Wonderful Act of Kindness

Sometimes I am truly amazed at the kindness and selflessness of others. Ella and Aidan are the recent recipients of one of the most gracious gifts I think any baby has ever received.

Their Great Uncle Gary recently had a birthday. Gary is married to my Aunt Kiki - my Mom's sister (for those who dont know our family tree). When asked what he would like for his birthday, he said that all he wanted was something done for the babies....a donation to their college fund or a savings bond, etc. Nothing for himself...he just wanted things for Ella and Aidan. My parents were here for Easter weekend and brought Gary's "gifts" with them.

Ella received her own $50 saving bond, and Aidan received his own $50 saving bond. These are their first savings bonds, and it is so wonderful to think that there is such a meaningful story behind them.

I simply cannot think of a kinder or more generous thing to do for someone - to turn your own birthday wish into a gift for someone else is beyond words. I am so thrilled that they will each have something that one day will be worth even more money, but even more important is that they will know just what their Great Uncle Gary did for them.

Thank you Gary, from the bottom of all of our hearts. We love you and hope to see you soon!!

Our First Easter

The babies have each reached a few new milestones:

Aidan can crawl, but only backwards (he looks like he is breakdancing). In fact, he never really sits still anymore. He also points to everything that he is interested in exploring.

Ella waves "Bye-Bye" when people leave. She was the first to learn to clap and learn where her head is....we are now working on where the nose is.

They both clap on command and can show you their head when asked "Where's your head?".

Happy Early Easter!

Bunny A


Bunny B



Twin Bunnies!

Happy St. Patrick's Day From Our Two Little Leprechauns!

A day late, but not a leprechaun short!

Pictures of the twins together are getting more difficult to achieve! They are both so active, and do not want to sit still. Not to mention that Aidan immediately goes into a crawling postion the minute we set him down. Ella has become a pincher and hair puller to get her way.

Their shirts read: "Mom's Lucky Charm" and "Dad's Lady Luck".

Missing: Have You Seen This Man?

Has Anyone Seen This Man?

Now that I am an official Stay-at-Home Mom (SAHM, for those that like acronyms), money is a bit tight. I have us on a good budget, but we still seem to fall short each month.

We have cut back in every way we can think of....combined cell phone plans, canceled the home security system (we have 2 canine alarms!), refinanced our house, reduced our cable service, and I stopped getting my nails done (I think this one hurt the most!!).

Enough sob story.....this is the way we think is best to raise Ella and Aidan, and I couldn't be happier. Well, that is until Mike pulls 4 shifts in a row. I don't think the full impact of just what that meant occurred to me until now. I simply saw it as good money...time and a half for his efforts - we should be able to pay the mortgage with just these few extra days of work.

In short, what this means is that Mike left for work at 5:30 AM on Monday, and has not been home since. He will be home tomorrow morning at some point (probably around 9:30 AM), but has to turn right back around and go back to the fire station on Saturday morning. Less than 24 hours home with the family.

Holy cow! This is a long time to be away. Before these babies came along, I probably would have been glad to have the time to myself....no bickering over what to watch on tv, eating whatever I wanted for dinner, having the whole bed to myself, etc. But, things are different now.

I can only imagine how tired Mike is....but he isn't writing this blog, so I cannot even begin to describe anything from his perspective. So, you are stuck with mine. Four (4) straight days and nights all alone with twins is, well, overwhelming to say the least. We did have one playdate that helped to break up the monotony and give me some much needed adult conversation. But, all three of us Moms in the playdate have twins, so there was only so much conversation that could happen amongst the chaos of the babies!

I am exhausted.

That's it...no other words for it....just plain EXHAUSTED!!. I love these babies with more than every ounce of my very being..but I would really like to to take a shower that lasts more than 30 seconds. I would LOVE to have the time to just shave my legs. Or do something other than pull my hair back out of my eyes with a barrett. Or actually eat a proper meal.

Funny that once the munchkins are in bed, what I choose to do with my time is post on this blog!! But, then again, this is my therapy!

Please come home, my darling husband! Though when you are home, I am ALWAYS the first one up in the morning to prepare the babies' breakfast, I miss our slumber parties with the babies on that rare weekend morning that you are home and we bring them into bed with us in an attempt to sleep past 6 AM.

I love you dearly and am grateful for all that you do for your family!

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Since the babies have started on Cheerios, they have become an absolute requirement at every meal. The minute they are placed into their high chairs, they are looking for their Cheerios. They LOVE Cheerios (but then again, don't all little ones?)!!

As a result of this obsession, the beloved Cheerios seem to find themselves in all sorts of locations. Every so often, I even find one inside a diaper during a diaper change. I didn’t realize the amazing travel radius that these little round circles have. I seem to find them everywhere!!

I set out on a mission to see just how many places a Cheerio has appeared over the last week or so. It is important to note that we do not let the babies eat food (other than a bottle) in any location other than their high chairs.

I now present the Parker Family version of "Oh, The Places A Cheerio Will Go". Can you spy the cheerio in each picture?

In the bouncy seat:

In the dog's water bowl:

On the top of the exersaucer:

On the bottom of the exersaucer:

In the dryer:

In the jogging stroller:

In my tennis shoe:

And the grand finale....our bed!!!! This was after dinner, after baths, and after they finished their last bottle of the evening before bed (when Mike is home, we feed them together in our bed after baths):

Most likely, Ella is the culprit of the travelling Cheerios. As pictured in previous posts, she likes to hold food captive in her right hand while she eats with her left. Apparently, she is better than I thought at escaping my watchful eye and sneaking a Cheerio or two with her as she moves on to each new location.

PS - None of these pictures were staged..these are literally as how each Cheerio was discovered.

A Few More 9 Month Photos

A Few Housekeeping Notes

I have had a few people question me as to why I "delete" posts after a period of time....this question has now sparked an idea in my head (scary thought, I know) to give a little lesson on how this blog works.

First off, I NEVER delete any posts...I may get a bit creative at times and rearrange where things are...but I never delete anything....

Posts and Comments:
The main section (where the posts are located) is the largest column, thus allowing the most verbiage. One thing to note about each post is that there is a spot at the bottom that shows what time I made the post. Next to that time notation is something that shows how many comments people have posted.

I NEVER get any comments, and this makes me a bit sad....so, in the interest of letting me know what you think...would you leave a comment from time to time? Let me know your thoughts about a particular post, or just what you think of the blog in general...anything you want to say...let me know! This lets me know that my effort to keep friends, family and loved ones informed is not in vain!

Tickers, Bios, Previous Posts, etc:
The second column (to the right hand side) is a bit more narrow and is limited as to what I can fit in the given spacing. So far, I have chosen to put in a ticker (i.e. countdown) to Ella and Aidan's first Birthday, a little video of our travels before having children, a brief bio, and....

...the history of all of my previous posts. So, anything I have ever posted since the inception of this blog is indeed still out there for everyone to see!

In summary, I live for this blog (aside from my husband and children). It has become a form of therapy for me...and a hobby...I am in desperate need of a hobby (that is a whole different post / topic for another day!!). I get very little down time or personal time of any sort these days...so this blog is my outlet.

I hope that you enjoy reading about our little ones. There are days when the whining can grate on every last nerve of my very being...but those days are far outnumbered by the sheer joy of watching these two little beings discover the world a bit more each day.

What a Difference Six Months Makes...

Ella and Aidan at 3 Months:

Ella and Aidan at 9 Months: