Drumroll, please

"HOT!!" -- Carter's first word.

At 11 months, he finally said something!

Instead of his usual unintelligible babbling, he now says "Hot!!" quite often.

Don't get your hopes up -- that's all he really says. But, we're pretty proud of our "little munch." =)

Redecorating... slightly.

For some time now, it has bothered me that we don't have an overwhelming amount of seating for guests in our main-floor family room. It seems like the majority of the time, if we have another couple over, the kids will go downstairs and play in the basement, and we will all stay upstairs and talk. Well, we currently have a couch and a chaise lounge in our family room. Those two pieces comfortably seat 3 adults, which leaves someone either sitting on the piano bench, or in front of the fireplace. Not to mention when we have more than 4 adults over...So, while I love our piano, and we've had it for several years now, I realized that it was taking a huge chunk of functional space. We have a large basement family room, with many interior walls (a piano should always be placed against an interior wall in your home to regulate its temperature), and I decided that that's where it needed to go!!
So, in the piano's place went two darling "slipper" chairs, allowing us more seating in our upstairs family room. Personally, I think it makes the room look bigger!

Here they are up close... fun shades of chocolate brown. One in a "vines" pattern, and the other in "stripes."

Grayson wanted to model his chair-sitting abilities!

Thanks so much to our friends and neighbors, Chad and Jason, who so graciously helped Jerry carry the piano downstairs. It was a beast. =)

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

It was a balmy 48 degrees outside today, so the four of us decided to head to the zoo. We have a zoo pass, and have not really used it too much since Carter has been born. Well, things have changed! We've been there twice this week! Grayson loves carrying a map around, and has been reading his map (that he got when we were there on Wednesday) before bedtime. He figured out that the zookeepers feed the Chinese alligators only on Saturdays at 2:15pm. So we were there to witness the blessed event. Ha! All the animals were pretty feisty, so it was a fun picture-day, too! Carter doesn't look so sure here, but he did have a good time! =)
This chimp was pretty fun to watch... he loved checking Grayson out!
The "daddy" lion was soooo close to us! And, we got to hear him ROAR!

Carter and Grayson watching the lions (the dad right in the front, and the two babies are laying on top of the big rock)

The tiger was literally just on the other side of the glass from us... so cool!

I'm sure the tiger was thinking that these little boys would make for a tasty treat =)

A little break from the stroller for Carter, and Grayson loved all the animal statues!

Checking out the turtles underwater while waiting for the zookeeper to feed the Chinese alligators. (The turtles were fed small snakes!)

Grayson and Jerry fed the sheep in the petting zoo

This guy tried to get a sip from Carter's bottle!

What a fun family day at the Sedgwick County Zoo!

Carter looks like one of our patients

So here is his really first attempt at walking alone... he loves to pull himself up on furniture and walk around it, but now he can head across the basement with his little walker. It's hard to believe Carter will be 11 months old next week! He weighs just over 21 lbs., eats everything in sight, drinks well from both a sippy cup and a straw, still babbles unintelligibly, waves at you, and wants to do everything that Grayson does! He loves to open cabinets and drawers (sigh), and will still happily go to the ladies in the nursery when we're at church. He usually takes 2 naps a day, and is sleeping from 7pm until 5:30 or 6am. We love you, Carter-crunch!

Some January randomness...

Nothing too exciting is going on here... we are thankful to be staying healthy, and have mostly been inside due to our dangerously cold weather. On my way into work on Friday morning, at 7:00am the thermometer on my rearview mirror actually said -1. Brrrr! Supposedly we are going to have temperatures in the 40s this week... I told Jerry that we'd probably be opening our windows then since it would feel so warm. =)I am excited to be a part of a new Bible study starting at our church. We are reading through the book Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. One of my mom's dear friends, Debi, is leading it and there are about 13 women who are a part of this weekly study. I am excited to learn more about parenting (from someone who has done it before!!) and to develop some deeper friendships with other moms at Eastminster.

This past week I did invest in something for Carter that I've heard lots about but never owned... until now. It's called a "Lullabag" and it is made for babies that kick off their blankets and get cold at night. We have determined that is why Carter was waking up at night... he didn't want to eat, he just was cold. So, I purchased a cotton-lined Lullabag that will fit him up to 18mo. Last night he slept from 6:45pm until 6:45am. It was HEAVENLY! It looks like a soft gunny sack with holes for his head and arms, and then a zipper all around the bottom of the Lullabag to get him in and out. Quite the contraption, but hey, whatever gets you a full night's sleep!

The other thing that I've been searching for, but cannot find, is a coupon or promo code for Great Wolf Lodge. We want to take Grayson (and Carter) to celebrate their birthdays, but I absolutely refuse to pay full price! If anyone knows of any coupons or codes that would be good for Feb/March, please, please leave me a comment. We are planning on surprising Grayson... and Carter absolutely loved the Y's indoor pool before Christmas, so we think he'll have a ball, too.
Hope you have a wonderful week!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Jerry and I, along with our good friends, Jason and Alison, made the trek up to Lawrence on the Tuesday before Christmas to take in a KU basketball game. (Sorry for the late post... my laptop died and we just got a new one. Anyway, I digress...) We had a fabulous time together! It was so fun to have some great conversation in the car on the way up, we ate a yummy dinner at Ingredient on Mass St. before the game, the 'Hawks beat Cal, and then we all got home at 1:30 in the morning!!Jerry and Jason
Alison and me

With the court in the background at halftime =)

Rock Chalk Jayhawk! It's awesome to be ranked #1 in the nation!!

Christmas, Part 2

On Saturday, we hosted Jerry's entire extended family (minus his sister Jenny and her husband, Jon who are in ND) for a Christmas celebration. I made minestrone soup and Italian bread, and everyone brought sides and snacks. Jerry's mom decided that since there are 5 kids in their family, each year one of the kids (and spouses) decides what the family should do for gifts. This year it was James and Alicia's turn, and their choice was to do a cookie exchange. Here are the girls with their cookies before our exchange. Vonny, Alicia, me, LaJane, Jacey
We celebrated Caleb's upcoming 6th birthday with a cookie cake and "dirt with worms." Here are Grayson and Caleb enjoying the munchies.

James and Alicia holding Carter and Nolan, the two new additions this year. Oh, and Alicia was a new addition, too, since they were married in July. =)

LaJane and Frank gave Carter his "name" puzzle

Jerry and Vonny with the little boys.

Happy 2010!!