Morning sweetness

This morning I found Carter "reading" books to Courtney on the couch. So sweet! What sort of books was he reading? Why, Thomas books, of course!

Evening playtime...

This week Carter's thing before been has been whipping up some mean grub in his new Play-Doh kitchen that Grandma & Grandpa got him for his birthday. Gotta love it when your kid loves the same toys that you did growing up! Well ok, we never had these fancy Play-Doh kitchens, but you know what I mean. Fun times!!

Outside Play

Just a typical day of play out in the backyard...

Somebody get this poor kid a sandbox!!Mommy, I wanna swing!!Ok, this is MUCH better.Carter tried out the new bat, ball & T he got for Christmas.He's a natural, he was hitting the ball across the yard in no time!My future major leaguer!!Even future major leaguers take time out to push their baby sister on the swing.I love my sweeties!!

A Day at the Park

When we stepped outside of the house this morning we didn't instantly melt or suffocate from the heat, so we decided to walk over to our neighborhood park. I managed to snap a whole bunch of photos, but I've narrowed it down to this bunch being my favorite. Oh and by the way, Courtney said her first color today - PURPLE! That's my girl. She is wearing a purple dress that Aunt Lori sent to her a while back, and was very excited about it when I put it on her. And yes, Carter is in bad need of a haircut! But I'm holding out until late next week, just before school starts again and as close as possible to cousin Gina's wedding - haircuts aren't much fun for Carter or me! But anyway, on to the photos...

Going up the slideBig brother pushing Courtney in the swingFun in the tunnelsI love this one, even though he looks mad...Riding the whatchamacallitsMy handsome boy!

Puddle Hoppin'!

Today was a dark and rainy morning here in Austin. It was the most rain we've seen in a LONG time! By afternoon the rain had stopped, and it was just gorgeous outside. I love walking around after a good, spring rain, everything looks so green and lush! Carter got some new rain boots, so we decided to put them on and go searching for puddles to jump in. Carter LOVED it!!Basically, splashing around in new boots ROCKS! Don't you agree, Carter?

You know your baby girl is really sleepy when...

My Future Chef?

Yesterday I had the TV on, mostly for background noise, as I cleaned the kitchen while Carter and Courtney napped. Carter woke from his nap and wandered into the livingroom. Usually if I have the TV on during the day, it's tuned to CNN or MSNBC - news - and as soon as Carter sees it he begins his usual chant of "I wanna watch thoooooomas!" Well this time I had on the Food Network. He didn't say a word and just plopped down on the couch, intently watching Guy Fieri whip up a "family-style fiesta". Carter loves cooking scrambled eggs with me, the one thing we cook together - and he loves playing with his pretend food and his kitchen, where he's always whipping up his special "birthday parties" - perhaps there is already some passion for cooking and I could have the next Food Network celebrity chef on my hands??? Hmmmm. :-)

The Playroom

Today's post may not be interesting to all, but I thought at least the grandparents would enjoy seeing the kids' new playroom. I've been meaning to post this for about a month now and am finally getting around to it. First of all, remember how our diningroom used to look:Now it looks like this!We had painted the walls when we had the house for sale - we painted nearly all the walls back to a neutral color. Once we took the house back off the market, I decided I needed a place for the gazillion toys we have, rather than them constantly being all over the livingroom. I considered turning the breakfast nook back into a playroom, but I rather like the convenience of having our meals there now, plus the amount of toys Carter has, plus the influx for Courtney - that space just wasn't big enough anymore! So, bye bye diningroom! Here are some more details... I still had the paper chain Carter and I made for the Christmas tree, and thought it would be a fun decoration hanging in the window.Some of Carter's art from school hangs on the back wall - eventually we'll have to add some of Courtney's too!These bookshelves used to be in my stamp room, back when I had an entire stamp room! I didn't need them in there for Courtney, so they came in handy for storing the toys in the playroom.And in case you think it always looks so neat and clean, think again! This is how it usually looks. Carter's favorite game it "dump out each and every toy I have, but don't PLAY with a single one - just to aggravate Mommy!" :-) Here he is after dumping out a tub - which he decided made a fine hat. He's into dress-up lately - note he's also wearing a pair of Daddy's socks. :-)Now you just have to come and see the room in person. :-) Thanks for stopping by today!

Tender Moments

I love this photo - Carter looks so sweet and tender with his baby sister. Just remember - looks can be deceiving!! :-)

Bath time!

This week Courtney moved from the baby tub in the kitchen sink to the big tub in the bathroom. And today I was able to convince Carter that it would be fun for them to take their baths together (not to mention easier for Mommy!). Here's some photos (I'm sure they will love these when they are older!). :-)

This one is from Courtney's first bath in the big tub. All she wanted to do was stand up or crawl around the tub... *sigh*Bath time babies!My silly boyI just like how the water looks in this one. :-)

A Day at the Park

We are trying to get in the habit of afternoon walks, followed by fun playtime at the park. The park is really close to our house - one of my absolute favorite things about where we live! It's nice, too - lots of trees shading it, which during our HOT summers is wonderful! Today was Courtney's first time really walking around the park and exploring. It was also her first time going down the slide "by herself" - she sat on the slide but I held onto her hands - she LOVED it, just laughed and laughed! She also went down a couple times sitting on Big Brother's lap, which Carter got quite a kick out of. Unfortunately by the time she started sliding, the batteries in my camera had already died - but here are some other photos I took today. Enjoy!
Swinging...He's riding a horsey to town, to town... (I could not get him to stop making funny faces!)What are these?Mmm... rocks! Yummy!Our little monkey boy.Hanging out.