Out of the Woodworks....

daily life the last few months on the iphone

2012-01-27T22:33:00.001-06:00

I still send atleast 2-3 pictures and a video to Caleb at work (and a lot of fam!) so needless to say, I've got LOTS o pics of our little guy. I rarely hook up my iphone, so here are some of my faves from september till now!

first time on the swings at the park!

watching their first UT football game together....I know, no orange in this photo :(

Carter doing his yoga before bed as captured by video monitor

he did this silly grin for a while, cracked me up

pulling up on everything!

loves this rocking chair! this was actually my Mom's rocking chair as a girl, my rocking chair, and now passed down to him

haha, love this

playing at the arboretum!

sweet boy after nap

loves his Aunt Ali!

loving all the cute art he's making at MDO

happy boy

Mom sent me this pic while we were at the TX/OU game...sweet boy, blissfully unaware of the way that game was going :)

my boys after church! love them!

so, Carter is a little hyposensitive as evidenced by the constant drool, so Mama brought a nuk brush home and started doing some therapy :)

LOVES this swing (and love our neighbors who let us use it!)!

remotes continue to be the toy of choice

happy happy baby

slumber party with Max!

Halloween night...working on his "roar"!

Wizard of Oz family photo

Haha. He does not understand when we stop for gas and he can't get out of the car. I had to chronicle this :)

So tired after coming home from MDO! He hasn't done this lately, but I would say Sept-Nov he would always come home and take a 3rd nap of the day!

lookin cool

not so sure about balloons

first school photos!

lots of "Bob rides" with Mom!

has always been fascinated by the oven

pretty much sums up how he feels about breathing treatments

transitioned to his big boy carseat!

Thanksgiving morning!

Brrr! Carter's first turkey trot was cold!

Staying warm with Daddy after the trot

Opening up birthday presents from Grandpa

I just love this pic :)

How handsome!

Love you!

Not so sure about his Santa hat and bib from Great Nana

laundry helper

such a big boy

Mommy's attempt at "sensory play" during a rainy day at home

signature move--grab blanket, put left 2 fingers immediately in mouth

dropped the morning nap! this means Einstein's bagels tradition before church resumes!

absolutely loves wagon rides outside!

all bundled up!

First trip to the zoo!

2012-01-27T22:05:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday we had family fun day and went to the Dallas Zoo. Not sure Carter quite "got" the zoo/animal thing, but he did love looking around and exploring his surroundings! Here are some pics:

Loved the children's area with lots of playscapes!

Carter might have a hard time catergorizing "zoo" animals from "farm animals"....goats at the zoo?! Yep!

I guess it's technically a "petting zoo" :)

Daddy pointing out all the animals

Zoo can wear you out, snack time!

giraffes!

Giraffes are by far my favorite :)

I honestly think this rope was his favorite thing all day. Oh, why do we even have toys?!

We love to be silly together :)

Christmas...a month late!

2012-01-27T21:53:00.000-06:00

I finally uploaded all my pics (over 500!) so get ready for lots 'o picture posts!

This year we went to Austin before Christmas to see Caleb's family and my Dad and Jolie. We then headed back to Dallas on Christmas Eve and went to the Christmas Eve service with my Mom and Nana. Carter went to the nursery, not quite ready to sit still for the service. We woke up at our house on Christmas morning just the 3 of us and enjoyed a relaxing morning together. Carter got his 3 gifts and Caleb and I enjoyed our stockings from each other. Stephen, Diana, Mom, and Nana came over for brunch and for more present opening! We were all going down for naps when Carter bonked his little head which made for our first trip to the ER...which deserves its own post. Thankfully, we made it home just in time for heading next door to have a big fancy Christmas dinner with our family and Diana's family. Get that? Here are the pics to chronicle....

Fun with cousins!

1 pic with all 5 of them...none of them looking at me :)

Opening presents!

Harrison and his "mean face"

Love Sofia's "mean face"...so sweet :)

Hudson and I took pics of each other with our respective cameras

Hayden's mean face

Nana and Papa with their 5 grands

Carter helping Grandpa open presents. Unfortunately, Carter was super tired by the time we got to Dad's so we didn't get to stay long! :(

Lots 'o animals to discover at Grandma and Grandpa's!

Our lil family after Christmas Eve Service. Carter had already switched into his Christmas pjs, I had him dressed in his cute black/red suit for the church service

Loving on MiMi

4 generations!

Christmas morning at our house!

Loving his new dump truck to push around

Veggie puree squirts in the stocking! Yum!

Christmas brunch

Helping Uncle Stephen open presents

Loving his new longhorn chair...and drumstick that goes with his new drum!

Helping Aunt Diana

The morning went off just as planned! Happy Birthday Jesus! The afternoon was a different story...more on that to come!

First trip to the ER!

2012-01-27T13:59:00.011-06:00

Christmas was even more memorable this year, as we spent Christmas afternoon as a family of 3 in the Medical City ER. Although our home is very child proof, there was a door stopper on his closet that was missing the rubber end (didn't know this until after the fall...). So, sleepy wobbly 12 month old baby boy falls, hits his head right on the edge of the doorstopper, and ends up with a small, but deep gash on the forehead. I call my awesome friend Alison (who on record had a baby 2 weeks earlier and ALL her family in for Christmas) who happens to be a nurse, a neighbor, and also a mother of a 5 year old boy, and also happened to be home on Christmas afternoon. She said she would take a look at it and give me her professional Boy Mom/RN advice. Carter immediately stopped crying when I opened the door to the garage, and started waving bye bye...have I ever mentioned the boy loves to be outside and loves to GO?! My friend told me since it was on his face, she would probably take him in. So, I call Children's and Med City on the way back home to get wait times and Caleb and I decide to go to Med City as it's closer (although per nurses at work after the fact, one of the benefits of being a Children's employee is playing the card you work there, talk to the charge nurse, and they'll let you bypass the wait...hmm, remember for next time!). We get there and there are 3 other kids in the waiting room and they look sick. I mean, shaking and trembling with 105 fever sick. Although I felt bad for those kids, there was no way I was letting Carter get down and wander around the ER with those kind of germs. So picture 12 month old baby boy with no nap and 2 parents who refuse to let him out of their arms and you get a very very cranky boy who is writhing and arching and screaming to get down. They took us back and gave us a room, so we finally let him down. Even though it was a pediatric ER, it was not very child proof. It was a lot of waiting and frankly, none of us were really in the mood to wait. I look back now with a smile, but Caleb definitely gave the receptionist lady some of his lawyering skills--"you mean you're telling me you have NO idea how long it will be? So, we could be here for days? 2 minutes or 20 hours...can you give me some sort of idea?" and the lady kept telling him no, which made Caleb more frustrated...let's just say there was not lot of "Christmas spirit" on either side :). The nurse practitioner tells us probably stitches but wait for the doctor. We wait... The doctor says we need stitches and will put a numbing cream on, so we wait. The lady finally comes to put the numbing cream on and says--you guessed it, WAIT an hour for it to work, then he'll get stitches. Lucky for all of us, I spotted a red wagon behind the nurses station and ~~asked~~ told the nurse we were using it and needed sani wipes. I sanitized the heck out of that thing and it became our life saver. I think Caleb did over 100 laps around the ER, I probably did 20 :). Once they finally came in for stitches, they wrapped him up like a burrito (you can guess how Carter liked that...), covered up his little face with a drape (sterile procedure) and thankfully called a 2nd nurse in to hold him while they gave him stitches. It was a quick probably 4 minute ordeal, but man it was hard to hear my baby scream like that! They let me hold him, calm him down, and I think the banana I had put in the backpack on the way out the door did a lot more calming than Mama's lovin', but either way he was happy and all stitched up! We got home, I had a little bit of a breakdown, Carter got LOTS 'o attention, and we enjoyed a very nice family dinner next door. Caleb was a champ and my rock through this process as Carter and I were both a little emotional :).

It was definitely memorable, albeit stressful. It also was good for me, as we were there maybe 4 hours...and the families I see at work are there days, sometimes months. Im very thankful we have a healthy, busy, and active boy on our hands. Probably the first, but not the last trip to the ER with our Carter boy!

Here are the iphone chronicle pics:

Finally free! Playing in our ER room

Ok, Dad, this is getting boring...

Soooo done with this toy!

Pitiful little face, good picture of the gash pre stitches

Cream is on, lots of rides in the wagon to pass the time

Stitches done, mama + banana =happy Carter

there's a little smirk :)

13 months!

2012-01-08T20:49:00.001-06:00

Carter is still changing on a monthly basis, so although I'm foregoing the naked-baby-on-the-sofa monthly pics (maybe we'll do it quarterly?) I still want to chronicle what's going on...

EAT:

He's definitely learned that he can refuse food. He's become more picky this month. Will not *touch* pasta. Doesn't like sweet potatoes or sweet potato fries. Meats are hit or miss, especially chicken and deli meat which used to be favorites. He absolutely loves bananas and ritz crackers. Caleb's been slipping him more sweets this month, pulling the line of "our kid's in the 10% for weight, he needs some fat". Haha. Caleb gives him cookies, Mommy gives him spinach nuggets--no wonder he's a Daddy's boy. Seriously, I did give him spinach nuggets and he loves them :). Allergy testing all came back negative, he's back on whole cow's milk and is doing great, gets it 3x/day in his sippy. The boy LOVES water. It's crazy how much water that boy can drink--and believe me, it shows in his diaper :). We've transitioned his schedule later, so now he can wait and eat dinner with us at 6:45-7. It's nice to sit and eat dinner the 3 of us!

SLEEP:

One year molars came in on his left side, those were a doozie on the sleep. Otherwise, he's doing great at night. Goes to bed 7:30ish and wakes up between 7 and 7:30 in the mornings...a little later! Dropped the morning nap this month, so we're down to 1 nap/day most of the time around 12:30-2:30.

Playing/Activities:
He's taken off with his walking and now highly prefers walking over crawling. I would judge he walks about 80% of the time. He used to crawl to something where he could pull to stand to walk, and just in the past week has been able to stand up from sitting position. He's still a little wobbly, but can easily walk from the laundry room to our room without falling down. He's also gotten really good at falling, will typically just fall on his little bottom and get right back up! He's very very busy and very curious. Favorite toys continue to be remotes and phones. He loves his fridge farm and will press the music button and do his version of "dancing" which is up and down squatting. He also is becoming more interested in books and loves his veggie tales book that plays music. He does love music and definitely prefers his kids CDs to the radio. However, one of my favorite memories from this month was listening to "Sweet Home Alabama" on the radio and looking
back and seeing his little hands clapping above his head in the rearview mirror. Haha. His all time favorite activity though is going outside. He LOVES to be outside. When he wakes up and we come downstairs, he points to the door and waves bye bye. I would say most of the time we're playing inside, he's wanting to go outside. As soon as I say "want to go X" he just smiles and starts waving because he knows we'll go outside. He's really starting to be aware of routines and he knows when Caleb is about to go to work in the mornings and will put his little head on the floor and cry. I've also started telling him "no" in a firm voice if he does something potentially dangerous and he will look at me and just melt down--I mean the pouty lip, to the "I just got in trouble face", to full out cry on the floor with head in the carpet. He's got a sensitive side to him :).He's extremely social and loves to be around people. We go outside and he points to Stephen
and Diana's house--if I turn the other way he arches and yells at me to go to their house. He does the same with wanting to go see our neighbor Mary, as she's typically out on her porch smoking :). We're working through some sensory play, he's getting a little weird about different textures (ie: rice, play doh) so we'll see what happens in that area. The OTs at work say it's "typical", but he gags just touching play doh. Hmm. I'm hoping it's just a stage but he HATES getting diaper and clothes changes. I mean, you would think we're pinching him the whole time. Sometimes you can get lucky with a toy to distract him, but most of the time it's just you against him.

Talking/Language:
As the SLP, this is the area you would think he would be off the chart in, but I have to take my own advice I give to patients that "there's such a large range of average at this age and he'll do it when he's ready". Believe me, the boy LOVES to talk and hear his voice! He's just speaking in Carter language which is a lot of d's and t's. Caleb says he would do great at an African tribal language because we can make clicking sounds that he will imitate perfectly. However, he's not into imitating the english language sounds. Caleb and I were debating on this yesterday. I would say he has the words (and means) dada, all done (a. duh), and mama. He consistently will sign "eat", "all done", "yes", and "bye bye". He will consistently point and gesture to anything he wants and accompany it with grunting/screaming/or yelling in his Carter language (sounds kinda Mandarin?) until he gets what he wants.

Health:
Thankfully asthma is well under control. We upped his advair inhaler to almsot triple the dose and that (or being out of MDO for 3 weeks?) seems to have done the trick. We have another pulmonologist appt this week, so we shall see!

Happy 13 months Carter Boy!

Training up a child in the way he should go

2011-12-30T15:25:00.000-06:00

I feel like Carter hit 12 months and all of a sudden it's like "ok, we're now training him". I know it's not technically a hard switch from infant to toddler, but we are in that transition right now. Parenting thus far I feel like has been relatively "easy" as far as making decisions about what to do--feed him, bathe him, allow good times of rest, keep him clothed/warm, and we're golden. He feels loved.

