A First for Parker

Today Parker lost his first tooth!!!!! It has been loose for what feels like forever. It is funny because for weeks he has been saying, "My tooth might fall out today". Today was finally the day. HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Parker on this very important milestone. Now he has to be sure to go to sleep tonight because we all know the Tooth Fairy doesn't come unless you are fast asleep.

Love you Parker!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Parker

Today was our Parker's 6th Birthday! I know I say this every time one of my kids has a birthday, but man I cannot believe that he is already 6 years old. The kids did not have school today so, it was kind of a long day that was filled with arguing and fighting. However, Parker was so excited that it was his Birthday. He kept saying, "I'm 6 now" it was so darn cute.

For his Birthday we decided that we were going to go to the movies. I knew it would be easier then a Party at home (not necessarily cheaper though). He has 2 little friends in his Kindergarten class that he just loves and he always talks about them so, I told him that he could invite them. Also, he has a friend Lucas that he loves playing with and Lucas has a brother who is good friends with Bradyn so, he invited both of them too. It was my brother's weekend to have his boys Jackson and Wesley so, luckily they were able to come too. The boys have been so excited all week for this and I was too. I knew that we were going to have a ton of fun. We decided to make a goody bag for each child to have during the movie. We had paper lunch bags with some candy, each boy got their own pop and we also had lunch bags that we filled with popcorn. It was great!

The Birthday Boy with his Buddies

Bradyn with his Buds

Even Logan had a friend there (his cousin Wesley)

The Whole Crew After the Movie

After the movie we brought all the boys back to our house for cupcakes and presents. However, as we were getting in the car to go home Parker had been complaining that he ate to much and that his stomach hurt. While I was loading my car (we took two cars since I can't fit 9 boys in my van), I could tell in Parker's face that he wasn't doing well. I asked him if he was going to throw up and he nodded yes. I hurried him out of the car as quickly as possible and just barely got him out before he totally threw up. I felt so bad that this happened to him on his Birthday, but I was just so thankful that we weren't still in the Theater and that we hadn't started driving yet. After he threw up he felt much better and said that his stomach didn't hurt anymore (well of course not, since the contents of it was now on the ground in the parking lot).

When we got back home he perked up for presents. Grandma was there because she was watching Audrey (Thank You Grandma) and Grandpa was there because we had him come with us to the Movies (this way there was one more adult amongst the sea of boys). Uncle Jason and Aunt Crystal came to pick up Jackson and Wesley and Melissa and Jim came too because they just plain love Parker. We had a great group there to sing Parker Happy Birthday and I think he loved it. I am so happy that his friends, brothers and a couple of his cousins were able to come with us tonight and help Parker have a very fun Birthday (except for the whole throwing up thing).

For anyone that may be wondering, the boys were awesome during the movie. So well behaved!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARKER!!!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU AND ARE SO HAPPY THAT YOU ARE PART OF OUR FAMILY!

Bring on Second Grade and Kindergarten!!!!

Today was the first day of school and the boys in my house couldn't have been more excited! This year Bradyn is entering the 2nd grade. I can't believe it myself. And Parker is starting Kindergarten!!!!!!!

Here are all the kids after we arrived at the school. I totally forgot to tie Audrey's hair back so she can't see a thing.

Here is Parker seeing his classroom for the first time. Look at that happy face.

He even gets a locker. So awesome!!!!!!!

Here he is at the end of the day. He doesn't have a happy look on his face, but trust me he had a blast.

Preschool Graduation

Today was Graduation at Parker and Logan's preschool. I always love going to this event because it is just so cute to watch. They had a Candyland theme and the decorations were great. I am not posting that many pictures because something is going on with the printer right now and since that is how I upload my memory card I can't get my pictures onto the computer. My friend Lisa posted these pictures online and so I just copied them. (Thanks Lisa) I will put more pictures up later since I don't have any of Logan right now.

Here is Parker with his fellow graduates. He is the 3rd from the right if you can't tell. Don't you just love those little cap and gowns? I remember when Bradyn wore it 2 years ago. So cute!!!!! Logan was sitting on the other side of the stage with the rest of the kids who will not be moving on to Kindergarten next year.

Here is Parker with his "girlfriend" Brooklyn, but don't tell him that :) We spend a lot of time with Brooklyn and her mom Lisa so, they are great little friends. I have been so lucky to have Lisa to hang out with a ton this year, it has really made the year super fun. Now that Parker and Brooklyn aren't going to preschool together anymore we won't see each other quite as much :( However, I know that the two of them are both so excited to start Kindergarten next year.

Congratulations Parker for doing such a great job in preschool!!!!!!! Also to Logan, who transitioned into school so nicely it was awesome. I think it was a real blessing that he had Parker with him for his first experience into the world of school.

