a year over due!!!

I am surrounded in a pig sty, my house is starting to fill with boxes and dejunking everywhere.  But I just wanted to take a couple minutes for journal purposes to jot down some of my thoughts about my boys! I keep thinking about everything I am forgetting about each stage of their life and it makes me sad.  The things they say, the things that happen to them, how they grow, how they change.... its happening way to fast.

Carter-
Holy Smokes! You are one little character! We are soo head over hills for you it isn't even funny! You are such a crack up.  Sometimes I call you the "Little Orange Guy" Because George always corrects that you don't have red hair you have "Orange" Hair, and you are already growing so fast! You are my little talker.  Sunday George was practicing his talk for primary, and you said "MY TURN NOW!" Sure enough you proceeded to give an entire talk about prophets.  I told Jed the other day I wanted to video you saying prayers.  It melts my heart.  You are the cutest little freckle faced firecracker.  Dad is completely wrapped around your finger, and you know it.  You give the best cuddles ever! You usually wake up at like 640 and sneak into are bed for some morning cuddles.  We love it and look forward to it every single morning.  You are a tease.  George is always saying, "Mom, Carter is teasing me!" I can't believe at such a young age what a sense of humor you already have.  Every where I go everyone comments on how darling you are.  One of your favorite games is saying "I am a Mommys Boy!," or "I am a Daddys Boy!"  You say it and love to look for the reaction of the other person as we say "WHAT???? NO WAY!" You are talking in full sentences these days.  You love being outside.  You will work side by side with your Daddy all day long just to be with him and be busy exploring everything!!! You love cheese... you sneak big bags of shredded cheese and go dump it in a corner and then proceed to eat it like a Dog! You adore HORSES! everything is about being bucked off, one more ride daddy, one more ride?? You and George are best buddies.. You guys wrestle way too much. I am trying to learn how to deal with it and am constantly asking you guys to quit.  You two love it though as crazy as it drives me.  Giggling the entire time.  You two really have become such great friends it makes me so excited for what the future holds for you guys and I am so glad you too have each other.  Preparing for our move to Michigan makes me so grateful I have our little family.  That we have eachother, and that we have the Gospel in our lives.  Everything is a little easier, when you have people you love to do it with.   IF i could freeze time right now I would.  You melt my heart in every single way, and I thank Heavenly Father every day for sending me you.  He knows exactly what we needed here in our home.  I love you to the moon and back buddy! XOXO Mom

George-
You are my little boy! I just  can't believe you are getting soo old! Where has time gone?  We always call you the "WHY GUY" cause you manage to ask 1000's of Why questions every single day.  Why did you touch that? Why are you doing that? Why did you say that? What? How come? How does this work?  You are super duper interested and fascinated in everything.  You remember every single thing you ever hear (we have to be careful) ! You are a little dancer.  You are always dancing crazy, and saying, "Dance with me MOM!"  You are such a little character.  You love electronics and can manuever my iphone almost better than me.  You are such a flirt with girls. You have a major crush on all the darling Ethington girls in the ward. I am just happy to see you have good taste :)  They love you to.  You lift your eyebrows everytime you see them, how you learned this mumbo jumbo I do not know.  What I do know is how loveable you are.  Every time I have to discipline you I can see in your face that you never did mean to disappoint me.  You are just a typical 4 year old out exploring the world :) you are a tender heart.  We took Ginger to the Vet for surgery and you couldn't relax all day.  You kept wondering when we could go get him. you were so excited to go pick her up and she that she was going to be okay.  You love and adore your little cousins.  You love having sleepovers, and having them over to play.  you are a social butterfly with a HUGE imagination.  You are always talking to yourself. You love your little brother carter.  You one day said, "Hey Mom, I know why we call Carter  our Carter BUG, it's cause he always BUGS us huh?!?! "  I always said it as a term of endearment, but now when you say it I have to question your motives :) I don't know how in the world I was so blessed to have been sent you 2 boys.  You are my everything.  I love that I see a little bit of your Dad in both of you.  I love your Dad so much.  You have such a good attitude about moving although we talk about it all the time.  You are so excited for your cousins and family to come out and see you in MIchigan.  George, I hope you never forget how much your parents love and adore you, as well as your sweet Brother Carter.  You 2 are so lucky to have each other I hope you always treasure that relationship with one another.  LOVE YOU to the moon and back, MOM

