Goofy Garbed Golfer Guy

For my very last post of the evening (SIX in one night! That's a record for me!), I thought I'd end with some giggles. One of the very cutest articles of clothing that Amelia passed along to Carter was a pair of plaid pants from Baby Gap. So for school last week, I decked him out in said pants with "matching" green shirt and orange socks.

The resultant look? He looked like a goofy golfer! I couldn't resist taking some photos before I got him into the car and now, folks, I'm sharing them with you!

Unknowing the goofy garb that his mother has thrust upon him, he innocently gazes out of the play pen:
"What am I wearing?! Get me out of here and put me in some blue jeans!"
"Maybe I can climb out the back side of this play pen and make it up to my dresser?!" (And yes, only the "cool" golfers tuck their shirts into their diapers...)
"Oh, there's just no escaping this place, is there?!"
"Maybe there is a trap door or secret passage behind here?!" "Maybe if I just look really cute, someone will help me out of these goofy pants?! MOMMY????!!!!"
I kid, I kid! He looked absolutely adorable and even his teachers thought so. And someday, we'll pull out these photos (which yes, I get hard-copies made of every photo I put on this blog - AND organize them in albums and/or put them up on the wall)...anyway, someday I'll bring these out when Carter brings home his girlfriend and Matt and I will have a ball watching her run out the door in giggles! :)

Hope you have a terrific end to your February...one day left! Good night!
~kerrie

PS Congrats to Debbie (a fellow blogger) and Paul (we went to grade, junior, and high school together) and their impending bundle of joy! Lucky number five!

I'll Have the Enchiladas...with Red, Please

I've mentioned in several posts that Carter will rarely refuse his food and has thus far been open to eating anything and everything. Well, tonight's dinner was no exception! Our dude chowed on some turkey, cheese, and black bean enchiladas (with "red"...how ELSE would you eat them?!...those that have been to a New Mexican restaurant understand the "red vs. green" lingo - if you don't know, follow the link).

Anyway, Carter ate his entire serving of enchiladas, avocados, and even polished off some fruit afterward. I just HAD to snap a few photos since he was pretty much sporting an orange tinge about 10 minutes into shoving the meal into his mouth (by himself, that is):
The "masterpiece" (otherwise known as the-dinner-formally-known-as-enchiladas):
"Oh gosh, am I covered in orange?!"
"It's ok, orange it the new black, you know!"
And finally, our happy, red chile eating boy:
I'm hoping in the future, Carter will enjoy the spiciness of New Mexican food as much as we do (and will ask for 40 more pounds of roasted chiles for the freezer!)! And hopefully the boy will have enough sense to know that you're supposed to order "red" on everything! (Ok, I'm biased...)
~kerrie

Sharing Dinner with Kitty-Kitty

Since our cat (named Kitty-Kitty, yes, that's hyphenated) rarely makes an appearance in the Greenie Times, I thought I'd give her her own post. Kinda...

First of all, a little history on Kitty-Kitty... She's been with me for over 16 years now and is still a spry, ornery cat. Her fur was completely snow white when I got her as a kitten and over time she has turned a little more tan and her tail is now striped. Her favorite past times are chasing string, throwing up in the hallway, and begging at the dinner table.

And the begging at the dinner table is what this post is really about... You see, Carter got his first taste of mac and cheese last week (which he LOVED!...and to be fair, he had black beans, avocado, and kiwi with it...so it was a balanced meal!) and mac and cheese is Kitty's most favorite meal to beg for! So as soon as she smelled the tasty powdery "cheese" being mixed in, she was poised and ready for a taste.

And poor, unsuspecting Carter didn't know how to handle the attention! First he tried to share his water with her, which was completely unacceptable to Kitty:
Then he held out his sticky hands for her to check out, again, unacceptable - no mac and cheese there:
Then he tried to grab her feet...
And he finally realized that she wanted a noodle!
Kitty swiped the macaroni from his hand and made a run for it:
Carter, giggling with delight, offered her more of his dinner. What a kind soul he is, eh?
Kitty got her fill and went back to her I'm-ignoring-you-you're-not-here pose:
In the end, it looks like we may have to scoot the kitchen table just a tad further away from Kitty's throne (the back of the couch). Otherwise, we're going to have a fat, fat cat!
~kerrie

A Little Bit of Randomness...

As I continue on my blogging marathon for the night, I've come across a few photos that just don't, um, FIT anywhere... And since I'm a neurotically organized person, I'm going to hold that side of me back and give you a little bit of randomness for this post...

