Happy Halloween!

Birthdays, Baptisms, and Grades

We spent all weekend partying! (I know, it is almost the weekend again. I am a lazy blogger.)

These are my nieces, Kalin and Katherine. Their 12th birthday was Saturday, and they got baptized on Sunday. It was a very eventful weekend for them.

On Sunday, we had a surprise party for my aunt Ramona. My nephews Colin and Harrison couldn't wait to help blow out the candles. One of them decided spit would put out the fire faster, so I had the chocolate cake instead.

This my MIL and BIL, Deanna and Brian. Their birthday was also on Sunday. I think it is so neat that they share a birthday. I don't think I would want to be in labor on my birthday, but I can't think of a better gift.

My nephew Zane's 11th birthday was yesterday. (I don't have a picture yet.) We are going out to his house tonight to celebrate with a haunted house. My sister and BIL LOVE Halloween, so Zane always gets this really cool party since his bday is so close to Halloween. I am sure my sister will have pictures up way before I do, so check out her blog. (It's The Ennis' on my blog roll.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KALIN, KATHERINE, RAMONA, DEANNA, BRIAN, and ZANE!

We got Lexie's report card on Monday, and she did great!! We are very proud of how hard she is working this year. All the teachers said the same thing: She is very sweet and respectful and they love having her in class. They also said she talks too much-- Lexie- talks a lot- I am shocked!! ;-) Tomorrow they are having a Reward Day at her school. The students that made good grades get to have a party for an hour and a half. They have snacks, inflatables, and they can bring their cell phones, iPods, etc. It is going to be a fun afternoon. I think it is really cool that they reward the students like this. It really does make them try harder. (At least it has Lexie.)

No Soup For You!!

There is a joke in my family that I am not allowed to use sharp objects. I am very accident prone. (I spent the day in the ER one time because I was making slice and bake cookies, and sliced my finger.)

Well yesterday started off okay. Monte was packing for a trip, Carter was taking a nap, and I had just taken a shower and was going to have some soup before Carter woke up. When I was opening the can, the lid got stuck ... so I pulled really hard. I am not exactly sure how it happened, but the lid managed to swing around and slice my finger. Carter's asleep, Lexie is at school, I am in a bath robe, and Monte needs to leave for the airport. Why do things always happen at the worst possible time? We ended up checking Lexie out of school, and Monte took us to my parents. Lexie and my dad spent the afternoon at Locomotion. My mom took me to the doctor where I got 5 stitches and a Tetanus shot. (It was the most expensive can of soup I never ate.)

This is one of the reasons we moved back to Arkansas. When Monte takes a trip, I get hurt. (Remember the car accident.) It is so much easier with family close. We are so thankful to be blessed with wonderful families.

PS-- As I was sitting in the chair watching them stitch up my finger I was thinking, "I wish I had brought my camera. These would be great pics for the blog."

Happy Birthday Grandpa Jim

Saturday was Monte's dad's birthday. We went over to Monte's brother's house to celebrate and watch the Arkansas game. We had a really good time.

Lexie went outside with Carter and Cadence to play on the swing set.

Melonie (my SIL) and Deanna (I told you it could end up on the internet!)

This is Brian and Melonie's son Chandler. He is 2 months old and weighs only a few pounds less than Carter. He is adorable. When I was holding him, he gave me the biggest smiles.

Cadence helped Grandpa open his presents.

Brian, Monte, and Jim are looking at one of Jim's high school yearbooks.

Grandma does the feeding...


and Grandpa does the burping (of the baby).

Carter LOVES to play with Grandpa's pens.



"Yay, the Razorbacks are going to win! UH OH...never mind."

Future Class Clown?

We have a low window in the living room that Carter loves. Last night he was looking out of it and making funny noises. I went outside to look at him and see what he was doing. This is what I saw... (He takes after his daddy.)

Pumpkin Patch

My sister and I took Harrison, Lydia, and Carter to the Pumpkin Patch on Tuesday. (I asked Lexie if she wanted to go. She said NO, so we went during the week.) It was my first trip to a pumpkin patch!! We had so much fun. I took a little over 200 pictures. (I get it from my dad.) Don't worry, I won't post them all. I am posting a lot of pics though. This is how I share pictures with friends and family that are far away (and close). Unfortunately, I don't know how to put a photo album on the side of the blog for people to look through, so I have to put them all here.

