Carter's Special Day

It seems we have been celebrating Carter's birthday for the entire month of May! We had his school party earlier in the month, we took our annual family trip to the zoo, and my sister and her family came to church one Sunday and we celebrated over lunch. Today is Carter's actual birthday. I remember as a little girl my mom waking me up on the morning of my birthday singing "Happy Birthday" to me! I also remember getting to choose where we went for supper on my special day. Being the traditionalist that I am, we are continuing the trend. This morning, all of us sang the birthday song to Carter! (However, I do look forward to being the one to wake him up instead of the other way around!) He was beaming from ear to ear! He loves the birthday song, especially when it is for him! Tonight, Carter got to pick supper, so we had cake and ice cream! I am serious!! It was awesome! He was so excited to open his presents; he kept saying "Wow!" or "This is cool!" or "I love it!" Also, I think he has a new love, Thomas the Train! We have had a train table for a while now, but no trains! Thank you, "T," for Carter's trains! He loves them, maybe not more than George, but he loves them! It was really sweet! My favorite thing he said tonight was, "I am so excited! I am not two any more!" Precious!

Opening his card from Mama (my grandmother)!
We are all singing to him at this point; he was so excited!
Summer was lovin' the ice cream and cake supper; she had seconds!
Mommy with the birthday boy! Daddy was the photographer of the night; he took care of everything! David is the best daddy ever!
Little Miss Tilly taking part in the birthday celebration! Don't worry, she did not have cake and ice cream for supper, mashed potatoes and yo-baby instead! Her big day will come in less than 3 months - Wow!

Our little fella is three!

Happy Birthday, Carter! You are 3 today! Mommy and Daddy cannot believe how very fast you have grown! We are so proud of you and could not love you more! You were born on this day at 1:12 P.M. at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. You weighed 9 lbs. 15 oz. and were 22 in. long! Your name is special because Carter Stokes comes from your grandmothers' maiden names. You are the best big brother to Summer and Tilly; they absolutely adore you! Happy birthday, Carter! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Traditions in the make

I love my sweet little family, I love long weekends, and I love living in the big city! I love many other things too, but these are fitting for this blog post! We have had such a fun weekend! Friday night, we enjoyed some lazy time together! Saturday we hit the stores! Shopping with three little people is no small feat either, which would probably explain why we were not very successful! Sunday after worship and naps, we took the children to a local park to play! Carter and Summer had so much fun! Tilly rode in the car with Daddy to get Popeye's! What is a Memorial Weekend without fried chicken? David and I are partial to Popeye's anyway after our time in New Orleans! We ate many meals at the Popeye's on Elysian Fields! Two can dine for $5.99! As Carter would say, "It is delicious!" Today, we took Carter, Summer, and Tilly to the Varsity for the first time! What fun! I think the chocolate ice cream was a big hit with the children; even little Miss Tilly had her first taste! David and I are all about creating new traditions for our family. We have quite a few already, but we are loving making new ones along the way! I think as long as we are in Atlanta, we will head to the Varsity on Memorial Day to hear those sweet words echoing down the line, "What'll ya have?"

Carter was pointing at the train as it passed!

Summer going up the steps to the slide!

This picture needs no caption; I thought it was precious!
Carter going down the slide!

Eating yummy chocolate ice cream at the Varsity!

Summer saying, "Cheese!"

Tilly's new favorite thing to do is clap! She loves to clap when we say, "Yea, Tilly!" It is so sweet!
Tilly wanted to wear a Varsity hat too! Can you see her "fang" teeth on the top?

Time is flyin'

Happy 9 month birthday, Miss Tilly! Wow, is she really nine months old? Seems like yesterday we were waiting forever for the call from the hospital! I took Tilly to the doctor yesterday for her well check-up; lucky me there were no shots! Tilly weighs 18 pounds 1 ounce and is 29 inches long! She is in the 40% for her weight and 90% for her height! We were so pleased to hear that she is growing right along her curve! At nine months, Tilly has four teeth, two on top and two on bottom. She is crawling and pulling up. This past Sunday, she started clapping and playing pat-a-cake! She is also saying "dada dada!" She is eating table food and drinking between 24 - 30 ounces of formula each day! Tilly is starting to feed herself things like carrots, puffs, and peas. Her favorite food by far is yo-baby or "oh baby" as Summer calls it and "yo yo yo baby" as Carter calls it! I had the best time spending the day with my little bundle of joy! She was in the best mood! Our favorite fella, Daddy, came to meet us and took us to lunch at La Madeleine's. What a special day! Tilly will go back to the pediatric specialist on June 1 for another ultrasound, so please join us in praying for complete healing and complete restoration of her ovary. We love you so much Tilly!

