Christmas, then and now

Carter, Christmas 2006
11 months old


Carter, Christmas 2007
1 year, 11 months old




Carter, Christmas 2008, 2 years 11months old
Cannon's first Christmas!

Cannon, Christmas 2009
13 months old

Carter, Christmas 2009
3 years 11 months old

Carter takes on Open Mic Night

Carter made his solo debut on stage tonight at the Fuel Coffee House. His Mom Carter is a regular there and Dana from Fuel asked me if Carter would like to sing a Christmas song at open mic night. I asked Carter about it later and he enthusiastically accepted the opportunity.

He decided to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Performances make me a little nervous. Anyone remember the mad fish?

We were reassured that his stage fright may have passed when he sang with a group twice in front of our church and did great! This was a solo performance though and I just wasn't sure...

He also made this impromptu performance on stage, but that wasn't in front of a large group of people.

Carter rehearsing his song

When I asked him if he wanted to practice his song beforehand, he requested to go up and rehearse on stage with the microphone, so we did. He acted like an old pro and even asked if he could have the guitar. Dana was so sweet and walked him through what would happen.

So tonight was the big night. Carter was excited about his "repormance" all day. He couldn't wait for his turn to sing. Once on stage, he was a little hesitant at first, but the crowd cheered him on and he sang the whole song with confidence and somewhat in tune! Justin stayed up there with him to show some extra support. We are so proud of our sweet, friendly little guy...and he's a pretty good singer too!

Way to go Carter!

Fun with P-Dub

So most of you know that I am an avid follower of the Pioneer Woman blog, authored by Ree Drummond a self-proclaimed desperate housewife whose life was dramatically transformed (for the better) when she traded in the city life for life in the country. Being that I had made a similar move about the time I discovered her blog, I became hooked.

After the kids go to bed, I kick back and visit her blog to read about her family, see what her basset hound has been up to, follow her step-by-step recipes, read photography tips for when I get a fancy camera, enter her contests (and lose) and read about what pictures she decided to hang on the wall of "the lodge."

Her writing style is refreshingly honest and makes me laugh out loud.

And most of you who know me have heard me talk ramble about her. I shared her site with my friend Jill, whom I went to elementary, jr. high, and high school with, and she got hooked on her too.

She recently launched a fabulous cookbook and set a date in Austin for a book signing. Thus began our plans to escape for a girls trip....my first girls trip since girls trips became important...after having kids.

Jill standing outside the bookstore with Pioneer Woman's cookbook.

I got there early so I could wait in line to get a wristband, which would get us in line for the book signing. Often, I am not THAT person who is in the right place in the right time. Except one time in college when I won big at slots twice in a row. So I was thrilled when I was second in line to get a wristband. That may not sound too exciting to most, but it was a sweet victory in my book.

Originally, she was to speak at 7 and sign books afterward. But, she arrived early and some of us were able to have her sign books at 6...again, another victory for Jill and I.

I'm easily amused.

I was so excited to meet her. Since I read her blog daily and she shares all sorts of tidbits about her daily life, I felt like we were old friends (in a I read about your family every day and you have no idea who I am kind of way).

Of course, I chatted it up with her. I told her we were having a fun girls night out and that we had left our cute children at home to spare her hormones (if you read her blog you will know what I mean by that.) She wasn't rushed, despite the fact that there were about 400 people eagerly awaiting to meet her.

She asked where I was from and when I told her the name of the town and the population and that we had moved from the big city, she said, "Oh, you're like me!"

Yeah, we're buds.

:)

Can I come hang out with you?

I didn't say that, I promise.
So Jill and I had a great time. Not only hanging out with our new friend Ree (for like 3 minutes), but catching up on the last 5 years since we graduated high school. Or maybe it was just 10....

Wait, nevermind.

Sweet & Grumpy

The kids are either happy and sweet...or they're not.

Sweet

Grumpy

Sweet

Grumpy


Sweet


And they're done...

1 year, 1 month

I thought I would take this opportunity to update Cannon's latest milestones and post the rest of his birthday pictures since I said I would get those up about a month ago. Cannon has been keeping us busy, in fact, he has been practicing his walking skills - up to 8 steps in a row! He has seemed frustrated lately so I am eager for him to master his walking skills although I will miss his "enthusiastic" crawl.

He has added a few more words to his vocabulary: jacket (ka-ket), Carter (ca-da), & kisses (sis-sis). He climbs on EVERYTHING and has even figured out how to pull the pillows off the couch onto the floor so he can use them to get onto the couch or the ottoman. He loves to drink his Yo-Baby drinkable yogurt when he wakes up from his nap and cries (quite dramatically) when it is all gone. One day I gave in and poured some more into his sippy cup and lets just say that was too much yogurt.

We haven't really found a food that he doesn't like. Often, he eats more than Carter. He still loves to say and eat crackers (cra--KER). He will crawl over to the area of the kitchen where I keep the crackers and request them. He also seems to understand much more and follow commands, sitting down, handing something over, and sometimes he will even stop playing in Murphy's food and water when asked, but that is a tough one.

He loves to giggle and growl (yes growl) and is still laid-back and happy - but is showing some signs of spunk. Before he would just cry when Carter would interfere with something he was doing, but now Cannon will put up a fight. Sometimes he will throw a fit when something is taken away from him...we can't help but laugh because the seem very similar to fits thrown by a certain 3 (almost 4) year old in the house.

