Our Family

Abby's birthday

2009-11-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that Abby is 7 years. But it is true. For her birthday, we had 2 birthday parties. One party was at Michaels with a bunch of her girlfriends from school. Abby had fun making bracelets there with all her friends from school and a few friends from the neighborhood. Then, we had a party at home in the evening for close family and friends who were not the 1st party. So, she had a big day and got lots of great gifts! Thanks everyone who came and celebrated with us and helped to make her birthday so special.

What's new in November?

2009-11-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

This month, we got to watcg Abby in her ballet class. It was neat to see how much she has grown since she first started ballet. She seems to be enjoying it much more this year.

She also had her her Booster funrun at school. It was the school's only fundraiser of the year. She was really excited about it and really wanted to earn that fitness fun pack. Thanks everyone who donated so that she could get that fun pack! I don't know why she wanted that so badly. But that was her goal, and she made it, thank goodness!

The Mermaid and the Not So Smilely Shark

2009-11-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

This halloween did not turn out so great. The weather was awful and Carter man was not feeling so wel, as you can tell from his picture. So, we only went to two houses and went back home. I took Abby back out to a few more houses after dinner while Steve stayed home with Carter because she still wanted to go trick or treating. But it was still nasty out, so we only went to a few houses. Better luck next year.

The pumpkin patch and pizza party

2009-11-06T16:53:00.000-08:00

We had a lot fun in October. We went to pumpkin patch to find just the right pumpkin. The kids had so much fun running around looking at the different pumpkins and picking them up. We finally found the perfect pumpkin for our pirate pumpkin. Arrggghh!!

Later in the month, we had a pizza party. What messy fun that was!! My lil' "Abby Ray" did such a great job making her pizza and was so helpful to her brother.

Daddy goes to Europe!

2009-09-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

Daddy left last Wednesday for Europe for school. He won't be back 'till Saturday. I get text messages from his emails from time to time letting me know how he is doing. We sure miss him and can't wait 'till he comes back. Every afternoon when we get home from school, Carter sees his car parked and says, "Daddy's home."

Anyway, nothing else is new here. Things are business as usual. Here are a couple of pics of the kids I took the other night. The one of Carter is of him doing his "Smiley Shark" face. Smiley Shark is a character in one of his favorite books.

Carter turns 3!

2009-09-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

Carter-Man turned 3! It is so hard to believe. Here are some cute things about our lil' man:

- He is quite the ladies man!
- Instead of saying "Um, hm". He says, "Um".

- He is a very loving, sweet boy. And he is a Mama's boy all the way.

- He loves sharks, dinosaurs, cars, and all things boyish!

- When you tickle him , he laughs and says, " No tic tics"

- A horse says " Be Haw"

-His favorite blanket is his red mickey mouse blanket. He calls it, "Toodles".
His shark party was yesterday. It was a great success. Carter had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us and helped make our lil' man's birthday so special. For those, who couldn't make it, here are some pictures of the event.

Tellus Museum

2009-09-02T20:24:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago, we took the kids to the Tellus Museum in Cartersville. They had a great a time. It is a great museum. There is a lot to see and do. The kids really enjoyed digging for fosssils and panning for gems. Here are a few of our favorite pics from our trip. This first picture shows the kids standing in front the jaws of a large shark. How Cool!

Panning for gems! Abby loved this, but Carter thought it was kind of messy.

Abby found a shark fossil. You get to keep one of the fossils you dig up.

Digging for fossils:

Our little astronaunts:

Carter in front of a train.

Looking at the tiny krill.

Standing in front of a large amethyst. Abby really liked it.

Carter gets his big boy bed!

2009-08-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

Carter finally got his big boy bed. He was really excited and so proud! It is a car bed, given to us by family friends. The first night we had a big boy party and took pictures of him and Sissy. He didn't go right to sleep like I 'd hope that 1st night but is doing great now.

School has started back. My big girl is in 1st grade now. So far, she has really enjoyed it. She likes her teacher and has several friends in there.

PC Beach

2009-08-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

The kids and I took a short trip to the beach just before we have to start back to school. Aunt Shelby and Grandma went with us. We stayed with Aunt Janice. We had a great time. Wish we could have stayed longer! Here are a few of our favorite pics.

