Carter visits Santa

Since Monday, Carter has been like a sinner going to confession over needing to see Santa. He was scared when we saw him Sunday, so at the Co-Op on Monday, I asked when Santa would be there so we could try again. The clerk, with a momentary lapse of judgment promptly asked his coworker, when will "Joe" be here to do Santa. Really? Whatever his name, I'm sure he's a great Santa, but a 2 year old is listening! They all just laughed. Carter was not satisfied with waiting until Saturday. All the way home he chattered about needing to talk to Santa, he continued convincing me with "he not scary, nice, Thomas Train, trucks, racecars and combines." He really felt the need to tell him exactly what he wants for Christmas! He didn't stop Monday, but continued Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday...he'd talk about it when he woke up, when we ate, and when he was getting ready for bed. We have a short video clip of him reminding us of how urgently he wanted to see Santa, assuring us he would go talk to him, "not scary, Santa nice," he said.

So Thursday night, off we headed to Belk. Susan said he was a good one, and she was right! He turned out to be a great Santa! First Carter stood at a distance explaining in his best details what he would like for Christmas. Santa as so attentive and patient! As Carter inched closer, Santa offered a high five, which Carter thought was cool. They ended up having a nice little chat while we snapped some pictures. He got a candy cane, and they wished each other Merry Christmas! What a great visit!

Turkey for Thanksgiving

(Carter feeding berries to the bird)

Did you ever think about what a moose eats? I didn't until Carter & I read his new book last night, Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting. The general plot is moose and friends go in search of turkey for Thanksgiving. The whole time the turkey thinks he is the main meal until the last few pages when turkey (just as the reader) realizes he is an honored guest, not the main dish. They eat leaves, grass, acorns, berries, moss and bark. The illustrations are detailed and colorful. It's a really sweet little story, but I'd never really thought about what the animals eat. I just kind of thought they just eat what is outside, right? So today Carter and I searched for and gathered up some of the items from their table in our own backyard. He made a colorful little buffet on a piece of bark we found, and fed all his stuffed wildlife friends including the turkey. If you have kids, this is a fun little book to enjoy together this week!

Haystacks and Train Tracks

Wow, already mid-November! Why did it just occur to me this morning that next week is Thanksgiving? Already? I guess because Beth & I were thinking of next week's playdate when it hit us both that we'll be busy most of the week!

I just wanted to share a picture of Carter from last week playing on our neighbors' haystacks and tunnels. This is what fall is all about right here! We really enjoyed being with Jimmy last week. He took the picture from on top of a haybale. He likes to take a few days off in the fall for a little work and a little play. The Clarks (our country neighbors) set up some haybales and tunnels for their church kids and grandkids and invited us to play on them, too.

Carter is also crazy about Thomas the Train, so through those tunnels he would say, "Choo choo." He wakes up in the mornings asking to watch Thomas. He only has 3 plastic (like bath toys) trains, so Christmas will be super easy this year! Santa load up on some train tracks and trains for our house!

Happy Halloween!

Tractor Costume

So last year I was way more on top of things with Carter's outfit purchased sometime in the middle of September, on a hanger in his closet so the wrinkles would fall out, and ready to go. This year, not so much. Thankfully this idea came to me slowly with still enough time to get it finished, so I wanted to share the process in case anyone else feels inspired to make a Halloween costume. (It was inexpensive. We figured less than $10!)

It started with a picture of a dozer/digger cardboard costume on a website I saw. When Jimmy & I decided the implements were too much to handle, I searched again and tried to copy a Kubota tractor picture I found, also using Carter's toy tractors and our real one (in the background below) as inspiration.First some different sized boxes that came in the mail with the Birthday & Christmas gifts I ordered started to resemble a tractor when they were sitting next to each other, so I cut them and taped them together. Then I remembered Jimmy had a can of spray paint for touching up our own (real) tractor.I used the whole can.

Then I painted some bowls and plates, a yellow stripe and piece for the grill on front. Jimmy bought some stickers. I added a triangle and red tail lights to the back. We found some touch lights at Wal-Mart ($1.50 for two, hard to beat!).

