California, Here We Come!

Maggie and I are packed and waiting to go to Midway Airport. We are flying home to CA to stay with my Mom and Dad for a week and half. Brad will then fly into LA where we will pick him up on our way to my family reunion on the beach. I can't wait. And my parents still live in the same house. I love it- I can't wait for Maggie to stay there for the first time! I can't believe my family started this small....

And has grown to this. This picture is at least missing 5 people- including my husband and baby.

I can't wait to see everybody. Please note that Cami's hair looks really good in this picture because she let me niece, Annie, do it for her.

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

We Love Cousins!

It is fun to live close to family. I finally started using my camera more to capture moments of Maggie with her cousins. We love going to their swim meets. Here are some fun pics.

Cute

Cheese

Cutest Smile

Maggie's "Cheese"

Chillin with Dad at the swim meet

Too big for the doll stroller

One is looking at the camera...

Then the other....

Then, both of them- Hooray. Cute cousins.

6 Months.....A Little Late

Maggie is now 6 and a half months! It has gone so fast. Brad and I were looking at pictures when she was a newborn and she looks so different. It is crazy how fast babies change.

So, I took her to the doctor last week. Here are the stats:

She weighs 15 lb 15.5 oz , 45% percentile

She is 26.5 inches long, 59%

Head Circumference is 17.74, 97% (she has a large brain)

Maggie just started to sit up on her own-which is exciting. We also took her to my brother's neighborhood pool (which is much warmer than ours), and she LOVED it. We were in there for over and hour with her. After swimming, she was so tired that she took a nap on a pool lounge chair while I tried to get a tan (or burn). I can't wait to go to my parents' house next week and swim in their pool every day!

A Night to Honor Him

Tuesday night was a special night. It was my first time leaving my baby with someone for more than an hour. My sweet sister-in-law watched Maggie when she has her own 10 month old. The occasion was a CPA Society dinner. Normally we would not go to all of these but this one was special. They were recognizing those who had taken and passed the CPA exam in 2009.

I had to leave at 4:30 to drive into the city. Traffic was horrible! It made me really appreciate the train. I really should have taken the train but I wanted our car so I could leave whenever I wanted. Overall, I wasn't as nervous about leaving Maggie as I thought I would be. I think it had to do with who I left her with. If I left her with a teenage babysitter the first time, I would have been super nervous all night.

The Dinner was at the Hilton downtown on Michigan Ave. They don't build hotels like this anymore. It was old but very ornate. Before the dinner, they had a cocktail hour. Brad introduced me to some coworkers and partners with the firm. Twenty minutes before the dinner started, Brad had to go line up downstairs, so that left me hanging out with one of the Real Estate Partners. He kept comparing his dog to a baby (I guess he was trying to relate to me- It didn't really work). But he insisted that I needed to drink if it was my first time away from the baby. I told him I didn't drink so he suggested a soda. It was a cash bar and I quickly glanced at the prices and either saw a $6 or an $8 next to soda/water. Yeah right!!! I am too cheap. I said I was not thirsty.

The actual dinner was in the grand ballroom. It was HUGE! I have been to big events in hotel ballrooms before, but this by far exceeded them all. The event was almost like a graduation. They called everyone's name and they walked across the stage. Families cheered and sent a messenger up front to take pictures. The food was pretty good- it is alway fun to be served a 4 course meal.

After dinner is where things got even better. They recognized 16 individuals for scoring the highest on the exam. Brad was one of the Excel Award recipients. We knew about this ahead of time but I didn't realize what a big deal it was. His name tag had this huge tag that said "Excel Award Winner." He was so embarassed as he felt it was a Nerd Alert. But I felt special being his guest.

The Present of the CPA Society presented him with a huge plaque and talked a little bit about him. After, they invited family and friends to come up and take pictures with them. I hope they send us the pictures because they had a professional photographer. My camera did not take very good pictures because the lighting was really low. But I will share what I have anyway.

I was wishing SO badly that Brad's parents could have been there. It was awesome- He is awesome. It made me realize how much Brad does for our little family. I am so lucky to stay home with Maggie- and he makes that all possible. It was good for me to take a night to spend with just him and remind myself how lucky I am. So- this is definitely a shout out for Brad. After a horrible busy season, this was just what he needed and deserved. What an honor! I was too proud of him, I couldn't hold it in!

