Mama's Visit

Mama came for a visit last Thursday and Pearce and I just could not wait for her to get here!  As soon as she got here, Pearce ran to give her lots of hugs and kisses :)  We then went to Phil's Ice House for dinner...well, dinner for me.  Mama has been watching what she eats, so she and Pearce walked next door for Mama to get soup and a kale salad....my cheeseburger looked way yummier :)  Pearce came back with a peach smoothie!  He played and played and then we went next door to iFly to watch people do indoor skydiving.  Mama had never seen this before and just could not believe it.  I think she was more in awe than Pearce!  There were several kids doing it and we even asked how old they had to be to do it....3 years old!  Hmmm....maybe for his birthday :)  On Friday, I had the day to myself while Pearce and Mama had fun.  They went to eat lunch at Panera, went to Toys R Us to pick out one toy and then went to the grocery store to get ingredients to make vegetable soup.  Mama said he was "Mr. Perfect" the entire time!  I was so happy to hear this.  He's been having some trouble with crying fits and tantrums, so Chris and I have really been working with him on self control, and using his words when he feels upset.  He has definitely become more self aware of himself and his behavior, so I think we must all be doing something right! That evening we had fun just playing at home and ate the BEST vegetable soup!  On Saturday, we took it easy during the morning.  This is what I love about having Mom here...we don't have to have a lot planned, because we just love being together.  Pearce is the same way.  He's happy just playing with his toys or watching a show while we just lounge around during the mornings :)  I made scrambled eggs for Pearce and Mama and they sat on the couch together and ate their eggs and watched The Incredible Hulk :)  Then Mama said she really wanted to get Pearce a pair of cowboy boots and Pearce was soooo excited about that!  We first went to Academy, but their boots weren't what we were looking for.  This is a perfect example of Pearce using self control.  Before we went in, I talked to him about how we were just going to look, but if we didn't find boots that fit him, we would go to another store.  So I went over the scenario... "Pearce, if we go in here and don't find boots we like or fit you, what are you going to do?"  His response was "Say, ok, let's go to another store."  Then I told him that's right, we aren't going to whine or cry.  So, sure enough, we didn't like the selection of boots and immediately, his lip started to quiver, but I said, "Pearce, what are we going to do now?"  He said, "We are going to go to another store."  Normally, he would have thrown a big fit, but he held it together like a big boy!  So we went to a real boot store and they had tons of boots to choose from!  We quickly found the most perfect, cutest pair of REAL cowboy boots for Pearce.  He loved them!  Then Mama found the cutest Wrangler shirt just his size with pearl snap buttons and Pearce was so excited about that, too!  Then I went to just "look" at the women's boots and quickly I found the cutest pair of boots.  I can never find shoes to fit me, but this place had such a great selection and the boots fit me perfectly!  THANK YOU MAMA!!!!  Pearce wore his boots out for the rest of the day and night!  Then we went to eat lunch at La Madeline.  Pearce was starting to get a little whiny, but thank goodness, there was another little boy about his age there who was throwing a massive fit.  I quietly told Pearce to listen to that little boy acting like a baby and told him he needs to show that little boy how to be a big boy.  Pearce really responded well to that.  They were sitting right by us.  Pearce had to go potty and when we got back, the family was gone.  I told Pearce how sad it was that they had to leave because that little boy was crying like a baby.  Pearce sat like a big boy and ate his lunch :)  We started noticing that it was starting to get really dark and stormy outside.  We were going to go to the outlet mall for a bit, but as soon as we got in the car, it started storming really bad.  Like, I could hardly see because of the heavy rain!  We made it home and the rain had calmed down a bit.  Mama decided she wanted some new casual clothes and asked if I could take her credit card and go to Soma to get her some new things.  