Growing up...

We've realized for a long time that Carter really resembles my side of the family in looks... but lately we've begun to see a lot more of Dan come out in other ways. Carter shares his Daddy's love for the water and running. We bought him his 1st pair of running shoes for school this year... and since then he doesn't leave the house without them. He is constantly running and running... through stores, down the sidewalk, around the kitchen island, around the high school track (in warmer weather), and around me while I'm standing still. About a month ago we decided to start him in swim lessons at our community center (there's only so much running you can do in weather this cold). He's technically not old enough... but he's had so much water exposure for a kid his age (lakes, pools, ocean) that we figured he was ready. He LOVES it! It has been the perfect afternoon activity twice a week... for me and him (there are 4 other moms from our church there that I get to visit with :)). He passed his 1st level on Thursday and starts level 2 on Tuesday!! We're hoping he'll be able enjoy the outdoor pool this summer without his life vest.

This picture was taken with my phone. That's Carter with the blue noodle.

In other Carter news... we had a scary night with him last week. We were at one of Ty's basketball games when Carter had an allergic reaction to a pecan cereal bar he was eating. Thankfully he had only had about 3 bites and we were able to get some Benadryl in him pretty quick. We have to wait 3 1/2 months to get him in with an allergist (the first available appointment is actually my due date)... so until then our Pediatrician said he has to avoid all tree nuts and peanuts. We also can't leave the house without this...

Kind of unexpected... but what can you do. We're just thankful he was ok.

Home for dinner...

I know I haven't posted about the guys in a while... kind of crazy because they are some of the biggest parts of each of our days. Part of it is because I can't post everything... or sometimes even pictures of who is living here... but I'm still going to try and be better about keeping up with the fun stuff that goes on here.

Right now Ty're is living and breathing basketball... and because he is... so are we. I LOVE watching our guys play in sporting events. It seems we are constantly running Ty to practice or a game, figuring out his basketball schedule, making sure he washes his basketball stuff... and so on and so on. Here he is playing in his first MRH middle school game. I am constantly thinking about how soon he will be playing high school sports. Crazy!

And here are Fred and Ty're with Carter after dinner last night (Fred was in town for an appointment today). So funny... we see Fred so much more than Jeff or Steven... and Fred's the one who lives out of town! It's been neat to see our current group of guys get to know our graduates.

24 Weeks

I'm not going to talk about how unbelievably sick we have been the last 5 days... I will say this picture was taken during one of the few times we were able to venture outside since Tuesday night. Dan and I keep talking about how fast this pregnancy is flying by compared to Carter. It's kind of nice to not have so much time to freak out about stuff! :)

So much better... we hope!

We use this blog to document a lot of things... one of the big things being "firsts" for Carter. Well... he had another first this week... unfortunately... a not so great one. In the middle of the night on Wednesday he was hit with the stomach flu for the first time in his life. We ended up making a bed for him on the floor of our master bathroom so he could be close to us through the night. It was heartbreaking. At 3am (after throwing up for the 4th time) he asked me to sit with him for a while. I told him that I would of course sit with him. He said... "I love you, Mommy." Made me want to cry. Then later in the morning (after we had cleaned up another issue)... he thanked me for helping him to feel better. My 3 year old thanked me in the middle of dealing with the stomach flu!!! He is amazing... I know we're biased... but he truly is an awesome little guy!

Here he is this morning feeling much better...

I'm really hoping I don't get it! I keep telling myself I won't... and I've felt great so far. We've used a lot of lysol and sanitizer and have canceled everything we had planned for the next few days.

Dan is another story. He's felt sick since Friday. We're thinking it's a combination of food poisoning, possibly a tiny bit of the stomach bug and some other stomach issues he's been dealing with for a long time (I'm sure he's going to love that I'm writing about this on the blog!). Anyway... a friend helped me work out a new diet plan for him this week. He's on the 2nd day of a 2 week cleanse. The cleanse is the start of an entirely different way of eating for him. He's not too happy about it (especially since he can't have his favorite beverage this weekend or next)... but he did mention today that he can already tell a difference. Just to give you an idea of what I have him eating right now... the checker at the grocery store last night asked if I was buying food for a rabbit. :)

Well... I should go... Carter just told me it's time for my nap. Don't want to miss that!!

Alyssa and Erica's 30th Weekend (A Collage Preview)

Back to business...

We've been having some computer problems... major problems... for a while now. My iMac that we've had for about 3 1/2 years has been so good to us... but lately has not liked the increase in photo editing and storage. :( That's a pretty big problem since we have a photo business now. On top of that... our external hard drive (the one where we've backed up all of our pictures since starting our business) crashed about two months ago. We are really good at backing everything up in 2-3 places... everything except an entire months worth of pictures from our summer vacation in California this past July. We do have a handful that we edited while we were on that trip and had saved... but really... most everything is gone. :( Thankfully all of our other months and months worth of photos are saved in other places. Dan has tried to recover the photos on the external hard drive... but it hasn't worked. Our last hope is taking it into Mac Headquarters next week.

So... for my 30th birthday... Dan got me a new computer. I am in LOVE! I told him this gift better count for my next 3 birthdays... because it is WAY too big of a gift! We just set it up tonight... so I wanted to test out the editing speed before I head to bed. It's AMAZING! Dan's not going to be too happy with the pictures I chose... but I think Carter just looks too cute! My twin sister has some awesome heels! Too bad we don't live in the same state or wear the same size! :)

More updates coming soon!!

Future Firefighter?

30th Weekend - Napa wine from summer and Dinner at An America Place

The start of the 30th Birthday Weekend @ the Cupcakery

Another snow day...

It's not often we get two in a row... so we're feeling pretty spoiled! I took this picture yesterday before Carter headed out for a second time to play in the snow (he actually stayed out for an hour!). It is so COLD here! I heard on the news this morning that our temperatures are supposed to feel like -25 tonight with the windchill! We really should invest in some balaclavas...

just like our good friend, Glen! :)

Snow Day!

One of the great things (I think) about St. Louis is the snow... we get just enough to make it fun... but we don't really have to deal with it all winter long. We've had a little bit of snow this winter already... but today is our first official snow day. We only ended up with about 3 1/2 inches... but with the 40 mph winds expected later today and the fact that we are experiencing some of the coldest temperatures St. Louis has had in a decade... schools around the area are closed. I posted about this last year... but I had to mention it again... it's great living where we do because some of the awesome men up at the school district had already shoveled and salted our walkway and the sidewalk in front of our house before any of the guys in this house were even up!!

Well... one guy was up pretty early this morning. It's fun to see Carter actually get excited about the snow this year! He wanted to go out and walk through it as soon as he was up.

Thankfully he didn't want to stay out very long. It's supposed to be -10 with the windchill today.

There's nothing like a special breakfast on a day like this... homemade cinnamon rolls with chocolate milk!

8 Years!

This picture was taken at our official first date, June 20th, 2000 (Jonathan and Jen LaDucs' wedding) and I am proud to say we still look at each other that way. I love you Alyssa!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy New Year!