Thanksgiving Drive to Utah

I am almost caught up with updating this silly blog. It is sad it takes me so many post to catch up, but my kids are finially taking a nap today.
We drove up to Utah this past Friday. I went to the doctor early Friday morning. Everything is good, I gained another pound in the past two weeks which puts me at a total of 20 pounds gained. We heard the heart beat, the baby does not hold still for the doctor to count beats. So far, every doctor starts with counting for 30 seconds and ends up finially settling for 7 seconds. This is a very active child; more active than my first two which scares me! After the doctor we got in the car and started our 7 hour trip. I believe Topher slept about 30 minutes as did Maddie. I think these pictures are quite funny and capture the mood swings that are caused by being stuck in a car with eachother so long:
tired, sad, cranky, silly, angry, amused, fascinated, and my mood which did not make it to "film"...crazy

Tears and Tantrums

Usually around 4pm my kids are especially sweet to be around. If I am not too tired I do actually find it all amusing. Topher is too old to tear up on will so he has to contort his face quite a bit to even get one tear out and often times he ends up laughing at himself because it is all so silly. Maddie can still cry at will but she has a definite whine/cry that is obviously fake. Overall, if you ever want to come over to my house, I would do so before 4 or you may get this as a welcome. I love in this video that she peaks out to make sure she still has an audience. I know this is only cute for so long, but for the moment, I am usually amused.

Talent and Entertainment

My kids are so talented. Topher plays football by himself and sometimes loses. Maddie reads books, upside down! I am never lacking entertainment with these two around!

Socks and Shoes

Maddie's favorite thing to do is to put on her shoes. She usually goes through a few different shoes each day, and for the most part, she wants to put them on herself. I am thinking for Christmas I'll just get her a few pairs of shoes and call it good.
This night she was yelling in the car and I told her "to put a sock in it." My rather unobedient child uncharateristically obeyed me.

Grandma and Grandpa Carter

Last week we had a somewhat warm Saturday, so we took the kids up to the cemetary just below B-Hill, which has a destinct spot in one of Tyler's childhood memories. He fell down the hill during a field trip and cut himself. I am geussing that he did not fall a lot or get scrapped up because I don't remember many of my falls, probably because I fell and got cut every single day. Anyways, we went to the cementary and cleaned up grandma and grandpa Carter's grave site. Maddie was a great help too.

First Snow

The other week we woke to our first snow fall - about 2 inches in all. Topher and Madelyn were excited to go outside (I know Madelyn was becuase she cooperated while I was getting her dressed.)
Once we were outside I think Maddie had a change in heart about snow. It really irritated her that her shoes were getting "dirty." She kept looking down and saying "shoes, shoes, shoes!" (There is a video of this at the end of the post - once again to lazy to worry about order). She was only content if she was being held (after we brushed her shoes off). She is a little bit of a priss if you ask me! I am amused by the picture looking down over my tummy. It is amusing me that my tummy gets in the way of seeing my toes and whinning kids.However, Topher really did enjoy the snow. First thing he did was run out and make a snowball to throw at Tyler and I. He also rememeberd how to make a snow angel. Tyler tricked him into pulling on the tree branch, bringing down quite a bit of snow on him. Overall, I think Topher is a fan of snow.After about 15 minutes in the snow Maddie and I came back inside and she enjoyed a nice warm bath. This was much more to her liking - one her shoes couldn't get dirty, it was warm, and of course it was a bath which allows her to swim and splash. Topher, after an hour or so realized that his hands and toes were cold and came in and snuggled with his dad under a warm towel.

Handsome and Darling

Another week has gone by. It has gotten really cold lately. It actually snowed (well to a girl from the South it snowed) on Saturday. It is weird has fast this year has gone by. If I could fit into my clothes or move comfortably I think I would forget that I am pregnant. However, I am due in 10 weeks! I can't believe I am going to be a mom of three, that makes me feel so old! The change in weather makes me want to go Christmas shopping! I never enjoyed Christmas as much as I do now. I love thinking about what would make my kids the happiest and what they would want the most. And I think having a limited budget makes it that much more fun. Odd as is it sounds, it makes each purchase more thoughtful. We really have to debate and think what the kids would want the most. I love it!

