Parker... Already Licensed to Drive

Or so he would like to think! Parker loves cruising around in his new red sports car... a wonderful hand me down toy from Philip... although Parker doesn't need to know that part of course because to him, its BRAND NEW! He has never seen it before, played 10 and 2 on the wheel, or honked the horn before... so to him it is NEW and he absolutely loves it! Poor second child syndrome!

FALL days at the Park!

Oh how we LOVE our fall days at the park! Both boys love to swing and Philip loves to play baseball, be chased and of course slide down all the slides! October is my favorite month of the year... from perfect weather, playing outside and riding in our favorite wagon to GA football, candy (my favorite part of course) and hot chocolate... life just doesn't get any better! Parker literally cackles in the swing and Philip loves to push him (in the swing of course not on the ground... what kind of mother do you think I am?!)... but definitely this is a hobby of Philips that at some point I hope fades away before it does turn into that kind of game! Anyways - we had a blast playing this week with Leighton and Holden... what fun the month of October brings to the Brosseaus!!

Parker swinging... I love how little he looks here

Parker and Holden swinging

Leighton

ALL BUNDLED UP!!

One + One DOESN'T = TWO

With kids that is... Phil was so sweet and took care of the two boys SOLO this past weekend for me so I could fly to DC and celebrate Katy McGee, my best friend from high schools, birthday! Yay for mommy... it was so fun and I had an absolute blast with Katy and all her sweet friends! Now if I can just get my girl to move SOUTH we would all be much better off! I miss HER too much for her to live there although I must say it is such a COOL city!! We danced the night away on the rooftop bar of The Public at our VIP table overlooking DC... now what can I say, it just doesnt get much cooler than that?!! I had prepared for my leave very well with stocking the fridge cribs style, typing out the boys schedule by the minute, labeling Parkers meals each day with very detailed instructions and of course leaving some fun football watching treats for my hubby! However, after the one hundredth text message, pictures of Philip's explosive dirty diaper leaking out the top and bottom and the millionth voice mail from Phil begging me to come home... I simply responded with ONE + ONE DOESN'T = TWO!! So long story short... I did finally come home after being gone not even 48 hours and my sweet husband said, "Please please please NEVER leave me again - taking care of these boys is HARD WORK!!" I loved it... our men need to see what its like the day in and day out of dirty diapers, cries of teething or skinned knees, mushed up squash baby food being thrown in your face and peanut butter and jelly all over the coffee table!! It was so good for him and needless to say ladies,,, he sure does seem to appreciate me a whole lot more after this weekend!! And the best part - the boys SURVIVED, well except for that black eye that Philip was sporting when I got home!

WE got our FLU shots!

Philip of course had his flu shot first because I knew that if he saw Parker get a shot and scream crying... he would run for the hills and be impossible to vaccinate! So Philip got his shot, cried and then calmed down once he got his Thomas sticker (of course)! Then I told Philip it was Parker's turn so I put Parker on the doctor table next to Philip. The nurse pulled out the shot and Philip closed his eyes and screamed as loud as he could... "Oh NO Carker Oh NO - RUN!!" I burst into laughter because as you and me both know... Parker is only 7 months old can barely sit up and sure cant RUN anywhere!! Then the sweet nurse started laughing so hard she could barely give Parker the shot which he of course then started screaming bloody murder too... but with a few kisses and a sticker (thanks to Philip's request) he was quickly calmed. There is just nothing cuter than a PROTECTIVE Big Brother! Oh how I love my BOYS!!

(*Special note - these videos of Parker cackling and Philip laughing and playing were of course taken PRIOR to the SHOTS!)

Sound of Heaven to my ears

PARKER

Rub a Dub Dub... The Brosseau brothers love playing in the tub!

Meet Charles Samuel Johnson

We are so excited to welcome Charlie into the world today, September 26, 2010. Charlie was 8lbs 11oz and 21.5 inches long and absolutely perfect! He is such a blessing and gift from above and we are so thankful to have a new little nephew to spoil!!! And not to mention, Philip and Parker are beyond fired up to meet their newest cousin, playmate, and co-conspirator in crime. Afterall boys will be boys, right?!

