Dental Hygiene

It has been over 2 years since Parker's last visit to the dentist.  Between insurance changes and procrastination it just didn't happen.  We finally got him back last week and it went better than expected.  He found the school bus in the lobby right away!  That kept his occupied enough that he didn't realize we were at a doctor's office!

We got a private room, which was nice since we didn't know how he would react.  They had his name on the board and let my choose a tooth brush!  He picked a How to Train Your Dragon one!

 He even hopped into the chair on his own.  The hygienist made it move up and down and that freaked him out!

 The tooth exam went pretty well.  Dr. Bobbi was able to get a good look and count of all his teeth.  This is the same dentist Parker saw last time.  We didn't know then that she has experience with kids on the autism spectrum.  We loved her then and are even more excited to continue to have Parker see her.

 He has some buildup on his lower front teeth (which is common).  He was not a fan of getting that scraped off!  She didn't get it all, but it looks a lot better!

We are already scheduled to go back in 6 months, so there is no excuse this time!

Father's Day

We had a very relaxed Father's Day this year.  Jimmy's dad is still in Texas so we spent the day with my family.  Parker made a cute (and delicious) card for Jimmy at church on Saturday night.

 My dad and I took a cruise in my mom's little convertible. 

 We also made sure to take the annual picture with the Parker Tree.  It was planted the same year he was born.  It's been fun to watch him grow with the tree.

Parker's favorite thing at Grandpa and Nana's house has been rides on the Twister!  We made sure to get some family rides on Sunday. 

 Parker has such an amazing dad in Jimmy and lots of other "dads" that have been there for him since the beginning.

I hope you had a chance to celebrate the dads in your life.  Happy Wednesday, enjoy the rest of your week.

650 days

Parker started speech therapy September 10, 2013.  He was 650 days old.  As of today, he has been going to speech therapy for 650 days.  Over 140 visits in the last 21 months.  Those numbers just blow my mind!  This isn't our new normal anymore, it's just normal.  This has been our routine longer than it wasn't.  It was slow going at first, but we have seen so much amazing progress, especially in the last 6 months.  I think we have finally found a great combination of services for him to really learn and grow.  Here are some of the things he has been doing lately.  We can't wait to see what he says next!

Parker - We are so proud of all the hard work you have done and we love you so much!

Swimming with Friends

We had a visit from our good friends, the Gonzales' last week.  It has been almost a year and half since we last saw them so we had a lot of catching up to do.  We got to meet 1-year-old Lucy for the first time and both Ava and Kolbe had grown a lot!  Parker loved having friends to splash around with.

 Lucy was very curious and lovable towards Jimmy and I.

 It got chilly with the sun behind the house so we headed inside to warm up after dinner.  Parker doesn't have to share his toys very often and he is just starting to show some possessiveness towards them.  Lucy got shoved to side a few times...

 Parker even showed them how to do the shaky chicken dance!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone and I can't wait for our next play date!

Joyful Noise Family Fest 2015

 Saturday was the Joyful Noise Family Fest.  It is a huge two-day music festival with a ton inflatables for kids of all ages.  We went for a couple hours in the morning with our friends Shannon, Simon, and Daphne!  Simon was an awesome explorer while Parker just kinda did his own thing, which is awesome!

 Simon got an awesome octopus balloon and couldn't wait to show Parker.

 My mom and took Parker home for a nap, then headed back for the evening concerts.  Sidewalk Prophets and For KING and COUNTRY played the late afternoon.

 The food was awesome.  There was a fun wonton stand, WONderTONS!  And we shared fish and chips from The Anchor.

Jamie Grace and TobyMac finished out the night!  It rained a bit, but we just threw on the ponchos and kept on dancing!

We can't wait for next year!

Summer!

Summer is here!  We have taken full advantage of the beautiful summer weather this week by going to the park.  We went to our local park last night.

 Parker has been doing great with his hat this year!  He refused to keep it on last year, but it nice to have the protection from the sun.  He is really good at putting it on himself.  Normally is goes on forward, but he threw it on backwards.  It's so cute!

 We checked out Elm Creek Park tonight.  Jimmy and Parker went once a few months ago, but it was fun to go as a family.  They have a huge playground that is great for kids of all ages.  

 The whole play area is covered with wood chips or a rubberized floor.  Parker really enjoyed climbing up and down the hills.

 He was also super brave on the big play structure and loved going down the slide.

 There are a lot of sensory based structures as well, which is great for Parker.  The saucer swing was amazing!

 Jimmy tried out the skateboard rocker (and almost fell off!)

 We managed to find the last doughnut in town to celebrate National Doughnut Day!  We passed by a couple places, but they were sold out.  Not my first choice, but it was literally the last one at the gas station.  I can't wait to have more fun (and doughnuts) this summer!

Last Day of School

Parker's last day of school for the year was today!  I am so proud of how well he has done with the transition to school.  We can see how much he is growing and learning in our day to day lives at home.  He will have some extended year school this summer and be back at it in the fall.  I dressed him up a bit for the occasion (a polo is dressy in our family!)  He looks like such a big kid in these pictures...

 He came home with a fun list of things to do this summer.  My favorite is "make something with playdoh, let it dry, and keep it forever." Haha, I still can't stop laughing at that one!  He also came home with a cup of dirt.  I assume there is some sort of seed buried in the dirt, but there was no explanation.  I guess we will try to water it, keep it in the sun, and hope it grows!  Here's to summer!