It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas tree up and presents wrapped and under it.  It's not even December!  It's an all time record for me.  I have about 5 more presents that are ordered that still have to go under there but guess what?  I paid the extra 3 bucks to have it wrapped.  Lazy much?  And I bought them yesterday on Cyber Monday so the shipping and tax is free.  Go me!!  I am done!!  I can't tell you what a good feeling that is.

A huge reason why I put the tree up early is because I could not wait to see the look on Carter's face when he saw it.  I just knew that he would just gaze at it and it be the best thing that he has ever seen.  He could care less about it.  He acts like it is not even there.  Go figure!!

Carter just finished his antibiotics yesterday and I still have a sick child.  Coughing, very bad congested, snotty and runny nose.  No fever yet, so that is a plus.  He had to get his second Flu shot tomorrow anyways, so I just decided to make an appointment to see the Doc while we were there.  FUN TIMES!!  I am sure the Doc is so sick of seeing us!  I know the nurse hates getting my messages.  I bet I call her every other day.  I bet there is a red flag on Carter's file saying crazy mom.

The next two weeks Carter is eating oats for breakfast and avocado and pears mixed together for lunch and dinner.  Everyone that I have told looked at me like I was so crazy and made a gross face.  He loved it more than anything that he has had.  Avocado is definitely that hardest thing to make so far, though.  Carter has not been a picky eater and I hope he stays that way.  Someone told me that since I am making him everything fresh, he will love everything when he gets older.  I sure hope that's true.

I started boot camp again yesterday.  I could tell that I had been off a week.  I struggled.  It felt good to be back though.  This time, it is 4 days a week instead of 3 so we can work around Christmas and New Years.  We'll see if I survive.  Not likely.

I get to have my butter ball with me at work today.  I'm excited.  I will get absolutely nothing done today but who cares!! :)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was so perfect and fun!!  I really enjoyed seeing all of my black headed (and used to be black headed) Jones family.  We all had a great time catching up.  Everyone was smiling and laughing the whole time.  It was a very tiring day for my Carter.  He was passed around the entire time.  I really don't think that there was a second when someone was not holding him and making him laugh.  Everyone just adored him and thought he was a happy and content baby.  He even showed everyone how he could turn the pages of his books by himself.  I think everyone was pretty impressed.  He loved all of the attention and never got fussy.  Mom and I were talking about it last night and he only cried once because when she took his shoes off to change him he kicked his heel and hit a hard metal piece.  Even then he didn't cry but for a couple seconds.  Aunt Cindy bought him a Santa suit and brought it to him.  Everyone wanted to see him in the Santa hat so that is what he sported all day.  He wore it well!! 

Great Great Aunt Carolynn

Cousin Leslie Ann

Great Great Uncle George

He is the baby whisperer

After we left my family, we went over to Nick's parents and had Thanksgiving dinner over there.  We once again had a good time.  After Carter's 10 minute pick-me-up nap on the way over he was ready to play.  It was really good to see Abbie, Neil and Nolan.  And it was awesome to see Uncle Keller.  Nolan is so precious and getting so big.  I just can't believe how our boys are growing.  I just know that he and Carter will be best friends.

Carter was so wore out when we got home that he was falling asleep while I was giving him his bath and I kept having to wake him up to finish his bottle. He slept all night for the first time in a very long time.

On a totally different note, I have something very interesting to share.  Ever since Carter has been born, everyone has said that he looks like a Jones or that he looks just like me.  I seriously bet that a total of 5 people have ever said that he looks like Nick.  When I got to Nick's parent's house his mom showed me this.  Sorry it is a little blurry, but it is an old picture.  Is that not Carter?!? 

I bet Nick carries this picture in his wallet so he can show everyone that tells him that he looks like a Jones!  It made Nick feel so good and he was pumped about it.

To completely change the subject again....

I have been coughing for about 4 days now nonstop.  Really.  My abs are sore from coughing so much, especially when I lay down.  I have kept Nick up for several nights.  Mom told me to put a thick layer of Vicks on my feet and put socks on over it and sleep like that.  I did and also put some on my chest and I bet I coughed three times.  I learned something!!

Uh Ohhhh!!!

