Happy (late) Easter!

I'm still waiting on a few pictures from my big camera, but decided I wouldn't delay this post any longer. The Thursday before Easter, we took the boys (along with the Joneses) to the mall to see the Easter bunny. Both boys did so well and we got some cute pictures! Carter wore some seersucker pants I made him out of some leftover/scrap fabric - I'm really digging this sewing thing :) Here is a picture of Charlie one Wednesday night at church... This is his favorite toy ever - he dives for it every time we go to his class! I think we might just have to get him one of these for his birthday...On Good Friday I took the boys, all by myself I might add, to get their pictures made for Easter. We got some really cute ones of them in their Easter outfits. This was the first year I have dressed Carter like a little man instead of a toddler :( It made me so sad, even though his little seersucker suit and white/tan saddle oxford shoes were so cute! Charlie wore a silk dupioni bubble outfit that Carter wore for his dedication. It's nice to have 2 boys so they can share :) Here are a few of my favorite shots.

After pictures, we decided to make an impromptu trip to Tuscaloosa to visit Daddy for lunch. We ate at Jason's Deli - yum! I wish he worked a little closer so we could do that more often - it's fun for all of us. Alan got off work an hour early for Easter, which ended up being a bad thing! He was rear-ended while sitting at a stop-light, and the lady who hit him was then rear-ended as well. Here is the back of our 4-month-old car :( Luckily, everyone is ok, except for a little back pain that Alan has. Nothing our wonderful chiropractor shouldn't be able to fix!

I have been on an organizing kick lately and have actually been productive. (Holly, pick your jaw up off the floor.) I was going through some magazines, and had 2 neat little stacks in our bedroom when I went to look for something else. Carter came running to find me and said, "Mommy! Charlie's messing up all the books - come look!" Note that they all started on the opposite side of that little carpeted area, but Charlie thought they would be better if he threw them behind himself. See why I don't get anything organized around here??? :) Saturday before Easter, Gigi, Papa, Nan and Cheryl came over to watch Carter's t-ball game. Carter didn't really do his best, and ended up in the dugout for the last half of the game :( However, all was right with the world after we came back to our house for an Easter feast and Easter presents. The boys got so much stuff - thank you, everyone!

On Easter, we woke up to discover that the Easter bunny had visited our house! He left some great Easter baskets for the boys - thanks, EB! After we looked at all our new stuff, we got ready for church and went to the early service (the supposedly less crowded one). Well, we got there 15 minutes early - unprecedented for us - and almost couldn't find a parking place in any of the 4 lots, and we also almost couldn't find a seat! Alan ended up standing the entire time in the balcony, on the stairs, while I sat smooshed in between some people I didn't know. I would say it was standing room only, but it wasn't even that! There were even people just standing randomly in the middle of the floor, and all the doors were open and people were standing outside in the lobby! It would be amazing if every Sunday were like that, but no, this past Sunday was back to normal. It's so sad, but Alan said he doesn't even want to go on Easter anymore, even though it's the most sacred of Christian holidays. Of course, the music was SPECTACULAR, as was the message (our pastor dressed up like John the apostle and told the entire story of the gospel of John, in character).

Carter's basket from EB:

Charlie's basket from EB:

Carter's basket from Mommy and Daddy:

Charlie's basket from Mommy and Daddy (I know it doesn't look fair, but there isn't as much Charlie can have - we are getting his name engraved on a baby Bible just as we did for Carter's first Easter):

Easter afternoon, Nana, Pawpaw and Jacob came over to hide eggs with Carter. Carter had so much fun, and he was super excited to try out his new silly string on Pawpaw. Poor Pawpaw! He didn't suspect a thing when they asked him to come to the porch to look at something...Carter had to go to the dentist last Monday. His favorite part of the whole trip is getting to pick something from the treasure box (he asks Mrs. Kim, his hygienist, this as soon as he gets there each time). These are the same glasses he got last time, but they broke right away the first time. So far, these have lasted, with the exception of a lens popping out every so often. Just call him Dwayne Wayne!

This past Friday, I took Charlie to Gigi and Papa's house and then headed home to leave Carter with Alan so I could go to the lake for a short weekend with the girls! These are the girls from my church's Mom's group committee, that is, but we're all friends and it was such a fun time to plan for next year and enjoy the nice weather! I haven't laughed so hard in a really long time! Thanks Gigi, Papa, and Alan for letting me get away, even for just one night!

Yesterday, Carter woke up and declared that he didn't want to wear any clothes, but that he just wanted to wear a t-shirt and crocs. So, he promptly stripped down and put on underwear, t-shirt and crocs. This is the way he stayed all day... I couldn't even bribe him with a trip outside to play if he put on clothes. However, I do love lazy days like this... I really cherish them since I worked for the first 2.5 years of Carter's life and we ALWAYS had to go to day care and every day was so busy. So, it's nice to stay in a t-shirt and crocs sometimes and not go anywhere, I suppose :)

I have been really sick the past few days... It started as allergies a few weeks ago and kept getting worse. While I was at the lake this weekend, my cough got a lot worse and has been substantially worse each day since. I went to the doctor today and learned that I have pneumonia. Great. Just what every busy mom of 2 active young boys needs! I have had very little energy, and I guess it's because of lack of oxygen (plus the fever and just being sick in general). The doctor said I have about 70% lung capacity, but he said that was actually a lot better than he predicted by looking at the x-rays. I didn't tell him that I'm just an overachiever ;) I must also confess here that I didn't take the antibiotics prescribed for my leg (and no, my leg didn't fall off, Alan), because I came home and cried for two days about having to wean Charlie. I don't know how antibiotics work (are they targeted for different things?), but perhaps if I had taken that medication, it would have prevented my allergies from turning into something worse. So... Charlie is officially weaned and I'm following doctor's orders now. I was not mentally ready and am still upset, but maybe I'll just have to have another baby. Just kidding! Dad, please pick Mom up off the floor and tell her I was kidding.

I have to go back to the doctor on Thursday to see if my lung capacity has increased any and to see how I'm improving. He also mentioned that he suspects I might have allergy onset asthma. Nice. Although, Charlie screamed for the entire 2 hours today so maybe the doctor didn't say any of that at all - I could barely hear him! I was constantly taking him out of his stroller and putting him back when they needed to do something with me. I even did my breathing treatment standing up, while walking around as far as my tubes would go, bouncing him on my hip and shoulder. Here's hoping that Thursday's visit is better and that I don't have to struggle with him all day like I did today (it didn't get any better once we got home). Sheesh.