First up, my grinning boy reaching out with his immensely sticky hands after dinner. Those that know me, know that I'm completely averse to anything "sticky" and it's taking some serious work on my part to let Carter include me in his sticky, sticky world! But I'm happy to report that I'm, uh, trying...

Anyway, here's the photo of my sticky, banana smeared boy:
Next up, we're trying to add a little more water to the tub for Carter's bath nights. In the past, he really just wants to drink the water, so we've had to be a little, uh, strategic during bath time... Starting last week, he finally decided that it was more fun to SPLASH in the water and play with the toys than it was to drink it! So...success! Here's our little bather (and some strategically placed toys to keep this blog with a "G" rating):
Next...

We took Carter to his first performance at Popejoy Hall (one of the largest performance theaters in Albuquerque, located on the UNM campus). We saw Jungle Jack Hanna (and actually met him and got an autograph!) and Carter made it though the majority of the performance before he fell asleep. We saw some amazing animals (including a real baby kangaroo INSIDE the mamma's pouch - cameraman on stage was amazing and got some shots inside her pouch!) and heard/watched some amazing stories (including a video of an infant black bear cub in NM - with the CUTEST cry...awwww!).

Carter, of course, was more interested in banging on the seats in front of us (we were in the 2nd row) and watching the 5-minute video clips on the big screen than he was the animals. But eh, it was fun to take him nonetheless. Here's a quick photo of him in his monkey shirt before we hit the theater:
Moving on to some mealtime fun... Last week Carter was pigging out on everything and anything we put in front of him. The boy had stuffed peppers (sans green chiles), all sorts of fruits and veggies, and even a couple of those gnarly "chicken sticks" in a jar that come from Gerber (don't ask...I couldn't resist buying them to see what they were really like...surprisingly, they taste like chicken...).

Anyway, during one night's dinner he was coated head-to-toe in food bits and was having a blast smearing the food (some bell peppers, broccoli, couscous, and chicken all whirled together) - photo 1:
Looks pretty pleased with himself, eh? - photo 2:
"See Mommy? I ate ALL of it!"
Ready for the wash up - photo 4:
"How's about a big 'ol hug, Mommy?"
And finally, Carter has more toys than any almost-one-year-old should have... And what are the highlights from the toy box in his mind? Some ice cube trays, a plastic cup, an empty Tupperware container, and yes, the Fisher Price telephone (thanks Jacque!)... Sheesh.
Ok, that's it. Hope you enjoyed the little bit of randomness for this post. Think I'll get back to my nice, orderly ways for my remaining posts of the night! :)
~kerrie

Sunglasses at Night

Since Amelia brought us a boatload of clothes for Carter (she's awesome!), Matt and I spent some time last week organizing his dresser and closet to make some room for them. Mixed in with his swim gear, we found a pair of green sunglasses that came from Kristin (about a week after Carter was born - one of the zillion gifts she lavished upon us...she rocks!). Well, they're just too snug for his face these days, but we thought we'd give him one more chance to pose with them on.

And since he was in his pajamas by this point in the evening, I'd cue up some Corey Hart when you view these next few photos (link takes you to some sweet song lyrics - totally apropos for this post...).

Presenting Mr. Handsome - photo 1:
A little turn to the left, showing off that stylish hair for the ladies:
"What do you think? Leave them on? Or off?"
"I think I might know JUST the right look..."
Of course! The 'ol glasses in your teeth, Mr. Sophisticated, look:
Just wanted our boy to have a little fun before we retired his first pair of shades and thought we'd share the silliness with our readers!
~kerrie

Happy [Belated] Birthday to Jennifer!

Since my Jayhawks lost today (*sniff...but it'll be ok, right? And if history repeats itself, the last time Oklahoma State beat KU, the 'hawks went on to win the National Championship...I'm just saying...)

...I digress. Point was, since I'm moping around (and Matt and I have head colds), I thought I'd catch up on a few blogs. First up, a big, happy [belated] birthday wish to our pal Jennifer. Celebrating a milestone birthday (29th, duh...), the Greenies were fortunate enough to participate in the festivities with her and her buddies!

