Unbelievable!!

I can not believe it......Carter's filling fell out yesterday! I have no idea what is going to happen next but I am hoping that perhaps the dentist can use a different kind of filling (one that maybe dries and adheres quicker) than what she has been using. I have a feeling that we are going to be some very unhappy campers when we go back to the office. Please send well wishes for an easy drama free visit. Now I am starting to understand why some many adults don't like the dentist!

Back to the Dentist

Carter and I found ourselves back at Dr. Wyke's office yesterday morning.....it was time to replace the fillings that we lost so quickly last week. Carter was less than anxious to get back into the chair and had to be finessed. Once Dr. Wyke came in he totally freaked....screaming, wiggling and thrashing about. I made the decision to leave the room in hopes that it would make things a little easier. From outside the door I stood with tears in my eyes as he continued to fight the doctor and hygienist. It wasn't funny at the time but the mental picture I have of the hygienist using her whole body to hold down my stubborn 3 year old makes me chuckle a tiny bit today. Alas, they were able to get the fillings in and Carter calmed enough at one point for them to dry really well. Fingers crossed that they stay put because I don't think that I am going to be able to get him back for a third time! The good news is after 24 hours and 3 meals and many snacks the fillings are still in place! HOORAY!

What's for Dinner?

Carter proudly displays the first zucchini to come out of our garden. Our produce is a little behind since we originally tried to grow all of our plants in big terra cotta pots. It didn't work well at all and we ended up digging a small garden and transplanting everything. That worked out much better and our veggies flourished. We are particularly proud of the zucchini since we started them from seeds and watched them grow and grow and grow. We will be making the garden bigger next year for sure! By the way.....this guy was delicious!

It is Official....

.....my first born is a big boy! I am not quite sure how it happened so quickly but it did! We moved the toddler bed out this morning and set up a 'big boy bed' for Carter. He is so excited about it and can't wait to sleep in it. For those of you wondering...the blankets are Speed Racer, of course!

Good Friends=Good Times

Last night we went to the Vinciguerras for a delicious dinner and visit. The boys had a great time playing and wrestling Big Vito to the ground. Christi and I had fun catching up and laughing while the guys took charge of the boys!

Is that you Mama?....

I had to post this only because it is so cute and shows such sweet compassion.....Carter has this thing about putting all my lawn ornaments together. He especially likes to match the the small turtles with the larger ones, the small frogs with the larger ones ect. When we ask what he is doing, he tells us that he is bringing the babies home to their mamas. Yesterday I noticed these two together and realized that they were the last two unpaired and not wanting them to be alone Carter put them together! Melt my heart!!!

Trip to the Farm

Carter's reward for being so brave at the dentist yesterday was a trip out to the farm. We go to this great little place, Klein's Dairy Farm in Forks Township PA, it's close and we know the owners so it is always a fun trip. Jacob and his sister, Cassie, joined us for some farm fun.

Before you enjoy the pictures below, I should let you know that both of Carter's fillings fell out in about two hours of leaving the dentist's chair. That's correct...two hours! The dentist did warn me that this may happen since Carter showed some resistance and his mouth needed to be very dry in order for the fillings to dry properly. I knew that losing one or both of them was a possibility but I didn't think it would happen so quickly! UGH...back to the dentist next week to refill where the cavity once lived. I did explain to Carter what happened and he promised to sit still next time to make things a little easier. I am hoping that the thought of having to return to the dentist until the fillings stay put will make for a much easier trip next week. Fingers crossed......


Carter and Jacob explored all along the edge of the cornfield and found tiny wildflowers and neat weeds growing freely and easy for the picking.
WOW! That corn is tall!

Elijah and Cassie enjoyed the trip from their strollers. Even though Eli was exhausted (the result of a 10 minute nap all day) he enjoyed all the action that the farm offered yesterday.

Exploring is hard stuff and the boys recharge with a nice cool treat.

Carter and Eli watch intently as the barn is filled to the very top with bales of hay. This was a pretty neat process as the farmer used a conveyor belt to move the hay to the top of the pile so it could be stacked. The whole process involved a lot of moving of tractors, hay wagons and the belt. Since Carter enjoys a lot of action, especially with tractors, this kept him still for a large portion of the trip.

The boys had a great time and it was nice to see the Hoffmanns. Carter has already requested another trip to the farm after his appointment with Dr. Wyke next week!

Bye-Bye Nasty Little Cavity

As you may remember from last month Carter visited the dentist for the first time and it was at that appointment that we discovered a cavity between his two front teeth. Well, this morning we said goodbye to that nasty little cavity. Carter did surprisingly well and walked right back into the room and hopped up onto the chair and happily chatted with the hygienist. When the doctor came in and started the actual work Carter did put up some resistance and was scared but for the most part he did excellent considering he had no idea what was going to happen. I was apprehensive that this morning's trip would scare him off to future visits but he told me that he still liked Dr. Wyke and would he would like to come back and see her soon. Let's hope that all of our future visits are just cleanings and NO more cavities!

