Yes Pressley, there is a Santa Claus...

The Carter Family had a fantastic Christmas!

On Christmas Eve, Lacey's dad came and spent the night with us and woke up with us on Christmas morning to open gifts! It was so much fun to see Pressley open all of her toys...and boy did she get a TON (see pictures below). Everyone LOVED their gifts! Lacey surprised Travis with a pair of boots that he wasn't expecting to get, so it was fun to see the surprised look on his face! After the gift opening was finished, we enjoyed a BIG breakfast together and watched some classic Christmas movies! Lacey's sister Loni and her daughter Anna came over and enjoyed the movie watching with us...and of course, opened more gifts!

Later on in the day, Lacey's mom and Travis' parents came over and of course...we all opened more gifts! Pressley was probably a little overwhelmed with all of the toys she received all at once! She really didn't know which one to play with first! She and Anna had fun experimenting with all of the new gadgets!

Later on in the evening, Lacey's mom made everyone a homemade meal and then we settled down and watched "Christmas Vacation"! Lacey had never seen this movie and since this is a Carter Family tradition, they figured it was time for her to be introduced to it!

Having children truly brings a little more spirit to Christmas! We can't wait for Pressley to understand who Santa is and to explain to her the REAL meaning of Christmas...the birth of Christ our Lord.

Happy Birthday Jesus!!

Baby It's Cold Outside...And I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt.

On Saturday, Travis, Pressley and myself headed home to Grant County for some fun stuff!

First, we traveled to my Grandma and Grandpa Lee's house for Christmas with my mom's entire side of the family in Van Buren. We had pizza for Christmas dinner, (a little unconventional, I know) opened gifts and spent quality time with family that we don't get to see very often. We had a great time! G-Ma and G-Pa got Travis and I new cookware! YAY! We were excited! We have desperately needed this for a LONG time! Pressley got a beautiful ballerina snow globe for her pink ballerina princess room! She loves to hear the music when I wind it up and she has also discovered that when she tilts it to the side, the glitter floats around in the globe. She's so smart! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We love all of our gifts!

After our Christmas festivities, Travis and I were off to the wedding of my very dear friend, Karin Schonbachler and her fiancee Ty Henderson. These two crazy kids have been dating for 9 years! Isn't that crazy!? I remember when I was a senior in high school, Karin and I had newspaper together and she used to go gaga over this kid named Ty Henderson who went to Oak Hill. She really thought he was the cats meow. Before I knew it, they were dating and she was head over heels in love with him! Fast forward nine years later, Travis and I are sitting at their amazing wedding, watching one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen, walk down the aisle. It was magical...

After the wedding, we headed to the reception and had a blast! I got to see a lot of people I have't seen for a long time and caught up on their lives! I felt like I was at a Grant County/Eastbrook reunion! We were also blessed with the company 0f my best friend and her husband - Matt and Shannon McCollom.

To top the night off, I was able to hang out with my BEST friend Tony B. for a short period of time and then Travis and I headed to my mom's house in Hartford City to crash for the night!

We had a great time!

Me and Matt

Grant County Ladies!
The Carters


The beautiful bride!

Apparently there was a song playing that they felt they could groove to...

Me and my sister from another mister

Matt and Travis

Always a clown

Me and Britt

"In the twilight, it was a vision of power..."

Travis and I had a fun weekend together! On Saturday morning (early!) we dropped Pressley off with my good friend from work, Stana, and headed to the windy city for the day!

Since we hardly ever get any "alone time" together, we were really looking forward to our trip! I had never been to Chicago during the winter time, so I was dreading the infamous cold weather Chicago is so well known for. We arrived around 10:30AM and BOY WAS IT COLD! I thought I was well prepared...I had my gloves on, my scarf and my warmest coat, but I was wrong! I instantly began wishing I would have wore some long underwear underneath my jeans. The wind was so intense!

We made our way down to the Water Tower mall first, just to get out of the cold for a bit. We bought some chocolate at the Godiva shop, did some window shopping and then met up with one of my best friends from college, Jenn Fix. She is a resident of "The Chi" now, so I don't get to see her nearly as often as I would like. We had lunch at The Grand Lux Cafe (yummy!), chatted for a bit and then said our goodbyes (Jenn had a surprise party to get ready for that evening).

Next, Travis and I decided to take a carriage ride! This w
as so fun and it got us out of the cold for a bit longer! My favorite part about the carriage ride was our horse! She was so pretty AND her name was Oprah! Obviously, we had to have our picture taken with her when it was all said and done. It's not very often you get to meet a celebrity:)

After walking around for a bit longer, Travis and I decided three things:


1) The sales tax in Chicago is REDICULOUS, therefore, anything we wanted to buy, we would just wait and get when we got back to Indy. CHEAP, FABULOUS INDIANAPOLIS!

2) People walk TOO slow on the sidewalk, yet they don't want to make any room for people to walk around. This is annyoing:)

3) Our feet hurt, we were cold and we missed Pressley so we decided to head home to Indiana!


