Poor Parker

Chandler has been a big change for me and Josh - there is no question about that.  But I think it has been an even bigger change for our dog Parker.

When we first brought Chandler home, Parker didn't even notice that he was there until he started crying.  His curiosity was then sparked..."what is this new noise and I hope it doesn't last long because life is too good for interruptions or changes."

But now that the novelty has worn off, Parker acts like most older siblings.  He doesn't understand why this new little thing is taking so much attention that used to be directed towards him.  Now before you jump to any conclusions, no, Parker has done nothing harmful to Chandler.  He just wanted to make sure that he is still included/in the middle of the action.  And this often means your lap will be double-occupied.

We know Chandler and Parker will grow to be best buddies, but for now we will continue to help our oldest child adapt to his new reality.

Finally Grandparents

Since Josh and I got married we were constantly harassed (yes, harassed) about having kids.  Now that Chandler is here and our parents are officially grandparents  (unofficially my parents have been grandparents to cardboard baby for years - yes baby is still around and will never go away), it has been great to have them around to spend time with Chandler and watch him grow.  Here are a few highlights of Chandler with his grandparents...

Glenna = Grandma

Andy = Pop

Julie = Mimi

Glenn = Pappy

The Baby Boom

I have truly enjoyed growing up with family members at are my age.  And Chandler is lucky that he will grow up with similar experiences.  He has met many friends and family members thus far and cannot wait until he gets to meet cousin Ward.

BFFs Chandler and Caleb Bucher

Cousins CJ Spencer, Karly Spencer, Addi Spencer, Alexandra Hage, Aaron Hage, and Chandler - in oldest to youngest order

Future cousin John Preston Ward

Cousin Jacob Bowen

And Chandler will meet many more friends this fall during Mississippi State football games!

Have Baby - Will Travel

The biggest perk of being back in the south (yes, Miami is further south but not a part of "the south") is the proximity to family and friends.  Since our arrival in ATL we have had many visitors and even taken a few trips ourselves.

We have seen Grandma & Pop (Lauren's parents) and Mimi and Pappy (Josh's parents) numerous times...

Met great grandparents (we are blessed to have so many)...

Met aunts, uncles and future cousins...

and were introduced to some family friends...

We look forward to many more trips/visitors!

First Father's Day

Josh is truly a wonderful father to our son and I could not ask for a better partner to raise Chandler with.  He continuously goes above and beyond to help me in every way possible including night feedings, diapers, bottles, cleaning...I could go on & on...

After Josh (and team) did such a great job to make Mother's Day special for me, I had big shoes to fill for Josh's special day.  In the end I thought I would enhance his blogging skills by giving him a flip video camera.  He has done a good job so far documenting Chandler's many funny experiences and I know he will keep up the good work.  We will be sure to begin uploading videos to the blog as well (something else Josh has to show me how to do - I don't pretend to be technically savvy).


And now an ode to my two favorite men...

On the Road Again

As if having a new baby isn't a big enough change, Josh and I decided we should also move from Miami to Atlanta soon after the arrival of Chandler. So when CLH was just 5 weeks old we packed up our things and drove north. We were grateful to Katie Koziol for letting us crash at her house for a night to break up the trip.  Chandler did great in the car and so did Parker.  Although the drive did take a bit longer.

Since Josh went house hunting without me (I was 8+ months pregnant so both our moms also went to help out), it was great to finally see our new house when we arrived in ATL.  They did a great job and the Harris House is open for visitors any time.

First Beach Trip

Being the beach bums that we are, we couldn't leave Miami without taking Chandler to our favorite spot.  Hoping for the best, we loaded up for a great photo opp.  However, nothing ever seems to go as planned (and you know how I like to plan) and CLH wasn't cooperating.  Without his pacifier, he would just scream.  But i will get us an E for Effort.  Here are a few pics that we took - acknowledging it took a ton of pictures to get these.

Daddy & his boy

 Mommy & her boy

 

The Harris Fam