ranch SNOWMOBILING TRIP APRIL

 On our way out to drop Jed off in Missouri for a month, we decided to stop in at the good ole ranch for some snowmobiling fun! We never make it up there in the winter, and my Dad had a marvelous idea to go up there cause there was still snow to snowmobile.  Saying we had a blast was an understatement! We bundled up and went went went.  The boys were seriously in Heaven.  Growing up I was always in the great outdoors, and I want my kids to be the same way.  I love that they are willing and so easy to take along with us everywhere I go.  Thanks Dad for coming along with us.... we truly had such a blast!

 Grandpa watched the boys so Jed could take me on a "REAL" Ride. We had a blast.  We got up so high, the snow was perfect for me since I hate getting stuck:) I was soaking in all the time I had with Jed knowing we were going a month apart !

 The views were incredible...We could see for miles and miles.  

 George and I in the Ranger.... Lovin Life!

 Jed and the Boys! I love the ranch pictures because everyone is always in make shift outfits and we are all just real! They were in Heaven.  Carter Bug couldnt stand being outside.  He kept grabbing my finger and leading me to the door to go outside, so outside we Stayed! 

 He cracks me up! His little personality has blossomed. He is hilarious and so fun to have around.  He has us all wrapped around his CHUBBY little fingers! 

 Saw a ton of wildlife it was incredible.  This time of year is definately the time to see things :)

 Grandpa and george out for a spin

 DEER were everywhere!

 And this is just to prove how quickly things can go bad! Woops watch out for the mud! So sad, yet definately a scrapbooker!

 Best of buds! So glad these little men have each other!

 Jed and Carter bug! 

 George-  My boys were their sunglasses everywhere because that sun reflection on the snow was so bright.  I was cracking up cause even carter would bring them to me to put on! 

Such

a fun time and such a good memory of a family trip.  We loved being together.  

Dear Carter,

Dear Carter,

You know what they say, "Time Flies when you are Having Fun!" and Fun is all we have had around here since you joined our family 1 year ago. You immediately captured the hearts of both me and your Daddy and of course your older brother George. Having 2 little boys has been such a blessing in my life. To see you to interact one with another, I am just so glad you have each other. I always think that when life gets hard that I hope you two rely on one another and build each other up for the better. I wish I could freeze time right now. You crack me up! Your easy going, mellow personality, is starting so show some spice :) You adore your big brother, I can tell you are naturally a Daddys Boy (which I pretend hurts my feelings, but really there is not another guy I would rather have you be like and love than your own Daddy!) and let me tell you they both love you right back. Carter, you are my sunshine baby, my little carrot top, my little jibber jabber, my kiss giver, my wrestler, my little biter :$, My best little buddy, My toilet splasher, Bath time Water dog, my little snugggler, tease, and of course one of the biggest blessings in my life. Having 3 boys around the house sure makes me feel lucky. I feel so grateful to be able to be your mama and watch you grow. You melt my heart with your squeals and giggles. You love horses.... Like LOVE horses! You go nuts when we head outside just making the sounds of the horses. You chase dad to the door when he heads out to feed them, and of course he never says no to you! You are walking everywhere. I love seeing your cute little legs waddling around the house. You are growing up too fast though. Carter, I hope that you know that I love you. I would do anything for you, and I hope you will always be my little buddy. Every day I thank Heavenly Father for sending me you. Little red headed Carter. I would not change a thing about you. You are so loved!

