Can I do it? Yes I Can ......

Ok. So my boys were out of town for 10 days and arrived back home on Saturday night. Yes moms. I let Parker go on vacation without me for 10 days. While Justin went hunting in Virginia Parker stayed in Chiefland with his Gama. I missed him very much, but I must say, the break was much needed. As for Justin, he too must have enjoyed his time away because he ended up getting one doe and three bucks (one of which was an eight point and is currently being stuffed to hang on the wall). While Parker was gone I thought that I would take care of something's that can't be done while he is home like clean with bleach (Parker helps with all of the cleaning and I don't feel it is safe for him to handle bleach), grocery shop, make fudge and decorate the house for Christmas. Yes. That's right, decorate the house for Christmas. You see, I have heard the stories from my sister about trying to decorate the house and the tree and how crazy it can be with the boys. So, I decided to do all of it while Parker was gone, except the outside decorations. I must say, all went well. I even set up a little tree in Parker's room with all of his John Deere ornaments and I also hung his John Deere stocking next to the tree. I used one of his John Deere blankets as the tree skirt and set some of his tractors next to the tree. It is so cute. Parker actually loved it so much that yesterday when I went into his room (keep in mind that I hadn't seen him in 10 days) he said, "were my cismas lights on my cismas tree go?" Seriously. Love you too. For those of you who don't know, cismas is how he says Christmas. I also bought him these little reindeer antlers from the dollar bin at Target and they were a huge hit. This year I decided to be brave and set out all of my precious Christmas items, as well as but the Christmas balls on the tree. Well, yesterday while cooking breakfast in the kitchen I turn around to see my son using his golf club to bat the balls off the tree and say, "yook (aka - look) mommy, I play baseball." I almost died. Once I had breakfast in the oven we walk into the living room were I have one of my most treasured Christmas decorations. It is a snow globe with a nativity inside and the Wiseman and all on the outside and a star on top. My parents got it for me one year and it is so beautiful. Well, after talking to the snowmen on the entertainment center Parker decides to check out the whole snow globe thing. Low and behold, with me sitting right there the turkey tried to pull the star off of the top of the snow globe. Seriously. Most kids would be in owe of the snow falling on the inside and the music. Nope. Not mine. That's not all. After he goes to bed last night I walk into the kitchen to get a drink and as I walk into the family room to look at the Christmas tree laying under the tree placed just so is a handful of balls off of the Christmas tree. I couldn't believe it. It would be one thing if he just took them off of the tree, but no. He pulls the balls hocks so I have to look over the whole tree to find were the rest of the ball before I can put it back on the tree. To top things off, this morning while I was putting his lunch in his lunch box I hear the balls on the tree start moving.....here is how the conversation went, "Parker, you better not be messing with the balls on the tree." "They not balls mommy, they ornaments." Ok. so maybe he was listening yesterday when I repeatedly told him that ornaments are for the tree and are not to be used as balls. I can't even imagine what is going to happen when I put a present or two under the tree. I thought that Hunter and her tail were a challenge with the tree and all. Please. That was only the beginning.

So you know that it is time for your little boy to start spending more time with daddy and the boys when he takes a decorative washcloth that is folded just so and holds it in the air and yells, "flower power." I nearly had eyeliner all over my face when Parker said those words this morning. My response, "Seriously son. You have got to hang out with daddy more. You can have power, but without the flower." I mean wanting to put on make-up when I put on my make-up is one thing, but when you start getting flower power you have crossed the line.

To top things off, we are trying to work on the whole potty thing. Well this morning he went potty on the potty and after he was done we put on his dinosaurs (aka - big boy undies). When it came time to get dressed for school you would have thought the world had come to an end. I told him it was time to put his diaper on and he lost it. He said, "I potty, so I wear dinosaurs." It was bad. After I got him under control and explained that we would put them back on after school all was good, I thought. I left to get myself dressed and Parker followed me. Well as we went in the room I turned around to find Hunter following us carrying Parker's underwear. Apparently she was on his side and thought that he should be able to wear them to school. My kids. What am I going to do......

