Drew's new do

After weeks of Andy begging me to cut Drew's hair, I finally relented. Drew was started to grow a baby mullet. When his hair would curl, it looked so sweet. However, if his hair was straight he had "a party in the back." On Saturday, we took both boys to get their hair cut. Andy had to hold Drew while the lady trimmed his hair. We tried sitting him in the chair, but he immediately lunged out of it.

Here is a before shot of the baby mullet.

Drew looking around while he gets his hair trimmed

He started squirming after awhile, so the stylist pulled out a secret weapon...a sucker. This was Drew's first and he loved it! He was a sticky mess after eating it.

Drew without his baby mullet but with his new favorite treat!Jackson and Drew after their hair cuts with their suckers. Drew is actually opening his mouth and tried to get Jackson's sucker.

Donuts with Dads

Yesterday was Donuts with Dads at Jackson's preschool. He was so thrilled that daddy was coming to school and that they were eating donuts. Andy had a really good time and enjoyed being there. The teachers had asked the students several questions about their dads and gave it to them yesterday. Here is the questionaire and Jackson's answers.

• My daddy's name is Andy.
• My daddy is 31 years old.
• My daddy's favorite TV show is Home Alone.
• My daddy's favorite food is anything mommy cooks.
• I love my daddy because he watches football with me.

Jackson is such a sweet boy. If I did not know better, I would think Andy schemed with him about my cooking! Here is a picture of Jackson and Andy watching the Titans together.

Bride Wars

As you probably know, I love all things wedding! The whole process is so much fun and exciting to me. It is thrilling to work with brides and their families and see their dream day become a reality. So, I obviously love movies about weddings which are usually "chick flicks" as well. On Sunday afternoon, Emily, Stephanie and I took some girls in the youth group to see Bride Wars. The movie was super cute. I laughed and cried, what more could you ask for in a movie?!? And I think Anne Hathaway are adorable. Emily had the wonderful idea for us to wear formals (or bridesmaids dresses) to the movie. Most of the girls as well as Emily and I participated in the dress up fun. Any excuse to dress up is fun for me, since most days I wear jeans and t-shirt. Not much opportunity for dressing up in my present full time occupation (ha, ha, ha). Here we are after the movie and some yummy desserts from the Cheesecake Factory. Emily and I are having a little fight like the one between Emma and Liv in the movie.

If you love weddings and chick flicks, you should go see Bride Wars or just rent some of my other favorites like 27 Dresses, The Wedding Planner, or The Wedding Date.

Jackson's Birthday Lunch

On Saturday, we had Jackson's family birthday lunch. He has been so excited about his party for a long time. For his party, he decided several months ago that he wanted a hockey theme. We went a few weeks ago to pick out the cake and supplies. He really enjoys watching the Predators on TV and going to the games. Here is Jackson posing with his first present (a hockey stick from Aunt Amanda). He normally hates pictures, however he was happy to strike a pose with his new gear.

Jackson also got to pick out the menu for his party. His selections were Chick-fil-A nuggets with honey mustard, green apple slices, pigs in a blanket, chips and cheese (Rotel with sausage), and Sprite. I added celery and carrots with spinach dip, crackers with cream cheese spread, and bacon wrapped pretzels. He was a little upset when he found out there would be carrots and celery at the party because "he did not ask for that." Here is the birthday boy enjoying his food.

Since Christmas, Jackson has become obsessed with opening presents. He found our birthday presents to him on Saturday morning, but he told me "they don't have tags on them." And wanted to know immediately "who are the presents for?" He, of course, got a ton of loot from our families. Here he is sitting in his chair from Mama Linda and opening Uno from Uncle Andrew. He is loving all his gifts and cannot wait to go to shopping with his money.

Here is Jackson with his final gift...a clone trooper outfit! He loves it so much and dresses up all the time.

Here is a picture of the cool hockey cake

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Jackson, Happy Birthday to you!"Mommy and Daddy with their sweet FOUR year old boy

Mama Linda with Jackson

Grammy and Papa with Jackson
Andy and I are so incredibly blessed by Jackson and his sweet spirit and enthusiastic personality. Every day is truly a new adventure with him. We were so grateful that a number of our family members were there to celebrate and be a part of his life!
Here I am with my clone trooper!

Happy 4th Birthday to Jackson!

Jackson celebrated his fourth birthday on Wednesday. He knew that his birthday was after Christmas. So everyday since Christmas he has wanted it to be his birthday. He got to start his celebrations early by having treats for his friends at school on Tuesday. His choice was donut holes (if you know the Parker boys, this should be no surprise!). On Tuesday morning, we ate breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and picked up the donut holes for his class. He was so excited to carry the bag into school.

Here is Jackson with his choice for breakfast...a vanilla frosted donut:)

At school on Tuesday, he got to wear the birthday crown. He was loving all the attention!

Andy and I wanted to make Wednesday an extra special day for Jackson. He decided to eat lunch at Chick-Fil-A, so we met daddy there. He loves the chicken nuggets, honey mustard, and Sprite. He finished off his meal with ice cream and some fun in the play area.

Here is a photo Jackson took of us in the play area.

Jackson also got to choose our dinner location. He picked Moe's, because he loves to eat there. He wants a burrito (really a soft taco with chicken and cheese). Here is a picture of Jackson and Drew after church that night.

On Wednesday morning, Jackson decided he needed a cake for his birthday. I did not have all the needed ingredients for the cake so I had to make some substitutions (which did not really work that well), however Jackson seemed pleased. It was chocolate and cake...he was happy. He also decided he wanted a hockey cake that day too because that was the cake he chose at Publix for his family birthday lunch. So we improvised and put his "hockey guys" and candles on his cake. He was thrilled!

