Sunday After Church

When I was growing up, we spent almost every single Sunday afternoon at my Grandma Ferguson's house.  We all went to church and then over to her house for a big Sunday lunch.  My Grandpa died before my parents got married and my Grandma was a widow for more than 25 years, so to have her little house full of family every Sunday was precious to her.  Some weeks we went straight to her house but most of the time we stopped at home first to change our clothes.  The weeks that we went straight to her house, she always made a big deal about how dressed up my sisters and I were and how much she loved our little dresses.  We took pictures, because it was usually a holiday, and she always laughed about how she had food on her blouse from cooking, or didn't have lipstick on or her hair was a mess :) I can close my eyes and hear her go on about it.  Although she had lots of grandchildren, my sisters and I were the only ones who lived close so we saw her all the time and knew her very well.  And we loved her.  Dearly.  She lived to be 92 and died just a few months before Travis and I got married.  She never got to meet him, but I did show her a picture of Travis when we were just starting to date and she smiled and said, "Oh Stephy, he's very handsome.  I think he sounds just wonderful."  I'm sad that she didn't get to know him, she would have loved him and I'm also sad that she didn't get to see my kids, she would love them too!  In fact, Ava is named after her.  Her middle name Page, was my Grandma's maiden name.  That would have thrilled her to know that we choes that!

Anyway, I've been thinking about her a lot today because it was her birthday and she would have been 100 years old!  Thankfully, I know she is with Jesus and I know I'll get to see her again someday.  In honor of my Grandma, I thought I'd post some pictures of my kiddos after Church on Sunday.  Although we don't have a standing Sunday lunch anymore, there are many weeks I miss that.  It was a sweet memory.  But, I'm thankful for the memories we are making now with my own little family and as I pulled out my camera to take these, I thought of her.

My Grandma would have loved these little cuties  :)

I'm a sucker for a jumper, just love them on Ava!

Even Carter had on a big boy outfit, you just can't tell yet :)

Ava, do you want to hold your brother?

(I think our hearts were melting as this unfolded!)

Can you give him a kiss??

How about a hug?

:)

Gotta love a big sister and her method of showing love!

The boys

The girls

Craning his neck to watch the football game with Daddy :)

Must have been a good game, he obviously couldn't keep his eyes off it!

Does this look comfortable to you??  Nope, I didn't think so either.

It is a nice view of all that hair however!

Ava, clearly over the photo shoot and doing what she does best, scrolling through videos of herself on Trav's phone!

Grandma wouldn't know what to do about that!  Ha Ha :)

3 Months Old

Although I'm a few days late in posting this, Carter you are already 3 months old!!

Your growth spurt has evened out a little bit, but you are still one solid little boy!  Most people guess that you are much older because of your hair and your size, but we just like to think that you are bulking up for all those sports you're going to play someday :)

At 3 months old...

-You wear a size 2 diaper

-You wear size 3-6 month in clothes

-If I had to guess, you probably weigh about 15 lbs and I know you've gotten longer because lots of your pants are suddenly too short :)

-You eat every 3-4 hours during the day

Carter at 3 months old you have definitely transitioned from a newborn to a baby.  You are doing so many things now that we remember doing with your sister!  You are awake a little bit more now during the day, so we've started to introduce you to some new toys.  You are not a big fan of "tummy time" but Mommy tries to make you do it anyway :) I usually end up laying on the floor making goofy faces at you instead!

This month you seem to have found your voice Carter!  You love to coo back at us when we talk to you and Daddy has even made you giggle a few times too, but you've also developed an ability to yell.  And you're very good at it :) You yell when you're mad, when your diaper is dirty, when you want some attention and when Mommy is switching sides to feed you.  We can't believe how LOUD you can yell, but I guess you must want to make sure that we don't forget about you :) No worries buddy, we won't.

Your hair is still your most talked about feature!  Although you have maintained a definite faux hawk, it's gotten extrememly long and much lighter.  We try and try and try to comb it all kinds of different ways, but that faux hawk is oh so natural :) It just falls right back into place.  And let's be honest buddy, we love that about your look!  You're very easy to spot in the Church nursery!

You have begun to notice things that are in front of you, like the toys that hang from your playmat or the stuffed animals hanging from your swing.  You lock eyes on whatever it is and within seconds we find you grinning and smiling at your new toy and then reaching out to grab it.  I'm sure you'll get better and better at it this month and I'm also wondering if you'll even roll over too??  You are getting very close and when you're flat on your back, you love to arch your back and turn your head and shoulders as far as you can in one direction.  We've seen you come so close many times, I'm thinking it's just a matter of time before you've got it!

