We had planned to spend most of the day at the beach, but Carter woke up very poopie. After we had breakfast,

we decided to rodailler for a bit. We drove up to Ocean Isle Beach
Carter slept for most of the ride

He did wake up on the way back:

We got in touch with some friends of ours and met them for lunch with their 2 little girls.

We got back from lunch, and we all fell asleep. I woke Carter up around 5:00 to go out to the beach

We went to the beach as soon as we unpacked. Carter had an absolute blast. He didn't get upset when water hit him in the face or when he fell over. We splashed in the waves and dug in the sand. Carter even wanted to help bury a little girl in the sand. After, we played in the pool and the kids' splash area. Then, we came upstairs, bathed, and cooked the enchiladas I brought. Somehow, I lost his shovel before we left, so we walked to the IGA to buy him one. Carter is enjoying the condo with the huge windows and new things to explore.

Can you find the little boy in the curtains?

Hopefully, he will sleep well tonight since his bed is in our room.

Here are pictures of our condo. It's pretty nice. I think I will always compare beach condos to Sea Chase in Gulf Shores. We finally left the house at 10:00, dropped Tiger off, and hit the road. We decided to do the outlets today with the rest of the world. We mostly got clothes for Carter. I got some running bras. (I'm sure the internet wants to know about my supportive undergarments) We got to the condo around 3:30.

Here it is from the beach:
Living room/dining area (we moved the roll away bed to the bedroom)
Bathroom:

Bedroom (there's a balcony with a beach view. We're too cheap to face the beach.):

We're celebrating two VERY important birthdays today. #32 for this fine man:

(If I disappear, it's for making this picture public.)

and #20 for this old one:

Carter is growing up so quickly. I can't believe how much he changes everyday. He mimics us a lot. Here, he has placed his juice and snack on a chair for him to go back to after he played:

I had to buy Carter a nap mat for his new daycare. They also recommended I buy king sized pillow cases for it. I noticed that the pillow cases wouldn't quite be long enough. My creative juices started flowing, and Kevin got nervous as I pulled out the sewing machine. I'm rather proud of my product:

Carter decided to try it out:

I really just made a giant pillow case. It doesn't close at the bottom. I hope it holds up after multiple washings.

We decided to use Carter's artwork in the kitchen:




We bought some clear frame at Hobby Lobby, so they didn't have to fit the papers perfectly. The one in the middle has finger print bugs. The one on the right is a butterfly made from Carter's feet.

Last night, Kevin had a baseball game, so I was home alone with Carter. I was at my computer, and he wandered off into the guest bedroom. There are some of his old toys in there, so I wasn't too worried. When I went to check on him, I found him here:


taking the tissues one by one to the foot of the bed:


He was very proud of himself. I think we have a budding artist.

We bought Carter a vacuum cleaner today. It provided hours of entertainment. I sure hope his love of cleaning tools lasts far into the future.

As a followup to a post from earlier in the week concerning daycare.....

Carter was in the toddler room again on Thursday. I got there during snack time, so I sat with Carter while he ate his cookies. When I get to daycare, Carter wants me immediately, so I held him in my lap to avoid a melt down. One of his teachers made comments about my spoiling him. I also noticed they waited to fill out his daily report of nap time and diaper changes until I get there to pick him up. As I was leaving, I noticed the room he should have been in was working on an art project. He missed out two days in a row.

On the way home, I decided to stop at another daycare that thought they would have an opening tomorrow. I spoke with the teacher's assistant (the teacher had already left for the day) and was very impressed. The director told me to call her at 12:30 on Friday to verify the student was actually withdrawing.

When I dropped Carter off on Friday morning, I asked about the withdrawal policy. The director was concerned and pulled me into her office to talk to her. I expressed my concerns but did not feel any better when I left. I cried the whole way home and sat at home and cried. Ok, you may think I'm nuts, but I absolutely adore some of the teachers and have established wonderful relationships with them. Two of my favorites were also on vacation this week. I know Carter is attached to them too, but I worry about the room he was being sent to. I don't think I would have been pleased there, and he would have moved there in about 2 months.

The new daycare did have an opening they that they would hold for 2 weeks which was perfect because his old one required a two week notice. I decided to find out if I could negotiate with them to withdraw him early, and they let me that afternoon. Again, I cried. I don't know why I am being so emotional about this decision. I guess I have just gotten too attached to some of the people there and I worry about his transition. I'm hoping we will be as pleased with his new daycare as we once were with his former one. I'm not looking forward to dropping him off in an unfamiliar place tomorrow. I will be a mess!

