Baker Reunion

This post is long overdue, but I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the pictures we have taken and all there is to blog about, but here it goes!

Memorial Day weekend we headed to California for a big Baker family reunion to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bryan’s Mom and Dad. His dad passed away about 25 years ago so it was so sweet to hear the memories and stories about him and the love they have for one another. It was so fun to have the whole Baker gang together for some very packed, yet fun days!

We left Thursday afternoon. This was our first long car ride with Carter being a bit older. The last trip we made he was just a couple months old. They did pretty well in the beginning. I thought it was so funny how they were both holding their feet. Silly boys. They watched movies, ate snacks, looked at books, played with toys…..and napped, but not without a few tears shed. Carter was not thrilled with sitting in his car seat for so long! I thought he just wanted to get out to eat, but no I was wrong. When we would stop for gas and I could take him out he was instantaneously happy! I have to say that Andrew was a dream. He was just a happy kid without so much of a whine because Carter was touching him.  

Friday morning we hung out around Bry’s parent’s house. We made a quick trip to the mall to get Bry a shirt and jeans for the family picture on Saturday. We dropped the boys off at Lynnie’s house who was so wonderful to watch our boys while we were gone for about 7 HOURS!!!! That was the longest time I had been away from them and I am happy to announce they both they and I survived! We were so lucky to be able to attend the temple with all the Baker boys and spouses. It was a nice getaway from all the hub-bub going on (minus the traffic and getting there late). After the temple we met at a church building where the Baker boys attended church growing up. We had a beautiful dinner and were able to relax and visit with the adults (plus my children who I picked up on the way). We were also given a wonderful gift that my sister-in-law Jami had worked so hard to put together. It was a book of pictures from Greg and Dianna’s past, along with baby pictures of the boys and them growing up. What a treat that will truly be treasured!

The fun did not stop there though! We met Saturday morning for family pictures and then a BBQ and a day of fun at Bry’s oldest brother’s house. It was so much fun!!! It was a little crazy getting all six boys, their wives and 22 grandchildren in one picture, but well worth it in the end. What great memories. We were able to get a few snapshots of all that was going on. I am excited to get the final pictures !

All 22 grandchildren!!

The Baker Boys and their Sweethearts

There was A LOT of rough housing going on – the older cousins are so good with the little ones. They all had a blast and it kept them busy while the pictures were being taken!

 

Carter and Caleb – only two weeks apart!

My Drew had a BLAST running around with all his “friends” and the “kids”. He is so funny and oh so cute!!!

Andrew and Carter staggered their naps perfectly on Saturday so we could spend one on one time with each of them. Carter napped first and then Andrew. To say Carter loves the water would be an understatement. He is such a water baby!!! Andrew is warming up to it and I am sure he will be a fan by the end of the summer.

After things settled down, all the girls went out to dinner while the boys watched the Lakers game. It was so nice to be able to sit and visit with one another. I am so blessed to have such wonderful sister in laws and mother in law!!! **We went to Wood Ranch and Camille and I split their BBQ chicken salad….divine! It was so good!!!! And to top it off we got peach cobbler. Yum. What a wonderful ending to a very fun filled day!

It was a wonderful weekend. We loved being able to spend so much time with family! The car ride home went pretty smoothly thanks to Baby Einstein, Baby Dan Vinchi. Carter and Andrew LOVE that one. I think we watched it about 6 times through on the way home, but hey – they were happy!

Skidamarink Song

Here is the long awaited video of Drew singing skidamarink a dink a dink.....

He pretty much sings" Winky...I love you...too...boop boopy doo - whoo!" I just think it is too cute!

Wake Up Call

Sometimes I forget that the world does not wake up as early as a mommy of two that has to make her husband's lunch in the morning and attempt to get some work done before the kids wake up. For example, when I call one of my less married and a little more childrenless than I and wake them up at 8:30 in the morning! Not everyone has been up for three hours by that time...whoops.

Also, on two occasions this week I tried to run my errands before the rest of the world was ready for me. I got up early, got all ready, made sure both kids were fed, gathered my lists and my thoughts, made a plan, and headed out the door. I dropped Drew off at school and was ready to put some checkmarks on my To Do List. WRONG! Note to self - the bank, Hobby Lobby, and the mall do not open until 9 or 10 so I cannot try and start my errands at 8:30. That would have been nice to remember before I got Carter all loaded into the stroller and headed into the mall. **sigh** I do think the mall should open before 10. I mean really, that is prime time for a mom to shop with her baby - before the morning nap! Arg.

I am proud to say that I have gotten almost all my errands done for this week and even did the mall by myself last night with both little boys. It went quite smoothly with only one meltdown by Drew after leaving the play place. Needless to say, I was quite ready for the boys to hit to hay cme 8:00 and have a very welcome visit by Shell and Rich. We watched American Idol while Shell gave me a much needed pedicure! It was diiiivine! Thanks Shell!

Drewbish

Andrew speaks a language of his own...which Bry calls Drew-bish. I love the way he talks. This week during speech therapy he was supposed to repeat the word Engineer for the therapist, to which he very cutely replied "Andrew-neer". He said it in his very Andrew way....kind of slurring the word Andrew together with a neer at the end. A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

I'll Take Mine with Lime

"I don't like pickles in my water!"