I was talking to my sister in law Emily over the holidays about all the controversy in Mommy world. It really starts from pregnancy--do you drink caffeine? do you watch your HR when you run? do you eat foods/drinks with aspertame? do you eat deli meat? all the way to natural vs epidural, breastmilk vs formula, cry it out vs sleep training, etc etc. I think it probably will just get more and more intense from here on out, and I feel like the most important thing is that Caleb and I are on the same page, intentionally raising our kids to be responsible and independent, praying that they will focus their hearts on Christ and live lives for Him.

Okay, so that's the long term goal. We're making daily decisions in the short term to get to that long term--training him up in the way of the Lord. Woa, pressure!

Carter is watching us constantly, we're his example. He already will grab the remote, aim it towards the TV, and push buttons. He's realizing his independence and that he can refuse. When there is food on his tray that he doesn't want--he just puts it on the floor. In the past week he's developed a pickiness of food that I never thought I would deal with considering he LOVED all foods in the pureeds stage.All he wants is bananas, strawberries, yogurt, and ritz crackers. He refuses all vegetables and recently most meats. So, Caleb and I have to decide--do we let him "win" or do we let him realize that what is in front of him is dinner and if he doesn't eat it, sorry dude. Hopefully you'll make a better choice next time? Geez, he's only 12 months but again, he's developing habits now and he definitely has cause and effect down--if I sit here and don't eat this chicken and broccoli, eventually I'll get my crackers, so I'll just wait! He's one smart cookie.

He's also definitely got the back arch/squirming thing down so that it is near impossible to hold him if he wants down or strap him in his seat/stroller if he doesn't want in. Ahh...and so it begins! I know most of you with older kids are probably thinking--you.just.wait! I know, I know, it's coming :).

All this to say, the past few days during naptime I've been listening to some Christian podcasts on parenting while doing chores around the house--dorky? probably, but that's my life right now. So, one today was on building responsibility and it gave a website of a list of "age appropriate chores"--and it starts at 9 months! So, here we go, get excited for chores, Carter boy! Here's the resource if any of you are interested:

http://familyroi.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Family_ROI_Age_Appropriate_Chores.pdf

Naptime is over, so I'm out...

Reflection

2011-12-28T09:23:00.001-06:00

I tend to always reflect back on the year on Christmas Eve night. Not sure what it is...maybe that my one constant Christmas traditions as long as I can remember is going to the Christmas Eve service, so as I sit I think back to "this time last year..." and then think "I wonder if this time next year...".

I know I say it every year but this past year has been such a blessing. The Lord gives and takes away and I hope I'm always able to say "blessed be the name of the Lord"--it's easy to say in a year of giving. It's been a year of transition for us, a transition that wasn't smooth or easy, but I wouldn't trade for the world.

There was a week in July that I don't think I'll ever forget. One of Caleb's co-workers lost his little boy to a brain tumor, he was only 6 weeks older than Carter and their family pretty much lived our life--that hit me so hard. The next day my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember driving home one day and just losing it...then the Lord spoke so softly, reminding me that this world is not my home and for the first time ever (or that I can remember) I longed for heaven. Where there are no tears. No loss. No grief. No cancer.

We also had a scare with my Dad during that same time, thinking he had a stroke as he lost feeling in one of his arms and face. Thankfully it ended up being a pinched nerve, but that phone call in the middle of the night from my Dad's wife saying Dad was in the hospital again left me clinging to the Lord.

But then time passed. Mom's surgery went well, Dad is doing great, Mom's almost done with radiation. The family that lost their son is still grieving I'm sure but I don't hear as much about them, although I do think about them often. Carter is growing like a weed and doing new things every day (as this blog as pretty much been dedicated to this past year) , such a joy in our home. It's such a blessing but I feel like when things are "good", I lose my dependence on the Lord. As I reflect, I must remember that every good and perfect gift is from above and give HIM glory. He has done great things for us, and I am filled with joy.

Who knows what the next year will bring, but as we approach the new year, I pray that in times of abundance and in times of need I am able to rest in the Lord and give Him the glory.

In more joy filled news, I'm thrilled that 2 of my 3 college roommates had babies within 2 days of each other. Welcome Miranda Grace and Nathan James--cant wait to squeeze those babies and love on their Mamas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2011-12-21T20:53:00.001-06:00

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday, so even though Carter doesn't get it, we've been partaking in some Christmas festivities to help get in the spirit. I think Carter is just confused by it all...why is there a big tree in our living room? why do we have lights in our yard? why does Mommy insist on listening to Christmas music instead of my kid CDs in the car, and in the house, and singing in the bathtub..? and who in the world is this creepy old man that Mommy forced me to sit on?

LOVE this. He is so confused. and innocent. He didn't cry--just could not figure it out!

I'd always heard about the Trains at Northpark but felt like you had to have kids to go. So, with Carter in tow Mommy got to see the train exhibit! Carter was interested for a bit, but this little boy's conductor hat was way more interesting than the trains.

sweet boy

Finally! Someone I know! Whattup Aaron? What did you think of that creepy old man with the beard?

Although all of this is fun, I really want Carter to understand early the true meaning of Christmas. We look at the nativity and talk about Jesus' birthday, sing Away in a Manger and Silent Night, but I know we're building the foundation right now. So although he seems confused, I know that seeds are being planted and we're building the foundations for future Christmas traditions. Merry Christmas!

3 huge events in 55 hours! Whew, tired just thinking about it!

2011-12-21T20:38:00.001-06:00

December 2nd....we went to Austin to see Aunt Beth marry Uncle Clint! It was such a pretty wedding, but unfortunately I didn't get much captured on my camera. Carter was dealing with a stomach bug+cutting a molar + miserable sleeping which =needy baby in Mama's arms.

Nana and Papa with their 5 grands, love this non-posed shot :)

Our lil family

Harrison could get this boy to smile! Love his hat!
Cannot believe I got ZERO pics of the bride and groom!

The next morning we woke up and it was CARTER"S FIRST BIRTHDAY! I think I already summed this up in a previous post, but here are some pics...

Papa's pancakes for breakfast

Daddy and Carter both enjoying grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Carter LOVES grilled cheese and Caleb's ritual is to eat grilled cheese pre-runs and this was pre-race!

Lots of playing whatever Carter wanted to play!

My big ONE year old!

And it would not be the 3rd without the monthly photo shoot!

One last birthday present to end the day--thanks for the fridge farm Brown's! He LOVES it (or actually loves to take the magnets off the fridge and throw them on the floor...we're working on putting the magnets back on the fridge, then we'll work on putting them in the farm!)

After Carter went to bed all attention focused on Caleb. He was preparing for a huge race and I felt like his glory of hard training and work was kinda put in the shadows of the wedding and birthday. However, he was mentally and physically prepared. Here's all the clothes all ready to go!

Homemade arm band? Check! Gu? Check!

RACE DAY!! December 4th

Pre race breakfast of champions=frosted flakes. He's watching the weather here. Wow, I tried to be positive but the weather was miserable for a runner. Temps were good--40s, but it poured rain all night and it continued to pour sheets of rain all morning. He says it let up a little before the start and for the first few miles, but miles 4-26.2 were complete downpour.

Carter and I braved the cold, rainy weather to go out and support Daddy! This was taken before the downpour. It was very different being on the spectator side of the White Rock. Being out there definitely gave me motivation for training, but I can say sipping my Starbucks in the cold cheering on the runners wasn't so bad :).

Okay, so I did not get my camera out anymore to save it from the torrential downpour (not to mention Caleb was running so fast it would have been blurry!), so we have no pics of Caleb actually running or post-race. Honestly, I think Caleb was so miserable post race we may have needed counseling if I got my camera out and started snapping photos. Let's just say Carter and I saw him and we strolled around a bit before talking to him....then found him outside after..eh..getting sick. However, pale-faced and shaking, he said "I got Boston". That's right, folks, in the miserable weather and "no personal records will be made today" schpeels from the anchors on the marathon broadcast, my hubby not only PR'd but ran lightning speed at 3:03. For those faithful readers not into running, this breaks down into a 6:59/mile. Yeah, Carter's 1/2 Kenyan (that's for you, Al Brown!).

Daddy needed to rest his legs post marathon. Carter didn't really understand...

We made this sign and had it with us in the rain, but Carter was still proud to present it to Daddy!

Our fabulous friends hosted a post-race party in their fancy new home. Here's Caleb with his fellow lawyers/lunch buddies/neighbors/good friends.

Yea runners! I think this was the first race for everyone except Caleb! I LOVE seeing people get into running and so proud of Erin who quote "I don't see why anyone would want to run that far" to me just 1.5 years ago. Love she got the bug :)

It was such a busy weekend, but full of so many memories! Bring on December!

Birthday PARTY!

2011-12-15T15:43:00.000-06:00

I will let the pictures do the talking...

Food Table

Carter's Cake

Smash cake on the special day plate!

More food table

Invitation, birthday pictures

Opening presents--he did not know what to think. Pretty much kept a little frown on his face the whole time--very confused, sweet boy.

More presents!

All eyes on Carter--I guess he's not really into being in the spotlight....yet.

Banner from my baby shower--this will hopefully become a staple for many birthdays to come! Thanks Alison Kemp!

Did NOT like his cake. Had no interest in eating it or tasting it. I think he was very confused by people singing and everyone staring at him. Haha, love him!

Daddy finally rescued him from the cake after we realized he was not interested at. all!

Birthday banner. I strategically placed this over the TV so no college football would be on during his birthday party!

close up

After the party was over and there was less pressure we tried cake again. Mmm...he realized the goodness he was missing out on!

There's our 1 year old birthday boy!

He LOVES his wagon he got from Great Nana and Papa Burl. Papa Burl even personalized it with his name and longhorns!

Playing with Mimi

Great Nana likes to snuggle, Carter likes to get a quick fix with his blanket and GO!

So special to have all of Carter's grandparents and great grandparents to celebrate his birthday. Cannot believe I let everyone leave without getting pics! Here I am later that evening with my grandmothers.

Oh, that boy...

2011-12-15T15:23:00.000-06:00

The past couple of weeks we've had more rain than normal. I love the rain, especially this time of year when it's tempting to just stay inside, make a hot cup of coffee/tea, and snuggle. Carter was great this time last year at the snuggling and enjoying rainy/cold weather....this year? not so much! He LOVES to go outside. Will point the door and wave bye bye constantly. If I go to the door and let him look out or look out the windows, he will cry/scream. Not good enough!

His birthday was a very rainy day where it pretty much did not stop raining. However, as many people know, my philosophy is--when it's your birthday, you pretty much get what you want. Caleb takes this to a whole new level by asking me to tie his shoes for him or brush his teeth for him "cause it's his birthday". Haha. I digress. So, on Carter's rainy, miserable weather day of a birthday, he wanted to go outside. Did we go? You betcha. Mommy did. Daddy is not much into getting wet and was "resting his legs" for the marathon the next day (man, I have so much to catch up on!). So, multiple times we went outside, dancing and singing "I'm singing in the rain" and he LOVED it. What a good memory of his first birthday--singing, dancing, and being silly in the rain with my happy, giggly, little one year old birthday boy.

What else did he do on his actual birthday? We woke up at Nana and Papa's house and he ate Papa's famous pancakes--first time for pancakes :). Drove back to Dallas (Aunt Beth got married in Austin Fri night, Daddy ran marathon Sunday, Carter birthday Saturday), stopped at Subway for lunch and Carter got a birthday cookie (first time). He preferred banana over the cookie :). Came home and got lots of 1-1 attention. Mommy and Daddy played with him on the floor, followed him around, let him explore things he usually is prohibited to explore, and sang in the rain. Not too shabby of a first birthday in his little mind , as it was all things Carter :).

In going with the theme of how I started this post, it was raining last night and Carter wanted to go outside. Nope, not gonna happen when it's pouring rain and it's not your birthday :). He pointed to the door, we looked out, but when we came back to the kitchen he was crying--poor thing doesn't understand and I'm such a tease by letting him look outside but not go outside. He handed me my keys (I thought he was playing his new game--he hands you things and you say thank you) then looked at me and waved bye bye. That little stinker. He was going to find a way to go outside one way or another--if I wasn't going to let him go out the front, then why not go for a car ride? I was impressed by his strategy, but unfortunately for him it didn't work. More pics to come...I promise!

Happy Birthday Carter!!

2011-12-05T15:00:00.000-06:00

We've had oh so much fun the past couple of weeks, I've got a lot to catch up on! However, I wanted to go ahead and do his one year post now so I would remember all he's doing at this age. We just got back from the doctor, poor guy got 4 shots and 5 vials of blood drawn (after 2 sticks!) but he's a trooper and a healthy little one year old, couldn't ask for more!

STATS:

Weight: 19.12 lbs (10%)

Height: 30 inches (55%)

Head Circumference: 18 inches (25%)

Stage 3 diapers

mostly 12 month clothes, pants still fit at 6-12 months

size 2 shoes (very little feet!)

I think it's crazy he went from 80% to 10% in weight in a year, but the doctor says he's very healthy and proportionate, so I'm not worried. He's just a skinny, active little boy!

