plan what is about to happen but this is something I can do for him; so I did it!! A few of our friends and family were able to give blood also. We appreciate everyone who gave and everyone who tried to give but couldnt for various reasons. We are overwhelmed with all of the encouragement, notes, and prayers from our amazing family and friends.

Sweet Boy

2011-03-09T20:20:00.004-06:00

When I went to get the mail today I opened the mailbox and saw a huge yellow envelope. I immediately knew what it was and my heart sank. It was the surgery packet. I dont know why that particular thing got to me but it just hit me and it just made the surgery so real (it is one week from tomorrow! yikes!).

When I got inside, I unwrapped all the mail and inside of the folded yellow envelope was a small letter. It was a sweet (really sweet!) note of encouragement. God is so amazing!! =) I needed that note to go along with the surgery material (of course God knew that!)

The envelope was filled with surgery information, visiting hours, things to expect and a DVD to watch (havent brought myself to watch that yet). As I was reading all of the material I began to cry a little; Parker was sitting at the bar across from me and asked if Momma was sad? and then before I knew it, he was giving me the biggest hug and brought my coat to me so that I could wipe my eyes on the sleeve. He is such a sweet boy and I always want to remember these sweet moments. It is so easy to forget in all the hussell and bussell of everyday life.

It's official

2011-03-06T17:21:00.005-06:00

This last week Dennis and Parker have been getting the yard ready for Spring and Parker has loved helping Dennis.

He has his own shovel! And was so proud to help put mulch in the wheel barrel!

This week I have been talking to schedulers, admissions and nurses about Parker's heart surgery.

The date will be March 17th! Wow....how did this day get here so fast? Wasnt he a little tiny baby just yesterday?

The plan is to go into the clinic on March 16th for all of the pre-op tesing (EKG, chest x-ray, blood work, etc) and then we will report to the hospital at 5:30 am on the 17th.

He will be the first case that morning (probably will start around 8:00-9:00), but there is always the chance of a delay or change of time due to an emergency surgery or a heart transplant. This has happened with both of Parker's previous surgeries.

God is so good and I know that all of this is His plan for Parker and our family. His strength and the love of our friends and family will get us through this difficult season.
Thank you for all the support and for lifting us up in your prayers!

The rest of the story

2011-03-01T13:01:00.006-06:00

The results of Parker's heart cath were perfect! He is a text book candidate for the Fontan surgery (his third and hopefully final, major heart surgery)! We have mixed emotions....I am thrilled he is a candidate for this surgery (so many kids dont make it to this final step in the process) but I am so incredibly scared and sad that he has to go through this surgery.

It really is a praise that Parker's heart cath looked so good. He does still have a leaky tricuspid valve and we are waiting to hear from his surgeon to see if he will fix this during the surgery or if he will see how the surgery effects the valve (it could be better with the new circulation, could get worse or it could stay the same). His lung pressures are great, his heart function is what we expected and his pulmonary arteries are huge!! No fistulas were seen in the lungs, no collaterals had formed and the blood in his lungs is oxygenated at 100%!

As for the surgery....he is scheduled for a date in the middle of March (like 2 1/2 weeks!). I will give the exact date once I talk to the surgery department and get that last verification. oh dear!!

Pre-Fontan Cath and keeping busy

2011-02-26T16:18:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was Parker's heart cath to evaluate his heart function in preparation for his third open heart surgery (the Fontan). He couldnt have anything to eat after midnight and his procedure wasnt until 1:00 in the afternoon!! It was very interesting. Thank goodness for this toy....

Parker was super hyper all morning; I think he was trying to keep his mind off of being hungry. Everyone that came in the room kept saying that he will definitely need a "pre-med" before going back. So, at like 12:30 they gave him a pretty hefty dose of Versed (a sedation drug) and he was HILARIOUS!!!

He kept telling Buzz how much he loved him; this smile was glued on his face. Once they gave him the Versed we were told to keep him in the bed and watch him really close. It was so funny when he would try to hold his head up. I have a video but out of fear of people thinking Im a bad mom, Im not gonna post it! =)

He loved the ride to the cath lab. It was on the other side of the hospital, so it was a long ride. He would not lay back and just kept yelling "weeee" and saying "hi" to everyone he passed.

Dennis and I got to go into the cath lab until he was asleep but left before they put the breathing tube in. He loved the candy oxygen mask (they had to increase it three times before he got sleepy)! He was just so funny, it was such a fun hour before we had to say bye.

This is in the recovery room. After the procedure he had to lay flat and keep his legs straight for 3 hours (During the heart cath they go through an artery in his leg to look at his heart and laying flat will prevent bleeding). They told us he would probably sleep for a few hours after surgery because they gave him a bunch of extra sleepy medicine because they know keeping a 3 year old down is hard!! Well, he woke up like 5 minutes after he got to recovery! This kid does not respond to drugs!! After he woke up the nurse gave him some Morphine to help the pain and to hopefully get him to go back to sleep. It did the opposite!! He was upset, aggrevated, confused and just pitiful for the entire 3 hours!! (I will remember this bit of information about Morphine for the next time)! Dennis and i had to take turns holding his legs down, It was just NOT FUN!!