Better be going. Chat with you again soon.

Before I was a Mom

Recently, my baby and I have been going head to head which has been very trying for me. As long as I can give Parker my undivided attention he is the most wonderful angel ever. It is when I am not able to play that things become ugly. It is almost as though he gets angry at me. After a few very hard days I received the below in an email. This poem brought tears to my eyes and I have printed it out and placed it at my desks. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.......

Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom .

Jamie's Little Pumpkins.....

As I told you last time, I had to head up to Shands last week for my annual check-ups. I am proud to report that all went well and I don't have to go back for another year. Yeah for me!!!!! Although we were only there for a couple of days, it was nice to see Justin's family and Parker had a great time with Gama at preschool.
Since my nephew Isaac has gotten to be such a big boy, he was able to come to Florida with his daddy for a speaking engagement. Because of this, Isaac was able to come down and spend the whole day with us on Saturday. We had so much fun. At 7:30 Saturday morning I get a phone call, "Jamie come and see me." Well, from there things just kept going. The boys played all day and got along so well. The only bad thing is that since Parker can really talk now he and Isaac can communicate which just causes double trouble. Mid-morning we decided to take the two of them to the pumpkin patch.....nana, papaw, myself, Isaac and Parker. The boys were so very cute. They each wore their little fall customs to the pumpkin patch. Isaac was Iron Man and Parker was an Indian (I have attached some pics). After we left the pumpkin patch we headed to Lowe's, and yes the boys wore their customs there as well.
Later that evening we had a bond fire and roasted hotdogs and smores over the fire. I believe one of the funniest things was one dad lit the fire and Parker tried his best to blow out that big flame. He would puff and puff until he had no puffs left. Isaac decided that since Parker didn't know how to roast hotdogs and smores over the fire that he would show him how it should be done. Too cute I tell you. We had so much fun!!!!
Yesterday, while at work, I get a phone call, "Jamie. This is Kiddie Kove (Parker's preschool). We just wanted to let you know that Parker has an incident report today and since his grandma is picking him up today we wanted to call and give you a heads up." So am I thinking.....self, what has he done..did he throw something? did he hit someone? Well, it ended up that he had been sitting on a chair reading a book and when he went to get down he fell and cut his eye. Lucking for us it did not need medical attention.
Well, Justin and I are heading out to Texas for our friends wedding. Justin is actually the best man. It is only the two of us. Parker is actually going to South Carolina with Nana and Papaw to help celebrate Isaac's 4th birthday. Please keep us all in your prayers for safety as we travel.

Wasson Family Update .........

Wow. I am so sorry for the lack of correspondence over the past couple of weeks, but things with our family have been a little bit crazy. Justin has been putting in long hours at work putting together a clinic for disabled veterans, I have been busy with work and preparing for Parker to head off to preschool, and Parker has been being Parker - always on the go and full of lots of energy.

Last week Parker went for his very first day of preschool. He will be going Monday thru Friday from 7:30 in the morning until 5:00 in the evening. I must say all seems to be going well. For the first two days he stayed attached to his teacher, but by day three he began to play with the other kids. Last Friday he came home and told me and Justin how he took a nap on his very own mat and showed us how he laid on the mat. He also brought home the cutest little pumpkin that he made. It is so funny to hear him talk about the other little kids in his class. Yesterday I called the preschool to see how he was doing and I was informed that all was going really well, except at lunch when Parker decided that he wanted another child's fruits snacks instead of his pretzels. I couldn't stop laughing. Although I was laughing, I felt bad. I mean, am I the mom packing the boring lunch? I mean seriously, black beans, fruit and pretzels are all things he loves. Well, for today, I tried to score some extra points and packed him some Vienna sausages, fruit, a few cheez-its and two little cookies. We will see who the cool mom is now...... Yesterday, as we were leaving he took me by his classroom to show me the scarecrow that his class made and as we left the facility he waved and told the director bye. If you know Parker you know that is a big accomplishment.

