Can you please stop growing up so fast?

I know it's been a long time since our last post. We've been so busy!

For those of you who do not know, Travis and I have put our house up for sale and are hoping to build a much LARGER house in Pendleton within the next year or two! A larger home=larger family:) The house has been on the market for about a month and we have had between 5-7 showings, which is a good sign to us! Cross your fingers we sell it soon!

Pressley is such a busy body! She is always on the move. She's talking a TON and is constantly cracking us up! She does this new thing where she rolls her eyes at us and is VERY dramatic about it (she even includes a head roll with it)! We can't help but laugh out loud at her when she does it. Travis also taught her "Super Girl". She puts her arms behind her and runs around the house every time he says it to. I can already tell that she's going to be a clown like her dad! She thinks its hysterical when we laugh at her!

She has also developed a sweet tooth and does not like to eat much besides oatmeal cream pies, fruit snacks and doughnuts! We have to hide them in the pantry, otherwise she'll make a fast break with them! It's a good thing she enjoys some healthy snacks. For instance, she would eat 10 bananas a day if I would let her and she loves oranges. We're still working on the veggies...

She had her 18 month check up with Dr. Golnick earlier this month and everything looked great! She weighs 24 pounds and is 31 inches long! She's so teeny! Travis and I get such a kick out of her Buddah belly and round behind!

She's saying TONS of words now! Mama, Daddy, Louis, NO NO Louis!, Binky, Blanky, Apple, Nana, More, Thank you, Night Night, Puppy, Kitty, and many more that I can't think of right now. She also still baby babbles and we can't understand what she's saying, but we don't let her know that:)

Until next time...

Mmmmmm...Bananas!

Baby Stella
Sweet girl
The Princess Ballerina

"SUPER GIRL!"

Pressley Poo!

Pressley's 19 Month Pictures, taken by Morgan Matters! More to come later!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

Travis and I are so blessed! God is good! We apologize for not posting sooner, but we have been busy with this little lady and our new workout routine! To catch you up, here's a short list of what has been going on with The Carters:

1. Traveled to Elkhart to visit Grandma and Grandpa Carter

2. Pressley FINALLY said 'Mama' (and says it all day long! I LOVE THIS!)

3. Started the P90X (For those of you who don't know what this is, Google P90X) We are starting our 4th week! Woohoo!

4. Travis and I started reading The Purpose Driven Life

5. Joined Netflix! This is awesome! We should have done this a long time ago!

6. Pressley started using a spoon...sort've

7. Travis and I celebrated Valentines Day with our friends Rac and Whitney! We had a great time!

8. Travis interviewed for a new job, the job was offered to him and he turned it down

9. We have started looking at floor plans and will hopefully be building our dream home next year!

Okay, so maybe this list isn't SUPER exciting, but that's our life and we love it!

Pressley is a wild woman and she keeps us on our toes. She received a late "Birthday Gift" from The Futrells and it is now her favorite toy: A baby stroller. Thanks Joe and Val! She has a ball with it! We also FINALLY put her Ohio State cheerleader uniform on her and she was too cute! Travis loved it and didn't want her to take it off...ever. Seriously. Do they give full scholarships for cheerleading? Let's hope so. If not, let's hope daddy transforms her into an amazing female golfer:)

Until next time...

Cutest Buckeye Cheerleader Ever!

Yummy spaghetti! She had a bath after this, no worries!

One of her favorite things to say: "PUPPY"
Loving daddy

My husband demonstrating his sweet cooking skills. And yes, he is wearing my headband while doing so. This is why I love him...he makes me laugh.

Pressley and her baby dolls...

It would be an understatement to say that Pressley "likes" her babydolls. She LOVES them. On a typical day she lays out their "blankies" and covers them up 20-30 times, maybe more. She only has three dolls at this time, however, I am sure that number will grow rapidly as she gets older. Each doll has special meaning. In the picture below, the baby doll on the left is her favorite by far. This was a gift for her birthday, given to her by Sally Brodkorb! Thanks Sally! She loves her! We call this one "Baby" (pretty creative, huh?) The one in the middle was the first doll she received and it was a gift from Nana Lori. We don't really have a name for this one thus far...we'll work on that! And last, the baby on the right was also a gift given to Pressley for her 1st birthday from The Casaburo Family. Her name is Stella (she actually came with this name) and she is special because she has a magnetic "Binky" (pacifier) and Pressley loves to give her the bink just like a little mommy. She also gives all of them kisses and even makes animated noises when she gives them...this is too funny!

