Old MacDonald

We were singing Old MacDonald on the way back from taking Bry dinner at work last night. I sing most of it and Drew joins in and sings the E-I-E-I-O and then fills in the blanks. It went a little something like this last night -

Old MacDonald had a farm

E-I-E-I-O

And on his farm he had a.....

Daddy

E-I-E-I-O

With a work work here, and a work work there....

here a work, there a work, everywhere a work work.

Old MacDonald had a farm

E-I-E-I-O

Apparently Drew thinks his daddy works too much.

Carter Cakes Updates

Due to my serious lack of blogging the past couple weeks it seems like it is due time to catch up on the happenings of the little Carter Man.

The child is obsessed with this basket. It was placed in front of the door that holds all sorts of exciting buttons to deter him from opening it....but alas he now climbs in and out of the basket, stands on the edges, blocks the TV and I am sure soon he will stand on the entertainment center.

He is wearing more and more of Drew's old clothes. I have to say I LOVE him in these jammies! Seems like Drew was just wearing them last year...oh wait, he probably was since he was so small! *smile*

Carter loves the pantry and getting cereal out himself. At least he tries to clean them up...

Messy face is a common occurrence these days as he seems to be a grazer and he thought it was pretty funny to wear dad's shirt.

I love that he makes his mouth as small as it will go while wearing these huge glasses.

This kid LOVES sour cream...for now. He eats it by the fingerful with his quesadilla.

He is just starting to like watching TV at home. He will watch it occasionally if we are in the car, but just this last week I tried Baby Einstein at home and he thought it was so fun to hold the remote and his chocolate milk. He loses interest when the puppets are not on, but as soon as he spots them he comes running in, sure to not miss a minute of their silliness.

Carter started nursery at church today. He is two weeks away from 18 months so I stayed with him to help him adjust and get used to things. He did great. He was a little shy, but all in all I think he will be fine. He really enjoyed snack time and almost snatched another kid's extra fruit snack - watch out! He did try to eat the puzzles and the crayons, but hopefully that won't last too long. He loved the music and even got up and danced and sang a bit - it was adorable!

(I didn't get a picture of him in his church clothes, but this was the picture he colored and the vest he wore to church. They put the kids names on the back so they get to know them better.)

His morning does not begin without his sippy of chocolate milk.

We have to wait to put his shoes on until we arrive at our destination otherwise he kicks them off as soon as we get in the car.

He loves dogs....from a distance.

His food phases come and go by the day. You never know what he will like to eat. He is just full of surprises!

I am pleased to say that Carter's crabbiness lasted only a little while a couple weeks ago and he is back to his lovable, easy going self. He loves giving kisses, laughing when others are laughing, being shy with strangers, taunting Andrew when he is in time out, and playing outside. He is just growing too fast, but I do have to say I LOVE the phase of life that he is in. I just soak it up every day.

Casting, Feeding and Horses

Drew is such a champ. He is the most amazing, resilient, happy, self motivated, infectious, cute kid! This past Monday I took Drew in to get a cast on. No broken bones....thank goodness. His tone is just increasing in that little left leg and his brace is not fitting quite like it should (to say the least....I hate that brace)

Anyhow, we decided to give this casting a shot. They stretch his ankle and then cast him in that position for four weeks. Sounds simple enough, right. Well, all would have gone well if another child had not been getting his cast cut off while we were in the room. The saw is loud and Drew does not do well with loud. So, on top of the room we were in looking like a hospital room - there was a crazy loud noise. That does not make for a happy Drew. We semi-calmed him down and with the aid of me and two grown men were able to get him on his belly, hold his bum down, get his leg in the right position, and cast him.

He did great. He got to pick his cast color and oddly enough he picked orange. He never has picked orange for anything, but I think it had to to with the other two kids in the waiting room having orange casts. Works for Halloween though. He has a little boot that goes over his cast and he is free to go about his daily activities....minus playing in the sand and no water. He has done great and still moves and runs just as fast as before. It has not hindered him one bit.

To add to the excitement of his week he started feeding therapy on Wednesday - hooray! I really like the therapist and have high hopes!

