Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving was extra special since we had baby Bryce here with us to celebrate. We enjoyed a quiet morning at home with just the four of us. I made one of Ryan's favorite dishes, egg, cheese and Portuguese sausage casserole, for breakfast that all of us enjoyed. After nap time we went over to mom and dad Hooper's house for a nice Thanksgiving meal. My mom outdid herself as usual and we had such a lovely meal and time of fellowship. My mom made a turkey and we all wrote what we were thankful for on the feathers and shared it with the family. Carter was thankful for his horsey who he sleeps with every night and his grandparents who spoil him on both sides of the family. After our turkey devotional we went downstairs and played some games with the kids. Carter loves playing "Ring Around the Rosie." Playing with the kids was a lot of fun. Carter and his cousin Cailyn are great buddies and they love playing together. Carter loves giving hugs to Cailyn and she is always a great sport about it even though half the time Carter knocks her over. I was so proud to get a family photo of us on Thanksgiving, even though Carter wouldn't necessarily cooperate. Bryce wore a special Thanksgiving outfit that said "Baby's 1st Thanksgiving" on his shirt and Carter dressed up in a handsome sport jacket that his Aunt Carolyn gave to him. What handsome Correia boys! We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Big Brother Carter

We are so proud of Carter's wonderful adjustment to being a big brother at only 19 months. Ever since Bryce came home from the hospital Carter has been such a gentle and loving big brother. He loves giving Bryce hugs and kisses even though often his kisses are open-mouthed. Carter holds out his hands to show us he wants to hold Bryce. He has tried picking him up, since he sees mommy and daddy carrying and holding him all the time, but has been instructed not to do this. He can only hold Bryce while he is sitting down and with mommy or daddy next to him. When Carter is playing and hears Bryce crying he stops what he is doing and goes to check Bryce out. Today I was in the kitchen getting lunch ready and Bryce started crying. I peeked in because he stopped crying and I saw the cutest thing...Carter found Bryce's binky and put it in his mouth. My heart melted at Carter's kindness. First of all, it's amazing Carter didn't suck on Bryce's binky to begin with and second of all Bryce doesn't usually like binkies. I think he just took it because Carter gave it to him and he already admires his big brother. Ryan and I love our little guys and cannot thank God enough for our family of four!

Megan's Speedy Labor

I was quite anxious to deliver Bryce especially since he decided to not come on his due date, which was November 1st. The next day, Sunday, November 2nd we went to church as a family and enjoyed a nice lunch together before nap time. Carter went down for his nap and so did I. Right before nap time I began to notice some leakage. I humbly mentioned to Ryan that I couldn't control my bladder and was leaking a little bit. We just laughed about it and then I went down for a nice long Sunday nap. After my nap I continued to leak and began to think that this just might be something more then me not being able to control myself...at least I hoped! After I read a little about the infamous water breaking, I realized that mine might have broke even though I never experienced a gush which is what you see in the movies. I didn't want any infection to occur in our baby, so I decided to call the doctor and tell him what was going on. He told me to go to the hospital and they would check me out right away. We packed the car and took Carter with us to the Labor & Delivery Floor. We checked in around 4:45 pm. I changed into my gown and the nurse told me my water did break and that I was already 5 cm dilated! I couldn't believe it...Bryce was on his way! My parents came and picked Carter up around 5:30 pm. While Ryan was attending to Carter and ordering some dinner, my contractions came on pretty strong. I got an epidural which relieved a little pain, however, Bryce's heart rate dropped drastically for about 15 minutes and the doctor was about to use the vacuum. Thankfully, it went back to normal and he was able to come in his own fashion. Ryan's dinner arrived and about half way through I complained to my nurse, Princess, that my epidural was not working. She checked me and said the pain was due to me being 10 cm dilated and time for me to push this baby out. Unfortunately, Ryan couldn't finish his dinner and he helped me deliver a healthy baby boy, Bryce Keith Xavier. He was born at 7:01 pm which was only a couple hours after we checked into the hospital. He was 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 3/4 in long. It was a wonderful delivery experience, especially compared to our first. Bryce was able to breath on his own and he was placed right on top of me at birth instead of having to be rushed into the NICU. We cannot thank God enough for answering all our prayers...He is just too good to us!

Carter is 18 Months!

We cannot believe our "baby" is 18 months old!!! He had a great check-up yesterday with the doctor. He is 28 lbs. (75th percentile) and 33 1/2" tall (80th percentile). We are so proud of our Carter! His favorite thing to do is be outside. He loves playing outside with his sidewalk chalk, riding in his red buggy car, going for walks, helping mommy and daddy with yard work, playing on our neighbor's swing set and going to playgrounds. Carter babbles nonstop and points to everything he recognizes/wants. He is also able to say a few words including "boo, uh-oh, eese, mama, dada, up." He is great about listening and following directions when he wants to. He knows to sit on the step so I can put his socks and shoes on. He also knows that time-out is sitting on the step and calming himself down when he is being disobedient, which doesn't happen too much. Carter loves reading books, throwing balls, hitting the baseball with his bat, pushing his lawn mower around the house, watching Barney and his favorite DVD which still is Praise Baby. We love that Carter is a snuggler. He loves giving hugs and kisses. Some of our favorite moments is in the morning after he wakes up to put him in our bed to have some cuddle time. He loves laying on mommy and daddy and we love tickling him and just waking up together, even though it is often 8:30am. We cannot thank God enough for creating Carter. He is such a wonderful gift and blessing. We know he is going to be a wonderful big brother in about 10 days. Carter, mommy and daddy love you more then you will ever know and we know God has special plans for your life.

