Sunday Night Family Dinner

Once a month, we try to get together with Derrick's side of the family and have dinner together at Kelley's house. There are so many of us that we take up the whole dining room table, kitchen table, and some people still have to eat in the living room. Here are some pictures of our family fun last night.


Uncle Garrett with a diaper-only Carter. Garrett hates having his picture made and Carter is looking at him like, "If you aren't going to look at the camera, neither am I!"


Aunt Amy, Emma, Carter, and Garrett - you can see who really wanted to have her picture made and who did not!


The kiddos - Emma (crying - she was ready for bed!), Savannah, Kirsten, Zack (always great with Carter), Carter, and Thomas.

Kirsten, Pop, and Carter - with clothes on!

Picture Day & Bowling Night

I took off work Friday to go see Katlin have her pictures made at JC Penney in Southaven. Mom, Kelley, and Gail joined us, and we all had a good time. The babies laid in Katlin's crib together and watched her mobile and actually batted at one another's hands!

Friday night, Derrick, Carter, and I went bowling in Collierville with Shelby and Justin. We had lots of fun, spent too much money, and ate too much junk food! Derrick beat Justin (the professional bowler with his own ball and custom spin move) both times, and I only bowled once but scored in the 90's, which is really good for me!


Carter getting double the love from both grandmothers!


In the car seats about to head out for pictures - he takes up just a little bit more room, don't you think?


At the bowling alley - I thought this face was funny...this is something he will look at later and say, "Mom, why did you take that picture!"



Aunt Shelby & Uncle Justin....getting married in 7 months and ready for Carter to come spend the night already!

Talky-Talker

Like I mentioned in my last post, Carter is "talking" a lot. He will wake himself up talking and smiling - it is the cutest thing! Here are some pictures from Thursday & Friday of him talking to Mommy.


I caught him mid-sentence!


Telling me about something exciting, I'm sure!



Talking to Gail at Lindsey's house.

Laughing with Mrs. Gail

4 Years Ago Today...

These are the gorgeous flowers Derrick sent me at work to celebrate our "engage-iversary!"


4 years ago today, Derrick asked me to marry him. It was the best night of my life because I was so excited to think about marrying this wonderful man! Of course, 6 months later, when we got married, that became the best night of my life. Now that I look back on those occurences, I just smile and think how awesome everything has been since then.

We sold our house in Olive Branch, bought our first house together in Collierville, traveled to Disney World, Cancun, went on a cruise, then celebrated my pregnancy, and finally the birth of Carter on September 2 of this year!

Derrick - I am so grateful for you and my love for you grows each day. Thank you for making me so happy and for being the best husband, father, and friend. I am so humbled by your kindness, selflessness, and the love you show me. I love you 40 X 1,000,000!

Love,
Ashley

Ten Weeks....and Counting!

Yesterday, Carter turned 10 weeks old! Time is flying by, and I still feel so lucky to have this precious baby. I catch myself just smiling thinking about him and looking forward to all the time I get to spend with him in the mornings, evenings, and weekends.

Some things he is doing as a big 10 week old:

• Smiling A LOT - those wide open mouth smiles that melt your heart
• Laughing a little - he will do a little laugh that sounds like "hmm" with a smile but hasn't actually giggled yet
• Batting at object and getting excited when he sees his mobile or hears music
• STILL sleeping with his hands out of the covers, and mostly above his head
• Sitting up pretty well when he's on the couch or in a chair - his neck is getting stronger and he likes being able to take everything in

Ways he's still Mommy's baby:

• When he's upset, he still wants to be held and snuggled really close and tightly
• He typically will calm down quicker for me than anyone else, which makes me feel so good!

These pictures were taken yesterday when Carter and Nikki met me for lunch. He is wearing an adorable outfit given to him by my friend Allison. He woke up about 5 minutes after we got to the restaurant, so I got to hold him for my entire lunch hour.

He was all smiles and any way I'd turn him, he would search for my face and just smile and look at me....talk about a lunch date made in Heaven!

All bundled up when we first arrived - isn't this outfit too precious?



Waking up and ready to get out of that jacket and into Mommy's arms!

A Lazy Saturday

We go through many outfit changes each day...I guess this is why we do a load of laundry every single day. These photos are also from Saturday, before the big Alabama vs. LSU game.


We'll call this one"Mommy needs some lipstick!"


The Pennington family - Check out Carter's little :)



With Daddy...football on in the background.

