At Anderson's school, they had a belated birthday celebration for him - they decorated the foyer with banners & ribbons and Anderson was 'king for the day'. His teacher made him a crown and a badge to wear - he looked so cute! He received a birthday certificate and got to bring a balloon home! He was so happy in his garb!!!
It just wouldn't be the fall without a trip to the Pumpkin Patch - only thing is it didn't feel like fall, but more like late summer - oh well! We met the usual crew the Saunders & Maggiores at Taylor Farm. This was one of Anna's first outings - hard to believe that this little girl just had open heart surgery!!
Yep, Carter is trying to roll over in his bouncy seat!! I guess its time to start using those seatbelts!!! The image of little Callie S trying to get out of her bouncy seat is coming to mind.....
When we told Katy that Anderson wasn't going to be able to be at Jacob's 3rd bday party b/c mommy had to work that day, she just wouldn't have it!! She offered to take Anderson for the day - just like old times. I dropped off Anderson in the a.m. and picked him up that nite - only thing is he didn't want to come home -he had such a good time with his buds Jacob & Josiah (or Bo-siah as he's referring to him now!) Anderson had a great time at the bday celebration and loved painting his 'punkin'! We are so grateful for our friends! Thanks again Schrodts!
I'm here to report that naptime & bedtimes have gone really well without the paci. Anderson will mention that he wants his paci, but we'll explain to him that the Paci Fairy took them and he's OK with that. Of course, I don't consider us 'out of the woods' yet!!! I can't believe my sweet boy doesn't need his paci anymore!
Well, we've been prepping Anderson for months that the Paci fairy would come on the nite of his 3rd birthday. While he's been soooo excited about the Paci fairy coming to take his pacis and leave him a present, I knew he didn't REALLY understand that the pacis would really be GONE forever!! So while he's been excited, I've been dreading this day and the sleep compromise it would cause! So last nite while Anderson was out playing, the Paci fairy (also known as Mommy) stole away the last 2 pacis and replaced them with a special present. My brother & his wife had sent Anderson a UGA football jersey for his bday - we knew that Anderson would LOVE it, so we used that as the paci fairy present. When we went upstairs to start reading books last nite Anderson was slightly confused at the package left on his bed, but once he realized what it was, he started getting so excited with disbelief. His innocent bewilderment almost made me cry, but I held back. He opened the present and loves loves loves his new shirt -in fact- I told him he could sleep in it, knowing the likely struggle to come sans paci! Obviously the paci provided a level of security that chased away all fears from the darkness, noises, etc because as soon as we left his room he started whimpering about noises he was hearing. After a few trips back to his room, I finally laid down with him until he was asleep and left his room with baited breath. To our relief, Anderson slept thru the nite without another whimper though today our day started a little earlier than we would have liked (6:20am). I have to say, nite 1 went much better than expected. I'll have another report later with nap 1 without the paci along with nites 2, etc! For those friends who will see him in the coming weeks, your encouragement to him would be greatly appreciated!!! Here's a snapshot of him in his Paci fairy present - isn't it cool!!
Last week Mark's mom 'Nana' was in town to help Paul & Rebekah prepare for Avery's arrival -she reallly wanted to be here for the week after the birth, but you know how babies have their own schedules! Anyway, we were so glad to see Nana and the boys got some quality time with her! She is such a wonderful helper when she comes in town - you don't even have to ask - she just finds a way to help and does it! We are sooo grateful for Nana and love her so much!
For Anderson's 3rd bday, we gave him a Diego Scooter & a Spiderman helmet. He was having a blast, taking it for a spin! Lookout world, Anderson has his 1st set of wheels!
We celebrated Anderson's 3rd birthday on Saturday with a costume party and some of his best friends!!! Anderson was Spiderman, of course. The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast. We enjoyed some chili & hot dogs with cupcakes for dessert. Some of us adults joined in on the costume action too - I wore angel wings (how appropriate ; ), aunt Katie Beth was Dorothy, Mark was Batman and Nana was some type of 'cowboy'??? We're so thankful for Anderson's friends and the roles they have in his life!!
Ryan, future professional baseball player!
Mr. Schrodt (I mean Batman)
Look at these girls!!! Precious - Callie (6mo) and Emily (11mo)
Hey, where did the ball go???
mmmm, cupcakes!!
Anderson got the movie 'Cars' as a present -he could hardly wait for his guests to leave to watch the movie! (sorry - quite rude!) Mark couldn't relinquish the TV as the Bulldawgs were playing, so we hooked up the portable DVD player for Anderson.
Carter, just as cuddly as a teddybear!
Birthday boy himself - Anderson (aka Spiderman)
Daddy (Batman) and Carter
That's the other Spiderman fighting the bubbles (Josiah)
Group picture -
back row - Josiah, Jacob, Erin, Ryan & Anderson
front row - Carter, Emily & Callie
Just call me Angel
Jacob - to be 3 on Wednesday
Somewhere over the rainbow (that's aunt Katie-Beth)
My sweet niece has arrived! Avery Isabelle Judd was born Friday nite October 12th at 6:27pm and weighed in at 9lbs6oz, 21 1/2in long!! (yep, BIG baby girl!) Mommy Rebekah labored the entire previous nite and most of Friday til Avery stopped progressing - they ended up doing a C-section and had to knock out Rebekah who was actually feeling the C-section in progress (yikes). Anyway, we're so excited to welcome Paul & Rebekah to this wonderful world of parenthood and even more excited to meet sweet little Avery! Rebekah called her 'Ave' at the hospital - it will be interesting to see if that becomes her unofficial nickname!
