Happy Twenty-Ten!

New Year's resolution number 1: update this blog more frequently.


Well, it may be a losing battle, but it's good to have goals, right? Since it's been so long since my last post, this one will be good and long. In fact, I'm certain it will take multiple typing sessions for me to finally get it all done. So, here we go...

I had to go back and re-read the last post to remember where our lives left off in this cyber-soap opera. Thanksgiving weekend was full of Carter's illness. Thankfully, that finally resolved itself. Just when his intestinal problems cleared up, he got a cold on top of that. At least it wasn't severe and he seemed to get over the worst of it fairly quickly. It took him a couple weeks to finally kick the cough and only now do we feel like his sleep/wake behavior is back to normal.

As far as Carter's wellness would allow, we've been pretty busy this December. Carter got to visit Santa for the first time. He seemed a little nervous about sitting on a stranger's lap, but he sat still long enough for a photo. We also got a good photo of the three of us picking out our Christmas tree. I love the smell of Frasier firs!

Carter had an early Christmas with Grandma and Pop. As much as Carter likes playing with paper, I really thought he'd get into tearing off the wrapping of his gifts. But in the end he was more interested in the toys themselves or the boxes they came in. I think his favorite gift from that weekend was the Tonka dump truck. He pushes it around all over upstairs. Puts things in it. And he loves it when we push him around in it too.

The cold weather has really limited our time outside with Carter. I've had to get creative with indoor activities to keep him (and me) from getting bored. With Mike's holiday vacation, we've really been able to get out and about the city. We've bundled up and visited the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Even on a cold day, we could still walk through the tropical Climatron and some of the other historical buildings there. One night, we drove through the Way of Lights holiday light display in Illinois. The light tunnels impressed us the most. We've also taken Carter swimming at the local indoor pool, braved the shopping malls, and even visited the super-crowded Magic House (children's museum). Carter seemed to like the Magic House for the first 40 minutes or so, but after a while he grew tired of trying to find our legs among the throngs of other parents there with their kids.

Finally, we had a quite Christmas morning at our house. We made a big breakfast and opened presents. Carter really enjoys everything he got (thanks everyone!), except now our house looks like a toy store explosion. Tomorrow we go back to our routine though. I'm a little sad...it's been great having Mike home so much.

My pregnancy is moving along. I'm nearly into the last trimester now. If you haven't heard already, we found out we're having a GIRL! She's very active, and I feel kicks and nudges all the time. As I enter the final stretch, I'm really starting to feel the physical limitations of being pregnant. Ugh. I don't think I've been comfortable for a couple weeks now. There's still so much to do too! My nesting instinct seems to have kicked in this past week. I've been cleaning and organizing whenever I had a spare moment. At least some areas of our house look orderly. The new baby's room still needs a lot of work. But it's the beginning of a new year, and combine that with my nesting instinct, hopefully it will spark us to kick it in gear and get it together before the baby arrives in April.

Pictures will be up on Flickr soon!

Ups and Downs of Thanksgiving Weekend

Another lazy blog entry...

Bad: Mike's parents were unable to come visit us for Thanksgiving.
Good: We have tons of extra food to ourselves! (I'm typing between bites of apple pie)

Bad: Mike decided not to make his banana pudding since Thanksgiving was just the two of us.
Good: Now I have tons of leftover bananas to make banana-oatmeal-chocolate-chunk cookies!

Bad: Carter has had the most awful case of "the backdoor trots" (as Mike calls them) I've ever witnessed...I'll spare the details, but the washing machine has been running continuously and the word "projectile" is definitely applicable.
Good: After severely restricting his diet for a few days, we seem to have finally turned a corner.

Bad: The Vikings weren't on TV this weekend.
Good: The Vikings won.

Bad: The Razorbacks lost.
Good: The Razorbacks were on TV this weekend.

Bad: The weather is starting to get colder, which means less outside time for Carter.
Good: Our neighbors' Christmas lights look so pretty!

Bad: Thursday is still 4 long days away!
Good: On Thursday we get to find out the sex of our new baby. Stay tuned!

Christmas Around the Corner!

I can't believe November is almost half over! I can't believe Thanksgiving is almost here! I can't believe this pregnancy is nearly half over!

Whew! (deep breath)

Halloween was pretty low-key here. We stayed home and handed out candy to the neighborhood kids. For some reason, they seemed reluctant to actually ring the doorbell. But I had the window shade up and the front door open. So it was only when I happened to walk through the living room that I would see four or five little faces pressed up against the glass, eager for the candy. So cute! I think Carter might be ready for it next year.

Last weekend my mom, Ed, my sister, and her son all came to visit us. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. We went to the zoo, where we rode the train, saw the giraffes and the "mary dogs" (prairie dogs), and wore ourselves out with walking. Carter seemed to get a real kick out of watching his cousin play around the house. I've noticed the last couple days that Carter it sticking out his tongue while he concentrates on the task at hand...something he picked up from his cousin?

