My Kahunas

I love putting my boys in matching outfits! Check out their latest matchies... Thanks Cope family! Isaac was excited to know that Carson (aka: Car Car) gave him his cool shirt!

Click on collage to make it bigger.

"Merry Kiss-mas," exclaims Isaac

Yes, you read that right... It's Christmas today at our house! Shaun works tomorrow so we got to celebrate one day early! Parker slept all morning but Isaac loved opening his AND mommy and daddy's presents. I think he's finally got the hang of it... It's all over from here! He woke up saying, "Happy birthday Jesus... Open presents now?" Here are a few pictures of our day and an update on the boys. Shaun and I have so much to be thankful for this year!

Isaac was way more interested in his new stuff!

My favorite Christmas picture

Isaac and his two best friends

A grand sight to see...

The tail end of a handsome smile

Parker and his only present!

Even Isaac knows where the focus should be this Christmas season!

Parker James

Parker is our little Shaun. He's a blonde-calm-little-white boy . He mainly sleeps and then chills all day. He only wants to be on his tummy and already loves seeing how long he can hold his head up... He's a very focused and determined kid. Parker is also picky about how he wants to be held. From day one he wanted to be up on your shoulder. I never got to cradle him in my arms like you do with most newborns. At 2.5 weeks he was already 11 lbs. so we like to call him our chunky monkey. Now, at 5 weeks, I have put away all the newborn clothes and have taken out the 3 to 6 months. I'm sure by the end of January we'll be on our way to 6 to 9 month outfits! I tell people that someday Isaac is going to be famous and Parker is going to be his bouncer!

Isaac Timothy

Isaac, Isaac, Isaac... Where do I even begin!?! Somedays he's a monkey. Others he's a train... But MOST days he's Buzz Lightyear! There is obviously nothing wrong with his imagination. He also loves anything with a motor and wheels. Isaac is quite the chatter box. Sometimes it's hard to have a conversation with another adult because he wants to join in or echo everything I'm saying. He doesn't like when Shaun and I are talking to each other and not him. He'll actually tell us to stop talking. All of his sentences end with "kay?" Example: "Daddy, come upstairs, kay?" Or, "Isaac no go outside, kay?" Or, "Baby Parker stop crying, kay?" It's so cute! When Shaun is playing Rock Band, Isaac will "rock out" with the microphone. It kinda scares me with how crazy he gets with it! Isaac has taken over his big brother roll with no problem. He loves to help us change and burp Parker and is the first one by his side when he starts to cry. Isaac can be flying like crazy all over the house but will stop every two minutes to kiss and hug his little brother! Isaac is very polite too. He always says please and thank you AND bless you when someone sneezes!

P.S.

This year has been crazy with raising a toddler, growing a baby, and then welcoming him into our home, so this post IS our Christmas card! I promise to send one next year by snail mail! Thanks to all those that remembered us in your letter writing this year!

Happy New Year from Shaun, Erica, Buzz, and Chunky Monkey!

Isaac and Daddy

For Shaun's birthday my parents got him a web cam. Now we can see him when he's "workin' on the fire trucks" (as Isaac says). The two days Shaun is gone, Isaac constantly asks for him. Isaac talks to my family on web cam so he's used to it, but still doesn't fully understand the concept. When he was talking to Shaun he kept saying, "Daddy hug Isaac" and "Come home daddy!" I think it was a little hard on Shaun! Hopefully it isn't always this heart breaking! I love these pictures. My boys enjoyed lunch and a few laughs together! Daddy even got a chance to remind Isaac to be nice to mommy and to take care of baby Parker while he's gone!

Milestones

On Friday our little Parker turned one month and Auntie Courtney graduated from CBU! Gongrats girlie!

Happy Birthday Shaun

four weeks

Who said a four week old can't tackle his older brother!?!

three weeks

Parker James currently rings in at:

11 pounds (93 percentile)

21 1/2 inches

Shaun and I have a very, VERY healthy baby boy!

Possible smile caught on camera? Or maybe it's just gas!?

(Isaac wore this outfit at three months... NOT three weeks!)

Getting bored...

Yup, gas. Parker had a blow out and had to finish the rest of his photo shoot naked.

Big brother Isaac said he wanted his picture taken too... This is what he gave me!

