Saturday, October 2, 2010
Fun Saturday
We had a super fun day today. I'll post more about it tomorrow because we just got home and put the kids to bed and I want to go to bed soon too. But here are a few "teaser" pictures from today ...
Friday, October 1, 2010
What I've been missing ...
Carter FINALLY started calling me Mama this week. He used to say mama when he was just starting to make sounds, but he probably never really knew what he was saying.
Carter has been able to name everyone in our family (Daddy, Baby, Doggie) except for me forever. It didn't bother me, but it's pretty cool now that he calls me Mama.
Carter has been able to name everyone in our family (Daddy, Baby, Doggie) except for me forever. It didn't bother me, but it's pretty cool now that he calls me Mama.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sick Carter
Carter has been sick for a few weeks now. I can't remember when his runny nose started (about 2 week ago, mabye?), but it seems like he's had it forever. Then he picked up Mary Grace's cough last week. At least he pretty much only coughs at night and it doesn't keep him awake.
Yesterday though Carter woke up with a fever. He had slept terrible during the night. I didn't check on him though because he wasn't upset - he just kept talking about every 20 minutes. I didn't want to wake him up more, but I probably should have checked on him. He was burning up with red cheeks when he got up in the morning. His fever was 101.5F.
I knew Carter would have a rough day if we stayed home all day so my dad and I took the kids to a playground for a little bit. Carter fell asleep on the way there but when I woke him up and he saw the playground, he perked up and started saying "ooohhh, ooohhh!"
We stayed about 45 minutes and it was Carter that decided it was time to go. He just started walking to the car. It was weird.
After lunch and a little playing, Carter took a 4 hour nap!!! He was exhausted! But he woke up in a good mood with lots of energy.
We decided to grill hamburgers for dinner, eat outside, and play in the backyard.
We had lots of fun enjoying my dad's last day with us (he'll be back for a couple of days next week when he heads back from Milwaukee).
Carter slept better last night but still had a bit of a fever today (it was just over 100F before bed tonight). He was supposed to get his flu shot today but we had to cancel because of his fever. Our pediatrician's office filled up their schedule for flu shots fast. I had made the original appointment on Tuesday and when I called today to reschedule, the earliest I could get in is the end of October! I may call the health department tomorrow and try to get Carter in their instead.
Yesterday though Carter woke up with a fever. He had slept terrible during the night. I didn't check on him though because he wasn't upset - he just kept talking about every 20 minutes. I didn't want to wake him up more, but I probably should have checked on him. He was burning up with red cheeks when he got up in the morning. His fever was 101.5F.
I knew Carter would have a rough day if we stayed home all day so my dad and I took the kids to a playground for a little bit. Carter fell asleep on the way there but when I woke him up and he saw the playground, he perked up and started saying "ooohhh, ooohhh!"
We stayed about 45 minutes and it was Carter that decided it was time to go. He just started walking to the car. It was weird.
After lunch and a little playing, Carter took a 4 hour nap!!! He was exhausted! But he woke up in a good mood with lots of energy.
We decided to grill hamburgers for dinner, eat outside, and play in the backyard.
We had lots of fun enjoying my dad's last day with us (he'll be back for a couple of days next week when he heads back from Milwaukee).
Carter slept better last night but still had a bit of a fever today (it was just over 100F before bed tonight). He was supposed to get his flu shot today but we had to cancel because of his fever. Our pediatrician's office filled up their schedule for flu shots fast. I had made the original appointment on Tuesday and when I called today to reschedule, the earliest I could get in is the end of October! I may call the health department tomorrow and try to get Carter in their instead.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Knoxville Zoo
My dad and I took the kids to the zoo today. It was cool (in the upper 50s) and overcast - a perfect day for going to the zoo. And it was empty.
Carter had loads of fun running around. It was easy to keep up with him since there were so few people there. He eventually tuckered out and wanted my dad to carry him around. He crashed hard when we finally got back to the car. We had lots of fun!
Carter loved running around this giant box that is a (pretend) crate for shipping elephants ...
I know ... Crocs with socks ... awful! I haven't bought winter shoes yet!
