We gunna do da wave!

Ahh takes me back to football season in the stands. Anyway the whole pt of the post...

After much anticipation, we have finally gotten Carter to actually wave whether it's bye-bye or just in general...we'll take it either way. Oh how I love this little man!

p.s. Sorry the camera is a bit jumpy, I was actually waving myself half the time trying to get him to do it.

This little lady...

doesn't grace us with her presence near as often anymore. She's either outside all the time or upstairs where the dogs Coco can't get her. She came in early yesterday (to eat probably b/c that is about all were good for right now) & I didn't see her in her usual spots last night so I assumed she was back outside. That meant we had to keep the dog door open for her so she could come in when she pleases. Well I guess someone else decided to come in too b/c at some point last night Bailey was tearing through the house barking like crazy & when I went to check out what was going on, I could smell a horrible smell...cat pee. I couldn't find where it was coming from but I'm guessing whatever wild nuisance that tried to come in sprayed that lovely stench all around the dog door area. AND not a few hours later I heard a cat meowing & it sounded like right outside our bedroom door so I thought it was Lucky trying to get in our room & when I went out to see, Bailey chased whatever it was outside. Now if it was Lucky she would've jumped up on the railing on the deck & hung around but it obviously wasn't her b/c there were no animals to be seen. The silliest part about this is when I went to get Carter out of bed this morning Lucky appeared out of nowhere in his room which means she was probably under his bed the whole time. So we will be making sure she is in at night from now on so we don't have any unwanted critters sneaking in our house!

Perfect example of how she loves to lounge on the railing...

This was from back around Valentine's Day when Justin sent me flowers & she was OBSESSED with the box they came in...she was in it all the time!

A decade ago...

today I met the man of my dreams who I gladly call my husband & have the pleasure of spending everyday  most days with. :) I'm totally kidding & count my many blessings every day I get to spend with him & our little miracle Carter. Justin is my very best friend & life without him is completely unthinkable. Wow 10 years seems so long but I can vividly remember the first time we met, what I was wearing, Justin had a cast on his left arm...hehe, & it was completely love at first sight. I remember telling my roommate Kim, who introduced us, that he was my future husband after only a few weeks of knowing him & what do you know, I was right. I am so thankful for him & everything he does for our family. He is an amazing father & I can't wait to see what's in store for us next!!

I know I have some good flashback pics from way back when that I need to scan & put on here but that will have to be another day. We just got back from Scott's surprise party, I have a sick baby & it isn't Carter, & I have lots of preparation to do for Em's bridal tea I am helping throw tomorrow. So nighty-night to all!!!

There's a first time for everything...

Justin & I went to have our physicals done for our new life insurance policies today. They told us to fast for 6 hours prior but since our appt. wasn't until 10:30 this morning, I didn't have anything after dinner last night so it was over 12 hours since I'd had anything other than water. And I guess I was weak b/c I definitely passed out while she was taking my blood...never done that before. As many times as I had to give blood prego & never had a problem other than getting over my fear of needles & blood...I couldn't believe it. All I can remember is it hurting while she put the needle in & then...this is a bit graphic...I could here the blood gurgling out into the vial & that is when I started feeling light headed & next I knew I woke up on the floor looking up at Justin & the nurse. I was very confused at first & thought I had just woken up from a dream...I was dreaming something but can't remember what. Then once I realized what happened they filled me in on how I just put my head down & kind of fell forward and that my legs got all stiff & my knees locked up. The nurse was glad Justin was there to catch me b/c it would have been tough trying to get the needle out of my arm & keep me from falling over. Talk about scary! Justin said it didn't scare him but it would've scared me, especially since they said my eyes were still open when I was laying on my back on the ground but they had just rolled back in my head...yuck! It was only less than a minute that I was out but still it was pretty intense for me & the poor nurse. She acted fine & said I just needed to be sure & lay down anytime I get blood drawn again. I felt so bad for her!! Of course I had to be really slow getting up & still felt very light headed. We left Justin's car there....oh & a quick update on his car from the other week, it cranked after Justin tried it again & luckily it was just the battery that was dying so no expensive repairs...hooray! We picked up some lunch & I still felt terrible & was so tired that he took me home so I could take a nap. I was back at work by 2pm & felt pretty normal the rest of the day. I do feel a bit tired now so I think I will be hitting the sack early tonight...probably here shortly. We have a busy w/e with a surprise party tomorrow night (more about that after the surprise in case the guest of honor reads my blog) to go to, Carter is staying with Justin's Dad & stepmom tom night & then I am helping host a bridal tea on Sunday afternoon. There is never a dull moment in the Flurry household!