EAT:

The big change this month was transitioning to whole milk. He got 1/2 whole milk 1/2 breast milk in a sippy (no more bottles!) up until Thanksgiving day at which point we transitioned to 100% whole milk. Upon the change to 100% he started to get less interested in drinking his milk. I didn't think much about it but the Friday after Thanksgiving he vomited (I thought he had too much water) and then over the next few days we started correlating vomiting with times he consumed his entire 7 ounces of milk. This, along with blood in his stool (this is my diary folks, so you just ignore these parts if it's tmi!) and persistent wheezing (and with the help of google) had me self diagnose Carter with a possible milk allergy. Well, I didn't really diagnose--Caleb had a cow's milk intolerance as a kid, I called the doctor, he said I'm not too off target, and recommended I start giving him soy milk as an experiment for the week and we would do a blood test today at his check up. So, he's now on soy milk and is doing great, but I also think he might have had a little bug last week, so I'm not sure if it's coincidence? Either way, he's back to liking his milk and no more vomiting/GI issues, so we're happy. I will be interested to see what the bloodwork shows. As far as food, mostly table food, pretty much whatever we're eating. Caleb says Carter's so skinny because I give him chicken and broccoli for dinner :). He ate cake at his birthday party (on 2nd attempt...more on that in a coming up birthday party post) and a cookie on his actual birthday, so we are slowly acclimating him to yummy goodness and not just fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains! After the little bug/milk issues he is back to being our good little eater and is eating a TON--just ate an entire grilled cheese sandwich and 6 strawberries for lunch for example :).

PLAY/DEVELOPMENT:

A friend at a party last night summed up Carter perfectly in one word: "busy". He is WALKING (as of 11/14!) and climbing and exploring like crazy. He is interested to see how things work, as cause/effect is definitely mastered. He is getting more interested in books, especially touch and feel, and will turn the pages. He started pointing (mostly does the "Hitler salute" type of point) and now will point wherever he wants to go or what he wants--primarily it's the door and will then wave "bye bye" as this boy loves to go and loves to be outside. As the doctor so eloquently put it today, "he's all boy". As a SLP, I feel like we constantly work on naming things but to him, everything is still /dada/. I know he'll get it, and believe me--he does a great job communicating wants/needs by signing (eat, bye bye, all done) or by pointing to what he wants. He's very active and strong, will rarely cry because of falling down, but if I tell him "no" or move him from something he shouldn't be doing, he cries so easily. I'll be interested to see if we have a sensitive little guy on our hands. He loves balls, lights (not light up toys but actual lightbulb lights), bathrooms, remotes, and phones. He even picked up the remote, aimed it at the TV, and started pushing buttons the other day....must get that one from Daddy :).

SLEEP:

Minus our week of GI issues and trip to Austin which were miserable sleeping nights, he continues to be pretty consistent with a 7:30-6:30 schedule and 2 naps (8ish and 1ish) during the day. He may play in his bed for up to an hour before falling asleep (he acts grumpy and wants to go to bed but will play before falling asleep) and I love watching this playtime on the video monitor. Just this morning he was doing the "downward dog" yoga pose and talking up a storm!

HEALTH:

Not such a great month for health. I pretty much summed up the possible milk allergy stuff in the eating section, so I wont do that here. About 2 weeks ago he got a cold, which turned into fever, got diagnosed as croup. Lungs sounded clear, just a nasty cough. Well, fast forward 3 days, croup resolved but wheezing begins. The pulmonologist told me at the first sign of wheezing to give him a call, so he put him on pulmicort 2x/day in addition to albuterol, advair, and nasonex. Wheezing got worse, he had retractions, took him into the doctor and he put him on q 4 hour albuterol treatments around the clock--yes, setting our alarms to give him breathing treatments during the night. Thankfully, he slept through them in our arms as we put a mask on his face and blared his nebulizer. Love that sound sleeper :). We only did that a few nights, but no changes--not better, not worse, stayed the same. So, this past Monday (11/28) we put him back on the oral steroid :(. Thankfully, he's back to his healthy little self and we're hoping and praying we can make it through cold and flu season without any more steroid doses!

He also got his first molar this past week (bottom left) which puts him to 4 bottom teeth and 2 top teeth.

I need to upload all my pics so no 1 year photos here, so hoping for lots o picture posts ahead--Thanksgiving/turkey trot, birthday party, Beth's wedding, birthday day, marathon---whew, what a couple of weeks!

Family Photos!

2011-11-20T20:37:00.000-06:00

LOVE these! Thank you Stephanie!

Our little walker and other "tricks"--movie time!

2011-11-16T22:10:00.000-06:00

Carter is learning so many new things! Here are videos of his new "tricks" :)

Walking:

Joy, yes. Peace...not so much

2011-11-11T16:50:00.000-06:00

Last night Carter was especially needy, especially from 4-7 pm. If I was not trying to keep him awake until Caleb got home, he would have been in bed by 6 pm. It was one of those nights---lots of screeching, holding onto my legs as I attempt to make dinner, crying anytime I put him down. Whew. So, Caleb gets home and usually a new energy switch goes off and Carter becomes so happy because he LOVES being around Daddy. He definitely got happier for a while so we attempted to all sit down and eat dinner together. Carter quickly let us know that he was not about sitting in his highchair eating puffs (he eats his dinner about an hour earlier) by screeching, pushing puffs off the tray, throwing his sippy on the floor etc, so Caleb went and put him to bed. Caleb came down and said "now we can eat dinner in peace" and I jokingly replied "Carter doesn't bring you peace?". I loved his reply..."joy, yes. peace? not so much". Hence the title of the post and getting these everyday moments on the blog. Carter's definitely been testing my patience this week but he does bring so much joy to our life and we wouldn't have it any other way. Cherishing life as a family of 3 with an 11 month old :).

11 months!

2011-11-04T14:29:00.001-05:00

With all the pumpkins and cooler weather, I daily think "this time last year..."which in today's case is, this time last year we were in NYC with Caleb getting ready for the marathon! Crazy! It's amazing to look back at previous posts and see Carter's growth phsically but also cognitively and socially. I was told yesterday "you have such a social baby!"...yes, folks, I do. Which is good *most* of the time.

Onto the monthly post...

Stats:
size 3 diapers
12 month shirts, 6-9 month pants (he has a long torso, but legs are shorter--I had to go on a shopping spree for pants, as all his pants were 12 or 18 mos!)

EAT:
Not a whole lot new in this department the past month. All table foods, 3 meals and 2 snacks/day. He was still getting bottles all month but yesterday (his 11 month birthday) we attempted the transition to sippy cup! He's already won once getting the bottle, but we're 3 for 4 so I'm hoping we're on the route to dropping bottles!

SLEEP:
All was well until about a week ago. I would say 3 of the last 6 nights or so he has woken up screaming. One time it was valid....apparently I didn't put the diaper on quite good enough (his squirminess is to a new level these days) and he had wet himself and his bed. However, the other nights I'm assuming it was teething? Not sure, but really hoping he goes back to being our consistent little 7p-7a sleeper (I hear daylight savings is a beast though...he may be doing 5:30 am stroller rides with Daddy next week!). He's consistently taking a good 1.5-2.5 hour afternoon naps. Morning naps are hit or miss, but he still goes down about 8 and may play in bed or sleep for 45 minutes or so.

PLAY:
The squealing is back. Oh, is it back. So much so that they now take him out of the class at MDO during naptime b/c he will wake the other kids up. I had a talk with his teacher yesterday about it, I'm sure the first of many parent/teacher talks :). Of course being a SLP, I am constantly trying to think of ways to help him communicate in ways OTHER than screaming. But, it's effective...and he's a smart little guy so why change if it works? We try ignoring but it is very difficult to ignore. Grr. He does now consistently sign "eat" and wave hi/bye. He is about 70% of the time able to sign "all done" in his own little way which is very similar to waving bye :). He will babble with phonemes /b, /d/, /n/, and /m/ and I think is inconsistently using /dada/ to refer to Caleb--only when Caleb is in the room. Otherwise, the block is /dada/, the cheerio is /dada/, etc. He is crawling everywhere, cruising the furniture, and will go from coffee table to couch without bending down. He is a climber--will climb all the way up the stairs and up his little slide. His new thing this month is bathrooms. I'm not sure what it is, but he LOVES bathrooms. The toilet flushing, the toilet paper roll, the handles on the vanity that he can pull up on, the faucets going. If you open the door to the bathroom he will get the biggest grin and immediately crawl in. He also now knows that after dinner he gets a bath. The other night after dinner we went up to his room to get something but was going to wait on the bath. Oh.my.goodness. The boy crawled to the bathroom door, pulled up, and waited. When I picked him up to bring him back downstairs he started screaming and kicking. I think he had his first (of many I'm sure!) tantrum :). We are loving the cooler weather and he loves to be outside. Our neighbors have an outdoor baby swing in their front yard they let us use, so we go over and swing in that a minimum of once/day.

HEALTH:
Praise the Lord he is one healthy baby and we have had no bouts of asthma all month! That oral steroid worked its miracle! We still do flovent 2x/day for prevention, have a f/u appt with the pulmonologist Monday. 2 upper teeth, 3 lower teeth, lots of drooling.

A general look at our schedule these days:
6:45: wake up, Caleb gives bottle, gets him dressed, gives inhaler puffs, and plays while Mommy makes breakfast
7:30: breakfast
8: Carter morning nap (or quiet time in crib!) , Mommy does Bible study/gets ready for day
9: snack
9:15-11:30: play/errands
1145: lunch then play
12:30-2:30: nap
2:30: bottle/snack
2:45-5:30: play
5:30: dinner
6: bath, play
6:45: daddy gets home! more playtime!
7:15: bottle, read books, prayers, bed

Of course it's not always that structured, but that's generally the sequence of events. We have playgroup on Mondays which we go to about 50% of the time, other times we just need some time at home or Mommy needs to use that time for errands. Every other Wednesday we go visit our friends at the nursing home--Carter LOVES this and all the attention and of course they love their baby therapy! Tuesdays and Thursdays he has MDO from 9-2:30 and Fridays we typically try not to schedule anything so we can just hang out :).

I feel like I always have SO much to write...but I love having this chronicle because I already find myself going back for reference.

11 month pics:

What a week!

2011-11-01T17:06:00.000-05:00

Whew! October was FUN but oh so busy. Every weekend of October we hosted either friends or family and this last week topped off the fun with Caleb's 30th birthday and Carter's first Halloween. Although I did not document Caleb's birthday in photos, he had a week-long celebration. The weekend before his birthday we went out on a fancy date to a movie and dinner at Fearing's at the Ritz to celebrate. That Monday night the guys went out to celebrate "man-style" with shuffleboard, beer, pizza, and watching the World Series. Tuesday night he had his favorite homemade meal of turkey loaf (if you would call it homemade?), stuffing, white gravy (and I finally called his Mom to figure out why mine always turns out so runny...and what do you know, extra boiling time is the key to thickness!) , broccoli/rice/cheese casserole, fruit salad, and yummy cake balls (not homemade). Carter got real creative this year and sent his Daddy on a treasure hunt to find 30 things he loves about his Daddy. Wednesday he woke up with breakfast in bed but then wanted to spend his actual 30th birthday night as a Daddy with Carter at the fall fun festival at our church. So the photos begin....

Carter very confused on why he is in this outfit and what in the world are we doing?

Birthday boy with our little lion. Carter was oh so cute but did NOT like the headpiece.

This picture melts my heart. Just look at those boys looking at each other with those smiles. LOVE it. Carter's first pony ride!

Concentrating...

From running days to halloween carnival with our little boys...many more memories ahead for these 4!

Carter's ready for his first train ride!

family photo

We found Courtney and Max! These boys have fun together (or atleast chew on each others toys while the Mamas have fun together)!

Cute little lions!

Carter has the best Daddy ever. Cotton candy for the birthday boy? Yes. For the 10 month old?....

Yes. He wasn't so sure about it!

Petting zoo...

Carter and Caleb both get monthly photos :). Happy Birthday Caleb!

Flash forward to actual Halloween night....here is the full lion costume and Carter did much better this time keeping the headpiece on!

Crawling lion

Follow the yellow brick road! Yes, we are the Wizard of Oz. Shout out to Al B for letting us borrow costumes :).

We celebrated at the Kerr's fabulous party in the OC per tradition. Carter lasted about 45 minutes then went down in his pack and play while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed the rest of the evening. I think there were 2000+ (yes, thousand) trick or treaters? Always a crazy time...and some GREAT people watching!

Is that candy in his hand? Yes. Caleb decided he needed to trick or treat...granted, it was at the party, but he got Dots and I think Daddy ate them :).

Happy November! Carter's Bible verse for school this week is "be thankful in all things"....a good reminder for all of us!

9 and 10 months in photos

2011-10-24T19:49:00.000-05:00

We are still having computer issues but did upload pics tonight, so here's what we've been up to...

Our first family race! Caleb ran (and placed 2nd!) in the 20K and I pushed Carter in the 10K.

Carter was invited to his first birthday party for a friend in his class. He LOVED The Little Gym!

first forward roll :)

LOVE this pic, he's so happy!