Here's the grinning birthday girl (and yes that's a purple cake...she's a K-State nut and their house is disgustingly decorated in purple and white...but they're still ok in my book, even if they have no taste in Kansas colleges):
Carter and Mommy hanging with the crowd:
Another shot of the revelers after chowing on some cake:
And Jennifer's awesome hubby, Brett (you may recognize him as Chris Farley, the motivitational speaker from the 2009 Halloween Costume Party - link takes you to the party photos):
And finally, the celebrity of the night - the fluffiest cat I've ever seen (Matt put the coke can by her for "scale"...):
We had a great time, as did Carter (hamming it up for the ladies, as usual) and Jennifer, hope you're enjoying the end of your 20's (like me!)!
~kerrie

CONGRATS to Chris & Renae (& Hannah)!!!

That's right, a...

REALLY,
REALLY,
REALLY
BIG
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

to our bestest buds in Oklahoma - Chris and Renae!!!This very afternoon they welcomed their baby boy, Micah, into this world! I CANNOT wait to see this lil' guy grow up, as I KNOW he'll be just as adorable as his big sis, Hannah!

We are just peeing-our-pants excited for them, as Chris and Renae are some of our most favoritest people! And, well, they introduced Matt and I to each other, were our Best Man/Matron of Honor at our wedding, etc., etc. so that's like points-for-life kinds of levels for favoritest people! And well, Hannah is one of the cutest lil' gals around (link takes you to a post from last year from a stop in Oklahoma to see them)!

On a related, but totally random note, I thought I'd share a few pics of the baby blanket I made for Micah. Sewing is something I really enjoy doing, so I was quite happy to make him a blanket in anticipation of his arrival - the front:
And the back - you can click to see it better - but those are planes and trains and such on the yellow fabric:
And since I was out-of-control excited for them, I even bought Micah and Hannah their very own sock monkeys! One for Micah:
And one for Hannah:Adorable, eh? These were handmade by my sister-in-law, Katrina (and can be purchased here)! I KNOW they'll love and cherish them for days to come.

I think I'm done rambling, but know that there are some major heartfelt congrats from the Greenies going out to Chris, Renae, and Hannah! Here's wishing you both a few sleep-filled nights and all of the happiness we can snarf for you!
~kerrie (& matt & carter)

Congrats to Jessica and Braden!!!

Just a quick little post for my pal Jessica (from Book Club)....

Starting with a big....Her little boy (Rosten) has arrived (after a quick THIRTY-ONE hours of labor....sheesh!)! Can't wait to meet the lil' guy in person, as his first photo is PRECIOUS! Big congrats to Jessica, her hubby Braden, Aunt Jacque (also in Book Club), and Uncle Jeremiah!

Heartfelt congratulations from the Greenies and here's to a few rest-filled nights!
~kerrie (& matt & carter)

PS Congrats, too, to our buddies Dan and Mary Beth and the announcement of their impending bundle of joy! Get ready for the ride of your life!

Walkin' and Breakin' Hearts

First off, let me begin by wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day! Hopefully you've had lots of chocolate and tasty goodies today!

The Greenies slept in (until 7:15!) and then took our time eating a leisurely breakfast. Since Carter wolfed down his cereal, yogurt, and blueberries, I thought I'd let him try a little bit of my grapefruit. Grabbed the camera before we gave it to him, knowing he'd make some funny faces.

Well, sure, he squinted a bit at first and probably thought it was a little bitter:
And then proceeded to gobble it up and started looking around his tray for more. The kid is weird, I tell ya...how many 11-month-olds do you know that enjoy GRAPEFRUIT?! Most ADULTS won't even eat grapefruit... Sheesh! While cleaning up from the Fiesta party last night, Matt came across a walker being stored out in the shed. We completely forgot that his co-worker gave us some goodies for Carter (thanks Stefanie!), including said walker. Well, he's just NOW ready for it, so we "forgot" for just the right amount of time!

At first, he was pretty excited to just play with the knobs and buttons on the front. Then I showed him how to stand behind it (can barely read the shirt...but it has "Heart Breaker" on it in honor of V-Day - thanks Amelia for the cute attire for Carter):
Let's just say that after about 2 minutes, it was quickly THE MOST AWESOME TOY EVER!!! (As evidenced by the photo below.)
We were a little afraid that it would roll too fast across the carpet and Carter wouldn't be able to keep up. Nah, he was able to race back and forth across the living room with ease (ok, not exactly "ease"...a few crashes and belly-flops, but he got the hang of it pretty quickly):
So yeah, pretty much the BEST TOY EVER:
Carter "walking" in real time - 12 seconds of the excitement below (and probably would have gone on longer if the laundry basket wouldn't have been in his way...):


Guess we need to be a little more prepared for Carter walking, eh? Could be any day now...oh brother...

Have a great week and stay out of trouble!
~kerrie