Howell Balloon Festival

All total there were 47 balloons that flew right over our house!
There was an MSU flag on this one!
A single man 'basket' that is like a rocket ship.

This morning at SEVEN am, Deagan and Tessa were already awake and in my bed when we heard this crazy fire breathing dragon noise. I looked out the window to see a few hot air balloons right over the house. I looked down and saw about ten of my neighbors all out in their driveways, in their pajama's watching. So we woke Olivia up and went down to sit on the porch. There were SO MANY balloons it was hard to count! But we ended up with 47. They took off from the field behind our neighborhood and passed so close above us that you could litterally THROW A BASEBALL at them. Deagan was yelling up to the operators saying hi and he liked their balloons. It was so much fun!

So after they passed we went inside to change, eat and go to the balloon festival. It's held yearly here in Howell. It was a beautifl 75 degree day and the kids behaved amazingly well for me:) I was nervous taking them out to a crazy public event by myself (I'm still getting used to the whole three kid thing). But they listened, didn't whine at all and held hands the whole time. We saw a frisbee dog show, parachute jumpers and crazy kite flyers. A nice (FREE) day of fun:)

Happy Birthdays

Happy One Month Birthday Miss Tess!
And Happy Birthday Aunty Linny (we won't tell your age;)

Lindsey's Day to leave:(

Oh what a sad day here in the Carter house! Lindsey has been staying with us for the last three weeks, and today she left us. She is on to her new life with Peter in North Carolina. We had such a great time and oh what a blessing it was to have her here during this adjustment period! She was such a gift! She helped with the big kids when I needed to be with the baby and she helped with the baby when I needed to be with the big kids. And most of all, she kept me laughing and sane through it all:) I credit her as the reason I still have a smile on my face for Tessa's one month birthday:) We will truly miss you Linds and will always remember this crazy time we were able to share (sniff, sniff, sob, sob).

Tessa from 2-4 weeks old

Miss Tess, 2 weeks old
Silly Tessy, 2 weeks old
I'm going to do a "watch me grow" picture with this blanket and this doll every month so you can see how she grows!
Olivia holding her dream come true doll of a sister in her new spunky bathing suit from aunt kelly.

And a fairy is born,

If you have kids, chances are you've seen the Tinker Bell movie. If not, you might have heard this before...
"When a newborn baby laughs for the first time, a fairy is born." (or something like that, I'll have to confirm with Olivia).
Well tonight after feeding her and while burping her, Tessa fell asleep on my chest. So I was surfing around on my laptop when all of the sudden she started GIGGLING. Loudly. It was literally the sweetest sound I've ever heard!
I wish, wish, wish I could have had a recording of it, as she was completely asleep and is still months away from laughing while awake! But nonetheless, a fairy was born:) And I can't wait to tell Olivia about it!

Catching Up

So following suit of my friend Angie, since I don't have time to sit down and update every day, I thought I'd give you a few quick updates on us...
- Jeff is back in the Miami area for two weeks doing round two of his sailing class. He ran into quite the large shark while diving....
-We still haven't heard anything regarding the offer on our house. It's up to the mortgage company as to whether or not they'll accept it. They should, but we haven't heard yet. Our real estate agent calls them every other day, but they are so backed up with short sales and foreclosures, that it's a very slow process. Should know by fourth of July if they accept the offer or not.
-Tessa and I will be going down to VB over the 4th of July weekend for 6 days to do some house hunting with Jeff. We originally were going to bring the whole family, but decided against it. We are going to be cramming in so many house tours each day that it would be NO FUN for the kids to be drug through that. So they are going up to Jeff's parent's house for the week to hang out on the beach. They'll be MUCH happier:)
-Jeff got a pre-approval to get another mortgage so we can put in an offer on a house while we are there if we'd like...
-But we might end up renting. With the market the way it is, there are some super nice houses for super cheap rental options. So we can wait a year or three to get a bigger house as our income increases.
-Tessa is a FANTASTIC baby. She sleeps 5-6 hour stretches at night:) She's quiet and sweet and never cries. A blessing of a baby.
-Breastfeeding is FINALLY going great with a child of mine! (Deagan and Olivia could not do it for allergy reasons).
She's was up to 8 lbs 3 oz last wednesday. I'm sure she's in the high 8's by now. She is almost outgrowing her newborn size clothing, but 0-3 is still just a bit too big...
-Deagan and Olivia are transitioning... it's a long process. They are full of attitude and constantly testing me. They know full well that when I'm busy with the baby they can get away with murder. Hoping it wears off soon...
-Maverick still misses his daddy.
-We all miss him and CANNOT wait to move, hopefully in August!

