Carter loves to turn on our radios in the bedroom and dance. Here is a link to his bedtime performance:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cartermh/4301504533/

We had a nice and quiet weekend around here. I ran 10 miles on Saturday morning, and it went very well. No pain, and we were able to run the entire way. Saturday afternoon, I attended a Founder's Day luncheon for my sorority. It was nice to catch up with some friends from college and meet new people.

We decided to take Carter to EdVenture yesterday afternoon. Once he woke up from his nap, we got there around 4:20 to find out they close at 5:00. We took him to Riverfront Park instead. He had a great time running up stairs and down a ramp. Then, we went to the slide. He was having so much fun that he threw a tantrum when it was time to go.

We finished our day with dinner at the Mellow Mushroom.

Today wasn't too exciting. Carter took another very long nap, so we didn't do much once he work up. Below is a picture of my little boy helping his dad carry the diapers to our room.

The best part of our trip was being able to spend time with family. We stopped at Aunt Dot's house on our way in for dinner. We also went back over there for New Year's Day. We had a great time hanging out with our cousins. It's times like these that make me wish my family lived closer together. Carter had a great time playing with Zach and Zoe. He seems to absolutely adore Zach. He and Zoe had a blast running through the house chasing each other and flooding the bathroom while taking baths.

After lots of packing, we were sad to leave everyone.

For our final day at the parks, we were going to ride a few rides at Magic Kingdom and head over to Epcot. After making it over to Magic Kingdom, we realized it was extremely crowded, so we got on the monorail to Epcot. This is my absolute favorite park. While everyone rode Spaceship Earth, I ran over to Soaring to get our Fast Passes. We decided to ride Fast Track next, but the line was ridiculous. We were able to get Rider Switch passes, and I won't say what we did, but my heart was pounding from breaking the rules! We headed over to the Universe of Energy. Carter enjoyed the part with the dinosaurs, but did not want to sit still. He did want to sit with Zach quite a bit. he absolutely loves his big cousin. From there, we ate lunch and headed over to the Land. We rode Living with the Land, and after, it was time for Soaring. With our fast passes and rider switches, I was able to ride it twice. That is an awesome ride! After, we rode Journey into Imagination and Nemo. We headed back to fast track. It took forever, even with our fast passes. From there, we walked through the countries. It was a full day!

On Tuesday, we went to Animal Kingdom.
This was my first time there. We met up with my cousin Brian, his wife, and their 2 sons. As usual, the park started off rather pleasant but got super crowded as the day went one. We started on the Safari ride with very little wait. It was awesome. After, we walked through another area to look at the different animals. Carter loved watching the fish. After we ate lunch. By this point, Zoe had enough, so Alana and Darren took her back to the house. Zach promised me he would ride Expedition Everest with me but quickly backed out when he saw the ride. We took them over to Dino Land and rode a little ride. After, Zachary played games with Poppa. By this point, the park was so crowded it was ridiculous. We were heading to the exit and had to cut through a line to get there. We lost Zach because he didn't want to cut through the line. He did an excellent job and just stay put until my dad found him. He did say he moved over to the shade, so he wouldn't be too hot. We went back to the house where everyone rested, and I was able to get in a run. That evening, we went to the T-Rex Cafe at Downtown Disney. Carter absolutely loved the moving dinosaurs. He also enjoyed rubbing his mashed potatoes in his hair. We bought him a pack of 10 little dinosaurs before we left. After, we walked around a little more and headed back to the house.