Then all the pieces jumped on the box and Wah-lah! Ready for one kid, insert in hole in top. Just kidding, there's really a lot of duct tape, Gorilla tape and hot glue on this little tractor! Carter loves it! It's just a little front heavy, so we're going to try clipping it to his overalls on Halloween night. Happy trick-or-treating!

(Photo of Carter in his costume to come Sunday.)

This is Carter...

The St. Louis Zoo...it's reputation preceeds it (quite literally, read previous post). But does Carter care about all those animals, well, yes, unless there's something better. A bit determined, particulary driven by the price I paid to park there, I was going to try to see those big old hippos if it was the last thing I did! The exhibit was partially closed, but someone said they thought we could still see a few animals. So here I go pushing the stroller with a tired little toddler inside promising we could at least see the elephants and maybe more. We arrived at the elephant exhibit and what did we find? "A scoops!" as Carter exclaims. He jumped out of his stroller as fast as I could help him and ran over to it. People passed us & even came back down the hill, and all the while Carter was enamored with this "Scoops." He didn't want me to take a picture of him all day, but now with the "Scoops" in the background it was one "cheese" after another! This kid! This is Carter!

St. Louis!

Why is it when you're away from the computer or pen & paper, the best thoughts flow? Particulary when in a beautiful place! I wrote five or six great posts in my head during the days we were in St. Louis. If I hadn't been so tired at night and getting ready for the next fun-filled day to come, I would have written them. Then upon our return home (see previous post), I was a little overwhelmed by getting our "act together" as my mom often puts it, which is probably good so you were spared ALL the details...

St. Louis has more to offer than one city should be allowed. I appreciate how kind everyone was there. I wish I had posted during that week because the thoughts seemed to flow as we had such wonderful experiences there. We accompanied Jimmy to his work conference where we stayed in the historic Union Station Hotel (please Google it). It's worth your time. The hotel is a destination unto itself, which we enjoyed every night. We tried out the Whispering Arch in the hotel lobby, and it is true! You can hear a whisper across the 40-foot expanse. Our room was spacious and very well-furnished. The hotel really should have a 5-star rating. The staff is courteous and helpful above and beyond the call of duty!

The St. Louis Zoo is incomparable. First of all, it's free! Once I figured out the parking, we were set! However, our first day there, I didn't know parking was free, too, so I made our $11 count! We saw it all! The next day was rainy, so we took our time. We spent nearly 2 hours in the children's zoo...it was that cool! Many of the toys inspired Christmas & future birthday gift ideas! One of the neatest stations was a wooden cutting food table where the food is held together with Velcro until you cut it with a knife. The table was in front of a big window where a real zoo chef prepared food for the animals and then came out to feed them! Carter enjoyed the childen's zoo the most!

Our last day there we visited The Magic House. (Worth it if you are going to St. Louis with small children.) It is an old renovated house, with additions to expand it into this huge interactive museum. The little kids' section was really fun with a sand table, a water table, huge Lego blocks, slides, a racecar and busy town where kids could do "grown-up" things on their level, like a kid-sized kitchen and grocery store. There was a pond where you could catch a fish (fishing lure with magnet in the mouth) and take it to another pond, drop it in, and follow it downstream back to the big pond! It was really a neat place!

We also visited the Turtle Park where you can run & play on giant concrete turtles and, of course, saw the Arch. Jimmy & I can be so different at times. We got close to the Arch, took a few pictures, and he turned to go back to the car! "What?! We're not going to touch it? Are you kidding?" (That part is me.) I told him, "You know me better than that. I didn't come all this way not to go up to it, touch it, walk around it, walk past it, and get some more pictures! I'm not a look & see kind of girl. We're going over to it!" He just grinned because by now he knows it would take more time to try to talk me out of it than just humor me. It's metal, by the way. So we did! I would have loved to have spent time going into the museum, going up in it, but by this time, we were hungry & the Arch was closing for the day. St. Louis has so much history! I hope we get to go back and do more! Yes, there is a lot more to do!