Because your neck muscles have gotten so much stronger, we've even tried you in the excersaucer a few times!  You like it for about 5 minutes and then you begin yelling until I take you out :) Ava does not know what to think about your yelling, but she loves to show you all of the toys that she once loved too!

Mostly though, you are very, very chill Carter.  You love to sit and watch the chaos of your sister and the dog, while sucking on your paci and taking it all in!  You're officially too long for your bouncy seat now and it won't be long before you're too long for the swing too! 

You've got several of these soft, little animal blankies and you LOVE to have them near your face when you are trying to go to sleep.  You hold them close to you and rub them over your eyes, it's so cute and it works like a charm for you :)  As you've gotten older, you've really fallen into a nice routine.  You are sleeping through the night and have been for awhile.  We put you to bed around 9:30 or 10:00 and you sleep until 6:15, just like clock work :) After you eat at 6, you go right back to sleep for a few more hours, and so does Mommy-thank you very much!!  During the day you nap about 3 times for an hour or two every time.  You are pretty predictable and Mommy appreciates that about you!

You are looking more and more like Daddy and I love it! 

You guys are my two blue-eyed boys :)  

Carter, you are just as sweet as can be and we love you so much buddy!  These last 3 months have been full of such JOY for us because you have added that JOY to our lives.  Your big sister is crazy about you and so are your Mom and Dad.  I love spending my days with you and I love the times we get to cuddle and snuggle together.  I'm treasuring this time with you Carter. 

We love you with all of our hearts!
Happy 3 Months :)

You're Welcome

A few weeks ago, I made a reference to a new recipe blog that I stumbled upon and I promised I would share it.  So today I'm making good on that promise.  You know that I love to cook and I sometimes bake and for those of us who have fallen in love with the Pioneer Woman, recipes that are EASY to follow, complete with PICTURES of every step, are the best!  So, on a blustery winter day, much like today in fact, I went searching for a good corn chowder recipe.  I googled that phrase and found lots of listings for that particular soup.  BUT, it wasn't until I stumbled upon this recipe below that I knew I hit a gold mine...

Does that look yummy or what???  

Well let me tell you, it was.  In fact I've made it twice. 

But as I was reading the recipe, I found myself totally sucked into the blog from where it resides. 

http://www.ourbestbites.com/

If you like to cook/bake or drool over photos from people who do, you must bookmark this site!

This is the picture that led me to the recipe and tutorial for my
"Happy Birthday Jesus" cookies.  They were by far, the best sugar cookies I've ever had and the icing was just a beautiful as they said it would be.  SO fun!

On New Year's Eve I decided to check their site again for any inspiration and we went immediately to the store for these little appetizers. 

Unbelieveably good and VERY easy to make.  I can still taste them if I think about it :)

In addition to their great blog, their BRAND NEW cookbook is about to hit stores in February. 

I don't know about you, but I think this would make a lovely Valentine's Day gift.

You know, for *certain* people who love to cook...

In case *certain* husbands are reading :)

I didn't get asked to write this and they aren't rewarding me in any way, but I PROMISE you will love this blog. 

It is a holiday weekend you know, with plenty of time to be in the kitchen. 

And if you live in Minnesota, you know that it's snowing.  Again. 

 What else do we do but cook, bake and scrapbook in the winter???

Happy Friday everyone!

Oh, and You're welcome :)

Future Girlfriend???

It was a fun morning for Carter today...He hosted his first playdate! 

 Little Miss Clara came over for some fun and Carter was on his best behavior.

"Mom, seriously??  This is so embarrassing. 

 We're just laying here, how many pictures are you going to take??"

I can't help it, you never know how these things might turn out :)

We could be flashing these pictures up at a wedding rehearsal dinner or something! 

"Ok, Mom, now you're scaring me.  A wedding??  We're only 3 months old!!!

I think I'll just suck my thumb and go to my happy place now..."

Ok, I'm only kidding, no pressure Clara! 

I really do hope that these two will grow up to be great friends.  We sure love Clara's Mommy and Daddy, so chances of that are good :) Although they are no where near the same size, they are only 4 days apart!  Clara was born on Wednesday, October 6th and Carter was born on Sunday, October 10th.  I think my favorite distinction between these two is the obvious.  

Check out Carter's amazing hair.  

Uh huh...that's our boy!!

Clara, just so you know, he spent hours in front of the mirror before you came today. 

