Brudders

Landon and Parker are being pretty darn cute these days. Now that Parker is more responsive, Landon is treating him more like a friend and less like a baby. It is too cute to see these guys in their own little secret world, and I feel like I'm witnessing the beginning of a very special relationship. Here are just a few of the pics I've taken with my phone recently. Enjoy :)

Sometimes I refer to them as "Little Big" and "Big Little":

Boys will be boys ;)

Two healthy boys at their check-up:

Finally, my FAVORITE thing is when Landon makes Parker laugh. As I've said before, I'm pretty sure he is better at making Parker laugh than anyone else.  This was a moment during last night's dinner:


I love having boys.

Parker's First Food

Today we gave Parker his first taste of food. On the menu? Avocado. How did Parker feel about it? Loved it! By the end he would get upset between bites because he wanted to taste more. I can't wait to introduce him to more foods and all their amazing flavors!

Of course, we had to get those first few bites on camera. I love his reaction to the first bite. I mean, how absolutely different it must taste for him.  Also, I have to admit, my favorite part of the video is the sight of Parker's chubby little rolls :)  Bon Appetit!

We're Growing!!! [Parker Edition]

4 months:

Our littlest man is four months! Things are getting more and more fun around here. Landon loves his little brother and loves to make him laugh (and he may be better at it than anyone else). Parker LOVES his big brother. He always watches Landon with a huge smile on his face. I just can't wait for these guys to grow up together and be best of friends.

 

Parker is still a strong little guy, both physically strong and strong-willed. He wants to stand all day long and if you put him down where he doesn't appreciate he can roll or scoot/shift his body to where he wants to be. Recently, at the doctor's office, they tried 5 different times to test his oxygen, two different people administering, but he was so active, they couldn't get a read. They just asked, "Does he always move around this much?" The doctor's visit brings us to the next milestone....

 

Unfortunately, this month brought Parker's first illness. He has been battling bronchiolitis  and it's been a REAL rough week in the Butler house. I recommend two kids, I don't recommend two sick kids at the same time. Fortunately, Parker is finally on the mend and I'm sure we are going to start catching up on sleep any day here.

On a brighter note, I love this guy's laugh! I have a feeling he is going to have a big belly laugh when he grows up because he can really let it out, when he wants.  Here's a little video of our giggling boy, who happens to LOVE compliments:

Parker is growing up so fast!I can't wait to see what the next few months bring.

We're Growing!!! [Parker Edition]

Look at me getting this blog done before the month is up. Woohoo!

3 Months:

Our littlest man is 3 months old and I just can't believe how much growing this kid has done. He is a solid dude who seems like a giant when compared to how his skinny older brother was at this age.  Parker is a happy guy, who likes to "speak up" when something is a bit off.  He's at that cool age where he smiles a lot and is just starting to transition from the smiley grunt/"humph" to a full-blown laugh. Parker is a chatty boy, who can stare up at his mama all day (I'm puddy, I tell you. Puddy). His biggest thing that I am seeing is how strong he is and how great he is with his hands. He already loves to stand up (with our support, of course) so he can put all his weight on his legs. And he loves grabbing for anything he wants with his hands... and he's good at it! He can concentrate on something and play with it for awhile. He's a true inspector!

Last month I took Parker to his two month appointment and the doctor was amazed at his strength. When she saw him roll over not once, not twice, but three times, she exclaimed he was doing fourth month tricks and said he's gonna be one of those kids who is running before you know it. I don't care too much about milestones, but I just loved her swooning over my baby boy.

Oh, and while we were waiting, I of course snapped a few pics with my phone. Such a happy boy:

I am so in love with my littlest man and am enjoying seeing him grow. I feel like everyday we are seeing a little more of his personality which is such a treat.  But, oh man, if I thought time with Landon as a baby went fast, time with Parker is like lightening speed.  I'm trying to capture every moment I can to hold in my memory for later :)

You may have remembered my newest "obstacle" with taking Parker's monthly pics.... well, it's still happening. So, without further ado... the brotherly bloopers:

Landon "helping" with the photo shoot means Mama has to cleverly take pictures without him in frame:

Finally, Landon gets to hop in on the shoot. I think we can all see how happy he is about this:

"So I says to the guy, I says..."

