Monday, August 30, 2010

TK Here We Come!

Carter's 1st day of transitional kindergarten was today! He was so cute and had picked out his clothes and gotten dressed before I even got out of bed! He had a great first day and will hopefully have a great year, too. It's so hard to believe this is his last year of preschool!

Here's our conversation on the car ride home.

Me: Carter, how was it? Did you have so much fun?!

C: Yeah.

Me: What was your favorite part?

C: When I saw you coming to pick me up because I missed you.

Talk about playing with my emotions! He can be so sweet sometimes and it's funny because I was having the exact same feelings. I can remember dropping him off for his 1st year of 2 year old preschool like it was yesterday and feeling like I left my whole world right there in that classroom. Having been to school ever since, I was caught off guard this morning by how much I actually missed him while he was gone and how much I was looking forward to picking him up and hearing about his day! Cooper's 1st day is tomorrow so there will be more pictures and stories soon!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Happy 5th Birthday Carter

Carter's birthday started out early with an early birthday present from Nunu and Pop on Friday when they got here! A new bike was just what he needed and he couldn't have been more excited to take it for a spin.



Cooper is now the proud owner of Carter's old bike so Nunu was trying to show him how to ride.
It's party time! We had Carter's birthday party at the pool this year - this was our 3rd try at a pool party because we've been rained out the past two years but luckily the weather was great and I think all the kids had a great time!





Cooper walked into me while I was holding the tray of cupcakes so his entire forehead and hair was blue icing but we'd cleaned most of it up by this picture unfortunately!


The boys were less than thrilled with the idea of more pictures as you can see!

Carter loves his new Buzz laser from Ashley!


The boys and Woody like to go "exploring" as they call it around the cul-de-sac.


Birthday pancakes for the birthday boy!

A 5 year old's birthday isn't complete without a trip to Chuck E. Cheese!




Carter played air hockey for the 1st time and loved it! He was actually pretty good at it too!


Cooper wasn't having photo time again!
Tickling goes a long way...

Carter wanted to wear his new bike helmet outside while he played tennis!
Cooper loves to play baseball now but every picture we took he had his eyes closed!

Singing Happy Birthday to the sweaty boy!


Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Monday, August 23, 2010

A Letter to my Favorite Five Year Old

Dear Carter,

I don't even know where to begin but I guess I'll start by saying I can't believe you are 5 already! It seems like just yesterday I was cradling little, tiny you in my arms for the very first time. That is a moment I will never forget and one that I will cherish forever because it's when I first became a mom. Not only a mom, a mom to the most precious, awesome little boy I've ever known. You had my heart from that moment on and every day I feel more and more thankful that God blessed us with wonderful you.

You are quite possibly the sweetest, most thoughtful, caring, and considerate little boy I know. You help me do things around the house without arguing and you pick up your toys on your own without prompting from us. You are always happy to help Cooper with whatever he needs and Cooper is one lucky little brother to have you to look up to. I can already tell that you're going to be a huge help when the new baby comes and that you'll really enjoy helping me and your dad with him. You are always nice to your friends and make us so proud when you use your manners and treat others with respect.

Your big brown eyes take my breath away and I'm sure there will be plenty of girls to follow my lead all too soon. You have the cutest facial expressions and love to roll your eyes when you're frustrated or embarrassed by something. You have your dad's complexion and tan easily regardless of how much sunscreen we slather you in. You've gradually gotten out of your "polo shirt" phase and now dress yourself every morning in whatever casual things you can find but you always match. Your shoes of choice are Rainbows, crocs, New Balance tennis shoes, topsiders for church, and rain boots for whenever you feel the need, which is usually a hot, sun-filled summer day. You can swim like a champ now and are becoming more and more interested in basketball, soccer, baseball, and tennis. I bet I know some people who will be rooting for you to pursue the latter! You still love anything to do with space and have definitely far surpassed me in your planetary knowledge! You also like Toy Story, pretty much anything that comes on Nickelodeon, drawing, riding your bike, and exploring our street with Cooper and neighbors looking for bugs. You're open to trying any food but have your favorites of Mexican, pizza, and lasagna.

I really do feel like the luckiest mom to have you as my son. You make me a better person every day and I've learned so much from you about patience, laughter, gratitude, and genuinely having a good time. You light up any room with your sweet personality and I'm the happiest mom because I have you and your wonderful brother and Daddy to come home to each day! I sure wish I could slow things down and enjoy every last second of each stage you go through but for now I'm just happy to have had the most fun-filled 5 years I can remember and I look forward many, many more happy times ahead. I love you so much buddy and I'm so proud to be your mom. Happy 5th Birthday!

Love,

Mommy

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Big Boys and Baseball Games

Needless to say from this picture Cooper isn't a big fan of picture-taking in the buff but he let me get a few of him in his big boy undies before bed the other night.

They were quite enthralled with Dora's Big Birthday Adventure on tv as you can see.
This little one has a train addiction.