Update...another episode

I owe an apology to anyone who has checked this blog within the last month! I'm sorry I have been behind on any updates. Hopefully we've talked in person so you know what we've been doing (mostly catching up from our trip, dealing with another fever (see below), planning for our next trip, getting ready for Halloween, and enjoying the beautiful weather in Tennessee!). Thank you for checking in with us!

Carter has not climbed out of his bed again, but he has had another spell where he couldn't walk. He had a low grade fever and no symptoms; then it shot to 103.3, so they had me bring him in for an evaluation. After examining him and checking bloodwork, the doctors determined he had a virus (that was a Thurs/Fri, 2-day visits to the doctors, for whom I am so grateful.) The following Wednesday, during our hike after Wild Things, he collapsed. Not crying, but a little upset, I carried him back to the car, we had to cancel lunch plans with friends, and went home to call the doctor. She said it was another episode and just watch him closely for fever, in which case I was to bring him in immediately. Apparently he has an uncommon condition where the virus settles in his joints and keeps him from walking. He was better in 12 hours or so. Thanks to all my family members & friens who were so kind and gracious to help me out during that ordeal. It may seem small now, but it was scary at the time. You know who you are!

Mr. Gimpy, Bumped & Bruised

Yes, I realize "Mr. Gimpy" is not the nicest thing to call your son, but he's earned it with a week of tumbles like never before. Wait. It's only Wednesday. I'm locking him up in a padded room! Monday night after eating some hot dogs by our little fire outside, Carter must have turned his ankle. We didn't see it happen, but suddenly he tried to get up and couldn't walk. He couldn't put weight on it at all, but he also wasn't crying about it. We played with him inside and put him to bed. When he woke up Tuesday morning, he still couldn't walk and just cried, "hold you." I took him in, and our doctor wanted to take Xrays since we couldn't figure out which foot or leg was hurt. Thankfully, Carter is fine with no fractures or breaks. She said a virus from when he had a little cold could have settled into his joints or he could have a mild sprain. Nothing a little rest, lunch with Daddy, and a short visit to play with Thomas the Train at Barnes & Noble couldn't cure. I thought I could hold him in the chair and let him play, but no, he wanted down and limped around the table determined to play with those trains. He seemed fine by the time we left. We just took it easy the rest of the day. (Please allow me a quick interjection of thanks to Aunt Sara "Hey"! She helped through this ordeal of Xrays, and we couldn't have gotten through them without her! I'm sorry your job hasn't started yet, but I'm super thankful you were free to go with us! Hey, just for the record, Carter doesn't hate you anymore. He wanted to call you today.)

Then this morning he hollered for me as usual, and as I walked to his door I heard "thump!" He jumped out of his crib! He was just curled up in the floor bawling for the 2 seconds it took me to get in there! He has a huge rug burn on his forehead! Is it time for his big boy toddler bed already? No, where has my baby gone? That was too fast! We're hoping it won't happen again before we can get his bed converted. I was really hoping to wait until closer to his 2nd birthday to change his crib to a toddler bed. Maybe we'll wait and see, but I'm also scared for it to happen again. A couple of hours later, we headed to his class at the Wilderness Station. I was a little cautious about letting him run on the trail, and he did a good job staying close. Several moms asked about the knot with the scrape on his head already, so I told them. They had their own stories to share, which is why I love talking with them...surprise that their baby had grown up so fast, crib nets, locked bedroom doors and baby gates. Needless to say, after our recent ordeals, I made him hold my hand to walk down the biggest hill, but decided it would probably be ok to let go as we reentered the room. He ran ahead and...splat! Right on the concrete...what? Again? Please don't let there be any blood or missing teeth...phew...no...just more tears and another red knot right there in the center!

Totals this week: hurt ankle...1, red knots on forehead...2, scrapes on knots...2, tired sore little boy...1, tucked in bed! He either needs a helmet and kneepads or to get back in his baby walker! Just kidding. We're thinking maybe some new tennis shoes would help, and I guess I'll just keep reminding him to slow down. His new found speed is a bit hazardous!

