Trip to College Station

So recently our friend Jeff (aka my other husband) got a job coaching football at Texas A&M.  Texas A&M!!  Although I will miss going to Westlake games in Austin, I will LOVE going to (and bringing Carter to) A&M games! It is even cooler that Jeff is now coaching at the same place where we went to college; it just wouldn't be as special if it were any other university.

Since College Station is only a little over an hour away, Matt and I planned a quick (very quick...20 hours round-trip) trip up Highway 6 to see Uncle Jeff.  We dropped Carter off with Nana after Matt got home from work and arrived in College Station just in time for dinner.  We ate at a new mexican restaurant on Northgate, Chimy's, which was phenomenal.

The best part of the trip happened after dinner when Jeff took us on a tour of the athletic facilities.  Since it was late at night and summertime there was not a soul in any of the buildings.  Most of the buildings are new since Matt and I graduated so they were cool to see.  College football is a whole different ballgame from high school football!

Outside of the new football weight room

Inside the entrance to the Bright Complex

Inside the football weight room (they use to share with all sports)

The linebackers meeting room

Entrance to the locker room

*I may have taken a picture in front of a certain players locker doing a certain football pose!

Aggies in the NFL

Jeff's locker (his name plate isn't in yet)

Right next to a certain coaches locker (he has multiple lockers)

Football wall

Defensive staff work room

Matt and I both were very impressed with everything.  It's crazy to see how much money goes into college football (especially compared to high school football.)  Matt has met with coaches/toured at LSU, UT and OU and he says they all have impressive facilities, but nothing as nice as what the athletic facilities at A&M will look like after all of the renovations.  And that doesn't even count the new stadium!!

After our tour we headed to Northgate for a few drinks before we headed home.  We definitely got carded to get into an 18-and-up bar.  18-and-up!!  I know Matt and I look young, but dang!!

This morning before heading home we stopped at Layne's for some fried chicken.  Yum!! Then we walked around campus a bit and bought Carter some A&M shirts.  There were incoming freshmen touring campus with their parents and I teared up thinking of Carter going off to college.  Of course I would love for him to attend Texas A&M, (Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 2034!) but Matt and I have promised each other not to pressure him into anything.  We were also thisclose to buying a Johnny Football jersey for Carter :)

Carter and I cannot wait for our first A&M game in the fall!

A Day in the Life: 12 Months

*Almost 13 months

7:04am- I wake to hear Carter playing in his crib.  He has been waking up anywhere from 6:15 - 7:15am, and I've been guilty of sleeping until he wakes up.  We hug and snuggle in the glider, have a bottle, and change his diaper before moving into the living room.

I always need about 15 minutes and a cup of coffee to wake up, so we spend some time watching tv and playing with Cooper.  Then we move to the playroom for Carter to run around and play.

He has to do this every morning- he gets all of his toys that he can push and puts them altogether

8:00am- Breakfast.  I never know what Carter is going to eat these days.  One day he loves something and the next day he is offended if I offer him the same thing.  Today he was good and ate some blackberries, oatmeal, yogurt and a waffle.

Cooper always get a little

Breakfast usually ends with food in the hair, all over the face and hands

After breakfast we have some more playtime, swinging, digging and a little whining.

9:45am- Carter goes down for a nap.  His morning naps are usually 1-1.5 hours and I use this time to clean up and shower/ get dressed & packed for the day.

11:00am- Playtime at the splash pad with our play group.  It would have been really fun if Carter was walking, but he still crawled around and kept up with the rest of the kiddos.  He took a few more steps while we were there! I didn't get any pictures since he was wet and wouldn't get more than 3 feet away from me.

12:30pm- Lunch.  Grilled cheese for everyone, including Cooper.

1:45pm- Bottle and nap.  Today he slept until 4:15pm!! Matt came home at 3:30pm and I left to meet some friends at Babies R Us who were registering.

4:15pm- Snack and play time.  Brooxie Kate and Aunt Laura came over so we had lots of good cousin time after Daddy went back to work.

6:00pm- Dinner at Chick-fil-a.  Carter was really picky tonight and basically just had a baby food pouch and some ice cream.  Mom of the year right there.  

7:00pm- Bath, book, bottle and bed.  He's been very hard to put down the past few nights- not sure what is going on there.

Must Haves: 9-12 Months

1) Circo baby shoes

These little babies are great for little ones who don't really need shoes.  Carter always pulled his socks off (or they fell down, or we lost one, etc) but these seemed to stay on quite well.  When it was chilly or cool outside I didn't want him to go out without his feet being covered and these just worked better for us than socks.  And they look so cute with a pair of jeans and a cute onesie! 

2) Brica car mirror

Once we moved Carter into his convertible carseat we also moved him over to behind the drivers seat (he was in the middle seat.)  When we did that we also installed our Brica car mirror (we couldn't figure out how to install it in the middle without a headrest) and our lives have never been the same.  It is so reassuring to be able to look into the rearview mirror and see what Carter is doing in the backseat, figure out why is he crying, or see if he has fallen asleep.  The version we have also lights up and plays music with the touch of a remote that hooks onto your sun visor.  This is one of the top gifts we received! 

