Some Parker Stories

We just got back from our family roadtrip to Yellowstone. We've got lots of pictures and stories, but I'm too tired to think of any tonight. So I'll tell you some Parker tidbits instead.

After unpacking today, I realized we were out of cereal. Not good in a house with a kid who can eat 5 bowls a day. So I asked Parker to make a list of what cereals he wanted and to list them one through five on a piece of paper. He confirmed sugar cereals were not allowed ("mom, can we get fruit loops?") and then wrote down:

Rice Crispies
Ceerios
Weaties (damn julia!)
Gorilla Munch

and then he stopped and looked at me and said, "Mom...what is that cereal that has 6 syllables?"

I reply, "What? I have no idea. What does it look like? How does it taste?"

Parker, "It kinda looks like Wheaties?"

I said, "Is it Honey Bunches of Oats?"

He answered, "Yup! That's it!"


Parker played a lot of Angry Birds this week(thanks Kika!). He played it almost non stop in the car and we were in the car a lot. He would start to tell me about it or ask for help with a level or world or structure and I'd always say the same thing, "I don't know anything about that game and frankly, I don't really care about it. Ask your dad." He made up paper Angry Bird games, real live action Angry Bird games with a stuffed animal bird and even helped Marshall, Kevin's son, who is 8 succeed at some levels. There was lots of exclaiming things like, "Aw man!" and "Oh Yes! I got him!" Or "HEY DAD, I GOT ANOTHER GOLDEN EGG!!!!" Michael would respond with praise but when I asked him what it meant he said, "I have no idea."


Parker was very confused there was no swimming pool in Yellowstone. He asked, "If there is no pool, why did we come here?!?!?!?"


This evening before dinner, he asked me, "Mom, can I figure out a way to get my own money so I can buy my own toys without complaining all the time." So we discussed an allowance. We didn't finalize it, but I'm thinking one dollar a week and more if he does "chores". We never had to do any and I think we should have. Nothing major, but taking out trash or setting table or cleaning rainbows cage. We'll see how that shakes out.

He also asked when he could get a job. I told him 16, but Michael corrected me and said with a special permit, he could get one earlier. Then he asked when it would stop and seemed really excited about the possibility of working until he died.


Parker kept asking me to take pictures of him and send them to Aidan, one of his best friends. I humored him once, but decided Kika didn't need lots of photos of Parker on her phone.

Parker doesn't seem to know when it is ok to get naked and when it is not. He routinely takes off his pants or shorts or bathing suit in public (usually when I ask him to take off his shoes). I hope it's something he figures out or he is gonna get teased a lot.

Anyway, pics and posts about Yellowstone soon...