mother's day 2012.

What a week it has been!  Matt went on his first business trip since Lucy was born.  It was four short days to Colorado and he had a great time. Lucky for me, both sets of grandparents came up to help out a little.  The kids loved seeing them and at the end of the day I'm still not sure who was more tired, Carter or Grandma and Grandpa.  

Carter is starting to understand when Matt leaves.  He kept saying, Mama, Daddy go bye bye in airplane?"  To make sure Matt didn't miss out on too much, we used FaceTime every day (which by the way is the coolest thing ever) and sent pictures as much as we could.  Here we are, day four, at 5am.  Can you tell I'm just a little tired?

Lucy was all smiles, as usual.  She is really starting to sit up pretty well on her own!

Grandma Longhurst couldn't get enough of the cuddle time.  Every single time Lucy napped, she would just hold and rock her.  

It was such a beautiful weekend we spent every single moment outside.  I actually had to bribe Carter with a cartoon because he wanted to start playing outside at 7am and I didn't want him to wake the neighbors.  We lasted until 8:15am and then I let him loose.  Other than a short nap and a few snacks, he played outside until bedtime!

Lucy's first time in the swing.  She was terrified.  No tears but just a lot of curiosity and holding on for dear life.  I think we'll wait awhile before we try again.

Carter and Grandpa spent a long time playing in the backyard.  So many giggles!

The warmest day of the year meant we could pull out the sprinkler!  It was a little cold but he didn't mind.

Yoshi and Carter both taking a drink.

Saturday night my parents drove home and late that night Matt returned from his trip.  We woke up bright and early (5am again.  Carter - I'd really appreciate sleeping in just a little bit later, especially on Mother's Day).  I got to open my cards and present and had delicious blueberry pancakes.  After a walk to the park and nap time for everyone (yay!) we packed up the car to drive out to Hovander Park (a super fun, huge park with old farm equipment, farm animals, playground and tons of grass and dirt to explore).
Before the park, Matt promised me we could go to Menchie's for some frozen yogurt.  It opened a few weeks ago and I've been dying to go but with 2 small children and crazy long lines it just hasn't happened.  Of course, there was another long line so we ended up at McDonalds eating soft serve ice cream cones.  Not exactly what I had in mind, but oh well.  Carter loved it!

Lucy was pretty content too.

Sadly, no ice cream for her so she chose to snack on her thumb.

Carter loved the ducks at the park!

And, the biggest turkeys ever.  Seriously, they were huge.

Checking out the old tractors.

Back to feed more ducks.

And dig in the dirt.  I finally convinced Matt to build a sandbox in the backyard because all Carter wants to do lately is dig.  There was a huge park to play in but he just stopped in this small dirt pile and played for 15 minutes.

We came home and Matt started feeling pretty sick.  Achy, chills, fever and cough so he rested and instead of a BBQ Mother's Day dinner, Carter had scrambled eggs and I had a bowl of cereal.  Not the most glamorous Mother's Day I've ever had but definitely a memorable one.

My sweet girl.

Before Matt started feeling like crap.

My silly boy!

And finally, the reason to celebrate today.  The 2 greatest things to ever happen to me.  I never knew I could love them as much as I do.  Days can be long and tiring (like the last 4 days, in particular) but there is nothing more rewarding than waking up to these 2 smiling faces.  The kisses, hugs and smiles are so amazing.  I love you Carter Thomas and Lucy Elizabeth....more than you will ever know.

ps. this was the only place we could convince Carter to take a picture.  On his bed!