Happy 30th Birthday Derek!

Derek doesn't like a big "to do" about his birthday or anyone's birthday for that matter, but how could I ignore his 30th?! We kicked off the weekend with a trip to one of our favorite restaurants, Kenny's Wood Fired Grill. As usual, the food was awesome. I took along cards from me and the kids and a small gift bag. Little did he know how big the present inside was. I decided to get Derek a MacBook Pro laptop for his birthday. I knew it was something he would freak out over, and would absolutely love. Making it happen was a whole other story. Let's just say it took several failed attempts to make the purchase, and when it finally happened for me, it wasn't arriving until after our date night out. I now had to come up with an exciting way to give him his present without actually having the laptop. I knew the laptop wasn't the only thing Derek would be happy with for his 30th birthday, so I went online and printed out pics/info of a bunch of things that could be his possible present. I made him open each envelope, and each time he thought, "Either this is it, or she's getting me all of these. Which would be crazy...and expensive!" He just kept racking his brain the whole time. Each paper had a sticky note that said "lift here," and underneath them it said things like "yeah right, this isn't your present." Finally, he got to a wrapped box, and opened the paper with the pics of the laptop. Underneath the final sticky note it said, "Happy Birthday! Seriously! I'm not kidding!" He was so excited. It actually ended up working out really well because his laptop showed up at our house on his actual birthday! So, it seems like he had the perfect birthday - night out at one of his favorite restaurants with his favorite person and he got his ideal birthday present - but I wasn't done yet. The next day was Saturday, and Derek got to hang out with his dad all day - they played a round of golf, ate lunch, went to the movies, etc. When he finally got home that evening, all of his buddies were here for a surprise, all dudes poker party. Dustin (Derek's brother) helped me set up his ideal mini poker tournament with all of his friends. I disappeared to the inlaws with the kiddos and left the guys to have the ultimate guys' night. So as you can see, Derek had a great 30th birthday! Happy birthday honey. Thanks for being the best husband, friend and daddy we could ever ask for!

The first envelope...

According to Derek, a "badass" office chair from IKEA...

The new Rockband game with all the instruments...

The new Amazon Kindle...

What could be next?...

A GPS for his car because he is soooo directionally challenged...

A treadmill with a built-in TV and iPod dock...

Opening the final gift...

It's a brand new laptop!

Carter Learns to Splash

Now that Carter's sitting up, I put him on the other side of his baby tub. Of course as soon as I did, he started splashing like crazy. Needless to say, we have moved his baby tub into the big bathtub now! Hope you enjoy this new video of our little guy splashing and talking. Oh, and there might be a little shot of Margot in here too :-)

New Easter Pics

The club's photographer took these two pics and just sent them out.

Easter in Austin

This Easter we went back to Austin to visit with Pops and enjoy the wonderful festivities at the golf club. They put on a wondeful show as usual - petting zoo, miniature horse rides and a magnificent egg hunt. We spent Easter Sunday enjoying a brunch at the clubhouse, then we changed clothes and headed out for a tour of the golf course. Pops got Claire her own set of clubs for Easter, and she enjoyed trying them out on the real golf holes.

Ok, Don't Kill Me

I have no excuses. I could blame it on traveling for Easter and weddings. I could blame it on Swine Flu and our school district being closed (quarantining a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old is NOT fun for Mom). In all reality, I just don't have anything to blame. I've just been a super bad blogger lately. So much has happened since Parker's birthday!

Carter Update:
Carter had his six month appointment. He was in the 75th percentile for height and weight and his head circumfrance was in the 90th percentile (go figure - he has no chance with his Crabtree genes). He's sitting up beautifully, has two bottom teeth, eats solids like a champ, sleeps through the night, says "dada," "mama," "gaga," and "nana" and loves to laugh. He gets his star cranial band on May 27. His head will eventually be nice and round making it easier for him to breath. He has enough hair for trendy faux-hawks. Since his doctor's appointment one month ago, I recently weighed him. Our future football player has now reached the 20 pound mark and is moving into 12 month clothes.

Claire Update:
Claire is completely pottytrained!!! I can't remember the last time we had an accident. She even wears panties to school now. She gets smarter every day - which can be quite testing at times. She enjoys finding out what she can get away with every day. She's great with her baby brother. Mostly loving but occassionaly a little aggressive. For the most part, she's well behaved. She loves school - especially music time, puzzles and reading. She just started her first real gymnastics class and says that her favorite part is doing "donkey kicks." It's also pretty difficult to get her off the trampoline. School gets out in two weeks and we start summer camp in June. She'll do four different sessions at her school and fill in the weeks off with camp where she takes her gymnastics classes.

Derek Update:
Derek turns 30 today! Happy Birthday honey! Derek's studying for the GMAT and planning to apply to MBA schools this year. He's looking forward to building on his career.

