My baby is 6 months old

My sweet Carter turned 6 months old on Christmas day. I cannot believe that that much time has past since he was born. I cannot remember our life without him. I know I am always saying this but he is really a perfect baby. He is sweet and smiley, cuddly and content. I just can't get over how much I love this boy. Proof that your heart really keeps growing with each child you have. To think we were on the fence about having a third child....I cannot imagine my life without Carter Wesley in it!! I thank God for him each day!
Anyway, today was Carter's 6 month check up. We found out that the poor guy had an ear infection that needed his first antibiotic. I'm telling you, the most we noticed was that he was very quiet yesterday not even fussy. He is amazing.
Dr. Boecker and I talked about his eating habits. He is still breastfeeding and has finally started to like some of his baby food. Now he eats rice cereal, green beans, carrots, peas, squash, applesauce, bananas and pears. (The last two he is not sure of yet.) My little meatball is even sitting up pretty well now. He had to get three shots today but he didn't cry until the second one. Such a trooper! He is still my chunky monkey and I LOVE it!  Here are his stats:
Weight: 21 lbs 15 oz. (97%)
Height: 28 in (91%)

Here are a few pictures of him enjoying a biter biscuit and playing with a sippy cup. As you can tell he wasn't thrilled with the apple juice inside.

A wonderful Christmas!

After getting to bed around 2:30am, Colton woke us up at about 7:00 to let us know that Santa left him his blue bike. He was patient and waited until I finished nursing Carter and then he got to go wake up Cooper. Cooper jumped right out of bed and ran to see the loot that Santa left them. He was thrilled to find a drum set waiting for him. It is so neat--black with flames- the base drum even lights up when it is hit. Carter got a neat little 5-n-1 gym and some other fun toys. Colton got his Interactive Woody and Buzz and Cooper got his gun and Swiss Army knife he wanted.

They got lots of other stuff but those were the highlights for them. Oh- except the last one was a card and it told them where the gift would be. This is what the letter said:

There is one more gift for you to share,
This one needs some special care,
Go to your movie closet...it is waiting there.
Love,
Santa

It was a brown hamster and made the boys so happy. They named him Buddy.

After opening presents and eating breakfast,we had sometime to let the boys play with their toys and just relax. It was nice to not have to rush to get anywhere.
For lunch, we headed to Omi & Opi's house. We ate a good meal and then the boys got more neat stuff...Wii with hunting games and the Toy Story Mania game, a play buck knife, Carter got a neat Barn toy and much more.
We left there and headed straight to Mammy & Papa's house. The boys got great stuff there too...Geo Trax set, a toy shotgun, Toy Story set, remote control cars, and Carter got a walk behind/ ride on toy--the list goes on. We ate there and hung out a while.
Then we came home late last night and unloaded all of our goodies. (Cody and I got some wonderful things too.) We had a such a great day! It was so nice to get to spend time with both of our families on Christmas day. We are so lucky that we have such amazing parents who are in turn amazing grandparents. We are all so spoiled by them. I am so thankful that they so close and they all four want to a lot spend time with our boys. They are all such an important part of our lives.
With all of this celebrating, we do try never to forget that we are celebrating Jesus' birth and that we have all of our wonderful blessings because of him!

Speaking of those blessings, this was my Carter's 1st Christmas. There is nothing quite like a baby at Christmas time. There is just something about it.  I caught myself just watching him as he was taking it all in with wonder in his sweet little blue eyes. I tear up in those moments because he is already 6 months old(on Christmas Day) and I wish I could just freeze time. He is precious and we couldn't  ask for a more perfect gift!!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wild and wonderful Christmas Eve evening. First, we went to church. The service was beautiful and a great reminder of the real reason for the season. Then we came home and had brisket and tamales with our immediate families. Now that may not sound very wild to you, but when you get 7 energetic and excited boy cousins in the same house, it can get kind of crazy.(Okay Carter isn't wild yet but it won't be long.) We had a great time though. After everyone left, my boys set their cookies out for Santa, spread their reindeer food on the lawn and headed off to bed. Now visions of blue bikes, hamsters and drum sets are dancing in their heads. =) Tomorrow will be filled with fun and excitement again. I can't wait!!

From our Family to yours.....Merry CHRISTmas!!

A Fun trip!

Well, we left Sunday and headed to Austin to ride the Steam Train...The North Pole Flyer. I thought it was going to mimic the Polar Express a little. So the boys wore their jammies and we boarded the train. I have to admit, it was a bit of a let down. It was very long and not so exciting. The upside--we saw Santa and he gave the boys a train whistle. Also, we rode with our good friends the Wuests and we always enjoy hanging out with them.

After our ride, we headed to Grapevine to stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. Since our Spring Break trip in March the boys have not stopped talking about that place. The best part was that they had no idea we were going. Cody and I packed and loaded the car the night before and they never knew. Sooooo, after the long drive we pulled into the lodge's parking lot. We asked the boys to look up from the movie screen and see where we were. Their eyes lit up and Colton put his hands over his mouth and goes "Great.......Wolf......Lodge. Yayyyyy! No wonder it was taking so long to get home. " Then Cooper chimed in "Are we gonna sleep here?" They were so excited and we were so happy we pulled off the surprise. It was priceless to see their excitement. The lodge was so beautifully decorated with large, glistening Christmas trees. It "snowed" 3 times a day in the lobby and Santa visited each day too. They also got their picture taken with Rudolph.  It a very festive atmosphere. Of course, the waterpark was awesome, the arcade was fun and the room was still a big hit for my boys.

We were even lucky enough to meet up with our good friends and neighbors the Doucets for dinner, ice cream and some fun at the waterpark. We ate at and shopped through Bass Pro Shop just down the road and also checked out the lights in Grapevine. It was a wonderful time! Colton kept telling us "Thank you for bringing us here." Luckily, Carter was a perfect baby and we were able to do all that we planned.

Then on our way out, we went to the ICE exhibit at the Gaylord Texan. You are given parkas so you can walk through the 9 degree temperature. Carter was double layered and then strapped to me in the front carrier and we stayed warm. He even fell asleep toward the end. The theme is "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". It was amazing!! Everything was made out of ice. Trust me, the boys had to feel almost all of them just to make sure it was in fact ice. They were super detailed and colorful. Cody ,Colton and Cooper even went down an ice slide. We were all were pretty impressed by the whole exhibit!

Anyway, we had a WONDERFUL trip and I got one of the things I love most....being away with my boys!!

Party Day!

Today both of the big boys had their Christmas party at their school. I was able to make both, which I love. I took Carter with me to Colton's but Omi came and got him so he could nap while I went to Cooper's. That worked out good.

There were book exchanges, snacks and festive songs to be had by all. It was lots of fun. Now we are all thrilled that Christmas vacation has officially begun. In Colton's words, "I have 16 whole days to do whatever I want." We have great stuff planned and we are going to soak up our schedule free, quality time together. Here are a few snapshots from the day.

Love this time of year!

The lights are on the house, the tree is done(which is looking spruced up thanks to the help of a friend) and stockings are hung with care. We have enjoyed a few Christmas parties. We have seen Santa, decorated gingerbread men and written letters to the big guy. I have been shopping and hiding presents. We have so much fun stuff coming up on our calendars. My boys are consumed with the magic and excitement of the season all the while being reminded that what we are really celebrating is Jesus' birth.

I love the feeling I have when I do my last walk through of my house for the night. When all three of my boys are sleeping snuggly in their beds, my hardworking hubby is snoring and when the lights on the Christmas tree and mantel are all that glow in the living room. I have a feeling of complete contentment and utter happiness! Oh how I love this time of year!