Parker Turns Six

We can't believe our first-born child is six years old! Everytime we look at him, we are in awe of how he has turned from this chubby-cheeked little monkey to this long & lean almost first-grader!

We celebrated with his friends by having a backyard beach party. My great friend, Amy, made a darling slideshow of the event but I can't get it to load! Suffice it to say, we had 17 kids and luckily some of our friends stayed to help out, and we partied like it was 1999. We played water balloon volleyball, had a shell hunt in the sandbox, played Pin the Coconut on the Palm Tree, made visors, played "Dolphin, Dolphin, Shark!" (aka duck duck goose), Musical Islands, ate a beach bucket dump cake & had lots of presents & prizes. For our family party, we had our traditional ice cream sundaes and sent him on a treasure hunt to find his present, which was a bike. He also had fun bringing Ho-Ho's to class and being celebrated there at school. We love our Parker Boy!

Here are Parker's six-year-old stats:

Height & Weight: 45.5 inches and 47 pounds

Obsessions: Bugs, his bike, his scooter, volcanoes, the weather, snacks, Skittles chapstick, and lest we forget - VEHICLES!!!

Must-(not)haves: His food must not have anything hanging on it or out of it (think melted cheese and oozing jelly), and different foods really shouldn't touch; he must have the last word in an argument with Tyler, all of his questions answered very thoroughly, lots of hugs, enough sleep or else he is quite grumpy, breakfast first thing in the morning, and stories & prayers at bedtime.

Favorite Foods: pepperoni pizza, lollipops, marshmallows, crackers, string cheese, and bell peppers.

Favorite Song: Once There Was A Snowman (church), Mahna Mahna by Cake.

Nicknames: Parker Boy, P-body, P-diddy, Chicken Little.

Hair Style: Short, so he doesn't have to endure the torture of me cutting it as often.

Favorite toys: CARS STILL TOP THE LIST! the swingset, and his bike & scooter.

Favorite pasttimes: playing outside or in the garage, drawing, writing, reading, going to the fair(?), going to the park, or riding his bike or scooter.

Smile: he still has all of his baby teeth!

Favorite words/phrases: Sweet, awesome, so cool, I'm hungry, NEVER (as in, "Aw Mom, now we'll NEVER get to....!), Can we get that?

He amazes us with: his loving care toward his little brother, his awesome reading skills, his ever-growing courage to try new things, his curiousity, his friendly personality, enthusiasm for life and his desire to choose the right.