Jared, Stacey, & Cohen's Visit

In the middle of January my brother Jared, his wife Stacey, and our nephew Cohen came to visit for a couple weeks. We had a blast with them!! Carter had so much fun playing with Cohen...it was so cute to see them both randomly go up to each other and give hugs! We so wish we lived closer together...I'm sure these 2 would be best friends! I was horrible about taking pictures during the trip, but Stacey was great so I stole all these from her. Thanks, Stace! Too bad you're not in ANY of them :(

The first night we went over to Stacey's dad's house and had dinner with them. It was fun to visit with them and play with Cohen!

Carter & Cohen playing

Stacey's mom Wendy with Landon

Jared feeding Landon

The next day we went to the zoo! The boys had a blast even though it was cold and snowy. Carter was in HEAVEN! He had so much space to run around.

The zoo had a great indoor play place for kids!

This was an area where they were singing songs and using noisemakers. Carter made it his job to go around and collect as many rattles as possible.

The next day Jared, Stacey, & Cohen took Carter to the Pacific Science Center and the Space Needle while I stayed home with Landon and packed for our move. I appreciated so much the time to be able to get things done! It's impossible with Carter around. Carter had so much fun with his aunt, uncle, and cousin.

Aren't they so cute together???

At the Space Needle

Another day Stacey, Cohen, & Jared came over for the morning to play. They also came over one night for dinner and on Friday watched the boys for us so Tyler and I could go on a date. It was so nice! We're rarely able to get out on our own since we don't have babysitters (I'm cheap!).

Jared went home that week but Stacey and Cohen stayed a little longer. We all went to the Children's Museum in Seattle together and the boys had a blast! Carter was really tired because he missed his nap, and threw several tantrums including BITING me (I was so mad!!!) but most of the time he had a really good time running around and playing.

The ball room...Carter was busy collecting all the balls.

This is a fire truck

Carter LOVED shopping in the little market! They had it all set up so kids could push around their own mini carts, collect food, and then check-out. It was his favorite spot and he went back several times.

Riding on the play bus.

This was a little "construction" area where you could put things together with bolts, etc.

Playing in the water. I was grateful for the bibs they provided but Carter still got soaked!

We had so much fun with our family!!! We're realized over the last couple years how much we miss living near family. It would be so nice to have cousins grow up together or be near grandparents. Unfortunately my family is spread all over the world, and Tyler's family lives in one of the most expensive areas in the country, but maybe someday we can be near SOMEONE. We love you all!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas...And a Happy New Year!

I know it's a little late but...Merry Christmas! Our Christmas was so much fun. We spent Christmas Eve having dinner with some friends and then slept in on Christmas morning. Tyler made homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast and we didn't even open presents until the afternoon after Carter's nap! I know, we're horrible parents, but our kids didn't know the difference! This year was much more fun, though, since Carter's old enough to be opening most of his own presents now and getting excited about all his new toys. In fact, he would open one then want to play with it for a while before opening more, so opening presents pretty much took all afternoon. Some of his favorite toys were a toy camera, a toy dump truck that turns into a cell phone, and his magnadoodle. Landon slept through most of the excitement, but he got an exersaucer that will be put to much use in the coming months! We then drove around that evening and looked at Christmas lights. It was a fun day!
On New Year's Eve we celebrated by...going to bed early! We made up for it the next day, though, by going over to our friends' house for dinner. It was super yummy and the kids loved playing together! Here are a few pictures from around then:

Presents from Santa

Carter loved pulling everything out from his stocking. He LOVED his first Reese's peanut butter cup.

Landon all ready to go out and see the lights! (aka sleep in the car)

Fun on the playmat

We pulled out the Bumbo and Landon loves it! He's very into sitting up like a big boy. Carter never liked it much but Landon just wants to be a part of everything!

He may not have been too into it as a baby, but Carter loves sitting in Landon's Bumbo now!