Going to Houston

The last week of July we took Karter down to Houston to see Aunt Bridgey. We packed up our little rent car and took off. I was worried about how Karter would do on this trip. This was his first LONG trip after all. He did really well. I took everything you could imagine. Books, cars, dvd's, cd's and lots of food. Karter took 2 really short naps on the way down there. About 45 minutes both times. It's better than nothing I suppose. His last nap was right as we were getting into Houston so it was cut short due to us arriving at Bridgey's house. Bridget was such a gracious host. She made us dinner ( and an oh so yummy birthday cake ) that night so we wouldn't have to get back in the car after our long trip. After supper we went to a near by outlet mall. We did a little shopping then went home to get some sleep. The next morning after a delicious breakfast we went to the Houston Zoo. Oh my goodness it was SO hot. I hate Houston's weather. No Fun At All! But the zoo was lots of fun and Karter had a great time seeing all kinds of animals. He's really into animals these days. After the zoo we went to an amazing restaurant called Pappadeaux's. Oh.My.Word. The best seafood. After supper we went home, had showers, put K down to sleep and watched a movie. The next day, our last full day there, we went to the Kemah boardwalk where we rode a carousal and Ferris wheel. I had been wanting to take Karter on a carousel for a while. He like it a lot. And when it was over he was trying to rock the zebra to make it go again. Too Cute. He didn't know what to think about the Ferris wheel. He held onto the sides until it was stopped. After the boardwalk we went to Galveston to see the ocean and put Karters feet in the sand. As I suspected he hated the sand. He won't even walk in the grass. Every time we'd put his feet down he'd cry to be picked back up or put on the blanket. He got used to the water and didn't mind it when we would go deeper. That afternoon we went to see Kyla's family who lives in Galveston. We visited with them for about an hour before we headed back home. We had a lot of fun in Houston and plan to make it an annual family trip. We miss Aunt Bridgey and wished she lived closer so we could see her more often. Karters first sucker. He knew just what to do.

That was all of the show?

This cracked us up. He thought daddy was going to put him down with the goats so he wrapped his arm around Brandon's neck.

I'll push Aunt Bridgey

He couldn't get enough water. It was HOT!

Kemah Boardwalk

My first Carousal ride

Daddy what are we doing?

Aunt Bridgey why are we stopped?

Kemah Boardwalk

Love Karter's smile. Aunt Bridgey is fun

oooooooo......

We made it to the beach. Finally

I don't know about this guys.

Aunt Bridgey help me.

I don't like all this sand.

My new toy Bridgey bought me.

Way too cute.

July 4th

We did a lot of celebrating for the 4th this year. We took Karter to Freedom and Faith Festival at Quail Springs CoC. Karter got in his first moon walk and did a small hayride. He was unsure about all of it. But I'm pretty certain that next year he will be excited about it all. Let's hope anyways. I took Karter to White Water for the first time. White Water is a really over priced water park in OKC. He loved walking around in the kiddie pool area and met a few friends who shared their toys with him. This was also his first set of boo-boos. He took a nice tumble in the pool (don't worry I was right there next to him so he didn't stay under water) and scuffed up his little chin and cheek. Oh the joys of having a walking child. =)

Daddy and Karter took me to Teds for my birthday and also bought me an ice cream cake. Mint Chocolate Chip my favorite. My boys love me.

Edmond, the town we live in, has a fourth of July parade every year. We took Karter on that very cloudy and rainy morning. We had SO much fun. Karter loved seeing the horses and and three wheelers. He was not happy when the three wheelers left without giving him a ride. He had a nice little cry about that. Brandon and I decided we would make that a family tradition from now.

Just a cute picture of our little man.

Karter turns ONE!

June 5, 2010 Karter has been here an entire year. I CAN'T believe it. This was the fastest year ever.
I had been planning Karter's 1st birthday for a few months. I decided on doing the theme of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" Karter loves this book. I handmade 25 invitations in March and sent them out early May. Basically I handmade everything but his birthday shirt. I bought that on my favorite website Etsy. I think every part of his birthday turned out perfect except two things. The butter cream icing and not getting any of it on video. The butter cream melted on every cupcake. It was the very first day of the year to be over 100 degrees. So my icing did not want to cooperate with me. After making over 50 cupcakes and icing all of them I didn't care what they looked like. As long as they tasted good.
I had every intention of recording Karter's big day. I had the camera out and charging. It was all ready I just didn't have anyone grab it and record. Can't do much about it now.
We had about 40 people over to celebrate with us. I originally wanted a small party. Nothing huge and over the top. But once you invite one person you have to invite another and another. SO I decided this would be the year we invite anyone who took our long journey to parenthood and who had enjoyed his first year of life with us. Next year we will do a much smaller party for him. All in all I think he had a great day and everything came together perfectly. I did not cry only because there was so much going on but at the end of the day when all the guests had left and Karter had gone to bed, I sat in my living room (mess and all) and thought about how blessed we have been over the last year. Karter amazes me every.single.day and I love him so very much.
Birthday invitations and Party Hat
Party Hat

