Halloween

This was Carter's first year to trick-or-treat. He was such a big boy. We trick-or-treated in Midtown with some friends. Carter was the youngest little one trick-or-treating, but he hung in there really good. He walked right up to the doors and said, "Trick-or-treat." He also found that if he said it more than once they would give him candy every time he said it. Carter didn't want to trick-or-treat the whole time. After about one street, Carter wanted to ride on Daddy's shoulders and just eat the candy. We came to one haunted house and Carter said, "No get candy. That scary!"

We also took Carter to Zoo Boo, which was so much fun! There was candy, rides, live scarecrows, singing pumpkins and even Dracula's disco for dancing. Carter loved ev

ery minute of it.

The Sat. before Halloween, we just had a festive night at home. We baked cookies, carved a pumpkin, listened to Halloween music and watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

Carter Turns 2

My big, little man turned 2 this past weekend and I don't know how to feel about it. On the one hand, I feel proud to have such a big boy and I love that he is so easy now. On the other hand, time is passing too quickly and I feel like he is getting too big too fast. I love him so much and he has blessed our lives beyond words.

We had a tractor themed party at my parents' house for him. They have the perfect location for a party. It was great! Carter seemed to have a blast even though all he really wanted to do was to play in the dirt with his new tractors.

Also, to all you moms out there who already have a 2 year old, why didn't you warn me not to have a 2 year old party. I mean if I had realized that the party would make him realize he was 2 and therefore the strong willed attitude would appear, I never would have told him he was 2. haha

Here are a few pictures from his big day.

Crazy, Silly, Wonderful

Crazy, silly, wonderful and free
That’s my baby
That’s how he makes me

Bright blue eyes
Hair that’s white as snow
A heart full of love
That only a mother knows

Eyes the gateway to his soul
He make us complete
He makes our family whole

Spit kisses, tight squeezes, and chatter non-stop
My husband and I we are so blessed
How lucky are we
That’s our little mess

Carter and Daddy Play Guitar

Country Boy

My little boy loves music and he loves to dance. Here is just a little peek at what our day is like. The boy has skills!

Carter's First Carnival Rides

Carter's friend, Rowe, had his birthday party at the Kiddie Carnival in Athens, AL. It was great! This is the first time that Carter has ever ridden rides and he loved them. Carter even brought a date, none other than the lovely miss Lila. We carpooled to the birthday party with Lila and her mom and dad. I guess it was like a triple date :) Carter loved the cars the most. We had a hard time getting him off of the cars to go home. He loved the rides so much he wasn't even interested in cake. No doubt, he is our child!! (there wasn't any doubt anyway, but here is more proof). Here are the pictures.

Ain't Nothin Like the Summer Time

We are having so much fun already this summer. We have spent tons of time with friends and in the water. Carter loves it! You will see when you look at the pictures .

As you can see, we have made the most of these first few weeks of summer. These are pictures of Carter at his friend Stephen's house and at the Bridgestreet sprinklers. That is Oreo all around his mouth in that one picture. Well, I hope you have enjoyed this little sneak peek into the beginnings of our summer.

Carter Gets Glasses

These glasses are prescribed by the world renowned Dr. Potato Head. These are very special glasses that are designed to help the type of visual impairment that Carter has specifically. Carter's visual impairment is located just below the nose and in the mouth area. Dr. Potato Head said that the cause could be constant verbalization. He did say that this should not effect his future as the drummer of a rock band. That was good news! Keep in mind not to laugh when you see the pictures as it is not nice to laugh at children in Carter's condition. Enjoy!

Carter puts these on all by himself. For some reason, whenever we play Mr. Potato Head, he likes to wear the glasses. At least he is not trying to wear the high heels!

Best Friends

Here are just a few pictures of Carter and some of his friends. These are the kiddos that he spends most of his time with. Their families have become like family to us.

Top: This is Carter with Abby and Andrew. He calls Abby "Babby" and he can't really say Andrew yet. He tries, but it is just a bunch of sounds. They spent the night with us a few weekends ago. It was so much fun. I could tell Carter thought he was such a big boy and that I had thrown a slumber party just for him. We went to the Botanical Gardens, played outside, got lemonade from Chick-fil-a, watched movies and read lots of books. Carter and Andrew stayed up in his room for a long time just playing and talking. I think Andrew may really be able to understand him.

Middle: This is Carter and Ian. They are like brothers. They see each other a few times a week at least. Carter gets so excited when he sees Ian. Carter calls Ian "EEEEE" and Ian calls Carter "Ca-Ca". We are working on that. They play ball and wrestle. Ian is almost exactly a month older than Carter. They really have grown up together and been a part of each other's lives since day one. Ian came to see Carter in the hospital when he was born.

