Picture Update

I was messing around with my scanner and thought you guys would like to see some MORE Carter pictures!

Carter does not like Santa!

Carters 1 year pictures!

Thanksgiving

We had an awesome thanksgiving! We spent Thanksgiving day with Kenny's family. It was so nice to have everyone together. I was a bad wife, mother, daughter-in-law, niece, granddaughter. . . . . I forgot to take pictures! Sorry Prater Family.

Friday morning Carter and I hitched a ride to the cabin with Ross, Jordan, and Shelby. Kenny stayed home to work (we really missed him). It was so nice to get back to the cabin. I missed it so much. Check out some of our cabin pictures.

This was Carters first trip to the snow! He had so much fun eating the snow and watching the dogs run around in it.
He did not like sledding!
Still not crazy about it. . . . .
Uncle Ross tried to show us extreme sledding. (He made it about 5 feet before he got stuck)

Carters favorite part of the cabin is making people chase him up the stairs. I'm so glad that we live in a single story house!

Shelby made a snowman and named him Marty.

Then she kicked his head off!

Bonnie Springs

Sunday we took Carter to Bonnie Springs. He had a lot of fun! We took the train ride into town and spent most of the time in the petting zoo. He loved being able to run around and look at all the new things. Here are some pictures. . . . . .

Carter waiting for the train. He is so freakin cute!

On the train with Mama!Carter's dada let him pet a billy goat. Yuck!

The ducks were Carters favorite. He didn't want to leave!

Carter saying hello to the deer.

We just had to do it . . . .

Funny but kinda weird.

Bonnie Springs was so much fun!

Twilight

Friday night I went with my sisters to see Twilight. We had so much fun! We stood in line for almost an hour just to get in the theater. Everyone was looking at us because we had the coolest shirts in the place. I really liked the movie and I can't wait to see the next one. Check out our pictures. . . . .

Crazy Girls!

Yikes!!!!

Yes we are pointing at our BOOBS!

Edward had is hands full! HAHA!

I Want You To Meet Sally. . . .

This is Sally my pee strainer. Yep I have named my pee strainer. You might be asking yourself, "Why does Emily have a pee strainer?". Last Monday morning (12:00am) I woke Kenny up and told him that he needed to drive me to the ER. I also got my mom up and asked if she would like Carter to come spend the night for the first time. She wished we would have dropped him off a little sooner but she still took him. Dropping off Carter and getting to the ER seemed to take FOREVER! We finally got to the hospital, I was in a ton of pain, the waiting room was empty, and it still took a 1/2 hour for me to get in. Grrrrrr! Then they proceeded to ask me a gazillion questions while I'm almost in tears and getting ready to vomit on the floor. (I understand that they were just doing there jobs, but at the time I didn't care!) Finally I meet this beautiful woman that started an IV and gave me this wonderful thing called "morphine". Instant happiness!!! After a few ultra sounds they found out I have kidney stones. I passed 1 kidney stone in the hospital but there is still at least 1 more lovely little stone that needs to make it's way out. I do not look forward to the day it decides to make an appearance. Part of me wishes it would just hurry up so I could get it over with. This might have something to do with my thyroid and I might have to have a minor surgery (don't worry I'm strong like bull). I will keep you posted. In the mean time I hope that you all never have to go through the experience of kidney stones. It sucked BAD!

P.S. If Sally catches the next stone I will post a picture for you all to see:)

KIM NEEDS TO START A BLOG!

Hey Kim. Yes I'm talking to you, Kim in New Mexico. You need to stop blog stalking me and start a blog so I can blog stalk you. It's only fair.

To everyone else that is reading this-

Kim is my friend. I haven't exactly met her yet but we have had some great conversations on the phone. She is Carter's Aunt Robbi's sister. She has been blog stalking me for some time now. If she is stalking me than I'm sure you have also been stalked by her. It's only fair that we get to stalk her too. If you agree please leave a comment.

Kim- I hope you are laughing and considering starting a blog. It's not that hard. If you can load songs on an IPOD you can start a blog. I really want to see some pictures of your kids:)

Happy Birthday CARTER!

WARNING - This could be a long post!

My little boy is growing up. I know everyone says that it goes by so fast. . . . I really didn't believe that it would go by THIS fast. I truly tried to absorb everything that happened this first year. It was impossible.

