My Best Buddy

You never realize the number of ways that having a child would actually change your life until you have one. While I was expecting Carter, I knew my future life included lots of sleepless nights (under exaggeration) bottles, diapers of all kinds, more laundry, pure exhaustion, and a little stow away. I knew I would have to sacrifice a lot of my usual friday/saturday nights with my husband out on the town for earlier bed times and snuggles. And I realized that I probably wouldn't have as much "me" time to shower, (heaven forbid) put on make-up, do my hair, etc. Before Carter came, since we did not exactly plan on our little surprise, as a mother-to-be I became fairly skeptical that I was ready for this alternative existence. The thought of turning in my "newly-wed, cute young couple badge", my weekly dates out, and the freedom that I had, as selfish as it sounds- this scared me. I loved all my alone time with just me and Nathan! But little did I know I'd be trading in this seemingly great husband/wife experience for even more smiles, laughter, kisses, hugs, tender moments, blessings, and a deeper relationship with my Heavenly Father while I cared for one of his special children. Little did I know that my heart could contain so much love for such a little person! Or that I could feel so successful and fulfilled! And most of all, how little I understood that this little person would not just change my routine day to day- but he would little by little change ME entirely. Thank heavens for that. All of this is to say, that my little Carter Moo is not just my cute 20 month old. He is my good humor, my patience, my better judgement, my sweetest dreams, my day to day companion, and truly- my best little friend. Here are a few Carter-isms that I love the most!

-Every night, before bedtime we get Carter showered with Daddy and read him books. Daddy can't take him up to shower alone, he's always concerned about his Mama. So if Daddy leaves me behind, Carter will come back down the stairs, into the kitchen, and take my hand to direct me upstairs :) At least he knows I will sit on the floor outside the shower and make faces at him through the glass.

-After books and bedtime stories are read, Daddy turns off the lights and Mommy sings a few songs while Carter lays in his bed falling asleep. But each and every night as I kneel by that crib, Carter requests which songs he'd like to hear by saying, "hush-a-bye? Ok." then reaches through the crib slats to hold my hand until I am all done singing. He just wants me close!
-Crossing the streets or walking anywhere at all, Carter wants to hold my hand to make sure I am right there with him.

-Carter is such a cute little helper! At the store, I hand him the groceries and he turns around in his seat to drop them in the cart. If he's not driving the cart for us that is- he loves his "wheels!"
- Carter weighs 32 lbs. He is a tank. Sometimes I feel amazed by his little body and how much it resembles a linebacker's. He is super strong too, and I have found him helping unload groceries with a full gallon of milk high above his head. Little intimidating at times haha

- He always helps put the silverware into the dishwasher when they are dirty, and into the drawer when they are clean. Every day when I make dinner or lunch he will grab a chair from our dining table and push it around the kitchen so he can "see! see!". As I chop something up, I slide it to him and he drops it into the pot or pan. Especially when we use the kitchen Aid. He likes to ask for lots of tastes and loves helping me make cookies.

- Whenever Carter wakes up, he smiles and jumps in his bed to say good morning. After he says hi, I ask "how are you doing Carter?" to which he always responds, "Good!"
-Carter likes to brush his teeth with mommy

-Carter is very sweet and sensitive. He gives lots of kisses and loves. This morning he snuggled with me on my bed with his arms around my neck, then looked up at me to pull out his binky and give me a big kiss. He touched my face with his chubby little hand, and patted my cheek a few times before snuggling down again.
-Lately Carter is learning how to jump. Hysterical to see my stocky guy up on his tippy toes trying to jump.
- Little Carter says "thank you" to everyone around him, and usually without being prompted any. He also says "I love you" without being told, and uses it quite often with mommy and daddy.
- Whenever it's time to "clean up, clean up!" Carter grabs his little toy bucket and mumbles something that is supposed to mean "do your share".
-If ever my little man notices maybe mommy is sad for a minute or the least bit emotional (oh pregnancy), he runs to my side to offer me his binky and lots of loves.

-My little guy is smart and has been counting and singing ABC's with us.
-Whenever I wash my face with my electric face scrubber, he will rush in to pull it from me and gently massage it on my cheeks. He loves to "elp!" (help)
-Carter loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Thomas the Train. Whenever he sees a train he jumps up to yell "COOOH COOOOH!!!" hasn't quite gotten the "ch" sound down yet but i think I prefer this anyways.
-Carter loves to Skype with our families back in Utah. He knows all of their names and is such a ham because they encourage it.

