Being Almost Two

This video is a bit mundane, but it shows a pretty good portrait of an almost-two-year-old: silly - independent - helpful - silly. (The video is missing one major trait - moody - but in the scheme of things, Carter is pretty laid back.)

Spring!

I don't know if I've been living under a rock or something (or more likely, a whole bunch of very well architected rocks), but I don't remember ever experiencing a spring so fully. The pink! The purple! The chartreuse! The fragrance! The pollen! I'm loving it all! (Even the pollen. it's kind of pretty how it dusts everything and I don't seem to be having any allergies).

We are (okay, I am) having a lot of fun doing a little light gardening and seeing what comes up in our yard this year!

Carter "helps" with the gardening.

The dogwoods in our yard are beautiful.

The hostas are on their way up.

The azaelas are in full bloom.

Window boxes have been filled.

And my herbs are growing!

Halfway

Early '08 has been pretty busy for me at work, which has meant quite a bit of travel on top of my regular NYC trips. Including a couple of personal trips, I will have completed 26 flights from January-May. This morning's flight to Seattle marks the halfway point.

Look out for news on my whirlwind 4-day business trip to NYC-Chicago-Houston-Seattle later in the month. 4 days, 4 cities, 4 hour meetings in each city.

I'm looking forward to a more relaxing summer!

Growing Up

There have always been things about myself that I assumed I would outgrow, and for many things, this has proven to be true. I now eat brussel sprouts; I rarely run late; I enjoy reading non-fiction. But, as I contemplate turning 30 this summer, I'm starting to realize that there are some things about myself that I might not outgrow.

• I will probably never remember to return a movie or pick up my dry cleaning on time. (Case in point, I am currently in NYC, and today I received a FedEx from Thomas containing the dry cleaning I forgot to pick up this weekend, which I need to get through this week if I wasn't going to go to work naked.)
• I don't start the laundry until someone is out of socks or underwear.
• I will likely never remember to wash my face every night, and I don't think will ever want to shower everyday.
• I don't unpack my bag fewer than 5 days after returning from a trip (Last week, Thomas and I both, separately, looked at the full suitcases in the floor of our closet and thought, "Thank goodness he/she is just as lazy as me!")
• I do not enjoy getting up in the morning (The definition of "early" has changed over the last couple of years, but the misery of getting out of bed is the same, regardless of the time, and regardless of the cuteness that is rousing you from sleep).
• I do not like raisins in my food (yuck), and I only like mushrooms if they are prepared by a very good chef.
• I will never put my clothes back in a drawer or closet when I get undressed. I will always prefer a bed, bench, coat rack or the floor.

Those of you who know me know that I'm really quite responsible (they didn't call me "grandma" in college for nothing), but there are some areas of my life where I'm just a little sloppy, forgetful and dirty. I don't think I'm going to outgrow it.

Bathtime Hilarity

Getting clean should always be this fun. I've only provided a minute here, but Carter's fun in Mama Helen & Daddy Phil's enormous bathtub went on and on and on.

More Arkansas Fun

Oops

I guess we need to find a different place to keep the Easter candy.
At least he doesn't know which is the right side of the lollipop.

Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday, we went to church and saw my mom at work. Carter showed off for mom's congregation by going right up front and (mostly) sitting nicely during the children's service. He was the very first one up there!

Before church, Carter opened the basket that the Easter bunny left for him.

Yes! I got it open!

Oh! It has jelly beans inside. I remember these from yesterday. (I don't know why they withheld such wondrous things from me for the first 22 months of my life).

Black jelly bean. Delicious!

Looks like Carter will be responsible for eating all black jelly beans in our household... yuck.

Easter Saturday

The day before Easter my parents had mom's side of the family over for lunch. Carter very much enjoyed running around with all his cousins. He especially appreciated the toys Sam brought and the ice cream that Sadie fed him.

Sam, Aaliyah, Carter & Sadie

Carter finds an egg! We didn't have enough proper baskets for all the kids, so Carter had a pretty floppy, soft "basket". The eggs he found kept falling out of his basket, so he just kept finding the same eggs over and over and over again.

Sam shows off his loot!

Sadie and Carter

Playing with the Big Boys

This weekend, Carter got to play a lot with big boys, including his older cousins and my dad. But the first big boy he played with was Caleb, who drove him around in his Jeep. I didn't fully appreciate how good a driver a 6-year-old could be - or how fast his car would go!

Safety First!
Carter picked this helmet up all on his own - and (thankfully) insisted on wearing it in the Jeep.


It appears as though Carter was a bit nervous about the ride at first...


But he quickly warmed up to it.

Carter was clapping and "Yay!"-ing all the way up the street.

More pics from the weekend, including Easter photos and some bath time hilarity, later this week.
Spring training pics from Thomas to come as well!