Monday, December 31, 2007

All I want for Christmas....

well, the song just says "two front teeth". It doesn't really specify which two. So, Carter at 9 1/2 months finally got three teeth within a week of each other. It started with one on top, one on bottom and then the other bottom popped through. Now he is working on the other top tooth!Bring on more big boy food!!


On Saturday before Christmas, we along with Shawna, Don and the kids, went over to Granny and Papa Bob's house to celebrate with them since we couldn't see them on Christmas. Granny made all of us girls these beautiful Christmas Trees that must have taken her weeks to make. We absolutely love them!! I actually placed mine near our Nativity Scene and it was so pretty that I considered leaving it out all year.....I didn't but I cannot wait to use it again next year!


Shawna, Keira, Tyler, Shaelyn, Me and Carter with Granny!



Christmas morning at mom and dads (aka Nana and Papaw) house always calls for the annual picture on the stairs. We took one of all of us and we filled the steps from top to bottom. We are starting to outgrow their stairs so next year we might just have to get one of only the kids like the one pictured above. Notice the three babies in their matching jammies...how cute!!



Carter just loved opening gifts...for a little while at least. His attention span was about as long as his legs...short! He really enjoyed all the bright shiny bows and the sound of the paper as he would oh so slowly rip them open. Carter also loved how easy the packages would slide across the floor with the wrapping paper on them. He uses everything and anything as a mode of transportation or walking device. It won't be long until he is walking on his own!



Little Miss Ceili and her boa from her dress-up clothes! She just loves dressing like a Princess and a Princess she is!



Shae and her new sewing and knitting machine! I cannot wait to see what she makes!


Tyler showing off his new Cars Bean Bag Toss!


Hey, you kind of look like me. Same size, same PJ's , nearly the same hair! The two cuties, Keira and Carter, sporting their matching PJ's while playing with Carters new Choo Choo!



Christmas Eve after Mass and before our Chinese dinner with the Auntie Holly, Uncle Justin, Auntie A and Nana and Papaw. We missed having Shawna and Don there! Shawna would always cook a HUGE dinner after Mass but this year was a little different. Since she has moved and Holly is pregnant we decided to go simple and order out Chinese and munch on holiday snacks...it was fun, yummy and nobody had to spend the entire day and night in the kitchen!



Of course, a Mennel Family tradition continues into our own home...the Christmas morning stairs picture! Here is little Carter eagerly waiting at the top of the stairs....the tree is at the bottom and he can already see that Santa has brought him a few new toys!



Oh, all the toys! Which should I play with first? Carter went from toy to toy to toy trying them all out for a few seconds at a time. The choices were overwhelming and wore him out after about 15 minutes. All that assembly the night before and in a flash he was over it and ready for a nap. Still it was oh so worth it and oh so sweet to watch him discover all his new toys! After presents, the three of us enjoyed Moms Coffee Cake made by yours truly and had a wonderful Christmas morning together before we headed down to Tennessee.


The Wynberry's Stair Picture (do all families do this?)


Carter loved his very 1st soccer ball from Aunt Traci and Uncle Tim but I think he loved playing soccer with Patrick even more.


Straight out of the movie, A Christmas Story, Jack is enjoying his bunny costume just a bit too much. He was such a good sport and surprised the family several times by putting the costume on and running through the house....it was hilarious. Far more funny than we could have ever imagined.


Just the boys: Patrick, Carter, Alex and Jack

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Christmas times a coming....

and it just wouldn't be the same without snow. Carter loved standing at the patio door watching the snow fall so we decided to bundle him up and let him experience it first hand. He loved it.... until he fell over and couldn't get up! Below Carter is measuring the very first snow before his very first Christmas....too bad it warmed up and now it is nearly all melted. There is more to come I am sure!! OK yes I realize that his coat has a hood attached so why bother with the silly hat...well if you must know, the coat is only 6-9 mo but his little head measures more like 24 mo....so need I say more, he has to wear a separate hat. It's cute though, right?


Carter has really enjoyed our Christmas tree. The first couple weeks it was up he would just crawl right by but now we cannot keep him away from it. He absolutely loves the train that daddy bought him to go around the tree. He will just sit there and watch it go around and around and every time it makes the bend coming towards him he gets all excited and laughs so hard he nearly falls down. It truly is so sweet to watch him get so excited every time!

He has also discovered that his little red chair is just the perfect size to push over to the tree, reach the ornaments and look at the lights.

