Birthday pictures coming soon!

Some kids want a Spiderman party,
Transformers,
or Pirates.

Carter just wanted a "surprise party".

"Everyone will jump out and say,
Surprise! Happy Birthday Carter!"

Oh, and he also wanted a Thomas cake.

And he still thinks Pwesident Bama will send
him a Birthday present.

So today, he got a surprise party.
A Thomas cake.
But the birthday present from Pwesident Bama
must be held up in the mail.

Carter had a great time!!
He was even more surprised by two very
special guests that traveled just to see him.
His (and our) best friends Jade and Sara
came just to see him!

Pictures coming soon. My SD card reader is broken...
have to travel to "the city" to get another one.

Happy 3rd Birthday Carter!

Bathtime cuteness!

It doesn't get much cuter than a baby wrapped up in a frog towel!

Look what I found this morning!

Merry Christmas Part III

On our trek to the Panhandle, we made a quick stop to eat at our favorite mexican restaurant and to see Carter's good friend Jade. Jade was so excited to see a real baby. She checked him over closely.

Next, on to the Gaylord for a little mini-vacation.
I took this picture from my assigned seat on the train - Carter was assigning seats, as usual.

If you have never been to the Gaylord, you should check it out.
We went once before right after it opened and just walked around.
This is a shot of the interior - the hotel is designed to reflect the different regions and landscapes of Texas.

Its beautiful at Christmas.
We found it to be kid friendly too.

I was so glad to have received my new sling in time for our trip.

Its a Baby K'tan - by far the best baby "apparatus" (as Carter calls it) that I've owned.
It made going to the yummy breakfast buffet (again and again) super easy.
Cannon napped and I tried not to drop food on his head.

They also had the ice exhibit going on.
Cannon made it about half way through under the enormous jacket they provided us - the we bailed. Carter and Ryan finished the exhibit.
Carter was mildly impressed. The morning of our long drive north, we decided to try to wear Carter out.
Let me just say that I love the Google application for the iphone.
We were able to find a jumping place near the hotel and get gps guided directions, of course.
Credit goes to Ryan for finding that application :)

This is a picture of Carter doing his "cool trick".
It's a handstand in case you couldn't tell,
and Carter will do it anytime, anywhere if you ask him to.

Cannon relaixn'

Adults can ride the slides too! Its a blast!

2 Month Checkup

Cannon had his two month appointment today. Much to our amazement, Cannon weighs 14lbs 8 oz!!! He is 23 1/2 inches long and doing excellent. Well, except for the fact that they tortured his sweet (chubby) legs with 3 shots. He was a trooper and just cried for a minute or two.

Out of curiosity, I looked up Carter's weight and height at 2 months - 14 lbs 12 oz, 23" long. Watch out Carter your brother is catching up!

More pictures to come soon....
Here's a few to hold you all over until I can get caught up and organized.

Merry Christmas! Part 2

We've had a great Christmas in the Hill Country.
Our Christmas will continue next week when Cannon makes
his first trip to the Texas Panhandle.
Here are a few pictures from the festivities.

Cannon arriving at Grammiki's for her delicious Christmas Eve chili

Carter was so excited it was FINALLY Christmas.
He's been asking every day for weeks.

This kid is good. Before he opened his present, someone asked, "what do you think that is?". "Its probably a Gordon," he replied.
He was right.

Christmas morning Carter was so excited to see all the toys beneath the tree. Santa's reindeer even ate all the carrots we left for them! Unfortunatley, Santa didn't get any cookies because mom & dad ate them all (with some of Carter's help) earlier in the week.

Santa brought Carter a new tool bench
& most importantly some safety goggles.
Safety first!

We had to have all of the battery operated toys going at one time.
Note to gift givers, next year please give lots of batteries!

Later in the morning, Grammiki, Nella, and Johnny joined us for Christmas brunch.
I made Pioneer Woman's Sleeping 'In Omelet - its soooo good.

Murphy enjoying a Christmas treat

Carter got what every boy needs, a John Deer wagon!

This is gonna be fun

must haul everything

After a long day, Carter went to sleep early
and Cannon stayed up to let his parents admire him
and take lots of pictures.

good night.

Merry Christmas!

All my parents got me was an Allen Wrench
Not really - here's a few Christmas pictures...more to followMaking Christmas cookies with Mom & Dad.

Carter enjoyed decorating them

Early Christmas Present from Cannon

SMILES!!!!

6 Weeks Old

Its been a busy few weeks - here is what we've been up to:

Cannon is now six weeks old!
Eating & sleeping are still high on the priority list. He's starting to coo a lot, especially after we change his diaper. I think its his way of saying thank you. :)
We went into the "big city" on Saturday and he tolerated our road trip well. He slept most of the way, waking up to eat a few times. He slept during our dinner and allowed us to enjoy some mexican food at Chuy's - Yum!

Cannon loves to lay on our bed, look out our bedroom window and gaze at the sky...

The temperature has been all over the place over the past couple of weeks.
Before it got cold, we got to spend some time outside watching Carter and Murphy play.
The start of a smile...

I'm not sure if this is just a serious face or a mad face...

Enjoying his swing...

Enjoying his playmat...
Murphy likes it too.

Carter is finally making progress with potty training. Why am I noting this in our blog? Because we are absolutely thrilled. This excites us more than many of you can even imagine.

He is still doing well in his big brother role. We've asked him to teach Cannon how to smile and how to hold his head up. Its both adorable and hilarious to watch Carter demonstrate how to do this.

Carter has also started sleeping in -- until 6:45 on some mornings. Yes, this is sleeping in.

He is wrapped up in the Christmas season, likes to sing Christmas songs (Rudolph being the favorite) and is worried Santa won't see our house because don't have lights on the roof. He tells Ryan, "You need to decorate the roof!". He also likes to look at the nativity seene, pointing out baby Jesus, Mary, their "horse", lamb, and Joseph, who Carter says is God.

Carter enjoying the warmer weather - playing with his baseball.
He can throw it up on the roof...

And he loves to watch it roll back down...
(Murphy is amused)

I tried to teach Carter how to hold a bat - he would just swing it wildly behind him.
So, I told him to hold it close to his ear. He follows direction well.
He actually had much better luck hitting the ball his way. Maybe he's on to something.

Carter has these "noculers" he keeps them in his "treasure box".

A funny mix of expressions...

And the temperature has plunged - and so did his willingness to smile for a picture.

Oh good, happy Carter is back (and oh so cute)

Carter is hiding from me - where on earth could he be?

Oh, there he is. How could I ever have missed him?

And let us not forget, our amazing dog, Murphy.

When Murphy is not running around getting into grass burrs, he likes to stare off to the North. I have no idea what he is checking out, but he is focused...

Sooooo focused....

Hill Country Sunset