First pumpkin patch

Playing with MiMi at the pumpkin patch

I love this boy

Haha, I had to include this because he stiffens his arms and legs so tight and squeals to get attention. This captures it perfectly.

Yeah, so the monthly pics are getting more and more difficult...but look how skinny this boy is getting! I miss that belly!

The traditional pic on TX/OU weekend. It's still a holiday in this household. Carter spent the weekend with MiMi and Aunt Connie.

Ahh, the crowds of orange and crimson. LOVE it!

And it could not be a photo post without the "many faces of Carter" (at 10 months...)...(these are from our photo shoot to get his birthday invite pics..)

Haha, love this boy so much!

10 months!

2011-10-09T13:18:00.000-05:00

Our computer has been having issues the past couple of weeks (hence the lack of blogs and tardiness of this post) but my type A personality is stressing that Carter's almost 10 months and a week and I haven't written his 10 month post. So, friends, this post is sans pictures as I'm on the old computer and can't upload photos, but I will get my blog updated so I can remember what our little guy is doing these days.

On Wednesday at the pulmonologist (more on that to come...) he was 20 lbs 1 ounce with a very full diaper :). Size 3 diapers (switched to pampers cruisers) and mostly 12 month clothes, although 9 month shorts fit and 12 month pants are correct length but fall off his skinny waistline.

EAT:
Eats a bottle when he wakes up in the morning (7 oz), wakes up from afternoon nap (~3, 6 oz) and bedtime (5 oz). Eats breakfast, lunch, dinner, morning snack, and sometimes afternoon snack depending on how long his afternoon nap is. Breakfast is typically baby oatmeal, fruit, and sometimes yogurt. Lunch is veggies, diced fruit, cheese, and sometimes yogurt or applesauce. Dinner is typically shredded meat, veggies, rice cereal (the iron in this stuff is amazing, so that's why I still make sure he gets baby oatmeal and cereal) and sometimes yogurt or applesauce. I say sometimes yogurt as it's his absolute favorite but I only try to give him to him every other day or so! Snacks are puffs, kale/broccoli/cheese chips (he LOVES them!), cheese, diced fruit/veggies, and cheerios. Really, I try to give him whatever we eat, just dice or mash it up. At MDO they like me to send him all finger foods,but at home he typically gets atleast 1 food where I feed him with a spoon. His favorites right now are pretty much all fruits (but for some reason is not liking strawberries the past week or so?), cheese, diced carrots, sweet potato, yogurt, and applesauce. I've also started giving him those organic pouches of purees when we're out and about and for some reason he LOVES those--not sure if it's the pouch? I also keep a handful of stage 3 jars on hand so if I don't have anything handy (or we're eating out/eating something not Carter health-worthy!), he'll eat a jar and tends to love those as well. All bottles now, completely weaned himself from nursing but I'm still pumping so he's getting breastmilk. 2 more months until whole milk :).

PLAY:
The boy is EVERYWHERE. Crawling everywhere. Pulling up on everything. Cruising all furniture. Grabbing for anything, whether it's within reach or not. Lately he's been amazing us by getting the camera from the video monitor--we think it's completely out of reach but his persistence finds a way to get it. The other day Caleb went up to check on him because the monitor had no signal....hmm, interesting, Carter had 1) unplugged it from the wall 2) disconnected the power cord from the camera, and 3) had ~3 feet of power cord IN his crib while chewing on the camera. Nice, son. Well played. So after that experience the camera goes nowhere near the bed! It amazes me how aware he is of his surroundings....and if there's anything new around (ie: paper clip on the coffee table, friends phone on the table, ironing board out, etc) he discovers it immediately. He's definitely taken the activity to a new level and it's oh so fun but oh so tiring. The boy wears me out. The days of folding laundry while he happily sits and plays with toys are over :). However, he does enjoy playing by himself as long as I'm within sight....I just can't really be doing anything (ie: fold clothes, be on computer, etc) or he will dart to get at whatever I'm doing! He's very verbal these days, almost always "talking" but not a whole lot of new phonemes emerging. Mostly everything is /dadadada/ and vowels. He did start producing /n/ in the last week, sounds more like /nana/ than /naenae/ (again this is my own personal record so I can understand my phonetics!) but he only makes /n/ when he's upset. He's a very tough little dude, we've had many bruises and scrapes and typically he'll look at you to see if you respond...if you don't or just smile and say "kaboom" he'll smile back and think nothing of it. However, if you run to coddle him, he will cry. Haha, smart guy. We're working on body parts, specifically "head". I don't think he knows it but it's coincidence that this month he keeps using his fist and banging on his head....not sure what that's about? We're also working on signing "eat", "more" and "all done"--he's inconsistently using "eat", not using the others. We're working on waving bye and clapping...again, those skills are not quite there yet :). We have the convertible car seats, plan to switch him into those within the week! He goes to MDO on Tuesdays and Thursdays and created his first pieces of art this month--yellow chunky crayon "starry night" and a ghost footprint this last week. He does not cry when I drop him off at MDO or the nursery and really seems to enjoy the interaction with other kids (or tons of new toys to chew on...). He still enjoys stoller rides and Carter and I ran our first 10K together a few weeks ago...hopefully first of many races!

SLEEP:
Our lovely friend asthma came and visited us again this month so the cough has affected his sleep somewhat. Otherwise, he's staying pretty consistent sleeping from 7:30-6:30 and then napping from 8-9 and 12:30-2:30 or 3. Naps are still hit or miss on both fronts, but I now kind of like it that way--it gives us a little more flexibility with our day as long as he gets 1 good nap in per day.

HEALTH:
On Saturday 9/24 (I realized I need this documented so I can look back and compare...) Carter woke up with the cough and wheezing we've learned so much about the past few months. Weather is changing and he's being exposed to a lot more germs with MDO so it was no surprise. He's been on flovent daily since August but we started back up the albuterol breathing treatments. I got my first nasty comment from a Mom (it's weird how fast defenses come up when someone gives you a hard time about your kid!) but pushed through it, feeling confident that we were just dealing with his asthma as he had not other symptoms and was acting happy as a lark. This past Wednesday I ended up taking him to the pulmonologist as his cough and wheezing was no better and they ended up putting him on another course of oral steroids (prednisolone) for 5 days and he's doing MUCH better! They also added another nebulizer med prn so right now the poor guy is on 4 meds 2x/day. Oh well, hopefully we're strengthening those lungs and he'll grow out of it and run marathons like his daddy someday! BTW, it was just asthma, my instincts were right :). They checked him out for ear infections, URI, etc...nope! All clear!

Caleb and I were talking the other day about how we knew we would love Carter but really didn't know how much we could love him. He brings us so much joy! We love you to the moon and back Carter boy! Happy 10 months!

Daily life as captured by the iphone...

2011-09-08T16:18:00.000-05:00

Carter's first time to stand holding onto furniture

the "good life"--poolside at Four Seasons for anniversary staycation

Caleb was very excited about the rec center, me--vacation=pool/spa sans workout :)

lovin' our lounge chairs poolside

yummy breakfast poolside

ahh...floating

first of many "messes" that Carter made :)

loving finger foods

haha, love this picture as he cannot figure out how to make the milk come out of the bottle. he does not feed himself the bottle, just opens his mouth and is more than happy to have you feed him! he is independent with sippy though...

only time it's been cool enough to play outside is in the early morning after our runs! this is after run, pre morning nap

Carter's first time to actually feed himself puffs--milestone in this household

I just love this pic

Daddy teaching Carter the basics of foam rolling

visiting Grandpa and GrandmaJo at work--Carter was much more interested in Grandma's hair and glasses than looking at the camera!

Not so sure about Molly--would this be his aunt-dog?

always tries to eat the grass....

playing with his BFF Aaron

so excited about his cheerios!

LOVES to get into the toy cabinet and pull the toys out!

fascinated by the oven

sweet boys at the 9 month check up!

ready for his first gameday!

"helping" Mommy with laundry...

Carter's first day of school!

2011-09-07T16:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Carter's first day of "school" or Mother's Day Out. He will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2:30 while I work. Although I was so nervous on Monday (I had his backpack and lunch all packed and ready by um...9 am the day before?), drop off went great and being there just solidifed the decision that this is where he's supposed to be.

Here's his lesson plan for the week:

His teachers are Ms. Dina and Ms. Gretel and he went right to them during drop off. I forgot to tell them about putting a bottle in the fridge so I came back ~5 minutes later and he was happy as a lark just playing and discovering new toys in his new classroom! When I picked him up they said he did "great" but his little "crib room daily news" said he was "teary off and on" and "tired". Sweet boy--I'm hoping that's normal for the first few days and then he gets the "happy" and "busy" boxes checked off once he gets into a routine :). I said to him yesterday "I wish you could talk and tell me all about school" but judging by the above activities and all the new toys, I know he will love his new school!

I did learn a few things for "first day" next year: 1) Daddies go to drop off (Caleb asked if he should go and I was like "no, it's just like nursery at church" and then almost ALL Daddies were there :( and 2) bring your camera to take pictures actually AT school. Check, will put on the to do list for next year! Here are his before school pics:

Such a big boy! Love him :).

9 Months!

2011-09-07T16:23:00.001-05:00

Went to his 9 month check up and Carter is right on track! Here are the stats:

Weight: 18 lbs 14 ounces (25%)
Height:29 inches (85%)
Head Circumference: 17 3/4 inches (40%)

We love our little guy more each day and he is developing his own little unique personality more and more. Last night he wanted a toy and we tried to get him to crawl to it and the boy threw himself on his back, started kicking his legs, and screaming--I told Caleb "what will the tantrums be like when he's 2?" :).

In usual fashion...

EAT:
Bye bye purees and hello table foods! LOVE this! We pretty much mash or dice up whatever we're eating and that's what Carter eats. He typically gets 2 meals (breakfast and dinner)/day with 3-4 bottles. I would say 1-3 days/week he gets a "lunch" meal. I try to make sure at each "meal" he gets a protein, fruit/veggie, dairy, and grain. His favorite foods are yogurt, pears, carrots,apples, sweet potatoes, peaches, and pasta--can you tell most of this is sweet? I think he's got a sweet tooth like his mama :). He's definitely getting more picky about his veggies and meats--he will eat them, but will grunt many times as his way of saying he's not such a huge fan. He eats them anyway :). The only way I can get him to eat cottage cheese is if I "hide" it in with his fruit and oatmeal in the mornings---and even then, if he gets too much of the texture he gags. He gets all bottles of breastmilk during the day and then will nurse right before bedtime. He sure loves puffs and cheerios and those are always "go to" options during fussy periods or to buy time anywhere and everywhere.

SLEEP:
Sleeps 7:30-6:45 like clockwork every night. Knock on wood that teething has not affected sleeping...yet :). A couple of times in the past month he's woken up fussy about 2-3 hours into bedtime but just a little patting in bed and he's fine. He still will nap pretty well from 8:30-10 and then 1-?. I say question mark because I REALLY want it to be 1-3, but he typically will wake up anywhere from 2-2:30. I try to make him stay in his bed until 3, and most of the time he's fine with that--will just roll around, kick on his mobile, and play with his blanket pretty content until I come to get him. He really NEEDS an evening power nap but really fights it which leaves Mommy with Mr. Fusspot from 5-6:30 until Daddy comes for relief :).

PLAY:
My goodness, I think he's taken play to a whole new level this month. Banging, manipulating, reaching for toys....so fun! However, he's not very content to just sit and play. He likes to stand--which means, he needs your hands to pull himself up. Now standing isn't good enough--he likes to stand and hold onto furniture ie: coffee table, walker, couch, etc. His absolute favorite thing is to walk holding onto your fingers. He's started to pull himself to standing on certain things (ie: people, ball toy from Nana's house) and blog friends....the boy started to .....crawl. Yes. I thought it would never happen and always told Caleb that he'll go straight to walking but I guess all that Daddy crawling boot camp worked because yesterday he started army crawling. Don't get me wrong, if something is far away he'll either a) roll or b) scream so loud so someone will go get what he wants but if an object is within 12 inches, he's started to crawl to get it. In the talking department he has developed this high pitched scream that I really really hope is a *small* phase. I love him and many times it's a happy scream, but it's one of those where your face just grimaces when you hear it because the frequency just pierces your ears. He'll do it to get attention, when he's frustrated, and when he's happy--just his new way of expressing himself, so you better believe we are really working on signing as another means of expression :). Recently he's really into singing and will stop whatever he's doing, stare, and smile so big if you're singing--his all time favorite is "itsy bitsy spider". He's also just recently gotten to where he'll sit and attend to books for 2-3 minutes before wanting to eat them. 4 mornings/week I run and push Carter in the stroller and he doesn't seem to hate it, doesn't seem to love it, just looks around but it wears.him.out. It's funny but I can almost always guarantee at 1.5-2 hour nap after our morning run. Carter loves his Daddy and gets so excited when he gets home. He can be very fussy and as soon as Caleb walks in the door he will grin so big and flip the switch to happiness. He seems to warm up more to men it seems, we'll see if that lasts.

Health:
Asthma is very well under control. We're doing 2 puffs of Flovent from an inhaler (bye bye nebulizer 20 minute breathing treatments!) 2x/day and haven't had to use albuterol at all this past month! Woo hoo! He's got his 2 upper teeth coming in...with a big 'ol gap in between, thank you genetics :).