I remember the day we found out Carter was on his way.

I remember the day he was born.

I remember wanting to memorize my families faces the first time they saw him.

I remember the first time he looked at me and Kenny.

I remember the sleepless nights and going through three diapers in 1 minute.

I remember Kenny totally freaking out if Carter spit up on him (take a shower and change clothes kind of freak out)

I remember all of the First: roll over, crawl, steps, solid food, tooth, smile, laugh . . .

I remember thinking - I can do this! I'm going to be a great mom.

I also remember thinking - What was I thinking, I can't do this!

I remember the endless calls to my mom.

I remember holding him thinking that there was no way it could get any better than it was right then at that moment.

We decided to have a small get together for Carter's 1st birthday. When I say small, I mean only 50 people showed up (we have a big family). Yeah it was CRAZY! I don't think this kid realizes how many people love him.

This is Carter in his smokin hot birthday outfit. He had a really cute sweater that went with it (with skulls on it) but since we live in Las Vegas and it still 75 degrees he didn't get to wear it.

This is Uncle Ross totally breakin a sweat while he tried to put one of Carter's MANY presents together. That's Kenny on the left supervising. Granny Tammy put her two cents in also.

Our family picture. My guys are so stinkin cute!

I made Carter practice this for a month before his birthday so that he would be ready for the big day. . . . When we asked him how old he was he would put his one finger in the air. I totally think he is gifted!

I asked Jordan and Shelby to make Carter's cake. I think they had a blast doing it. I didn't really no what theme to go with for his party, so we went with soccer. The girls made Carter's cake look like a soccer field with two soccer balls on it. They did such a great job and Carter loved it!

This is the cake that everyone else ate. Carter's cake was soooo much cooler.

He was so happy! At first he kept looking at me to make sure it was ok. Two bites into the cake he forgot I was even there.

Check out the green frosting in his mohawk!

Can you say SUGAR HIGH?

Here is Carter opening his presents. Thanks to all our friends and family my living room is now FULL of toys. We filled my car and half of Kenny's truck with presents!

Happy birthday Carter! I love you more than you will ever know!

Dumont Trip

We left for Dumont Thursday afternoon. Kenny has been working so hard lately it seems like he never has a day off. He really needed this trip. He pulled up to the house Thursday afternoon with the trailer behind him and he had the biggest smile on his face.

Dumont is CRAZY on holiday weekends! We stayed at the little dunes, it is more family oriented. We spent most of our time at our camp relaxing and watching Carter get dirty. I seriously have a sand box in my trailer shower! I am the horse shoe champion if anyone would like to challenge me. . . . bring it on! The kids went trick-or-treating from trailer to trailer Friday night. It was a little warm in the day but we made the best of it. Good friends, good food, and lots of fun!

Carter makes his dada so happy!

Carter playing with his new trucks from Aunt Robbi and Unki Jay.

Carter's camping chair.

Higher Dad!

Halloween

We planned a trip to Dumont for Halloween so we took Carter Trick-Or-Treating a little early. We made the major stops at the great grandparents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. I had a ton of other stops on my list (great aunts & friends) but by the time we finished our four major stops it was 8:00. Carter was sick and tired of getting in and out of his car seat, so we called it a night. Overall he was a pretty good sport. We used black hairspray to make the widows peak. It was kinda hard to clean off (thanks Kenny). Here a few pictures of his 1st Halloween.

Carter the cutest vampire ever!

On the way to each stop we gave him a chicken nugget to eat. He loved every minute of it!

Vampire Carter with FANGS!

Bath Time!

Walking For Jordan!

Last Saturday a bunch of us got together to walk for Jordan and all of the other people that are affected by arthritis. We all agreed that this was the best walk EVER! Some of us went on the 1mile walk and the hard core people (and there dogs) went on the 5k walk. The weather could not have been more perfect! To make things even more delicious every 100 yards there was people handing out CANDY! It was awesome (it kinda defeated the purpose, I soooo did not burn any calories). They had a ton of jump houses set up, carnival games, and costume contest.

The gang! (We are missing about 6 more people.)

Gavin showing Carter how it's done. Nice shirt Gavin!

At the finish line!

