Splash Park Playdate with Gavin & Devin

On Friday, Carter and I met up with Eric's mom and our nephews to play at the splash park and have lunch. The boys had a blast, as always!

Carter & Devin.... Gavin on the far right!

 They couldn't decide... playground or splash park?!

 Love this picture of Carter & Gavin!

 Three silly boys!

 Some action shots!

 Last but not least, Carter & Mommy at lunch.

Thank you, Cindy, for taking these and sending them to me!

2 and 1/3

I wanted to document some of my favorite things Carter is doing right now, especially since I haven't in a while, and I know they will all be changing soon!

• He is talking, talking, talking! I mean, obviously, he has been for a while, but I'm still blown away by some of the things I hear him say, and definitely the things he picks up! He just sounds so grown up most of the time with his choice of words and phrasing! I love it!
• He has an impeccable memory. This makes me very proud.... he gets this from me, for sure! He remembers details so well. I love nothing more than to hear him talk about something that happened a while ago, or to have him surprise me with an answer I thought surely there was no way he'd remember.
• He loves, loves, loves the Rangers! He will actually sit down and watch a game with Eric. He loves watching them bat, and especially hit. Any hit of course is a home run to him. I love hearing him say things like, "Oh, he caught it!" or "Strike, you're out!" And he loves Josh Hamilton! When he hits the ball, he'll say, "YAAAAY, Josh Hamilton!" And he actually recognizes him when he is on camera. See, I told you... memory. He spends a lot of his time in the car, in his bed, or just as he is playing chanting "Let's go Rangers!" or "Here we go Rangers, Here we go!" Seriously. He does it so much that the chant gets stuck in my head! I know this will be something that he and his Daddy bond over for many years to come, and that warms my heart! I'm sure it will be the same with the Cowboys once football season starts again.

• He already seems to love his baby sister. He talks about how when she comes out she will cry a lot, sleep a lot, get lots of diaper changes, how he will give her lots of hugs and kisses and snuggles. I really think he is doing a good job of understanding what all this means. He knows she is "coming out in October," and he knows to be gentle around Mommy's tummy because we don't want to "hurt Ella!" =)
• We are getting ready to make the transition to his big boy room! He's getting a twin bed and all new furniture so we can move his stuff into Ella's room. We already have his mattress, and he loves playing on it... he knows it's his "new big boy bed." I am excited about this, and I think he'll do well with the transition, but I'm also a little nervous too.

• He has gone through a challenging phase lately. Fortunately, it's been MUCH better the last two weeks, but for a few weeks there, I was pretty tired and desperate for a change! It is really nothing more than the typical "terrible 2s"... lots of fits, yelling NO!, and just generally being defiant on purpose. It's been hard trying to figure out the best way to deal with him, and Eric and I both have had to experiment a lot with finding a way to discipline him that he seems to respond to. Every day is getting better, so we are thankful for that!
• He is still loving the pool! I got him a puddle jumper to wear, and he adores it! He jumps off the side, loves to go under, and kicks his feet constantly in the water. I can see him really being a little fishy next summer after he learns a few more skills.
• We still have a lot of play dates and try to spend as much time with friends as we can, but we have definitely slowed down lately. This heat is brutal, and running around 7 months pregnant with a 2 year old in tow is not always fun. So, we have been a little more home bound lately than normal, but I guess that is just preparing us for what it will be like once Ella gets here.
• All this playing at home we've been doing, I've noticed that Carter is really getting into pretend play. Mostly with his cars and trains, but sometimes with his play food in his play kitchen. I love hearing his little imagination run wild when he's playing. And I'm so grateful that he plays so well independently. It allows me to be able to get things done, or just rest.... which I have been doing A LOT of lately!
• I put Carter on the scale this week, and he currently weighs right at 30 lbs.
• We are starting to talk and think about potty training a little bit, but in all honestly, it's not really on my radar all that much. I just feel like with the transition to a new big boy room, a baby sister coming, and all the changes our family is going to face over the next several months, it would benefit us ALL to give it some time, and revisit the issue closer to the end of the year. We are prepared with tons of potty books, a few potty seats, pull-ups, and some other potty training tools though, just in case he really shows a major interest anytime soon. But for now, we are content to wait. =)

28 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:

28 weeks, as of yesterday

Size of baby:

About 2 1/4 lbs, and almost 15 inches long, the size of a Chinese cabbage.

Total Weight Gain:

18 pounds... I'm going to try to keep it to 35, total. We'll see.

Maternity Clothes:

Still just shorts!

Gender:

Still a girl.

Movement:

Tons of movement. Sometime painful too.

Sleep:

Some nights I sleep great and then others I sleep horribly. I remember by this point with Carter, my hips were killing me at night. I guess just having all my weight on one of them all the time caused that. But so far, luckily, that hasn't been a problem. Just have a hard time getting comfortable.

Symptoms:

Hello back pain! And my feet are starting to swell a little too. Last week I noticed that I'm having more labored breathing also. FUN!

What I miss:

Sleeping on my stomach, not feeling so winded and tired all the time

Cravings:

I've had a few random cravings lately. Chicken fried steak (I had this one with Carter), onion rings, cheeseburgers, and my most recent has been a root beer float

Best Moment this week:

The house came off the market, and I made some much needed progress in Ella's room. Specifically the closet. We are moving the queen bed and dresser out this weekend, and will be moving her nursery furniture in there very soon!

What I am looking forward to:

Some sweet friends and family are throwing me a very small baby shower on August 21st. Can't wait to see everyone and gawk over the cute baby girl stuff!!

