Classic Santa Pictures

I use to think to myself why do parents make their little ones sit on Santa's lap when they clearly do not want to.  I know realize it is a rite of passage that kids must go through.  Last weekend we went to a local toy store to visit Santa Claus.  As soon as I placed Carter on his lap he turned red and the tears started coming down the side of his cheeks.  He was obviously not impressed.  Santa, however, was in good spirits and held our little boy despite the crying.  Here are our Classic Santa Claus Photos.  Merry Christmas!

Uh...Who are you?

Help Me!

I want my mommy and daddy!

I'm not joking around guys.

Santa trying to trick Carter with a candy cane.

Sorry Santa, it didn't work.

Everything is all better with the beloved pacifier.

St. Nick

Last Friday, December 6th, Carter had a visit from St. Nick.  Before going to bed he was sure to put his shoes outside his door in hopes that St. Nicholas would leave him something special.  The next morning after he woke up and had drank his milk we took him back upstairs to find his presents.  Carter found in his shoes an ornament, books, and cookies.  His ornament is the Fisher Price stacking rings, and his books were Elmo nursery rhymes and songs.  He was very intrigued with his findings.

"Hmmm....what's that I see?"

Cookies!

stacking rings ornament

Why won't these rings come apart?

Cookies for breakfast?

Yum!  I love special days!

daddy love!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving post is a little late, but there is so much to be thankful for this year.

1. Kurt and I survived our first year as parents.  Yay!  There were definitely some hard days and long nights but overall it has been a joyous year with our little boy.
2. Our family.  We feel truly blessed to have such amazing parents and siblings.  We are so lucky for the many visits we have had with them this year even though we far apart from one another. 
3. Our friends.  We have such great friends near and far.  It is so nice to pick up right where we left off with our friends who live no where near us.  And to all our wonderful friends who live near us, it is so nice to have you close by and be able to call you our family here in Houston.

There is so much more we are thankful for in our lives, but onto how we spent the day.

This Thanksgiving was spent in Houston.  Since several of our close friends were also staying in town we decided to all get together.  Our hosts cooked  up the turkey and stuffing and everyone else brought a side dish or two.  Kurt made the pumpkin and pecan pies.  Yum!  That day we feasted, caught up with one another, laughed a lot, and watched all the little ones play.  It was a very nice and relaxing day.  Again we are so thankful for our wonderful friends here in Houston!

He looked so grown up in his collared shirt.

Carter and Issac

He's on the moving.

Kid Photos.  These are seriously the best we could do.

One More Birthday Post...The Party!

Ok, so here is the last post regarding Carter's first birthday.  We had his party with family and friends on Saturday, November 2nd.  The birthday party theme was "C is for Carter".  We basically served all food that began with the letter "C".  There was chicken, cheesy potato casserole, coleslaw, cheese, crackers, chickpeas (hummus), carrots, cake, and cupcakes.  The house was decorated in different shades of blues.  We hung a banner from the overpass with "C is for Carter", as well as one over the fireplace with a picture from each of the 12 months.   We also made a picture collage in the shape of the number one.  Of course we had to have balloons and streamers to finish it all off.  Thank you to Grandpa, Grammie, Aunt Melanie, and Uncle Brent for all your help in getting ready for the celebration!

The party started at 4 pm.  It was a beautiful day so people were able to be both indoors and outdoors.  The overall party seemed to go by pretty quickly.  Dinner was ready at 5:00 pm.  Then we did presents with lots of helpers, and then cake.  That week Carter was not wanting to eat any food.  I realize now he was cutting another tooth and just didn't have much of an appetite.  The sad thing is is that he also didn't want cake and ice cream.  The whole cake smash was a total failure. Oh well!  Since there were several families with little ones, most of our guests left the party between 6 and 7.  Overall the party was a hit and a good time was spent by all.  Carter is definitely loved by so many!

Cousins!

Sweet boy!

Carter with his friend Eleanor

I hate this!  Why are you making me eat cake?

Carter's friend, Sophia, kissing his hand.

Lots of present helpers

Birthday Party Success!

Halloween

Carter celebrated his second Halloween as a cute, adorable puppy dog!  It had been a pretty rainy day, but luckily had stopped by early evening so all the neighborhood kids would be able to go trick or treating.  That day Grammie, Grandpa, Carter, and I met Kurt for lunch.  After lunch Carter came home and took a nap.  When he woke up I was so excited for Halloween that I put him in his costume (minus his hat, since he hates it).  We patiently waited for Kurt to come home from work so that we could take Carter to a few homes for trick or treat.  Kurt and I were ready to leave the house around 5/5:30 and we noticed there was no one walking the neighborhood.  We began to wonder if and when the trick or treating would begin.  Finally at 6:00 we decided to put the little puppy in his new car and head out down the street.  We basically walked up and down our street stopping by the neighbors we knew to show off our little guy.  We returned home for dinner and bedtime.  In the meantime, Kurt happily handed out candy to all the little trick or treaters.

 

opening Grammie and Grandpa's birthday present

playing with the pieces of his new toy

beep beep