Hittin the woods

for a 2.8 "rugged" hike with a 3 year old may not sound like much fun....but what can I say, the child loves to hike and the scenery was almost as beautiful as those who accompanied us.

getting hot

having a blast

and cooling off!

Keaton, Carter, and Ceili all sporting smiles despite the heat

Matt and Justin showing off their boy toys!

Indianapolis Childrens Museum

Last week when it was nasty and rainy I decided to take Carter and Keaton, one of my favorite little godsons, to the Children's Museum. Here are just a few pics of the blast we had.

Carter and Keaton loved seeing Bob the Builder!
Carter takes his turn at the drawing table very serious.

And then it was off to the Barbie exhibit, which I tried to avoid like H1N1 since they are boys and there were like a million little girlies running about screaming but the boys insisted that they don little green tutu's and give it there best of the runway.

Then it was off to something a little more masculine....like race cars and dinosaurs.

Keaton and Carter "stealing" dino eggs from anothers nest.

The best of buds!!
I have a feeling that this is one of those photos that will melt my heart for years to come. I love these two boys and I love the friendship that they have with one another and it makes me smile when I think of all the trouble they will one day get into together.

Finally

At 2 years we tried fruit loops in the potty....that didn't work. At 2 1/2 I tried food coloring in the potty and decorating the potty chair with Spiderman stickers....that didn't work. At 3 years my pediatrician told me to just let him tell me when he needed to try...well, as you can imagine that didn't work either. Since about January of this year Carter has been telling, "mom, I go potty in 5 weeks". Right, that didn't happen either. But last Sunday, when I went to change his pull-up Carter said, "mom, is today 5 weeks?" Umm, yes Carter, today is 5 weeks. And well, that is all it took. It has now been 8 days, only 2 accidents, and our little guy is all potty trained...just like that. Wow, I never new it would be this easy!

and of course, he gives it a big two thumbs up!

Ahoy matey

For the last couple of months Carter has been asking to sleep in a pirate bed. So for his 3rd Birthday Matt decided to surprise Carter and build him his bed. So after a few months of it taking up space in the garage and a few different stain colors later, finally Carter has his pirate ship bed and he couldn't love it more!

above Carter gives us a helping hand as we finish the mast and sail!
Awe, I just love the way it turned it! Matt worked really hard on it and i think it is just beautiful! He even made it extra special by adding a trap door so Carter can have a secret hiding place all decked out with rope lighting and some of Carters favorite toys. There is even a reading deck so Carter can sit up front and read or play or steer his ship!

And those are the faces of a daddy and his son who love each other dearly!

Rainy days and mud puddles

Rain, rain please don't go away,

little Carter loves to splash and play!

The day has finally come

when my little guy can finally play soccer. Well, sort of. We have finally, after two years, found a soccer clinic for three year olds. If you know Carter, then you know that he has been practicing soccer since the day he learned to walk. Ever since I can remember he has kicked a soccer ball around the house and out in the yard. Even last summer I caught him playing on his computer and I asked what he was playing and he said "I signing up for soccer mom". Too funny! Well, anyways....here he is! Our little soccer star!

Ok, so maybe the entire outfit is a little over kill for a soccer clinic for three year olds but how do you tell your son that he cannot have soccer cleats and shorts when he has been wanting them for so long. So yes, we got him all decked out and he thought he was the coolest thing around!
and he is running, eye on the ball, form looks good

GOAL!!

Carter gives soccer his signature two thumbs up!!
(sorry the above pic is a little out of focus...I hate when that happens to a cute photo)

So after his little practice we took him to "celebrate" at his favorite ice cream place as he calls it "Basketball Robbins"!

(and yes that is Matts beloved Bronco in the background.)

Happy Easter

Hope you all had a very Blessed Easter!

Above, all the kids have fun egg hunting at Nana and Papaws!

Can I just say.....I love my family!!

Shawna and Don and their good lookin' crew!

Holly and Justin and their two little cuties!

It wouldn't have been Easter at our house without getting Carter a little chick. This year he decided to name the chick "chickenhead"....I don't know where he comes up with the names but once he decides on a name, there is no changing his mind!

After spending the morning at church and then mom and dads for lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon at a park flying Carters kite and bug catching! It was such a beautiful day and I was so happy that we were all able to be together to have fun, rest and hang out!