Bethlehem Revisited

Last weekend (technically 2 weekends ago at this point...), Granny & PaPa Boudreau planned a special Christmas outing for the family. They took us down to Waxahachie to see "Bethlehem Revisited." A local church puts together an authentic replica of Bethlehem to walk through and allows you to imagine you were there during the time of Christ. It was a special experience and a great reminder of what Christmas is all about.

Cousins Dylan & Avery are hanging out with the sheep outside the village.


Dylan, PaPa, Carter, & Daddy warming up by the fire outside the gate.


Here Mary & Joseph are looking for a room at the local inn.


In order to fully enjoy the drive down to Waxahachie, they rented a limo so we could all be together. Here's what results from putting 11 crazy Boudreaus/Slaytons/Williams in a confined space....:)

Carter actually took this picture - not bad!


The Slaytons:


Carter was fascinated by the lighting control panel...


Dogpile on Uncle Mike!


Family Picture

Jurassic Park?

Before we left town for Thanksgiving, we enjoyed some family time and took Carter to the Dinosaur exhibit at the Heard Natural Science Museum. This was our first time there and it was a really cool place! Inside they had many different snakes to look at - Carter enjoyed it at the beginning, but he seemed to get more nervous about them as he saw more and more.

Here Carter & Ryan are checking out a large rattlesnake...yuck!:)


Red on black, friendly Jack...I hope that's right...


Here the kids could touch the old snake skins that had been shed. I opted out of this activity, but Carter thought it was pretty cool.


The dinosaur exhibit was great - they were animatronic dinosaurs, so they moved, made noises and all that cool stuff (one of them even spit water as you walked by). They may have seemed a little too real to Carter - he kept making sure Daddy was "protecting" him.

These were the baby dinosaurs...


We had just been to the dentist that morning, so after close inspection, Carter decided this dinosaur also needed to have his teeth cleaned.


Carter was really nervous around all the others, but he told us he wanted this T-Rex for a pet...strange kid...


Dinosaur hugs

Open Wide...

We made a family trip to the dentist this week. For Ryan & I, it was just routine cleaning, but for Carter, it was his first trip to the dentist chair. It's always 50-50 on how these experiences will turn out, but Carter did great!

The biggest challenge for him was reclining in the chair, he wasn't so sure about the moving chair. But he did get to wear those cool shades, so that made up for it.


After they counted his teeth, he actually let them clean and polish his teeth, aka "use the tooth tickler" and "mr. thirsty" .


He was also very excited to get his goody bag with a "Mater" toothbrush, toothpaste, & floss. We were so proud of our big boy!

Carter's Big News

Believe it or not, this post will not be accompanied by any pictures. I will respect Carter's privacy, however, I feel that this momentous event deserves some attention. Drumroll please......

Carter is "tee-teeing" in the big potty! This might be too much information for some, but for us, it's quite an accomplishment.

Anyone that has older children will tell you that if you just wait until they are completely ready, potty-training is a breeze. So that was my plan, wait it out and hope that he gets ready sometime before Kindergarten. That was the plan....

It must have just been a mood I was in, but a few weeks ago at the store I had to buy more diapers, and something just snapped in my head. I decided I was done buying diapers (for a while, at least - don't worry, grandmas). I would just "bite the bullet" and get him potty-trained. I went into it knowing that it would be a challenge and tried to mentally prepare myself for many accidents and frustration. But nothing could have fully prepared me for what was in store.

This past Monday was officially "Potty Day" for Carter, the beginning of this adventure. I won't go into too much detail, but by Wednesday afternoon, I was ready to throw in the towel. I had known it wouldn't happen overnight, but after 2 1/2 days, I felt like there was no progress whatsoever. He would sit for 10 minutes, then get off the potty and wet his underwear. I could handle it a few times, but after 2 days of that, I was pulling my hair out. Ryan can attest to my frustration. I knew he had no more knowledge on the subject than I did, but I would implore him for help and advice on how to make this work.

Then Wednesday evening, something must have clicked in Carter's brain. Since then, he hasn't had any tee-tee accidents (I can't say the same about the other, but he'll get there). Again, I realize this might seem trivial to some, but for a kid that, prior to Monday, had never used the toilet properly, it's quite an accomplishment.

It will be a little while before we would dare to say he is officially potty-trained, but we're well on our way. You can start taking bets on whether the next post will be filled with excitement over his continued progress, or frustration that I spoke to soon...

The Best Costume Ever

We're not really big Halloween people, and honestly, I haven't come to terms with my opinion on the holiday in general, but for a 2-year-old, dressing up is always fun! Last year's costume didn't turn out so well - we were going for a monkey, but the outfit ended up being a little small and everyone thought he was a bear...and a girl. Not good. I felt the need to redeem ourselves and make this year extra fun for Carter.

In keeping with his love for his Aggie jersey, and after stumbling upon a crazy maroon Afro wig, we decided to go all out and let him be a "Crazy Aggie Fan" for Halloween. This involved face paint, the crazy hair, painted overalls, a giant foam thumb, and of course, the jersey.

