where did the baby go?

Carter turned 11 months old on the 18th... Where did my baby go? All of a sudden, I have two toddlers (YIKES!) He's such a cutey pie and great kid. He's been walking so much more and loves to push his Mickey Mouse toy around everywhere. He LOVES the water. I think he's secretly a tadpole. When we were at the beach, his favorite time was in the pool. He would go underwater and doggy paddle to Kevin! It's crazy..never seen any kid love the water so much! He has become a lot more vocal the past few weeks. He and Liliana have "conversations"...too bad mommy and daddy aren't privy to what their talking about!!!! Guess I should start planning that 1st birthday party-it'll be here before I know it!

Greetings from the Sand and Surf

We are having a blast at the beach this week! Liliana loves the sand. Carter loves the water! Mommy and Daddy are adjusting to having two kids at the beach. I haven't had a chance to pull out my book and read or take a nap by the pool.. but watching them have a blast is totally worth it!!! more pictures to come...

Happy 10 months!

Carter is 10 months old today! Can you believe that my silly boy is almost a year old? It seems like just yesterday I found out that I was pregnant!
Some notable things about Carter:
1. he is a HAM! He has the cutest facial expressions and can be very silly.
2. he's so close to walking but not quite there- yesterday, he stood up in the middle of the floor all by himself! He loves to walk with any toys that he can push... now...just to let go and he'll be on his way!
3. he's talking up a storm. He'll say "mama", "dada", and I'm pretty sure he's calling Liliana "Ana", which is adorable!
4. Oh.. am I in for it-Carter and Liliana are already "fussing". I hear more than once a day.. "mommy, Carter hit me!" Well--at least he can take up for himself?! No, seriously, most of the time he loves his sister..but the more they interact, the more lessons in sharing that have to occur!
5. did I mention that I can't get enough of this cutie?!?! He loves to snuggle and mommy takes full advantage of rocking him to sleep and cuddling (all the things that Liliana doesn't like--she'd rather be left alone in her bed.)
6. What an awesome blessing from God! :)

Two years ago , I became a mommy! There's not a day that goes by that I don't thank Liliana's birthmother for allowing Kevin and I to be her parents. I have NO idea how I could live life without this sweet baby girl. I am constantly reminded of God' s grace and mercy in our lives through Liliana. She's growing so fast and becoming such a beautiful little girl. I love seeing her grow and learn each and everyday. I thank God for allowing her to be a part of our lives and family!

TWO

Happy 2nd Birthday Liliana!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it's been 2 years since you joined our life! I can't imagine a day without you. I love you so much! I will post pictures tomorrow after her party!!

Need to Update!

I'm such a slacker..well, not really. I have come here to update several times and then I think- OH.. I still need to upload those pictures for the blog. So, I'm posting with no pictures! :) Things that have been going on lately:

• Liliana's almost TWO!! Only 1.5 weeks to go! I can't believe it! Where did my little girl go! She's at such a fun age! Love it! Her language skills are developing so much each day. She'll throw out sentences and sometimes I have NO clue what she's saying but most of the time I'm like "how in the world did she know that?!!?"
• Carter is 9.5 months- This Sunday he woke up from his nap with a 104 temp. YIKES! Mommy was more than a little concerned. After several phone calls, we headed to an after hours pediatritian to find out that he has Croup. It's a nasty cough. The fever seems to be gone--but baby Carter has not been a happy camper lately!
• Only 20 days (18 student days and 2 post planning) until I'm a "Summer Stay at Home Mommy"! I can't wait! :) I love hanging out with the kids and getting to spend time with them. I hope we can take a few day trips to the zoo, museums, etc this summer as well as our vaca to the beach (which we're PRAYING that there won't be oil everywhere!)
• Our friends Holli and Scott are expecting!!! I can't tell you how excited I am for them. I know that their road to parenthood hasn't been smooth but the blessings are on their way!!! :)
• Did I mention Vacation was in less than a month! ?!!?!?
• Carter's "Cruising" everywhere and I expect him to walk soon! He doesn't like to walk though--he'll stand up, move over a little and then drop down and crawl at incredible speeds to wherever he wants to go. He's still in the "I'd rather just crawl " state!
• Okay.. guess that's about it! I promise to stay in touch more often! :)

Hanging Out!

We were playing outside with Liliana and Carter over the weekend when Carter reached up for the tree. We decided to see how much arm strength he had-- He LOVED it... I let COMPLETELY go of him and he just laughed and laughed...Liliana wanted a turn too but wasn't quite sure of it all!
Carter turned 9 months old today! Liliana turned 23 months this week!