Goodbye 2008...Hello 2009!

We are so ready to ring in the New Year around here! I can't believe that in a few hours it's going to be 2009! I am so excited...I love New Year's because it brings hope and promises for the future!

As a recap of our little man (for the sake of saying goodbye to 2008) he is truly progressing at an amazing pace! He is really into pretending right now. Lately his favorite pretend game has been to play "daddy and baby." Carter absolutely LOVES this doll (it used to be Scott's back in the day) and takes really good care of it.

Here are the two boys getting out of the bath...

To celebrate the New Year Scott and I thought it would be fun to just hang out as the three of us tonight. So we headed for Red Robin (compliments of our bro and sis in Iowa) and Carter's favorite thing was the video games while we waited. The entire time we were eating he kept asking to be taken back there to drive again!
Lastly, since this is my "journal" I wanted to list a few things Carter can say and do right now.
1. He can say and point out almost every color (the regular ones) and is usually right
2. he can say and point out about three shapes right now
3. He has about 12 letters down pat now (saying and recognizing)
4. He also uses adjectives with everything he says
5. He usually speaks in full sentences right now (Scott and I say that we can really carry on a conversation with him!)
6. He uses first names with grandparents now (He also calls me Christie and Scott is Scotty, and he refers to himself as "goodie"....don't ask!)

We are so proud of him and are so excited to see what the new year has in store for the Morris'!

This is our little man with his googles rocking out on his bike!
I can't believe that in a little over 6 months we'll be bringing a new little one home with us! I'm so excited to be a mom of two. Now that I'm officially a "stay-at-home" mom I am LOVING my life and everything I get to now be a part of!

Our Fun-Filled Family Christmas!

This year was so much fun in so many ways....Carter understands who Santa is and he also gets what presents are all about (but not the two together) so this year was more fun for everyone!

My family from Arizona came this past week and stayed with us...it's the first Christmas in like 4 years that I've seen them so it was very special. Carter definitely gets spoiled between the three families!

On Christmas Eve, Scott's family came over and we all had a really nice dinner and made some fun cookies for "Santa."

I have to admit, with Carter's "help" we did pretty well!

I tried to make a big deal out of leaving the cookies out for Santa and this is what Carter woke up to on Christmas morning....

On Christmas there was so much going on...I stayed in my pjs all day! We had a fun present opening "session" with my fam from AZ that morning, and my family here came over that afternoon. There were so many people, presents, food dishes and just fun going on it was crazy but worth it!

Carter was such a big help shoveling the driveway for us.

The day after Christmas we dropped Carter off with my mom and the adults went snowmobiling. It was AMAZING! We drove about two hours to Strawberry Bay and man was it cold! They had just got about 2 feet of snow that night so we were cruising on fresh powder....I've never atually driven one before but I loved it!

(I went so slow...not even 20 miles per hour...and we were on the flat ground for those that might be worried about the baby.)

We got stuck numerous times...not me but pretty much everyone else! Here's a fun pic of everyone else trying to get the snowmobile out!

It was about 15 degrees out there and with the wind chill it felt like 30 below...so this what I had to resort to....

For Christmas I got Scott an "At Home Hair Cutting Thing." The best invention yet! These are the before and after......worth every penny....

We said goodbye to my fam from AZ today and this is my little man all tuckered out from the festivities!
This picture was actually taken by my mom's neighbor and I just had to share.....

We had such a great Christmas this year! It was the first time since our wedding that we've had all three fams together, and Carter is so attached to everyone he loved having everyone there! I do have to mention something amazing that I was given.....but I have to preface with a little history:

When Scott and I got married I had the most beautiful ring ever (it was a pretty penny too!)...and after gaining my million pounds with Carter it didn't fit so I didn't wear it for very long. After I had Carter and lost some of the weight, Scott went to get my ring cleaned for me and it never made it back to me. It got lost/stolen and I've never seen it since! You can always replace a ring...but I was just so sick that the ring that Scott put on my finger when he was crying and saying our vows, I would never see it again...it just made me sick!

I've been wearing a cheap ($75) CZ ring ever since knowing that there's no way I'll ever see a ring like the one I had again. Well this Christmas Scott surprised me with an exact replica of my original engagement ring! It is the most beautiful ring ever...and it looks just like the one he put on my finger originally! I honestly had no idea that he even thought about getting a ring for me. I cried in front of my entire family and was so speechless for hours afterward. (I don't have any pics because I can't work my flash that well yet so the pics turn out blurry)

But I do have to say, my husband has sacrificed in so many ways lately to make sure that I have the things that are most important to me and I love him so much for everything that he does! I couldn't have asked for a better present!