3) Saltines

This is Carter's absolute favorite snack (we get the unsalted tops.)  We keep them stashed everywhere- car, diaper bag, stroller, and next to the high chair.  I actually have to hide them behind the mixer so he doesn't freak out when he sees them!  And they are the perfect size for his little hands to hold and put into his mouth.  

4) B drum set

We found out about this gem after a play date with Nancy.  Carter loved all of the pieces so we headed straight to Target to buy our own.  Carter LOVES all the pieces- especially the drumsticks.  And now that he's a little older he likes to put things in and take things out of the top, or push the entire drum around the room.  This was $20 well spent!

5) Chicco clip-on high chair

I already blogged about my love of our clip-on high chair here, but I want to also include it in our must haves post.  We love, love, love our clip-on high chair.  We keep it in our car and use it everywhere- it's great for grandparents houses, restaurants without highchairs *cough* Popeyes *cough*, play dates, parks and vacation.  When Mason or Brooks comes over for dinner we use it as a second high chair.  We took it with us to Pine Prairie and plan to take it with us to Rosemary Beach next week!!! 

6) Activity center

Carter received this as a gift for Christmas and it is still a hit with him.  The top comes off so when he was just learning to sit and play this was perfect to put on the floor in front of him.  Now we have the legs connected and he loves to walk around it and play with all the parts and DANCE!! And the songs aren't nearly as annoying as some other toys we have :)

See my other must haves here:
6-9 Months
3-6 Months
0-3 Months
Nursing
Hospital
Pregnancy & Bedrest

Houston...We Have A Walker!!

Well...I probably shouldn't use the word "walking" so loosely, but we have taken some unassisted steps!  It's not much, but it's definitely the beginning of an entirely new journey!

Carter took his first official steps today at Nana and PawPaw's.  Matt and I were both there to witness it, as were our iPhones.  I'm so thankful this didn't happen while he was at work, or when we didn't have our cameras.  It truly was perfect timing!

Trip to Pine Prairie

Carter Man and I hit the road on Thursday with Nana and PawPaw headed I-10 east to see Granny and Poppa (Matts grandparents.)  Matt was working a football camp at Texas A&M so it worked out perfectly so tag along to see Granny & Poppa.  The trip to Pine Prairie, LA usually takes about 4 hours but we took our time and stopped for lunch and to let Carter stretch his legs.  On the way up there we:

Wore our cool dude babiators

Practiced driving with PawPaw

Napped

Turned the car seat around to face forward and watch Praise Baby for the last leg

We finally arrived (after a few tears) at Poppa and Granny's just in time to hop back in the car and head to Turkey Creek for dinner at Sue's.  Granny knew everyone there and spent some time introducing Carter to everyone.  After dinner Carter even enjoyed a little ice cream!! 

Thursday night Carter went down just fine and I stayed up late alternating between Candy Crush and movies on the iPad.  About 1:00am he woke up screaming and I could not get him to go back to sleep for the life of me.  We rocked, walked, sang, had a bottle but nothing would put him back down.  About 4:20 am he fell back asleep in my arms but when I tried to put him down he woke back up so I held him while he slept until a little after 5:00 am.  Ugh!  So much for any sleep for Mama!

Friday we:

Toured the cemeteries and learned all sorts of family history and random facts 

Got into everything at Poppa and Granny's 

Swung on the front porch (why is this picture distorted?!?)

Drove the golf cart

And the tractor

And sat in little bitty chairs for little bitty people

Friday we hit up the bait stand for lunch and I had one of the best hamburgers of my life.  Take me back!  Then we had bacon & tomato sandwiches for dinner with the tomatoes from PawPaw's garden.  Yum!  After a small tantrum Carter went to bed and slept all night!! Hallelujah!! 

We headed home Saturday after a great breakfast and a little more play time with Poppa and Granny.  Carter was less than behaved on the way home but I don't blame him.  His tummy hurt and all of his molars are coming in (only one has cut through) and it was a long day in the car.  We were so glad to see Daddy Saturday night!! 

This only lasted about 20 minutes

Sunday I managed to take zero pictures.  ZERO!!  How did I manage to not document Fathers Day?!?  I'm so mad at myself. 

We all made cards for Matt's second Fathers Day. 

Then we headed up to Conroe to see my brothers.  It was the first time we were all together since Daddy's memorial service and it was Fathers Day.  I was expecting a few tears but they didn't come for me until later that evening.  We had a great lunch together and cheered Phil on at the US Open.  

I posted this on Instagram but this is my favorite picture of Daddy and Carter.  I think Carter is about 3 month in this picture.  Although I missed Daddy yesterday I know he was having the best day sitting front row at the US Open.  He would have loved to see Phil win and I can only imagine the coaching he was doing from the sideline.  :)

This week our calendar is pretty open.  I feel like that hasn't happened in a loooong time!  Hopefully that means a lot of time with Daddy, swimming at the pool, eating dinner on the porch and time at the park!