Summer events

2009-08-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

The kids spent much of this summer without us because the unfortunate circumstances. They had a great time with their grandparents and friends of the family when we could not be with them. Here are a few pictures of them enjoying their summer without us. These first two pictures show Carter swimming with his Daddy Tom. What a big boy!

These two pictures are from our day at American Adventures. The kids had so much fun.

July 4th , 2009- The kids were with Russ and Sheri. They had lots of fun!

Centennial Park- The kids had a blast! I wish I could have been there to see them enjoy themselves. I hate that I missed this! You can tell from these pictures that they really enjoyed themselves.

Sad news

2009-07-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

On July 5th, Steve's mom past away. She was only 65 years old. We are all going to miss her very much. Abby was very close to her Nana. She took the news pretty hard. As a mother, it was hard to see my baby so heartbroken. Steve and I understand what is going on and can deal with the heartache, but it is hard to watch your baby have to go through it at such a tender age. It just broke my heart.

Abby loved to make art work with her. Nana loved to display Abby's artwork at her office on her "Abby art door". She was very special and we miss her a lot.

June

2009-06-17T13:58:00.001-07:00

Though we have not gone out of town this summer, we have managed to stay pretty busy. Abby had gymnastics camp all last week. While she was doing that, Carter and I busied ourselves by going to the pool, the library, or the family free movie. Abby has also been in swim classes this summer with a one on one instructor. She really enjoys her swim class and loves her teacher. She has had about 4 classes now and already I can see improvement in her swimmming ability and confidence. I have included some of my favorite summer pics.

May

2009-06-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

May was a very busy month for us. Carter had a gymnastics ceremony/performance. That did not go well. He did not want to participate or do hardly anything. I have included what little pictures and video we were able to get.

Abby got out of school a few days early because she had her tonsils and adenoids taken out. She could not do any physical activity or eat anything crunchy for 2 weeks. Today was the first day she could do any physical activity or eat anything crunchy. So, we went swimming with her buddy Brooklynn this afternoon. She was so excited to get to run and play. She handled this past 2 weeks like a pro though. I was so proud of her !

School is out for us all and summer is here. Thank goodness!

Mother Goose Party

2009-04-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

The Friday before Spring break, Abby's grade put on a performance. Abby was assigned to be a horse. They worked on this performance for weeks. They did a great job! They really did. For Abby's part, she did a dance with 2 other girls in her class. Here are some pictures.

Beach Babes!

2009-04-29T15:13:00.001-07:00

The weather was horrible over Spring Break. So, we packed up and headed to the beach. The weather wasn't great there either. It was cold there too. But at least we were at the beach. As you can see from our pictures, we made the most of it. We went with our best friends and had a great time despite the weather.

Here is a video of Carter Mama watching the waves coming in:

Happy Easter!

2009-04-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Easter holiday. We went to church and had an Easter egg hunt. We also had a visit from the Easter bunny. It was a nice day outside. Thank goodness! Here are some pics and a video of Carter chasing the car the Easter bunny brought them.

Feb- March

2009-04-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

OK. I know I am way overdue for a blog. So, here is an update on the rest of February and March. Abby went to fun fairy party where she got to dress up and have a tea party. The place was said to be "haunted " by a nice fairy that likes to play dress up. She steals the kids clothes while they have they tea party and hides them in the other room. She also steals their napkins and cookies while they eat. The girls thought that was so much fun. The fairy was said to live in the chandelier above the tea room and when she gets excited she dances. She also would turn the lights on & off to answer questions. The host also told them a few etiquette rules, like what to do when a prince walks in the room (see the 2nd picture).

We also went to Fernbank to take Carter to see the Dinosaur exhibit. He loves his Diners! RRRRRR!! On the same day, we went to the circus with Grandma and saw an elephant that paints. That was pretty neat. Abby also tried on circus clothes. Boy, was that a busy day!

In March, around St. Pat's Day, Abby got a new puppy. We call him Odie. He is a cute lil' guy. He and Lucky seem to get a long well together too.

OPen Mic Night

2009-02-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

We had some friends over the other night and the kids,mainly Abby, decided to put on a show for us. I have included a video of Abby and one of Carter.

