Baby Turtle and Baby Ducks

The kids and I made a plan to go feed the ducks at the pond near our house this morning. I decided to get some exercise in, so they rode in the stroller while I took the long way there. Glad I did because we ran across a tiny baby turtle crossing the sidewalk right in front of us! We had made it to just across the street from the pond, so I'm guess that is where he was heading. Look at this adorable little thing! I almost ran right over it with my giant stroller, but I'm glad I saw it and we were able to play with him for a few minutes. The kids just thought it was the cutest thing they'd ever seen!

 

Once we made it around to where all the ducks were, we noticed there were two separate Mommas with their ducklings, probably about 10-12 ducklings in all. They were so small and fuzzy!

 We fed them lots of hot dog buns, and they ate them up!

 This white bird had no hesitation just walking almost right up to us. Freaked Ella out for a minute.

Fun morning with these two!

Things to Remember, Plus Recent Cell Phone Pictures

I wanted to write some things down here for us to remember. And I have tons of cell phone pictures from lately to share. I think I just need to do a weekly "Cell Phone Picture" post. We've certainly been keeping ourselves busy enough to have plenty of fun pictures to share on a weekly basis, so maybe I'll dump them here once a week! 

• Ella is constantly saying "this is the best day ever!" when she's having fun. She probably says it every day, and it makes me smile every single time.
• Memorial Day morning Carter felt the baby kick for the first time, two times in a row. He said, "Wow, you were telling the truth!" I'm not sure if he thought I was fibbing about the fact that the baby kicked me or that there was a baby in there in the first place. And he also said, "I almost had happy tears when it kicked me the second time."
• Ella spent the night with Nana and when she got home that afternoon, evening, and the whole next morning the kids played and played so nicely and silly together. Lot's of laughing and silliness. I could tell they missed each other. They both said so. 
• We (Eric, Carter, and I) are in a habit of calling Ella "Ella Reesie" as a term of endearment, so she has started calling herself that. It really cracked me up one day when I heard her call Carter "Carter Reese!" Carter got a good giggle out of that, too. 
• We also sometimes call Carter "Carter boy" and our dog Stormie, "Stormie girl." One day when we dropped him off at school recently, I heard from the back seat, "Mommy, I miss my Carter boy." So cute. And then just a few days later, we visited Eric at work and had lunch with him, and when we said goodbye and got in the car to head home, she said to me, "Awwww, I miss my Daddy boy." I love the cute stuff she comes up with.
• I love how Ella says the word "something" right now. She'll say, "Mommy, can you get me STUMPIN to drink?" or "I hear STUMPIN!"

Just a fun 'auto awesome' of me and the kids winding down for bed one night. We've had a lot of fun taking turns piling into one of their beds each night for story time. Ella always loves it when it's her bed too.... the novelty of that hasn't worn off yet.

 Precious kids snuggling together

 Watch out because Ella can now operate the water guns!

 Early morning sleepy head came down on her own and climbed in bed with us. We now have a light up clock that tells her when it's ok for her to get up, because she tends to wake early. We have a 7 o'clock rule around here ;)

 Helping Mommy cook!

 Cutie pie slept in one of her big brother's t-shirts!

 Carter and his team lining up to bat on game day.

 Lucy came to play one evening while the boys had t-ball practice. Fun girl time! 

 ChickFilA selfie.

We were all up early and decided to head there for breakfast and playtime one morning. Pardon my sleepy face, as this picture was taken about 7:30am. :)

 But, we got more than an hour of playtime in the play area by ourselves. They loved it and played hide-n-seek over and over.

 Oh, there is a 24 week bump sighting.These last 6 months have flown!

 Carter spent the night with Nana and Eric and I took Ella on a date. Two carousel rides, a trip to the Disney store and the bookstore and a dinner date at Cheesecake Factory with cherry cheesecake for desert.... she was one happy little lady! Eric and I cracked up when she told us she wanted to eat at the "Cheese Factory." Sounds about right for her.

 We've been in full fledged swim lesson mode this week, plus spent a lot of extra time at the pool afterwards since we're all already in wet suits. It's only Wednesday, and we've probably been in the pool a total of 12 hours this week. Eric is down with the kids now for round #3 of the day. We love summer!! Carter and I are brown, Ella smells like sunscreen 24/7 even after a bath, and it makes for some pretty great sleeps for all of us!!

Eric and I are looking forward to celebrating our anniversary this weekend!! And I'll be sure to dump cell phone pictures again next week sometime!

Carter's First Catch

Carter caught his first fish at Grandma & Grandpa's! Then proceeded to catch several more after the fact. (I think this was the first time he was actually patient enough to truly "fish"!)

Eric and Carter each with their first catch. 1985 or '86 and 2014.

Ella enjoyed time with Grandma and playing in the water!

Carter's Last Day of Pre-K and Graduation

Carter is officially a Pre-K graduate! He finished up the year at his wonderful school, and they had a little Pre-K graduation ceremony that was adorable! Here are some pictures from his last day.

 Off to Pre-K for the last time!

 And for comparisons sake, his first and last days in Pre-K. It's amazing how much they change in just 9 short months!

 With little sis.

 And look at this one! I love it!!

 Carter said, "Hey don't forget to take Ella's picture, too!"

 Here is Carter's class getting ready to process in for the ceremony.

 He was very serious during the whole thing, but I did manage to capture one proud smile!

All the graduates said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang a few cute songs first.

 Walking in again, but this time with caps and gowns and to a graduation song. So adorable.

 So serious. He said he was excited and happy, but just feeling shy. Ha, that's my boy.

 Walking across the stage.

Receiving his diploma and about to do his bow.

 His entire class and their teachers.... he is hiding here, top row, second from the right.

And the entire graduating class of 2014! 

Carter is front row and just off center. Can't miss that yellow collar!

There is a happy smile!!

 With his sister....

 .....and of course they had to make silly faces!

 Family pic!

 Carter and his best little buddy in his class, Mason. They are two peas in a pod. Carter is going to miss him so much. We are already planning summer playdates!

And Carter with his wonderful teachers, Ms. Christina & Ms. Pamela. 

What a blessing they have been to Carter this year!

It's hard to believe that he is off to kindergarten soon. We have been incredibly happy with his school this year, and we are glad to be staying there next year, as Ella will start preschool two days a week. 

We are so proud of you Carter, and look forward to many more milestones just like this one!