a note i wrote to my tall, dark and handsome husband

***

you make my heart skip as much now as you did when:

• i saw your neon jacket in 1990
• we really started dating in 1994
• we got engaged at gooseberry in 2000
• i saw you at the front of the church in 2001
• we found out i was pregnant in 2006
• carter was born in 2007

can't wait to keep adding to the list that weaves the story of our lives.

ten things

ten things i can't live without (not including jamie or carter):

1. my bible. although i don't spend as much time as i want to sometimes, i read it every day. right now i'm in jeremiah.
2. coffee. there are days when i have to limit myself to 3 "cups"....not sure if it's the weather getting cooler or what.
3. stride gum - sometimes two pieces at once, please.
4. my phone. facebook, twitter, email, what's not to love?
   
5. my saucony running shoes.
6. tivo.
   
7. contoured foam memory pillow. jamie and i each had one, but we left mine at the hotel in schaumberg last year on vacation. i promptly commandeered his.
8. facebook. there, i said it.
9. gap jeans.
10. podcasts. they help make the commute tolerable.

mn state fair - labor day 2010

our annual trip to the state fair with my parents happens on labor day. it's been fun to see the things that interest carter each year...from just people watching to fascination with the animals; from the food (or lack thereof this year!) to the rides. it's just one more example of how being a parent is so much fun to see how he experiences things!

sometimes i am filled with so much love for my beloved son i can hardly stand it. then there are mornings like today.

we were going to target, to buy him a spiderman on a four-wheeler that he'd been eyeing since we'd first started potty training. well, he has been doing really well in the potty training department, and we wanted to encourage him. however, upon our arrival at target, after discussing how important it was that he put his listening ears on, apparently - in his words - "they fell off". so we promptly left target empty handed.

after carrying him back to the car, all the while whining and sometimes screaming, he decided he was going to be incredibly defiant and not get into his seat. now, i was about to lose my mind, so after a couple failed attempts at time outs i just climbed into the car and grabbed him and put him in his seat. i told him he was in a time out the whole drive home, and that when we got home he would have to do another 3 minute time out. well, we got home and he marched himself right in and right to the time out spot. when the timer went off, he gave me a great big hug and apologized. i was feeling much better about things, and it really did seem like he knew that he'd been naughty.

after helping jamie with some stuff he was doing with my car, i told jamie to get ready and take a little bit of a break. i'd take carter to the park. so we left for the park, and carter ran almost the entire way - a half mile. so...my lesson learned is: get the boy out for some exercise before going to target next time! hopefully that will help!

loving the beach!

$22 is an amazing steal to get all of us to the beach for a whole year. and though we've only been three times, we feel like we've already gotten our money's worth! the days have been perfect beach weather, too - nice to sit on the blanket near the water, but when it gets too warm then just saunter over to the super shallow water to wade for just a little bit!

these were from the 4th of july weekend:

just arriving, about 9:30 am

playing at the water table

fun in the water with daddy

we will definitely be back soon!

carter's surprise

we told carter today that if he was a good listener, he would get to go to a surprise. since he complied, and also as a side benefit to us kept his pull-up dry the entire day (small victories!) so we went to toy story 3 - his first movie in the theater. he did so great, and was so cute when the first preview came on! that is, until it was super loud, you know, like theaters are. near tears, but a good save with a quick hug - and some fruit snacks. only once did he start to get a little antsy, but overall he had an awesome time - and we did too!

i'm not gonna lie, though...it'll probably be a while before we do the whole movie-at-the-theater thing again. :-)

Currently Watching Heroes: Season 2 By Jack Coleman, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Masi Oka, James Kyson Lee, Milo Ventimiglia see related Wow...it really has been a while since my last post! I've joined the throngs on Facebook, and apparently haven't looked back...since August anyway. So this is a big week of appointments for Carter. He is having his hearing checked Tuesday afternoon since he isn't saying more than a couple of words yet. Lots and lots (and LOTS!) of babbling, but words - not so much. I'm not too concerned, since he follows commands and does lots of signing, but I'm happy to go through the evaluation in case there is anything that we can be doing in the meantime. Then on Friday morning, he is going to have his tear duct cleared - I didn't realize until talking to a friend that this involves anesthesia. So I'm a little nervous, but know that it will be ok. And Jamie's going to take the day off to be with us, which is nice. What else? I have a new job - as a project manager in the online marketing team. Still BestBuy.com. It's going really well, and I'm enjoying it too. The pay increase is also nice. Running another 5K this Saturday...even though it's going to be cold. I'm going to have to get used to it, since I've committed to run a 5K every month until next September. Then I'll have done one per month for a whole year. I'm taking an online photography class that starts next Monday - I'm SO excited for it! I'm really looking forward to getting better pictures, and there's a little part of me that hopes that maybe someday I can take children and family photos as a side job. We'll see...