Ummmm.....sure!  I had so much fun being her personal shopper!  I did a good job, because she loved everything I got her!  We had a photo session set up for Sunday.  Pearce has always done a good job with photo sessions, so I thought it would be fun for the three of us to get a few pictures taken.  Well, let me just say that the entire session was pretty much HELL!!!!!!  I think if Mom and I had our blood pressure taken during that time, it would have been through the roof.  The morning was fine with us getting ready.  We decided it would be cute for Pearce to wear his new boots and cowboy shirt and Pearce LOVED that idea.  Then on the way there, I talked to him about doing exactly what the photographer told him to do and to make sure he smiled like a big boy....just like he did a few weeks before.  All was good until we got there and he saw it was the not the man we had had before.  During the last month or so, I've been trying to do better about preparing Pearce for different scenarios and how to handle them.  I did not even think about what if there was a different photographer.  Oh man, for whatever reason, Pearce did not like the lady and was not nice at all when she first introduced herself.  I took him out of the room and laid down the law about how I expected him to act.  I thought I got the message through, but as soon as the woman started taking his picture, he just would not smile and got so stubborn and huffy.  Yes, the woman was definitely annoying, BUT, I just can't tolerate Pearce being rude to anyone, especially an adult!  All I wanted was three good pics...one of just Pearce, one of Pearce and Mama, and one of the three of us.  Thank goodness we did manage to get those, but just barely and it was just so stressful the entire time.  Mom even resorted to dumping out her entire purse in order to make Pearce laugh!  Finally, we were able to leave and I could feel my blood pressure going down.  The door leading out to the parking lot has a button for handicapped people to push in order for the door to open automatically.  Pearce always likes to push it and then he waits.  I told him he could push it and then I added, "Wait at the door."  Pearce pushed it and then started to run out.  I yelled "Stop! Stop! STOP!!!!!!!"  He totally ran out into the street and did not stop until I ran after him and caught him!  I swear, I could have totally lost it on him.  I was FUMING.  I scooped him up, took him to my car and pretty much yelled at him to never EVER run into the street again, then I gave him two big spankings.  He was a hysterical mess and soon I followed.  I buckled him in his car seat, mom got in the car, I got in the car, and then I just lost it and started crying.  I was so mad about the pictures, then so mad that he ran into the street when he ALWAYS waits for me at the door, and just absolutely livid that he didn't stop when I yelled at him to stop.  I kept thinking about what if a car had been coming.  I felt bad for mom because she felt awful for me, and Pearce was still crying in the back seat.  I still wanted us to go eat lunch together.  I don't think Pearce has ever seen me so upset with him.  I told him he better just sit in the booth and eat his lunch and not say a word.  He did.  Poor thing, I think I scared him, but oh my gosh....ugh!  We got home and I told Chris about everything that had happened and he gave Pearce a big talk.  So, the slate was wiped clean and we decided to all go bowling.  We get to the bowling alley and find out there's a 2 hour wait.  Could this day be any worse?????  Then we decide to go to another bowling alley and it's a 1.5 hour wait, but Chris decided to take Pearce to play the games and Mom and I sat at the bar and each had a vodka tonic and talked.....day just got better then :)  We ended up having a great time bowling and then went to eat at Kobe Steakhouse.  Pearce loves Kobe!  The chef really put on a show and we all had such a great dinner!  Each night after we put Pearce to bed, Mom and I would stay up and watch TV together.....one of our favorite things to do!  Mom left early on Monday morning to beat another round of storms.  Although Sunday afternoon was questionable, the rest of Mom's visit was just so fun!  I loved getting to have her all to myself and Pearce loved having her too.  Thank you for coming, Mama....see you at the beach next week!!!