I could likely go on forever, thus I will stop myself. Truly this little boy is the purest joy in my life and Nathan and I have often asked ourselves, "what did we ever do before we had Carter? What a waste of our time!" Realizing what a sweet joy he is has made us all the more excited for another little person to join us in 7-9 weeks. Little Clarissa Mae will have the sweetest older brother she could ever hope for and we can't wait to see what her personality brings into our home. Carter is saying her name and frequently looks in her bassinet to see if "baby" is ever going to be in it or not. We are SO excited!!! HOORAY FOR KIDS! They make us better people by the day!

Walden Pond

Ok, So Katie is brilliant and I can blog again. Thank you!! I have some catching up to do so bear with me! 

Pictured below, this is my "lost in thought" look. And why is this a good place to stop and ponder? Read on.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."  -Henry Thoreau

It is really exciting to get to visit some of the places that you hear about in your English Literature class, like the home of Henry David Thoreau at Walden Pond. It was so beautiful!! He had this small quiet home above the pond, the home is not still there but they have the home site where they can show you what it looked like. They also built a replica at the pond entrance which was pretty neat too. A perfect Sunday afternoon outing! So interesting to imagine his quiet, and humble life, and read some of the beautiful things that he wrote. Namely, "Walden Pond" :) So before it got too cold, (this was probably in the end of October) my little family and my sister Karlie, her husband Ryan and my darling niece and nephew took a small excursion.

Here we are riding in the car!

And then, the entrance to the pond.

Carter fell asleep as we pulled in, so we let him snooze it off in his stroller, but not long before we got this gem of a picture below. You know that feeling where you wake up somewhere you don't know, or you have that delusional, groggy feeling that makes you act kind of goofy? I love it when that happens to Carter :)

Here is a replica built of the small cabin home Thoreau would have lived in. 

This photo is a personal favorite of mine. The trees are truly stunning during the fall on the east coast.

Here is the actual site of Thoreau's home, above the pond a ways. It is so small you wonder how we can ever think to complain about a lack of space now a days!

My two silly boys. Love 'em.

This is Karlie, Ryan, Dean, and miss Ainsley

So to some maybe this is not so exciting. But if you like history any you would love to live where I do now. So much to see and do!! And more coming your way!

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours." -Henry Thoreau

Dear Blog You are NOT Forgotten

Not forgotten, just seemingly the tantalizing box unchecked on my "to-do" list. You see, I have been blogging, have many drafts ready to go-but the kicker is uploading pictures. We are having some technical difficulties. Blogger decided to tell me my space was full and that I would have to start paying to blog! I know this can't be true because many of my much more avid photo blogging friends have never had this happen. So we are working out a glitch. If you have any suggestions send them my way.

In the meantime, I am pregnant. I started taking pictures by the week to put together a collage of my growth. Then I got to week 25 or so and thought- "why would you do that to yourself? You sure don't want to remember yourself looking like this, and I can't imagine other people would either..." Thus ended my pictures. I think I have 3. Mostly I was probably just afraid of what week 38 ish would look like. Rightfully so. I looked pregnant at week 20. I've heard this is just the joy of your second pregnancy. Also the joy of baby 2 is feeling pregnant from week 20 onward. Yowza. With baby Carter, I was one of those pregnant gals that said frequently "I truly like being pregnant! I have it so easy!" Then as you are ready to wrap things up, you discover that maybe you did like having your own body and breathing space and would rather admire a baby in your arms due to the seemingly increasing pressure between your legs. Second pregnancy, how you have humbled me :) But enough of my rantings. I am 29 weeks along, in the last trimester, and already anxious to meet baby Clarissa Mae.

Carter is 19 months old darn it. The boy weighs a whopping 32 lbs and is just "solid" as most people like to say. He really is strong and built, but mostly he is just stinking funny and the joy of my life! We love living in Concord, MA-lots to do and see and fun new things to experience! I have lots of fun stories to be coming your way to prove it. In the meantime, just dropping a little note of bloggy blogness. I miss it! Hopefully I can get this picture thing worked out fairly soon!

Yours Truly

Maynard Fest!

 So in one of my previous posts upon our arrival in Concord, I think I mentioned going to a city festival. I thought I would share a few pictures and expound on how much I loved the Maynard Festival! Maynard in our neighboring town, and each fall they have a city festival. Here are a few snapshots of us enjoying it so much.