12 Month Check-Up

It's been over a month since my last post and so much has happened in a month. First off was Karter's well baby. Dr. Prough couldn't believe how much he had changed since the last time we saw her. (9 month checkup) I had been dreading this visit for awhile. I knew he was getting three immunizations and blood drawn. It was rough and I felt terrible for him. He had a hard time for the next few days after that. During the visit with the Dr. we talked about his eating, walking, playing and sleeping. Pretty much everything he does during the day. She said he looked perfect and was right on track. Here are his stats for one year.
Weight: 24 lbs. 7 oz. -90%
Height: 2 ft. 7.5 inches-97%
Head: 19 inches-95%
He is still a tall boy but slowing down on his weight gain. Which is fine since he is now walking. Also since he has started walking he has slimmed way down. He's not near as chubby as he once was. It's so sad.
For Karter's birthday Brandon and I wanted to get him a swing. He LOVES swinging so totally appropriate. We also wanted to have a kiddie pool set up for his party so we bought one and set it up early so he could get used to it. It took a few times and me getting in with him to really get into the whole "swimming" thing.

Karter swinging in his birthday swing for the first time.
Playing in his baby pool

Drinking the water

One morning I went in to get Karter from his bed (with camera in hand, which I never do) and this is what I walked in on. Him with no pants on and with one sock off. We did not put him to bed this way.

Showing off his blocks.

Look who's walking

Trip to the zoo

B and I had been talking about taking K to the zoo for weeks. I knew I wanted to go before it got too hot and B knew he wanted to go for K's first time there. So we decided to take him on May 21st. It was extremely humid and hot but we just had to do it. I hadn't been to the zoo since I was in elementary. It was so nice. I had forgotten how much fun it was. They built a new area for the children. It included a petting zoo, splash pad and a bird feeding area. It was so neat to be hands on with some of the animals. Karter did not think so. He hated touching the goats. He didn't even want to sit by one. The splash pad was way too crowded with crazy kids every where. The birds, however, he did not mind one bit. He loved seeing them fly around his stroller and being sprayed with the water hose. After we left there we went and had lunch in a cool building. It was so nice to sit and get cool. We then headed to see the snakes, turtles and spiders. K didn't have a clue what he was looking at. He needs animals that are large and move. So we took him to the bears and monkeys. He thought they were pretty great. Especially the monkey's. We could've spent the entire afternoon in there and skipped everything else and K would've been happy. He loved pressing up against the glass with his face to get pretty close to the monkey. He would put his hand where the monkey's hand was and laugh. B and I thought this was pretty fun to see. Next we went to see the giraffes. K had fallen asleep (we were WAY past his nap time after all) so we decided to call it a day and head home. I think it was a great first trip to the zoo. I can't wait to take him back when he is just a bit older so he can really see all the animals both big and small. Pretty excited to leave

Are we going yet mama?

" Yes we are finally here"

Not really enjoying the goats much

"Could you move please?"

Looking at the birds flying around

That bear has pretty big feet

Loving the monkey and all his tricks

Some Bunny Loves Me

Karter had no idea that Easter was any different than any other day in his little life. We woke him up and showed him his basket of goodies that the Easter Bunny had left for him. I tell you this bunny loves some baby Karter. He got a puzzle, two puppets for story time, a bubble gun, two hot wheels cars and some baby cookies for snack time. Karter LOVES his new cars and plays with them everyday.
This year we decided to host Easter at out house. With Karter's schedule we figured this would work out best for him and I. And it did. Karter stuck to his normal schedule while everyone else visited and hunted for eggs. We may have to do this with most holidays until Karter stops napping.
I'll post our Easter family photos as soon as Austin finishes editing them. Until then here are a few from Easter morning