Back to School

Well today was Philip's first day back to school at Myers Park Methodist preschool and he did great!! Philip was very excited about wearing his backpack from last year, like Diego, even though they have big new bags provided by the school... so he took both! And the only issue with the morning drop off was that he wanted to take Parker with him. I kept telling him that Parker was too little for school but he kept insisting... After countless of excuses I kept making up, I finally said it was too early for "show and tell" but that he could bring his little brother another day. So after a deep pause in thought, he finally accepted that response (praise the Lord). Oh the joy of having a two year old... However when we left he still cried screaming of course for no one else but his baby brother "CARKER!" Then Parker and I had a fun morning just the two of us, a time that we are not accustomed to when you have an older brother in the mix. We played and sang songs and I just held him literally until it was time to get Philip from school... afterall I didn't want him to think that I had given his older brother away!! Then before we knew it, it was time to pick up Philip and he was so excited to see us and kept telling Parker all about his new friends and teachers and about cookies. Apparently they started the year off right celebrating a little girl Addie's bday in class whose sweet mommy brought cookies for everyone. So then when we started to leave, Philip literally sat in the hall and said "I no go mommy! I no go!" So from the little boy sobbing when we left... he sure did march to a different drum when we picked him up. What can I say, he loved his first day! Next up... a fun lunch outing to celebrate his big first day back to school so mommy, Philip and Parker went to Philip's favorite restaurant where he ate his favorite meal... edamame and fried rice. We ended the lunch by picking out yummy cupcakes at the Polka Dot Bakery for dessert! Afterall, he already had eaten cookies at school so why not just add some cake as well?! Philip then of course rocked out a 4 hour nap after lunch... oh how I love school days!! But needless to say, Philip felt VERY special and loved his first day back to school! When I put him down for night time, he just kept asking, "Mommy, can I peez go to school everyday?!" I thought well not just yet... but you and me both can dream!

Labor Day...

flew by way too fast but sure was fun!! WE celebrated the big weekend starting out in Atlanta where the boys swam and drove their new big boy car... an escalade that their Gigi bought for them... could it be anymore perfect for the ATL, I think not! Then Phil and I went to the GA game with my parents, brother Blake and friends which our Dawgs of course won!! And we then saved the best for last and finished off the fun weekend with a yummy cookout at the Culps with the Oxenhams, Whites and Harrells! It was an absolute blast as we had 9 kids ages 3 and under as well as Phil there, so as you can imagine... there was never a dull moment! Happy Labor Day!

Go DAWGS!!!

Van Gogh in the making

Philip is loving learning his colors and so today he got to paint lots of colors with his hands! He started with his two favorite colors.... blue and red and then made lots of other colors mixing them all together. Who knew learning your colors could be so fun?!

Oh No He Didn't...

Oh Yes He Did!!!! Let's just say that today daddy was on duty and Philip decided he would rather color on the walls (yes, the walls and the white crown molding) in his room rather than napping! Not to mention it was with his favorite color crayon... RED!!! Needless to say, Phil was shocked when he went to get Philip up from his nap. Daddy Lesson #1... never leave your two year old unattended with a crayon!!

More veggies please...

Well we finally started Parker on solids and lets just say he follows in the Brosseau boys footsteps in more ways than one! He loves to eat and so he of course took right to the food (he has already mastered sweet potatoes, carrots and squash with sweet potatoes being his favorite of course)... however let's just say when he eats, he eats in style of a Texas longhorn fan! Sporting the UT hand sign is now his version of his own hand made paci these days... What can we say... he eats, sleeps and breathes UT! Lets just hope he quickly changes his mind and realizes his heart is at UGA with those dawgs instead!!

Ouch he stung me!!

Philip loves to sing "I'm bringing home my baby bumblebee, won't my mommy be so proud of me?!! Ouch he stung me!" And from the sounds of it - looks like he might have unfortunately gotten his mommy's singing voice - one as Phil says is for CHURCH only!! But I still think my little boy sounds too precious, so what, if he might not be in the Blue and Gold high school singers like his daddy!

*BE sure to hit pause on the music player on the right hand side of the blog so you can hear Philip's video*

