Things That Go!

Carter has entered that phase when all things that move are exciting. Whether it is a passing bus or tractor in a parking lot, Carter is quick to point out any big machines. And so Carter and I have ventured out in search of things that go. You've already heard about our trip to see some tractors back in the fall. On a couple of recent weekends we've continued to search.

First we found our way to the airport. From a restaurant in the terminal we could watch the planes pass by, but because of the fog, we couldn't see anything flying. A return visit is a definite must.

This past weekend we chased trains. I haven't yet figured out the best place to see them, so we tried a few different spots. Fortunately trains passed by at each spot, bringing an excited "Choo choo" from Carter each time.

So what's next? A bus ride? A trip to the port to see ships? Any suggestions?

Presents by Pictures

I am going to give you the highlights of our Christmas by pictures. My dining room table is full of post Christmas decorations that need to be packed away and there are plenty of other items on the to do list, so I hope you will forgive my lack of story telling and enjoy the pictures.

The first gift of the year started out with tears after a head bonk.


We quickly recovered and started digging in.


Carter signing "thank you" to Gram.


I think he enjoyed the present opening!


Santa delivered and brought cars and books as promised during our visit.


I have a feeling this toy will get a lot of use!


Since we didn't travel to see most of our family this Christmas, I attached pictures to Carter's presents so he would know who they were from.


Carter waiting patiently as Daddy unties all of those pesky ties!


Trying on one of Daddy's gifts.


A shot of the Christmas morning chaos.


Our Christmas dinner menu consisted of butternut squash soup...roasted duck and stuffing...sweet potato casserole...and roasted tomatoes.





We even roasted chestnuts - I had never even purchased chestnuts before but they were yummy!


So there you have it - our Christmas in a nutshell. I can't believe Christmas is over. It all passed too quickly - but I enjoyed every minute of it while it was here!

Boxing Day

As the year winds down and the playroom and closets fill up, it's time to clear out some space. And this morning at church someone mentioned Boxing Day. I'd seen this holiday listed on the calendar the day after Christmas, but had no idea what it was about. I imagined some Charles Dickens-era holiday devoted to bare-fisted brawls. Although the exact origin is a bit fuzzy, it turns out that the day is not for hand-to-hand combat, but is a British holiday focused on giving to service workers and/or the less fortunate.

And so, with closets and toy boxes overflowing, we're giving a nod to Boxing Day and we've started the purge. Infant toys are packed away, replaced by bigger toddler toys from a very generous christmas (thanks grandparents, family, oh and Santa). Closets and drawers have a little more room. And we've got a pile of stuff ready for Goodwill and the church's community closet.


FYI: This is Adam writing. I am hoping to make more regular contributions to the ATL Post. In case you didn't know, you can check the bottom of each post to see who posted it.

The Legendary Santa

All I can say is this Legendary Santa really has the magic touch. Carter and I have visited several "Santas" this Christmas at various malls around town and the closest we ever got was to blow Santa a kiss from a few feet away. But this time Carter sat in Santa's lap and even let us take a few pictures.



Perhaps it was the almost 2 hour wait that let him get warmed up to the idea. Or maybe it was him being able to watch several other kids climb in Santa's lap without protest, even excitement.

Another possible reason is that Santa knew Carter by name as we walked up, which was pretty impressive.

But, really, the truth of it is that this is the Legendary Santa Claus.

Santa promised to bring Carter some cars and books, which he did. More pictures and stories to come...

Holiday Decorations Tour

Since so many of our friends and family are out of town and unable to pop in for the holidays, I decided to take you on a little tour of our house decorated for Christmas. I keep adding something new every day - maybe I will be done by tomorrow? Hope you enjoy!

It Snowed.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

And I think it is going to do just that.

They started talking of snow earlier this week and I did my best to dismiss it. I figured it was just the first potential snow of the season and that we might see a flurry or two. But the talk continued and the inches predictions kept growing. I had just been to Wal-Mart yesterday but I returned to the grocery store again today to buy more stuff just in case. The grocery store was as crazy as I have ever seen it. Lines formed half way down the aisles. When I finally got in line I counted and there were 8 full carts ahead of me. But, we got what we needed, and are now all hunkered down for the weekend. Here are a couple of shots from our front porch just a few minutes ago...