Carter, Harrison, and Lydia

"We're at the pumpkin patch!!"

H loved to turn the pumpkins over to see how much they cost. When he was at the edge of the hill, he turned one over and it rolled down the hill. On the way down the hill, it knocked over a sign that said "Please do not roll pumpkins down the hill."

Carter does not like grass on his feet.

Most of the pictures look like this one: Carter is crying because he has grass on his feet. I got very few of him smiling.

Can you see the look of disgust on his face? (That look also turned up in most of the pictures.)

"Mom, I don't like the pumpkin patch!"

"This leaf is sooo dirty."

He would quit crying when H came around.

He LOVED the wagon. Maybe Santa will bring him one.


Lydia--"Look over there at that really big pumpkin."

"Hey this pumpkin patch thing isn't so bad after all."


"Oh wait, what am I standing in? It feels kind of like grass."

H loves to take pictures. He is pretty good at it, too.

"Yay!! I do like the pumpkin patch."

Play date

Carter had his first "official" play date on Friday. (I am behind on posting.) Alex, Lydia, and Carter all had fun playing, but they never actually played together. Amy, Angie, and I had fun. (Or, at least I did.) The kids were so good while we ate lunch; we actually got to talk to each other... for an hour!!! I think they were too worn out from playing to be fussy.

Carter thought he was such a big boy. He liked watching the older kids play around him. His favorite was to stand at he bottom of the slide and watch and the kids come down. He really didn't mind getting knocked around. I was surprised at how tough he was.

This is the one brief moment where all three kids were together. Alex is between Lydia and Carter. He sat down right as I took the picture. (I don't know who the kid in the striped shirt is.)


Here's a better shot of Alex. (I stole it.)

Movin' On Up!!

Carter had his 9 month check up today, and I am happy to announce that he has finally reached the double digits for his height percentile!! He was in the 3rd percentile at 4 months, 5th at 6 months, and now he is in the 10th. WOOHOO!!!
Here are the stats:
height: 27 inches (10th percentile)
weight: 18 pounds (10-25th percentile)

The doctor said he was perfect. (I already knew that.)

Nicholas Sparks

Today I received an early birthday present from Monte. He bought tickets for my mom and me to go to A Conversation With Nicholas Sparks. We had so much fun. My friend Beckie introduced me to his books, and I have not been able to put them down since. (Except when I was pregnant. Monte made me stop reading them then because I cried way too much.) I was so excited when I found out he was going to be here. He kind of told his story this morning, which was great. You can read some of it at nicholassparks.com, but it is much funnier when he tells it. One thing I found out that I haven't been able to find online, is that he and his wife opened a private high school. The main things they wanted were for it to be Christian and college prep. Then they added field trips. When a child graduates from this school they will have visited 6 continents and 23 countries. Plus there is an optional post graduation trip to Australia and New Zealand. (I think I am ready to go back to high school.) One thing I found out about him that really impressed me is that he coaches track every afternoon at a very, very poor school. If you ever want to see him, he's there in everyday at 3:30 in New Bern, North Carolina.

9 Months Old!!

Carter is 9 months old today. I can't believe we are so close to a year. It makes me kind of sad, but I am enjoying how fun Carter is becoming. He really has developed quite a personality. His check up is next week, and I will share his stats then.


WHAT CARTER IS DOING NOW:
-Carter "talks" all of the time. He has just started this constant babbling the last couple of days. Once, he was looking at me and babbling like crazy, then he started laughing. I guess he was either telling me a funny story or a joke.

- Carter has been waving for a while. Every time he would wave we would clap for him and say "yay." Now when Carter waves, he waves and then claps.


-He goes all over the place now: he crawls, he pulls up, he cruises. Nothing (especially the cat) is safe. If he is in the living room and I am in the kitchen, he will crawl into the kitchen and climb up my leg. It has somewhat alleviated the separation anxiety though.


-Speaking of pulling up. He has also learned how to pull up in his crib, so Monte has to lower the mattress again.

"Mom, it's time to lower the mattress."


Here he was very happy about learning to pull up in the crib. He gets excited about everything new.


Carter is chasing the cat. Fortunately for her, she is much faster than Carter.


"Peekaboo"- Carter was following me. We were doing laps around the couch.


Unfortunately Carter celebrated his 9 month birthday with a cold, so he wasn't his usual smiley self.


I just gave him a small piece of cookie, he didn't eat a whole one.


He did smile for Lexie!