Now, a few more birthday pictures (my favorite is the last one)

Happy Thanksgiving

Here are some of Carter's finest Thanksgiving / Fall creations.





He even signs his work (with a little help)



Post From My iPhone

Fun at the park

-- Post From My iPhone

Chef Cannon

Dog pretzel

-- Post From My iPhone

Peeking

Cannon loves pulling back the lace curtains and looking out the window at Grammiki's house.


-- Post From My iPhone

Eager

Carter always says he will start to climb trees when he is 4.

Well, he is a few months early...






-- Post From My iPhone

A few pics from Cannon's first birthday!

These are a few from my mom's camera. I'll try to sync my camera tomorrow and post a few more for those of you who just can't get enough of Cannon covered in his birthday cupcake.

Carter decided he wanted "Cannon" to open "his" presents first.

Much more relaxed the second time around -
Carter's first birthday cake was homemade with applesauce, carrots, and no refined sugar. For Cannon, the night before I stopped by HEB and picked up everyone some cute cupcakes that looked like ice cream sundaes. I'm sure they were just as healthy.

A little unsure at first, Great Uncle Johnny helped him get started.


Ok, he's over the uncertainty....
Cannon wanted to share his cupcake with everyone.

Even Murphy...

Sweet dreams birthday boy

-- Post From My iPhone

I'm 1!!

Words I can say:
mama
dada
dog "dah"
all done "aww duh"
yucky "uhkee"
cracker "aaah (pause) dah" this is one of his favorites
baba

Things I like to do:
Crawl on all fours
Walk with my walker
Walk holding on to one finger
Take 2-3 steps (preferably with a cracker in each hand)
Climb on to the rocking horse
Climb on to my little chair and make my parents very nervous
Climb the stairs any time my parents forget to close the gate (yikes!)
Eat just about anything - my favorite is peaches
Make clicking and kissy sounds
Point
Giggle
Playing with Carter's toys, especially the front loader, firehouse, and really anything he is playing with
Playing with my Fisher Price House, Roll around ball dragon, and anything that plays music
Sleep is growing on me, I just started sleeping through the night about 3 weeks ago!!
Try to eat Murphy's dog food
Open up all of the cabinets
Empty the trash and laundry basket
Splash in the bathtub
Look out the windows
Listen to music
Dance - I have great rythem
Snuggling with my elephant
Laughing when my big brother makes funny faces
Playing the piano
Watching mom do laundry
I love looking at other babies, in books or in real life


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Cannon is such a sweet, easy-going guy. Happy the majority of the time, but not a big fan of sleeping. He went from two naps to one when he turned 11 months, which is earlier than most. He's just started throwing some little fits and his favorite thing to do is throw whatever it is he isn't happy about - cup, cracker, toy etc. Usually, though, he eventually ends up picking it up and drinking/ eating/ playing with it anyway. It isn't long before he starts smiling again. He has the cutest "babble" that I can't even begin to describe. He giggles easily too, especially at his big brother. He has also become much more of a snuggler lately, which we love! He still sleeps upstairs in the extra closet in our bedroom most of the time, but will be moving downstairs to share a room with Carter soon. I can't believe it's been 1 year! We love you Cannon Quinn!

Happy 1st Birthday Cannon!!

A year ago today, sweet Cannon Quinn joined our family! We had not decided on a name until after he was born.

Colin and Cannon were the top two names.

Carter was so excited to be a big brother.
Finally home and ready to sleep (or not) in our own bed.

Cannon seemed like he had so much hair compared to Carter. Cannon just had darker hair, but not much more than his big brother.


Ahhh, I remember the time when he would sleep...

Cannon is a light sleeper. Unlike his big brother who slept through the bathroom remodel.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the boys.


This one too...



Cannon's first Christmas

The last week of December, Cannon made his first road trip to Pampa.

Smiling!

We stopped at a bounce house in Fort Worth on the way back. I think he enjoyed it??


Cannon enjoyed tummy time.

This picture just cracks me up

He weighed one pound less than Carter when he was born. He seemed so tiny.

He put on weight fast and quickly outgrew his bassinet.




Carter teaching Cannon how to lift up his head.

Cannon loved being carried in the sling.


Baths were a hit!
The bouncer too.

Again, enjoying the tummy time. Carter would have none of it as a baby, but Cannon loved it!


Carter is such a good big brother.

Another favorite picture.

Finally time for the exersaucer / jumper. One of my favorite toys!


Starting solids. We loved this face. He would bite down on the spoon and wrinkle his forehead.

Trying to flip over.

The exersaucer (applesaucer according to Carter) and Grammiki's

Cannon hanging out in the sling helping me vacuum. This picture was discovered by the folks at Baby K'tan (the makers of the sling) on my blog and landed him on their website.


Agh! Teething! Cannon got his first tooth when he was 5 months old.

Sitting up well!


He loves his elephant, we got this as a gift from my friend Carmie, Marc and Isabella.

Starting with the low-crawl.

Another favorite. I just want to kiss those cheeks! and toes. and fingers.



June was the month to travel. Hanging out at the Hamlin's lakehouse.

Then to Sea World...



And Houston...


And then back home...



Cannon loves baths with his big brother!


Pulling up well now and getting ready to walk!



I'm so excited it got cold enough for Cannon to wear this jacket - it was Carter's. :)



These were taken on Cannon's last day as an 11 month old!