An Afternoon at the Zoo

Once we were done at Turner Field, we decided we might as well head to the the Zoo as we were only a few blocks away.  The Flamingo's quickly grabbed Carter's attention and all sadness of leaving the baseball stadium quickly melted away.  Carter tried to count all the flamingo's with Mom's help, but every time he got to "ten" and "eleven" he would get confused and start over.

Parker was also having a great time at the zoo, he was pretty observant through the whole afternoon watching all the people and animals from the comfort of the stroller.

Carter was his normal curious and explorer self and found no hole not worth exploring.

Given the afternoon's previous events, this was a quicker than normal zoo visit as Carter's exhaustion was quickly apparent given his reluctance to continue to walk anywhere, but the monkeys always bring out his inquisitive side.

A quick fruit cup and visit to the reptile house and it was time to go home.

A Trip to Turner Field

Today we did something we'd been waiting a long time to do... get the whole family tickets to Turner Field.

So it wasn't for a real game since the Braves are in Florida for Spring Training but it was just as the fun.  The Braves had an open house so it was a good opportunity to introduce the boys to America's pastime. There were lots of games (Carter tried to run into the batting cage but luckily dad caught him in time!).

Parker had a great time just hanging out.

Carter was a big fan of all the chaos.  He had a blast checking out all the giant baseballs...

Running through the stands....

and surveying the action.

We tried to grab a family picture of the boys but mom wasn't too successful.

It was pretty warm out so we decided to get littlest man out of the sun.  Carter had a hard time leaving and insisted on giving all the baseballs he passed a big hug!

It was a fun day at the ballpark and I'm sure it won't be our last one!

Parker's Culinary Explorations

We decided to give Parker a little variety in his diet so we started his culinary exploration with peas!  He wasn't too sure what was going on at first.

He checked with mom to see if it was okay first...

Before he dug right in!

And he liked it!

He liked it even better when he got to eat them sitting in dad's lap ;)

Peas were a big hit and Parker has the clothes to prove it!

Parker's Baptism Pictures

We just got the professional pictures from Parker's baptism and here are a few of our favorites.

 It's rare that we get a picture if the whole family!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Happy Birthday Dad!  Mom and dad celebrated a little early over the weekend when Grandmommy was able to watch the boys.  So today we celebrated with the whole family on dad's actual birthday.

Dad got to wear his fun hat all night.

 Parker didn't want to be left out so he got a hat too.

We offered Carter a hat as well but he wasn't having it.  So we went ahead and pulled out the cake and got a shocking response...

Carter was terrified!  This was before we even took it out of the box or put candles in it.  We tried to get him close for a boys picture but you can see how that went...

So we tried for a picture without the son terrified of the cake.  Parker was a bit distracted by dad's cool hat though.

So we gave up on the family pictures and decided to eat cake.  But not before blowing out the candles..

 The cake was pretty yummy but Parker seemed to enjoy the candle the best.

 Mom took a few more pictures of our little cutie pie...

He looks cute now but I have a feeling this little one is going to be a handful one day.

So we put up the cake and consoled poor Carter.  Hopefully he gets over his cake phobia in time for his big upcoming birthday!

Weekly Recap

Parker (4 months)
Parker had a rough week with the crazy Atlanta pollen.  He has been really congested which has made for difficulty sleeping and feeding.  His sleep schedule has been challenging particularly at night.  He usually take 3-4 naps a day and they have been pretty consistent in length for several weeks now.  At night he is going down for around a 5-6 hour stretch to start at 7 but then he is up every 1-2 hours until 6am when he is up for the day.  We're hoping he grows out of this phase soon!

On a fun note, dad got Parker to laugh for the first time this week.  And he is loving the wheels on his exercauser.  He likes to make them spin over and over.  It takes tough concentration but he is great at it!

We have been working on Parker's tummy time but it isn't his favorite activity.

Eating has been going really well.  We have been feeding Carter at night after his 6 o'clock feeding.  He wasn't quite sure what to think at first.

But he has been taking a little more each day and does really well with the spoon.

He smiles throughout his meals.  A gummy grin with a little rice cereal is quite adorable!

Parker is still a happy and easy baby.  He loves attention and will reciprocate smiles with one back.  His arch nemesis is the red light but big brother helps him through them by singing to him whenever we stop!

Carter (22 months)
Carter has been a super happy, energetic toddler this week. He has figured out how to jump off the ground and he loves doing it.  He has also been extremely smiley and giggly this week.  We're not quite sure where all this energy came from but it's really fun to see.

He has also been an adorable big brother.  He has a crying fit this week when he and dad were going to gym class and he had to leave Parker at home.  He was VERY unhappy that the baby wasn't coming.  He has been helping calm Parker down when he cries by singing or telling him to 'sshhh'.

Here are a few Carter pics from this week.

Imitating Parker doing Tummy Time

Double fisting at the grocery store with a cookie and turkey

Proud of his baby brother doing well with his eating

Spring Fling Celebration

Sunday was our neighborhood Easter party.  It was so nice of them to throw the it in honor of dad's 31st birthday ;)  We woke Carter up a bit early from his nap, loaded up the stroller and hit the pavement!

Carter was a bit groggy at first but he perked up as soon as he saw the petting zoo.  He started with Chewy the goat.

And then he spotted something else pretty cool...

baby chicks!

Carter had to get his hands on one.

After quacking at the ducks for awhile...

Carter was in for a real ride... a pony ride that is!

Carter wasn't too sure about the pony but he sure looked cute up there!

Soon it was time for the egg hunt but not before we snagged a few pics with the Easter bunny.

Carter waited patiently for the signal.  As soon as he got the green light, he grabbed mom's hand and the hunt was on!

It took a few moments for Carter to figure out the game but once he got it, he was a non-stop egg hunting machine!

Carter would clear out an area and the scope out another group of eggs and make a bee-line for them.

Both boys were in the 0-2 age group so Carter helped pick out some eggs for Parker too.

Parker choose to observe all the chaos from Grandmommy's arms.

After all the eggs were spoken for...

all the kids started going through their baskets to check out their loot.  Carter took the opportunity to raid poor Parker's basket.

After all the egg fun, Carter picked up a sword from the balloon guy and decided to try a new activity.

Hula Hooping!  Dad gave him a great demonstration.

Carter still didn't quite get it so mom tried a super advanced double hula hoop move.

Carter wasn't sold on the Hula Hoop idea so he hung out with the sidewalk chalk while mom and dad hooped.

The we headed back for one last visit with the animals.  Where Carter wanted to pet everything!

Carter loved his goat friends.  It's really cute to watch him pet animals and be so sweet with them

He even gave this goat a kiss on the mouth.

Soon it was time for the magic show so we quickly checked out the tulips and headed inside.

What a fun start to Spring!