Love MAMA

At 1 year you:

Chase around all the older kids cause you just want to be BIG

You Say Horsie, MAMA, DADA, GinGer, George.

You make the horsie noise

You crawl around looking for toilets and open doors. You splash as fast as you can in the toilet till you get busted :)

You walk everywhere.

You tackle your older brother.

You give kiss after kiss after kiss. Sloppy but I love them

You love to bite... YOUCH! We are trying to break that little habit.

You love to eat! Meal time is a must around here

You love George... Everytime you see him you squeal and love on him. SO SWEET

You are always wanting to play with the big kid toys... driving tractors around on the floor, and even making the sounds.

You love your DADDY....

You love your mama too!

You are a tight squeezer! You give great hugs and cuddles.

You just quit nursing last week..... and are doing well with the bottle. But you still beg to nurse!

You love tubs, showers, toilets, anything with water... I can't wait to take you swimming this summer :)

Even though you have thinned out a ton, I can't get over all that cute little chub!

You have had 4 haircuts.

You are a handsome little guy!

We Love you more than words can say.

He loved his cake, was very serious about it, and went at it, studied it and kept making mmmmmmmmmmm.... sounds! ha ha

catch up... not in order!

well.... I am to lazy to change around the orders of this pictures, so you are just going to have to THINK BACKWARDS! Ha.... I feel like i get behind, and know i have so much to update that rather than conquering it, it just never gets done until I finally do a huge update. i am going to try to be better about writing on here cause it helps me document things. This may be totally boring to those who are reading, so just skim it or skip either way is fine with me :) i just need to document a few things! Anyways...

