Future

Future Vet maybe??  Glad Kenai is such a good patient!

Santa Came to Town

Sweet Carter slept in on Christmas for us, which was such a great gift.  At 8:30, I heard his door bust open, and his little feet patter down the hall.  He did not touch any presents, but he wanted to make sure Santa came. He then came running into our room to tell us to hurry and get out of bed because there were a lot of presents out there!

He is good at opening all the gifts, and this year he even allowed Tim and me to open our own presents.  We sure were spoiled by all the amazing things our family sent us.  I love seeing the excitement on Carter's face as he opens each present.  He actually played with each present before moving on to the next, so opening lasted for a few hours.    

We ate dinner at the neighbors on Christmas Eve and on Christmas.  It was nice to not have to be alone on Christmas, but we still really missed our families.  Michigan is proving to be pretty lonely.  Hopefully where ever we move next year will provide us with some visitors!

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas filled with many blessings and loved ones!!!

Swim Nemo, Swim!

(I know, you are jealous of my fireplace!)

Thanks Bampa and Meme!!!

A little Alaska love from Auntie Heather

Santa forgot to get Mrs. Clause' approval on this one...

More toys for Timmy!

Loving on this frog from Auntie Nanna!

  

3 Years

Dear Carter,

      Today you turned 3 years old!!!  What, 3 already?  Where has time gone?  You have made these past 3 years the best of my life.  You are an amazing person and are such a joy to your parents.  You have such a personality.  There is never a day that goes by that you don't make me laugh with the witty things that you say.  You learn new things all the time, and are constantly amazing me with what you know.  

     Right now in life you are becoming potty trained again (for the second or third time...), you can  count up to 30 by yourself and well beyond with a little assistance, you love any thing that has to do with a car, you check outside every morning to see if it has snowed so you can go out to shovel, you greet your Daddy when he comes home from work with "Oh I am so glad you are home!", you love to eat and your favorite food is broccoli.

     I love you sweet boy.  You continue to teach me new things about myself everyday.  You have an amazingly sweet soul and the best kisses.  Happy Birthday Carter Joseph, you are such a big boy now!!!

                                                                   Love, Mommy

Carter decided to wake up nice and early this morning at 6 and asked if we could have cake then.  It was funny, but the answer was no.  Tim worked for much of the day today, so Carter and I headed out to the movie theater to see Alvin and the Chipmunks.  Carter loved the movie, and kept saying "Oh this is so cool".         After the movie, we met Tim at McDonald's for lunch and a little playing.  After that we came home to open the presents and once again Carter was spoiled with tons of really neat presents.  Thank you to everyone for the love you show our little man.  

I kind of slacked on the cake this year.  Carter has been talking about having a lawnmower cake for about 6 months now.  I was gearing myself to produce a sweet fondant lawnmower, and then I realized that Carter doesn't even like cake right now.  So I decided to go for the Raspberry Sherbet roll.  Added a little green food coloring, some tractors (since Carter said a tractor would work if I could not find a lawnmower), and called it good.  Carter loved looking at it, loved licking off the tractors, and just let the cake sit on his plate.  So, he did not eat this one either.  I on the other hand did!

Now both the boys are curled up on the floor playing with Legos on Grandpa's sweet Lego board.  This has been going on for a few hours now, and I don't see it ending any time soon. 

      

  

Naughty

Carter and I saw Santa at the mall the other day.  As soon as Santa spotted us, Carter hid behind my legs.  When I asked him why he was hiding from Santa his response was: "Because Santa knows if I have been naughty!"

Carter climbed into bed this morning with me.  It usually takes a while for him to get me out of the nice warm bed, so he tried new approach today.

"You have pretty green eyes Mom.  You are skinny Mom.  Now get out of bed, I'm hungry."  And to think I almost fell for his sweet comments.