Random note...we heard "Hootie" our neighborhood owl out right after work today when it is still very daylight which kind of surprised me since owls are nocturnal, so we took a stroll to see if we could spot him up in the trees & guess what?!?! There are TWO owls!!! Owls usually live alone (yes I've become a huge owl dork since we see & hear him all the time) so I'm really hoping this is a male & female pair & that we'll have some baby owls around here sometime in the near future...I bet they'd be so cute!! BTW, Harriet is the new owls name. :) Ok enough nature talk...I hope everyone has a wonderful w/e!!

I can't help but laugh...

Justin filmed him yesterday walking behind his push walker...



...& then falling over. Every time I watch it I crack up!! I know I shouldn't laugh at my own child falling over but I think it is hilarious how he goes stiff like an armadillo & then rolls over...could be a contender in America's Funniest Home Videos, well in my book at least. Maybe I'm a bit biased but still.

So we have more molars coming in on his upper left side! That explains the fussiness joy he has been recently. The one on the bottom front is still coming in as well. I try not to stick my fingers in his mouth too often to check b/c boy can he bite down hard!

Coco & Bailey went to the vet yesterday for Bailey's 2 yr check-up & I thought Coco was due for more puppy shots but she was only due for a heartworm prevention pill. Coco now weighs almost 27 lbs which means she has gained over 9 lbs in a month! I have a feeling she is going to be a pretty big (tall) dog. Justin ran by Pet Stop last week to get her a collar so we can start getting her trained on the electric fence. She no longer just hangs out in the yard with Bailey...she's very friendly & will go see anything that moves! So, they were out of them & they were supposed to get more on Mon. When I called to see if they had come in yet, I asked her how much it was for a new receiver...she told me $299...and no I didn't leave out a decimal inb/w the 2 & 9...$300!!!! I heard they were expensive but I didn't realize they would be that much. I told Justin no more dogs pets until one keels over & they can reuse one of those collars! He did find a deal on the internet though so we are getting one for $130...much better than $300!

Carter has started actually talking & responding to us when we ask him to say something...sometimes. He says "bye-bye" but still won't make the motion, "coco" sounds like "cahcah", "dada" & we think Bailey is "baba". I love that he can actually communicate somewhat now...it just keeps getting better & better! :)

What a weekend!

I woke up Mon. morning thinking it was Sun. so I lost a day somewhere in there...it was a crazy but fun w/e!! We dropped off Carter with my mom & headed to AU on Sat. morning to grab a bite, take a tour of the new basketball arena & then head to the A-day game. There were tons of ppl there...63,000 at the game!! And it was HOT! We left after the 3rd quarter to head to ATL for the Braves game that night. I've never been to a MLB game so it was a neat experience & we had some pretty good seats. Unfortunately for the Braves, it was a no-hitter game but those are few & far between so glad I could see a rare bit of "history" too.

View from our seats...

Trying to get a better background pic...

Our crew...the funny thing was most of the guys had a quick "costume"  change from AU attire to Braves.

Ahhhhh....

Daddy's back!!!! Yippee!! Justin actually took Carter to school this morning...I told him he may have to show his ID b/c the teachers wouldn't recognize him. :) So the morning started off well until he went to drop off the lawnmower (he can't get it to start) at a shop down the street & then his car wouldn't start...when it rains it pours right!?!? Luckily I was just passing by on my way to work so I picked him up & he dropped me off...I do love the convenience of living 2 miles from my office.

Our yard desperately needs mowing...the first time he tried this season was on Carter's b'day a few wks ago & he just hasn't had time to deal with it until now. The place said it'll be 7-10 days to fix it so we'll be borrowing someone's for sure...luckily we have some nice neighbors that I'm sure won't mind. I think they'd rather us get rid of the raunchy looking weeds we've got going in our yard anyway. I'm almost surprised we haven't gotten a notice from the homeowners association saying that it needs to be mowed...it really doesn't look that bad but they are extremely strict...you'll get a notice if your water hose isn't properly wrapped around the holder outside. Football season we usually get a notice saying "Collegiate flags may only be flown on weekends" blah, blah, blah...it is nice that they make sure our neighborhood is kept up & we do appreciate them for that.

So I guess we'll get the Accord towed to Robe Man's in Homewood to get checked out...hopefully it isn't anything major. We just had both cars in recently for major tune-ups, brakes, etc which was expensive enough. We won't need it this w/e anyway since we'll be out of town. Headed down to AU early tomorrow for lunch, a tour of the new basketball arena & the A-day game. Then off to ATL for a Braves game that night. It'll be a fun sports-filled day!!

