SICK :*(

Well, I havent posted in a few days because Monday (Memorial Day) Carter came down with a fever. Poor guy has not been feeling good at all! We took him to Patient First on Monday since his Doctor was closed & they did a throat culture to see if he had Strep. Well, it came back negative but they perscribed him Amoxicillin anyway just to be safe. Yesterday, we took him back to the Doctor because we wanted HIS doctor to see him and check him again. They know him best and he just didnt seem to be getting better. He has had a fever since monday so we wanted to get a better idea of whats going on. They did another throat culture and this time, it came back positive for Strep Throat :( URGH, I just hate it when he is sick, I feel so sorry for him ya know. Im just glad we took him....they didnt perscribe anything else, but it was nice to hear they're opinion & KNOW what he has. So, he has been home all week....no daycare....just rest and LOTS of fluids. Hopefully he will be feeling better very soon. Just wanted to let everyone know whats going on. I'll try to put some pictures up later.....bye for now!

Our Beach Vacation

Ahh...this is the life!

he did not want to be picked up haha

he loved the sand so much :)

Playing at dinner

with his shades on

Our family

amazed by the sand

Carter & daddy at the craft show

on the way to Karens condo

ready for the beach :)

What a busy Memorial Day weekend! Uncle Jimmy Graduated on Thursday (Carter's actual birthday) & after his ceremony we were off to the beach :) We hit a little bit of traffic, but not too bad. We left Towson around 4:30 & got to our condo around 9pm which is good considering we stopped at Cracker Barrell for dinner :) Carter did Really good on the ride up...slept a little and just looked around. He is loving facing forward in the car and we are too :) its a WAY better view!! Anyway, when we got to the Condo Carter was wide awake and SO excited! He went right to exploring....crawling all around and squeeling at the top of his lungs, haha! It took us a little while to unload and settle down, but Carter finally fell asleep around 10:30....I guess with all the excitement he got a boost of energy :) The next morning we woke up early (6:30) and made breakfast and hung around the condo for a while. Then we decided to take Carter over to CJ's cousin Karen's condo for a visit. Karen took TONS of cute pictures of Carter with her awesome camera :) We hung out for a while and then headed back to our place so that Carter could take a nap. From all the excitement, he didnt sleep that great the night before. While he slept with Grandad, CJ & I decided to meet up with our friends for a little while at the Holiday Inn Pool. We hung out & layed out for a while, then went back to the condo around 2:30. Carter was STILL sleeping when we got there & CJ's parents wanted to get out for a while so we stayed at the condo & let Carter rest while they went out. When they got back CJ & I decided to meet up with all of our friends & my sister at Seacrets. It was fun, but we were home before midnight :) I guess we cant hang like we used to, haha!

The Next morning we woke up early again, Met Aunt Amanda, Jimmy, Nick, lindsay, & Stephanie & Brandon for breakfast at Laytons, then went to the Annual Craft show at the Convention center. They had so much stuff to look at there. The only thing we bought were some sunglasses, but it was nice to walk around and see everything & Carter had a good time too :) After that, we went back to the condo and took showers and hung out for a while until it was time for dinner. We went to Bull on the Beach hoping to get a seafood pizza, but when we got there they told us that they dont make it there anymore so we had to settle for something else. It was still good, but we were a little disapointed becasue theyre seafood pizza was the BEST! oh well! We were stuffed after our big dinner so we went to the boardwalk to "walk" it off haha and show Carter the beach! He loved to sand and waves, it was so cute. Watching his little face take everything in was emotional for me, I am happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I have this amazing little boy & watching him grow and change everyday brings So much joy to my life. && sad because I feel like time is going by so quickly. He is already 1! Where has the time gone, really? Thats why I hold these little moments that we share close to my heart because before I know it I'll be 50 years old reading this very post, again thinking....where did the time go? He will always be my little boy though, even when he is all grown up :*)

Anyhoo, enough with the emotional stuff, lol. After the beach, we went back to the condo and relaxed. I gave Carter a bath and he played for a while and then it was time for bed because he was exhausted. CJ & I left to hang out with our friends again and walk around some shops. We got a cute picture frame for our "family vacation" picture & some other beach stuff, but we were home before midnight again and went right to bed. The next morning, it was time to pack up and head home. We had such a good time on vacation, but theres nothing like home! So, we left around 9:30 that morning and we were home before 2. It was so surprising how well Carter did on this trip & we are just so fortunate to have been able to take it. Hopefully this wont be our last visit to the beach this summer :) but one things for sure....we will definetly be going back next year and many years to come! It really was a fabulous trip.