My baby is starting to become not so much of a baby anymore.  Yall, I can't take it.  Yesterday he was in the sit up position and he saw something a ways in front of him that he wanted.  He leaned forward and landed into the crawling position and took about two little steps.  He has been trying for a while but has never figured out how to get his arms and legs going at the same time.  I give him another week and he will be ready for the baby races.  I guess Ava had a talk with him about it because she is a pro at it.  I give her about 3 more weeks and she will be walking.  That girl is just ready to go and very determined.  Say a little prayer for her parents :)

There are some good times in my near future.  My best friend, Aunt Holli, is coming down for a visit this afternoon.  She says she will be here around 1:00.  She seems to think that she will have Carter running by the end of the day.  She is such a good best friend and Aunt to Carter.  Every time she sees him she always has goodies to give.  I can't wait to spend some much needed quality time with her.

This evening I am going to a girls night in!  We are going to celebrate the up coming holidays and we are going to do it right.  Diets and all are going out the window!  I love my son with all my heart but I am really looking forward to a night without having to focus all of my attention on him.  Us mothers need that every now and then.  Have fun Nick!

Something that has never happened before....I am done with all of my Christmas shopping and it is not even Thanksgiving yet.  Every year I have a huge weight on my chest and have to buy last minute gifts that are not very well thought out.  NOT THIS YEAR!  I am very pumped about that and proud of what I have purchased.  Thanks goodness for the Internet and free shipping!!!  Can't wait to see the faces that open them.

Speaking of Thanksgiving....I am thankful for:

• My son, of course.  He is very healthy and happy.  My prayer for him is that he has a love for the Lord that is unbreakable and he will live life to the fullest and accomplish all of his dreams.
• My wonderful, loving husband.  He loves me so so much and would do anything to make me happy.  That is really something to be thankful for.  He loves Carter even more.
• My perfect, all-powerful, loving, and caring God.  There is no one greater and without him, there would be nothing for me to be thankful for.  Thank you, God, for all of your many blessings.
• Coke Zero.  No, I take that back.  It's tempting and evil.
• My family.  I have two wonderful parents that would do anything for me and help me way more than what I ask.  I have two loving brothers that looks out for me.  They always have.  I knew even when I was young that I could walk over to the next playground and get them if I needed to.  Their wives are beautiful and caring and so glad that they are apart of our crazy family.  I have THE BEST Nana and THE SILLIEST Papa ever.  My Nana is most definitely my hero.  70 years old and still has a full time job.  And she works very hard at her job too.  I sure hope that when I am her age that I still have her determination and strength.  I would not change my Papa for the world.  He is perfect in my eyes and has always been my best friend.  I believe that he would do anything in the world to put a smile of my face.
• My friends.  My best friends are many miles away from me and I don't get to spend much time with them.  But the good thing is, is when we do finally get together it's like we never left each other.  We just pick right up where we left off and I love that.  Some best friends I am not sure that I will ever see again but they will always having a safe place in my heart.  Love ya Kari Panno and Kelly Saksa!
• Uncle Keller is back safe and just in time for the holidays.
• My most comfortable bed in the world.
• Lifetime, TBS, and Disney Channel.
• The people that make jeans
• Heat
• Video cameras and pictures
• Whoever thought of putting peanut butter and chocolate together.....genius.
• My health

And the list could go on and on

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Storms

Carter and I had a blast yesterday on his 7 month birthday.  Currently, his most favorite thing to do is rip up paper into little pieces.  So I got a magazine out and he went to town.  He gets very serious and concentrates so hard on his masterpiece that he is trying to create.  Paper and arms fly everywhere!  Then when he is done he loves to be praised for all the hard work that he just did.  So I clap and yell "Way to go Carter!".  He just smiles really big and then starts back up again then looks back at me until I praise him again.  I have to stand there and monitor the whole time though, because every now and then he will try to eat a piece.  We also read about 5 or 6 books a couple times each and watched cartoons.  That was the first time in a very long while that I actually got to spend the whole day with him at the house, during the week, without him being sick.  We did not step outside all day.  He got to waller around in his diaper and I don't think that I got out of sweat pants.  He was in a good mood all day.  He also had two 1 hour naps.  His naps are starting to get longer, thank goodness!