No picture this week, sorry. Just didn't get around to it. But I don't think I look a whole lot different from the last picture anyway. Next one! =)

House Update

You may remember that back in October we listed our house for sale. After 9 1/2 LONG months, we have reached the end of our contract, and are officially off the market. We had probably about 30 showings, lots of great feedback, and one offer/counter offer that turned into another higher offer (in May) that we ultimately decided was still too low and we declined. It has been really hard for us competing with the builder in our neighborhood, and I know that is ultimately what caused us not to be able to sell. That and the crappy real estate market. :( It's been a long and frustrating process, and I'm actually glad it is over... for now. Of course we're disappointed that we couldn't get it done this year, but we are also totally at peace with it right now. With our growing family, it will definitely be a tight squeeze in this house for another year or so, but we are happy with the fact that, financially, this will put us in an even better position when we do re-list, sell, and buy again. Not to mention the fact that the neighborhood is so close to being completed, that we're hoping the builder will be out of here next year when we try again. If that's the case, hopefully we can sell fairly quick. So our plan is to spend the next few months preparing for Ella's arrival, settling into our new life with 2 children in the fall and winter, and get the house ready to try again in the spring. Hopefully we can sell next summer, but only time will tell. Like I said, I am SO glad to be done for now, because I have been itching to get Ella's room ready. Yesterday was our first official day off the market, and I have already gotten her closet cleaned out and the furniture in that room ready to be moved out! Feeling better already! Anyway, just an update for those of you keeping up with us. Wish us luck when we relist in the spring. And, if you have any great realtor recommendations, please send them my way!

Family Trip to San Antonio

We have never taken a trip with just the three of us, so were really excited to get an opportunity to go on a vacation before miss Ella comes in October! We figured San Antonio and Sea World would be perfect, and it certainly was! We stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country, and it was wonderful! I would definitely recommend this place to any family visiting San Antonio. It's SO family oriented! They have a lazy river you can float down in tubes, a beach area, a marshmallow roast at the large campfire each night, a movie night on the lawn on the weekends, and it was about 3 minutes from Sea World. Perfect! Anyway, here are some pictures from our trip.

Carter and Me hanging out by the lazy river... our first day there.

 Having fun on the playground!

 Day 1 at Sea World!

 He loved the aquarium!

 Not a huge fan of all the shows, but we tried! He sat through about the first 5 minutes of each, then it was time to go!

He loved all the seals! 

 Feeding the ducks

 Cooling off with Daddy

 Daddy's turn!

 Splash park time!

Great day to end our first day!

 Hanging out in the room before heading to dinner.

 Day 2 at Sea World... it actually rained on us, and felt wonderful!

 More seals! He got to feed them this time, and he loved that!

 And he fed the dolphins, too!

 More ducks!

 Showing off his new Shamu!

 Look at him cuddling Shamu while he napped... how cute!

Picture Catch Up

I've sort of been slacking on taking pictures and definitely slacking on getting them posted lately. Here are just a few random pictures I've taken this month.

Still having fun in the water!

 Carter and his buddy John enjoying the pool one day.

 Mmmm. First corn on the cob, and he loved it!

He was so cute laying on the couch one day just playing so quietly, so I snapped a quick picture. That look reminds me of myself..... a lot. I think my parents will tell you they have tons of pictures of me, especially as a teenager, with this same look on my face. Annoyed. "MOM?! What?"

 Love that smile!

 Playing at the Safari Park today with some buddies!

25 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:

25 weeks

Size of baby:

About 13 1/2 inches, and about a pound and a half.

Total Weight Gain:

Gain of 15 pounds so far.

Maternity Clothes:

Just the shorts.... no shirts yet. I'm hoping to not have to buy any maternity shirts this time around. I know that sounds crazy, but I still have lots of room to grow in my normal tank tops, and I have bought a few shirts recently that are just one size larger than I would normally buy. I think that will get me through. Yay!!... because maternity stuff is expensive, and not very cute!

Gender:

Still a girl.

Movement:

Lots of movement, especially from 8pm-12am, and early in the morning.

Sleep:
Still just OK.

Symptoms:

Feeling pretty good!

What I miss:

Sleeping on my stomach

Cravings:
Not much that I can think of.

Best Moment this week:
I'm still loving to watch my belly jump and move all around. She is one active little girl!

What I am looking forward to:

Honestly, our house coming off the market. It will officially be off on August 1st, after 10 LONG months! I'm feeling antsy about starting on her room, and I can't do anything until we are no longer having showings. And plus, I am SO done with this process! ... for now anyway.

25 weeks with Ella
July 2011

    

4th of July Weekend

We had a great holiday weekend! Hope you did too!

Here are some pictures from our relaxing time at the pool and our trip to see fireworks.

Jumping to Daddy

Swimming with Grandad

Dunking his face in the fountain

Just us three

Silly!

Hanging out waiting for the fireworks to start

Not too many picture of just us these days

And this is all I get? =(

"Watching" fireworks with Daddy. This picture makes me laugh! So we had this suspicion that Carter would be absolutely terrified of the fireworks. Before they started, I said to Eric, "Hey point up in the sky like you're looking at them, and I'll snap a picture real quick...." So he did. Well, we were right, Carter was totally freaked out, and spent the whole 15 minutes with his head buried in Eric's lap. It was pretty pitiful. I have a picture of that too, but for the sake of embarrassing my child (and my husband), I'll just post this one =)