Here are 9 month pics, it definitely shows his little curious personality because the piece of paper is now a toy...

Love you little man! Can't believe you've been in this world the same amount of time you were in my belly :).

Wrapping up the summer

2011-08-26T14:25:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday I went to "new mother's brunch" for Carter's Mother's Day Out that he starts in less than 2 weeks. We signed him up for MDO when he was a wee 2 months old (shout out to Al Brown for getting me on the ball!) and now I cannot wait to see him thrive. Blogfriends, you may wonder what in the world is in it for him at 9 months old and think it's just for me, but no sir-ee, the boy is definitely going to get a lot of benefit from this. I think my biggest confirmation was picking him up from childcare after the brunch and the worker was feeding him puffs (always makes him happy but I knew he was fed and rested so he should have been happy sans puffs) and I say "was he fussy?" and she replied "as long as he was being held, he was fine, but as soon as I put him down he screamed". And that, my friends, is my lovely child right now. He wants FULL attention, ALL the time. You walk just to coffee table when he's sitting right there on the floor-screams, you're walking away. You better not even think to go to the bathroom without atleast a 5 minute melt down. I did some googling on separation anxiety and you better believe I will be asking Dr. Dreiling his thoughts on Carter's 9 month check up, but it is getting old. fast. I mean, I do love that he loves me so much (but it's not me--it's anyone, he just doesn't like to be alone, just like his Daddy :)) and he is at such a FUN age, but he is definitely going to benefit, if nothing else, by a 2:6 ratio in MDO (not to mention he has gross motor day, music class, "art" :))...so excited!

Okay, that was a sidenote from what this post is about. Hence, we're starting MDO so the summer is wrapping up and we've had OH so much fun! Here are some pics...

For our 7th anniversary we had a little staycation at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas, Carter stayed with MiMi and Aunt Connie. It was fabulous and went something like this: hang out by the pool (they "make" your lounge chair with big fluffy towels and a towel pillow), read, chillax, long uninterrupted shower and getting ready, nice dinner out, shuffleboard in hotel bar, peruse the hotel grounds, wake up late (7:30 am! what what?), sit in our robes and have coffee in bed until 10 (!), breakfast by the pool, lounge, lunch by the pool, Julie goes to spa while Caleb goes and works out (such a fit!), ahh....a blissful 24 hours and perfect way to spend our anniversary. Above is the little anniversary treats they had for us in our room! Unfortunately, we did not get any pics of us together and all the pool pics are on the iphone :)...to come later!

Carter has been getting lots of MiMi time in. He is now our little "stander baby" and loves to stand up all the time. Despite Caleb's efforts and crawling bootcamp on a regular basis, I personally think Carter will skip the crawling and go straight to walking :).

Love this pic of MiMi loving on Carter. Speaking of MiMi (my Mom), I'm not sure if I'll break down and do a full out post on this yet (may wait until it's all over to hash out all my emotions, etc) but please keep her in your prayers. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and is having surgery to remove the tumor this Wednesday, 8/31. Good news is the tumor is very small, so we're praying that the lymph nodes are NOT affected and it will be surgery +radiation with no chemo, but won't know until after surgery. She's doing great and has a great attitude-- she's just sad she won't be able to hold Carter for over 2 weeks!

Went to Austin 2 weekends ago for Papa's birthday and got LOTS of lovin...and these new toys!

Sofia fed Carter some dinner. I loved this because she was so careful to "do it right" and he was just grunting at her because she wasn't fast enough :). It was so cute.

It didn't get on photo, but Carter reached his milestone of "pulling up" while we were in Austin--on Papa's bday (8/12). Here he is in position.

Sofia was such a great helper, she helped give him a bath then helped with his nighttime bottle.

Playing at Nana and Papa's house!

**sidenote: My Dad takes so many photos I forgot to get my camera out. We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa at work and Carter loved getting all the attention from coworkers! I think these are on my iphone...will have to do an iphone photo post soon!

We came back and had so much fun hanging out with the Kemp's! They moved back in January and we miss them terribly! It was fun to have the old community group over for gaming and it surprisingly didn't get *too* competitive!

Dads :)

My little foodie

2011-08-17T10:01:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we went to Austin (pics to come!) and Carter as always got spoiled rotten by grandparents. LOTS of attention and came home with a suitcase full of new toys (thanks Nana and Papa!). On Friday night we had a yummy meal to celebrate Papa's birthday and had steak, baked potatoes, and squash/zucchini. After Carter's baby food (we took jars which were much easier than toting around the homemade purees) he still acted hungry so I just mashed some potato and squash/zucchini and he did GREAT! So, I've kinda decided to be "done" with making baby food weekly and we will go through our freezer stash of purees, but also add some table foods to the mix. Monday night I made Caleb and I pan seared chicken, sweet potato fries, and green beans. I diced and shredded it up and that's what Carter ate too--SO nice to have him sit with us and eat what we eat. Although half of it ended up in his lap, he loved it! So, last night I decided to feed him with a spoon first and then put some on his tray just to make sure he got enough. MY. GOODNESS. The boy ate 1/2 of a sweet potato (mashed) and 2 chicken tenders (pan seared from the night before--no fried food yet!) shredded up, PLUS ~3 ounces rice cereal with breastmilk. He's loving real food and believe me, mama's loving not using precious naptime to steam + puree food :). Pics to come!

8 months!

2011-08-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

This post is a little late, it's been crazy around here the last week or so. I do not have enough hands to count the number of "workers" that have been at our house dealing with everything from refrigerator breaking (I think that alone was 8 total visits from the tech and countless bags of ice and spoiled food later to get it working!) to "critters" in our attic that had chewed through the brick, to a hole in the ceiling from plumbing issues, etc. Anyway, through all this Carter has been a champ and he actually finds it quite entertaining to watch people working on our house.

This post will not be as extensive as previous monthly posts, but here we go...

Stats: 18 lbs, 1 oz as of 8/1, size 3 diapers, 9-12 mos clothes

EAT:
He's dropped a bottle so we're down to 4 bottles/day and 2 meals/day. His distraction has hit a new level with both nursing and bottle feeding so he now pretty much will only nurse in his room, in the glider, holding his blanket--and he will use his little fist to hold his blanket and bang his head. Funny boy. Nobody can be around---or even upstairs for that matter. Bottle is definitely hit or miss. This morning Caleb was giving him the bottle and all he wanted to do was watch me make breakfast in the kitchen, so after 20 mins or so Caleb said he was done and went back to finish the bottle 20 mins later. He's pretty much gone through all the fruits and veggies and last week we started adding chicken with dinner and baby yogurt with breakfast. Typical breakfast is 2 oz fruit + oatmeal and ~3 ounces baby yogurt. Typical dinner is 3 oz chicken + 2 oz veggie + baby rice. The only foods so far he does not like are peas and avocado (the 2 things I've given him that I don't eat :)). He's loving mum mums and gerber puffs--definitely a new distraction and form of entertainment when at the dr office, sitting and waiting for the car, etc.

PLAY:
LOVES to stand up. Will just reach for your hands and pull himself right up. To get to his toys will just roll and roll. We'll put him on all fours and he'll just put his belly down on the ground--not at all interested in crawling and doc said that's just fine. He's reached a stage where his favorite "toys" are non-toys. Yesterday Caleb had the foam roller out and that entertained Carter for 45 minutes. This morning it was the laundry basket. Silly silly boy. He's really started reduplicated babbling with /dadadada/--I tell Caleb it's not his first word, as it has no meaning :). We're working on /mama/. Has his happy scream that's getting louder and louder. Yesterday when I picked him up from the church nursery, the lady said "he has so much personality, he just grunts and squeals". That's my boy. He doesn't like something, gets bored, wants something--grunts and grunts till he gets what he wants. Loves the "tot rider 2" as Caleb calls it, otherwise known as the walker. He will wheel around in that thing in the kitchen and loves his newfound independence of going where he wants (unless he's in the laundry room--always gets stuck in the laundry room). Loves watching people, so one of our new "outings" is to the mall just to people watch--and it's cool which is a must in this 110 degree heat!

SLEEP:
His asthma had some flaring up this month which did affect him a bit, giving him nighttime breathing treatments 2x. Otherwise, he's sleeping 7:30-7 at night and 2 solid naps (morning and afternoon) with sometimes an evening power nap. Still just talks and plays in his crib! He has figured out how to kick his mobile on in the crib, so that will keep him entertained for a while before falling asleep :). Still gives us the biggest grin when we come to get him out of the crib--one of my favorite parts of the day!

HEALTH:
He did get his first 2 teeth this month and thankfully teething has not affected sleep or personality yet! Fingers crossed it stays this way :). We've also been dealing with his asthma flare ups. He got on a 5 day oral steroid on top of 2x/day breathing treatments (pulmicort and albuterol) and it's much more under control. We're going to see a pulmonologist probably this week just to take a look at him.

The many faces of Carter at 8 months...

62 to 7

2011-07-29T16:29:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we celebrated Mamie and Grandaddy's 62nd anniversary at Lake Whitney with the fam. This weekend we are celebrating our 7 year anniversary via staycation at the Four Seasons in Dallas. Looking forward to a weekend with my beau to relax poolside, snuggle in a luxurious robe, and sleep in without watching a baby monitor :).

Here are some pics of Mamie and Grandaddy's anniversary celebration:

Carter and Kennedy checking each other out (Carter 7 mos, Kennedy 5 mos)

Lots of lovin' from Mamie

Mamie and Grandaddy with the great grands!

Playing with Uncle Stephen

Anniversary cake and toast! Love them so much. They are such an example to me of living out your marriage vows.

My Dad seranaded us with his eukalale (sp?) skills...

...while Connie and Larry danced to Dad's music. Crazy crazy kids.

Proud grandpas

Such a sweet photo of everyone looking at the babies--this is pretty much what it was like all.weekend.

Other recent pics:

You can kind of see those pearly whites on the bottom in this one

He just looks like such a big boy!

Reaching for blocks

Daddy working on "quadriped"--Carter will roll all across the floor to get what he wants, but does NOT like being on all fours :)

Hanging out with the cousins!

Lovin' on his Grandpa

Playing with Max. Holding hands or restraining Max? Not sure.

Sweet boy. We are now back to 2x/day breathing treatments :(

Happy weekend! Looking forward to celebrate the big 7 with my hubs and Carter is looking forward to a fun weekend with his Aunt Connie and Mimi :).

Dedicated to the Lord

2011-07-15T15:43:00.000-05:00

On June 12 we had Carter's baby dedication at church. I fully intended to complete a blog post that week and then with the camera/usb lost cord issue I never got around to it. I think that's a good thing, as the Lord has taught me a lot these past few weeks that Carter is not mine. He's not Caleb's. He's the Lord's. What a blessing it is that God chose us to be his parents, but we can't hold onto him like he's ours. Ultimately, he is the Lord's and it is our job as his parents to glorify the Lord in raising Carter. To point to the Lord and pray that Carter will come to know Jesus on his own one day. He already has dates and times set. He holds Carter's future in His hands. I'm not in control, HE is, and what a relief that brings. I was holding Carter today and standing him up while holding onto his little fingers. I was telling him about how big God is and how God has big plans for him and I can't wait to see what those are. I was telling him how much Mommy and Daddy love him, "sooooooooooo much", and I don't know how but God loves him even more.

In preparing for the dedication Caleb and I talked about what it meant. I didn't want to go through the motions "because dedication is something you're supposed to do when your child hits 6 months" but really wanted us to be on the same page about what it meant to "dedicate Carter". It's funny because Caleb's personality is very succint and I tend to be wordy and emotional about things. It's a good mix for us. However, he very simply said it means we're commiting him to the Lord and commiting we're going to raise him in church. I kept pressing for more....and it means we're going to pray for him...it means we're going to teach him who Jesus is and pray he will accept Him one day...and it means we're going to raise him in a home that points to Christ....etc, etc. But really, it means Carter is not ours, He is the Lord's, and we understand that.

It's easy in everyday life to forget this. To go about our day trying to control what happens. To become frustrated when Carter doesn't nap for 2 hours like he's "supposed to" at 12:30 every day, etc. But this week has been different because of some very sad and unfortunate circumstances for some friends. I hate what they're going through but at the same time realize that the Lord does not guarantee that we'll have Carter for all the moments I hope we do. So this week I've slowed down and enjoyed some sweet time with my little man. I've laid on the floor in his room and watched him tumble across his crib until he fell asleep. Caleb and I have gone up multiple times before bed just to watch Carter sleep peacefully in the crib. I've put off the laundry or the dishes and other "to do's" so I could sit and play/sing/tickle/act silly with my baby boy and loved every.minute.

I hope I keep this perspective and come back to this post often as a reminder. I cling to the promise that God is good and He works all things for the good for those who love him.

So blessed with the little family we've become.

Lots o summer fun!

2011-07-12T20:40:00.001-05:00

A quick update for the record, then onto LOTS of pics as I finally got the USB cord and uploaded pics from the camera. I really hope to do a post solely about his dedication and what that means, I don't want it to be just another summer "event" thrown in the mix.