Blowing out the candles...

We let him open one present on Wednesday night. He was pumped to get an Eric Berry Tennessee jersey. That is his favorite Vols player.

Mommy and her sweet birthday boy

More celebrating to come...His family birthday lunch is going to be this Saturday! He wants it to be a hockey party and wants me to invite JP Dumont and Dan Ellis. Not sure they are going to be able to make it:(

Christmas Day 2008

After opening our gifts and breakfast, Drew took his morning nap and Jackson watched his Alvin and the Chipmunks DVD while playing with his toys. Then we headed to Mama Linda's for Christmas lunch. Santa also left a surprise for Jackson at her house, since he decided two days before Christmas that he wanted a Home Alone DVD from Santa. It has been on TV so much and he thinks it is hilarious. Andy has to watch it with him and edit certain scenes. Santa was not able to get the DVD in time, but Aunt Amanda was able to help Santa locate it.

Here is Jackson with his pile of gifts. Jackson loves his Star Wars figurines, Pirate outfit, and baseball guys.

Drew chose to have his presents opened for him. He really likes his Little People stuff, guitar, and pretend food.

Aunt Amanda with Keith Bulluck and pirate Drew...Argh!

All the festivities was exhausting for baby Drew. He will be so excited about Christmas next year. We look forward to many more fun Christmases with our boys!

Christmas Morning 2008

Jackson was so excited Christmas morning to see what Santa would bring him. Usually, he does not get out of his bed until 7 am. About 6:50 am, we hear "it is never going to be 7 on my clock!" So I went to his room and told him that I would lay in bed with him until it turned to 7. He kept asking me if I heard Santa or the reindeer last night. When the clock FINALLY said 7, I went to get the camera and Andy corralled him for a few minutes. He was running into the den to see what was under the tree.

Here is all the fun stuff that Santa delivered to our house on Christmas morning. A wooden train and tracks, Alvin and the Chipmunks DVD, and Toy Story 2 DVD for the boys to share. Hockey guys, a UT tackle buddy, Storm Trooper blaster for Jackson. A piano and a vacuum cleaner for Drew (who decided sleeping until 7:30 was more important than gifts from Santa).

Jackson immediately began playing with his hockey guys.
Jackson and Andy with the UT tackling buddy. When he saw him, he said, "it's just my age." Jackson loves pounding him, and so does Drew. However, Jackson still prefers to tackle Drew and Drew usually likes it.
Drew with his new rock-n-play piano. He is trying to figure out what all the excitement is about.
Andy and I got Drew a fire engine ride-on toy for Christmas. Here he is taking his first spin around the house.
Jackson has really enjoyed watching the Titans this season and going to a few games. His favorite player is Keith Bulluck. He really wanted his jersey for Christmas. He told us, "I want the light blue jersey with dark blue sleeves that is for little kids." It was harder to find than we thought it would be. Thanks to a Christmas miracle at Sports Seasons, we were able to get a huge reaction for Jackson.
My Little Titans player!
Just to prove I was actually there...here is a picture of me with my new shoes from Andy

Christmas Eve 2008

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to spend the day with my family in Columbia. We began the day with brunch at my Granny and Granddaddy's house. It was delicious...breakfast casserole, biscuits with chocolate gravy, cinnamon rolls, link sausage, and fruit. My aunt made one of those cool fruit display trees. After we ate, we opened our presents. Jackson was excited about the presents with his name on them. One of his presents was wrapped in Mickey paper, and he said, "I love this gift wrap." Drew and Jackson had so much fun playing and be the center of attention. After presents, the card games begin. The adults played Rook and Spades, while several of us played a mean game of UNO with Jackson. He loved it! Two things happen when you play with Jackson: he really wants to win and he shows all of his cards. He won a few and lost a few. UNO may be on his birthday wish list.

All of my family with my grandparents

Drew is getting tired from all the festivities. Poor baby was still sick:(

After all the fun at my grandparents' house, we drove about 2 miles to have Christmas with my Granny Evans and Aunt Gertie. My granny is 86 and my aunt is 95, and both have difficulty hearing. This makes Christmas with them rather humorous. We had to explain several of their gifts to them. My great aunt was amazed by a paper shredder that my parents got for her. She has been cutting up her mail and documents with her scissors. She thought the shredder was super cool. We'll see if she actually uses it. After we opened presents, we had an Italian Christmas dinner (lasagna). Here is a picture of Jackson delivering presents.

Jackson and Drew opening their presents.

After dinner, we went to my parents' house. Jackson and Drew put on their pajamas and we exchanged gifts. Drew loved my mom's tree. He really did not bother our Christmas trees at home after he was scolded a couple of times. My mom's tree had several ornaments where he could see his reflection, and he really liked that. Drew had to be put to bed after his presents were opened for him because he was so exhausted.

My brother got Jackson a Buzz Lightyear for Christmas. Before Jackson opened the present, he heard it say, "to infinity and beyond." He immediately knew it was Buzz and could not wait another minute to open it. He kept saying this is what I wanted for Christmas...a Buzz Lightyear that talks.

My parents got Jackson a Titans bike, which he loved. Jackson told Andy and me that he wanted a Titans bike. At first, we assumed this did not exist. However, a little Internet searching proved that it did exist. Jackson is so excited for some warm weather so he can ride it. He also got a horn to put on his bike.

After three Christmas Eve stops, we all headed home to get ready for Santa. Jackson and Drew were completely asleep when we got home, so Andy and I put out some milk and cookies for Santa and carrots, celery, and oats for the reindeer.