Love letters to our children ..

Best.Teacher.Note.Ever

Setting:  Yesterday @ 4:23 pm .. I'm at work, Brandon is home with the kids
Phone rings
Me:  This is Kelly (even though caller ID clearly shows it's hubby -- protocol and all)
B:  I found a note in Parker's backpack
Me:  (thinking ... oh no, what has SHE done? -- even though she has not gotten in trouble one single time in 2nd grade)  Okay, what does it say?
B:  He read it to me

Here it* is ....

WOW!

 





 

*names erased to protect privacy (ours and her amazing teacher's)

We had NO idea KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF existed in 2nd grade and were absolutely blown away by her teacher's observation and taking the time to share it with us. My favorite line: "I thought you'd like to know what an amazing daughter you have". Music to any proud parents ears.

ONE day: TWO very different anniversaries

July 29, 2003 -- the day I became a Mommy.   Our sweet Parker Elizabeth was born at 2:14 am after 30 hours of labor.  We always knew she was going to hold a special place in our hearts and she does.  I'm a bad blogger, no pictues to share today.  We're having a Build-A-Bear party on Sunday, promise to upload pictures this weekend.

A few stats
at birth:
21.5 inches long
9 lbs, 11 oz
today at 7:
47.5 inches tall
52 lbs

She was a big baby and now she's a tiny 7 year old!   I tried to convince her to go backwards this year and be 5 again instead of moving forward to 7 but she wouldn't have it. 

On July 29, 2008 ~ A Duvall County Sheriff called our house at 10 pm telling us my father's house had a fire.  

Parker brings us so much joy ... I can't imagine letting the sadness ruin her special day.  We chose not to tell her Poppy died on her birthday.   We held his ashes until the National Cemetery in Jacksonville, FL opened about 6 months later.  She thinks he died then and that's fine by me.

TODAY .. I try to balance my happiness for Parker and my sadness for Dad.

1st grade to MBA?

Last year for Parker's Spring Break, we went to Florida.   It was a multi-purpose trip, we buried Dad's ashes and took the kids to Disney World for the first time. (I just realized I've never blogged about Disney.  I will, I promise.)   This year, we did things a little backwards ... my Mother (who lives in Florida) came to us!  Seriously poor planning?  Not at all, it was intentional.  My Mother wanted to spend time with her Mother who is 80 years old and not in the best health.   I started my MBA program in October and I don't get a Spring Break so this worked for everyone.

I have taken a few vacation days while my Mother (yes, I really call her Mother -- not Mom or Momma) is here.  On Tuesday, I had an appointment in the morning and took her to my Grandma's house after lunch - it's an hour drive.   Due the timing of when we arrived, I didn't have enough time to get Parker back to Brandon before my prep class for Managerial Accounting.  She attended her 1st college class!

We stopped at WalGreen's and loaded up on snacks, drinks and a Hello Kitty activity book to keep her busy.  Not too mention, she also had her Leapster 2 and DS with headphones.  She was a model child, only once did I have to remind her to be quiet.  She was playing Mario Kart with her headphones on and said "Missed me, missed me!" out loud.  I even got an email the next day from a classmate about how well behaved she was.  A proud Mommy moment ... OH YEAH!

How is your Spring Break?  I guess we get to relive them (tamer versions, of course) with our kids.  I am only working 2 days this week.  Yippee!

A conversation (or two) with Miss Parker

On Saturday ....
Parker:  Mommy, are fairies real?
Me:  Well I've never seen one but yes I think they are (thinking she meant Tinkerbell)
Parker:  Is the toothfairy real?
Me:  Yes, I think so
Parker:  Me too Mommy but he hasn't been to see me yet
Me:  I know but you have to lose a tooth first
Parker:  I know Mommy