After a phone call with the pediatrician yesterday it looks like Carter will be on Pulmicort (breathing treatment steroid) for a few months to help out with his asthma. It's basically a way to strengthen his lungs during these summer months (he got a little cold and asthma came back in full force) so that when winter hits he'll be stronger and less likely to need an oral steroid which apparently have much worse side effects. So, Carter can't understand it and HATES it, but it's what's best for him so we will sing +dance+entertain him in whatever way possible for 15 minutes every morning while we try to keep that fun little mask on his face. Otherwise, we're doing great and lovin' summertime with our little man!

Onto the pics...

1st weekend of June always means Western Cabin for Mama and her sweet Bible study girls. This year we had 13 of us out for the day on Saturday but of course I didn't take any pics then. Here's the Sunday lunch girls at Western Cafe on our way back to Dallas. This was my first weekend away from Carter (he and Daddy had "guy" time) but it was great to have a retreat away with the girls and Caleb and Carter had a great weekend of racing (yes, Carter won his age group!) and guys game night.

Not a huge fan of peas...

Sweet Potato? Yes please!

Such a good eater, will eat for anyone that will attempt it!

Such a loved little boy, all this family came to support us at his baby dedication

Dedication

Hanging out at lunch after dedication

Uncle Stephen feeding Carter

Playing with Aunt Diana

Caleb's father's day present was Carter holding these letters and put in a frame for his office...

church picnic family photo

silly boy

can I eat that?

chillin

watching the neighborhood 4th of July parade

with Mommy at the parade

trying to stay cool...it was very hot!

Family July 4th pic, don't we look patriotic? We spent the day at Emily's and enjoyed swimming and grilling out with Nana, Papa, Aunt Emily, Uncle Jeff, and the boy cousins. We then ALL took naps at the same time--it was glorious.

7 months!

2011-07-06T18:12:00.000-05:00

Warning, this is a very long post for my own personal record, please feel free to scroll down for pics. I lost my camera USB cord so I've added some of my iphone photos from the past 3 months for your viewing pleasure!

Here's what's going on at 7 mos:

size 3 diapers
9-12 mos clothes
sleeps 11 hours at night, typically 3 naps during the day

EAT:
We started solids and he LOVES them. No surprise to us :). He does not like to be put in the highchair (so long are the days where he would sit and watch me unload the dishwasher for entertainment!) but as soon as the bib goes on, he starts grunting like "allright Mom, FEED ME!". He gets ~3-5 ounces fruit in the morning (we've tried bananas, apples, pears, peaches) mixed with oatmeal and ~3 ounces vegetable (we've tried peas, avocado, sweet potato, carrots, green beans) with 2 ounces rice cereal +2 ounces breastmilk for dinner. So far, he likes everything but peas. Peas definitely elicit the "disgust" face and gag reflex. He still eats his bottles (5.5 oz) and nurses like a champ. He does get more distracted now and will turn away to check out what's going on if someone enters the room, the coffee pot turns on, etc. I now nurse him before bed, I've decided that since he eats almost 7 ounces in food about an hour before bedtime he no longer needs the "prize egg" of a bottle as well. It's nice, as it's good bonding as well as eliminates a pumping session. I don't know if I've ever blogged about pumping but I REALLY REALLY don't like pumping. The hands free bra did change my world, as I can now pump and make breakfast, dry my hair, etc, but still--it's a beating, but definitely worth it. He did start a new thing this month where he grunts and gets overly distracted with his bedtime feed (probably correlates to digesting 7 ounces worth of solid food!)--Caleb discovered that when you give him his blanky and let him look out the window (we usually feed him his last feed in the glider up in his room) he will focus on eating. Can you say first child and spoiled?! I'm sure down the road we'll look at this when we're on kid #2, 3, 4? and be like "really? we let him look out the window so he could eat?!" but yes, that's what Carter gets these days. He also now gets "tastes" of what we're eating--toast, waffle, cookie at the church picnic (not by me--hmm...), and even a pickle at the pool--he just always opens his mouth for more! Now that he's getting tastes of food, he just opens his mouth for anything--laptop, coffee mug, pumping parts--not really sure on food vs nonfood items right now. Caleb calls himself Carter's intepreter and according to Caleb, Carter's pretty much always thinking "can I eat that?". He's drinking water from a sippy during mealtimes and will take ~4-5 ounces water total in a day. I'm making his baby food and it's actually pretty easy. I bought a baby food cookbook, but basically it comes down to "pick a food, steam, puree". Don't really need much of a recipe :). My Dad and Jolie bought me a food processor for my birthday and that makes the "puree" part way easier than the blender. A girlfriend at work asked how long I will continue breastfeeding. My goal was always to make it to 6 months and re-assess. Right now, it just seems to be working, so we will continue. Carter likes it, it's free, it's convenient (minus the pumping--but that's because I like to be independent and go places/do things and have the option of giving a bottle), and I can't say the burning of an extra 600 calories/day doesn't factor in as well :). So, we shall see!
PLAY/ACTIVITY:
Carter now pretty much sits up for all playtime. We still try to do some tummy time, but he will immediately roll to his back. He will sometimes roll back to belly, he definitely CAN do it, but just doesn't like to be on his belly. He can sit up for probably 30-40 minutes unsupported and this month has really taken to playing. So long are the plush toys, he now likes anything that will light up, make sound, and of course--go in his mouth. He rarely gets tired of blocks (we can only get a tower 2-3 blocks tall before he will knock it down) and has really taken to the cookie shape sorter shapes in the last week or so. He LOVES hand motions and any sort of exaggeration with singing so every morning I feel like I lead my own little Mommy/Carter circle time where we go through itsy bitsy spider, wheels on the bus, speckled frogs, if you're happy and you know it, etc. He just sits and stares with a big grin. I also pull some of my preverbal skills out and do the pause + clapping and he LOVES it. Hopefully pretty soon he'll catch on and clap with me :). We've gone to the pool a few times and he loves the water. He'll play in his float in the pool for 1-2 hours and just look around and float (and eat the float of course). I did get him a baby pool and he did NOT like it, think it was too cold for him and he just screamed and screamed! Problem is if I leave the water out to warm up, the pool fills with leaves and other outdoor nastiness and I'm not quite ready to put my sweet, clean, soft little guy in nasty water! He still loves to be outside but this heat is killing us. I got a fan for his stroller which helps a bit. I've started trying to run with him first thing in the morning (7:15ish) which works and he enjoys, but if I don't get out by 7:30, no running outside for us. He doesn't mind car rides for the most part, but when he's tired/fussy there's a lullaby song (track 9!) that almost immediately calms him. I think I mentioned the "cute new" separation anxiety thing in his 6 month post and let me tell you--it's no longer cute :(. He does NOT like to be left alone and will FREAK OUT when he's left. Seriously, this morning I had him playing on the floor in the living room, went to make a cup of coffee, and as soon as he saw me walking towards the kitchen --bam, immediate screams and tears. I'm gone for less than a minute and come back to sobs. Grrr. Caleb and I are trying to figure out the best way to deal with this, as we want him to feel loved and secure but at the same time want him to realize it is NOT the end of the world and we will ALWAYS be back. I've come to dread leaving him, but rest assured blogfriends, when mama has to potty he just has to scream. He's not THAT spoiled :). He's fine as long as ANYONE is in the room--Rosa, Max, whoever--just NOT alone. He is very ticklish and I LOVE his big belly laugh. Caleb is better at getting it than me, but it melts my heart every time. I finally got it on video and have found myself watching it, especially in the middle of the day at work when I'm missing my boys! He continues with his raptor voice and new "screaming" talk that can be heard across the grocery store. It's a happy sound though, but sometimes I do find myself saying "shh" even though he doesn't understand. Definitely NOT an inside voice. Still no new sounds, although a lot more vocalizations with some /ma/ and ga/, but no reduplicated babbling quite yet--I'm listening for it though! I put toys out of his reach and he will really stretch and reach pretty far (down to where he's almost on his belly bending at the waist!), but no attempts at all fours quite yet.

SLEEP:
Nothing too new in the sleep department. Thankfully, he loves his bed so the aforementioned freak out when alone does NOT occur in bed. He actually loves his bed and I love watching the monitor and watching him just talk and grab his feet and roll around his bed. He still grabs for his blanky and puts his 2 left fingers in his mouth as soon as you put him down, but he may roll around and talk to himself for a good 20 minutes before falling asleep. He doesn't like to be rocked to sleep, after he takes his nighttime feed, he'll just arch his back and look at his crib. He sleeps from about 7:30-6:45 at night and takes 3-4 naps/day.

I haven't done a "typical day" in a while but feel like that's helpful to look back on, so here it goes--of course, this is all relative as we're not on THAT much of a set schedule

6:45: wake up! Daddy gives bottle while Mommy makes breakfast/pumps
7:15-7:45: playtime with Mommy and Daddy, Daddy gets ready for work (playtime usually involves block towers, singing, rolling over and all around attention on me) OR running wtih Mommy (I want this to be more of a habit but we shall see! on Fridays Mommy goes running with Shannon at the lake before I wake up!)
7:45-8: besos, Daddy goes to work, and playtime with Mommy (see circle time notes above!)
8:15: morning nap
9:30: wake up, eat breakfast (baby food+nurse)
9:45-11:30: errands, gym, play with friends
12ish-1:30: nap (this is when Mommy gets laundry, cleaning, house stuff done)
1:30-4ish: eat, play, errands
4:30-5:15: nap, Mommy starts dinner
5:30: eat, play
6:30: daddy gets home ! play and eat dinner (we try to all sit at the table, Carter gets his veggie/rice and we eat our dinner. I've started meal planning so I would say 3-4 nights/week we actually do sit at the table and all eat together)
6:45-7:15: playtime with Daddy while Mommy gets a break, bathtime
7:30: eat and bedtime!

Tuesdays and Thursdays Caleb and I have breakfast at 620 together before Carter wakes up, then I give him kisses and run out the door to head to work. Caleb gets him ready and takes him to Courtney's around 7:45-8 and I usually pick him up between 3-4, then continue as above. On Wednesdays I have Bible study and Caleb has goaltimate, so MiMi usually comes over and plays with Carter and puts him to bed. She LOVES it and we love that she's so close! On the weekends we keep a lot to the same eat/sleep schedule but do more things as a family. MiMi typically will come over one weekend night (usually Saturday) and give us date night which is fun. Sundays he goes to the newborn class in the nursery and does great (so they say!).

We finished breathing treatments up about 2 weeks ago and so far, so good! He's back to our healthy little boy! We have the nebulizer and albuterol, doctor says when he gets a cold he'll probably need a few treatments, but now it's just a PRN basis which is great!

Carter's likes at this age:
-people--anyone, anywhere he will just watch. he's more serious now, really checks people out before giving them a smile :)
-tickling
-hand motions/singing (the more elaborate the better!)--he goes for kid friendly songs as well as country and rap--trying to culture the boy a little!
-food.
-sitting up and playing
-building block towers
-his blanket and laying in his crib
-someone coming to get him up from a nap/in the morning--he'll be playing in his crib but as soon as he sees you he will give the biggest smile! Caleb and I both love it!
-watching Max play/crawl
-outdoors
-pool
-bathtime (now is sitting up in regular bathtub and just splashes and reaches for toys so I keep a hand on him)
dislikes:
-peas
-being left alone
-getting pajamas on after bathtime
-diaper changes when all he really wants is food (if you change him AFTER eating, he's totally fine!)

Onto pics--I will post my camera pics hopefully later this week, ordered a new USB cord yesterday! Remember, some of these are 2-3 months old...

already learning hook 'em

Mommy playing dress up, making sure everything fit for Uncle Stephen's wedding

Carter does not like dress up :(

Chillin' with grandpa at the beach

eating feet. the boy LOVES to eat his feet.

first time in the stroller with no carseat! a little wobbly here but now he does great!

drying off after bath!

LOVES playing in bed

Knocking over the block tower!

Playing with Daddy!

Snuggling with MiMi

Sweet boy--here he is at the dr trying to figure out what all was going on with the cough. We were both TIRED of seeing doctors, so thankful we figured it out! This pic definitely shows the blanket + fingers combo

PT says--put toys out of reach!

Showing off sippy cup skills!

1st bite of real food--peas.

Breathing treatments--Daddy was great at giving them but Carter sure didn't like them! Glad they're over (for the most part!)

Seminary in his future?

Wasn't too sure about avocado the first time...

Working on sharing. LOVES playing with Max (and watching Max!)

where's my food?

reading books with Daddy

My boys on father's day!

What are you looking at?

Chillin in the stroller while Daddy plays at the park :)

These are my friends at the Arboretum. I look HUGE but they'll catch up to me soon!

Sliding with Daddy!

Silly boy. This picture makes me laugh.

Yummy carrot cake for my birthday. Caleb took me to Bailey's Prime Plus--yum. Would highly recommend!

Evidence why I say "making milk" is the story of my life. What my kitchen counter typically looks like on nights after I've worked!

Pooltime!

First Father's Day!

