3 month photo shoot: part one

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Focus on the family

Wednesday, we took Carter and Olivia to the kids area at Focus on the Family. Carter is the only one who had actually been there before....with Aunt Meredith on the day that Olivia was born. What a great free activity to do on cold days especially! Carter had a great time. We didn't leave until they closed the place down and we will for sure go back!

Merry New Year!

I truly can't believe 2009 is already over! I heard on the news that 39% of people said 2009 was a bad year for them but almost 80% of people were optimistic about the new year. Well, I am definitely NOT in that 39% group! 2009 was a great year for me and I would venture to say my family as well. We had so many changes in such a short amount of time but all in all, they were good changes. 2009 was the year we welcomed our first daughter into our lives and hearts. What could be better than that? We watched Carter grow and change so much over the past twelve months. We moved to a beautiful place and have met great people here. Our extended family members are all relatively healthy as are we. I was able to leave my full-time job to become a stay-at-home mom. Our 2009 was a great year for us and we are so excited to see what God will bring for us in 2010!

My new year's resolutions are to spend more time with this guy:



Play more with these two:




Also, become more "green", give up meat for health reasons (which I have already done for over a month now), and not to be afraid to try new things. I also want to focus more on my relationship with God.....a resolution I make every year! I pray God will bless each and every one of your lives in the coming year.

Nice to meet you Grandpa!

My dad drove over twenty hours in two days to come visit us this Christmas! I am glad that my first Christmas away from "home" will be shared with him. The weather has been a little uncooperative so we haven't been able to see too many sites this time but at least we'll have a white Christmas. Tonight, we are going to mass and tomorrow, it's CHRISTMAS! I'm so excited to celebrate Jesus' birthday and see the look on Carter's face when he is opening his presents. I'm excited that this is Olivia's first Christmas too and hopefully she won't sleep straight through it! From our family to yours, we hope you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Momma, will you take my picture?

It seems as if every time Carter is holding Olivia or being sweet and lovin' on her, he will ask "Momma, will you take my picture?". How could I not? These are two sweet kids! Yesterday we headed to the AF Academy and went hiking. I carried Olivia in the Baby Bjorn and Carter walked. I'm not sure how far we hiked because Carter was dragging along for a while. But the weather was perfect so we had to get out and enjoy the sunshine before it snows again. All the exercise must have worn him out because he crawled in our bed and took a long nap when we got home! We had a good time but next time, I may borrow a friend's jogging stroller and push him instead of letting him walk. Although, if all the walking may help him sleep better, it may be worth it!

Cardboard Christmas

As you all know, this is my first Christmas away from "home". I use that term loosely because although Louisiana will always be my home state, I have a new home now with my husband and children in the beautiful state of Colorado. Because we aren't in the south anymore, most of our family has been shipping Christmas presents to us (and we did the same thing). I have to laugh because I have never had as many carboard boxes under our Christmas tree (or anywhere else for that matter) ever! I know the postman is probably saying "Who is this P family? Why do they get so many packages?? Literally, almost every day a package comes. Some I have ordered but most I have not. We have gotten packages from Omaw and Papaw, Nana, Carter's godparents, grandmother, some other friends, some of Theo's friends I have never even met PLUS all the amazon packages I ordered! Today alone, I think we got six boxes outside. Right after I took these pictures, more boxes came! It makes Carter (and me!) so excited to see boxes on our doorstep or in our mailbox. I am grateful to all of our family and friends who have sent us things to make this first Christmas away from "home" more memorable.

This will be the first Christmas I have spent without my mom, step-dad, and all my extended family. Last year, I got to see my dad right before Christmas too which was a nice treat. Truthfully, I haven't been as sad about it as I thought I would have been. Knowing we are celebrating Olivia's first Christmas makes the sadness less and the joy much more. Plus, my dad is coming in a couple of days and then my mom will be here soon after that. But I will definitely miss seeing all of my extended family though on Christmas morning. I'll miss the elaborate breakfast we always have. I'll miss seeing all the cousins playing together with their new toys. I'll be sad that most of my family will still not have gotten the chance to meet Olivia. I'll be sad that they won't be passing her around on Christmas morning. I'll be sad that Carter won't get a chance to see his cousins too. I will miss the family photo oportunity that we had last year. But I am happy to be spending Christmas as a family of four. It will be my first white Christmas ever! Theo and I decided that no matter where we live, we will most likely always spend Christmas day at home and celebrate it with our children. I'm not saying I won't travel near Christmas or right afterwards, but we feel it is important to start our own family traditions in our own home no matter where that may be. This year, we may also have my friend Lisa (who is also the kids pediatrician and ironically will be spending her first Christmas away from Louisiana as well) join us on Christmas. I hope wherever you all are spending your Christmas, you will have a blessed one and remember to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

My favorite gifts under the tree