Happy 3rd Birthday Baby Boy!

October 29, 2008

October 29, 2009

October 29, 2010

October 29, 2011

My baby boy is 3 today! I can't believe how much he has grown. I am so proud of him and the little man he has become. Happy birthday Carter!! Mommy loves you!!

(You can see more photos from Carter's birthday HERE.)

Clickin' Moms Membership Giveaway WINNER!

I used random.org to choose a winner for the Clickin' Moms membership contest and it chose comment #5.

Congratulations to Erin from theschulerfam.com!! You will be hearing from me very shortly about your membership! I'll see you on the boards!

 

Clickin' Moms Membership Giveaway!

If you come here often, you already know that I love the Clickin' Moms forums. I have been a member for about 2 years now and my photography has improved considerably because of what I have learned from the wonderful women that post there. Whether you are just a mom who loves to take pictures of your little ones, a serious hobbyist, or a professional, I promise that you will benefit from CM.

I am giving away a free 1 year membership ($50 value) to the Clickin' Moms forums to one lucky reader. All you have to do to enter is comment on this post telling me how you would like to improve your pictures. To up your odds and get an extra entry, you can follow my blog if you haven't already by signing in with your Google account and clicking the link in the top left corner of this page. Just add an extra comment letting me know you have done so. I will post the extremely lucky winner on Friday!

Learn How to RYC!

Sick and Tired

Ugh...I am sick. I woke up a couple days ago with that horrible tingle in my throat. Then yesterday morning, the little mucus family was partying it up in my head. Poor Carter has it, too. He is worse than I am and I feel awful for him. Its so sad to see my poor guy coughing and sneezing. And he just looks so sick in his eyes. He is trying to jump around and play, but the poor thing is feeling just plain icky. Today, we are just hanging out in our PJs in my big fluffy recliner watching cartoons and movies. Steven is making stew for dinner and after the kids go to bed, I think we might PPV "Horrible Bosses". It looks pretty funny...with the way I am feeling, I could use a good laugh.

We had our first house showing. The feedback wasn't terrible, but it said that the buyer didn't like the "terrible cat odor in the basement." I was like, "Umm...what!?" We don't have a cat!! We have never had a cat!! I talked to my realtor about it and she said "I never smelled any pet odor whatsoever and you keep your house cleaner than most people. I wouldn't worry about it." But, needless to say, I have been asking every person that sets foot in my home to go downstairs and tell me what they smell. So far, the only answer we have gotten is "you know...like, basement smell." That is not something I can change. The windows don't open...because it is a basement!! So, I am going to get some Rid to absorb the moisture odor. Hopefully that helps. I can tell this process is going to be a stressful one.

Well, its time to cuddle my little guy and maybe see if he will drink some Pedialyte and take a nap. I just hope he gets better soon. Here is a PhotoBooth pic of me and the kiddos from last night...

I am truly blessed.

Our Baby is 1!

Brookie is officially 1 year old! Sorry so long since my last update. I can explain. But first, here are some photos from her birthday party!!

My cake lady couldn't do the cake on short notice,

so I did it myself. I was pretty proud!

Pardon my lack of makeup. We spent the morning in 

the sun at my dad's camp.

So...onto the family update. Bullets will be the best way to do this...since there's a lot going on.

• Our house is officially for sale. We have decided to move back to New York. We really want the kids to grow up with their cousins. I have a niece and nephew (and another nephew on the way) who barely know me and that really bothers me. We realize that it is not a seller's market, but we have put it in God's hands and have faith that He will put us where we are supposed to be.
• Carter is almost 100% potty trained! We are just working on him pooping on the potty. He is completely out of diapers, though...even at night.
• Brooklyn is walking! She started a few days ago and is doing great!!