How to Clean Your House in 10 Minutes or Less

Gotcha, Amy! That heading was just for you! After you said how you hate those articles, I got to thinking how much I hate them, too! Yes, it would be impossible for me to clean my house in 10 minutes. Perhaps that time frame is possible for some people, one of whom might be my sister, but it is not possible for me. And yes, Sara is home! Yay!

The more I thought about this concept of cleaning one's house so quickly, the more I thought on how I'm not fast at all...on anything really. Maybe cleaning up from lunch takes 10 min, but the house? Phew! I have a monthly schedule for that! And I still can’t get it all in. Now Sara & my mama, on the other hand, inherited a gene called "Quick Carl." They can do just about anything quickly! I inherited my daddy's gene, which apparently is called "you think too much" because that is what she is always saying to us. O well. If there is a person who can sit and think... in my bed, in the living room chair, anywhere outside on a sunny afternoon, on the back porch, in the car. Oh yes, riding in the car is one of my much loved activities, which is akin to going on vacation. Part of the enjoyment for me is getting there. Anyway, if there's anyone who can sit and think...it's me. Well, I get it honest. It's quite a nice past time, really. In the Bible focused thinking is referred to as meditating, and many times, especially if I'm outside (which is also why I love the Smoky Mountains so much) I am meditating on God's creation. At home, I often meditate on the miracle of having a child in my care! What an amazing creation and awesome responsibility!


I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. (Psalm 143:5)
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. (Psalm 145:5)

Give it a try, but remember to get back to work cleaning your house because it will not get done while you're sitting and thinking!

Trains, Planes and All We're Up To

Welcome home Sara! She flies in to Nashville tonight! Tomorrow is "Hey Day" where we get to spend some time with "Hey," Carter's nickname for her.

With school starting today, ZZ and lots of friends, both teachers & students, are on my mind. I hope everyone has had a good day, since its already dismissal time! I miss seeing them everyday, but I am thankful to be home with Carter. Being his mom & homemaker has been such a blessing in our lives. We wouldn't change a thing. Along with those thoughts, I wanted to share what we're doing. The Rutherford County school schedule seems like a good time to start Carter back into some old habits and establish some new ones. We've enjoyed being relatively unscheduled, save playdates, naps and meals. I want to take advantage of some of the free & inexpensive things Murfeesboro has to do. I never knew! We went to Barnes & Noble storytime today and met some people who we may see again on Wednesday at Barfield Crescent Park for Wild Things. Since the park is too hot (we could only take about 12 minutes today), we'll stick to classes for a while. Sports*Com and Patterson Park have some things to do, and we like going to Discovery Center, the Stones River Battlefield and visiting different places in town. We're also starting some more "sit-down" time I guess you can call it to learn shapes, colors, numbers & letters. I hope Carter enjoys it. He loves to learn new things.

So that's what we're doing. I must add from today that Carter loved the train table at Barnes & Noble! I excitedly sent Jimmy a text: datenight at B&N is back on! B&N is one of our favorite places to go after supper on a Friday night. I think Carter will enjoy the bookstore now as much as we do, for a different reason. He didn't want to leave, and before I knew it we had been there 45 minutes! We then ran into my Uncle Jerry at Arby's for lunch. So fun to see people we know out like that. Sorry, Aunt Susie, don't be too jealous. We can meet you one day (on purpose)! So after the post office, the park, a visit to Granny's house, storytime, playing with trains, and lunch out, he almost nodded off in the shopping cart at Kroger. We made it home for naptime, and I now have a good idea on what to stock up for Christmas...trains!

Late summer, where does it go?

I got a catalog that said Late Summer 2010, and I hear people saying that "s" word alot...school? Already? Macy and I were discussing the topic of where does the time go...and that was over a week ago! Where does the time go? Well, some of it goes to fun! Yes, there are also the days of working inside & out. However, this post is meant to serve as a reminder to me of the fun stuff we've done and answer the question, where has the summer gone?

