My funny Valentine

There's a whole lot of LOVE going on at our house today!

And KISSES, too!



 



Happy Valentine's Day!

  

With Love.



 From Carter.

Carter's birthday post is late this month,

so instead I'm linking up this one

with Sunday Snapshot at Ni Hao Y'all.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day, Y'all!



Look who's standing now!

My sweet cousin Amy gave Carter a walker for Christmas.  It's

recommended for ages 9 months-3 years, so I put it away for a while.

With lots of packing to do for an upcoming trip, it seemed

like the perfect time for a new toy to occupy Carter.

I pulled it out during our playtime first thing this morning.

Carter's only 7 months old, but I figured he could at least

sit on the floor and play with the little activities on it.

Here was his reaction when I gave it to him.  I think he liked it!

Please forgive the bedhead and jammies.  I contemplated cropping out the piles of clothes laid

out all over his floor (I'm putting together outfits to pack), but instead decided to keep it real.

We're all friends here, right?

First he checked out some of the "activities".

I didn't have a chance to stick on the decals yet,

but Carter didn't seem to mind.

Then he noticed that big red handle.

What's this, Mom?

He kept trying to climb up the front of the thing,

so I decided to hold him behind it and let him try it out.

I soon realized that he was standing without my help.

Sometimes he got so excited that he would let go

and fall on his bum, but for the most part

he seemed to know what he was doing.

He even figured out how to stand and play with the activities.

He was quite pleased with himself.

There were a few times he would let go and just stand

there for a second or two before sitting down, but

I didn't get a picture because I was always reaching for him

to make sure he didn't get hurt.

So proud of our big boy.

Thank you Amy, Dave and Nick for a fun new toy!



Honorary Texan

Before Carter was born, my extended family in Texas sent him a special gift. 

My sweet cousin Haley went to an actual rodeo and bought him this shirt.

Please excuse the drool - it's constant these days!

It has "Rope-a-doodle-doo" and a rooster

embroidered on the back of it.

I remember opening it and thinking it was huge

and it would be forever before he could wear it.

Now my big boy not only wears it,

but he's about to outgrow it!

 So I thought I'd better snap a few pictures,

while it still fits him.

So these are for you, Aunt Patty, Uncle David,

Haley and Dylan, with love and thanks

from Carter.

Linking up with Sunday Snapshot at Ni Hao Y'all.



Carter's Baptism

Last Sunday we celebrated Carter's Holy Baptism.

Sorry for the photo overload, but I wanted to include
a bunch for those who weren't able to attend.

Trying on the outfit beforehand:

The hat was a little small, so we didn't use it, but it was pretty cute!


I wanted to get a shot of the whole outfit, but for Carter
these days standing equals jumping and/or stomping.
This was the only shot that wasn't a complete blur:

The actual baptism ceremony:
 

  

 

  

The solemnity of the occasion must have been lost on Carter as

he acted less than reverent during much of the ceremony...

Hopefully as he grows, his church behavior will improve!

Greeting family and friends before and after the ceremony:

 

 

Mike's mom and Wes

Carrie's family

Mike's brother and his family 

Happy Cousins

Extended family and friends

Carter with his parents and Godparents:

 "These are the people charged with my spiritual upbringing?!  Heaven help me!""

Our friend Mary and cousin Greg.

In all seriousness, we can't imagine better Godparents for Carter.

After the baptism, we had a reception.

The theme was doves and I made a lot of the decorations myself

including the garlands,

framed art,

water bottle labels,

napkin rings,

sugar cookies,

  

centerpieces (baby's breath)

and favors.

Thank goodness for naptimes and a very helpful and patient husband to watch the baby
while I worked on all my "projects" the past few weeks.

I love how the art turned out and might even keep some for Carter's bedroom.
I used photos I already had and added the words with Microsoft Paint.

 

Carter's tiny feet in Michael's hands the day we left the hospital:

A simple Word document:

Carter in Daddy's tie earlier this month:

A free clipart dove: 

  

And this sweet shot from Carter's newborn session:

 

 Once they were all matted and framed they looked great!

We were thrilled to have about forty people share in Carter's special day. 
It meant a lot to us that so many of our friends and family wanted to help welcome him to the Church! 
We feel blessed to have so much support in raising a Godly son.


Mike's cousin Jen, her husband Greg (Carter's Godfather) and their daughters drove all the way here from Missouri for the weekend.  Carter had a blast with the girls and they were a huge help to us watching him so that we could get ready for the baptism.

Here he is with Payden (my Goddaughter!):

Even Molly got some extra love this weekend from our out-of-town guests. 
Here she was enjoying some time with Gracyn:


What a wonderful weekend we had, followed by a nice relaxing week with not much to do
so we could unwind, reflect and enjoy some quiet time as a family.

A few of my favorite images from last weekend:

Linking up with Sunday Snapshot at Ni Hao Y'all.