Spoiled!

Mike is home on the last installment of his paternity leave...How spoiled am I that the 10 days have lasted over the course of a month!?!? What am I going to do without long weekends with him??
Today Mike moved furniture around in Mallory's "big girl room"...we are so excited to decorate it for her B-Day in Nov. Aunt Susan picked out the cutest comforter and MiMi and Susan ordered it on Sun! So exciting! Mike also moved more toys into her room so hopefully over the next few months we can play more in there so she will be super excited about the move in early 2009!
We are off to nap and then head over to the park before dinner! Yeah!

Carter loves his swing KW...thanks for letting us borrow it!

Meanwhile....

Mallory wanted to get in her Halloween Costume early...MiMi got it for her last yr not knowing that she would be obsessed with "raffes" this yr! Mallory went to the closet where it was hanging and asked to try it on!

We enjoyed an early Thanksgiving Feast complete with Aunt Susan when we went to pick up the Mal Pal...

Mallory had a blast spending the night as always at MiMi and PaPa's!

End of the Rainbow....

Wish Mallory could have been part of this family photo!

Susie was def the "belle of the ball"...such a beautiful dress!

Carter stayed awake for the ceremony and the reception until the dance floor opened....I love that he had his own nametag!!!

We just got back from my roomie Susie's wedding...it was such a gorgeous wedding and reception! Can't believe Carter turned 1 month yesterday and attended his first wedding! (Mallory was 1 month too when she attended her first...My friend Milton's (Mike B) wedding and stayed in a hotel for the first time too...)
While we were driving to MD we saw a rainbow...the really cool thing was we saw the end of it! Neither of us had ever been at the end of a rainbow...we are sad to say there was no pot of gold on I-95 where it was hitting and no leprechauns darting in and out of traffic...(SADness!) But it was a really neat experience...guess we were at the wrong end! :)

Doodle Buggins!

Mallory loves her new Magna-Doodle! Thanks Ber and Family! Please pray for Ber as he heads back to NY on Monday for more testing and treatment...visit

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ber for more details....

We are off to a B-Day party for one of Mallory's friends in the neighborhood today...Can't believe babies are turning 2 that Mal has played with! Soon it will be her turn for a party! Then we will spilt up and Mallory will go to MiMi and PaPa's to spend the night and we will head to MD with Carter for my College Roomie's Wedding (Junior Yr)....it's going to be so fun to see everyone!

Carter loves his new quilt! Thank you Aunt Diane and Uncle Jon! :)

Mops Aren't Just for your Kitchen!

How fun is it to have something with his initials!!?!?!? I promise he isn't getting squished by sissy....she just can't control herself sometimes!!!!


We had such a great time this morning at MOPS! I encourage any mom with little ones to check to see if there is one in your area! It's such an encouragement to me! http://www.mops.org/ I learned so much from the speaker and hope to be a better mom bc of her talk today!
The group gave Carter a monogrammed burp cloth! I love it! And Mallory enjoyed her new class- "The Banana Bunch!" So good for all of us to get out and have fun with our peers!

BTW: (Don't want to forget!)
Carter looks like he is going to sneeze sometimes now and then makes a cooing sound instead..."ahhhh ooooooo"....I hope to capture it on film sometime!

Little Gretel Goes Zooin'

Feeding the "raffe' was tons o fun! Until he got a little too close! :)

Feeding the birds and watching the monkeys on the island!

Mallory loves the big turtles...

Carter slept through his first zoo experience!


This morning we were going to meet up with playgroup for the first time with 2 kids! I was so excited! :) Mallory was still sleeping at 9:45am though! I had to go up and check on her to make sure she was ok! (She sleeps til 930 sometimes, but this was later!) Finally at 10 am I woke her up and told her we were going to the zoo. She said, "raffe, rhino?!!?" We met up with the rest of the gang for the last leg of the zoo and then ate lunch with them. Afterwards they headed home (they got there at 10) and we explored the zoo alone. We had the place pretty much to ourselves bc it was nap time for most kids. Mallory sure does know her way around thanks to MiMi and all their trips this summer! She loves walking and carrying her cup with food for the animals...she is just like Gretel leaving a trail of food in her wake and going back and picking it up when she realizes she has dropped some...and she also picks up any she sees on the ground and adds it to her cup! Such a money saver...smart girl! :) The weather was gorgeous and windy today!

