update

So I guess I have been slacking on the blog for the past few weeks. We have had a lot going on.

These first few pictures are from a day that Jack and I goofed off at the Botanical Gardens. Even though there weren't many flowers blooming, we still had a great time. Jack loved the koi pond and threw rocks for at least an hour.

Jack really liked the windmill and wanted his picture taken with it. Since it is so big, we had to go down to the rose garden to take the picture.

I love this picture because Jack always has his tongue hanging out when he is concentrating. Aparently, this trait runs in the family on both sides.

We went to Mike's parents' house for Thanksgiving and had a great time. Of course, Jack played trains at the science center that we went to. I posted this picture because there are not many pictures of the two of us. I was kinda proud of it.

Harley also has had a busy month. She went out to Waco and auditioned for a role in a remake of the John Wayne movie, True Grit. She did great and made it to the last round of auditions. She is waiting to hear whether or not she got the role.

There's not much else to tell. Owen is growing right on track and I am measuring right on time. When I was at the doctor's office today, I did something that totally goes against my initial opinion of vaccinations. I took the H1N1 vaccine. I never had any intentions to get the shot at all, but since our friend Chris passed away, I figured it would probably be the best thing. I was nervous before and I will continue to be until I know that Owen is ok.

We are waiting until after Christmas to start on his room. It is crazy to me that we haven't done anything to what will be his room. As soon as we get it together, I will post pictures.

Also, we have a 4D ultrasound scheduled for Friday and I am sooooo excited!

Exciting day at the Dr.'s office

So, today was my glucose test and I ended up passing out in the lobby of the doctor's office. The "punch" made me feel terrible after about an hour and as I was getting up to tell one of the nurses, I fell out! I was sooooo embarrassed, but the girls in Dr. G's office were so sweet to me. Mike has been to every doctor's appointment with me except today. He took Jack to school for me before he went to work. After I laid in an exam room for about 20 minutes, I drove myself home. Before I left the office, I was able to schedule Owen's 4D ultrasound for the week before Christmas. Hopefully, I passed my test!

Mike and I have a friend from Troy who is not doing well at all. He has had a number of problems including H1N1 and pneumonia. His name is Chris Patterson. He was one of Mike's fraternity brothers and dated one of my roomates. Chris is one of the sweetest guys you will ever meet, so please pray that he recovers quickly!

Peanut 2009

Anyone who lives in Dothan knows what a big deal the Peanut Festival is. It always begins at the end of Oct and runs through the first week in Nov. I have been to both the fair and the parade every year since I was born. I enjoy it mostly because of the food and people. These are a few pictures from the week of Peanut.

Mike and Jack on the carousel.

The huge slide!

The Peanut Parade starts with a huge cement truck dropping peanuts. Everyone goes out to the street to pick up peanuts.

Jack's favorite, the fire truck!

The bridge in downtown Dothan. Another one of Jack's favorites, the train track.

Nothing is better than a corndog from the Corndog Man! Jack likes the crunchy part on the stick.

Another night at the fair with Ashley.

Of course, we had to slide again. Thanks, Ashley, for riding with Jack all night!

Jack thought he wanted to do the bungee jump, so we got him suited up.

But of course, he wouldn't do it.

Halloween

Mike and Jack playing games at the Fall Festival at Cloverdale Baptist.

Jack loves to slide!

Big Jack and Little Jack, Best Buddies!

Jack didn't go trick or treating because he refused to put on his costume. Instead, he gave out candy and ate lots of it too!

The girls on Halloween.

The girls, plus the "studmuffin".

Troy Homecoming 2009

Abby and me. Abby and her roomies were sweet enough to let us stay at their apartment. Mike and I had such a great time spending time with Abby!

Mike, Uncle Woods and some other LXA alum.

Amanda, me, Braxton, and Owen.

Mike and Nathan being goofy. Or were they about to kiss?

Nathan, Mike and Kevin.

The 3 Mommas. Melissa was excited to tell everyone that she is expecting Baby Amos #2!!!!

