Carter's Birthday Celebration

Carter is now three! For his birthday, he wanted to go fishing and to the zoo. So Thursday night, Eric's parents came and we all went fishing, had birthday cake, and opened presents. We had a great time fishing. The boys loved it and they even caught something! Isaac got two catfish and Carter got one. It was so much fun I think we'll try to make an effort to go more often. Friday, on his birthday, we went to the zoo with his buddy Matthew and then he got to go to Nana's and spend the night so that Eric and I can celebrate our anniversary today! Happy 7 yrs to us!

The guys walked away for a second, but I think I got it all under control!

This was the biggest one. The other two were just babies.

Papa and Carter were playing unicorns, but Carter moved his hat up right when we took the picture.

Carter had wanted a fish cake for his birthday because we were going fishing, but then when we decided to go to the zoo, he wanted a zoo cake. He's very thematic! I had a lot of fun making it and I think it turned out pretty good!

His friend, Matthew, has been SOOOO excited to give Carter a knight set for his birthday. After Carter opened it, we found out why. He said, all excited, "Now you don't have to wear my knight stuff, Carter!" Matthew's quite the problem solver!

Carter and Matthew are some pretty serious map readers. They knew just where they wanted us to go!

Ashlyn

My friend, Polly, came over and took some pictures of Ashlyn. These are just a few of my favorites!

You can never get on the floor in my house without Carter thinking you're a horse. While I was trying to get Ashlyn to smile, I made the mistake, as I often do, so here is Carter extremely pleased with himself because he knows this drives me crazy!

Isaac's Kindergarten Program

Isaac had his first program on Tuesday. We didn't know if we would make it or not. Earlier that day the nurse sent him home from school with pink eye that he didn't have (and I never thought he did)! I guess you can't be too careful? We did make it and he did GREAT! Cutest kid there, of course! I took pictures and a video clip to post, but Ashlyn pulled my camera off the table and it broke on the cafeteria floor. I don't know how it survived my sister Cari dropping it in the ocean, and not a baby, but oh well. Guess I'll have to buy me a new one!

Carter is all geared up for his birthday celebration. Eric will be gone on his birthday (Friday), so we are starting the festivities tonight and then carrying them over to tomorrow. Don't worry, you'll get a full report!

I can't leave him alone with Ashlyn for a second!

Just enjoying the pool awhile longer!

Ashlyn and Polly

Person with a heart beat...Manequin...what's the difference?

Eric got to do his first intubation yesterday. We are always laughing at the trust that these poor people put into medical students. As this lady was drifting off to sleep, the anesthesiologist leaned over to Eric and whispered "Have you ever done one of these before?", to which Eric replied "Only on a manequin." That was good enough for him and the rest is history! :)

How about some applesauce?

Ashlyn just started eating baby food a couple of weeks ago. I try not to give my babies fruit too soon so that they'll still like their veggies. She's not wild about rice cereal, but will tolerate it. She loves oatmeal, but since I have a huge box of rice cereal, I decided to get a little crazy and go ahead and mix some applesauce in it and see how she liked it. It didn't go over so well, but I blamed the rice cereal and decided to get REALLY crazy and just give her straight applesauce. I was feeling like a cool mom giving her a special treat and was waiting for my smiles of praise. The rice cereal was NOT the problem. I guess we won't have any issues with fruit taking the place of veggies. Sweet potatoes, please!

She's not crying here. This is just the most disgusted face she could muster! Of course I had to keep shoving it in because I thought it was funny!

Cake Decorating

A couple of my friends and I signed up for a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby. It was a lot of fun! I think I mostly enjoyed the couple of hours a week to myself. Here are a couple of my cakes. I'm practically a pro! :) They have two more courses, but I think I need to wait awhile. My family has had waaaaaayyy too much cake these last couple of weeks! I'm all set for Carter's birthday next week, though!

(Carter's fingers found their way into the cake before I could take that picture, and as you can see, Isaac's finger is on its way!)



I had one more cake, my final one, but it was pretty sad. I must have been out of my groove...I didn't even take a picture!

On the move!

Ashlyn is officially mobile. If I sit and watch her, she appears slow, but it's amazing how quick she can be as soon as I turn my back! Isaac is okay with it. He already had to deal with Carter. Poor Carter is beside himself. Stolen dinosaurs, broken fences, wrecked CandyLand....How much can one little boy take? Unfortunately this is only the beginning!

After we put Carter to bed tonight, I heard him playing around in his room. He wasn't coming out, so I wasn't willing to investigate. Apparently he couldn't decide which toy he wanted to sleep with. Can you even find him?

Eric is with some friends having a "guy's night out." They're celebrating the end of their first rotation. He finished Internal Medicine and starts Surgery on Monday. He always has great stories to tell when he gets home. Hospital life is pretty interesting. I think he tells me some of the stories just to show that there actually are people out there crazier than me! He loves working with the patients, and although there is still studying and test taking, this year is MUCH better than the other two!