On Thursday he started Hippo therapy.....aka horse riding therapy. We are doing it instead of physical therapy at the house while he has his cast on. We meet his therapist at the stables and he gets to ride a horse for an hour. It is supposed to help his stability and rhythm in his hips I think. I was so proud of him for not being scared of the horses. Next time though I will have to find something else to do with Carter since he was playing on the little toys there and every time Drew went by on his horse he would say "Play...play too...Carter doing...down...play too". Crazy kid was on a horse and he wanted to play on the plastic slide!

Time Out for Mom

A couple weekends ago my three sister in laws who live in AZ and I went to a little something called "Time Out For Women". Yes....this was just one week after my getaway to Greer, but hey I like to think I still deserved another break. Bry stuck around and took care of the little boys while I enjoyed some girl time. We left late Friday afternoon, grabbed some Baja Fresh, and attended the evening conference. We enjoyed a lot of laughing, music, and relaxation.

For my journal - here are some of the notes that I came away with from that night.

If you can laugh at it you can live with it.

A good sense of humor helps us keep perspective, helps build relationships, and helps us cope with problems.

A positive attitude is to be respected, not ridiculed.

You can have problems and be happy at the same time.

Happiness is a city in a state of mind.

Find joy in the success of others --- You don't have to compete --- Marry someone who knows how to be content

I can choose to be delightful!

Be cheerful. Don't be a whiner.

That night we stayed in a hotel together. We enjoyed talking, laughing, and picture taking. I don't really know what time we went to bed since I didn't want to realize how little sleep I was getting, but it was fun!

The next day we grabbed bagels at Einstein Bagels and headed to get good seats. FYI - when you order a bagel from there and want cream cheese, I advise to ask them to go light on it otherwise I think you get an entire tub of it on your bagel.

Saturday was filled with more laughter, insight, music, spiritual uplift, enlightening, reminders, and putting life back in perspective and focus. Here are some more of the things that meant the most to me...

He has entrusted me to guard the home.

Children are slow ripening fruit. Be patient with the process.

Heavenly Father loves my children as much as I do.

Early experiences with trial can pave the way for the future.

The hardest kids make you the best person.

Abundance.

Heavenly Father knows what we can offer.

Give all....even if it means our time.

Learning to be content. Be content with what the Lord has given us.

Make the most of what we have to offer.

We are given things we cannot handle, but can with the grace enabling power of Christ.

Hope.....not fear.

Laugh...find humor.

It is worth the struggle to sit at the right hand of God.

I am SO glad I took this time to get away and spend time with Camille, Holly, and Jami. I am thinking this Time Out may have to become an annual event for me. Thanks for the great weekend girls!

Other tidbits I happened to write down to remember that I learned amongst the talks and music....

I am WAY more emotional that I used to be.

I love the piano.

I am learning to love the violin.

I need a better sense of humor.

I still get homesick.

Six Year Celebration

September 27th was our six year anniversary and the fact that I am JUST getting around to this post proves that the vacation we took four weeks ago was SO much needed and deserved. This was the first getaway Bry and I were able to take without the boys since we first got Drew. The last time we got away for an actual vacation besides going to visit family, etc was our one year anniversary....sad, yes I know.

Bry was insistent that we were getting away this year and I am SO glad we did. We ventured off to Greer, Arizona - heaven on earth! Before I go on, I must give credit where credit is due. None of this would have been possible without Shelley and Rich. They took care of our little munchkins from Friday through Sunday, which normally would have not been so bad....except Carter was SO sick! I took him in on Friday with a light fever and was told he was fine......oh boy was that doctor wrong! Carter was a monster....a very sick one at that. He had a very high fever, would not eat, would not play, and cried A LOT. His temp got up between 104-105°. So....to say the least Shell and Rich were amazing (and will probably never watch our kids again*smile*).

Back to our rest and relaxation....we headed out Friday afternoon, made the 4 hour drive, and arrived around 6:00. We checked in and settled in. Here are a few things we learned that first night...