Down the Shore with Best Friends!

On October 11th and 12th we had the fun privilage of going down the Jersey Shore with some of our best friends, the Coucharas (Joe, Laura and Joey) and Reigners (Eric and Carol). Laura and Carol are my two best friends from high school and it is rare to be able to get away with them and their families. We all got down there on Saturday and after lunch we got the two little guys, Joey and Carter, to the beach. Since it was pretty breezy outside we bundled them up and didn't expect them to enjoy the ocean water as much as they did. To our surprise Joey was the first one to fall into the water, which he actually loved! Carter was also eager to jump the waves with his daddy and eventually fell into the water as well. The boys loved just sitting on the wet sand playing with some beach toys. Soon it was back to the house for naptime. After the naps, we all got ready to go to the boardwalk. We had a nice dinner at Mac n Manco's Pizza and enjoyed taking the boys on a few rides. After a nice walk on the boardwalk we enjoyed some ice cream from Kohr Brother's. After putting the boys to bed, we adults enjoyed watching the Office all night long thanks to Carol! We had many good laughs and good talks. Sunday was spent eating some great meals and just enjoying being able to relax at the beach house. It was the last big getaway for our family since baby boy #2 is suppose to enter the world in about 2 weeks. I think the reality of it hit me when Carol said to me as we were saying our goodbyes, "Well, I guess the next time I will see you is at the hospital with your newest addition!" Thank you best friends for a great weekend getaway!

Happy Fall!

Carter and I went to Willow Creek Orchards with our MOPS group on October 9th. It was a beautiful day and actually felt more like summer then fall weather, but it was still a lot of fun doing something in honor of the fall season. Carter's favorite part was picking berries and eating them...or should I say having his mama pick them and give them to him to eat while he sat in the lovely grass. Carter also got to go to their pumpkin patch and pick out his first pumpkin. He picked a great one which now sits right outside our front door for decoration. I am blessed to be able to stay at home with Carter and do these fun events...thank you Ryan for working so hard for us...we love you lots!!!

Sesame Place

Our wonderful friends, Albie, Katie and Landon Guerra, invited us to spend a fun-filled day with them at Sesame Place on September 27th. Landon is about 4 months younger then Carter and they are quickly becoming good buddies. They enjoyed playing together and going on some rides together. Sesame Place was decorated for the fall season, which was beautiful. The boys walked through their first cornstalk maze with their mamas who couldn't seem to find their way out without the help of the daddies. It was a fun day with great friends...what else could we have asked for? Thank you Albie, Katie and Landon!!!

A Wonderful Week at the Jersey Shore

Do you ever wonder why God is so good to us? I do! Our family was blessed by God with another wonderful week down the shore. It's an annual summer vacation we look forward to every year with the Hooper side of the family. Mom and Dad Hooper graciously rent a house each summer for us "kids" to enjoy. We had beautiful weather all week long. We did many fun things this year and Carter was at a perfect age to start enjoying them. In the mornings the grandkids loved going on walks and bike rides with Grammi and Papa. They walked to the sticky bun shop, the beach and the local park. Carter was aways ready for his morning nap after being out in the mornings with some of his favorite people and Ryan and I greatly appreciated that! The middays were spent at the beach. It was fun to watch our brave boy walk right into the ocean water. He loved jumping the waves with Daddy and Papa. He learned how to dig some big holes with his shovel and loved going in and out of them all afternoon long. After naptime in the afternoons, we enjoyed relaxing with family. We went to the boardwalk a bunch of times and Carter is starting to love his rides. Carter enjoyed eating ice cream and drinking some fresh lemonade for his treat. We did have a bump in the road when Carter's molars decided to make their entry into this world. Carter spiked a fever of almost 103 degrees and was just not himself for a couple of days. Thankfully the fever didn't last forever and he had many loving adults around him to comfort him during such a rough time. Little does he know how those molars are going to help him chew some red meat one of these days...Rye is looking forward to that day! We praise God so much for a wonderful week at the shore and look forward to next year bringing our newest addition. Please keep us in your prayers as we transition from one to two boys in the Correia household. November 1st is rapidly approaching...

Beautiful Bermuda

Ryan and I spent the second weekend in August in beautiful Bermuda! We went mainly for his dad's wedding and also considered it our last chance to get away before baby boy #2 arrives. We had such a great time visiting family whom we have not seen in two years. Thanks to Grammi and Papa Hooper we were able to leave our little guy in PA while we traveled abroad. It was very hard for us to leave Carter, but knew it was the best thing for him at this time. Of course he was spoiled while we were away and he loved every minute of it.

