Spring Randomness

With Spring upon us here in Albuquerque (i.e., REALLY HIGH WINDS!), I thought I'd take a moment to post a few random photos of the Greenies from the last couple of months.

Starting with some running... My buddy Jennifer and I did our very first "Color Run" in March.  You see, in a color run you run a 5K (or 3.1 miles) and there are various "stations" set up along the route.  At these stations, volunteers take pleasure in dousing you with colored cornstarch powder.  After my first station, I learned that you have to slow down your run BEFORE you get into the color cloud, otherwise you'll breathe in a mouthful of cornstarch and then cough the rest of the race.  Good thing they don't time you along the route...

Here's a pic of Jennifer and I at the end of our first Color Run - called the Color Mob 5K in Albuquerque:

Then, we were silly enough to sign up for ANOTHER one - this time the Color Me Rad 5K in Albuquerque.  They didn't use just powdered cornstarch, they ALSO had power sprayers along the course to REALLY douse you!  We were completely and totally filthy after this one - see (first pic is after the yellow station, second pic is the end in an orange powder cloud):

We have one more color run in September and then I think we'll go back to "regular" races...

A month later it was time for the Run for the Zoo (May 2013).  Lucky us (Jennifer and I), we signed up to run the 10K (or 6.2 miles) to support the zoo!  In the spirit of fun, we dressed as zebras - see:

My co-worker (Rochelle - also ran the 10K) snapped this one of me at the finish line (below).  I made it!  AND, I got a new Personal Record (PR) - shaved off a whole minute from my previous 10K!  1 hour, 11 minutes!  Yes, that's slow compared to a lot of runners, but hey, since my first 10K race in Hawaii (March 2012), I've managed to shave off 10 minutes off my PR!  I guess all of this practice is paying off, eh?

Ok, let's get to some cute stuff - CARTER!  Our little guy isn't little any more.  He's getting taller every day and is turning into Mr. Independent (more on that in a minute).  He's also in to role-playing and can take on any character.  Some days, he takes on more than one at a time!  Here's Carter cooking his fish (pole at his feet) in his kitchen...oh yeah, and while wearing a superhero cape - we call him "Mr. Domestic Superhero Fisherman"!

On to some more silliness...  Last night we had a bit of a disaster in the kitchen whereby I dropped an entire canister [completely full, stainless steel] of flour on my foot.  Made a huge mess.  Matt was/is laid up with a fever, so it was just Carter and I around to tackle the mess.  In lieu of helping clean up, Carter thought a "Flour Dance" would be most appropriate for this situation:

 ...what a mess, eh?  Got even messier when Carter decided to "help" sweep up and then get some wipes to clean it up...

Mr. Independent has also decided that at age 4, he no longer needs to have his clothes picked out by his mother.  As such, he is free to choose his school outfits and on this particular day, he chose to wear his raincoat to school.  On a day with 0% chance of rain.  And a high temp of 80F.  I tried to get a photo, but this is what it's like trying to get our active 4-year-old to stand still for a picture for Grandma:

Moving on... Recently we attended the first-ever Renaissance Faire in Albuquerque.  Carter, a fan of all things with swords, had an AMAZING time!  I'll have another post on the Faire after I pull the photos off of our "good" camera (as Debbie would call it).

By far, his favorite part was bringing home a little wooden sword and shield.  I also bought him a little belt to hold his sword when he's running off to save the damsels in distress.  After the Faire, he wanted to play a little more in the back yard with his new toys:

 ...and he spent the majority of his time hacking up our dead tree (maybe there's a damsel in there?).  But boy, was it fun!

 

I'll end with a photo of Carter (posing again for Grandma) in his Christmas PJs (a hand-me-down from Amelia).  Sure, it was a warm Spring night, but that didn't stop Mr. Independent from choosing his footie PJs:

That's enough for now... I hope that you and yours are enjoying your Spring too!  Until next time...
~kerrie

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)

Carter's 3-Year Photo Shoot

If you can believe it, our boy is already THREE! To keep with tradition, the Greenies went for an annual photo shoot and to further keep with tradition, it went just as well as it has in the past... Keep reading, you'll see why!

But before I begin, how 'bout a few stats. Carter is now weighing in around 32 pounds (skinny), and around 3.5 feet tall (very tall). Fits in mostly size 3T's, with some 4T's mixed in. He's still a happy, easy going kid, loves to eat nearly everything (except McD's chicken nuggets - NOT a fan), he's extremely talkative (gets that from mom), and is currently all-about superheros (gets that from dad).

We couldn't be happier with his school and his new "three's class." In just the first month, they've made volcanoes, paper mache bunnies, and he's now full-time playing at the "big kids playground." It's so comforting to know that the teachers (and other kids) love him dearly and he has fun at - and looks forward to going to - school each day!

