Today was the last day for swimming lessons for Carter (for now anyways). I think Carter made some progress but it would have been nice if they had lasted a little longer. It seemed that he was just getting the hang of things. Oh well. I took some video on the camera as well but I can't figure out how to get it on here (or if I can). Here are some pictures from his lesson.

I had to take these the other day of Gail. She was being a silly girl!

(You can view these pictures and others in the Family Photos/August 2008 album)

Carter is taking swim lessons this week and next week. Here are a few pictures of him doing his lesson today.

(There are a few others in the Family Photos/August 2008 album)

Yep, it was time to convert Gail's crib into a bed. She climbed out of the crib 2 or 3 times, so we just went ahead and decided it was time to do it. I don't think I am ready to go through this again, but it is here, and I don't have a choice. She has done pretty good so far. I have seen her get out of it a couple of times looking at the monitor but she is good about laying in it. Here are a couple of pictures of her (& Carter) in her newly converted bed.

We (the 4 of us) went swimming today up at our community pool. Each time we have gone swimming, we tried to get Carter to go down the slide (they just installed it this summer). Today, he went down it for the first time. We were so happy as it is hard for us to get him to do anything like that. He said it was fun going on the slide but we couldn't get him to go on it a second time. Maybe he will next time. He has swimming lessons this week and next week. We hope that he will get more used to being in the water and feel comfortable about going under the water.

I have finished painting Gail's room. I have started drawing the princess but need to paint her. If I took a picture of it right now, the pencil would be too light to see. I am hoping to get her painted soon. For now, here are pictures of her freshly painted walls. It is hard to get the true color from the pictures though.

I have all the information on my newest great niece.

Her name: Tori Peyton Vosburgh

Born: August 1

Weight: 9 lbs 10 oz 

Length: 23 in long 

Here are a couple of pictures my sister, Vicki (Tori's grandmother), sent me.

Gail climbed out of the crib last night for the first time. We put her to bed and she cried for a little while. She kept on and on for a bit, so I looked at the monitor in our room to make sure she was okay. Lo and behold, she was standing outside of the crib looking into it. Frank and I couldn't believe it. We knew that the day was coming but we didn't expect it to be so soon. We are certainly going to have to keep an eye on her now.

Frank was off today, so we packed a lunch and all headed over to the Arboretum to walk some trails, or should I say "walk ONE trail". We started off doing pretty good and the kids were excited to be out where they can run a little. Half way down the trail, Carter seemed to get a bit uninterested and Gail started screaming for juice (which we had none on us...it was in the car). We tried to continue our walk but ended up just heading back toward the car. What can you do when you have a child that is bored and one that only wants juice and nothing else? We were near a big park so we figured we would find a playground for the kids and have our lunch there. We found a nice playground and had our lunch and then we let the kids play some. It was so hot. It wasn't long before Carter decided he was ready to go. It was a little harder to get Gail to go but it wasn't too bad. We headed home so the kids could rest. Here are some pictures from the arboretum:

(More pictures can be found in the Family Photos/August 2008 album)

Baby News!

We (Frank and I) are a great aunt and uncle for the 4th time as of today. My (Deborah's) nephew and his fiance had their little girl, Tory Peyton (have to get back to you on the spelling), this evening. The baby was 9 lbs 10 oz. Mom, Dad, and the baby are all doing well. Congratulations to them! When I get some pictures, I will post them.

The Peanuts have left the building! I have been working on Gail's room (formerly the Peanuts room), trying to get it painted for her. This will be mural #5 for me (one of them I did for a friend-no pictures posted for it). I am going for a princess/frog theme for her. I wanted to do frogs in her room, but since she is a girl, I thought I would somehow incorporate girly stuff in it, like including a princess or something. I just realized that I never posted pictures of the first Peanuts room I painted (in Houston) on here. Okay, they are on here now. They are in the Misc Photos/Peanuts Room in Houston 2004 album.

Now you see them..... 

Now you don't....