Blueberry Pancakes

This past weekend as I was making breakfast for my boys and I couldn't get the pancakes off the griddle fast enough it got me thinking about how my mom always made these great breakfasts for us growing up. She would make her 'special' eggs....they are still my favorite! At 33 years old I still am not able to resist the wonderful mixture of eggs, bacon and potatoes. I don't know why but I am not able to ever get the recipe to taste as good as my mom's, try as I may.

It is funny how something so small as a simple family breakfast doesn't seem significant until you have children of your own. I love to make a huge breakfast on the weekends especially...it seems that sometimes we have out best family time at the table...laughing, telling silly jokes and eating!! Not able to duplicate my mom's eggs, my boys have seemed to take a particular liking to my blueberry pancakes.

Maybe one day, without any reason at all, my boys will be having breakfast with their children and think of blueberry pancakes with a smile.


Elijah polishes off his fifth pancake. Without a doubt this kid is an eating machine. We can not feed him fast enough!
Carter lets me know that he would like to eat in peace. The pointing of the finger is Carter code for "put that camera away, NOW!"

Mommy's note: My mom commented that it was my Dad who created Eggs ala Dew....so we must give him credit. Thanks Dad and thank you both for all of my great breakfast memories.

Land of Make Believe

We set out yesterday very early in the morning to Hope, NJ. In the little town of Hope is the Land of Make Believe and Carter had been looking forward to going all week. As we got situated at the picnic area Carter looked over his map to see where we should head off to first.
We rode the canoes, airplanes, flying dinosaurs and the rocking tug...all were well received and enjoyed!

Elijah strapped on his walking shoes and took to the park by foot exploring everywhere with his Mimi and Poppy.

And when my little tyke tired out he hung with his Poppy.

Uncle Jeven and Aunt Julie enjoy the rockin' tug. This was a popular ride with our group.

While we were rocking on the tugboat, Eli rode on the carousel.

Poppy and Carter explore the cockpit of a real airplane complete with gears and sun roof to pop out of. Pretty neat stuff.

The train was, of course, the favorite thing to do. The kids loved looking around at all the park had to offer and we, the adults, welcomed a chance to sit and relax. Funny to think that two little boys can tire six adults so easily.

We also enjoyed the hayride which went along a well shaded path of woods and corn fields.

Here Carter waits to make his acting debut as a butterfly in the interactive play that the park offers....however, it took way to long for all the 'actors' to get dressed and in place so Carter decided to move on to having some ice cream.

We also visited Santa's Barn and saw Santa himself. When asked if he has been a good boy Carter replied without hesitation...YES!!

The water park was so much fun and refreshing. Elijah enjoyed the huge wading pool and walked around for hours. We all took turns walking him and cheering and praising him for exercising his little legs! Brian, Carter and I finished off our water fun floating in the lazy river!

It was a great day and the boys were wiped out and both crashed. Both Carter and Elijah were excellent, even though both were exhausted there was no whining, crying or meltdowns just a fantastic day filled with wonderful memories...thank you , my angels! And thank you to Mimi, Poppy, Uncle Jeven and Aunt Julie for sharing in the fun!!

Road Trip

My Grandmother, also known as Nanny, loves nothing better than spoiling her Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. Lately we have been meeting her and Pappy at the mall so the boys can hand pick a toy. Here Carter and Eli play with their new really cool, really loud steering wheels!

Doing our Share

Yes, our little family is doing it's part to help single handily keep the Band-Aid and Neosporin companies in business. We visited friends on Sunday night and as we were leaving to get in car Carter slipped on some wet leaves. There was blood and some scrapes but we cleaned everything up really well and things were healing nicely. ( A quick note that these were all tiny scratches) Well this morning Carter decided that the healing wasn't happening quick enough so every scratch received Neosporin and a fresh Sponge bob Band-Aid. Way to down play an injury!

He's Starting to Climb!

Hooray for Eli! He has started climbing up on things! He can easily manage getting up on the couch when the cushions are removed. He is also able to stand on his little stool and if the mood catches him right he will continue right up onto the coffee table. Both Eli and Carter think that climbing the coffee table is a neat trick since it is Carter who perfectly positions the stool for Eli....I, unfortunately wasn't able to get video of E scaling the table....guess he just didn't want to do it in front of Mom and her pesky camera! Eli also got an awesome report from Kelly, his therapist, this week. She said it was the best session they have had in a while and that he made some substantual progress since last week. He did much cruising, squatting, getting on and off the stool and climbing for Kelly. She seemed impressed and happy with how far he has come in a week. I was beaming when I read his weekly report and on the bottom in large letters it read 'GREAT JOB TODAY'. It feels good to see Eli making such progress and to see that he really seems to want to move to be able to keep up with his big brother! Enjoy the videos!

