Father and Sons' outing

Aaron and Carter went on a Father and Sons' camping trip a few weeks ago. Carter loved sleeping in the tent. He got up bright and early at 5:00 a.m.! It was super windy but they had a good time and kept the tent from blowing away.

Carter helped Aaron drive down a dirt road. That was the coolest thing to him. They listened to Alan Jackson's song titled Drive, about a boy who reminisces about learning to drive with his dad as a young boy and then passes the legacy on as he teaches his daughters to drive. Now Carter asks to listen to the driving song.

Traffic stopped for an hour and a half on the way home. People got out of their cars and kept each other company. Some folks got a kick out of seeing Carter ride his little bike along the side of the freeway. Someone even generously gave him a matchbox car.

Staying occupied on the long wait.

Swim lessons!

Lily had a refresher course of swim lessons last week. She is a great little swimmer and had tons of fun with her friends.

Nancy was a great teacher. They reviewed the backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, safety bobs, and breathing.

Aren't these girls cute?

This adorable baby hung out with Hazel during the lessons. I just love this photo of her eating her foot! Her mom says she gets this talent from her dad! Too funny!

Enjoying the hard-earned Otter Pop after the lesson.

She lost it!

Hooray! Lily finally lost her first tooth! She's been waiting soo long to lose a tooth. She's so excited! She's been wiggling it for weeks and hasn't wanted Aaron to pull it out. (I couldn't pull it out if she wanted me to. It gives me the willies.) She's cried wolf a couple of times...tricking us that it fell out. So today before swim lessons her friends, Charlee and Oaklee, ran in to me saying, "Lily's tooth is out!" When I went in to see Lily, sure enough, it had come out. Lily was brave and pulled it out on her own!! She is so proud of herself! I think she's pretty cute with that hole-y smile. I think the bottom left tooth will follow soon.

The renowned tooth.

Lily and I made a tooth pillow the other day. She designed a cute little pillow and then we made it together. It has a pocket on it to put the tooth in. Hopefully the tooth fairy will take the tooth and leave some $$ for Lily in return.

About the same time we were making the pillow, Lily asked me if there's really a tooth fairy or if it's her mom and dad. I asked her what she thought. She didn't really answer me, she just said, "I really need to know." So I told her. And then I explained that this is information for her to know but not to talk about with other kids. Just like her mom and dad told her, other kids' parents will tell them. We had the same conversation about the Easter bunny in April. I almost cried after I told her, but she was 100% a-okay with it. In fact, she liked talking to Carter after that, all grown up like, about whether or not the Easter bunny had come to our house yet. I can't believe how this little girl is growing up.

P.S.

Lily woke me in the night to tell me that the tooth fairy came.

Here she is bright and early this morning, with her tooth pillow, moolah, and Lamby.

Now Carter is anxiously awaiting his first wiggly tooth... It may be a while!

Angel baby

This little girl is such a pleasant baby. I couldn't ask for a sweeter, calmer, more patient baby. She's giggly, squishy, and perfect for kissing. She's a perfect package of sweetness and fun.

Late is great!

My mom-in-law and I have something in common: we can't get to the post office to ship off packages in a timely manner. And this time it made for a really fun birthday and Easter celebration yesterday morning!

Carter (and Lily, I might add) loves this Thomas Lego set. It is so much fun!

Who doesn't love Easter candy early in the morning?

Grandma knows what Carter likes!

Grandma chose beautiful new Easter outfits. I loved having something fresh and new for my kids to wear to church. Thanks, Grandma!

I love, love, love when my kids are dressed up nice before church starts. I think I like it so much because with three kids, everything is usually in disarray. ;) In this moment I enjoy the illusion that everything is clean, bright, and tidy!

Happy 3rd birthday, Carter!

Carter turned three! He's been talking for months about his approaching birthday. He knew he would have a Thomas birthday and then he'd be three years old.

Carter is such a fun boy. He's developing a silly sense of humor. He loves to make up words and insert them in silly places in a conversation.

He is very loving. He often asks, "Mom, are you happy?" and if I'm not he tries to help me feel better. Today I was crying and he said, "Let me wipe that tear off your cheek." Then he wiped it right off. He's a sweetie.

He's such a boy! He drives me nuts with how he likes to hit and crash everything into everything else! He's beginning to find gross things hilarious.

He got presents in the morning from grandparents. He is so happy to have Flo. He carried her around for days.

Look, he can drill his nose! How cool!

We went to the train park with one of his little buddies. They rode the train and the carousel and pushed their huge dump trucks around in the sand. He loved it!

Red Robin for dinner!

We had a little party for him the next week. He had quite a go at blowing out his candles.

It took a few tries but he finally got all three candles out!

This little guy makes life fun! I'm thankful he's my boy.

Fun lunch!

What kid wouldn't love to eat these fun lunches?









Mine!!

Carter ate the cheese, threw the meat (you can see it off to the side), gave the pepperoni pieces to Lily, and left the bread. Lily devoured the pepperoni and ate the rice and cheese. She politely told me she didn't care for the meat or the bread. At least she said it politely.