Labor Day we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and spend the day together at an apple orchard. The kids had a great time. The pedal tractors were a hit for both of them! The weather was perfect and we had a great time there! We enjoyed a little picnic lunch there before heading back home. After trying all the varieties of apples, we selected a few different types to bring home for cooking and baking. Carter can't wait to head back there later in the fall to pick pumpkins, he couldn't understand why we couldn't go back the next day! Something about green pumpkins wasn't that appealing to the rest of us.

Tobin built a new desk for our office. It's finally almost done and now we have the task of organizing all the stuff we need to put back into it. It has a large work area for my scrapbooking- so I guess someday I will have to get started on that again!






Carter also enjoys helping his Dad with any project, including adjusting the crib for the baby. He has a toy drill he received for Christmas- and he is pretty helpful with it!



As you can see from Carter's John Deere equipment, he's a true "green machine" fan. He also loves to arrange things neatly- I think his first born personality is already showing through.





With the nice weather that we've had recently, we started a few vegetable seeds to put in our garden. Carter had fun helping me add the seeds to the dirt- I think some of them were planted a little thick!




Happy Spring!

These pictures are from Grandpa's birthday party. Carter was able to enjoy a little time outside with uncle Rich and cousin Katie. He enjoyed looking at the goats, horses, and rabbits. He can't wait to go back.
Tobin and I are looking forward to a long weekend off from work. We are headed to a Mark Schultz concert and a night away while Carter is headed to his cousins' house. He keeps saying he wants to go to Ben and Katie's. It's hard for him to understand that he has to wait for a few days before he goes. I guess I have to start telling him things like that closer to when they happen!
Today we were able to go on a nice long walk with the dogs. Carter also was able to play at the park, he enjoyed the slides and the swing. It was tough for him to agree to come home with us.

Our Christmas decorations are now finally down, still not all put away! This weekened the weather was nice and so was able to get the outside lights down. Carter really seemed to adjust well to taking the tree down. Tobin and I took it down one night after Carter had gone to bed. The next night at supper Carter looked into the living room and said, "lights- where'd they go?" We tried to explain that they were put away until next Christmas. Tough for a 2 year old to understand, but he didn't complain. I'm sure he'll miss opening all of the presents. He did really well if we asked him not to open something. However he was convinced that every present he saw was, "that's mine!"
We had a small birthday party for him with his Grandparents and baptismal sponsors on the weekend of his birthday. He seemed to have a good time as did his guests. It's really hard to believe that he's 2 already. It seems like just yesterday that he was born! He's really grown into a little boy. Tobin recently measured him and he's almost 3 feet tall. He is learning new words daily. He loves to play with trucks, tractors, trains, etc. He also really enjoys playing outside in the snow and has a pretty big fit when it's time to come back inside. I enjoy watching him pretend to read books, he will sit and look at a book and babble as if he's reading it. then he likes to glance at me to make sure I notice he's "reading."
This summer, Carter will become a big brother. We just had our ultrasound this past week. The baby was very active during it and appears to be very healthy. They estimate baby's weight at about 8 ounces. I've been feeling much better in recent weeks, but still dealing with some nausea and indigestion. However I can get through a day without having to vomit or feel like fainting! It was a very rough start and I'm not sure how I made it through most work days. Right now I am working extra on call nights and weekends so that during the end of my pregnancy I don't have to be on call. It's hard now, but I know it will be helpful in a few months to be able to come home and rest and not have to worry about being called out to help deliver a calf during the night.
Thanks for reading this blog. Hopefully it will help us to stay a bit more connected. Please send me comments by email or on this blog. We enjoy our friendships with each of you. Please keep the following in your prayers:
Our Prayer requests:
our growing family
our friends and family who have medical problems
Haiti earthquake victims

Carter enjoyed helping us put up the Christmas tree this year. He helped put the ornaments on and I've noticed some of them have moved since we first put them up. He's been very good about not playing with them, just rearranging them. Some branches have 2 or 3 ornaments on them! He's also enjoyed pointing out the lights to us. I wonder how he will do when we take the tree down this week?!

Just wanted to update the blog since it's been several months. we have some great pictures from Carter's birthday and our Christmas celebrations, however I can't find them on my computer to upload them.
Thanks to everyone for sending the nice Christmas cards and for the great gifts for Carter. He's having a blast with his new toys!
Happy New Year!
Karen

Carter is enjoying his summer. We recently offered him corn on the cob and he kind of likes it that way! He's a little picky about veggies and won't eat corn off the cob. However, he so far has enjoyed the messy way to eat it!

Carter and his friend Jessi were having a good time last weekend. Actually I think Carter was scaring Jessi. He was trying to hug, dance, kiss? her. As his parents, we're a little concerned that he's starting to be interested in girls a bit too young! A few weeks ago he got in trouble at daycare for sitting on a girl- she got mad and scratched him!
Jessi's mom has agreed to watch Carter for a few weeks this summer while our daycare provider is on maternity leave. Hopefully Carter and Jessi will have the same nap schedule so Mom can get some rest! I'm sure they will have fun.

Today the weather was beautiful. After naptime, we set up Carter's swimming pool in the backyard. He loved splashing in the water and getting everyone wet. He also thought it was fun to carry water from one pail to another. We are looking forward to a little vacation this summer in Wisconsin Dells. I think he will enjoy all the water options!

So the gardening adventure continues. I think we've learned a few things the hard way already. Apparantly planting before Memorial Day isn't such a great idea. We had some tomatoes, carrots, and beets planted. Saturday night the tomatoes froze. We also had some of my Mother's day flowers die. The choleus and marigolds don't really like 32 degree weather! Thankfully there were a few not planted yet and so we can replace the crispy plants.

Tobin has been watching Bald Eagles this spring. Our friends, Glen and Marcie, have a pair of eagles that nested in a pasture close to their farm. They were able to set up a telescope in their living room to watch the activity for the past few weeks. One day Tobin adventured out to get closer pictures of the babies. He said the adults were very protective and wanted to get him out of there! Good thing he didn't go any closer. We also went to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha earlier this spring. It was neat to see these majestic birds up close.

Carter taking a very long nap after a very busy morning. We walked the dogs in the park and then sat and watched the construction equipment move the dirt around. They will be building a new playground in a few weeks to replace the one lost in the flood. We are excited for this since it's not very far from our house. Carter enjoyed watching the loader and the other equipment moving and leveling off the dirt. The large dump truck that drove near us honked his horn for Carter and he wasn't even scared by it. Later in the morning we ran some errands and then stopped to play at the park in Houston. Carter enjoyed the slides, swings, and other little kid toys. He really enjoyed watching Mom follow him down the slide- head first! Good thing no one had the camera along for that.

This year I've decided to try gardening in our backyard. I say I because Tobin's not sure he likes my plan and Carter enjoys any new adventure, regardless of what it is.
So after careful deliberation, I ordered some seeds from a catalog and a starter kit to plant them early. Carter was all too happy to help me water the new seeds and had a great time. I think he had more water on himself than the seeds! The seeds are up now and I'm just waiting for the official dirt addition to the backyard. Tobin built a 4 x8 foot frame for this garden so we don't have to tear up the yard, just add dirt and seeds. We'll also need to add a rabbit fence because they are everywhere, even with the dogs around. This year I had one tulip that survived between the deer and rabbits!

Trying this Blog out!

I've decided to start a blog to help family and friends keep up with what's going on in our lives. My hope is to post current pictures and events so you can feel a little more connected to what we do every day. This is a new task for me so be patient as I figure this out.
Karen