I can't believe my little guy is a year old already! This year has flown by so quickly, and I think it happens even quicker with the second child. It seems like just a few months ago that we dropped Ainsley off at Robin's house that Thursday morning while I was in labor. 5 hours later little Parker had joined our family. He is such a joy in our lives and now I can't even remember the simple life with just one child! He loves his big sister so much, and everyday she amazes me - she is such a good big sister! Whether she is sharing her Cheerios with him, or giving him toys in the car, or racing him up the stairs, or tickling him (a little too rough, I always think - but he just laughs and enjoys every bit of attention from her). Of course there are the usual sibling moments when they are fighting over toys, he grabs her hair, she doesn't want him in her room, or they both want my attention at the same time, but the majority of the time they are just happy to be together.
Hard to believe he was ever so tiny!
Parker is such a happy little man - always smiling, laughing, and looking for ways to be silly. He loves squeezing himself between things - table legs, under chairs, between my legs when I'm cooking. Peek-a-boo is a favorite game. He loves being tossed up in the air or bent over backwards, being tickled, pushing toys across the floor, and he especially loves carrying toys in his mouth as he crawls around - I think he spends too much time watching Dixie.
He has been cruising and walking next to furniture for several months, and we anticipate he'll be walking solo within a few weeks. He stands on his own for short periods, but then quickly decides that it's faster to crawl to where he wants to go. Parker loves to babble to his stuffed animals before he falls to sleep, and I always love walking in to see his smiling face when he wakes up. He is fairly adventurous with his foods, although new things tend to end up on the floor a few times before he tries them. He is very interested in Ainsley's cup but refuses to drink out of his own.
Parker brings a million smiles to my face every day, and I can't wait to see what the next year brings! Happy Birthday, my little chunky monkey!
My happy kids
Trying out some icing from the cupcake that he threw on the floor.
Sibling love
Birthday party at Robin's house.
Apparently he grabbed the candle and was swinging the cupcake around.
Lots of birthdays to celebrate on the same day!
Friday night we took the kids to Romp-n-Roll for open gym playtime. I actually had a really cute video that accidentally got deleted. Parker spent at least 15 minutes pushing this around the room with his head.
Celebrating his birthday with his first haircut!
Such a big boy!
'You'd better get this right!'
Parker's birthday lunch at TGIF with Ainsley after dance class.
Opening presents
'Ooooohhh. Bubble wrap!'
Reading his card from Aunt Ellie and Uncle Bill - he then enjoyed chasing the soccer ball around the room.
A Mickey Mouse card from Aunt Darlene! My favorite!
'Wow!'
Enjoying another birthday cupcake with his big sister.
Yummy!
Wrapping up his birthday with a nice warm bath.
Bath playtime with Ainsley!
And finally, the obligatory video of Parker eating his first birthday cupcake. Enjoy!
Things were rolling along quite nicely yesterday (well, not really but let's not get caught up in subtraction regrouping lessons). We were getting ourselves set up for success on this temporary schedule. We were learning things and reading things and writing things and then... the bottom dropped out. The governor announced all schools are closed for the rest of the year. I'm sure all the other parents watching the news conference had the same physical reaction that I did. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. Tears, anger, disbelief... my poor children. ALL these poor children. When they left for spring break they didn't realize it would be the last time they'd see their friends. The last time they'd see their teachers. Ainsley, in particular, is taking it the hardest. She's missing her last Lower School play. Her last Grandparents Day show. No field day. No fifth grade graduation. No class graduation party. She is heartbroken. The next time she sets
I’m sure I’m not the only one who started this quarantine and thought the Zombie Apocalypse was imminent. I did what all normal apocalyptic-preparers would do - I filled our extra 60 gallon water containers, I checked the date on my bucket of freeze-dried food, and I stocked up on canned goods and baking essentials. Clearly the stores would be completely shuttered and I was going to have to make my own bread and can my own vegetables by the time we emerged from quarantine. Well, we all know things didn’t turn out quite that bad, but an Ayres is always prepared! I’ve had a fully stocked pantry of baking ingredients so I’ve worked hard to keep something on the counter to eat at all times. Today I attempted cinnamon squares. The yeast didn’t rise as much as I thought it should’ve, and I didn’t include the pecans that the recipe called for since I have some nut-haters in the family. So you roll out the dough and the spread some of the filling, which was easier said than done. Then you
My baby girl is ELEVEN today!!! She couldn't have a big party, but she sure had a special day. We surprised her with yard signs ( cardmyyard.com ). We released the butterflies into the garden. They hung out on the kids' hands for a while before flying off. Her gift from us was a purple hoverboard - she is so excited! Her neighborhood friends came and secretly decorated the garage for a little party. She was so surprised and loved sharing cake with her best friends. THEN to add even more excitement, two of her best friends from school came for a 'drive-by' socially-distant celebration. She was thrilled to see them drive up - she hasn't seen them in person since March 6, before Spring Break!! Both sets of grandparents gave her a new bike (she will get to go shopping and pick it out herself next week). She has grown so much and is in desperate need of a new bike! My beautiful 11 year old... how time flies!
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