I can't tell you how much I am enjoying spending more time with him.  The best decision that I have made so far is cutting back my work hours.  He is so fun and very rarely in a fussy mood.  I love how he loves me so much. 

Here lately he has fallen in love with food.  He is now eating 3 full blown meals every day.  First thing in the morning, he eats oatmeal and apples.  Then for his lunch and dinner he eats his fruits and veggies.  This is the second week that mom and I made him sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and applesauce all mixed together.  He can't get enough of it.  Every day his amount keeps going up.  He ate about 5 ounces yesterday in one sitting.  Plus he had about 4 bottles. What a pig!  Next week I'm thinking avocado and pears....we'll see.

Nick and I put up the Christmas tree.  While Mom and I put the final touches on, Nick was giving Carter a bath and getting him ready for bed so he really didn't get to look at and have pictures made with his first Christmas tree.  Tonight!!! 

So....storms.  I hate them, especially with a baby in the next room.  Last night, around 9:30, I had just gotten in bed.  My phone rings and it was mom saying that I need to come to their house because tornadoes were coming our way.  Their house has a downstairs that is underground.  She said that Dad had gotten a lot of phone calls and that he was going to sound off the tornado sirens in town.  Carter had been in bed for a while and sleeping so good!  I got together some work clothes for me and some clothes for Carter.  Nick got Carter out of his crib and loaded him up in the car.  I was not over at their house 5 minutes and Dad said..."well I guess they turned the other way.  They are going to miss us".  Awesome.  While there Carter had seen the "puppy dogs" and he got all excited.  Needless to say, it took a while to get Carter back to sleep when I got home.  I guess it's always better to be safe than sorry!  The one time I would not go over to their house is the time when a tornado would really hit.

7 Months and Thankful

Today is my precious, healthy, happy, beautiful, funny, bouncing baby boy's 7 month birthday.  Every month on the day he was born I make it all about him.  We play as much as we can and scream until we can't scream any more.  It can't be 7 months already!!!  It is so exciting and sad all at the same time.  He growing SO fast and becoming such a big boy!!  It's amazing to watch him grow and learn things right before my eyes every day.  He has been such a joy in our life.  I honestly don't think that I could have custom ordered a more perfect son.  Every day he becomes more of a little boy than a little baby.  Even when he gets up in the middle of the night, every night, for a bottle I am always stopped in my tracks and realize just how precious he is and how blessed I am to have him in my life.  If he knew how crazy I am about him, I think he would be amazed.

Richard Carter,

I love you more than you will ever know.  You are my reminder every day at how good God is and how he really does create miracles.  You are my little miracle.  I will forever be grateful for you and I am thankful that he has allowed us to have you in our lives for 7 perfect months.  I am looking so forward to watching you grow and learn.  I love how you have created your own precious personality.  You are just the funniest thing and I can't get enough of you.  As I am typing this I am reflecting on your 7 months of life;  from the day you were born until now.  It's really hard to think that you were ever 7 pounds 7 ounces.  Now you are over 17 pounds, learning how to crawl and pull up on things, and you have a tooth with one right behind. You have learned so much and I have loved every second of our little journey.  You will always be my baby boy, even when you are 40.  I only hope that someday I mean to you what my mommy means to me.  I love you baby boy.

Love, Mom 

3 Bad Nights=1 Tired Momma

I am beginning to think that my child is nocturnal.  Tuesday night he slept a total of about 4 hours during the night and really didn't take long naps Wednesday.  Then Wednesday night he slept about 2 hours and took 2 naps that lasted about an hour a piece.  We just knew that he would sleep great last night, but noooooo!  The last thing that he wanted to go was go to sleep.  He had so much energy and just wanted to play all night long.  He sat up playing with his toys for at least an hour.  Nick and I could not hold our eyes open and we could not figure out how he was doing it.  He finally went to sleep around 10:00 then woke back up fussy at 11:15 and didn't go back to sleep until about 12:15.  He slept the rest of the night, though, after that.  He literally did not move all night, which is very unusual for him.  He usually tosses and turns from one end of the crib to the other all night.  I went in and checked on him about 6 times to make sure he was breathing because he was so still (I was watching him on the video monitor).  But a plus....no more fever.