Christmas...a little early

Today was such a fun day for the Morris'! Carter got utlize his new snow suit and go outside and "work" on cars with daddy. This is my little "lumberjack" getting ready to "help" daddy.

We celebrated Christmas with Scott's aunt Machel (my doctor) early this year and it was such a fun time! Carter did so well playing with the older cousins (not one tantrum or fight!)

This is where the little kids ate...Carter loved learning the names and sharing his drink with all of them!

Brothers, Cole and Jake were wrestling and of course Carter needed to get in on the action too. While the boys were doing their thing, Carter planted himself on the ground next to them laughing. He had a ball just being next to them.

We had a special appearance by The Grinch! Carter really wasn't sure...and I was a little creeped out I have to admit. He had red eyes and everything! He really did put on a good show for the kids though...and he got the adults involved as well.
Scotty was one of the men called into action....It was such a fun way to start our Christmas season...it gets me in the spirit and I am so excited for what the rest of this week is going to bring!

Another Birthday and the Morris' Latest Happenings!

Today we celebrated another birthday in the Morris Household....TIMMY'S! Our little Timmy turned two today! It's really hard to believe that he's been part of our family for almost two years!

Scott and I brought him home when he was only 6 weeks old, and man was he little! Though he's definitely Scott's dog by far, there's a special place in my heart for this little K-9.

As you may know, our dog (probably the only one in the world) is alergic to meat products. That's right, he's another "wacked" member of our family! Between the vegetarian dog food and meat free treats, he was really running up a HUGE tab. So I found a recipe for meat-free treats! I'm proud to say that he loves them too!

For his birthday though, I wanted to do something really fun and special so after hours of research online about "puppy cakes and frosting" here's what I came up with....

Surprisingly, Timmy went tot own on his "dog-friendly" cake!

Here's a fun shot of Carter getting in on the action too!

And of course one of my three boys....

He really liked it! Scott and I were really excited to see how funny it was to watch Timmy "go to town."

Lately Carter has been obsessed with water. Well, the winter time absolutely throws a damper on his plans of swimming and playing in the water. Earlier this week I came up with this "brilliant" idea....Carter (fully dressed) gets in the tub and plays with his toys. I don't fill the tub, I just leave the water running a little so he can keep filling the big bowl.

If anyone needs a fun and different idea of what to do with your kids in your house I highly recommend this. It's so fun for Carter and seriously a "no-mess" activity for him!

Here's one of him just being his goofy little self!

I just had my first check up today to see how the baby's growing and developing. Everything is fine so far and yes I'm already getting a gut. It's not a "prego" one, it just looks like I ate too much at the buffet right now....but it's fun this time around to be getting bigger! I'm almost 9 weeks along and am at 126 so far...so we'll see how this goes this time.

I also found out that I have a cyst that about the size of a baseball that's causing alot of my discomfort, so at least we know I'm not a total "baby" complaining about my weird pains right? But I am thoroughly enjoying having my own schedule right now! I love not having to go to work and worry about a million other things!

And Scotty has been "roped" into playing more and more with Carter. Carter absolutely LOVES to play with him and begs to have him sit in his playroom and do things with him. Carter asks every morning when daddy's coming home.

This is Carter's favorite thing to do with Scott!

He's not really sitting on the car, but Carter won't have it any other way!

Our little fam is getting ready for Christmas, I love the snow and the Christmas lights everywhere! We're just so excited for Santa to come....Carter's getting an idea of what it's all about...not fully, but he does understand a little bit now.

Carter's Latest "Hobbies"

My cute son has started some new "hobbies" around our house lately. It's so fun to see his little imagination at work, he is perfectly content to do these little "projects' all by himself...and the cutest part is that he hums while doing them!

This is his latest....he takes rice crackers and "smashes" them with his play hammer! I got the crackers out for him to eat...silly me...but he had other ideas!

The whole time he's doing this, he's singing and shaking his little bum!
He makes a huge mess...but you know that's what it's all about! He has a blast. Notice which hand the hammer is in, in each photo! (Poor kid's going to be a lefty!)
The other thing Carter absolutely loves to do is put on other people's shoes....they're usually mine because I leave mine out all the time.

