Carter is 2!

I have not posted in so long, but I had to post a birthday update for my own records! Carter is 2 today! It doesn't seem possible. He tried to wake up at 4 a.m. this morning, which is when he was actually born. I think he just new his festivities were awaiting. Carter is a character. He loves to make people laugh, and is silly most of the time. He likes to talk in a really low raspy voice when he is playing with you. He is great at sharing if you ask him nicely. He will give you the shirt off his back if you just ask politely. He loves money and his wallet. He is fairly good at knowing the difference between different types of coins. He can count to 8. He can almost say his ABC's perfectly. He tends to leave out J and K. He knows all his colors and shapes. He still loves Elmo, and has a particular fascination with the Letter Factory movie right now. He likes to listen to his Susie Tallman music, and Teylor Swift. Sadly, he can recognize Teylor Swift songs on the radio. This is a product of his father. He talks really well, and we rarely don't know what he is saying anymore. He is generally a good sleeper, but wakes up really early. I guess I am being paid back for that one! He loves the 4 wheeler and going outside. He would stay outside all day if I let him. He loves to act like a lion, but hates for others to act like a lion to him. He can handle a fall or a hit fairly well. He is not easily hurt. He seems to be our potential sports player. He is a very sweet boy that wants to give his mommy hugs and kisses everyday. I cannot imagine our life without our sweet Carter!

The Lake

For the past 3 years our friends, Josh and Jennifer, have invited us to Lake Eufala to stay at Josh's Dad's lake house. We look forward to it every year because we all have so much fun. Josh and Jennifer have two kids, Ty and Paige. Our boys ages fall right in the middle of theirs. So we had a 4,3,2, and 1 yr old this year. It definitely kept us on our toes. Our boys are not as used to the lake and were party poopers compared to their kids, but they tried to keep up as much as possible. Jackson was a little leary of the open water, but had fun at the beach. Carter just kept yelling "pool" the whole time and didn't understand why he couldn't always get in. Jackson loved to ride in the boat, but Carter was not as thrilled about boat riding yet. The lake is one of my all time favorite places to be. So I love getting to share it with my family and friends! Thanks Josh and Jennifer for inviting us every year!

Little Pyro

The boys loved 4th of July festivities this year. Every year we go to Tricia's parents house to celebrate with the Bartley and Travers families. It has become a tradition that we all really look forward to. Jackson was quite the pyromaniac! He was not scared at all! He wanted to light everything, but of course we did not let him. So he stayed as close to the action as he was permitted to be. Carter did not really care for the noise, but enjoyed the lights as long as Mommy was holding him. We are thankful that the Bartleys always let us crash their family time!

Swimming Lessons

Jackson took swimming lessons in June at Miller Swim School. I didn't let Carter take them because I was afraid that Jackson would flip if I was in the pool with Carter and not with him, but now I know he would have been fine. He loved swimming lessons! I love taking him there because the teachers are always so nice and careful with my baby. I think I will try to get him in twice next year since he liked it so much.

OKC Zoo

We also got to take a trip to the OKC Zoo with Matt's parents and our niece Vanessa. Jackson and Vanessa just love playing together! It was my first time at the zoo and it was great! They have several different exhibits that we don't have in Tulsa. Jackson and Carter could have stayed at the gorilla exhibit all day long. It was a big zoo and next time we will definitely buy tram tickets. We ate a picnic lunch after the zoo and we were all pretty exhausted by lunchtime! It was a great trip though. :)

Watch out girls....

Jackson's usual girlfriend is Emma, but Emma didn't get to join us on this zoo trip and Jackson picked up the girl next door! Hadley is a neighbor and the boys love to play with her and her sister. Although these two look more like siblings!

Tulsa Zoo

We went to the Zoo in May with some friends from MOPS. Jackson had so much fun checking out all the animals, and this was Carter's first time to really know what he was looking at. Carter didn't stay in the stroller for long. I will post a couple more pics, but the giraffe was actually one of the favorite animals on this trip. All the kids loved it. Carter's favorite was definitely the penguins!