Monkey see, Monkey do

Lately Carter has been a complete copy cat. Jeremy has a phone that is a touch phone, so he is playing with it and using the stylus and everything and using the computer to do what I don't know. Then we get the Wii fit, and he has to use it, he is always doing what Bailey is doing like looking under the bathroom door, then I catch him trying to pay bills. If only he paid them with somebody elses checkbook. But oddly enough, he is doing something that we have no clue where he learned it from. He likes to put his one foot on the table when we are eating supper. So whoever is teaching our son to eat with his feet on the table, you are the person on my list of people that I don't like right now.

Where is Carter...

Peek-a-boo I see you.......

Back to normal, whatever normal is.....

Now tat the Holidays are over, its time for some good home relaxation. The Holidays are very hard on people especially the little ones. Well we have experienced how hard it was on Carter this year. He did very well, didn't want to sit in church, but he did enjoy being with family.

(Tired boy after throwing a fit in Church)

Christmas Eve, we enjoyed spending time with Jeremy's family. Carter really enjoyed throwing the bows back and forth with grandma. He was sleeping before we went over, and when he woke up he was pretty cranky, so got his clothes off and he was back to normal Carter. He is always without clothes in pictures, but hey he is happy without his clothes.

(Carter and Grandma throwing bows at each other)

Christmas Day we spent as a family. It was really nice to wake up, open presents, and enjoy the day to ourselves. We really didn't do much, didn't get out of our PJ's but we were enjoying a day of doing nothing at all. Uncle Jesse came over and played a little Wii with Jeremy. I was feeling a little sick, and figured that I had gotten strep. Friday went to the doctor, and yep I had strep.

(Jesse, Jeremy and Carter playing the Wii)

(Carter playing with his toy from Santa)

Saturday we enjoyed breakfast with my parents and aunt and uncle. After breakfast we spent the day with my parents and my brother and Devan. It was a lot of fun. And because it was so fun, I had to take Carter for a ride in the car so he would take a nap. We enjoyed the Wii, and also playing scategories.

(Uncle Ben and Auntie Devan playing with Carter)

(Grandpa and Carter)

(Looking for the people in the house)

(Playing a little guitar hero)

After supper Saturday we went to my grandparents and visited with them. Carter was just looking to go home, and really didn't want to be around anyone else. We got home, and Carter was just a pain to get to bed. His ear had been bothering him, and finally realized Sunday morning that it was probably because his tube had fallen out. Yes, I kept it and I am going to put it in his baby book. Jeremy always asks if I need to save everything. Well yes, when he is old he can look at his life in a box then. Just more clutter I guess, but oh well it will be his clutter then. After finding the tube, we did decide to take him in since he has been so crabby. But urgent care didn't open till noon, and I wanted to get to Target at 8 am to get the Wii fit. I was there by 8:05, and I had number 16 out of 25. Then since we were in town, we thought we could make it until noon. We did, and we also went grocery shopping, and other errands. It was amazing cause Carter was such a good boy. Turns out urgent care says to just continue the drops that we have. (Well glad we just paid $20 dollars to tell me to do what I was doing!)
(Enjoying the Wii Fit as much as mom and dad)
But now that we are on a new week, we are enjoying trying to get back to normal. Today Carter is at daycare just so I can clean house and get all the toys put away. Seems like Santa was pretty good to everyone this year. Now if the house would just stay clean, I would be a very happy mama!

Christmas letter with accompanying pictures!

So you see, mom and dad are very busy, so I am going to help them out, and write our Christmas letter. You will have to hang in there because I haven’t done this before. We have had a busy year, and had many changes too. (Writing the Christmas Card)

We started out the year with my 6 month doctor visit in February. Dr. said I was growing pretty good, but I had a big big head. So mom and dad took me to the doctor, and they did an ultrasound, and then a week later did a CT scan. We did get the results back, and mom and dad were pretty worried that my head being to big was a big big problem, but the DR said it was just hydrocephalus, and not to worry because it was only water around my brain, and not inside my brain. Mom kept saying, it will be OK, but I think she was pretty worried. DR told us that things would be OK, and I would grow into my big head. It’s just like grandpa Ricks big head.

