Carter Summer Catch-Up

Here are some catch-up summer picks of our middle son Carter...

Anderson loves the book The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss.  Carter often takes the time to read it to his little brother whenever mom and dad get tired of reading it.  (Because Carter hears it in the background so much, it is rather easy for him to do this!  Carter is really good at memorizing things he hears.  He is always reciting song lyrics and lines from TV shows back to us.  He even recently has started to annoy Holly a little by repeating back questions....he asks "Mom, can I have a Popsicle."  "Yes Parker," says mom.  "Okay, mom, so you mean that I can have a Popsicle, right?"  Haha he is so cute.

While camping with our friends at Jellystone, the kids obviously got glow-rings for their bedtime.  Parker and Carter took the chance to turn them into fashion accessories.  (Anderson, by the way, bit into his and had it taken away.  Fortunately, no radioactive glow got all over him because of it!)  Also notice Parker advertising his favorite pizza place (and Dad's too!) as well as Carter's long sleeved pajamas.  Carter doesn't seem to mind the summer heat and is always running around in flannel pants and shirt even when his brothers are down to their diaper or underwear trying to keep cool.  The other day Carter hid inside a fort he made for an half hour dressed in his usual and came out soaked in sweat.  We told him he had no choice but to take those clothes off and dress in something cooler.  He resisted but finally did.  The guy liked to stay toasty!

On the Jellystone wagon ride, Yogi Bear always does a "tie trick" where the kids close their eyes, Yogi rolls up his tie, the kids open them, and then are surprised to see the tie gone.  Carter, always the observant one, is never one to be fooled by this cheap trick and is seen here calling Yogi out on his deceitfulness...

And finally, while playing at Grandma and Grandpa Miller's, it's okay on rare occasions to keep playing outside even if it is raining.  Parker and Carter capitalized on that liberty, recently.  Here they are all wet.  Notice, of course, they are standing in a puddle.  Carter loves puddles and is always trying to turn our backyard into a big one when he plays with the sprinkler.  But that is a post for another day.

Tomorrow will be a catch-up summer day for our little buddy Anderson!

Parker Summer Catch-Up

I realized Holly and I haven't posted anything yet since the marathon I ran back in May.  This is a tragedy since we have done a decent amount of things as a family since then.  It is also a tragedy because it is summer vacation so we certainly have enough time to both do things AND post about them on the blog.  So here is a brief photo tour of some of the past events.

Parker rode Uncle Jon's ATV at Grandma's house shortly
after school let out.  (Uncle Jon rode with him while it was moving.)

Parker climbed to the top of this all by himself at the ice cream store.

A view from the top!

Holly made these cupcakes in mason jar for my little sister Laura's bridal shower.

Yum!  They were awesome, exotic flavors.

The boys of course got to hang out with their Aunt Laura
before and after the bridal shower.

Okay.  So a small amount of catch-up done.  Tomorrow I will try to post some pictures of Carter's activities during the last month and a half.  Peace!

marathon and giveaway

Daddy ran his second marathon on Saturday. 26.2miles, over 100 inclines, and ending 4000ft higher in elevation. The Sehgahunda marathon at Letchworth State Park is a beast of a marathon. I am so incredibly proud of him. Parker, Carter, Anderson, and I went with his parents to cheer for him as he crossed the finish line. I was so grateful for my iphone and all the great free apps to keep the kiddos busy. 

 

A site called Snapknot is giving away a camera of choice either the new Nikon d800 or Canon 5D Mark iii. I think I would pass out if I won. There are  a ton of entries, but I think it's worth a try, right? :)

I would love to be able to take my photos to the next level, and this is definitely a step that could get me there.


Here is a link to enter... if you're interested. 

Big thanks to the SnapKnot wedding photography directory for offering this great camera giveaway!

my beloved. --updated

Dearest Glucose Drink... remember this song I wrote you in 2011?

Hello glucola, my old friend, I've come to drink you up again,

Because a level softly creeping, Left its mark after I was drinking,

And the vision that was planted in my brain,

Still remains, drinking up the glucola.

(to the tune of sound of silence)

This is the ONE thing I DREAD about pregnancy. NOT because of the taste (It's really not as bad as people tell you)... but because I stress about results.

I hold a grudge against this drink and I don't know if anything can ever take that away.
It was this drink that started the cascade events of Parker's birth... a time I wish I could go back and re-live. For my sweet boy. It was the classification of "Boarderline Gestational Diabetic" that sent me into be induced. There was no way they were letting me and my BIG baby get to our Due Date. (Let me remind you- he was 7lb 8oz) So because of that 'diagnosis' I have to take an early screening, and then one again at 28 weeks regardless of the early results. 