We went to the Durham Bulls game last weekend and Carter had a blast running the bases after the game! He was a little timid at first (he's in the blue striped shirt and blue hat)...



...but quickly got the hang of it. He had so much fun that he ran straight back to 1st after home plate to make another lap! The Bulls staff were less than thrilled with him because they wanted to get as many kids through as possible but Carter didn't seem too concerned with them chasing after him on lap 2!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Funnies

I've been quite the slacker with blog posts but I've tried to remember all the cute little happenings of the last little bit so we'll see how it goes!

Cooper

This little boy is turning into a big boy right before our eyes, even though his high-pitched voice begs to differ! He's full of conversation these days and knows just what he wants and how exactly he wants it. For instance, he'll ask for a snack and sometimes he'll want that snack in a bowl, sometimes on a plate, and sometimes right out of the bag/box but you better clarify with him before you just assume you know how he would like said snack or else you will hear about it until the situation is rectified to his liking! He uses the word "so" all the time and tells me at least ten times a day, "Mommy, me love you so, so much!" Those little words are just the trick to have his mommy wrapped around his finger. He also loves to come up and kiss whatever part of you is within reach, which usually happens to be your thigh or upper arm, both of which are appreciated and I wouldn't trade for the world. He also has impeccable timing with these kisses and chooses to freely distribute them after a bout of bad behavior but sometimes gives them for no reason at all!

This big boy is still in his little boy crib and likes it that way. I didn't really want to mention the new baby coming and booting him from his bed shortly but wanted to see what Cooper thought about his bed situation so I asked him a few weeks ago if he wanted to move across the hall to share a room with Carter soon. He said, "Mommy, when dat new baby comes, me seep (sleep) in dat big boy bed in Cawda's woom (Carter's room!), When dat new baby rings dat doorbell, me show him his crib!" Oh, if it were only that simple but I'm glad he's on board with my plan!

It suddenly occurred to me a little over a week ago that Cooper will be turning 3 this fall! It hit me like a ton of bricks and I had a sudden urge to get potty training behind us. To each their own but I just have a problem letting my 3 year old still wear diapers if I can help it. We started our attempt 1 week ago today and Coop, in typical fashion, has amazed me with how well he's done! Knock on wood he's got it figured out and is in big boy underwear during the day time (which just might be the cutest thing ever) and diapers for naps and bedtime, although he keeps waking up dry but who knows how long that will last. He's so cute when he has to potty because he'll get your attention like it's an urgent matter and say, "come on, come on..." and run to the potty but as soon as he goes he says, "That's enough, Mommy" and moves on to the next item on his funny, little agenda!

Carter

This one has his moments of misbehavior but for the most part is quite good and so helpful with his little brother. He has been his potty cheerleader and is happy to help Cooper with his clothes so he can get to the potty and then celebrates with him afterwards for his job well done. He's very helpful around the house with cleaning up his toys and going to get things and does so without complaint. He is very interested in space and the planets and has been into that sort of thing since his school lesson on it at least 6 months ago! He definitely knows more about space than me and thinks it's so funny to stump me or correct me if I tell him something that isn't right. We check space books out from the library 5-10 at a time and have to keep switching up which library we visit so that we'll have a fresh supply of books to bring home.

He's still riding his 12 inch bike with training wheels but is definitely in need of an upgrade. That is on the birthday present list for us so hopefully the Huffy Rock-It will make it until then! We've been going on longer and longer bike rides and he does great with his little legs pedaling a million times a minute to get the tiny wheels to turn! We rode (I say we rode but Carter rode his bike and I pushed Coop in the stroller) 2 miles to a park the other day, stayed and played for a good 2 hours and then rode to Chick-Fil-A for some hard earned lunch, which was almost another mile. I was giving them their "2 minute warning" that we'd have to head home soon since we still had a long trip ahead of us and Carter said, "Mommy, it's not a long trip. We just go down the hill and turn right at the broken ankle store." He's referring to Cary Orthopedics, where Jamey had to go a few years ago for his ankle but I thought it was a cute way to refer to it!

I had to take the boys on a not so fun errand for them the other day so I told them if they were good for my errand, we could go get a treat at a snow cone place near our house we'd never been to called Pelicans. They were both quite excited about their little treat, although Cooper had a bit of a fit when I mentioned snow cones instead of slushies so he informed me, "Mommy, no me want know (snow) cone at Peyican, me want sushee at yita's (Rita's)!" I reassured him that snow cones would be a hit and indeed they were! On our way there, Cooper thought he saw our destination and started saying "Peyican" was right there and pointing out his window. Big brother quickly chimed in and said, "Cooper, that isn't Pelican's. Those are just nurses homes where old people live."

I know there are more Carter stories that I'm forgetting but hopefully I'll think of them soon enough. If not I have a feeling they'll be plenty more funny things said in our "never a dull moment" household!