Oh I found out yesterday that we got 10th place in the Diamond Dash this past w/e. Not bad out of about 240 teams. Now that we know how it all works we'll def. try to compete again next year & hopefully win!

In other news...Carter has another tooth coming in! Finally another one on the bottom left side. Below are pics from this past w/e. He has started actually standing & pushing his little riding toy. He prefers to get down on his knees & push it & he goes pretty fast...it's rather funny. He has really started to "cruise" around on the furniture & such. Hopefully he'll be taking some steps on his own soon. Mommy is SO ready for him to be walking...my arms are tired of always carrying the little chunker!!!

Red-headed stepchild

Literally!! Poor Tig rarely gets let out of his "room" aka the full bath off the basement room. He was exiled from the rest of the house a few years ago when he kept relieving himself anywhere he felt like. Supposedly male orange tabbies are known to be moody, somewhat aggressive & behave like this when things don't go their way...he was a single "child" until we got Lucky 3 yrs ago, Bailey 2 yrs ago & now Coco. Tig will turn 10 this Aug...I can't believe I/we've had him that long!! Needless to say, he has made us vow to never get another male animal again...hence our 3 sweet girls we have now. Today at lunch I let him out so I could clean out his litter boxes...he has 2 in the walk-in shower. The funny thing is he only goes #1 in one of them & #2 in the other...never both in one box...the cat's never been normal!! Too bad Lucky couldn't be there for the family pic!

Coco with her head resting on the towel that I put down on the hardwoods in front of the dog door when it rains...she's already becoming pathetic like the rest of them!

A dash, zoo & 2 showers

What a fantastic, chaotic but enjoyable w/e!! Justin had an amazing time at the Masters on Friday with a little sunburn on the side. :) Saturday Justin & I competed in the 1st annual Diamond Dash in downtown B'ham & we had a BLAST!! We didn't win, unfortunately, but we think we did pretty well. There were supposedly 480 ppl competing so about 240 teams. The whole thing was based on getting the highest score & you did that by getting clues sent to your cellphone & figuring out where to go & what the answer was. It was basically a scavenger hunt on the whole north side of downtown from the BJCC to Morris Ave & from around 16th to 23rd St. We were so glad we had bikes (thanks to my Jenny & Mama C!) even though some ppl chose roller skates or even scooters (crazy huh?!) to get around or just walked/ran. Surprisingly I wasn't sore other than my booty from sitting on that seat for 2.5 hours!! It seriously felt like we were on the Amazing Race! They didn't post the results so we don't know what place we got but we are thinking the top 20 or so. Our score was 341 & the team that won the $15,000 diamond ring had a score of 401 but they supposedly blew everyone out of the park. They had prizes for the top 6 teams & we heard that team #5 was around 360. We knew a few other ppl that competed & there score was 280 & others we heard were in the 100's. You lost points for any wrong answer or if you needed a hint. Some questions were obvious & others you really had to search for. It really was SO much fun & I highly recommend it to anyone else who wants to do it next year!!!

Here are the only pics I have from the day. We had to take a pic of our partner in front of The Temptations tribute (here's something we learned about B'ham that we didn't know...2 of the singers from The Temptations were from B'ham) posing next to one of the singers...we were rushing to get as many pts as we could & we didn't even have time to think so it is kind of funny looking back on it now. There were also a few questions that were technically wrong which was a bit frustrating, so whoever writes the questions needs to have someone double check them next time. For instance, behind Justin in this pic is a list of Temptations songs & they asked us to pick the one with the shortest name...there were a bunch up there. We sent in "Can I" since that was only 4 letters but the answer that was correct to the game was "Happy" which is 5 letters...someone can't count. Check out our snazzy t-shirts they gave us...

Here we are at the after party at Rogue Tavern where the winners were announced! It was neat how they announced them since they couldn't do it by score b/c then ppl would know if they had won something or not. Place 4th, 5th & 6th they called out the team name...ours was Boat66. Then for 2nd & 3rd place they called the actual cellphone of the teams that won...so everyone was quiet looking at theirs phones. And for the winner...they read their story that they submitted to compete out loud! It was a guy talking about how he loved his g-friend & wanted to get her a nice ring & get married. Once they got on stage, they tried to get the guy to propose but he said he hadn't talked to her Dad yet & you could just tell he didn't want to do it there...it was a bit awkward but yea for them!