I didnt get a very clear picture of him in the wheelchair, but he was crying. He just wanted to walk so bad but we couldnt let him yet. He now has a big pressure dressing on his groin and a little dressing on his neck.

When we got home, he just wanted to eat spaghetti. Here you can kind of see the dressing on his neck. He keeps pointing to it and wants to show everyone his "boo-boo".

We got home about 6:30 and he went to bed around 7:30. He slept good all night, but woke up at 6:00 am crying that his "boo-boo" hurts and he was SOAKING wet (all the IV fluids). I gave him some Tylenol and changed him and his bed and he slept until 10:30 am. He is in the best mood today but is limping a little and is still a little unsteady from the anesthesia. We were told to limit his activity for 24 hours and try not to let him walk too too much. HAHAHA! Dennis and I decided to take him for a boat ride! It is entertaining and requires no walking!

Parker loved it!! AND he got a new Buzz Lightyear life jacket...he was thrilled!!

Oliver also swam for the first time!! So proud!

Overall, Parker has done so great and I am so proud of him! I will take the dressings off tonight and give him a good bath to get all the blue stuff (cleaning goo they put on him before the procedure) off of him.

Thanks for all the prayers!! I will update with other heart news tomorrow (what the cath showed and talks of surgery). Im sorry for all the "heart" talk but this is just my life right now =)

Cardiology Appointment

2011-02-21T10:48:00.003-06:00

Before we left town, Parker had a cardiology appointment along with an echo. This was his first echo since last summer, so I was a little anxious to see how his heart was doing.

Well, the echo lasted 2 hours and Parker was amazing the entire time!

While the echo tech went out to talk to the doctors to make sure he had gotten enough pictures we watched Toy Story 3!

Parker's echo doesnt show much change. His heart function is still pretty good and his tricuspid valve is still pretty leaky. At our last appointment we had discussed doing his heart cath and Fontan surgery in spring. Well, Dr S did not like his weight gain (he barely weighs 27 lbs and that is right on the line for the Fontan). We are going to keep the heart cath scheduled for this Friday and then Dr S and the surgeon will discuss when the best time for surgery will be. If there is no benefit in waiting we will go ahead and have the surgery in March but if there is any benefit at all, we will wait. I'm ok with waiting but I am a planner and this appointment did not go the way I had planned.

So, we are back on the pediasure to hopefully get some weight on this kid =) We will also be feeding him anything and everything!!

Please pray for his heart cath this Friday. This will be his first procedure of any kind since he was like 6 months old! And pray for this momma =)

A quick trip

2011-02-21T09:42:00.002-06:00

My parents have had a week long ski trip in Jackson Hole, Wy planned for a long time. Dennis and I decided last minute to go ski with them during the last few days of their trip.

We left on Thursday and got back on Sunday. It was a quick weekend getaway but it was exactly what we needed.

Jackson Hole is our favorite places in the whole world. It is fun in the winter and the summer.

This is the view from our room. It was snowing so hard when I took this picture but for some reason you cant tell.

I am so glad we went, the timing worked out just perfect! We got three days of skiing (the skiing was amazing because of all the fresh snow) and now I am so sore!!
We are so glad to get home though, and we Can. not. wait. to take Parker next year!!

A trip to the creek

2011-02-16T17:53:00.002-06:00

The weather has been amazing this week! So, we took Oliver and Parker down to the creek near our house to play!

Parker was a little nervous to walk in the water but loved it in the end.

He did fall once but nothing too traumatic.

Oliver, of course, loved it!

He is such a great dog! And Parker absolutely adores him =)

Dennis is doing such an amazing job training Oliver, he is going to be the best duck hunting dog!

My sweet valentine

2011-02-14T18:12:00.004-06:00

Happy Valentines Day!!

Parker's Vday party isnt until tomorrow at school but he had to dress the part on the actual "holiday". My boys have been so sweet to me today and I have gotten lots of kisses from my sweet little Valentine!

This week we have had more crazy weather and Parker has gone to school two days out five!

This was Thursday (bundled up in the 12 degree temps). We didnt play too much because it was just so cold!

And this was Sunday (no coat and 70 degrees!). We have played way more in this weather!!

This picture is kinda funny. My neighbor has a really pretty back yard. We were playing back there and Parker climbed on these rocks and this is him trying to pose for a picture =) Cutie!

CHD Awareness Week

2011-02-08T08:24:00.009-06:00

I have learned about Congenital Heart Defects in my nursing career but never imagined my life would be foever changed by one. We found out about Parker's broken heart when he was one day old and our world was forever changed. CHDs are the most common birth defect and are the leading cause of birth defect related deaths each year. Parker has a pretty serious CHD called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome; HLHS occurs in 4 out of 10,000 births.

There is so much need for research, funding and education about Congeital Heart Defects. Most people have no idea how common they are or even know what they are until it affects them personally.