Here's a quick recap of past results: 

Parker's Pregnancy:
~28weeks: 1hr- FAIL
3hr- BARELY FAIL

Carter's Pregnancy:
~8weeks: 1hr- FAIL
3hr- PASS

~28weeks: 1hr- FAIL
3hr- PASS

Anderson's Pregnancy:
~9weeks: 1hr- PASS

~26weeks: 1hr- FAIL
3hr- PASS

Well, we meet again.

Baby4's Pregnancy:
16weeks: 1hr- FAIL
3hr- PASS

at 28 weeks I will have to just retake the 3hr. 

Date Night with Dinner and Groucho

Holly and I earned our date night last night.  I say earned because as excellent parents and upstanding citizens we always work hard, so we deserve to play hard, at least play as hard as two folks with 3.4 kids without a baby sitter can do these days.

My unfortunate job to administer
for the past two weeks...

I finished a culmination of two weeks of administering state exams at work and Holly has been busy with her BumGenius Cloth diaper page and putting up with Anderson still climbing onto the dinning room table to swing on the light fixture each half hour.

Holly first went out to a baptism of a child in the ward and then to a Relief Society activity.  I stayed home with the boys and fed them dinner.  Admittedly, as usual, I got caught up in some internet chess games, and when I resurfaced I found the boys upstairs in the playroom laughing in the middle of a pile of toys. We cleaned up (some) and I put them to bed.  Holly came home soon after with dinner for date night.

She brought Fajita Grill nachos for both of us.  We enjoyed those while we watched an episode of You Bet Your Life on Netflix, a game show with Groucho Marx from the 1950s.  We then continued the Groucho Marx theme and watched Duck Soup.  This was when I opened all the other gooides Holly brought, including a bag of shrimp, pistachios, Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and some new Canadian Dry 10 Ginger-Ale.

Duck Soup (1933)

We got a kick out of Duck Soup and went to bed.  Holly's favorite line: "We need some of those metal things that go up and down like this?" "Tanks?" "You're welcome."  My favorite line: "I outta join a club and beat you with it."  Classic.

How can I help you say goodbye...

Parker had to say goodbye to his closest friend so far. Mason and the rest of the Lystrup family are moving clear across the country. Baldwinsville, NY to Pasco, WA. 

Parker is heartbroken. They left last Friday for their travels and should be arriving to WA soon. 

I don't think I can put into words without crying how much Mason has affected Parker. From the first time they played, Mason (even though he is a couple years older) took Parker under his wing. He introduced him to Lego Star Wars which is now Parker's very favorite thing. Parker introduced Mason to chess and got him his very own and first chess set. They always played great together: never fighting, and just plain having fun. I am grateful that Parker's first 'best friend' was such a great little boy. Mason has a really big heart and he is just the sweetest kid. Mason, thank you for being such a great example and friend to Parker. He will really miss you. 

Here is the dynamic duo at their last playdate. (notice the nerf guns)

Parker was wearing a Syracuse lacrosse shirt and Mason said he had one like it- and went to put it on so they could match. 

Mason: "Is this the last time I will see Parker?"

Me: "Yes, for a while anyway" 

Mason: "Oh. That sucks."

Me: "Yes, it really does."

News Flash

On February 14, 2013... we received the best news. Baby4 would be joining our family. I had flashbacks to the Valentine's Day I found out I was pregnant with what would be Parker. :) I was overwhelmed with joy. I am so blessed. I decided that we would wait to call the dr/schedule an appointment until I was about 8-9 weeks and we would tell the world sometime after that.

My first appointment was 03/26/13 ( 9w5d but baby measured 10w). It was supposed to be an internal sono but she couldn't see a thing. My uterus was way too high to see that way. Belly sono it was-- Everything looked great and baby had a strong heartbeat of 170. We decided we would tell family on Easter and luckily it was only a couple more days away.

On 3/30/2013, Easter morning, I told my family by getting these pretty flowers for my mom's Easter table. "Love your 5 Grandbabies" (Parker, Carter, Anderson, Annabelle, and newest baby Steffen)

Mom was shocked.

We posted it to Facebook on April Fool's day while sitting in Cafe Rio. :)

 My next appointment was 04/16/2013 and it was just the first ob visit. Pap, bloodwork, etc.... The PA was trying to find the heartbeat with the doppler (she was way too low) and she sent me for a sono stat.

The sonographer told me last time that my uterus was really high and this time she said "Woah, your uterus is huge! I wouldn't be surprised it your belly measures ahead for the whole pregnancy". As soon as she put the thing on my belly, I saw a wiggly baby... arms and legs flying about. It is amazing how it went from a little gummy bear to a baby in a couple short weeks.

This time baby measured 13w 5d (when my lmp dd I am 12w 5d) so who knows what they will do with my due date. I still think my DD based on lmp should be 10/24/13 but we'll see.

Heartbeat was a strong 158bpm.