School Pictures

Here are Carter's First School Pictures! These
were taken on April 28th 2009. Carter is 3 weeks shy of
his 1st birthday :)

"A boy is Truth with dirt on his face,
Beauty with a cut on his finger,
Wisdom with bubble gum in his hair,
and the Hope of the future with a frog in his pocket. "
-- Author Unknown

Carter's 1ST Birthday Party!

"A One-year-old child is so many things --A tiny discoverer of butterfly wings, A hugger of Teddies, A sweet sleepyhead, And someone to dream for in bright years ahead..."

Sunday May 17th 2009

At 2:00pm

Today we celebrated my baby's 1st Birthday! We decided to do it a few days before his "real" birthday, May 21, because we are going on a family vacation to Ocean City this weekend. I am so excited that we are taking him to the beach, this will be his first time there! Anyway, his birthday couldnt have been more perfect :) Sunday morning we woke up to his cute little face and we got ready and went to breakfast at Shamansky's. We met our friends there to also celebrate Ryders dedication! Breakfast was delicous....Carter loved the pancakes! After that, we headed over to the church for the dedication. CJ's old Sunday school teacher is actually the pastor there now so it was nice! The church was filled with Brandy, Alan, & Ryder's family :) it was a really sweet ceremony! Carter was getting into trouble in the church though...climbing under the pews and squeeling during prayers, lol so Daddy had to take him outside. They went for a little ride & Carter was fast alseep. After the dedication, we headed home to finish up last minute decorations and food. Family & Friends started to arrive around 2:15, but Carter was alseep, ha! He was pooped from a busy morning so I decided to let him take a little nap before the party so that he would be in a good mood! Well, he didnt wake up in the greatest mood, but soon after that he realized that his little friends were there and wanted to play :) Him, Adriana, & Kaiden played on the floor and had a blast!! I think he has a little crush on Adriana, she was so pretty in her dress ;) Well, everyone talked for a while and watched the kids play and then we decided it was time to eat..yumm! The food was great! We got Dale's BBQ from Indian Head and everyone loved it. Carter especially liked the green beans. I have to cherish his love for them now because I fear that once he is old enough to realize they are good for him, he wont like them anymore, LOL! After eating we decided to go straight to the cake and singing!! We decided to give carter a cupcake with candle on it instead of a big piece of cake. I made a whole batch the night before and they actually came out really good...if I must say so myself..ha! We all gathered around and sung Happy Birthday to him & he did so well. He smiled and laughed the whole time. I was so afraid he was going to cry, but nope...he is a ham so he loved the attention! Once he realized he was allowed to eat the cupcake....he went crazy! He had icing all over his face...it was priceless! Finally, we headed over to the sun room for gifts!! Everyone really out-did themselves with this! Carter got so many wonderful gifts from everyone...Thank You SO much..everybody!! Of course, he could have cared less about opening them himself...so mommy stepped in to help him! He was most fascinated with this Big Tonka truck Aunt Amanda & family got him!! It really is a cool truck..haha! But all of the other gifts were great too. He really got a lot of stuff that he will be able to use for a LONG time! After presents, everyone kind of said they're good byes and wished him a happy birthday before heading home. It ended up being an all day thing, so Carter was exhausted & ended up passing out by 7 pm!

All in All....it was an amazing day! We got to be there for our very best friends, Brandy & Alan, in the dedication for their son Ryder. && we got to celebrate our beautiful sons 1st birthday with all of our family & friends!

