Shoes that are Red

Carter seems to be still growing like a weed (tell me that it has to slow down...or else this kid is going to be 10 feet tall!!!). Anyway, had to put him in the next size shoe (18-24 months) and thought I'd snap a few photos of him running around in his "new" kicks (courtesy of Liam!).

Before I could get the picture taken, he was running around the living room playing with the dryer ball (we use these pokey ball things instead of dryer sheets) - they make FANTASTIC toys:
My "artistic" shot of the day - just LOOK at that perspective - large AND small!
Then Carter decided to get right up in my face as I was lying back with the camera:
And finally, as few pics of those shoes - they have these little elastic thingies that cinch the laces tight. WAY more interesting than the dryer ball and even BETTER when you take them off:
Oh well, we'll just keep putting them on and on and on...
~kerrie

Happy Mother's Day!

My second Mother's Day and it was even better than the first! Carter sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers to the office (and pardon the cruddy quality, I took this with my cell phone):
Then on Sunday, Matt made me my favorite breakfast ever - Biscuits and Gravy, some vegetarian breakfast sausages, and fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice - YUMMMM! Totally cute, as Matt apparently hasn't made gravy, so I tried to coach him along. He wasn't sure how much flour to add in to the roux, so I made the comment that "you really can't add too much flour...you can always cut it with milk." Well, I think he took that as a challenge, because next thing I know, he's got a huge globular blob in the pan that looked NOTHING like gravy...

Alas, a few quick modifications (i.e., dump half of the overly-floured glob out), add some milk, a little seasoning, and poof! We had gravy! It was perhaps the best meal I've had with my boys in quite some time!

To top if off, Matt bought me a new bottle of Coach perfume, so I was a happy, happy mom that day! Thanks again to my boys for a WONDERFUL Mother's Day! And Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all of the other great moms out there!

I'll finish this post with a little bit of randomness...

First up, Carter has officially graduated from the Baby Room at school! That's right, our little boy is now in the "One's" class and is having a hey day! They play outside nearly every day and he is having a blast. His teachers have told me several times this week that he's a "very happy boy," he "never cries," and is "very handsome." (Maybe they heard that Matt and I give good Christmas presents and they're sucking up already?! j/k)

On Monday I brought small thank-you gifts for his teachers in the Baby Room and when I picked him up from school, one of his favorite teachers saw me and started crying. She told me that our gift and my message in the thank-you card was "the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her." Awww.... Well, Danielle and Gloria treated him like he was the ONLY baby in the room, and for that, we were indeed thankful!

Ok, finally moving on to a few photos... Starting with Carter The Bed Head - catching a little play time right before school:
Another early-AM shot of him "lounging" with a bottle of milk - and his recliner of choice was a big pile of toys in the living room:
And finally, thought I'd showcase a little of Carter's "schoolwork" from the week. Amelia tipped me off that I shouldn't think about keeping ALL of his schoolwork, because it will pile up in no time! She said to snap a few photos of it and call it good. So that's what I'm doing. This week they were working on colors and shapes and they stick these little construction-paper shapes to each page with some glue. Carter is getting the hang of it, eh?

Maybe our boy will end up being an artist, eh? Or maybe he has a ways to go...

Happy [Belated] Mother's Day!
~kerrie

Best Chinese Food EVER!

Last weekend we had dinner with some of our very best pals, Gundar and Myja and their son, Noah. The food was perhaps the BEST Chinese food I have ever eaten in my life!

They made eggrolls from scratch (and I ate three...):
In the upper corner you can see the Green Bean & Chestnut Salad (and for the record, "chestnuts in water" are a completely different product than "water chestnuts"...).

They made Broccoli Beef with awesome Bean Thread Noodles (which are totally awesome when you drop them in a bit of hot oil - they expand to about 5x their original size...always wondered how they cooked those and now I know!):Here's a shot of Noah anxiously awaiting some food:
After pigging out, Carter played with a balloon he found in Noah's stash (and by "play," I mean "eat"...):
Myja scooped him up and he managed to sit in her lap for all of about 3 seconds...
And that was just before Carter tried to get in on the game of catch (with this really funky green, hairy ball...):Noah was ALL ABOUT having his photo taken in the middle of the action - so here's what I got: And another action shot as Myja had to reach for the sky to grab that throw:
Not to be outdone, Carter was showing off his batting skills with Noah's big blue plastic bat. Surprised that he was able to leave it behind...we were fully expecting to have to bring it back the next day because he was having so much fun with it!
All in all, it was the PERFECT dinner date with friends! Hopefully as Carter grows up, we'll be able to entertain at our house and have just as much fun! Thanks again to Gundar, Myja, and Noah for a great meal and great fun!
~kerrie

The Monkey Horde

So Carter is fixin' to get his last few teeth in and has been a bit of a crankapotamus lately. We're blessed that he's pretty much ALWAYS happy, so it's been a tad rough dealing with his fussiness.

