Flyfishing, Football and more Firsts

Tickle Time!!
Good times with Nana
Ella Catherine and I after church. Carter was fast asleep in his carseat.
Sitting up and having fun
Matt and the guide Matt Milner with his catch

My mom and dad drove up last Thursday afternoon. Matt, my dad, his dad and Michael all joined our friends the Coles along with other friends for a guys flyfishing trip. They all traveled to their second home in Arkansas for good fishing, good food and great memories. While they were fishing, my mom stayed here with the kids and I for some fun of our own. As I mentioned before, Matt and I have season football tickets to the Vanderbilt games. Vanderbilt played Kentucky last weekend and the weather was PERFECT! So, Miss Rachel came over and babysat the kids while mom and I went to the game. Unfotrunately, Vanderbilt did not win but they did play the best I have seen them play all year and we enjoyed the game a lot.
Carter has been sitting up for very short periods by himself since he was about 5 months old. Well, early last week he decided it was time to sit up like a big boy and he is now sitting unassisted for long periods of time. In addition, he is getting up on his knees and rocking then scooting backward. So, we may have a crawling baby by Christmas. time will tell....

Trick or Treat

Our little Denver Broncos cheerleader all ready for trick or treating.

Ella Catherine and Carter before the school fall festival

Our little sock monkey happy as usual and all ready for the Big event. Sisterly and brotherly Love The whole gang: Carter (sock monkey), Ella Catherine (cheerleader), Erich (scarecrow) and Reese (Fireman) knocking on the first door of the evening, "Trick or Treat" Ella Catherine assessing her "prize"

More Candy! Carter's first Halloween and first trick or treat experience. He was a good sport and just chilled out while his big sister ran from door to door.



I don't know that as a kid I enjoyed Halloween quite as much as I do now. Ever since I started working with children it has been one of my favorite holidays. Now that I have kids, it is even more fun. So, Matt stating that Halloween night and trick or treating was really all about me versus the kids might have been a half truth. However, when he saw his daughter anxiously run up to that first door, say trick or treat and get so excited about her "take" he realized that it was also about our sweet little girl. We had planned on attending the Vanderbilt trick or treat on Friday night but the rain ruined those plans. So, we invited our friends the Sams to come over and go trick or treating in our neighborhood Halloween night. Ella Catherine had been learning all about the fall and Halloween in school. So, she could tell you she was supposed to knock on the door and say trick or treat when they answered, but we weren't so sure she wouldn't freeze up when the door opened. Just to make sure she could put those words into action, we had a few practice rounds before the Sams arrived and we left the house. She was so happy when the Sams got to the house. Her and Reese played a little before we loaded the little ones in the strollers and headed out for a night of trick or treating. I don't think I will ever forget how excited she got after every house and how she woud run down the drive way smiling and screaming "I'm going to go to another house!" Carter was obviously clueless as to what was going one but he loves his big sister and he loved watching her run back up to the stroller after each house. We had a GREAT night.

Fall Fun

Matt and I ready for the game...We were layered up for the nasty weather
My little Bulldogs!
Carter showing off his tooth for my parents
Rolling the peanut butter coated pine cone in bird seed
Coating the pine cone with peanut butter (all together she made 4)
Hanging the bird feeders


Last weekend was the Georgia versus Vanderbilt football game and it was played here in Nashville at Vanderbilt. Matt and I have season tickets to the Vanderbilt games. My brother, Brian and sister-in-law, Lori have season tickets to the Georgia games. They decided to drive up along with my brother from another mother, Phil and his wife Debbie. I must say we were all a little nervous about the game. Georgia hasn't played very well this year and although Vanderbilt has been awful you just never know what will happen. Well, the first quarter was terrible and we all thought it was going to be a very LONG day (especially since we had cold, drizzly weather) but things picked up a little and Georgia pulled out the victory. It wasn't a pretty win but at the end of the season a W is a W.
Nana and Pop also drove up from Macon and watched the kids while we were at the game. They had a fun fall craft for Ella Catherine. They made bird feeders out of pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed. She had a ball! We watch for the birds everyday. We haven't seen many eating at them but the bird seed is disappearing. So, either the birds or the squirrels are enjoying them!
On a side note Carter got his second tooth today. He is sitting up for longer periods by himself before he falls over. It won't be long before he has the back strength to sit all by himself. We just can't believe how quickly he is growing and developing. What a blessing he is and we thank God everyday that he continues to be healthy.

More Milestones!

I just wanted to give all our readers a little update!

