the bunny cake.

we've got some major news.

The selection list came out last week for promotion to major and Andy was on the list!  Hooray! 

Olivia, of course, had to paint him a picture to show her pride!

everyone does their best work in the undies, right?!
(and looks adorable doing it?!) I thought so.

Carter put in his two cents via smiles, squeals, and drool!

Congratulations, Andy!  We couldn't be more proud!

playing catch-up: Grandma & Grandpa.

We got to spend several days with Grandma and Grandpa during our trip to NC and we had such a great time!

Carter gave away lots of snuggles....

Olivia helped Grandma cook.....

We were able to introduce Andy to some dear family....

out to dinner with Bob & Joyce (Andy's Godparents)

the kids met Uncle Doug for the first time!

...and we had fun going  through Daddy's "boxes of stuff" from his past.  We even found his first ever team baseball shirt from when he was 5 years old!  I think Olivia probably gives him a run for his money in the contest of who looks cuter in it ;)

Last, but not least, we came across this gem of a picture......does it remind you of anyone?!

Andy, 6 months.
(picture of a picture...thus, the poor quality)



(almost) wordless Wednesday.

I just realized it was Wednesday!  I've had such a productive day that it never crossed my mind to post pictures!  Better late than never, right?!

Summertime means cook-outs with friends, a warm fire, and smores!  Olivia was a big fan!

And just because I can hardly handle his cuteness (even though it has nothing to do with summer time, cook-outs, fires, and smores), here is yet another smiling picture of our boy!  Too bad he isn't a happy baby ;)



playing catch-up - NC trip.

We traveled as a family to North Carolina last month.  One of Andy's good friends from high school was getting married, so it was a perfect opportunity to go and see Grandma and Grandpa!

Olivia was SO excited to fly on an airplane.  As parents, we weren't nearly as excited to take her on that plane ride, but luckily her excitement  made her a great traveler!  I'm sure every parent has the fear that they will be "those parents" on the plane.  We had a five minute tantrum on the way home (just prior to landing because she didn't want to keep her seat belt on), but otherwise we were pleasantly surprised with how well both children did.  Multiple things saved us.  First, we borrowed a cart that converted Olivia's car seat into a stroller of sorts.  We've used it in the past and it is a lifesaver!  Its called GoGo Babyz or GoGo Kidz, and we highly recommend it!  It completely eliminates chasing your toddler through the airport or holding onto their hand for dear life in fear that they may escape from your view in the terminal.  Carter also traveled to the gate in his car seat /snap and go stroller and we gate checked all three items.  Airlines are totally flexible when it comes to kid gear!  Our other saving grace was Andy's laptop computer.  Olivia's love for princesses and the movie Tangled got us nearly 3/4 of the way through the flights, both coming and going!  She contently watched her movie, Andy listened to his iPod, and I held a sleeping Carter while enjoying some peace!  The third thing that made our airline travel simple was the fact that Carter is pretty much the easiest baby on the planet! ha.  He seriously just went with the flow, ate when I got a chance to nurse him, and slept when he was tired (no matter where we were)! 

So, all in all, getting to NC and back was rather painless, and that includes our trip through security.  Olivia waited patiently and did everything I asked of her, which made me so relieved!  Toddler hood is SO unpredictable, especially when our travel/check-in times were right during nap (poor planning on our part!), but she did just great.  I even did security alone in Dallas - me, a broken ankle and boot for it, two kids, two car seats, one stroller, one diaper bag, one princess backpack, a few prayers, and we made it through no problem!  :)  I think I got a star on my mommy badge of honor for that one ;)

Nap time is quickly ticking away, so I can't share as much as I'd like about our trip, but it was fabulous!  The wedding was at Lake Lure Inn, which is where Dirty Dancing was filmed!  Apparently, there had been some "ghost activity" there the week before we arrived and ghost busters (or whatever they are called) were there!   We laughed that we hoped to see Patrick Swayze!  However, the only thing that could be heard in the wee hours of the morning were the cries of our children!  While quaint and full of character, the hotel room was very small!  Needless to say, my children just went back and forth waking each other up through the night. Carter would cry and I'd get him settled and then Olivia would wake up crying; Andy would try and calm her and she would tantrum and scream that she wanted mommy; in getting to her, I would have to move Carter and her loud screams would wake him up, and then the cycle would repeat.  It was pretty miserable.  I never felt like I slept during the two nights we were there.  I found myself praying for daylight to come so that the debacle of trying to get the kids to sleep would quickly be over!   Good thing the scenery was beautiful!  It served as inspiration to get up and moving each morning!

The wedding was lots of fun and Olivia followed the bride around like a lost puppy!  She is very much into princesses, and to her Rebekah was a real-life princess!  She still talks about her white dress and "crown"!  Olivia was the dancing star of the night!  She seriously danced the entire evening, even right through dinner because the DJ played music while we were eating.  We let her stay up until it was over because she was having such a great time! (10ish). That's a big deal for this mama!  Unfortunately her extreme tiredness only made her sleep worse than she had the night before, but she had a good time.....

dancing with the bride!

why are our family pictures always so blah?....

the reception was on the patio, so I was thankful I had
Carter's owl hat (thanks, Musa family!!)

Carter keeping an eye on the dance floor...and that crazy big
sister of his!

We spent the wedding ceremony in the back of the church because our children were so unruly!  Olivia loudly announced "I have to potty" just as the bride made it to the front so Andy quickly ushered her out.  Then, Carter decided that he wanted in on the action and started jabbering nice and loud, so I made an escape with him!  We all met up at the back and watched the ceremony standing up and trying to keep our brood quiet! ha.  Attending a wedding with your kids is definitely a different experience! 

Stay tuned for pictures with Grandma and Grandpa.  There was plenty of fun had at their house!

wordless Wednesday.

(with some thoughts because I couldn't help myself;) 
All pictures via my iphone.

Mornings snuggling with my babies....my favorite part of
being a SAHM.

Daddy got summoned for Play-Doh within minutes of
walking in the door last night!

brave girl at the doctor!

no description needed!

 our beautiful girl.

our smiling (and handsome) boy.

me and my future Boilermakers!

big girl bed!

We are over a week into Olivia sleeping in her big girl bed, so I feel safe calling the transition a success!  Watch, she will be up all night tonight :)  Ha.  Actually, she has only gotten out of bed one time since we transitioned her and that was because she wanted to take her diaper off because it was wet!  I looked on the monitor and saw she wasn't in bed and immediately sent Andy to investigate.  She was standing in her room with her pajamas off so "she could take off her wet diaper"!  Silly girl.

I am so happy that it went so well!  She seems very comfortable in it and looks like such a big girl!

We made a really big deal about it and let her go to the store to "pick out her new mattress".  In reality, I had already been there and knew which one we were going to buy, but we let her think she was picking one out!  Then we went to the store and she picked out which sheets she wanted.  Of course, she picked out a set of princess sheets that match Jordan's!  No surprise there!  They are a bit obnoxious and the pink does not match the current pink in her room, but she is happy, so who cares!

helping Daddy build her bed!

I snuck in to snap a picture of her after she fell asleep the first night.
She went to sleep without any issues and we were so proud of her!
p.s. Look how BIG she looks!!

Here is Olivia talking about her new big girl bed and being a "big kid"!  At the end she says her full name, but she always adds Louis on to the end (which is Carter's middle name!).  Guess she thinks she needs four names rather than just three ;)

Three cheers to having our girl out of the crib before she turns five (which was my mother's prediction!  Mom, you were wrong ;)