just a few pictures

Carter loved, loved, LOVED the Christmas tree! In this picture he couldn't decide what he wanted....the christmas lights or my camera!
Decision made....he wanted the camera!

Whatever Greg was saying must have been hilarious. The look on Carter's face in this picture is priceless!

Looking more and more like daddy everyday!

It's only been 7 1/2 months....

...and look how much my baby boy has grown!!!

such a happy little boy

As most of you know, Carter loves the camera. As soon as I pull it out he starts grinning. He is such a happy baby. Here are some of new favorite pictures of him.







This last one is my absolute favorite. Grinning behind the teething ring makes him look so mischevious!

Happy Holidays

I know it's been a while since I posted a blog. It seems like once you miss a day, a month goes by before you remember. I'll try to catch you up on the crazy life of The West Family.

Greg has been really busy with work. The company is consolidating several of the plants around the world into one building here in Morgantown. The president of the company put Greg in charge of the entire project. This is great for Greg, but needless to say, he is having to put in a lot of extra hours.

I'm doing good. I haven't worked now for about 2 months, but I am enjoying staying at home with Carter. I get to see first-hand each new development he makes. I couldn't imagine missing out on all of them! He turned 7-months old this past Sunday. He is quickly becoming very independent. He loves to just sit in the floor and play with his toys. It's a joy to see him grow, but it breaks my heart at the same time!

This picture was taken after letting Carter lick a lemon. It would make his whole body quiver, but he kept wanting more. He must take after his mom, because I've always liked lemons.



This next picture is capturing one of Carter's favorite things to do. The older he gets, the more he enjoys the water. I can't keep him from laying down in the tub...it's the first thing he does! He loves to "swim"!

This year we have truly been blessed. Not only did our family grow, but we have been happy and healthy. Hopefully next year will be even better.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season, and I hope that you & your families will be blessed just as much as we have.

Happy Holidays!

Carter's 6-month pictures

Last Saturday mom and I took Carter for his 6-month photo session with Laurie Keen. Since Greg was out of town, we only did Carter's pictures. Tonight we went back so we could get some family pictures made, and they turned out great. I almost got teary-eyed on everyone because Carter is growing up so fast....he looks just like a little man in the pictures. For a sneak peek of what's to come check out Laurie's blog at http://www.lauriekeen.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoy!!

two of a kind

So, I'm absolutely loving this picture of Carter and his Grandpa. Just wanted to share it with everyone else!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving dinner has come and gone, and I'm stuffed!! The food was wonderful, but the family was even better. As much as I love the food, my favorite part of Thanksgiving is definitely the family. I look forward to it all year long. As always, it was great to see the Indiana bunch, especially my Mamaw Jan. I sure do miss her when she's not here. For those of you who don't know her you sure are missing out. I just wish she could be closer so that my handsome baby boy could get to know her better.

Daniel and Holly came. They brought Blake with them. He is such a doll! It was really nice to see them. Even though he's my brother, we don't get to spend as much time with them as I would like. Daniel is attending the police academy, and Holly is busy with work and school. I'm glad they could make it.

Of course I also enjoyed seeing Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Betty, and Kelly Ray. Aunt Betty is so good with Carter. She thinks of him as a grandson, since she doesn't have any of her own. She's gonna be called "Aunt Grammy".

Mammaw and Pappaw came, too. Greg really enjoys talking with pappaw. He's always got some story to tell.

Last, but certainly not least, is mom & dad. Thanksgiving dinner was at their house this year, as it has been the past several years. Even though we see them almost everyday, I still enjoy spending time with them. They are my heros...I don't know what I would do without them.

As you can see in the picture below, Carter seemed to really enjoy his first Thanksgiving. He's such a ham when it comes to the camera. 6-months old and he already "poses"!!

Well, I hope everyone else had a wonderful turkey day. I know I did...I wish we had these days more often.

bunches of thanks!