Abby gets her ears pierced!

2009-01-28T12:46:00.000-08:00

Abby talked us in to letting her get her ears pierced this past weekend. We have been holding out on her as long as we could. We told her about how it hurt a little and she had to earn it by filling up her sticker chart. She watched another little girl attempt to get it done that was 6, but that little girl wimped out. Abby still wanted to get done after that though. By the next weekend, she had her sticker chart filled up. She was so brave. She did not cry. However, yesterday, at ASP, one of her earrings got knocked out. I took her straight back to the mall, but hole was already closing back up. They had to pierce it again. She cried that time because her ear was a little sore. But she is doing ok now.

I am at home with her today because she woke up with a stomach bug last night. She is sleeping right now. She had a little fever just before she fell asleep. Hopefully, she will feel better when she wakes up.

Holiday Season

2009-01-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

This holiday has been an interesting one, to say the least. I think the kids relly enjoyed themselves. We saw the lights at Lanier, saw family, and also rode on the Polar Express. The kids really enjoyed that. Carter was so excited about the ticket. He kept showing me his ticket, saying, "Look , Mama, Ticket." I have included some of my favorite pictures from the season.

Sadly, the new year, began with the loss on a loved one. My grandfather died on New Year's morning. His funeral was yesterday. My mom watched the kids so that Steve and I could go to the funeral (Thank you, Mom). The service was beautiful. My grandfather was represented well and many people showed up at the service to pay their respects. I am thankful for my husband at times like this. He is such a busy person, with school and work. When I told him my grandfather died, he dropped everything he was doing and came. He made no comment about his busy schedule. He wanted to pay his respects to my grandfather, as well as be there for me. I love my husband!

Lanier Christmas Lights

2008-12-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

We went to Lanier to see the Christmas lights this weekend. It took us 2 hours to get to the entrance gate from the interstate exit. But the kids really enjoyed it though. I have included the pictures we took. The live nativity scence was neat too. Carter liked the live animals. To see the slideshow, click on this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/schaumleffel/sets/72157611235653921/show/

Carter said his first prayer a few nights ago. It was so cute. After I said the prayer, Abby wanted to say one. After she was done, Carter said, "Mama prayer. " So, Abby and I fed him the prayer line by line and he repeated a word or two at the end of every sentence we said. When he was done, he was so proud of himself that he began to clap.

Abby turns 6

2008-11-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

It is hard for me to believe, but my baby girl has turned 6. I swear I just had her. She is such a blessing to us. For her birthday party, she wanted a Pirate party. So, we had the party at a pirate themed jump place. There was a great turn out. Everyone had a great time, especially the birthday girl.

End of the Soccer Season

2008-11-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

Abby had her last soccer game this past Saturday. They were given medals after the game. She was also given a trophy on Tuesday night when the team met for a end of the season get together. She has grown so much as the season as gone on. She has made so much progress. She will start the indoor soccer soon with her same team members. She is really excited.

Halloween

2008-11-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

I know it has been way to long since I have updated the blogsite. I apologize. It has been so busy around here. Steve has started graduate school. So, we do not get to see him very much. The kids and I have been busy with soccer and getting ready for Abby's birthday party. Can you believe she turned six yesterday?

I am enclosing Halloween pictures from Halloween. Abby was a cat and Carter was a punk rocker. He had a guitar but did not carry it very long. He was scared to go go up to most of the houses. He went up to a few of them and even told them, " I Rock."

Meet the new addition to the family

2008-10-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

Meet Lucky, our newest member of the family. Isn't he cute? He is such as a sweet puppy. We got him on Monday. He 's a mutt that the Pet Rescue Club at my school rescued this weekend. I brought him home to see how he would do with the kids. He did great. The kids warmed right up to him and he warmed up to them. I think he is going to make a great family dog!

Pee Wee Penguin

2008-10-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Abby had her Zoo Phonics parade on Friday. She was the cutest penguin. She got really aggitated with her costume though. You can tell a little in the video. She got really hot in it. When I went to give her a hug when it was all over, she said, "Mama, I'm hot. I wanna take this off now. "

It just amazes me that she is in school now. I just had her yesterday. Watching her performance the other day, I started to tear up before she ever came on just thinking about it.

