Thank you Joe!

Since we bought a house last year we decided that Christmas would be really low key. Our gift to each other was supposed to be all the work we had done on the house. So, of course Joe payed no attention to a word I said and him and his Mom bought me an SLR camera. I have been wanting one for so long and I love it! I don't have a clue what I'm doing but it has been so fun to pretend that I'm a photographer. Some of these pictures may seem wierd (one of the reasons I wanted the camera was so I could take closeups of little ears and toes) and I realize that my subject of choice appears to be Carter (I just didn't think you would all be interested in my abstracts of the bush in the front yard:). So here are a few of my favorites from this month of practicing...

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Finally, a toy MOM could play with for hours!

Carter has always LOVED to play with toys (for the most part tv holds no interest for this child) and in his sweet little mind my only job in this world is to play with him. I love to play with my babe but I only have so much train table or pushing cars around the floor in me. But then we discovered legos- I LOVE legos! We mostly build dog houses (I think he got that from Curious George) but we also specialize in towers and tall cars. When he built this tower he could not stop saying how "HUGE" it was:). You can see that he doesn't trust my photography skills, he had to take his OWN picture.

The Tie...

So it has begun, the "I want to be just like my Daddy" stage. Last night Joe came home and Carter wanted to wear his tie. He wore it for HOURS until I put him to bed. Then this morning before Joe headed to work he INSISTED on having a tie just like daddy. Joe tied one on him and it took a lot for him to let me take it off for his nap this afternoon. He even wore it to playgroup (hope you aren't too attached to this tie Joe!).



He has also been talking about having a belt just like Daddy's. And gel in his hair just like Daddy. Looks like I'm going to have another metrosexual on my hands...

Let It Snow...!

We were told when we moved here that it NEVER snows in Georgia so imagine our surprise when I snowed a few weeks ago and then four days later it snowed AGAIN!! Carter, being a California boy, was not a fan of this cold substance until the second time around when Daddy introduced him to the snowball. I had to keep a respective distance to get a few pictures because Carter has quite the arm!

When it first started snowing we were ecstatic that there was enough snow to stick in our hair...


Then the snow kept falling and it stuck to the ground- yea (for one night only:)


Here are Carter and Daddy playing with snowballs...

Joe Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Free family tree

Dawnelle Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family history

Benson Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Okay- I totally didn't see that coming!! I thought that arrow would be swinging all the way over to Joe for sure! My sister-in-law Rebecca and I were chatting about who our kiddos get their looks from so I had to try this out. Do you think it's right?!! Maybe the pictures aren't very accurate...?

The Hunky Husband Survey...

My sister sent me this survey- it was kind of fun to fill it all out and think about it!


The Hunky Husband Survey...

What is his name? Joe
How long have you been married? 4 1/2 years
How long did you date? 8 months
How old is he? He likes to say almost 30 but he's 28
Who eats more? Joe wins hands down (and I'm pregnant:)
Who said I love you first? Joe did, though I probaby thought it first
Who is taller? Joe wins again
Who sings better? I'm going to say I have better pitch but Joe has more heart!
Who is smarter? Depends what subject we're talking about...
Whose temper is worse? Mine- I definitely win this one, no contest
Who does the laundry? Me
Who does the dishes? Me again (though we're starting a new 'Joe does dinner dishes' system)
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me, gotta be close to the bathroom
Who pays the bills? That's me again
Who mows the lawn? McKenna did... but now that she's gone:( - ME
Who cooks dinner? Me- but Carter helps
Who drives when you are together? Usually me, I'm consistently legal
Who is more stubborn? Me, me, me...
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Joe- but does he mean it...?!
Whose parents do you see the most? Joes, they have more flexibility in traveling
Who proposed? Joe
Who has more friends? Joe, how could you not like Joe?!
Who has more siblings? I totally win this one- I dominate Joe on this one (7 vs. 2)
Who wears the pants in the family? We share them:)

Glorious Day!

