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.