More Parker

Here's a little more material about our newest member....

He looks so small!

I always imagined myself as a mother of girls, but I have to say the boys have been so much fun! I never dreamed I could enjoy boys so much. I can't wait to see what Parker's personality is like!

Carson is such a good big brother. He is always very gentle with the baby and frequently leans over to kiss him on top of the head. He also says things like, "I like his tiny thumbs and his tiny ears and his tiny nose..." Today he told me that Parker was "thinking a baby think." I asked what babies think about and he said, "Other babies."

Apparently this "baby think" was a bit shocking!

Snuggling with Daddy while he reads...

End of First Grade

Spencer is still in school until the end of the month, but these are some pictures of some fun things he's been doing lately....

This was from the first-grade program a few weeks ago. They sang songs about dinosaurs and wore dinosaur shirts they had made. There were LOTS of people there, so we didn't get a great picture, but Spencer had a great time singing with gusto and doing all the actions without a hitch. He has also taught Carson a couple of the songs, which is remarkable since Carson won't sing for anyone else.

Andy went on the field trip to the dinosaur park. That's my boy on the end looking cool in his sunglasses. His best buddy Matthew is next to him. They are excited to be in the same class next year, too.

I don't know what Carson was trying to be, but he sure had a lot of gear. It was quite a challenge just to keep it all on!

Parker James Sherman

Our baby is finally here! Parker weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. His big brothers are very excited to have him and often stand over his bed and just stare at his tiny face. Carson has been very positive about the whole experience. He hasn't complained once about me spending so much time doing baby stuff. At the hospital he leaned over to my mom and whispered (loudly), "He's pretty cute!"

So far he is a typical baby--very sleepy during the day and up frequently at night. Hopefully he'll start switching things around soon!

When he does have awake periods, his brothers love to show him toys and talk to him. They laugh and comment about every little movement and facial expression. The other day I put Parker down so I could wash my hands. Carson saw a little dribble of spit-up coming out the corner of his mouth, and he started coughing and gagging. I informed him that he used to spit waaaaay worse than Parker does!

First bath at home. He wasn't crazy about it until we washed his hair. They always like that. There's nothing better than a freshly washed baby.

Snuggle time with Grandma.

Spencer talks about his new brother at school all the time. I know this because I had to take his jacket to him one day and a couple of ladies who work there told me that Spencer is always talking about "the little donut hole." (I have no idea why he chose that nickname!)

He is very well-loved. The boys like this picture because it looks like Parker is waving hello.

I surrender!

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day exceeded my expectations. Andy was gone to Las Vegas all week, then he went fishing most of Saturday, so I expected him to be worn out and at least slightly unprepared. I was pleasantly surprised, however, when I was presented with a tasty breakfast in bed--French toast (cut into pieces for easier eating while sitting in bed), sausage, and strawberries. Spencer came in as live entertainment and told me a joke that I'd already heard at least twice. Then they all came to give me a beautiful gift--a Pandora charm bracelet. If you haven't heard of them, they're very popular and a bit on the pricey side. Andy got it in Vegas for me. It's one of those gifts he can build upon at every occasion. He did great!

It's hard not to feel motherly when you're eight months pregnant. I got out a suitcase last night and started putting a few things in it. Andy came in with a smirk on his face and asked, "So...are you packing your bag?" Of course he thinks I'm jumping the gun. I think it's better to do things now than wait till the last minute, not to mention that with babies, you never know when the "last minute" will be for sure. So yes, I'm packing up and hoping (a lot!) that I get to use that suitcase sooner than later.

Carson notices things that I wouldn't expect him to. He asked me yesterday why I go to the bathroom so much. I explained that there's someone in there taking up all the space! He also told me recently that he wished the baby was a girl because he likes baby girls. Oh well. We can't do a thing about it. I've wondered if maybe a girl would be less threatening to him. Or maybe he just really does like girls. Who knows?

