What's black and white and feels like a hot dog??

Shamu of course! Sea World never ceases to amaze me. I mean seriously how do they do it? How do they train massive animals to toss them around, shoot them out of the water, and not eat them?? I find the whole thing fascinating!

Carter meets Shamu...

Me and my favorite munchkin'...

The whole family getting ready to take in a show...

The other highlight of the day was the new Sesame Street Bay of Play...

There were rides (and our kid loves rides!)...

I loved their smiles on this one...

And the highlight for Carter may have been meeting Big Bird and Elmo (the real people according to her, although she was a little puzzled as to why they didn't have their voices)...

It was a great day and we'll definitely be back!!

It's Official...

wE'rE hAviNg fUn iN tHe SuN!!

Monday Carter Edition #38~And we're off!

Monday Carter is, in a word, happy. She has had her favorite guy around for the last four days and that means out with the old and in with the new. As in out with the mom and in with the dad! It is, "Daddy look at this...Daddy can you play this....Daddy can you do this?!!" She may have said Mom once or twice in the last four days, but I'm pretty low on the totem pole right now!

My favorite memory since Nate's return was Thursday morning. Carter had made her way into our bed and had me snuggled almost off the edge when I felt her move. It woke me up and I turned over in time to see her cozy up to Nate's back. She then proceeded to plant little kisses on him until he woke up and she wrapped her tiny little arms around him. Talk about melt your heart!

So, there has been a whole lotta' Candy Land/Memory/Chutes and Ladders Playing going on. We've had trips to the park and to our favorite breakfast spot, and we busted out Nate's father's day gift...a new bike! Complete with a seat for C (thanks Barton's)...

Here is Carter, and her hair which sometimes has a mind of it's own!

We've had a few days at home and now we are off! Mixing a little business with pleasure we are heading down to San Diego with Nate. He is receiving Lasik surgery on his eyes and we're going to be receiving a little sand and sun too! Hope your week is off to a happy start...I know ours is!

Orange Bump

At 15 weeks I'm looking a little less like a gummi bear and a little more like a baby (Mom and dad got a new picture of me because the Dr. was having a hard time finding my heartbeat and had to do an ultrasound. I was just playing hard to get cause' I wanted to meet my dad! It was his first time to see me!)...

I'm about the size of an orange...

And my mom's bump is...well...bumpin' (just ignore the fact that she's not wearing make-up and didn't fix her hair)...

And there you have it...a growth report from our little orange bump!

The missing piece of the puzzle

Having Nate come home is in a word, perfect. If I'm being honest I anticipate it from the moment he leaves, so his return also leaves me breathing a huge sigh of relief. We are together again, a family again, I have my best friend and love and Carter has her dad...happy are we this little family of three.

We had a very late night picking Nate up in Seattle this time. He didn't arrive until almost 10:30 plus the 2 hour drive home so we arrived here in the wee hours of the morning. But, it was really fun because thanks to new and improved "military benefits" we were able to go and meet him at his gate at the airport. It made for the perfect reunion...

Trying our best to be patient...

Watching his plane taxi in...

A couple of pretty happy people (and a pretty worn out dad after more than 24 hours of travel)...

Life is good...

This Magic Moment

Your lips...

Plus mine...

Equals...

Meet me tonight 10 o'clock sharp...

It's a date (magic moment guaranteed)!

Monday Carter Edition #37~This one's for you dad...

Before he left Nate and Carter were having a little bonding time while driving in the car. The song "Live Your Life" by TI and Rhianna came on and Nate was quite proud that Carter quickly picked up waving her hands in tha' air to the beat. The song has been a favorite of hers ever since. So, in honor of the fact that Nate will be home SO soon, this one's for you dad...

Dear Daddy,

You've never seen me as excited as I am right now! Everyday I give big "WOoHOo" when I count my chains and realize you are almost home! I can't wait to hug you SO tight! Hurry Home!!

XOXO Carter