We didn't manage to do much for Dave's birthday but we did have a few sweet moments. He got to wake up and snuggle with two adorable boys who were well behaved all day (that was definitely a gift to us both!) Carter helped me bake a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and we made chicken fajitas for dinner. Then Dave, Carter, and Archer had a little dance party. After cake and ice cream, the kids and I went to bed. Dave got to watch basketball in a quiet house (that's a first!) We are planning on going back to Disneyland soon to really celebrate. I can't believe my husband is *gasp* 32 years old! Where does the time go?! I captioned a program on marriage yesterday that really spoke to me. The main message was that while it is important for wives to love their husbands, it is just as important for wives to respect their husbands. I got a little teary because I do respect my husband and I guess that makes me a lucky wife! I respect him as the leader of our family. He is an awesome husband and a wonderful father and I am still overwhelmed with love when I think about him. I miss him all day when he is at work and am so excited to see him walk through the door every night. Love stories are not just for books and movies... I feel like I am living my own love story each and every day. Cheesy, yes... but happily true.
My boys love each other. Archer is fascinated with Carter and Carter is always searching the house for Baby Archie, making sure he is okay. If Archer crys, Carter runs to me and says, "He is sad!!!" But these brothers are already giving me a run for my money. They are angels at times but when they are naughty it seems to coincide. They both refuse to nap on the same days or while in a restaurant last night Archer screamed his head off (apparently he had to burp really bad and I couldn't figure this out... duh Mom!) Since Archer was getting all the attention, Carter promptly stuck his hand down his own throat and threw up his dinner all over himself. We got quite a few stares from the fellow restaurant goers. Oh well. As embarrassed as I was I am sure I will encounter many more events like this one. It's character building, right?
We finally got Disneyland annual passes again and took the kids for the very first time on Sunday. Dave and I love Disneyland and have so many fun memories there since we have had annual passes for many years but the last time we went was on our anniversary in 2010, so almost exactly 2 years ago. I felt a little nervous about the day and wondered how it would go. It was absolutely perfect! It was raining when we arrived which was a bummer but as soon as we got to the entrance it stopped and didn't rain at all until we got in the car to leave that night! Our original plan was to go early and come home after lunch so the boys could nap in the car but after Pirates of the Carribean (yes, I took my 2 month old baby on it despite feeling a bit anxious about it. He snuggled up against me in the baby carrier and slept through the whole thing so whew!)... after the ride both boys fell asleep immediately so Carter napped in the stroller while we ate a very leisurely lunch and when he woke up, he was ready to explore some more so we ended up staying till 6pm. (I don't think I have ever in my life been that exhausted!)
Carter loved Disneyland but did NOT love the characters. He was fine when viewing them from a distance but did not want them to touch him (You will see his reaction when Donald Duck touched his hand!) Dave took Carter on the Roger Rabbit ride and we did a few rides in Bugs Land. We ate a lot (at least Dave and I did!) and walked around both parks. I took Carter into Mickey's house, which he liked but I think he was a little nervous to be around so many people. I think his absolute favorite was the animation room in California Adventure. They have different containers with cartoon pictures that you can spin and watch them animate (kind of like a flip book.) He was in heaven!
Aimee and Torrey met us there to help wrangle our little monkeys and Archer loved being carried and snuggled all day instead of sitting alone in the stroller. As we left, we shared a cup of hot cocoa or as Carter likes to call it "coffee." He took a big swallow and shouted DEEEEWICIOUS. What a way to end a perfect day. When we got home I was so tired and I thought for sure that Archer would be up all night since he slept most of the day but to my surprise we both fell asleep at 8:30PM and didnt wake up till 1:45AM. It was glorious!
I can't get enough of the picture below. I laugh every time I look at it!
So apparently when there isn't a mirror around, Carter likes to have heated conversations with his shadow:
It's days like yesterday that make me realize how much I adore my family and how wonderful my life really is and how much I have to be thankful for.
At first I didn't think the boys looked alike but Archer is looking more and more like Carter each day. Below is a picture of Carter at 4 months old and Archer at 6 weeks. What do you think? Can you tell who is who?