(Me with my big head)

In April my ears kept hurting, and I had to have surgery for tubes in my ears. The nice nurses took me in the wagon, and gave me stuffed animals and made me wear this blue dress that let my butt hang out. They thought I was pretty cute!
(My cute butt, in the blue dress)

(Again in my cute blue dress)

My next adventure we went on in May. Mommy, Daddy, Grandma B, my great great Aunt Karen, Great Great Uncle Roger, Grandmas Cousin Julie and her son Lucas, and great grandpa’s cousin Karin all went over the ocean to Norway. It was a pretty big adventure for me. My mom kept making me drink my bottle so I got sick when we were on the Airplane. Once we got to Amsterdam, Grandma couldn’t find our flight, so we had problems, and then we found our plane. When we got on the plane the people told us that we were going to Stavanger, and not Bergen. Mom and Dad had some pretty weird looks on their face. When we got to Stavanger, we got to take a bus. The bus got to ride on the ferry and when the bus got on the first ferry, they almost left us, but we ran to catch the ferry. It was all my fault too cause my food was in the bottom of the bus, and grandma and dad had to yell at the bus driver so I didn’t starve. After like 5 hours on the bus we finally got to Bergen Norway. In Bergen we got to see a lot of sights, and see their Independence Day celebration. It was very very fun. We were going to have McDonalds, but it cost sixty bucks so we passed. In Bergen we met with some of grandmas dad’s cousins. I had fun with Agnes; she would always say Deet-Day (which meant nothing). We got to take a boat ride up to Floro, and see more family. We spent a lot of time walking and sightseeing. We went to different families houses and ate good good food. The last Saturday we were there, there was a bunch of family that got together on the island of Reksta. Reksta is where my Great Great Grandpa George was from, and where he died. I got to see the home place of where he grew up. I also got to see many relatives.

(Grandma B and me on the ferry)

(Me and Lucas after lunch at the Cafe)

(Mom, Dad and I holding the paper in Bergen)

(Lucas and I with my great great uncle Roger on the Island of Kinn)

In July Grandma B, Grandma R, Mommy and Daddy and I all went to the Minnesota Zoo. My favorite part was the water mists that daddy ran through with me. I liked the animals too.

(After going through the sprinklers)
(At the Farm at the Zoo)

August was a big month for me. I had my first birthday, which was very very fun, and I made a big mess for mom and dad too. Then I started a new daycare. I really liked it at Little Saints, but it was to much money for the time I was there. So now I get to go play with all the kids at Colleen’s daycare. Its fun and I like getting to play with all the big kids too. August was filled with the Nicollet County and the Minnesota State fair too. Dad didn’t like pushing me at the State Fair cause people didn’t know how to walk around up there. But we had fun anyways.

(Me making a big mess with my birthday cake)

(With my new four-wheeler)

(Watching Cousin Chads pig at the fair)

(Auntie Devan showing me the water at the fair)

(With my pig ears at the State Fair)(At the State Fair)

September we enjoyed a weekend away at Great Uncle Tim and Great Aunt Tammy’s cabin. I got to go on four wheeler rides, a parade with Grandma B, rescue clothes to the people riding the four wheelers, and entertaining all the grown ups with my silly acts. (With cousin Chad up north)

October was pretty spooky…he he he. I was dressed up as a Monkey. After modeling my costume I handed out candy at Grandma and Grandpa B’s house. It was fun, and I saw a lot of cute kids. Mom and Dad invested some pretty sweet money into a swing set for me. Uncle Ben put it together, with some help from me. I loved playing on it everyday after daycare, but now its too cold to sit outside and swing. So come spring Mom and Dad better be ready to do some serious playing outside.

(Cutest little monkey you have seen)

(Uncle Ben helping me put the swing set together)

November Mommy and Daddy started thinking about a remodel and it would be done by Uncle Ben. The best part is I would get to see Ben so much, and get a Toy room for all my Toys. Mom says she would get her living room back. So hopefully they think really hard on the remodel so that I can get the toy room that I need. We had our first Thanksgiving as a family this year. Mom and dad made a turkey, stuffing (my favorite), green beans (my favorite), pumpkin pie, cranberries, and dinner rolls. It was pretty good. I made sure that I helped by checking the turkey through the window too.

(The start of the remodel)

(Checking the turkey)
December is just about mommy and daddy hiding things, and not letting me go shopping with them. They keep saying that if I am a good boy Santa will bring me presents, otherwise Santa is going to save them for the good kids. So I am going to be the best that I can, and hopefully Santa will visit my house. When mommy and daddy let me go shopping with them they do let me put money in the little red pots, where the people are ringing bells. I like to hold the money, but I sometimes want to keep the money. Mom just says we have to share because the Holidays are about sharing.