2011-06-20T08:48:00.001-05:00

It's been so fun watching Caleb as a Daddy. From the first night home where Caleb took Carter on a "blanket ride" around the house (he was expecting newborns to be a little more interactive!) to taking him on his first ride down the slide today, he loves that little boy with all he has and it's SO fun to watch. Carter thinks Caleb is pretty great too, he just smiles so big when he hears the back door open around 6:30, knowing that his Daddy is home. Love these boys so much.

6 month stats

2011-06-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

Weight: 16 lbs 4 ounces (30%)

Length: 27 3/4 inches (85%)

Head circumference: 17 inches (48%)

We also found our our little guy has his daddy's lungs. All this cough/congestion=reactive airway disease, typically the term more commonly known as "asthma". I've learned that in infants it's too early to call it asthma. Caleb had the exact same thing as a baby and he grew out of it, so I'm hoping Carter will do the same. The doctor did have us purchase a nebulizer vs rent one if that tells us anything :). So, our life is now filled with breathing treatments 2x/day. The boy hates his breathing treatments but it is SO nice to finally have an answer. Caleb is great at giving him his treatments and the only thing that can *sometimes* calm him down is singing. Caleb won't let me take video but I LOVE to hear Caleb sing to Carter. Remembering words to songs is not Caleb's strength (this and probably reading comprehension are about the only 2 things that I'm "better" at!) so I LOVE the words to the kiddie songs. I think this morning it was "daddy's gonna buy you a frisbee...and if that frisbee doesn't fly, daddy's gonna buy you a basketball...". My other favorite from this morning was wheels on the bus and "the kids on the bus go ahhhhhh!" and then "the driver on the bus says be quiet kids!". Haha. Love it and love him.

Baby dedication this weekend, lots of family coming in town! Pics to come!

Happy half birthday little man!

2011-06-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

Half a year?! Really?! I went to Babies R Us yesterday to buy a baby gift and went to check out the toy section as Carter is growing out of the rattles and plush phase. In the baby section it is all 0-3 month toys--you have to go to the preschool section to get the fun 6+month light up/sound toys. Really?
As I've said many times, this blog is to chronicle our life and for me to look back on, so please feel free to just scroll down to pics. Unfortunately, this 6th month of life has been filled with a nasty cough that we cannot kick. We've been to the dr 3 different times and the little guy still has a nasty cough and chest congestion. Thankfully, it doesn't really seem to phase him (he did one day last week where he had a fever and was snuggly--felt bad for him, but can't say I didn't love the snuggles!) and he's just our smiley, jabber-y little boy. Here's what's going on...
6-9 month clothes, some 12 months
size 2 diapers but probably moving to 3s when we run out of the current package
will get weight/height at Dr on Monday

EAT:
Still nursing when we're together, taking bottles like a champ via stage 2 nipple while I'm working and at bedtime. Still about 5.5 ounces every 3 hours. The big thing this month was starting rice cereal. Although originally we were going to wait until he turned 6 months, he became very interested in our food sitting at the table with us. Since I work with feeding and most doctors at work/books say initiate rice cereal between 4-6 months, I thought 5.5 months was fine :). Let me tell you, the boy LOVES his rice cereal. He sees me get the bowl and spoon out and he gives me the biggest grin.If I don't give it fast enough he'll grunt at me. Haha. We're working on signing "more" but that may be a while! I measured it out for the first time last night--he's getting 1/4 cup cereal with about 2.5 ounces breastmilk 1-2x/day. I figured that's about as many calories as he gets in a 5.5 ounce bottle, so we're just giving him a 5 ounce bedtime bottle instead of 7 as we did up until last night. We've also started introducing the sippy cup with water during mealtimes (rice cereal) and he's now able to express from a hard spout with the valve, no longer needing support for jaw stabilization! He's only taking ~20 mLs but it's more for practice at this stage. I bought my baby food cookbook and storage containers--plan on making his first foods in the next few days so when we get the green light from the Dr we will start real foods! I'm really looking forward to this--so far, the boy loves to eat anything, so we'll see if it continues! Will he love the peas?!

PLAY:
It's so stinkin' hot outside right now, but Carter LOVES the outdoors. He can be fusspants, walk outside, and poof--happy happy boy. I'm trying to convince Caleb we need a kiddie pool for the summer :). He got spoiled rotten on the beach trip and now does NOT like to be left alone. As long as he can see someone, anyone, he's fine. But, the minute you walk away he just cries and cries. Haha, it's kinda annoying but kinda cute. He now much prefers being eye level vs being plopped on the ground. He LOVES just sitting in his highchair and watching me work in the kitchen, I usually will turn on the radio and sing and dance which just makes it that much more entertaining. He likes the jumperoo okay, but really isn't jumping--just standing and playing with the toys. Last week I brought Carter up to work for a going away lunch and had some of the PTs check him out--long story short, I think he's just fine, but his back muscles are a little weak. So, one of the fabulous PTs from work had me buy an exercise ball and came over yesterday and gave us a home program. So, fellas, Carter is going to learn to work out from a very EARLY age :). He doesn't love it, but who does when you first start...right? We have a LOT more tummy time in our future! He is starting to prop sit and can maintain sitting for up to a minute. He continues to love people and is easily entertained by watching anyone and everyone. He will just follow people around and smile at anyone that crosses his path. He continues his raptor voice and his "talking"--not a whole lot new babbling this month, but maybe that's because we're increasing motor function?! He loves anything "over the top" so exaggerated motions for dancing, animal sounds, bouncing/singing with lots of intonation, he just smiles and laughs. He also loves to be tickled, he's got one spot on his neck that gets him every time--we LOVE his little laugh!

SLEEP:
Still our good little sleeper at night, anywhere from 7-8 pm to around 7 am. Naptime is now glorious as well, thanks to the discovery of his blankey. His blue crochet blanket is his new best friend. When he goes down in his crib he does the 3 step approach: left 2 fingers in the mouth, grabs the blanket and puts it to his face, and turns to his left side. Such a sweet baby. Even if he doesn't readily go to sleep, he will now play in his crib until he falls asleep and will wake up playing--minimal crying in the crib which is a HUGE improvement in the past month! Even with the yucky cough, the boy is still a good sleeper and that makes for one happy Mommy!

Onto the pics....

Kate is home from France! We LOVED getting to see her and have seen her a few times since she's been back--even though we've been apart for over 2 years, it was just like old times. Carter fit right in :)

Going away for Meghan and sweet Bennett. I miss them already. Meghan and I sat next to each other at work and were preggers together for 6 months. Fun times.

A little PT evaluation at work :)

He's already playing with the Ipad

First taste of rice cereal.

And of course, our monthly photo shots with all that personality:

Back from the beach!

2011-05-16T18:13:00.000-05:00

We had an absolute BLAST down at South Padre for Stephen's wedding. Carter and I got to stay an extra 4 days at the beach and hang out with Grandma and Grandpa (and Mamie, Grandaddy, Larry, and Diane--can you say the child is now spoiled rotten with the ratio of 7:1--he was never left alone unless he was sleeping!) and we were both spoiled. Our days pretty much went like this: wake up, breakfast, nap, beach, nap, lunch, nap, play, nap, more beach, nap, dinner, bed. And the naps are not just Carter--throw in read/nap for me most of those times. I will pretty much let the pictures tell the story of our week:

(not in pics--very LONG drive to Padre=stopping off at Nana and Papa's Thursday night and leaving at 5:30 am Friday morning to get to beach on time. Carter actually did GREAT driving, but was so ready to get out of the car!)

First stop after checking into hotel=beach. We got Carter's first reaction to the water on video so there are no pics. Just picture chillin watching the waves, waves come up on his feet and FREAK OUT MODE begins! Haha. As the week went on, he got more and more used to it. I won't say he liked it, but definitely tolerated the waves!

How cute are these boys?! LOVE Carter's sunglasses--and he really doesn't mind wearing them! We had a hat as well but it was oh so windy out there it kept blowing off!

Next stop = pool. Now, I must say that we took him in the heated pool and he loved it, just like a bath! We never made it to the cold portion of the pool--not sure what he will think of that this summer, we shall see!

Chillin' with Mommy at the pool. Hopefully there will be LOTS of this in our future this summer. Oh, and notice the tan?! There's a reason all the pics are of Daddy and Carter in the pool....if Mommy got in, her tan would come off before the wedding :).

Carter with Mimi at the rehearsal dinner. He was not a happy camper this night, but give the kid a break--not only did the dinner start after his bedtime, but he missed naps due to all the beach/pool fun!

Bride and groom at the rehearsal dinner

Such a sweet picture. Mamie and Grandaddy watched Carter this night so that Mommy and Daddy could go on the party barge following this dinner. Carter got spoiled just like Mommy did when she was a little girl :).

Diane and Aunt Connie

Carter at the rehearsal dinner

Party barge ended at midnight--hair started at 10 am! There's Ali getting all pretty for the wedding!

Bride getting pretty!

Of course we have no ceremony pictures as we were both in the wedding but Carter was a little heartbreaker in his tie. Here he is at cocktail hour giving grandpa a kiss!

Our one family photo from the night :). Windblown is an undestatement from what happened to my hair on the beach!

First dance

Mother/Son Dance

Anniversary dance--give it up to Mamie and Grandaddy with 62 yerars of marriage and still going strong! Watch out...lots 'o sombreros coming up...

Amanda and all her girls came. We had so much fun with them on the dance floor!

Dancing with my brother

Caleb wasn't feeling great, but I still drug him out on the dance floor :)

How Carter spent the reception. LOVE this age where we can dance till midnight and he just sleeps through it all!

Ole!

With Ali

Sunday was Mother's Day and it was SO neat to spend it with my Mom and both grandmothers. Amanda came over and brought her girls to see Nana---here is Great Nana with all her great grandkids on mother's day!

Not the best pic, but 4 generations on Mother's Day!

All the girls!

We then went out to lunch with Mamie and Grandaddy--here is the pic of them with their kiddos!

Still act like kids :)

Wanna Wanna Beach Bar for lunch! Yum! Carter was such a trooper and did great just tagging along wherever we went! As long as he was fed and had his carseat to nap in, he was golden :).

Shrimp boil at the condo! Here's Carter with Mamie and Granddy

Larry and Diane spent the week too, it was so fun to get to hang out with them without the huge group setting!

Dad and Jolie prepping the shrimp boil!

Couldn't get Carter to look but this pic is priceless--Carter with his 4 great grandparents

More time at the beach!

Chillin' with Grandaddy on the beach

Love this pic of Carter with Grandma Jo, cool in shades on the beach!

After the beach we went and spent a few days with Amanda and her girls--all my pics are on the iphone, so those will come later. We had SUCH a great time with so much family but are also very glad to be back at home with Daddy!

5 months!

2011-05-04T10:29:00.000-05:00

5 months old yesterday. Geez, it goes by so fast! A cafeteria lady commented on Carter's newborn photo on my badge at work and I said "I need to change that out, he's so much bigger now". We got to talking about babies at 5 months old and I was saying how fun he is and she was like "5 months? You think that's fun, just wait until they're a year! They just keep getting more fun!". I feel like I've heard that a lot recently. I love everyday with him and he's just getting more and more interactive. In some ways I hate that he's not the little newborn snugglebug and those days are over, but I'm LOVING his smiles and laughs and "raptor voice" (as Caleb calls his high pitched screeching talk) that surround us these days. There's no 5 month check up, so not sure of his height/weight. He's still in size 2 diapers and primarily 6 month or 6-9 month clothes. Here we go...

EAT:

He still loves to eat and being back at work with kiddos with feeding diffficulties, I am very thankful Carter loves to eat. He's eating 5 ounces every 3ish hours via level 2 nipple. We still nurse most of the day when I'm at home.I do pump in the mornings, so he gets a 5 ounce bottle in the morning and a 7 ounce bottle for bedtime. We will probably experiment with increasing his bottle amount to 5 1/2 or 6 ounces here pretty soon and see how he does. He is spitting up less these days, no complaints on that front! We are holding off on starting baby food to closer to 6 months, per our pediatrican's recommendations. I do want to start working his spoon feeding skills (can you tell what I do for a living?!), so I think I'm going to start putting him in his highchair and giving him milk via spoon just for fun :).