Carter: Carter has his first tooth, bottom right. We didn't even know he was getting a tooth. About 2 weeks ago he started putting things in his mouth and chewing on them. I mentioned it to the pediatrician at his last visit and he said he was "pre-teething" and most kids don't get their first tooth until 6-7 months of age. I was a little skeptical as Ella Catherine had her first tooth at 4 months. Then Friday he went through 2 outfits at school due to excessive drooling....hmmmm been there before. Saturday he had his first tooth! Other than the drool and chewing we would have been clueless. No irritability, no crying, no fevers etc... I am hoping this is what all his teething will be like. Wouldn't that be nice! :)
Saturday he also figured out how to roll over from his front to his back. He had a ball for well over an hour entertaining himself by rolling over and scooting to change positions and reach the chew toys he wanted. Mommy had a ball watching him! His favorite person is still his big sister. He lights up anytime she is near. She gets the most chuckles out of him over any one else. He just adores her as she does him.

Ella Catherine: She is definitely full into the 2's. She is a sweet little girl, a terrible toddler and a drama mama all in one cute little girl package. She can change from one to the next before you can blink. :) She is testing her limits and Matt and I are staying strong. She now has a few chores around the house. We have given her the job of feeding the dogs everyday. She loves it and they LOVE her! In addition, she helps get all the laundry gathered up for washing. She still loves to help cook and anything that involves taking care of her baby brother. She says the funniest things (as do most 2 year olds) and I am trying to write some of them down to share with her later. She knows all her letters and loves pointing them out on signs as we drive to school. She knows all her numbers to 10 but can count to 15. She loves to count the grapes on her plate at night. She has most of the 50+ books in her bedroom memorized and it is fun for Matt and I to listen to her read to herself at night. She loves, loves, loves to sing. Her teachers at school say she sings all day and even wakes up from her nap singing. She is such a wonderful little girl despite her demon moments and Matt and I are very proud of her.

Carter's 4 month check up

Carter had is 4 month check-up on Friday Oct 2nd. He is doing really well! He is jabbering/ talking a lot more and is grabbing and putting everything in his mouth. Pre-teething! He started cereal and to his mother's dismay starting getting up in the middle of the night (3 am) again. I thought cereal was supposed to make them sleep better!? Pediatrician said that some babies appetites get stimulated by the cereal. GREAT!
His current stats are 17lbs 14oz (93rd%) and 26 1/2 inches tall (93%). He has almost doubled his birthweight and he isn't even 5 months old! Matt and I think he is going to be a big boy and I believe Matt already has visions of him playing football.

We had his 3 month pictures taken a few weeks back by Angie Davis. The above picture is one from the shoot. She did a fabulous job!! If you would like to see the slide show of all the photos please go to http://www.angiedavisphotography.org/ and go to slideshows and then Carter.

Breaking out some old friends

Matt, Ella Catherine and Carter in the bjorn ready for a nice morning walk
Carter in his new friend the bouncer! He would just smile and chuckle when he would kick his legs and it made the bouncer bounce.

Well Carter is finally old enough that we decided to break out some of Ella Catherine's favorite activities/toys...the bouncer and the bjorn. He had such a great time this morning bouncing in the bouncer. I think he really liked being upright and acting big. :) It was such a beautiful day after weeks of rain that Matt took the kids for a walk while I got some things done around the house. He loved the bjorn and the walk so much that he fell asleep almost right after they left. He goes back to the doctor for a checkup Friday so will post his new stats when we get them.

By the way! For those followers who didn't know, Ella Catherine is now in big girl panties. August 22nd we went shopping for our panties and August 23rd was our first day wearing panties. She has done FABULOUSLY! She even gets up in the night to potty...tiring for Matt and I but very good that it wakes her up. Now we are working on the appropriate cutt off time for fluids. :)

A day out with Thomas

The Main attraction...Thomas!
Ella Catherine and Matt with their Thomas Tattoos
Ella Catherine and I riding the small train
Ella Catherine making her very first purchase EVER! Some popcorn please. The greatest thing was she asked Matt for more money later and stuck her little hand out and said, "Please daddy" Oh man are we in TROUBLE!!
Ella Catherine with Murdoch
Ella Catherine and Emily
Ella Catherine and Spencer
Carter with Spencer
Carter with his Godfather
Ella Catherine on Thomas
Ella Catherine and Lewis...So Sweet!

Saturday September 12th we met our good friends the Thomas family at the Railroad museum for a day out with Thomas. Ella Catherine was soooo excited to see Lewis and Thomas the train. While waiting for the train ride they had a multiple activities for the kids. They had a petting zoo..of course Ella Catherine took one look and saw a big goat head butt one of the smaller goats and decided it wasn't for her. :) Can't say I was too disappointed. They had an imagination station that had legos, multiple trains set up for the kids to play as well as coloring stations. A tattoo tent where both Matt and Ella Catherine were able to pick out the tattoo they wanted. She was a little apprehensive but after seeing daddy get his she was all about it! They even had a little train set up for the kids to ride. One of Ella Catherine's favorite parts about the whole day were the refreshments. She made her very first purchase, a bag of popcorn. She LOVED it!
Carter was as good as ever. He just took it all in riding in his stroller and actually fell asleep on the train ride. It was a great family day with great friends.