Farm and Pumpkin Patch Fun!

We went to the pumpkin patch and farm with Grandma this past week. Both boys had been here recently for school field trips, and they were excited to be back. Carter had never been and really enjoyed himself. It is loaded with fun things to do and animals to look at. I just uploaded the pics in a random order. I couldn't have been prouder of Kade. He carried this pumpkin, probably 40 yards, from the patch to the tractor. It weighed 10.5 pounds! It was a challenge for him. He'd stop, put it down, get a better grip on it and pick it right back up. I have yet to meet a more determined kid. He doesn't give up and he pushes himself to do hard things.

On our way to the pumpkin patch on the tractor.

Kade was able to swing on the rope swing! He said he "just held on tight." It was awesome to see, 'cause other kids were struggling with it.

Ben didn't give up trying the swing, but wasn't able to get a real good swing in. It was tough, but he had a blast flopping on the big mattresses below. It's was all fun.

Carter seeing animals he's never seen before. Cool!

This was an awesome bouncy thing that all the boys just loved.Carter was able to sit on a donkey! He was pretty excited.

Turkey! Carter liked these guys too....until one pecked his finger.

The boys rode horses, climbed things and slid down slides. They were outside and playing in the beautiful weather of St.G. It was all around a great time. I love the Fall.

The Amazing Carter!!

Carter has been walking around furniture for a while now. He's started using an end table as a walker to move all around the house. Yesterday, after he dragged the vacuum from room to room as a walking aid, I decided to bring out this little push toy. Both Ben and Kade got this for their first birthdays. I was saving it for Carter's first -only a couple weeks away, but there's no need to wait. As you can see, he's already a pro at using this thing. I shot this video only a few minutes after giving it to him. He's amazing. He has already mastered steering and redirecting. He also climbs up the two little stairs in front and stands up. EEK! He's gonna be falling down a lot in the near future, I think. After his stroke, when I met with the early intervention women, they asked what goal I'd like to work towards. Then, I wasn't sure how and when Carter would ever crawl, and that was our goal. But, Carter has met every milestone on time pretty much and he's on time for walking too. I am amazed at how physical he is all around. He is our amazing Carter.

Second Tooth!!

Two weeks after loosing his first tooth, Ben has now lost his second tooth! Crazy! It came about it the classic, or cliche, way of biting into an apple. He was pretty surprised this time; he said he looked down and thought it was a "white seed" in the apple, then he realized. Since he's a mature tooth looser, he called Joe very casually and let him know the news. As, you can see, the first adult tooth is already almost all the way out, and the second is already coming up. Craziness.

More pics for Joe

The Goose Egg. This morning Carter slipped while standing against a door and hit his head on the tile floor. Poor little guy. I've watched him all day, and he's been fine.

Messy face! Baths are one of his favorite things to do, and he really needed this one. He had a blast though getting scrubbed down and splashing it up. And, Carter is very excited about his tongue these days/ He sticks it out all the time' it's pretty funny.

Clean and shiny!! And smellin' good too. I love this little guy.

First Tooth!!!!

Here's Ben's "something that is so exciting". He lost his 1st tooth! Literally minutes ago. He came upstairs and told me, "Mom, something really exciting just happened." He'd lost a tooth. Then he called Joe and opened the conversation with, "Dad, I have something that is so exciting to tell ya...." He's feeling pretty cool right now. If you look at the little bloody hole, you can see the new tooth already half way out. Crazy!! But, he did get teeth super early -and quickly one right after another, so I figured the new teeth would come in similarly. The other middle baby front bottom tooth, is already already loose. And, the tooth coming up seems to be pushing it's way up under the tooth to the right side of the missing one as well, so I'm thinking that baby one is gonna be "getting gone" here pretty quick. Yay for growing kids!! And yay for the tooth fairy's first visit. (disclaimer:he had just eaten, thus the specks of food on his teeth.)

For Joe......

Joe is out of town, and since he has a government computer, he can't get on fb, but can look on our blog to see updates. So, while he's gone I'll try to update -especially for his sake- what we're up to around here. Here are just a a few funny pics of Carter feeding himself some Cheerios. I still can't decide who he looks like the most. Either way, he's too cute.

I'm pretty sure more Cheerios made it into his mouth, rather than on his pants.....although, it doesn't look like that would be the case.