On Sunday...
Parker: Some kids at school are saying Santa Claus isn't real Mommy
Me:  WHO?  (you know so I can hunt their parents down!)
Parker:  Just some kids but I really believe he is really real, don't you Mommy?
Me:  Yes, I believe .... do you?
Parker: Yes, I think he is really real too!
a few minutes later
Parker:  Mommy if you don't believe Santa is real, do you still get presents?
Me:  no sweetie, you have to believe to receive
Parker:  I BELIEVE MOMMY!
Me:  Me too
Parker:  Does Santa bring animals presents too?
Me:  Sure, if we had a dog or a cat, I think Santa would leave them a little something too
Parker:  What about horses?
Me:  I don't know we will have to ask Aunt Monica (my sister in FL, she has horses)
Parker:  Okay
Me:  Do you know why we celebrate Christmas?
Parker:  Yes, it's Jesus' birthday

She is six years old, SIX!  Why would you want your child to lose the magic of Christmas?  Luckily she was just asking questions, I don't think she knows the real deal.  I don't want her too anytime soon.   My cousin told me, we were in 2nd grade and my brother was in 1st grade.   I still remember him telling us, getting great satisfaction out of hurting us.   You see, he's sort-of a know-it-all, and that was just how he rolled.  Incidentally, he is also the one to tell us our Dad was adopted .. like it was bad thing.  My Dad had wonderful parents who picked him, how could that be bad?  Anyway, back to Parker .... I think we were good to go with Santa.  A friend told me yesterday Santa leaves their children 3 presents each, just like the Wiseman brought baby Jesus.  I loved this idea. 

My 1st Baby

I have been tagged by Lisa with an interesting tag post she got off the blog from Mymommyology. It asks questions about your "1st baby".

Enjoy.

1. Were you married at the time? Yes for almost 4 years

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Ecstatic!

3. How old were you? 31, 32 when Parker was born..

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I dreamed I was pregnant twice in three days. I rarely remember my dreams so the 2nd time, I thought I better take a test. Luckily, I had one under the counter. It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I wasn't even late. I 'took' the test and before I could lay on the counter, there was a plus sign. Brandon was still asleep so I woke him up and told him I needed to show him something. He said what does that mean? I said it means we are having a baby!

5. Who did you tell first? We decided to wait until Christmas to tell our families and everyone else. I did tell my boss because I didn't know if I would be sick or not

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Absolutely, both times. I never considered not finding out

8. Did you deliver early or late? Parker was 2 weeks OVERDUE

9. Did you have morning sickness? Nope but I did get a headache if I skipped eating red meat.

10. What did you crave? Nothing

11. Who irritated you the most? The fact my office was over 80 degrees and I brought a thermometer and my director said "it doesn't feel 80" Being pregnant, I said "I guess the thermometer is lying?"
12. What was your first child's sex? Baby Girl

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 25 lbs

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Gestational Diabetes and High Blood Pressure toward the end

15. Where did you give birth? Methodist-Germantown, in Germantown, TN.

16. How many hours were you in labor? 30, yes you read that right, 30 long hours! She didn't want to come out, everyone was forced - contractions, water breaking, forceps. I was so a candidate for c-section!

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Brandon

18. Who watched? Brandon and everyone (Dr, nurses, techs, etc) working that night, it was 2:14 am and they had nothing else to do

19. Was it vaginal or c-section? Old fashion

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Absolutely, see next question and you would have too

21. How much did your child weigh? 9lbs, 11 oz.

22. What did you name him/her? Parker Elizabeth

23. How old is your first born today? 5 years, 2 months

I am supposed to tag people now but I don't think I have that many readers and Lisa tagged me. So I guess, you can just enjoy my story.

Our Kindergarten girl

Here's our first morning in Kindergarten.

In the car, on the way to Kindergarten!

Walking into the building

In the class room

Parker's first few days of Kindergarten have been a blast. These pictures were all taken the first morning. Isn't she adorable in her uniform? The first morning she told me to "stop taking pictures" and after settling in which took her all of 5 minutes, I was told "Mommy, you can go now!" I managed to drop her off without tears for either of us. She was so happy to be there. School is dismissed on noon the first day, I picked her up in car line and we had a girls day. She and I ate at Chili's, while we were waiting I asked her about the first day to which she replied "Mommy, what happens in kindergarten, stays in kindergarten." Thankfully, we attended a parent meeting last Spring where her teacher used this exact phrase. As you can see she is going to do just fine.