Another Video Post - Saturday Morning

To all my friends who don't have children, note that this video was taken on Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. I had already fed Carter, changed his diaper, and gotten him dressed. After the video, I gave him a bath and changed his clothes...then laid him down for his first nap at 7:15 a.m.


Thank goodness he is the cutest thing in the world to wake up to each morning!

9 Week Roundup

This past Tuesday, Carter turned 9 weeks old. He is growing and changing so much and each week he seems to be going up a size in clothing. At 6 weeks, he could still wear some newborn stuff, then at 7 weeks he moved up to 0-3 months, now he is wearing 3 months and even some 3-6 month clothing!


Carter & Mommy one morning before work.


Carter in his cute Gap corduroy pants.



Lounging with MiMi on Friday night.

Hanging out and checking Zack out Saturday morning.

Babbling Baby Video

We decided to try and post a video of Carter "talking." He is becoming more active and when playing on his activity mat or sitting facing someone, he will carry on a conversation in baby language. We are seeing more smiles and have even heard a few laughs recently.

This video was recorded last night an hour or so before bedtime. I can't stop watching it this morning because I just love his little expressions! Sorry that it is so dark...we just had the lamps on in the living room.

Carter's 2 Month Shots

Carter had to go see Dr. Newman yesterday for his two month shots. I was so proud of him for being a big boy and hardly crying. He had three sticks, but the nurse did it very quickly (about 10 seconds) and then I picked him up and settled him down within a minute or so. He was a little fussy for a few hours afterwards, but one dose of Tylenol did the trick, and he was back to the happy baby that we know and love in no time!

Stats:
Weight - 12 pounds, 4 ounces
Length - 23 and 3/4 inches
Head Circumference - 40 centimeters

This puts him in the 80th percentile...there's no denying that he's a big boy!


Carter and Daddy snuggle - where's Mommy?


A close-up of the chubby-kins!

Pictures from the Weekend

Saturday night was Uncle Justin's 21st birthday party. We were supposed to dress up but after fighting with his costume Friday night, we decided to be comfortable! On Sunday night, we had birthday dinner at Amy & Joe's house to celebrate Tom and Amy's birthdays. It was a great weekend!


Carter with Uncle Justin, the birthday boy!


Carter with Uncle Justin & Aunt Shelby - he loved being in Justin's arms :)


Kirsten & Amy, Joe & Tom - Sunday night dinner picture.


Tom with his girlfriend, Dianne, and Carter.


Aunt Amy & Carter...she held him most of the night for us, and she didn't even mind that he was a fussy boy. I love the way he is looking at her like "I love you, Aunt Amy."

Final Halloween Pictures

I know you are all probably so bored with the Halloween pictures by now, but I had to post the final ones because Carter looked too cute.


Carter & Derrick - right after he got dressed up.


Carter and Mommy...not sure what I did to make him cry!



The handsomest horse on the planet.

Carter in his stroller with our neighbor, Abbie.

The Horse & The Bunny

As usual, I couldn't resist sitting the babies in a chair together and having them pose for pictures. As they are getting bigger, they are becoming more tolerant, and their necks are getting strong enough that they don't fall over anymore!


The cutest animals you've ever seen!


Carter crying, Katlin sleeping in the Pack & Play.


Sitting outside with the babies and waiting for the Trick or Treaters.

Me holding Katlin, and Lindsey holding Carter...I love this picture of all of us :)

Katlin, the Bunny

Katlin dressed up like a white bunny for Halloween. She fit into her costume perfectly and we all kept saying how much she looked like a little stuffed animal. It is amazing how much she looks like her Mama...she is so precious and really liked wearing her warm bunny suit!


Wide awake and ready for some candy...I mean milk!


Katlin checking out MiMi and looking adorable.

The back of the bunny suit - what a cute little tail!

The Little Monster

Here are some pictures of Carter getting ready for Halloween. My mom got him the Little Monster shirt to wear under his costume, but it also looked adorable with his black pants. He slept through his visit from Aunt Amy, and cousins Kirsten and Emma, but I didn't hesitate to take pictures anyway!


The Little Monster sleeping (still in the arms up position!) before putting on his costume.


Daddy putting on Carter's horse costume - he looked so adorable!



Emma (a poodle who did not want her picture made!), Amy, Kirsten (the cutest Pink Lady in the world!), and Derrick.

Kirsten posing in her costume.