Just in case you were wondering, Lainy DOES NOT like pickles in her water! We had this pitcher full of water with limes at Carter's party (I LOVE water with lime)....apparently they reminded this little lady of pickles. 

She makes me laugh!

He's Not Zero Anymore

****When Rylee found out Carter turned one.....she responded with "he's not zero anymore". She is so cute!****

OOoooooh I love that face! We had a party for Carter on Saturday with pizza, presents, and cake. Who could ask for more!?

   

To start things off....Jared was SO excited about the cake pops that he popped one right in his mouth. He knew we were supposed to wait, but it was too tempting and to avoid losing his chance to get one he stuck the whole thing in his mouth. The picture is blurry, but rest assured he got the whole cake pop in his mouth!  Jayce found a leaf bug outside, which was pretty cool and attracked a lot of attention. I don't think I had ever seen on before!

   

Carter got some stacking cups, which he likes to bang together. And yes, I bought him a tube of tennis balls. I read somewhere that babies really like to dump them out and put them back in. We will see how true that is in the days to come. He also got some cute new outfits from Grammy and Poppy! 

   

The definite favorite present was the Little Einsteins Rocket toy. Carter was VERY excited about it....as were all the other kiddos. Poor Carter got pushed aside....but that did not last for long. We made sure he got a turn before everyone else. 

He was so cute sitting on there. He was SOO excited. He kept sqeualing and screaming! I can't believe how big my baby is getting. He is doing really well pushing the toy around the house now. We put a 5 lb weight in the seat so that it didn't go so fast. I am sure walking is not too far off. He is just too cute!

The idea was to have a bubble themed party.....well, that didn't quite happen as I had planned, but we did have cake pops, mini cup cakes and other cup cakes, plus a Carter cake. 

    

Carter was not shy when the cake first came down. We put him on a white tablecloth and let him have at it. He stuck his hand right in. He was a little more hesitant once he got messy and I helped a couple times by squishing his hands in. He sure did like all that sugar. 

Andrew was pretty worried about his brother being so messy. He wanted nothing to do with eating that cake. He is such a funny kiddo. 

Carter is so cute when he puts food like this into his mouth. It is more like a shoving motion. I just love his little hands. 

He was done after a little while and wanted nothing more to do with that messy cake so off to the sink we went. Carter is SUCH a water baby. He loves it! He does this thing where he likes to "lap" the water out of the facet. He does this in the bath and now the kitchen sink. It was SO funny!!! His little tongue would seriously lap the water up - he is just too adorable!!!

   

After the party was done all the kids were in the office/playroom playing together. I just thought it was a moment to record with all five cousins in that little room together playing so nicely! It is so fun to have family close by - wish there were more that lived close by!!! After everone was gone Shell stuck around and we played with the boys. Carter loves his little ball toy, as does Andrew. I love this picture of Shell and Andrew. Drew just adores her and loves to play. 

We had a great one year celebration and it is crazy to think a year has already come and gone. Time goes by too fast. I am so grateful to be able to be home and spend time with these two little munchkins everyday. They change and grow so much and I am right here to watch, record, and snap pictures of it all. I could not ask for better kiddos - they are so much fun and give me so much to be grateful for!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Today is a great day, it is a day that I get to celebrate how great of a mommy my wife is! Our boys love their mommy sooooo much! Megan is such a wonderful mother, she plays, teaches, and nurtures our two boys. She is so patient and understanding when our boys give her trouble (which isn't too often). She takes care of all the needs of the house and everyone in this family. She is always putting the 3 of us before herself, in fact many times her own needs are not met because she is so busy meeting ours. I love her so much and I know I speak for our two boys when I say that they love their best mother in the whole world!! It is safe to say that Megan is always shouldering the load of her loved ones and I thought this picture said it all because she does it with a smile on her face (it was from our recent family hike). Megan I love you and I want to wish you a happy mother's day!!

Happy Birthday Carter

At precisely 3:58 pm my baby turned one year old! I am amazed that it has already been a year since they placed a sweet little 5 lb 6 oz baby in my arms....my baby...my little sweet, angel baby. I had no idea what joy his little spirit would bring to our family. I have loved each moment watching him grow and change. His cute personality continues to show each day. He absolutely adores his older brother and has one of the most infectious laughs. He is so curious yet so cautious. He is independent, but still loves to be carried, cuddled, and loved. We waited so long for this little man and I am grateful everyday to have this precious little boy in our lives. 

Here is a little reminder of the road to life for our little miracle baby....

6 weeks 5 days --------------------- 13 weeks
 

11 weeks 3 days -------------- 23 weeks

  

27 weeks -------------------  29 weeks 1 day

 

32 weeks 1 day -------------- 34 weeks 4 days

May 8th, 2008

I made sure to take a picture of Carter on the 8th of every month. It is crazy how much they grow and change in a month's time. He is just so cute and I love him to pieces!

  

05/08/08 ----------------------- 06/08/08

  

07/08/08 ----------------- 08/08/08

09/08/08

 

10/08/09 

  

11/08/08 --------------------12/08/08

01/08/09

02/08/09

  

03/08/09 ------------------------ 04/08/09

05/08/09

(He does this almost everytime I take a picture of him now when the flash goes off. Silly kid - I have to be sneaky these days to get a nice shot of his baby blues!)

Happy Birthday Carter Noble !!!!!