Casey and his Dad at the Barrett Jackson auction this past weekend.

12 weeks.

I'm starting to collect a huge list in my bookmarks on my computer of links to sites with ideas for kids that I think would be fun.

Here is what I have collected so far. They are in no particular order.
*a fun toddler cup
*lego silverwear
*a sensory table
*rubberband guns
*armor of God
*GT and the Halo Express
*recycle crayons
*giant legos
*rice night
*snow in the tub
*mud

Last night Carter and I went for a walk. It's been slightly cool in Arizona these past few days so we had to bundle up a little. He seemed to like being outside since he didn't make a beep the whole time. I think we are going to start going on walks everyday.

I love his little bear hat.

He's getting big and HEAVY. I'm excited about getting arm muscles.



I remember when he was this little. [Sad face.] It's just going so darn fast.

It's rained here in Arizona for 2 days this week! Roads closed because of flooding and puddles of water are everywhere. Clearly Arizona is not suited for water. It hardly ever rains. It was actually a nice change to the normal weather of sunshine.

Not only is the rain a nice change, but the end of Casey's school year is about to come to a close. A really GOOD change. He is feeling a lot more relaxed and excited about the next 3 weeks. After a full year of work and school, he is glad that he has accomplished so much. Yesterday he took his ninth ASE test and of course, passed it. I said to him, "People are going to think you cheat." But he doesn't cheat. He just works really hard at learning. It's no joke to him like a lot of the guys at UTI. He wants to make the most out of it since it's not the cheapest education and he will need to know the stuff when working. Needless to say, Carter and I are very proud of Casey. He's done so well.

Carter is definitely growing and changing as you can see from the pictures below this post. He's starting to talk and laugh. I love it when he gets happy to see me more than anyone else. He's been sleeping through the night like a pro and taking good naps. Last week all the kid wanted to do was sleep and this week he's up more. He is really good at spitting up. We have burp clothes everywhere. We rotate activities between the floor play mat, the Johnny Jump Up, the swing, Praise Baby, and his bouncer. Having him at work has gone well. I just make sure I am prepared.
I call him squawker. Casey and I always ask him "Are you squawking?" when he starts to whimper and that turned into squawker. It's cute.

Casey's Dad came into town this weekend and they are going to the Barrett Jackson auction to look at a bunch of cars. (boring)

It'll be a good weekend. Hopefully relaxing. :)

1 week.



















6 weeks.



















11 weeks.

Robeez.

I decided it was time for Carter to get some shoes. Friend after friend told me Robeez baby shoes were the way to go for little ones. After shopping online for them, I found so many different patterns and styles.

When I came across these, I thought they would be perfect. Brown is a neutral color that will hopefully go with more outfits and cars seemed appropriate. Plus the website I found had free shipping and I found a $5.00 off promo code online.

Casey passed 2/3 ASE tests he took today. SO only 1 more until he is a ASE certified mechanic. He can take that test again in May. :)

Help Haiti through Spend Yourself.

Click on the link to find out what it is all about.

I think the worst part of double coursing is over. THANKFULLY. Casey has Monday off next week, three nights where he will be home early b/c he leaves school to take 3 of the ASE tests, and end of phase Friday.

And though we always plan on having simple, restful weekend, I think it will turn out to be busy just like always. Now that we have one car and a baby, I can't get out for anything very much so Casey is running around doing our errands while I am at work.

The Phoenix, Cardinal football game is on this afternoon.

My friend Katie Kelly found this blog from missionaries in Haiti who are right now living admist the destruction and desperation.

I don't know anything about them or their situation but it stood out to me that their house made it standing and all of their family members are alive.

Bye. Bye. Nissan.

This weekend we sold my (I'm married...so really it's OUR) Nissan, Altima. It's the car I have had for 5 years. I bought it for $1900.00 and we were able to sell it for $1800.00. I'd say we did pretty good on that transaction.

I was a little sad when we were cleaning it out and getting it ready to go to sell. It was a good, reliable car. Lots of good memories.

Casey wants to fix up his old 944 when we get back to the Lou so we really don't need 3 cars. The $$$$ we got for the Nissan will go towards fixing up the Porsche. And we won't have to worry about getting the car back b/c I am flying with the kid and Casey is pulling the Saturn with Uhaul truck filled with our loot. :)

Graduation countdown: 31 days!!!!
*****This double coursing business is killing both of us. BUT I think it will be worth it. Next week (the last week of double coursing) Casey will be taking 3 of his ASE tests that he didn't pass way back in November which means he will be home early those days.

Current Fav Blogs.

House decorating on a budget:

All Bower Power
Young House Love

Baby stuff:

OhDEEdoh
AshleyAnn
Becoming Mom

Carterness.

How we love our sweet little guy! He's getting big SO fast.

Here's a dose of Carter for you.....

Tummy sleeping.


















































Johnny Jump Up.