A few of our favorite things...

I think Carter is on the brink of a vocabulary explosion. He is trying new sounds and jargoning non stop. Just yesterday at the grocery store other customers could hear him 2 aisles over. Someone came up to me and said "so you're the one doing all that talking!" They were amused, but still, he was LOUD. I think some of his new sounds has to do with his love of books. The boy will sit in his playroom and pull out and "read" every single book (multiple times a day if we would clean it up more often!)



But there are a few books that are favorites right now. He will bring these to us and say "up" asking to sit on our lap to read together. Or if we are sitting on the floor already he will just plop down in your lap and hand you the book. This morning when I came downstairs after getting ready, this is how I found my boys.



They are reading a favorite: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. We used to have this book in a 'larger than Carter' size, but it has since been torn to pieces with a lot of love. So, I invested in a more durable board book version and he is still a fan.



Last night as we were reading we noticed that Carter started making the sound of the animal on the next page before we turned the page. So when we were on the yellow duck page, he started making his horse sound. When we were on the black sheep page, he started smacking his lips like a fish.

Another new favorite is Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss.



This is the first book that Carter has let us read all the way through to him. I am not sure if it is the rhymes or the bright pictures, but Dr. Seuss knew what he was doing! This weekend Carter went looking for this book in his playroom saying "op op, op op" which we have learned to translate as Hop on Pop.

Whenever we get to this page...



...Carter says "Ho Ho" He thinks Mr. Black is Santa. I guess I can see the resemblance.

And finally, the recent favorite:



Mimi gave this book to Carter when he was born. Apparently this was a favorite of Adam's as he grew up so Mimi thought Carter would enjoy it too. Or she wanted Adam to have to read it to Carter as many times as she probably had to read it to Adam! Well - it has become a BIG hit in record time. We started reading it this weekend and have read it several times a day since. The pages are really busy and full of all sorts of different cars and funny animals driving all the vehicles.



But the best part about the book is finding Goldbug. Do you know who Goldbug is? Let me introduce you:



There's Goldbug - peeking out of the ambulance window. This tiny little thing is hiding on every page. It is a challenge to find him on most but Carter has gotten really good at this game really quickly and I am embarrassed/proud to tell you that he can find Goldbug quicker than me on some pages. As soon as he finds Goldbug he starts waving at him with full force. Really cute and sweet.

So, there you have it - a few of our favorite books these days. If any of you are looking for good gifts for other little ones out there, we highly recommend these books!

Lights - Part 2

Last Friday we took Carter to the Downtown Illumination. It reminded me a little bit of New Year's - there was a big crowd all huddled together, there was a man on a microphone somewhere far away that we couldn't see who started the countdown, then when we all reached "1" all these lights turned on. It was neat, and a good city tradition, but like New Year's, a lot of hype for one quick second of celebration. Still, I am glad we went and we plan to return next year too.

I tried to get a few pictures, but I didn't have the best lens on my camera for the event so these will have to do.

All of the downtown buildings are trimmed in lights - this picture doesn't do it justice. You can click here to see a better picture.


There were reindeer covered in lights scattered all around.



We heard that there is only one Rudolph and his location changes every year and you have to find it. When the lights turned on, Rudolph was right in front of us.



There are more unsteady light pictures (as promised) in the December album.

Lights - Part 1

We headed to our local botanical garden's Gardenfest of Lights on Tuesday. The weather was a bit crisp, but surprisingly, Carter didn't protest when we put on his hat, a blanket, and gloves. Couldn't believe it.



There were lots of pretty lights - more than a half a million according to their website - and it was really fun to watch Carter take it all in.



In the children's area they turned the pathways between some garden plots into a maze of lights. We let Carter out of the stroller and he had a blast chasing Adam through the maze and then being chased right back.



There was also a pathway of trees that were lit in all different colors and the lights would slowly blink on and off. Whenever they blinked off, Carter would say/sign "More, Please." So cute.



As we were leaving, I couldn't resist a shot in front of the blue trees, and Adam apparently couldn't resist his rendition of Elvis' "Blue Christmas."



Tonight we are headed to the downtown illumination - more unsteady lights pictures to come.

Happy Holidays and Happy Friday!!!