Happy Father's Day

I am blessed to have two dads....one biological father and one who has known me almost my entire life. I love both of them and am grateful for their influence on my life.


Grandpa and Carter


Papaw and Leslie



I also love my father-in-law. He has played a huge part in Theo's life and much of the man Theo has become is a result of his relationship with his father.

I, of course, love the dad who is the father of my children (still getting used to the world "children" instead of "child"!) What a wonderful man God chose for me to marry and have babies with! Where would I be without him? I hope I never have to find out. Theo is an amazing father. He always knew he wanted children, even before we got married. The hard part has been not "if" we were going to have children but "how many" we would have! That's still up for debate at this point :) I couldn't think of a better person to be a role model for Carter than Theo. I know he will be a wonderful example for our daughter as well.

This year, Carter and I made Theo a picture frame for Father's Day. It wasn't much but it definitely has a lot of sentimental value. Carter had fun helping me paint it.



And here is the picture we put inside the frame...definitely one of my all time favorite photos of my two favorite fellas!




Happy Father's Day to all the dads! I'm so thankful my heavenly father brought such amazing dads into my life! I'm blessed beyond measure!

Lest you think

that Carter is always this happy, carefree, fun kid (which he is MOST of the time).....there is plenty of this going on in our house (and the grocery store, at omaw's house, in the car, basically wherever we go....)



The week before Theo got home, Carter was soooo good. Now, I'm not blaming Theo for this at all, but since Theo has gotten home, Carter has kicked up the defiance business quite a bit. He argues over the littlest things. Sometimes he will say he's sorry when he knows he is being ugly, othertimes, it's an all out war. I have put him in timeout everyday this week, which is unusual for him. He'll do good for a little while but then I say or do one thing he doesn't like and the temper tantrums come. He is throwing things, screaming at me, backtalking ALOT. I really am tired of it but have remained surprisingly calm. The calmer I am, the more in control I feel and the faster he settles down.

I really think that baby girl is going to come out and say "Who is this Carter kid that mom and dad keep yelling at? I don't know about him. And why is he screaming at them all the time too?" :) I really am trying to stay calm for her sake, Carter's sake, and my sake. It doesn't help the situation when I am out of control too. His favorite backtalking phrase is "I can't wanna do that!" with "that" ranging from eating lunch, putting his shoes on, getting dressed, getting in the car, picking up his toys, you name it. Last night when Theo got home, Carter said "I was mean at mommy and I had to go to timeout." Yep, he sure did go to timeout. Oh well, I know this is a stage and we are all doing the best we can. I just felt like keeping it real so that no one is thinking we have our acts all together all the time. The good Lord knows we don't. And I'm not even pretending to have it all together. I'm just being real. That's all I know how to be.

And in the spirit of keeping it real, let me tell you what my mischievious little man did this morning. He had just gotten out of the bathtub and I was getting ready for the day. It was a little too quiet in the house and he wasn't answering me when I called for him. So I walked into the kitchen and found him naked, on the counter, eating M&M's out of the jar that is reserved for "potty prizes". I couldn't do anything but laugh! He had gotten a little chair out of his room and climbed on the countertop that way. I was so thankful I didn't have anything cooking on the stove....or that he hadn't taken an interest in our knife collection!

Summertime Treat

PLUS

EQUALS



I made homemade popsicles today for a special afternoon treat. These were soooooo easy to make and much healthier than the Diego popsicles Carter loves so much.

Recipe:

1 cup strawberries and one tablespoon honey pureed in food processor. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for approximately 30-45 minutes.

Then add two kiwis pureed mixed with one tablespoon honey. Pour over semi-solid strawberry layer. Add popsicle sticks and freeze again for 30-45 minutes.

Lastly, puree one peach (or in this case I used a mango) with one tablespoon honey and freeze until firm! That's it. Super duper easy. I told Carter the kiwi was grapes and I think he liked it. Otherwise, I don't think he ever would have tried kiwi.

Sewing 101

Carter and I made a trip out to my mom's house yesterday. While he was napping, I got my first sewing lesson! Mom got me a sewing machine for my birthday which is being serviced right now so I practiced on hers. I learned how to thread the machine, bobbin, cut out a pattern, and started on my first outfit for baby girl. It's the same pattern my mom used to make this outfit:


The fabric is yellow with bunny rabbits flying airplanes. But it's girly despite the airplanes. If you click on the picture, you can see an enlarged version that shows the details of the fabric.


Totally appropriate for us, right? I'm so thrilled. I am hoping to get a few more lessons in before we move. I have always wanted to sew and am very thankful for the opportunity to finally learn how and have my own machine (and mom's patience!). I'll post pictures of all things I make. Just call me June Cleaver.....NOT! :)

Will Work for Food Will Play for Dough

I finally broke down and bought Carter some new playdough this past week. His old playdough was still soft but the colors (originally white, yellow, green and a brownish purple) were all melded together into a color that would only be found in a swamp. So I went to big lots and splurged (not really, I am a bargain shopper!)

He loves building, molding, and creating things. He has very little interest in cars or anything like that. But give that boy some playdough or blocks, and he is easily entertained for hours.

Daddy's Home

After being away from home for five weeks, Theo finally came back last night. We were so excited to see him. Carter ran out into the driveway yelling "Daddy! Daddy!" He didn't want to go to bed last night (and didn't until after 9:30) because he wanted to stay up and play with daddy.

We made this sign for Theo


I cooked some of his favorite foods (jerk chicken, rice and peas and this strawberry cake
which I will post the recipe for later)

We went to mass this morning and then came home and had a lazy day around the house. It was a good Sunday afternoon. Right now, Theo and Carter are next door and I'm enjoying a little alone time while I blog.

Tomorrow, it's back to work for Theo as we start to finalize all of our moving arrangments. We are faxing a lease on a house in Colorado tomorrow. We have packers scheduled to come July 15th and anticipate heading up there around the 21st or so after Theo's last day (20th).

Deja Vu

This morning, bright and early at 8 a.m., Carter said he wanted to go for a walk. Well, our walk turned into a trip to a park that we hadn't been to in a long time. It's the first park I really played with Carter at. I had just gotten my camera, it was October, the leaves were covering the ground and I got some fabulous pictures.

(Pictures from fall 2007) These are some of my most favorite pictures of Carter.












Theo and I also visited this park when I was pregnant with Carter and swung on the swings like big kids.


So today as I was swinging next to Carter, I was reminded of all of these memories we've created at this one park and how sad I will be to leave this life behind. I'm sad on one hand but am excited on the other hand. My roots will always be here. But my life is with the family Theo and I have created. I am often reminded of the passage in Ruth...."Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16)