Today's the Day

Today is the day we both go back to work and Carter joins her big sister at school.  It has been an amazing 12 weeks hanging out with this guy all day every day, but I know Avery will be pretty excited to have her little brother at school with her.

A week at the lake

So last week Laura loaded up the kids and with the help of my parents and my sister headed towards the lake while I was golfing in Myrtle Beach.  I met them up there a couple days later and missed some of the fun, but we all had a great time being spoiled my Gigi and Ru.

Gigi teaching Anna and Avery how to make sweet rolls.  She sent us home with some, but we didn't share with mommy.

 Of course Carter was a big hit with Anna.  Everytime he would come into the room she would say something like "It's baby carter!" much like Avery called her "Baby Anna" when she was younger.  Carter appreciated the attention and gave them both plenty of smiles.

 And lots of books were read.  Both Anna and Avery love having books read to them, so it was nice to split all the reading between Sara, Gigi, Laura, and Ru.

See the piles of books???

 Carter was also on his best behavior although he didn't do much swimming.

 By the end of the week the two little girls were pretty tired from all of the swimming, tubing, and jetsking.  Ru or myself would drive the jetski and Sara/Anna in one tube and Laura/Me/Avery in another tube.  This is me and Sara taking them on a "peaceful" standup paddle ride.  Avery enjoyed hanging her feet off the side and shifting her weight quickly from side to side, while Anna wanted to jump off at all times.

Uncle David was there too and did a great job watching Carter so that Laura could get in the water.

Happy Father's Day Robert

Eleven years ago, I saw a twinkle in Robert's eye as I walked down the aisle on our wedding day.  Little did I know, that twinkle would shine brighter than I ever imagined when he became a Dad.  The love he has for our family has no limits.  He is patient, thoughtful, protective, and of course FUN! 

First Father's Day in 2011

And now a Father of two in 2015!

Thank you for all you do for us!

Faces of Carter

We are pretty blessed in the baby temperament department.  Avery was the smiliest (yes it's a word to me) baby ever and Carter is a close second.  He really gives Daddy most of his smiles, but at least I get all the snuggles.

Here's an "outside chillin" smile

And a "lady's man" smile for Sabrina

Here's a "Happy Tuesday Morning" smile session

Here's a more serious face from Carter

And sometimes we get the "Put me to bed right now" face.  Time for Mommy snuggle time!

Golfing with Avery

I have been trying harder and harder to get Avery to play golf with me so that I have a reason to spend more time with her (and playing golf).  Usually what we do is hit plastic balls in the backyard for about 10 minutes a couple times a week before it devolves into a princess tea party.  This past weekend I convinced her to go to a driving range with me and she did really well.  She hit about 20 balls and even wanted to go practice her putting for a while.  Hopefully she can work up to that college scholarship so we can use her college money for a boat or something.

A video of one of her better shots.

Sibling Love

2 Months Old

This past week we took Carter to the doctor for his 2 month checkup.

He is up to 10lbs and 9.5 oz which is in the 10th percentile.  He was able to gain about an inch and is up to 22.75" which is in the 33%.  However his head went up to 40cm which is 74%.


But anyways...How cute is this smile?

 He is a bit bigger than his newborn pictures next to his plane.

 And it looks like he might get to keep those pretty blue eyes.

Etc from Vass weekend

Our first (fur) baby gets neglected on this blog.  Of course he joined us on the road trip.  He loves to follow Papa around everywhere and be barking back up for when Harpo sees a leaf blowing outside or something serious like that.  

On this night, Harpo went to bed first and he usually sleeps in the middle of the bed, but this time he left some space for his cousin Charger.  Aren't they cute?!

Pancakes and bacon are a standard breakfast meal on the farm.  I didn't get my initial, but Papa did make me some with Almond milk.... not quite like the real thing, but hey I'll take it.

What did Papa just tell Carter?  He doesn't get bacon for another year?!

Surprise Daddy Daughter Super Fun Day

So after Laura had the kids in Vass for the weekend, I decided to take Avery on a super special surprise fun day on the Tuesday after memorial day to Carowinds.  I didn't tell her where we were going other than it was near by and she would have a lot of fun.

As we pulled up to the park, she saw the big roller coasters and said, "Daddy look at those big roller coasters....IS THAT WHERE WE ARE GOING?!?!"  She then started to squeal at the top of her lungs.

This is a picture before we got started.

 Thumbs up for being a pirate.

 And on the kiddie swing thing.

 And excited about flying a plane by herself.

 Her favorite ride by far was this roller coaster.  My little thrill seaker always wanted to wait and ride in the front row.  We probably rode this thing 20 times.

 Front row selfie!!

 We had to do the carousel as well.

 Lunch was an apple and she finally finally tried chicken nuggets for the first time.

 

After a few more rides on the roller coaster, she said "My Tummy doesn't want to do any more roller coasters." So we headed off for some ice cream on the way to the water park side of Carowinds.  You can see how hot is is just looking at her hair.

We went down the waterslides a few times, but most of the time was just splashing around and cooling off.

 She got a second wind and was bouncing around pretty good.

 When we stopped for a snack by the pool, she said "Daddy, you are good at surprises!"

 On the 15 minute ride home, she seemed to be pretty satisfied with the day...

Hanging with the Gentrys - Birthday Party #2

On Sunday we had another special birthday party - Avery and Carter's Great Granddaddy turned 87 years young.  My mom invited the whole family over and we had a great time eating and talking in the back yard.  We also took a family photo of the entire family - probably our first ever.  Can't wait to see it!  I didn't get many pics of this party, but it was really awesome for Carter to get to meet everyone and celebrate another year together. 

Avery enjoying some lunch with the guests of honor.

Carter got some good snuggles with cousin Allyson

And more snuggles with Aunt Stephanie

Happy Birthday Jude

Day 2 of our weekend, we headed over to Jude's house for his 7th birthday party.  He had a big inflatable water slide in the backyard.  I wasn't sure if Avery was going to like it, but Aunt Stephanie took her on her lap a few times.  After that, it was game on.  Avery took a break after the 50th time down only because she was cold and wanted some chocolate cake.

Best water slide partner ever!

Now she's ready to try it solo.... and the rest of the day looks like this on repeat :)

I think she likes it

 The birthday boy with his dad and Stephanie

Carter didn't get any cake, but he was pretty content to hang out in the shade.

Aunt Stephanie brought out water balloons too - Avery ran straight to Papa with hers!

Forget plates, Avery had her dinner in the chip bowl

Before we leave, it's time for the "adults" to have a turn!  Thanks for a fun party Jude!