Chocolate is in the Air

Tim had an interview in Hershey, PA, so Carter and I decided to tag along.  I was super excited to see this town because of all the wonderful stories I had heard.  And, it did not disappoint.  Yes, the street lights are shaped like Hershey kisses, and the air does smell like chocolate.  (It didn't happen when we were there, but when they are making Reese's, the air smells like chocolate and peanut butter.  Are you kidding me???)  Carter and I had tons to do during his two day interview.  The town itself is pretty small, and easy to get around.  And, it is super safe.  The amusement park was closed for the season, but we did get to check out Hershey world one day.  Carter's favorite part was the free ride that we went on over and over again.  We also enjoyed hitting up the outlet mall that is right in town.

So this town is pretty amazing.  And, we would not mind having to spend the next 3-4 years there.  (There is a Costco 15 minutes away, so I will be able to survive!)  Tim felt the interview went really well, so we will keep you updated!! 

 Love it!!

This was his smile the whole ride, every time!

Santa's house, 100 square feet made out of Chocolate! 

Sweets everywhere!!!!

      

Oh Christmas Tree...

Tim was at work when we decorated the Christmas tree this year.  I am usually pretty strict about what the tree looks like, but I decided to let that go this year.  It is only a matter of time till Carter will be bringing home noodle things he will want to hang on the tree.  So, I handed Carter the ornaments, and let he put on every one.  He just kept saying "Daddy is going to be so proud of me.  This is so beautiful".  You did good my little man, but I am afraid the top of 2/3 of the tree is a little lonely.  

Ok, so the tree got a little makeover during nap time.  But, he still loves it.  

Giving Thanks

Team Vacation was on the road again this last week!  It was so wonderful to get out of Michigan for awhile, and to see old friends.
It started out by visiting Rick in Indianapolis so Tim could meet some of the doctors in the anesthesia program there.  While Tim and Rick were at work for the day, Carter and I took on the town.  Ok, we just headed out to the mall, but that was enough for us.  After living in such a small town, it is easy to become overwhelmed!  After the boys got home from work, we headed down to Louisville where Shari lives.  The drive took us an extra hour due to the holiday traffic, so thank goodness for portable DVD players!  Thanksgiving day was filled with good food, good friends, and more good food.  Friday was a beautiful day where we got to play outside at a beautiful park, and enjoy some big town shopping.  Saturday was rock climbing day and fulfilling Carter's need for pizza.  It was so nice to spend Thanksgiving with old friends and catching up with what is going on in their lives.  Thanks for the great hospitality Rick and Shari, and for letting Carter wear you out!
We left on Sunday for our long drive northeast.  Sunday night was spent in Erie, PA.  The next morning we headed out early and ended up in Syracuse, New York in the afternoon.  After exploring the town a bit, we ended up at the best eating place in Syracuse.  Dinosaur BBQ is a must if you are ever in the area.  We ate more than we should have, but it was amazing!  That night was spent hanging out in the pool while Tim prepared for his interview the next morning.
Tim left early for his interview, while Carter  and I took it nice and easy.  We ended up going to the zoo, which was a ton of fun for Carter.  After that, we were able to find an incredibly huge mall.  To drive around it was a mile circle.  Crazy.  Tim finished up in the early afternoon with his stuff, so we headed out for Niagara Falls.  We wanted to stop at the American side of the falls before we crossed the boarder, but it was so foggy when we got there, that you would not have been able to see anything.  Niagara Falls Canada is a cute town, but super expensive.  The only reason we were able to afford a hotel there was because it is the off season.  So, we scored a super fancy hotel for a reasonable price.  Finding a place to eat there was horrible.  We ended up eating at TGI Fridays, and payed $17 for a burger!  Give me a break!!
The next morning was spent enjoying the sights of the Falls.  If you have never been, go!  It is so beautiful and amazing!  A must see for anyone!!!  It was a little cold, and raining, but still amazing!
The drive home was bit depressing because we knew our vacation was over.  It was so much fun to spend quality time together as a family.  And, to get out of Michigan!!!