Sesame Street's Influence on Carter

So, the other day Carter and Austin were watching Sesame Street while I did some much needed cleaning around the house. There was a certain short film that caught my attention and made me chuckle. Apparently, it caught Carter's attention too because we have had several conversations about it since.

That same day as I was combing his hair he said, "Mom, I want a mullet." My response was something like, "Oh yeah?! You thought that was pretty cool huh?" Carter, "Yeah, it was really long like yours but it was short in front so it didn't get in his eyes!" And he said it like it was the best idea in the world!!

Today I told him that I was going to give him a haircut sometime this week. First he started to protest as he usually does. Not because he doesn't want his hair short but because he doesn't want to have to sit in one place long enough for me to cut it. Then, I saw the light bulb go on, his eyes lit up and he asked, "Mom, can I have a mullet?" I laughed and said you'll have to ask your dad.

This next conversation seemed to come out of nowhere. We unexpectedly ran into my friend at the post office last week and this is a conversation Carter struck up with her.

Carter: "Bryn, do you know what I really want?"

Bryn: "What?" No doubt thinking it will have something to do with what he wants Santa to bring him for Christmas in a few days.

Carter: "A mullet!"

Bryn and I both got a good laugh out of that.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I give you the short film that started it all.....

Sesame street says, be nice to kids with mullets!

Cold

You know it's cold outside when there's ice on the inside of your car windows.

Bullet points

Yep, we're still here. It's been a while and some big things have happened. To get you caught up I'm just going to do some bullet points. Here we go....

• We moved...in July. We live in the same general area but we found a nice place in a really good school district. This way next year when Carter starts kindergarten he'll have a definite spot in a good school. It also cut 15 minutes off Zach's commute. Score!

• We took a trip to Utah. We drove. In our tiny little Honda Accord. We barely fit us and all of our stuff for the two week trip. It wasn't bad. Don't get me wrong, it was long. I mean llllooooonnnnnngggggggggggggggg. But the kids did well and we got to swing through St. Louis on our way home and see some old friends. However, Carter did ask (read state) that next time we go to Utah it be on an airplane. No problem buddy, I'm with you on that one.

• On the drive to Utah our car gradually got louder and louder until it sounded like a jet engine. It seriously gave us a head ache to ride in it that last stretch from Yellowstone to Salt Lake. Luckily it was just rear wheel bearings and a pretty quick fix.

• Did I mention that the first two bullet points happened within a four day period? Yeah, we moved all of our stuff (Thank you Elders Quorum!!!) on July 24th and on the 27th we were all crammed in the car destination Yellowstone (and on to Utah after a few days there) Are we crazy? I'd say most likely

• When we got home from our Vacation (not sure that word's really appropriate but I'm going to use it) all of our stuff was still here. Whew! We were a little worried that someone would notice our nicely pre-packed apartment and decide to make off with the goods.

• The boys have been a little cRaZy lately. With the move and the trip any schedule we kind of had this summer flew out the window and insanity ruled for a few weeks. Luckily pre-school started so we are back in the swing of things. I never thought I'd be so excited to get up at 6 o'clock every day.

• Zach's gone. That trial date that got pushed....(see two posts ago)....is here now. He's in Philadelphia and will be there forever! Ok, maybe not forever but it could go for three months and right now that kind of feels like forever. If it went exactly three months he'd be home December 20th. See, forever. Hopefully he'll be able to come home some weekends once they're a few weeks into trial but we really don't know what's going to happen.
  

Are you all ready for the cherry that tops this all off? Here you go...

• Zach got a new calling at church. Our ward just split and he's now the 2nd counlor in the bishopric. He's very excited but feels bad that he's going to be MIA for the first few months. What do you do? That's how things go sometimes. I don't think it's going to get any less crazy around here any time soon.
  

So, there you have it. You are up to date on the happenings at the Holmstead house. Later!

*I'll try to add pictures in the near future.*

SUMMER!!

Summer is here and we are loving it. My last post was mostly words (boring) so this picture will be mostly pictures. Enjoy!

Carter is learning to ride his bike without the training wheels. He's almost got it.

Squirt guns were a big hit at our house!

I snapped these three pictures all in a row. I love the progression of their facial expressions.

Playing out in the yard.

Looking for bugs.

This kid's always dirty!

Fun at the beach


WATER FIGHT!!

That's all for now.

A little bit crazy

That's how things have been since my last post, a little bit crazy. Here's a some of what's been going on.