But let's get to the fun part - the photos. I'll start with my favorite shot - say "awwwwww!"
Same pose, goofy grin like daddy:
We tried to add in a basketball (it was during March Madness - ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!):
Few more with the ball:
(and weird pose with his thumb in his pocket?)
We tried playing catch - but this one looks like he's raising the roof! Paaaarty!
Eh, just put it on your head, ok Carter?
Back to sitting:
A few family shots (and wardrobe change) - Matt either has a goofy grin:
Or Carter is looking at something else:
Try that again while standing:
We tried a few shots with "Kitty in the Hat" (a gift from Aunt Nancy - Carter's bday is the same as Dr. Seuss, too):
Back to the star - this one I like how he was leaning on the chair:
So I always enjoy the planning for the photo shoot - for this one, I wanted Carter with his KU shirt, KU bear (a gift from Grandma C), and a basketball - check.

Then I wanted a few photos of the fam in red and blue (KU colors) - check.

Then I wanted a few of Carter with the Cat in the Hat - check.

But it never fails that we end up with a few "random" photos that have NOTHING to do with my plans. So here they are:

A mommy fave - in good Greenie tradition, Carter found a few props at the photo shot - this fireman hat was sitting off to the left:
And then he found a big dalmatian - awwwwwwwwww!
And finally, the most random prop in the place - a giant rubber ducky. Why not, eh?Hope you are enjoying watching our little boy grow up as much as we are and I also hope you enjoyed reliving our annual photo shoot!

Happy Spring!
~Kerrie

School Pictures 2011

It's been a while since I posted some "stats" on Carter. Since we don't have to take him to the doctor as much as we did during his first couple years of life, we don't have as good of a handle on his height, weight, etc. But let me say this: We have a very healthy and happy big boy!

Carter just rounded the 2.75-year mark and will be turning 3 before we know it! He's the tallest in his class (of 2 year olds) and while we haven't measured him, he's at least 3.5 feet tall. He's hanging steady at the 35 pound mark and is out of diapers (thankfully, he was in size 6 and I don't even think they MAKE a size 7...). He's in mostly 3T clothing (although we have him in 5T PJs because he's so tall) and needs to be in 4T pants because he often looks like the flood is coming...

Potty training is nearly complete (still in overnights, since he's not quite ready physically for that), but he'll have the occasional accident if he's super-engrossed in playtime (he'll forget all about the potty...). Cutest part is when he washes his hands after going to the potty. He'll say "every time wash your hands?" Awww... Our little germaphobe - just like Mommy! :)

Last time the doc checked, his ear tubes were still in position and that's a big relief for us. I like to think we've avoided a zillion ear infections by having the tubes in. We've had WAY fewer colds this past year, which has been nice because every time Carter was sick, I got it. Then Matt got it. Then Carter got it again, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Carter has had a couple haircuts, but he's still mostly blond. It is a little darker than even a year ago, but not much. He tells me that his hair is "white," so maybe someday he'll tell me it's "brown" like Mommy and Daddy.

He still eats pretty much everything we put in front of him and eats very balanced meals. So we're pretty blessed that he'll try and eat pretty much everything and anything! He's permanently on soy milk since he's allergic to milk, but it hasn't phased him in the slightest. His current love is soy eggnog and fruit cake, so yes, Mommy is quite proud! :) Only food we've found that he would absolutely not eat was the chicken nugget meal from McDonald's. He tried a bite of "chicken," pushed the package aside, and said, "yukky!"

School is still wonderful and I think his development is right on target. He knows most of his numbers (to 10), his ABCs, days of the week, and he's got a pretty lengthy vocabulary. The kid is nuts about books and has his own personal library to chose from. We're going to have to start cutting back on book time at night, because he'll make us read 15 books before bed if we'll let him. Might have to start cutting that to about 5 books to keep him on a sleep schedule...

He's still a fan of Kansas and will often say "Rock Chalk Jayhawk, KU!" (Grandma C should be so proud!). Carter likes swimming, playing outside, running, and all-things-that-go. We have a zillion trucks, trash trucks, diggers, and cars. And lately it's superheros, so he's now enjoying Spiderman, Superman, and even Star Wars. Daddy should be so proud, eh?

And finally, I thought I'd post Carter's school pictures from November. They had a professional photographer come in and take photos of all of the kids, just like they do in elementary school. We had three shots of Carter to choose from and this one (below) is my favorite (and I have no idea why he's looking at the ceiling...):
This next one is also cute, but I guess he wasn't in the mood to smile:
And this last one makes him look like he's really pissed off (or constipated)...so it makes me chuckle:
Thanks for reading and hope you're staying happy and healthy too!
~kerrie

BeCous(in) I can!

Just a quick post today because I feel like it... And, well, I have one of the cutest nephews on the plant - Daniel. Yes, Carter's cousin in Kansas. (And now my post title makes sense, eh?)

Daniel is just growing up so fast, I thought I better put in a few photos of him for memory's sake. Here he is riding his bike WITHOUT TRAINING WHEELS!!! (Katrina, his mom, later told me that it was one of the best days of her life...awwww...)
And another photo of Cousin Daniel with my brother (his dad), Jason - fishing, something they do really well (or they SHOULD do well, as I think Jason fishes every weekend with my dad...)!
And that's it, folks. Two photos that make me smile every time I see them. I will be putting both of these in frames on our "family" wall, that's how great I think they are!
~kerrie

PS For the record, Katrina took both of these, not me. Great pics, thanks!

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