Thursday, June 12, 2008

First Time "Visitors"

Last week Sam had some training in Houston so the kids and I decided to go to College Station for the week. We had a great time while we stayed at my mom's house, and I don't even think that we drove her too crazy! However, it was hard juggling doctor's appointments and trying to make time to see friends. There are several things we didn't get to do while we were there, and a couple of people we weren't able to get together with due to scheduling conflicts. However, it was a great week and we look forward to going back.

Carter loves playing in the water. He would beg us to "turn on the water" almost every day.
One of the dogs deflated his soccer ball so he decided to make it into his new hat.
Ally likes to eat...as you can tell from the pictures! She has also discovered how to get all of the food onto the floor by "cleaning" her tray!
It doesn't appear that Ally is enjoying herself in this picture, but I promise she did like the pool. This is the only picture I could find to post where her swimming suit wasn't falling off her shoulders!
Carter absolutely LOVED going to the pool. I just wish that I could sign him up for swimming lessons. I am sure there is a pool somewhere around us, but I haven't found it yet. I am also hesitant about taking both kids swimming without another set of hands.

One of Carter and Ally's favorite things to do is ride in the wagon at GaGa's house. I had to take this picture quickly because after about 20 feet of pulling Ally, Carter decided it was too hard.
Carter looking for Fletcher, the cat my mom somehow managed to adopt from my brother. Carter thought it was fun to carry him and tackle him, and believe it or not, Fletcher let him do it!
Ally riding in the wagon. We went for her 9 month check-up while we were in town and the stats speak for themselves: 20.7 lbs (75th percentile), 30 inches (95th percentile). If she keeps at this rate of growth, she is going to surpass Carter by the time she is one!
Another picture of Carter (and Shiner) searching for Fletcher. I would let Carter bring him home if we didn't already have two fat, and lazy, cats of our own.
GaGa got the kids a little swimming pool for her yard, which they played in a lot since it was just too hot to do anything else. She also invested in a small *"playground" for them to play on when they come to visit. Ally loved swinging in the bucket swing, and Carter loved everything else! It didn't take him long to learn how to scale the rock wall and ladder. I think that my hair turned a little grayer every time he climbed up! I don't know what I am going to do when he actually becomes a teenager!
*Carter calls the swing set his playground!

Christmas in June

This is what our yard looked like this morning at 10:00 am.
This is what our yard looked like at 12:30 pm!

Friday, May 30, 2008

Not Another Bow!




I was trying to get some good pictures of Ally to post when she decided to take her bow off. She doesn't do this very often, and I just happened to be armed with a camera at the right time. The pictures do not do the bow incident justice because I was laughing so hard at her trying to put it back on her head that I couldn't click fast enough!
Ugh...for some reason it won't let me upload the rest of the pictures. I'll try again later so check back.

Ms. Prissy


Ally has really started to show her personality lately. Although she is happy most of the time, there are those moments when she gets upset and she is NOT afraid to show it! She has one of the best smiles, and her laugh is contagious. Although she will only be 9 months on June 4, she thinks that she is a big girl. She will now only eat table food, and preferably the food that we are eating. Don't even think of trying to feed her, especially with a spoon, because she will have nothing of it! She shows her displeasure by pouting her lips and turning her head so that you cannot reach her mouth, sometimes hiding her face by pressing it up against her high chair! Sometimes I worry what she will be like when she is two if she is already acting like this!


One of the best things about Ally are the snuggles she gives. She loves to give out "baby hugs" and "sugars." I can only hope that she will continue to do this as she grows.

No, she isn't crawling, but why should she? She has a big brother that loves to get her things that she cannot reach, and a mommy who usually doesn't mind carrying her. At times I am ready for her to start moving, but then I really think about it, and decide that it is good thing that she is taking her time developing this skill!

Some of Ally's favorite things, in random order:


1. Carter

2. Mommy

3. Daddy

4. Gaga

5. Cheerios/Puffs

6. laughing at Carter when he makes silly noises

7. swinging

8. playing with all of Carter's toys

9. being outside

10. going shopping (ok, not yet, but I'm hoping that it will be one of her favorite things soon!)

11. playing peek-a-boo

12. being tickled

13. bath time
Just like Carter, Ally has taught me so much in her short life. I can't imagine life without her, and I love her so much. I can't wait to see what God has in store for my two beautiful children!

Friday Picnic




We didn't have much to do today after we found our local post office, so we decided to have a picnic on the back porch (after Carter asked if we could eat lunch at the zoo like we did yesterday). It wasn't too hot until the end, but I think it bothered me more than the kids. Carter thought it was really cool that we got to eat outside!

How Could I Forget???

I can't believe I forgot to list some of the most important things on Carter's "Favorite Things" list!!!

Here they are:

1. Gaga & Grandad
2. Bubba
3. baseball
4. reading books
5. Texas Aggies

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Mr. Independent




"I do it by myself" are words that I have been hearing a lot lately. Not that I mind, but sometimes I still think of Carter as a baby, which he doesn't really appreciate anymore! All of the sudden, he has gotten so big! I cannot believe that he will be three in 6 short months!

Some of Carter's favorite things, in random order:

1. trucks
2. tractors
3. the zoo/animals
4. pizza
5. working with daddy/using tools
6. Ally
7. getting to watch movies
8. playing outside in his "big backyard"
9. eating hash browns from McDonald's
10. Gaga's house

He has taught me more than I could ever teach him, and I love him more than he will ever know!