Grant is not transitioning as easy. He had gotten used to Parker going to school with him. Yesterday, when Brandon and Parker left for school, Grant cried for 15-20 minutes. If you know my Grant, you know he does not usually cry for more than a few minutes. This morning was a little smoother for him but he still cried. We are hoping the 3rd day is a charm as we get back into our school year routine.

All about Parker...

After 30 hours and 14 minutes of labor, we met our princess 5 years ago today. Parker Elizabeth was born to very exhausted parents at 2:14 am on July 29, 2003. She weighed 9 lbs, 11 oz and 21.5 inches long, with head full of black hair and a cleft lip. I have blogged about her cleft lip being a surprise to us many times so we won't revisit. Just know, we love just the way she is. I looked through all of our digital pictures, there are only a handful of her 1st year as we did not have a digital camera yet.

First trip to the beach, 10 months old.

Halloween 2004- first year to dress up.

2nd birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday-family dinner

Parker's 5th birthday party

We celebrated on Sunday at Sweet & Sassy. Parker had a blast dressing up as a princess with all her friends. Happy Birthday sweet Lizzy Lou. We love you.

Grant-a-cakes

Not too long ago, Grant woke up from a nap and needed his clothes changed so I undressed him, changed his diaper and let him free so to speak. When I came out of our bedroom, I found him like this on our couch enjoying Spicy Nacho Doritos which he helped himself too. I cracked up, grabbed the camera to capture my future blackmail picture. He is all set up, remote by his side.

I hope every one is enjoying their weekend. Ours has been a bit crazy, more on that in another post.

Swimming lessons-round 2!

Parker went under water! This a huge deal for her, we have really been making a big deal out of it. We tried swimming lessons last month, she did okay but was terrified of getting her face/head wet. This week she seems more comfortable in the water and is doing some things on her own like jumping off the diving board into a coach's arms, as opposed to being lowered by another coach, where she never gets her head wet. Last night, she jumped, went under for a few seconds and came up, then she used the dumbbell to swim over to the later unassisted by a coach. The best part? She wanted to do it again! Way to go Parker Liz!

Parker's proposal!

Let me give you a little back story, Parker has been asking to go to 'Chick-a-lay' for breakfast for over a week now. Yesterday, I told her we would have to leave after Sesame Street went off in order for me to get to work on time and go to Chick-fil-a for breakfast. Although we did not leave when we needed to, we didn't leave late so I told her we could go. This made her late getting to summer camp, when we walked in a little boy hugged her. Connor also goes to our church and school, he then turned to the little boy next to him and said 'that is how you get the girls to marry ya!'. Ms. Courtney said Connor you have a long time until you need to worry about that, he insisted he didn't. I asked Connor if he wanted to marry 'my Parker' and he said 'yes ma'am, I do!' He was very matter of fact about it. I have been cracking up about it all morning. She is only 4 and she has been proposed to. How funny is that?

**UPDATE** Connor told Brandon he was going to marry Parker one day when he picked her up this afternoon. At least he is consistent!

Flashback

So most of you know our precious Parker was born with a cleft lip. You might remember a post from a few months ago: http://kellyskidadventures.blogspot.com/2008/03/smile-says-it-all.html, when I met someone blogging who is fostering a baby who has a bi-lateral cleft lip. Baby A had surgery yesterday and is doing great, please read Kim's blog for more info: http://www.fosteringbabya.blogspot.com/ I remember Parker's first surgery like it was yesterday, she was only 10 weeks old and she will be 5 years old next month. It's an amazing journey to see what modern medicine can do to repair these so called birth defects. I have said many times that I don't consider her lip a defect because her smile is the very thing that draws you in. I won't tell you that we were not scared when she was born, it was definitely a surprise but we know it was God's plan for her to be with us. Parker knows she was born 'special', we told her for a long time she was kissed by an Angel, she now knows she was born with a cleft lip and tells people when they ask (and yes, adults randomly ask her what happened), "I just got born like this!" It is funny to see their reaction. It has also helped us teach Parker tolerance of people who might look different or be in a wheel chair.





Now our baby girl is ready for Kindergarten, where does the time go?