He walks around the house singing and dancing in my shoes! What a goof....

He's growing up so fast and is learning so much! He can say almost anything now and puts sentences together, he hums, dances and is just a really happy little boy! Scott and I are amazed everyday at this little boy!

Tag

I've actually been tagged for this one three times already! So I decided it's probably time to sit down and do it.

8 Shows I love to Watch

One Tree Hill

Kitchen Nightmares

Judge Judy (She's AWESOME!)

Secret Millionaire

The Hills

Private Practice

Dirty Sexy Money

Property Ladder

8 Places I Like to Eat

Texas Roadhouse

Good Wood

Dominoes (without the cheese of course)

Rumbi Island Grill

Cafe Rio

McDonald's (I know, I know)

Red Robin

Applebees

8 Things I did Yesterday

Finished training my two "protoges"

Went to dinner to celebrate my last day with my boss

I received my first baby gift

Mailed out the rest of my Christmas Cards

Wrapped the rest of our presents

Found out our "daycare pack-n-play" got ruined!

Went on a fun drive alone with Scott (we love to just drive and chat)

Carter has another tooth come through, so I had to help with the pain

8 Things I am Looking Forward to

Enjoying this Christmas with all three fams under one roof! (this hasn't happened ever!)

Potty Training Carter

Being able to have and create my own schedule from now on

Getting on top of everything that I've let slack the last few months (the house, finances, laundry, etc)

Watching my belly grow!

Getting a preschool lined up for Carter for the Spring

Having less on my plate!

Being Debt free in the near future

8 Things I love About Fall/Winter

The families seem to get together more

The Christmas lights

The idea of hanging out inside and baking with my little man

The leaves changing colors (now they're just dead)

The thought of Christmas and what presents we all are going to get

Amazing deals on presents for the whole family!

Watching Carter look at the snow with amazement!

Making snowmen in our front yard!

8 Things on my Wish List

To not gain 60 pounds this time around

One Tree Hill Season 5

Our DVR Back

More dates with my hubby

To get the house completely ready for the baby (we have to move aroudn some rooms now)

To make sure this baby is happy and healthy

To sleep in comfort all night! (Yeh right!)

To have my sister-in-law and her family come in July to see the new baby! (just an idea Annie!)

8 Eye Candy

Chad Michael Murray

"Nathan" on One Tree Hill

Brody Jenner

Matt Damon

Ben Affleck

Genuine

Usher

Tim McGraw

8 People to Tag

Anyone who wants to do this

(It really is fun once you get going!)

Update....

These past few weeks have really been awful for our little family. Between me praying for death, Carter getting in more teeth (fevers, gross diapers, and bad moods) and poor Scott trying work on everyone's car, work his million hours and take care of all of us!

I am so glad to say that I am feeling much better, my sinus infection is going away (slowly but surely) and I'm on like a million pills to make me feel better. I was even able to get a few accomplished today!

Cute Carter is finally sleeping again. When he is teething, I just have to know that sleeping is not an option. Now that he's not getting up five times a night things are better for him during the day! We've been doing a lot of reading lately. This little boy can say so many things, he's putting together longer sentences and says "please" and "thank you"

We also have put up Christmas tree. (I actually had it up for while now, but have been so sick to post about it) I didn't get a great shot because of where we had to put it this year. I didn't want it in the way for Carter (he has bikes and cars he rides indoors) I am a huge fan of the "sentimental" trees. I love the look of the nicer ones (you know the ones that coordinate) but I have to say I wouldn't have anything other than ours.

Every Christmas we put up the tree with Christmas music playing in the background, and talk about each ornament as we put it on the tree. Each and everyone of them have a story behind them. I also make suer to get an ornament for Carter every year to symbolize what we going on in his little life that year. I do the same for Scott and I.

Last year Carter got a bottle ornament because he had just turned one and was "growing" out of it! And Scott and I got a "Home Improvement" ornament because of the work we were doing on the house.

Our tree isn't a gorgeous one but the memories we have on it are priceless!

I am so glad that things are looking up for our fam, now that we're doing better hopefully there will be more things to post about too!

If it's not One Thing....It's Another!

I am so excited about the new baby...however going through the sickness and pains all over again has got me wondering what I was thinking! :)

With Carter I never felt like I needed to throw up (don't get me wrong I felt sick all the time) but never like this! And I was able to eat just fine....not now. I never had and real pains that would stop me in my tracks and I can't even tell you how awful things have been in the pain department for me lately...probably the throwing up, continuous coughing and lack of food is all making things worse too!

