WE'RE BACK!!

I know, I know -- we've done this before: said we were going to catch-up on the blog and then we disappear for another 3 months.

"So what gives" you might ask? Well, I was lucky enough to have Carter home with me all summer while juggling a new influx of real estate business (which has been fabulous!), but that left me with very little time to keep up with this blog.

We recently found a wonderful new daycare for Carter, where he will spend 2 full days/week playing and learning with his new friends. With some of my newfound "freedom", I hope to update the blog at least once/week! Woohoo!!

Stay tuned for some good updates... :)

MIA

Where does the time go?!? To all of our blog-followers, we apologize for the nearly 2-month hiatus! Summer has been busy, busy, busy and we have sort of forgotten about the blog :( However, we are going to do our best to update more often and we're even going to attempt to catch-up on what's been happening the past 2 months. We are going to back date the posts so we can keep a record for ourselves. Enjoy and stay tuned as we update starting back at May 31st.

Outdoor Fun...

Carter and I discovered a wonderful park reserve by our home that features a man-made swimming beach, huge umbrellas to keep us shaded and a wonderful picnic area. Not only that, it is very clean and very kid-friendly! The only negative is all the sand we trailed into the car with us :)

By the time I got the camera out Carter was a little tired, but he had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back soon!

Piggy Ride...

Carter's new favorite thing is to getting a "piggy ride" from anyone who will give him one. As you can see below, he squeals with delight :)

Getting a piggy ride from Papa and getting chased by Nonnie :)

3-Day Fundraiser...

My little sister, Jesse, has been training hard to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer walk at the end of August. Her team, named "These Boobs Were Made For Walking", has been so creative with their fundraising efforts and we are so proud of all the money they have raised!!

Jesse's husband's family owns Brine's in downtown Stillwater, so they were able to set-up a treadmill at the entrance to Brine's Bar for their latest fundraiser. They all took turns walking on the treadmill while the others ran around the streets of Stillwater collecting donations from people walking and driving by.

With Brine's prime location paired with the beautiful weather, they were able to raise a lot of money and had a very successful fundraiser...and it was hilarious to see them walking on a treadmill on a very busy main street Stillwater! Great job ladies!!

Jesse working hard for those donations! Love the sign, too :)
Carter walking with his Auntie Jesse!

Carter showing his "support" for the ladies!
The whole family was there to cheer on the fundraising efforts
Maggie, Casey, Carter & Kieran
Carter pushing his stroller by the St. Croix
Mom and Carter walking in Stillwater
Carter takes a walk with Grandpa Mike
Carter enjoys the view of the St. Croix and Stillwater Lift Bridge

Toddler...??

Our good friends, Andy and Summer, came over with their 2-month-old son, Nolan, tonight for a low-key BBQ. Nolan was relaxing on the floor when Carter decided to go lay down next to his buddy. Seeing the two of them next to each other really made Kyle and I realize just how big Carter has gotten! When did we get a toddler?? :)

Nolan (2-months-old) and Carter (18-months-old)

Climber...

Carter and I were playing in the family room this afternoon and I had to use the bathroom. I left the door open so I could hear what Carter was up to, which I didn't think would have been much since I was going to be quick. It wasn't long before I heard some movement in the kitchen, followed by a little grunting. When I came out of the bathroom, I discovered Carter sitting on our island stools, which are quite high off the ground. I had put Carter's nuk, blankie and Buster (his stuffed dog he sleeps with) on the island and he decided to climb up to get them. No more leaving Carter alone -- even for only a minute!

Como Zoo...

My good friend, Michelle, who is a teacher and off during the summer months, has a daughter, Clara, who is 3-months younger than Carter. I love when summer rolls around because that means we get to have more playdates with Michelle and Clara. This summer has been much more fun than last summer because Clara and Carter are interacting more and enjoying some fun outings together.

Although the weather was a little overcast and it seemed like it was going to rain at any moment, the four of us met at Como Zoo to see the animals, check out the conservatory and have a picnic. Both Carter and Clara are at the age where they do not like to sit in their strollers for very long, so we spent a lot of time chasing them around the zoo.

We can't wait for a summer-full of playdates with Michelle and Clara, and all of our other friends, too!

Clara and Carter loved the monkeys!

