Saturday, January 23, 2010

Any given Sunday...

Sundays at our house are normally pretty low-key, playing catch up or spending time with family. Recently my sister, Robyn, came to play with the kids and join us for dinner. Here are a few pictures of the fun:

Robyn is the artist in our family, so Carter always has fun with her. This day they were using Carter's new art set to create some lovely pictures. And as you see, his new bike helmet was protecting his head the whole time. He got a scooter for Christmas from my parents and they got him a helmet to go with it. Mom bought a size 5, thinking he'd have room to grow into it. Not so much...we couldn't even get it on his head! So she exchanged it for a helmet for an 8 year old. I'm sure it's cause he gets his brains from him Mom! Ha! He's been wanting to wear the helmet in the car lately. I can only imagine what people are thinking as they pull up next to us...

While they were working on the masterpieces, Matt was tightening up the legs on our kitchen table which were starting to wobble. Campbell, not wanting her Daddy to miss anything, was right there helping him out.

After she was sure he had everything under control she decided to kick back on the floor and start singing. She has been doing this a lot lately - laying down with her feet in the air just having a ball. It cracks me up every time! I think this picture is so cute and perfectly captures our little lady. She has really developed so much personality the last few months. Our once passive and laid back gal is now quite spunky and so funny. I'm not sure what we ever did without her!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Cherishing the moment...

So I'm sitting at the computer doing my best to get caught up on the never ending piles of paperwork. The house is silent, both kids are taking naps after a fun morning at the Science Museum with Aunt Brookie, Cousin Chesney (today's her first birthday...Happy Birthday Chesney!) and Gran.

A few moments ago I hear the swoosh-swoosh-swoosh of movement down the stairs and my sweet little boy appears and asks if he can sit in my lap. I clear the way and let him climb up. In no time he is asleep again. He's hot and sweaty, and truth be told, the boy I will always picture in my mind as a baby hardly fits in my lap anymore. Instead of thinking about how uncomfortable I am and he must be, though, I'm choosing to cherish this moment. Because my sweet boy is sound asleep in my lap and I know moments like this won't happen much longer. Carter Michael - I love you more than life.

Please excuse the mess in the background...I told you I was working on it!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Hi. We are still here in case you were wondering...

Hello! It's been FAR too long since I've posted anything here! We have had a crazy 7 months since our last post and finally feel like we're back to "normal" - whatever that really is!

Here's a brief, quick update:

In the midst of our house-building process that began the week after Christmas last year, we sold our house in April to a great couple and were able to stay there through the end of June. When it came time to pack up and move, our new house wasn't quite ready, so we loaded up a couple of Pods and had the privilege of spending five weeks with the Northcutts, our dear and precious friends that we consider mentors. (Or as Janie would rather hear, more like our older brother & sister.) They had cleared out bathrooms, bedrooms and closets and let us take over. What a blessing it was! The kids absolutely loved being there, and it was such a relief to not have to move twice. We moved in to the new house in August and while we miss our roommates, it's great to be in one place without our belongings spread all over the place! Both of our parents were wonderful and allowed us to store lots of stuff at their houses, we had stuff in Matt's warehouse at work, plus the Pods. Yes...we have way too much stuff.

The kids are doing great, growing faster than we can possibly fathom! Carter is in preschool and is doing so well. He's so smart - we are constantly amazed at the way his mind works. And boy is he funny!! He is unusually tall for his age, so when he acts like a three year old (for those of you with three year olds, you know exactly what I'm talking about) we get some funny looks. He's got the sweetest heart and is so compassionate with friends, family and especially his little sister. He's still crazy about Thomas the Train, Cars (at our house, Lightning McQueen is also known as Rusty), and sports in general, and he loves to cuddle up and read. Lately he's had quite a fondness for Pinkalicious - we didn't think much of it until a friend at church sent us a picture of him one night while we were at Bible study. He was dressed up like a fairy. Proud moment for the Moores. I look at him with amazement - how did my sweet baby boy grow up so fast to the point I can hardly carry him any more? His speaking skills are incredible - we carry on adult conversations. It truly seems like he's grown up overnight.

And then Miss Campbell. We are having a blast with her! She's really coming out of her shell and literally she's changing every single day. She has been our late bloomer; she had no desire to walk until she was 17 months old. We laugh about it now, but over the summer we had the kids in Mother's Day Out one day a week. Campbell was in the toddler class, where she was right in the middle of the kids, age-wise. After 3 weeks of MDO, they asked us to keep her home for the rest of the summer because she just wasn't ready for the toddler class. At that point she still wasn't walking, needed more than one nap a day, was hardly talking, etc. And of course there wasn't a baby class for her to go to during the summer session. So when it came time to start back in the fall, she was put in the baby class where she could go at her own pace. She did great in there, had the most amazing teachers, and really blossomed. Last week they moved her up to the Toddler class and she's loving it! Her new teacher said it really is amazing how much she has developed since July. Campbell adores Carter and it has been so fun watching them play together. She's crazy about dogs - any time she sees one she yells "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" and has a slew of doggie stuffed animals that she takes with her wherever she goes. I'm a bit concerned...she's developed a real liking for shoes. Ha! And she's just the opposite of Carter - she's very small for her age. We are in a constant battle with her hair - it's a mullet. But she has these sweet curls in the back that I don't have the heart to cut off. Thank goodness the top is finally starting to grow and we can somewhat hide the reality of the mullet. For parents who thought that they wanted all boys, she sure has changed our minds. We love having a daughter and a son!