*Never assume there is a TV or phone in the room even then they let you rent DVDs for free.

*Dinner just tastes better when ordered and eaten in your big soft bed.

*You only need a TINY bit of bubble bath when in a jet tub. The bubbles multiply exponentially once the jets turn on.

I have never had food that tasted SO good. The BBQ chicken was like no other. It was moist and tender to the bone....and the sauce...oh YUM! If they offer cactus BBQ sauce - GET IT! The rolls were so soft and warm.....the fries were just perfect. And I think it tasted just a tad yummier than anything else ever made because I had to do NOTHING for it (besides pay for it)!

The next day we ate a delicious breakfast overlooking a little stream, small lakes, and lush meadow. We went for a bike ride where I learned how to use a mountain bike, gears and all. That was quite an adventure on the side of a hilly road. We then we horseback riding. WAY fun and well overdue. Bry promised back when we were dating that he would take me horseback riding and he finally made good on the promise. We went for an hour ride and it was amazing. We went for a drive to look at the changing leaves, mostly yellow but still beautiful. Minus the VERY bumpy road it was wonderful. That evening we made a reservation for a table for two at a BAR so that we could watch the USC game. A couple things I learned that day...

*A mountain bike makes your bum SO sore if you have not ridden in a long time.

*An hour ride horseback ride is amazing with no aching bones or muscles.

*A Honda Civic does not handle a bumpy dirt road very well.

*Half a USC game at a bar is plenty.

Throughout the trip we did a lot of relaxing, talking, reading, and resting...mingled with worrying about little Carter. Sunday we packed things up and headed home. We stopped on the way out at a little Breakfast/Lunch place to fill our bellies and enjoyed every bite. I just love hot chocolate when the weather is cool and there is nothing like fresh orange juice in the morning. YUM!

We arrived home in the early afternoon just in time for Drew not to take a nap and enjoy us being home and for me to arrive when Carter woke up with a 104+° temperature. Shell and Rich were amazing and we are SO grateful for their help that weekend. We have decided we may need to pull off one of these every other year or so. It was wonderful!

Most of all, I was reminded of how much I adore and absolutely LOVE my husband. It was SO wonderful to spend time together...just us. He sure can make me smile, make me laugh, and make me feel like I am the most important, beautiful, smart woman ever. I am sure glad that six years ago we decided to spend our forever together.

----Sadly we remembered our camera, but not the memory card so I think we have one picture of an Elk on the camera I can get off of it. ::sniff sniff:: There was another couple there who took pictures of us on the horseback ride, but I am afraid they lost our email address since we have not received them....sad. At least we have our memories!----

I Needed a Nap

Forgot my cell phone - Forgot the camera - Forgot it was Columbus Day -

The zoo was PACKED -

Forgot Drew was not buckled in the stroller and he flew off the front seat when I stopped -

Unreasonably bad day for allergies - Lasted an hour at the zoo -

Forgot speech therapy -

Thank goodness she was late so we made it home with 5 minutes to spare -

Late naps around 1:45 -

Not slammed with work yet this week -

Made for a much needed and deserved nap!

For the Love of Pudding

I have been working on teaching the boys to clean up their toys when they are done. They have never been allowed to dump all toys out at once, but I usually am the one to help clean up before the next activity is started....but that pays a toll on my back!

They were playing puzzles yesterday. Carter finished his shape puzzle (with a little help from Mom) but goodness gracious, my oh so strong-willed Drewbie refused to put the animal puzzle away. It is not a challenging puzzle for him and he is fully capable, but he was just being stubborn. He knew he couldn't play with anything else until it was done. I swear the child laid on the floor with his puzzle for 45 minutes! Missing out on pudding snack was enough to motivate him to move along FINALLY. He never ceases to amaze me.

Good Intentions

September 29th

4:00 PM

103°

Outside at the park

WAAAAY too hot!

Doesn't look too bad - looks like we are quite relaxed and having fun. The boys had fun, yes....but they were VERY red faced and sweaty after an hour. Shelley and I were melting as well. Next time we will go later like all the other little kids arriving at 5:00. Only in Arizona.