Proud Daddy Paul
Me meeting my brand new niece!
How fabulous is this pink 'boa' wreath for Avery. Nana got this for Avery - we had a blue one for Carter. Love it!!!
On Friday, Carter had his 4 month check-up. He kept showing off to the doctor trying to show her his new trick - rolling over. He then preceded to 'talk' to her and flash his precious little smiles her way. Needless to say, he got an A+! He weighed in at 17lbs 15oz and 26.5 inches long, in the 97th and 90th percentiles, respectively. Still my big baby boy!
Do you ever go to bed at nite only to realize that your sheets are in the wash??? Well I had put Anderson's sheets in the wash and forgot to transfer them to the dryer (oops), so we had to put them in the dryer. (yes, we have more sheets, but I so like the red gingham ones best!). Well Mark & Anderson didn't want to wait for new sheets - notice they are lying right on the mattress! I love how Mark is holding onto Anderson. One tuckered out little boy. A couple moments after this pic I put the fresh warm sheets on his bed. I love climbing in the bed to fresh sheets!!!
Does it count if Carter rolled over for the 1st time yesterday but no-one saw him? Mark & I went to retrieve Carter from his nap in his crib only to find him on his tummy!!! I knew it was a matter of days before he rolled over. Poor guy though, he isn't able to roll back so he was 'stuck'! I'm sure it won't be the first time he gets 'stuck'. Anyway, expect to see another blog when mommy or daddy catch him 'live in the act' rolling over!! Go Carter Go!
Mark's twin brother and his wife Rebekah are expecting their 1st baby here any day now - due October 6th. Her name - Avery. Rebekah had a 3D ultrasound a couple days ago and she looks so perfect - I can't wait to meet her!! You have to check out her sweet little face - check out my friend Michelle's blog http://www.asseenthroughtheeyesof.blogspot.com/ and find her Friday Sept 21st entry. Anderson & Carter are waiting for your arrival Avery!!!
Sunday nite we enjoyed a park outing with the Maggiores & Saunders. Our kids always have a great time together and it was a beautiful nite. We all got subs from Firehouse (yummo!) and picnicked and then the kids got to run around and exert some energy. Ryan and Anderson were tackling each other and were having a blast. The younger kids were having fun hanging out with the mommies....
Mark LOVES brownies. Brownies are one of the things that Mark cannot say 'no' to. Oh, and if you plan on offering brownies to Mark, you better have more than 1!! This man cannot get enough of them. He's been known to have 4 in one sitting, and who knows how many in the course of a single day! Anyway, I think he's trying to instill the same love in Anderson (not hard to do), but they decided to make brownies together. The brownies turned out delicious, and they had a 'finger-licking' (or spoon) good time!
OK, its been awhile since I've blogged. As you can imagine, going back to work takes some getting used to, but mainly it cuts into my 'blogging' time. Work is still going well.
Last week was my first week back to work after my 13 week maternity leave. Needless to say I was very anxious about my return - my transition with Anderson didn't go very smooth, but this time around was soooo different and Carter was a champ! Mark & I both went to take the boys to daycare for the "1st day of school" on Tuesday and I didn't even cry like I thought I would! I kept waiting for my tears to come, but they never did! I made 2 nervous calls to the childcare provider once I was at work and she had 2 great reports for me - Carter was taking the bottle & napping well! Praise the Lord!! I have to admit when we sent him to daycare, he hadn't exactly been taking the bottle very well. After about 2 weeks of "intense" bottle training he was OK at the bottle, but I certainly didn't expect the great reports about my little man chuggalugging all 3 bottles!! It looks like we'll be able to protect the routine & schedule we've worked so hard at and our childcare provider was very receptive to our 'Babywise' way.
When I arrived at work I expected to be inundated with emails & phone calls and a lot of 'catch up', but again another smooth transition! The fabulous lady who handled my business while I was out did a fantastic job and has made my return go extremely well. I am so thankful for her making my return easy!
Thanks to all my family & friends who prayed for our transition. I truly appreciated your calls & support!!
Last week we flew south to Jacksonville for one last hoorah before my maternity leave ended and I had to return to work. Mark's aunt & uncle live there and its an easy jaunt from Macon so that Mark's parents could join us. Along with Aunt Peggy & Uncle Greg, their 19 yr old daughter Jessica was home along with her boyfriend. Katie Beth and Grandmother Stephens came down to play too! We had a great time - we always have so much fun just hanging out with the family. The flight down was great, both boys exceeding my expectations - after the excitement of take-off Anderson layed down and napped and Carter did great too - not even a whimper!!! This was Carter's 1st airplane ride!!!
It is now official, Carter is a thumbsucker! I had seen him making a move towards his hand a couple weeks ago, and while we were vacationing in Jacksonville I captured some thumbsucking on camera! Several times now I've caught him in the act. Anderson was (& still is) a paci boy, so it will be interesting to see a 'thumbsucker' in action! I'm excited that we won't have to answer paci calls in the middle of the nite (which we still do for Anderson), but I'm already dreading the bribery that will take place to break Carter of his beloved thumb! I've heard stories of adults who still suck their thumbs (not that theres anything wrong with that!), but I sure hope Carter will grow out of it when time is right!!
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