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.

Carter demonstrating his unique fashion sense:

We're still here. Life just hasn't slowed down. I thought that by having 2 weeks off, I would have time to post. That obviously didn't happen! Since my last post, we have celebrated Christmas, run many miles, been to Disney World, and visited family in Raleigh. Stay tuned for posts and updates.

How to play Peek - A - Boo while sitting on the potty:

1. Get comfortable while holding Dad's belt

2. Grab Mom's robe
3. Cover your face
4. Pull it back
6. Rest with the robe sitting on your head

Carter is also just like his mom in the fact he likes to be prepared. Here is his little set up in the kitchen....he has his bowl of raisins, stacking cups, pacifier, and a sippy cup all on the diaper box. Next to it, he has a toy and his flashlight. You can also see his barrel of monkeys he found in the garage.

I was sitting on the couch with Carter until his items took up too much space for both of us to fit. He started by wanting his mickey mouse blanket and all the pillows he could find. After he filled in with toys. Usually he sits on the couch and whines while pointing at what he wants. I tell him to go get it. This arrangement took quite some time to get just so.

Just like his Dada, Carter loves bread. Carter is old enough to go in the pantry and bring us what he wants. You can also see the bowl next to him that he needed to hold his bread and the spoon he was using to eat with.

Practicing his cool party tricks:

Life seems to never slow down around here. I have been having laryngitis on and off for 3 weeks now. Luckily, I found out the cold most people are getting last about 4 weeks, so the end is in sight!

Kevin had a good friend who died of a heart attack on Wednesday. He was only 42, so it came as a shock to us.

Carter woke up with a fever of 103 on Friday. Kevin brought him to the doctor who said it was just a virus and not to be surprised if he woke up vomiting and with diarrhea. Luckily, we have only had slight issues with the latter. Every time I hear his stomach gurgle, I panic!

I did my Saturday morning run yesterday. We cut it short by a mile and only ran 9. On Thursday, I learned some great stretches and exercises to help my IT band which has been bothering me. For the first time in weeks, I wasn't in tons of pain when I was finished. I also ran a little slower because my running buddy has been having the same problems. She hadn't been out with us in a few weeks, so it was great to have her back. The forecast was showing 32 degrees and rain. I really wasn't looking forward to it. Luckily, it was in the 40s, and the rain stopped as soon as I arrived at the park to start the run.

Today, Kevin went with a friend to Greenville to attend the funeral, so Carter and I were on our own. He was in a better mood than he had been in the past few days, so I was hoping to run some errands this afternoon. Poor baby fell off a chair and bit his lip. I never knew how much a lip could bleed. Once I got him calmed down, I put him down for a nap. He only slept for about 2 hours and woke up extremely cranky and tired. We just cuddled on the couch until Kevin got home. I was able to get lots of cleaning done during nap time, so that was good.

I have added a bunch of pictures to flickr. A lot have probably already been on the blog, but check them out.

Well, that's the exciting life of the House family. I know you're jealous and wish you were us. 9 more school days until winter break, but I'm not counting!

Sadly, Kevin was getting ready to leave for a funeral this morning. Carter noticed Kevin's tie and insisted on wearing one too. Please note the 3 pacifiers in the picture. He went to bed with 4 on Friday night.

Carter loves this toy. I bought it in Houston over the summer. It can keep him entertained for quite a while. I am still so impressed to see how much he has grown when he knows exactly where to put each piece. With his growing up, he is also learning the word, "mine." We were in Target looking at the toys when Carter saw one with lots of buttons, and yelled, "mine!" Thanks goodness the people around us thought this was funny. We learned just to tell him to say,"bye bye," and he is usually fine. In the mornings, taking his pacifier was becoming a huge battle. We leave it attached to his pajamas and try to take it in one swipe. For a while, he was holing onto it or keeping it with his pajamas hanging from it. Lately, he says, "bye bye" as we take off his pajamas and is fine.

Did you know Mardi Gras beads could be so much fun?