You know how sometimes there is that person in your life who you feel you can go to anytime? No matter what's wrong, or what time it is, they are always there. You can tell this person anything, knowing that your secrets are safe. That person, for me, is Holly. She has quickly became my bestfriend. Not only is she a wonderful friend to me....Carter loves her, too! She is so loving and giving to my little baby boy. I am so thankful for her, and I know that one day, Carter will be too! So Holly, if you're reading this....thank you so much. I don't know what I would do without you! I love you girl!

sittin' up

My baby boy is growing up so fast! Just this past weekend he spent the night with Holly & Michael, and learned to sit up on his own!!! Look at those baby blues in this picture....irresistable!!

Yesterday Greg & I took Carter for his six-month check-up. He weighed 17 lbs. 3 oz. and was 28 inches long. That means that in the past two months he has grown 3 inches!!! His feet are almost hanging out of his carseat already. This is one little boy that isn't gonna be little for much longer! With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I must say how extremely thankful I am that Greg & I have such a healthy, growing, adorable baby boy. I couldn't ask for more!

Don't worry...I'm still here!

Between school, work, my new photography hobby, friends and family, I have been super busy. Oh, I forgot to mention being a mom & a wife!! I am still adjusting to juggling the many aspects of my life. In the meantime, it is easy to forget about my blog. I really enjoy blogging, and especially reading everyone else's, but it somehow just gets stuck on the back burner. Just know that I am still here, and will try to post more often. I need someone to send me a message every once in a while saying, "Leslie....time to post. Update everyone on your crazy life"!

Thanksgiving will be here soon. It's my favorite holiday. I love, love, love Thanksgiving food! Why we only have it one time a year, I'm not sure. I could eat it everyday. Besides the food, I also love, love, love the family!! I am so excited to see everyone. Can't wait for you all to be here.

Well, gotta go. Got some mom & wife duties to tend to....not to mention studying for my Anatomy test, which is today at 2:30!!

Love to all,
Leslie

new blog

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have another blog!!! Check it out at www.alyn-carterphotography.blogspot.com and let me know what you think!

Thanks!

Check out my 8-pointer!!!

Yesterday, opening day of deer season, was the first time that I had ever been hunting. I must say that I am very proud of myself...my very first shot scored me the beauty below, and I do believe Greg is just a tiny bit jealous!!

country roads

These pictures were taken right outside my front door. Just one of the many advantages to living in the country!!

put me, Carter and a camera together....

...and this is what you get!

just me and my little man...

Just thought I'd share my new favorite photos with everyone!

experimenting with the camera

A few months ago Greg & I went on a canoeing trip down the Green River. I decided to try my hand at some photography. Here are the resulting pictures. The ones of the fire are my favorite!! P.S. I think I've found a new hobby!

Happy Halloween

As many of you know, this Halloween was Carter's first! We visited mostly just family and friends. Our last stop of the evening was to meet up with The Ellis family. Alicia and I have been the best of friends since 3rd grade. When I say we have had our ups & downs and been through thick & thin, I mean it. Yet we have still managed to remain great friends after all this time, and now our two handsome baby boys are going to grow up together. How ironic!?! I'm sure that we are going to have our hands VERY full over the years with these two. Here is a picture of the two of them on their first Halloween together!!!

We should take their advice!!

A few more favorite quotes by some very inspirational women!!

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles." ~Audrey Hepburn

"Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart. To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. Anger is only one letter short of danger. If someone betrays you once, it is their fault. If they betray you twice, it is your fault. Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. He who loses money loses much; he who loses a friends loses much more; he who loses faith loses all. Learn from the mistakes of others...you can't live long enough to make them all yourself." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Norma Jean...

Ever since I was a little girl I have been amazed by Marilyn Monroe. I think it is because my dad has a picture of his mother, who died before I was born, and I have always thought that she looked like Marilyn Monroe. I love to collect calendars, posters, pictures...anything that has her on it! So, I just wanted to take the time to share a few of my favorite quotes by her.....

~Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.~

~I believe things happen for a reason. People change so you can learn to let go, things so wrong so that you can appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so that you eventually begin to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can fall together.~

~I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I'm out of control and at times I'm hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.~

So far behind...

