Ten on Tuesday

Okay, so I'm trying something new...I've seen this on lots of blogs I visit, and I'm challenging myself to come up with ten things to blog about today! Maybe I can start doing this on some Tuedays (I don't dare venture to say EVERY week!)

1. August is almost over?!? Where did it go? With school being back in session for teachers on August 1, students coming back on the 6th, and the first couple weeks of school, this month has FLOWN by!

2. Our house should be just weeks away from move-in ready. They've been painting, and should be doing countertops & hopefully starting on the tile this week.

3. They mistakenly started painting our living room, hallway, and stairwell to the bonus room RED. The dining room is red, but not the whole main part of the house! I almost fainted when I saw it the first time. It is fixed now. Thank goodness!

4. I dread packing and have yet to start.

5. I am going to cook every night this week. I even have a menu prepared ahead of time. (and we're already changing it around for tonight!)

6. I'm not a gourmet cook. Does anyone have any simple, quick and tasty recipes they'd like to share?

7. I know you're out there reading. Why not comment every now and then? I know, I know...you're thinking, "Why don't you post more often?" Hmm, maybe the two go hand in hand!

8. Laundry at our house is never-ending. As soon as I have it all done, there's already more!

9. I didn't make it to the beach once this summer...I guess that's understandable with a newborn though.

10. I made it to 10!

New Header

I decided to make a new header of just Carter. Gabby has had her limelight as long as the blog has existed. Since it has her name as the address (and it'd be too much trouble to change) I figure the least I can do is let Carter have a solo act in the header for a little while. :) I took that a couple weeks ago as part of his 3 month photos and I just love it! Here's the color version:

Beijing 2008

Last night we had the Olympics on and Phelps had just won his 8th gold medal. I was about to put Gabby in her pajamas. With the Olympics being in China, I was reminded of these Chinese pajamas. (She refers to them as her Kai-lan jamas...a little Nick Jr. shout out there) I had some like them when I was litte too. My mom brought them to her last year from Panama. Anyway, I've been planning to get some shots of her in them ever since. I figured last night was as good a time as any. So while the U.S. was winning gold and making history, Gabby was cheering them on in her "Kai-lan 'jamas" (and Carter was sleeping).

Gabby in Blue

Some of my favorite pictures of Gabby are ones that don't have eye contact. She has this deep, thoughtful look on her face. We were out on the front porch a little while ago, and I was intending to capture some smiling shots. Once again, she has that faraway look on her face. In reality she was just looking at the neighbors in their yard across the street! Here's my favorite from our 5-minute session.

I also straightened her hair to try something different. For the record, I like her curls better.

2 year old + wanting a bath =

TROUBLE!

Gabby came running to me the other night saying "I want a bath! I want a bath!" I didn't think much of it because she loves the water. Then I saw why she was insisting on a bath. Somehow she found a pen, and I guess she couldn't get her hands on any paper because she drew ALL over her legs! The things a 2 year old will get into. Gabby is living up the 2's...how are we ever going to make it through another 7 months? Then she'll be 3...

Colors, Colors, Colors

It's time to pick out the paint colors for our new house. The choices are overwhelming. I never knew there were so many shades of blue! (One of which will be in Carter's room) Gabby has been going back and forth between a pink room and a purple room. I've picked a shade of each one -- In the Pink and Magical. Now I'm trying to persude her on her color choice through...unconventional methods. Can you guess which one is my choice? :)

Concentration

Carter is really starting to watch toys now. He's even staring to kick and bat at them a little. After such hard playing this afternoon, he fell asleep on his playmat. I love how he's sticking his tongue out...like he's really concentrating and determined to get the duck.

Ready to Go!

Gabby went to spend the night at Abuelita & Granddaddy's house tonight. She had her "pack-pack" on and she was heading to the car. I'm so grateful that both sets of grandparents live in town. She loves being with them (and them with her!) Here's a shot of her on the way out the door!

First Smiles

Carter smiled for the first time on Monday. I actually captured bits of his smile on camera this afternoon. He's 7 weeks old today...hopefully these are the first of many smiles I'll capture in photos!