Carter's hair was getting extremely unruly and shaggy. I don't mind the curls, but it was too long. He had a hair cut today, and when she was done, I asked her to style it in a mohawk to get a reaction out of Kevin. Too bad it fell before Daddy got home. It may have something to do with playing chase in the house for an hour. I've added some more pictures on flickr.

Back view:

Mohawk view:

When I got to daycare this afternoon, Carter wasn't in his normal classroom. I thought it was odd because they will usually send the youngest ones to the baby room, and the older ones the toddler room. Carter is in the middle, so he usually isn't the one to move anymore. He was sent to the toddler room this morning because he is too busy. He is too rough on the younger kids, and does much better with the bigger ones. He even went the whole day without his pacifier. I wonder how often he will be sent there. How could you not want this adorable child around you all day?

Ok, I have an odd obsession with blueberries. We went and picked 10.44 pounds on Saturday. I cam home and made jam, daiquiris, and scones:


Aren't they pretty. Well, if one mistakingly uses baking soda instead of baking powder, they taste A.W.F.U.L. They were so pretty that I decided to put some on a plate to take to Carter's teachers and to Kevin at work. Thank goodness, I tasted them first!

I made another batch from a Bisquik recipe. They were ok. I will try the original recipe with the correct ingredients next.

Today, I went back to the farm with a friend and her two sons. I got over 6 pounds today,
so I froze what was left of Saturday's. Here are a few:

I made more daiquiris tonight



And Carter chowed down on them until he decided they would be more fun to throw on the floor:

I didn't think he would eat any, but he was pulling them out of a bowl on the counter while Kevin was holding him. He ate quite a few handfuls.

Carter had his 15 month appointment last Monday. Nothing too exciting. He has dropped into the 75 percentile for his size. The pediatrician did recommend I buy Carter a potty, so he could get used to it. I had it in our bathroom, but Carter thought it would be better to drag it around the house. Unfortunately, as I was trying to get a picture of Carter with his face flat down in it, he got up.


Other exciting revelations of the week include Carter getting in Kevin's shower, smashing his face against the shower door and screaming. Again, I can never time it right with the video camera. This activity has also transferred to the oven door. I think it's much funnier when I can watch from the opposite side.


On Saturday, we went to pick blueberries and had a great time. At first, Carter spit out any berries, I gave him. Once he ate some dirt and sticks, he decided he liked the berries. he seemed to enjoy himself and enjoy running up and down the rows and into the bushes. To stick to the theme of this post, I forgot to take my camera with me. We ended up with almost 10 1/2 pounds of berries. I made freezer jam last night, ( I will try it tonight before I offer any to anyone.) and I want to make scones tonight. I had so much fun that I talked a friend into going with me on Wednesday morning. I will have lots of berries in the freezer. The possibilities are endless.....blueberry daiquiris, blueberry cobbler, blueberry pie........

I just added a bunch of pictures to Flickr. Click on it on the right.

The pools in the Woodlands are awesome. Carter absolutely loved them. they have a zero entry pool with a giant play structure in the middle. Every few minutes a giant bucket drops and splashes everyone. Poppa enjoyed hanging out with Carter in the pool. My little dare devil also had a good time walking along the drains in the deep area. He seems to be fearless in the water. He didn't even cry when he fell in and couldn't stand back up.


With Uncle Darren:

With Poppa under the water:

Carter loved hanging out at Aunt Alana's. He thought Roux was fun to watch and enjoyed playing with all the toys.

We let Carter and Zoe bathe together. She enjoyed helping to clean her "little" cousin.

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We took the babies to get barbeque at Rudy's the first night we were the Ansleys. They got a long rather well.

Carter and I are having a great time in Houston with my family. We got here on Thursday afternoon after an excruciating flight. I tried to not let Carter nap before and gave him Benadryl thinking I could knock him out for the flight....yeah right. He refused to give in to a nap. Luckily, he didn't have diarrhea on the flight, so one of fears didn't happen. At first, Carter and Zoe didn't want much to do with each other, but as time goes, they interact more and more. Zach got here on Friday with my parents. Carter loves Zach! He also loves Poppa and is very attached to him. We have been to the pool two nights in a row and went to see fireworks last night. I'll post some pics once I get a chance to upload them.