Just a few pictures I thought some of you might enjoy! We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas filled with love, family, and moments to remember forever!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

A few more...

of our fun-filled, family weekend! Since we were all in town we decided at the very last minute that we should take the babies to Santa that way Nana and Papaw could witness their excitement first-hand. Just check out Carters face...it says it all!!

Actually, it wasn't that bad. He did fine with Santa except every couple of seconds he would turn his head to look at Santa and the tears would start again and again and again. We just couldn't keep from laughing. Poor thing...he was such a good sport and these pictures are priceless.

Here are Carter and Keira cruising around the living room. They had so much fun playing together!! It was so good having them at the house and watching the two play together...they are going to get into so much trouble someday together! Carter was teaching Keira how to walk with his walker....she was a pro by the end of the weekend. We kept saying, "If only she could teach him to talk" well....Monday night, Carter started saying ba-ba-ba-ba-ba at the dinner table. Soooo cute!! Thanks Keira!
Over the past month Carter has really taken off walking with his little walker. He just absolutely loves it and it provides hours of entertainment daily! He is getting so big. Between him starting to eat big boy food and learning to walk, I fear that my "baby" days are numbered. Every time I turn around he is learning something new! It is hard to believe that nine months has already gone by so quickly. At his appointment the other day Carter was 29 3/4 in long (90th %) and 17 lbs 12 oz (10th %)...so he is long, lean, and healthy as can be! Dr Hodson said he looked great and that she said she would see him for his 1 year check-up....1 year, can you believe it?!?

Monday, November 26, 2007

Happy Turkey Day!

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was so nice being able to spend time with family and reflect on all that we have to be thankful for not only today but everyday. What a blessing it is to have good health, great friends, and a happy family! Just a few pictures of our little man being such a big boy! Here he is eating cheese and green beans on his very first Thanksgiving!! A few more of his big boy favorites include: wheat bread, cooked carrots, carrot souffle, mashed potatoes and any things else he can feed himself!!
On Friday, we continued a Mennel Girls Family Tradition by starting the day off with a little Early Bird Shopping. This year, Carter made the trip too! I know it sounds crazy but hey he wakes up that early everyday, why not take him along. So, with Carter in his Santa hat and PJ's, we shopped 'til we dropped. Then we all met up for dinner before the annual Indianapolis Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony downtown! It was so much fun taking Carter to see something that I have always enjoyed. I hope in years to come that he will enjoy it as much as I have over the years.


Us and our babies! Holly, Ceili, Shawna, Keira, Jamie and Carter! We just wish Ash, mom and dad could have come along. Ash had a school project she had to work on so they stayed behind to keep her company...I guess there is always next year!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Around the house!

Over the weekend, Matt and I were busy at work getting the yard and house ready for winter. You know, mowing the lawn one last time, trimming bushes, cleaning windows...that kind of stuff. Well, I had just cleaned the windows and was starting to cook dinner when I looked up to see Carter standing at the back door just watching Matt cut the grass. It was the sweetest thing. Carter must have stood there for 5 minutes just turning his little head from side to side watching Matt mow the yard back and forth! I finally got Matt's attention and Carter was so excited to see daddy walk up to the door and play with him through my freshly, streak-free, just been cleaned window pane. Oh well, glass looks so much better with tiny little hand prints on it anyways....it's the sign of a happy home!


Like I said, we have been busy around the house. Here are a few of Carter's new favorite things to do. He loves finding my cabinet where he will personally inspect each and every piece of Tupperware before he so gracefully dumps it onto the floor and then he is off to bigger and better things! Carter also has a new obsession of crawling over to the dryer and playing with all the clothes inside. He especially enjoys when the clothes are still wet! Who would have thought that the best toys are never bought, they are simply things that have been there all the while just waiting to be discovered by two little hands and the eyes of a child.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Just a few more!


Just a few more pictures of our little Punkin's 1st Trick-or-Treat!


The three of us enjoying a nice fall day, taken by my dear sister Holly!


Just another one of our lovely costumes!!



Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!

Matt and I thought long and hard about Carter's 1st Halloween Costume. We had a costume party to attend and since he isn't quite walking yet and we had to hold him most of the night, we thought his costume should compliment ours. Who am I kidding, he was the whole reason we did the costume!! So, Matt and I dressed up as pirate's and he was our little Parrot! He was just too cute! He loved all the feathers and he would get really exciting and start shaking his legs and flapping his wings...I mean arms. I spent hours preparing his costume and it was so nice to hear a three year old say "He's a parrot!" All that hard work payed off...he was a hit!!


The three of us before our costume party debut!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

A day with the cousins!