All in all, the trip was fun. It felt good to get away and get some some quality time with my wonderful husband! We need to do this more often!!


Me and my dear friend, Jenn!

Carriage Ride!

Me and Trav!

Me and Travis with Oprah!

We're back!

Okay, I know it's been TOO long since our last post, however, we have a pretty good reason. Back in October, our laptop's hard drive bit the dust and we had to send it back to the retailer to get a replacement. Long story short, they forgot about us, which is why we are just now rejoining the cyber world! It feels good to be back! We have a lot of catching up to do!

Where shall we start...

In October, Pressley and Lacey celebrated their birthdays. Lacey turned 27 and Pressley turned 1! Their birthdays are only 2 days apart! Mommy and daddy threw Pressley Marie a birthday party fit for a princess, tutu and all! We hosted her party at the Historical Morris-Butler House in "old downtown" Indianapolis. It's a beautiful, Victorian area of downtown that has been preserved with magnificant homes! We were joined by so many friends and family! We ate, indulged in an amazing cake from Heavenly Sweets Bakery and opened a TON of presents! It was such a fun day! Pressley had a blast playing with all of her new toys when we came home!

In November, Travis turned 28 and our niece Anna turned 1 as well! We also celebrated Thanksgiving with Travis' family the weekend prior to Thanksgiving and with Lacey's family the weekend of Thanksgiving. We also put up the Christmas tree and started preparing for all of the fun activities that accompany the month of December! We have already started recording all of our favorite Christmas shows so that we can watch them all on Christmas Eve! This is going to be such a fun Christmas with Pressley! She can open presents now (sort've) and she can actually play with the toys we bought for her!

Pressley has been changing like crazy! She loves to play peek-a-boo, point at objects and take baths. Bath time is her favorite time of the day. As long as she can play in the tub, she's happy! She's such a well behaved child. Travis and I are so blessed. We put the Christmas tree up, fearing the worst. We have been pleasantly surprised! She loves to stand in front of it and point at it, but other than that, she doesn't bother it! She's also "talking" more and more everyday. Mostly it's just babbling, but she has began to say "uh oh" and she's a pro at saying "da da"...we're yet to hear her say "ma ma." She has also become increasingly well at identifying objects when asked to retrieve one. We'll say "Pressley, go get your duck, or Pressley go get your ball" and she goes directly to that object! She's such a smart girl! She has also grown very attached to her baby dolls. She received two for her birthday (thanks Sally and Amber) and she is always dragging them around. We refer to one of the dolls (her favorite) as just "baby" and the other one actually has a name...Stella. Somewhat ironic considering that's what I wanted to name Pressley (but Travis hated the idea)

We also took a trip to visit Shannon, Matt and Trey McCollom in lovely Decatur, Illinois back in November! We always love going to their house and hanging out! We don't get to see them nearly enough! Matt took Travis for a ride in his new Corvette and the girls went shopping at the local outlet mall! Unfortunately it was VERY cold that day, so we couldn't walk around too much with the kiddos. We had a great time!

In a doggy update, Louis gave us a scare back in October with an infected eye ball. After two trips to the vet as well as an appointment with an eye specialist, he's all better now! He has been loving the snow! Every winter he frolicks around in the backyard like a little snow bunny! We get such a kick out of him! On another Lou Lou sidenote, he has became quite fearful of Pressley when she has her golf clubs out...let's just say Pressley thinks the golf club is for hitting people (and Lou) and not golf balls. Yikes!

Until next time...

She's getting so big! 1 year old!
Tickle fest with daddy!
Bath time

Birthday girl having cake!
Downtown Indy with 2 friends from work

Witnessing history at a Barack Obama rally!

Not so happy...

Playing with Bradac Souders

GO COLTS!!

It's hard to believe...

that one year ago this month, I was VERY pregnant with Pressley and I was more than ready to not be pregnant anymore and to meet my sweet baby girl. Now, a year later, Travis and I can hardly believe that we are creeping up on her 1st Birthday! What a year it has been! Life has always seem to fly by, but once you have children, it goes by even faster. '

Within the past week, Pressley has began walking, yes I said walking. She's 10 months old and she's walking around the house like an old pro. And she walks fast! She can't get to where she is going fast enough. I chuckle to myself every time I see her walking because she's so petite, she just looks too small to be walking.

Travis and I try to introduce her to more and more table food every day. So far, there's not too much that she doesn't like. Some of her favorites are: Pickles, Cottage Cheese, Cheerios, Peaches, Mashed Potatoes and of course, Nana Lori's homemade chicken and noodles. Next week, I plan on starting her on whole milk as well as taking her bottles away. She'll be a full-time sippy cup girl! I can't believe it!

P is also discovering how to "throw fits" when she is displeased with someone or something. I'm realizing how hard it is to discipline her when she looks at me with those big blue eyes. Perhaps I'll be the "softy" and Travis will be "the bad guy" (don't tell him I said that).

And last, we have found a new daycare for P to attend. It's closer to home but more expensive. I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too, right? Please pray that it all works out :)

Until next time...

