Sunday, September 9, 2012

Big Picture Post!!!

So... I never posted about Krue. Yikes. I'm not that far behind, I mean, he was only born like 8 months ago...

Krue Kyle Carter was born on December 16, 2011. 
My handsome son was 8lbs and 13oz
He was so beautiful, and chubby!
 He was such a sweet-tempered boy right from the start! He acted so big, like he was a couple months old already. When it was time to eat, he latched right on like he'd done it a thousand times. He even held his head up just a few hours after he was born! He was such a little stud. I could not believe that we had created another perfect little person. 
Skin on Skin right after he came out ♥




Khloe was a bit... weirded out by the whole thing.  Sure, she smiled for the camera, but immediately after it was taken she was like, "K, I'm done" and pushed him away.  She soon warmed up to her new brother and loved on him like crazy, she was just really funny at first.  She knew that I had a baby in my tummy and that he was going to come out soon, but I think the reality of it was a bit much. Plus, I think she was overwhelmed  a little too, because she was in the room when it all went down...  
Anyway, she is madly in love with him and she is an amazing big sister.
We were all pretty worn out!

The next morning when it was time to go, we realized that we had a bit of a lazy one on our hands...
He wouldn't nurse! It was just too much work! He would try for a minute, then he'd just go back to sleep. The nurses tried to trick him be putting a little formula on my and he'd suck for a second, then give up and go back to sleep. He was such a stinker. They wouldn't let me leave until he had eaten, so after an hour or so of trying to get him to eat we finally just supplimented an ounce or two so they'd let us leave. Once we got home, though, he ate like a champ. In fact, he would nurse ALL DAY, it seemed that way to me anyhow....















Christmas 2011



















Saturday, September 8, 2012

To do with the kiddos....




So I found this list on Pinterest, and it is now my goal to do all of the things on this list with Khloe and Krue before the baby is born. I might get it done before that, because we've already done a lot of them. I also put my input on some of them in black. Maybe I will just start now and do them all over again. :) I'm excited...