These are actually some older pictures (after I painted with primer). I have started painting the walls yellow. I am almost done, I just need to apply another coat, then I will get started with the mural. Hopefully, I can get it done soon. The organization of the house is pending on the completion of Gail's room.

We all went to a park today where you can ride on a train. The train operates one weekend a month and it is free. It is small but big enough that grownups can ride on it too. Here are some pictures.

My oldest sister, Vicki and her fiance, Joji, were married this past Saturday in Florida. I was a bridesmaid in their wedding. The ceremony was really nice and the reception was a lot of fun. I got to Florida a week early so that I could help with the wedding preparations. Whew...that was a lot of work. I just got back home today. It is hard traveling alone with a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old. I don't think I am going to do that again at least for a good while! It was worth it though. I am happy for my sister and her new hubby and would do it all over again. I don't have many pictures, sorry. I will post more when I get them from Vicki and Joji. I have a few others in the Misc/Vicki & Joji's Wedding album.

Here are some other pictures I took while I was with my parents:

We didn't do a whole lot today. We went to church as we usually do on Sunday mornings. At church, they wanted the dads to participate in their children's worship hour so Frank did that. Carter enjoyed having him there with him. We went out to lunch after we got out of church. We all gave Frank a picture frame with a picture of him and the kids and the mat around it had (preprinted) kid drawings and it also said "I (heart) you Daddy" on it. We wanted to give it to him to put on his desk at work. Here is that picture and one of just the kids.

Today is Gail's 2nd birthday. We started out the day attending the Annual AIM BBQ. The adoption agency we used were having their annual BBQ and we got to see some faces that we haven't seen in a while. It is always so exciting to see all the families that have been touched through adoption. You can just feel love all over the room. The people that work at the agency are so sweet and love on everyone that walks in the door. We saw our friends, Darin and Cherie, there with their adopted son, Max. We sat with them while having lunch. After we got through eating, we went out to the petting zoo to look at the animals. Gail was in and out of the gate, and Carter didn't want anything to do with them. We couldn't get him to pet one for anything. Carter saw some other kids with balloons and didn't stop talking about them until we got one for him. We went back inside and got him and Gail a balloon, then went over and talked to Jan (the director of the agency) for a minute. The kids seemed bored and looked like they wanted to go home, so we did. We got home and got the kids settled. Carter stayed in his room and played. We put Gail down for her nap but she never went to sleep. She nodded off for a brief moment in the car, and apparently, that was all she needed. We let them rest a while. I went out after we got them settled and took care of Gail's birthday cake, etc. Frank went out after I got back to deal with his truck. He got back home pretty late, and we just had a quick dinner. After dinner, we got the table set up for Gail's birthday cake. We sung "happy birthday" to her and gave her some cake and ice cream. We didn't have anything big for her because we just didn't feel she was ready for it. We put off her opening her present because she would have wanted to play with it and it was late. We got the kids ready for bed. Here are some pictures.

(You can view more pictures in the Family Photos/June 2008 album)

Carter had his "party" on Saturday but we still acknowledged his birthday today. After we ate dinner, I cut Carter a piece of cake and put his birthday candle on it and we sung Happy Birthday to him again. We also saved our presents for him so that he would have something to open on his birthday. We got him was a water "slip n slide" and a bubble mower. We knew he would have fun with the slide and he always pretends he is mowing the grass, like daddy. Here are a few pictures from "our birthday party".

Carter had a nice party today. He had it at one of those places that have the big moonwalks and it had a large 2 story victorian playhouse inside. The theme of his party was Spiderman. He had several friends come to the party and they all had a good time. His birthparents, his sister and two little brothers were there also. We were happy that they were able to come. I'm sure it will mean alot to Carter when he gets older and understands who they are. Here are some pictures from the party. You can view more pictures in the Family Photos/May 2008 album.