Weakness...and Gratefulness!

We are so grateful for your prayers for little Carter! We got a "clean bill of health" from the doctor today! Praise God!!!! :) And he weighs 9 lbs 9 ozs now! (More than a 1/3 of his sister's current weight! Crazy!)

A verse that has meant more and more to me over the years is:

But He said to me, "My GRACE is SUFFICIENT for you, for MY POWER is made PERFECT in WEAKNESS." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." ~2 Cor. 12:9

I have felt very carried by my husband, friends, and family as we dealt with Carter's infection. The story of the paralytic in Mark 2 has come to mind often. You all have carried me, taken the roof off, and taken me to Christ in my WEAKNESS. God is CONSTANTLY trying to teach me not to fear and not to try to control things. These are 2 sins that I constantly fall into. God is so patient with me while I try to learn the same things over and over! Thanks for loving me and my family so well!

"I have told you these things, so that IN ME you may have PEACE. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." ~John 16:33

"Demonstration"

Mallory liked playing in the kid area while we waited...

Carter says, "Whatcha talking about Willis!?!?!?!"

Candid pic after Mal's nap...notice Carter's yawn as he is about to take his nap (I lovvvvvvve baby yawns!!!)...they are 2 ships passing in the night today...


So Mike was "demonstrating" his "twist-a-flex unbreakable rims"on his glasses the other day in front of his students...and much to his chagrin they broke! You know the kids had fun telling that story to their parents that evening! So today we went to the mall to get new ones...exciting times! :)

Help is on the Way!

Aren't grandparents the best?!?!?! :)

Mallory hanging out in "Fort Fun" that Daddy made...

Carter and PaPa watching the game...and Mike and I before our date!

PaPa and MiMi called last night with an offer to babysit so we could go on a date! And of course we took them up on it! We headed out to lunch and ice cream and then to grocery shop...(still not sure how people shop with 2 kids in the cart...where do the groceries go!!?! So we def filled the cart and were glad to restock our pantry...) It was so nice to get out and talk without interruptions! And the weather was beautiful to sit outside and eat our yummy Coldstone ice cream!!

Due Date!

Smiling "chi-rens" this morning...Mallory was reunited with her sweet baby!


Hard to believe that today was Carter's due date and we have already gotten to enjoy his sweet personality for 3 1/2 wks outside of the womb! He brings us such joy and is such a content little baby! He is such a trooper and has had quite an adventurous first 25 days...starting off with a crazy labor that ended in a C-Section bc he had turned "Sunny Side Up" and was having trouble making his entrance...he looked like a boxer when he arrived bc he had been bumping up against my pelvic bone during labor...And then to be on meds for the last 18 days to rid his body of the infection he got from the hospital. (And to be overdosed at the beginning!) He takes his meds without complaining even though this new med smells and I'm sure taste awful! It has been hard for Mommy to deal with Carter being sick, but he has done so well with it all! Such a tough little guy! We hope on Tues. to get a clean bill of health...please pray for that! We were upset last time on day 10 of the med to have a bump reappear so we had to start this new med. We have also switched ped in the time that Carter has been with us and now go to a practice with the #1 ranked ped in our area! We were very happy with our initial visit and Carter weighed in at 8 lbs 15 oz on Wed! :)

Though this has all been hard on his parents (very hard on Mommy) we have to remember that the Lord loves his children and He cares for us during trying times! Remembering scripture helps!

"Not only so, but we also REJOICE in our SUFFERINGS, because we know that suffering produces PERSEVERANCE; PERSEVERANCE, CHARACTER; and CHARACTER, HOPE. And HOPE does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

~Romans 5:3-5

Now we are off to enjoy the day...windows are open to let more fresh crisp fall air in and Carter is snoozin' away like a champ! We are so excited about a 4 day weekend with Daddy...we are loving spreading out Mike's paternity leave!

Couldn't Resist...

Ready for our trip out...gotta get a hug in!

Last night we left the front door open for a bit to let the fresh fall air in and a neighborhood cat wandered in....so random! :) Mike discovered the new friend in the kitchen...and I caught him on film checkin out the great room...

