Carter & Olivia

Here are a few pictures of Carter and Olivia at their playdate yesterday.

Awww... nice hugging!

 And a hug back! 

Oh, getting a little more comfortable.... stealing a kiss on the arm!

 Going in for the money shot! Olivia:" Ummm, excuse me?"

You may remember that Olivia was Carter's first kiss last summer. I don't think she was quite as accepting of Carter's advances this time around! HA! Pretty sure they had a ball playing together anyway!

Splash Parks & Pools Galore!

It seems the only bearable thing to do outside these days is play in the water. So that's exactly what we've done.... almost every single day. Here are a bunch of my favorite pictures I've taken of our splash park and pool trips so far this summer. More to come later, I'm sure.

Carter & Gavin

Mason squirting his friends!

Silly guys

Lunch break!

Enjoying his pool in our backyard

 Practicing his new skills he learned from swim lessons.

He's no longer afraid to go under... and look, he's kicking his feet, too!

 Kicking through the water on his kick board.

 So serious.

Boys' Weekend

I thought I'd post a few pictures from tthis past weekend really quick. Eric took Carter and went to his parents' since they were keeping the boys. What did Mommy do, you ask? Well, I chose to sit this one out and stayed behind for some "me" time! I had a really fun lunch and did some shopping with 3 of my sweet mommy friends from our playgroup. Then got a bunch of errands run... so nice to be able to do those without a 2 year old in tow! Later I met one of my best girlfriends, Emily, for dinner and a chick flick! Great day to myself!

Back to the boys... they had fun playing outside and tiring themselves out! The plan was to camp in a tent outside, but I think Eric changed his mind about that once he realized 1.) It would be him alone in a tent with two 3 year olds and a 2 year old and, 2.) It was going to be REALLY hot. But even without the camping part, I know they all had a blast!

Fun times in the pool

 Water slide!

 Cuties having a snack!

 Look at how blonde Carter's hair is! Love my little summer surfer boy!

 Taking a walk down to the lake

 Grandpa, son, and grandsons

All snuggled up watching a movie and ready for bed.

From what I understand, all three of them at some point ended up in their own beds for the night.

Guess they'll have to try "camping" again some other time!



Take Me Out to the Ballgame

20 weeks.... Half Way There!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:

20 weeks!

Size of baby:

About 10.5 ounces and 10 inches long, head to heel. Comparable to a banana!

Total Weight Gain:

Gain of 9. Did good the last 2 weeks, only gained 1 pound!

Maternity Clothes:

Still wearing the shorts, but no shirts yet.

Gender:

A girl... yay!

Movement:

Lots of movement. She is definitely more active at this stage than I remember Carter being. I actually saw her kick through my belly on Sunday, and then Eric finally felt her kick on Monday! Very neat!

Sleep:

Still just OK.

Symptoms:

Haven't had a headache since the last update! Yay! No other symptoms to report. :)

What I miss:

Definitely sleeping on my stomach

Cravings:

Sweets.... ice cream in particular. And Starbucks frappacinos.

Best Moment this week:

Eric feeling her kick and of course, officially settling on a name. Miss Ella Reese!

What I am looking forward to:

Carter getting to feel her kick, too.... hopefully soon!

It was about this time when I was pregnant with Carter that I stopped taking pictures of myself. It's not that much fun watching yourself get fat! But, I'm hoping to do better this time.

20 weeks pregnant with Ella - June 2011

 And can't forget big brother!!

Conversations with Carter

If I've said it once, I've said it 1,000 times. This child cracks me up on a daily basis with the crazy things he says and does. One day a few weeks ago he was in a particularly silly mood while he was eating lunch, so I pulled out the camera and recorded our interactions.

Really, where does he come up with some of this stuff? Guacamole?? And I love that I was able to catch his prediction of a baby sister on camera before any of us knew. :)

Starting Summer Off Right

So summer is here, and we are officially in full summer mode. Swim lessons started last week. Carter is doing well with them, although he was a little reluctant at first. Also, we've already taken several trips to a few different splash parks in Frisco and to our neighborhood pool. This weekend, since we had absolutely nothing on our agenda (that was so nice!), we spent quite a bit of time at the pool and playing in the water in our backyard. Eric took this picture on Saturday night while I was bathing Carter. This kid wastes no time getting a fabulous tan. And his hair is already starting to bleach, too. It's insane to me that he can get that much sun even through several coats of SPF 50. He's a lucky boy!

Lots of summer fun to come, I'm pretty sure!

Baby Girl

On Memorial Day, my mom and I went shopping and picked out a few (I promise, just a few!) things for this little girl. These were our first purchases for her. I know she will get so much because everyone loves to shop for little girls, so I'm trying to control myself... but I think we did good! Can't wait to play dress up with her! And thanks to Nana for the new clothes!

ALSO.....

We have decided on a name for this little girl, and we figured it was time to share. Carter has already taken to it. He refers to her by her name or "baby sisser" most of the time, which makes me really happy. For some reason, once a name is chosen, it just makes it feel that much more real. Soooo, her name will be....

Ella Reese Beckman

 

I know she'll be here before we know it!

No, No. Yes, Yes.

Carter's favorite book right now is No, No. Yes, Yes. It's a really simple and cute book that teaches right from wrong. And Carter can read the whole thing by himself. I love that he recognizes the pictures and pairs that with words. Also, I've heard him several times relate real life situations back to this book, which I find amazing at just 2! For example, when he is tempted to stick his fingers in his nose, he'll say, "No, no... don't pick your boogers!" Or when he colors, he'll say, "Don't color on the wall, only paper!"

Anyway, here he is reading his book to me. Hopefully you can understand him and see the pictures to follow along.

Carter's First Rager Game

Carter had so much fun last night, and so did we! Can't wait for the next one!