I better tell you a little about mom and dad this year too. Mom is going to be finished with her AS Accounting degree in December, and she loves school so much she is going to keep going. I think shes crazy, but dad says that too. Dad started a new job in November, and no longer works for Alltel. He is really happy now and he is working for Hickorytech and doesn’t complain about work anymore. I get to spend every weekend with Dad. I miss spending time with my grandparents on the weekends, but I love playing with Dad. Oh yeah and Bailey, she’s still here, being a pain mom says, and I love to give her kisses now. We play pretty good together, but she wont let me ride on her back yet, not sure why. Uncle Ben and Auntie Devan got a new puppy now too. They named her Marley. She’s cute, and dad says she’s going to be a mini horse for me to ride. I guess she gets pretty big since she’s an English Mastiff.

(Trying to teach Bailey a lesson or two)

(Marley and Me)

Wii are looking forward to Christmas and spending time with Family!

Families are great, and sometimes I feel like we don't get enough time to spend as a family. We have grown up, and Jeremy and I now have a family of our own. The problem is that we don't get the chance to spend a lot of time just the three of us. If we do, we are either running around after Carter, trying or should I say attempting to clean house. So sometimes I wish that we could sit down and just play a game together.

I remember when my grandma Dell got the family together for Christmas, we ate a lot of cookies, and candies, and played games. Sequence was a favorite. This year we are spending time with Jeremy's parents on Christmas Eve, and then the three of us will spend Christmas day together. We are going to go to my church for Christmas Eve, and then "our" church Christmas Day. We will then get together with my family on the 27Th. My mom, had really wanted to get us kids each a game, so that we had fun things to do on Christmas. It seems that we get together, hurry eat, open gifts, and everyone leaves.

Well not this year. Mom and dad got Jeremy and I a Wii. Since we had some snow, and mom didn't want us to go shopping in the blizzard, she let me come and get the Wii. We have been enjoying it ever since we opened it. Even Carter. He loves to dance to Guitar Hero, or likes to practice bowling too. So we will have an entire day of games with the family. Breakfast, lunch and supper. It will be kind of nice, since I feel like the Holidays are just a big rush, where you spend to much money and not enough time. And the meaning behind Christmas is forgotten. So we have decided to start our own traditions, and kind of continue on some of the old traditions.

It has been a great weekend and even better that we were able to spend time as a family. Now if I could just kick Jeremy's butt in guitar hero we would be doing A-OK. Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

Three Blind Mice

Three blind mice, three blind mice,

See how they run, see how they run,

They all ran after the farmer's wife,

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,

Did you ever see such a thing in your life,

As three blind mice?

OK so you are probably wondering why did I post the nursery rhyme above? Well we have been looking into remodeling, and I can't wait until the kitchen is done. It has gotten cold lately and because of that, the mice are migrating into the house. Well last night I was sitting at the table checking my emails, and I heard something making a little noise. It sounded like a hamster or a mouse. Well I was right! I went into the living room and told Jeremy hey, there is a mouse somewhere. Well it was in the trap.

This morning Jeremy woke up, and went to check the "mouse drawer", and lone behold there was a little baby mouse sleeping. Not in the trap just sleeping there. Jeremy decided that he needed to get it outside, without waking it up, and he felt that if he took the entire drawer outside he would get the mouse out. Well that didn't go as planned. The mouse jumped out! In the mean time Bailey was running around and Carter was playing with a spatula like normal. So once the mouse had jumped to the floor, Carter started hitting it with the spatula and Bailey kept pouncing it like a cat. It finally did die, and when Jeremy called to tell me the story at work, the first think I asked was "did you get a picture"? And he didn't, he isn't the type that grabs the camera when he should be helping the situation. Yeah so I am the one that will get all the pictures when really they aren't needed at the time.

So last night we went out for my brothers 23rd birthday (Happy Birthday Ben)! When we got home Jeremy checked the drawer and we had another mouse. Jeremy then stated that is why he wants to put tin behind the new kitchen cabinets. I sat down to check my grades for school last night, and I heard something again. This was like 20 minutes after he had cleaned out the trap, and we had another mouse. Then today we woke up and he checked the drawer, and we had another. I keep praying to God, and hoping that we can get our new cabinets soon, and remodel going so that we don't have this mouse problem anymore. I have already called Ben and informed him that we are going to line it with tin, and he said well we will find out where they are getting in first. Yeah I guess that makes sense!

Marley the Harley dog...

Uncle Ben and Auntie Devan got a puppy. It is super cute, and super love able. Carter went to see it Saturday night, and Carter was giving us a pretty good laugh. He looked at the dog, was trying to play with the dog, trying to sit on the dog, and then pretty much just wanted to play with her leash and collar. They named the dog Marley. She is an English Mastiff. I actually thought they were pretty mean dogs, but I kinda want one, except for the fact that it will be a mini horse in no time.

Carter seemed more interested in dancing to the Hamster Dance on Grandmas Computer, and pushing buttons too!

