Parker is 6 years old today! I know he's a kindergartener, but 6 seems so old! It's crazy to think I've been on this motherhood journey for so long. Parker had a great day!
I sneaked in as always for a picture at 12:10am, the time he was born.
He can't bring food treats to school, so we got some creatures that grow in the water for him to give to his classmates.
They gave him a little party and all of his classmates loved their gift.
We went to Perkins for dinner and he got to have rainbow panckaes. He doesn't look happy in the first picture because I took away the phone he was watching shows on. He was a happy camper once he got to eating.
It's hard to know what his favorite places to eat are, but I think Perkins is probably near the top. Happy Birthday Parker, we love you so much!
Parker's friend, Simon, has his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's on Sunday. It has been a decade or more since I have been there and they have really changed it up. Parker really liked looking at all the games and pushing all the buttons. It wasn't too busy, which was helpful since he wasn't interrupting too many other kids. There were a couple games he "played", Astro Invasion and the Despicable Me hammer game.
He sat really nicely for lunch and loved the pizza and songs.
Simon had a cool Pokemon cake and got to take a spin in the Ticket Blaster for extra tickets.
It went so well, I was very proud of Parker. The only goof was on me when I left my phone there and had to drive all the way back! Happy Birthday Simon!
Parker didn't have school Wednesday, so it was Pie Day Guy Day. Parker wasn't much help, but the guys made pies while mom worked.
We had another great holiday this Thanksgiving. We had lunch at Jimmy's parents. I tried gathering everyone for a picture, but they just ignored me, so no pictures. Out friends, Caleb and Cindy and their kids, Russell and Paul, joined us again this year. Cindy "The Ringer" won last year's pool tournament, could she continue the reign?
We had dinner after a couple rounds of the tournament. The pictures below may look a little sad, but Parker chose to eat separate from us. Parker is very accustomed to eating in the kitchen at my parents and something about the dining room has freaked him out a little the last couple years. I don't push it and we all get fed.
We watched Moana and finished the pool tournament after dinner (there was pie too, but I forgot to take pictures.)
Cindy ended up being eliminated and Grandpa returned to the center of the bracket. Cindy made a great trophy with a bowling pin that we will add all the previous winners to continue updating in years to come.
"It's not about winning, it's about not losing first."
I really love this tradition and it's gotten more fun with the addition of friends. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, now it's time for Christmas!
Here is a quick recap of the other things we've been up to this month. Parker's Halloween candy has lasted for several weeks. He get a piece or two after dinner each night. He lined up all his M&Ms by color one night then said the color before eating each one.
These carts have become our reality these days. They are so cute and keep the kids moderately occupied. Parker likes to throw stuff out of the cart if not distracted these days.
Mall dates night made a triumphant come back this month as well. We visited Eden Prairie Center last week. It was all decked out for Christmas!
We've been dealing with a lot of sickness this month. Cold and stomach bugs, and colds and more colds. We've had a lot of down time and fatigue, but the kids haven't been phased much. Luckily we found that Moana music videos can give us 10-15 minutes or quiet stillness. Both kiddos love watching (and we don't mind either.)
Parker recorded his first vlog this month and even gave Esme a cameo. It's too cute not to share.
Here he is singing "You're Welcome" from Moana. Right now he just does the one at the end, but it's good progress.
Lastly, we have talked about getting a new bed for years. We've been sleeping on the mattress Jimmy had when we met 10 years ago (on November 20th). So it's 11-12 years old and a full size. We knew we wanted to try one of the memory foam, bed-in-a-box, options and settled on the Leesa. Not just because of it's awesome name, but because it was the least expensive of the big names that have consistently positive reviews. We ordered a new platform frame and they both arrived Friday night.
I knew the frame was quick connect, but I didn't realize how quick. We had it all set up less than 30 minutes after delivery! Jimmy was sold on the first night, but I am neutral still. I've been a side sleeper since my first pregnancy and may need to return being a back sleeper, but we'll see.
Esme is nineteen months old today. Just after my last post she started teething again and is up to 16 teeth with the addition of her four canines. She just has her last 4 molars left, which should arrive after her second birthday. She is wearing mostly 24 month and 2T clothing. 18 month footie PJs are a better fit right now, but we only have a couple in that size. She is in size 5 diapers during the day and at night.
She didn't want to leave Dumbo sitting next to her for the picture, so she held him and it was adorable. It was just warm enough to not bundle up for a couple minutes, but we may need a new photo spot next month.
She loves to talk and is starting to dance some. She really loves all the songs from Moana. Her favorite word right now is "no" and she uses it very appropriately. She also says "thank you" a lot, which is the cutest.
She loves to pester her brother in the mornings for a bite of his breakfast. She yanks on his shirt to get him out of the way and snags some egg or pancake.
She gets pretty upset when he or I tell her to stop. They still have a ton of fun together and it's my favorite part of parenting.
We've all been fighting a cold this last week, which led to a few late night. The humidifier seemed to make things better and hopefully we will turn the corner soon.
We celebrated my dad's birthday on Saturday. His favorite cake is german chocolate. I have always talked about making it from scratch, but it's pretty laborious. I finally bit the bullet and made it this year. The batter requires egg whites to be beaten to stiff peaks and folded in, and you have to stir the frosting base constantly while cooking for about 15 minutes. I was really happy with my results, but what would the birthday boy think?
We sliced in for a late morning snack and the verdict was favorable. He said it was amazing and has already asked for another one for Christmas.
We also watched the Nebraska-Minnesota football game which was the perfect opportunity to use Esme's blanket she got last Christmas. At first we were going to have the leader's side out, but the Gophers were really pulling away, so we switched to whoever scored last. Esme was obviously a bit devastated at the score.
We had ribs and stuffed pizza for dinner to finish the celebration. Happy Birthday Grandpa!