I'll try to keep you more updated. I have taken about 500 pictures of the little miss, just haven't found the time to upload, photoshop and process them. When the sun is shining the kids want to be outside and when they are sleeping- I try to sleep too. So not much free time as of yet...

Girls Night Out

Saturday night after my cousin's graduation party my parents took Deagan and Olivia for a sleepover. While they were gone, Lindsey, Tessa and I went out to a movie. We saw the sneak peak of "The Proposal" and it was FANTASTIC. I thought it was going to be another cute little chick flick, but boy was I wrong. It was a hilarious comedy with a splash of quirky romance. I laughed for two hours straight. I just LOVED it and totally recommend you all go see it... men and women:)

Olivia's First Last Day of School

Today was Olivia's last day of Kindergarten! She is officially a first grader now! I can't believe it. The year has gone by SOOO fast. Seems like just yesterday she was this shy tiny little four year old starting her new adventure! She was so brave on the first day of school, so nervous, but so excited to be a big girl. She never had any problem dealing with the transition to all day, everyday school. She was excited for it, always eager to learn. She really didn't start to get burnt out until about the last three weeks of school. It might have something to do with the fact that we were having a new baby and her scheduled routine was all messed up... and she was exhausted trying to keep up with it all mentally. But nonetheless, she's always had a huge smile on her face and was always excited to go to school each and every day.
We were blessed to have one of the best teachers on the planet for her first, very impressionable, year of school. Mrs. Bogus was simply amazing. Utterly fantastic. There are no words that could attempt to express the high, high pedestal she stood on. Some days I could barely manage my two kids, let alone 28 kids under the age of 6! Mrs. Bogus succeeded on all levels. She had those kids wrapped around her finger and marching to the beat of her drum. She ran a well oiled machine of a classroom. She took 28 sweet little babies and turned them into confident students eager each day to learn more. Olivia went into class knowing only how to write her name and each letter individually, but no real words and no reading. She left reading on a high first grade level, doing math on a first grade level and writing about anything she could! She excelled on every level too. (watch out, here comes the bragging). They give very detailed report cards at the end of the year, two full pages of assessments that take the teachers weeks to complete with each child. Well, little miss smarty pants graduated kindergarten with a gpa of 3.95. That's right, kindergartners get a gpa. I'll save that for her senior year of high school and see how she matches up;)
Well I have to admit that this afternoon when I picked her up from school I cried more than the day I dropped her off! I was running a few minutes late and she was the last one in her class to be picked up. Well, we have a special relationship with Mrs. Bogus (I attribute that to me picking her up from school each and every day, giving me a personal update from her teacher and an open relationship and friendship). Anyway, her and Mrs. Bogus were sitting there chatting about Olivia moving to Virginia and how much she was going to miss seeing her grow up. Then she gave her a gigantic hug! That's when I walked up and Mrs. Bogus was in tears and I was in tears. She's such a special person and boy am I going to miss her! She helped Olivia through a few tough times of Jeff being gone and she always gave her that little extra love! She set some high standards for future teachers that Olivia might have!!!! We are going to miss the whole Northwest Elementary family!
Congratulations Olivia, our FIRST GRADER!

Jeff headed back to VB today

Well our honeymoon is over... Early this morning Jeff had to leave to head back to Virginia Beach:(
We had such a great, carefree, time with home for two and a half weeks. It's bittersweet that he had to leave. With an offer on the house we know that we'll all be together again soon. The kids are excited to move. We are all excited to start over somewhere new, but more importantly be reunited as a family.
My dear sweet Lindsey came today to stay with us for a few weeks. It's nice to know that I don't have to do all of this alone. While I know I could handle it just fine... it's nice to know that I have an extra set of arms and a little 'back-up' force when I need it:) More importantly, someone to help keep Deagan and Olivia laughing and having a good time as I'm tied to Tessa.
I'm looking forward to this busy, busy summer!

