April

We were quite excited to enjoy our first (and only) crawfish of the season.  One of Jason's coworkers has an annual boil and this year they actually took out part of the fence with their neighbors, opening the kid adventures up to two yards.  It was an unusally hot day in April, but the boys sure didn't seem to mind!  Carter fell in love with the ball pit...

...and the sand table.

Reid had a blast talking to another little girl about his age, jumping on the trampoline, and playing on the playscape.

We couldn't convince the boys to try crawfish, but the hosts had ordered tons of pizza for the kids and anyone else who wasn't brave enough to try the mud bugs.

Jason and I sure enjoyed them, though!  We tend to wait through several batches until they get reeeeally spicy toward the end.  So good!

Carter wouldn't have anything to do with the trampoline until right before we left (of course).  Once someone had put balls all over it, it must've seemed a lot more fun.  We enjoyed the afternoon and look forward to the one next year, too.

These two guys are really beginning to hang out a lot more.  Double trouble!  I couldn't resist these little hineys at bath time one night.

Dixie is even beginning to tolerate Reid more.  He's always chased her, yelled at her, pulled her tail, and she tends to hide when he comes out.  He's gotten better over the years, but she still doesn't exactly trust him.  Lately, he's been (mostly) very sweet to her and will sometimes even brush her.  For a couple weeks in a row, he made "Dixie time" each morning to pet her.

But her real little buddy is Carter.  He's always been sweet and gentle with her and she seems to know.  When he's around, she doesn't hide or flinch when he comes near.

One evening, we had a little adventure.  Jason smelled natural gas outside and we determined it was coming from our neighbor's gas meter.  The CoServ automated line instructs you to call 911, so he did.  The firefighters were great and one was so sweet to give the boys a tour of the truck, walking all the way around it and telling Reid whatever he wanted to know.

April was full of many pretty bad storms.  One school day I was still in McKinney--big storm at my school, but no hail.  About a mile north of there, they got enough hail to warrant a new roof.  Unbeknownst to me, the same storm had hit our house (way west of my school) enough that we still had piles of hail in our flowerbeds at 8pm!  We had a few more bad ones and even one that had pea-sized hail for five minutes, then just rain, then bad, large hail for about ten minutes!  I was texting/calling our neighbors and Jason as everyone was headed home from working in Dallas.  Some actually got up to shooter marble size.  I didn't think to take a picture for insurance until it had melted a bit.

Weekends are always full of chores, but we squeeze in silly family time, too.  I love this picture with Carter's face perfectly framed between Jason's legs.

And our goofy kindergartener...making his Daddy into a weird reindeer.  That boy has a strange, overly silly sense of humor.  Gets very annoying at times, but once he was identified as GT in the spring, at least we knew why.

And you definitely can't say he isn't creative!  He constructed a "movie boat" out of chairs and pillows in the media room one day when we watched a movie.

One day Reid read a book, while orbiting the kitchen island.  Carter was kind of like his moon.

He also got to be pied at Friday Live.  I don't think he fully realized the entire school would be watching.  His expression was priceless!

The driving back and forth from Prosper to McKinney each day has really taken a toll on me.  But we absolutely love our new house and neighborhood.  Except maybe for some creepy visitors.

I have enjoyed the sunrises out our back windows in the morning as I have my chai latte and devotional/quiet time.  God can sure paint a gorgeous sunrise!  I've savored the view because they are now building houses in the section behind us, but I'm thankful we had a year to view it like this.

The sunsets aren't too shabby, either.  One evening after the boys had been asleep awhile, Jason and I took a glass of wine and cheese/crackers to the little pond across the street so we could enjoy the sunset.  THIS is Windsong living!

With Spring, naturally it means baseball.  I actually got to go to a lot more games this year because they were on Saturdays.  Getting to watch them was another story.  Carter doesn't like to sit in one spot...especially when Reid is up to bat.

My little catcher

March and Texas Tulips

We have tulip fields here in Pilot Point, Texas!!  Who knew??  Long story short, Pieter Koeman's family owned a tulip farm in The Netherlands and once his father passed, they decided to settle here in Texas and continue the business, getting to meet the people who buy their tulips.  It's only a short drive for us, so we took advantage of a nice day in March to go have a look.  I honestly wasn't expecting much, but read their story and saw a picture in a local magazine and decided we had to at least visit.  The pictures honestly don't do it justice...it was gorgeous with rows and rows of color!

