We Blinked & Now He is Grown Up

Parker turned 9 on October 27th.  NINE. In 9 more years he will be graduating from Highschool.  This past year I have seen Parker grow up.  He is not my little boy any more.  He is turning into this little dude.  He is not quite a "teen" and not really a "preteen" he's just some cool grown up lil' dude.  His looks are changing, but every once in a while I will see a smile, a smirk or the dimple on his cheek show up and I still see my little boy in there. 

 He is in 3rd grade and loves it.  But is realizing school is getting a little harder.  He loves Math and Science.  He loves to read anything regarding dinosaurs, volcanoes, science experiments, animals and of course Diary of a Wimpy Kid and now he is into the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) book.

He pretty much hates all kinds of food unless it has sugar in it.  His daily diet consists of waffles drenched in syrup, captain crunch or strawberry mini wheat cereal, moms homemade strawberry jam on bread, chocolate milk and gogurts.

His favorite shows are anything on Animal Planet, Spongebob and Phineas and Ferb.  He loves music, any kind and if you get him to sing, he has a really good voice.

He loves his Dad. 

He loves to fish, hike, camp and do anything that involves being outside and getting filthy dirty.
He loves to build things and take anything electronic apart and make something new and better out of it.
He is still a master Lego builder and now he is into Chess.

 He loves his sisters and still insists they call him Bubba.  He isn't afraid to give them a kiss on the head and a big hug.  He will play barbies and house with them if that will make them happy.  But, he is quick to let me know that he doesn't like Barbies or House and that I shouldn't tell anyone that he was highly involved in the latest Barbie Fall Fashion Show.

He is stubborn, feisty, mouthy and keeps his mom on her toes.  He is hardheaded and REALLY opinionated.  He is smart, quick witted and we call him "rainman" because he remembers everything.

He is our Buckaroo, our Bubba, our PK, our Parks, our Parker Kingston.

Dear Parker:

You have turned nine now.  We have been blessed to have you in our lives for nine crazy, happy years.  You have been a blessing to our family.  We will never forget the first time we saw you, you were perfect. You had that little pug nose and chubby cheeks.  We were instantly in love.  Each year as you grow older Dad and I fall more in love with our Bubba.  There is no one else like you.  You are perfect in every way.  You are smart, funny, witty, stubborn, feisty, hardheaded, keen, caring, giving and down right amazing.  We have been through a lot in the past nine years and you never cease to amaze me with what you can accomplish.  Things may get tough and we may raise our voices at each other, but PK Dad and Mom want you to know how much we love you and how grateful we are that you are our son.  We feel privileged that we were chosen to be your parents.  Mom knows that you were sent to us for a reason.  You have taught us so much and have opened our eyes to new situations that have let our hearts and spirits grow immensely.  You are such a great big brother to your sisters.  The girls love hanging out with you despite your extreme bossiness. :)  They will look to you for guidance and follow your example.  Thank you for keeping us on our toes, thank you for making us laugh with your constant..."Remember when I was 2..." or "Mom did you know that the T-Rex has...." And thanks for keeping Moms brain a movin' with your constant "Mom, what is 24x45-56+23?" or "Mom can you name all the capitals of the 50 states?" Without you Mom might not be able to talk or read. :)  Parker we love you stud and we want you to know how AWESOME we think you are!  We look forward to the next 9 years! 

Love you,

Dad and Mom

p.s. You can be the best!