Tonight was the end of year program at the kids' preschool. Both Carter and Gail got to participate in it. Carter did alot better this time as far as singing and moving with the songs. Gail, on the other hand. just sat there and didn't do anything. She sat for most of the songs but the teacher had to keep her still and had to keep passing her snacks from her little ziploc bag to keep her happy. Oh well. What can you really expect from a child that young? Here are some pictures from the program. Sorry, they didn't turn out that great. You can view them larger in the Family Photos/May 2008 album.

                          Carter                                           Gail

Carter participated in the end of the year program at CBS this morning. He did really good in the beginning. He was singing and doing hand motions and all during the first couple of songs. He soon got tired of standing there and sat down and eventually made it over to the teacher's lap. He still participated in the songs but he was sitting down. He did do better today than in his previous ones so I'm not going to complain much. I got some pictures of him during that (although, they didn't come out very good) and I took a few at home of the kids. I am including some here but there are more in the Family Photos/April 2008 album.

I am involved with MOPS this year and Frank and I went to the MOPS and POPS dinner last Friday. We had a good time. We were among 9 couples who participated in the "Newlywed Game". Well, we should be in the "Oldlywed Game" now. 9 couples were chosen to play and there were 3 couples in each round and at the end they had a championship round for the 3 best couples. Frank and I won our round but didn't win the championship round. Overall, we probably got the most answers right. Everyone was amazed and I just told them that after 15 years of marriage, you know each other pretty well. But amazingly enough, we had our picture taken. It is very rare that we get one of the two of us, so here you go! You can view it larger in the Family Photos/April 2008 album.

We all went to the zoo today. The kids had fun and did pretty well until about 30 minutes before we left. They were both really tired by the time we left. I think Gail passed out as soon as she got in her car seat. Carter fell asleep on the way home too, though, it took him a little longer. Here are a few pictures from the zoo. More pictures can be found in the Family Photos/April 2008 album.

We went and had Gail's haircut today for the first time. She did really good. She sat on the booster seat in the chair and didn't cry one time. Carter had his cut at the same time right next to her so I think it helped. Here is a picture of Gail getting her hair cut and a picture of Carter with his new do.

(See Album Pictures to Enlarge. You can view them in the Family Photos/April 2008 album)

We had a pretty good Easter weekend. Our church service was on Saturday evening instead of Sunday morning. Our church leases a facility that is owned by someone else and another church had a contract to have Easter services on Sunday for several years.

All of Saturday afternoon, I ran around trying to find a pair of socks to go with Carter's outfit. I finally got home and rested for a little bit before it was time to get ready for church. We all got ready to go. Frank had to leave before I did because the deacons were getting together before the service.

Before the service, our church had an Easter Egg Hunt for the little ones. We arrived right about the time they called for the 1 & 2 year olds. I had to help Gail pick up the eggs because she didn't understand what was going on at first. After picking up a couple, she started picking them up herself. She ended up with 6 eggs. When it got to be Carter's turn, he dashed after the eggs ending up with a basket full. After we got through hunting eggs, I looked over at Gail and she had mud all over her feet. I had to dash inside the building to the bathroom to rinse them off. If you had ever seen the restroom scene in "Mr. Mom", that is what it felt like. Of course, this all had to happen when Frank wasn't with me. Anyways, I got her squared away and went back into the main hall and talked to a couple of friends. I took the kids to their classes and headed for the service. It felt so good to sit down. I was hot and worn out from dealing with the kids.

Pictures from Our Church Service (Saturday):

We didn't do much on Sunday. We got up and the kids opened their baskets. Gail was a bit cranky. We ate breakfast and ended up having to put Gail back to bed. She slept for a good part of the day. After the kids got up from their naps, we put their Easter clothes back on and took them out to take some more pictures. After that, we changed their clothes and walked around the lake. That was about it.

Pictures from Easter (Sunday):

(I have added more pictures to the Family Photos/February 2008. There are also more pictures in the Family Photos/March 2008 album.)

We have had a couple of new things happen in the Prevatt household lately. Carter is saying the blessing at the table now. He and his classmates at preschool and CBS say a prayer before eating lunch or a snack. He wanted to say it one night when we sat down at the table and we have been letting him do it ever since. 