A sweet picture of Tilly the day after she was born!
One of my favorite recent pictures of Miss Tilly!

They grow up so fast. . .

Yesterday was the last day of Carter's first year of pre-school at the Heiskell School! It seems like just the other day, we were all getting up (barely awake, as Tilly was just a few weeks old) to see Carter off on his big day! Carter was in the Builder's Class this year, and his teacher was Miss Page. He learned so many Biblical truths, fun songs, good manners, awesome crafts, and made so many new friends. What a special year this has been for our little fella!
Carter on the first day of school! He wore his purple name tag everywhere for the first couple of weeks: to church, to the grocery store, to bed, to the potty, everywhere! It is now safely placed in his baby book!

Carter on the last day of school! He wanted to take his picture in front of the bushes! Because we leave quite early, the moon was still out and he was captivated!

In the car on the way to school! Don't worry, we were at a stoplight! He was so excited!
Carter having fun on the playground at the end of the year picnic! I was thankful to be able to share in this special time with him thanks to some of my sweet friends at work. Daddy was under the house putting in new pipes, so we will forgive him for missing!!

Now, this little cutie is Carter's very special friend, Ashley! We have been hearing about Ashley all year! You can clearly see how much he adores her! Miss Lisa, the other two year old teacher, told me on Thursday he was holding her hand and singing, "My Valentine!" He has also professed his love to her! Yikes! He is going to be quite the charmer! Ashely's mom and I agreed on the playground yesterday to an arranged marriage for our children! What a sweet family! Carter, we are so proud of you and so thankful for the blessing of you! We look forward to watching you grow for many more years! We love you very much!

Happy Mother's Day 2009

What a special day it was for me! Carter made me a precious lady bug picture frame with his sweet face as the center; it is proudly displayed on my refrigerator. Summer and Tilly (with the help of Miss Jeannie) painted a flower pot for me with their fingerprints! Both gifts are so very special! On Sunday morning at church we had muffins with Mommy and then we dedicated Tilly to the Lord. Carter and Summer stood with David and me as we dedicated baby Tilly promising to raise her in a God-centered home with our eyes fixed on Jesus. Summer and Tilly were pretty in their pink dresses from "T." My mom and her husband were there along with my sister and her whole family! After church we went to lunch and then came home for nice LONG naps! This is my third Mother's Day and each year I am more and more thankful for my mother, my mother-in-law, and my grandmother! Thank you for the wonderful examples you are to me. I am also thankful for my precious children: Carter, Summer and Tilly. They are such a joy to parent! Here are a few pictures from this sweet day!

Our little family on Mother's Day 2009.

Mommy with Miss Tilly on her baby dedication day.Mommy with Summer after church.

Noelle, T, and Mommy

Mommy with her best girls!

Tilly's dedication; so special for Daddy to be the one to lead the service!

Zoo Atlanta

Saturday was our second annual trip to Zoo Atlanta in honor of Mother's Day! As long as the children are two and under (which ours are for a few more weeks anyway) it is free! The lady kind of looked at us funny when we told her all the children were two and under! They really are! The weather was perfect; we got there at the perfect time and the children had so much fun! Carter and Summer were amazed by all the animals and Tilly just smiled the whole day! The gorillas were chasing and wrestling each other. The baby panda was awake. It was such a special day for our little family! Check out this slide show from our fun day!

Carter 3rd Birthday Party Celebration

Today, David and I went to Carter's class with cookies, juice, and Curious George paraphernalia in hand!  Curious George has been a long time favorite of our little fella!  It was so much fun to celebrate Carter's 3rd birthday with the boys and girls in his class.  Carter's actual birthday is not until the 27th, but next week is the last week for his school year!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone!  I remember his first day of school like it was yesterday.  He has had a wonderful first year at the Heiskell School.  We are so thankful for his teacher, Miss Page!  Here are some sweet pictures of the birthday boy and his friends!  He was so excited to celebrate his special day with Mommy, Daddy and his friends!  

Little Miss Tilly Showin' Off

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about our big surprise to find Tilly standing up in her bed! Well, that was apparently not some fluke thing! She has been pulling up on everything! We are shocked! Miss Tilly is not even 9 months old yet! We are so proud of our sweet little girl! We love you baby Tilly!