Parker's 2nd Birthday Party

For Parker's 2nd birthday party we had an Air Force theme...our little tribute to Travis!

we even rented a bounce house...it was fabulous and all the kids loved it

we were thrilled at all the family that was able to come and celebrate with us...among them were parker's uncles! (trav's brothers)

uncle shane, uncle tyler, amber (tyler's girlfriend...who parker is in love with), and me...looking short as ever!

the camo cupcakes that i was so proud of...it took a long time to get the frosting into the 2 different desert camo greens!

lovin' the devil's food cupcake

auntie sara (or say-uh as parks calls her) showing him his new movie...this boy loves him some trucks

grandpa lee better explaining what construction equipment is called what!

this is what you get when you put tyler in charge of taking pictures!

Happy Birthday Parker James!

Can you believe that my little guy turned 2 today??? The reality of the whole thing is a little overwhelming. He definitely acts two and looks two...so I guess it must be true!

Two years ago today we headed to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, WA for a scheduled induction. (Parker was due on the 14th of October...not the 18th but was stubborn even then and refused to come out) After 12 hours of being on Petocin, textbook contractions, having my water broken, and endless waiting around...Dr. Barrong finally decided that a C-Section was in order. Now after actually getting to know our little man...this is not surprising at all. He does his own thing and is not to be rushed! No matter how many times you are told that your life will never be the same...you just don't get it until that little blessing is in your arms and then everything that all those people were saying make sense all of a sudden. Then you can't imagine your life without them. You know that from that moment on your purpose in the world is greater because you have this sweet baby to care for and raise. Next, you become scared stiff that you aren't going to do it right, or that there is someone else out there that could do it better. Then you see how your child looks at you with so much love in their eyes and know that YOU, not those other people you thought could do it better, are the one that God chose because he knew that you were the perfect person to raise that child.

Over the last two years our kiddo has made me experience every emotion in the book...both good and bad. The way I see it...it is all part of the journey. I look back on the last two years and it brings a tear to my eye. Parker has grown so much. I can't believe that I am the Mommy of a two year old.
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Parker,

I do not know the words to use to tell you how much I love you. You are the light of my life and I couldn't imagine my life without you. I am so amazed by all the things that you know, say, and do. You are growing up so quickly and I can't wait to see what God has in store for your life. I'm positive that you will be amazing us and making our jaws drop to the floor for the rest of our lives. (Whether it be because you have done something fantastic...or something that requires being grounded) I know that you will give us a run for our money, you are insanely active even now. If you are anything like your Daddy you will get into your share of trouble...and we will still love you with all the love we have to give. You are so sweet and I am so glad that God chose me to be your Mommy. Your sweet little smile, blond hair, and big blue eyes melt my heart.

Your Daddy wishes that he could be here to spend your birthday with you, but he will be here soon enough! He misses you and loves you. He loves getting to hear you chatter in the background when Mommy is talking to him on the phone. Daddy is always impressed by how much more you are saying all the time!

I love you buddy,

Mommy

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Today for my little man's birthday I took him to see his 1st movie in the theater!!! We went to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. We had the whole theater to ourselves and it was a blast. Parker was so good and loved it. What kiddo wouldn't love 2 hours full of Toy Story, popcorn, and gummy worms??? Mommy had fun too. I had never seen a movie in 3D before either.





Little man also got a present from Daddy in the mail today, all the way from Texas! He was so excited and wanted to carry the box around, sit on it, and play with the box before he even knew what was inside. Daddy got him a big Tonka truck...one of the actual metal ones that I thought they stopped making. He was so excited! (Even more exciting was that there was a HUGE ride-on Tonka truck at the movies today!)

like father...like son

I was listening to the radio the other day in the car...country, of course...and a song I hadn't heard before came on. It immediately caught my attention because it was by Brad Paisley (one of my absolute favorite country singers) but once I kept listening it almost brought a tear to my eye. The song is called "Anything Like Me"...have you heard it? If not you should keep an ear open for it! If there was ever a song written to perfectly describe my boys, this would be it. All I could do while listening to the song was picture Travis playing with Parker and how much alike I have always known that they are. I am always finding new things that Parker does or little bits of his personality that make me laugh because all I can think is "oh, Trav, thanks for that!"

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Parker is such an active little boy...and I think that may be putting it lightly! It amazes me everyday what kind of trouble he can get himself into. The biggest problem is that he actually thinks these things through and sees nothing wrong with moving the dog food bin around in the kitchen so that he can get up onto the counters and find scissors or tools or other things that toddlers should not be playing with. No matter how baby/toddler-proofed you think your house is...IT'S NOT!!! (At least not enough for Parker) He gets these things into his cute little head and by-golly he will find a way to follow through! It's crazy how much running around I do during the day to "put out fires" (not literally, thank goodness, but some days it feels like it).

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I routinely like to tell Travis "thank you" for being such a pain that kharma thought it only justified to give you a taste of your own medicine! My dad tells me all the time that my sister and I were ridiculously easy children and that our kiddos are more like he was as a child, not so much like we were. As much as it pains me to say this, I am kind of hoping that Parker's "super active get into everything phase" lasts for a while longer...crazy, I know...but I really think it would be a shame if Travis missed out on all of the "fun" while he is away! If he ever wondered what he was really like when he was little...Parker would give him a glimpse I'm sure!