New Favorite Toy

This is Audrey's new favorite toy. Now that she has been trying to walk more she just loves pushing this thing around. As you can see she also loves sitting on it. It is so cute because she can totally get on it all by herself. However, we have to watch her because she also likes to try and be an acrobat and she will stand up on the seat too. Why are littles ones so daring sometimes? I mean come on, aren't they at least a little bit afraid that they will fall?

Another great thing about this toy is that she can get a lot of attention from her brothers (because you know, she hardly gets any of that, hahaha). They just love to push her around on it. Here is Parker just zooming with her. Can you see how her hair is being blown back? Yeah, she is loving every minute of it, she just laughs and laughs. Of course, every time they run across the room with her it freaks me out because I am afraid that she will go flying. I have to keep telling them that she is only a baby and to slow down. Again though, she is not afraid and she always goes back for more. Horray for Big Brothers!!!!!!!

Kindergarten Round up

Back on May 8th our school district had Kindergarten Round up. Parker was so excited to go and see the school. It is pretty funny because on the way there we passed his preschool and he said "Logan goes there by himself now right, because I go to Kindergarten now." I had to explain to him that no, this was just a time that he could go and see the school and Kindergarten classrooms, but that he wouldn't actually be starting Kindergarten until after summer break. (My kids all know what summer break means, since their dad will be off too. We talk about it a lot.) I think he also thought that I was just going to drop him off and so I had to tell him that no, I was going to stay at the school too. It is so nice because once we got there they take the kids down to the classroom to do some activities and then us parents stay back and have an information meeting. I was excited for Parker that he was able to go to the classroom without me and have a mini Kindergarten experience.

I am so excited for him to start Kindergarten because I know he is ready and will do great. I think it will be hard for him that he is only going for 1/2 day because in Texas Bradyn went to Kindergarten for a full day. I don't think he will be very happy that he doesn't get to have lunch at school. Luckily he has a little friend who is in Kindergarten right now and he sees that he comes home for lunch and so I think that has helped to prepare him.

After the parent meeting and the classroom fun, the kids (and us parents) were able to go on a bus ride. One thing that is really great about this school district is that if you want, they will transport all AM Kindergartens home from school, even if you are within walking distance. Here, Parker is taking his first school bus ride with his friend Ty. Ty is a little boy who lives next door and they just love playing together. I love this picture of Parker, I love to see that happy smiling face.

Trouble!!!!!!!

I do not know what is up with these two little boys lately!!!! They have been so insane and acting naughty quite often. It is so hard because sometimes it seems that they really don't care that I am getting mad at them. I have been trying really hard to keep my cool so, I have tried to keep the yelling to a minimum. However, I swear they don't respond to me unless I am raising my voice. I don't know, maybe I have somehow taught them that I only mean business when I am yelling. I guess, I need to reteach them that just because I am not yelling doesn't mean that I am not serious about them stopping whatever it is that they are doing.

So, today I am coming up from the basement and I notice this on the wall.

It is a row of stamps leading pretty much all the way up the stairs. Now, you may have thought that it was the 3 year old who did this, but NO it was the 5 year old. I mean come on, are you kidding me!!!!!! What would ever make him think that it was ok to stamp a bright blue stamp up a white wall, I have no idea. I think what makes it worse is that he really didn't seem to care that I was unhappy that he did this. Also, what makes it WAYYYYYYYYYY worse is that right now we are living with my parents so, it is not my wall that he stamped, it is theirs. When I showed my dad he didn't freak out, which is good.

Then, after talking to him about the stamp (and I do mean talking, I didn't raise my voice once) about 10 minutes later the two of them hide under a plastic table we have by the door wall and proceeded to finger paint on the bottom of the table. Like, Seriously?!?!?!?!? I am telling you, they just don't care about the way they are behaving lately. This is something that I definitely have to change. I am not going to tolerate being disrespected!!!!! And, I don't tolerate it so, I don't know why they want to get in trouble because they do get in trouble. Everytime!!!!!!

So, do you think that a magic eraser will take this off? Does anyone have any other ways that will take a stamp off a wall?

Hicks Family Egg Hunt

The weekend before Easter all the Hicks gathered at Les' brother Charlie's house and had a fun family Easter Egg Hunt. The kids had a great time not only hunting for eggs, but also playing with their cousins.

Here are all the Hicks Grandkids.

Bradyn was quite the awesome egg finder.

Here is Logan searching away.

I just thought this was a great picture of Logan from the day of the hunt.

*I thought I uploaded a picture of Parker looking for his eggs, but I guess I didn't. He however was there and had a great time too. He can be seen in the first group picture.

Catch up!!!!!!