My aunt, Aunt Big Sister, has invited us to swim with her, which is so much fun and has taken up more than a few days! I think she has made a point to see Carter no less than twice a month since he was born! She brought Granny to his band class this spring or came out here to visit or we went to her house. Carter loves her patio and fountain with rocks in it. (I realize some people don't know the origin of her name, and I love how she got it, well probably because I had something to do with it. She's my mom's older sister, so they all called her "Big Sister" growing up. When I came along, I thought that was her name, so I affectionately added "Aunt" thus you get the whole name, "Aunt Big Sister" and it stuck.) So thanks Aunt Big Sister for our fun relaxing days with you, especially when Jimmy is able to join us!

Another fun thing Carter enjoys is to visit Granny where we watch the firetrucks next door and the trucks, cars and bikes go by on Hwy 231. Watching traffic is quite entertaining and surprisingly relaxing, too. I just hope we never witness a crash. He has to check on the lawn mowers and garden out back before we leave.

Carter enjoys his Bobo & ZZ, Ben & "X" (Ben's girlfriend, Alexis, who Carter thinks belongs with him not Ben). We've been here and there with them, and sometimes they go with us swimming or we just hang out or shoot fireworks...well, that's for another time. For some of the best times,and if you haven't yet been to Lanes, Trains and Automobiles, grab some cash and go! It's so much fun!

Carter also enjoys seeing his Papa & Gram Gram. He's been over there where he loves to feed the birds, and we all enjoyed a good supper for Jimmy's birthday along with fireworks on July 4th!

It's been fun going to the Chattanooga Aquarium, Farmer's Market to get Mrs. Molly's strawberry jam, Miller's Grocery to hear the music and eat supper. Then back here, Carter enjoyed swimming with cousin Hayden. We also enjoyed Uncle Dave Macon Days and many nights just coming home to sit on the back porch and listen to the frogs and crickets.

So over all, late summer is welcome, we've been busy enjoying all the fun summer offers!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We love you!

Father's Day

Father's Day follows the very busy week of VBS. In case you don't realize, VBS is next to Christmas for us. That's why I didn't want Father's Day to slip up on me. I have been thinking for weeks for how to make Jimmy's day special so he knows how much I appreciate him. He really went all out for my combination Valentine's Day~ Birthday~ Anniversary package for our trip to Louisville on my birthday weekend. Mother's Day was sweet, too. He had Carter walk in to our room where I was getting ready and hand me a card with a gift card tucked inside. We celebrated with our moms that weekend, too.

A few weeks ago as I'm brainstorming how his gift and day should be something practical, useful, but something Jimmy wants, too, a thought seemed to be eluding me. What is it that keeps dancing in my head, but not making itself known? Then it occurs to me that I not only have him to think of, but I have a daddy, too! Wow...glad I was thinking on the subject for a while. The gifts, just so you know, were for Daddy Bobo (my dad) a Life is Good shirt, "Father Mows Best." He loves these, and I do, too. I just haven't found one I can't live without. (Future gift idea folks...hee hee!) I got Carter one with a soccer ball on it. He loves balls! For Jimmy I found a replacement electric razor, but included a Starbucks gift card to keep it fun. Jimmy prefers practical useful gifts. Yes, he actually was very happy about it! But that's not all. I wanted his whole day to be good.

I set my alarm for 5:45 a.m. to get up and get ready then make his favorite breakfast of biscuits, bacon & eggs. After church I made another favorite meal for lunch, eggplant parmesan with a side of pasta and sweet tea. Then I baked homemade chocolate chip cookies. (Thanks again, Jen, I'm forever indebted to you for sharing the recipe for these amazing cookies!) I had frozen some coffee in some ice cube trays to make frappucinos. This little snack tasted direct from Starbucks without using the gift card. So all that to say, Jimmy was a pretty happy dad. So happy in fact that in the course of conversation, I asked him, "So what did you do for your dad today?" He got sort of a sheepish look and replied, "What? Well in all this celebration for me I guess I kind of forgot about my own dad...Whoops!" We had a good laugh about that one, and I shared with him my thought process from a few weeks earlier about how I knew I had someone else to remember, but couldn't. I guess having your own child and spouse to think of and show appreciation for takes up quite a bit of time & energy. I'm just really glad Jimmy was enjoying himself; he certainly deserves it. I think he & his dad have lunch plans one day this week. Thanks to Jimmy, Daddy-Bobo and Papa Don for being great dads and granddads! We couldn't make it without you!