Ryan and I enjoyed staying with Aunt Doris and Ted in South Hampton. The house has a beautiful pool house which we lived in for the weekend. We enjoyed eating out, swimming, taking walks, relaxing and just talking with one another and family. We had a great time attending Jerry's (Ryan's dad) wedding. The ceremony was conducted on a sailboat which was very different then an American wedding. We also enjoyed celebrating at the reception which was at a restaurant overlooking the ocean. We are very excited to welcome Allison to the family and wish them many wonderful years of growing old together as a married couple.

Ryan and I were super excited to return to Carter after being away for a long weekend. We rushed home after our flight returned and ran into the house to see our amazing son. We will never forget his precious face...he just looked at us with a huge smile on his face and began laughing hysterically. He was so excited for us to be home and we were too. It's amazing how much we love Carter!

A Weekend in the Poconos

This past weekend was spent in the Pocono Mountains with the Hooper side of our family. We spent all of our days at the swimming lake which Carter loved. He is so content to just play in the water, shovel the sand and play on Grammi's beach chair. At the house we spent a lot of our time outside with the kids. We took walks, played on the swings, and watched the goldfish swim in the pond. We also went out on Saturday night for some ice cream. Ryan and I decided to not get Carter his own cone, but for him to share with us, well, he not only ate almost all of our ice cream, but everyone else's as well! He would walk from adult to adult taking huge bites of their cones. What a character! Thank you mom and dad for a wonderful weekend in the Poconos!

It's a BOY!!!

Yes, that's right around November 1, 2008 we are expecting our second son and we couldn't be more thrilled! We are trying our hardest to keep the name a surprise...so don't even ask! My pregnancy is going great and our littlest guy is quite active these days in my tummy. It's hard to even imagine who God is forming and knitting together right now, we are just so thankful that everything is going great. We can't believe that Carter is going to be a big brother this fall.

Myrtle Beach, May 2008

Shortly after we moved in to our new home we took Carter on a road trip (yes, we are crazy!) to Myrtle Beach, SC. On our way we stayed a few nights in Williamsburg, VA and then headed to a beautiful resort in Myrtle Beach. We spent the week just enjoying being together as family. Of course Carter was spoiled by "dada" and loved all the attention and affection from Ryan. We spent a lot of time at the pool which Carter loved floating in his turtle. We also took Carter to the beach and he learned how to shovel sand into a bucket for the first time. Thankfully, he didn't want to eat the sand this time around. We also went to an aquarium, ate out at some great restaurants, shopped, relaxed, watched a lot of NBA, saw a lot of motorcycles (it was Bike Week!), and went on some amusement rides. It was such a great time! On our way back home we stayed a night in Richmond, VA and ended up in Annapolis, MD. We loved Annapolis, MD and hope to go back someday. We went on a ferry tour ride and enjoyed seeing all the gorgeous sailboats as the sunset. We thank God for such a great vacation with our little guy...it'll be the last one with the three of us since we have another one joining us this coming fall.

Carter turned 1!!!

Carter turned one on April 17, 2008. We can't believe our little guy is growing up so quickly! On his actual birthday we had immediate family over to celebrate his special day. The theme for that party was Sesame Street. Carter got many cool presents such as a train, airplane, buggy car, books, clothes, and lots of love. After we moved in to our new house we had another birthday bash for our one year old. We had about 50 of our favorite people over to not only help us celebrate with Carter one last time, but also for them to see our new place. One of Ryan's clients made us a gorgeous cake (pictured above) and once again Carter was spoiled with lots of presents such as basketball hoops, beach toys, lots of stylish clothes, a farm, bubbles, books, etc. The sad reality of this birthday is that Carter will probably not remember even a minute of his birthday celebrations, however, they were so much fun to plan and carry out and I wouldn't do it any differently even if I could. We think the world of Carter and treasure our precious gift from God. He is the best!!!

The House of Our Dreams!

On April 24, 2008 we finally got the keys to the house of our dreams! We now live in Royersford, PA about 45 minutes from our first home in Drexel Hill, PA. With the help of our wonderful friends and family we successfully moved in without a hitch...Praise the Lord! We have done some minor improvements such as painting and are enjoying the process of truly making it our home. Carter is right at home and has explored every inch of his new domain. We only had one little incident and that was when my mom and I accidently locked Carter in the house all by himself. Thankfully, we were able to keep him occupied by playing peek-a-boo by the window and knew he wasn't in danger. We were more then eager to have the police come and break through a door or window, however, I discovered a bag of random keys the previous homeowners left and was able to unlock our back door before they came. As I ran through the door, I scooped up Carter and hugged and kissed him like he has never experienced before. That was certainly a day to remember.
Our new address is as follows:

111 Abbey Drive
Royersford, PA 19468
484.369.4852
We welcome visitors, cards, and phone calls any day of the week!