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I don't want to give you the wrong idea...my kiddo does have the capacity to be such a good boy! He just has so much more fun getting into trouble, what boy wouldn't??? Let's be serious! He can be so sweet and loving. He loves to cuddle, especially while watching a movie with Mommy, and he loves to hold your hand at the dinner table and pray. (Mostly his form of praying is to hold your hand, bow his head, look around the table, then say AMEN.) It is adorable! He is starting to say so many new things lately and putting so many words together. Parker has become very good at putting away his toys...even putting them into the correct places! He really likes to say the names or colors of what they are while he puts them away, which is hilarious! It is amazing how we have it in us to love others so much. Before we had Parker, I had no idea that you could ever have the capacity to love another person as much as I love that adorable little blonde-haired blue-eyed boy! (And his Daddy, too) His birthday is coming up in a week and I can't believe that I will be the mother of a 2 year-old...crazy right?

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So here's to my active little man...that is just like his Daddy. How did I ever get so lucky??? I wouldn't trade my boys for the world and hope that every Mommy out there feels as lucky and as loved as I do!

So long Keesler...Hello Sheppard!

Tomorrow Travis will be leaving Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi and heading to Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas. He will be getting on a bus and starting the 16 hour bus ride from MS to TX...ick! But I have to admit that the thought of him being in Texas rather than Mississippi does put me a little more at ease. It is considerably closer and the flights will be much shorter for when Parker and I go to visit him for Thanksgiving.

He has finished the first half of his training and will finish the second half around Christmas time. Travis did so well during his time at Keesler and I couldn't be more proud of him. This process has been hard on all of us and has turned our world upsidedown. But through it all we make sure to talk all the time, visit when we can, and make the most of the time we are given to talk and visit because it is precious. I love and miss my husband so much, and I know that he is doing this because it is what is right for our family.

The remainder of his training is more hands-on and less "book work" which is exciting. I can't believe that the end is actually in sight. He will have 9 weeks of classes and then he will come home. If only it was for good! He will come home, probably just long enough for us to pack up and move!!! The great part about that is that we will be moving as a family...I can't tell you how wonderful it is to know that in just 2 short months we will actually get to all live under the same roof again. It has been a long time since we actually felt like a real family, living under one roof, sharing responsibilities, and getting to do things together.

After Travis being gone for so long I am sure that this two months will do either of two things:

1) it will fly by because we know that it is the end of his schooling and that we will be together at the end

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2) it will drag on because we know that the end is in sight and we will be anxiously waiting for it to be over.

I am hoping for option #1!!! I will let you all know how it goes.

Is it really fall already?

Where did the time go? I can't believe that Travis has been gone since June! The bad thing is that he isn't coming home yet...the good news is that Christmas (when he will actually get to come home) is really not that far away. The bad thing is that when he does get to come home around Christmas time we will only be here for a couple weeks to get things figured out and packed...then we will be moving...the good news is that we will be moving AS A FAMILY!!! Our little unit back together again and living under the same roof. Words cannot tell you all how happy that makes me. It has been forever since we all were living in the same house, in the same city, in the same state, on the same side of the country!!! We are very excited. I'm sure Parks will be more than thrilled to have his Daddy back too!



Keesler AFB, {Biloxi, Mississippi}

September 8th was our 3rd anniversary, and although we weren't able to spend it together...I was able to go visit Travis for some much needed alone time. It would have been wonderful to get to take Parker with me, but it was such a long day of airports and plane rides that he would have been miserable (and made me miserable in the process). Plus, I think it is necessary for parents to get away together free of children every once in a while! It was so great to see Travis and to get to see where he has been living and put some faces to names of "his boys" that I hear about all the time. I think it was strange for them to have someone around that called them by their first names!!! I had such a great time and it went by much too quickly. It was so hard to say goodbye to my hubby...AGAIN...and to get into a taxi and drive away. It wasn't until I was in the airplane and taking off that it really hit me and I started to tear up. Getting to see him is totally worth it, but does make it hard to get used to sleeping by myself again and it is so hard to go back to not having him around again. Boy do I love that man!!! We were so thankful to my parents for watching Parker for the long weekend. I know he had so much fun and I couldn't think of anyone he would love to get to hang-out with more! Here are some pictures from the trip:

{bowling on the base...in case you were wondering...I whooped up on all the boys!!!}

{out at Shady's...me-trav-brandon}

{out on the beach...chase-brandon-trav}

Playing at the park

This morning Parker and I went to the park with my friend Jessica and her son Cooper. Parker and Cooper play so well together and had fun playing at the park! It is nice to just get out of the house for an hour or so and let Parker get some of his excess energy out.
















Hanging out around the house

{these are the 3 toys that Parker will not go anywhere without...literally...he takes them to bed and then brings them with him when he wakes up}

{this is usually what the floor around our house looks like...as soon as Parker wakes up he dumps the bucket the toys are put away in out in the middle of the floor}