Carter (18 months - 4 weeks)It amazes me how much the little guy changes in just a few weeks. When we went to the pediatrician for his 18 month check up they ask how many words he has. I said 15 (Colin said I under counted because I didn't include animal noises). This week, I would easily say it's at least 50. He has a wide range of words beyond all the initial basics such as: car, banana, bowl, cheese, fish, Parker, sauce (Apple Sauce), book, Elmo, etc. He also knows about 10-15 animal sounds including: snake, donkey, cow, lion, rooster, owl, etc.
Carter also understands so much of what we say. We can ask him to do basic activities like bring us things, let the dogs in/out, pick up his toys, go to bed, brush his teeth. He has been in a very affectionate mood lately and freely gives out hugs and kisses. He also loves to say "Hi" and "Bye" while waiving and blowing kisses. He still loves music and dancing. We worked on his touchdown dance this week!
Here are a few pictures from the past week... Carter has enjoyed carrying around his bowls and on this occasion decided to play peek-a-boo with them. Where's Carter?
Peek-a-boo... here he is!
He also LOVES his daddy and has a ball hanging out in his pj's on the weekend while curled up in dad's lap.
Parker (2 weeks)
Parker's weekly changes were a bit more subtle than Carter. He is definitely growing. At his initial Pediatrician appointment last Monday he weighed 4lbs 11 oz (he was 4lbs 13 oz at birth). One week later he is up to 5lbs 3oz. A large part of his and mom's days are spent feeding so it's great to see that all that effort is paying off!
To start the week, Parker probably spent 20 hours a day sleeping...
By the end of the week, he was awake for several stretches a day, usually 30 minutes or so.
He spends that time looking around seemingly trying to figure what crazy things are going on all around him.
When he is sleeping, he makes those adorable baby faces. My favorite are the "smiles". I'm pretty sure he's thinking about how great his parents and big brother are!
It's been a busy week for both boys (and mom/dad!). But it was definitely a very fun week. We're excited to get settled into our new routine and spend this holiday season as a family of four!
And is really proud of his skill!
He also likes giving the little guy hugs...
And kisses...
Peek-a-boo... here he is!
He also LOVES his daddy and has a ball hanging out in his pj's on the weekend while curled up in dad's lap.
We just used a few wash clothes to wipe him down while wrapped in a towel. His umbilical cord still hasn't fallen off so we gave him a sponge bath. We'll try the real thing once that stump is healed! 
Just to give you a comparison of how big Parker is. Here is Colin's hand next to Parker's head.
He did have a few frowny faces...
But most of the time he just looked around.
I still can't get over all that hair!
What a little trooper! Who smells much better now ;)
And Carter had quite a good time borrowing some of dad's game day accessories.
Uncle Reid took mom's ticket to the game. So Carter got to hang out with him twice in 3 days!
He was also a big hit at the player walk. He reached out to give every player a high-five all on his own. He cam be quite shy at times but then sometime the little guy surprises you.
After the player walk and chatting with our friends, Carter and mom went home for lunch and a nap. It was a fun Saturday morning!
but Carter seemed to prefer decorating Uncle Reid.
It was a really nice day with our new family of four. Little Carter is all grown up these days. We are so thankful for him and Parker!
Since dad had been home for a few days we took advantage and got some of our Christmas stuff out. So while the parade was on, the boys decorated the Christmas tree. Carter was helpful at first...
until the "balls" came out. He was immediately drawn to them and spend the rest of decorating time playing with them while dad put up the rest of the ornaments.
Dad tried to help Carter focus on hanging up the ornaments.
Carter and dad then took a quick snuggle break as dad's next favorite Thanksgiving holiday tradition got started... football.
Then it was time for an afternoon nap before getting ready to Turkey dinner!
The boys even watched some GA Tech basketball together.
In one of the cuter moments today, Colin was burping Parker after eating and Carter decided to help out and pat Parker's back. Carter has also been diligently safety testing all of Parker's toys to make sure they are safe for his little brother. 
So far everything passed Carter's stringent requirements! All that big brother action can be tiring for a boy so he was really excited to escape the house for a while with his pal Caitlyn and her parents. They hit up the local park for some swings.
Carter even helped "push".
There were of course some trips down the slide...
and general "toddlering" around.
