Rainforest Adventures

The weekend of July 30-31, MawMaw and PawPaw came into town from Alabama to visit. We decided to go to Pigeon Forge on Sunday to Rainforest Adventures (we had free coupons!). Carter loves animals and the displays were all at his level so it was perfect for him! There were several snakes, lizards, and birds to see but Carter's favorite part was feeding the goats. After we left Rainforest Adventures, we were hungry so we went to Gatti's Pizza. Carter ate 2 plates of pasta! Gatti's may have been the highlight of the trip for him! We had a great time in Pigeon Forge and visiting with Joe's family!

Camden and Carter with MawMaw and PawPaw

MawMaw,Carter, and Courtney watching the monkeys!

Carter was fascinated by the crocodile!

Joe and Camden checking out the lemur! We think this picture is pretty funny since it looks like she's looking at the animal!

Carter loved feeding the goats outside!

Feeding the goats with MawMaw!

Feeding the goats with PawPaw!

Our family picture!

New Harvest Park Water Play Area

On Friday, July 29th, Courtney, Carter and Camden met Amy B, Matthew and Katie at the New Harvest Water Play Area. Since we got there early, there were not many people there yet. It was wonderful! The kids had a great time running wild through the water and playing on the playground. Camden didn't care for the cold water getting on her so she slept most of the time while we were there. We had a great time with great friends!

Mommy and her precious babies!

Matthew and Carter- little buddies!

Carter LOVED splashing in the water!

WHEE!

Little Sleeping Beauty in her bathing suit!

Katie and Carter taking a ride on the bouncing bee!

Carter had so much fun riding on the bouncing bee and grasshopper!

Parkway Drive-In

On Friday, July 22, we decided to go with most of Courtney's family to the Parkway Drive-In in Maryville. They were playing "Mr. Poppers Penguins" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2". We thought Carter would enjoy the first movie and Courtney wanted to see the second. I wish we could say we had a great time but... it was pretty miserable! Outside was EXTREMELY humid most of the night but we had a nice breeze at times, thank goodness. Courtney held Camden the entire time which was like holding a little heater so she and Camden were both very hot. We thought Carter would fall asleep sometime while we were there but he was up the ENTIRE time!! He finally fell asleep when we left at 1:30am! We were barely out of the parking lot when Camden woke up and thought she was starving to death so we had to pull over at an abandoned restaurant and feed her. Needless to say, we would NOT recommend taking a 2 1/2 year old and 1 month old to a drive-in movie. Yes, we could have left but we just kept sticking it out thinking it would get better and yes, we were wrong! At least we got to get out of the house for the night and see 2 movies since our movie theater days are over for awhile. We did manage to get a few pictures before our night got too "adventurous".

Grammy, Camden, and Courtney!

We took Carter's mower, weed eater, and leaf blower with us. He loved playing before the movie started!

Aunt Mandi packed outside games to play and Carter loved them!

Our "camp" for the night- we had TONS of stuff to keep everyone entertained!

Carter playing catch with his Daddy!

Our family picture- all smiles even in the heat!

Our Wild Animals!

At Camden's doctor appointment, Dr. Roberts said we were ok to start taking her out places as long as we didn't play "pass the baby" (as she called it) with people. We were so happy to be off of house arrest! (At least that's what it has felt like for the past 4 weeks!) We hadn't been to the zoo all summer so we thought that would be the perfect outing for our family. On Saturday, July 16th, we had the PERFECT weather... high 70s and overcast! We all had a great time getting to walk around the zoo and see all the animals! Camden did so well and we are so glad that we can start going places together as a family!

Carter and Daddy at the bird show!

This bird can dance and wave- it's so funny to watch!

Can you find our wild animals? Look closely at the zebra and elephant!

We tried our best to get Carter and Camden in the monkey faces. This was the best we could do!

A fussy little monkey!

Carter loved watching the monkey swing all around on the branches!

Camden was worn out after our trip to the zoo!

Our family picture with the zebras!

