His very best friend!!

Carter just absolutely, without a doubt, loves our dog, his Duh-gee, Sampson more than life itself. And Sampson loves him too! They play; well Carter plays and Sampson seeks cover. They share crackers; actually Sampson just snatches the crackers right out of his hand but Carter just laughs and grabs for another. They get so excited at the mere sight of each other; Sam wags his tail and Carter grins from ear to ear. So, it was no wonder that when we went on a family walk the other night that Carter just had to hold the leash....he even tried his very hardest to fasten it to Sammy's collar. And although Carter was attempting to walk Sampson, I believe it is Carter that got walked by Sam. Either way, they both loved playing outside with their very best friend.

Did I mention Carter loves to eat??

And still he remains tiny but his appetite is HUGE!!

And according to him these Graduates by Gerber are the best!

He loves them so much it requires the use of two spoons!!

Graduation in the Windy City

Yea!! She did it. Baby Ashley has graduated from Harrington College of Design in Chicago! She has worked so hard over the past couple of years and we could not be more proud of her. To help her celebrate, our entire family headed up to Chicago for her big weekend. It wasn't only her graduation but her 21st birthday as well. If you look at the first picture, by the way she is holding her diploma, it looks as if the night before was a little rough! JK....do you how completely nerve racking it must be to be standing up in front of 1000 people getting your picture taken. Who has time to worry about if they are holding their diploma correctly?! Oh. Also, for those of you who do not know, the studly looking guy with her is Gustavo... too sweet!

All of us take a few minutes to pose with the new grad!!

On Sunday, we took advantage of being in Chicago and did a little sight seeing. First, we went to Shedd's Aquarium. Carter had a great time looking at all the fish. He even got to see a scuba diver in one of the aquariums talking about the sharks and stingray!

How cool!
Below is a picture of my favorite...the freshwater stingray. I could not get over the fact that it had markings on it that resemble alphabet letters. Notice the C, S, O, G. Just amazing! This particle type of stingray is found in the fresh waters of the Amazon....think it could survive my pond?!?

Before our trip to Chicago, we decided to get Carter a smaller stroller so we wouldn't have to lug around his huge travel system. Well, as you can see below, Carter preferred a completely different mode of transportation. The use and abuse of just a few of his favorite people!



What a cute picture of us with all of our kiddos in front of the Chicago skyline!!


Mommy and Carter at Buckingham Fountain

Grant Park, Chicago

Here are daddy and Carter playing with their reflections in the bean at Millennium Park!!

Keaton's Baptism

Keaton Charles von Buchler, our Godson, was baptized at St. Barnabas on April 26, 2008. Here he is being sprinkled with holy water by Father Jim. Keaton, the poor thing, just screamed the entire time until Father Jim while singing, raised Keaton up to present him to the church. At that time, Keaton must have been so calmed by Father Jim's singing, that he stopped screaming for a few short seconds. What a moving experience! Of course, all eyes were filled with tears.

Below, Keira and Carter are completely intrigued by the Baptismal Font just prior to the service....they act as if they don't recall their own shared baptism just one year ago. Time flies!

Look how cute they are all dressed up!!