On a different note, I bought mine and Nick's tickets to watch the Twilight movie with Cody and Callie Parker.  We are going tomorrow!  I love the books so much better, but I am excited about the movie.  And I hope I don't make any of you Edward fans cry but.....gag me.  I really think they could have picked a way better looking vampire than that.  He is possibly one of the ugliest actors ever.  Now Jake, I gotta give it to them.....they picked a good one there.  This will be the first time Nick and I have went on an actual date to Texarkana since Carter has been born.  Not sure we will know how to act!

I am very excited about the holidays coming up!!  My most favorite time of the year.  I can't wait to see Carter's face whenever he sees all of the pretty lights on houses and Christmas trees.  He loves ripping up paper so he will so enjoy the Christmas wrapping.  I told everyone not to buy for Carter this year because he is still too young to understand anything.  I have probably bought him more stuff than anyone.  I just can't help it.

When I was young some of my best memories were at Christmas.  My parents really did a good job at making it the absolute best time of the year for me and my cousins.  They had someone "play Santa".  Santa would talk to us over the CB that was in his truck before he came.  We would all pile in the hallway and wait for him to come.  We heard the thump on the roof and everything.  Then he walked through the front door dressed in his suit and with a huge red bag full of presents.  First thing he did was walk over to the milk and cookies and enjoy them.  Then he walked over to the Christmas tree and pulled out presents one by one calling out each of our names.  It made each of us feel so special.  It was the coolest  thing and something that I will never ever forget.  I thought we were so quiet.  I watched the video a couple years ago and we were literally screaming at Santa....haha!  After this year, I am going to have to ask someone to play Santa for Ava, Nolan and Carter and whoever else Carter becomes friends with.  I want them to have those awesome memories. 

Sick

Don't you hate it when your child is sick?  Last night was probably the worst night that Nick and I had with him since he was born.  I think that he slept a total of about 2 hours.  He had fever all night long.  I set my alarm and gave him his Tylenol every 4 hours on the dot and his fever never got below 101.  He did not want to be held, he didn't want to be set down, he didn't want a bottle, he would not take a paci....I was so stressed out and at the end of my rope!!  He has never been like that so I had no clue what to do.  So I set him in his car seat and he stopped crying.  Go figure.  He sat there for about an hour and got fussy again so I put him in his swing and he was happy for about another hour.  He went from his car seat to his swing all night long watching cartoons. 

Every time I gave him his Tylenol I had to suck and clean out his nose.  I dreaded it every time.  Nick had to hold his legs and arms down.  He is so dramatic when we do that!  He literally goes crazy!  It's like he turns into super baby.  He is so strong!!  There is no way that I could do it without his legs, arms, and head being held still. 

He has a very bad cold....very congested, very snotty, sneezing and coughing every now and then.  And he has a tooth that is about to poke through.  I felt it this morning and there is a definite hump and there are more that will not be far behind that one.

I can't stand it when he feels bad.  I would have rather someone cut off one of my fingers than see him go through what he went through last night.  And there is not a worst feeling than being a mother and having no clue how to make your child feel better.  I felt so worthless.

So, I skipped work today and we are just going to lay around in our pajamas and have a pity party.  I can't wait until he feels better so he can be his cheerful, playful, and smiling self again.  Plus, we can't see Ava and her parents until he feels better and we miss them!! 

So. Tired. Silly. Child.

I was giddy with excitement all day yesterday because I was finally able to pack mine and Carter's clothes back in the suitcase for the last time.  I was finally going home!!  I told Mom that I had a blast the past couple of weeks with her and that Carter would only be 4 minutes away from her (she got sad).  I could not wait to give Carter a bath in his bath tub, playing with his rubber ducky, rock him to sleep in his glider while staring at his blue dot on the TV, and putting him down in his bed.