I've never really been good at laundry and I've never really learned how to do it well. I have picked up on the very basics: sort by color, add detergent, don't put clothes in the dryer you don't want Most of the time when doing my laundry, my goal is to get it done as fast as I can. As a result, I ruin clothes and age them quicker than I want to.

outfit for the day.

Our tie onsie from Ms. Katie Kelly. :)

OUTFIT FOR THE DAY

Our tie onsie from Mrs. Katie Kelly. :)

Carter Facts.

*I've only got a few for right now.

Favorite color: red....we think. He always stares at red things.
Favorite activity: Looking out windows. He will sit in his bouncer happily and kick and flail his arms in front of our window behind our couch. We do this every morning.
Favorite food: breast milk.


*Aren't these cute? Toms Shoes for little guys. They start at a size 10 so we've got a little bit until they will work.

As everyone knows who reads this, Casey has passions in life are quite obvious: St. Louis Cardinals, Matchbox 20, Pumas, (God, wife, son are in here too) and Porsches. One of the main reasons for going to UTI was the opportunity to go to the Porsche Technology Apprenticeship Program in Atlanta, GA. After completing the program, mechanics are considered factory trained and can get jobs all around the world. It's really hard to get into the program. 9 people are accepted twice a year (or something like that.) So it's a big deal. There are a lot of steps in order to get in. You have to have a high GPA, ASEs, perfect attendance and an interview with the Porsche/UTI guy.

SSSSooooooo all of that to say Casey had his interview today. He left for school this morning (the interview was at school) in his new Express suit (that we got an amazing, after Christmas deal on) and fun new tie and belt. He had his presentation of all his experience with Porsches throughout his life all ready.

All of his prep work paid off. Casey was accepted into the Porsche program. Unfortunately this doesn't mean he is totally in yet. It just means that he can interview with the Porsche people which will happen in April. But it's still a big deal. Most guys don't get that far. So it's a great opportunity for Casey. We are excited to see what happens. A few months ago, we didn't even think it was an opportunity.

AND there's more exciting news.....if you can believe it....CARTER SLEPT from 9-5 two nights in a row now. I just randomly decided to put him to sleep on his tummy and it worked wonders. We have always put him to sleep on his back since the hospital nurses and doctors and our pediatrician made such a big stinkin' deal about making sure we didn't put him on his tummy. Anyway....I was very excited about that.

I haven't been thrilled though with his sleeping patterns this week during the day. The past few days he has fussed and not slept well at all during work. So I am working on making adjustments and get a little better schedule since he is getting bigger and changing all the time.

To help give him more activity in life, I got him a Johnny Jump Up (I think that's what they are called) today at Once Upon A Child. ($15.00, cute, and in good condition!!) SO hopefully we can keep him up when he's suppose to be and asleep when he's suppose to be. :)

And me.....how am I doing? Glad you asked. Just trying to keep everything going and go to work. Learning how to do the baby thing and trying to hold on to each moment b/c before you know it, Carter's going to be in Kindergarten and then high school and then college and then..... GOODNESS.

The Eldridge men were busy today. :)

One of the two classes Casey is taking right now is a hot rod class. He built the engine in this car. Today they ran it on a dyno which rates the horsepower and torque.










Carter sported his bulldog onsie.















And he sat in the bumbo for the first time today.




He's getting so BIG.

[sad face]

I love him.

As always, life just keeps flying by. Carter turned two months this week, Casey has 3 classes (6 weeks left), and 2009 is over (and what a year it has been). Casey and I both are excited about everything that God has done in our lives. HE HAS SHOWN US CONTINUALLY THAT HE IS IN CONTROL in so many little and big details. I've never really been a huge risk taker at life at all. I like to prevent mistakes, stress, confrontation, etc. So it's crazy to think that Casey and I just up and left one day in Kansas City in pursuit of UTI and Arizona. We didn't have a job or apartment lined up. We didn't know what to do with the truckload of STUFF that we had. We didn't know anything about Arizona. But we knew that this was the best thing for Casey and his career and our future. The unknowns were a little (or a LOT) worrying at times (probably more on my end than Casey's). I definitely had my fairshare of freak out/emotional moments during the whole process but God had everything all figured out for us. I don't think I can express it enough in a stupid blog post how amazing it is to look back and see how everything just came together. It's really unbelieveable and I hope that Casey and I continue to live our Christian walk with the same amount of unknown everyday b/c it is so good to have to always trust God and leave everything in his hands and really experience the Holy Spirit and our faithful, faithful, LOVING Father. God must laugh at us when we think we are in control of anything. It's kind of sad that our depth of trusting isn't even close to what other Christians experience around the world.

All of that rambling to say that we are very, VERY THANKFUL for a good 2009. We are excited about 2010 b/c we still don't know what that completely looks like........except for February 12, 2010 around noon.....CASEY'S GRADUATION!!!!

smiles.