Christmas Tree Shopping

Here's a summary of what Carter thought of it:

From Picking out the Christmas Tree 2008

I'm happy to report that the tree is lovely, and Carter walks by it and says "purty!" :)

Happy Turkey Day!

We had a very busy holiday weekend! Thanksgiving Day was lovely - we spent time at Ryan's sister Christina's house. Carter loved his Thanksgiving dinner! He ate a little bit of every single dish I offered him: turkey, broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, corn, bread, stuffing, yummy homeade macaroni and cheese...he enjoyed it all! We were also excited to visit with baby Gracie.



We then headed over to Nanny Joyce's new house for just a few minutes to say hi to the Gaspard family. Carter had a great time rolling around the yard in the wagon, but he especially loved to pull the wagon. His favorite things to do these days are to push and pull things, so the wagon is right up his alley.



You can see the full album of Thanksgiving pics here:

Thanksgiving 2008

Unfortunately, poor Dutton was sick last week, so my mom headed over to Shreveport on Thursday to watch him, and Kayla, Carter, and I decided to join her to do some Black Friday shopping the next day (and visit Josh and Toye too...I guess ;)

The shopping did not disappoint!! We headed over to the Louisiana Boardwalk where the Banana Republic outlet was 50% off everything. It was such fun shopping!! We also hit up Gap, Carter's, and of course, our ever faithful Target. Carter and even Sutton (who was feeling much better) were troopers as we hit up the sales. It was a lovely weekend. More to come about our trip to Natchitoches on the way home...

Sassy Pants

Yesterday, my mom, Carter, and I were at Sam's picking up my Christmas cards when he asked for crackers, so I took out the little plastic holder I have, and it had only whole wheat bunny crackers (previously, the same container had Puffs mixed in). Well, apparently Carter remembered the Puffs and wanted the Puffs and the bunnies were not a suitable alternative, so he proceeded to get red and start wailing.

I calmly told him that I only had bunnies and he could have the bunnies, and there were no Puffs. I handed him the container and he smacked it right there out of my hand!

My mom turns to me and says, "Isn't he a bit young to be doing that?!" We laughed, but I feel like it is only going to get worse!! AHHH!! Where's my sweet baby boy??

I miss Lilo

Carter was sick yesterday, so he went to bed early (like 5:45pm early). Ryan and I used the remainder of the evening to catch up on our DVR list, so a marathon of Gossip Girl ensued. As we were watching (ok, he'll probably make me add that he does not love Gossip Girl, he only tolerates it because I force him to), I heard a meowing on our back patio. I got up to check it out and saw the cutest, fluffiest, gray kitten in the corner next to the door! I had to go and look for the key because the door was deadbolted, and by the time I got back, it had run off. It looked something like this:



I made Ryan come out with me to search the backyard because it was pretty cold last night. We couldn't find it after a while, so we headed back inside.

About thirty minutes later (second episode of Gossip Girl ;), I heard meowing from the front porch! Sure enough, the kitten was sitting right there, but again, when we got outside, it bolted. We searched the front yard, and I put some food out to try and lure it back, but this morning, it appeared that the kitty had moved on.

As I was getting settled in the house later, it made me realize that I really miss having a pet around. I had absolutely no intention of keeping a kitten in our house (namely because I don't love cats and I'm allergic to them anyway - but who can resist an adorable kitten with blue eyes for just one night?!), but I really wish Lilo was still home. Carter was just getting big enough to run around and play with her, so I know they would have had fun together. I hate that we don't know where she is or that she's well taken care of. If we knew that, I think it would be a lot easier.

Here's a pic of the cuteness that was Lilo when we first got her:

NOLA

We headed out to New Orleans this weekend for a little touristy fun. I had been wanting to take Carter to the Aquarium for a long time, so this was the perfect opportunity...though it was a little cold!! We went over on Friday night and stayed in a hotel, got up in the morning and headed out for some beignets and then hit the Aquarium.

Unfortunately, Carter did not sleep very well (probably because he refused to sleep in his pack and play so it was Ryan, me, and Carter in one very tiny double bed!), so he was tired and really needed a nap before we went to the Aquarium. But if you know Carter at all, you know there was no way he was napping with all that excitement and fun around him!! So he was a touch cranky and quite tired, but we still managed to have a good time.