He also loved this cage (just like he loves to go in Charlotte's crate at home) ...
Carter really liked these new boards that you can put your head through ...
He could actually reach this one on his own ...
Carter has been a little scared of the gibbons the last few times we were at the zoo. The blond one is really social and likes to play by the window. I put my hand up to the glass and showed Carter it was okay and he eventually was willing to give the gibbon a fist bump ...
Rylan slept the entire time so I didn't get any pictures of him. One of these days he'll be more awake when we go out to things like this but I'm not complaining because it makes it a lot easier when he sleeps a lot.
Carter had loads of fun running around. It was easy to keep up with him since there were so few people there. He eventually tuckered out and wanted my dad to carry him around. He crashed hard when we finally got back to the car. We had lots of fun!
Carter loved running around this giant box that is a (pretend) crate for shipping elephants ...
I know ... Crocs with socks ... awful! I haven't bought winter shoes yet!
He also loved this cage (just like he loves to go in Charlotte's crate at home) ...
Carter really liked these new boards that you can put your head through ...
He could actually reach this one on his own ...
Carter has been a little scared of the gibbons the last few times we were at the zoo. The blond one is really social and likes to play by the window. I put my hand up to the glass and showed Carter it was okay and he eventually was willing to give the gibbon a fist bump ...
Rylan slept the entire time so I didn't get any pictures of him. One of these days he'll be more awake when we go out to things like this but I'm not complaining because it makes it a lot easier when he sleeps a lot.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Running
My dad is here for a few days visiting and he watched the boys this morning while I went running. It rained all day and was cool so I didn't want to take the boys with me today. It was perfect weather though in my opinion. Cool enough that I was a little chilly for about 5 minutes and raining just hard enough to be refreshing.
It was so weird running without the jogging stroller. When I started my run I felt like I was forgetting something. I found my stride a lot quicker than I expected which was encouraging since I have my 10 mile race in just 2 weeks. Running with the stroller really changes how I run.
Our neighborhood is pretty hilly but without the stroller, the hills felt like nothing today. It probably helped that I was also rested (I haven't run in a week). I ran 4.5 miles at 9:25 pace today which is almost a minute faster per mile than I usually do with the boys. I'm still not fast, but I'm happy with my progress so far.
I'm down to about 132 lbs. So I've lost 32 lbs so far with 13 lbs more to go. If I'd stop eating everything I see I'd probably be losing weight a little quicker but nursing makes me so hungry all the time (plus I'm drinking too much soda because I need caffeine to survive right now).
It was so weird running without the jogging stroller. When I started my run I felt like I was forgetting something. I found my stride a lot quicker than I expected which was encouraging since I have my 10 mile race in just 2 weeks. Running with the stroller really changes how I run.
Our neighborhood is pretty hilly but without the stroller, the hills felt like nothing today. It probably helped that I was also rested (I haven't run in a week). I ran 4.5 miles at 9:25 pace today which is almost a minute faster per mile than I usually do with the boys. I'm still not fast, but I'm happy with my progress so far.
I'm down to about 132 lbs. So I've lost 32 lbs so far with 13 lbs more to go. If I'd stop eating everything I see I'd probably be losing weight a little quicker but nursing makes me so hungry all the time (plus I'm drinking too much soda because I need caffeine to survive right now).
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Lexington
Sarah and Mary Grace were finally able to join Brent in Lexington a couple of months ago where he's been working since the beginning of the year. I'm so happy for them to be able to be together all the time again, but we miss our friends!
Brian had to go to Mexico for most of last week and I was nervous about having the kids by myself all week. I'd been wanting to visit Sarah and luckily she was free the same week Brian was gone so I didn't have to find out how hard it would be not to have a break from the kids!
The kids and I drove up to Lexington on Tuesday morning after dropping Charlotte off at the kennel (I didn't think I could handle making sure she also behaved!). It only took us about 2 1/2 hours but they were a long 2 1/2 hours. Rylan was amazing - he slept the entire time. Carter, on the other hand, did not want to be in his carseat at all. He luckily took a 45 minute nap, but other than that, fussed the entire time. No toys, foods, music, or pacis could keep him entertained for more than about 5 seconds.
