An Afternoon at the Park

On Tuesday, November 10, we had a big day. Derrick and I took off work and took Carter to see the dentist, Dr. Bill Burriss, at 10:30 in the morning. He did really well - walked around the office, played a little in the waiting room, and even talked some to Dr. Bill. However, he did cry once when Dr. Bill looked at his 4 teeth and in his mouth. I was so excited to take him because Dr. Bill was my pediatric dentist, and I absolutely loved him and know Carter will, too. Derrick liked him as well and even worked in some football conversation to boot!

That same afternoon, we had the big ultrasound to find out if baby #2 was a boy or a girl. Derrick and I were both thinking boy....and we were RIGHT! We are so thrilled to be welcoming another little boy to our family. We have enjoyed every moment with Carter and know he will be a great big brother and that boy #2 will be a wonderful addition to our family.

We both like C names, and so far we have it narrowed down to Cade or Cole. For the middle name, I'd ideally like to have another O name, so their initials would be the same, but we both like Thomas and it's a family name on both sides. What are your thoughts - Cade Thomas Pennington or Cole Thomas Pennington? I will never forget when we were pregnant with Carter and debating between Carter or Cade, Derrick would ask everyone which one sounded more like a football player!

To celebrate finding out the sex of the new baby, we picked up Carter early and headed to the park on Powell Road in Collierville. For the first time, Carter was able to go to the "big kid" part with slides, monkey bars, bridges, and other fun stuff. There are no swings on that side, though, so we still ventured over to baby-land and let him swing for a little bit. The weather was perfect, warm and breezy, and we had a great time entertaining him.


Carter & Daddy entering the playground


Slide, Carter


Look at me, walking around all by myself!


He loved sliding and would smile SO BIG!

Carter & Mommy

Swinging high and hanging on...

Check me out, Mom!

Holding his hands up and saying "Whee!"

Still swinging

Look how big my baby has gotten

Hey Dad, look at these leaves I found!

Not a great picture, but he LOVES it when Derrick throws him in the air :)

We are so blessed to have you, Carter, and can't imagine our lives without you. You are my little buddy, my sunshine boy, my heart, and my sweet baby. Never forget how much Mommy loves you....to the moon and back!

14 Months & A Baby Bump

These pictures of Carter were taken on last weekend on Saturday. I love the one of him and Derrick, but these days it is so hard to get them both looking at the camera and smiling at the exact same time.


Carter & Daddy


Just Carter :)


Who knows what he is doing with his mouth - he has a bad habit of grinding his 4 little teeth!

Update on Baby # 2 - Finally, a bump emerges. Sorry the picture is so bad, but you can see the bump now. I am still wearing normal clothes (20.5 weeks) but think maybe only for another week...baby boy is making his presence known!

Dinner with Cousins

On Tuesday night of last week, we took Shannon & the kids to dinner to celebrate Thomas getting all A's on his report card. This is a HUGE accomplishment, and I think the first time he has ever achieved this, so it was worth congratulating!

We let him pick the restaurant and at first he wanted Huddle House. You can imagine how thrilled I was with that, but somehow we convinced him to have Mexican instead and we got to eat at the yummy Guadalajara Grill. When Derrick and I lived in Olive Branch, we used to eat there at least once a week.

During dinner, Carter kept throwing fries on the floor and only wanted to eat his chips and beans. Derrick got nachos that he didn't like, and I accidentally drank milk from Carter's straw instead of water from mine, resulting in me spitting it out all over the table. Thank goodness we were with family and no one cared!


Thomas, Zack, Carter, and Savannah


Kids again


After dinner, back at home - Carter's "scrunch" face

Smile for Mommy, handsome little man!

Sunday

On Sunday, we got Carter up and ready for church and it was the first time he has been able to wear his big boy (no elastic) khaki pants, a button down, and his penny loafer shoes. He looked absolutely adorable, and I couldn't quit giving my big boy kisses! When he got a little antsy during service, Derrick took him to the foyer for a chocolate donut and orange juice, and when they came back in, I had never seen him so content and happy!


Show mama your outfit, son


Could you look a little happier about it?


There's my sweet angel!


GiGi...hey, you don't have on any church clothes...

Handsome little man

Happy Halloween!

We had the best Halloween weekend and got to do all kinds of fun things. On Friday night, I arrived home from a work trip to Atlanta at 6:30, so we just hung out at the house and went to bed early. I couldn't wait to dress Carter up on Saturday morning so I could see him in his costume and see how tolerant he would be of his pirate hat...all went surprisingly well!

On Saturday night, we went to my mom's church (Collierville First Assembly) from 4:45 - 5:20, then we went to Amy & Joe's church (Collierville First Baptist) from 5:30 - 6:00, and finally got home, ate some chili & dip and headed out to trick or treat at about 10 houses.

Carter never once tried to take off his pirate hat, and he just wanted to walk around and check out all the other kids' costumes. At mom's church, there was a lady making balloon animals who made him a red pirate sword...so cute!

I know that next year, we'll have even more fun with the new baby and Carter being even more independent. Here are some pictures of our fun :)


Carter getting dressed in his costume


Ahoy mama!


Look at my bucket :)

During the day Saturday....wearing the outfit my friend Amy made him

There's a little smile

Close-up of the costume and hat

Katlin look at the camera, cowgirl!

There's my sweet girl...and in the background, Carter cheesing as well!

Handsome pirate man

Okay, mom, enough already!