Carson's birthday party

So I'm kinda cheating. I had promised pictures of the new swingset and pictures of the birthday party. Ta-da! Here they are rolled into one. We invited a few of Carson's friends and family over to celebrate her birthday with a cookout and some outdoor playtime. It was beyond hot, but that was about the only downside. The swingset or "singset" as Carson refers to it, is still very popular - we all have the mosquito bites to prove it!

Taking a sneak peek at the Elmo (who else?) cake...

Yay! Cookie Monster!

Thanks, everyone, for celebrating with us!

Little Miss Carson is 2!

She's now officially two...and still sweet as ever. (Most of the time :))
Happy Birthday, Carson! We love you so much!

If you'd like to see a few more pics, you can go here.

Hi there....

We're staring at 2. A week from today, she'll be two. Wow.

I know I've been saying it for a while now, but she is such a little girl - there is no baby left. She's talking - sometimes in complete, or almost complete sentences. She answered the phone the other day while I was in the shower. She ran out of the bathroom when she heard it ringing, yelling "I get it!", grabbed it off the charger and started pushing buttons until she could hear someone talking. Thank goodness it was my mother on the other end. Yesterday Nana gave her some treats to take home to Abby and she turned around and said, "Thank you, Nana - Abby's treats". She keeps us smiling.

These pictures will make you smile...

This is what happens lately when I turn my attention away for a minute to put dishes in the dishwasher....you can bet that she doesn't get the whole yogurt cup anymore. Please take note of the saying on the bibJust today I came around the corner and caught her on top of her little table. I guess its a result of all the climbing she's doing on that swingset. And speaking of the swingset, I still don't have any pictures of the actual structure, but I will make some soon. Here is Carson though, at 7am ready to go down the slide before the pouring rain ensues. This was after we had finished it the night before after she had gone to bed. This is what she looks like after we tell her its time to come in for the evening....and then she promptly throws herself down on the floor. She likes to look up every 3 seconds or so to see if we are relenting. Sorry. Yes, 2 is just a week away!

Check it out!

So I mentioned something in my last post about a "little project"....
Well it kind of a big project! I've decided to take my photography hobby and turn it into a photography business! You can catch all the details at www.jenniferstoryphotography.com
I hope you'll leave me a comment or send me an email to let me know what you think. And, I would certainly love it if you pass my information to anyone interested in portrait photography in my neck of the woods.
And guess what? There's a photography blog to go along with it (you'll see the link in the website).
Take care, everyone. I'll post some pics of Carson's new playset (and the story to go with it) soon. :)

Lazy Days of Summer...

Hah! I'm chasing this little lady all over the place. We're on the move lots these days, and it is getting easier. Maybe I'm just being slack, but long gone are the days when I left the house with my diaper bag stocked, a change of clothes, lots of toys and other trinkets to keep Carson happy. Now I carry purses large enough to fit a diaper or two, some hand sanitizer, a pack of nabs, and a sippy cup for the car. Now that I've written this, I will most definitely have some sort of clothing catastrophe on my hands in the near future. If that happens she can hang out in the extra diaper I packed, remember? That's really how she prefers it, anyway.

So what's been going on at the Three Story House? We just returned from a trip to AB, where we got to hang out with my family and watch a serious July 4th parade. Tim's training for another triathlon in between watching the DVRed Tour de France. (Lance is back!) Carson is loving each day and making references to her upcoming birthday (she said "hap-day berf-day Carson" today), and I am trying to keep up with it all - as usual. I'm also working on a little project - more details later. And no, I'm not pregnant.

So here's the photo roundup as of late....

This is Mr. Phil, a neighbor at the beach. He and Miss Debbie invited all the neighborhood kids and families to their pool on July 4th, grilled hot dogs, and hired the ice cream truck to stop by and let the kids each pick out ice cream. Super nice. (And I recommend the Edy's Dibbs, by the way!) It was classic, the kids heard the approaching music and literally jumped out of the pool yelling "ice cream!" at the top of their lungs.

Holy, moly! Its a picture of the three of us. Doesn't happen that often!

Sucking on a little sugar from the parade...

Before we left for the beach, we celebrated Papa's birthday with a trip to dinner in Chapel Hill. We cruised through our favorite university for a few shots while we were there. I always take advantage when someone else is willing to make my child smile while I take pictures. She hardly ever pays attention to me when its just me and the camera. All you Tar Heels out there will recognize the Old Well...

By the way, pigtails are cool again - at least this week. And I know you are seeing her a lot in this dress lately, but its just a good summer dress.
She loves to toss coins in the fountain - and then she always tries to get in the fountain.Happy Birthday, Papa!

For Daddy...

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

I love you!

Carson's First Haircut! Well Kinda...

Carson and I have a new routine once a month. We meet Tim at Meg's (stylist of the Three Story House) and after he has a haircut, we go out to dinner. Carson has a ball crawling in and out of the swivel chairs, raiding the candy dish, and pretending to spray hairspray in her hair. Last night Meg asked Carson if she wanted a haircut. Our little lady will try anything once (not the case with food, but I'll move on). She climbed right up and Meg combed and pretended to cut her hair for about three minutes. Kudos to Meg for the idea - hopefully this will save us some tears down the road!
I also wanted to share a few that I caught in the driveway after we got home...