We took him up to our church's Fall Festival which had lots of games, rides, and candy. He had a blast! Here are some pictures to walk you through the evening....

He enjoyed getting his face painted and sat incredibly still to make sure Mommy didn't mess it up.


The final product:


And the backside...


Carter is bravely attempting to slide down the giant slide...after five minutes of waiting, Mommy ends up climbing up the slide to go down with him :)


Here are a few of the little toddler games he played:





(The crazy hair came on & off through out the evening.)

After the first slide debacle, Daddy convinced Carter to try another one. He finally did this one all by himself!


Carter loved his Aggie overalls, but as the evening progressed, he couldn't wait to get home and take them off!

Amarillo & Springfield

This past weekend we were able to spend some time with Ryan's family in Amarillo and Springfield, CO. Ryan's parent's church and his grandparent's church both generously supported us on our trip to Ethiopia, so we were excited to share with them the details of what God did through our team. We had a full day on Sunday - speaking in Amarillo in the morning, driving to Springfield, speaking again at the evening service, then enjoying some cheese nuggets and pumpkin pie at the Wesslers:).

On Saturday, we took Carter to the "Amazingly Fun Farm" in Amarillo. It has a huge corn maze, hayrides, and lots of activities for young and old.

Ryan chasing Carter through the little maze of hay bales.


I don't know who thought to fill a large container with dried corn, but it was a huge hit!


We also had lots of fun using the water pumps for duck races....


If you look closely, you'll see that my blue duck is ahead of Ryan's pink duck...it's not important who actually won...


In the middle of the corn maze, we stumbled upon this lookout with a slide. I think this picture was trip #5 or 6 down the slide.


Grandpa, Grandma, & Carter


The Cow Train (I think this was supposed to be for the kids - oh well!)


Carter loved climbing the rock wall. After getting a little help on the first try, he was a pro!


Again, I don't know who thought to make a slide out of pvc pipe, but it was lots of fun.


We weren't able to spend as much time as we would have liked in Springfield, but it was great to see both sets of Ryan's grandparents, even briefly. Since we were in Colorado, it seemed appropriate for Carter to wear his Broncos jersey, and guess what we found in the Wessler's garage....a Broncos helmet!


Down...Set....Hike!


Ryan is patiently trying to get Carter to do the Heisman pose...this is the best we got.

Oklahoma

We were fortunate to have yet another fun-filled, crazy weekend. This was our 2nd annual Boudreau Family "Camping" Trip, and by camping, I mean staying in a large cabin, playing horseshoes and bumper pool, feasting throughout the day on pumpkin cookies, queso, and steak, you get the idea. It was definitely a roughin' it kind of weekend:).

Carter was excited to roast marshmallows again and enjoyed hanging around the campfire.


PaPa brought fishing poles for the grandkids to have their first try at fishing. Carter was very intrigued by it all, but taking after his mother, he wanted no part of baiting the hook with live worms.


Unfortunately, this was all we had to show for our efforts. I don't know who was more disappointed about not catching anything - Ryan or Carter.


Charlyn & Dave were the only ones with something to show for the morning.


You can't make a trip to the lake without taking some time to throw/skip rocks into the water.


We took a little hike down a nearby trail. It was an enjoyable walk, but based on his extensive hiking experience, Carter informed us "This isn't hiking..."


Carter, Avery, & Dylan are enjoying some downtime before bedtime.


Of course, the tire-horse swing was a big hit!

Gig 'Em Ags

Carter has had the privilege of visiting Aggieland before, but this time it was different. He got to experience one of the greatest joys of being an Aggie - attending his first football game at Kyle Field. And while the 44-30 loss didn't go over well with Ryan, Carter didn't seem to mind at all. He thoroughly enjoyed watching "the big guys with jerseys like mine" and all the other festivities. We actually made it through the entire game. Given that this was the first time in his entire life we have purposely skipped naptime, that's quite an accomplishment.

A few hours before kickoff, the Yell Leaders have a "Kid's Yell Practice" where they teach a couple yells and let the kids practice.


Carter was a fast learner...


Here is Carter with two of the Yell Leaders - it took a while for him to get the courage to go stand with them for a picture.


Carter, Ryan, & Nathan watching the football team (aka - the big guys) walk from the buses to the locker rooms.


Carter decided it would be fun to hold hands with E. King Gill - the original 12th Man.


Gig 'em from Rudder fountain


Climbing on the Century Tree.


The first look at Kyle Field.


No, I didn't "photo shop out" the other fans - we really were there that early.


We went down to the front of our section so Carter could watch all the action. He got to throw back one of the footballs from field goal practice - cool stuff!


This was an unexpected surprise - notice the Secret Service.


Carter was enamored with the Corps marching by. He especially liked the Mounted Calvary and will tell you all about the guys following the horses with shovels & wheelbarrows.


It was a bit warm for Carter's crazy spirit hair, but at least he tried it on for us.


Watching the game.


Carter had a rough time making it through the 2nd quarter - as it turns out, all we needed was a tub of popcorn...


This was taken about 5 minutes after we got in car:).


It was a busy day, but well worth it!