O-H-I-O...Ah yes, it's football season!

As many of you know, my husband could very well be the #1 Ohio State Buckeye fan in the WORLD! He has been a fan since the day he was born! "It's in my blood" he always explains to me, "And it's going to be in Pressley's too." Soooo, needless to say, the past two weekends at The Carter household have been filled with yelling with delight and sometimes (okay, a lot) screaming with frustration. To say that he is passionate about Ohio State sports would be an extreme understatement. He's rarely satisfied with the Buckeyes performance on Saturdays (even if they win) and I sometimes think that HE THINKS he's actually coaching the team from our couch. He gives pep talks, yells, applauds and even gets up and paces the house sometimes. And while I love the Buckeyes myself, my life becomes a little more stressful every time the Almighty O-H-I-O take the field. Lets all say a prayer that the Bucks have a great season (for me and Pressley's sake)! GO BUCKS!

Big Girl Stuff...

Pressley is growing bigger and more beautiful by the day! She has the funniest personality and makes Travis and I laugh all the time! She loves to smack her lips and clap her hands, especially when she's eating lunch or dinner!

There are still no sign of any teeth, but we love her gummy smile! I wish she would stay like that forever...okay, maybe not FOREVER.

She's still speed walking throughout the house on her push-behind toy. We keep thinking that she's going to take off on her own (without the walker) however, she's yet to do that. She did take 2 or 3 steps by herself last night, though! We can hardly believe how fast she is growing and changing! She becomes more and more independent by the day! The days of cuddling and rocking together are long gone! She wants to go!! She does however, like to be snuggled when she's sleepy and ready for bed or a nap! I love those times of the day! She still LOVES Lou Lou! She follows him around the house and tries to chew on his toys...EWW! He, on the other hand, not always a big fan of Pressley. Could it be the pulling of his hair or the slaps in the face?! Who knows, all I know is that Lou gets "annoyed" very easily by her:)

Until next time...

Wearing my big girl PJ's!

Standing on the chair like a big girl!

1st Dave Matthews Band shirt...thanks Jenny Beth!

Pouting

1st Birthday Party!!

Yeee Hawwww! It's State Fair Time!

Pressley enjoyed her 1st State Fair experience this weekend (well, technically her 2nd...her 1st was spent in my belly!)

We saw the piggies, cows, BIG BIG horses and even got to touch a llama! She loved all of it!

Mommy & Pressley touch their very first llama!

Amazed by the baby pigs!

Daddy enjoying his turkey leg!

Carter Family Reunion

The "Indiana Carters" made the trip to Ohio (Akron) on Friday night for the big Carter Family Reunion (Lacey, Deb and Pressley's first!) We had a lot of fun meeting all of Grandpa Bill's brothers and their families! It's nice to finally put faces with names! Hopefully it won't be another 8 years before we see them all again!

Below, you will notice a picture of Mr. Louis Carter. Mommy and daddy couldn't find a dog-sitter for him, so we were forced to bring him along and in return, "smuggle" him into the hotel! He was such a good boy the whole trip! Not only have we been blessed with a beautiful, healthy daughter, but a wonderful son (dog) as well! We love you Lou Lou!

Cousin Kelly (against her will) brought Pressley her first Ohio State Buckeyes cheerleading outift straight from the OSU campus! Now she can scream and yell with daddy in style during the games! Great Aunt Sally also came bearing all kinds of gifts! We loved everything and everyone!

Nick and Travis "hoopin'"

Marla, Deb and Doug

Lou! He was such a good boy!

Pressley and Bud (The oldest living Carter and the youngest!)

Kate, Paige, Maddy and Riley (The snow cone wizards!)

THE CARTERS! (Bud and Doug clearly were talking to one another!)

Welcome to the world, Emmerson Mae Futrell!

Lacey's best friend, Valerie and her husband Joe welcomed their 2nd daughter into the world on July 29th @ 4:27 PM! Her name is Emmerson Mae and she is BEAUTIFUL! Our family piled into the car on Thursday and made the trip to Gas City to visit their newest family member! Val and Joe's oldest daugher, Raegan, is going to be a fabulous big sister...although, she was much more interested in keeping Pressley entertained! Congratulations Valerie and Joe!

Big Sister Raegan!

Emmerson Mae Futrell!

Pressley says "Hi Emmerson!"

Little bit of this, little bit of that...

Travis and I got our hands on some amazing seats for the Dave Matthews concert this past weekend! We were pretty disappointed in the show, but we had some great company! My favorite cousin, Amber, and her friend Melissa joined us for the night! We had a fun night despite the shabby setlist! And as usual, I had to throw some new pictures of Pressley Marie in the mix! What can I say, I'm a proud mama! Enjoy!

#1 DMB Fan...EVER!

Cousins!

Travis & Amber Jo

Mr. Dave Matthews!

Future BFF's, Pressley Carter & Lucy Getchell (Born 2 weeks apart!)

I have the best daddy in the world!!

LOVES to watch daddy mow the lawn!

So silly!

Melissa and Amber...best friends!