  1. Color
  2. Blow Bubbles
  3. Play Hide-and-Seek
  4. Peek-a-Boo
  5. Play Chase
  6. Do Finger-plays
  7. Sing a song
  8. Collect rocks in a basket 
  9. Make an obstacle course out of cushions and/or furniture
  10. Make a fort out of cushions and sheets
  11. Go for a Walk
  12. Make a Car out of a Box <-So fun! Doing this next...
  13. Read a book
  14. Go to the park
  15. Finger-paint
  16. Play with Play-Dough
  17. Toss Bean bags into a Bucket
  18. Play the shell and pea game  <-huh? Anyone know what this is?
  19. Dance to music
  20. Download games for toddlers from the Internet
  21. Practice putting things in and taking things out of boxes and bags
  22. Make a temporary slide out of a table leaf and your couch
  23. Roll a ball back and forth on the floor <-............
  24. Scoop dirt or sand into a child's bucket (or use a serving spoon and bowl) <-Maybe play in a sandbox...
  25. Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other (only with adult supervision) <-I don't think that would work...
  26. Put on a puppet show
  27. Go fishing with a yard stick and yarn
  28. Make a Horseshoe game
  29. Make a Shape Puzzle
  30. Play paper basketball
  31. Run through a Sprinkler
  32. Play with a bucket of water and a sponge (PLEASE WATCH CHILD AT ALL TIMES!)
  33. Make a Drum out of an oatmeal box
  34. Play with a kazoo
  35. Wash windows together
  36. Bang on Pots and Pans with a spoon
  37. Brush each other's teeth
  38. Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your child's clothes
  39. Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other
  40. Let child stack mixing bowls inside each other
  41. Make a playhouse out of a large box
  42. Let child play with a sticker sheet (make sure your child doesn't eat them!)
  43. Put stickers on fingers for finger puppets
  44. Play a musical instrument together- i.e.recorder, piano, etc.
  45. Go on a Smelling Hunt <-huh???
  46. Frost Cookies
  47. Plant a flower or vegetable plant together
  48. Roll a tennis ball into an empty trash can or bucket
  49. Draw on a mirror with dry-erase markers
  50. Play hide and seek together- trying to find a stuffed animal or other object
  51. Have a splash party together in the bathtub
  52. Put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk around the house
  53. Record each other on a tape recorder (great for scrapbooks or journals!)
  54. Make and try on paper hats
  55. Give a piggy-back ride
  56. Play "Horsey"
  57. Talk into an electric fan (it distorts your voice)
  58. Play tug-of-war with a blanket
  59. Collect flowers (felt, artificial, real...)
  60. Make a camera and go on a Safari
  61. Play games with frozen juice lids <-sounds like a party!!
  62. Disconnect your phone and pretend to make phone calls to relatives
  63. Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives- let your child talk too
  64. String large beads onto or along a shoelace
  65. Squirt each other with squirt bottles
  66. Glue shapes onto paper
  67. Make sock puppets
  68. Make paper puppets
  69. Fill an old purse with toys
  70. Use a paper towel tube as a megaphone
  71. Make binoculars and go "Bird Watching" or "Stuffed Animal Watching"
  72. Put snacks in different fun containers (paper sacks, empty canisters, etc.)
  73. Act out a story from a book
  74. Walk on a balance beam- use a 2x4 placed on the ground
  75. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk
  76. Sketch an outline of your child on the sidewalk or paper with chalk
  77. Paint child's palms with tempura paint and blot on paper. Makes a great card for loved ones!
  78. Put lipstick on child and kiss a mirror
  79. Make a puddle on cement and splash barefoot in it
  80. Let child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich
  81. Make a toilet paper barricade for child to go under, over, or through
  82. Do the Hokey Pokey
  83. Make a super-hero costume out of household items
  84. Do Knee-Bouncing Rhymes
  85. Play "Red Light, Green Light" saying "Go" and "Stop"
  86. Make a shoe-box train for stuffed animals
  87. Make a pillow pile to jump on (keep it clear from any hard surfaces, including walls!)
  88. Make an easy puzzle with felt and Velcro
  89. Make bracelets or collars for stuffed animals out of pipe cleaners and jingle bells
  90. Learn numbers from a deck of cards
  91. Play the matching game with a deck of cards
  92. Make a domino chain
  93. Have a picnic in the park, backyard, or living room!
  94. Play dress up in Mommy or Daddy's clothes
  95. Make a tin cup telephone and talk to each other in it
  96. Make a nature collage
  97. Mirror each other
  98. Make a "Mummy Mommy" with toilet paper
  99. Make a tape recording of short music selections and instructions to move in different ways
  100. Make and walk along a toilet paper trail
  101. TAKE A NAP!
        Okay... so now that I read through the whole list, there are some pretty lame ones on here... haha. There are also a few cute ones, so I'm going to erase the ones I think are stupid and perhaps add a few. Then I'm going to print the list and put it on my fridge. As I do the things on my (new and improved) list I will take pictures to document it...:) <-So, that's the plan...

        We do a lot of fun crafts and things, but I'm starting to need new ideas. I've noticed that the more prego I get, the less creative and spontaneous I get...So ,it will be nice to have some quick easy ideas/reminders on my fridge. That way I can make sure that I still do fun things with my kids every day. I do like how simple some of these are and how they don't take much prep. To Khloe, it will all seem pretty fun and spontaneous, and that's all that matters to me :) 

  If I come up with other ones, I'll be sure to post them.... 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Sob story...

        I just realized that my blog might seem kind of depressing... I honestly don't even know if anyone even reads it! I'm sure if you did at one point, you don't anymore. I hardly ever post, and lately when I do it's about being an Army wife. I hope it's not too depressing. I just feel like people don't understand, and don't quite know what to say. So, I figured I'd let you in on how I'm feeling. (Whoever you are;) 
        Crud, I haven't even posted about my son's birth! haha...that's what Facebook is for, right? No, I need to post about it, because it was amazing.
 It was amazing that that giant, chubby-faced baby came out of me!
Oh wait....that's Kyle. 
But that is exactly what my son looked like on day one! haha

Okay, that's freaking hilarious. I know. But I wasn't too hot to trot either in my early years...
bahahahaha
Go ahead....laugh your head off. You know you want to. Funny thing is, that's wasn't even at the worst part of my awkward phase...SERIOUSLY, there's worse.  I'll post the worst one, but it won't come free. $3 a pop, and worth every penny! Let me know if you are interested in purchasing a ticket to the side show that is 4th grade Taunie...haha, but for real.

       I think we make a pretty cute couple:) , but let's just say I pray for our children....  
Anyway, I will post about Krue's birth soon... Hopefully before this next baby is born :)

                          I don't know if anyone reads this, but if you do...thank you for being interested enough in my life to follow it :)  Goodnight!

