Fun with Cars

We traveled over the Memorial Day Holiday and stayed with Carter's Great Aunt "E-na", Great Uncle Johnny, and Great Dog Rosie. He had a blast playing in the country and reached a new level of dirty playing outside. Another highlight, was all of the fun toys that they had at their house.

Carter and his new Plasma Car

Carter getting ready for a soap box car race....Johnny's toys are fun too.

Saturday Afternoon

While Ryan is moonlighting to "make money and buy toys" for Carter (that's what Carter says) - we played outside for a while this afternoon.  Not for too long though, its 93 degrees and humid - yuck!

Carter got a new tool set.  He has big plans to saw down the tree in the front yard. 

Picking Flowers....

A flower for you!

Winding down inside, reading his favorite book, "The Big Book of Farmyard Tales".  

Ever seen a mad fish?

Carter's school had a spring program last week.  His class' theme was "fish", so I had to come up with a fishy costume.  I sold my sewing machine in a garage sale because it had only been used once - and I didn't even finish that project.  I headed to JoAnn's fabric store, bought a bunch of felt, constructed my design.....and had my mom sew it.  I was impressed with how it turned out.  Carter, not so much.  Maybe he will be a fish this year for Halloween.  

Here he is telling me to "go way"

Hiding under the desk with his "e-pop" I had to bribe him with a sucker to let me put it on.  

Happy with Dad before the concert

A brief calm moment with his teacher on stage.  Shortly thereafter, we decided to let him sit with us.  

Welcome Isabella Grace!

Carter giving baby Isabella a hug....

My dear friend Carmie and her husband Marc welcomed their baby girl, Isabella Grace on May 1st!  Carter was excited to see the pictures of baby "Isa" as he calls her.  

Mayfest!

Fishing...we didn't catch anything.

Now this was fun...a giant pile of wood scraps, hammers, and nails

The train came by - Carter was yelling "listen....Thomas!"

The GIANT pile of sand.  We plan on getting him a sandbox when we move.  Thanks Mayfest, for raising the bar.  

Mayfest is held the first week of May along the Trinity River in Fort Worth.  After reading about the children's activities on the website, we thought Carter would enjoy it this year (especially the giant mound of sand).  We were right - he had a blast!  We had a great time too and enjoyed all of the fattening food.  

Crash!

Carter enjoys carefully building towers with his blocks and then crashing things into them.

 

This time he was gently putting the bear to bed on the blocks (this was the Snuggle bear that came free with the Snuggle fabric softener - I got it in the 80s and my mom somehow managed to keep it over the years!).  

Now for the set up  - his battery powered race car will soon interrupt Snuggle bears peaceful slumber (teetering between two rubber blocks)

Zoo

We visited the Zoo last week. Each time we go Carter has more fun as he learns about all of the different animals. This time, his favorites were the e-fants and the monkeys.

Riding the train is perhaps the biggest highlight of the whole trip.

Sitting very still. (RARE)

Big Boy Bed!

I wasn't quite sure how this milestone would go.  And its still early yet...only 3 days in.  The crib has been taken down and stored in the garage.  Even better, Carter thought it was all very exciting.  He even told us "thank you, CarCar happy".  So sweet!

We found many pacifiers behind his crib.  Carter's face says it all after discovering them...

Too Cute...and he even flaps his wings and quacks.

A Day Out With Thomas

Dad, Carter, and Thomas

Lots of lessons in sharing happening at this train table.

Carter's first temporary tattoo.

He informed us this is "Henry"

Carter riding on one of Thomas' coaches.

Posing with Thomas after the train ride.  Oops - I cut out most of Thomas

Carter is Thomas' #1 fan (and James, Percy, Molly, & Toby...)  Carter's train set has by far been the best investment we've made so far.  He has a great time creating disasters for the trains to get into and rescue each other from.  It also gives mom some time to take a shower or do laundry. The creators of Thomas the Train are some of the most clever marketing folks ever.  I guess the marketing departments of most children's companies know exactly how to get kids engaged and subsequently, to get their parents to buy MORE!  

The Grapevine Historic Railroad hosted a Day Out With Thomas last weekend.  The rail yard was swarming with preschool boys eager to meet their hero, Thomas.  There were lots of Thomas related activities, and of course, merchandise.  After visiting all of the booths, it was time for the big moment, a train ride pulled by Thomas.  Carter had a great time and has been saying "Ride Thomas pull trucks".  

Our Adventure Begins

Carter had a great time with Aunt "Sum Sum"

Cute pic

Rock climbing at the river

Tada!

Carter's 2nd Birthday

So this is a little late, but I thought I should document this milestone somehow!

Carter's second birthday was celebrated with his best friend, Jade, Jade's mom and Grandma, and of course Grandma, Dad, and Mom.   He went to Build-a-Bear Workshop where he decided to build a puppy, which he named "Fruff".