I have been a horrible Blogger lately and I think the reason why is because I got so far behind with my posts that I just didn't know where to begin. Well, enough is enough and I need to start up again. Instead of going back and trying to catch up on all the different posts I have missed, I have decided to do a picture catch up all in one post. This way I can still post about some of the things that I wanted to share (and document for my own memories) and then I will be able to start up again with my more detailed posts. So bare with me, I have a bunch of pictures I am sharing. Now, there are so many more pictures I could post, but I am afraid that it would probably be over kill.

Jan. 28th Audrey pulled herself up to a standing position for the first time.

Feb. 10th Logan is such a big boy because today was his first day of Preschool. He was sooooo excited. A lot of people asked why he was starting in the middle of the year and it is because it was the start of the new semester and he was finally potty trained so he was able to enroll. Hooray for Logan!!!!! Now him and Parker go to Preschool together two days a week. Hooray for mommy!!!!!!!

Feb. 24th Audrey had some super crazy hair when she woke up from her nap.

March 5 I thought this pictures was so cute because it looks like Audrey is playing video games with her brothers. She loves being part of the action.

Feb. 27th After Bradyn left for school that morning, Audrey crawled over to the door to look after him. She stood there and watched him at the bus stop.

Feb. 27th I realized that Audrey was no longer in the living room so, I looked down the hall and sure enough there she was in my Grandma's room. She just loves crawling down there and seeing what she can explore and I think that my Grandmas actually likes it too when she comes in there.

Feb. 27th OH GREAT!!!!!!!! She has discovered the stairs. This is always a dreaded day for me because now we have to put up a gate.

March 2nd Whenever one of the boys are laying on the floor Audrey has to come over to them and ATTACK!!!!! My boys are so great because they just let her do it. Here she is attacking Parker.

March 2nd Audrey had a bath in the kitchen sink for the first time. I don't remember what she had been eating but she got covered in it so I just decided to plop her in. I think she really enjoyed herself.

March 16th March seemed to be a sick month for Bradyn. Twice he was stuck home with a high fever. It was really weird because all he had was the fever, no runny nose or cough. When he had Motrin in him he was perfectly fine, which meant that him and his brothers were really crazy either playing or fighting. However, once the Motrin wore off and his fever spiked he was down and out and just plain miserable. In this picture, the Motrin had worn off and I didn't have anymore so we had to wait for Les to get some. So, Bradyn laid on the couch with a wet wash cloth and tried to cool down. (I am not sure why he had the blanket on him, it was probably during one of the times that he also had the chills) While he was laying there Audrey came to see how he was doing. She was worried.

March 16th While Bradyn was home sick we worked on the Leprechaun Trap that he was suppose to make for school. We heard that they liked shiny stuff so, we made a very shiny box with a pot of gold inside. On the top was a rope made of green ribbon so that the Leprechaun couldn't jump out. Unfortunately, the Leprechaun that came to his class was very very sneaky so, nobody was able to catch him. Maybe next year. (Don't you just love Parker and Audrey in the background.)

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY PARKER!!!!

Yesterday Parker turned the big 5 years old. He is now one whole hand. I know that I say this every time one of my kids has a birthday, but I seriously can't believe that he is 5!!!! He will be a kindergartner in the fall and he couldn't be more excited. Parker is a sweet, loving and very smart little boy. He is the biggest helper when it comes to his baby sister and he just adores her. He is probably also my pickiest eater. He says that he doesn't like chocolate or marshmallows. I know what you are thinking, he must be crazy, but I guess I should be happy that he doesn't want to eat a bunch of chocolate all the time. He does however love peanut butter. Some of the things that come out of this mouth are just hilarious. The other day my mom told me that she kept teasing Parker by asking him how old he was going to be. She would say, "Are you going to be 4?" And he kept having to correct her and tell her that no, he was going to be 5. She finally told him that she was only kidding and he said. "Grandma, don't kid the Parker". When she told me that I just laughed. We just love our Parker so much and I feel blessed everyday to have him part of our family and to be his mom.

Yesterday for his birthday we meet some of his little friends for lunch and was able to have a little mini birthday party. It was nice not to have to plan a party, but still have him feel like he had a party. Bradyn was sad that he couldn't come so, he asked if he could just take the day off. I told him no so of course my quick witted Parker tells him that if he is sick then we could just call in sick for him. See what I mean, he says the funniest things. I immediately told them no and luckily that was the end of it. Tonight we are going to go to Old Country Buffet because that is where Parker said he wanted to go. He told me he wanted to go to the place where you can get your own food and ice cream. The boy knows what he wants :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARKER!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU

First Sunday of the Year, which Brought Logan to Sunbeams!!!

