Christmas 2011!

Christmas 2011 was so good to our family! We got to see lots of family, and had to miss some from afar! We were spoiled with waaaayyyy too many gifts and waaaayyyy too much food :)

smiley little chunk in his new outfit from aunt mannie and uncle drew bear

2011 Christmas tree

Riggs got a new truck for Christmas!!

racing down to see what santa brought

all my guys :)

Canon at 4 months!

Canon turned 4 months old on December 17th! I can hardly believe how quickly he is growing now that he is sleeping better at night ;) he FINALLY slept through the night back on November 5th (almost 3 months old) which was a big change from his brother (who slept through the night at 6.5 weeks old and never looked back). he has been so much more fun for mommy now that i am also getting to sleep :) here are some 4 months highlights:

• 26.5" long
• 15 lbs 11 oz
• getting more and more smiley everyday!
• he LOVES his big brother, and smiles really big anytime that keller is crying, it is so funny to me!
• on a 3 1/2 hour schedule... up at 7a, 10:30, 2p, 5:30, 9p down for the night.
• sitting up in his bumbo seat and his exersaucer
• eyes are still blue blue blue
• hair has fallen out, but is starting to grow back in, very light!
• wearing size 3-6 month clothes
• wearing size 3 diapers

here are some pictures of my sweet little man...enjoy :)

4 months old! 1/3 of the way to 1 year!

gaining on his monster

trying rice cereal for the first time!

he likes it! :) sweet little crooked smile :)

2 years old!!

last friday, we celebrated keller turning 2 years old!! i really can't believe my first baby is already 2 years old, the time really is going by wayyyy to quickly. i did an update on him a couple months ago, so i feel like doing an update now is going to be pretty redundant, but i will do one anyway...because i like to read them when i look back :)

at 2 years, keller loves:

• mommy and daddy...all day long i hear "where'd daddy go? where'd daddy go?"
• his brother "hi canon...lub-you!"
• doing ANYTHING outside "go outside??"
• bath time, playing with his pelican and bath toys, the "loopa" and soap
• sweeping
• raking
• coloring
• fire trucks, fire "ations", fire fighters, lights, sirens...the whole bit
• trash trucks
• trucks of any kind really
• mickey mouse and the gang...especially "plutato", mickey's dog ;)
• dogs, cats (key-nanas), horses, moo cows, any animal
• playing on the tunnels at the park behind our house
• ALL sports, baseball, basketball, football, and golf are his very favorites
• the osu cowboys
• the st louis cardinals "cardinals, cardinals"
• his cousin "riggsy", he thinks anything he does is awesome and wants to be just like him
• aunt mannie and uncle drew bear, he "calls" them at least 5 times a day from his "phone"
• all his family..."where grandma go?" "where granddad go?" "where 'buedo go?" "where mimi go?" we do alot of talking about missouri, texas, and alaska :)
• he loves singing, and knows loooooots of songs: Jesus loves me, victory in Jesus, holy holy holy, happy birthday, pop goes the weasel, crazy girl, barefoot bluejean night, take a back road, old mcdonald, b-i-n-g-o, and so many more
• he will eat anything, i love how easy it is to feed the kid...i know that isn't always the case
• "school", especially his teacher, miss linda
• his best friend harper (he just this week moved to kansas city) :(
• his other buddies: sam, lennox, talon, a.j., hudson, abbigail, brandt...i'm sure i am forgetting some...

at 2 years, keller does NOT like:

• the doctor ;)
• anytime daddy is gone for more than 1 day
• leaving a good party
• really loud noises
• being stuck inside

the list is short, he is such a happy guy. he doesn't really give us too much grief, even at the "terrible 2" age. he is a great communicator and can say almost anything he wants us to know. it is so crazy to me that i have conversations with him all day long when last year at this time he was still such a "baby" i truly have so much love in my heart for this little boy and can't wait to see what God has in store for his life. happy 2 year old birthday keller, love mommy :)

team atchley, on keller's 2nd birthday...can't believe he is 2!

chris would kill me if he knew i put this up :)

waking up on his 2nd birthday...pete jammies!!

playing with his bubbles, his shirt says "i'm 2!"

birthday king at "school" (mother's day out)

1st night out :)

saturday night, chris and i got to take our first "night out" since canon was born! we generally have a standing weekly datenight, but with chris being out of town every other week (internship can NOT be over fast enough), and a brand new baby, we have had a few weeks of no date night! :( needless to say, it was soooooooooo nice to get to go out, just adults! we do love our boys so very much, but it's nice to have a dinner where we can just sit and talk and enjoy each other without handing someone a sippy cup, or rocking a car seat, etc :) luckily for us, we have a rockstar babysitter that i feel completely comfortable leaving the boys with. keller LOVES her, and talks about her all the time. and i know canon will feel the same way when he is a little older :) we love kbv! in a few weeks, chris will be finished traveling all over the globe and we can get back to our regular date nights :) until then, family dinners it is!

thanks kennedy, you're the best!