Mallory, Carter, and I went on our first adventure to a store together today...when we were there I couldn't resist getting Mal a new doll...(I had wanted to get her one for becoming a big sis and this one was on sale!!)...the one we got moves on it's own randomly (kinda scary in a "Chucky's Sister" kinda way), but it is really life-like and Mallory loves taking care of her when Mommy is busy with Carter...she even slept with her for nap time today...I could hear the baby going off at random times, but Mallory slept through it...I def hid the baby before we headed up for bedtime tonight (didn't want to add another baby to the mix to listen for in the night)...she was focused on getting upstairs to wash another baby for bathtime so it worked out!

Mallory loves to color and is learning her color words, "geen, pink, boo." But the only one that she knows the correct word for the color is "boo" all the rest she just says randomly. Another cool thing that she has been doing lately is talking in 2 word phrases. "I'mokay," "Iwannasee," "babywatch"...it's a bit like the game Madgab though bc you have to really be listening to make out the words bc she runs them all together. She also keeps saying "funny" all the time to everything....it's so neat to hear more of her reactions to things verbally!

Hope-Opotami

The kiddos got such a fun care package today in the mail...."Little Hope-Opatamus T-Shirts...Obama 2008"....with the message "Your Auntie LuLu will be voting to protect your future..." How cute!!! Thank you Laura!!!

Goat Boy!

How fun is it to check email with a Bug-a-Boo on your lap?!?!

Don't newborns make the best noises?!?! Mike and I have been trying to catch some of Carter's "goat boy" noises on film...here is a short clip...wish we could catch him when he is really noisy!

Flying Solo!

Siblings! Carter is showing off his "moro reflex"...our ped would be so proud!

Snoozin' w/ Daddy...


Today was my first day with the kids waking up alone! We had a wonderful morning. We are so blessed that Mallory enjoys sleep as much as she does. When we put her to bed she plays in her crib with her stuffed animals (she has recently figured out how to turn on the "singing light up jungle thing" on the side of her crib which illuminates her room and gives her more playtime...we are fine with this extra playtime bc it causes her to sleep in! So then when Carter wakes up I can nurse and go back to sleep in the AM...so wonderful!

After a slow relaxing morning we headed over to MiMi's for a lunch playdate...it was so nice to get out of the house!! MiMi broke out the horse that we rode at our grandmother Sug's house when we were little...Mallory loved it!

Plans of Love....

"BEFORE anything else, ABOVE all else, BEYOND everything else, GOD LOVES US. God loves us EXTRAVAGANTLY, RIDICULOUSLY, without LIMIT or CONDITION. God is in love with us...God yearns for us." ~Roberta Bondi

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to PROSPER you and NOT to HARM you, plans to GIVE you HOPE and a FUTURE." ~Jeremiah 29:11

Mike and I are overwhelmed with love for our little ones...We could spend so much time just looking at them and thinking about the plans the Lord has for their lives...and it is so crazy to think that as much as we love them...God loves them more and He loves everyone He created with that same intensity! Amazing!

Daughter Date!

Mal loved the swing and the big slide! She is growing up so quick!



Feeding the ducks...you start out with about 4 and then it gets a little "Alfred Hitchcock attack of the Birds scary" by the end!


We went to our OB yesterday for our 2 wk post C-Section visit...We are going to miss him so much...wish he could be our ped! :) He gave me the "green light" to drive and do more, so today I took Mallory to the park and the boys stayed home and watched Sports Center. :) It was so good to get out and do something with just Mallory! I can't remember the last time I got to do that since I was resting the last month of being preg... I think we both needed to get out of the house and we really enjoyed the time just the 2 of us! :)

Lots of Togetherness!

Carter trying out the play mat for the first time....notice he is alone...

Not for long! (Check out the book Ginny! One of her favs now!)...

And now totally "smarmed" by big sissy! She is her mother's child...this is what I did to my sisters when they were little....constantly in their space and loving on them!

Carter loves his thumb...and thinks his head is a bowling ball...we have to watch him or he will put a finger in each hole! :)

We are loving having Daddy home with us for the end of the week! Mallory still loves her little brother, but I think she is getting a little bit of "Cabin Fever" as we have been homebound for a week...all she wants to do is watch "MoMo" (Elmo) and Singing Babies...2 educational videos...but still TV! But as we get used to the new nursing schedule it helps to have something that entertains the big sis...but we def need to work on a balance!