Anyway, seemed like the only thing to help ease his frustrations the other night was to let him "play" with every single monkey off of his shelf. Matt was trying to give him a little milk before bedtime and he wasn't having it... Instead, he wanted the monkey horde:
And slowly, one at a time, he picked off each monkey and tossed them to the floor:
Poor little Curious George:
And another one bites the dust:
Until the horde was no more:
Happy to report that those couple of molars are poking through and maybe, just maybe we're past the rough spot. Let's hope the remaining few teeth come through like lightning!

Hope you have a fantastic week!
~kerrie

Run For the Zoo

The Greenies participated in the largest running event in the history of New Mexico. Nearly 11,000 people came out for the 10K, 5K, or 1-mile charity run/walk for the Rio Grande Zoo!

Our pal Amelia invited us to join her and her kiddos for the 1-mile "Fun Run/Walk" this past Sunday. Historically, it's about 85 and sunny and most people wear shorts. We, however, got to participate when it was about 40, gloomy, and rainy. Weeeee!

Oh well, it was for a great cause and we had a great time chatting with Amelia along the way.

Here's a shot of the Greenies with Amelia, Liam, and baby Greta (thanks to my co-worker Heidi - also at the 1-mile run/walk - for taking our photo!):
Hopefully next year it will be back to 85 and sunny!
~kerrie

Everyday Objects

Completely random post about completely random, everyday objects...

Starting with the laundry basket. Who knew it could be so much fun?! Who knew it could hold an entire army of toys? Who knew it could transport the cutest kid in the universe?

Well, it does and it can. Exhibit A:
Of COURSE it's hilarious. Duh, people!
And when certain toys are in the way, it's so easy to just chuck them out:
But it's twice as fun for Mommy to pile them all back up and scoot the kiddo around the living room:
Next up - the sale ads in the Sunday paper. Who knew they folded out to twice the size of a highchair tray? Who knew the models and pictures were so colorful? Who knew that you could wave one over your head and make a boatload of racket (try it sometime, I swear, it's fantastic!)?

Well, Carter must of had an inside scoop. Exhibit B:
And an action shot:
Better yet, watch the hilarity in real time (these are about 4, 5 seconds each):





Boy, wouldn't it be great if we were ALL that easy to please?! Life would be a lot simpler, I tell ya!
~kerrie

The Thin Mint Kid

Well, I pulled a box of Thin Mints out of our freezer stash (which is just heart-breaking to see our supply dwindle...). Decided that it was time for Carter to try out his very first Girl Scout Cookie.

First impression - hmm, minty, not sure about this...:
Followed by the it's-not-so-bad-face:
Maybe yet, it's a tad too minty:
But why not continue eating it?
To the ok-let's-have-some-more-of-those-reach:
All in all, he wasn't the biggest fan of the chocolate (as you can tell by the dribblings on his bib), but he really liked the crunch of the cookie. He'll learn soon enough that Thin Mints are really God's gift to this world (j/k)!

Yummm....
~kerrie

The Big Blue Ball

Thought I'd spend a little time blogging tonight so all of my dutiful readers (both of you...) can gaze into the wonderful Greenie world...

Let's start with a fun little post about the Big Blue Ball. You see, it's just a regular ol' exercise ball (I used it when I was pregnant to help with some lower back pain) and well, it's turned into QUITE the fun toy for Carter.

Funniest part about it, it's nearly as tall as he is and when it bounces, well, if he's in the way, it knocks him right to his butt (which, in turn, makes it QUITE a fun toy for Matt and I!).

Here's a fun little video (about 18 seconds) of Carter giggling and pushing the ball to and fro just before bed time:



Followed by another short video (about 11 seconds) of Carter getting knocked to his butt. Hehehe!



Yes, we're cruel. But isn't that part of the fun of parenting?
~kerrie

Dino Kid

My final post for the night... I have to hit the hay, as tomorrow I'm giving three presentations at a local middle school for "Career Day." That's right, ALL the kids want to know about the life of a chemical engineer! (And well, I teach them how to make Silly Putty, so it's a blast!)

I digress...

Thought I'd post some photos from this morning of Carter in his snazzy dino outfit (thanks Grandma C!). His newest trick is to flip the walker-toy upside down so he can reach the wheels and spin them round and round (all while pushing it across the floor):
And of course, taking ALL of the toys out of the basket:
Including the Legos:
And the books:
And a final shot - Carter's latest achievement - standing up in the middle of the room (i.e., he doesn't have to pull up on the furniture, my leg, the wall, etc.):
Any minute now, he'll be running....AHHHHH!

Hope everyone is having a great week!
~kerrie