Just some recent pics

Carter modeling his cool winter hat


Mr. Mischevious

First Words

Hayden is officially saying 2 words that he is associating with different people/things. The first was "Bubba" (brother) for Carter and the second was "dog" for Belle. He says dog whenever he sees Belle and often says Bubba when he's with Carter. Hayden is crawling around everywhere now and eating lots of table food (cheese, mac & cheese, fruit pieces, etc.). Still not liking the sippy cup, but we are trying several kinds to find one he will use. His favorite playtime activity is rolling Carter's footballs around the house. Carter calls him the "little finder" because he's always finding Carter's toys that he's not supposed to have. Hayden has decided that his mouth is an extra hand--he'll carry toys in his mouth when he crawls somewhere. He also seems to have his tongue sticking out almost all the time. Too cute!

Comparison shots

Hayden

Carter

I've heard from several friends that the boys are looking alike at this age. Here they are in a similar pose at the same age. What are your thoughts?

The Four Bears

Carter has decided we are a family of bears. Papa Bear who goes to work; Mama Bear who takes care of Big Brother Cub; and Big Brother Cub who in turn takes care of Baby Brother Cub. He's been referring to us by our "bear names" all day. So cute!

End of soccer season

Team party

Carter on the field

Throwing in the ball

Carter kicking off to start the game

Today was Carter's last soccer game with his local YMCA team. He scored a goal--yeah!! (but it was for the wrong team...--they don't really keep track at this age). Afterward they had their team party at Chuck E. Cheese. Carter really enjoyed all the games there (we hadn't been since he was about 18 mo. old). They had a beautiful cake and goodie bags for the kids. They also got a trophy and a collage that the Team Mom had made with pictures of each child. We sure enjoyed his soccer season. Now to decide what and when he'll play next...

He's got spirit!

My little Hayden is becoming a very 'spirited' baby--the tantrums have begun in full force! He's very determined to have what he wants and if you take something away from him (like a napkin or one of Carter's toys that is too small for him) he'll let you know he's not happy! He gets little red dots on his face when he's angry. He's also decided he has to be with Mom ALL THE TIME or things just aren't right in his world. Although Mom is flattered, it's hard to accomplish anything without Hayden screaming when he is put down. His personality is so much different from Carter's. It's going to be fun watching them grow up together!

Standing up!

Hayden outgrew his hooded towels, so now he has a new one--he's a little Lion.

It's 4 days before little one turns 9-months-old and he's mastered pulling up and is starting to try to "cruise" on the furniture. He still isn't too sure how to sit back down again, but he'll learn.

Election Day

(Here I am with my free Starbucks on Election Day.)

Well, today is the day. 2 years of campaigning comes down to this. What a historic election, either way it goes. I'm glad to be a part of such a monumental event. We are picking up Heath at work this morning to go VOTE. Carter knows all about it and has been asking alot of questions. He can pick up on the candidates voices on the radio--amazing. They hear and understand so much more than we think they do. Anyway, get out and vote today if you haven't already, and then stop by Starbucks to get your free cup of coffee (just tell them you voted!). See you at the polls!

UPDATE: We have cast our ballots and now it's time to sit back and relax and see how this thing turns out. I had prepared for really long lines--we had Carter's backpack with snacks for everyone and toys for playing, but none of it was needed as there wasn't a line. We were out of there in 10 minutes. It's really been fun watching Carter during this process--some days he says he's going to vote for Obama and other days it's McCain. When we got to the polling place this morning, he looked around and said, "Mommy, where is Obama?" I guess he thought we were going to see the candidates...