WE HAVE AN OFFER ON OUR HOUSE!!!!

Two weeks to the day of hiring a NEW real estate agent, and WE HAVE AN OFFER!!!!!
This woman is amazing:) We've had a showing each and almost every day! Two yesterday, THREE today...and more scheduled tomorrow... but we are canceling them. Woo hoo, no more getting kicked out of our house for showings!
It's a young couple, newly married, first time home buyers and boy are they GETTING A STEAL. It's an amazing home. For half the price that we paid for it.
Anyhew, now the offer goes into the bank and we see what they say. But our agent says that it'll be accepted NO PROBLEM. And the tentative forecasted closing date is July 31st.
Now there is just one problem... where do we live in Virginia Beach?
;) I'll happily take that problem and mend it quickly ;)

Tessa Juliette

Just a few of our sweet angel.

Tessa and Mommy

Playing at the computer while everyone else is at Olivia's soccer game:)

Tessa 2 Days Old

Sweet little miss, 2 days old in the hospital.
Taken with my phone:) She looks like Olivia here.

We're Home

After a brief stay in the hospital, we are now safely home:) They actually let us go Friday instead of Saturday. It was VERY nice to get out of there. Normally I don't mind the hospital stay at all, but this time it just drove me nuts. The room was very tiny... and the bed was not comfy. When I sit, I like to sit at just about a 90 degree angle. But these beds were like 60 degree max... and were causing me these terrible back pains and spasms. Which is terrible because I was having almost NO pain at all from the c-section, only from the bed!
Anyway, we are all home together now and enjoying our sweet little miss. Tessa is a great baby! She rarely cries, only when she's hungry. She loves to just sit and look around taking in her new world. She's so content. So calm. A perfect third baby!
Short post for tonight! Sorry I haven't posted pictures yet.... will do soon.

Welcome to the world sweet baby girl

At 8:30 this morning our family welcomed it's newest member:
Tessa Juliette Carter
7# 14oz
20 inches
Bright blue eyes
Dimples
Full head of brown hair

She is sweet as can be. Super quiet and so calm so far. She's been awake and checking out her new world.
We just settled into our hospital room. The C-section went great, the best one yet!!!
We are at st joes in ann arbor room number 3082. Stop by and say hello:)
Much love!
Tricia

