Do you notice what is missing?

That is right, my little man lost his first tooth tonight!  It only took us over an hour to convince him that letting us pull and in the end, we still tricked him.  I know, mean parents, but it did not hurt and he was pumped!

Happy Birthday To Our Little Miracle

Happy 3rd Birthday to the most amazing little miracle ever! 

I am so amazed daily by your strength and fight for life...We love you, Natalie

Summer Fun

Our summer has been full of surprises and fun, of course!  The weekend of Natalie's appointment at Children's, we also went to Great Wolf Lodge with some friends and my brother's family.  We had so much fun!  If you have not had a chance to go there, it is neat place for kids.  Carter was tall enough to do a few of the water slides, but not all. We even got my mom to go on a few water slides!

Hinsley and Hunter Patterson, Kate Sterquell, Natalie, Luke Sterquell and Carter

They were suppose to be in bed, notice the extra large lollipops in their hands
Natalie, Hinsley Patterson, Carter and Hunter Patterson

Hinsley Patterson, Natalie, Hunter Patterson and Carter
Again, no such luck on the sweet dreams

 We had a great 4th of July!  My brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew all came in town, plus Larry's parents were here as well.  We have a little cabin outside of town and they always put on a fun 4th of July BBQ picnic and parade.  Plus, we made it home in time for the kids to watch Amarillo's firework show from Carter's bedroom window! 

Cannon Ball!



Luke and Carter getting decked out for the 4th

Carter, Natalie, Gigi, Luke and Kate

A little team work

Larry trying to get Natalie to give him a piece of her candy; she does not like to share candy

Kate and Natalie swimming

 We got invited to go to a friend's lakehouse at a near by lake, I know you are thinking a lake?  Yes, there is a few small ones around Amarillo, but nothing huge.  This lake, Tanglewood, happens to be right on the edge of town and it is a pretty great little community.

Larry took Carter on a jet-ski.  I am not sure who had more fun, but Carter has already asked to go again!

Larry's parents also kept the kids for a few days so we could go out of town, before life got crazy again with Natalie's upcoming surgery (I will post pictures from our trip later this week or next, because most of them are on Larry's camera). Thanks Gran and Papa for watching the kids!

Gran hard at work, teaching finger painting
Natalie loved it! Carter hates to get his hands dirty, so needless to say, it was not his thing

Where Carter spends most of his time this summer

Guess who's taking this picture?