1 Month Old

I can't believe I'm already posting that Carter is a month old. This first month has gone by so quickly! If this sets the pace for his first year, he won't be a baby for long! I'm definitely trying to enjoy every moment (even the crying ones!) each day. They grow too fast! Here are some pictures from today.

Of course since I wasn't TRYING to take pictures of her, Gabby wanted a "pishsure" too!
And this about sums Carter up...

Her Soup

The last couple of weeks we've been hearing Gabby talk a lot about her "soup." No, she hasn't decided that soup is her favorite food. She's not even refering to the food. She's actually talking about her swim suit... her "soup"! At first I think she may have said "suit," but for some reason she's changed it! She would be happy just to wear a swim suit inside the house to play and watch t.v. like she has all afternoon today. Of course she loves to play in the water, but her suit is the main thing (any one of them...doesn't matter which one as long as it's a swim suit!)

1st Haircut

Gabby had her first haircut on Memorial Day. We had to grab her quick before she got soaked playing in the water. It seems like we cut a lot off, but at least it's even now and hopefully it'll grow fast! I'll have to get a good picture of it when it's fixed one day soon!

He's here!

Jonathan Carter
May 8, 2008
10:40 a.m.
8 lbs 8 oz 22 inches

11 days old

New

The one word title stands for a lot. We started the actual building of our house about a month ago. Yesterday they started framing, and they have gone so fast! I'm amazed.

Also, baby Carter should be joining our family on Thursday! On Saturday night/Sunday morning we went to the hospital at 3 am because I was having lots of contractions. They had me hooked up to the monitors for about 7 hours! The contractions slowed down so they sent me home. Dr. is going to induce Thursday. I can't believe we'll be a family of 4 in less than 48 hours! Excitement, nervousness...it's all starting to set in now!

So...new baby, new house...

Here is Gabby and me (and Carter!) earlier today checking out the work they've done at our future home!

Getting Ready

Gabby wanted to get in the crib while I had Chad taking a few pictures last night. I don't have many pictures of my growing belly this pregnancy. This is probably one of the last pregnant photos this time around! (A girl can hope can't she?)

Babies

I took these photos about a week and a half ago so I could post some recent photos of Gabby and just have some everyday shots of her playing. I meant to post these that the same day. Although it's not quite same day, here is Gabby playing with her baby dolls a few days ago.



I just hope she's this sweet to baby Carter when he makes his arrival. Which, by the way, could be anytime now! Due date is officially 3 weeks away...and counting!

A little late...

Gabby woke up in the middle of Saturday night with a high fever and vomiting. By Sunday morning we had decided to take her to the doctor, but being Easter the pediatrician's office was closed. We ended up at the ER just to make sure everything was okay. They looked in her ears, checked her throat, did a flu swab, a strep throat swab AND a chest X-Ray. Everything came back clear, so they deemed it something "viral." Anyway, we didn't make it to church or to do an egg hunt. She's much better now, and didn't have a fever at all today! (Yea!) Here's a card I made with some pictures I took earlier in the month in her Easter dress. Sorry it's late, but our Easter was busy taking care of a sick toddler!

Cooperation

That's rare for a 2 year old...well, at times anyway. It seems Gabby always chooses to be uncooperative when I get the camera out. Last weekend I attempted to do Easter photos. (I'll share some of those later in the week) While I had everything set up I decided to do some "official" 2 year photos. These were done after the Easter photos, but I definitely got more cooperation for these! Of course, at this point I had Dora to show Gabby how to sit, and then she helped me make Gabby smile. So...here's my cooperative 2 year old (and Dora)!

Bubbles!

Gabby loves bubbles. What child doesn't? She got a little van that blows bubbles for her birthday. Tonight while I was cooking supper she wanted to put bubbles in it. I told her we would play with it after we ate. Not 5 minutes after leaving the table she was bringing the toy to me shouting "Bubbles! Bubbles!" How could I say no? Look how much she was enjoying it...

I can't decide if I like the color or black/white better...so I'm posting both!

Up and Down, Around and Around

We celebrated Gabby's birthday last Saturday with a party at the carousel. She had so much fun. She didn't get tired of riding the carousel at all (I don't think her guests did either...although their parents are another story I'm sure!) Here are a few pictures from the celebration. Gabby didn't want to look at the camera...there was too much fun going on!