Indianapolis 500 - Month of May

There are so many festivities during the month of May in Indianapolis. Although we're not actually going to the race this year and my days of running the mini-marathon are over, we enjoyed some of the other race activites the city had to offer. Carter (and Ryan) went to the track and the 500 parade for the first time. Carter loved both outings. Ryan slept straight through them!

Photo: Watching the Indy cars practice at the Brickyard

Photo: Waiting for the parade to start Photo: The best place to watch the parade. Having a tall Daddy proves to be beneficial.Photo: Someone spotted the big Elmo balloon down the street!

Summer is here

Summer in Indiana = playing in the sprinkler.

And here's a picture of Ryan to round out today's photos.

what we hear

At our house the two new phrases are "daddy do it" and "mine". Carter has become a daddy's boy lately and he says that Daddy has to do everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. For examples: Daddy get up with me in the morning, Daddy lay with me to watch a show, Daddy change my diaper, Daddy take me to the potty, Daddy put me in my booster chair, Daddy make my food, Daddy do my bath, Daddy read me books, Daddy brush my teeth, Daddy put me to bed, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. It's pretty cute and I can't complain. Mommy is getting off pretty easy these days. Actually when I walked out of my bedroom this morning Carter shouted "No, No, No" and tried to push me back in. How can I argue with a toddler who wants Mommy to sleep in longer? Kyle is being such a good sport. This kid is wearing him out! He loves all the special attention from Carter, but I think he's ready to hear "mommy do it" soon.

Now that Ryan is starting to hold toys Carter has picked up the word "mine". I didn't realize there would be sharing problems so early in the game. It didn't occur to me that he would want the same toys as his 3 month old sister.

typical day

Carter sits on the potty at least 25 times a day. However, he still manages to pee and poop on the floor. Delightful! He also uses the potty as a stall tactic to buy extra time before bed. If he says he needs to go, then we go! However his new name might as well be chicken little!Ryan works on tummy time and plays with her toys. She is a very busy girl.

professional photos

A close family friend is starting his own photography business and did a photo shoot for us. Kelly Applegate Photography will soon be a huge success! I would recommend Kelly to anyone. He did a fabulous job for us! Thank you, Kelly! Check out a few of the photos:

school dayz

Carter goes once a week to a Mother's Day Out program at a local preschool. Their class meets on Tuesday 9am-2:20pm. It took several months for Carter to go to school without crying when we dropped him off. It was so bad at one point the teachers told us if they would say the word Mom or Mother while reading a book he would tear up. Now Carter walks in proudly carrying his backpack and lunch box. He blows me kisses and says bye-bye. His teachers say he's the best class participant.

So guess who went to school today? Mommy and Daddy! Carter's class invited parents to a "spring fling". We got to see what they do on a typical day at school.

*They do crafts (Carter's planting a sunflower seed)

*They play with toys (showing Daddy how the ball ramp works)

*They go on walks (somehow they get all the kids to hold onto a rope when they walk)

*They sing bible songs and read books

We left while the kids were having snacks. I imagine the rest of they day was filled with playing outside, eating lunch and taking a nap.

P.S. did I mention our big boy started using the potty? Yep that's right! We've been having Carter sit on the potty for a few of months now, but nothing would happen. All of a sudden the whole process clicked for him. For the last week he's been going pee-pee before bed, before his baths and when the gets up in the morning. He tells us 2 or 3 times during the day when he wants to go. He's even asked us to use the potty in public places like when we were out to dinner at a restaurant. We are so proud!

same age, different kid

Carter around 10 weeks Ryan around 10 weeks