Memorial Day

Wonderful Memorial Day with the Adams and Seigfrieds! We all enjoyed the parade in Anapolis, Maryland...
Braden showing his support for Daddy and the F-16 community:
All American boy chomping on his fingers...first tooth popped up today!!

Weekend with the Cousins

Ben and Jake decided to join them! "Uncle Casey, take us for a ride!!!" Carter's first swim:



Boys at work:


Four tired boys!!

Carter's 8-month bday!

Every month on the 16th I'm so surprised at how fast it's gone, but here I am again in disbelief that we've had eight wonderful months with this precious little one...it seems like he's always been with us and yet still seems like yesterday that he was born! How can that be?Anyway, no big milestones...I can't believe we've hit the 8th month point still with no teeth!! This month he's just gotten better at his skills...sitting unassisted really well, crawling/scooching across the entire living room, eating a bit less messy, saying "dada, mama, baba," though, I'm not sure sure he knows what they mean. But if you say "Carter," he'll turn and look...I think he knows his name and understands probably more than we know! He's also starting to respond to routine...around 8pm we head upstairs, he whimpers as we're walking up the stairs into his room because he knows it's bedtime, I turn on the music and rock him a little, and all is good. Taller than Andy now! He likes standing...probably will be pulling himself up soon!

Kids Day

Every year Burlington hosts Kids Day on the downtown waterfront, with crafts, rides, entertainment, food, etc, and we were really looking forward to it today since last year was so fun. Braden played with the noodles, had a picnic, watched a puppet show, and even made a bracelet out of snacks. The only problem with Kids Day is that there's just too much to do, and once naptime hits it's extremely difficult to convince a very tired and stubborn 2-yr old that it's time to leave!
Here, Carter, you can have the bun, I'll just eat the hot dog!
Building a noodle fort:
Why can we never get a good picture together?? Too busy I guess!
Raisins and Cherrios:

Bathtime and Play

On Thursday I decided to put Carter in Braden's bath...messy baby at dinner so he needed a bath anyway, and I thought it would be fun for them. Fun was an understatement!!! I wish I had a video...this is the first time the boys really played together...both were laughing and splashing each other, so wonderful to see! I am really looking forward to a few months from now when Carter is a bit older so they can play and interact together all throughout the day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Being a Mom can be tiring, frustrating and stressful at times, but I wouldn't trade waking up to these beautiful faces for the world!!

Touch a Truck Day

Several cities around Burlington have Big Truck days this time of year, a time where police, firefighters, construction workers, etc, park their trucks so the kids can check them out. So, this year we decided to go to the one in Hinesburg...Braden was a bit overwhelmed by the loud horn noises (the kids can honk the horns) but loved "driving" and of course the bounce house afterwards!

Photo shoot

A few from our awesome photo shoot today...
if you're looking for a great photographer in VT,
Jennifer Paradee photography
(jenniferparadeephotography.blogspot.com)
is open in November!

Daddy time

Spending lots of time making great memories with Daddy before he deploys to Iraq!

Vermont Maple Fest

FINALLY a nice day to go to an outdoor event! The Vermont Maple Fest was really fun...lots of things to do, including of course the amusement park (below). We also had a picnic, met with friends, and watched the parade...fun!

Playdate!

Beautiful day today...time to meet up with Braden's favorite twins!

Apparently, Braden is a comedian (or more a lady charmer!!)! Carter's in the background charming Miss Stella :)

7 Months Old!!

Carter James is growing up so fast! The biggest thing I have to report is that he started crawling! It's mostly a "scooching" thing (that probably isn't even a word but you know what I mean!), so I have moved the coffee table in the family room so he has more room to move! He usually just moves himself around the toys in that area, but I'm sure he'll be traveling much further than that soon!

Braden giving Carter crawling lessons:
He's eating "dinner" every night (his favorite is an apples and chicken baby food), but he's also enjoyed turkey and vegetables and chicken noodle. He finishes about half the jar before he gets bored, but he's gotten pretty good about getting most of the food to actually stay in his mouth and tummy!
He's sitting up all by himself (though I still watch pretty carefully because he might fall back), and he's an awesome sleeper...now sleeping mostly on his tummy!
Also, last week I had to go through his closet (AGAIN!) because he's now in size 9-month clothes!
Lastly...I'm expecting a tooth to pop through any day now!!

--I love his little feet in the picture, but after I looked at it again I realized he's drooling...oh well, teething, like I said!!

Braden's first Movie!

Today we decided to take Braden to see "How to Train your Dragon" with a few friends...Braden loved it! He's seen tons of movies but this is the first time we took him to a theater. Really cute movie, the only thing is that the 3-D glasses were a bit big for the 2 yr olds :) We went to McDonalds first so the kids could get their own dragon toy with their happy meals (sitting next to Braden).

Build and Grow

The Lowe's by our house does projects for kids most Saturdays, so we decided to check it out today for the first time...Braden really is a bit young for it, but I knew he'd love the concept of building something and the opportunity to hammer nails! They give them cute aprons and goggles too. Today he built a a baseball-themed game...fun!