My Carter Bug

Carter was making such sweet faces during his bath last night, I had to take some pictures! He looks SO much like Brian, but I think his little cheshire cat smile is totally my Dad. My dad passed away seven years ago, so it's wonderful that Carter helps me remember him.

Hey, leave me alone! Can't you see I'm up to no good?

Abby and Carter

So here is a two month picture of Abby...

And here is a two month pic of Carter.

Not the most flattering pictures, but I was trying to get two similar shots.

Do you think they look alike?

Abby Has a Pool

We got a pool for Abby yesterday but the water was a little cold so Abby barely got in. But today she had a blast! I think she threw everything in that pool but the kitchen sink, and she actually didn't do a whole lot of swimming, but that's Abby for you.

It started raining pretty hard and she stayed out there the whole time while Mom stood in the doorway and took pictures. By the time I dragged her in she was soaked to the bone but very happy.

Uh, oh. Her favorite thing. Slimy rocks. *sigh*

This is kind of a cool, random picture that I took and tweaked a little on my crappy photo editing program. I'm dying to get photoshop.

We Need a Pool

This week has been the first time in a long time that it's been dry enough to play outside. So I rigged this up for Abby the other day since we don't have a kiddie pool for her. Pathetic, huh? She had a good time playing with the water but she needs a pool!





She loves popcicles, but I think she likes the stick more. :)

She was a little silly (as always) and I caught her in an itchy nose moment. I love Abby's facial expressions.

Then Sunday we had a picnic outside after church. I was amazed by the beautiful blue sky and amazing clouds.

Look What I Got!

See my new baby? I've been wanting a piano of my own ever since I moved out of my parent's house, but being such a big ticket item, it's stayed at the bottom of the priority list for a long time. Well I check Craigslist periodically to look for good deals on pianos and last Sunday I found this one in Lewisville listed for $200!!! So I went and played it and for $200, it's a STEAL. It's a vintage Wurlitzer Spinet. A few of the ivories need to be replaced, it has some nicks and scratches but other than that it's in great condition. And it hasn't been tuned in 1 1/2 years and it's still relatively in tune, which is a great sign. Brian grabbed a couple of guys (thanks Danny, Mark and Eric) and rented a trailor for $35 and moved it with no problem. Get it tuned and we've spent $300 on a fabulous paino. Sweet!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Hey Mom, kinda reminds me of the food storage pinto bean "incident."

Carter's Hearing

We haven't shared this with many people so some of you may be suprised to hear about this. Carter was referred four times for his newborn hearing screening. Which means, the hospital runs a test and if his hearing doesn't match a "normal" template, then he is "referred" until he passes or they figure out what is wrong. So today we took him to Children's Medical Center downtown where he had an ABR (auditory brainstem response) test done. They waited until he was in a deep sleep and hooked a bunch of wires to his head which tests his brainwave activity in the auditory centers of the brain. Anyway, he did really well although it took him a while to get to sleep.

The results are somewhat conclusive and more encouraging than we thought. He tested normal in the low and mid-range frequencies, but he has a 25 decible loss in the higher frequencies. So he can hear, just not perfectly. The test confirmed that the problem is sensory neural, which can only be fixed with hearing aids, but they don't usually use hearing aids on a loss that minimal. We still have to have a lot of tests done on him, including an MRI, blood work, urinalysis, etc. to determine the source of the problem and rule out any viruses or underlying problems, which are not likely. There is also a chance that his hearing loss is degenerative, so we will learn more about that as well.

When we first found out that Carter might have a hearing problem, I was actually okay with it. I think I only freaked out for a split second, but because we had just gone through it with Abby, we both felt like we were prepared and felt at peace with the situation knowing that we could handle whatever challenge was sent our way. Although we would not want any of our children to struggle with anything in life, a little bit of hearing loss is managable.

So keep us in your prayers as we do the remainder of his tests and we'll keep you updated.

Don't you just want to melt?

Decorating on a budget and finding super deals has always been a hobby of mine. In my family, we brag about how cheap we got something and then try to one-up eachother. So here's my turn to brag.