Spencer has been off track for the last week and a half. I put both boys in swimming lessons and they're doing fairly well, especially for having me as their mother. I hate swimming and I never learned how, so it's important to me that my kids know how. Carson still won't put his face in the water, so he'll probably repeat his class later in the summer, but he has been much more cooperative than I expected. Spencer is doing remarkably well in my opinion. He may not be the best in his class, but like his father, he keeps working and giving his best effort every time. As long as they keep trying, I'm a happy mom.

Carson Turns Four!

Carson is finally four years old--it was a long wait for him! He started talking about his birthday shortly after the last one.

He had multiple parties, the first of which was at Thanksgiving Point. We went to the dinosaur museum--way cool! Some of those guys really were outrageously huge. Makes me glad we don't have enormous reptiles wandering around anymore.

They have a sand and water table where kids can build little islands for the plastic dinosaurs and see how erosion works. Carson refused to get his hands dirty, but he sure enjoyed watching Spencer and finding more trees for their project.

This is the finished work. If you look really close, you may see a small green dinosaur living in there.

This statue is about the same size as Dakota, only ugly. I definitely prefer furry pets.

I've been telling Spencer he's like a shark because he has rows of teeth. (A new one will grow in behind the loose one.)

Time for cake with Grandma and Grandpa (after dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets).

This was Easter Sunday with my parents. They gave Carson a Mack truck (from the movie Cars). Spencer fell in love with it, too, and was quite hurt when Carson didn't want to share right away. In fact, Carson became so protective of his new toy that he took it with him to the bathroom and stowed it under his bed that night.

The actual birthday--note that Carson is pushing Spencer aside because he does NOT NEED HELP! Spencer was almost as excited about the festivities as Carson was, and he wanted to be included in everything, even when his presence wasn't necessarily wanted!

Batman books, Batman shirt, and (he's not wearing them here) Batman sandals

New cake, more candles. This time it's chocolate with white frosting by request.

YUM!!

Tidbits

The following are some interesting tidbits from our life around here:

Spencer told me a couple of weeks ago that one of the teachers at school makes these way cool bracelets and "all" the kids have one, therefore he must also have one. He wanted me to just send $4 with him, but I thought for $4 I ought to see what I'm paying for. So I went to the school and found this very talented teacher. The bracelets are made of parachute cord and have a nifty little clasp that's easy for kids to work with. She asked the name of the student, and when I told her, she said, "Oh, he already ordered one!" Just then Spencer showed up and I informed him that he should not be ordering things without being certain how he would pay for them!

Carson gave his first talk at church in front of about 50 other kids ages 3-7. He had no intentions of cooperating when he got the assignment. He said, "I just want to keep my mouth closed." We discussed the matter one day when Spencer was nearby and Spencer offered to help him. I said, "If Spencer helps you, will you do it?" Carson replied, "Sure!" So we practiced. Spencer held up the pictures and whispered each sentence to him. Carson then repeated the words in a loud, clear voice. He did a beautiful job!

My body shape is increasingly large and awkward. I went to lunch the other day with a friend. The Mexican waiter showed us a booth and asked if it would be suitable. We said it was fine, and then he looked me up and down and asked, "Can you fit?" I felt like shouting, "Of course I can fit, you imbecile!" But I didn't. I restrained myself because he was otherwise a very nice little Mexican and he couldn't even remember the word "spinach" in English. At least we knew our food would be authentic.

Buddies

Things have been pretty busy here lately, so I haven't been taking lots of pictures. Here's a few though.

Carson has a friend who is crazy about Batman too, so we had him come over for a playdate one day. They had a great time playing with their Batman toys and wearing their outfits for about three hours!

We have plenty of seating in our living room, but these guys insist on sitting in the same place to watch TV.

Last night I went in to see my sleeping cuties and found them in the same bed! I guess they were lonely for each other. Maybe we should have just bought a double bed instead of a bunk bed.