It is so important to raise awareness of this scary condition that affects so many families. So many families dont have the amazing story that we have. This week I am praying for those families who had to say goodbye to their sweet angel because of a CHD and praying for all the future babies who will be born with one.

Crazy weather!

2011-02-02T15:07:00.003-06:00

Well, Arkansas weather is once again CRAZY! This past weekend it was got up to 78 degrees and it was so awesome!!

Parker wanted to be outside all weekend, and so did Oliver!!

We played on the swing set and road cars outside for the most part of Saturday (exept when parker would get tired and want to go inside to watch Toy Story for a few minutes and then we were back out there!)

We also had a few neighbor kids come over and play! It really gets me excited for spring time. There are about 4 boys on our street that are three years old...trouble!!

And today the high is 24 degrees, uggh!!

I hope everyone is staying warm!!

Heart Stuff

2011-01-27T14:47:00.008-06:00

I havent really posted much about Parker's upcoming heart surgery but it will be here before I know it. We are "penciled in" for a day in mid March. I have been trying to think of things I can do to prepare Parker for having surgery and for being in the hospital for a few weeks. I found this book on "Kids with Heart" website. It is called Matty's Heart and is about a little boy who was born with a heart defect and it goes through his journey in and out of the hospital. We started reading it to Parker this week.

We are starting with a few pages at a time and skipping the parts that dont really apply to him. There is also a page on the ACH website that has a video for kids to tour the hospital and see where they are going to go and have surgery, you can watch the video Here. I also printed off the coloring book version of the video for Parker.

Scout is ACH's mascot and I thought that if he learned who Scout is, he would be excited to see him all over the hospital! I think any little thing will help and certainly wont hurt.

Yesterday we scheduled Parker's Heart Cath. This is a procedure to look at Parker's heart and make sure he is ready for his heart surgery. The doctor can aslo do any little tweeks to his heart that need to be done for surgery. His Cath will be Feb 25th. Scheduling this means his surgery is that much closer, ahhh!! We will also go in for his echo on Feb 16th to look at the heart function before his cath. Please pray for Parker, he is such a strong little guy but this is alot for a 3 year old to comprehend. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Random pics and Big Buck Classic

2011-01-27T14:12:00.003-06:00

Just a few random pictures from phone...

I told yall how obessessed Parker is with Toy Story...well, Buzz Lightyear is never far...

This past weekend we went to the Big Buck Classic. It is a hunting expo that happens every january. It is full of animals and hunting "stuff". Parker was in heaven with all the animals. We tried to get a picture with this bear but this is as close as he would get =)

Loving the fish!!

His favorite part was the live bears!

To Infinity and Beyond!

2011-01-19T20:31:00.002-06:00

I just think the way Parker says "To Infinty and Beyond" is so funny. It comes out all jumbled...

A little catching up to do

2011-01-19T19:37:00.008-06:00

It has been a few days since I last posted. There hasnt been much going on besides our normal acitivities and I have been getting ready for school to start back...

Doesnt that look fun! Well, it started back Wednesday and to say I am overwhelmed is a huge understatement. I havent been the nicest to Dennis since school started; I think I am taking all of my stress out on him. All he wants to do is support me, and that isnt always easy. He is the best support system and I could not get through this next year without him.

I wanted to give a little update on the puppy (Oliver)! We have had him about a month and he is the best dog! Parker loves to wrestle with him and he calls him "Dolliber". Dennis took him camping with him this weekend and he did great! Oliver is the best mix between lazy, fun and laid back. He loves to play, but loves to relax just the same. He is also house trained and crate trained...it was surprisingly easy!

Isnt he pretty?!

Parker has a new obsession...Toy Story.

He loves his buzz lightyear pjs and house shoes.

He sleeps with buzz every night.

Parker is growing up so fast! He is completely potty trained for about 2 weeks now. I dont even have to ask him every 15 minutes if he needs to go anymore...he just tells me! Everyday I look at him and think about how much of a little man he is!

Fun in the Snow

2011-01-12T15:54:00.006-06:00

On Sunday afternoon Parker woke up from his nap to find snow!!! It was practically a blizzard (well, it was for Arkansas!)

This year he actually wanted to play!

He was very amazed at making foot prints in the snow.

His eye lashes are so long that they collected a few inches of snow!!

Of course we had to eat the snow =)

On Monday morning Dennis drove us over to Diane and Bjs house to play with Mallory. We made a sled out of a cheap sand box.

We spent an hour sledding and the kids did not want to go in!!

That night Parker got a kick out of throwing snow balls!

Family picture

On Tuesday Diane and Mallory came over to play. This was our very sad attempt at building a snowman =)

Parker was not having a very good day and this is what I had to deal with for most of that day =) Needless to say....I was very glad school was back in today =) I love my son but he needs structure and snow days do not provide that!

Overall, we had a blast in the snow! but I am very glad our snow days are few and far between!

Snow day 2011

2011-01-10T14:59:00.002-06:00

We had a snow storm here in Little Rock and we are loving it!!

We got about 8 inches and Parker is having a ball!!

We will be playing for the next few days and Im sure I will have tons to blog about

and tons of fun pictures =)