I just realized the last paragraph was very random and jumpy, but oh well, it's how my brain works. I go to the doctor tomorrow for my 30 week apt. I am changing doctors to a midwife. I think I'll prefer this but I am a little apprehensive about changing this late in the pregnancy. I am hoping to deliever at the end of December which is about 8 weeks from now! I am liking the name Caroline Holly for a girl (or Charlotte Anne, or Zoe Elizabeth, or Amber Lee) and for a boy I like the name Cade with something else (Tyler Cade or Spencer Cade...who knows)!

Topher got a new suit for church. He is such a doll in this picture. He thinks (and he is right) that he is so handsome in this. I think he looks like a mini-missionary. I sure do love that kid, he makes my life so much more interesting (in a good way). We tried to comb his hair down, it wouldn't lie flat even with hair gel in it. I imagine even on his wedding day he will have hair sticking up somewhere on that cute little head of his. Maddie was crying the other day so I asked her if she would smile so I could take a picture. This is what I got. She is such a pretty little girl who is very aware that we all think she is cute. I took her to Dillards the other day to look at dresses for Christmas. She walked around saying "So cute!" "Cute!" or "Pretty!" She must hear those words a lot because she sure could say them clearly. She also had little intrest in the clothes once she saw the shoes. I think that a love for shoes must be a genetic thing because I couldn't agree with her more, shoes are the best part of every outfit. And she goes for the flashy ones too (glitter shoes or furry boots). I hope she wears a size 7 1/2 when she is older so we can share!

Grandma bought Maddie Mae a baby stroller. That baby sure does go for some rides, but she is a cute little mama. I do feel bad for this little one we are expecting. I image that Maddie won't be like Topher and leave the new baby alone. *sigh* I geuss I'll have an interesting year at home with those two.

Halloween 2011

After selecting the perfect pumpkin the previous week we were ready to carve. Tyler drew out a few different ideas for pumpkin faces and Topher selected what he thought was the scariest pumpkin face. Maddie was a great help in cleaning out the pumpkin. However, she did gross me out by trying to eat the goo (I am sure she succeeded sometimes). Topher was Iron Man for Halloween this year. It was hard to get him to hold still or even to find him to take a picture so I don't have any of just him. However, Maddie was avaliable for some pictures before we started the festivities. She was a butterfly. Topher picked out her costume; he figures she was a ladybug last year and we should stick with the bug theme. I think Maddie had a different idea of what she wanted to be. I think butterfly might be too sweet for her. So, she took initiative and became a gun-toting butterfly. I think it works for her.Both Topher and Maddie pause for a moment for me to get a picture. Topher is my tough Iron Man and Maddie is my "sweet and delicate" butterfly. Both girls with purple and wings. Mara, who Maddie loves, was a purple bug. I think they are quite a cute little pair! Maddie caught on to the concept of trick-or-treating very quickly. She walked right up to the person and stuck out her pumpkin. Occasionally she even said "please" or more often "candy." The contrast between the two kids is kind of amusing to me. Topher, at her age, held back in the crowd and only liked to go up to cars if he was the only kid; Maddie however, is not afraid of all the big kids and I think would have pushed them out of the way if necessary. I wonder if it is all their personality or the fact that Maddie has grown up with another kid in the house. Either way, my cute little butterfly got lots of yummy candy that she couldn't wait to enjoy. It was hard to get pictures of Topher actually trick-or-treating this year. He took off with his cousisns and sometimes by himself, leaving me, Maddie, and the camera behind. But, he did show off the rewards of his labor - he was most excitied about a purple whistle (I wish I could egg that persons house.