Weekly Recap

Parker (8 months)
Parker had a good week.  He ate, slept and played well which makes mom and dad VERY happy!  His appetite was a little crazy this week as he seems to be going through a growth spurt.  He is more interested in eating finger foods so we have started giving him small amounts of what Carter is eating for dinner.  He hasn't developed a pincer grasp so he sort of shovel things in his mouth using his palms.  It isn't the most accurate technique but it works for him.

Carter (2 years - 2 months)
Carter is in a phase of wanting to do everything himself and help out.  It's hard to complain when he willingly puts things in the trash...

And in the dishwasher!

When not cleaning up, Cater spend the week getting ready for the Olympics.  The little guy has some U-S-A pride ;)

Weekly Recap

Parker (8 months)
Sweet little Parker had a great week.  By the looks of it, he is feeling better.  Our smile model is back ;)

Parker slept well and was happy at school.   He does seem to have a little separation anxiety going on.   It's manageable now and hopefully it doesn't become a bigger issue.


On the eating front, Parker has a great appetite but he seems to be growing a little less into his spoon.

He has shown an interest in what mom/dad/Carter are eating for a while and we have been slowly introducing different textures to him he hasn't been able to self feed.  Well that is slowly changing...

This development made for a fun family first this week when we had our first meal the whole family shared in... Spinach Ravioli.  In other development, Parker has also been showing a renewed interest in crawling.  He is able to propel himself forward in very short increments.  He still prefers standing and bouncing so we'll see if he decides to full on crawl any time soon.

Carter (2 years - 2 months)
It was a big week for Carter.  He used the potty at school for the first time!  I don't see him being potty trained anytime soon but it's a good start!

It was healthy body week at school.  Carter learned about the doctor, dentist, nurses, healthy foods, exercise, sleep, etc. He definitely puts mom and dad to work with his latest move... the foot grab.

At the zoo last weekend, he saw a baby gorilla ride his mom's foot this way so he decided it was a good way to get around.  Silly kid.  All in all, Carter had a great week.  He is a loving, crazy, sweet toddler.  Here are some pictures from the past week.

Carter has frequent boo-boo's.  Kisses and the boo-boo bunny always make them better.

Carter gets security from having objects he knows close by.  Good thing he has a backpack to carry them all in.

All packed up and ready to go.

Loving his new Mickey Mouse!

Favorite snack... the banana.

Brothers/Family Time
With both boys in good moods, we had a great week of family adventures.  We hit up Food Truck Tuesday for the 2nd week in a row.

This week we brought all the supplies to have a picnic with the boys (our first as a family).  The boys loved eating outside, people watching, listening to music and of course... playing on the playground after dinner.

In other fun developments, we have put the boys on the same bath schedule and started giving them baths together.  They love it and Carter has a blast helping wash "the baby".

 But I think morning is their favorite  time of the day.   Carter loves to help wake Parker up.  He always wants to hang out in his crib and read him books.

 They even try to psych mom out and go back to bed together.

It's too cute so mom let's them hang out too long and ends up being late to work.  Oh well... it's obviously for a good reason!  These two definitely love each other and I'm sure they will have lots more antics like these for years to come.

Weekly Recap

Parker (8 months)
Parksie had a rough week (so did mom/dad).  He started the week with a fever and a super fussy nature.  It took several days of round the clock care (aka snuggles/hugs/kisses and lots of rocking) but he seemed back to normal by the end of the week.

Parker has shown a real interest in what mom/dad/Carter are doing.  So we pulled the Walker out of storage and he has loved moving around in it.  No real control in direction, but the ability to move is awesome.  He has also been eating more table food and doing a great job with it.  He has tried avocado, cheese, eggs, turkey and lots of fruit.  So far, so good.  He struggles to get the food in his mouth but he is an expert at eating from your hand/

Carter (2 years - 2 months)
Carter continues to amuse and amaze us more each week.  His vocabulary is just crazy!  He now tells us about what happened at school during the day, what he wants to do in the future and recounts what happened in the past.  He likes using adverbs like "too" and "again" and uses them correctly!  


It was community helpers week at school.  So he learned about Policemen, Firemen, Mail Carries, Vets and Pastors.  He worked on counting up to 30, the letter P and bring nice to our friends.  Just another week for a typical 2 year old.