After dying at boot camp, I picked him up at my Nana's and drove home.  When I got him out of the car and unlocked the front door I let out a huge sigh of relief because we were HOME!  It was such a good feeling.  I raised my arm to switch the light on and......nothing.  No electricity.  REALLY?!? I was livid.  Actually livid is an understatement.  I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs until my voice box ran out.  I called Dad first thing and told him.  I guess he called Justin because he came to my rescue and checked the breaker box and all that good stuff.  Justin called SWEPCO for me and they came out and looked at everything.  He is such a good brother to me.  Come to find out lightening hit our transformer.  Awesome.  So I had to pack Carter and all of his stuff back in the car and we headed back to my parent's house.  Mom was happy.

It gets better.....

I finally give Carter his bath around 8:30.  I made him a 6 oz. bottle like always and started rocking him to sleep.  He got done with that and still wanted more.  I made 2 more ounces.  He gulped that down and still wanted more so I made 2 more ounces.  Crazy baby ate 10 ounces and he still did not want to go to sleep.  He finally fell asleep around 10:00. 

Nick woke me up at 1:45 when he made it in from his long drive from Nebraska.  We talked for a little while and fell asleep.  At 2:30 Carter woke up wanting a bottle like always.  I told Nick that he could come see him if he wanted to because he had not seen him for 15 days.  Nick was so afraid that Carter had forgotten who he was.  Huge mistake!  Carter took a glance at Nick and smiled from ear to ear and got so excited.  He started kicking and laughing.  Safe to say that he remembered him.  He did not want a bottle or sleep at all and just stared and smiled at Nick.  Finally at 4:30 Nick took Carter for a ride in the truck and did not fall asleep until 5:30.  I had to be at work at 6:00.  We are sooooo tired!!  I'm sure Carter will sleep all day and be ready to go by the time I get off work. 

I guess that was Carter's way of saying WELCOME HOME DADDY!!

Catching Up

Hey Guys!!  I have been informed by my sister-in-law, Andi, and a couple others that I have been a lazy blogger.  My life has been pretty lame the past couple days.  I have been living out of suitcases for a couple weeks now and I am so sick of it.  I am usually not that well organized to begin with but not this bad!!  I have not blogged because they would have just been pathetic and lame.

I have not said much about Nick being gone, because I didn't want some crazy person reading and breaking in my house while he was gone.  But yeah, he has been gone on a hunting trip to Nebraska for the past 10 days.  I left before he did to California so he has gone without seeing his precious pride and joy for 15 days.  I would die.  I don't plan on spending that much time away from him until he has moved to college.  Maybe by then CCCUA will be a 4 year. 

Man have we missed Daddy!!!  Not only did I miss my sweet, loving husband but I also missed his help!!  My parents did so much more than what I could have asked for but Nick and I have our routine and a system that we like.  You just don't know how much the little things help whenever they are not there anymore. 

Let's talk about Friday night with my UCA softball girls.  PERFECTION!!  I got to spend time with Keafer and her family.  I loved each and every second of it.  Keatha and I had a blast in our own retarded way just like old times.  I also enjoyed the time with all the other girls that I have not seen in like 5 years.  We laughed and brought up old memories the whole time.  They all agreed that Keatha and I were the last ones that they would have thought to have children first....or ever for that matter.  I have got to say, it is really rewarding seeing Keatha as a mother.  It looks good on her.  She is such a good mommy!  Kade is one lucky little boy.  The softball game......wow.  Let's just say that I am definitely a has-been.   I popped up to the first baseman the first time at bat and hit a very slow grounder to the short stop the second time.  Keatha hit a grounder to the pitcher then struck out.  I tried to make her feel better and tell her that the 35 year old had a wicked drop ball.  haha!

Yesterday Mom, Aunt Gloria, and I took Mr. Carter to the Dr.  He has a cold that has been lingering for a couple weeks now.  Big heavy weighs 17 pounds.  Dr. King was surprised at how well he was sitting up and how strong he was.

Just a little update on Carter:  He is loving his food now, thank goodness!  There for a little while we thought he would never like eating.  His favorite is sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and applesauce all mixed together.  Sounds gross but he can't get enough of it.  It is all so easy to make, too!  Next week he will start to eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast.  He is learning how to travel and getting around pretty good.  He is getting into EVERYTHING!!  He is still getting up once at night for a bottle but we are about to start working on some sleep training.  He still loves his baths.  He still moves all night long when he sleeps.  His gums are so swollen and there are about 3 teeth trying to come in at once.  Poor thing.  He is wearing 9 month clothes.  While having a book read to him he turns each page throughout the whole book by himself.  That's pretty impressive, I think.  He loves watching cartoons.  He loves puppies and tries to pull their ears off.  His best friend/girlfriend is Ava Parker.