Welcome to Maynard!

 Me trying to follow my funny little guy all over town...

Is eating a lollipop on someone's shoulder a really bad idea? Yes. Nate had sucker drool down his neck and got pretty sticky...yuck. But aren't they so super cute together?

We had a lady who followed us a short ways and saw Carter walking with his little sucker...she of course made it a point to tell us that good parents don't let their children do that since he could fall and shove it down his windpipes. Good thing the sucker was twice as big as his mouth...

To get rid of the sucker issue, we told Carter we would get him a hot dog. One of his first words was "hot dog" so we knew he would love that. For the next 5 or 10 minutes he would not stop saying "hut dug??" Until we found him one. This boy can and usually eats a whole Costco dog by himself. Crazy.

And to help with the digestion process......downward "dog". Get it? :)

He stayed here for quite a while. Not sure what was being accomplished....funny kid.

And to top off the dog, some "co-corn". We love the stuff.

Things like Maynard Fest make me feel more at home and I am always looking for more of these fun outings with my cute boys!

Concord Hollow

Halloween at the Newman's was pretty awesome. My sister Karlie and I made costumes for Carter and Ainsley who are the same age, and it was my first homemade costume! I am very proud of the result. The two of them went as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf and they were pretty adorable. Karlie's little Dean was a firefighter so he pretty much rocked. Karlie and I each made a pot of Chili as is tradition in our family to eat Chili on Halloween. Hers was a white bean chili and mine a spicier mexican chili. Delicious. After dinner we took the kiddos trick or treating around the neighborhood and by the end they were pros. Carter got the hang of knocking on the door and saying "treat?" to which he would grab a candy, drop it in his darling Grandma Newman homemade bag and say "teenk you!" (thank you of course). It was the most heart warming thing ever. In between doors, he would take off running and yell "Go, go, go!!" As Nate does quite often to get him movin' along. Haha it was really cute. And Ainsley was really good at slyly taking more than one treat at each door. Dean knew they were both amateur but he went along with it. What a sweetie. Take a look at this Newman made preview of the night. It pretty much sums things up...

I will post a few more Halloween pictures once I get them uploaded! 

Donuts, Caramel, and Orchards

 

So apparently we moved to Concord at the most opportune time. Right in the heart of the apple orchard season!! I was so excited to go to one of these orchards that it was one of the first things that we did to welcome the fall season. The orchard we chose to go to was called Honey Pot Hill Orchard, and it was a beautiful drive there and very picturesque the whole trip. Complete with hedge maze, acres and acres of beautiful orchard, little animal scenes for the kids, and the most amazing goodies you have ever had. Freshly pressed cider, caramel apples, even hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch if you wanted, but most importantly- happiness thrown into two words. CIDER. DONUTS. Need I say more? Yes. Because I personally don't think enough could ever be said! These things are amazing. Better. I felt like I could easily eat my weights worth. They are quite popular around here, but at the orchard they are fresh, warm, and homemade. Heaven! Truly a new passion of mine only recently discovered! They made my night so awesome and the next morning even better. I am a donut lover. But these were sublime.

Here is a look at the rest of the place. 

 

 

So we decided to make some of our own caramel apples in celebration of the apple season! A few snapshots. Sorry for the quality. They were taken on a phone, and not everyone is in the photos. But we made them with my awesome sister Kar, her husband Ryan and my darling niece and nephew Dean and Ainsley. So fun having them nearby to spend time with us and eat unhealthy delicious things!!!

It is definitely appropriate to lick your caramel off the counter top.

This will be a tradition for us as long as we live here!! 

A Drive Across the Country

Being one of the few people now a day to carry a flip phone that I may or may not have had in junior high usually is not a big deal. But when you drive across the country and would like to snap a photo here and there or really need to check your email-it can be a bite. That said, once we got to Concord, MA we tried really hard to make sure our internet would be all set up for us. And every attempt failed so it has been quite some time since I have had this wonderful convenience! Thus my reason for not posting this specific gem a month ago...part of the excuse. But with all of this aside- we made it here of course! We are officially "East Coasters". Sometimes I feel like I need to look at a map to actually realize how far I am from home or where it is that I am actually living. Up until now, the furthest I had ever lived from Alpine, Utah was in Logan. A mere two hours away. But oh have we topped that now! It took us just about 40 hours in a Penske moving truck to reach our new home. These are the states that we passed through just to name a few.
Utah-Wyoming-Nebraska-Indiana-Michigan-Ohio-New York-Massachusetts
Were we excited to see THIS?