We had to get that faux hawk "just" right :)

Hope you had fun, we can't wait to have you over again!

Sweet Ava Page

Still trying to work out the kinks with my new computer!  So far I've written this post 3 times and lost it each time.  I'm trying not to freak out.  So rather than re-write it one more time, I'm going to just share the following pictures and let you draw your own conclusions!  The bottom line is, we love her!  She's growing up so fast and getting cuter by the minute.  She's 20 months old and full of spunk.  She's the sweetest little peanut and we can't get enough of her.  Enjoy...

Yep, we love her!

Storytime With Daddy

It's an exciting day!!!  My new computer got delivered this morning, a day earlier than expected!!!  How often does that happen?? I'm elated for several reasons, the least of which is now I can upload pictures again with ease :) So I'll warn you now, expect an onslaught of pictures and posts in the coming days!

After watching some home videos from Ava's first days, we recently realized that we used to read a lot to Ava when she was Carter's age, but not so much to Carter  yet. 
20 mintues after we made the discovery, I walked in the kids room to find this :)

At first it was just Daddy and Carter, but it didn't take long for Ava to weasel her way in between them!

Daddy chose "5 Little Sleepyheads", one of our favorites.

Love to see this :)

Of course Ava had to get in there and do some "mothering"-i.e., checking to make sure Carter didn't need her to put his paci in his mouth :)

Daddy to the rescue.

Ava decided she would like to go ahead and read the story too. 

And actually, we've read it so many time, she probably could get the story right!

Sweet baby boy.

Happy big sister.

Blessed Daddy :)

Monday, Monday...

Anyone else feel like singing the song along with me??  

"Every other day, every other day,

 every other day of the week is fine...yeah...

But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes, 

you can find me cryin, all of the time! 

Oh, Monday, monday..."

Ok, anyway, moving on..

-I've got a roast in the crockpot and I just want to high five myself for thinking ahead.  It's one of my newest recipes and it's the easiest one of them all.  And, it smells delicious.

-Both of my kids are sleeping.  Hallelujah.  

-I haven't showered yet, and more commonly these days than not, I don't really want to.  Wow, I just admitted that.  I'm sure come 7:00 tonight, I'll feel much differently about that decision :) 

-I have a major to-do list that is running in my head.  I'm thinking I should really write it down, but haven't yet.  

-I need to call Air Tran for a trip we are taking in March, but after 2 days in a row of being on hold for at least 30 minutes, I'd rather vomit than pick up the phone and try again.  And yet, with everyday that passes, prices continue to climb.  Sigh....

-I'm reading a book right now that is making so much sense to me and inspiring Travis to read it too so we can discuss it.  Grace Based Parenting.  So far, I highly recommend it.  

-Ava is killing me right now with her antics.  She's totally funny and randomly breaking out her dance moves along with gymnastics moves too.  I'm thinking she would really love a little gym class to go to.

  

-Carter is so sweet.  I just love him like crazy and I'm so thankful he's in our family.  I honestly can't remember life without him, it seems like it must have been incomplete :) 

-I'm in the middle of re-organizing/cleaning out our closet.  Giving up our huge walk-in for Carter's nursery was not easy and is making our daily clothes storage a continual challenge.  And yet, it is what it is.  I'm currently trolling Craig's list for a tall dresser that we desperately need for more storage.  Haven't found the perfect one yet, but I know I will.  

-I packed up all of my maternity clothes today and silently hoped it would be at least a year before I pull them out again!  Also wondered when I do, would it be because I'm pregnant?  Or because one of my sisters is?  Or because I'm ready to get rid of them??  Who knows...

-Tomorrow is our return to Bible study after winter break.  Naturally, I'm just now cramming to get my lesson done.  I've only had 4 weeks to complete it, so it makes total sense that I saved it all for the day before.  Guess you know what I'll be doing late tonight :) 

-I put Carter in the church nursery for the first time yesterday morning and it was wonderful!  I was ready, he did great and I'm optimistic about potentially getting to sit through an entire worship service again!  You never realize how much you take that for granted until you can't do it.  Glad to be returning to Church again.  

-It's snowing here and has been all day.  Because I have no where I need to go, I'm loving it.  Nothing like a beautifully covered ground, with fresh, sparkly snow.  Reminds me again, that I'm thankful for a meal already in my crock pot!  

-Ok, now I'm hungry and I haven't eaten lunch yet, so I'll cut this fascinating list of thoughts off here.  

Hope your Monday is a good one and in the words of The Mamas and The Papas, 

"Monday, Monday,

It's all I hoped it would be..."