Parties and school

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!

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.
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Summer's end

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

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!

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

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

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!