Parker's 6 Month Check-Up

Well let me just start by saying... I am literally in tears writing this as I just cant believe my baby is already 6 months old?! Where does the precious time go... from swaddle blankets and burp cloths to smiles, giggles and diapers... it is just all so sweet! This time has been so amazing and Parker, you are truly my precious gift from God! You are only 6 months old yet I can't imagine how I ever lived one day without you!! I love how you smile and laugh every time you see me or your daddy and you truly melt my heart every time you giggle and hug your big brother Philip. You have rolls that just wont quit and I want to eat you up everytime I see you! We have nicknamed you "Carker," "Chunky Monkey" and our "Perfect Angel"... all of which you answer to daily and we love you more with every second that passes by. You are just growing up way too fast but we are so proud of all your newfound talents. You are rolling over all the time like a little rolypoly, your smiling and talking to us nonstop (I think you are already starting to take after your big brother Philip in the talking arena... oh god, please help me), and you are sitting up on your own for brief periods when we prop you up like a little tripod. You are weighing in now at 19lbs 4oz and are 27.5 inches long -which puts you in the 80% for both weight and height and your head was in the 50% at a perfect 43.5 cm! We still haven't started you yet on solids... but we are going to dive into that adventure this week. But as you can tell, you are very satisfied and do not look like you have missed a meal yet! You did great with your shots and only cried a minute... however mommy was still crying walking out to the parking lot and driving home. Dr. Ryan said you are doing absolutely perfect and are just as healthy as a horse!! I love you so much and I am so proud of you, my little chunky monkey!!

My Brown Eyed Boy

Well it is now official... Parker is becoming a Brosseau boy more and more everyday!! He already has the charming Brosseau smile and hes of course a flirt with all the ladies BUT now he has the gorgeous Brosseau BROWN eyes!! He was born with green eyes like his mommy but that Brosseau trait sure is strong and he now has joined the clan! And not to mention him sticking his tongue out in this top pic... I have seen many of baby pics of his daddy and big brother Philip with that same look... too cute! We love you Parker Brosseau!

Once Upon A Potty

Potty training is fun... yeah, right and the sky is green! Today marks the beginning of a lifelong adventure for Philip... he is learning to use the POTTY!! We decided that what better way to learn to use the potty than to do it with one of your best friends, so Elmo... good luck- it looks like you are joining in on the fun! It started out good this morning with Philip watching his potty video while sitting on his potty next to Elmo (or Melmo as Philip calls him) sitting on his potty. However after about the third time through of the video... Philip started crying as he wanted to wear his new thomas and diego big boy underwear... you think, well thats a good start except the problem is that he wants to wear all of them at the same time and while sitting on the potty. He doesn't understand that he cant sit on the potty with his underwear on not to mention 3 pairs of underwear on!! Then we explained how every time he goes on the potty he gets m&m's and of course that just started meltdown #2 as he started screaming crying for some m's right then - he didn't want to wait till he went on the stupid potty... oh the life of living in the moment as a two year old. And then lastly as if wasnt already bad enough, his daddy who is a little hungover today from celebrating Jay Levell's bday last night said under his breath if I hear that dang potty song one more time, I am going to throw that stupid potty out the window!! Well lets just say nothing gets past Philip these days and so he started throwing the potty all over the room and laughing! So... we are 6 hours in on day 1 and so far, nothing has gone into the potty except Elmo!

And of course we couldn't leave Parker out... so he joined in by sitting in his bumbo

Philip in all his glory wearing 4 pairs of big boy underwear at the same time

God Bless Thomas and God Bless Barney

Last night as I was putting Philip to bed, we did just our usual bedtime routine. Starting with a bath, followed by story time with our milk and ending with our prayers. We said all our prayers and then got to the part where we say "God Bless" each of our family members near and far as we pray for them! I say God Bless Parker and then Philip repeats and we do that for each of our family members. So then at the end of our prayer Philip kept his little hands crossed and with the most serious and loving little voice and his eyes still closed... he said God Bless Thomas of which he then waited in silence until I repeated and then he said and God Bless Barney. It was the sweetest and most precious moment and I literally had to hold back my laughter as he was so so serious. It was almost like he couldnt believe that after praying for our many many family members (as most of you know Phil is the oldest of six kids and I am the youngest of three)... he was so offended that somehow I could even forget to bless his two best friends... Thomas and Barney! But now I am on top of it... Thomas and Barney are in the rotation!!

Just read this... your going to pee a little it is so funny

I found this article off my friend's blog and just had to share with all you mommies out there... Enjoy!

My Top 10 "Oh, Now I Get It" Moments

Here's the sitch', before people have kids there are many occasions where they'll observe people who have children and think "When I have kids I will never ______" Then you go and get yourself some of those cherubic, little angels and if you're like me, you have about 8 million "Oohhh, Now I Get It Moments" – they're like Oprah's "Aha" moments but without the free car.

Here are just a few of the little judgement gems that I passed with Gweneth Paltrow smugness until I had children. I was an idiot but clearly God was listening.

