Late-January Happenings

Our boys sure do keep us busy!  They have started to entertain themselves some by playing together but most of the time they require some assistance from mom/dad.  With cold winter weather upon us, our activities have been indoor focused.  A few recent favorites include building a tent from the kitchen table.

The boys loved crawling in and out the "doors".  And Carter even set up a fire (aka flashlight) to cook us dinner on.

Another hit on a rainy day was garage painting.  Parker was pretty in to it.  His favorite part was washing off his brush (notice Parker's smock? it is Carter's hospital gown from when he had his seizure last year).

Dad's favorite activity involves rearranging the train track to maximize space (he claims it is for the boys but we all know the truth!).

And of course, a perennial hit involves whatever they can get their hands on from our kitchen cabinets!

Carter (2 years, 8 months)
Carter can be such a sweet, loving little boy...

When he isn't misbehaving that is ;)  His imagination is really taking off.  I have no idea where he comes up with some of his ideas.  Lately he has been obsessed with making "gardens" out of his kitchen material (he is very proud of them).

He also likes to put his food pieces in various containers and hand them out to mom/dad/Parker as a "prize".   

Here he is using a pillow to play "horse"  

This week he has been very into picnics and he even planned a picnic/sleep over after Parker went took an early nap.  

Carter had hid first car ride with a friend this week.  We took our neighbor Brody to a birthday party.  Carter had a blast having someone to talk with!

Parker (1 year, 2 months)
Parker is having a rough time on the teething front.  Both of his upper molars are breaking through and he has a bottom molar and an upper incisor that don't appear to far behind.  He has 5 teeth in but that should increase quickly!

Despite being a bit more clingy than normal, he is mostly smiles and is very happy with his new found physical abilities.

Parker mainly makes lots of noises and sounds but recently he has also started "singing".  His favorite is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  He will sort of hum the first few verses of the song all on his own.  He also loves to yell - volley with Carter.  This consists of Carter yelling, then Parker yelling, then Carter again and so on.  It's pretty cute unless you have a headache ;)

Mid-January Happenings

We have been fortunate to enjoy some mild winter weather over the past few weeks, so they boys have had plenty of time outside.

Parker even went on his first drive-in date.

When not outside, the boys spend most of their indoor time playing with the kitchen.  Parker has gotten a bit adventurous these days and has decided kitchen time is more fun when he in on a stool.

Fortunately Carter is a good big brother and made sure he didn't fall ;)

Unfortunately big brother isn't always around and Parker has definitely developed a climbing streak!

Carter loves to cook food for his family but sometimes he gets hungry too.  Good thing he has lots of room in his pj's!

As much fun as the boys have with their kitchen, nothing beats the real thing.  We probably clean up bowls, cups and napkins 2-3 times a day.  

Especially because Carter has taken interest in art and likes to build "Gardens".  This evening, dad was his subject.

He had to "rest in his cocoon to become a butterfly".

In the biggest news of the month, Parker has finally decided to walk on his own!  He started going one day and was doing laps around the house a few days later.

He is still working on his balance and has a Frankenstein quality about his movements.  He's very adorable and mom, dad and Carter are all very proud of him!

Lastly, here are a few random pictures worth sharing.  Parker loves to climb on things and always picks the route that involves going over rather than around anything.  Here is a picture where he decided to climb through the magazine rack rather than walk around it.

Dad makes a mean spaghetti!

And Carter has developed a fear of monsters, so he likes to sleep in a tent so they can't get him.  He also has three night lights inside!

Fun January Outings

We had a couple fun outings this week that were blog worthy!  First we went an event at the local library where Carter got to meet Pete the Cat, one of his favorite book characters.  Pete even signed a book for him!

We even squeezed in a ride on a train afterwards (it may have been a fixed on a playground but the boys loved it!).

We also were lucky enough to meet up with the Junkers at Fernbank for a morning outing.  Carter and Parker had a blast!

Taking Alexis for a ride in his canoe

Learning how to be weatherman and ladies

Popping bubbles!

Parker carried bear everywhere!

Brief TV break

Boys checking out the tornado

First Few Weeks of January

We spent the first few weeks of January recovering from our holiday coma.  Unfortunately it was time to head back to work and pack up the Christmas decorations... but not before a few last pictures.

But we'll leave the Christmas jammies out for just a while longer!  We spend a good amount of time at home letting the kids decompress and play with their new toys.

Playing the guitar while longing in his coup

Carter went to "Work" (his words) - Apparently he works some place that involves sorting food. 

We also spent time with family as the Holden's came to town from Wisconsin.  And Uncle Reido was home from school for the Holiday's.

We also fit in some football... Rise Up and Go Pack!

But you can't keep the Holden's home for long so we fit in lots of activities by mid-month including Charlie's 2nd birthday at the Little Gym...

Catch Air (Carter had a blast until the dance party started and the lights turned off while he was at the very top of the climbing structure!).

And the Botanical Gardens..

Looking for Frogs

Not sure that is the correct technique

Brer Rabbit and Friends

Boys only clubhouse

Piggy back ride from mom

As for the boys, they are growing up on us.  

Parker (14 months) is becoming more opinionated and has mastered cruising.  He will walk a little further each week when we encourage him too.  His new favorite food is Kale and he is finally starting to grow into his 12 month clothes.  He loves to clap, play peek-a-boo, blow raspberries and kisses.  He likes to meow at Morgan and click his teeth to try and call her.  He is a little fussy lately so we're sure some new teeth are on their way (has 5 at the moment).

Carter (2 years, 8 moths) never stops talking.  He will talk about anything and has his own adorable nuances.  When you ask him if he does something he says "Yes I do".  If you ask him if he can do something he says "Yes I can".  If he sees something he doesn't recognize he will point to it and say "I haven't seen that before" or "I don't know what that is" until you tell him what it.  He likes to add lots of emphasis to his speech and he will say "Ever Ever Ever".  He has started getting opinionated about his daily activities and when you ask him what he wants to do he will go on with a long list like "Watch Curious George, go to Target, go to the cookie house, see the turtles, play with Brody, have a snack, put Parksie down for a nap, cook dinner with daddy." and then finishes with "that would be a nice plan."

Finally, I was telling him about the college fund he got for Christmas.  And how he could use it to go to school one day where ever he wanted.  He told me he wanted to go to "Emory" and he "wants mom to come too".  If only I had the video camera to play that last comment back to him in 16 years!