Halloween 2009

Halloween was a lot of fun this year! I have had a fireman costume for Carter since he was born and it was going to finally fit him this year. However, he had different plans. He actually had an opinion on what he wanted to be. He wanted to be a bumble bee. I think he got the idea from one of his friends at school. Well, it turns out his friend wanted to be Bumble Bee from the movie Transformers. Carter has never seen Transformers nor will he for quite a few more years but he had his heart set on an actual bumble bee. So, I went on a hunt for a bumble bee costume that wasn't too babyish and wasn't made for a girl. I finally found one at Target and got one in his size and one in Preston's size. They were the cutest bumble bees! Liam went dressed as a ghost. I have an infant bee costume but it was too hot for him to wear it.

We started the festivities with Trunk or Treat at our church. It was the first time for us to go to anything at church since Lian was born. So, it was nice to see everyone and for people to meet him. Carter and Preston certainly got their share of attention too. Carter would tell people that he really wasn't a bee it was just a costume for Halloween. So cute!

After the Trunk or Treat we headed back to our house with MiMi and Ken. John and I took Carter and Preston trick or treating down our street while MiMi stayed home with Liam and passed out candy. Preston walked the whole way and his little legs were tired by the end of our block. He loved every minute of it though.

Carter and Preston doing the cake walk with Aunt Vickie

Greeting the trick or treaters.


Preston checking out his loot.

Pumpkin Carving

John and the boys carved this years pumpkin last night. We used the biggest pumpkin of the three we got at the pumpkin patch last week. But the biggest pumpkin was still a pretty small pumpkin. Carter and Preston both had fun. Carter doesn't like to get dirty but Preston dove right in. We had to watch Preston carefully because he tried to eat it. We included Liam in on the fun but he slept the whole time in the bouncy seat.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Bill Bates Ranch Pumpkin Patch on Sunday. We have been every year for the past 3 years. It is about an hour away from our house but it is worth the drive out there. They have sheep, goats, chickens and a long horn. You are given a cup of food that you can feed to the animals. The problem is there are so many people out there that the animals are very full and don't really eat. Carter loves looking at all of the animals though. They also have a hay ride which we did last year but chose not to do it this year. We let Preston out of the stroller and let him run around. He had so much fun and loved picking up the small pumpkins. We tried to get a picture of all three boys but that is proving to be very difficult. We did manage to get someone to take a picture of the 5 of us and it turned out pretty well!

July 4th

We celebrated July 4th over the span of a couple of days. Wylie's city fireworks show was on Thursday, July 2nd and this was our second year to go. Carter has been talking about it since we went last year, even though he hid and didn't even watch the show. Every time we drive pass the high school he mentions, EVERY TIME! He was super excited to go again and I bought him ear plugs so it wasn't too loud for him. He seems to have super sensitive hearing and the loudness is what scares him. One of Carter's friends, Hannah and her mom, met us there. We have continued on with one of John's traditions in that we brought popcorn with us. Carter and Hannah shared popcorn and had a great time! Preston seemed to like the show too. There were a couple of booms that scared him but he had a good time.

Then on Saturday, July 4th, we had our 3rd Annual 4th of July BBQ and Homemade Ice cream party. We had a house full! Bill and Beckie, my mom and Ken, Robert and Vickie, Grandad, and Paul and Brittany. John grilled hot dogs and we had pasta salad and watermelon. Then we made homemade vanilla ice cream. Bill and Beckie bring over their ice cream maker and everyone takes turns cranking it. Sure, we have an electric one but it is a lot more fun when everyone cranks. This has been my second year in a row to be exempt from cranking due to pregnancy. We did do it inside this year which was a huge plus! The ice cream was so good and is my favorite part of the day!!

- Carter sitting on top to hold it down while others cranked

- Carter cranking

- Papa getting Carter his ice cream

Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day at our house this year. This is John's 4th Father's Day!! John's Mom and Dad came over as well as Grandad. John grilled hotdogs and sausages, Beckie made her yummy egg salad and I made a cheesecake with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream. It was a great lunch!

I didn't know what to get John for Father's Day so I thought long and hard. John has always talked about his greatest memory as a kid was going fishing with his Dad. So, since John already has his own fishing pole, I took Carter to Walmart and let him pick out a fishing pole for himself. It was a gift for John so that he can now create memories of taking his own boys fishing. He seemed to really like it, although Carter couldn't keep it a surprise.

My cheesecake with berries. I kinda screwed up on the whipped cream and it almost turned into butter! :)

Baking a Cake for Grandma's Birthday

Carter and I baked a cake for Grandma (John's mom) on Saturday. Her birthday was on Sunday the 14th but we celebrated with her on Saturday the 13th. Her favorite cake is carrott cake and Carter loved the idea of baking a cake for her. While we were at Wal-Mart getting all of the ingredients he told everyone he could about how it was his Grandma's birthday and he was going to bake her a cake. He had a lot of fun and even pulled up his stool to watch it bake. I learned from this experience that I am definitely not made to be a cake decorator! I had fun but can't ice a cake to save my life! It did turn out pretty tasty though. I hope Grandma enjoyed it!

Mother's Day 2009

Every year John plans Mother's Day for his mom, my mom and myself. He manages to keep all of the details a surprise until the day of. This year we went to the Warick Melrose Hotel in Dallas. It was beautiful. The hotel was absolutely beautiful and the brunch was amazing. They had a kids buffet with pasta, peanut butter and jelly and chicken fingers. However, Carter would rather eat shrimp and crab! I don't think he even touched the kids food.

Carter was such a big boy. He was so good the whole time! In his words he is "the best Carter in the world!" I couldn't agree more!



We are very fortunate to have both John's parents live here as well as my parents. It is so enjoyable to spend such a special day with both of our moms.



It is so nice to get to spend Mother's Day with my mom every year! She is my best friend!

The Grandmothers loved the presents that Carter made for them. I let Carter pick what he wanted to get them this year. We were driving and I asked him what he wanted to get for his Grandma and his MiMi and he thought for a minute and said "a horse puzzle." It actually took me a little bit to figure out what he was saying because it was so random. However, I obliged and I drew a horse on a piece of foam craft paper and let him paint. I let him choose the colors and everything. I then cut the horse into a puzzle. He was so proud and the Grandmothers loved it. We also made a flower with hand prints of both boys which turned out great too.