Wowzer! Look who's FOUR?!

If you can believe it, Carter is already FOUR years old!  Where oh where does time go?!

Quick note on stats: Our boy is happy, healthy, and smart.  He weighs in at 37 pounds and is 41.75 inches tall.  As he's been all along, he's tracking right on the 50% line for weight and right on the 100% line for height.  Our tall, skinny, handsome boy!

I'll have another post for his "official" birthday party (Dr. Seuss-themed; Grandma even came to town!), but first I wanted to show of some of the annual family photos in this post.  We went to the usual place, had the usual "plan" for how the photo shoot was supposed to go, and it went the usual way...crazy!

Some of the "normal" shots - jumping:

 Catching the basketball:

 As always, he just HAS to check out the props at the studio - here, the little rocking chair and cabby hat:

 Why not a pic with the giant Easter eggs?!

 Ok, some cute smiles:

 Look who's four:

 A family shot:

 Home Alone?

 He just HAD to cuddle with this giant bear...

A close-up with the bear:

 Adorable smiles (looks JUST like Matt in this shot):

 And my favorite.  My handsome, healthy, happy, FOUR year old:

We love you, buddy, and couldn't imagine a life without you.   Happy Birthday, Carter!!!

XOXOXO,
Mommy (aka, Kerrie) and Daddy (aka Matt)

Congrats to Jeremy & Liz!

Just a quick little post for our good pals, Jeremy and Liz!

Starting with a big....
Their little girl, Natalie Lucille, arrived on Saturday! Can't wait to see lots of photos and meet the little gal! She came into the world healthy and perfect at 6 pounds, 5 ounces and 19.75 inches long (which is a teeny, tiny baby compared to our horse, Carter...)!

A big congrats to Jeremy and Liz and I especially can't wait to see photos of little Natalie laying about on the Parisian Kitty-Cat quilt I made for her back in March. They have a Parisian theme for the baby's room (how cute is that?!) complete with French kitties and chandeliers.

Few photos of the super-softy blanket below. The front:
Both sides:
A close-up of the kitties:
And here's a photo from Liz's Baby Shower:

And another photo from Jeremy's Baby Shower here at work (that's one of the two outfits I picked out for little Natalie...Jeremy thought it was totally cute...):
With that, a big, heartfelt congratulations from the Greenies to Jeremy and Liz! Here's to a few rest-filled nights!
~kerrie (& matt & carter)

Congrats to Steven & Sarah!

Just a quick little post for two of our favorite people: Lumpy and Puck, or Steven and Sarah as most people know them....

Starting with a big....
Their little boy, Tatum Evan, arrived yesterday! Can't wait to see lots of photos! And according to my sources, ahem, FaceBook, he's healthy - came into this world at 8 lb 2.5 oz!!

A big congrats to Steven and Sarah and I especially can't wait to see photos of little Tatum laying about on the Roswell Space Alien blanket I made for him earlier this month. Few photos of the super-softy below:

The front:
Close-up of the alien:

Both sides:
And while I'm on baby blankets, I also whipped up a couple charity blankets for Project Linus back in March. This is a wonderful, wonderful charity that provides blankets to children that are either seriously ill, traumatized, or just in need of a little blanket love while they're in the hospital.

My nephew Daniel received a Project Linus blanket when he was in the hospital as a newborn (he came into this world a tad earlier than planned...10.5 weeks early...and had quite a rough go at his first few months of life...happy to report that he's uber healthy now and a super duper little boy that's nearly ready for Kindergarten!).

Anyway, my sis-in-law (Katrina) makes a few blankets for them each year because Daniel's blanket is one of her most prized possessions. Plus, I'm always happy to help out a wonderful cause such as this and you should consider doing the same! Just think of all of the happiness you could share by just sending in a blanket! (So go to the link that takes you to their website and you can find your local chapter!)

I made a "boy" baby blanket (super soft flannel):

And I made a "girl" blanket:
And then I packaged them all up to donate at one of my favorite fabric shops:
Anywho, point of this post was actually to share our heartfelt congratulations from the Greenies to Lumpy and Puck! Here's to a few rest-filled nights!
~kerrie (& matt & carter)

Greenie Family Photo Shoot (Carter 2-Year Pics)

Since I posted some candid photos of Carter in the last entry, I thought I should put in some "real" photos too. We went for some "professional" photos (I use quotes because I'm not quite sure that these people really know what they're doing. Keep reading...), anyway, we went for some family shots and to get some good photos to document Carter's second birthday.

I had it all planned out that he would wear his Kansas jersey, hold his Jayhawk (from Grandma C), and then we'd get a few family shots in his nice new shirt (also from Grandma C). Well, it didn't go quite like I'd planned...

So let's start the show (and all of these are from the raw files - as in they haven't been centered, color-adjusted, etc.).

Got that jersey on AND a basketball - perfect! (except Carter won't smile [normally]...):
Nor did he want to sit in their chair:
(ok, I LOVE this next one - and who knows why his cheek got all red all of a sudden...)
So we did an outfit swap - let's try some shots with the "2" block:
No sitting still...why? Because there was a STUFFED SQUIRREL!
At least we managed to get the Jayhawk in the picture... Except he's not wearing the jersey anymore...
Let's try a few family shots - here's the ONE that came out ok (Matt never smiles - he just looks at Carter and focuses on something, um, elsewhere, while I just watch the camera and ignore everyone else...):
The boys:
Mommy and Carter:
So then we swapped photo rooms to one with a red background (thought that'd be great - crimson and blue AND the Jayhawk - just in case I brought two...). Went all fine and well until Carter spotted the giant rubber duck!
Ok, crop out the duck... Cute, but won't smile for the lady:
What's that?! A GIANT RABBIT! A giant rabbit AND the duck?! (And who actually WANTS to use these props?!) And what happened to the Kansas jersey? Screw it, just keep on the white tee:
Ok, white tee with red background. Not bad. Add in a rocking chair? To sit in? Nah, Carter just wanted to push it around the set...
Which is TOTALLY fun!
*patience gone at this point

Let's try some blocks. Got a "C" block? Two? Cool! Those are for stacking, right Carter? What about the camera lady?
Ok, let's try mini blocks?
A bunch of sports equipment?
And at that point, folks, we gave up. HOWEVER, we did get one REALLY great shot of Carter to put up on the wall and to send copies to family. Good thing it has a squirrel in the shot, eh?
Can't make this stuff up folks. Here's hoping your photo shoots are just as entertaining as they are for the Greenies!
~kerrie