First Day of Kindergarten

Today, Carter started his first day of kindergarten. I thought he looked older when he woke up!! We went to meet his teacher, Ms. Jennifer yesterday and learned all about his new classroom. Carter's friend Coleman is in his class and they had fun playing in the sandbox during recess. Carter said that his favorite thing about kindergarten is that he gets to eat (out of his lunchbox) "much more quicker" than at his other school. Hudson asked about and looked for "Arter" as he calls him, all morning long and was very excited when we went to pick him up. The pictures below were taken before we left for school.

First

Carter's Actual Birthday

On August 6th, we celebrated Carter's actual 5th birthday. When he woke up, there were decorations all over the kitchen with a big stack of presents on the kitchen table. Carter walked right passed it all and into the playroom to catch his morning cartoon . . . which appears to be the equivalent of a cup of coffee to an adult. When he finally noticed all of the decorations, we had a fun birthday breakfast.



As a special surprise, Carter and I spent the day at Alabama Adventure. It is a huge amusement/water park and neither of us had been before. Carter was about 2 inches away from being able to ride the "big rides", but we still had plenty to do. Our favorite was a black tube waterslide that we rode together. It went really fast!! Carter and I are both looking forward to going back to Alabama Adventure.


Later in the afternoon, the cousins came over to eat dinner and help us celebrate. It was a long birthday week filled with lots of excitement. The prized toy turned out to be the Nintendo DS, though it took him a little while to learn to play it.


It is sad to think that my little boy is growing up, but it is true that he does get more fun every year!!



Hudson enjoyed his birthday treat!

Carter 's 5th Birthday Party

Carter had his 5th birthday party at Head Over Heels Gymnastics. His cousins and many of his friends from school and church were able to come celebrate with us. Unfortunately, Tim was not able to make it since he was in the hospital recovering from kidney stones!

Two gymnastics instructors led the party activities. They set up an obstacle course and let the kids run through it. The hit of the party was the trampoline runway that ended with a big jump into a pile of foam cubes. Hudson ran right behind the group the whole way. He likes to pretend that he is 5!

Carter wanted a dinosaur theme again this year. Since we have now used all of the dinosaur cakes that are commercially available, I decided to make one. Thankfully, Julie, who is a very accomplished cake decorator came over to help.....with her one year old twins. We laughed as we baked and decided that the next cake should probably be made with the help of a babysitter!! It was a fun day and we appreciate our friends who made it so special!

Odyssey Graduation

I am embarrassed to say it, but, Carter graduated from preschool and my camera battery was not charged. Carter's teachers called to invite him to graduation/fun day at the end of July. Carter was so excited about seeing his old friends and looked forward to it all week. They had bouncy houses, waterslides and all kinds of fun activities planned. For lunch, the school ordered "real pizzas" and let them watch a movie during what is normally naptime.



In the afternoon, all of the parents were invited to attend a program and the graduation ceremony. The kids sang several of their favorite songs from the year and a parent made a sweet video with pictures of the year. During the graduation ceremony, Carter's teachers gave out the class "Who's Who" award. I was not surprised to learn that Carter was declared the class "Dare Devil". This, by the way, is not something you really want to have to explain to your five year old. Now he is proud of this title and keeps trying to find ways to show me what a dare devil he is. I really don't need any proof though!!



It was sad to leave Odyssey. Carter has been with 6 of the friends in his class since he was 6 months old. Hopefully we will keep in touch.

Splash Pad

Carter, Hudson and I went to the Gardendale Splash Pad for our friend, Lily's, birthday party. This was our first trip there and the kids had a great time. I got lots of cute water pictures! In addition to playing in the water and eating his weight in pizza, Hudson was the party janitor. He picked up every piece of wrapping paper there was and took it all to the trash. Clearly there is no need for toys at our house. We have plenty of trash that can be thrown away!!

4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July playing with friends in the Coulson's backyard. The kids enjoyed the slip & slide, a sprinkler, a bouncy house and Maury and Little Carter's new playhouse. They had a hard time making it down the slip & slide, but that didn't stop Hudson and Little Carter from trying it out. After dinner, the kids had a good time dancing to music. Hudson spent most of his time outside with the daddies. He was not interested in being around me or the kids at all! Thanks Owen and Sally for a fun time!

A weekend at home...with Tango

We were so excited to hear that Mr. Mike and Mrs. Sundra were going out of town for the weekend. That means Tango gets to visit!! The kids were thrilled when he arrived. Carter and Hudson spent all weekend chasing, wrestling, and snuggling with Tango. Hudson especially enjoyed him. Dogs are his favorite thing right now and this was definitely the closest he has been to one for more than a few seconds. Thankfully Tango is fast and very patient so no harm was done. Carter was especially excited that Tango wanted to snuggle with him during tv time and even sleep in his bed for a little while. Thanks Mrs. Sundra for letting Tango come visit us. We miss him lots and love to see him from time to time.....for a little while.