Margot & Bella Update:
Margot is almost house trained. She's sweet and playful and loves to run outside. She loves Bella, and Bella could care less. She enjoys teasing Bella with bones, and Bella enjoys stealing bones from Margot. For the most part, she's well behaved. We just need to work on her table manners. I've never had a big dog before, so I have to remember that she can reach things on the table.

Hope you enjoyed my updates. I will now post pics from Easter and a video of Carter int he bathtub. I promise to start posting again regularly!

Happy 4th Birthday Parker "Peanut" Allen!

A picture of Claire and Parker from about one year ago...they grow up so fast!

Today is my best friend Heather's little boy's fourth birthday! I can remember so much about "Peanut", some of it from before he was even born. Here are some of my favorite memories...

Derek and I were some of the first people that found out that your mommy and daddy were pregnant with you.

Nobody believed your mommy and daddy when they called from the hospital when she was in labor with you because we all thought they were playing an April Fool's joke on us. After you arrived, there was no doubting you were a little boy from the second you entered the world.

You were so ticklish from the very start. You laugh just as hard now as you did when you were 6 months old.

You LOVED your swing so much, your mommy would put you in it right up until your baby sister was born. I laughed so hard to see your little legs hanging way over the front of the swing, but it always seemed to put you to sleep eventually.

You came to visit me in the hospital with your mommy after Claire was born. I swear you pushed every button in that hospital room. Your curiosity hasn't dimmed a bit.

You were so sweet when your baby sister came home from the hospital. Even though she drives you crazy sometimes, you still love on her when we least expect it. I know you will be her protector forever.

I remember when you first started pretending. You went fishing and caught me a huge fish! Your imagination still amazes me. Whether you're fixing my car or taking me on a secret "gun" mission you never cease to surprise me.

I love how excited you get when you know that Claire, Carter and I are coming over for a visit. I love that you miss me when you think I've left but I'm really just following your mommy in my own car. I love you when you're happy. I love you when you're sad. I love you when you're angry. You always make me laugh.

I can't believe you turned four years old today. I am looking forward to many more years as your Aunt Annie, and I can't wait to see what you do next! Hope you enjoy this birthday message. Here's a little video message from Claire.

Carter is 5 Months Today!

I can't believe our little man is five months already. He is developing such a personality. For the most part, he is a very easygoing baby. He's only demanding when he's hungry and gets especially upset when I have to stop and burp him. We have found that he is especially shy and irritable in a large group of people. Twice now he has erupted into heavy crying at the site of Derek's entire family around him. I am so not used to a baby that has a fear of many people or separation anxiety of any kind. Claire never went through these stages - perhaps due to the fact that we started Gymboree and playgroups at such a young age. Thankfully, he seems to settle down after a good thirty minutes and quickly learns to enjoy being passed from one person to the next. It seems to me that he has a lot of his Daddy's personality.

In other news, we are heading to the Starband Cranial Center at the end of the month to have Carter's head checked out. The doctor has been watching the shape of his head since he was two months old and decided that he should be fitted for a cranial band. We have learned that besides the obvious aesthetic reasons, the reshaping will also help with the development of his ear tubes and sinus cavities (this is especially important for our allergy-prone boy). It seems that Carter will be our allergy child. The doctor has prohibited solid food until six months due to his lactose intolerance. He also develops rashes rather easily. Who else knows what he will eventually be allergic to. He just completed a treatment of Augmentin for an ear infection. His ears checked out well this past week - hurray! He is also on an inhaled steroid twice a day, until he turns six months, to hopefully improve his breathing. Most of these crazy things are all tied into him having severe RSV at such a young age. Anyway, as sad as the band looks on such a small child, the cranial reshaping should be beneficial in the long run, especially if he develops asthma. And Heather's MOH is an artist and has agreed to paint his little helmet. Any cute ideas for a helmet theme, throw them our way!

So on a more positive note, Carter has been teething like a mad man. The doc suspects he will have his first tooth by six months. He teeths so much, that he has taken to chewing on his burp clothes which we now lovingly refer to as his "chewies." Can't leave home without one! He's also doing really well with his tummy time. He is pushing up on the palms of his hands and can turn around in a circle. He especially loves watching the dogs play. He really enjoys sitting up, whether it be in his Bumbo, Jumperoo or exersaucer. He stays in these toys for large chunks of time. Great for getting stuff done around the house. Carter wakes up such a happy boy and beams at me as soon as I walk in his room. He's still sleeping in his carseat - a move we made very early on to help with his labored breathing. He was sleeping through the night until a couple nights ago. We're not sure if he's waking up due to teething or due to hunger. He's downing a seven ounce bottle and quickly going back to sleep. He loves being tickled, taking a bath and babbling. He is such a joy to have around, and I can't wait to see how he progresses of the next five months. Here is a picture of our boy sitting up. He can sit up unassisted for a good length of time now. I know it won't be long before he's chasing us all around the house!