Carter took this picture of the trees in our backyard. It just seems happy to me!
Today was just such a good day I had to share! I played the organ for the first time in church today, I was nervous out of my mind but it went great. I know I was blessed beyond my ability. I bore my testimony for the first time in almost a year, though I can never get the words out in a coherent manner I felt stronger from the experience. Carter sat through church with Joe and was an angel, also he was just in the best mood ever all day- and when you are 2 1/2 and church is from 2-5 pm that's impressive:). We also realized we had a flat tire when we pulled out of the church parking lot but four people from our ward stopped and offered to help- do we live in the greatest ward or what?! Carter went to bed early, Joe and I had a great devotional and football time and I'm getting to bed by 11:15 pm. Does life get any better than this- I submit that it cannot:).

Carter and Daddy...

On New Years Day we drove out to the Mall of Georgia to see what all the hype was about. Carter is not a fan of long drives in the car and this was about 45 minutes each way but once Joe hit the backseat neither one wanted to go home. Lot of giggling and headlocking going on back there:). It was really a father and son day, I was just the cameraman and chauffer. Come April though we'll have another girl in the fam to even out the fam. If only I could have captured the "yeehaw" from the guys carousel ride, I don't know which of the two enjoyed that ride more. And for the record, don't judge me- Carter only gets that paci when he's sleeping but when he's sick it's fair game:)!!

Carter and Mommy

Carter and I have a lot of fun together every day- there can't be anything as great as being a Mom. Hanging out with little people who ask "why not" all day and speaking creative english- can't be beat. I do miss sleeping well and going to the bathroom by myself- but the smiles are worth the chronic bags under my eyes. Carter loves the rain and it can really pour here so a few times we took chairs outside would take turns running into the pouring rain. We were freezing, but it wasn't anything hot chocolate couldn't fix. And I wonder why he's had a cough for four weeks...:). I wish he could remember these times. Also he loves the camera. Joe gives me a bad time for letting him play with something worth hundreds of dollars but he's got a good eye, and I finally have pictures of myself! Mommy and the ceiling fan are his subjects of choice.

Thanksgiving/Christmas at 365 Hawks Circle

We had the good fortune of having people come to us for the holidays this year!! My family came for Thanksgiving and Joe's family came for Christmas. They were all very patient with our construction zone, and we even put a few of them to work:). Carter always grows in leaps and bounds with people around and has picked up quite a few new vocabulary. Plus I think our families quote Carter now on occasion too! Highlights of the seasons: We cut down our own Christmas tree this year, we did go a little overboard though as it was 11' tall...! We managed to seat all 10 people here for Thanksgiving dinner, though we got creative and used our desk and overstuffed chair. My mom, sisters and I canned five turkeys. Decorating our christmas tree with a ladder. And we spent a lot of time in our pajamas. We made and delivered a LOT of cookies this year, we coerced Carter into the long delivery evenings with hot chocolate and candy canes, that could be why he has been sick for four weeks...:). Joe got in more than his fair share of football as well, he justifies it because Carter will sometimes sit down and watch with him. Especially if it's bedtime, Carter will run to the couch and say "No wanna go bed, watch football". Joe could not be prouder. Happy holidays everyone!

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Halloween 2006 vs. 2007

So, we've also had a couple of holidays since I've been a good blogger. I got real creative with Carter's Halloween costume and he was the same thing he was last year:). No one here had seen it and I didn't have to stress- plus he is so super cute as a Marine!

New York Trip...

I haven't been sleeping well so I'm trying a new thing, not taking naps. This is day 2 and although it pains me to not be unconscious when Carter is, it turns out that I find myself with an extra few hours on my hands every day! So- BLOG UPDATES!! I'm going to jump back to August because I don't think I posted anything about my big trip last year. My Mom, four sisters and I all took a trip to New York together this year. It was suppossed to be a childless trip for all of us but one of my sisters had a newborn and things didn't work out for me because Carter came into the city with us almost every day. Maybe next time...:). But both little people were great, they probably handled the long Manhattan days better than the ladies did but it was SO much fun! We got lost on the Subway regularly, ate delicious food and had a karaoke dance party with Joe's Dad as our DJ. We stayed with Joe's parents for the week and they were so fabulous to us! I know they must have been drained when we left but we are still so grateful to them for their hospitality. Here is a collection of our memories...

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I forgot to mention that somehow Joe weedled his way into the end of our trip. He is always looking for excuses to go to New York and have his Mom take care of him (I can't compete:)