Excited is an understatement. But before you get the wrong impression- though the drive was long, being with Nate made it actually feel much quicker! He is my best friend, and after he has been travelling so often-sitting in a truck with him for 3 days straight was actually so much fun! We listened to a couple books on tape, a murder mystery, and The Peacegiver. Both great and kept us entertained! We sang songs really loud, talked, played the card games "Fact or Crap" and "Would You Rather", and stopped at McDonalds frequently so we could try and win a Monopoly prize. It's easy to keep going back when you win free parfaits or a burger or fries. Then you just get to keep playing! We got real close...but no $20,000 in our pocket I am afraid.

On day 1 we drove 15 hours to Omaha, Nebraska and got there pretty late. It felt like we had probably never even been in Utah that morning. The roughest part for me that day was missing my sweet little Carter. I was heart broken to leave him while we made the drive but he would have never loved me again otherwise. So he stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Rhodes. After we had been on the road most of the day, he gave me a call- and when I said hello and heard his sweet voice say "mama" back into the phone I thought I would lose it! Day 2 was a little easier. He spent an afternoon at Grandma Newman's and she sent us this cute snapshot to keep mommy happy on the road-

The real feat of the trip was that I officially became a trucker girl. I drive big trucks now. I drove at least half of the way! A little scary at first, but then a piece of cake ;) Look out folks-don't want to get on the wrong side of THIS trucker lady on the road! Let's just say I don't exactly meet trucker regulations yet. Facial hair missing...don't usually flip people off..and I got a few pretty wonderful looks from my fellow truckers who would think  a gal like me couldn't handle this wheel. Booya. 

Though the ride was long.. It always stinks when you get a little off track and have to add time to an already endless drive. This happened our second day when we took a detour through Michigan. Shoot. But night 2 we stayed in Ohio just a little ways past Kirtland. Day 3 was so exciting! So much anticipation of getting to our new home! Nate and I had to keep reminding ourselves that this wasn't a vacation. Or just a road trip. We were on a one way ride. No return tickets. THIS was home now. Crazy. So after 12 hours on day 3- we made it to Concord and stayed the night there. The next day we got the keys to our place, and Nate and I unloaded our 22 foot moving truck all by ourselves! We unloaded and unpacked and did all of it! Then took a little time to ourselves to explore.

Say hello to my favorite downtown Concord diner. True love at first sight is what I call this.

 

Waitor: "Coffee to start?"
Us: "No thanks, we don't drink coffee. How about hot chocolate please?"
Waitor: "You don't drink coffee......like...coffee??"
Us: "Ummm...no. No coffee."
Waitor: "Mmmmmk? Hot chocolate....sure"

We have this conversation frequently :)

Darling will never be adequate.

 

Sure- come on in for breakfast! For 5 bucks eat your weights worth in delicious french toast!! Very moderate pricing, and heaps of food on ever single plate. Really delicious too. This was a prize.

DEEEEELISH!!

So after we got semi-settled in, my sweet mom flew on the red eye flight to bring me my sweet baby boy. I was DYING without the little munchkin so I was overjoyed to have him back in my arms!!! I think he likes me too :) We snuggled and he was so happy to be back in what felt like home. Watchin'  his little movies and being with mama.

No matter how many times this kid sees Lion king, it doesn't get old to him.

The swings at the park were a favorite discovery also. Carter LOVES the swings and never wants me to pull him out of it. Seeing him so happy is the greatest, but watching the swings too long makes me sick as a grown up. 

We of course had to fill our fridge, so we went to the nearest grocery store down the street called the stop and shop. Apparently they don't REALLY want you to shop there because their prices...are ridiculous. 

Nonsense. 

So we learned quickly that the nearest store worth shopping at in any direction from us is at least 25-30 minutes of driving. Ouch.  I still haven't seen a Wal-Mart. Heart breaking. And not every day you see this in your Utah market place...

Carter gets tired shopping since the driving time alone takes about an hour give or take.

Cute boys.

So all in all- we are really enjoying our time here!! One adventure after the next really. I will have plenty more fun things coming your way!! Also, we find out the gender of our little one this Friday and get another ultrasound. Here is a snapshot of our last one. So sweet.

A little glare but, what a sweet profile!! 

More to come!!