He sings (think about the nursery rhyme "Are You Sleeping..."):

God Our Father, God Our Father,

Once again, Once again,

Thank you for our blessings, Thank you for our blessings,

A--men, A--men. 

Gail has finally started kissing us on the cheek. She was blowing kisses for a while but the other day she saw Carter kiss me on the cheek a couple of times and she picked up on it. She is so proud of herself after she does it. I am trying to get her to say things here and there but she has to be in the right mood and in a place where she can't go any where (changing table, bath tub). She can say "ga-ga" and wave her hands for "gone gone", and I am trying to get her to say her name. She is able to say "hey" pretty well and "da-da". When I try to get her to say "ma-ma", she says "da-da" (I think it is her trying to be funny sometimes). She makes a lot of sounds that could be words, like syllables, but they aren't clear. It's taking her a bit, but hopefully she will get to doing more soon. 

We went to our "Round-Up" church social yesterday after church. The day was beautiful and the kids had a great time. We had a nice BBQ lunch, and then, the kids got to go in the petting zoo, and Carter got to ride a pony. We were all exhausted by the time we left there. I think Frank and I were more tired than the kids. (smile) We got home and put the kids down. Gail was so tired, she almost fell asleep while I was changing her. Anyways, here are some pictures from the social:

(More Pictures in Family Photos/February 2008 album. You can also view the pictures larger than shown here.)

Valentine's was pretty much just another day for us except for the parties the kids had at preschool. The time that they spent in school, I spent getting stuff together for their parties like their Valentine's cards and the little treats we wanted to hand out to all their classmates. So, I didn't get much of a break at all. Frank brought me home some flowers and we decided to wait until tomorrow night to go out and celebrate Valentine's Day. The church where the kids go to preschool has a "Parent's Night Out" once a month, and we decided to wait and have a peaceful night out without the kids. Here are some pictures from the parties:

And here is a picture of the flowers Frank got me for Valentine's Day:

 Aren't they pretty?

(More Pictures in Family Photos/February 2008 album. You can also view the pictures larger than shown here.)

So sorry that our blog hasn't been updated in a while. Life has been so busy since school, bible study, and MOPS started up again after the Christmas break. I haven't been able to take pictures and stuff like I used to. We are all doing well and staying busy. I have actually started getting into scrapbooking again. I have a scrapbook that I haven't touched in 4 years. Sad I know, but my goal this year is to get it finished. I also want to start on the kids' scrapbooks. Like I don't have enough to do already! Frank is staying busy at work. They are trying to get their product ready for launch next month. It's hard to believe that Christmas was almost a month ago. Where has the time gone?

                                                                        Gail & Carter

A bit of good news, my sister, Vicki, is getting married around the month of June (date not definite yet). We are so excited and happy for her and wish her so much joy and happiness in her new marriage. Joji, her fiance is a really sweet guy and we welcome him to the family. My nephew, T.J. and his girlfriend, are expecting a baby in July. We hope that things go well for them and we are praying for a happy and healthy baby.

One more piece of news, my nephew, Brad, is doing exceptionally well in NJROTC. My sister, Cathy, told me that he is doing well and that he is #20 out of all the ROTC students in the country. He has earned metal after metal and will be able to sign up for service when he is 17 because he is doing so well. We are so proud of him!

2007 has come and gone. We didn't do much on New Year's. Frank and I stayed up until midnight eating chocolate fondue (made with Dark Hershey's Kisses) with strawberries. It was really yummy! Midnight rolled around and we soon went to bed afterwards even after hearing all the firecrackers go off. Frank's mom made the traditional black-eyed peas for lunch.

The Florida vs Michigan game (Capital One Bowl) came on about lunch time and Frank and his dad watched it. They didn't expect it to end the way it did. The Gators lost 41-35. --- The Georgia vs Hawaii game (Sugar Bowl) came on in the evening and Georgia about whiped them out. Georgia won 41-10. It was nice (for me) to see them win their game.