Oh and we made him do the dishes...

Just kidding but he is on a kick of throwing things in the trash and cleaning the dishes.  Not going to complain about that!

We took a trip to the zoo this week where all the boys had a blast!

Carter asked to have his picture take with the gorilla statue.  He remembers the mom and baby statue and has to hug it each time he visits.

And there were bubbles as we left.  Think we will come back?  Yes says Carter!

Happy Birthday Cousin Samantha

Today was a fun day because it was Cousin Samantha's birthday.  Happy Birthday Samantha!

We went to Grannie Dee-Dee's house to celebrate (mom's aunt and Samantha's grandmother).  Samantha had several friends over one of whom gave Carter his first car ride with a girl.  He was a gentlemen and let her drive ;)

After the car ride, Carter was really excited to check out the fish in Dee-Dee's back yard.  He wanted to pick them up and hold them...

So we quickly distracted him towards the main activity... the pool.  but first we had to go grab Parker to join us.  Yes... Carter literally grabbed Parker or maybe that was supposed to be a hug.  Either way Parker loved it!

Parker decided to sit the pool part out and hang out with the ladies instead.

Too bad for Parker hanging out with the ladies means dress up time.  In our defense, we were just trying to keep Parker safe from the sun.

While Parker was chatting it up, Carter and dad had a blast playing in the pool.

All the girls were running and jumping into the pool so Carter decided to copy them.  Only Carter ran really quick and then stopped right at the edge.  And then he jumped.  Dad on the other hand kept going... right out of the picture!

After the pool we dried off and it was time for birthday cake and ice cream.  After Samantha blew out the candles of course.

The birthday was a Hawaiian Luau theme.  Parker loved it and took full advantage of the excuse to dress up!

After stuffing our face, Parker took the opportunity to play with Teddy.  Teddy is the size of Carter, Parker, Madie, Brie and Morgan... times three!

It was almost time to head home so we started towards the car.  But the boys got distracted by all the fun  in the front yard.  Uncle Micheal tried to entice Carter with a go-kart ride.

But he wasn't having it!  He was more excited about the swinging jungle gym.  Looks like all those gym classes paid off!

And last but not least, dad had to try his hand at the rope swing.  He didn't break the tree so I'll call it a success!

What a great birthday party!  Happy Birthday Samantha!  And thanks to Aunt Dee Dee for hosting!

Parker is 8 Months Old

Sweet little Parks is all grown up!  Well not really but he is 8 months old today!  The little guys is just an amazing joy in our lives.  The entire family adores him and I believe that infectious smile has something to do with it.

Unofficially Parker is somewhere around 16-1/2lbs.  He has been feeling a bit under the weather the past week so his eating habits haven't been the greatest.  He seems to be turning around so hopefully he'll get good reviews at his 9 month appointment next month.  

As for all the developmental details... Parker is doing great.  He has mastered sitting and has been showing a strong interest in standing lately.  He hates being on his stomach (except for sleeping) so it doesn't look like crawling is happening soon.

He puts everything in his mouth and loves playing with all of Carter's toys.  He is drooling like a fool and definitely has some more teeth in store (18 for those counting!).

Parker is eating 3 meals a day, nursing/bottles 4-5 times a day plus some snacks.  He is showing more interest in table food and while he can't feed himself yet, he loves eating what ever mom/dad/Carter give him.

And he and his brother adore each other.  Carter doesn't like to be too far from Parker so he joined him, along with some friends, for his 8 month pictures.

Happy 8 months little guy.  8 is great and so are you!!!

Cow Appreciation Day

A random, corporate-driven holiday than involves fun costumes and free Chicken????  The Holden's are in!  Friday was cow appreciation day at Chic-Fil-A so the Holden men got all dressed up for the occasion.  Daddy cow (aka Colin) started the fun by dressing up to get the boys from school.

Once we got the boys home, they all put on their finest cow inspired gear.  

Parker was a bit confused by all the spots on his onesie but luckily he had his fingers to provide comfort.

We weren't the only crazy cows at Chick-fil-A but we were told that we had the best costumes from the entire day.

After a yummy meal and some fun playing in the play room, we headed home.  The boys were all smiles as we enjoyed some post-dinner family fun.

Mom doesn't need a special day to let her cows know how much fun they are!  She's pretty sure she has the cutest herd in town!