Halloween 2010

We had such a great halloween this year. I helped with Carter's Halloween Party at school and he loved it! There class was so excited about the costume parade and the special craft and snack. They were all so cute in their costumes! It was a great way to start the Halloween weekend. On Halloween, Sloan, the pink bunny, came over to trick or treat with the kids. Carter was dressed up as a cowboy in a costume that MamaDu made for Vaughn or Beau. We got so many compliments on the costume...he looked amazing! Charlotte was a monkey....which is perfectly appropriate as she never stops moving and is always climbing and crawling and creeping. She was super cute and we added a bow to make sure she was a girlie monkey. We took some photos and a lot of our favorite people came by to see the kids in their costumes. Carter was so excited about halloween and trick or treating. We had been talking about it for a week or two, so he seemed to understand the process. We still weren't sure if he was going to get it or not. He got it! He was so ready that he was pushing us out of the house. He had no fear about saying "Trick or Treat" and by the end of the night was saying "Howdy Folks", "Thank you, Happy Halloween" and talking about the other costumes. Carter has been slowly eating away at his candy stash, but seemed to think the big reward was the actual trick or treating. It was a great way to start the succession of fall/winter holidays. Carter has definitely moved on and we talk about Santa EVERYDAY!

Carter on "Uncle Rick the horse" (named after Vaughn's Uncle Rick)

Carter and Charlotte

Sloan, Carter and Charlotte

Fall is here

Charlotte says "pffft" to pumpkins

Carter says cheese

Carter giving Charlotte a sweet kiss

Sloan, Carter and Charlotte...color coordinated and cute!

Sloan knows how to take a picture...my kids are a little tuned out

The end of summer and the beginning of fall have been very busy and overwhelming. I have gone part-time at work and I am taking classes in order to apply for my master's degree. The kids are keeping us on our toes. I hope that when Charlotte looks back at my lack of posts during her first year, she knows that I post less because I am busy loving my time with her and Carter. Charlotte is growing up so fast. She is crawling, pulling up, cruising and trying to stand without holding on. She is the toughest girl that I have ever met. I am not sure where she got the gene, but she is seriously tough. Charlotte will crawl over obstacles as a way to push herself (her cousin Sloan is a favorite obstacle). Charlotte is a great eater and is so tall. She is just such a happy baby, unless she is in the car for too long--then she can WAIL! Carter is in preschool this fall and really likes it. When he tells stories of his day at school, I just die. He gives the funnies details and he seems to like the role of storyteller. Carter is sweet most of the time, but it has started to bother him when his little sister takes his toys. He is letting that terrible two's thing slip a little at those moments. Carter loves to go outside and watching cars "go backwards" entertains him to no end. We have gone to the fair recently and Carter loves the animals. Both of the kids love to go on walks and go to the park. We seem to be getting into a rhythm with our new schedules now that the semester is half way over and hopefully I will better about taking and posting pics of the kids. I just feel so lucky to have such a wonderfula family and I am so excited about fall and winter with our family of four!

Family Vacation 2010

Vaughn, Carter, Charlotte and I went to Lake LBJ with my parents and my aunt last week. It was so much fun! We spent a lot of our time just hanging out and potty-training. Carter did great and by the end of the week, he was using the big potty all of the time. We went to the Safari Zoo again and Carter loved it even more this year. He even fed a camel named Goober and touched his head. Carter got to ride a pony at the zoo and he loved his pony...named "Ashley". Charlotte seemed to be content at least while we all fed buffalo, ostriches, camels, llamas, etc. She just rode along in the carrier with Vaughn. My dad has recently purchased a boat and Carter made him feel pretty confident in his purchase every chance he got! Carter LOVES the boat! He literally jumps up and down with excitement about going on a boat ride and when he gets out of the boat, he always says that it was "Super Fun". Carter fished on the boat with Vaughn and DV. He also fished on the banks by the house with my dad....he had on my dad's straw hat and his jammies! Our week was filled with wildlife. In addition to our vast nature experiences at the zoo, we saw several deer and a peacock everyday at the house. We also had visits from Canada Geese, ducks, and turtles. Carter just does not understand how amazing this truly was! Carter greeted every animal with a huge hello and I am pretty sure that, due to his television experiences, he fully expected a verbal greeting in return. When he saw the geese, he looked at me and asked "where are the goslings?". We also had a great visit with our friends the Burnhams...it is so great to see Carter and Jack actually play together. Brynn and Charlotte are destined to be great friends....they just aren't quite aware of this yet! All in all, we had a great vacation (the drives are already almost forgotten) and we are so thankful to my parents for the week at the lake! Carter on the BOAT!


Charlotte...I mean seriously...so CUTE!

Riding a pony in a circle...Carter loves anyone named Ashley!