Ranger Wife



       In the last year and a half I have been introduced to a new way of life, even a new world. The military world. It is a crazy world where you live in denial most of the time. You pretend that your husband is on a boring business trip, instead of in the heat of a war zone. You carry on with your many responsibilities as if nothings missing, etc... So, to the outsider it may seem like this lifestyle comes natural to me, that it's not that hard for me. They think that I must be a different kind of person than they are, to be able to live this way. Now, I can't speak for all military wives, but that is just not the case. I have become a person I never thought I was capable of being. I have become a bit...numb to my actual situation. I carry on as if I've lived this way my whole life.
 I love the quote, "You never Know how strong you are until you have to be..." ....It's so true! 

            Women say to me daily "Oh, I could never do that! I would die!" or "I get sad when my husband is gone for a day! There's no way I could do it!" ....yes you could. You just wouldn't want to, and neither do I. That last one can be kind of offensive. Do you honestly think that I'm okay, because I don't miss my husband as much as you would? Or that I must not love my husband as much as you love yours, or I wouldn't be able to let him go for so long? I don't get it. My husband and I are best friends. He is my EVERYTHING. I would never spend ONE DAY without him if that was possible.I'm not one of those wives that enjoys her private time, or that NEEDS those girls nights. I really, truly enjoy my husband's company more than ANYONE else. When something happy or sad happens, he is the first person I want to call. (this may be cheesy, but it's true) He is the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing in my mind  as I drift to sleep. I get made fun of because I talk about him ALL the time. When I go out to eat, I have to tell everyone what his favorite dish is. When I am shopping with my mom, I'm sure to tell her what Kyle would think of every outfit. It's probably really annoying.  (sorry to anyone that has had to witness this!)


     Bottom line is- I love and miss my husband more than you can imagine. Or maybe you can. Just imagine how much you would miss yours if he was gone for ten months and you could only communicate through letters for half that time, or four months and you could talk on the phone. I'm sure it's very comparable. I'm just like you, I've just been put in different situations that cause me to call on different strengths. We all have our different trials, and deal with them differently. I'm sure you've been through things that would make me think "I could never do that! I would die!" We aren't such different people. You could do this too, if you had to.

       I don't recommend it, it's not very fun at all. Heaven knows I hate mowing the lawn pregnant on a hot day, or taking out the stinky trash when I should be able to make the Mr. do it...haha In reality, it isn't those things that bother me. I have had to do a lot of things I didn't think I could in the last year and a half. (most of them with an enormous belly:) So, I have come to believe I can do anything. With the help of my Heavenly Father, I can do anything.
           It's my kids that make it hard. When Khloe says "Mom, I wish Daddy was here." or when she packs a bag and says she is going to the Army to get her daddy. The other day she told me that when she got big and strong she was going to go in the Army and fight the bad guys for daddy. She said she was going to protect him and that he would cheer for her and yell "KHLOE! KHLOE! KHLOE! GO KHLOE!". She is such a doll.  She adores her daddy and seems to understand that he does dangerous work, but work that is necessary. She is wise beyond her years. She never asks why someone else can't fight the bad guys instead of HER dad. She is just proud of him for what he does. Krue needs his daddy around to show him what a man should be. Kyle is such an amazing dad, and Krue hasn't even gotten to experience that yet. Kyle always talks about how he can't wait to play on the floor with him for hours! He feels like he has missed so many milestones of Krue's already, and it breaks his heart. That's the stuff that is the hardest for me.
            I have been blessed so much throughout this process, and throughout my life. I can't pretend that I'm so strong that I do it by myself, because that simply isn't true. I am never alone in this. My Heavenly Father has been there with my every step of the way, and I am eternally grateful for his hand in my life. Thanks to all of the wonderful, supportive people in my life. You have all helped my immensely in this, and I'm so grateful to you!  I am also so proud of the man Kyle has become, and for the work that he is doing. He is fighting to keep us safe, and to keep us free. What an amazing calling. I love my sweet little family, and I will continue to do everything I can to support and take care of them. I may get lonely sometimes, I may get overwhelmed, but I am a Ranger Wife. A proud one. 


Ranger Wife Creed:

Recognizing that I accept the life of a Ranger's Wife, fully knowing the hardships ahead of me, I will always strive to uphold the honor, the loyalty, and the trust of my husband, the Ranger!

Acknowledging that a Ranger Wife is a more elite wife who stands behind her Ranger, wherever he may be, I accept the fact that as a Ranger Wife, my husband expects me to encourage and stand behind him always!