For our second day, we went to Magic Kingdom. We decided to ride the boat instead of the monorail. Zach felt a little sick when we got off of it but soon forgot. We started by riding Peter Pan with not too long of a wait. After, we walked right across to It's a Small World and had a very short wait. Mom and I took care of Zoe and Carter while the others rode the Haunted Mansion. We got fast passes for Thunder Mountain Rail Road. While waiting for our Fast Pass time, we ate lunch. Carter enjoyed playing with the horseshoes in the fireplace
We were also to get Rider Switch passes, so Zach got to ride twice. The second time, he rode with me. He get very scared. I couldn't understand why he went again, but he rode a 3rd time when he went back with his parents one night. By that time, the park was getting packed. We rode Pirates of the Carribean while Carter napped in Kevin's arms. We toured the Swiss family Robinson Tree house, and after, we sat on a bench and enjoyed ice cream while Dad, Darren, and Kevin went into the Hall of Presidents. From there, we headed over to Tomorrowland and rode the People Mover. Kevin and I hung out with Carter while the others enjoyed one final ride. It wasn't too late, but it was very crowded, so we ended the evening. Mom and Dad watched Carter while Kevin and I enjoyed a date night at Outback.

For our first day at Disney, we went to Hollywood Studios. I haven't been there since the year it opened and was called MGM. We started off on the Great Movie Ride. The highlight of the park was the Rocking Roller Coaster. I was honored to ride with Zach on his first roller coaster ride ever. It was a lot of fun, but waiting in line for 80 minutes to ride a 2 minute ride seems a little ridiculous. At the end, Zach looked at me and asked if my hands hurt. He had been holding on so tight! We never buy pictures from rides, but I had to buy that one for the look on Zach's face. Once it got dark, we saw the Osmond Family Christmas lights spectacular. It was really cool. We finished the night by riding Toy Story. While waiting in line, you wind through all sorts of toys. Carter loved the talking Mr. Potato Head, and threw a fit when he coudln't get to it.
He did immediaely break his pair of 3-D glasses. Luckily, we were able to get him another pair that he did not wear for the ride.

Last weekend, we drove up to Raleigh to visit Kevin's family. Carter enjoyed seeing his grandparents.
We got there on Saturday afternoon and drove up to Louisburg College to locate Kevin's brick. After, we met up with Kevin's family to eat barbecue. All of his mom's surviving siblings were there along with a few of his cousins. I had never met 2 of his uncles or an of his cousins. We went back to Aunt Maranda's house to spend the night. Kevin's Uncle Eugene from California was there too. It is always fun to spend time with family. Carter had a great time performing for the adults, playing with their dogs, and catching Uncle Will being affectionate.

We had a great weekend. We weren't on the road for the first time in 4 weeks! The highlight of our weekend was a birthday party we went to for Carter's classmate, Mariah. Carter had a blast playing with his best friend Aaron and
sliding down the big slide with Daddy and Mama.
Everyone was excited when their teacher Miss Erika showed up to celebrate. It was a lot of fun. Mariah's grandmother is another teacher at the school. She seems to absolutely adore Carter. Of course, I couldn't have been prouder when she told me she loves it when Carter runs to give her a hug when she gets to work each day.

Carter did not get too spoiled by Santa and us for Christmas. From Santa, he got a tricycle, pillow, and a bag of playdoh with tools.

He was very cute when he woke up. He saw the tricycle and said ,"broom. broom. Mine!" He also loved taking all the paydoh tools out of the bag. We haven't had a chance to play with the playdoh yet or take the tricycle outside. He has been riding (having momma push him) around the house.

Tiger enjoyed playing in the wrapping paper:
Our Christmas was nice and quiet. My big gift was a Garmin Forerunner. I love it!

It's been really cold, so Carter had to bundle up to go with Dada to get the newspaper.

The highlight of my day is going to daycare to get Carter. I always get hugs from his classmates, and they are just so sweet. I was thrilled when I found out his class's Christmas party was scheduled for my first day off for the holidays. Kevin also had the day off because he had quite a few vacation days he needed use up before the end of the year.

Here is Kevin with Addison, Carter, and Haley:
Carter's best friend/partner in crime, Aaron is in the blue shirt:
Me with my two favorite toddlers:

The weather on Christmas was pretty bad. Carter helped Dada adjust his tricycle seat:

He also put his blankets and new pillows in our bed with him. Carter loves his new pillows. He calls his blankets and pillows, "night nights."
Christmas afternoon, we went over to a friend's house and had dessert. Their neighbors got a trampoline Christmas. Carter laid in the middle and cracked up laughing while 4 boys jumped around him.