Justin pretty much worked the rest of the w/e. I went to Emily & Dave's Around the House shower Sat. night...I'm in her wedding here in B'ham on June 5th. Sunday morning Carter & I went with my friend Mary Ruth & the 3 girls she was babysitting to the zoo. It was Carter's first time & I think he enjoyed it. I forgot how much fun that place is except for all the construction going on right now...it makes it hard to maneuver around inside but we still had a great time. That afternoon Carter & I went to one of my pledge sisters baby showers. Casey is actually my BIL's sister too. Sara drove up from Mobile for the day so it was great to see her as always. I was exhausted by Sun night but it was all worth it!!

Only TWO more days of tax season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I look forward to this day more than I do Christmas!! This w/e we are headed to our second home...WAR EAGLE...for the A-day game on Sat & then over to ATL for a Braves game that night with a group of friends. Carter man will be hanging with my momma. I can't wait to have the hubs back!!

I got some cute pics of Carter "walking" behind his little push car thing but I'll get to those another day. It's nighty-night time. And poor J still isn't home...

1 week & counting...

'til tax season is OVER!!! I know Justin can't wait for it to be over just as much as Carter & I. Poor thing came down with a virus a few days ago & he went to the dr yesterday & there isn't anything he can give him for it...just has to wait it out. BUT he does get a break away from the action tomorrow...one of his clients is taking him on their private corporate jet over to the Masters for the day...he SO deserves this & I know he'll have an awesome time!

Whew it has been a B-U-S-Y week to say the least!! Tues. night was girls night out & last night I had a small surprise party at our house for my friend Jennifer whose bachelorette/lingerie shower has sort of fallen through or not turned out the way they had planned, so we decided to throw her a little get together & she was completely surprised! Justin is friends with her husband from high school & is in their wedding at the beach over Memorial Day w/e. Ginger took all the pics with her camera so I don't have any. :( I do have leftover strawberry cupcakes from Edgars that are going FAST! I can't keep my hands off of them!

Work has been a bit crazy & Justin has been working pretty late as well. Thank goodness Bunco was cancelled for tonight! We are getting excited about the Diamond Dash we are participating in on Sat though. We've gotten a few clues & some bikes to use which will be helpful. We have a couples wedding shower that night & I have a baby shower to go to on Sun afternoon so it'll be an eventful w/e for sure!

Today was a glorious day & I couldn't have been more happy to have the rain come wash away the disgusting pollen that has been taking over EVERYTHING!! The air looked so clear & everything outside looked fresh & colorful. Spring is def. here & I love it!

Happy Friday & w/e to all!!

p.s. I keep forgetting to point out that I finally added (after many requests) the "subscribe" button out to the right where you can put in your email address & it will email you when I update. Without that button, there were only 10 possible email slots which just wasn't enough!

Not to brag but...

I WON!!! Justin's work bracket challenge that is! :) I'm officially $342 richer now...wooohooo!!!! I had the pleasure of whooping my hubby's tail too...you know the boy hates to lose at anything!! But especially to his wife who doesn't have a CLUE about bball or any of these teams for that matter. He did come in 13th out of 57 ppl so not bad at all. They had a prize for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place...the $ was split 60%, 30%, & 10%. See the link below that shows the standings...

http://bigdancebham.mayhem.cbssports.com/opm/standings?tag=fastFacts.collegebasketball

Now I just have to decide what I want to spend my $$ on! :)

In other news...

Carter had his 1 yr appt last Wed. The doctor said he looks perfect & that he thinks he'll be a pretty tall fella. He did have to get his finger pricked & 3 shots but he was a trooper & barely fussed. The funny thing was after they took his blood & put a bandaid on the end of his finger...he kept thinking it was food in his hand & kept trying to put it in his mouth to eat...it was funny but kind of sad too. I did have some cheerios that we gave him to eat since he obviously had food on his mind. His stats were...
Height: 31.25" (90th percentile)
Weight : 24 lbs 9 oz  (75th percentile)
Head circum:  19.75" (Ha! off the charts still!)

So he has gained 2 lbs, grown almost 2 inches & his head has grown 1/4 of an inch since his 9 mo check-up.

If you want to check out his growth chart click on the link below...
http://www.mybirthcare.com/favorites/babygrowthchart.asp
email: ashley.flurry@yahoo.com
password : Carter330

In other sad news...
 