Three Men (minus the Babe)

I just wanted a picture of my blonde boys...

...but Isaac just wanted to pray! We must be doing something right!

Parker's 1st Bath

Isaac has really seemed to enjoy his new roll as big brother. However, he wasn't thrilled about sharing HIS bath tub. When I brought Parker in Isaac said, "No! Stay Parker!" Then, when Shaun was cleaning Parker, Isaac kept saying, "Wash Isaac, wash Isaac!" You can see by the smile on his face that he quickly got over it.

Happy Thanksgiving

What does blogging, Shaun and Erica time, laundry, long showers, and naps all have in common? They are all things that don't happen too often! I would say that it has been easier adjusting to baby number two than baby number one because this time around we knew what we were getting ourselves into. Don't get me wrong though... I'm still super tired, there never seems to be a break, and I think Shaun and I finally say hello to each other when we crawl into bed every night... but that's what I was expecting! While this stage in life may be hard, we are realizing how special it is and how quickly it will pass. We are trying to cherish every cuddly moment (even at 2am), every non-smelling, new born, dirty diaper, every "let down" (that's for you nursing mommies), every EVERYTHING!

Thanksgiving at the fire station

Our little Turkey

Our big boy driving the antique engine

Isaac and his cousins playing in the leaves

Multiplying Love

My big boys are napping up stairs and Parker and I are napping down stairs... Well, I was but it's hard to close my eyes when I've got such a handsome little man laying next to me. I figure I have about 15 minutes to blog so we'll see what I can report during this short amount of time...

Parker's due date was the 17th so on the night of the 16th I knew I had to be pregnant for at least one more full day because babies never come on their due date. We decided to go to Victoria Gardens and soak up their sales. This also gave me a chance to be out walking. That night (the 17th), while Shaun was putting Isaac to bed, I told my mom that Parker was going to be born the next morning at 8:10 and that he would weigh 8 lbs. 10 oz. Keep in mind I was having no symptoms of labor. When we got in bed that night Shaun asked me, "How in the world are we going to get this kid to come out?" My reply, "I'm sure a good back rub would work!" He totally went for it and I went to bed completely relaxed! I woke around 1am to go to the bathroom but felt nothing. BUT when I woke up at hour later I knew I was in labor! We started timing my contractions and they were every 3-4 minutes lasting at least minute. We decided that we would head to the hospital but only AFTER I washed my hair. The warm water of the shower felt so good and it seemed to counter acted the contractions.

We got to the hospital around 4am and they hooked me up to the monitors. By now my contractions were a lot more intense and I thought for sure I would be dilated to at least a 5. Nope! I was only a 3! When I went in to have Isaac I was a 4 and wasn't feeling anything. How could I only be a 3!? My contractions were regular and hard enough so they went ahead and admitted me. By the time I got in the delivery room I was a 5 and ready for my epidural. It was now sometime after 6am and I was feeling good! AND I was dilated to an 8! By 7:30am they were prepping the room for the arrival of Parker. I pushed for a painful 20 minutes and out popped a beautiful, healthy, chunky, blonde haired baby! 9 lbs. 10 oz! HOLY COW! I still can't believe he was that big!!!

I was just as emotional and excited to meet Parker as I was Isaac! It's just as special the second time around!

After Shaun, Parker, and I had some time together I told him that it was time for the brothers to meet. That's when I learned that the hospital wouldn't allow any children in due to the swine flu. I was in tears! Last week I was told that my own child would be able to come back. I hate when I get two different stories.

Parker is now five days old and we are adjusting well to being a family of four. Isaac gives lots of kisses and asks for "Baby Parker" first thing every morning. He doesn't really care to hold him and it only took throwing the ball at Parker's head one time to learn that he's too little and not ready to play. Isaac is also having to realize that not everything in the house is his anymore. I love watching Shaun with his two boys too... Such a proud daddy!

Isaac's first look at his little brother

Isaac holding Parker for the first time


Bonding for the first time as a family of four


Mommy and her boys

Isaac loves to burp Parker

Daddy and his boys

Big brother showing little brother how to be cool!

Working on opening his eyes

Parker James Higgins

Please mommy! No more pictures!

Didn't realize Isaac was this big

Love you Parker!