Justin's clinic for the disabled veterans was this past Saturday. All went very well. He came home with some great pictures. He was even asked to go and speak at the board of county commissioners meeting today regarding the event. Way to go babe!!!!!!

On Sunday, Justin, papaw and Parker went to the air show that they were having at Cocoa Beach. They had a great time. Justin said that Parker sat in his own little chair with his little sunglasses on the majority of the time. There was one big jet that was so loud that it scared him a little bit so he wanted to sit in daddy's lap, but other then that he sat there like a big boy.

Well, I better be going. Please keep us in your prayers as the next week and a half is going to be very crazy. I am in the middle of month end and fiscal year end here at work and then next Wednesday we will be heading to Chiefland because I have appointments at Shands on Thursday and Friday. These are my annual appointments, but my stomach still turns every year. Hope you all have a great week!!!!

Parker's Going to Preschool

Wow. What a crazy past couple of weeks......

Since Parker is getting older, Justin and I have decided that it is time to put him in to preschool. This has been a very hard decision for us, but we feel that it is time for him to start working on his social skills. You see, Parker has a tendency to pull himself away and not interact much when put in a group setting. Yes, after about twenty minutes or so of sitting back and watching and taking thinks in, he will begin to involve himself, but we feel by involving him in a group setting on a daily basis that this will help to improve his social skills. Please keep us, especially Parker, in your prayers as he will begin this new adventure on October 1st.

Tuesday night while getting a shower Parker finally realized that he and daddy had matching "man parts". When he asked Justin what it was Justin told him that it was his "cowboy". Please keep in mind that I too was in the bathroom washing my face and it was taking all I had not to bust out laughing. Next, Parker said, "baby cowboy, daddy cowboy and mommy cowboy." When the whole mommy cowboy thing came out I finally had to jump into the conversation. It was so funny. Well, last night I was telling my mom about what had happened. When Parker walked up I asked, "hey buddy, where is your cowboy?" A soon as I said that, he put his hand right between his legs and said, "wight (aka - right) here, " and went on playing as if it was nothing at all. I tell you what, little boys are way to much.

Ok, so I must know just where do kids get their hard headedness? Just the other night after getting Parker ready for bed I asked him to pick up his dirty diaper and throw it in the trash. After telling me no, his daddy picked up the diaper and began to make his way to the trashcan. Well, Parker decided that he wanted to throw the diaper away after all, but when Justin told him no, that he should have done it when asked, he got mad and threw his snack cup across the room. Of course this brought about some discipline. After talking to Parker, Justin said, "know buddy, please say yes sir and then you can get down." Well, I have you to know that twenty minutes later my little hard headed two you old was finally a loud to get down and play. Crazy!!!!

Once again, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we begin the new journey into the preschool world. Parker is not one who likes change at all, so this is going to be hard on him. It is hard on Justin and I as we are stepping out and letting someone else besides someone as close as family watch our son.

I better be going. Hope you have a great week!!!!!!

Well, a week ago this past Friday, Justin and I headed up to Chiefland to pick up our baby boy who had spent the week in Chiefland with Gama and Poppy (Justin's mom and dad). We decided to surprise Parker and pick him up at the daycare. When we arrived he was playing outside. When I opened the door and yelled for him the look on his face was priceless. While at the daycare he went on to show us where his classroom was, where he ate his lunch and even where he took his naps. It was so cute.
Parker had such a good time in Chiefland. Gama took him in the pool almost daily and he got to play outside. He road his bicycle, his four wheeler, his scooter and he even mowed gama's lawn with his little mower. He spent lots of time playing with Bridget (my niece) as well as aunt Andrea. On Saturday, daddy took him for a ride on the John Deere and later in the afternoon, he, daddy and Bridget played golf together. It was to cute. Parker was out there in his overalls and cowboy boots carrying around one of Poppy's golf clubs. Bridget and Parker would follow Justin wherever he went. Parker would sit and watch as Justin hit the ball and Bridget would chase the ball after he hit it. It brought a big smile to my face as I sat back watched the three of them together.