We got to Sarah's house around noon. Mary Grace has preschool until 1:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays so we hung out with Sarah and had lunch until she got home.
Mary Grace and Carter were so excited to see each other! When I had asked Carter before the trip if he wanted to go see Mary Grace, his eyes would get a little bigger and he'd shake his head vigorously. Apparently Mary Grace couldn't get out of school fast enough on Tuesday because she was also super excited.
Carter was so happy to see Mary Grace that he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He almost knocked himself out twice. Once he walked into a door because he was looking at Mary Grace instead of where he was going and then he did the same thing into a wall. Silly kid!
So once Mary Grace got home, the big kids played for a bit and then took naps. After naps, we set up Mary Grace's pool and let the kids play in the backyard until dinnertime. Mary Grace got a really cool playset for her birthday that Carter loved.
After dinner and baths it was time for Mary Grace and Carter to go to bed. Sarah and Brent were nice enough to move Mary Grace into their room so Carter could have Mary Grace's room. I had Rylan with me in the guest bedroom. It worked out really well for us and Carter slept well every night. Rylan on the other hand woke up fussy every 2 hours and I ended up feeding him every time. Rylan did good though for the first two evenings. He fell asleep on Sarah while we watched TV after the big kids went to bed.
Carter was up every morning between 6 and 6:30 am. He had started sleeping to 7 am for a few weeks, but I think that's ended. We tried to be really quiet in the mornings and watch a few cartoons downstairs.
On Wednesday we went to Explorium (a children's museum). There were only a few other people there which was awesome.
We really liked the museum. There were a good variety of exhibits to play with and the kids never got bored.
Carter liked the "neighs" ...
Playing on a dock ...
Carter let Mary Grace pretend to drive ...
Sending boats down the river ...
Carter loved this piano that he could dance on and make music!
There was entire room dedicated to bubbles ...
Taking a walk on the moon ...
Once again, Carter let Mary Grace drive ...
The Explorium is located downtown next to Rupp Arena. Around noon we took a pedestrian bridge from the museum over to the arena and had lunch in the food court.
After lunch we went to the Art Room at the museum and let the kids make some art. Carter loved the bin of glitter and it took a lot of work to convince him to not play in it!
We headed back to Sarah's house a little before 2 pm and tried to keep the kids from falling asleep before we got home. It didn't work for Carter and he ended up with a 20 minute nap in the car (we got stuck in traffic from a wreck). I don't think Carter slept at the house but he luckily wasn't too bad the rest of the evening.
After naps we let the kids make sugar cookies!
Carter helped a little but he wasn't all that interested. Mary Grace did a great job though!
We tried to make Carter at least look like he was helping!
After dinner and a bath, the big kids each got to eat one of their cookies. Carter didn't mind helping with this part!
Carter was being cute when I was trying to read to him before putting him down for the night ...
Brent was speaking at the University of Kentucky that night so Sarah and I watched "When in Rome" and went to bed early.
On Thursday Mary Grace had preschool until 1:30 pm. We decided to take Carter to Monkey Joe's, an inflatable play center.
Just before we left, Rylan fell asleep on the floor ...
Monkey Joe's was awesome! We need one in Knoxville!
Sarah was nice enough to sit with Rylan (who luckily slept the entire time) while I played with Carter. She even gave me a break and played with Carter for a little bit (that place can be tiring!).
There are even a few toddler areas with smaller inflatables that Carter could play on by himself ...
Carter's favorite inflatable was the one with this giant monkey attached to the front of it. Carter really liked the monkey (and especially his shoes) too.
Having fun (and giving me the silly smile he does when I ask him to say "cheese") ...
We had lunch at Sarah's house, Sarah picked up Mary Grace, and the big kids took naps. Carter got up before Mary Grace and got in some extra play time. Sarah pulled out Mary Grace's dress up stuff again and this happened ...
He loved it though!