On a Roll

This is my 3rd post in the last week! Brad and I have gotten so behind in the watching of our shows and movies. Everything halted with tax season. We finally caught up on our shows on Hulu, so last night we started catching up on Redbox. We rented The Young Victoria last night. We loved it! I don't want to hype it up too much- but we were both pleasantly surprised. It's always fun to watch a movie that is BOATS (based on a true story) - Brad taught me that acronym. And it's PG- which isn't too common these days. Hope you get to see it!

Cute Swimmer

So, the weather here is super unpredictable- sunny and hot one day, rainy thunderstorms the next. However, we have been able to sneak to the pool a few times.This suit was labeled 6-9 months. It was way too small!!! So we had to go buy her another one. I love the rash guard shirts. They are so nice for babies- they keep them warm and you have less sunscreen to apply. (Not as cute, I know) I was really nervous that Maggie wouldn't like the pool. But.........she does! Our pool is freezing but it doesn't seem to bother her.

There are a ton of kids at our pool. I don't rant very often but here goes one......As a former swim instructor, my biggest pet peeve is parents that put floaties on their kids. Floaties teach kids the wrong thing- that their biceps will keep them afloat. If you are not going to get in the pool with your children, at least get them a life jacket or inner-tube that teaches them how to float with the core of their body. Seriously- I cringe every time I see floaties.

I want one of these for Maggie.

I love summer and can't wait to swim more!

Procrastination

I have been meaning to update the blog for a while now. But so much has happened- I felt overwhelmed in trying to blog about it all. So I kept putting it off and putting it off. Here's my attempt.

The last month has been fun. Some highlights (in order of occurance):

1. Cinco De Mayo (aka my brother's birthday)
2. Mother's Day - it was my first and I decided I like it!
3. We flew to Utah. Maggie is the best little traveler. We stayed at Brad's grandparents up in Tremonton, Utah for a few nights. Grandpa Carter was hilarious. He insisted that "Maggie" sounded like an old lady's name and that he thinks we should call her "Margaret"- that it is more modern. Funny, how things have changed!
4. Maggie met Great Grandma Diane- her namesake. Maggie couldn't stop smiling at her.
5. Then we made a short visit to Provo. We saw a few old friends and hit up Brick Oven and the BYU Bookstore. I didn't realize how much I missed Provo til we went back.
6. We headed up to Pleasant Grove and stayed with Brad's brother Nate and his family. We had so much fun playing SCUM all night.
7. Then we went to my sister's house in Salt Lake for two days. We did lots of shopping and gathered up her camping gear in preparation for the 1st Annual Carter Reunion.
8. Brad's birthday. It was fun to be at Cinda's house- the kids helped me make him breakfast in bed. Swedish pancakes with whipped cream, nutella, bananas, strawberries, powdered sugar....YUM.
9. Carter Reunion at the Hinckley Girl's Camp up in Heber. Continuation of Brad's birthday......He got his DREAM STUNT KITE. I thought it was a nerdy wish. Now that I have seen it fly, I take it back. It is pretty awesome.
10. Recovered from the lack of sleep at the reunion. We took a lot of naps.
11. Brad's parents' farewell. It was awesome. It was fun to see all of Brad's extended family.
12. Spent another day with Brad's parents and grandparents.
13. Said goodbye to his parents for 3 years! It hadn't hit us all until we got to the airport. They both held Maggie and just cried. It was really sad.
14. We flew home (got delayed several hours because of windstorms in Denver. Let's just say we have awesome friends who brought our car to the airport for us ;-) ).
15. Back to life, Back too reality. Laundry, cleaning, and Brad went to work.

16. Maggie is eating solids. More like POUNDING rice cereal.
17. Good weather and lots of walks to the park. Maggie loves the baby swing!
18. Brad flew his kite for the first time (and several times since).
19. We took Maggie in the pool for the first time. It was freezing but that didn't seem to bother her.
20. I had my first piano recital. Success!
21. Brad's oldest brother and his wife came to visit. SUPER fun.

Here are some pictures in random order.

We LOVE Summer and Maggie LOVES being outside. I wish it would last forever....