Happy Birthday Hunter!

Happy Birthday Hunter! Hunter's third birthday was this past Friday and I keep asking myself where the time went! I can't believe it has been three years since he came into our world! I wanted to share some previous birthday pictures and it is amazing to see how much he has grown over the past few years!

This is the day Hunter was born! Isn't he beautiful?!?! Of course I'm partial since he is mine! :o)Brett being a Tennessee Vols fan was not thrilled with the choice of hat! I received three of these if that gives you any idea of how loyal us Kentucky fans are - Go Cats! I told Brett when he gives birth to a seven pound baby, he can pick out what he/she wears! haha He was in good spirits about it and don't worry, I got plenty of Vols stuff too!

This is my favorite picture of Hunter from his first birthday! Look at those two, little teeth sticking out! We had his party at our house with all of our friends and family! It was a great time and Hunter had a blast!

And Hunter did not disappoint with the cake! He dug right in and even had some ice cream too! Needless to say, he devoured the cake and needed a bath immediately afterwards!

He we are at Chuck E. Cheese for his second birthday! Isn't the cup too cute?! I always laugh when I look at this picture! We had his birthday party at a bounce house and enjoyed every minute of it!

And here's the big guy on his third birthday! Not really sure of the face I am getting here, but he we was so happy this day and surrounded by balloons! We went to went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch- one of his favorites, Party City where he picked out Cars theme for his party, the mall where he got new tennis shoes and Buzz Light Year cell phone from the Disney store, and Toys R Us where he got his big gift- A Huffy Lightning McQueen (from Cars of course) bike! Then it was time to head home for cupcakes and playing outside!

Blowing out his candle! He was blowing at it before Uncle Cory even put it down on the table! :o) I wonder what he wished for?!?! We are having a Cars pizza party for him in a couple of weeks! This is one crazy summer I tell you!

He is so happy and his hair is sooo sweaty! Happy Birthday Hunter- we love you more than you will ever know! It is a blessing to be your parents and you fill us with joy everyday! Our cup runneth over!

All Aboard the Ship of Dreams!

Brett went to Las Vegas last week for work and while he was gone, Hunter and I decided we needed some company! My mom came to visit and we were nonstop busy! We had planned to have a full day of things to do in Pigeon Forge! We started our morning off with a trip to the new Titanic Museum. We were to board the ship at 11:00 am.

This is a picture of the museum! When we arrived we received our boarding passes and who we would be on the Titanic! Each person on the tour received a card containing a small biography of a person who was truly aboard Titanic. At the end of the tour we would find out if we survived or not.

Here are our boarding passes. I was Nellie Bessette, First Class Passenger (don't let this fool you-I was a personal maid to Mrs. Ella White), age 39, residence: Briarcliff Manor, New York. My mom was Amy Stanley, third class passenger, age 23, domestic servant, residence: Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England. She was on her way to America to work as a children's maid.

This is a replica in the museum of Isador and Ida Straus' sitting room. They were co-owners of Macy's department store. Neither survived and they had her wedding ring on display. This is also the room James Cameron copied to use in the infamous drawing scene with Jack and Rose. Ida nearly got on life boat eight, but decided not to get on. She said to her husband, "Where you go, I go." I wonder if that's where they got the line for the movie, "You jump, I jump!"

This is the lifebelt of Madeleine Astor. She was married to John Jacob Astor IV, one of the richest men in the United States. She survived, her husband did not. They would later find out that she was one month pregnant when the ship went down.

We were in the museum for over two hours. There were so many interesting things to view and read. They had dishes, letters, clothing, etc. One of the most interesting parts to me, was the room they had designed to be the same temperature it was on that night and you could feel what the water felt like as passengers were thrown into the ice cold ocean. It was amazing (that they could design something like this) and at the same time hard to imagine what those people went through. I couldn't keep my hand in it for longer than ten seconds. In the end, my mom and I both survived! After all of this, my mom and I had sure worked up an appetite. We decided to eat at our favorite, the Apple Barn!

We both enjoyed Chicken and Dumplings as our main course! At this restaurant you receive, Apple Fritters, Apple Julep, Soup, Salad, main dish, two vegetables, and a dessert as all part of your meal! We were stuffed and decided to walk some of it off by shopping!

We shopped at the Tanger Outlets for a little while. My mom bought me two, cute maternity shirts and belly butter to keep those stretch marks to a minimum! We also enjoyed shopping at Kirklands and we had to stop there because we both had drained our wallets! ha

And here is a picture of my sweet boy! We were playing around with my camera, and he kept saying, " cheese!" Can you believe he will be three tomorrow?!?! Where has the time gone?! You never realize how much you can love someone until you have a child!

Speaking of children, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday! I'm right on schedule and the baby's heart rate was in the 150's. What an amazing thing to hear- gush, gush, gush! I love hearing the heart and thinking about the baby! I am a little over four months now, so the baby is distinctly a boy or girl! Woohoo! The eyelids are completely formed and closed over eyes that can react to changes in light. The nose, lips, and chin are distinct, and the entire body is covered with downy hair called lanugo. The fetus is now five inches long and weighs nearly four ounces, just large enough to cradle in the palm of your hand!