 The boys stood in line forever to "fight" with the big sticks and knock each other down. They had a hard time lifting the heavy round things but they were able to swing them enough to knock each other down, so they felt successful. They had a good time.They both swung at each other, but I think at the end they both just lost their balance and fell off.

This was Ben's Mario hair.

Kade livin' it up with his root beer.

Kade chose green and his hair is STILL a little green. We've scrubbed his head multiple times in many showers and there are still a few green spots.

Carter did so well at the carnival, because he had his own thing to play on. He climbed up and down his stroller and was so proud of himself. He tried over and over to climb to the top of the handles and just couldn't figure out how to do it.

This picture was taken awhile ago, but I don't know if you (Joe) have seen it. He's just too cute.

A Post of Gratitude

Two weeks ago, a Relief Society teacher taught a lesson on Faith, and the lesson seemed to be just for me. I was reminded of things I already knew -and my eyes and heart were opened to something I feel the Lord has been trying to remind me of.
I've mention many times that Carter has been doing better than I had ever dreamed of and better than the majority of children who've had strokes. This fact has had me bewildered. My question to the Lord has been, "What was that trial for? What was I supposed to learn? Carter's fine and so life is back to normal, so what needed to change in my course if it feels like we're still back n the same old same old track?"

The answer came to me during the lesson. The Lord gives us trials to increase our faith -which is what i already knew, and sometimes, he gives us a big trial to help us increase our faith more than we otherwise would if something smaller had happened.
With Carter's stroke, everything pointed us to our Heavenly Father and his power and love. There was no doubt we have the results we have because of Him. So, I can not dispute the fact that my faith grew. And, in my search to know the reason for the trial -so I wouldn't have to take the same test again- I found the simple answer. In a small voice in my head, I heard, "Have even greater faith. And, know that if I will take care of these huge things, that I will and can easily take care of the small things, so, come to me in all things."
I have already been working on trusting my life to the Lord and praying more and asking for help. He, as I knew He would, has already solved problems I've had, and helped me work though things I've been thinking on. I am so grateful to know of my relation to Heavenly Father. I know He loves me, and will help me any time with anything -big or small. I can't begin to express enough gratitude and amazement.

Silly Baby -A little journaling.

Carter is quite the funny little guy. He's growing so fast and getting into everything. He'll pull things out of drawers, cupboards, and the dishwasher. And, he's pretty dang fast with his army crawling. He walks along furniture and often finds himself stuck in strange nooks and crannies around the house. He had 6 teeth and is working on a couple more -which means, he's not been the best of sleepers lately. He's still a skinny mini, but I can see a little chub coming. I've been feeding him avocados and more meats.
Carter is a very smart little guy too. He'll shake his head back and forth when you say "No, no.", and when he nurses, he'll stop, pull back, point at his "bottle" and say, "Eat". (sometimes it sounds like "ate", or "eat-ta".) When I say, "eat", he hurries and latches on. It's pretty funny. Also, he'll seek out your mouth and give you a kiss!! It's so sweet. On more than one occasion, while I'm holding him, he'll put his face up close to mine, get my attention and cover my whole mouth with his. Then pull back, smile and do it again until I make the kissy noise and kiss him back. He loves kisses.
He is also a HUGE mama's boy. Ben and Kade never had a preference, but Carter shows a big one -mostly when he's tired or hungry.....or when I'm in the room. ;) We're working on it though. He's a great little guy and he makes us all laugh a lot. We love our Little Baby C!

Ben's First Day of Kindergarten!!

At home before heading out.

Outside the school -a little bit sunny, and quite the squinty face, but cute nonetheless.

Sitting in class getting to work! He's just a good kid. This is Ben's "really mom, another picture?" face. :) Today Ben started Kindergarten!! YAY!! It was awesome. Joe has Mondays off, so he too got to be there to drop Ben off at class.

(A few weeks ago, we found out Ben had gotten into the charter school we thought he'd never get into. His lottery number had been high, and we though there was no chance. Yet, a week before school, he was accepted!! It's quite the commitment for him to being going there, but well worth it.)

We had already met his teacher so he wasn't nervous to be back in class. Plus, a little girl he knew (and had a crush on) from his first year of preschool was there! He already has a built in friend, and she's a cute one ta boot. :) Ben sat down right away and got to work, as instructed. Joe and I both got a quick kiss goodbye and we were off. Although, we wander the halls to tour the school.