"My kids will never sleep with me."
I love my sleep and therefore, any child of mine would be kissed on the head at 7:00 pm, would be put in their crib and would stay there until the morning. Except what I didn't realize is that it's really hard for me to sleep through bloodcurdling screaming and that I'd have a kid who thinks Dr. Ferber can go suck it. In a desperate measure, I tossed him into bed with us one night and we've all had a good night's sleep ever since. I don't tell many people about it because it's the grand daddy of all my "I'll Nevers" unless, of course, you bring it up.

"My kids will eat what they are fed."
Don't like dinner? Well, I guess you're not eating. Then I walk away and think about how I'm already worried about his calcium intake and if he's eating enough protien. If he goes to bed hungry then he'll no doubt perish in his sleep all because I wouldn't let him have cereal at dinner. Joan Crawford, Dina Lohan, me. Here's your cereal.

"I'll never ignore my kids like that."

Why do you even have children if you don't want to be around them?! How hard is it to accommodate your child if the sweet little petal is asking you to read Goodnight Moon? Pretty hard if it's the 4,753rd time you've read it that day and if you ever have a stroke it will, no doubt, be the only information you'll retain. Sometimes I just want half-a-stinking-second to think. I love my children but for the love of God, let me pee alone – I can't remember where I've heard that brilliance before.

"Why don't you just take your kids to the park, it's so easy?"
You know, you just sit there while they have fun. Oh, wait you want to go on the swing? No more swing now? Now the slide? Mommy can't fit up there but hold on tight....whoa...no, come down now!! That's too high!! Okay, yes, let's play in the sand. No, that's not your truck that's the little boy's truck. Give it back, please. No hitting!! Hey, do you want a cookie? The cookies are at home. Okay, let's go home and get a cookie. Bye park! Kiss my ass until I've had another Goodnight Moon stroke and forgotten how horrible you are.

"Why would you take your kids swimming, it's so hard?"
I mean, it takes about 3 hours to get ready for 10 minutes of fun. Except I didn't think of what else I would do to occupy a small child for 3 hours if I wasn't getting ready for swimming. Plus, no doubt some mom somewhere, sometime probably told me that children that don't learn how to swim by 6 months have an 80% chance of drowning in an inch of water and grow up to be illiterate serial killers – she must have read it in an article somewhere.

"Kids shouldn't eat crap."
How hard is it to prepare wholesome, organic, homemade meals and snacks all the time? I once threw an open bag of cheesies down the basement stairs to stop my kids from fighting like drunk white girls while I was on a really important phone call. They swarmed it like racoons and ate all the trans fat goodness silently off the floor. I stand by my actions and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

"Kids shouldn't watch too much tv."
Oh, but what's that? Children stand behind you like a 20lb footstool when you're carrying pots of boiling water, try to throw things down the toilet while you're cleaning it or take their diaper off and pee down the air vents while you're taking a shower?! Oh, too bad there isn't a magical box that played friendly pictures and sounds to distract them for a few mintues while you went poo. Wait. What?

"How hard is it to look half decent after you've had a kid?"

If I have pants on when I leave the house I consider my appearance to be completely appropriate and should therefore, not be judged. I wore glasses with one arm missing for a year-and-a-half because it broke off and I couldn't find time to fix it. I haven't been to the dentist since my second son was born and he just turned two. I finally made an appointment because I'm scared I'm going to have teeth like a 14-year old beagle if I don't smarten up.

"How hard is it to keep your cool?"
Pretty hard sometimes. I find that small children have given me a snapping threshold that would make Gordon Ramsay say "Whoa, cool it lady." Inanimate objects seem to be the main focus of my wrath because they won't be taken away from me if I really start spitting cherries(best. phrase. ever.) Instead, I find myself hulking the tabs off the effing diaper because they won't peel up, drop kicking a basket of mittens across the room because I can't find a pair that matches or swearing that if I ever find the jackhole that put 14 previews on every kid DVD, I will chant "Kali Ma" as I plunge my bare fist into their chest and pull out their still-beating heart. Breeeeeeeathe.

"I would never let my kids become my whole life."
I used to go over to my "previously cool" friend's place and think how sad it was that her house was overrun with sippy cups, Polly Pocket shoes and Dora the Explorer crap. Now I lay in my hippy bed reading Goodnight Moon until my right eye twitches and these kids fall asleep. Then I look at their perfect, little faces and wonder how I ever lived without them.

If I could go back in time, I'd tell that childless woman that it's easy for her to make all these grand proclimations and impose rules on an imaginary child where she hasn't factored in love, fear or sleep depravation. Then I'd tell her stop worrying about what she will and won't do when she becomes a mother and to go take a long look at her fantastic bum in the mirror because it will soon disappear along with all the other misconceptions she has about motherhood.