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

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.... 

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.