One Year Ago

I've purposely been avoiding this topic.  Not thinking about what tomorrow is, or what it means.  It's simply unfathomable to me that Carter has been here an entire year.  That we survived our first year with our first child.  That tomorrow I will hold a toddler and not a baby.

One year ago I was on day 3 of my labor & delivery stay.  I had my cerclage removed and we were officially on "Baby Watch 2012!"  Little did we know that we would be discharged later that day only to come back to a very different situation the next day.  I thank God every single day for the doctors and nurses at Memorial Hermann who saved my life and delivered my precious preemie safely.

One year...gosh, it feels just like yesterday.  I'm going to blink and it will be his high school graduation.

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.




Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).





The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Children's Museum

Two weeks ago our play group we meet with on Wednesdays planned to go to the Houston Zoo.  I can't remember the last time I went to the zoo, although Matt claims our anatomy class took a field trip there in high school.  I was really looking forward to it, probably more so than Carter! (Since he has an opinion and all.)  So I was really bummed when we woke up and it was raining and forecasted to rain all day.  Bummer!  So after a few group texts we settled on the Children's Museum.

 Nancy- Carter's best girl friend

Carter had already been to the CM once, but he was so small I never really took him out to play.  This time he had an absolute blast!  We spent a lot of time upstairs at the "Tot Spot" for babies up to 35 months and it was like heaven to him.  There were balls, mirrors, mats to fall on, and his favorite...doors!!  Haha, he spent most of his time in front of these little doors opening and closing.  I swear he would have stayed there all day if I had let him.  At home that's his favorite thing to do, and he has the bruises on his forehead to prove it!

We brought our lunches and had a picnic outside.  If the weather was better I would have brought his swimsuit so he could run around the outdoor water area.  This will be a perfect place to go in the summer while Matt is off work.  Plus, he got a really good nap in the car on the way there and on the way home.  Score!

He had a fever virus last week so I'm hoping that didn't come from the museum.  There were people there cleaning every step of the way, but hundreds of kids so sickness is bound to happen.  Of course Carter seems to catch anything viral that he possibly can, so who knows where it came from.

We also got to meet up with our cousin William!  He is almost 5 months and just the cutest he can be!  A perfect mix of his mama and daddy!

This was a fun day and I can't wait to go back with Matt so he can see how much fun Carter had and how happy he was.  Especially since it will be so hot this summer!!

Playing at the Park

I found these pictures on my computer a few nights ago and wanted to be sure to post them.  About a month ago we met Aunt Laura and Brooks at the park on a Saturday.  It was the end of April in Texas but was pretty chilly.  Both Laura and I had to go back to the car to get jackets for our littles while we were there.  In April!! The Texas weather this year has been super weird.

Carter will not keep a hat on for anything

Carter and Brooks are really starting to interact more when they are together.  I love that Carter recognizes her and get excited when she is around.  Laura and I didn't have many cousins growing up so I want to be sure to surround Carter with his cousins as much as possible.

This was the first time I started to notice gender differences with Brooks and Carter.  Once we finished our picnic Brooks wanted to spend her time watching the ducks and dancing around our blanket.  Carter was happy to crawl around and put rocks in his mouth.  Such a boy!

It's creeping up into the 90's now so our days at the park are limited.  Now you can find us at the pool, but always with our sweet cousins.

Carter's 1st Swim

We have had one heck of a week! I told a friend I would sub an entire week for her while she moved her daughter home from college.  An entire week...what was I thinking?!?  Thankfully Nana offered to watch Carter Man while I hung out with my old co-workers and students.  I actually had a really good time :)

Matt, Carter and I all ended up getting sick on Wednesday.  It was awful! I'll spare you the details but I don't ever want to go through that again.

On top of everything we had family pictures Monday night, Red & White game Tuesday night, and my mom was out of town visiting family in Georgia.  Sheesh!!

Anyhoo....last weekend we hit the pool for Carter's first swim! Last summer he was obviously too small, so I'm excited to spend most of this summer in the water with him.  He loves bath time  so I knew the pool would be a hit and I was right!  He was happy as a clam in his pool float, and when I sat him on the steps he loved playing in the fountain.  Sometimes when I hold him he wriggles around but, thankfully, he didn't do that in the pool.  I think he spent most of his time trying to drink all of the water.

 Please ignore the pink float...and don't say anything to Matt!! 

I'm debating about swim lessons since both sets of grandparents have a pool.  I'm not looking for him to be able to swim, but it would give us peace of mind if our fearless boy were to somehow fall in.  I'm calling around to a few places tomorrow to get the scoop.  Hopefully we can get those done before we leave for Florida!!!

Sara & Randy's Wedding: Saturday

After a great night on Friday we woke up to overcast, grey skies on Saturday.  The wedding was outside so we immediately started praying for the weather to clear up and for the sun to come out from the shadows.  Thankfully, the clouds parted and the sun came out in the early afternoon before the ceremony started.

The girls headed out to Pecan Springs early so we could get our makeup and hair done.  Stephanie and I left Mason and Carter with Robby and Matt so they stayed behind and had a boys day together.  It was heartwarming sitting in the brides room and not being able to tell who was Sara's family, Sara's friends and Randy's family; everyone blended in and got along so well together.  Sara is so fortunate to be marrying into such a loving family.

The day went off without so much as a hiccup: the weather cooperated, Sara and Randy looked stunning, and the boys were as cute as can be.  Mason loved his cowboy boots and Carter wore his first tie! Sara also picked the perfect bridesmaids dress that was comfortable and beautiful, a combo you don't come across everyday.

Mama K held Carter throughout the ceremony, and besides some talking I heard from his as we were walking in, he watched and had a great time seeing everyone.  Baby boy was teething something fierce and chewed on my shoulder right before we took our family pictures after the ceremony so hopefully the photographer is skilled in photoshop!!

For dinner we had a little bit of everything, including a "you kill it, we grill it" buffet from some of PawPaw's recent kills.  My favorite was the risotto....uh, so good! I heard a lot of people say the shrimp was phenomenal but I somehow missed that.

Carter headed home with Aunt Laura and Brooks shortly after his bedtime.  Matt and I had a blast with the photobooth, on the dancefloor, and with all of our friends and family there.  I love going to weddings where you know everyone, it just makes everything so much more fun.  I also made a point to have several pieces of wedding cake (each layer was a different flavor) ;)

To Sara and Randy,
It is obvious to everyone who comes in contact with y'all that y'all were meant for each other.  Your faces light up when you talk about the other.  You share a love that is rare; covet each other and nurture your relationship daily.  I'm honored to have been apart of your wedding day and blessed to have such wonderful people to be Carter's aunt and uncle.  Best wishes for a long, long and happy marriage!