This past weekend Auntie Nawna (my sister Shawna), Uncle Don, Shae, Ty and baby Keira all came in town to visit! Auntie A (my sister Ashley) came in from Chicago as well. It was so nice to have all of us sisters together and even better to have all the kids together at such a fun time of year! Saturday morning we packed up the cars and headed to Watermans Orchard to pick out pumpkins; this is the orchard I remember going to as a child to pick strawberries! It was really neat being able to have all the kids there together. They had a blast walking through the field to see if they could find the "best" pumpkin. As you can see, Carter picked one nearly double his weight and far to heavy for me to carry, so a photo will just have to do!
Above: Keira 9 1/2 mo., Shaelyn 9, Ceili 2, Tyler 5, and Carter 8 mo.


Carter and his Nana in the Watermans' barn! He does love her to pieces never mind the grouchy face...it was nap time! And yes, I know we are missing a shoe. If you have ever had a 8 month old you will know that it is impossible to keep those on their tiny little feet.

On Saturday night, we all ventured up to Conner Prairie to see the Headless Horseman. We took the kids on a haunted wagon ride where they got the fright of their life, okay so not really but it was really cute and the kids enjoyed so much they wanted to do it again. While at Conner Prairie, we also listened to ghost stories around a campfire, walked through a field of scary scarecrows, had kettle corn, and apple cider....all the signs of a fall festival.


Nana and Papaw with Carter at Conner Prairie.
By the way, Carter just loves this little bear hat. When we were trying it on at the store to see if it would even fit his big head, he got really exciting and starting kicking and laughing....we just had to buy it! I think he likes how soft it is, or who knows, maybe he wishes he was a bear for Halloween. Sorry, no bear costume this year...stayed tuned to check out his costume!

Monday, October 22, 2007

The Pumpkin Patch

On Friday, Matt took the day off to hang out with Carter and me....the weekends are just too busy any more! So we took advantage of our day together and took Carter to his very 1st Pumpkin Patch at Huber Winery. It was wonderful. There was a chill in the air, the leaves were in color, and what more could we ask for, there were tons of pumpkins to be picked! Above, Carter is posing for a few pictures on the tracker and the pumpkin wagon. He got all the ladies attention while we tried taking these pictures. They were passing by saying, "Awe, look at him", "Look at the baby", "Isn't that cute!". Of course, Carter just smiled and took it all in! What a sport!

So here we are picking out his pumpkin! Carter just loved it! At first he was more interested in the grass, the leaves, the vines and then he finally discovered that if you tap on the pumpkin it makes a sound. He was all smiles for the camera after that!

Carter standing next to the giant Huber Orchards Measuring Stick out in the field. We thought it was a cute way to show how tall he was at his first pumpkin patch experience, but on closer examination, the ruler is a little off. It says he is only 2 ft tall, but really he is 28 inches. Oh well, it may be a little off but the concept was still cute! We had so much fun spending the day at such a beautiful orchard. Now we just cannot wait to get home and carve those pumpkins! More pictures of that I am sure!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Look at me!

I'm sooo BIG!!


From sitting, to standing! Over the past week, Carter has been trying his hand at pulling himself up. He has gotten so good that he feels confident enough to let go, turn and smile at whoever is there to watch...not so fast, the smile is usually followed by a quick fall to the floor. It is so neat to watch him learn new things. He just tries so hard and then when he finally gets it he just smiles and gets all excited. And of course, Matt and I cheer every time! Yea, Carter!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Hangin' out and having fun!

"Hey Ladies"
Here are just a few pictures of Carter hangin' around the house! Enjoy!

Well, this isn't at the house, it's a park, but he is "hanging" out just the same. He absolutely loves to swing!

Carter has become quite the mover over the past couple weeks. The other day I caught him climbing through the bottom of his Exersaucer. I kept trying to move him away from it because I didn't want him to get hurt but he would just keep going back over to it until finally he made it through to the other side! He has continued to perform this trick daily and even did a show at Nana and Papaw's house in their Exersaucer!


Daddy and Carter reading Carter's favorite book You're My Little Love Bug! OK, so I really think that he just likes the lights and music that go along with the book, but I love the story, so we will just call it our favorite!


If we cannot seem to find little Carter anywhere we just check under all the end tables, it is his favorite place to crawl. JK he is never out of sight, but he does love those tables!


Carter has mastered the skill of sitting and so he has moved on to conquer the sippy cup!


Carter eating at the highchair for the very 1st time. He likes the chair, hates the bib, loves the food, but I love that little smile even more!