I sure wish this thing really worked:

I've been letting Carter help me cook. It keeps him busy while I am in the kitchen. I also want him to enjoy cooking as much as we do. I let him roll out the crescent rolls for our chicken club braid: I also let him mash the beans for our ham, pasta, and bean soup. He is fascinated by the toaster oven. (yes, it's unplugged) Now, he likes to pull a chair over to the counter when I am cooking.

When Kevin got Carter out of bed on Saturday, this is how he found him: I would love to have seen how that happened.

We had a great Thanksgiving. I wasn't feeling too great on Wednesday, so I didn't get to prepare as much as I had planned. I did get the sweet potatoes baked and some pumpkin bars made. Wednesday night, I decided to attempt a pumpkin roll. A coworker had mentioned making one, so I had the idea stuck in my mind. Kevin and I had done all of our Thanksgiving grocery shopping the Saturday prior. I stopped on the way home from work on Tuesday to get last minute items (like replace the butter my dear husband left in the pantry.) My goal was to avoid any shopping on Wednesday. As I was making my pumpkin roll, I realized I was out of baking soda. I was in my pajamas, and neither of us really felt like going to the store. I called my next door neighbor to ask if we could have some and sent Kevin over. When he got back and started helping me prepare the pan, we ran out of wax paper. Kevin had to go back over and ask for that. I felt horrible because my mom always taught us not to bother anyone for such things. At the same time, it is wonderful to know we have neighbors we can count on. My pumpkin roll turned out great and was a big hit. Too bad, I didn't get any pictures of it.

Anyway, I put a turkey breast in the crockpot at 4:00 am. On Thanksgiving day, I made stuffing balls, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, rolls, and a ham. Kevin's mom brought macaroni and cheese. Kevin's parents brought his brother and his wife who have never been down here. I also had a coworker come for lunch. We had a great meal and really enjoyed our day. Carter especially enjoyed all the extra attention. I was also thrilled to send the leftover turkey home with Kevin's brother. I think we'll skip the turkey next year.

I'm starting to think Carter may be a little OCD.

• If I leave a lock off the cabinets, he gets our attention until we fix it
• I had the water container for the iron on the bathroom counter, and Carter got it, walked to the shelf where I keep it, and held it up, so I could put it away.
• Before his bath tonight, he had to close our closet door
• He noticed the drawer under the washer was open and ran to close it
• If we leave a cordless phone off the cradle, he runs to the cradle until we hold him up to put it away
• If there is a soft drink can out, he has to put it in the recycling bin.
• If he gets anything on his hands, he has to have them cleaned.
• If he gets food on his hands while eating, he has to have a napkin but wants to throw it away after one use
• When he finishes a drink, he has to give me his cup immediately
• If a toilet seat is up, he has to put it down
• If I go to the bathroom, he has to come in, so he can turn out the light
  

I can't tell if he is being helpful or if he really has issues. He does love to help.

• He will put his clothes in his laundry basket before his bath.
• He helps put the dishes away
• He puts his shoes on the cedar chest in our bedroom before his bath
• He likes to let Tiger out of the laundry room
• He put his coat in the coat closet without my asking
  

I sure hope his eagerness to please lasts. Tonight, he even walked to the stairs when we told him it was bedtime. Of course, he does still hit us and throw things, but it just amazes me how much he has grown and changed lately.

I have been sick. The week before Thanksgiving, I stayed home from Wednesday through Friday with laryngitis and was just feeling horrible. Kevin took a half day that Friday to put out pine straw. This is what 100 bales of pine straw looks like (It's 3 bales deep).

Carter and I decided to go outside and help. I had picked Carter up early that day to take him to the doctor. he had a sinus and ear infection. First, we had to put the garbage can away:
Then, we had to haul the bales:
It was getting dark, so we had to clean up:
Carter made sure his pacifier and ball were safe:
We only needed about 50 bales, so we have had a wall of pine straw on our driveway. I brought 20 bales to a coworker, and today, we spread the others out all through the back. It does look nice. (Too bad,I haven't taken a picture)