Carter continues to surprise us every day. It's so fun to see his personality develop as he grows. He LOVES to be outside, exploring the yard. He's quite the little nature lover. The first thing he does after setting foot out the door is find a leaf on the ground. He picks it up with one hand and grabs the stem with the other. For the rest of the time outside, he will carry this same leaf by the stem in his little hand. If I pile up the leaves in the yard, Carter will plow right through them, kicking and stomping as he goes. I can't wait for some snow to come...I wonder how he will react to it.

My pregnancy is going well so far. This week I reach my 17th week, so 3 more weeks to the half-way point. At my last checkup, I got to hear the baby's heartbeat, which is always amazing. The week after Thanksgiving, we'll be able to find out if it's a boy or a girl. We have yet to do anything in the way of getting a new nursery ready. Right now, the room that will become the new baby's room is actually our guest bedroom. Perhaps after the potential for holiday visitors passes, we'll be able to get to work.

In the meantime, I am so excited for Christmas to come. It's my favorite time of year! My iPod is updated with all my holiday favorites which always put a smile on my face. I can't wait to get our Christmas tree and start decorating. Hooray for twinkle lights and the smell of a real Frasier fir tree!

Busy October

Please forgive the long blog absence. I'll try to make it up here with a good long post.

My pregnancy so far has been going well. I'm starting my 14th week and I am very happy to be leaving the first trimester behind. For the most part, the experience has been about the same as it was with Carter. The first trimester was full of nausea and sprints to the bathroom, but I think all that is behind me now (fingers crossed). The only bummer at the beginning of my second trimester is that I got a cold. All this week has been sniffles and coughs. I think I'm nearly over it though. I'm hopeful that Mike and Carter will escape unscathed. My next doctor appointment is this week so we'll have a new update soon.

October has been pretty busy for us. The first weekend was the annual Pumpkin Daze festival in Republic, MO. It was a great chance for us to visit with family, see some big gourds, and eat some good food. The weather was a little on the chilly side, even though the sun was shining. Carter seemed to enjoy running around the hotel lobby more than anything else. During the drive down to Republic, we stopped at Sunshine Valley Farms to buy some orchard apples. We bought Lura Red and Liberty apples. Almost all of the Lura Reds have been converted and canned to applesauce (16 quarts!). The Liberties we kept for eating or pie-making, but they seem to be losing their flavor. Oh well.

The past few weekends, we've been taking Carter to some of the local fall festivals at pumpkin patches and farms. He really seems to enjoy just walking around outside, exploring nature, picking up leaves. This year, he's still a bit too young to play around the older kids on the playgrounds. But he enjoyed the hayride, checked out the pumpkins to be carved, and ran through a corn maze with Dad. This coming weekend will have a couple of Halloween events for little ones at the Zoo and the Botanical Garden. Since it's unlikely that Carter will be trick-or-treating this year, we may go to some of these events if the weather holds out.

That's all I can think of for now. Hope you had your fill of Bunn updates! Check Flickr for new pictures.

Bunn in the Oven!

Many of you have already heard of our exciting news, but the announcement is official now that we have documentation. Carter is going to be a big brother! We're expecting our new arrival in mid April. More news will be posted as it comes. Stay tuned!

Mini-Updates

I know I'm due for a new blog post here, but my energy level is running on reserves right now. So forgive me for only posting mini-updates in a list format.

1. Carter had his first "official" haircut last weekend. It was long overdue. He did a great job sitting still and his hair looks very handsome.
2. Apple season is here! I'm trying to decide what orchards to visit. We recently tried a Ginger Gold apple and I was quite pleased with the flavor. Yum!
3. The first weekend of October always means Pumpkin Daze in Republic, MO. We're really looking forward to it (though if we could teleport there instantly, I would be even more excited).
4. Halloween is nearly here! Do you have your costume? Purchased already Carter's I have. Jedi Master Yoda he will be.
5. I just posted tons of pictures on Flickr! Check them out!

1-YEAR-OLD!

I hardly know where to begin! So much has happened since our last update. Most important...our little boy turned ONE! We had a small party here at home with a few friends and their kids. It was a perfect day all around! The weather was spectacular...we played washers and wiffle ball, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and stuffed our face with cake. I was relieved my goodie bags went over so well with the kids. It's tough to find little gifts that work for boys and girls ranging from 3 to 14! Birthday party pics are going up on Flickr now.

Carter also had his one year check-up with his doctor. Aside from the 5 shots (gasp!) he needed to get, everything went well. He's still one of those long, lean babies that never seems to fatten up no matter how much we feed him. At home, we're progressing into the toddler stage. Carter walks all over the place now, babbling and banging as he goes. For the most part, he's fairly accepting of all types of food we've tried with him. The doctor warned us this is the age that babies may not need as much food now that growth has slowed down. I think we've started to experience this behavior since Carter will emphatically shake his head "NO!" when he's had enough food.

Today we are getting ready for a big trip to Hot Springs to visit Mike's family. This will be the longest trip we've ever taken with Carter and I am astonished by the amount of stuff we have to bring for him. I hope the driving goes without incident!