Almost back to normal

Thanks to everyone who kept us in your prayers. Brandon was released from the hospital Saturday in time to be home for lunch. Grant was so happy to see him after not seeing him since Tuesday. He is still home from work but getting around much better than this time last week.

On another note, Parker started swimming lessons last night. She has never been afraid of the water but 2 weeks ago when we went swimming, she was completely freaked out. On Memorial Day weekend she is floating all over the place and we were not even in the water. We wondered if she was ready or if we were wasting time and money. I am happy to report she did great, even went off the diving board at the end of class. She can't wait until tonight when she gets to practice again. She is not swimming yet but is floating and more comfortable in the water. Yeah!

Makes you wonder...

Just for fun, the above picture is Grant after enjoying some delicious spaghetti! He prefers to use his hands to eat most of the time. Is he happy or what?

Someone please explain to me how a child who is terrified of dogs and cats of any size is willing to ride a horse 5 times her size?

A new attitude

Happy Monday to all!

In an effort to keep all 3 of you reading entertained, I thought I would share my Parker story with you. We went swimming Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, after a long day both kids were working my nerves. I told my Mother they don't make enough Xanax for me as my kids were worn out and hungry, not a good combination. Anyway, I had gotten on to Parker several times in a very short period of time. As I walk into the den, I see Parker with her 'Prayer hands" and she was moving her mouth as though she was talking but no sound.

Me: Are you praying?
P: Yes Mommy
Me: What are you asking for?
P: I asked God to give you (as in me) a new attitude
Me: Why do I need a new attitude?
P: Because you hurt my feelings and almost made me cry
Me: Mommy's sorry, I hope you get what you ask for
P: Me too!

Our night did get better. Both kids went to bed early. Well, Grant actually went to bed, Parker laid down on the couch and went to sleep almost immediately! And because I am the ultimate Mommy -- I made her a super lunch for camp today and forgot to take it in. I saw her little pink lunchbox on the floorboard of my car when I got to work. ARGH! I called the school to see what time her class eats lunch so we could send something else for her and Mrs. Barbara told me not to worry, she could have pizza or a hot dog. Have I ever mentioned I work 25 miles away from my kids' schools? I was thrilled they have a back up plan for scatterbrained Mommies!

Finally, a new post with pictures no less!

Our little ballerina...

Our tap dancing girl ..

As you can see, she really enjoys dance. These pictures are from dress rehearsal Thursday and Friday, we were not allowed to take pictures during the real show on Saturday. Her dance recital was 4 hours long, yes longer than a Broadway show. Brandon had to leave with Grant in the first hour, he was not going to sit still for that long. Her Daddy did get to see her dance her tap piece to "Happy Birthday Princess". He missed Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo ballet and the finale.

It was a busy weekend for us. My mother is here from Florida for the recital. Parker had 2 birthday parties on Saturday in addition to the recital. Yesterday, we spent the day in Earle, AR (my Grandma lives there) and it was the first time I had scene the tornado damage from May 2nd. It was amazing no one was killed, there are blocks of houses GONE. The Baptist church is missing the sanctuary and the gym. Luckily my Grandma's house only sustained minor damage, everyone was not as lucky.

I hope everyone has a good week!

Why we love Dance!

So I came to the realization this weekend that all dance studio owners are scatter-brained. We were warned by a friend the studio we go to would be this way but it is the best around and the little girls actually learn what 'arabesque' is and how to do it. Here are my observations:

• Last summer, I called several times a week every week before someone called me back. We ultimately dropped in while eating at a nearby restaurant
• School was starting and we still didn't know if the Saturday class was going to make or not
• We get the holiday schedule 1 week in advance-max
• We have known all year, the recital is 5/31 but not which show we were in (there are two day/night)
• On 5/6, we found out we are in the night show
• We have to buy tickets for the recital, everything is donated but don't we pay enough? Tickets go on sale 5/18 between 5-7.
• At 5:40, I realized I forgot to go, Parker and I raced up there. Our number in line '54', the number they were on '29' Are you kidding? Seriously, we waiting 45 minutes to buy tickets to her recital.
• As of this minute, we still do not have the dress rehersal schedule for next week

You might wonder why do we bother? Parker absolutley loves dance. I am assured the recital goes off beautifully. After attending the dress rehersal of a recital of a friend's daughter in West Memphis, I am convinced all studio owners are completely scatterbrained. I will say this, Parker's recital has a theme, everyone is dancing Cinderella. Parker is fairy dust in one and I forget what the pink tap is but it is something from Cinderella. The recital in WM had everything from Elvis to High School Musical and started 1 hour late! And yes, we will do dance again next year despite all the hoop-la because Parker loves it.

