Our Trip to Arkansas

Dinner with Grandpa Morse and the McClures
Liam sampling the water

Grandpa and the boys

Liam loves ballons!

Loves Ballons!!!

Mom and Luke

Playing with Cousin Calvin

Liam

Checking out the Ducks at the Peabody

Visiting Great Grandmother Gram

(and rearranging her apartment, courtesy of the boys)

We made an unexpected trip to Arkansas last week for my grandmother's funeral and despite the circumstances of the trip, we really had a great time seeing everyone. We did lots of fun things including a visit on Thursday with the boys great grandmother, Gram, who is 94 years old. After our visit with Gram, we took a trip downtown to the Peabody hotel to check out the ducks that live in the hotel. On Saturday, we also made at trip to the sprinkler park with our cousin Calvin, Grandpa Morse, Aunt Sarah, and Grandmother Mimi. We stayed at Mimi's house this time and enjoyed playing with all of Calvin's toys, especially his sandbox. The boys did pretty well on the plane trip to Arkansas considering their age and the length of the trip. We took lots of treats, toys, and books. Liam was mesmerized by the airplane itself. He sat on my lap and pressed his face on the window during the take-off and landing. He thought the loud noises on the plane were really funny. Liam slept very well on the plane during part of the trip, but that is not too suprising because he can slee virtually anywhere. Luke enjoyed smiling and flirting with everyone sitting around us that would pay attention to him. He got lots of comments about his curls. I am posting a few pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

In Memory of Gia

Luke (L) and Liam (R) with their Great Grandmother Gia (July 2008)

One of the cute outfits for the boys from Gia

This week has turned out to be quite busy and it is only Wednesday. On Sunday afternoon, my grandmother "Gia" passed away. This was my mom's mother who battled dementia for the past few years. She was slowly declining and after some surgery, she began to go downhill relatively quickly. The boys met their great grandmother a few times on visits to Arkansas and we will remember some of the very cute outfits she gave them. She was a very generous, kind, and loving person that we will miss; however, we are glad that she is no longer suffering. In light of my grandmother's funeral this Friday, we decided that we would all take a trip to Arkansas. We realize that trips over the holidays will be unlikely due to the birth of Baby #3 sometime in January 2010. This will be the first airplane trip for the boys as we have always driven to Arkansas. We are as prepared as possible with lots of new little toys, gummy fruit treats, crackers, etc.... The boys may arrive tired and cranky, but they won't be hungry!

18 Months and Full of Personality

Hey Mom!
Crazy Little Liam

Sweet Luke eating his snack

Luke climbing the stairs

People often ask us if the boys like the same things and whether or not they are alike in many ways. Although they definitely have many similarities, I think John and I would both say that they are as different as day and night in most areas. Not only do they look a lot different, they also have distinct personalities as well as likes and dislikes. Luke and Liam turned 18 months on the 11th and we had our check-ups, which even further describes how different the boys are! We thought we would share a little about us....

Luke Allen Carrithers

Weight: 28 lbs, 13 oz.

Height: 33 1/4 inches

Favorite Food: Pasta and anything dad has on his plate

Favorite Toy: Puzzles

Favorite Animal: Dog

Best Friends: My brother Liam and my Daddy

Favorite Outside Activity: Playing in the Sandbox

Favorite Bedtime Item: My Stuffed Doggy and my pacifier

Favorite Song: Old MacDonald Had a Farm

My best features: My curly hair and my chuckles when I laugh

Liam Carey Carrithers

Weight: 21 lbs

Height: 31 1/4 inches

Favorite Food: Peanut Butter and Jelly and almost any fruit

Favorite Toy: Balls!

Favorite Animal: Dog

Best Friends: My brother Luke and my Mommy

Favorite Outside Activity: Swinging

Favorite Bedtime Item: My Stuffed Doggy and my pacifier

Favorite Song: How Much is that Doggy in the Window?

My best features: My silly grin and my constant chatter

Fourth of July

Here we are last 4th of July with our cousin Calvin in Arkansas; Do you know which one is Luke and which one is Liam?
Mom and Dad got us some Crocs to play outside and we love them!

Liam petting the horse

Luke and the goat

Checking out the goat

Breakfast with Daddy

We had a nice 4th of July weekend and enjoyed some extra time to do fun things with John being off work for a longer weekend. We too the boys to the Minnesota Zoo on one day and they enjoyed it for the most part. They are still a little too young to know what is going on and they had a hard time seeing most of the animals, but they did enjoy the "Farm" area where you could actually pet the animals. Liam, especially, loved petting the goats, horses, and bunnies. They are both very interested in animals, particularly dogs, and they point to them everytime we see a dog. We also went to a local park with a swimming lake and sandy beach area. The boys love to play in the sand.

We will be 18 months old on the 11th which is hard to believe. John and I continue to be amazed at how quickly the boys change. We looked at a few pictures from last year around the 4th of July and we were not even sitting up on our own! Now, we can climb furniture, go down the slide at the park, and run in opposite directions.

Enjoy!

John and Me PLUS THREE

Sitting in a big boy chair
Playing by the pool on a hot day

For those who have not already heard our news, John and I are pregnant with baby #3. The next question that people always ask is, do we know for sure that we are "only" having one baby? As far as I know, we are only having one baby. Ironically, the baby is due on January 9th, 2010 and the boys turn two years old on January 11th, 2010 so this will be a busy month for us. I am nearly 13 weeks and have been feeling fairly good, although a lot more tired and queasy about foods than I was with the boys. I am sure the tired part has to do a lot with chasing the boys around all day considering I was also tired at the end of the day before pregnancy! We are very excited, surprised, and thankful to have the opportunity to be parents to a third child.

The boys have had a fun week and we are looking forward to having John home on Friday for the 4th of July holiday. We did some swimming outside last week when it was unusually hot in Minnesota and this week we had a few play dates and other activities to keep us busy. I am posting a few pictures from our fun.

Happy 4th of July!