Another thing that is a must-talk-about subject.  My dad fell out of a tree stand last night.  He said that I could not put it on facebook, but never said that I could not blog about it.  It was not funny at first because he lost his memory for about an hour but after we know that he is going to be ok....it's pretty funny.  So feel free to call him or just laugh in his face.  I walk in the emergency room and this is what I see.



These other pictures are just random ones that I have taken the past couple weeks and sent to Nick.  He loved them but he said it made him sad because he missed him so much.

Dad singing to him before bed

 Big boy starting to crawl

In the hotel room in Conway

His Christmas present that we opened early.  When you hit and knock it down it pops right back up and it makes noises.  He LOVES this thing.

His walker that he loves

He is the most precious, perfect, happy, healthy, amazing little boy.



Scatter Brained

My mind is seriously blank today.  I have sat here long enough looking at this blank spot for me to type in.  So, I have just decided to type whatever comes to mind.  This could get a little messy. 

I am so excited about this weekend.  It's my softball Alumni game at UCA.  I get to see all my girls from when I played with them my freshman year.  We have so many amazing memories that I could never let go of, even if I wanted to.  I have got to get a softball out and throw it before this weekend.  My mom said that she would whip me back into shape....ya know...with her being the athlete that she is and all.

Most importantly, I get to spend time with my long time best best best friend, Keatha, and her precious precious precious pride and joy, Caliber Kade.  I just can't tell you how much I miss that girl.  All the time.  Gah, talk about some memories.  Our memories go all the way back to 8th grade.  That was 10 years ago!  It all started when I had a dr. appointment on a day when we were going to have to run a lot in athletics.  So Keatha, a girl I had said maybe 2 words to, invited herself to MY dr. appointment so she would miss the running.  Who did she think she was?  She told Coach Alexander that she had a "check-up".  Now that I know her, it really does not surprise me one bit.  That is soooo a Keatha move.  From then on out we were inseparable.  Really, it would have been better for her to have had her mail forwarded to my house.  I so wish we lived closer.  I do believe that we would have play dates every day.  8 hours away just in not cutting it.  Keatha, please move back!!!!  We have a Walmart!!!

Anyways.

Sunday I went home and did some serious deep cleaning at my house.  I worked for like 3 1/2 hours nonstop and if you walked in my house you would not be able to tell that I did anything.  Don't you hate that?  I organized closets and threw away stuff that I have not used in years.  It felt really good.  While cleaning I ran across a note card.  On the note card it says "I Catherine Jones somonley swear that I will weigh less than 160 lbs in five years.  I made this bet with Tonya White and Britni Funderburg (my roomates).  We bet 20 dollars each."  Then at the bottom they signed it.  Five years will be next year in November.  I got news for them, I will be 40 dollars richer.  I didn't even weigh that much when I was pregnant!  Best believe I put that little jewel in a safe place.

I am down to working three days a week now.  Oh happy day!  I work Tues, Wed, Thurs.  Three days on and four days off!  I still have to come by the hotel daily to check rooms and pay bills but that will take me about an hour or two a day.  That's more time to spend with my Itsy Bitsy!  My mom has taught him a pretty cool little trick.  She has taught him to turn the pages himself when she reads to him.  She says,"turn the page", and he does it.  I thought that it was just a fluke at first but when I saw him do it to about 5 pages I was pretty impressed. 

Carter has a date tonight with Ava  Parker!  We are excited.  I can't tell you how fast Ava is taking off.  She is crawling all over the place and pulling up and she will only be 8 months old on the 18th of this month!!  I am convinced that she will be walking by 9 months.  And on top of that, she just keeps getting prettier and prettier every time I see her.  Carter has good taste.  We sure missed them last week.

That's all I got today.  See ya.

Second Half of Cali

The rest of our vaca was wonderful. 