Well, that really wasn't quick or brief, but hopefully it gives you a slight glimpse into our lives these days. Here is a link to my friend Amanda's blog - she took some family pictures for us recently and our pics went up today. I think she did a great job capturing us. http://eikonart.blogspot.com/.

And maybe I'll post again between now and the next six months...

Monday, April 13, 2009

Happy Birthday Campbell and Carter!

Last month (yes, I'm very late posting) we celebrated Campbell and Carter's birthdays together. I figure it won't be much longer that we can have one party for their day-apart birthdays since they're different sexes, so we made the most of it this year! We are so blessed to have so many family members and loved ones that love our kids endlessly!!
I know I'm partial, but how cute is she?!
And my oh my, what a handsome three year old Carter is!!
Our sweet baby girl right before she dug into her birthday cake. Now, every time she sees cake, she literally dives for it and will scream and point until she gets some. She definitely inherited my sweet tooth!!

Carter and Campbell, you bless our lives more than we could ever express. We are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents - we cannot possibly fathom the fact that the love we feel for each of you is just a fraction of what He feels for each of us. The way you love each other melts our hearts each and every day. Thank you for being the greatest kids we could ever ask for!!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Our Baby's Growing Up...

For months now we've avoided (or at least tried to...) the comparisons between Carter and Campbell in terms of when he did this, when she did that, etc. We know our kids are unique and exactly how God designed them to be. Carter just happened to be our early bloomer, and sweet Miss Campbell is content with not rushing things. She was nine months old before she started crawling, and now at 11 months old, she has perfected her version of army crawling and is one fast moving little gal! She has had no desire at all, in any way, shape, or form, to put weight on her legs. Until this week. And now, watch out. She wants to stand all the time! Balance is still an issue, but she's quickly improving. Last night she was at LifeKIDS while we were at LifeGroup and she pulled up for the first time...twice! She did it again today for my Mom. I still haven't seen her do it. Maybe tomorrow...

Here she is showing off her new skill:

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

This week we celebrated Matt's 31st birthday. Carter worked very hard decorating Daddy's cake - footballs and football helmets are sprinkled on the top. And he picked out the candles himself and couldn't wait to blow them out for Daddy.

Of course I wasn't successful in capturing a picture that was good of all three of them at once, so here are a couple where at least 2 of them are looking at the camera!

Matt will not be happy with me for putting this picture on here of him, but I love the way Campbell is admiring him. She lights up when she sees her Daddy. I am so thankful that my babies have a Daddy that loves them more than life itself!!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Our New Cousin, Chesney Ann

Yesterday, January 13, our first cousin, Chesney Ann was born!! What a fun day we had at the hospital...seeing Aunt Brookie and Uncle Chris as they prepared for the birth of their baby girl, playing with Gran and Papa, eating you name it...cookies, apples, gummy worms and starburst, and much more!! It was so fun!!! But the best part was seeing Miss Chesney for the first time. She is such a perfect blend of Brooke and Chris. She has his gorgeous dark hair and eyes and has her mommy's chin and lips. Carter is so very excited to have a cousin and I'm thrilled for the kids to have a buddy so close to their age to grow up with!! I didn't have my camera handy last night, but we got to see them today and I got some cute pics.

Here she is:
And here is Carter talking to her:
Reality is sinking in...my baby doesn't look much like the baby any more!!!
I have to tell a story with this last picture. Brooke was changing Chesney's clothes to get her ready for her newborn pictures. The sweet baby didn't care much for that and was crying that sweet baby cry. Carter was really bothered by her crying and wanted to help her stop, so I suggested he sing her "Jesus Loves Me". She was laying on Brooke's bed and Carter was standing at the end of it facing her. About halfway through him singing, she stopped crying and just stared at him. My precious boy was so excited that she stopped crying when he sang that he went on to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the "ABCs". I think he's going to be as protective of Chesney as he is of his little sister. Oh how I love that boy. Here she is right after he sang to her:
Chesney Ann, your Uncle Matt, Aunt Katie and cousins Carter and Campbell love you more than anything and can't wait to get to know you better! We have so much fun ahead of us!!!!