Preston's First Trip to Henry's Ark

We went with Aunt Heather, Caleb, Jackson and Emily to Henry's Ark last week. We all had a lot of fun feeding the animals and being outside on such a lovely day. This was Preston's first trip to Henry's Ark and I think he liked it. He stayed awake almost the entire time we were there! We will definitely be going back again soon. (Now that Carl's foot is getting better, maybe he can join us on our next trip!)

Everyone liked seeing the animals!

The kids really liked feeding the deer and the donkeys. They also enjoyed TRYING to feed to llamas!

Preston had lots of fun at Henry's Ark!

NO MORE CAST!

Carl broke his foot 6 1/2 weeks ago and he has been in a cast for most of that time. (He was in a surgical boot at first, but the foot specialist placed him in a cast once we went to see him and he saw the x-rays.) The cast has been very difficult to deal with, to say the least. Carl has not been able to drive, walk, swim, run, etc. While he has been able to do some amazing things in the cast, such as walk the 5K and play golf on one leg, he was very limited in other areas. He could not carry Preston, carry the diaper bag, help get the kids in and out of the van, etc. Many normal activities were uncomfortable too. We had to borrow a reclining chair for him, so he could be comfortable while he sat at home.

We visited the foot specialist yesterday and we thought that Carl would be placed in a boot and not be allowed to walk for at least 3 more weeks. We were VERY excited to find out that Carl's foot is healing fast. He was placed in an air boot and is allowed to start to learn to walk again! We are SO happy! Carl feels so much better already without his cast and we are all looking forward to life getting back to normal over the next few weeks!

Carl enjoyed getting lots of people to sign his first cast. Here are several different views of cast number one!

When Carl got cast number two, he let a few special people sign it, but he decided that most of the cast would be used for art. He even illustrated his injury so he could explain what happened when people asked! Here are some pictures of cast number two!

Carl's right leg was much smaller after not using it for so long. Here is a picture of both legs.

We were very happy after seeing the foot specialist! I think we smiled the WHOLE DAY!

Carl's Birthday Celebration

We started Carl's birthday celebration by going out to eat at Shogun. Evan LOVED watching the chef prepare the food.(He just at macaroni and cheese though!) He especially liked the onion volcano and how the chef caught items in his hat. We were happy that Aunt Rachel, Uncle Teddy, Caroline, Bonnie Mom and Grandpa could join us for a fun evening!

On Carl's birthday, he played a round of golf with Uncle Teddy. (He still has his cast, so he played on one leg!) The rest of the day was pretty calm, but we did enjoy baking special cupcakes in ice cream cones. (I think Evan ate 3 or 4 that night!)

Carl really wanted his birthday present to be for us to do The Color Run, so on Sunday, Carl, Evan and I headed downtown for the race. Carl was pretty impressive and completed the race on crutches. Evan and I raced along side of him. Evan really liked getting the colors on him, but wanted to be carried a great deal of the race. Everyone had fun and we hope to do the race again next year with Preston and WITHOUT crutches and a cast.

We celebrated Carl's birthday and my Dad's birthday with my side of the family on Thursday. Since mom recently had hip surgery, we all went had a relaxing night at Mom and Dad's house and had pizza and carrot cake. The kids had a ball playing and running around together. (Evan was in heaven when Granddaddy played "The Deer Game" with him!)

We had fun taking some pictures before we left for the restaurant. I think the pictures are super sweet. (Evan and Daddy have been having fun taking silly pictures lately!)

Dinner was tons of fun. Evan had a smile on his face the whole time!

Our chef was lots of fun!

Uncle Teddy, Aunt Rachel and Caroline

Family Picture

I tried to take a picture of Bonnie Mom and Grandpa with all of the grandchildren, but it did not turn out. =(

I had to take a picture with the birthday boy too!

"Happy Birthday Daddy!"

"YUMMY!"

The Color Run: Before and After

Here are a few pictures from Carl and Granddaddy's birthday celebration.

Emily was Carl's buddy ALL night long. It was so cute!

Granddaddy got some time to hold Preston. Grammy usually won't let him go! =)

Daddy and Preston

Daddy and Evan

Happy Birthday Dad/Granddaddy!

I tried really hard to get a picture of all of the grandchildren, but that proved to be VERY unsuccessful, even with some bribing! Oh well!

Silly Sleeper

Ever since Evan transitioned from him crib to his toddler bed, he has been known for falling asleep in the silliest positions and places. I don't know how he is comfortable when he sleeps, but he is! Here are some older pictures of Evan in his weird sleeping positions, as well as some recent ones. He cracks me up!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Evan. He is sleeping UNDER his toddler bed!

In this picture, Evan has moved his pillow and blanket from his bed so that he can sleep in a pile of toys!

In this picture, Evan fell asleep on the family room floor. (His legs are in the air and stayed that way while he napped!)

I took this picture last week. He is hanging off the bed!

I also took this picture last week. He is asleep on the floor! (He had been asleep in his bed earlier that night. I have no idea why he moved to the floor!)

Here is one last picture that I recently took. Evan is sleeping the wrong way on the bed and without any covers!

Preston's Nursery

Now that Preston is 12 weeks old, I have FINALLY been able to add the finishing touches to his nursery and I now consider the room to be complete! We started working on the room many months ago. Carl started by clearing out the furniture and other items from the room, which used to be our guest room. He then put up crown moulding, which made the room look much nicer. He also put in a new ceiling fan with a light fixture. My dad then painted the room for Preston and we moved all of Preston's furniture and other baby items into the room. We put up some paintings that my friend Angie made for Preston, as well as some personalized wall decals. In the last several weeks, we have added some personal touches, including a decorative pirate ship that Carl painted, a yellow pillow made by Stephanie and some photographs. The room looks great and Preston LOVES it, just like we do!

Carl worked hard to get the room ready and Evan liked helping him! (Granddaddy painted the room while we were at work, so I do not have any pictures. We really appreciate the help though!)

Carl assembled the crib, which was much easier the second time around!

Preston's Name Plaque

Preston's Book Shelf and Photographs

Preston's Closet (It is filled with lots of adorable clothes!)

Preston's Crib and Personalized Wall Decals

Prston's Dresser and Glider

Preston's Changing Table and Custom Paintings

Preston enjoys sleeping in his crib.