Once Mary Grace woke up, the kids decorated the cookies they made the night before. Carter did not understand why he couldn't just eat the cookies and ended up throwing a bit of a tantrum. I got a picture though before his meltdown ...
Brent grilled for us that night so the kids played outside while we made dinner. Carter found a truck and was happy for a long time ...
After sliding down all the inflatable slides at Monkey Joe's, Carter was finally willing to go down Mary Grace's new slide. He's been very anti-slide at playgrounds lately.
Mary Grace ended up filling up a bucket with dirt and water and playing with it. I think it was payback for us having dressed up Carter earlier in the day.
After dinner and baths, we let the kids have a cookie again. Carter was very happy about this!
After the big kids went to bed, we watched the movie "Invictus". Rylan had been super easy the past two nights but was fussy for about an hour that night. We were still able to watch the movie and he fell asleep on me eventually.
On Friday we left around 9 am. Mary Grace had her dance class that morning and we needed to get back to Knoxville since our friends Johnny and Anakah were staying with us that night. Carter was much better on the drive home. He fell asleep about 15 minutes into the drive and woke up in a good mood. He was a little cranky the last 30 minutes, but we were so close to home that I could handle it. Rylan woke up around the halfway point and cried for 5 or 10 minutes but went back to sleep. He started waking up around the time Carter started getting cranky and would cry for a few minutes, then fall asleep, cry, sleep, cry, sleep, etc.
We had so much fun and are looking forward to visiting again soon. Thank you Sarah and Brent for having us and helping me out so much with the boys!!!
Brian had to go to Mexico for most of last week and I was nervous about having the kids by myself all week. I'd been wanting to visit Sarah and luckily she was free the same week Brian was gone so I didn't have to find out how hard it would be not to have a break from the kids!
The kids and I drove up to Lexington on Tuesday morning after dropping Charlotte off at the kennel (I didn't think I could handle making sure she also behaved!). It only took us about 2 1/2 hours but they were a long 2 1/2 hours. Rylan was amazing - he slept the entire time. Carter, on the other hand, did not want to be in his carseat at all. He luckily took a 45 minute nap, but other than that, fussed the entire time. No toys, foods, music, or pacis could keep him entertained for more than about 5 seconds.
We got to Sarah's house around noon. Mary Grace has preschool until 1:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays so we hung out with Sarah and had lunch until she got home.
Mary Grace and Carter were so excited to see each other! When I had asked Carter before the trip if he wanted to go see Mary Grace, his eyes would get a little bigger and he'd shake his head vigorously. Apparently Mary Grace couldn't get out of school fast enough on Tuesday because she was also super excited.
Carter was so happy to see Mary Grace that he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He almost knocked himself out twice. Once he walked into a door because he was looking at Mary Grace instead of where he was going and then he did the same thing into a wall. Silly kid!
So once Mary Grace got home, the big kids played for a bit and then took naps. After naps, we set up Mary Grace's pool and let the kids play in the backyard until dinnertime. Mary Grace got a really cool playset for her birthday that Carter loved.
After dinner and baths it was time for Mary Grace and Carter to go to bed. Sarah and Brent were nice enough to move Mary Grace into their room so Carter could have Mary Grace's room. I had Rylan with me in the guest bedroom. It worked out really well for us and Carter slept well every night. Rylan on the other hand woke up fussy every 2 hours and I ended up feeding him every time. Rylan did good though for the first two evenings. He fell asleep on Sarah while we watched TV after the big kids went to bed.
Carter was up every morning between 6 and 6:30 am. He had started sleeping to 7 am for a few weeks, but I think that's ended. We tried to be really quiet in the mornings and watch a few cartoons downstairs.
On Wednesday we went to Explorium (a children's museum). There were only a few other people there which was awesome.
We really liked the museum. There were a good variety of exhibits to play with and the kids never got bored.
Carter liked the "neighs" ...
Playing on a dock ...
Carter let Mary Grace pretend to drive ...
Sending boats down the river ...
Carter loved this piano that he could dance on and make music!
There was entire room dedicated to bubbles ...
Taking a walk on the moon ...
Once again, Carter let Mary Grace drive ...