The Last Day of My LIFE being pregnant

It's 11:55pm, and I should be sleeping. We are having a baby tomorrow... in 8 hours. It's like the night before a big test. You know that you know the material, you're not studying, but you're not going to be early like you said you were going to either.
It's nerves, but more anxiousness. I can't wait to meet this little one! This pregnancy, the last pregnancy of my life, has been a fantastic one. It's been exactly what I hoped for and exactly what I needed- Easy. No complications, no hiccups, no worries, just easy. And with two other kids and a husband gone, that's exactly how I hoped it would be. Now I just hope the baby and the transition from two to three is easy too. I think it will be...
Everyone keeps asking me, do you think it's a boy or do you think it's a girl? Well to tell you the truth I honestly have NO IDEA. Seriously, you would think there would be a mother's intuition driving me one way or the other. Well there is, but it flip flops weekly. For the first six months it was a girl, total girl all the way. Then for the last little while it's be a boy. Totally a boy. And for the last two weeks solid I think it's a boy. But in all reality, I have no idea! It's an amazing surprise that I am so proud to have given us. I thought I would crack and give in to find out the sex, but it's been pretty easy. It's actually fun. Fun not knowing. Fun wondering and dreaming about it. I highly recommend it to anyone NOT having their first child:)
We have our names set. Well the boy's name is set in stone. The girl's name is still debatable and not solid. We have our top three, but I can't seem to get beyond those. They are all so different! The top two are night and day. One is a little spunky and for someone more like Deagan's personality. The other is sweet and more like along the lines of Olivia. I think I just need to meet her first, if it's a her. And then she'll become someone. It's odd, I never, ever, thought I'd be the hold out like that! But it's hard. It's hard to plan for a boy and plan for a girl. Sometimes it's like I feel like I'm having twins, one of each. I have a pink set and a blue set of going home outfits:) I've washed and prepared ALL of Deagan's baby clothes and ALL of Olivia's. All I need now is to meet this critter and then pick up one box. It's amazing!
My belly is huge and I can't imagine going another week with this baby inside. I'm ready. We're ready. And the baby, well it has no choice... it's going to be plucked out whether it likes it or now:)
It's so nice to have a planned C-section. I'm not really a spur of the moment kind of gal. I have no interest in having my water break or having contractions send me to the hospital in the middle of the night. Some people think it's unnatural and just plain odd to KNOW when you're going to have the baby. But I love it. I love getting a good night's sleep, packing and planning and going in the morning of ready to go. I'm clam, cool and collected ready to get this thing on the road! Bring it on. The sleepless nights, the crying, the extreme fatigue and hormones! The sweet smelling clothes (oh how the detergent brought me back a few years washing all of the baby clothes!). The tiny little chubby baby thighs and sweet little dimples (pray it has dimples too). The tiny little feet oh so soft. Pure innocence molded in your hands. A gift. Our last gift. Tomorrow, assuming the baby comes out healthy we will be "closing up shop" and my baby brewing days will be officially over. Sure I'll miss it a little. I'll miss the second trimester of pregnancy, but I sure won't miss the end! I think what I'll miss more will be the sweet little newborn baby times. But luckily I'll get to relive that with family and friends when they have babies. I'm looking forward to the future, knowing our family is complete. Raising our kids, all three of them, and moving on to start our lives, yet again.
The kids are SOOO excited. This morning Olivia came in to wake me up, I was still asleep and I felt my blanket get ripped off, my shirt lifted up and these two sweet little hands on my belly as it was showered with kisses. Then she said, "guess what baby, I get to meet you tomorrow! It's your birthday tomorrow!" It melted my heart. She has such a sweet relationship with this baby already. I swear they KNOW each other. She loves to touch my belly and talk to the baby, and whenever she does the baby responds to her. It's amazing.
Deagan is crazy about the baby too. For such a crazy little boy on the outside, he's sweet as pie on the inside. He talks about the baby all of the time. Asks when it's coming and tries to throw out names for the baby. Right now, if it's a boy, he wants to name it "macho." If only we let them name the baby....
Well it will be quite an adventure that we are starting. Three babies, two adults and a dog! What a family we have created. I can't wait to meet this little one! Talk to y'all soon:)

05.25.09 Sleepy Hollow State Park

Yes we are having a baby in two days, but that's besides the point! Today was Memorial Day and we headed off to the beach. We went to a state park near where Jeff grew up. We knew it wouldn't be too busy there and the kids could also do some fishing. So we packed up shop and even brought Maverick for some fun. Jeff brought his grandpa's fishing stuff and some worms so he and the kids could do some fishing. The kids just LOVED it! They each caught (and threw back) tons of fish. They got one EVERY time they threw the line in! It was a delight for them:) They also did a little swimming, despite it being a windy 68 degree day... the sun was shining and they were swimming. We had a nice little BBQ lunch and overall a fun family day:)

The three amigos catching fishies.
Deagan working hard to bring one in.
Deagan had to pick out and play with his worm each time before he would sacrifice it to the fish.
Olivia catching a fish
so excited to be swimming, even if it was a little chilly.

braving the water with a 68 degree air temp!
Deagan a little too excited...
Me:)
Sweet Sissy
Mr. Maverick oh so content in the sunshine

Olivia and Deagan cheesing it up with their happy grins.
Daddy teaching them how to fish
When we first got there I saw a mom and dad goose with 22 babies! Maybe 23! How is that possible? How do they keep track of them all?
Olivia in the car ready to go to the beach. (yes the baby carseat is installed and ready!
Deagan ready for the beach (with mav over his shoulder in his own seat!