He was so silly when we got to the hotel...goofing around in his pack and play:


Mmmmm, sugary beignets....


Silly Mommy...


Hanging out with PaRandy


The diver came along and was feeding the sting rays broccoli - Carter was mesmerized!


Attack of the killer shark!!


Fishies!!




Having fun with Mama:


Carter's new obsession - the slide!


It's an owwwww-uuuuhl


Carter loves the ladies!

A Sneak Peek

Santa's coming....

Maybe we eat too much fast food...

So I went through the ATM line today at the bank, and as I was rolling down the window, Carter lifts arm up and puts his hand out and says to me, "french fry? french fry?"

Sunny Day...Sweepin' the clouds away...

Don't be jealous, people, but this very morning I, along with Carter, Amie, Nanny Kayla, Nonnie Christina, Kay-Kay, and baby Gracie, attended the one and only Sesame Street Live!

It was amazingly similar to the pictures I have of 1980s Sesame Street Live, complete with Sesame Street banners and glowing lights (though technology has improved! See pics for evidence).

When we first got into the Cajundome, Carter was a bit sleepy because he had woken up kind of early, so he was remarkably laid back and just taking it all in. When the lights when down, he leaned back on me, seeming to be a bit unsure of it all...but then the character came out singing and dancing. Carter looked at them for a second, and I was afraid that he was going to be scared of them and not have fun...but instead he looked over, pointed, and shouted, "Elmo!!" We all laughed because he seemed to just GET it in one second!

The rest of the show included him watching and laughing, and then laying back and relaxing, then getting up again to watch, etc. It also involved an $8 Elmo balloon, a $15 light up spinning Elmo toy, and of course a $8 program. Materialism, shmaterialism.

All in all, it was an exciting morning for a very happy baby boy, and we were glad to be there to share it with him.

I told you he was smart

Carter woke up smiling this morning, which made me happy because I wanted to leave early to go vote. Well, he asked for some "cheery-ohs" so I put some in his snack trap that looks like this :


So I put the Cheerios in the bowl, and Carter leans in, lifts the little plastic part, and shouts "Pee-Pie!" (like peekaboo) to his cheerios!!

It was so cute; I almost died ;)

We Voted!

Carter and I hit the polls early this morning. While we waited in line, I asked if he could say "vote" and he answered by shouting "VOTE!" to everyone in the gym at Milton Elementary School.

So we voted. Did you?


(a flash from the past - last year's election! I'll have to get a new pic with his sticker from this year. He totally voted for the sticker.)

So Carter's a genius

Here's proof:


Carter reading his beloved EIEIO book from Tricia on Vimeo.

and


Carter, the genius from Tricia on Vimeo.

Admit it - you think he's a genius too! Ha ha.

College Game Day

We hit the UL Homecoming Game on Saturday. Carter loves some "foo-ball" so it was the perfect outing, and the weather was awesome!! Dutton and his parents were even able to come, so we really had a great day. We got out there early, had some chili at the Pegasus tent, then headed over to the Gaspard/Dubois/DeHart tent to hang out with Shaq and Wee-yum.

Carter didn't nap for most of the day, so we hung out outside the game when he finally did crash, but he was excited to head into the stadium and kept pointing out the "foo-ball!"

Harry Carter!!

Carter's first Halloween last year was uneventful, to say the least. He dressed as a pepper (hated it!), we drove to show Amie/PaRandy & Meme/Pop...that was it. Here's a pic to refresh your memory:


So this year was a lot more fun....Harry Potter arrived at our house! Carter actually liked his costume!! He LOVED the wand (it lit up and made noises when he swung it), liked his robe, and tolerated the glasses long enough to get some pictures. The tie he wore was none other than Ryan's first-communion tie. It had a zipper that opened and closed when you pulled it! It was awesome and the perfect finishing touch.

When we headed out to trick or treat, I encouraged Carter to go on and get some candy. Our neighbor said, "Hi! Do you want some candy?" to which Carter replied, "No!" We laughed but he refused to take candy, reach in the bowl, put his candy in the "bumpkin" bucket, or say trick or treat. He still seemed to have fun, even if he was acting a bit shy.