The Reason For the Lack of Posts....

We are expecting a Baby in early June. I am almost 11 weeks along and for the last 5 weeks I have been hugging porcelain and spending most of my time on the couch. I wasn't very sick with Carter so this has been a new experience. The Dr. did give me a miracle drug Zofran which takes aways about 85% of my nausea but insurance only allows me 24 pills in a 31 day period. And I need at least 1 1/2 pills a day which is going to make the end of Nov.-first part of Dec a bad one. Who are they to decide how many pills I need? Either way-We are very excited.

This is not my ultrasound picture. I was way to lazy to scan my own in. Way to much effort for a pregnant sick lady.

Disneyland really is the "Happiest Place on Earth"

(Warning: Lots of Pictures)

We had the opportunity to go to Disneyland with most of Neil's family last week. We had a wonderful time and took tons of pictures. These are just a few of my favorites, and I haven't even traded pics with the others.

We've been prepping Carter for several weeks about our trip to Disneyland. I started by introducing "Mickey Mouse Play House" on Disney Channel. Carter was an instant fan. We told him Disney was a lot like Lagoon with rides and that he would meet Mickey and give him a hug. Carter got really excited and would tell EVERYBODY that he was going to Mickey's house and would invite everyone. He even invited my Ob/GYN to come along...luckily he had other plans. That could have been awkward!

At the Airport. Carter and Tyler were sooo excited. And the funny thing is, they weren't even really sure what Disneyland was. But they knew it would be a good time. And it didn't disappoint.

Important: See Neil's bro Kurt on the left in this picture? And notice the boot on his foot? This boot enabled Kurt and 4 other guests to jump to the front of the line-on every ride! We rarely had to wait more than 10 minutes on any ride. Now, I've always thought Kurt was a swell brother in law, but this really pushed him to the top of my list! So, if you go to Disneyland, be sure and take a handicapped, disabled friend with you. So worth it!
The plane ride sorta scared Carter at first, which surprised me because he has flown many many times. As we were taking off he started to cry and asked if the plane could fly us to "carter's house." Once we were up in the air, (and shut the window!) he calmed right down and immediately fell asleep on Neil's lap and stayed asleep the entire time. What a wonderful flight. I thought I would be entertaining him the whole way so I brought no books or magazines for myself. Won't make that mistake again.

After the flight we had a quick bus ride to our hotel. Here is the whole gang(minus Tyler and Max). Carter must have asked about 35 times....."Where are we going?" "Is that Disneyland over there?"

After we settled into our hotel, we walked across the street to DISNEYLAND! We started at California Adventure.

I wish I had a picture of Carter's reaction when he saw Buzz and Tow Mater. They looked so real! He was in awe. Even though he doesn't look excited in ANY of the pictures, he really is. He just takes after both of his parents, very UN Photogenic.

McQueen......Carter's best friend.

His first glimpse of his new pal Mickey. We went to see "Mickey Mouses Play House" live on stage while we were there (no pics allowed) and he loved it. He was dancing along, clapping and cheering. It's funny how as a parent seeing your child so happy makes you so happy. Even though Mickey Mouse Play House is not my favorite, I love it cuz Carter loves it.

His other favorite People....Woody and Buzz. Neil and Carter posing as their own action figures.

The Merry-Go-Round was our first ride of the trip. We wanted to start Carter out small. Nothing that would freak him out. This was the perfect first ride.

When we ask Carter what his favorite ride was he always says "The Train." It's not really even a ride...just a quick way to get around Disneyland. But he loved it. He's so easy to please.

Grandma bought Carter a little monkey backpack for "safety" reasons and while I had my doubts, it actually ended up being a wonderful thing. He actually liked it and it allowed him a little freedom without getting lost. When we would take it off him, if he saw something he liked, he'd just take off. So it was great to have.

Our first encounter with the characters. Woody and Jessie showed up. I thought for sure he'd be scared and cry but he walked right up, gave woody a hug(on grandpa's camera) and posed for a picture! What a guy! We didn't really care about seeing Jessie, but we didn't tell her that!

Carter passed the short wait in lines by playing his silly games. His favorite game is "Squeeze." He grabs the necks of two people and squeezes.

