Happy Birthday Parker!

Where oh where does the time go???  I can't believe that Parker has already turned 3.  It seems like yesterday we were heading to St. Francis to have him and now he is running, jumping, talking and being a great big brother.  He continues to be so full of life- constantly keeping us on his toes.  he seems too smart for his own good sometimes and has definitely gotten our "number!"  He is a masterful little negotiator and already figured out when to go to Daddy for something and when to go to Mommy.  We just have to smile at his innocence sometimes and try to laugh through the tough times too.

This year for Parker's birthday we decided to try to keep his party "small..." as you can tell from the pictures it ended up being a lot more entailed than I had planned but he had a great time with his best buddies Woody and Buzz Lightyear.  It was a fun theme and very easy to incorporate intop the day since Toy Story stuff is everywhere.  Parker had a blast opening presents ( of course) and was thankfully very gracious, saying thank you after opening each one.  When it came time for cake he wasn't quite sure what to think of all the attention as people sang happy birthday.  So cute!

Happy Birthday to the little man who tiptoed into our lives three short years ago and stole our hearts.  We love you and are so proud of the Big Brother you've become.

With his buddies

 His awesome cake

 I come in peace!

 Toy Story birthday banner

 I got you!

 Patrick & John

 Corn hole time

 Travis & Ali

 Birthday Boy

 He LOVED his cake this year

 Bounce House fun

 His new scooter & red cupcake face to match

My Silly Boys!

As life continues to get more and more hectic as I headed back to work on Monday I find myself relying on my cell phone to snap pictures of the boys...thank goodness it takes good pictures. Here are a few recent shots I captured of the parker being silly in his new glasses and Ashton being the little ham that he is! I can't wait to watch these two grow up together. I know our lives will be stressful and trying at times but the love they both radiate more than makes up for the tough times!

Easter Fun!

As in the past 2 years, we were fortunate to spend Easter weekend at the lake with my parents! It is so beautiful out there and so peaceful...it gave us a much needed change of pace if even for only a couple of days. Parker really enjoys being at Papa and Nana's and is always such a good boy. I think he enjoys exploring a new "place" and of course the extra attention he gets. Especially right now, that extra attention is much needed for him with us having to focus so much on Ashton. We had a great time walking the puppies, taking the boat out for a spin and Parker even helped cooked us dinner one night. After waking up to a beautiful sunrise (one of the advantages to having a newborn who gets you up early) we spent the day enjoying the gorgeous weather. In the afternoon we met up with our good friends, the Gibsons for the Easter Egg hunt on the Grand Lawn. Parker loved hunting for the eggs and gathered more than his fair share...however, the Easter Bunny terrified him...can't say I blame him. I love that we are carrying on many of the traditions I enjoyed from when I was younger and then also creating new memories each year as a family.

Beautiful Lake Keowee sunrise

Our little boater

Enjoying the beautiful Spring day

This flag says it all!

Our dinner chefs- getting a cooking lesson from Nana

Easter morning. He was so excited the bunny found him!

Silly guy

Dying Easter eggs for the first time- he was so gentle

The family- Easter at the Reserve


The Halpins & Gibsons

My little man

On the "Hunt!"

Acting goofy

So cute!

Brother love

My boys

LOVE!


The girls have the best view in the house

Somebunny loves you!

1 Month

Where in the world does time go? I can't believe Ashton is already a month old. He's still such a great baby. Really only crying when he is hungry. He is gaining weight amazingly (over 8 #s) and 20"!! What a sweetheart we've created!

Fun with my camera

One thing I really wanted to do this time around was to make sure I had newborn pictures taken since I didn't do so with Parker and it was one of my biggest regrets. It is unbelievable how quickly they grow and change and this is especially true for Ashton who has already gained 4 pounds in less than 2 months! I can see why photographers suggest taking newborn pictures in the first week or two. Needless to say, we did do a newborn session but unfortunately the photos didn't turn out so well and we didn't get any shots worth saving. It was such a bummer but everyone was just "Off" that day which was definitely reflected in the images :( Since we were never able to get newborn shots I have been trying to be very diligent in taking pictures of Ashton before we blink and he's 18 heading off to college! Here are a few I took of him recently. I love our fancy camera- it makes taking pictures so much easier!

Pre-Easter Preperations!

Parker has been such a good big brother. So patient with Ashton and taking the drop in attention in stride! I am so proud of how he has transitioned into the new family dynamic. I have been trying to steal a few minutes here and there so do special things just for him so he knows how much we love him. Parker decided that he wanted to take cookies to his school Easter party so I decided we would make sugar cookies and I would let him decorate them. He was cute and took his job very seriously! Here are some pictures from our fun and also of my handsome man all dressed up for the Easter party at school!