The Explorium is located downtown next to Rupp Arena. Around noon we took a pedestrian bridge from the museum over to the arena and had lunch in the food court.
After lunch we went to the Art Room at the museum and let the kids make some art. Carter loved the bin of glitter and it took a lot of work to convince him to not play in it!
We headed back to Sarah's house a little before 2 pm and tried to keep the kids from falling asleep before we got home. It didn't work for Carter and he ended up with a 20 minute nap in the car (we got stuck in traffic from a wreck). I don't think Carter slept at the house but he luckily wasn't too bad the rest of the evening.
After naps we let the kids make sugar cookies!
Carter helped a little but he wasn't all that interested. Mary Grace did a great job though!
We tried to make Carter at least look like he was helping!
After dinner and a bath, the big kids each got to eat one of their cookies. Carter didn't mind helping with this part!
Carter was being cute when I was trying to read to him before putting him down for the night ...
Brent was speaking at the University of Kentucky that night so Sarah and I watched "When in Rome" and went to bed early.
On Thursday Mary Grace had preschool until 1:30 pm. We decided to take Carter to Monkey Joe's, an inflatable play center.
Just before we left, Rylan fell asleep on the floor ...
Monkey Joe's was awesome! We need one in Knoxville!
Sarah was nice enough to sit with Rylan (who luckily slept the entire time) while I played with Carter. She even gave me a break and played with Carter for a little bit (that place can be tiring!).
There are even a few toddler areas with smaller inflatables that Carter could play on by himself ...
Carter's favorite inflatable was the one with this giant monkey attached to the front of it. Carter really liked the monkey (and especially his shoes) too.
Having fun (and giving me the silly smile he does when I ask him to say "cheese") ...
We had lunch at Sarah's house, Sarah picked up Mary Grace, and the big kids took naps. Carter got up before Mary Grace and got in some extra play time. Sarah pulled out Mary Grace's dress up stuff again and this happened ...
He loved it though!
Once Mary Grace woke up, the kids decorated the cookies they made the night before. Carter did not understand why he couldn't just eat the cookies and ended up throwing a bit of a tantrum. I got a picture though before his meltdown ...
Brent grilled for us that night so the kids played outside while we made dinner. Carter found a truck and was happy for a long time ...
After sliding down all the inflatable slides at Monkey Joe's, Carter was finally willing to go down Mary Grace's new slide. He's been very anti-slide at playgrounds lately.
Mary Grace ended up filling up a bucket with dirt and water and playing with it. I think it was payback for us having dressed up Carter earlier in the day.
After dinner and baths, we let the kids have a cookie again. Carter was very happy about this!
After the big kids went to bed, we watched the movie "Invictus". Rylan had been super easy the past two nights but was fussy for about an hour that night. We were still able to watch the movie and he fell asleep on me eventually.
On Friday we left around 9 am. Mary Grace had her dance class that morning and we needed to get back to Knoxville since our friends Johnny and Anakah were staying with us that night. Carter was much better on the drive home. He fell asleep about 15 minutes into the drive and woke up in a good mood. He was a little cranky the last 30 minutes, but we were so close to home that I could handle it. Rylan woke up around the halfway point and cried for 5 or 10 minutes but went back to sleep. He started waking up around the time Carter started getting cranky and would cry for a few minutes, then fall asleep, cry, sleep, cry, sleep, etc.
We had so much fun and are looking forward to visiting again soon. Thank you Sarah and Brent for having us and helping me out so much with the boys!!!
Friday, September 24, 2010
We're Home
The kids and I just got back from Lexington, KY where we were visiting Mary Grace, Sarah, & Brent. We had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back.
Brian is getting back from Mexico today where he was on a business trip and our friends Johnny and Anakah are staying with us tonight as they make their way to Kentucky for a wedding tomorrow. So, I'll catch up with lots of posts tomorrow (hopefully)!!!
Brian is getting back from Mexico today where he was on a business trip and our friends Johnny and Anakah are staying with us tonight as they make their way to Kentucky for a wedding tomorrow. So, I'll catch up with lots of posts tomorrow (hopefully)!!!
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