Georgia Aquarium Trip

On Friday, February 25th, we drove to Atlanta to meet Courtney's mom and Aunt Susie with her family. We all spent the night and on Saturday, February 26th, had a BLAST together at the Georgia Aquarium! It was incredible and a wonderful family trip for us all! Thanks Grammy for planning such a fun get-away for everyone. We loved it!

The hallway was lined with HUGE fish tanks and they immediately caught Carter's attention!

He was very content just watching these little fish (in comparison to all the other fish we saw!).


Our family picture-
our attempts are getting harder since Carter is too curious about everything else!

One of the first exhibits we visited was the Beluga Whales- AMAZING to watch! We were all in awe!

On to the penguin tubes- Carter went through the tubes with his cousins, Uncle Aaron, and Joe.

Carter thought it was so funny to see the penguins... and his cousins... in the tubes!

We got to watch the shark feeding, which was just incredible! The different species actually know when it's their time to eat according to the color of net dropped in the water. We were amazed that they can distinguish between all the colors!

Family picture- Round 2! Carter at this point in the day was ready for a nap but he was a trooper!

Ainsley, Zoe, and Ellie all had their face or arm painted- FUN!

Owen, Ainsley, Carter, Ellie and Zoe checking out the fish found in the "River Scout" area.

Carter with Deepo. the Aquarium mascot.

The Taylors-Aaron, Owen, Mandi, and Reed.

The Hassells- Ellie, Jeni, Zoe, Ainsley, Joe, and Noah.

Carter's 2nd Birthday Party

We decided to have Carter's 2nd birthday party at McDonald's Playplace. It turned out to be a great place for a toddler party! Unfortunately several friends and family got sick and couldn't come but we still had a great time with our small number of party-goers! We had Happy Meals, cake, ice cream, and lots of play time! Thank you to everyone who was able to come and celebrate this special day with us! We love you all!

Playing before the guests arrive!

Carter loved the big slide!

Having a blast sliding with his big cousin Noah!

Peek-a-boo! This picture just cracks us up!

Carter chose chicken nuggets, french fries, and Hi-C orange! YUMMY!

The party guests and...

a few more party guests!

Little did we know that Carter had a HUGE pocket full of jelly beans from his Uncle Joe until we saw him reaching in every few bites for another piece!

Carter's double cookie cake we got from Sam's- it was delicious!

Carter also had a Ronald McDonald cake from McDonald's! He's blowing out the candle!

He was so proud of himself that he blew the candle out... with help from his cousins!

After cake, it was present time! He tried his best to get the toy out of the bag.

Carter's friend Keltin showing him how to work everything... it was too cute!

On to the next present!

Carter getting help from his Daddy!

Daddy and Mommy with the Birthday Boy!

Present Time!

After our yummy ice cream trip to Bruster's, we had to run a few errands to get ready for Carter's birthday party the next day. When we got home, we ate pizza (one of Carter's favorite meals!) and then it was PRESENT TIME! Courtney set up the gifts and "Hidden Cupcake" with his special gift inside in the bonus room while Joe entertained Carter downstairs. We told Carter to hurry upstairs and see what he got for his birthday. He was so excited! We had a great evening with our birthday boy! God has blessed us so much with Carter and we are so thankful for him!

Happy Birthday to Carter!

Opening gifts!

It's Mr. Potatoe Head!

He tore the paper off one little piece at a time...

and then insisted on throwing each little piece away! "Trash, trash!" he yelled!

It's time to find the "Hidden Cupcake". Now where could it be?

We told him to look around the couch and he decided to check out underneath! He looked everywhere... under the couch, behind the couch, and then finally...

Carter found the "Hidden Cupcake!".

He was so excited to find Special Agent Oso, Wolfie, and Dottie inside.

Special Alert, Special Alert... Carter completed his "Hidden Cupcake" Mission!

Trying out his new ride! Happy Birthday sweet baby boy!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Carter!

Our little man turned 2 years old on Friday, February 18th. Where have the 2 years gone? We seem to have blinked and now our baby is running everywhere, talking all the time, expressing his opinion (and he is full of them!), and discovering all his favorite things. Courtney stayed home with him that day and had big plans on taking him to the Zoo that afternoon since it was warmer weather. Carter decided to express his opinion about napping that day... which lasted almost 2 hours before he finally gave out! Due to his late nap, we couldn't make it to the Zoo in time so we ended up taking him to Bruster's for an ice cream cone. He loved it! Carter LOVES chocolate so we ordered a chocolate ice cream cone for him and we shared a strawberry ice cream waffle cone. Carter not only loved his ice cream cone and ate every bite but he enjoyed eating our ice cream too! We had a great time sitting outside, enjoying our ice cream together! Happy Birthday Little Man!

Ready to dig in!
So excited about his ice cream!

YUMMY!

Trying to lick the mess off his face- this was hilarious!

He gave up and decided to use his sleeve as a napkin.

Not the most flattering picture but at least we have a birthday picture together!

He was so happy he started skipping around the benches! This shot is him in mid-air!

Ready for Mommy and Daddy's ice cream cone!

He ate every last bite of our cone and his! What an ice cream piggy!