The Pettys

We really have been having the BEST summer! We've been busy, busy, busy playing and just doing fun stuff. The picture above is him at the library. He LOVES the fish tank! We've also done story time at the other branch (our library has 2 branches), and he's loved it. I can't ever get any good pictures, though.

Here he's playing with his 4th of July sensory bin. The first thing he went for was the flag. He's really been noticing flags alot lately.

He loved scooping the rice that I dyed red and blue.

He did a really good job of sorting out the different shapes and colors. There were stars of various sizes, and he called the smallest ones "baby" stars.
And who knew q-tips could be so much fun? He played with them for a long time the other day. He asked me (randomly) to make an H with them. I have no clue why an H, but that's what he wanted.


I showed him how to make them into a bunch, so he's showing his bunch here.

He transferred them from different boxes for a while. Seriously, he had the best time with this!

Ok..look at this picture..this is normal at our house. Except for the times I put Tulip outside while we're eating (which has become pretty common). So keep that in mind when I type this story.
The other day Tulip was doing her thing and P said, "Get out of my leg, Tulip!" or he'll tell her to get out of his toes. Cute, I know! But this is not cute..he told her, "Tulip, stop being annoying." Hmmm..wonder where he heard that? In my defense, though, it is annoying when she sits there and begs.
Last week I told him to give her some sugar and he said, "She's 'tinky." Once again, in my defense, she was stinky and I did give her a bath.
Anyway, we've got to think more purposefully about the words we're using around him!

A conversation between P and me:
Me: "Do you need to go tee-tee before we go outside?"
P: "A, B, C, D, E, F, G.."
Me: "Hey! Do you need to go tee-tee? We're going to buy big boy underwear today! Do you need to go?"
P: " A, B, C, D, E, F, G.." as he puts toilet paper in the toilet.

Some days are good, some days aren't so good.

Dear Parker,
Today is Father's day. I just want to write you a little note to tell you that you truly have the best dad. Your dad is the best man I know. Period. For the past two years, he's been going to school full-time and working full-time. That means he's not home a lot, but when he is home, he always does his best to spend his time with us. That may mean staying up all night to get his homework done, but he does it.
The Lord gave me two reminders today of how great a man he is. I heard from two completely different people what a wonderful man he is and how highly he is thought of. As a matter of fact, one woman told me, "If he wasn't married, I'd snag him right up!"

You're also lucky to have two grandfathers in your life who love you like you're the only little 2 year old in the whole world. They call to check on you, they spend time with you, and they're completely in love with you.




I write all this to say that you are a lucky little boy; and you have some pretty big footsteps to follow. More importantly, remember to always, always seek the Lord because He is the perfect example of a loving, compassionate, forgiving Father. We love all of you so, so much!

Falling asleep in the middle of warm laundry...it doesn't get much better than this.

Certain things always make me think of summertime-lightning bugs, Kool-Aid, BLTs, the sound of grasshoppers at night, ice cream, swimming pools....but, here are the new things I'll think of when summertime rolls around-

28.2 pounds (52%)