These Funny Boys

This is such a busy, but fun place! At times it's overwhelming, but I think of all the "empty nesters" who say they long for the busy days. There's just no comfortable middle ground, I guess.

Spencer started second grade a couple of weeks ago. He seems to enjoy it, and he sits by his good friend from across the street. His teacher has a reward system for doing homework, reading, etc. They earn tickets which they use to buy little prizes at the end of the week. He doesn't seem overly concerned with earning tickets though. Usually it's more important to him to play cars or Legos. I'm not sure how to work with the little boy mentality. I was always an overachiever and this lack of drive is so foreign to me! Andy is teaching me how to cope.

This is what happens if you feed them.... They just keep getting longer and longer! Note how Carson is quickly catching up to Spencer! This morning Carson was trying to unfold his socks. He was having a lot of trouble, but refused my assistance. Finally he threw the socks on the floor and said, "These are the most hardest socks I ever seen!"

Spencer was sitting here reading, and Andy just plopped the baby in his lap. It's not easy to read when there's a wiggly little person in your arms!

Carson is so enamored with his baby brother! He couldn't leave him alone in church yesterday! He kept touching his little toes and hands, leaning in to kiss him, or putting the binky on his head. Quite often he places his hand on Parker's head, grits his teeth, and says, "Parker, Parker, Parker!" He is a cute, squishy baby! A few weeks ago Carson wanted me to play with him, but I told him I had to get the baby to sleep first. So he said, "Just make him burp and then he'll be happy!"

Spencer has also enjoyed the baby, especially since he started smiling. One day he was talking to him and getting lots of big grins. Of course, he was delighted and exclaimed, "He's just like a human!" (Imagine that!)

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting to be able to wear my normal clothes. I'm not very patient and I keep trying things on "just to see." I was doing that one morning, and as usual, it wasn't going well. With disgust, I hung up a skirt and said, "Well that didn't work!" Carson asked, "Is it because of your laaaaarge tummy? I'm glad I don't have a laaaaarge tummy." That made me feel even better!

The Brothers

The last few posts have been mostly about Parker, since he is new and exciting. So here's a little something about the other two. They are so lucky to have each other. They are best pals and I'm excited for Parker to be the third musketeer!

If you can't read it, Spencer presented himself as a Father's Day gift to Andy. He actually did a pretty good job matching colors, especially for a boy!

Carson had never been to the dinosaur park before (the same one that Spencer visited on his first grade field trip recently), so we all went to check it out. He was pretty apprehensive when he first walked in and saw how big and lifelike the dinosaurs were. We kept emphasizing that they were just pretend!!

This dinosaur is probably the scariest one, but by this time he was feeling pretty brave. I think he enjoyed the rest of the park until we went into the museum where they have robotic dinosaurs--a T-Rex and Triceratops--that move and make noises. It's fairly dark in there and it is kinda spooky. As soon as they started moving, Carson let out the most bloodcurdling scream I've ever heard, and it wasn't just one little shriek. It echoed through the building and continued for at least 10 full seconds before he finally took a breath and cried. Poor little guy!

Here is Spencer in the shrubbery, pretending to be a dinosaur....

He might be scary if he wasn't so cute!

In closing, a little anecdote about Spencer: Fairly often, I call Andy between 4:00 and 5:00 to ask him to bring some grocery item on his way home from work. One day Spencer asked me for a snack, but I told him it was too close to dinner time. So he took it upon himself to call his dad and say that "Mom wants you to bring home some cheese." Andy asked if I wanted shredded or brick, so Spencer said, "Brick." So Andy walks in the door with his grocery sack. I asked, "What ya got there?" He said, "I thought you needed cheese." I said, "No, I don't need cheese. If I'd known you were going to the store, I'd have asked for milk." Simultaneously, we yelled, "SPENCER!!" Now whenever Spencer calls his dad, he has to preface his comments with, "I promise, I'm NOT LYING!!"

Parker's Blessing

Whew! Things are busy with three kids, two pets, and one husband (who is really just another kid)! It's been almost two weeks since Parker had his baby blessing at church. He got his own new outfit to wear and he looks even cuter in it now than he did that day!

I'm never crazy about how I look in these pictures, but it's just part of the tradition for the new mother to look fat I guess.

All three boys with Grandma and Grandpa

One child looking pleasant, the other two not so much....

Parker and his closest cousin, Ben, getting to know each other. I think they will be good friends!

Holy smokes Dad!!

These are some more pictures I took today. (I had to hurry before he grows out of the outfit!) You can see how much he has changed just in two weeks!

< I also played dress-up with my live baby doll. He has lots of hats that came with his clothes, but I never use them since they don't stay on more than 30 seconds. So we tried on some hats and took pictures. These are my favorites.

What a face! The fun was over after this shot!

Parker is so well-loved by his brothers. Yesterday he was fussy and everyone was occupied for a minute, so Spencer went in and held his hand and turned on his musical mobile. He is a sweet boy. One day Carson stroked Parker's head very gently and said, "I like his head--it's so soft and furry."

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.