I received the postcard in the mail yesterday from the wildlife center where I dropped off BB last week. When you drop off an animal, you can send them a self-addressed stamped postcard for them to send you once they are finished with the treatment of the animal to let you know if & when they are released back into the wild. Unfortunately, BB's was marked "did not survive due to soft tissue injuries, aspiration & shock"...I was so disappointed to hear that!!! Oh well at least we tried to save her life. I'm sure it won't be the last time I take an animal up there.
 
And one last thing...kind of funny...
 
I signed up Justin & I for the Bromberg's Diamond Dash this w/e in dowtown B'ham. If you live in B'ham, I'm sure you've heard the ad on the radio, but all you do is fill out a form on their website & if they pick you, then you go to Linn Park at 11am on Sat. to compete. It lasts until 3pm & they send you & your partner text msgs with clues & you race around B'ham trying to find a diamond ring worth $15,000!! You can only walk or use bikes or public transportation to get around. On the submission form you have to put a fun picture of you & your partner & tell them why you should be chosen to compete to win the ring...I'm sure most ppl are either engaged or getting married. My picture & story went like this...first off the picture was one of me & Carter & our reason we should be able to compete...to get his future wife's ring...I had to have some reason! :) But I guess it worked & we got picked! The only thing is each person has to have a working cellphone that can receive text msgs so obviously Carter is out & Justin gets to be my partner. I'm sure it'll be a fun break away from tax season for him & we are both very competitive & love trivia, so we'll see how it goes. Wish us luck & oh if you live in B'ham & have 2 bikes we can borrow...let me know!!!!!

What an eggcellent w/e!

Well we unfortunately started off the w/e on a sad note. Justin's step grandfather lost his battle with brain cancer earlier this week so we drove up to Gadsden for the funeral service on Good Friday. It was a crazy afternoon...a story to remember for those that were there but I won't get into all the details. Let's just say that traveling with a 5 mo old & a 1 & 2 yr old with Easter w/e traffic/construction isn't something I would recommend...we did enjoy seeing the family again, just wish it wasn't under such circumstances.

Ok onto the happy stuff. :) Saturday Justin worked most of the day so I took Carter to see the Easter Bunny at Brookwood & then over to Homewood to a birthday party for a sweet 2 yr old named Cooper. I was a little worried that Carter would freak out with Mr. big ears since he hasn't ever seen a huge stuffed animal like that, BUT he could've cared less...I should have known. The picture they took was perfect & I snapped a few with my camera too. And yes that is a dryer ball in Carter's hand...his new favorite toy these days!

Today my mom & brother joined us at church this morning & then we went out to lunch. It was a beautiful day & Easter service. He has Risen indeed!!

Cupcakes galore!

Warning: This post contains a ridiculous amount of pics!

Tues. the 30th was Carter's 1st b'day but we celebrated last Sat. at our house. The party was a cupcake theme with blue & green as the main colors. We had nearly 40 family & friends come to share this special day with us. THANK YOU to all who came, those that couldn't make it but brought gifts anyway, and for all the wonderful gifts Carter received...we are overwhelmed by your kindness & generosity!!!!!

These are pics taken by my wonderful brother & his sweet girlfriend Cassie...they were my photographer/videographers for the day...thank you again for all of your help!!! And I have to say a HUGE thank you to my amazing SIL who I wouldn't have been able to pull off this party without...seriously!!! Enjoy the pics!

Blow-up cupcake on the front porch...

Cupcake pinata that we will use for its intended purpose another time but it was good decor. :)

My b'day banner that I worked so hard on last week...you can see it better in pics below.

The birth-to-1yr picture clothesline that wouldn't hold all of the pics I wanted...I think some of them had fallen off the mantle by this point. :)

The food spread...

My little cutie :)

"Mama" & the b'day boy

Shashe (Justin's Mom) & Carter man

Papaw (Justin's Dad) & Carter

Uncle Jason (my bro) & Carter being silly

The cupcake b'day outfit

Carter & little David

Isn't he precious?!

Making his silly face...

A better shot of the banner...

Carter & little David again

Carter gently "pet" his head...it was sweet!

Carter showing Callie the dog door

Miss Callie...10 mos & already walking!!

Trying to take steps by himself...

Papa (my Dad) & C

It's cake time!!

Can you tell he LOVES to make that silly face?!?

We had to sing to him with the candle not close enough to grab...he was ready to dig in!!

Wearing the b'day crown Mommy made him...if that huge cupcake wasn't in front of him he would've tried to rip it off! :)

He LOVED the cake!

Do you like my white beard?!?

Miss Hadley (Carter's cousin)

Opening gifts...

Carter's big birthday present from us...a jumpy ball pit!

My precious little birthday boy...I love you to the moon & back!