But honestly, I just got over the stomach flu (which was so much fun) and now I have this head cold from hell! Scott's aunt is my doctor for this baby so it's so nice to call her and tell her everything because she makes it all better. I'm on like a million pills right now: one for anti-nausea (which causes constipation), aciphex for acid reflux, an acid reducer just because things have gotten so much worse in that department, an antiboitic for my new cold development, lortab for my coughing which helps me sleep better, and my prenantals (which also make me want to vomit!)

Scott did some work on his cousin's car this past weekend, and they were so cute yesterday to bring over some treats for us with a "thank you" card! However, Scott was out with Carter and they got the pleasure of seeing me with no makeup, no shower, not even brushed teeth, in my pjs and with my "duck-like" voice! Embarrassing!!

I do have say I've found my favorite new food.....Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips! I know that's so random, but vinegar is a natural "acid neutralizer" and when the pills aren't working, man these chips help a ton! I gained just about 60 pounds with Carter, and this time around I thought "there's no way I'll get that big again" well eating these chips like there's no tomorrow is definitely not helping my goal weight gain!

I don't know why this pregnancy has been so much worse than with Carter (and it wasn't like it was a "dream" pregnancy) I seriously hope this doesn't last much longer! I do have to commend my husband for stepping up and taking care of my sick self and being a mom and dad to Carter lately.

This morning, Carter woke up at 5:30am (his usually wakes up at 8am) and was ready to go for the day. Scott was just heading out to go to work at that time and noticed the look of fear, vomit and pain on my face! Needless to say, the sweet man stayed home to let me get some more hours of sleep in before heading off to my job. I don't think anything could have been better at that moment.

On a positive note though, my last day working is going to be next Friday! December 12th! Less than two weeks and I'm going to be a full-time stay at home mom!!! I can't wait.....and hopefully I get feeling better because my poor little Carter needs his fun mom back again.

Happy Birthday Scott Tyler Morris!

My cute husband, Scott, turned 25 today! I wanted to do something a little "untradtional" for his birthday today. I am going to announce 25 things about his that you may or may not know about him!

1. He is the best dad, he has an unsurpassed amount of patience with Carter. He is so much fun with him and you can tell Carter just loves spending time with him. Every morning Carter and I get up for the day while Scott's already at work and our little guy cries for his dad! (That's right every stinkin' day!) This is Scott as a brand new dad.... 2. He loves Mtn. Dew! This guy can consume an obsene amount of this stuff! Because he goes to the gas station on a regualr basis, Carter has now been introduced into the wonderful world of gas station drinks. Carter walks in all by himself and picks out which flavor of Bug Juice he wants, then he puts it up on the counter to buy and says "thanks" to the clerk before leaving!

3. He is a great mechanic. He doesn't love to work on cars, but has saved us so much money over the years. my entire family and his have really benefited from his "skills."

4. He was a HUGE baby when he was born! My poor mother-in-law carried this kid who was over 9 pounds at birth!!!! When they went home from the hospital, people thought he was 3 months old! Here is a sweet pic of Scotty as a little one....

5. He has shared his love of CARS with our son! Carter's first word (other than mama and dada) was "Car!" He loves them and loves to go in the garage with Scott to "work on engines." it's really funny to see them both out there together, Carter has a blast and I really think Scott enjoys having someone out there who has a good time too.

6. Scott will sing Christmas songs all year long! That's right, in the middle of the summer you will hear him humming Jingle Bells!

7. Scott may not hang out with a lot of friends anymore (marriage and kids seem to do that) but he really has a great group of friends that he's had since preschool! I know how much that has meant to Scott and I am so glad that we can pass that onto Carter. Here's Scotty in his Power Wheel his mom won for him.

8. Scott absolutely LOVES motorcycles! Not the new ones (even though he's been through a few of those too) but the old ones! Right now he owns about 3 and loves everything about them! This is Scott's first real motorcycle ride! (Notice the socks and sandals!!)

9. Hunting is such a big part of Scott's life and memories with his dad and older brother. He loves all kids of hunting and "catches" something just about everytime! He has such fond memories of his dad, brother and dogs out hunting and just hopes one day he can share that experience with Carter. (I'm not sure I'm ready for that though.)

