I Think I'm In Love ...

Sure ... I love those gorgeous blue eyes ...
And those cute chubby toes ...
And that smile ...
And that look ...
And those cheeks ...
But today ... I'm in LOVE with all those things ... and that I get to capture them all with my NEW CAMERA! There are more buttons than I can figure out how to operate and a manual the size of a small dictionary ... but I figured out how to charge the battery, format the disc and snap a picture! I think that's a pretty good start!

THOMAS THE TRAIN IS ROLLING ALONG ...

Out the door, bright and early. Dressed in our fabulous conductor wear ... Joshua was bouncing out of his seat with excitement! I, on the other hand, was not so happy. Somewhere between Blythe and Palm Springs ... I lost my voice. Zippo. Zilch. Silence. So ... Joshua and Ben chatted about Thomas and I ... well ... I did a lot of pointing, poking and nodding!!
The big moment ... Thomas the Tank Engine pulls into the station. Joshua decided to ride on "Annie." I tried to sit next to him but he said, "No, Mom. You sit over there. I sit with Mookers."
A little Thomas photo op ...Notice that Joshua is never looking at the camera? He was so busy trying to figure out what we were going to do next or trying to spot Thomas ... that getting him to look at the camera was nearly impossible. Even when we were standing next to a real, live CONDUCTOR!Riding on the tippy top part of a caboose. This was maybe even more fun than riding Thomas?Showing off his Thomas tattoo ...Again ... why look at the camera when you can see Thomas down the tracks???


A little Thomas and a lot of grooving! Perhaps Joshua's motto should be: "Have dance skills. Will travel."We had a great day! We even met up with friends ours who live in CA ... not that I could talk to them ... oh well! I think these past 3 days might be the first time in our marriage that I've asked Ben to talk for me. I thought he's LOVE the opportunity ... but apparently ... he too misses all the chatter! Up next ... a SURPRISE visit and ... a wedding! Stay tuned!

In a Couple Weeks ...

About a month ago, SOMEBODY... (obviously not me because I know children of Joshua's age have no concept of terms like ... yesterday, tomorrow and "in a couple weeks") ... told Joshua that we were going to see Thomas the Train. Yeah. That was a big mistake because Thomas and only Thomas has been the topic of conversation to ANYONE who will listen. And usually, he follows his chat about Thomas with an invitation. The latest invite ... the purse lady at Dillard's who seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the possibility of ditching work and heading to CA.

Just yesterday, I told Joshua we were going to California and were were going to see Thomas in TWO days. "No, Mom. In a couple weeks."

Much to J How's surprise ... we'll be hitting the road tomorrow.

So ... what's going on around here as we prepare to see THOMAS?
First, a little supervised MIRROR drawing. A pain to wipe off the mirrors but oh so much fun! And ... a little mimicking of mom's face when I walked into the room to see How teaching Eli how to climb into the toys and crawl up on the car.
Yep ... obviously the chat about cars staying on the ground went over real well ...
And then ... I decided it was time to vacuum out the goop in our car and managed to grab a sock (or 2) in the process ... and fill a large plastic tub with other odds and ends. I like to think of my car as a second closet!
Ahhh ... and then the packing. And laundry and more packing! Not only are we going to see Thomas but Ben's sister is getting married. That requires much wardrobe planning and trying on.

I can't wait to get to CA because I ordered a fancy new camera that was shipped to my in-law's house!

And ... in other big news ... I'm an AUNT! My brother and sister-in-law had a baby boy yesterday! Robert Howard Coleman was born on my grandma's birthday! Such a fun present! We're 3-0 in the family ... WE LOVE BOYS!

Off to finish packing.

Halloween 2008 ...

Votes .. Boats .. Stickers and Floats!

I went to get Joshua this morning and he was sitting up in his bed.
"Who that talking, Mom?"
I had already looked out the window of our bedroom to see the craziness. We vote about 100 yards from our house ... at the private school. A stream of our neighbors, probably 100 deep, standing in line to vote. The pre-work voting crowd. YIKES! I hope it calms down by nap-time when I expect to be in line with many other moms with a similar plan.
Back to Joshua ...
Me: "Oh. You probably heard people talking. Today is a very important day. Today we get to vote."
Joshua: "Yeah. I go to California. I get on a boat. I get VERY VERY soaked!"
ME: "No. That would be silly. You thought I said BB-Boat with a B and mom said VV-Vote with a V. Remember when we went to school and voted and got a sticker?"
Joshua: "I take that sticker to California. I get on my boat and I float but I not get really soaked because that would be silly."

And there you have it ... I'll make sure somebody takes that kid to California with a boat (and a sticker) just so he won't be disappointed ... no matter what the outcome tonight!

J How and Me after voting in the Sept. Primary

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAKE!

We LOVE you, Cake!

Three Hundred Twenty Eight ...

Old MacDonald Had a Farm ....

And to celebrate his first birthday ... Farmer Eli invited us over for a BBQ

My dear friend Michelle was our birthday photographer (she took 328 pictures!!!) and I think we might have a Christmas card winner? I'd love to tell you that we'd get a picture of Eli smiling but this is really more of his look. Not happy, not sad ... just taking it all in.

The birthday banner. I found a banner like this here. For $17.99, I briefly considered purchasing it but in true Carrie form ... I figured I could make it for less. It took me WAY longer than I anticipated so Eli is having a barnyard birthday party until he's five!

Lots of fun happening on the front porch ... I think I might just leave the fabric streamers up?

Jason (Michelle's husband) and his favorite sidekick. Eli LOVES him!

Our How ... showing off his kicking skills.

And his banjo playing skills ... (How decided to "borrow" this from Eli ... the favorite gift from my brother and his wife at our family party on Thursday) ...

It's CRAFT TIME! Paint, paint and more paint!!!

I love a good mess!

Pigs in the Mud! A farm like version of musical chairs ... with a lot more chaos and barnyard music!

Everybody won ... so everybody ate cupcakes!

Thanks for making the cupcakes, Bella!

Does this one really need a caption?

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, ELI!