Fried Squash and VBS

Does life get any sweeter than fried squash from your garden and VBS? I didn't know it could...

We always sit Carter in his high chair with bib on before we prepare our plates at the stove and then sit down to eat. Tonight as we fixed our plates, we heard him jabbering, rather seriously, and looked over to see what he was doing. He had his head bowed and his hands folded to pray! He was saying the prayer for our supper! I just think that might be the cutest thing he's done yet. Saying "pleasies" for more vegetables last night was pretty cute, but the prayer tonight takes the cake! I'm thankful he's made the connection between fried squash & VBS.

Busy month of May

Wow! Is Memorial Day weekend already here? Where has the month of May gone? I realized it is almost over since "ZZ's" birthday is Thursday and then we have the School's Out Party Friday at Barfield Crescent Park! These have to be a couple of my favorite things marking the beginning to summer! Mama will have chocolate cake, and of course we love to hang out with them, but she will have chocolate cake. Oh, sorry did I already mention that? We also just love BCP (the park) and sharing a meal and spending time with friends there. By the way, Carter can go down all of the slides by himself now! This accomplishment is big to me because it wasn't 2 weeks ago that he wouldn't go down even the smallest one alone. He braved the twisty one all by himself today! He's growing up so fast!

The month has been so busy, and we have something planend everyday for the rest of it! I guess that is what makes time fly by! Jimmy & I celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary! Our friends from Orlando, Rachel and Paul, were in around the middle of the month to visit their Tennessee friends, and stayed with us a couple of days. It was Jill's 30th birthday. I was so sad to miss the big birthday celebration because I sprained my ankle on the day of the party. Jimmy helped me rest so I could be ready for our next big week--Sara was home!

We got to see her a few times, and she and I took one big shopping trip to load up for her next adventure--Honduras for 10 weeks! We have some great pictures from the park of Sara & Carter that may get posted by the end of summer since they went with her on her camera. We got to visit with Granny & Aunt Big Sister, and enjoyed getting to eat out a couple of times and then all together at Bobo and ZZ's house. Thanks to ZZ for giving me a pair of tennis shoes she didn't want anymore so I could manage to keep up. I think I owe it to those shoes because I have a full recovery! No more ankle pains!

With the new shoes I have found a rejuvenated spirit to exercise. I had started walking with my friend, Beth, and her son, who graciously share a pew with us on Sunday mornings, along with books, toys and cars to keep the boys occupied during service. Thanks Beth! We just happened to be at the park a few days at the same time, so we decided to start getting in a couple of laps. Well, I thought, I can manage the other 3 days a week on my own to get fit. Another friend shared with me about running in her driveway when her daughter was a baby to shed some pounds. She'd make a lap and check the baby monitor. Great idea! So, here I go outside yesterday at nap time. I laced up my "new" shoes, put on my IPod, propped the monitor in a chair by the garage and set out to do some laps. At some point I felt motivated to do jumping jacks...perhaps it was the shade by the garage or one of my favorite work-out songs. Just as I'm really getting into them I notice a red truck out of the corner of my eye coming up the drive. (I had felt safely out of sight of anyone up to this point!) It was the meter reader! Agh! Yikes! He saw me exercising! I could have crawled under a rock and died! I stopped abruptly and "fiddled" with the monitor out of the way while he checked the meter...oh my goodness...could that have taken any longer? Needless to say, I kind of lost my motivation by then. As he drove away, I managed to push my way through the rest of my playlist to get my time in. Thankfully our walk at the park this morning will count for today, and I still can't believe someone saw me working out! Isn't that the way it goes? Hopefully tomorrow I'll get back out there, but if you're coming to visit, call me first! Hahaha!