Carter is cute as ever. Steve has taught him to say, " I Rock." It is so cute and funny to hear him say it. He says it all the time now.

I can't decide what to dress Carter as for Halloween. Abby wants to be a cat. I can't think of anything that really goes with that. I thought of a mouse maybe- Mickey Mouse. I have also thought of a pirate. He often makes the "Arrgh" sound like a pirate (sometimes he is being a dinosaur or a monster or a tiger or bear when he makes the sound- depending on the situation)

Steve is getting excited about graduate school. He starts in just a few weeks now. Nothing exciting is happening with me. I have just been working and spending time with the family otherwise.

House of Mouse

2008-09-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

Life has been very busy here. Abby seems to be settling in to school. Last Friday was Mouse Day in her class. She had to dress like a mouse (picture enclosed). She was so excited about it. They had a lot of fun! She came home talking all about it. This Friday, they are doing a parade. Abby has to dress like a penguin and she is not happy about it because she thinks it is a boy because of the red bow on her costume.

This past weekend, we got our picture taken at a professional photography place. Carter was very uncooperative. We got lots of good pictures of Abby and only a few of Carter. I am surprised that we got the few that we did. Look for them at Christmas.

Carter's birthday party

2008-09-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

Carter's 2nd birthday party was this past weekens. It was Disney Cars themed (of course). He had such a great time and got lots of great new toys. He has been having so much fun playing with all his new toys and watching his new movies. He and Abby have been playing together with all the new things. He loves playing with his "Abbbeee". I have enclosed a few pics from the party and one a few days later playing with some of his new things.

First Soccer Game

2008-09-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

Abby had her first soccer game this weekend. I was really proud of her. She did really good. She was the goalie a few times and was also asked to kick the ball first for a play a few times. I have included a few pics and a video of her being a goalie ( She missed the ball in the video, but kept it out of the goal several times). We are so proud of our cute lil' soccer girl. In the pictures, Abby is the player with the number 2.

Carter turns 2

2008-09-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

Our baby boy celebrated his 2nd birthday yesterday. It is so suprising, so hard to believe. He is such an amazing child. When we found out that we were having a boy, I remember thinking I would not know what to do with a boy. Now I know: Just love him for the amazing being that he is. I cannot imagine my life without him now. I am the proud mother of a extraordinary little girl and an extraordinary little man.

For Carter's birthday, we took him and his Sissy to the Aquarium. It was great. It wasn't too crowded. We all had a great time. Carter enjoyed seeing all the "fishes." We are having a CARS birthday party this weekend, but we celebrated ourselves at home after the Aquarium with cupcakes after dinner. Enclosed are pictures we have taken over the past few weeks and yesterday. I have also enclosed a video taken at the Aquarium of the kids learning to clean fish.

First week of school

2008-08-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Abby has survived her first week of school. She has made lots of new friends there. She had her first soccer practice last night. I think she will enjoy it once the season gets going. She is really enjoying gymnastics.
We are preparing for Carter's 2nd birthday. The theme,of course, is Cars. With so many Cars, he will probably be on sensory overload.

First day of school

2008-08-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Our big girl started school this week. It is so hard to believe. We are so proud of her. Enclosed are pictures of her first day.

Sleepy Babies

2008-07-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the kids I took of the kids the other night just before bedtime. They are pretending to be asleep.

Carter has had a rough time with his teeth lately. He has got a few coming in and they have made him miserable lately. He has been quite the trouper, though. He has stayed happy even when he was obviously in pain.

Abby is getting excited about going to school soon. She is excited about going shopping for school stuff soon. Hard to believe our baby will be in school soon.

Grandma's 90th birthday

2008-07-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to Illinois for Grandma's 90th birthday party. She did not know we were coming and was so suprised and excited to see us. She had a great time at her party. There were over 1oo guests. We got to see many relatives that we have not seen in a long time.

Video Blog Test

2008-07-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is a test to see if we can do it. This is a video clip from Abby's graduation.

Our Family blog site

2008-07-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is our first entry in our family blog site. I am learning how to get this up and running, not very succesfully. So, please bear with me as I get it started.