Caught in the act...

What am I going to do with this kid?









Maybe it is time for a new bed...

My husband is an AMAZING cook. And by amazing I mean that after almost 7 years of marriage he has done the majority of our cooking... and it's good... really good. I have started to take on more of that role in the last year because the poor guy just does not have time... and surprisingly I've really started to enjoy it. The one thing I have not taken on is the grill. He is by far the master griller... and his meat is one of the few things that all four of our boys will eat (and say is good). So... tonight Dan and I had a meeting at 6pm. It's pretty much the worst time for both of us to leave the house. It's right around Carter's bedtime, it's dinner time, and the guys are usually starting to arrive at the house from practice and different things. Knowing we wouldn't be here for dinner and the guys would be here with someone new I picked the easiest dinner possible... burgers. Of course I was just thinking BBQ sauce... but apparently this is what Dan was thinking...

6 burgers combined with blue cheese and rolled in peppercorn and 6 burgers with his special seasoning... amazing! Too bad we weren't there to eat it...

I also wanted to post this picture of Fred and J tonight for a couple reasons. First because they were joking around and I realized that their shirts kind of matched and they were holding their beloved cell phones in the same hands (yes Fred's shirt does say State Prison and yes I have gone to the store with him while he was wearing that shirt... that's a story for another time) and secondly because of Carter tonight. I tried to put him down an hour early so the sitter wouldn't have to worry about him and 4 teenagers... but of course my plan backfired. He cried for the first time in months when I put him to bed and then not so surprisingly got out of bed about 30 minutes after we left. In the middle of our meeting I got a text message from Fred asking if Carter could have some milk. I said sure but to make sure he was back in bed by 7pm. So... Fred brought Carter downstairs, got him some milk, played trucks with him, gave him a 5 minute warning and then put him back to bed with NO problem! I love that Carter has hardly known a day without Fred or Steven and that our starting high school running back can put our child to bed with no problem. I love that Carter is growing up in this place... I know that it will shape him in such an incredible way. What an amazing gift it is to be here... even though it's not always so easy.

Hello Winter...

This is where we sat almost all day today...

It's hard to believe Carter was wearing shorts yesterday. We even saw a few snowflakes when we were out tonight! I love fall and winter!

I found this coat for Carter a few weeks ago. Fred told Carter it was nice. So... Carter has been walking around saying... "Fred say dis nice."

Thanks to this woman...

Carter has spent every waking moment at home for the last 24 hours doing this...

I've been going through pictures for a Christmas project and just found this one from the day we brought Carter home from the hospital...

I totally forgot that of the 20 blankets we had at that time... that's the one we covered him with before we walked out of the hospital. Do you think he could have really formed an attachment that early on?!

Here he is with Bryce on Wednesday with his blankie. I didn't realize how much it had faded! The boy loves that blanket!

Guess who can open the refrigerator now?

New shoes for Ty...

Tyre (Fred's younger brother) has been a part of the Joe's Place family for just about as long as Fred has. He actually spent part of Christmas with us last year. Every now and then he would even spend the night here when he was still in elementary school last year. Carter ADORES him. These are just 3 of the many reasons why...




Tyre is 13 and in the 7th grade now. Dan actually has him in 2 classes. At the beginning of the year Dan asked the students if they had a nickname they would like to use. Tyre told Dan he would like to go by Ty because that's what Carter calls him... so now that's what we all call him.

Ty has been staying with us off and on for the last month... but on Sunday he became an official resident of Joe's Place! This has been a long time coming... and we are so relieved to have him here.

Last night Tyre had the opportunity to go shopping with a group that donates to Joe's Place. He was able to go to our local mall and spend $200.00 in any store that he wanted to. I wish you all could have experienced the look on his face when he walked in the door with Dan last night. Besides buying some much needed pants and shirts... he was able to get a pair of basketball shoes that came with an erasable marker. When he walked out the door to school this morning he had every single one of our signatures on those shoes... including this one...

Welcome to the family, Ty!

Katherine captured this yesterday afternoon...

It perfectly shows what life is like with Carter right now. He is fast, he is 2, and he's a boy. Sometimes I'm just not sure what to do with all that energy. We were at Pottery Barn Kids on Tuesday for their story time. I looked away for a second and he managed to get himself into the front window display and partially rearrange some Christmas decorations. He's also able to get out of crib now in about 10 seconds flat. Several people have mentioned that it may be time for a big boy bed... but the thing is... he even moves like this in his sleep. Maybe he'll be a runner like his Daddy and Fred.

This morning Dan forgot his keys to his classroom. Normally he calls in time for me to hand off whatever he has forgotten to one of our boys before they leave... but today (surprisingly) everyone was already gone. So... Carter and I bundled up to brave the 26 degree, one and a half block walk to his building. I thought Carter looked so cute once we got home that I had to snap a picture...

Tonight we drove about an hour outside of St. Louis to a friend's lake house for dinner and a bon fire. We roasted marshmallows and enjoyed one of the first really cold fall nights we have had. The best part of the night for Carter was a huge pile of leaves in the backyard. He would run as fast as he could and throw himself into the pile. He LOVED it!



He's wearing my favorite winter hat in those pictures. I've convinced myself to finally try and make one this winter since I'm guessing this is the last year he'll be able to wear it.

Carter's 1st winter...

and 2nd winter (with Papa Swanson).

Our solution to the never ending search for pacis...

I'm slowly updating what's happened over the last few weeks on the blog... so be sure to scroll down!