I guess he wasn't ready to get out...

Carter had just gotten out of the bath tub, lotioned up, jammies on, hair combed...ready for bed.  Grace was quietly playing in the tub, Carter was quietly playing in my room, I was quietly playing on the computer.  Next thing I know, Grace says, "Mom, Carter is getting his clothes wet!"

No kidding...

Welcome Back Elfie!!

I had no idea the kids even noticed our family traditions before, so it was a pleasant surprise when Carson got excited Thanksgiving evening because "tomorrow we set up for CHRISTMAS!".  We are getting ready to replace our old, ratty carpet with hardwood floors (yay!!), so this year we set the Christmas tree up downstairs. I was a bit pooped out this morning so we ONLY got the tree set up, but I guess that is all our little elf scout, Elfie, needed in order to come back.  We were upstairs playing around when Grace needed to go downstairs to clean up.  She came back upstairs with a little concerned grin on her face.  "Mom, I can't believe it, but there is a present under the tree, I think."  

She and Carson went downstairs to get it.  Carson was so excited!  It was "either Lucky the Leprechaun - because he lives downstairs and sometimes plays tricks on the weekend...and it's Friday, or Elfie's back!"

They ripped open the package, reminding me not to touch him and to KEEP HIM AWAY FROM CARTER!  I promised I would do my best.  

Yes, it was Elfie.  We read his book and talked about where he hid last year (they have great memories!!).  Then, out of nowhere, Carson cleaned his room.  All the way clean, not just stashing stuff out of sight.  He got ready for bed, put on pajamas, cleaned the living room.  Grace followed his example.  It was fantastic!  I could tell by the gleam in Elfie's eyes...he was pleased!  Everyone is fast asleep now.  I went out to get some water and this is what I found....he's already returned from the North Pole.  And he's quite right....this IS going to be a great Christmas!!

Where in the world did the past year go???  And the past month, for that matter...

Carter is absolutely the best baby in the world.  His toddler months are starting off beautifully as well.  He gets sooo excited when he stands on his own, that he usually falls flat within seconds.  He has a beautiful head of curly hair and is working on his 8 & 9th teeth.  He still LOVES his bottle.  Since he never took a binky, I have a hard time caring that he still has a bottle.  He is sooo happy and really easy going.  He loves textured food.  No applesauce, pudding or yogurt for this kid.  Give him a hamburger and he's happy!

He loves rough play and body slams Jake any chance he gets!  If I HAD to complain about something, it's that he's growing up too fast!!  It's amazing how much of my heart each of these kids has.  Love, Love, Love

My Week Without Facebook

I got a little overwhelmed last Friday.  My kids just started school, my house was a DISASTER, my mom was here visiting, my husband was working a TON...and I still felt the need to "check in" with Facebook every hour or so.  Yes, it only takes 5 minutes, but 5 minutes every hour during my 18 hour day is 90 minutes a day...and that's only IF I'm only on for 5 minutes.  I started feeling obsessive about it.  Its not like I feel like I NEED to check in, but my Ipad 'notifies' me on just about everything.  That silly little 'ding' gets me every time!!

So...I decided to go on haitus for a week to reset my brain.  At first, I thought of a million clever status updates and things I just HAD to say to someone.  It was a little tough to get out of my head.

I didn't really do much more than I would have otherwise done, but what I did do, I did with much less distraction. 

Grace started Kindergarten!
Carson read a book! (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, he couldn't put it down)
Carter stayed just as stinkin cute as ever!

I didn't have as much meaningless matter in my mind taking up extra energy that I simply don't have.  I love knowing that my nieces are singing a particular song, or that my neighbors are having a garage sale, or that a guy I went to high school with thinks rabbits make great sausage, but sometimes.....it's nice not to have that extra knowledge floating around up there.

The Sweetest 5 Year Old in the WORLD!!

Day 12, Grace turned 5.  Such a special birthday, and Grace was so excited.  She had been asking me every morning, "Mom, am I five today?"...Well she came in this morning, and said "Mom, am I five today?" and I said "YES, Grace, today you are five!"  She peeked out in the kitchen and got so excited that there was "even more than there was yesterday".  Sue and the girls spent the night and had decorated birthday bags for her. 

Since we didn't have any 'Birthday Cake for Breakfast' this year, we opted for whipped cream topped french toast...with a candle...

She opened her presents and played with them...

She played on the slip and slide in the afternoon, and then we got ready for the REAL fun!

I don't have any pictures of the Build A Bear, it was a little crazy!  Jake has some, maybe I'll snag some later.  It was too cute though, Grace and Carson both picked cats, London picked Hello Kitty and Sweden picked a sweet brown bear with pink hearts on her ears.  They stuffed them, added the heart (with wishes), bathed them, dressed them, and named them.  Super cute!  London's name was Paris, Sweden's name was Peaches, Carson's name was Cat Sparrow (he dressed him as Jack Sparrow...clever!), and Grace's name was Kitty Kan.  LOVE! 

After Build A Bear, we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  It was getting LATE, so we were all super tired, but HAD to have the Happy Birthday song with dessert.  How cute is that!?!

Grace is such a sweet girl!  She loves her brothers and is a wonderful example of how to treat others.  She is smart, silly, imaginative and a HUGE helper.  She loves to dance, she sings her sentences in the cutest voice, she is beautiful inside and out.  I love her with all my heart!!!

Holy Crap, Look at Those Teeth!!

This has nothing to do with summer, or 25 days...I just can't believe how cute Carters teeth are!! 



Days 9, 10 and 11

Day 9 - I don't know if I've mentioned it, but this year I got a great deal on the Pass of All Passes (thanks Lisa A)!  It gets us unlimited entrance to Seven Peaks, Trafalga and various sporting games. We have only used them to get into Seven Peaks and it has totally been worth it!  So Monday, we headed for the water park.  Abby, Brynn, Ivy, Lisa, Lisa's sister Amy and her kids were all there.  We had fun at the kiddie pool, wave pool, and a big wide slide. My kids were still a little iffy about the big slides, so we'll save that for another day (or not).  Carter has a very short window in the mornings, so we couldn't stay long.  But this is ok, because we can go back EVERY DAY (if we wanted to) :)

At noon, we headed to Aunt Sue's! London and Sweden were here visiting for the week, and this was our first chance to see them!  We visited for a while and then headed home for some much deserved REST!

Day 10 - I packed up the kids and headed downtown to meet Sue, London and Sweden at City Creek.  We had some lunch, the kids played in the play area (awesome, by the way), did a little shopping (J&M has awesome deals on kids clothes that are 'different' than Old Navy or Children's Place), played in the little fountains, and then headed home. 

Day 11 - We all packed in my car and headed up to the Alpine slide! I was a little nervous to send the kids up the ski lift, but Sue promised she wouldn't let them fall!! Carson rode all by himself! Grace rode with Sue. Sue told me she squealed the whole way down :) They both had a blast and want to do it again!! We stopped off for some treats at Rocky Mountain chocolates before we headed back down the mountain.