For you, Grammy...

written mid-September 2008 by Jack Parker

A day at the beach...

A little lovin' for each other...
Jack is flying...
Molly looking for sea shells... Molly and her favorite baby - Camille Perret...
Our new friend - JT Perret...
We went to the beach this past Friday to get one more chance to enjoy the sun and sand before winter comes. It was a beautiful day. We got to enjoy some friends. We got to get wet and sandy. We had lunch and enjoy a good up of coffee on the way home. The only thing missing were the dads to enjoy the time with!

Molly in an orchard...

Molly LOVES apples. We got to apple picking a couple of weeks ago. We had the perfect day. The only drawback was that I thought this was toward the end of apple season, but in fact it is the beginning and there were not the many varieties ready to be picked. We did get some good ones, and had lots of fun. We are heading there this weekend to enjoy the orchard's kick off to the season with pumpkins, apples, apple cobbler, and balloons. Watch the blog for pictures!

Milestone #1,000,000 passed...

We are oficially out of diapers. Molly has been potty trained since around May, but we have continued to put her in diapers for naps and the night. It was more for me than for her, because 9 1/2 times out of 10 she would be dry for both when she woke up. I am one of those persons who hate to change sheets for pee in the bed, so I was dragging my feet. Well, yesterday I made a comment to Molly that next week we would try having her sleep in her underwear for the night. I had book group last night, so Kyle was putting the kids to bed. When I got home, Kyle informed me that Molly had a meltdown because she wanted to wear the underwear to bed. I had not told Kyle about it so he was unsure. He did it, and she made it through the night. She has beaten her brother, who we still have to wake up for a midnight bathroom run. Way to go, Molly Mae! We are more than thrilled not to have to buy diapers anymore, but it is also one more reminder that we have kids now and not babies...at least I have a ton of pictures to remind me of those adorable babies every now and then.

I'm not nervous anymore...

This morning as I drove Jack to school he informed me that I no longer needed to go in with him. He now knows where his classroom is, and more importantly how to get there. He also is no longer nervous about going, because he knows everyone - especially his new best buddy, Nicholas! I told him that I was not ready to just drop him off in the carpool line, but needed to go in one last day. I said that on Monday he could go in by himself. Wow - am I really there now?!

A change of clothes...

The other night we were putting Jack to bed. He went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, took the flouride, and got his pajamas on all by himself. He got his usual boxers on for bed. We thought nothing of it. He has taken a liking to wearing only boxers to bed - with no shirt. when it was time for us to go to bed, we went in to do the usual bathroom run with him. What did we find you might ask yourself? We found him curled in a ball in his bed under covers with his hooded sweatshirt that he wears as a jacket outside when it is cool. Now, he not only got up to put that on, but he also had the hood pulled up on his head. He also had socks on now. We asked him if he was cold, and - of course - he said yes. We chuckled at him, but in my mind I was also very proud and reminded that he is growing up and can do things on his own without me having to tell him. He was resourceful! Yeah. (I guess he doesn't need the fan on high anymore this season)

First day of Pre-K 2008...

A little sisterly love... (don't they look like they could be married?)
A typical Jack face when you ask him to smile for a picture... (will we ever get a non-concerned look?)
Heading for the classroom...
Sitting down to watercolor before class started... No tears this year. He did tell me that he was a little nervous, but that everyone would be nervous so it was okay. I told him the best way to get over the nerves would be to get to know everyone then there would be no strangers around him. I think today was great. I did not get too much detail, so I have decided even more that I will want to be in the classroom some to observe what he is learning. Molly was upset that she could not stay. She will have no problem next year with school!