Jess, April, Selena, Jennifer, Melissa and Amanda. The Chi O's showing support for the Trojans!

Jess, Amanda, Susan and Kim at the band party.

I hate TN! Check out this youtube video, sooo funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt2BAfhUHX0

Jack's first day of school

Wiping my sugar off.

DHS Class Reunion

Me and Owen, about to go to my reunion.

Everybody knows Wolf,and Wolf knows everyone! He swore that Mikewas his classmate. As a matter of fact, Mike was one of

the first people to get a hug from him.

Amanda and her husband, Chris. Amanda has been my friend since the 2nd grade!

Me and Mike!

Seniors 99

School Supplies

So today, Jack and I hit up Wal-Mart for school supplies. We are still short a pencil box and safety scissors. I am still wondering why my 3 year old needs a pencil box, maybe for his crayons? Jack is so excited that he got glue, crayons and paint! I think Monday may just be easier than I am anticipating. Wish us luck!

The pumpkin patch

Jack had so much fun at the pumpkin patch this weekend! We went to Aplin Farms where they had a pumpkin patch, sunflower fields, corn maze and farm animals. We started out by taking a wagon ride out to the pumpkin field.

We got fresh cut sunflowers. They were beautiful!

Jack loves to smell any kind of flower! He said that the sunflowers smelled very good!

We all picked pumpkins. Jack wanted a small pumpkin to take home.

The boys with the giant spider.

FYI- We still cannot figure out a second name for Owen. Mike and I just can't agree. It seems like Jack was so easy to name. Help!

What works for us

Now that we know the gender of the baby, I can finally shop for him. Not that I need to do a lot, but we will have to get new furniture for Baby Carty. I have spent most of my evening looking at baby bedding and I think I have found something that I like. Well, I love it, to be honest. So, hopefully this weekend, we can get it ordered.

Jack started talking about his baby brother in a positive light today. Mike and I have pretty much decided that Little Carty will be called Owen, but we don't have anything to go with it. Jack says it should be Owen "Thomas". Can you guess why?

Today, we also paid Jack's tuition for K-3. He will start right after fall break and he can hardly wait. I am so nervous that he is going to "real" school. I know that he will fit right in because there are mostly boys in his class, which is good because he doesn't really care to play with little girls very much. He is growing up so quickly, I just can't seem to imagine him going to "big boy" school.

Jack starting school has made me think about the things that I have learned in these short 3 years. Some of the lessons that I have learned were learned the hard way and some were just common sense to me.

1. Not all kids require a strict schedule! I always put Jack to bed at the same time at night,

but I usually didn't make him take a nap. I didn't feel like I should waste both our time and

energy on something like that. Maybe I have an abnormal child, but he has never really

fought sleep that much. I just never made him feel like he absolutely had to take a nap.

2. If you wake a baby up every few hours to eat, how will they learn to sleep through the night? I know that babies need so many calories per day, but Jack always ate just as much

in his 12-14 hour day as some babies do in a 24 hour period. He also slept through the

night at 2 months and I firmly believe that the reason was because I didn't wake him up to

feed him.

3. Our doctor would not allow us to change Jack's formula, even with severe colic, I now

disagree! Jack's pediatrician in Montgomery was a very old school doctor. Apparently, he

never had a baby with colic! He always told me that changing formula was a last resort.

Stupid me, I never did the research to see that there is formula specially formulated for

babies with colic.

4. When you choose your baby bedding, don't forget that your baby will very soon be a

toddler and your toddler will probably outgrow that "babyish" bedding. When I bought

Jack's furniture and bedding, I made sure that the crib converted and the bedding would

also suite a toddler. When we converted Jack's bed to a toddler bed, I was soooo glad that

the bedding was just a tad bit "older" than the baby look.

5. I don't believe in making a baby sleep on his/her back. Yes, I know, research this,

research that! When we brought Jack home from the hospital, he would sleep for a short

time on his back, but when we put him on his stomach, he slept much better and longer.

When we were babies, the research said that stomach sleeping was better and we all

survived!

