Hello, hello...

Hi Friends...
Live from the ladybug tent...its another Christmas present that's made the cold winter days a little more fun inside. It even has a detachable tunnel. Of course it takes up the majority of floor space in our living room, so it doesn't stay up for extended periods of time, but it does make its way out for a day or two every week or so. Something about being in the tent makes playing with all of your regular toys more fun.

I snapped this picture pretty recently. She finally has enough hair for some decent pigtails, AND she sits still long enough to let me play with her hair AND she doesn't pull out my hard work five minutes after I'm finished. I think she's finally gotten tired of her hair falling in her face. Although I swear her hair isn't getting any longer, its just getting wider. Curls out the wazoo.

More fun with toys from Daddy's gym bag. Speaking of Daddy and the gym, he's scheduled for three triathlons this spring and summer, including an Olympic-distance one in June. I am so thrilled that he's switched to training in the mornings also. He hates getting up at 5:15, but I'm so glad he's home all evening with us. And Carson's pretty happy about it too...

The New Year's hat and horn still make several appearances each week. I keep hoping that little cardboard horn will wear out, but I've not been so lucky yet. Poor Abby dog - she's the one who's really unnerved by it.
We made Rice Krispie Treats with Carson for the first time the other night. Nothing like having one warm out of the pan!

And...we did make it to the park for one of the really warm days last week. Its so nice when she can play without a heavy jacket. I am so ready for spring - although I wouldn't mind one more good snowstorm.

And what else is our little lady up to? All kinds of big girl things. She's very much into imaginative play - dress up, princess, baby dolls, etc. Its so much fun to see her get all dressed up, pack her baby bag and purse and cruise around with her baby and stroller. She talks and talks and talks. She's a negotiator. She'll ask for goldfish crackers twenty minutes before lunch and after I say no, she responds, "just a few, Mommy, just a few". At least she's not whining! Don't get me wrong, she does her share of that too.

She's been out of the crib for quite a while (since August) and that went amazingly well. We've got to get her out of her toddler bed and into a regular bed soon - she's about to outgrow it. She's been doing the whole potty training thing for a while too, and she's about 90% there. She and I have taken a little Mommy and me dance class this fall too and she's loved it. I think we might try swimming next.

She's growing so fast and its so fun to be a part of it all.

Carson's also going to have a new title later this summer - big sister.

Yes, you read it correctly. I guess we might even have to change the name of our little blog to Four Story House!

And now this tired momma-to-be is signing off and heading to bed!

Happy New Year...

Settle in, friends. Lots of pictures to catch up on here (since I haven't posted since, ahem, the fall) Shame on me. For the record, these are all pretty random and just a smidge of what we've been up to the last few weeks. This was one of the last shots of the Halloween candy. We kept it around for 4 or 5 days, but once I hid the loot in the pantry during naptime one day, she never asked for it on a regular basis again. We still sneak into every now and then.

Carson loves to cook. Muffins and pancakes are her favorites. She either sits on the counter and stirs or grabs her step stool and watches.

I couldn't resist snapping this one with her arms stretched back like this!

We spent Thanksgiving at the beach with my family.

Nana and Papa came for the Mebane Christmas Parade (which was close to 2 hours long - next year I will bring a chair!)

Carson and Santa - Thank goodness there were candy canes - they were the ultimate selling point.

Carson made a tricked-out gingerbread house at our neighbor's get-together, with just a little help from Mommy.

Tim and I got a night away at the Grove Park right before Christmas - lots of snow in the mountains. I am ready to go back!

Christmas morning - nothing like a candy cane at 7am.

Another big hit from Christmas - a puppy dog that barks and walks from Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Corie.

And...a hairstyling kit with a battery operated hairdryer!

That's it for now. I've still got lots more to catch up on, so I'll be back soon. Promise!

Happy Fall

I was able to take these before the 4 straight days of rain last week. I am so glad the sun is back! Our little lady is busy with lots of stuff these days, and I'll be back soon to give you a full update. Promise.

Happy Halloween!

We had so much fun last evening. Hope you all did too!

Shouting "trick or treat" at the top of her lungs...

She really got into the trick-or-treating thing...and wasn't shy at all about ringing the doorbell and reaching into the bowl and self-serving if offered the chance to do so. That's right...lots of candy for Mom and Dad to steal later...

Gearing up....

We're getting ready for the big weekend at the Story house. Last year, it was all about the costume and that was it. This year, Carson has really gotten into all the decorations, carving the pumpkins, and is really looking forward to "trick-or-treaking". So, when I got home Sunday evening after my photo shoot, Tim and Carson had already finished the pumpkin. I was thrilled. I carved enough pumpkins in my kindergarten days that I was happy to pass along that job to him!

Weekend in Winston...

Carson spent the night with Nana and Papa this past Saturday in her new big girl bed. She made the transition about a month ago at our house, and we are so thankful that it went well. She is so much happier and bedtime is much easier. Yay! She is still in a toddler bed at our house, so I think she was really excited about this bed.

Love the lip poking out at the bottom. Who wants to take credit for teaching her this move?

It took forever for our little lady to have some hair, and now she has curls exploding everywhere. I love 'em!

Thanks for a fun weekend Nana and Papa!

And the super-slack blogger award goes to...

We're all still alive and well at the 3 Story House. Sorry for the dryspell, but here's a roundup of what we've been up to lately...

Carson took her buddy Tyler out for breakfast on his birthday at Cracker Barrel.

Carson decided that bungy jumping would be a fun way to spend some time at the beach. I've told you before that she doesn't really have a healthy fear of anything....except vegetables. She loved it! Excuse the watermark, by the way. This pic got thrown in with some others...

Here she is hanging out with Big Dave in his convertible...

Here are a few from our recent trip to the zoo...

This picture is what lots of my pictures are like these days. She could care less about my camera and really doesn't give me the time of day when I have it out.

We welcomed our nephew in late September. And we are so in love with little Ben!

We spent the morning with a good friend who recently got a new puppy. Kiah was the perfect playmate for Carson...although she really wasn't too fond of walking on the leash at times.

We also made it out to an Orange County farm a couple of Sundays ago for a hayride and some homemade ice cream.

"I'll take this one..."

Posing with our friends and neighbors...remember I told you she doesn't really care about the camera these days.

Well, maybe once in a while I get a little smile.

That's about it from here. I hope to have some Halloween pics up soon - which also hopefully means it won't be another month before my next posting. See you soon!