When we arrived home, Parker was so excited to see Hunter. He went back to his room and was so surprised. While he was gone I cleaned out old toys and put together the new toys he had gotten for his birthday. The look on his face was like that of a child's on Christmas morning. He played with his toys the rest of the night. We couldn't even get him to take much, if any, of a break to eat dinner. You know how it is when it comes to boys and their toys.

Well, last week I took Parker to the doctor for his two year old check up. Our big man weighed in at 30lbs 1oz and was 35 3/4 inches long. He really impressed the doctor. As a matter of fact the doctor told me that Parker talked like an adult (for those of you who don't know, he just turned two, but can and does talk in complete sentences).

Better get going. Parker is home sick today. Chat later.

Baby is 2.......

Wow. It is hard to believe that my baby is 2 years old. I mean seriously, am I even old enough to have a 2 years old (no comments from the peanut gallery)?

Saturday, August 22nd, we celebrated Parker's 2nd birthday at Fox Lake Park. It was awesome. He had friends and family both there. When you look at the pictures, you can truly see how much he is loved. He had a wonderful time, except when it came to opening the gifts. Can you believe that he wanted to keep them wrapped......He only wanted the cards. At first I was so embarrassed, but then I had all the other kids come and help me and it turned in to lots of fun. Once Parker so the other kids helping and watching he came to watch, but still only wanted the cards. When it came time to eat the cake he was way to funny. He had been asking for the "baby's birthday cake" for two days. After we sang Happy Birthday I cut him a piece of cake. Well, he wanted nothing to do with that. Instead, he decided that he wanted to eat the whole back off the cake. It was way to cute. Each time he took a bite he would smile great big. Priceless I tell you.

The day after his party, we packed Parker up and he headed to Chiefland with Gama and Poppy for the week. Yes, that's right.....a whole week. He seems to be doing great, but mommy is not doing so great. I have learned that all I do definitely revolves around him. He has become my whole world. The since of emptiness that I feel is awful. I asked Justin if he felt empty and his response was "the house seems empty, but I don't feel empty". He is just so happy that Parker is having so much fun. I too am glad my baby is having fun and getting to spend time with Justin's family, but that hasn't made things any easier. Below is the first letter I have received from Parker while he has been away.......

"Hi Mommy!Today we are swimming "first thing" (that means in the morning and not in the afternoon).....first thing to gama is about 10:30!I am teaching Bridget what it is like to follow her everywhere asking her what she is doing!!!! Even when she goes to the potty.....she has learned to "shut the door :o) )I am really eating good......this morning I had my Milk aka coffee.....and cheerios in my snack cup.....then my gama was eating raisin toast and I wanted a bite! I told gama to make baby toast too!!! I ate half of my piece and shared the other half with Bandit.....speaking of Bandit, I THINK HE IS TIRED.....HE GOES OFF AND HIDES AND WHEN I FIND HIM HE IS SLEEPING....My gama and poppy think you and daddy are real troopers for letting me go to gama's house for a whole week!!We are having sooooooooooooooooo much fun and I am being suchagoodboy! We have to go now....the pool is "calling"
xxxxx0000000x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
Parker James"

If you don't think that is cute you need to check your pulse....hahaha. Today he has gone to preschool with Gama for the very first time. Things went very well. He painted mommy and daddy a picture, ate his lunch like a big boy and then he even took a nap like all the other kids. After his nap, he had a snack and then headed to the playground. What a big man.
Oh well. Got to get to bed. Chat soon.