Trick-"RRRR"- Treat!

The day before the church Halloween party we had a quick costume change. Lydia was originally going to be a strawberry, but we needed to dress up as a family for the party. I whipped up this parrot outfit from a dragon one we already had.

Lydia figured out how this "trick-or-treating" thing went real fast, but she wanted to put the candy in her bucket herself. Even candy didn't pull anymore understandable words out of her. She still is speaking her own language and gets frustrated if we are losing the charades game.

On Halloween night Lydia had bonding time with daddy. They "trick-or-treated" the whole street. Then daddy got tired of carrying her house to house.

Punkin" Pickers

We visited the Priddy Farms down the street to find our pumpkin. We payed 2x as much than the price of the steroid injected pumpkins at the franchise stores, but it's worth it in Jonathan's opinion (Mr. Political). I just wanted the experience for Lydia, and it was fun.

Are we there yet?

Oh my, so many choices. Don't make me choose!

I like this one...pleeeeeeese!

Lydia the Musician

Lydia loves to play the piano. She's discovered she can climb up on the chair by herself. I'll just be working around the house and hear, "tink, tink, tink." And then Lydia yells, "Ehhhhh," which means come and be my audience.

Let the Race Begin!

Jonathan, and my whole family actually, ran the 5K in Arlington this past Saturday. I had to work like I do every Saturday. It stinks because I miss out on a lot of fun stuff. Oh, well. Grandma Carter walked and pushed Lydia in the stroller...you can see how much work Lydia had to do. They ALL placed in their age groups! Hooray!

BFF

We got lucky and were able to have Meggan and Kate Boston stay at our house for a few days. Here is a rare moment when Lydia is actually not being territorial, and they are playing together. Normally Lydia is trying to take away toys while Kate says, "No, No, No."

Lydia has a message!

Can you figure out what Lydia is trying to tell you? Exciting news!

"I didn't do it"

Oops, I left the string off the cabinet, and Lydia had a blast "reorganizing" the tubberware cabinet. She gets to play in this cabinet sometimes when I feel like cleaning it all up.

New Talents!

Lydia loves to bike ride. At first she hated the helmet. But when she figured out it means bike ride, she tried to put it on herself.

I'm teaching her early how to help mommy with chores!

Two Peas in a Pod

Mommy's little pole dancer

Lydia enjoyed having best friend Kate in town. She showed her how to have fun at the sprinkler park. When they started trying to "mooch" food from other kids, we decided to have snack time. I think that was their favorite part! Figures!

Garrison Family Reunion

We survived the heat in Eads, TN and had a blast with Jonathan's mom's family.

Daddy's old rocking horse.


Grandkids and great-grandkids

Bathing Beauty

Our little dev... I mean "angel" loves bathtime. When she starts to get whiny, just throw her in the tub. She has very quick mood changes. She can cry then be laughing within the same second; I'm not exaggerating either. Well, she's discovered that bubbles are a blast. Oh, and the bathtub is much more fun when she is throwing all the toys and shampoo out of the tub and getting mommy wet. She is definitely a little "stinker." You can see her here trying to climb out.

Our Hairless Honey!

Lydia finally has barely enough hair to put in a pony tail. Here she is sporting one of her first pony tails. She'll have to stick with the "Pebbles" look for a while. She now loves to dig in mommy's ribbon and pony drawer and try to fix her own hair.

Summer Fun

Lydia loves water in all forms (bath, sprinklers, pool). Here she is having a blast at the Collierville sprinkler park. She was the smallest kid there and looked so cute. She just ran through the sprinklers like a big kid!

We celebrated July 4th at the Beech River at our Jackson friend's river house. We showed our skills on the wake board, and Lydia rode the wave runner with daddy. Lydia decided she loves watermelon both inside and outside her tummy! We had a blast and were fortunate Jonathan actually had the day off and coincidently is doing his rotations in Jackson, TN, which is close to the river.

Beach Babe

In June, we went to Florida with both sets of grandparents. Jonathan couldn't go because of school, but we took a lot of pictures and video for him. Lydia loves the sand and never seemed bothered by the heat, thanks to her cute hat. She takes after her mommy in her love for the beach. It's about time she gets something from me....as she is daddy's twin in looks and personality.

Jonathan's parents and Lydia and me standing in front of the Hobie Cat (like a sail boat)...aka Dad's toy.

Brett brought his BYU girlfriend on the family vacation to see if she could survive the crazy Carter Family. Well, she made it home safe and sound and hasn't let Brett go, yet.

Lydia is active and always moving, no TV and relaxing for her. She prefers eating rocks, playing ball, and playing the piano on her tip, tip toes (clink, clink). Of course, she must always have mommy in view. She already talks more than I ever did ... teenager years are going to be interesting, hopefully by then cellphone minutes will be cheap as dirt. She speaks a different language, sounds like a mix between German and Portuguese... who knows???? Jonathan sneaks in some Portuguese when he can. Of course, she just grins because daddy is her favorite playmate.

Us at a Glance

Jonathan and April have now been married over 4 years and have managed to squeeze in, it seems, a lifetime of events/experiences. Jonathan graduated from BYU in neuroscience and is now starting his third year of medical school at University of Tennessee. April graduated from BYU College of Nursing and managed to waddle across the stage before Miss Lydia finally decided to face the world. And she takes on the world full force. She is walking at 10 1/2 months old and already trying to climb. She has more personality than you can imagine to keep her parents and family on their toes and always laughing. Among these adventures April and Jonathan went to Portugal as a last trip before starting the family and getting on with life, bought a house in Bartlett, TN, and took a couple of family vacations to Florida (with 4 weeks old Lydia) and Nauvoo/St. Louis. April worked a year at LeBonheur in intensive care and decided to tone down the career and focus on Lydia so she just works a couple days a week at Lydia's pediatrician's office. Well, that is a brief version of our little family. Enjoy!