We are very lucky to have such an awesome photographer in the family.  Carson spent the morning with my sister and it resulted in some great pictures.  Andrea has a knack for capturing a child personality.

Contact Andrea to schedule a photo shoot.
Andrea.m.Frye@gmail.com

- Jim

Can you believe how much changes in a year?!?!

I'll have more thoughts on my baby's first birthday, but for now, here are pictures.

Christmas was simple in the Frye household. We spent Christmas Eve with the Taylors. We woke up Christmas morning and opened Santa's gifts and then went to the Fryes and the Meadows were already there. We went to church and came back to the Fryes for lunch and ended the day at the Taylors. It was an amazing day!

Carson wasn't very interested in opening presents, but she really enjoys some of the toys that she received. It's so fun to watch her as she learns to play by herself.

We are so fortunate to serve a God who gave us the best gift of all. He gave us Christ and a way to have a personal relationship with Him. We have been blessed with wonderfully loving families and truly enjoy every minute we get to spend with them.

So being the wonderful parents we are. We didn't take one picture all weekend long. I'll add pics when I receive them from my mom and Andrea. Below are a few pics from our pre-Christmas photo shoot.

So my husband spends a little too much time surfing the internet.... but hey, I won't complain because I reap the rewards of his luckiness as he enters web-based contests. As I had mentioned previously, Jim was featured (ok, maybe not featured, more like a quick cameo) on the Food Network's Thanksgiving Live special. He was able to ask the Food Network chefs a question concerning Thanksgiving preparation.

One day after finding out he was going to be on the Food Network, he received a call from Burbank, California telling him that he had won 2 tickets to the Ellen Degeneres show. Not only is she an incredibly funny entertainer, but it was the first day of her twelve days of Christmas series! That meant that we were going to receive so super cool gifts. We had to pay for our way out there and hotel, but we figured it'd all even out. We decided to take Carson with us because we have some family from my mom's side that said that they'd come down and watch Carson while we went to the show. It was doubly awesome because then we could bring baby girl AND our family could meet her!

We left Tuesday 11/29 after work. Carson was a trouper on our two flights. Although she couldn't sit still for the life of her, she never got too upset. It was a long day out. Wednesday 11/30 we woke up, ate breakfast, and then Aunt Glenda, Carol and Vanessa arrived to meet Carson. We visited for a few and then headed off to go to the taping. We got to Burbank in no time (who knew the 405 would be wide open) and we had three hours to kill before we went in to the studio. We walked to a restaurant and had a nice long lunch. Got some coffee and then finally it was time to go. It was so cool!

WHen we got into the studio we had to dance for what seemed like an eternity. I guess they wanted you warmed up so you didn't pull a hammy during the taping! Finally the show started. Everything you see on the show is exactly what we see. They would take commercial breaks to change the set, talk to Ellen, set something up. There was really no banter between Ellen and the audience. But that's ok because we got iPad2s!!!!! Jim and I were SOOOO excited!

When we got back to the hotel, the power was out! It was out for a little while, and thankfully came back on about 30 minutes later. Why wouldn't they have the worst wind storm in years while we were there?

Thursday we spent the day at the beach. We went to Venice Beach and Santa Monica. We had lunch on the Santa Monica Pier and then came back to the hotel for Carson's nap. Afterwards we tried to go downtown to Olvera Street. It's an awesome street open only to pedestrians with authentic Mexican products and food. Well, it took us 2 hours to go 20 miles and we got down there in time for it to close. It was the longest I've gone for a Subway sub for dinner :(

Friday we went back to the beach for some pictures and for Carson to touch the Pacific ocean. We wanted to make sure she felt it in case she never makes it back to the west coast. Then we went to downtown Hollywood, ate dinner at Mickey's Soda Shop next to El Capitan Theater, and walked around Grauman's Chinese Theater. Finally, we spent the late afternoon shopping on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. I know, you're jealous! At the end of the street, next to Tiffany's they had Santa! It was Carson's first trip to see Santa. She detested every second of it. It was great.

Saturday we came home. Carson again was a trouper. It was an incredible first family trip. We had a wonderful, relaxing time. We can't wait for Disney in January!

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
               ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

In the hustle and bustle of life it is easy to get so caught up in the little things; will I get the tests graded, what are we having for dinner, how am I going to get the house clean, laundry done, I don't want to go to work tomorrow etc... How joyful we would be if we remembered to enjoy every minute, rejoice in the mundane, thank God in the difficult times as well as the easy going ones. On Thanksgiving Jim and I are thankful for so much. We have a wonderful marriage, a beautiful, growing daughter, fabulous friends, and families who have provided the foundation of it all.

