Our Little Gardener

Toys R Us was having one of their fabulous "Little Tikes Buy One, Get One Free" sales so we thought it was the perfect time to get Carter his 1st lawnmower (and toolshop). As soon as Courtney got home with the mower, Joe put it together. Carter was very curious about this new toy! He stood over Joe the entire time trying to figure out what he was doing. We took Carter outside to let him try out his new lawnmower. He had such a fun time in the beautiful weather! We are so excited that Spring is finally here!

Checking out what Daddy is doing!

He loves to rev-up the engine!

Supervising Daddy putting the handle on the mower!

He loves to use his lawnmower on the driveway because it runs so smoothly!

Mowing over Daddy's bushes!

He couldn't figure out how to push the mower on the grass!

Joe started de-weeding the flower beds so Carter decided he needed to help!

He absolutely LOVES dirt!

He loves to play in it, throw it, and EAT it!

Look at our little gardener!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Courtney found pull apart cookies to make for St. Patrick's Day. We thought it would be a fun activity to do with Carter after dinner. As you can see from the pictures below, we had a GREAT time! He loves anything that involves food!

Ready to get started on the baking!

Trying to eat the cookie package! He was ready for his dessert!

He kept trying to pick off the tiny green and white chocolate chips on the top!

We let him eat a few... just to sample, of course!

After he ate a few of the chocolate chips, he thought he'd put an ENTIRE pull apart cookie in his mouth! (That's Courtney's hand going after the cookie dough so Carter wouldn't choke!)

Happy to see the finished product!

This cookie is YUMMY!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from our little leprechaun!

Fork Time!

We have been giving Carter a spoon while he eats to introduce him to silverware. He is so funny with a spoon! He picks food up and places it on the spoon to try to get it in his mouth. Obviously he misses more than he gets the food in but he loves trying. Joe brought home Chick-fil-A (one of Carter's favorite places to eat) for dinner the other night. We decided to see what Carter would do with a fork. Courtney showed him how to pierce a piece of food and then put it in his mouth. He LOVED it! He jabbed at every bite trying to get it on the fork! He did very well! We are so proud of our little man and all the new things he is learning to do!

He was so proud of himself!

Eating his grapes, fries, and chicken!

YUMMY!

Eating with his big boy fork!

Carter always props his left foot up on his highchair like this!

No matter how many times we put his foot down, he always finds a way to get it back up on the tray!

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!"