Now back to work before I get fired for blogging.

Where little girls come from

This weekend on a routine trip to Target, Parker randomly asked me what is "Aunt" Kristy to me.

K: Aunt Kristy is Mommy's friend and we have been friends since we were little girls.

P: and me too!

K:when Kristy and I were little girls, we didn't know we would grow up and have little girls

P: oh I get it ...

K: okay what?

P: you asked Jesus for a little girl and with His special powers, He put me in your tummy!

Now tell me that Catholic education isn't worth every penny. She is getting such a connection to our faith, more than I can ever imagine! Remember she is just 4 years old.

Brandon and I decided she can believe this for a very long time as far as we are concerned.


Parker this weekend at a Sweet and Sassy Birthday party. She is a dressed up and having a ball with her girlfriends. I see a party for her there in our future.

A smile says it all.

Parker's first smile

Parker's smile today

I am a relatively new blogger but have been looking at blogs for quite a while. I sometimes hop from blog to blog from friend's blogs. Today, I landed on a blog from an incredible family who will be fostering a child from Guatemala while he receives surgery for a Cleft Lip. I started thinking if I blog hop then others do as well. I was so touched by this, I left a comment on a complete stranger's blog then thought about sharing our story because you never know who might be reading it and needing inspiration. Parker Elizabeth was born July 29, 2003. I had a very good pregnancy for the most part, she was stubborn and did not want to be born but the Doctor's made her when she approached 2 weeks overdue. She was born at 2:14 am after a very long labor, we did not know she had a cleft until we saw her for the first time. Baby's are supposed to be perfect and we had no idea what a cleft lip was or what we could do about it. My OB was awesome in giving us as much info as possible about clefts and assuring us it was only her lip, no palate issues. When the pediatrician came in around 7 am, he too assured us hers was very minor, a 2 on a 10 scale. He gave us the names of a few plastic surgeons in the area who did cleft repairs.

Parker was a trooper from the beginning, she never had any feeding problems. I was able to nurse her and she could also take a bottle. This can be incredibly difficult in cleft babies. We took her to see the plastic surgeon at 4 weeks old, he recommended her first surgery at 10 weeks. We are so fortunate to have a great children's hospital in Memphis, LeBonheur. At 10 weeks old, we arrived at 6 am for surgery. She was gone from us for 4 hours before the doctor called to tell us all went well. When they brought her to her room, she was restrained and the nurses taught us how to feed her with a syringe. Even through all the pain she must have been in, swollen and all, she managed to smile when she saw us.

She had a revision surgery in November 2006. This one was an outpatient surgery, she was up playing the same afternoon. She will most likely have more dental surgeries as she gets older, right now, all is well.

It is so amazing to us to see her smile, her so-called birth defect is the very thing that draws you in. For some reason, I thought I needed to share this today. As you can see from her snow picture a few weeks ago, Parker loves life and knows she was born special.

Henderson Easter Tradition

In true Henderson fashion one of our kids is sick for the Holiday! Actually, now that I think about it, I think we have sick kid for every other holiday. Parker's class has had this nasty stomach virus go around 3 times, lucky for us, this is her first experience with it. Last year, Grant had something and we stayed home while Parker and Brandon went to his parents. I remember one Easter, Parker's ear drums ruptured (yes, both of them) and we spent the night at the LeBonheur After Hours clinic. She was miserable, here's a picture and you can see her little flushed cheeks but she was a trooper as always.

I wish everyone a Happy Easter. Keep your fingers crossed Parker gets better and can enjoy the fun filled weekend.