Hallow-fun

Trunk or Treat at St. Paul with my two favorite and bestest families in Texas...I LOVE it!!!

The future husband and wife (Charlotte Mae) pause from their treat collections to pose for the paparazzi


Sweet little caterpillar--(Eric Carle!!)


Double sweet--mom and daughter


I think that this little Quince Monkey #1 is Adrian


...which might make this Monkey #2, Julius



Dino-Amare is Dinomyte!!



...wow...we managed to capture the Quinces (cute family :-))


Cousins: Colton, Carson, & Abbigale (stinkers and a superman)

October II

11 months has come and gone so quickly, sometimes, I can't even believe it. A year ago I was impatiently counting down the days until Carson would come. As cliche as it sounds, I feel like it was just yesterday.

Below are some highlights from our regular, every-day family-ness:


Carson and Daddy before Church...



My little man--no longer a baby :'-(





I would never in a million years guess that this could be comfortable, but yes, this is how we find him, time and time again :-)



Halloween is almost here! Carson is enjoying his Halloween Card from Great-Grandma J

Cindy and I kicked off October with a trip to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. We really enjoyed the touch of coolness in the air, the "fall atmosphere" and, most of all, sharing the visit with our kids...

August and September

So I'm starting to notice that I get so busy spending time with Carson that I keep forgetting to take pictures! My August and September collection is SO SPARCE that I decided to just put them together.

**I vow to do better...


August brought communication from Carson...it started with a "da" here and there. Tony was adamant that Carson was referring to him--I allowed him to believe that :-).

Pretty soon, Carson agressively spouted "da-da-da" AND "ma-ma-ma." My favorite thing has always been to try to get him to say one thing: "ma-ma," and while I am still saying that, he would start to say "DA DA DA!"



Solid foods began to play a big part in Carson's "meal plan." (Just to clarify, Carson skipped completely over 'pureed solids' straight into actual solids. It's been one fun discovery after another :-))


Our little crawler was getting really good at manuvering all around AND pulling himself into standing position!



After a LONG day of crawling and pulling into standing position, both of my boys were exhausted...

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September brought more "busy-ness" with school in full swing. Tony and I both learned (and are still learning) to juggle planning, grading, coaching, AND spending time with our little man--all while trying to keep our house in some semblance of order! If there's one thing I've learned, it's to let things go--nothing is more important than this sweet boy...




..he loves his ravioli!! (Please note the chair on his right-GOOBERS all over it! Who is the lucky mommy that gets to clean it up??)

(catch up) July III

Quickie:

3 other girls and I all had babies within a year of each other (actually, within 9 months of each other) We all (unintentionally) named our kids "C" names, and have been gathering since June to have "Mommy and Me" time...

Here's the rundown:
Susan and Connor (August '09)
Julie and Carson (Nov. '09)
Cindy and Charlotte (March '10)
Sydney and Chance (May '10)


Here I am, holding baby Charlotte...only 4 months at the time. Her mother, Cindy, is one of Carson's Godparents.



Here is Connor and Carson enjoying a "drink together"


...sadly, I didn't snap a picture of Chance. (I'll use the excuse that he was sleeping the whole time) [sorry Syd]

(catch up) Michigan Part II

We returned to St. Joseph to enjoy our last week in the midwest.

Great-Grandma Johnson took the Pates downtown to the new Carousel. Carson enjoyed his ride on the "Michigan Wolverines" horse...






I also got to play with the settings on my camera a little--I managed to capture a couple of the "horses" while they were in motion...






Grandma and Grandpa had invested in a wonderful swing that they hung in the front yard in one of the trees. (I remember one summer, shortly after we had moved in, when dad was planting those trees. Ever the curious six year old, I asked him "why?" He replied, "Don't you want to be able to swing from one of these trees when you're older?"

Who would have thought, then, that he was planting it for his future grandchild(ren)?)

Carson really enjoyed it...


...such wonderfully cool evenings.



Our last night, we took a trip downtown to get some Kilwins Ice Cream and see some of the great "dog statues" that had been designed by local artists. Carson enjoyed studying them, as always, with a furrowed brow...


...one tired little boy.

(catch up) Grandma and Grandpa's House!

At the end of June, we packed up and headed to my parents' house in Michigan. We spent 2 weeks enjoying the cool midwest summer.



...just before we left, we found Carson STANDING in his crib--he had pulled himself into standing position on his own! We then proceeded to find him this way every time he woke up!



...he ate in Grandma Johnson's high chair from when she was a baby.


...we bathed him in the sink :-)

The best part of July was my brother's wedding! On July 4th, Brett and Ashley became: Mr. & Mrs. Brett Johnson.

Carson was Brett's "Best Little Man"



"Brand New sisters!"



...needless to say it was time for Carson's nap by the time the ceremony was over. We still had a blast!

Catch up- JUNE!

June was supposed to allow life to slow down, instead time seemed to fly faster...




My little boy kept on growing...at this point he could stand while holding onto the couch...





The highlight of June was when Tony offcially signed his contract with St. Paul Fort Worth to be the 1-8 PE teacher, 6-7 Social Studies teacher, and athletic director. Tony put his 2 weeks notice with the Bedford Police department, and began to pour himself into revamping St. Paul's gymnasium--painting everything is sight!

Catch up-May

May meant many things for the Pates…
*It brought the first night EVER that the Pates and Quinces were able to go out to dinner. In all of the years we’ve been friends (4 years), we have never been able to go out together…with our without kids. We had a great night going to Pappacitos and bowling. I’ll admit that while we had a blast, it took a few minutes for us to get into the groove–we hardly knew what to do with ourselves at dinner without kids!



Missy and Julie




Yes...somehow the Quinces beat the Pates in bowling. Their extravagant winnings...



Carson and Daddy...





May brought the end of another school year (my 6th)…Carson said goodbye to some of the special people in his life: Susan who played with him the mornings that I came to school early, Grace, a 7th grader who played with him during faculty meetings, and Melanie, who took care of him on the days that Tony was working at the police department.

Susan....


Grace....


Melanie...


*May also brought my parents for a quick visit over Memorial Day weekend. We went to dinner, grilled out, and enjoyed our visit. The highlight was Carson’s first visit to the pool and Coyboy's Stadium!

...exhausting, but fun :-)