We had our second Halloween celebration.  Cruella De Vill and the precious Dalmatian puppy.

The next day we went shopping at The Grove.  That is where Mario Lopez's (Slater on Saved By the Bell) show is.  I was two feet from him! I got to be the cool person in the background clapping so I could be on his show.  Anyone see me?!?  I wanted Carter's picture taken with him.  He was interviewing Precious.  On the way there I took this cool picture of the tree with all the roots growing out of the ground.  They were everywhere.  I thought it was pretty cool.

The next day we went shopping ALL DAY LONG!!  We had so much fun.  We went to Santee Street.  The prices were great and there were a lot of really neat things for sale.  I got 3 pair of jeans and two dresses.  Carter was carried all day and did not fuss one time.  I just can't tell you how amazed I was at him all week long.  He was literally a little angel.  My mom's long time best friend from High School went shopping with us.  She is so sweet!

Later that evening we had an awesome visit from my cousin Derrick (sorry if I spelled your name wrong).  For me, it was like meeting him for the first time.  Mom said that he came to Arkansas long ago, but I was too young to remember.  I can't tell you how much I enjoyed him.  He was never at a loss for words, which was great.  We all but got on our knees and begged him to come to Arkansas.  He said that he would think about it.  Derrick, now that everyone knows you have been asked to come.....PRESSURE IS ON!! :)  I really hope that he does come.  Everyone would enjoy him and it's great to get out of Los Angeles, CA and come relax in the country for a bit.

The next day we took Carter to ride the carousal that my mom rode when she was a little girl.  I think I heard that it was about 95 years old or something.  He screamed and laughed the entire time.  It was going pretty fast so I didn't get a good picture.  My Uncle Louie held him.

Later that evening we went to a restaurant by the ocean. It was so beautiful. There were huge sail boats all around us. I ate entirely too much and left miserable. But oh it was so worth it!

The two plane rides home were perfect.  Carter did so good once again!  He did not cry one time.  We pretty much did the same things we did on our way to Cali.  This time Carter got his first pair of wings!!

These other two pictures are just randoms

My shirt cousin Tonya made me

I know Carter will not remember a thing about this trip but we will sure have lots of pictures for him to see one day.  I am so glad that my family in California got to meet him!  We can't wait to go back next year!

First Halloween, Beach, and Aquarium

We have been on the go since we have been here.  We are loving every minute of it.  Carter is just going with the flow and not complaining!  Saturday evening when we got to my uncle's house this is what we opened the door to:

He goes all out for Halloween at his house.  Everything looks really awesome.  Right when we got to his house we dressed up in our Halloween costumes so we could go to my mom's cousin's party.  We had lots of fun.  There were great costumes.  Carter loved it.  Can you guess who I am?  If you guessed the worst Cleo Patra ever, then you are correct!  I forgot my Dalmatian costume in Arkansas so Mom made me this suit.  She did a pretty good job.  Say hello to the most precious tiger ever.  I will post more pictures from Monday night for Halloween.  My mom looked amazing!

Monday we did a little bit of shopping.  I think Carter likes being busy and on the go!   I have not bought me anything yet, because I have not found the to-die-for deals.  I have bought Carter a couple of cute books and some clothes that I found 50% off.  Carter has stayed happy the whole time but the only tricky thing is, is that he is still on Arkansas time so when 6:00 p.m. rolls around he is ready for bed and gets really sleepy and around 5:00 a.m. he is awake and ready for the day.  That is fine by me as long as he sticks to his schedule when we get back to Arkansas.

We went to the beach today.  Carter was so content.  He loved watching the waves, sea gulls, and all the people.  We took him to the Santa Monica Pier.  I remember going there with my Mema when she was alive.  Those are memories I will cherish forever.  I am so happy I was able to make those same memories with Carter and my mom.

Not the sweetest face you have ever seen?

Carter was able to experience his first aquarium.  He was a fan of this as well.  He loves fish tanks.

Sharks

Sea horses

This here is a whale rib and vertebrae .  They were huge and really heavy!

This was on the way home on the freeway.  It was bumper to bumper.  Mom was driving.  Then the next picture is the cool palm trees that are around my Uncle's neighborhood.