Travis and I just love watching her play with these dolls! She's such a little mom with all of them! We agreed that she must get her motherly instinct from being at daycare and watching the older girls play with their dolls! She goes to daycare with nearly ALL GIRLS! Out of 6-7 children, there is only 1 boy!

I don't think Travis and I need to worry about Pressley turning out to be tomboy! She loves baby dolls and is definitely going to be 110% girly girl!

Until next time...

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Happy Birthday Nana!

Last Saturday night, Travis had a "guys night" and watched the Colts game with some friends in Carmel. Pressley and I stayed home and kept busy with watching the game and baking Nana Lori's birthday cake! It turned out beautifully!

My mom's birthday was on New Years Eve and she spent it with some friends in Angola, Indiana, therefore we were unable to celebrate it with her.

My sister Loni and her baby girl Anna brought mom to our house on Sunday and we all treated her to a lunch and then came back to our house for some yummy chocolate cake afterwards...compliments of Betty Crocker. Travis and I are getting ready to start the P90X workout program and I had commited to begin my "fat shredder" diet that day, so I was unable to indulge in the cake...perfect time to start a diet, right? Luckily, everyone else was able to enjoy the cake!

I love spending time with my family...even if I can't eat chocolate cake! Happy Birthday Nana! We love you SOOOOOO much!

The birthday girl!

Yep, she IS her mother's daughter...

The pictures say it all...

Pressley is OBSESSED with her mommy's closet and shoes! She is always going in the closet and messing with the many, many shoes mommy has!

I walked into our bedroom earlier this week, and this is what I found! BUSTED MISSY!!

She's going to love retail therapy (especially shoes!), just like her mommy!

She said "UH OH" when I found her:)

Louis and Me!

Travis and I decided to have a "date night" on Saturday night! Boy did we need it! I feel like we never have "Travis and Lacey Time" anymore! Usually it's all about Pressley, and we're okay with that. However, it sure is nice to spend some alone time with my husband every once in a while. My dad came down to watch Pressley, I managed to tear myself away from my pj's for the first time in a couple of days and Travis even put cologne on for me! We were ready for a big night on the town:)

We agreed on dinner at Scotty's (WE LOVE SCOTTY'S!) and considering we typically can't agree on a movie EVER, surprisingly we managed to come to an agreement to go see Marley and Me after dinner. I love Jennifer Aniston and I love dogs so I was excited for this movie!

Let me just say that this was by far one of the greatest movies I've ever seen, but on the other hand, I have NEVER cried as much during a movie as I did at this one. I was sobbing...literally.

Here's where I'm going to get a little serious on you...

After viewing this movie, I got to thinking about the message it was sending about dogs: True, unconditional love and companionship. How many times in your life (minus GOD, your significant other and children) do you find a friend who loves you TRULY for who you are? They don't care if you're popular, ugly, pretty, fat, skinny, rich or poor. A friend who never gets angry or upset with you over petty, unimportant things. Finding friends like that is a rare occurance in life. We have found a friend like that in Louis.

As I cried during the movie, after the movie, on the walk out to the car and even on the car ride home, I grew so sad at the thought that Lou Lou (my shih tzu) is inevitablely going to die some day. Obviously, that's a fact of life, I guess I just never think abou it. As I thought about him some day growing old and leaving this Earth, I began thinking about that message. Louis truly is one of the great loves of my life. From the day I brought him home, he has loved me, and with no preconditions. He has never asked anything in return, he is simply satisfied with my love and affection. He doesn't expect me to buy him lavish gifts, requires no impressing and is always happiest when he is snuggled up with Travis or myself in the recliner.

After returning home from the movie, I cuddled up with Louis in bed and REALLY appreciated him and the love he has for our family for the first time. He's a wonderful companion and we are blessed to have him in our lives!