Zach is working on a big case that was scheduled to go to court on June 3rd. May was a very busy month for him. Most of the month he would leave for work at 7is and get home sometime after 11 almost every day. It was exhausting for everyone. During this time Austin fell off a chair and hit his head against the bookshelf splitting his head open near his left eye. It required an ER visit where they slapped some glue on it and sent us home. The day everything hit the fan was Wednesday, May 26th. Austin's cut wasn't looking good, the kids were being crazy and I was ready to explode. I took the glue off of Austin's cut to get a closer look and found that the ER doctor hadn't closed the cut completely so it wasn't healing closed, it was healing open. This in itself really isn't a big deal but the state I was in it was the last straw. I lost it. I called my mom (knowing that Zach was in a meeting and didn't need the drama) bawling. I vented to her, e-mailed my pediatrician about Austin's cut, and planned to drive to Utah with some friends and stay there until Zach was through with trial(It's expected to take two months and it's in Philadelphia so we wouldn't see him) . The next day, Thursday, there was a meeting with the trial judge and he postponed trial until mid-September. Can you say roller-coaster?!? Here Zach has been working his tail off for trial in June, I'm a basket case, and we've come up with a plan for our time during trial and now it's all got to change. Goo!! Knowing there's nothing we can do to change the situation we took what we could get, time as a family. Since trial wasn't until September Zach's work load lightened considerably and we've been able to do fun family things (more on that later).

To make a long story short, I haven't posted in months because it's been a little bit crazy.

Here's a shot of Austin's cut, pre glue removal

Nap time

Today as I put Austin down for his nap this is what he told me...

"I need to tell you someting. I need you go downtairs and don' boder me. K?"

It's like he's in charge or something.

Carter is currently napping with an eye mask on. You know, the kind that diva's wear in the movies when they're sleeping? Zach brought it home from some trip out of town (it was complimentary at the hotel). Carter asked what it's for so we told him. He now thinks that he has to wear it for nap time. I totally let him because hey, he takes a nap and I was beginning to think that was a thing of the past for him. Thank you hotel!

A little mixed up

We went to the park yesterday. Right now you can find dandelions everywhere around here, and we did. Carter picked one and carried it around smelling it saying he was going to save it and bring it home to show Daddy. I'm not sure how long he'd been up to this when I looked over and noticed that his nose was all yellow. I didn't know dandelions smelled that good. :)

Austin also decided that he needed to pick some dandelions. He seems to think that one can not have too many dandelions. This made our walk to the park pretty slow. It was hard to get him to walk past a dandelion without stopping to pick it. As he held his handful of eight or more dandelions and bounced/walked along occasionally he'd see a dandelion out of his reach behind a chain-link fence. He would point it out to me by saying, "Look Mom, a jellybean!"

This morning....

Carter: "Austin, that does not make sense"

Austin: "Yes it doos"

These phrases were repeated seven or ten times until I put Carter's breakfast in front of him. When Carter stopped his side of the "conversation" Austin ended it all with, "That makes sense to mees"

* The pictures really have nothing to do with the post.

A thousand words...

They say that a picture's worth a thousand words.

Yes, that's Austin wearing his bike helmet in the house and yes, they're "eating fish"(brightly colored plastic ones)

I'm really not sure what these pictures say.

Haircuts, again.

Carter's hair has been hanging in his eyes lately. I told him it was time for a haircut. His response, "Yeah, I want it super short like daddy's!" I'm still not ready to just buzz over his head with the clippers so this was my compromise.

It's shorter than the last haircut I gave him. I have to say that I preferred cutting his hair when it was longer. It was easier. The mistakes were easily hidden by the curl and length so it didn't take very long to cut. Doing a shorter cut takes more time and requires more holding still, which makes both of us grumpy.

Austin got a haircut too, just a trim. It's still long and curly but a little less wild. See....

And just for kicks here's a picture of the two monkeys together.

What a way to start the day

So, this is what I saw when I turned around from making the boys breakfast this morning. So Funny!! It was nice to start the day off laughing.

This is Austin smiling

Stroller bag

Ok ladies, stroller weather is coming. Hallelujah!!! I saw this on my friends blog and thought it looked fantastic, especially for you city dwellers. Here's the info.

*NOTE* From this point on in this post anytime you see the reference "I" or "me" it means the woman who invented this wonderful contraption, not yours truly.

Enjoy!

The ZOOBI Ultimate Stroller Caddy and Carry Tote

So what does it do, you say!?
First of all, it's a STROLLER ORGANIZER: 2 large zippered pockets hold all the valuables, you've got a cell phone pocket, a zippered pocket for keys/chapstick, credit card... AND it holds two drinks! (waterbottles, baby bottles, sippy cups, you name it!)
It has two buckles up top on either side that allows it to attach to any stroller - ones with two handles, ones with one big bar, etc...

