Luke Turns 2!

Luke has officially turned 2.  He's such a big boy now.  Looking back through pictures when he was just one proves this.  He looks different...like a toddler...like a true big boy.  He's funny with a super personality, he's smart, he's loving, he's mischievous, he's all boy, and he's the best!  He had fun at his birthday party, blew out his candles by himself, and opened [most] of his presents (with my help).

Bye, bye, Kiev!

If There's One Thing I Know for Sure.....

It's that I love this kid.....

even though......

he takes such delight......

in peeling our Lacebark Elm.....

until almost no bark is left from his level down......

and then bringing us all the pieces.....

for us to see.....

I love this kid.....

because he takes such delight in peeling our Lacebark Elm and then bringing all the pieces for us to see.

Bouncin' Craze Bonanza!

Luke and I had a fantastic day with our friends Jehan and Kiev at Bouncin' Craze. Kiev and Luke played very well together and thankfully Luke was on good behavior. Luke is a natural climber (thanks to the Little Gym), so climbing up in those big bouncy things was fun for him. I lost track of him a couple of times, because, although I went in with him at first to check it out, this cramped space is not ideal for people over three to four feet tall. But he always seemed to make it out unharmed. Luke and Kiev also liked to play in the "fenced" area with the stove and other knick-knack toys....it's the most adorable, melt-your-heart thing to watch....ahhh...my boy wants to learn to cook.

"Going up now, Mom."

"Almost there ."

Poor Kiev with a monkey on his back

"I think Kiev needs a hug."

"No, wait...maybe he needs a kiss." Adorable....no matter which way you look at it.

Wow. Could there be any more of a difference in our facial expressions? Perhaps I should tone it down a bit.

The Little Lovey

Luke has loved Charlie ever since he could crawl around and try to get to him. Charlie, on the other hand, has always run as fast as he could in the other direction to get away from Luke. Luke has never really gotten ahold of Charlie and Charlie has never, ever gotten close enough to let Luke get him. However, on this particular day, Luke got what he has always wished for, and Charlie, poor, sweet Charlie, let him. Luke held on for all it was worth.

Someone Help Me!

Anyone know what it feels like to be locked out of your house by your not-quite-yet-two-year-old child? Yep....I do! While in the process of feeding my two four-legged furry children (whose food happens to be stored in the garage), my son decided it would be funny to close the door to the garage behind me and lock the deadbolt. FUNNY! HAHA! You got me, Luke! NOW PLEEEEEAAAASE open the door and let mommy in! Whose response on the other side of the door is giggling and the little pitter patter of feet running away. He comes back to check on me (whew!) but then laughs and runs away again (is this really happening to me?). Now the crying starts because he can't find me and he's scared. Five minutes later, after much pleading, I get the bright idea to ring the front doorbell and knock and HOPEFULLY (puhlease) he will open the deadbolt there and let me in. Sweet savior! My child still loves me. Lesson learned: have a spare house key somewhere outside just in case your toddler wants to be funny. But who can be mad at this face? Certainly not the banished one.

Backyard Fun in the Sun

Luke and I had fun in the backyard today. We both got soaked and we both laughed our heads off. I cracked up at Luke and Luke cracked up at himself. He likes to play in the water, but he prefers to carry the garden hose around by himself instead of having it hooked into a [super-fun to mommy, but not to Luke] water sprinkler. Instead of running happily through the sprinkler, he prefers to soak our lab, Colby, which makes him giggle (very funny to Luke...not so funny to Colby). And instead of running happily through the sprinkler, he prefers to soak his mommy (also funny....to everyone).

This video is a couple minutes but pays off in the end (at least Luke thought so).



We also "rigged" his plastic slide into his blow-up pool. I'm pretty sure there's WARNING signs on all blow-up pools and plastic kid slides saying, "NEVER under any circumstances should you put THIS slide into THAT pool." But, who am I to deny my child a smile? Under supervised conditions...

And as much as I would have loved to sit in the chair with my feet in the pool to supervise...little Luke had a much different idea of what I should be doing. I was not allowed to sit under any circumstances and I must always be standing, either with my feet in the pool with him or right next to him in the grass...always.

The chair in which I would have liked to sit

The only person allowed to sit in the chair. Ever.

Welcome back to St. Louis

We just returned from our annual "Carter Family Baseball Trip." This year it was in St. Louis and pretty much all the Carters made it (except for a few and they were missed). This means 30+ Carters all bonding...over the good ole Cardinals. We went up in the Arch (630 feet tall) and then took in the game from the "Musial Bridge Suite" where we could all watch the game together. Luke had a blast swimming and playing with his cousins (however, mommy got accosted in the water by water noodles and beach balls from the hundreds of kids in the pool)....ok that's an exaggeration, but it seemed like a lot! Looking forward to next year!

In front of the "pink" fountain, which we're pretty sure is supposed to be Cardinal "red."

Striking a pose

Checking out his new boo-boo. We left St. Louis with both knees skinned up and he likes to point them out whenever possible.

The stadium from the Arch

The smallest #1 fan watching the game

The fam. And one tired kid ready to go to sleep.