Charlotte and Daddy at the Safari Zoo

Big Day at the DuBroc House

On Wednesday (June 9th), we had a huge day! Charlotte rolled over from her tummy to her back both directions. Carter was so cute...he cheered her on as we kept putting her back to try again. Carter also had a HUGE day of his own...Carter peepee-ed in the potty. He was so excited and he actually did it two more times that day. We have hit a bit of a wall since then, but he is still interested and making progress. Carter is growing up so fast. I am simply thankful for the reminder that I will not be changing diapers for the rest of my life. Yeah for milestones and growing up! I am so proud of my kiddos and it is really cool to see them cheer each other on (even if it is a bit one-sided for now).

Overdue Post

I have failed. I did not post in May and for some reason, I actually let this fact make me feel a little guilty. I will accept the truth...I did not post every month like I promised, but I will also add that I was a little busy. Carter keeps us on our toes and now he is out of school for the summer....so we are getting even more time together. Carter pretends to be Big Bird (he la-la's) and pretends to be Cookie Monster (me want cookie). Carter tells everyone that he has "a great idea". He narrates everything that he does and could not be any sweeter. Carter has started to run up to us and his grandparents to give hugs. He still loves Charlotte and he loves his new cousin, Sloan, too. Charlotte is becoming more and more vocal every day. She smiles a lot and almost laughs. She gives this breathy yelp and you can tell she is wanting to laugh (because I am so dang funny). Charlotte looks just like her Daddy. Check out some photos below.

Carter, Charlotte and Sloan

Charlotte's Smile

One Proud Big Brother

Carter is pointing at Charlotte's eye...not actually poking her

I will go ahead and promise once again to be better about blogging regularly. We are going on vacation this month and I will post photos when we return. We will hopefully have a photo-filled summer!

Easter, Etc.

I am quite aware that the frequency of my posts does not communicate how proud I am of my beautiful children. I am just too dang busy spending time enjoying and taking care of the kids to write about it. So, just in case there is any doubt...I think my kids are pretty darn cute and wonderful. Charlotte and Carter have continued to keep us very busy at the DuBroc house.

Carter is as funny as ever and has begun to have a few "2 year old moments" lately. He has run away from me at the park to go watch a kid on a skateboard, he has had more than one tantrum about a balloon and he loves to jump off of the fireplace just to give me a heart attack. Carter "reads" to himself in bed before his nap and loves to sing songs "all together". The most important thing that has happened recently with Carter is that the Easter Bunny took his pacifiers to the babies who needed them and brought him a "big boy" present. We had a few rough nights and rougher naps, but everything has settled back to "normal". Next task...potty training...(enter scary music here).

Charlotte is a great baby! She is cuddly and likes to sleep. Charlotte is sleeping through the night except for needing help retrieving her pacifier several times in the early morning. Charlotte has started to smile A LOT and it is wonderful. I will try to catch it on camera, but I am not making any promises.

We have had a busy month since my last post. We of course went to an Easter Egg Hunt with Vaughn's family and Carter actually participated this year. He did not know what to do about the whiny or aggressive kids. He just stops and stares at them. We also threw a surprise birthday party for DV (my dad) for his 60th birthday. He actually won't be 60 until the 29th, but we celebrated on the day he went on a flight in a B-17 (his birthday present to himself). Carter insisted on wearing his rain boots to DV's party and hopefully you can see the boots in the photo below. I started back to work yesterday and so we are having a week of change and adjustments at our house. Vaughn's mom did great with the kids on my first day back and my mom gets to tackle her first full day with both grandchildren tomorrow. I was not excited about going back to work, but it absolutely makes me appreciate the time that I do have with my buggy and birdie.

Here are some updated photos of the kids. I have an egg...it is pink (my favorite color...seriously)

I mean....can he be any cuter?!?

Yes I am sitting on a Washers Board...I am a cool frat guy in pirate rain boots

Charlotte....2 months old and already questioning everything I say.

So cute...enough said.

Twice the Fun and Twice as Tired

Life with two children is in some ways not very different than with just one and in some ways is a complete change. Coming home with Charlotte and taking care of her and Carter absolutely makes my first maternity leave seem like a real vacation. Carter has been the best sport about the attention that we have been giving to Charlotte and he really seems to like having her around. Carter has been pushing his limits a little bit by jumping off of the fireplace everytime he knows that I can't jump up to get him. Carter hugs Charlotte and kisses her. Our last few weeks have been even more complicated because little Miss Charlotte had lost weight when I took her to the doctor at 2 weeks old. Apparently she was doing a great job pretending to nurse. She had been giving us every sign that she was eating well and getting enough food, but come to find out that she was obviously not. We have now switched to bottled breast milk so that we can monitor how much she is eating. This has most definitely complicated life around our house, but we all feel better knowing that Charlotte is getting the nourishment that she needs. We took her back two days after the 2 week appointment and she had already gained 3 ounces. Charlotte is looking less and less like a newborn everyday and she is so much more alert. Charlotte tried out her swing for the first time yesterday and she loved it. At first she looked a little worried as she went back and forth, but she soon fell asleep. We seem to be adjusting to our new little family and we even survived a weekend without Vaughn (thanks to my mom and sister)! Here are a few pictures of the kiddos!