Love:

We're Growing!!! [Parker Edition]

1 Week:

1 Month:

2 Months:

Yes, I realize my pictures are a bit all over the place and not from a consistent spot... but you get the idea.

Parker is a growing boy! As you can probably tell from the last picture he is a different build than Lando was; he's bigger, stronger, and just a solid little dude. The first doctor's appointment with our pediatrician (she was out of town when Parker was born) she said, "Well, he certainly has no problem putting on weight" (something I have NEVER heard said about Landon). He's just a naturally bigger boy than his older brother - something I suspected when he was in the womb trying to break out of my skin.

I also like to call him my "feisty" child. He will let us know if the littlest thing is off and even from the second he was born, we knew he had a loud voice. I wouldn't call him colicky, but he has some major discomfort from gas (there is a lot of leg-pumping going on over here). But I like that he and Landon are two totally different boys. Variety is the spice of life, right?! And, like I said, he is STRONG. He has had good neck control from the start and I have to pin his arms down at times to get through a feeding. Also, I am yet to put him down on his tummy for tummy time without him rolling over on to his back. He's is all muscle, this guy.

Nicknames are starting to arrive. Mostly, I call him "Parker boy" which is especially cute out of his older brother's mouth. There have also been others like, PC, Punkin (I know it's pumpkin, but that spelling is more phonetically correct to how I say it), Little Brudder, and "my feisty child."

Another thing you may have seen in the pictures is we have arrived at the age of smiles. YAY! I love looking down and seeing a full-faced smile coming from this boy. It makes my day and I'm pretty much putty in his hand when he does it.

 Now, I don't have bloopers but I thought I would show you the new difficulty in taking the monthly picture... He looks a little like this:

Landon loves "helping" and I would say some of his jealousy shows up when we are doing something like monthly pictures where the attention is totally on Parker.  So a lot of pictures end up looking a little like this:

Therefore, we then have to end the monthly shoot with a fake monthly shoot that looks a little like this:

Silly boys :)

Cloning Babies

 Well we thought we were gonna get away with it, but our results or so obvious, we have to come clean. Truth is, we clone our babies. That's right... clone. I mean how else could we have two boys that are seemingly impossible to tell apart? Exhibit A: Guess who's who?

Uncertain? You're not the only one. We already can tell that we will have a VERY hard time telling our boys' baby pics apart. And while I am obviously kidding about the cloning, it is pretty uncanny how similar the two are. Oh, and in case you are wondering, Parker is the first pic, Lando the second.

The differences can only really be seen in their size (the two pics above are actually a two week difference- Lando was soo skinny), their skin tone (Landon was more yellow, Parker is a bright pink), and, of course, their awesome hairstyles.  Both have sweet rocker 'dos, but where Parker rocks the natural fo-hawk (1st), Landon had the more all-over-stickin'-up style (2nd).

I know as Parker grows he will have his own look, but it's been crazy to have him so like his bro :)

Parker Charles Butler is Here!!

Introducing... the newest member of the Butler clan... Mr. Parker Charles Butler!

Weighing in at 7lbs 13oz, with a length of 20 inches...

this little bundle of joy has captured the hearts of his whole family, including but not limited to:

His Mama:

His Dada:

And his big brother:

We are so happy to announce the birth of Parker on June 30th at 2:04pm. His arrival was the craziest, scariest, most painful, and most amazing thing I've ever been through (and deserving of it's own post). He arrived in a fashion that screams, "Here I come, ready or not!" But we wouldn't have it any other way.

How can I explain how it's been having a second? It's been... great. I'm guessing it's because we've been through it before, but it's as if the second time around is more enjoyable. We aren't so nervous about every little thing and we've come at it much more relaxed. It doesn't hurt that he is so darn cute, too ;)

Landon has been a great big brother. He loves to see "baby" and likes to give him as many kisses as we will allow. Today some friends came by with their two month old and when asked about the babies, Landon pointed to Parker and said, "Mine!"  I think he may just be the sweetest big brother there is.

We are so fortunate the way things have worked out. We are in a nice new home and we have two happy, healthy little boys. Nate has the month of July off for paternity leave so we are just taking this time to enjoy hanging out as a family, getting settled, and getting to know our newest addition.