I know, I know...it's been over a week since I posted a new blog!! Life has been so hectic lately, and needless to say, my blog gets put on the back burner. Today, however, I have a little time. I just started back to school this week (last week was fall break). I really did not want to go back! I have decided to do the nursing program, and hopefully will be able to start in August of 2009. In the meantime, I have switched to PRN at the nursing home, which means I work when I'm needed. Well, they need people everyday because they are so under staffed. So, basically I get to fill in whenever I want. I took this week off so I could catch up on some things, though. My house is an absolute wreck!! No visitors, PLEASE! You wouldn't even be able to walk through the living room! Carter's things are everywhere. Who knew a 5 month old could have already collected so much stuff! I have also started cutting hair again, as you saw in my previous blog. So far it's going pretty good. I'm getting a lot of new customers...the girls I work with seem to love me!! Yay me! My plan is to pick up enough hair business that I can quit at the nursing home. Those 12 hour shifts are killer right now. Once Carter gets older they might not be so bad. Speaking of Carter, my baby boy is growing up so fast. He's now eating baby food. Squash, carrots, applesauce, bananas....you name it, he eats it. Except for peas....that little boy sure doesn't like peas!! I finally found a halloween costume. He is going to be a penguin. It's too cute! I'm so excited! Well, that's about all the time I have. I can now check "post a new blog" off the to-do list. Have a good week...hopefully I'll be back soon!

Sunday, Sunday

Today was a really great day. Greg, Carter & I went to church at Cool Springs. We enjoyed it a lot, and will definitely go back. Afterwards we had dinner with Cody & Deneatra Henderson at Cody's parent's house, Pete & Doris Henderson. After such an awesome dinner, we headed home to relax. A few hours later it was time for another trip to Jackson's Orchard. They had a petting zoo set up, and Carter was able to see lots of animals for the first time! He really enjoyed the goats. While they were trying to eat his bib, he just laughed! He also got to see a baby llama, a miniature donkey & pigs! We had lots of fun. We got there kinda late, so we weren't able to take a hayride. I guess that will have to wait until next time. Today's experiences are just some of the reasons I love Sundays!!

little piggies

Carter will be 5 months old on the 14th of this month. It's so amazing because at this age he is constantly learning and discovering new things. Ever since Julia introduced him to his little piggies when she took his pictures, all he does is play with his feet. His expression is always so funny...almost like he's saying "what ARE these things?". It seems like everyday he is able to do something new. I can't believe my little boy is growing so fast! Before long he'll be bigger than I am!

my world

These two guys mean the world to me. My husband, Greg, is a wonderful father to Carter. He doesn't really think so, but when Greg comes home from work, Carter is so excited to see him! Greg can always make him laugh out loud! This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them together. Anyway, I just wanted to show them off!!

sweetness

I can't help but smile everytime I look at these pictures. Julia did such an amazing job with Carter. I am so thankful that I have these to look back on as he gets older. So, Julia if you're reading this....THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

NashVegas

More photos from the big night out in NashVegas!!

a night out on the town

Saturday night I went to Nashville with the girls, Haley, Kristen, Keisha & Holly, for Haley's bachelorette party. We stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel, which is downtown. We had an absolute blast. We spent most of the night at the Buck Wild Saloon, which was awesome. Below is a picture of Holly & I from that night. Have you ever seen such hotties??? More pictures to come soon!

Studio 56 ~Hair by Leslie~

Just wanted to let everyone know that my salon, Studio 56 ~Hair by Leslie~, is up and running!! I am available on Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday. Call to make your appointment today! Also, if you mention that you saw this ad, you will receive 20% off one service of your choice!! Don't wait....call now!

Leslie West
owner of Studio 56 ~Hair by Leslie~
(270) 999-2723

It's October already???

Happy October everyone!!! Soon it will be time for carving pumpkins & trick-or-treating! Can you believe it? This year has flown by...it seems like only yesterday I found out I was pregnant, and now Carter is 4 1/2 months old! Where does the time go? This will be Carter's first Halloween. I still don't know what I want him to be. Any ideas? I'm really excited to take him trick-or-treating. I know he's not really old enough to enjoy it, but I'm sure I will. We may be going with Tenille Ingram and her little girl, Reece. That should be fun!! Well, I better go...I need to get ready for school. Have a great day!!

once again...

More sweet pictures of my handsome baby boy!!!