Camden's 3 week appointment

It's hard to believe that our little girl is already 3 weeks old! There is hardly ever a chance to sit down, eat at the table together as a family, or even take a breath but we wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! We know that this is a phase and are looking forward to all the great times ahead for our family. Camden does great during the day but has developed colic from around 9pm to midnight. We hope that she will outgrow this soon but in the meantime we are just happy to have each other in the evenings to pass her back and forth! She is already developing a little personality... she loves her big brother and will not take her eyes off of him, she loves to be held and screams bloody murder if you put her down when she isn't ready to be put down, she likes to yank her hairbows off when she gets mad, and she loves to talk, hum, and squeal a high pitch sound when she is happy (it's too cute!). We love her more and more each day and are so thankful God blessed us with a new addition to our family!

Our little diva ready for the doctor on Thursday, July 14th!

These two are more precious than anything in the whole world!

She weighed 9 lbs and 12 ounces (she is now in the 90th percentile!). I told Dr. Roberts that she was just trying to catch up to her big brother! She measured 21 1/2 inches long (90%) and her head measured 14 1/4 inches (50%).

Her belly button still had not fallen off at this point so Dr. Roberts put a special ointment on it and it came off the very next day! YEA!

"Picking" the Morning Away

At our house, blueberries are a staple! Carter loves all things blueberry... blueberry yogurt, frozen blueberries and milk (Courtney's favorite, too!), blueberry waffles, etc. We decided to make our yearly summer trip to The Fruit and Berry Patch in Halls. We could all get out of the house together, Camden wouldn't be exposed to germs being outside, and we could enjoy the fresh berries and slushies! We went early on Monday, July 11th and it was already incredibly hot! We got our buckets and let the picking begin! We only stayed about an hour but had several juicy berries to take home. We ended our trip with a fresh fruit slush for each of us- Carter had a strawberry slush, Joe had a peach slush, and Courtney had a strawberry/peach slush. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!

Mommy with Carter and Camden!

Carter loves picking... and eating the berries... right off the bush!

Stretching up high like Daddy! (Note the empty bucket- he rarely puts anything into the bucket because it goes straight to his mouth!)

Berry picking wore Camden out!

Carter helping Daddy gets the berries down low!

Daddy and Carter!
We had a "berry" good time at The Fruit and Berry Patch!

A Firework Fourth!

Each 4th of July we go to Courtney's parents' house for food, fun, and FIREWORKS!! On Monday, July 4th, we had a delicious meal (as always) prepared by Grammy and a great fireworks display shot off by Big Uncle Joe (as always). Carter had the most fun watching... and taking part in this year's fireworks. Our family tradition with fireworks is to let everyone shoot off a Roman Candle. This year we let Carter shoot off a Roman Candle with Joe's help and he had a BLAST! Camden HATED the noise so Courtney kept her inside during the fireworks display. We had a wonderful time with everyone and am looking forward to many more Fourth of July's together! Happy Birthday America!

Carter and a sparkler!

Grammy posing with her Roman Candle!

Carter was anxiously awaiting his turn!

He showed us what a Roman Candle does!

For once, Courtney's timing with the camera was perfect! Roman Candles look EXTREMELY dangerous from this picture!

All the cousins watching the fireworks display together... minus Camden!

Our newest little sparkler... a little fired-up about being put down!

Family Picture!

Kitty Cat

On Saturday, July 2nd, Joe took Carter to Build-A-Bear for him to make Camden a Hello Kitty doll. When Carter was a baby, we took his picture each month with a little monkey that we picked out for him before he was born. We decided to use a Hello Kitty doll for Camden's monthly pictures but couldn't find one that was cute. Courtney found a cute Hello Kitty at Build-A-Bear and thought this would be so much fun for Carter to make for Camden. Since he was making it for her, we let him pick out anything he wanted for it. He was so excited looking at all the clothes and accessories at the store but finally decided on a pair of Hello Kitty pajamas with silky pants (no surprise there since he loves all his silky blankets!). We even let him name Camden's Hello Kitty so he told Joe... "Kitty Cat"! When they got home from the mall, Carter was so happy to show Camden her "Kitty Cat" (and he was waiting for her to love it as much as he did!). He was so sweet showing her the pajamas, hairbow, and house for Kitty Cat. Carter loves his little sister so much!

Stuffing a heart inside!

This was his favorite part of the whole Build-A-Bear process!

All clean!

Ready to take Kitty Cat home!

Playing peek-a-boo with Kitty Cat... on the dirty floor (YIKES!).

So proud to show us Kitty Cat!

Showing (or shoving!) Kitty Cat to Camden!

Such a sweet big brother to his little sister!

Camden with Kitty Cat at 1 week old!