I found this practically new crib AND mattress on Craigs list for $40. It matches Carter's changing table perfectly. NOW, if I had all the money in the world, I'd be all about Pottery Barn, but since we don't, this is as good as it gets. So far I've spent $85 on a dresser, crib, mattress and changing table in Carter's room, and to me, "that's a good thing."

On Saturday I'll tell you about an even better deal I got.

Carter is almost two months old now and wow, is he getting big! He started smiling and even cooing a little about two weeks ago and it still sends my heart into palpitations every time... and that dimple... I just can't get enough! Anyway, he is such a sweeeet baby, and even better, he's falling asleep and playing independently now. Oh, and he's only waking up once a night, which is good for us all. I love me some Carter.

More pictures to come.

Fabulous Fourth

Our Fourth of July was fun, fun! First we went to the ward breakfast and ate and played for a while. There were tons of people there, but lots of food to go around.

Abby is getting braver on the slides. She didn't hesitate to go down the slide by herself, which is a feat for her.

Tyler and Mikalya had fun on the teeter-totter. I haven't seen one of those in forever! Brian and I tried to play on one, but it was too low to the ground.

After the ward party we hung out at Lake Levon and jet skiied. The lake was so full most of the picnic tables were under water. Here's Abby in her cute swim suit and wacky hat Grandma Fowkes gave her.

The grass was so tall, Dad brought the weed eater and wacked away a place to put the tent. Abby couldn't keep her balance in the grass closer to the water, so she got down on all fours and crawled through it. She looked like a little cat on the prowl. I wish I had taken a picture of that!

We ended the lake trip early due to big scary storm clouds that ended up being nothing. The day turned out to be beautiful. This is a shot of Mom and Dad McMurdie's back yard after the rain. So pretty. After the kids took naps, all of us went to their house and we cooked out and swam.

For some reason Abby is afraid of the pool now. Last year she loved it, but this year, not so much. She'll get over it soon... I hope.

Afterwards we all gathered around to play on the Wii. This is Eric and Carrie in a serious boxing match. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a while. (for a hilarious video, go to the McMurdie blog.) Brian and I are anti-video games, but we both had fun playing on it.

We all put our kids to bed at the McMurdie house and went to the Garland fireworks show. It was MADNESS. It was held at the Firewheel mall off of George Bush, and everyone and their dogs were parked along the sides of the roads, in the medians, everywhere. And there were cops trying to get everyone to move but they couldn't compete with the hoards of people. After being asked to move two times by cops, we finally found an acceptable place and watched a pretty good fireworks show. I don't think it was worth all the hassle, but fun nonetheless.

Little Scoundrel

I made some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls the other day and left the frosting container on the counter. She's tall enough now to reach up there and I guess I didn't have it far enough away from the edge, cause she came sauntering into the office with the frosting and a cheese slicer, using the end as a spoon. Mmmm! Tasty.

Carter's Blessing

Carter recieved his blessing on Sunday and it was a wonderful experience. Brian gave a very eloquent blessing and Carter didn't make a peep. *Phew!* Stupid me forgot to take a picture of him in his cute outfit so I'll have to do that later.

Both sides of the family were able to come and we celebrated afterwards at our house with a nacho bar and Cosco cake. We had a great time! We thought our house was a decent size, but we think differently after cramming 35 people in there. We are so grateful to everyone who came to celebrate with us.

Julie was hiding toys in her shirt under a pillow and teasing Anna. I think Julie is Anna's favorite.

Towards the end of the party, we caught Mamma Fowkes sitting alone "rejoicing in her posterity."

Hey, none of that!

Everyone hanging out after dinner.
Mary decided she doesn't like to share her grandma with anyone else.
Randi is *shocked* by Carter's finger display.
Aah, sibling love. Gideon, Chrystal, Carrie and Julie cheesin' for the camera.
Abby slept through most of the party but caught the tail end. Someone put Mikayla's bow in her hair and it stayed! It's just long enough now. Yay!