Here are some of the proofs from our photo session.  The first three are pretty indicative of how the session was :)  I wasn't crazy about the ones of me and Pearce, but thank goodness we got some good ones.  I can laugh about the experience now.  I go to Penney's a lot, because USUALLY he is so good and it's fast and inexpensive and he always has a great smile.....USUALLY :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Day of School

Last Thursday was Pearce's last day of school!  He LOVED his teachers, Ms. Dawn and Ms. Irene!  This school year was so different than last school year.  Pearce loved his teachers last year, but it was his first time being away from me for two days during the week, so there were times he cried when I dropped him off.  His teachers always said he was fine after a few minutes, but it still made me sad when he did this.  This year, he never cried once and was always so happy when we got to his classroom.  He talked and talked about what he did at school and who he played with.  He could really tell me a lot about his school day.  This year was fun for me because I got to be more involved in school activities.  I loved seeing  him with his teachers and his friends :)  Next year, Pearce will go two days a week again...Tuesday and Thursday.  I struggled a bit with deciding if he should do two days or three days.  Several moms said they were doing three days, but I just couldn't bring myself to let him be in school for most of the week.  Pretty soon, he will be going 5 days, and I just want to have him home with me as much as possible now!  We are ready for swimming, playing, going to the beach, and just having fun this summer!  Thanks for a great year Ms. Dawn and Ms. Irene!

Our Little Rock Visit

When Pops and Mimi offered to fly us to Little Rock for a visit, we said OK!!  Pearce was so excited to fly on a plane again!  I picked him up from school on Tuesday and off we went to the airport.  He was such a good boy and wheeled his own suitcase and carried his backpack.  We got all our bags checked and then went through security.  When I saw the security guys with their blue gloves on, I just knew Pearce was going to ask if he could have some....he loves any type of disposable gloves...don't ask me why!  Sure enough, he asked me if he could have some and I told him if he wanted the gloves, he had to be a big boy and ask the security guy nicely....he totally went up and said "May I have some glubs please?"  The security guy laughed, gave  him a pair, and Pearce was a happy camper.  He wore them almost the entire time we were waiting on our plane.  I started thinking people probably thought I was a nut job making my child wear gloves at the airport!  We got on the plane, took off (which Pearce thought was so fun), and then about 5 minutes later, Pearce was sound asleep :)  Once we landed in Dallas, I totally thought we had an hour layover, so we took our time getting off the plane, went potty, got a bottled water, and then I just happened to look at my ticket and saw that our next flight was supposed to board at 4:45 and it was almost 5:15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I grabbed Pearce and just started running to the gate.  As we were running, I heard our names announced saying the plane was boarding!  I ran to the gate and shoved my ticket in the flight attendant's face and she told me to "Hold on ma'am, we're not even taking tickets yet."  So we got in line and then after a few minutes, I just happened to look at someone's ticket and saw they were going to Baltimore...we were at the wrong FREAKING gate!  About that time I hear "Last call for Carrie Parnell and Pearce Parnell.  Your flight has boarded and will be leaving soon."  I grab Pearce again and run to the next gate over.  We were the last ones to get on the flight!  Man, I can be such an idiot sometimes!  Pearce was great on the flight and kept asking if he could say hi to the pilots when we get off.  When we landed, Pearce walked right up to the cockpit to say hi.  Before I could even ask if it was ok, the pilot had gotten him and put him in his seat to "fly" the plane!  Pearce was so excited!!!  We have been working on self control and using his words instead of having crying fits, so after he got to "fly" the plane, it was the perfect opportunity to tell him that only big boys who are nice get to fly the plane : )

 

When we got to Little Rock, Pops was right there to pick us up and Pearce couldn't run to him fast enough!  After giving Mimi a big hug and kiss, we headed to their house.  Pearce knew Pops and Mimi got him a surprise, so he couldn't wait to see it...a new soccer goal and soccer ball!  Pops and Pearce started kicking the ball right away.  I was pretty surprised at how well Pearce could kick the ball....excited for him to start his soccer camp in July, thanks to GG!

On Wednesday, we headed to Pinnacle Mountain.  I was so excited to do this with Pearce because I remember so many trips to Pinnacle Mountain when I was little.  We would always take a picnic and then climb the mountain and just run around and play.  I remember going all the way to the top several times!  Of course, we didn't go to the top with Pearce, but we went high enough that Pearce thought he was really high and climbing a big ole mountain!  We brought his walking stick and he was just the cutest hiking with it.  After we came back down, Pearce played on the playground for a bit, and then we had our picnic lunch which Pearce ate every bit of!  Such fun memories were made that afternoon!  We went back home to rest and then Pops and Mimi sent me on a little shopping trip....never too tired to do a little shopping!