10. Scott doesn't let things affect him. When people do weird things, instead of dweeling over it and wondering why (like I do everyday) he just let's it go. This is why he's so easy-going.

11. Though many think he's shy (because in big crowds he is) he really is such a fun and sensitive guy. He's the guy that always says, "I don't care what other people think." But deep down he really does and cares so much about others. When we first started dating, I was having a really hard time in high school and he was the only one who would actually listen to me and try to make things better. (That is the first thing that made me fall in love with him!)

12. Scott doesn't ever plan ahead with anything! And I do mean nothing guys! Our wedding was a stressful thing for me to plan (mostly because I'm a control freak and had to have everything a certain way) but Scott didn't sweat at all and everything worked out great for him! Though I have to say, that was the best day and everything did go smoothly, it took months of sweat, stress and pain to get me ready while Scott simply showed up with no worries! Funny guy!

13. One thing I do have to commend him on is stepping up to the plate! We were really thrown a lot at us in 2006 with becoming new parents, getting married, graduating college and buying a home. We handled it in different ways and I have to say I have not once seen Scott "step up" like he has recently! We are now on the same page and both working towards the same goals for our little family. 14. He can sleep like there's no tomorrow! And I'm not exaggerating even a little! He went to sleep once at 6:00 one Friday evening and didn't wake up (other than an occasional pee run) until Sunday at 3:00 in the afternoon! Though he would love to sleep like that now, Carter makes it all but impossible. And he does manage to get up every morning at 3am to get work by 4am.

15. He can handle the cold weather so well. He doesn't really even wear a jacket until there's at least a foot of snow on the ground! Then there's me and Carter bundled in our snow suits! Love it.

16. He is very organized with finances. As much as I can stretch our money better, he is definitely more organized about what's paid and what's not. And the boy can do math like it's no one's business.

17. He loves his family. He would , and does, do anything for them. He would drop whatever he was doing to help out with anything that his family members needed. Like on Halloween this year, he was willing to "forego" some of our little family's fun because his little brother's car needed some work done.

18. He loves to sleep with Carter. Whether it's snuggling in Carter's twin bed or in our bed at night, Scott would much rather have Carter as a bed-buddie that me!

19. Scott loves Spumoni ice cream! He's such an easy guy to please, buy a pint of that and call it good! If only I was that easy to please right?

20. He is a very easy-going guy. He'll wear whatever I buy (as long as it fits) and not even think twice. I love that quality about him! I never worry that he's going to take longer to get ready than me.

21. He absolutely, 100 percent adores his dad! He would love nothing more than some time with his dad doing things that they like. All Tom has to do is tell Scott that he's proud of him and Scott would be on cloud nine!

22. He is so proud of both of his brothers. He is really close with Steve in age so they just grew up a little closer. Now that Steve is in Medical School, Scott really sees how much his brother does and has to sacrifice to do what he wanted to. It's a great example to Scott. And now that it's just Kyle and Scott in Utah, they have really become close and done more and more things together. He loves both of them very much and admires them in their own ways.

23. He is so tall, I never lose him in a crowd!

24. He has dark hair and blue eyes...perfect combination

25. He has a contageous laugh! When he laughs you can't help but to smile and laugh along with him!

Happy Birthday baby...Carter and I love you very much!

Time to PAR-TAY!!!!

Tomorrow, my cute husband will turn the big 25! So today I planned a big SURPRISE party for him! And man was he shocked!!!! He seriously had no idea about the whole thing...and if anyone really knows me you know that it's really hard for me to keep secrets. My mom totally helped me out with his cake this year...but the idea was all me! Since we all know Scott's into cars, I decided this speed limit sign would be perfect because he's turning 25!

Carter loves "sharing" daddy's presents too! Here's my brother getting some "un-wanted action" from the moms!

This is my present....I wrapped batteries up in about 7 different boxes for him to unwrap. And what do the batteries go to you might ask?......
This new TV!!!!!!

Here's the brothers checking out how I did picking one out by myself...I'm proud to announce that they both completely approved!

Here is what this bad boy looks like in our entertainment center...perfect fit.
This was such a fun night, Scott's mom, dad, brother and grandparents came as well as my mom, stepdad and brother and sister. Carter loves having everyone together and hates to see them leave. Scott was speechless for a little while after he opened my gift...that's probably the best "thanks" I could have asked for.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some fun, embarrassing and fun pics of Scott's 25 years!