• Carter's 3rd birthday is coming up at the end of October. He wants a NASCAR birthday. We have picked out Pit Pass invitations and I am making a race track cake.
• Brooklyn is absolutely obsessed with baby dolls. You rarely ever see her without one...she tries shoving 2 or more into her doll stroller at one time and will push them around all day. If she doesn't have one and wants one, she will yell "Baby doll!" and get to the nearest one as fast as she can. She got about 15 new dolls for her birthday.
• I heard from one of the DJs at WKKY, the radio station I Guest DJed at a couple summers ago. They asked me to do the show again. Rumor has it they are hiring. Fingers crossed!!
• We switched from cable to DirecTV/ATT so we can get the NFL Sunday Ticket. I saved quite a bit of money, so that was a nice surprise!

Well, that about sums it up. I'm sure life will continue to get crazier, but we say "Bring it on!!" We can handle anything as long as we are together! I will leave you with a funny video of the kids that I took on my cell phone at my mother-in-law's.

Brooklyn's 1st Birthday Shoot

I did Brooklyn's 1 year photos this week. We returned to the same park that we did my maternity photos at almost a year ago. I can't believe how big my little girl is getting. I can imagine her birthday will be a rough day for me. My last baby is growing up way too fast!

Back with my Mac!

I haven't had much opportunity to blog since my laptop was ruined. My AppleCare protection plan didn't cover accidental damage, so I was stuck buying a brand new MacBook Pro. I just got it today. Thankfully, the guy was able to transfer most of the files from the other one, so I didn't lose too much. I also bought a 2TB Time Capsule, which wirelessly backs up all of my files automatically. If something like this were to happen again, at least each and every file will be safe and sound. 

So much has happened in the last 2 months. At the beginning of this month, Steven left his job and we decided that we are ready to move back to New York. He began applying for jobs and actually landed one right away. We certainly weren't expecting it to happen so quickly, since we still have a house to sell. We gave it a try to see if he could stay in NY and work while the kids and I stayed behind and prepared the house to go on the market. We are just too good of a team...he spoke to his employer and told them the story. They said to let them know when we were back for good and hopefully they would have a position open for him. It was certainly worth a try, but he is my love, my best friend, my partner in everything I do, and we just couldn't be apart for such a length of time. He returned home and we are now preparing the house to go on the market...which is way more work than I ever expected. I pray that it sells quickly and that we can get back to NY soon.

The kids are growing like crazy!! Brooklyn will be 1 on September 10th. She is talking and almost walking all by herself! She pushes her baby stroller now and I expect her to take off any day now! Carter is on his way to being potty trained. He has had a few accidents here and there, but I am so proud of my big boy! As soon as I upload all of the photos that I've taken since "the juice incident", I will do a picture post. You won't believe your eyes!!

Now that I am back online, I promise I won't stay away too long! Expect lots more updates as we get further into this stressful but fun process of selling/buying/moving!

Wishing Summer Would Never End

We have been making the most of this beautiful weather and spending a lot of time outside. Steven just got off of night shift for 2 weeks, which was very difficult. I did my best and had a good amount of help from my mom, but I am certainly happy to have a break from it! He had the weekend off and goes back on days tomorrow.

We had a very very unfortunate mishap the other night. I was doing some birthday party projects on my MacBook Pro and Carter kept getting up giving me all sorts of excuses to why he couldn't go to sleep. He started to climb my wheelchair and went to grab my glass of juice that was sitting next to my laptop on the counter...over it went. I immediately dried the computer off and flipped it over, but the damage was done. It is completely fried. I lost everything. I am in the process of purchasing a new one, but I am searching for the best price. My mom let me borrow her MacBook Pro for the weekend.

Anyway, back to the summer fun! My mother-in-law and the kids' Godmother came to visit from NY for the weekend. Grandma brought the kids a water/sand table and some other goodies. Godmother "Diz" bought them a pool while they were here. We had such a fun time. We played, relaxed, and cooked out the last 2 days. They had to go back home today, but we will be making a trip up there in 2 weeks for Steven's birthday, so we have that to look forward to.

Here are some pictures from our fun weekend!!