Cars, Cars and MORE Cars......"CAR"TER'S 2nd Birthday Party!

Today was Carter's Second Birthday Party! Seriously, it was so much fun and went so well, I'm really impressed. Although our cute was really "struggling" with the fact that he had to share his toys with the other kids, I think everyone really did have a great time!

We had a "mini" craft time today so that the kids could take something home with them from the party. (Funny story: the children invited were all BOYS!) So it all worked out really well!

We made some license plates and sippy cups....though it was supposed really easy for the boys...the moms ended up making them!

My mom has made me a freak for "themed" parties....and boy do the two of us go all out! Even the serving dishes were cars!This one is funny: it's cousin Hunter (pushing) and "daycare" Hunter (driving) these two Hunters played really well with eachother. (Maybe because Carter was being so weird)
This was all my mom.....
Carter is seriously a spoiled little boy! He has no idea just how good he has it!
This was his idea of how he wanted to "play" with the dump truck...
Every little boy got to go home with a Cars bucket full of "cars" goodies!
This is one of my favorite things about his birthday...the CAKE! My mom made this cake and man was it a hit!Need I say more?
It was so much fun...and the best part was that we got everything done last night so this morning I could enjoy just playing with Carter.....thank goodness too because he was so crazy at the party! We had a total of 17 adults and 5 kids sqished in my home today....but despite the noise level and kids fighting over toys....it was the best party yet!

Scott and I were talking about the party once everyone left and Carter was napping....he said the nicest thing to me. He knows how much I plan ahead, organize and really get done so that everyone can have a good time....well he said, "You did a great job babe! This was such a great party and I know everyone had such a great time. And Carter's lucky to have a mom who will do so much for him." (I just had to share because it was what I needed to hear after everything was said and done for the party)

Ikea....Need I Say More?

Okay, Ikea might just be my favorite place to hang out, look around, get ideas and explore with Carter.

Today, Jackie and I took our cute boys to Ikea, pretty much just to go and have a good time. Overall, they did really well today. It's such a kid friendly place. And after spending almost 2 1/2 hours there, we walked away with some great things.

Here are the two boys enjoying the kid area....Cute Rylan was fascinated by Carter skills walking through the "castle door"
Though I wasn't really looking for anything in particular....I did find my new prize posession.....POTTY CHAIR!

I'm not one of those crazy moms who starts potty training too early, but cute Carter has been asking to sit on the toilet and go potty. So I figured we'll just ease our way into the whole potty training thing.

Basically right now he sits on the potty about twice a day...nothing actually happens but he seems to get what it's all about. So until the day where he can tell me that he has to go potty before he actually goes potty....this is what we're going to be doing....

A Picture Says a Thousand Words....

Yesterday we got the most amazing family pictures taken at Union Station. I am so impressed.... I thought it was a perfect time to show them off because our little family has reached a milestone today....we're parents of a two year old! It's so hard to believe that two years ago Carter was a 6 lb 14 oz bundle of joy....and now he's 25 pounds of curiosity!Here's our sweet little man....
And of course we had to get his "natural" side too....Honestly, this was Carter's favorite train out of all of them!
He loves his ramps!
Priceless...need I say more?

Enjoy the small things in life...because one day you'll look back and realize that they were the big things.

Okay, can I just tell you how amazing these pictures are? Seriously! We just barely got them taken yesterday evening and she said they were done this morning for me to pick up. She took about 500 pictures of us in about an hour and a half, went home and editing 300 of them and put them all on a disk for me........For $25!!!!!

If anyone wants to have her take thier family pics, or anything at all she's only running this special for the month of October. Let me know and I'll give you her information. She's so patient, funny, Talented, and quick!

Our Little Man is 2!

Today is Carter's second birthday! I can't believe our little guy is two years old today. It's hard for me to imagine that literally two eyars ago today I was a new mom. Carter was so little when he was born, he had to be in pre-mature clothes for a couple months! And now...he's a tall, fit and active little boy!

Scott and I say to ourselves just about everyday, how blessed we are to have him in our lives. Carter has definitely changed our lives for the better and we're so lucky to be his parents!

His party is this Saturday, so I'll have PLENTY of pictures to post after that too!

Ice Cream and Cousins

Scott and I have been getting ready for Carter's Birthday Party...and after all the cleaning, organizing, planning and decorating.....this was his FAVORITE part of it!

SPUMONI...we got the really big one so that we'd have plenty of ice cream for everyone, but of course Scott HAD to have some first.

Carter's not hating it either!

This picture is a little blurry, but trying to capture three very active little boys is hard! Today Carter got hang out with his cousins. They are in town for a couple of weeks from Iowa right now. Though my little man is an only child...he actually did really well!
Here's big cousin Hunter (3 1/2)
And little cousin Tanner (1)
And my sweet little man (2)
It's so fun to see the cousins together!

Carter's New Talent....BREAK DANCING

Someone in my family...I won't name names...has way too much time on their hands while they're at work. Though I did get a GREAT laugh from these photos!

Here's my little man showing off his new talent.....

Obviously these aren't real, but they are so funny I just had to share with everyone!

Growing Up....Or Not Quite Yet....

