Our Day at Build-A-Bear

On Saturday, February 27th we took Carter to his little friend Asher's birthday party. Carter really wasn't sure what to think about this experience. He was very curious about EVERYTHING!! The woker sang songs, danced around, and tried to get the little ones to play a game called "Pass the Doggie"! (Needless to say, Carter just watched the entire thing!) Thank you Asher for inviting us to your party! Carter loves his new friend, George!

We're ready to build-a-friend!

Trying to find the perfect new friend to take home with us!
Carter didn't seem too interested in any of the animals so we chose a monkey for him.

Picking out a heart for his new friend!

Giving the heart lots of love before it's placed in his new friend!

Carter loved his "heart" so much because it felt like his little silky blanket!

Trying to pry the heart away! (he didn't want to let it go since it was silky!)

Watching his new friend "George" being stuffed!

Carter gave "George" his 1st bath!

He loved the brushes!

We think this may have been his favorite part of Build-A-Bear!

"George" getting ready to come to our house!

Carter enjoyed using the box as a new walking toy!

Party Time!

We had Carter's 1st birthday party on Saturday, February 20th at our house for our friends and family. Courtney searched high and low to find the perfect theme for Carter's 1st birthday. When she found the monkey theme, we thought it was fitting for our little monkey! Carter had a wonderful time at his 1st birthday party thanks to all of our friends and family! Thank you all for celebrating this special day with us! Carter loves you all!

The Birthday Boy!

Carter's 1st 4-Wheeler from Guggy and Grammy! He likes to use it as a walker right now because he can't figure out how to make it go with the button. He loves it when he sits on it and we push the button for him and run along side it!

Having fun in his new ballpit! There were balls everywhere... especially when MawMaw brought 100 more to add to it!

Carter's Smash Cake

"Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday dear Carter! Happy Birthday to You!"

At first Carter took little bites...

and then he took BIG bites!

What fun is eating cake if you don't put some in your hair?

Having a blast eating his cake!

Family picture!

He ate almost 1/3 of the cake! What a little piggy!

After a quick wardrobe change it was present time!

Carter didn't really care too much for opening presents during the party. He was too interested in everything else that was going on!

Pinata time... the kids all took turns trying to bust open the pinata! It was quite entertaining!

Hayden, Matthew and Carter had so much fun together! Carter loves his little friends!

A Visit With Grandaddy

Grandaddy (Joe's Dad) came to visit on Friday, February 19th for Carter's birthday. Unfortunately, Nanny couldn't come because she had to work but we can't wait to see her next time. We had a good time visiting and watching Carter show off! Before Grandaddy left on Saturday, Carter opened birthday presents from Grandaddy and Nanny. Thank you for all of Carter's new things! He loves his new toys!

Unwrapping presents! He loved to bows!

New blocks in a firetruck!

Playing with the new toys!

Carter and his Grandaddy!

Happy 1st Birthday Carter!

After our busy morning, we spent the afternoon playing and resting at home. When Joe got home from work and Carter woke up from his afternoon nap, it was present time! Courtney found the cutest thing to start a new family tradition. It's called "The Hidden Cupcake"! Each year on the child's birthday, you fill the ceramic cupcake with a prize and hide it for the birthday boy (or girl) to find. Obviously this year we had to hide it in plain view for our little boy to find. We bought him his 1st Thomas Train (the birthday Thomas and cargo car) to put inside the cupcake. After presents, we had pizza and mandarin oranges (Carter's favorites) and then of course, cake! Courtney decided to make mini cupcakes since we were having a big smash cake at Carter's party. He loved the icing and enjoyed shoving the cupcake in his mouth!

Present time!

Playing with his new monster trucks!

"I'm getting the hang of this now!"

A new drum and musical instruments! Carter loves to turn anything into a drum!

Finding the Hidden Cupcake... Where could it be?

Carter enjoyed taking the lid on and off!

He eventually realized that inside was a toy.

Carter and his new Thomas trains

"Happy Birthday to Me!"

Time to eat!

We had to try this 2 times because he tried to grab the candle!

"YUMMY!"

12 Month Appointment

Carter had to go see Dr. Roberts for his 2 week ear re-check on his birthday, February 18th. Since we were already taking Carter to the dr. that day, we went ahead and scheduled his 12 month check-up appointment for the same day too. We were so thankful that his ears looked good! What a blessing! It's been a rough time trying to get over these ear infections even with his tubes. It was sad that he had to get shots on his birthday but he was a trooper.

He officially weighs 26 pounds 7.5 ounces.

His weight put him in the 91%.

Courtney was holding Carter and trying to get a picture!

His head measurements put him in the 39% (46 cm).

His length is 31 1/4 inches (89%).

Unfortunately, the only appointment we could get was during Carter's naptime so his nap was cut short. He was so tired! He wouldn't let go of his "Choo-Choo", pacifier, and little friend, the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Birthday Breakfast

On Carter's birthday, Courtney took the day off from work and Joe went in to work late. We wanted to take Carter out for breakfast. If you know Carter, you know that he LOVES eggs and sausage every morning for breakfast! What better place to take him than SHONEY's for the breakfast bar! He absolutely loved it! He ate eggs, sausage, ham, fruit, and potatoes. There were several elderly people eating at Shoney's that morning and of course, they all stopped to talk to him. He wouldn't stop watching everyone the entire time we were at breakfast. This will definitely be something we'll remember forever!

"Hi! It's my birthday!"

"This is yummy!"

"What do those people have on their plate?"

"This was so much fun!"

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our family celebrated Valentine's Day Saturday morning because Joe had to go out of town for the weekend. We set up Carter's treats and turned him loose! He went straight for the food (imagine that!)! Courtney opened his yogurt melts and hid some in his Valentine bucket for Carter to find. He loved digging them out of the bucket! He is such a ham! On Sunday, Courtney gave Carter a Valentine cake after his lunch. This was a new experience for him. At first he wasn't sure how to eat it. It didn't take him long to figure out how to smoosh it and shove it in by the handfuls!

Carter's treats!

"I love yogurt melts!"

"Where did they all go?"

"I found some!"

"I love my Mommy!"

"I love my Daddy!"

"This is fun!"

"Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!"