Never shall I fail my Ranger. I will always keep myself strong, brave, and faithful. I will shoulder more than my share of the responsibility, whatever it may be, one hundred percent and then some!

Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected woman. My courtesy to my husband, neatness of appearance, and care of our family shall set the example for future wives to follow!

Energetically will I meet the demands of my Ranger. I shall stand by my man in peacetime and in war, knowing HE IS THE SUPERIOR SOLDIER. Never will I leave my Ranger for another, and under NO circumstances will I embarrass him!

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to let my Ranger go, knowing he may never return to me– his Ranger Wife!!

Willingly will I let him go, not knowing where or for how long he will be gone, always hoping, praying and believing for his safe return and the safe return of his comrades!

Intensely will I wait for his return, anticipating the gallantry and honor– my Ranger, a hero, standing beside with pride and passion!

Forgoing all others needs except for those of my Ranger, knowing one day he will forgo all others for me– his Wife!

Enthusiastically will I carry on my daily routine, even when he's away, never forgetting he left behind his strength, his honor, his heart, his Ranger Wife!


Signed:
Taunie Carter , Ranger Wife
PS.  Trying my best to live by the creed.  Not easy, but possible.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Army Wife....in Training?


Okay, so it's been 8 or 9 months since I last updated. This is crazy, because I've never had so much going on in my life! If someone would have told me even a year and a half ago that I'd be a pregnant Army wife today, I'd have laughed in their face. This was just never something I pictured for myself, or my family. This post may be a bit of venting, ranting, or whatever. I'm not sure yet, I'm just going to write and see what comes out...
Just to get everyone on the same page..... In May Kyle left to Fort Benning, GA for Basic Training. His MOS was to be an Infantryman. He tried to get Ranger (Special Ops) training in his contract, but they wouldn't give it to him. They told him "maybe... if you're good enough, they'll let you in." So, Kyle's goal was to be exceptional, so that he could get into RASP (Ranger Assessment and Selection Process). Kyle is the sort of man that always strives to be the best at anything he does. As far as the Army goes, being a Ranger is the best you can be without going on to Special Forces, wich we decided would NOT be good for our family. This goal was not going to be easy, given the fact that Kyle didn't get it in his contract. He was going to have to work extra hard to stand out and hope that he'd get the oppertunity to go to RASP.
Befor Kyle left, he was working early in the morning and going to school during the day. He only had school every other day though, and he got off work before Khloe and I woke up. He was home A LOT. We had him all day for half the week, and every night. Khloe was very used to having her daddy around, and I was used to having my husband at my beck and call :) Wow, how I took that for granted. We did everything together, and we loved it. I guess when we signed up for this (I have to constantly remind myself that we did, in fact, sign up for this....), we didn't take into account the extremely different lifestyle we were taking on. We told ourselves that five months wasn't very long, and we could do anything with the help of Heavanly Father. Which is true, we can do anything with HF on our side. And five months isn't very long, until you are pregnant, and you have no contact except through letters, and five months becomes nine months without your husband.
Without my husband.
Without my best friend.
Without my other half.
Without my baby's father.
Without my... everything.
Maybe it sounds cliche, but I seriously had no idea how much I needed him until he was gone.  He seriously takes care of me more than I ever realized.  Especially when I was pregnant! I was so lucky to have a man that did the dishes, the laundry, AND loved to massage!! Does it get any better than that? Not only those things, but I took for granted having someone to tell me I look pretty on days that I don't feel it, or someone to vent to after a long day. Someone to laugh with about things I can't share with anyone else. Or someone to make me laugh when it's just one of those days. No one knows me like he does, and nobody can make me feel the way he can.
Being pregnant brought on a whole mess of other needs as well....

 First off, I hope you understand that this is by no means meant to be a "pitty-party" of any kind. I don't feel bad for myself, nor am I trying to make anyone else feel bad for me. That is not why I am writing all of this... I am fully aware that I CHOSE THIS. I knew what I was signing up for, and I wouldn't change my decision given the chance. I just need to get my feelings out while I still remember how I felt. There's not really a way to sugar coat it...y'know?