While we were at my parents, Carter decided that he was going to take moms money and make a run for it.

Now when Bailey dies, Jeremy and I have said no more dog, but deep down, we are going to want another dog. Not that we really want Bailey to die, but she seems to be failing in her health, so we are going to have to get another dog at that point. Not that we want a puppy again, but Carter would be lost without puppy.

Who said setting up a Christmas tree wasn't hard work....

It is 7:53 and Carter is still in bed. I love this! I especially love that when he wakes up, he should be a happy little boy, and that is when I love getting to see him in the morning. It is when he gets up at 6 am, that I really don't enjoy because he is super crabby.

Since he is sleeping in, I figured I would blog a little. I have been a little behind, since I have so many pictures to share and funny stories too.

First the Christmas Tree.....Well since you all know that we are remodeling our basement and part of the upstairs, our storage in the basement has gone away. I moved all 65 Rubbermaid totes to our garage. Well, I put them into the garage organized, or so I thought. We had decided to just go and buy new decorations for the tree. When I was a child, our tree at home was never decorated with the same themes. It always had mismatched ornaments, so I have decided that we will have a Christmas tree with the same color balls and decorations. We went to Mankato, and got decorations. We decided to go with Gold and a Dark Red. Very cute I thought. When we were shopping, we were arguing about how Jeremy thought our tree was prelit, and I knew that the prelit was the 3 foot tree that we had.

Sunday morning we went to the garage and started looking for the tree, and only found the branches, but did find out that I was right and the prelit was the 3 foot. We searched the garage for 45 minutes, in the cold, looking for the stupid top of the tree. Finally after carrying 4 totes of Christmas stuff inside, we decided to go to Mankato and get a new tree. But before doing so, Jeremy thought to check the tote with the branches in for a third time. And lone behold, the top of the tree was in the same tote. Its amazing......and after that we decided that because of the remodel we are not going to put everything out, but a few things, the tree, and the nativity set. That way when we put it away, we don't have a ton of stuff to put away. But when we do put it away, we are going to make sure that it is organized!

The good, the rude, and the ugly....

The good....

So the bell ringers are out in full swing trying to collect money for people less fortunate. Now I know with the economy the way it is, people are not able to spend money for Christmas, but I am trying to teach Carter at a young age, that giving is much better than receiving. I know this is pretty hard for kids, but every time we pass a bell ringer, we try to put money into the little red pot. I have also decided to purchase something for the Holiday Sharing tree. I want to make this something that we consider a tradition. Giving to someone else that is not going to have anything at Christmas. So now when we pass a red kettle Carter looks at the kettle and looks at me like mom.....I need some money for the kettle.

The Rude...

So Jeremy and I went shopping at Michaels on Thanksgiving, and there was a bunch of ladies standing in line, for the Cricut cartridges. So, because I really wanted to get two cartridges, I had stopped at Michaels on Wednesday, to see what they had, and where they had them. So when they opened the doors, it was like cattle out of the pen, as Jeremy would say. But, I knew where they were, and I knew what I wanted. I told Jeremy to just hold my purse and follow. I got in, got the two cartridges that I wanted, and was trying to help the two ladies behind me that were just getting a few for their moms, who just got Cricuts. Well then there were ladies that were getting like 10 cartridges, and pretty much hoarding them. We finished up there, checked out, and left. I went back to Michaels two days later to pick up something for someones gift, and the one lady that was getting like 10, was returning 4 of them. How rude, there were people that were not able to get ones because people we taking so many, and others couldn't get any. There was no consideration at all.

The Ugly...

The other day I was at work, and we have this cookie thief. Well I mentioned to my boss, that she was in the store, and because we were all in the checkout I figured she would steal her cookies as normal. So, my boss being the person that she is decided to just watch her plain as day. The cookie lady got her coffee as normal, the proceeded to break a cookie in the cookie case, and started to eat the cookie. And my boss saw the entire thing. So the lady started to walk up to the checkout, but stopped to finish up her cookie. Well she didn't stop long enough to finish he cookie, so when she got to the checkout she still had a portion of the cookie left. She set her coffee on the counter, and was still eating the cookie, and then had a hard time getting her money out of her pocket. So my boss said "and a cookie", the lady put the cookie on the counter and said "oh yeah". Mind you this lady appears to be about 65. After the transaction is finished, the lady walks back to the cookie case, and grabs the other half of the cookie that she broke. My boss is now out of the checkout, and the lady comes up to her and says, "the cookie was broken so I took the other half ". My boss couldn't believe that the lady would do such a thing. How can you teach younger children to not steal, when you are having a 65 year old lead young children to steal cookies.