Color Coordinated

{Enjoying some warmer weather, hanging out as the sun goes down.}

Super Dad!

This picture is from December 11, so it’s an oldie in terms of our time as parents.  But I remember this night perfectly.  I was still at home on my maternity leave, staying at home alone with the boys all day.  Most days were good, but sometimes Mark would come home from work and find me crying and exhausted.  This was one such day.  He came in the door, changed his clothes and said, “Give me the babies!”

And then I went and took a shower.  Heavenly.  

Thank the Lord for this guy.  There’s no one else I would rather do this crazy parenthood thing with than him.

Baptizing Our Boys

Last month, Henry and Parker were baptized at our church and we celebrated with both my family and Mark’s family.  Everyone came over to our house for lunch, and then we began the process of getting the boys dressed in their little white outfits.  The true miracle of the day was that we got out everyone dressed up (myself included) and out the door on time!

Our wedding chalkboard continues to live on. 

A HUGE thank you to my mom for all the cute decorations, and to Mark’s mom, for so much yummy food and snacks.

Mark’s brother Mike had just gotten back from a trip to Australia, and the boys scored the little critters in this picture.

A delicious cake that we ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the days following the baptism.

Henry, packed and ready to go!  Both boys had these cute personalized shoes, which were a baby gift when they were born.  Adorbs.

Baptized!  

Here’s the funny story of the day. We got to the church and settled into some pews with all our family, with plenty of time to spare before the ceremony began.  Just as they were starting to call up babies (there were 16 getting baptized that day!!), we noticed a certain…. smell.  Parker needed to be changed.  My mom and I rushed him to the bathroom and discovered he had made a little mess in his WHITE outfit.  Of course.  To this day, this is still the only time we have been away from the house and needed a full-on clothing change for either boy.  But he couldn’t change out of his clothes because he couldn’t exactly get baptized in the orange fox pajamas I had packed in his bag for an emergency such as this!  So… thank goodness Grandma Neuschafer made them some white blankets, which I strategically used to cover the offending spot on his pants for his big moment.  Mom and I did some quick damage control and then returned back to the church for his time to shine.

Oh yeah, and Parker pretty much slept through everything.  Henry was awake and did really well in his first official mass since Christmas (which HE slept all the way through.)

A day for their history books, for sure.

Oh, Hi There.

Well the boys hit five months old tomorrow, so I guess maybe I should post their four month pictures before then?  Both little guys are asleep right now, Dad is out in the yard spraying for weeds, food is in the oven, and it’s Friday night so we all get to sleep in tomorrow.  I think perhaps I can tackle this little blog again!

In the meantime, look at these little bears and know that they are currently 30 days older than they were when these were taken!

{Sock Monster, Parker} 

{Sock Monster, Henry… see the resemblance?}

Snapshot of Our Morning

Love waking up to these two every day, even when they decide to wake up at 5:00 in the morning, ready to start their day!

 

The Third Month

When you have a baby, everyone tells you that three months is the magical age when it stops being so hard.  They cry less, smile more, sleep better and seem to recognize you as someone who they know and not just a person who keeps them fed, clothed and in dry diapers.  

And you know what?  I think they are all right!  The third month was a great one, and the boys really are making things easier for us.  They are pretty much awesome sleepers right now.  Last night, they slept for almost 8 hours straight!! {although, technically, this is in Month 4, but whatevs.}

They are happy babies, smiling more and more, watching Mark and me and looking at us with a real recognition.  They are doing great at school, and coming home in good moods.  Plus, they stay busy while they are there so we have great late-afternoon naps, and then some super sleep at night!  Everyone feels rested and happy!

{Henry}

The happiest little guy.  Henry is still as snuggly as ever and loves to smile at Mom and Dad.  He also loves him some ceiling fan, which he is looking at in the above photo.

Still has his serious moments too.

Chubs.  A good friend of mine {Hi LJS!} emailed me this week and said, “Henry looks even more like Mark, which I didn’t even think was possible.” Which is THE TRUTH.  He is his daddy through and through {but luckily scored his mama’s eyes}

He’s our Giggle Bear.

{Parker}

These days, Parker is either super tired and a little on the grumpy side, or wide awake and HAPPY.  His days of crying and screaming for hours are long gone {whew!} and he is so much fun.  Plus, his baby blues will slay you.  He’s gonna be hard to say no to, this little guy.

In the above photo, he wasn’t really feeling up to a photo shoot.  So we tried again later and got some good Parker grins. {below}

You mean Henry’s asleep and I get all your attention? 

He’s still a little Wiggle Worm, as evidenced by his constantly kicking feet.  This kid stays skinny {compared to brother} because he is always moving and grooving!

It’s not a ceiling fan that is capturing his attention, but the other Favorite Pastime in the house these days: the skylight. 

This was last weekend, after a trip out in the cold to Sam’s.  Henry’s head is too big for almost all our hats, but Parker can still squeeze into some of the little ones we have.  It was Superbowl Sunday, so footballs seemed good!

We are already well into Month Four by now, and just experienced a new first - our first Snow Day!  School was canceled for these guys today, so Dad got to stay home and hang out with them all day.  Mom’s school was NOT canceled {grr.}

As Seen On IG

Things are still kicking at our house, despite the crickets here lately on the blog.  Two weeks ago, I started back at work and the boys started at their school.  Things have been going surprisingly very well with this!  I am really enjoying being back in the working world and Henry and Parker are doing great with the new routine as well.  Overall, it’s been a win-win.  It didn’t take us long to get sick though.  I’m not sure if I brought the bug home from my school, or if they brought it home from their school, but Parker and I both got sick last weekend.  I spent 12 hours on the bathroom floor, and Parker got sick a few times himself.  Luckily all the grandparents were ready and willing to help out, and we all eventually made it back to work and school!

Here are some pictures from our life lately!

Sometimes they just both want to be held at the same time and I’m the only one home, so I’ve gotten pretty good at juggling them.  Just don’t ask me to pick anything up off the floor!

Bottles, bottles, bottles.  We are constantly washing and making them.

Coming home from school one day, Parker Bear was looking especially cute.

Same day, in the morning before school.  Parker was giving us one of his first real grins!

Play date with Jimmy, who was so sweet and “petting” Parker.

Hanging out and feeling good!

This was on my last day at home before work.  We were trying to take a group selfie!

Ending this post with a picture of my very best friends.  These girls are my favorites and even with 4 kids (and one on the way!) between us {not to mention a Newly-Wed!}, we still get together at least once a month.  KD {in the middle} just left us and moved off to Denver.  I am so sad to no longer have her living up the road.  This was at her send-off celebration dinner a few weeks ago.  Much love to her and all my girls!