Happy Birthday Carter (and Kamryn :) )!

We had been trying to explain to Carter that we weren't sure when we would have cake for his birthday because it depended on Kamryn's arrival. When she made her appearance on Friday, we decided to have a mini-birthday party for Carter on Sunday evening before Grandpa & Grandma had to leave town. Then we found out that I needed to stay in the hospital until Monday, so we ended up having a little party in my room at the hospital. It will definitely be a memorable birthday year for many reasons! Here are a few pictures...

It's not a birthday party without balloons and party hats!


Carter opening presents (this one was from Kamryn:) )


Carter also wanted to get a present for Kamryn - he picked out a couple rattles and some hair bows. It was so sweet!


Carter showing off his party hat and Kamryn modeling one of her new bows.


Yummy birthday cake


Blowing out the candle


Practicing with his new Roller Blades - he did surprisingly well!


He decided this was a good solution to falling on his bottom:).

Baby Kamryn

We are blessed beyond measure to welcome Kamryn Grace to our family! I don't have time to write much, but here are some pictures from her first 24 hours.

Christmas in Amarillo

Here are some pictures from our time in Amarillo...

"I'm ready for the snow, Mom"


Making snowballs with Daddy


Carter was a big help shoveling snow off the driveway


What a cutie!:)


Family picture before the Christmas Eve service


Carter was so excited to get a new flashlight in his stocking - it was also very helpful for seeing the rest of the stocking contents:)


Santa's little helper - helping Grandpa distribute the gifts


Notice the ensemble of pj's, socks and shoes - as gifts were opened (Lightening McQueen jammies, new shoes, etc.) they had to tried on immediately.


He was excited to finally get his own umbrella, along with rain boots (that he wore for about a week straight... we've finally branched out to other shoes again)


He was also excited that Santa remembered his shaving kit, so he had to try it out that night in the bathtub. All lathered up...


He used a little mirror to watch himself and make sure that he didn't miss a spot:).


Almost finished... "Now I can shave just like Daddy!"


It was a great time in Amarillo with the family!

Tractor Adventures

Carter couldn't wait to see the tractor at Great-Grandpa & Great-Grandma Wesslers house in Springfield. He got an extra bonus this time, Great-grandpa let him actually drive for a little while. He was on cloud nine!

That's a pretty big tractor for a little guy...


We have this same picture of Carter in the wheel when he was just over a year old. The tire must be shrinking...


Checking things out...


I'm told he is actually driving at this point - check out the look of determination on his face!


Future Farmer and the Voice of Experience - I love this picture!

The Royal Gorge

Another highlight was visiting the Royal Gorge Bridge on our way down to Springfield on Monday. Ryan had been several times as a kid, but it was a first for Carter & me. We enjoyed walking across the bridge, riding the Air Tram across the canyon, taking the Incline Railway to the bottom of the gorge, and also driving across the bridge. It was breathtaking - the bits of snow on the canyon walls was an added bonus.

Carter was a bit nervous about sitting on the ledge of the viewing deck for a picture.


Family picture on the bridge. Notice the bridge is made of wooden slats, you can see the bottom of the gorge as you walk across, especially when they have larger gaps between them...we were all a bit uneasy!:)


The bridge is lined with signs for each state. Since they were in alphabetical order, we had to cross the entire bridge before reaching the Texas sign:).


It really is an amazing bridge!


Picture of the bridge from the Air Tram as we crossed the canyon.


At the bottom of the gorge overlooking the river.


Self-taken picture on the Incline Railway back up to the top.


We were reading this sign about the gorge and Carter wanted to tell us the story...he was very animated!:)


Ryan driving across the bridge - this made us more nervous than walking across it!


We all had a great time here, well worth the visit!

Colorado Springs & Denver

Prepare yourselves! My goal is to update pictures from all our recent adventures in Colorado and Christmas in Amarillo, so here come the pictures... :) This post will include pictures from our weekend in Colorado Springs and the Broncos game in Denver.

Ryan & Carter went hiking in Monty & Ellen's backyard shortly after we arrived. Carter had his stick all prepared and desperately wanted to find a "serious bear", but no luck this time.


On Saturday we took Carter to Cave of the Winds. We didn't get any pictures inside the cave, but this is from the overlook.


Carter finally found his bear. If you look closely at the bear's mouth, you can see that Carter decided to share his candy cane with him:).


We also went to the Focus on the Family headquarters that afternoon but didn't get any pictures. Carter had a blast playing in the kids area and shared a Root Beer Float with Daddy at Whit's End Soda Shop:).

Here we are outside Invesco Field in Denver before the Broncos game. So exciting!


Ryan, Carter & Uncle Monty - thanks so much for the tickets!!!


This was Carter's favorite part of the game - at halftime there was mini game between the Denver Boys Club and various NFL mascots, it was fun to watch!


Our first official Broncos game... the game was great until the last 2 minutes. Apparently we were bad luck for the team and they lost to the Raiders, major bummer!

Texas Snow and Christmas with the Boudreaus

The week after Thanksgiving we woke up to a surprise outside! I didn't believe Carter when he told me it was snowing, but he was right! Carter enjoyed playing outside for a little while before the snow melted away.


Trying to make a snowball:


Throwing snow at Koda:


Climbing up the playset - he couldn't resist going down the slide:


Family picture at our Boudreau Christmas celebration - we had to celebrate early this year due to everyone's different travel plans.


The grandkids eagerly opening one of their gifts:


They had a blast loading up their suitcases and dragging them around all evening!


Carter & Santa opening a gift from Granny & Papa - remote control bumper cars, fun, fun!