Friends/Family who attended & Gifts recieved:

Justin & Jarod Bagley ....PlaySkool Golf Set

Ashlee Bowie (Jarod's Girlfriend)

Lynne, Ashley, & Adriana Boland.....Some really nice Outfits

Blake, Tara, & Kaiden Graff....."RaceCars little Push & Go Car

Alan, Brandy, & Ryder Marsh.....Cute outfit & Shoes

Paps (My Dad), Aunt Amanda, Uncle Mikey,

Uncle Johnny, & Aunt Jenny....BIG Tonka Truck with blocks

Tojo :).........$50 to go into Carter's savings

Uncle Mike & Melanie.............Also $50 for savings

Nick & Lindsay Vathes

Ryan Grant

Angel Nance & Donald Nance

AND.....

Grammy & Grandad put Some money into Carters Savings account and got him some cute PJ's! Daddy & Mommy got Carter some cute outfits, a Pooh book, Some blocks, A set of PJ's, a bathing suit, a Blow up Pool, & Pool Toys :)

* Carter also learned how to say "Apple" *

* He says "tickle, tickle" & I know its jiberish, but thats what it sounds like! *

* && wave bye-bye *

Carter's Tree

On Wednesday May 13th Carl & CJ planted Carter his very own tree :)

Its a Willow Oak Tree and it will grow big and strong just like Carter!

Here are some pictures, enjoy!

Here is Daddy & Carter by the tree

Carter with his eyes closed :)

aww he loves his dad

Me & my baby

hes got the cutest smile

I cant believe he'll be 1 in less than 2 weeks :*)

Whats for lunch?!

Just for Fun ;)

I decided to put a copy of Carters lunch menu from daycare on here....its this weeks menu!

That way one day I can look back on it when he's all grown up & just smile :)

My first Mothers Day

Me & my Little guy on the way to church :)

My Mothers Day card from Carter<3

It Reads:

The kindest face I'll ever see,

The kindest words I'll ever hear.

The one who cares the most for me

Is my own mother dear.

All through the year

I'll try to do

The things that show

My love for you.

And not be happy just to say,

"I love you, Mother" on Mothers Day.

Isnt that sweet?!

I'll keep it forever

"Motherhood: All love begins and ends there." -Robert Browning

Now that I am a mom I understand how true this qoute is. It wouldnt have meant what it means to me now before I was a mom. Dont get me wrong...my mom has always done whatever she could to make her kids happy. I have never doubted that she loves me. But, now that I have a child of my own, I appreciate her more. I know first hand how deep of a love moms have for their children. It really makes me so thankful to have such a beautiful mother, inside and out. She is always doing for others, she never puts herself first. She is an amazing person and I am truly blessed to have her as a mother and friend :)

Last year on Mothers Day I was 9 months pregnant and 2 weeks away from meeting my little boy :)

This year I woke up to his smiling face and that in itself is the best Mothers Day gift ever. We woke up early because we went to the Mothers Day breakfast at church at 9! But before we left i got some great gifts!! Carter made mommy a card at Daycare with his little hand prints on it and a sweet poem! Daddy also got me a card and some NICE earings !!! They really surprised me with these gifts.....i was not expecting them at all!! Im such a lucky girl ;)

Anyway... we had breakfast at church, which was nice! Carter fell asleep on top of me though..but he was so tired! After church we went to my moms and visited for a while! we got her a nice picture frame from Kohls, which she loved. Then we went back home to enjoy the rest of our day and relax! Carter fell asleep on the ride home so when we got there we quietly brought him inside and he slept for another hour! We planted some flowers while he slept and cleaned up in the house. Then when he woke up it was our nightly routine of dinner, bath, bed! he was sound asleep by 8:00pm. It was such a great day for me...to be blessed in so many ways. I have a beautiful family....a little boy that melts my heart..... && a husband who I love so much, he means everything to me and more. With the two of them, I have everything I could have ever asked for.

Nana's 80th Birthday

Dreams really do come true......