Anyways.... Being pregnant was not so fun.... I was so sick ALL THE TIME. The first trimester was hell, because I was too sick to function and I felt like the worst mother ever. Thank heaven for my sweet little angel. She was so understanding and self-sufficiant. She tried to take care of me.... I know it sounds terrible, but it was. I tried so hard to play with her as much as possible, and give her as much attention as I could, but I never felt like I was doing enough. Especially because she was feeling the loss of her daddy just like I was, only she was far more confused. She wouldn't talk about Kyle. She would change the subject if I tried. She'd just say "Daddy's at school." And that was all she'd say, unless I was crying (emotions.... just one more perk to being pregnant) then she'd say "You miss you husband? He will come home tomorrow!" Trying to cheer me up. That was her answer no matter what I was crying about. She is such a sweetie.
 I wrote him everyday, sometimes twice a day. It was like a journal to me, because it's not like you can carry on a conversation through letters that take about three days to get where they're going... In the begginning he wasn't getting my letters. They were holding them, because he was doing well. They were trying to mess with him I guess. I was ticked. I was writing like crazy, and every letter I got from him was begging me to write him. It was seriously heartbreaking! He would say things like "I know you are probably busy with ______, but if you could just write me a small letter just to let me know how you guys are it'd mean the world to me...." or "My bunk-mate just got 5 letters! I thought one might have been for me, but it wasn't, so I was bummed"- He was just so sad about it, and it made me feel terrible! Finsally he snuck a call to me on someones phone and asked me if I even thought about him! He was close to tears, because he had only just received my very first letter! (It was about 3 weeks in) I promised him that I had written him everyday+ and he was happy after that. It was so hard to communicate! If he got to call (like never) it was only for three minutes tops. I'd try to ask him anything I needed to know, but it was hard to remember and have enough time. If I wrote him questions in a letter, it was a long shot that I get an answer, because he wrote his letters to me after lights out so he couldn't remember what I had asked. It helped if I highlighted the questions,but that was still a joke. I got so lucky with Kyle though, because he wrote me pretty much everyday! He was so good about it. Not very many guys wrote as much as he did. He wanted to feel like he was a part of our everyday lives, so I took pictures of EVERYTHING! Even things like a bad hair day, or my new toe-nail polish... I sent him pictures with most letters, and I guess he was pretty popular for it. He said that the other guys would croud around whenever he got new pics, so they could see. He said that they would randomly ask if they could look through his pics too and just sit by his locker and look through pics. There was very little entertainment in Basic Training... haha When I met some of his friends, they would all say how much they loved the pictures, and tell me their favorites. "Khloe's first bloody nose" seemed to be a fan favorite for sure, but there were a lot:)
The second trimester was a bit better, because I wasn't sick. However, This pregnancy HURT pretty much the whole time! There were no complications, so I'm definately not complaining, but everything just hurt. Krue would snuggle down in my pelvis and hit all sorts of nerves until he grew too big to fit in there. It was aweful! During this time, Kyle and I could still only write letters. It was hard when it came time to make travel plans to go out there for his Boot Camp graduation, and his Basic Training graduation. We did finally get to see him at the end of July for a couple days!
Khloe got emotional when she saw him! It was amazing! It was like she thought he'd just dissapeared, and was never coming back. She was so happy that she wouldn't leave his side! He even had to sit in the back seat with her the whole time.
She loves her daddy so much!
We went to lunch with a few of his buddies, and it was a blast hearing all the crazy stories about my husband! Kyle actually baptized the guy on the right! Kyle was totally a missionary out there. He was the only LDS guy out of 200 men! He had about 10-15 guys going to church with him every Sunday. They would all ask him questions and he'd tell stories about the 10,000 strippling warriors, Ammon, the Armies of Heleman, (catching a theme?) etc..... at night. I could not have been more proud of my husband. He had such a strong spirit about him, and he was just... a good man. I can't explain it, but I gained a new respect for him. The way the other guys talked about him with such a... reverence was amazing. They all had so much respect for Kyle and they all considered him to be their personal best friend. It was awesome to see him like that. Kyle said often that Basic Training was like an extension of his mission. This was just one of the many things that reassured us that we had made the right decision to join the Army.

We spent the majority of the trip just hanging out in the hotel. Kyle just wanted to chill with us. My mom was nice enough to come with us so that I didn't have to travel pregnant with Khloe alone!




We did go to the mall...



When it was almost time to go, Kyle made a few videos for Khloe so that she could see her daddy. He sang songs with her, and told her goodnight, etc...
These videos made me cry everytime we watched them.... again with those pregnant horomones...:)

.Saying goodbye was so hard. I couldn't handle it! I felt so bad leaving Kyle there all by himself. At least I had Khloe, and our families. He had nobody, and I just felt for him. That was a wonderful trip and It couldn't have come at a better time. I don't think I could have made it much longer. I wouldn't see him again until September... Let the counntdown til September begin!


Here are some pics from the airport...