Carter has found an old hat of Vaughn's and wears it like this A LOT! It is totally creepy, but he thinks it is awesome!

Charlotte, 3 weeks old. She is looking a little worried about something...maybe it was Carter in his hat:).


Carter and Charlotte, getting to know each other. How sweet are my kids!?!

Family of Four

Charlotte Elaine was born on February 19, 2010. She was 8 pounds, 15 ounces and she is 20 3/4 inches long. We decided to induce labor a week early after doing a sonogram on Thursday. Charlotte's head was already measuring at over 40 weeks gestation and they were guessing that she was in the high 8s and that she could be up to one pound up or down from there. After the very long and very hard labor with Carter, who was 9 pounds at 40 weeks, we decided that the best thing would be to induce labor since I was already dilated to a 3. We were both so ready to meet Miss Charlotte and wanted to avoid a giant baby delivery if possible. We got to the hospital at 7 am and I was finally hooked up to the pitocin by 9 am. It took a while for contractions to get going and then I asked for the epidural. I went very quickly from a 5 to a 9 and they called the doctor in the early afternoon. When she got there, I started pushing and Charlotte arrived before I broke a sweat. I think I only pushed about 5 or 6 times. This experience was vastly different from my hours and hours of pushing with Carter! It was so fast that Shelby just kept laughing and saying that she couldn't believe that she came out so quickly. Charlotte's head is so round for a newborn and her hair is so full and dark. I just knew that she would look like her Aunt Tierney and knew that she would have dark hair!

Charlotte has been a pleasure in every way. She is feeding well and sleeping well too. Charlotte has begun to cry a little today, but she prefers a good whimper over a scream or cry. She loves to look around and she seems interested in her big brother. Carter has been interested in her and has greeted her on more than one occasion. He even seemed excited that she would be at the hospital again today. We are just crossing our fingers that he is excited when she comes home tomorrow! Carter has been an amazing trooper through all of this and he has been happy to leave us at the hospital to hang out with his wonderful grandparents. We are so happy and thankful that Charlotte has arrived and that we have a healthy family of four! Here are some photos from today!

A little grumpy from being moved around

Carter is hugging his little sister

Yes, I have already put her in a bow

Charlotte's Nest

We are getting EXCITED about Charlotte! It is officially February and it is looking pretty inevitable that the DuBrocs will be a family of four before the end of the month. I will be 36 weeks pregnant on Friday and so we are in the home stretch. Carter seems to understand that Baby Charlotte is coming, that she has a room and that she is in Mommy's tummy. We will see how his perspective changes when she is actually sharing his space and the attention of his parents. Carter loves to play in Charlotte's room already...mostly because he is rediscovering his infant toys with excitement and a very messy enthusiasm. I am so loving this girly thing. I had so much fun painting Charlotte's room and letting the pinks flow with abandon. I am not usually very girly, but I think this could be dangerous now that I get to dress a girly baby!! Here are some photos of the nursery...hope you enjoy the pictures and I hope Charlotte enjoys her room! The vanity in the room is part of the bedroom set that Charlotte has inherited from my grandmother. It was Allie Flo's bedroom furniture when she was girl and so it is very special to me that we get to share it with our little girl.

Our Christmas

Here are a few photos from our Christmas. I think that it is pretty obvious that we are 1. terrible about taking pictures and 2. when we do take pictures, they are only of Carter... We had a great Christmas and loved spending time with all of our family. It was so much fun to do the whole Santa thing with Carter this year and he seemed to kind of understand the idea. He LOVED all of the Christmas decorations all over town. Carter knew exactly which stores had which giant decorations and he would insist that we go see them every time we entered the stores. Carter could spot a christmas tree or a snowman across a parking lot and was just amazed by our tree at home. Carter still asks to see the Santas and other decor at stores and we are having to try to explain that he has to wait a year to start the process all over again.I have a feeling that our Christmases will only get more entertaining and fun-filled as Carter and his soon to be sister get older and more involved. Having a kid around absolutely makes Christmas a lot more fun!!!

Carter is expressing his excitement about his Christmas presents!

Santa brought Carter a train, train table, a drum and a Yo Gabba Gabba boat for the bathtub! He was so excited!

Carter is learning how to smile for the camera and was so happy to celebrate Christmas with my family and Philip's reindeer on the wall!

Carter is 2

Well, Carter actually turned 2 on December 21st and we celebrated the weekend before Christmas. Carter had an amazing time at his party. What is not to love about having 25 adults adore you and shower you with attention and gifts??? Carter was so excited to be surrounded by all of his favorite people. When we all started to sing "Happy Birthday" his face totally lit up and he realized that we were all singing to him. After we finished, he looked around and requested "Jingle Bells" from what he assumed to be his personal carolers. Carter has definitely made the past two years the most amazing and fun years of our lives! I can't believe that this past 2 years have gone by so quickly. Thank you to everyone who helped Carter celebrate his birthday!