Carter checking-out the giraffes

Clara and Michelle deciding what food to feed the animal

Clara and Carter feeding the turtle

Carter crawling through the log tunnel...

...and here comes Clara!

Pool time!!

When I saw the weather forecast last night, I decided it was time to get the pool out for Carter to splash around in. We bought it last summer, but Carter didn't get much use out of it at that young age; this year is a whole different story -- he loved it! The hose water was a little chilly and Carter didn't have the patience to let the sun warm it up for a few hours, so he sort of just played standing-up and around the pool -- a good start :)

Here I come, Mom!!

Hmmm, not so sure about this cold water...
...but I love it anyway!!

A good morning in the water!

Hanging out with Ava...

Kyle's cousin, Mike, and Mike's wife, Gretchen, live about 10 minutes from the Casey's cabin in Aitkin. They came over Friday evening with their 2 (almost 2 1/2) year-old daughter, Ava, for dinner, boat ride and playtime with the kids. Carter and Ava played great together and loved the driving the boat together. It will be fun to watch the two of them grow-up together at the cabin in the coming summers. Thanks for a fun night you guys!!

Ava and Carter playing baseball

While Ava was eating her dinner, Carter decided he wanted to sit with her so he climbed on her chair to join her -- she wasn't super thrilled :)

At the lake
Our captains for the pontoon ride

Wishful thinking...??

We hope Carter will always be this excited to mow the lawn and vacuum :)

Helping Dad mow the lawn at the cabin

Keeping the cabin clean -- just how Nonnie likes it :)

18-months-old!

Happy 18-months buddy! We love you!!

Welcome Cole!

Our very good friends Julie and Scott recently welcomed their first child, Cole, in May. Carter and I were so excited to meet him at the monthly high school girls dinner, which Shannon graciously hosted this month. Cole is adorable and so tiny! It is so easy to forget how small newborns are and really hard to imagine that Carter was that small not all that long ago. They sure grow up fast!

Carter looks so big next to Cole!!

New tricycle...

Dave and Dorothy's neighbor was nice enough to give them a hand-me-down tricycle for Carter to play with when he is visiting. After he accompanied me to some showings this afternoon, we swung by Dave and Dorothy's so Carter could try out his new tricycle. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the trike yet, but we know he'll get the hang of it soon...

Getting riding lessons from Papa

Carter discovered the horn and loved it!

Taking a ride with Nonnie's helpTaking a ride on Papa's motorcycle

Little boy...

I couldn't resist posting these pictures -- Carter is growing up so fast and is looking like such a toddler!

Yard work...

Since Carter had so much fun on the riding lawnmower with Kyle, I thought it would be fun for him to have his own push mower. He spent about an hour in the backyard pushing his new toy up and down, watching it blow bubbles and then chasing the bubbles. He's going to have so much fun with that this summer!

Vroom Vroom

With GREAT caution, I decided it was okay for Carter to take a ride on the lawnmower with Kyle and he absolutely loved it! Each time he sees the lawnmower in the garage now he says "Daddy, vroom vroom!!"

Its Cabin Season -- brrr...

We are thrilled that cabin season has finally arrived!! The past few years we have had our first full weekend at the cabin over Dorothy's birthday. This year was no different and we had a fabulous time, though the weather was quite chilly.

The captain at the wheel

Bundled-up and loving the view!

Loving the ride!

Dorothy's surprise: finding out that Dave was responsible for having people send her 84+ birthday cards from around the world throughout her entire birthday month!

Bumpy Ride

We had a chilly inaugural pontoon ride this year but we couldn't let the first full weekend at the cabin go by without a cruise around beautiful Spirit Lake. Carter was happy as long as he was sitting on Papa's lap driving the boat. It was a bit of a bumpy ride with Carter behind the wheel -- as you can see from the video below, we didn't maintain one speed the entire ride -- Carter loved going from full throttle to slow back to full throttle again...

Wink Wink

When Carter was eating breakfast this morning I gave him a little wink. He tried to imitate me but wasn't quite sure how to do it -- his attempts resulted in his eyes rolling back in his head -- pretty hilarious! I tried to capture this on film but it's a bit hard to see. Check it out...

Father and Son

Carter is so lucky to have such a great Dad to look up to!

My two favorite boys, enjoying some father-son bonding --what could be better?!