Bottom: This is Carter sharing a drink with Lila. Lila is about three months older than Carter. They have been hanging out and sharing baby sitters since the beginning. They love each other so much. They kiss and hug lots when they see each other. That use to be all they did, when they first learned to kiss. Now, Carter is not as much into the kissing but just as much into Lila. We see them every Tuesday night, and every time we turn into the neighborhood Carter starts yelling, "Lila" and laughing.

Well, this is just a little glimpse of some of the friends in Carter's life. He has a good life with good friends and lots of people that love him.

The Beginnings of Summer

First, I want to start off by showing a picture of our landscaping and garden. Adam and I are so proud to have actually done something this year on our own!! We usually wait for my dad, because I mean, who wouldn't wait when you can have a professional help you. This year we decided to show some initiative.

Here are Carter and Stephen on our way to UAH. Stephen's mommy, Cheryl, and I took them for free shaved ice and live music.

As you can tell by the huge smile, Carter had a great time. There are more pictures from this day on facebook. Carter danced and ate green apple shaved ice. He even found some sticks and used them as drum sticks. That's my boy. He and Stephen ran all around the trees and dug in the dirt. Needless to say, by the time we left they were exhausted. Both boys cried the entire wagon ride back to Cheryl's house. They kind of took turns. I guess they didn't want to interrupt each other. Such polite little boys!

Carter's 1st Bloody Nose

So the title is a little misleading. The bloody nose is really just a scratch on and below his nose. Still, it is the first time he has fallen and come up bleeding. Carter was playing chase with some kids in the cove and when the little girl tagged him, he lost his balance. The really bad part was the he was on a little hill so the fall was even bigger. He kind of fell and then slid a little. He had the scrape in his face and then one on his knee. He was just a trooper. He only cried for like 5 seconds. After that he jumped down and went back to playing chase. I think I had a harder time with the fall than he did. I jumped every time it even looked like he was going to lose his balance. I am really having to learn to let go a little; he is going to fall and it is going to be okay. Here are some pictures of his boo-boo.

Trip to Nana and Pappy's

I took Carter, to Tupelo, for a couple of days a few weeks ago. We had not been there since Christmas, which is the longest we have ever gone. As you can see by the pictures, Carter had a blast. Nana and Pappy spoil him rotten along with all the great grandparents. I mean what are grandparents for, right? Carter got to stay up late, play on the playground at the mall, ride the carousel, eat ice cream at the Dairy Cream, play the piano and go see the ducks. Carter is so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents and great grandparents. I say Carter is blessed, but really Adam and I are blessed too. When we visit grandparents it is such a refresher for me and Adam, because they do so much of the work for us. We get a nice little break. So, thanks Nana and Pappy and Gigi and Papa. We love you guys!!!

Smoothie Fun

So, recently I have been making Zone smoothies for breakfast a lot. The smoothie consist of frozen raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, almonds, plain yogurt or milk, vanilla protein powder and sometimes a little cinnamon. A couple of months ago, when I first started making these smoothies, Carter had just learned to drink out of a straw. He thinks this is the best thing in the world. So, a few times a week Carter and I will have an egg, scrambled, and our smoothie. He loves this. It is his favorite breakfast by far!! Well, up until recently Carter always just let me hold the cup while he drank from the straw. He is now becoming mister independent and wants to hold the cup himself. Most of the time I semi-let him hold the cup. By this I mean he holds it, but I keep my hands right there and make sure he doesn't tilt it too much or too fast or drop it. This morning Carter was extra persistent in holding the cup all by himself. So, I decided that I would just let him do it and see what happened. Take a look at the pictures to see what happened!!

Once he had smoothie all over the table he started trying to spell his name. He was using the straw as a pen and dipping it in the smoothie like ink. He would scribble something and say "C". Then, "T" and "R". He know the letters just not the order they go in. Pretty smart, if I do say so myself.

Easter 2010

This is Carter Easter morning. My mom had gotten Adam and me something for Easter and that is what you see Carter running for first. We were laughing because his pile of stuff was so much bigger and he chose the smaller one. I also got a kick out of watching him eat peeps. He was not a fan. He didn't seem to like the way they stuck to him.

This is Carter's first Easter egg hunt. He did not quite grasp the idea that you are suppose to get the most eggs. He was happy with his first egg once he found out there was candy inside. Needless to say, while all the other kids got like 30 or 40 eggs, my little man found an amazing 9. He had a blast and we had a blast watching him.

I want to end this post just reminding everyone that the only reason we even have to celebrate is that we have a RISEN SAVIOR. Thank you God for sending your Son, not only to die, but to be risen!!! The difference in our God, the One True God, and the many other gods that people worship, is that the One True God is Alive!!!!!!

How great is the love that the Father has poured out on us that we can be called the children of God!