We find out June 11th if it's a boy or girl! We are so excited and can hardly wait! What do you think- pink or blue?!?!

Birthday Time!

Hunter received his first birthday present in the mail yesterday! His birthday isn't until the 21st of this month, but who doesn't love getting presents early! His gift is from Mimi Susan (my mom) and he couldn't wait to open it! He pushed the big box around all day and when Brett got home, we decided to set it up for him. Also, my mom is coming to Knoxville this week and she wanted to see it put together! Sorry for the photo quality-all of these were taken with my iPhone camera!

Helping Out!

He thought Daddy needed help putting it together! We started putting it together right before bedtime so that's why Hunter is just in his Pull-Up. He refuses to wear pajamas to bed!

Eating lunch at his new picnic table today! He was saying cheese as I was taking his picture! The table is going outside, I just haven't moved it out there yet! We are getting bad weather right now!

Who needs the table though, when you have the big box it came in?!?! Maddie is guarding it! ha

I can't believe Hunter will be three soon! Where has the time gone? I will have to share previous birthday pictures on another post! We are taking him to Party City next week to pick out his birthday party theme! Will it be Thomas the Train, Diego, Cars? We will see! :o)

Smokies Baseball Game

My friend Lori invited Hunter and I to go to the Smokies baseball game last night! They are a minor league team in Pigeon Forge and they were playing the Mobile Bay Bears! Lori's tickets were right behind home plate, but since we had a two and four year old with us, we opted for the grassy area! Hunter and Kainaan had a blast and they lasted the whole the game! We were two proud mommies!

The boys enjoying their chocolate ice cream in a baseball cap! By the end of the night Hunter had sat in his, spilled it all over himself, but hey, enjoyed it and that's all that matters!

The Bay Bear's Dugout just happened to be right beside the grassy area! Hunter and Kainaan ran their trains up and down the concrete wall! From time to time, a player would come over and talk to them! Hunter and Kainaan were probably thinking, forget baseball, lets play trains!

Hunter "talking" to Brian Henry after getting his baseball signed! He handed it back to Hunter, Hunter said thanks, and then threw it on the ground! Too funny! The Smokies lost 2-1, but we plan to go back and have more adventures with the boys!

The sweetest part of the night is when Kainaan got a baseball and went back down to the players and asked them for one for his friend Hunter! He might have had a little help from Lori and I with what to do and ask, but it's so sweet that he did it! I told Brett I wanted to get a glass baseball box- I think that's what they are called- and put the ball in it. I know it's minor league, but it's Hunter's first signed baseball! What a great memory and I'm glad I was there for it! Thanks for inviting us Lori!

A Bitter Sweet Week

It was a bitter, sweet week for my family. The sweet part is my doctor's appointment went well. I am right on track and the heartbeat sounds great. I go back on May 19th for a routine appointment and I begged her to let us find out the sex then. She said she wanted to wait a little bit longer, so we don't have that appointment until June 11th! I don't think I can wait! Brett and I both think it's another boy !


The bitter or sad news came on Thursday morning. My best friend Kilee called me from work and said there had been a mining accident and two miners were trapped. She said, "One of them is Michael." I knew instantly who she was talking about. I immediately called my dad who is in the mining business and screamed, " It's Michael!" He already knew and I was crying so hard that it made him cry. See, growing up in a small town, everybody knows everybody, and somehow, in some way, someone in your family is involved in the mining business. We knew the outlook wasn't good. The hardest part was calling my sister to tell her. It was so hard because her and Michael dated for six years and he was very close to our family. Just because time has gone by and your life has changed, doesn't mean you forget the good times or the memories. He was at our house for multiple holidays, a pallbearer at my Grandma's funeral, if any of us, not just Katie, needed anything, he would do it, etc. These are things you don't forget and that's why it's so hard. As most of you all know, I'm sure, the outcome was not what we wanted. Michael, along with the other miner, died from the accident.

Michael Wayne Carter

1981-2010

Another reason, I have taken this so hard is that Michael was married and had a son Hunter's age. I can't imagine Brett leaving for work and never coming back home. I balled when Brett got home because things like this really put your life into perspective. Your life can change in an instant. Please continue to pray for Melissa (wife), Hayden (son), Curtis (dad), and Sharon (mom). I can't imagine the pain they are feeling- Michael was an only child. I pray that God wraps his arms around them during this difficult time and brings them peace and comfort. Please also pray for the other miner's family. Justin Travis was 27, married with two children. I read where someone put on facebook, may we find comfort that these miners will never be in the dark again-so true!

Even though at this point, I didn't feel like doing it anymore, we were having a neighborhood garage sale. My house/garage was such a mess from trying to get ready for it. We needed to move the "junk" out so we could start getting ready for the baby!

The sale ended Saturday afternoon and I was pretty pleased with our profit. Our biggest item didn't sell, which was bedroom furniture, and that's what we really wanted gone! Oh well, we will try again!

The rest of the weekend we relaxed and went to a couples shower! We had a good time and luckily, we didn't get flooded like the rest of Tennessee!

Brett leaves this week for a Bachelor Party in Florida, so pray for safe travel. I don't know what Hunter and I will get into, but I'm sure it will be something fun!