Wednesday, July 30, 2008

If Looks Could Kill

I was trying to organize some pictures on my computer when I ran across this picture of me pregnant with Ally at this time last year. Just looking at it makes me uncomfortable! Notice the flip-flops...nothing else would fit on my feet by that point. Needless to say, I was miserable. Now I know why I still have the "Ally belly!"

A Rare Occurance

We got about 30 minutes of rain tonight, which is a true blessing considering we haven't had any all summer! It has rained all around us in the last couple of weeks, but unfortunately our house always seems to get missed. We were actually outside debating if it would rain when it started down pouring, so we sought shelter on the playground until we could run inside. Carter and Ally enjoyed watching it out our front door until it stopped.

What We've Been Up To Lately

We took Carter and Ally swimming a couple of times while we were in College Station. The water felt great, and both kids loved going! In fact, Carter keeps asking when we can go back!
We always love spending time with Uncle Bubba. I am so happy that he loves my kids and they love him!
Carter learned how to jump off the side of the swimming pool, so as you can see, someone else wanted to do it, too! It amazes me how much Ally wants to do everything Carter does!
My mother-in-law took us the kids to the Children's Museum. It was the first time for both of them, and they both enjoyed it. Carter loved playing with the trains.
Ally and Nana playing at the Children's Museum.
Nana and Grampa Chris (Sam's parents) really wanted to take Carter out in the boat while we were in College Station. He was excited about it until Grampa Chris pushed it in the water. He wouldn't even go near it after that!I thought if we let Ally play in the boat it might inspire Carter to get in it, too. No luck!
My mom got back from Rome in the middle of July and stayed with us for two nights since she hadn't seen the kids in three weeks. We were nice and helped her recover from jet lag by taking her to the zoo in the middle of the summer!
GaGa was nice and bought Carter an ice cream while we were at the zoo. He thought it was really cool to eat ice cream while we were at the zoo. It was a good thing we convinced him to eat it inside!
While we were at the store one day I found a package of Flav-Vor-Ice. I used to love those things when I was little, and I think my kids love them, too!
Don't worry, Ally didn't eat the whole thing herself...Daddy helped.

We made a trip to College Station last week to spend some time with family and friends. It was great to go back, even though it went by too fast and we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to see. We will go back in two weeks to await the birth of Carter and Ally's cousin, Connor. We then head to Ruidoso in the middle of August for a visit with my dad, and return the first week of September just in time for Carter to start school and for Aggie football! It is hard to believe that we will be celebrating Ally's first birthday during all of this traveling...where did the time go?

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Summer in Texas




It is officially hot here, and we have been busy trying to beat the heat by staying inside as much as possible. Of course, that makes for some long summer days around the Noynaert house. I knew we were in trouble when Carter started complaining that it was hot, and begging to go inside after only 10-15 minutes outside! I am counting down the days...I mean hours...until we leave for Ruidoso in August.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Wrestle Mania




Perfect



Today I got a package in the mail from my sister-in-law's mom. She made Ally some letters that match her bedding to hang over her crib. I think they look perfect! Thank you Linda and Rebecca!!!

Mommy Time




I signed Carter up for a two week summer session (every M/W) at the preschool he will be attending in the fall so that he would have something unique to do for a few days. He loved it, and has already asked to go back! Ally and I got to spend some time together while he was at school, which was really special for me. I even let her eat spaghetti-o's for lunch! It was fun hanging out with my sweet girl, although we were glad when it was time to pick Carter up...it was just too quiet around here!

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy 4th of July!!!

Carter "sawing Varsity's horns off" at the restaurant.
We had an exciting, fun-filled day! We attended our neighborhood parade this morning with our neighbors, went swimming with some friends, went to a 4th of July event in town, ate at a new restaurant, and shot off a few fireworks in our yard! The kids had a blast all day, even though it was really, really HOT!!! Needless to say, we are all tired and are looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Just Another Day

Carter has started to smile on cue...I mean after several threats...which often includes a big smile with his eyes closed. I was fast enough to catch this smile with his eyes half open! Notice that he likes to wear his glasses like Daddy wears them!

Ally is crawling more and more each day, but at a much slower pace than I expected. I guess she figures that she has taken this long, what's a little longer? When she gets mad she sits up, kicks her feet and flaps her arms like she is about to take flight . I keep reminding her that she knows how to crawl, but she likes to remind me that she is a DIVA and is not going to do it! I am worried about how she is going to act when she becomes a teenager...oh the drama!

Carter and Ally woke up from their naps at the same time today. After getting Carter out of bed, we went in to get Ally. Carter kept insisting that he needed to get into Ally's bed. When I finally gave in, he gave her a hug, told her he missed her, and then told her he loved her. Ahhh! If only it was like that all the time! This picture is actually a re-creation of the original brother/sister love fest.


One of Carter's favorites things to do help daddy water the plants (can you tell?). Tonight this turned into 30 minutes of playing in the sprinkler in the front yard. Ally was in the house helping me clean the kitchen (aka crying because she wouldn't crawl), so we went outside to see what the boys were up to. As you can see, she ended up getting undressed as well. At first we kept her where she would barely get wet...
but it didn't work!


The night ended with Carter and Ally taking a bath together. Monkey see, monkey do!