Other favorite game is "Chin Up." Also very self-explanatory. You put your chin up and look at everything above you!

This is one of my favorite pics because we got in the Ferris Wheel and it freaked Carter out as we started to move. This is his face of terror. But after he relaxed and realized he was safe.....

He loved the ride!
This is what we all looked like after a ride on "Splash Mountain." I still love that ride.

Our last day at the park we hit up "Toon Town." What a great place for kids. Carter met Donald.
And Finally met Mickey! He was actually really excited and even gave him a kiss on the cheek. He was too shy to say much to Mickey.

Family Pic in Mickey's Car
In Mickey's House sitting in Mickey's Chair.
His other favorite ride was the "Bug Bumper Cars." They went about 1 mile an hour but he squealed everytime we'd bump into someone else. He loved riding with Grandpa and bumping into Mommy.

Tyler, Carter and Kayle with Tow Mator once again.

On our last day in the park Carter couldn't handle any more excitement so he slept in his stroller for over an hour. I also felt like doing this but didn't bring a stroller for myself.

Last shots as we left Disneyland for the last time!

A self portrait. 3 very tired people.

Good bye Disneyland. THe last night we were there we got to the hotel at 8 pm and I immediately fell asleep and slept clear til the next morning. As did Carter. My mother in law wore a pedometer and the first day we walked 12 miles, the second day 20 miles, and the third day, 15 miles! No wonder my legs and back hurt!

On the plane home! What a wonderful trip. Carter still talks about Disneyland and asks if we are going to our hotel tonight. Hopefully we can take another trip soon.

Oct-Nov. Playing Catch Up

I am WAY behind on my blog so this post is a quick, jumbled mess of pictures.

With the colder weather starting Carter decided to start dressing for it. He thought my boots were great.
The annual pumpkin walk. He didn't love sticking his face through the holes but with a bribe of candy, he half-heartedly gave it a shot.

So Carter has been a little freaked out about a few Halloween characters, namely monsters and Skeletons(or Skelets as he calls them.) We passed a scene at the pumpkin walk of pumpkins painted like skeletons and he started to whimper. We've told him that if he sees something he doesn't want to see, simply close your eyes and don't look. So, he did. And I happened to catch a shot of him closing his eyes so he didn't have to see the Skelets!

The Little Mermaid. His favorite scene was "Toy Story."

On to Halloween.....
Carter and some friends at a little Halloween party before the trick or treating began.
The behind view of my little Dinosaur. This is actually a dragon costume but I called it a dinosaur to persuade Carter to wear it since he likes dinosaurs and doesn't really know dragons.
Daddy and the scary Dinosaur!

Carter had no idea what Trick-Or-Treating was but after the first house, he really got into the whole thing and was practically running between houses. He would even say Trick or Treat and then politely say thank you for the candy.

Luckily we got most of our trick or treating done before the rain started. It was a successful year and Carter loved every minute of it. He was the cutest to watch from behind because his little stuffed behind would waddle as he ran.

October also brought Tennis Lessons...
Bowling Lessons
And A love for the Newspaper. A few weeks ago there was a huge ad with Toys for Christmas. Carter immediately claimed it and would sit and look through it for 20 minutes at a time. He would point out all the stuff he wanted! Luckily Santa already knows what he wants and has it all prepared.

November didn't start out very well....
We knew it would happen someday and someday finally rolled around. My curious 2 year old couldn't contain his curiosity about cheese any longer and stole a piece from someone's plate when we weren't looking. I was actually gone at the time but luckily Grandma was there to save the day.....literally. No one actually saw him eat the cheese but he confessed later. He immediately regretted his decision as he began throwing up like crazy and his breathing became VERY labored and tight. Grandma administered the epi-pen and rushed him to the emergency room. I came from Smithfield breaking many laws and met them at the ER. My poor baby had tons of drugs/steroids pumped through his little body and spent several hours in the ER. Luckily Grandma caught it early and we live so close to the hospital. I received many promptings that day, some of which I listened to, and some I didn't, but I'm grateful my little boy was protected and is healthy. He is finally starting to realize why he can't eat some foods and the price he has to pay when he does. I hate that my little boy has to be "different" but I'm glad he has such a positive attitude about the whole thing. He is one brave little boy.