Our day was awesome! We woke up early and got the turkeys cooking. Jim smoked two turkey breasts that took a long time to cook so they weren't ready for dinner. They were delicious though and produced enough tasty meat for everyone to have a goody bag for yummy sandwiches later. My roasted turkey turned out great! I was a little worried having never cooked a 14 lb bird before. We brined it for  1 1/2 days and then I used my good friend Bobby's recipe for a butter herb rub. (If you haven't heard, we are now on a first name basis with Bobby Flay since Jim's call in to the Food Network on their Live Thanksgiving show - don't be jealous ;) ). I made a few side dishes, as did my mom and my mother in law and it all came together to be a delicious feast. We had Jim's parents, my mom and my siblings all together. We missed my dad, who was in China, but we'll get to visit with him when he gets home this weekend.

Carson ate enough to double her weight. She loved the mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, turkey, stuffing.... honestly there was nothing that she didn't like. She sat at the table with us and provided all our guests with plenty of entertainment. It is safe to say we have a little diva on our hands. In her high chair she paraded all her  tricks; "how big is Carson?", "Are you cute?", "clapping hands", "all done"... We will try to get video posted at some point, however, catching them on film is like trying to get a clear picture of bigfoot on film. 

As I said before, we have so much for which we are thankful. My prayer for the coming months is that in every circumstance we have  a heart of thanksgiving. There is an awesome God who provides for every essential need and we are most thankful that we share a relationship with Him. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,
 The Fryes

Wow! Last week I just spent some time packing up Carson's newborn and 0-3 month clothing. I cannot believe that she was ever that little! Now she wouldn't be able to get one leg in those tiny pants.

Six months old is such a fun age! She is almost sitting all by herself. She can catch her balance, but she's just so easily distracted that she ends up toppling over or wants to get something out of reach. Carson is still a rolling machine. It is so fun to watch her on the monitor when she's in her crib. When she throws a fit, she rolls from one end to the other letting us know that she is NOT happy. And when she IS happy she rolls from one end to another talking and playing with her feet in between rolls. I think that is one of my favorite times of the day, when Carson wakes up either from a nap or a good night sleep. She almost always wakes up happy and talking. She squeals in delight, she plays with her feet and her hands. One day that was super cute was when I went in to get her from a nap and she had been talking to herself. When I walked in the room, she was in the right position to see me through  the slots in the crib. She stopped and just smiled the biggest smile I've ever seen. My heart just melted right there.

Carson has also tried lots of new and fun foods! She loves her fruits and vegetables! Mommy spent some time last week making some homemade baby food.... Haven't decided yet if it's more cost effective, but I like making it. Carson hasn't tried a food that she hasn't liked, however, apples were not the kindest to her system, so we won't be trying those again for a while. The doctor said that she can even start feeding herself some cheerios, Gerber Graduates and what not. My baby is getting so big!

Also, WE HAVE A TOOTH! It broke through the day after her half birthday! It is the bottom right and I'm pretty sure the left one is not far behind! I wasn't sure about it at the time, but Carson did have some symptoms of teething. She had runny diapers for about two weeks. She woke up in the middle of the night two separate nights and had a little fever the day it broke through. She's a tough little trooper.

On another fun note, we went to the pool for the first time on the 4th of July with Miss Carson. She LOVES the pool! She loved being in the big pool, zig zagging and going in circles. Mommy and Carson went back to the pool on July 7th and spent some time in the baby pool. It was a lot of fun watching the other little kids too! We had a fun Mommy and Me afternoon.

Every day is something new and fun. She's a growing and happy baby. We just love her to pieces!

6 month check up stats:
head circumference: 17 1/4 "
weight: 16 lbs 10 oz
Height: 26 1/8"

We are so thankful to live in this country! God bless all the servicemen and women who have fought to maintain our freedom!

On July 3rd we celebrated Jim's baptism at church. Jim's had a relationship with Christ but had never participated in believer's baptism. In our church, we believe that believer's baptism is an outward recognition of one's belief and reliance in Christ as the one and only way to heaven. Through baptism, Jim was able to show his profession of faith but also unite as a member of our church. We had everyone in church that day and then had a big family BBQ at our house afterwards. It was a wonderful day. God is Good!

Happy Father's Day Jim!

We had a great day! Woke up and had sausage gravy for breakfast. We went to church where Carson painted Daddy a picture with her hand. We spent the afternoon hanging out at the house and watching golf. We went over to Darnell Drive to wish Grandpa a Happy Father's Day and then ate Urban BBQ for dinner. All in all one great day!