1. we just got back from a six day hospital stay with little Carter man! Poor little dude... It was a rough go. He had pneumonia, or metaneumovirus. He was on oxegen for 5 days because his poor little lungs were tired from having to work so hard to breathe. They came in and suctioned out his lungs every 2 hours to help his oxegen stay up. I hated it. My heart broke to watch my little man feel so crumby. I hated passing George around (even though he was in great hands) I just knew that my family missed having consistency. I was exhausted from sleeping in the comfortable hospital chairs everynight, from hearing oxegen monitors buzzing all night, and my amazing nurses doing their job :) we were very well taken care of but are so glad to be home. My heart did ache when I would look into our neighbors rooms and think "I wonder what their story is" I saw some sick kiddos and my heart went out to other families and parents that were there for more intense reasons then me.
Ha... I was changing his diaper and he pulled up to the side rails, and i thought it was too perfect not to capture! I figured it was him saying,"hey lets get our bum out of here!"
Poor carter was a tangled mess. For a couple of days he was hooked up to like 6 different cords and it was a nightmare. He was always crawling around.
The new addition in Georges room. Finally finished the bunk beds, minus the guard rail and the ladder. I figured with all the cousins who sleep over every week, and that eventually carter would be joining him, i wanted twinner beds.!
Captain Underpants! Yep.... pretty sure he has been potty trained 4 times now, but I am hoping the 4th time is the charm... (except that he pooed his pants today, but I guess i will let it slide this time :)) I am proud of him. It definately has not been easy for either of us. I have thrown my fits, and he has thrown his. I am proud to say i won for the most part. Ha. George is a sweet ball of energy, and Heavenly Father knew I needed him. He keeps me laughing and going!
George thinks he is pretty big stuff these days that he gets to ride his own horse... Yes, that really is a pony. We call it our goat. In the winter it grows a ton of long white hair, in the summer it is dapple grey and short hair. weird, but true. Look at those 2!
We drove to Idaho to see the sealing of the appalonies! Little paige is a doll, and it reminded me how grateful I am for the dear friends who made kirksville feel like home, and for the memories I will have forever. Love you guys and thanks for letting us be apart of such a special day!
Jed took up all the snow in the yard to make this huge snow man with his daddy! WOWSERS, it is no wonder that when Jed is gone, George is constantly telling me, "I wish dad would just come home!"He is a tough act to follow.
Santa and his Elfs.... Christmas was magical this year. We absolutely loved the whole holiday season, although it slipped away to fast. We sang songs, we talked about Jesus, we did Gingerbread houses, we saw the lights, we sat on santas lap, and read christmas stories all month long.
Carter was not sure he remembered this guy from the north pole. he could not get over the beard and kept pulling it. He was totally entertained and not scared a bit.
Mama and her little Elf!
We do a nativity every Christmas Eve. I love that it spotlights our Savior and the real meaning of Christmas. I love Watching kids who memorized their parts and was so excited to play a part in the nativity. George was a cute little sheep this year. When I told him he had been assigned to be a sheep he said, "It's okay mom i will just be a pirate!" I told him there were no pirates around and he insisted. I went over his part again and again with him , "I am the sheep with the curly horn, I gave Jesus my wool for his blanket warm." He kept changing it to ," I am a pirate with a sword." Woops... Luckily that night though, he went along with the whole SHEEP thing.
George was lucky to have a couple christmas', one at Grammy oldhams, and one at Grannys. He and Carter both got a kitchen which has been a hit. Both of them are always over there fighting over dishes, and brewing up some yummy food!
Christmas Eve. Grammy gave them jammies. I loved them. i think they look like cute little elfs.
The whole nativity.... it is a big deal. And it is special.. It makes you laugh, and it makes you think of the Savior, and it makes you think how dang cute little kids are!
This little guy is my sunshine baby! He gives me slobbery kisses constantly, melts me with his big blue eyes and huge smile. I love this little guy!
We had Evan over to decorate cookies for Santa... Can i just say those cookies were Heavy with Sprinkles, in fact I never knew you could have so many sprinkles on a little cookie. None the less..... I heard santa loved them :)
Well this is totally in the wrong order, but little Carter man scared us again a couple days before Christmas. Poor little guy, spiked a fever, and it threw him into a febrile seizure. Jed knew exactly what it was. I did not, and I was so scared. I hated watching that and it felt like it took forever. I told Jed I wanted to take him to instacare to just make sure he was okay. He was having post seizure symptoms for about an hour. No responses, eyes rolled back, teeth clenched, body stiff. Anyways the insta care said to take him to the ER for blood tests, and brain scans..Thats when I started to freak out. Well after a long night in the ER of them just saying it was a Febrile seizure and there is nothin you can do and there was no brain damage done, he was exhausted. We kept trying to play picabo behind the curtains in our room and trying to do anything to just get a smile, no luck. George went home to our house with my parents and he came running down the hall when we got home and Carter started to full on giggle. Tears came to my eyes immediately as George held this oversized little baby in his arms and they kissed and laughed. I knew that this was what raising 2 little boys was about. It was a pay day for me as I got to see the love of brothers. George was so worried about his little brother, and Carter just needed his brothers love. We all crawled in my bed to read scriptures and thank our Heavenly Father that Carter was okay. Carter just laid his little head on georges chest, and they cuddled and loved each other. It was a moment I don't ever want to forget.
Seriously so sweet!
At the ER cuddlin his mama!
Christmas morning!
4 babies all within 4 weeks of age, made the perfect little sheep for the nativity.
hmmmm ya don't worry it is just paint. But wanted you to know he is all boy! He got into my paint cupboard, while george was supposed to be watching him and I was in the shower...... Here comes trouble. This little dude, has been taking 6 or 7 steps constantly for the last 2 months. I keep thinking he will take off, but am in no hurry. I know it just means double the trouble :)
Georges gingerbread houses!

Sick of me yet? I just had to document some things on my mind, so I wont forget!

Yep! Still alive....