I know that this was like almost a month ago, but since my blog doubles as my journal (I have always been a horrible journal keeper) I still wanted to document it. Bradyn is now a CTR 7 in primary (for those who may not know, primary is like Sunday school for the children in our church, it is for the kids who will turn 4 in this calendar year up until a child's 12th Birthday). Parker is now a CTR 5 and our little Logan has joined his brothers in primary and is a Sunbeam (the class for the kids 3 turning 4 in this calendar year).

This is really the only picture I got of Bradyn and it is only because I ran into him picking something up from the Library. However, doesn't he look so handsome!!!

Parker coming into the primary room. He too looked oh so handsome that day. Don't you just love those beautiful dimples?!?!?

Parker with his little friend Brooklyn. They also go to preschool together and her mom is my really good friend so, they get to play together quite often. This makes for happy kids and happy mom!!!

Logan was not exactly thrilled to be going to primary for the first time like the rest of us were. For some reason he had had a really hard time leaving mom and dad to go to class (he is doing better now). I thought that he would for sure do OK, especially since one of my best friends Melissa and my Brother's wife Crystal are his teachers.

Sweet little face!!!!

Being in the classroom for the first time. I don't think it is OK for kids to hide under tables in primary so, I made him get out right away. However, I had to take a picture because it was kind of funny.

Finally he took his seat although, he doesn't look to excited. This is him with his cousin Wesley.

In the end, I think that Primary was enjoyed by all that day :)

Parker Q & A

After I did the Q and A with Bradyn (scroll down to see) Parker said that he wanted me to ask him too)

1. What is something mom always says to you? "Clean up your bedroom"

2. What makes mom happy? "No pickles on her hamburger" (This is true)

3. What makes mom sad? "When we don't listen to her"

4. How does your mom make you laugh? "By making us silly"

5. What was your mom like as a child? "She liked her costumes" (Not really sure what he is talking about here :))

6. How old is your mom? "27"

7. How tall is your mom? "Like this tall" (He held his hand up to my forehead as he said that)

8. What is her favorite thing to do? "Playing with your kids"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "Clean the house"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? "Because you would be their mom or their friend"

11. What is your mom really good at? "Playing my candy land game"

12. What is your mom not very good at? "Fixing pants"

13. What does your mom do for her job? "Helping your kids play with Audrey"

14. What is your mom's favorite food? "cereal and milk and banana" (I do really love cereal)

15. What makes you proud of your mom? "When she wins all the time" (Ha ha)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? "Spongebob"

17. What do you and your mom do together? "I mess with you" (probably because I always tell him that he better not mess with me)

18. How are you and your mom the same? "I don't know"

19. How are you and your mom different? "I'm tall and your short." (these are his words)

20. How do you know your mom loves you? "Because she hugs me" (I try to hug my kids as much as possible)

Now I tag Lisa H. (with Brooklyn), Senta (with Nolan) and Faith (with Hope)

Silly Parker

Parker can be so crazy sometimes. Today he had preschool and a lot of times my friend Lisa will bring him out to the car for me (her daughter is in Parker's little class) so that I don't have to unload my little ones. Aren't I so lucky to have a friend like her :) Well anyways, apparently when she was picking them up one of the teachers told her that during preschool Parker told her that he wasn't going to talk today. And I guess he held true to that promise. When Lisa told me this I asked him if he talked in preschool today and he told me, "No". I asked him why and he said that he didn't want to dance. I guess they were dancing today he apparently didn't want to so, he decided that he wasn't going to talk. He can be so funny sometimes. When he says that he is going to do something, he does it. He is such a smart little boy and truely amazes me a lot of the time. I just love my little Parker. I just hope that his teachers find him endearing and not difficult.

Baby in the Bumbo

About a week ago I put Audrey in a Bumbo seat that someone from my dad's work had given us. She was so cute and I think that she actually liked it. When I took out the camera to take a few pictures, Parker insisted on being in pretty much all of them.

She loves playing with toys!!!

Beautiful baby
Parker just loves his sister and she loves him. It is pretty cute because when she sees him she usually gets really excited.

Plymouth Orchard

Yesterday we went to the Plymouth Orchard and had some great family fun. We saw some animals, (which we couldn't touch since they were behind big fences), took a wagon ride and then had some good old fashioned cider mill doughnuts. The weather was absolutely beautiful which was great!!!! The kids had a blast and so did Les and I. We didn't get any pumpkins because I am too cheap. I figure that we can go to a local store and buy them for so much less money.
Our manly boys :)
Is that not the most beautiful flower that you have ever seen?!?!?! Sometimes the craziness of our family is like living with a bunch of animals :)
I can't believe that we actually got a picture of the whole family. How often does that happen? Not very!
My beautiful babies. Sometimes I just can't believe how blessed I am to be their mom.