Jordan, I just want you to know how much I love you. I still get pissed off every time I think about this crappy disease that you have. But I know how strong you are and that if anyone can beat it, it's you! We all support you and want to do everything we can to help you. You don't always have to be so strong, I will always be there for you. Love You Mean It!

The Great 8 Tag

8 Favorite TV Shows. . . .
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. One Tree Hill (Thanks for nothin Jordan!)
4. Jon & Kate Plus 8
5. Ultimate Fighter
6. What Not to Wear (I still need help)
7. Ellen
8. Baby Einsteins (I can get a lot done in 30min!)

8 Favorite Places to Eat. . . .
1. Macayos
2. Chipotle
3. Austins Steak House
4. Benihana
5. Granny's House
6. Olive Garden
7. Del Taco
8. In-N-Out

8 Things I Did Yesterday. . . .
1. Took Carter to the park
2. Went to see Kenny at work
3. Went to the Bank
4. Printed online coupons
5. Costco
6. Dinner with mom and sisters
7. Thought about how lucky I am
8. Watched Grey's Anatomy

8 Things I Look Forward To. . . .
1. Watching Carter grow
2. Teaching Carter new things
3. Meeting my sisters kids
4. Dumont trip!!!!!!
5. Spending time with Kenny
6. Cooler weather
7. A trip to the cabin!
8. Pumpkin Carving

8 Things I Love About Fall. . . .
1. Decorating
2. Hot Chocolate
3. Blankets
4. Big fires in the fireplace
5. Pumpkin pie
6. Halloween
7. Parties with family and friends
8. Almost time to go snowboarding

8 Things On My Wish List. . . .
1. Win the lottery
2. Be able to see my grandchildren
3. Lose 15 pounds
4. Focus more on the good things
5. Maybe, a couple more healthy kids
6. Getting hard wood floors in my house
7. Never to get cancer again
8. Get a tattoo

I tag Mandy, Christina, Adrianne, and anyone else thats feels like it.

Vampire Boy!

My kid looks like a Vampire! He has his two middle bottom teeth. He is supposed to get his top middle teeth next. Carter likes to make thing interesting so he decided to hold off on the middle teeth for now. He has his vampire teeth and there is no sign of the middle ones coming yet. We figured since he has the teeth he might as well be a vampire for Halloween!

I think that he is totally cute with his vampire teeth. His granny is a little worried that he might not get any middle teeth. I have heard of this happening (vampire teeth) to one of my friends before. If there is any of you out there that has had any experince with crazy teeth please let me know so that I can give granny a little reassurance.

Crash And Burn Part 1

Carter is learning how to walk! As you can tell from the bump on his forehead, he is also learning how to fall. Since I'm such a great mom, I decided to wait until after he was done crying to take a picture of his bumps and bruises.

I tell myself that this is the first of many and that I don't need to run over to him every time he falls and starts to cry, but 90% of the time I don't listen. I do what ever it takes to make it better. Half the time giving him a piece of candy or a Cheeto makes all the pain go away. Then the other half of the time he wants me to hold him and tell him it's OK, sit and rock him for a bit, or kiss him until he laughs. That moment makes me so happy. I'm not happy because he is hurt but I am happy that he needed me. I love knowing that I have the ability to make him feel better. I see him growing up faster than I ever thought possible, and it scares me to think that I might forget these special moments. (Guess I'm having another weird "mom moment". Seriously, why do his bumps and bruises make me appreciate him more? Koo Koo!!)

It seems like we have been very busy the last couple weeks. Kenny has been reffing soccer A LOT! Last Saturday we went with him to Bolder City while he reffed two games. Carter had fun rolling around on his blanket. He's still not sure what to think about the grass so he never goes off the blanket, which makes watching him very easy. I know that wont last for very much longer. On the way home we stopped at the A&W and Carter shared a root beer float with us.

We also decided to cut Carter's hair. When I say we, I mean Me and Kenny. There was not a hair technician on the premises to lend a helping hand. We borrowed Uncle Ross's hair clippers and crossed our fingers. The last time he got his hair cut he was not the happiest little guy. This time I decided we needed a better distraction. Distraction = Popsicle. It worked out GREAT! I was in charge of the clippers and Kenny was in charge of holding Carters ears down and laughing at what a horrible job I was doing. It turned out pretty good and I think that the next time we might do even better.