I am so excited for Ben to be starting school, he's a super smart kid and he wants to learn everything. A whole new world starts for us all with our first kid entering elementary school.

Kade's Back to School!

He's BACK!! Yay! If you can't tell by the pictures, he was really excited to be back at his preschool. It's a great place! Kade was able to get five months of preschool last year, so there was nothing new about going to school. This morning was just routine. However, last year, he didn't bat an eye at me leaving, shed a tear, or get nervous; nothing phases this kid. He's the most fearless kid I've ever known.

The funny story of the whole morning was, after he put his back pack away, he stood up and announced he farted. His teacher said, "You did? Whoa." ('cause Kade's face was pretty excited.) He said, "Yeah, we're the 'Fart Brothers'!"

Oh, yeah, that's my son.....well, both my oldest sons. I finally learned, this afternoon, that last night while talking in their room they decided to become "The Fart Brothers". Yay! ;)

It was a good day, and I'm glad for Kade that he's back at work and back having new experiences and meeting new kids.

Exactly What I Needed

So, as a follow up to the previous post. The picnic was exactly what I needed! I talked to several moms and saw their children. I saw a more than amazing future for Carter. I've always felt blessed, but now even more so. Carter will be more than fine -he is and will be amazing
Thank you women for the validation of my feelings, and I feel a little of the weight lifted. I know I will have to deal with other repressed stuff -but, I guess that will be later. ;)

It's Been Four Months, but.......

It's been four months since Carter had his stroke, but I never stop thinking about it. I'm not "worried" as much as I just can't forget. I don't negatively dwell on it for hours-even minutes- at a time, it just comes into my mind throughout the day. Every time I nurse him, I think of the night; every time he cries out in the night to eat or otherwise, I think of that night. When I'm nursing him at night, I re-live moments of that night alone. I think about it when I watch him grab for things with his left hand, and when I see his arm drag a little when he army crawls and every time I pick him up and keep in mind which side I'm holding him on. Lately, it just feels like I'm thinking of it even MORE.

He is doing SO well; he's really progressing and I'm grateful, and I'm positive, and let him be a normal kid. I even make myself toss him in the air -which I never did to the other boys- as a way to reassure myself that he's not fragile and to force/help me to relax. But, sometimes it just gets a little overwhelming to think it all happened and isn't something that goes away. Sometimes I just want to break down and cry all over again -even though, he's okay. Is that weird?

This weekend there is an annual picnic for families affected by childhood stroke. (It's put on by Carter's neurologist) I am planning on going. I just want to talk to at least one other mom who has been exactly in my shoes. I want to hear their story and see their child. I just want to connect to another mom who feels this way. I'm trying not to get to anxious, but I really need to meet someone there. I am not a person who looses hope or focuses on the negative "what ifs" I have full faith that Carter will be amazing, and that no one will see a difference between him and any other kid. But, this thing is still on my mind. I wonder when the day will be when it isn't something I think about regularly.

And, I rarely talk about the stroke with anybody -other than the affects we're seeing and his progress. I don't want to sit there and cry and blub to somebody and conjure all the drama, so I just talk about the good stuff. But, I want to talk about the crazy night and how panicked I was even though I "held it together so well", and how physically tired I was that I couldn't even hold him much throughout the hospital stay and how badly I felt about that. I want to talk about the crazy EKG and how the guy wouldn't tell me anything and how I talked myself into thinking it was fine. I just want to get it all out, but there's never been the right time, or I just don't have the time. I want someone to ask me questions to help me get out the stuff I don't even know is in there. Sorry to anyone who reads this. I don't mean to be a downer; I just had to post this, because of the weight it's been on my chest lately. I can't wait to -hopefully- meet another mom and talk and maybe cry....a little.....or a lot.

Better Late then Never...

Way back a millions months ago, I had the boys' pictures taken for Father's Day. And, I have posted a few of the pictures on facebook. But, it's about time I post a few of the pictures to my blog, so later it can become a blog book. It was a pretty cute photo shoot. I love the pictures of the boys with their little fire hats on. I am grateful for these three little guys of mine. They are better kids then I could have dreamed for. They are just incredible and I am one lucky mama.