Canon at 1 month!

Canon is already 1 month old! (on 09/17) in some ways it went by so fast, and in others (waking to feed him at night) it went by slower ;) we went and weighed him on Friday, the day before he turned 1 month old. he was 6.11 when he was born, and had gained back up to 7.4 at his 2 week checkup. the lactation consultant told me to expect him to gain between 1/2 oz-1 oz each day, so I was guessing he'd weigh between 7.13-8.5...well he weighed 9.8!! I was so happy to see that on the scale because he is definitely a different kind of nurser than Keller was! I hate to "compare" him to Keller, but that is all I know as far as newborns go, so that is what I find myself doing with somethings. Keller would usually nurse for 30-45 minutes, well Canon will nurse 20 total minutes if I'm reallllly lucky. This had me worried about how much he was getting. Now, knowing that he is gaining plenty of weight I feel much better! He is a good baby, and a good sleeper. He sleeps pretty well for all his naps, and is waking just once during the night. The only "problem" is that his 1 time to wake is very random and sporadic each night. Sometimes it is at 1:30, sometimes 3:00. So it is hard to know what to expect and it is hard to feel confident about him getting the hang of sleeping through the night anytime soon...but I am really hoping and praying that he will figure it out in the next several weeks! He has been such a wonderful addition to our family and I already can't imagine us without him! He is the sweetest baby! Here are a few "1 month pictures"

Mimi (Chris' mom) came to visit on his 1 month birthday!

9 lbs. 8 oz. of 1 month old sweetness :)

Sizing up with my monster....

22 month keller update

i need to do an update on keller! he is 22 months old now and has changed so much since the last time i updated on him. this will be a mostly text update, not much on pictures...but there is alot to say about our oldest mini-man.

• he still sleeps like a champ. 7 p-7:30a with one 3 hr nap from 1-4.
• he has alllmost all his teeth, cutting his 4 canines right now. the top 2 have poked through the gums but the bottom 2 you can just see below the surface...ouch!
• he talks ALL THE TIME. we are constantly hearing from strangers "wow! he really speaks well for such a young guy" he likes to repeat anything he hears and has an incredible memory. you have to be very careful when he asks what something is. whatever you tell him is locked into his brain forever! so i am very intentional when talking to him during the day :)
• he still loves to sing and dance. again with the incredible memory, he learns songs very quickly and enjoys singing to his little brother. he will dance anytime he hears music and he likes to say "go keller, go keller..."
• he knows all of his colors and calls them out during the day, when he sees cars, shirts, flowers etc.
• he can (kind of) count to 10. he says "1,2,3,4,5,7,8,10!" sometimes he gets all 10 numbers, but most of the time it is that sequence.
• he also (kind of) knows his abc's ;) "a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,w...t,u,v,w" then i have to cue him on "x" then he'll say "y an z" he is getting closer all the time though
• he loooves the osu cowboys "go pokes" and can recognize any of their logos. when he sees them he will say "osu cowboys, go pokes" or "watch osu cowboy football with daddy"
• he also recognizes the cardinals logo and says "cardinals, cardinals..."
• he started swimming this summer with arm floaties, a big step for a guy as small as he is.
• he likes to pick out his own clothes in the morning and has several shirts that are his favorites....superman, dinosaur shirt, yellow shirt, monster shirt, wakey wakey eggs and bakey....the list could go on and on
• he thinks grandma and especially granddad are pretty much the greatest things ever. whatever they are doing is what he wants to be doing and where he wants to be. he is always asking to ride in granddad's truck or grandma's car. they spoil him pretty well and he always comes home from their house ready to go immediately back :)
• cousin riggs is also his hero. if riggs thinks it's cool...then keller thinks it's cool. mickey mouse, lightning mcqueen...things that keller has never even heard of, if riggs is into it, then keller wants to be a part of it!
• he loves his new little brother. he always wants to kiss his head or tickle his toes and is very good at helping mommy however i need him to (i.e. handing me wipes, diapers, etc)
• he climbs all over EVERYTHING! my mom says i was that way, so i don't see him growing out of it anytime soon :)

i truly love this little man with all my heart and everyday find myself so proud to be his mommy. he is so independent but at the same time loves me and chris so much. he is getting so big and his first (almost) 2 years have gone by so fast. i can't believe he'll be 2 in just 6 weeks. i know with a new baby i am having to share my attention between the 2 of them, my prayer is that i will still be intentional with keller and making sure that the time i do have with just him is special and helpful for his growth and development.