I knew the boys would get rowdy the longer we were there, so first order of business was to get some pictures.  Easier said than done.  It was very crowded, the rows of dirt between the flowers were perfect for running, and this guy moves fast!

Between Jason's phone, my phone, and our nice camera, we were finally able to get some decent pictures. 

It was free for the boys to get in and only $3 apiece for adults, I think.  Thankfully Jason saw somewhere that the tulips are $2.50 per stem, if memory serves me correctly.  More than a few people were taken off guard and had picked huge bouquets!  We limited the boys to a small handful that we'd be able to enjoy at home.  They really do encourage you to pick, as you can see by the size of the basket.

There was even a picnic area set up with benches to eat, rest, or just view the beautiful flowers.  And Reid immediately noticed a little hay maze nearby.  The big kids were running on the top and jumping, making up some game involving hot lava if you fall off.  Carter just enjoyed wandering around and balancing on the hay bales.

 

What an amazing place...and so close by!  I have a feeling we will be there every spring.  I was honestly amazed the the boys had so much fun.  We pretty much had to drag them out, and Reid was so enamored by the flowers that he actually paid for two more tulips with his allowance.

February--All About Carter!

I am not sure where the time has gone...but my baby is TWO!!  Guess I need to quit calling him a baby.  This little guy is no longer so little and has quite a big personality.  Thankfully (for now!) we haven't seen too much of the terrible two's yet, but I know it's coming...

I am very thankful that Carter is my snuggly boy.  Reid never was.  But it also occurred to me that the snuggle days won't last forever, so I'd better take advantage!  It took some convincing that it wasn't playtime, but once Carter finally realized he was going to nap in my bed, it was blissful.  I actually had my phone within reach to capture it.  That sweet little face!

Two also meant we (finally!!!) got to turn his car seat around.  I'm not sure who was happier...Carter, Reid, or me!  He can now climb in solo and things are much easier when we're loading the car.  That seemed like a great time to end the daytime paci habit, too.  He still likes one at bedtime and naptime (but only at home), but we'll get there eventually.

Carter's still my healthy eater, which I sure hope will stick.  But he does love his sugary things, too.  And recently he decided he likes lemons.  He always sees them in our water at restaurants and went fishing for one.  I wasn't quick enough to get a video, but it was hilarious!  He spied a lime in the fridge one day and insisted it be part of his dinner.  The sour faces were very entertaining.

Both boys love being outdoors.  We went to get a Japanese maple to plant since we had to leave both of the boys' at our last house.  So the one we chose has two trunks--seemed nice and brotherly.  It took Jason the good part of an afternoon to dig in the hard North Dallas clay.  Naturally, the boys wanted to "help."  Reid actually did help pretty well and pushed all the clumps of clay and dirt out of the way.  Carter mainly just kept falling in the hole and hated having his hands dirty...yet wanted to lug around a little shovel and be a part of the action, no matter what I tried to get him to play with me somewhere else in the yard.

The big day finally arrived and Carter was two.  Seems not so long ago that I got to hear the beautiful BIG first cry he let out in the O.R.  I'm so thankful for this happy little boy.  He's full of smiles, laughs, hugs, and yet he's still all boy.  We are quite serious when it comes to sweets, though.  Especially when it's a mouthwateringly delicious cupcake from Holli!!

When that had been devoured, we had to convince him that you're not supposed to eat the candle, too.

The balloon distraction did the trick.  Both of our boys LOVE balloons.  I'm good with that--cheap, easy, can't break as much stuff as balls...

Pretty good selfie, I must say

The birthday boy also enjoyed opening his own cards and presents.  "Wan dis!  Wan dis!" (want this) has to be the #1 phrase for this guy.

Other favorites of Carter at two:
- adventurous eating--here's him devouring dim sum with chopsticks.  I sure hope that will continue!

 

- food: grapes, strawberries, squeezies, yogurt (if he can feed it to himself), or anything that Mommy is eating (including a spinach salad, which totally surprised me)
- dvd: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
- book: Pajama Time or Baseball 1-2-3
- activity: coloring or playing with the little fuzzy craft pom poms
- sweet: M&M's
- sleeping position: all squished up at the top of the bed, with his feet sticking through the crib slats, hands tucked under (and I'm ready for the sleep sack to go bye bye, but he rarely lets a blanket stay on him)

We are so thankful that God blessed us with this sweet boy.  Holli's cupcake box pretty much says it all (and it's too bad there's not a scratch-n-sniff spot for computers...because they smelled like heaven!).