Secondly, it's a CARRY TOTE: So you're at the park, Sea World, mall... and you want to leave the stroller, but not all the goods - Pop out the drinks, fold the bag in half (it velcros!) and VOILA! it's a tote with a shoulder strap.

Think this lil' gem can't get any better? Here's one final perk... Undo the zipper that goes all the way around and it unfolds into a full-sized, waterproof CHANGING PAD!!! WAHOO!

Doesn't matter if all your shtuff is still in the pockets, it makes for a little pillow at one end.

If you'd like to purchase one (Hint, hint), you can buy one from me directly, or online for $29.99. Right now, I've only got it posted onAmazon, so PLEASE check it out!

****For free shipping!! Use this code at checkout: ZBSPRING *******

I would be honored if you could help me spread the word!! Tell friends and family... Copy and paste any information on to your blog, email, facebook, twitter, even just word of mouth.

If anyone wants to know more, they are welcome to call me!

801.376.9676

Haircuts :(

For a while now Carter has been asking for short hair. Zach's sister, Jennifer, had her wedding in January and had specifically requested that Carter's blond curls be there so I had told Carter that he'd have to wait until after Jenn's wedding. Well, four days after Jenn's wedding Carter was sitting on my lap when his head whipped around and with a twinkle in his eye he said, "It's after Jennifer's wedding. Now I can have short hair like Daddy!" We were in Utah at the time and our flight back to Chicago was leaving that afternoon so I told him he'd have to wait. Well, on January 30th the time had come for a short haircut. Here are the before and afters

BEFORE:




AFTER:





Can you tell Carter's haircut was a bit of a process? Yeah, he looked like a little girl with a bob cut initially so I called my sister-in-law, Brie, to get some tips and proceeded on. I took the "after" pictures right after the haircuts before putting them in the bathtub so they're not the best. In the near future I'll post some better pictures. I made a few adjustments to Carter's cut and it has settled nicely. Zach and I like it now.

December

December hit and Carter started asking when we were going to put our Christmas tree up. I wanted to set the tree up and get the lights on while the kids were asleep because, let's face it, I would have heard, "Are you done yet?" a million times before I was actually done. So that's what I did. They woke up Saturday morning, saw that the tree was up and could hardly contain themselves. We had to make them eat their breakfast before we got the decorations out.

Waiting for an ornament.

Austin put every ornament he got in the same place.

Compare this picture to the one above. In the end I think I counted 18 ornaments on that one branch.

I didn't get any pictures of the finished product but just picture a tree with decorations only on the bottom third and one branch holding 18 little glass ornaments. That's what our tree looked like.



December also brought some snow for us to play in. It was so nice to not have to get them dressed up, haul them down the 10 floors, through the building lobby, across a busy street to play in a park where people bring their dogs to poop. All I had to do was bundle them up and send them out the door. They loved having snow shovels. Carter had been asking for one ever since he saw one at our old church building and when he saw snow on our deck he sated, "Now we have to get a snow shovel!"

See their little snowman?

Carter and "his" shovel.

There was one day before Christmas that I asked Carter to go up and get dressed. This is what he came down wearing....

His argyle shirt, swim trunks and black Sunday socks. Nice!!




** Christmas Morning**

Christmas was great!! This is the first year Carter really understood the concept of Santa Clause coming and leaving gifts. It was so much fun to watch him anticipate Christmas Eve and see his excitement when his question, "Did Santa come?" was finally answered, "Yes!". Christmas was pretty relaxing and low key for us. We spent it at home just the four of us. As much as we miss our families it's nice to spend the day in our pajamas playing with our toys. I didn't get many pictures, mostly video, but here's what I got.....

Austin got this cool fire truck bed for Christmas. We left it in the front room for three days so they could play in it. They love it.

You may be expecting something about New Years.... Don't. We were all in bed before midnight. zzzzz

November

In November we had some good outside play time. The boys loved to play in the fallen leaves. Austin was fascinated with the crunching sound they made when he walked on them. Carter's big birthday gift from us was a scooter so we put it to good use before it got too cold outside. Enjoy the photos..

Playing Cars

Here they're scratching their backs on the tree like Baloo the bear on Jungle Book. (I think Carter's seen that movie once about a year ago but he remembers that part)

That's about it for November. Somewhere in there we had Thanksgiving but I didn't get any pictures. The main participants this year were us, the stomach flu (both boys had it), and work (for Zach). If you ask me it was a little crowded.