Carter turns 3

On October 17th {officially at 1:59pm}, my sweet baby boy turned 3.  I really, really can't believe how fast the time has gone by.  We have had many trials over the last few years, and I caught myself saying many times that Carter was my light in the darkness...my joy...God gave us that sweet boy at the right time.  The kids certainly kept my focus somewhat in the right place and I am eternally grateful.  

{celebrating on his actual birthday with donuts}

Moving on ;)  We celebrated this sweet boy on Saturday the 19th with a Pumpkin Painting Party!! 

Thanks to my buddy, Holly, for the precious invites!

He was so excited for his party.  I made the mistake of mentioning it a few days prior; all he could talk about was his party and his pumpkins.  The 19th started out brutally cold and rainy, which made me sad because we had also booked a bounce house.  Thankfully, the skies cleared and the sun came out!  It was a great day!  The kids jumped, painted, ate, and celebrated with our boy!

Thanks to KK for snapping pictures...it always alleviates some of the stress at the birthday parties!

{I am "3"}

{Painting pumpkins with friends}

{Pumpkin Decor}

{pic 1 is our norm and sums us all up perfectly // take 2 is after several other takes ;)}

{Austin enjoying Carter's new bike}

{Thanks Birdie and Sam for Carter's new bike}

{sweet friends}

{He loves his new Train from KK & Chandler}

{Riley // 11 years old}

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Carter also celebrated at Cindy's house on his actual birthday...he requested BLUE cupcakes.  All the kids were stained blue for a day or two ;)

I will be forever grateful for Cindy and NayNay and all they do for our boy.  They have taught him so much more than I ever could have during his first few years of life!  So thankful!

Also, that night, we all headed to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate!  That was also Carter's request!

{it wasn't too long ago that we had to stand him inside the game so that he could make the baskets..now he has no problem shooting the ball over the glass.  He's getting big!

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Thanks to everyone that helped us celebrate our precious boy!  I look forward to seeing what the next year holds with this crazy kid!  Carter, we love you very much!  Happy Happy Birthday!

Go Commando 5k

Last weekend, I ran the Go Commando 5k with Lauren & Brittnye (she did the 1/2).  It was cold, rainy, and a bit miserable...but, I had my best finish in a 5k EVER!  I ranked 189 out of 700 runners!  Not to shabby!  My Map My Run App said I averaged 9:10 per mile...my results from the race said more like 9:26 per mile...I'll take the Apps word for it ;)  I was so pleased with my time!  This coming weekend, we are running in the APSU Homecoming 5k!  It's going to be hilly...so I'm a bit nervous but excited to see if I can beat last weekends time!

Pumpkin Patch & Circus

We wanted to take advantage of the nice weather {that has suddenly turned bitterly cold as of today} so Columbus Day Weekend we took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch.  Our favorite one to visit is Honeysuckle Hills Farm in Coopertown, TN.  It's about 20 minutes away from us but so worth it because of all the activities they have to offer: train rides, pumpkin picking, pumpkin shooting, petting zoo, etc!  The kids had a blast and were worn out...but we decided to drag them to the Shriner's Circus that night anyway ;)  We did have FREE tickets so I felt like it was justified!

We only stayed at the Circus until intermission...it was already pushing 9pm and it was only half way done.  Everyone in the Jenkins Family was exhausted...it was such a fun day!