THREE YEARS OLD!

My baby is

THREE!

HOW CAN THAT BE???

Three years ago, on a blazing HOT (118 degrees!) July 22, 2006, in Glendale Arizona, our life changed for forever!

After 6 years of marriage, 9 months of pregnancy, 34 gained pounds, 15 hours of labor, a blessed epidural, and 3 1/2 hours straight of pure gut-wrenching PUSHING,

Parker Christopher Hansen

(6 lbs, 9 oz, 21 inches, lots of long, auburn-ish hair)

finally made his debut into our family! It was truly the most amazing, wonderful experience I had ever had up to that point in my life. I had so much adrenalin running through me moments after he came out that I remember telling my Mom that I wanted to do it again! I was astonished to discover that I loved childbirth, the very thing I had been petrified of for years. At that point of course, I didn't realize just how much of a beating my body had really received. Opposite to my delivery, my recovery was not so easy... to say the least!....I was in absolutely HORRIBLE, I mean HOR-R-IBLE shape for weeks after. Pushing for such an extended, continuous period of time did not do good things for my petite frame, and one of the many "treats" I walked away with included a broken tailbone that took almost two full years to recover from. SO PAINFUL!

However, amidst all of this and many ghorry details I will go ahead and spare you from at this time, I was still blissful as ever with my new baby in tow and I can truly say that I loved being a new mom from the getgo. I know that is not always the experience for all, so I consider myself lucky. The hardest thing for me was defintely the lack of sleep for months on end! Sleep deprivation can sure throw you for a loop!!! But after 6 years of marriage I was READY to start our family and was so thrilled by this new little presence in our home.

FAST FORWARD TO July 2009....

Three years later I can truly say that Parker has been a tremendous blessing to us! He is fun, spunky, quick-witted, intelligent, affectionate, a great listener (most of the time), and has a memory that blows me away. He is charismatic, full of energy and ideas, and he is eager to learn and to relay his constant-accumulated knowledge. I am reminded when I'm around other kids his age that he in comparison seems to be such a mature soul. It seems weird to say that he's wise beyond his years at THREE, but honestly, if you are lucky enough to know this little guy, the things he says and talks about, the talents he already uses, his ability to carry on conversations and offer compliments and to express empathy towards others, and his amazing comprehension and quick ability to learn and retain information at barely three years old, has been mind-boggling to me! Don't get me wrong -- he's also a three year old that DEFINITELY has his terrible moments and list of things he hasn't quite caught onto yet! Also, I am SO not a Mom that goes around comparing my child to every other kid on the block while placing my child on a pedestal, so please forgive me for my description, but it's important to me to write all these things down so that I can remember what my little guy was like at 3 in years to come!

He has filled our home with more joy than we ever could have imagined. He makes us laugh everyday and is one of our favorite sources of entertainment. He keeps us on our toes and I am the first to admit that he can be a real handful at times. But I wouldn't change it for the world!

Thanks Parker for enriching our lives these last three years!
It has been the ride of our lives.

Happy Birthday Mr. P!

We Love You!!!