6. Allowing your child to make their own decisions teaches them to think on their own.

Whether it be a meal or what to do during the day, I always give Jack a choice, or at least

make him feel like he made the decision.

7. Most importantly, I have learned to do what is best for Jack, not what a book tells me

or a doctor tells me. Every child is different and not all methods and research are right for

all children!

Jack teaches me something new everyday! I have so much more to go!

It's a boy!!!!!!!!

Today was the big day, the day that we have waited for finally came!!!! After months of being told "you're having a girl" and "we need another girl in the family", we got the news that we are in fact, having another boy! We are so excited that Jack will have a baby brother and a best friend. As Mike says, "I have my boys!" We couldn't be more thrilled!

We decided to take Jack with us this morning as well as "Grandmother". I started preparing Jack last night for what we would be doing at the doctor's office. He was not interested at all last night. This morning, he seemed to welcome the little bit of conversation that we had. He was amazed at the big screen that his little brother's picture was on, for about a minute, then as a normal 3 year old, he lost interest.

As soon as the ultrasound tech put the wand on my stomach, we knew it was a boy!

In true, Jack Carty fashion, Little Carty showed "the goods". There was no doubt and the ultrasound tech didn't even have to tell us. Most importantly, Baby Carty is very healthy. His weight is a little above average as well as his measurements. Since Jack's weight was so low, Mike and I were excited to hear that Little Carty is above average.

Mike and I are so excited!!! We know that he will be called Owen, but we can't think of another name to go with it.

This weekend was a fun weekend for us! On Friday night, we went to the homecoming game at Dothan High with Abby and Ryan. Dothan played pretty well and Jack had a good time. I took my camera with me, but when I tried to turn it on, the battery was dead. So, no pics from Friday night.

Today, we went to the Seller's twins (Abigail and Ethan) birthday party. The twins turned 4! Jack had a lot of fun playing on the playground and popping bubbles. It was great to see Kim and to catch up with her family.

9/25

What a bittersweet day! Today is the anniversary of my Grandmother's death. On this day every year, I try to reminisce on all of the wonderful times that I had with her instead of thinking about what this day actually means.
Granny was a very small, petite woman who had such a fiery personality. You didn't want to mess with her, that's for sure and you always wanted her on your side! She loved to look good. From her head to her toes, she was always dressed well. I think she had enough jewlry to wear something new everyday for 6 months! Granny loved her church and all of her church friends, but most importantly, she loved her family. Her best friend was her sister, and believe me, they shared EVERYTHING! Granny's relationship with my Papa made me laugh quite a bit. He never seemed to know when to keep his opinion to himself, so she kept him in check all the time. She was a heck of a money manager. Pops made the money and she decided when and where to spend it. Granny loved a good social gathering. I remember many occasions, when I was a child, where she entertained her friends. The night would always start with a good dinner, and would end with everyone playing cards or a board game. Her friends always seemed like family to me. The memories that stick out the most in my mind is when she would hold me down and tickle me until I couldn't breathe! I had a great time with her!
I don't think I've ever met anyone else like my grandmother. So today, I remember her and hope that she is proud of the person that I have become. I know that Jack would love her too.

Jack loves trains!

Last weekend, Jack got to go to the train show here in Dothan. He absolutely loved it! Anyone that has ever spent any time with Jack knows that he is insane over any kind of train or train track! He started out by just being into Thomas, but his obsession quickly turned into loving any kind of train. Other "phases" of toys have come and gone, but his love for trains has remained. Maybe one day he will be a train engineer, who knows!

Nothing else is really going on with us. Mike's boss rode with him this week and he did very well on the review that he was given. Mike continues to do better and better with his job. Everytime he gets a review, he does bettter and better. This time, he got the best score possible. It's so funny to me because each time he says he will probably not do very well on the evaluation. He is such a humble person! I think if I were doing as well as he is, I would have a big head!!! Not Mike!

Oct 5 is coming soon, but not soon enough. I am getting so anxious! This is the part of pregnancy that I love the most! It seems that there are a few people that we know who are execting babies right now, so I know they are going through the same thing. There must be something in the water!