Mid September

Needless to say, September kept us busy. In the middle of the month we had some fun outings (Enchanted Forest included), and spent a couple days down in Philomath for Jenaye's birthday. We also had a few visitors that hadn't met Carter yet. He was just a month old, and getting to the pinnacle of his crying phase, so they were 'interesting' visits. Here are some great shots from when Jen and Randi came...I have to put in the bad picture because this happened literally two seconds after Jen was complaining that we never get good pictures of her. How can the rest of us help it when she's always making faces like this!

That evening we went to Philomath for some 20th birthday celebration! I'm totally in love with the shot of Grandma Grahyl and Grandpa Vern looking in on Carter and his crazy face. My children are blessed with so many grandparents and great-grandparents that they know and love, and will hopefully have cherished memories of as they grow up.

 (And yes, Tasha, Picasa did find your face in this next picture to label...so I couldn't bear to crop it out! You were with us in spirit :))

Carter also had his first official smile this evening, as a birthday present to Jenaye. Grandma Terece was actually holding him...but he was quick to do a repeat performance for his mom so it was all good. I didn't get a picture for a while more, but he would smile every once in a while, between screaming sessions :).

We were always wary of the end of September, knowing that fall and the rainy season were coming quickly. We took as many opportunities as we could to play outside, including this balcony day. O was thrilled to just sit in her tent and read, pushing Alex and I away if we got too close.

The 17th was also one of those days when I woke up encouraged and ready to be a 'great' and 'fun' mom. I tried to accomplish this at lunch time by making melon balls out of a cantelope that we had. I learned very quickly that melon balls are much more fun to throw than to eat for an almost-two-year-old...lesson learned, and I will wait a few more years before trying that again. I was cleaning juice up off the chairs and cupboards for about a week.

I have a few random pictures of the adorable gentleman that has joined our family. His smiles and sweet *not-so-little* eyes capture my heart every day. As he continues to grow and get more alert we are able to see glimpses each day of his little personality. At this point he was crying more often than not, but he is still a sweet little addition to our family.

September 17th was Alex and my 1st anniversary. I took this picture idea from Pinterest, and we will continue taking a picture each year of our progress as a couple. We had a great date at Bentley's after walking around doing window shopping downtown. We had Carter with us, so our date couldn't be overly long, but it was great to get out of the house for some 'us' time to remember the strength of our relationship during this trying transition time for our family.

We had a few sick days in the middle of September, and our kids and I were sick enough that I didn't get to see our new cousin Logan for a few days after he was born. I was really excited to go to the hospital to meet him, so that was a major bummer, but I know as the boys grow up they will be great friends and hopefully keep the older kids in line :).

Mary and Gary are wonderful hosts to us, and I regularly find something they have done or are doing to make my life easier. They never seem bothered to have a 'helper' at their feet, or yelling all around the house as they are trying to get stuff done. One afternoon while Alex was out I was wondering where Olivia had run off to while I was feeding Carter. I could hear giggling, but I never know if that is a good or a bad thing, so I went in search of the little munchkin. I found her 'workin' in the garage with Grandpa, who was pulling her around and around the garage on this makeshift cart. She would have gone for hours on that thing, and I was reminded again how wonderful it is to have the help that I have during this crucial time in the lives of my children.

On the 21st we had our first major spill from Olivia. She has fallen and scraped herself up wuite a few times, but I'm not too concerned about the normal bumps and bruises that come with kid-dom. This particular afternoon, however, she fell down an entire flight of stairs because she missed a step. The 'crash, crash crash' sound, followed by silence is a totally scary sound as a mom. I knew it was serious even before I made it out of the kitchen. I was just glad that I was there to scoop her up and give her love. It didn't take long for her to calm down and she was ready to tell grandpa how she fell down down but was a big girl. :) It was sweet, and she was totally fine.

That evening, just before their move to Alaska, Alesha and her husband Aaron came by for a quick visit and to meet Carter. He was a little calmer for her than he had been for Jen, and it was great to get to see them before they left for so long. I am so glad that my friends from high school continue to be close enough to just drop in for a visit, even when our lives have gone in such drastically different directions.

I'm especially proud of this picture. It was towards the end of the garage saling season, so I was surprised to see one that boasted TONS of kid stuff within walking distance of my house. I headed out early to hit this one house, and bought easily 40 pieces of clothes for Carter plus other random things. We are starting from scratch with boy clothes, so I was thrilled. Honestly I wish I had bought more. I didn't plan to buy this much, so I ended up carrying a HUGE box back to the house, but I was beyond ecstatic so I didn't care. I then went to two or three other smaller sales, and ended up with this huge pile of stuff for under $30. The biggest find in my mind was a little pair of Saltwater Sandals that he will hopefully be able to wear next spring.

And here is Carter waving goodbye :). I don't think his hands and feet ever stop moving, but this was the first time that he got enough momentum to get all the way on his side to look at me while I was talking :).