This week, Clinton City had an open house for their new Fire Station....of course we HAD to attend. My mom teaches at West Clinton Elementary, so she gets all the "news" for Davis County for us.

Sparky the Fire Dog was there, and most kids ran away screaming from him when he tried to wave hello...this is what my kid did.....(he looks like he'd trying to get away but he's really trying to get Sparky to pick him up) This little boy followed that dog around all night!

Here's a cute one of Carter babe and his mommy! (Usually I'm the "picture taker" so it's nice to have one of me actually in the picture.) It was such a fun day and there was so much to do and explore....way to go on the planning mom!
Last night Scott and I were both tired from our day of working and parenting so we decided to watch a movie, pop some popcorn and just relax with Carter. First though, we tried out something new....Carter "Flinstoned" his little car down our street. He's always in this car inside, but we've never taken it outside before....this was a real treat for him. (it was also funny to watch his little feet cruising along the sidewalk)
I just have to announce that little boy has seriously BLOSSOMED over the last three days. He can say so many more words, he's starting to put adjectives with his nouns to describe things he wants, and he COPIES everything we say! (Yep, we now have to really watch what we say around this little boy)
As much as Carter has grown and is maturing into a smart little boy.....this is his latest fetish.....the baby exersaucer! Carter say this in the laundry room, and usually just plays with the toys around the tray...but this is what he LOVES to do now!
Silly boy!

Proud Moment!

It's official everyone.....I now am a proud holder of a Divison of Real Estate Mortgage License! Though this is NOTHING compared to getting my Bachelor's Degree, this will be a great asset to my resume.

Though completing the 90 hours of schooling staying up late at night while Carter and Scott were asleep was not fun (to say the least) I'm glad to have it over.

What this means for my family.....anyone looking to refinance or get financing on a home can come to the mortgage company where I work and I get to make commissions for sending them in! (Even better, I don't do anything on the file. I do Human Resources, so I don't know income, FICO scores, debt or anything. But I still get to make commissions.)

I love our loan officer, Karen, she's actually related to Scott's dad. So she's family for one, but really thinks and cares about our clients. If anyone wants to refinance or get pre-qualified for a home (it is a Buyer's Market right now) Let Me Know!

Overall, it's a great company that actually pays me my commissions out of their pocket (instead of charging you for it) so if you're interested in just seeing what you're home is worth or what you would qualify for.....Let me know!

Circus Fun!

Yesterday, in honor of my mom's birthday, my whole family went to the Circus! I had NEVER been to the circus in Utah and probably only one time in my life, so this was a treat for me as well as Carter.

Here we are in the back of the "family truster" the good ol' mini van.

You can't really tell, but these glasses light up...what a couple of hot babes huh?

Here it is! The show is about to begin....Carter and Grandpa getting ready to see the animals and clowns!
How do they make those elphants do that? Seriously!
Here's one of my cute hubby and me. He just "loves" when I take pictures of us like this! :)
This was the second coolest thing for the night.....this motorcyclist and lady actually spin all the way around on the wire!
Okay, by far this was the HIGHLIGHT of the night.....Scott still can't stop talking about it. You can't really tell but there are 7, that right 7, motorcylists riding around in this ball!!!! Crazy!
We had so much fun....and Scott and I are going to make this an annual trip for our little family.

Football, Motorcycles and Cake!

Friday night was a first for Carter and something I haven't done in over 5 years! Friday Night High School Football!

It was seriously so much fun! Syracuse High School (where my little sister goes) was playing Clearfield High School (where my little brother goes) So we were having a BLAST!

There were so many people there that there were NO seats left....which ended up working out really well!

We sat on the track part and Carter was free to run up and down as he pleased.

They even stamped his hand! (Yeh his hand is really dirty....I got the face but missed the hand!)
Scott's little brother, Kyle, (or Uncle Kyle as Carter calls him) bought a scooter over the summer. Scott was changing the oil and doing some other car work (that I'm sure he told me about I just don't listen when he talks "car") We thought it would be fun to put Carter on it and wee what he would do.....he LOVED IT!
Today, we're celebrating my mom's birthday by going to the Circus. That may sound funny for celebrating a 46 year birthday, but even my little brother sister are excited to go. So, to go with the Circus Theme, here's the cake! (I'm not a professional, but you can see what I was thinking)
I also made caramel corn (from scratch) and caramel sauce for dipping apples.....I will have more pictures to post after the event is over tonight....so check back later too!

A Cute and EASY Halloween Craft!

My cute Elementary school teacher, Mom, had this great idea! Scott and I did it last year too and it really turns out way cute!

What you need is:

Black Construction Paper ( I cut it in fourths with the cute sissors)

White and Black Paint

A Paint Brush (small)

A #2 Pencil (really just the eraser)

And your baby's foot

I brush the white paint onto Carter's foot and then press it onto the cut out black paper.

This may look like a normal, everyday, footprint on black paper....

But flip it upside down.....
And use the pencil's eraser to dip in black and paint then add some eyes....
And there it is! I am combining the "ghost footprints" with Carter's Halloween picture to make a cute little "card" for our family and friends.
This really is easy, we make about 30 of these to send out and it only took us 10 minutes!

If anyone uses this idea, I so want to see it posted! :) Good Luck!