Captured moment of a happy boy

I was busy going through stuff, doing laundry, and cleaning the house when I walked into the living room to this darling scene:He was so focused on his remote-controlled car, he didn't notice me come in, then slink back into the hallway to retrieve the camera, hoping he wouldn't remove the box on his head before I returned.

After I was scolded for taking his picture unannounced, he let me take just a few more. I feel lucky to have captured this one. It's one of those photos that, for me, takes that moment and traps it in an image. When I look at it, I feel and see and hear that exact moment in time. He is so happy that his RCC skills are improving and he can actually make the car do what he wants really well now!

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Sting, sting!

For a while now, CJ has been rewarded for using the toilet before bath time each night. It started with old fashioned bubbles, then a fancy bubble gun (he would get to squirt it a few times in the tub if he went potty that night), then we went through a "Tigger candy" phase (a single candy from the Tigger PEZ dispenser if he went), and now we've arrived at the "capsule" stage. At the Target Dollar Spot, I found a bunch of different packs of those sponges inside capsules that open when you put them into water. Carter has been super consistent about going every night now because he wants a capsule so badly. He got extra excited about the scorpion he "hatched" tonight and we had a nice little discussion about how it's okay to hold that one because it's pretend, but that if he ever sees a real one, he should not touch it. Wish we didn't have to have that talk, but we do since we live in AZ! Not sure if he got it though, because he kept trying to sting me after his bath. "Sting, sting! Sting, sting! It stinged you, Momma!"

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Splash Pad at the Zoo

I had a hair appointment with Brittney, so Shane took Carter to the zoo. Carter was happy to spend all their time there playing at the splash pad! I love these pictures and am so glad Shane took them so I could see Carter in full glee mode even though I wasn't there (except I maybe could have gone without knowing about this first one...did you really have to let him put his mouth on it Shane??? Ew.)!

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The Wedding

A family in our ward had me take pictures at their son's luau-themed reception. Megan served the pulled pork and helped make the widely-coveted coconut cupcakes they served. Here are my favorites from that night.

The Happy Couple

Mmmmm...

It was a lakeside reception - hard to come by in Phoenix.

Megan thinks the speaker shot is weird. I'm still deciding.

We do both like the one of the tiki torches.

And the fire dancer was the highlight of the show.

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My New Bed!

Carter loves his new bed. We had been looking around a bit for a toddler bed, but weren't in any rush to move him out of his crib. We just weren't sure how he'd do with sleeping if he had the freedom to get out of bed willy-nilly. Things changed when a family in our ward bought bunk beds to make room for their new baby and Carter inherited a bed. The first night he was so excited, it was like Christmas eve. Needless to say, he was in and out of bed a few times. He ended up in his crib for the first half of that night, but he's been crib-free ever since!

He loved helping to put it together

It has a little door in the footboard for access to storage or a secret hideout, depending on who you ask.

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Birth Mother's Day

We all know when Mother's Day is, but did you know that Birth Mother's Day is officially the day before Mother's Day each year? Don't forget those who, with unselfish, loving hearts, make it possible for some of us to celebrate Mother's Day each year!

This is the card we made for Carter's birth momma this year.

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Paper Shreddin'

I was shredding a big batch of paper today. Carter helped with the compacting.

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CJ's first Scrap

Momma's been working on all kinds of papercrafting projects lately - cards, scrapbook pages, and mini paper bag albums for the Young Women she teaches. Carter thought there must be something to it if mommy liked it so much, and tape and scissors sounded exciting!
We gave him some pictures we had left over from Christmas cards and gave him some office paper, scotch tape, and the plastic safety scissors mom picked up from one of her favorite stores. Then he went to town.

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