On Thursday we ate lunch at The Main Cheese which was a cute restaurant that specializes in all kinds of grilled cheese sandwiches.  My sandwich and soup was so yummy.  Then off to Altitude which is a cool trampoline play area for kids.  Pearce and I (yes I jumped too) had so much fun there!  We came back home and rested up for Chuck E. Cheese for dinner with my friend, Chrissie and her little girl, Sydney.  Pops and Mimi had so many fun things planned for Pearce!  Pearce and Sydney had the best time at Chuck E. Cheese and the adults had fun just sitting watching the kids run around like wild kids :)  Pops got a ton of tokens for Pearce and Sydney.  We would give them a handful and then send them off to play games and told them to come back when they needed more tokens and for us to keep their tickets.  Well, they came back needing more tokens, but just had a few tickets.  We think they were totally forgetting to get their tickets!  So Chrissie and I went and played a bunch of games with them and they finally racked up a bunch of tickets.  We joked that Pops spent over $50.00 at Chuck E. Cheese and Pearce and Sydney each left with a slinky and plastic bracelet :)

Pearce loves Mimi's new car because he has his own set of headphones and gets to watch Curious George on the DVD player....Mimi said her only request for her new car was a DVD player for Pearce...good Mimi!

On Friday, we went to Bass Pro to look at all the neat stuff there.  Pearce loved "driving" the boats, looking at the animals and fish, and he got to pick out a few things.  He chose a pair of "noculars" otherwise known as binoculars, a Spiderman fishing set, and a torpedo for the pool.  After Bass Pro, we went to eat lunch at Sonic.  This Sonic was fun because they had a big playscape for kids.  He made friends with another little girl there and they played and played and Pearce ate his entire lunch:  cheeseburger, apple slices, and an M&M blast!  We came back home and the yard guy was there working on Pops and Mimi's yard.  His wife and kids were there helping him too, so Pearce had fun playing with the kids in the backyard.  Next, we went to eat dinner with GG at the Purple Cow.  I hadn't been there in forever, and it was so good!  Pearce was so excited to see GG!  She brought him a few surprises:  new Crocs and a beach towel for the pool!  After dinner, we went across the street to Barnes and Noble and GG let Pearce pick out several new books.  He chose a Curious George book, two dinosaur books, and a monkey book.  Thank you GG!

While we were in Little Rock, Pearce also learned how to play checkers...well...he's getting the hang of it :)  He loved playing so much in Little Rock, that I got him a checkers set when we got back to Austin.  He also loved going to Pops' office to "work."  He even took his own little computer up there for his work :)  Pops also has lots of little animals and figurines that Pearce likes to rearrange for Pops.  One other thing is that Mimi took the baby monitor with her each night and so each morning, he would call for Mimi to come get him.  One morning, though, he got out of bed and came to my room at 7:45...WAY too early for me :)  I tried to get him to get in bed with me, but then he said he wanted Mimi, so I told him to go knock on her door...he did and I went back to sleep!  The next morning, he just bypassed my door and went straight to Pops and Mimi's room....thankfully that was around 9:00!

Saturday, we went to eat lunch at US Pizza which I just LOVE!!!  Pearce loved it, too!  Then Pops and Mimi took us to the airport.  We gave our hugs and kisses and then went to wait on our plane.  Pearce slept the whole way from Little Rock to Dallas and then was Mr. Talkative for the second flight.  At one point, we were waiting in the tunnel thing to get on the plane and the lady behind us asked where Pearce was going and he said "home."  The lady said, "Oh, where's your home?"  Pearce said in the most serious voice, "Ummm, it's close to Dunkin Donuts."  We all just died laughing!  He's never said that before!  When we landed in Austin, Pearce again, wanted to say hi to the pilots and once again, they put him right in the seat and let him "fly" the plane.  Pearce thought he was a big shot!

Pops and Mimi, thank you so much for flying us to Little Rock and having so many fun things planned!  We had a blast!  See you soon!