I Love You Through and Through

This has become one of our favorite books. We read it every night and many times throughout the day.
I love you through and through. I love your top side.

I love your bottom side.

I love your inside

and outside

I love your happy side,

your sad side,

your silly side,

your mad side.

I love your fingers

and toes,

your ears and nose

I love your hair and eyes,

your giggles

and cries.

I love you running

and walking,

silent

and talking.

I love you through and through......

yesterday today and tomorrow, too.

Learning everyday

I just wanted to jot down some of the things Karter is doing these days. He is now 14 months old and saying and doing so much.
Some things Karter loves are:
Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, hot dogs, grapes, strawberries, watermelon, M&M's (thanks Brandon), milk, water, water bottles, shoes (anyone's shoes), hats, Elmo (he doesn't watch tv he only knows Elmo from his books and the song I sing when we spot Elmo), going bye-bye, dogs from afar, horses and cows, riding on the 4-wheeler with daddy every night, snacks, eating with a fork by himself, his "I can push or pull" (his baby 4-wheeler; he knows it by the song it sings), any ball, pulling things out of the bathroom cabinets, throwing things in the trash that aren't supposed to go in the trash, going outside, vacuuming, sweeping, putting wet clothes in the dryer.

Some things Karter does not like:
getting his diaper changed, getting swats for not obeying Mommy, walking in the grass(but this has changed in the last few days), touching sand, swimming, meeting new people, taking food from anyone other than Mommy sometimes Daddy, Mommy leaving a room, Mommy cooking or even being in the kitchen at all, Daddy going outside without him, loud noises, veggies,

Karter does or says:
dog, Mama, Daddy, Ball (for anything that is circle. We are working on that), boat, book, wall, door, Where'd it go, water bottle, plays basketball outside with daddy can drop ball in hoop, I got him to say "No More Football" 2 times

He can sign: all done, please and more

He follows simple commands such as:
go get your shoes, take one more bite/drink, let's go change your stinky(go to your changing table), time for night night (get in mommy's lap for snack,book and milk), lets go bye-bye(go to laundry room and wait by the door), get the ball, Karter's first Popsicle

He loved it

Playing in the sprinkler. On the sidewalk because he will not step in the grass

Waiting for daddy to get his I can push or pull (4 wheeler)

His newest pose. We call it his down hill skiing pose

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