1st day of school this semester

doing his "trick" he is a major show-off and likes to entertain :)

Canon - 3 week update :)

today our little baby turned 3 weeks old! as i was looking back on my blog from when keller was born, i realized i did a TERRIBLE job of documenting his first weeks. the whole reason i have this blog is to document their lives...so here i go with round 2, trying to do a better job :)

canon was born 3 weeks ago, weighing 6 lbs, 11 oz and 18.5 in long. when he went to his 2 weeks check-up last week he had gained up to 7 lbs 4 oz and measured 21.5 in!! they measured him 3 times to make sure, then they decided that he'd been measured wrong at birth, because he hadn't grown 3 inches in 13 days :) here is a run down of what he is like so far...

• he is a very good baby for us so far! i almost hesitate to even say anything about it because i don't want to jinx it! :) God has been so good to us with sweet babies
• he sleeps so much still right now, it is almost impossible to wake him up for some feedings, he only nurses for 5-7 minutes sometimes
• he sleeps pretty good at night. he is on a 3 hr schedule in the day, starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 10 p.m. at this point he is waking up again around 2 a.m. and then 6 a.m. (i am hoping and praying that he starts to stretch this out so that he will have only 1 true "middle of the night" feeding)
• he and keller get along great right now, not much interaction, but keller loves to kiss him on his head and play with his toes :)

"seriously with the camera again mom??"

"okay, i'll ham it up....hi!!"

look how long i am!

"sitting"

happy 3 week birthday buddy!!

O-S-U Cowboys! Go Pokes! :)

saturday was the season opener for our beloved oklahoma state cowboys...they WON! :) sure it was just louisiana lafayette, but it is a start! this season is the first in more than 10 years that we won't have had season tickets :( it was a hard decision for us to make, but with where we are in life, it is the decision that makes sense. chris is RIGHT in the middle of his agency internship, and he is gone for weeks at a time, so his time at home is so precious. also, we have a BRAND new baby (2 1/2 weeks), and the thought of figuring out what to do with him, and our 22 month old was too much. soooo, we watched the opener from the comfort of our couch...eating pizza with our boys :) it was a great saturday night! here is to hoping all the rest of the allegedly televised games are shown in big d ;)

keller watching the game...with his glasses :)

canon's first game day :)

"future tailgater" :)

brothers...i love it

atchley's on gameday...in our orange!

Canon Burk Atchley

He is HERE!! :) Our second little baby boy made his debut into this crazy world on August 17, 2011 at 2:03 a.m. He weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 18.5" long. I went into labor Tuesday evening and things progressed pretty quickly...but all in all, labor and delivery were both pretty easy, stress free and quick! Keller is adjusting well to his new baby brother, he loves him and always asks "where baby canon??" if we wake him up while canon is still napping :) here are some pictures of our newest addition! we don't think he looks anything like keller did at that age, his hair was almost blonde, and his eyes are blue (i'm sure they will change, but keller's were DARK from day 1) I think this little guy is going to look like his daddy...lucky guy will be so handsome!

our first picture as a family of 4!!

dr. hennan delivered both of our sweet boys

6 lbs. 11 oz of sweet baby blessing

just after he was born, so tiny and sweet

sweet baby face, i love him so much already!

house reno!!

we recently did a LOT of work to the inside (and a little to the outside) of our house. we absolutely love our home, it has tons of space, lots of built-ins, it is in a WONDERFUL neighborhood (with the BEST neighbors), beautiful trees...etc etc etc. but, there were a few things we wanted to change since we moved in, in november. we waited a while to make sure we were going to actually be in this house for a while and now that we know...we did some renovations! i only have these 2 "before and after" pictures...they don't really do justice to what all was changed, but it's a brief shot. :)

before....

after....

happy birthday to me...27!!

almost a month ago, i had a birthday!! it was kind of a bummer because chris had to leave that day to go back to training :( but we did get to celebrate the night before my birthday and my family took care of me that day! here are a few pics...

cookie cake is the BEST!!

we swam, ate hamburgers and had cookie cake...that's a good birthday for me :)

27...still young at heart, or something like that

birthday dinner at outback

we missed sally and jj!!

thanks for making my feel special :)

My baby sister got married!! (almost 2 months ago...)

on june 4th, in a beautiful ceremony at our home church in duncan, followed by a rockin' reception at the country club...maggie elizabeth england married andrew steven vincent, and they have been living happily ever after for the last almost 2 months :) there are a TON of pictures from her photographers (bbjndesigns.com) these are just a few that i thought needed to be on here! (sidenote: i HIGHLY recommend using bbjn designs/mitch harrison photography. they were awesome to work with, took a million pictures and we love every single one of them!!)

my handsome little man, and 1 of the ring bearers :)

thanks to my friend jerica for the suits!!

sisters, sisters, sisters!

(sally, maggie and me)

my mom and i, showing off our matching shoes

bridesmaids, all oklahoma state university grads!! go pokes!

keller helping aunt manny put on some blush ;)

my handsome guys :)

keller and uncle drew bear...he loves him, seriously

after LOTS of dancing, and sorrrrre feet :)

couldn't hide the bump...29 weeks here

bridesmaids

a candid shot with the beautiful bride