Get Down and Get Funky

Carter, Joey and Eli enjoy The Wiggles. Check out their moves.....pretty smooth.

That's not my Dinosaur

Carter's favorite book right now is That's Not My Dinosaur. We have been reading it constantly so much so that now he has started reading it to me. You will have to turn your sound way up and hopefully the words will be clear. The story basically goes..... That's not my dinosaur, his tail is too rough. That's not my dinosaur, his teeth are too bumpy. That's not my dinosaur, his horn is too rough. That's not my dinosaur, his fins are too slippery. That's my dinosaur, his spines are so soft. Simple and sweet just like my little Carter!

Taking out the Trash

Carter is really getting into pretend play and today he really got into the role of 'garbage man'. I tried to get in on the action but Carter wanted no parts of that...he wanted to play by himself. Apparently 'garbage man' is a solo game. Here is a shot of Carter on his truck. Funny I wasn't permitted to play, however, I was told where to place all the 'garbage'!
Carter gets ready to head down the trash shoot. Notice McGraw looking less than thrilled that his nap schedule has been interrupted!

A Day with Mallory

We spent the morning yesterday playing at Mallory's house. Mallory is my cousin, Melissa's daughter and she is about 6 weeks older than Carter. Mallory is special to me because Melissa and I shared the experience of being pregnant together and then the experience of becoming first time moms togehter. The boys had a grand time and can't wait to go back soon.

Mallory and Carter enjoyed the pool even thought it was only 10 am and the water was COLD. It is funny how the kind of stuff just doesn't bother kids....they played until their lips were blue and the were shivering from head to toe.

Eli splashed happily in the puddles outside of the pool.

He also enjoyed some heavy duty ball rolling.

After the pool we went inside to play. Carter got in touch with his inner princess at the Arielle hair and makeup center. He and Mallory giggled as the took turns 'styling' each other's hair.

Water Bugs

Boy oh Boy! These kids are cute!!!

4-Wheeling

At my parents house lives this really cool 4-wheeler. Carter has loved this thing since he could get himself up on it to wheel around. We visited the other night and Carter let the wheeler out of his sight to go help his Poppy and the above is what happened. Eli enjoys riding the 4-wheeler too! If these boys keep going the way they are I am going to have my hands full with two rough and tumble kids!

Go Figure.....

Having two very active boys can be exhausting and most days I wish I could just get them both asleep at the same time even if just for 30 minutes so I can catch a little snooze myself. I realize, however, that I am a dreamer because when we made Carter give up the Be-Be, nap time time went along with that trusty little comforter. Then....Finally....today it happened! Both boys ASLEEP for over 3 hours!!! A wonderful quiet filled the house and McGraw and I happily snuggled in for a little siesta knowing that this is opportunity would likely NEVER happen again. Do you know that I couldn't sleep?? So I settled on straightening the house...how sad!

Martin on Main

My little hometown of Nazareth is also the home of the very famous Martin Guitar. This past weekend Martin celebrated their 175 Anniversary and the town of Nazareth helped them to do so. Closing down the Main Street of town created the perfect spot for the 'Martin on Main' celebration. Martin enthusiasts from all of the country flooded Nazareth for the festivities. Our tiny town was filled with hundreds of people that share one passion...their Martin Guitar...the street was filled with them enjoying music, food and fun. Like a mini Musikfest without all the hassle and the crowds!



So, I am sure you are all wondering why I am blogging about such an event when neither Brian or I own a Martin or have ever even toured the factory.....well, because there is a wonderful little cafe, Main Street Garden Cafe, that was in the center of all this action and I am lucky enough to know the owner Kate! I was more than happy to wait tables for the day. The work was exhausting but fun. I met a variety of interesting new people and saw a lot of familiar faces as well and the extra bonus was interaction with someone other than a toddler!

I had tucked my camera in my pocket waiting all day to see a 'famous' Martin owner wandering the street or even better looking for a place to grab a bite....but nothing.....no Eric Clapton, Steve Miller or even Sheryl Crow. There were some rumblings of Willie Nelson making an appearance but he, too, was a no-show.

Below is the awesome guitar cake specially made for the day. It was a 'HUGE HIT' (get it?) and I hear that it tasted as yummy as it looked!



Below is a picture of the cafe. It is such an amazing little place and I encourage anyone to visit. The chicken salad is awesome and was just recently voted best in the Lehigh Valley. All other soups, salads and sandwiches are fantastic as well....not to mention the coffee and breakfast! Stop in anytime at 52 S. Main Street Nazareth, PA or call your order in 610-759-9620.