Ode to a Good Cat

Like I've mentioned before we have a cat named Stanley. Carter is allergic to both dogs and cats but we have never noticed any allergic reactions caused by cats. And the allergist told us we could keep a cat. Just make sure to vacuum frequently and keep the cat out of Carter's room. We did both of those. I even bought a "special" pet vacuum. Unfortunately, the pediatrician thinks that Carter may be developing asthma along with his allergies(this isn't shocking, they tend to go hand-in-hand.) He also thinks Carter may have chronic bronchitis. Stanley isn't causing either of those conditions but he isn't helping the situation either. So after much debate, we decided Stanley had to go to another home. Luckily we had many people offer to take the world's friendliest cat. Neil's brothers family were the lucky winners(Sorry Ann!). I didn't think I would be sad to see Stanley go.......no more feeding him, grooming him, changing his litter box, etc.....but when the time came, I was actually a little sad. And I think I was mostly sad because I have 2 boys that absolutely adore that cat. Kitty is one of 3 words that Carter says. His eyes always lit up whenever he'd see Stanley. Whenever we'd go out in the garage Carter would search until he found Stanley. He loved to lay on Stanley and Stanley was so patient with Carter(and the neighborhood terrors!). He never scratched anyone. Never hissed at anybody. And never pooped in the house(he did pee twice when he was a little kitty, but I have since forgiven him). The neighbors all love him and one neighbor even puts out food and water for him so he'll come over.

Carter loved to crawl to the door and see Stanley waiting outside. They'd paw at each other through the glass.

So that being said, Goodbye to a good Cat! Carter and Neil miss you terribly. And I miss you a little bit(until I think of the one time you peed on the floor and in Carter's stroller).
I've said it before but I'll say it again: Dang allergies -It's not fair to my little boy to have to give up milk, eggs and kitties.

Carter's Birthday

We celebrated Carter's first birthday Tuesday night. We had both sets of grandparents there and a couple of Carter's cousins and aunt and uncle came to celebrate. He was actually more interested in the presents than I thought he would be.
Carter is OBSESSED with talking on the phone(you'd think he was a 14 year old girl) so I knew this phone would be a hit. He loves putting it to his ear and saying "Hi" over and over. Then he hands the receiver to someone else for their turn. He actually cried when I took the phone away to open different presents.

Here he is still playing with his phone but luckily Kayla was more than willing to help open his presents.
So I bought him this giant Lion right after Christmas. I was hoping he'd think it was a giant kitty (since he loves kitties) but he really is kind of scared of it. Looking back, this present was one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time but honestly, what am I going to do with a giant lion?" Luckily his phone is portable and he can still talk while riding the lion.
Here is Carter with his very own basketball cake. Milk and Egg Free of Course! This recipe was VERY dense and so cooking it in a ball shape wasn't the best. When putting the two pieces together, it crumbled a bit. So the frosting wasn't very smooth, and let's be honest-Cake decorating is not one of my talents. His baseball cupcakes turned out much better.
He was a little tired by this point which means a little grumpy as well. When I first set his cake in front of him he tried to push it away. I had to swipe some frosting and force him to try it. After that he loved it. His first taste of Chocolate Cake was a success.
I actually saved a little leftover cake and fed it to him the next day. He loved it even more the second day and was squishing it between his fingers and once he ran out, he starting signing "more" like a mad man.
After cake and a quick bath he got to ride his other toys. He loved the rocking motion of this one and kept trying to make it rock. He finally gave up and put both feet up on the thing and waited to be pushed around.

One last call before bed........This phone does NOT come with texting capabilities luckily.

Thanks to everyone who came and brought presents. He loves them all!

One Year Ago

One year ago (yesterday) I was bringing this sweet little boy home from the hospital! 8 pounds 3 oz. of pure sweetness. He had the skinniest chicken legs I had ever seen. Now 1 year later and 20 pounds heavier(28 lbs!) here is my same sweet little boy. Do not panic-he does not still use this carseat. In fact he hasn't used it since he was 5 months old. He is approximately the size of a 2 year old now.......but that just gives me more to love! He actually still likes to ride in his car seat the same way, with his legs pulled up close to him!

Carter was born half boy/half werewolf. He was the hairiest baby I had ever seen. I was a little worried at first but was assured it would all fall off.......it did, luckily. I did however, not take the chance with his ear hair. I promptly shaved those bad boys when we got home from the hospital. Anyone else ever shaved their newborns ears?
And now that dark, hairy little baby has turned into a creamy skinned, auburn haired little boy.

Bench and baby sold separately. Bench=75% off at Pier One. Baby=Priceless (Aww)
I love this little boy and I'm so lucky to be his mommy!

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 4th anniversary. In honor of that I thought I would post a few pictures.



Neil is the middle kid(first place!!).....this is what growing 6 inches in 3 months with no weight gain will do to a boy........and nice farmer tan by the way.

This is me.......I have since learned that glasses and hideous bangs will never get you a mate.

Luckily Neil ditched the speedo.....I however, kept the bangs for a little while longer than I should.
Here we are on our first date. I had already jokingly said that Neil was the man I would marry.
3 1/2 months later we were engaged......Neil wanted this to be our engagement picture.
June 10, 2005-What a great day.

3 years later.....this happened
and now we're living happily ever after!

Here are a few of Carter's One Year Pictures. We had to wait for an hour in the waiting room and so he was quite grouchy during a lot of them. We did get a few smiles though......

I couldn't really use any props because he insisted on playing with all of them or throwing them at the camera in disgust.