Ashlyn's Bumbo is quickly losing its effectiveness. Her little legs aren't chubby enough for it to hold her tight, so she has gotten really good at maneuvering in it. This morning at breakfast she was watching Eric eat (from her usual "queen of the world" spot) when she decided that she just had to have some. Daddy thought he was safe, her being in her Bumbo and all, but she's smarter than we give her credit for. She twisted herself around, reached her little foot down, and started to push, Bumbo and all, herself towards Eric. He happened to be done, so he gave her a "Ha!" as he cleared his place and left the table. Now what to do? Carter was the only one left at the table and he was out of hand's reach, so she stretched her foot out again, only this time to land right in the middle of his cinnamon roll. She's getting closer and closer to crawling. I'm going to have to baby proof my house like I've never done before!

Carter made a bird's nest out of mud and rocks and leaves at preschool yesterday. Today he needs eggs to put in it. Rocks aren't eggs. Playdough isn't eggs. He needs real eggs. The kind that baby chicks come out of, naturally. Whose great idea was it to make nests?

PTO and Bunko

I went to my first PTO meeting tonight! Isaac's teacher had mentioned to me that their wasn't very much parental support in this school and she wasn't kidding! They had their "biggest turnout ever", which totaled 5 moms on top of the Pres. and Vice Pres. I left there with a new title, PTO Secretary, and also with a free 30 min. massage. Small numbers make big chances to win door prizes! The meeting wasn't anything like I ever imagined PTO to be, so this should be an interesting year. After PTO, I rushed off to Bunko. I joined "the Alliance" which is a group for wives of med students and residents. They have different meetings every month, and this one was Bunko. It was really fun and they had great prizes, too. Too bad I didn't win any! The Alliance also does playgroups, scrapbooking, volunteer work, etc. I'm trying to stretch outside my comfort zone, but of course I have to take a friend with me!

This could quickly become an addiction! I have had so much fun today looking up other people's blogs. Where have I been? The funnest is seeing so many old friends and all of their adorable children! I always feel way out of the AZ loop, but suddenly I feel apart again! Who needs to fold laundry? I have blogging to do!

Ashlyn's 6 month Checkup

Ashlyn had her 6 month checkup today. She weighs a whoppin' 13lbs, 11 oz. Eric and I were just laughing last night about how chubby her little legs are. I guess they're not as chubby as we think? She is 25 1/2 in long and her head is 16 1/2. She is in the 40th percentile for head and heighth, but only in the 10th for weight. She has been miserable with a cold yesterday and today, but apparently it's nothing to worry about. She braved her shots as best she could. She was much tougher this time than last time. Overall, we have a healthy, happy baby girl!

(I'm using this for a journal as much as anything else, so don't feel like you have to read everything!)

Kolache Festival

Today we went to the Kolache Festival in Caldwell, TX. This is our third year and the boys always look forward to it. They get a horse ride, train ride, lemonade, and a toy. Life is good! This year it was pretty hot so we didn't stay as long as usual, but Ashlyn got her lemon (or three lemons), so everything was okay!

Isaac can't wait for his horse ride, but this was the first time we got Carter on the horse. He was really excited and picked the biggest one. He only needed a second and then "I'm done!" was what we heard the rest of the time. He liked the horse standing still, but apparently a moving horse was too much.

We enjoyed the train, had our lemonade and lunch, found our toys and then we were off to my in-laws to enjoy the air conditioning!

Poor Eric had to stay home to take a test and then start studying for another one on Monday.

Ashlyn's not the most cooperative patient...

But Dr. Carter didn't let that deter him.

The exam was a success!

Isaac just finished his second week of Kindergarten. He likes it, I guess. I can't get him to tell me much. At least he's willing to go back, most of the time. He's still trying to adjust to going to school all day, every day and has been "a little sick to his stomach" last Friday and this Friday. Who knew faking sick to miss school started so early? Fortunately, all I have to do is mention spending the entire day in bed. Works like a charm! Who needs doctors these days? I do know that he loves riding the bus and he loves picking treasure from the treasure box. Does life get any better?




Carter is loving his extra time with me at home and doesn't seem to miss Isaac much at all! :) He started with a little preschool that some of us neighborhood moms are doing. He loves it, but can't figure out why he doesn't get to ride the bus...across the parking lot! You've got to love apartment life! (You can take that as sarcasm or not...you choose!) He's a funny kid. The other day he bit Isaac and after about ten minutes, when Isaac was still complaining about it, he said, in as sincere a voice as he could, "Isaac, I'm really sorry. I should have bitten someone else." What do you do with a kid like that? I'm still trying to figure out what he thinks of Ashlyn. He acts like he likes her, but I can't leave them alone in the same room. Not the most trustworthy kid. I hope we make it to her first birthday without any trips to the ER.




Ashlyn is still high on a pedestal. She is one spoiled baby girl! She's so happy all the time we can't help it! She can now officially scoot...backwards. She tries the forward thing, but just can't get it down. She can get up on all fours, but it doesn't do her a lot of good yet. We think she's getting her first tooth (why else would our perfect daughter be a little fussy 2 days in a row?) but haven't found it yet. I can't believe she's getting so big, so fast. The more people we add to our family, the faster time flies!

I'm in!

If everyone else is doing it, why not me? Now to figure it out! I'm not so good at the email thing, so I'm excited to give this a try. Thanks for letting me in on all the fun!