Congratulations are in order for WNBA Chicago Sky player Candace Parker and her wife Anna Petrakova for recently welcoming their bundle of joy, Airr, into the world.
Source: Christian Petersen / Getty
Parker and Petrakova took to Instagram to announce the arrival of their son, Airr Larry Petrakov Park, who was born on February 11th, 2022. The two pinned a sweet message about him being a happy addition to their family.
“Airr Larry Petrakov Parker 2-11-22. We are in absolute love and utter appreciation that Goose chose us. Welcome to the fam SON.”
The couple surprised their fans with news of their baby boy back in December and also revealed that they have been happily married for over two years.
“2 years ago, I got to marry my best friend in front of our close family and friends. My heart could have exploded. I cried like a baby…. To know me or you is to know our love,” Parker wrote of her and her wife’s union. “This journey hasn’t been easy. I am proud of us and what we have built and who we have grown to become both individually and together. Thank you for always loving Lailaa as your own, being my calm, my support, my voice of reason, my laughs, my cuddles, my dance in the rain, my happy, my home… Thanks for constantly challenging me and telling me when I’m wrong 🙄. I LOVE YOU🐞 , I appreciate you, I value you and what we have.”
While this is Petrakova’s first child, Airr, is Candace’s second child. Parker has a 12-year-old daughter, Lailaa Nicole, whom she shares with ex-husband Shelden Williams. She has praised Petrakova in the past for how she has loved Lailaa throughout their romantic relationship, per Sports Illustrated.
Parker and Petrakova said their “I do’s” in 2019 and the two have extensive backgrounds in professional basketball, with Parker becoming the first WNBA player to grace the cover of the popular NB2K video game and the first woman to dunk in NCAA tournament history.
In 2007 and 2008 she won NCAA titles with Tennessee then went on to becoming the WNBA’s top draft pick, Rookie of the Year, and MVP in 2008 with the Los Angeles Sparks.
Her wife, Petrakova, on the other hand played professional basketball for the Russian national team in the 2012 Summer Olympics and competed for UMMC Ekaterinburg when Parker was on that Russian team. True definition of love and basketball!
Congratulations again to Parker, Petrakova and Lailaa on their new bundle of joy!