I know it has been awhile... I seriously do not know where time has gone! We are still alive and well, just running around like crazy! I know last time I updated Carter was five months and now my little boy is approaching 10 months old! George is almost 3 in February and I am dying thinking how fast time is passing. I am loving this stage right now as a mother. I love hearing all the funny things George has to say, I love hearing his imagination growing, and seeing his sweet personality continue to grow. Carter is my little sunshine baby. He gives everyone the biggest cheeser grins... they really are to DIE FOR! He has his bright red hair just like his Daddys. He is an easy going little man who seriously adores his big brother. Me and Jed love just sitting back and watching the 2 of the interact. They have so much fun ahead of them to grow up to! I work a couple of times a week and get to take Carter along with me and George gets to go play with his Cousins. George literally looks forward to it every time which makes it easier to leave him knowing he gets to play with his fun cousins and build relationships with them. Jed is currently doing the internal medicine rotation and continues to see the best in every aspect of medicine. I always tell him how will we ever narrow it down when he ever sees only just the positives, but it just says something about him... He really is a positive guy!

So that is pretty much us but here is a quick wrap up on us!

George George George, seriously he brightens my day. This picture is his personality to a T! When I was taking these pictures of the boys I had to giggle because This is HIM! This kid has the funnest personality that is so busy, but yet so loving. He wears his feelings on his sleeves, and he always makes me feel loved. He is a good big brother, although he does like wrestling a little to much. He tells me now he wants to watch football on TV and I will turn on a game and he will pretend and jump on piles of pillows, all the while making grunting and cheering noises. I am always grateful when he chooses the pillows and not me or Carter :) George talks so much and is hilarious. He is so smart, always trying to make deals with me, and gives the best hugs! We love little George and are so glad he came to us. He adds so much to our lives.

We got a friend to take a few pictures for our family picture and can I just say NIGHTMARE. These two are wiggle worms. even with bribery I could not get them to sit still!

Carter is all smiles. He loves his food, nursing, eating, his brother George, his Dad, and his momma! He says Daddy, wants to push around is little walker all over the house, He is obsessed with toilets (just today while i was cleaning the kitchen he unrolled a whole roll of toilet paper and was dipping it in the toilet and sucking on it :( i know disgusting, but i guess you gotta do what you gotta do ) This kid can create a wave pool in the tub! He loves splashing! He does Bye bye, and he does "SO BIG". He is a tough little boy. We love his smiles, and can not imagine our life without him. He melts my heart.

A few months ago our friends came in town so we had to have them over for family night BBQ! It just felt like the good old days in Kirksville. I did not want them to leave, and George was thrilled to have his WOMAN back in town! And we got to meet baby Oakley which was a treat!

WOOT WOOT! George got rid of his binky! All for a nice trip camping. Jed one day said that he would take him camping if he got rid of his binky and he never had it again. I was so proud of him because he was so attached to that thing. He did it like a champ. He is just like his dad, he will give up anything for a trip camping! Also a side note, that is always how he sits in the car I had to take a picture, because I think once again that is his personality! SO LAID BACK!

The three kirksville buddies and their babies!

My 2 pirates and my little parrot!

This is Georges Cousin Nat-Nate! He adores nathan and is constantly talking about when the next time is that he can play with him.

Of course Bony legs came to the party. I had been preparing George and he was not scared at all. Nor was Carter he just wanted to touch her face. Although she looks scary... she is the nicest witch i know :)

Pirate and her parrot

The wagstaff family party group picture. I seriously love Halloween because it is so magical to the kids. We had a blast and were glad to be there after missing it the past two years.

Matt and Kenzi stopped by for brunch on their way to the airport! It seriously made my week. We loved having them even though we wish we could have had them longer! We can't wait for little Liam to make his appearance! They are the best!

My Brother got married! He married Abbigail Taylor and she is darling! We absolutely adore her and were so happy they let us share in on the Celebration. She looked amazing and so did John! they are so happy and meant for each other. Here they are with all our Grandkids.

Their wedding was amazing and such a party. George loved the train and we danced and played all night!

This picture made me realize how quickly my family is growing!

Well that about wraps it up!