Sneaky Sneaky

Remember the butler on Mr. Deeds? The one who liked "to change your socks"? Jimmy and I had a little laugh about his "sneaky sneaky" expression one night last week with Carter. Jimmy was refilling a cereal container, and I was washing dishes. Since I'm with Carter everyday I have recently discovered his affinity for oatmeal creme pies, and his inclination to sneak one if the pantry door is left open for more than 2 seconds. So I have learned to predetermine what I need from the pantry before opening the door, grab it and shut the door quickly. Sometimes this fast maneuver sends Carter fussing into the other over a missed opportunity at retrieving a cookie from the low shelf. Well, the other night as Jimmy half-concentrating on pouring and half-listening to me, which is called multi-tasking, finished with the cereal, he wondered aloud, "Where is Carter?" As soon as he said it, we looked around in time to see Mr. Sneaky Sneaky peer around the pantry door and then trot happily across the kitchen, oatmeal creme pie in hand! He shook it at us to open for him with a victorious grin across his face! "Why you little sneaky sneaky! When did you learn to do that?" Jimmy asked him. Of course Carter just grinned backed...and enjoyed his sweet treat.

The Zoo

Well, I'm not keeping up so well...once a month it looks like. We just get so busy, and then when I have "free" time blogging is either at the end of my "to-do list" or I'm just procrastinating. Today it's me procrastinating because I don't really feel like swiffering the bedroom, which means crawling around on my hands and knees to reach under the bed and all other dark corners. I know I need to do it, but yesterday was so much fun that I would rather share that experience than clean!

We set out for the zoo around 9 a.m., and found ourselves at a nice little zoo safari restaurant on Nolensville Road. Ooops! We entered the wrong address in the GPS. While technology is great, it has it's disadvantages, like human error. Another 20 minutes and we arrived. I couldn't help but wonder the whole time we were there what Carter was thinking. I look forward to when he can tell me. He can make the sounds the animals make, mostly from mimicking his See & Say and us, but he's never heard most of them. He plays with the animal toys everyday putting them in Noah's ark, in the barn and driving them around on the tractor, but he's never even see them in real life. So, I was really getting ancy for him to see all the animals.

I wasn't totally surprised, however, that he seemed most excited to just be exploring a new place and to walk around independent of Mommy & Daddy's hands. I think his 2 favorites were the monkeys and the meerkats, perhaps because they were the most active. The meerkat exibit was right at his level, so that was fun! Carter enjoyed the farm section, too, making all the animals' noises along with them. Of course, I was the one to spot the carousel, so we put Carter on not knowing if he'd like it or not. Well, the verdict is in: he is like his Daddy. He hated it, and I ended up just holding him as we went 'round and 'round. After touring the Africa exhibit we got our choice of any picnic table under a huge shade tree in the middle of a huge lawn. We and 3 other groups were all that were there...wow! Jimmy & I love going places on off-days! It was so quiet! We ate a tasty lunch we packed at home. When we finished, Jimmy and I headed one way, and Carter headed the opposite direction toward the birds, nearly running and flapping his arms! We went in, and they swooped all around, scared of the hawk overhead. There is a metal net to keep them in, but they didn't know. The birds' screeching made it so loud in there, but Carter loved it! We then walked over to the Savannah area. While the zebras, eland and ostriches were really interesting, we just had to have some Dip'n Dots. The "ice cream of the future" was more a treat for Mommy & Daddy, but Carter enjoyed it, too. He had a lot of fun walking around the bamboo paths through the China section and occasionally spotting some of the animals. He really got excited about the red panda. Nothing crazy or extraordinary happened, but just enjoying a beautiful day with our family was so relaxing and so much fun! I hope we can go again soon!

It's a Beautiful Day

Don't let it get away...and we didn't! We played outside for a long time today. Where did we play? In the gravel. It's in his blood...gravel, rocks, dirt. He just can't help it. Carter can't keep his hands out of the gravel in the drive whether he is sitting still or being pushed down to the mailbox in his blue car. He has to reach over and drag his fingers in the rocks! You'd think his little fingers would be raw, but they aren't yet. He continues to do it. The other day I went to put the mail in the garage, looked around and saw him rolling something around in his mouth. I squished his little cheeks and what popped out? A rock! From throwing them in the creek to piling them in his car, he can't get enough of rocks!