PLAY:

Oh, and play he does. He loves his hands and his feet and will play with them all.day.long. If you put him on his back on the floor he will immediately grab for his feet and try to put them in his mouth. Wherever he is, he is always trying to get his fingers or his whole hand in his mouth. I don't feel any teeth, so I'm not sure if it's just oral exploration or getting ready to teethe, but the boy is putting *everything* in his mouth and drooling like crazy. In the past week or so he has been rolling tummy to back more often. I'm not saying every time he gets on his tummy, but maybe 70% of the time he'll now roll over to his back? I've been "therapizing" him by making him bear weight on his arms on his tummy (can you tell I work wtih pediatric PTs and am constantly seeking their advice?) which has really helped. Now to "prop sitting"--the problem with this is he should be using his arms to help him balance (prop his arms on his legs or tripod in between his legs on the floor) but he always wants a hand in his mouth, so it's face plant! Haha, he'll get it :). He's still our little social butterfly. We put the highchair at the kitchen table, so he now sits and joins in on the breakfast and dinner conversation. I think pretty soon we'll be putting the big swing in the attic, as he's getting too big for the swing. We got the walker out this week--he still hasn't quite figured it out, but it's nice to have a place to stand and play while Mama works in the kitchen! His favorite toys right now are....anything he can put in his mouth--hands/feet, clothes, dad's paper plate when he's eating, and of course the little crinkle toys and rings that easily fit in the mouth. He is starting to look more at books, so we're pulling out the "touch and feel" books--he'll attend for ~3-4 minutes before he's off to something else. On the talking front, he's my little jabber baby. He started this high pitched screech that is a happy sound (raptor voice) and it cracks me up. He's starting some reduplicated babbling--so far I've heard consonants /g/, /m/, /p/, and /n/ although Caleb constantly is working on /dada/. He's blowing raspberries and when you blow them back his face lights up. He loves to look in the mirror, so we've got in the habit of looking in the mirror in the game room after naps and he goes from sleepy baby to bright eyed with a big 'ol grin--I think he knows he's about to eat :).He still LOVES to sing (actually, for us to sing to him)and his favorite song continues to be "He's got the whole world in his hands", although "Texas Fight" is a close 2nd :). He still loves to be outside and is enjoying longer runs more these days which is nice for both Mom and Carter. It's been so pretty lately we've done lots of blankets on the front yard, walks, and even went to the Arboretum last week just to sit on the blanket and people watch. Carter is easily amused just sitting and watching people walk by. He particularly loves to watch other kids and had a blast watching his cousins play the past 2 weekends. He also started going to gym daycare and although he just sits in his carrier while Mommy works out, I think he really enjoys just watching the other kids play. Atleast he doesn't look like he's been crying when I go to pick him up :). I will be interested to see what he thinks of his first time in the pool AND the beach/sand this weekend for uncle Stephen's wedding! I feel like I'm saying everything he loves here....I will end this section with what he doesn't like: naps (I think this is a love/hate relationship--he hates to sleep, but oh how he needs it!), tummy time (although he's much more tolerant), being left alone, taking food away when he doesn't think he's done eating, riding in the car for longer than an hour and nobody to entertain him, rocking/cuddling/snuggling when he's sleepy (he really just likes to be put down and left alone which is counterintuitive for some of the grandparents!).

SLEEP:

Okay, I know I've blogged about this in the past but this month was "lalalalala'"---that is angels singing if you couldn't hear it :). Yes, after the 4 month appt he is now sleeping, unswaddled, for 11-12 hours every.single.night. Praise the Lord! He's a happier baby and let me tell you--Mommy is such a happy lady!! So, we've got the nighttime sleeping down which is golden, but we are still working on naps as he's my little fighter during the day. Seriously, I can put him down at night between 7 and 8 and he will gladly go right into his crib, turn on his side, suck those fingers, and be asleep before I get down the stairs. During the day he continues to fight it. I'm not sure if it's that we still don't have a structured schedule and the boy just needs structure or what, but he's fine when I put him in the crib--the second he sees me walking out it starts. Sometimes it's just a little fuss but other times (ie: this past Sunday) it is screaming at the top of his lungs to the point that he can't calm down madness. I've tried doing a structured nap schedule (ie: 9 am, 12 pm, 5 pm) but he's just different every day as far as how long he sleeps and what he's needing. Sometimes he'll nap over 3 hours and sometimes he'll nap 30-40 minutes and be done. So, I'm up for any advice here. I think he will be off at the beach, but when we get back it's time to figure out naptime.

Things I'm loving at this age:
-his big 'ol smiles--whether it's first thing in the morning when we come get him out of the crib or the random lady talking to him in the grocery store line, he just gives the biggest smiles and I love it!
-waking up in the morning with the sweetest little talk in the crib
-how he just follows his Daddy around with his eyes. he LOVES Caleb and when the door shuts in the afternoon and he hears Caleb's voice he just lights up! Daddy's home!
-his wobbliness. although we are working on sitting, he cracks me up how he just falls over
-how he can be so mad but as soon as he gets undressed to get jammies on or in the bath all is right in his little world
-his "raptor voice"
-his wide open mouth mouth kisses
-the sweet way he turns on his side and sucks his fingers to fall asleep. our little angel baby.

Here are some pics from the past week as well as the traditional 5 month couch photo shot:

Carter and his new bff, Aaron (Shannon's baby boy! 3 weeks!) coming to meet their new friend Natalie at the hospital

Heather and Courtney (who keeps Carter) with Natalie! The first girl in our community group--count is now 6 boys,1 girl with 1 boy on the way!

Hanging out at the Arboretum

Chillin

5 month photos--def show his personality at this age. Hands and feet in the mouth!

You can really tell here that he's getting so long and thinning out! Still got some chubs on him though :)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-29T20:07:00.001-05:00

**I wrote this post on Easter but forgot to post** :)

Easter has been different, in a good way, this year.

It starting on Good Friday, as I was reflecting on Jesus' death on the cross. Having a son gave Good Friday a whole new meaning to me. I have always recited "For God so loved the world that he GAVE his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:14). We, sinners, are so unworthy but God GAVE his perfect Son to die a miserable death on a cross so that WE may live. Grace. Praise the Lord!

Saturday we spent the entire day with Caleb's family and had an absolute blast. All 5 cousins together and it was blissful chaos all day long. Jumping on the trampoline doing "tricks", playing games, yummy food, and even a girls getaway to see a movie while the boys stayed with the kids. Carter LOVED just watching his cousins and getting lots of attention from his Nana, Papa, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I can only imagine what next year will bring!

Today Stephen, Diana, and my Mom joined us at church. It was wonderful. We got Carter all dressed up in his sweater vest and he attended his last service in the sanctuary for a long time--nursery, here we come! The service was beautiful as we remembered that we serve a RISEN SAVIOR! The Easter Bunny came and got Carter all ready for the beach--swim diapers, swim suit, sunglasses, and sunscreen! He also "gave" him a Bible to always remember the real meaning of Easter--but really, all of the above were gifts that he already had I just put them in an Easter basket. Caleb made sure to tell Carter "don't worry buddy--next year we'll get you real presents and not go scrounging through your room". Haha.

I'll leave you with some fun photos:

One spoiled little boy with all these "Easter" presents--thanks Mimi and Great Nana!

Carter and Daddy at church (this was 2 weeks ago)

Sunday afternoon naps are the BEST!

Our attempt at bluebonnet pictures with the bunny Grandpa and GrandmaJo got for Carter. Unfortunately, it was 5:30 pm and Carter was D.O.N.E for the day!

Playgroup with Mommy's work friends!

Sweet baby Bennett and Max. It was so fun to get the babies together, as we were all pregnant together but hadn't had all the boys together before!

Nana and Papa with their 5 grandkids! So fun!

Carter had a blast with all his cousins!

With Aunt Emily and Harrison. Harrison has the sweetest personality. He was worried Carter didn't have many toys so he went through his toy closet and was trying to give him some toys to play with!

Easter morning in front of the house

Loved dressing him up! Here are some "may faces of Carter" pics:

still working on that trunk control....

Woa!

Happy, talking baby!

Lovin' Dr. Dreiling!

2011-04-21T10:34:00.000-05:00

At our 4 month check up our pediatrician (Dr. Dreiling, hence the name of the post) told us straight up--he doesn't need the swaddle, he doesn't need to eat in the middle of the night. Whew. So, long lesson short--unswaddle him, put him in bed, let him cry--he'll figure it out. He'll figure out how to put himself back to sleep. Give it 2 rough nights and he'll do it. We were both thinking "you do not know our child" but wanted to give it a shot. So we started operation de-swaddle and operation sleep through the night.

Oh.my.goodness. Operation a complete success! 3 nights later Carter has consistently been sleeping from 7:30ish-7:ish every.single.night. We even went camping this past weekend and left him for the first time (thanks Aunt Connie, Aunt Ali, Mamie and Grandaddy!) and he slept in his pack 'n play in a different house all through the night. He now wakes up in his bed just talking, no more crying/screaming fits! Even though I know we will have nights where he's sick/teething/for whatever reason not sleeping, I do have to say that it is very very very nice to go to bed now not thinking "I wonder how long I'll sleep before he wakes up...". And this is kinda sad, but this morning he woke up talking at 6:45, I went to get him and he was soaking wet. Hair, clothes, sleepsack--everything. I pick him up and his diaper came off of him. Now Carter typically could care less if he has a wet/poopy diaper, but really dude? Pee all over you and still sleep? Not sure if we've "trained" him he's not getting out of bed so don't try or he really just doesn't care about pee all over him for 10 hours. Ha, such a boy already. Love him. Will do a picture post soon as he is all smiles these days and I'm lovin' it.

4 month stats

2011-04-08T15:27:00.000-05:00

Good check up today, praise the Lord for a healthy baby boy! I will update later in the week... brace yourselves for our new operation: operation sleep through the night and operation de-swaddle. Honestly, I'm NOT looking forward to the next few nights but hopefully I'll be updating in a week with a success story!

Weight 15 lbs, 3 ounces (50%)
Length: 26 1/4 inches (90%)

Head circumference: 16 1/2 (60%)

Size 2 diapers

6 month clothes

It's SPRING!

2011-04-04T12:55:00.001-05:00

4 Months!

2011-04-04T12:22:00.000-05:00

Our little man is now 4 months old. We have our well check on Friday and will post his stats then, but here's a little of what's going on in our little world at 4 months:

EAT:
It was a sad day when I packed up all his little 4 ounce infant bottles and moved to the big honkin 8 ouncers. He's now on a level 2 nipple and will take 4.5-5 ounces in a good 8-10 minutes. He is still eating about every 3 hours during the day and then we'll give him a 7 ounce bottle at bedtime. Caleb and I added it up the other day, as I feel like my life is still consumed with his eating--whether it's pumping, making bottles, washing bottles, or nursing---Carter's eating consumes about 3 hours of the day which feels SO much longer. I call myself his "Dairy Queen" as now that I'm back at work my life seems even more so to revolve around milk :). He is so funny--he does this new thing where he FREAKS out if you take the bottle away or I switch sides while nursing. I mean, just screams You would think we've let the child starve, but really it's <10 seconds before he gets it back. He still loves his food, and for that I'm grateful. He has been spitting up more lately--I've read that it's common with increased activity and sitting up, so he's been sportin' the bibs more often.

PLAY:
We also packed up his little playmat and replaced it with a jumper. My goodness, the boy is just a growing bean. He doesn't really like to be left on his back on the floor unless you're right there playing with him. Really, he just doesn't like to be left alone. He is our little social butterfly. Yesterday we put him in his swing so we could eat lunch and he cried....we then put his travel swing next to us and he was happy as a lark, just didn't want to be left alone! He's grasping for toys and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. He's cooing so much more and sometimes will be in bed and I'll hear him just "talking" to his little animals on his mobile for 15 minutes before falling asleep. He now loves singing and will sometimes try to sing along. Some of his current favorites: "He's got the whole world in his hands" and "Skinny marinky dink" (haha...not sure how to spell that). He actually likes the bumbo now and doesn't really get tired, as he's pretty well established head control. He likes to look at everything going on around him and has a newfound interest in the TV--we've got to watch him close :). He's still not a huge fan of tummy time, but definitely is more tolerant. He's finally learned that he can put his head down and rest which really helps. I would say the most fun thing he's developed this past month is his laugh. LOVE it. Kisses on the belly, singing, or Daddy doing the "choo choo" with his arms gives us the big 'ol belly laugh that just melts my heart. He loves putting his hands in his mouth and will smack on those little fingers all.day.long. We attempt reading books before naptime, but he's not really interested at this point--very rarely will he look at the pictures, it's usually me pointing out the pictures and him looking at the fan :). He loves to be outside and with this beautiful weather recently we've been spending lots of time in blankets outside or on walks. It's also been nice with daylight savings, we take a family walk when Daddy gets home 2-3 nights/week which is fun.

SLEEP:
My goodness I feel like we've taken a few steps back in the sleep department this past month. Not sure if it's the teething or what, but ever since we got back from Austin (the first weekend of March!) he has this thing where he will wake up after 3-4 hours. NOT cool. So, we do our bath + bottle (always now so I can make sure his tummy is filled up!) +bed between 7:30 and 8 and the little fella will not fight sleep at all for bedtime. He then wakes up anywhere between 10:30 and 12:30. I've tried just patting him, rocking him, but he just searches and searches for food. The good thing is, after this he will typically sleep a good 6-8 additional hours, so we do have our long stretch still--I would just prefer the long stretch after I've been asleep for more than 2 hours. He continues to have nights (ahem...Friday) where he just wants to wake up...oh, every HOUR...but, thankfully those are rare! We did switch him from his swaddler sleeper sack to his naptime swaddler in pajamas because we were having to maneuver him into the sleeper sack (on the tag it says up to 12 lbs! ha!). However, we have tried on multiple occasions to wean him from the swaddle and he's just not having it. Honestly, if I would really push it we could probably do it--but, when he's so tired and I'm so tired, and I KNOW the only thing he needs to fall asleep is BOTH arms in the swaddle I just can't push through it. The other night he did get one arm out and fall back asleep without freaking out....so, I do say that there's a LITTLE progress! He's still taking quite a few naps (4-5/day) but most of them are in the 45 minute range with the occasional 1-2 hours thrown in. He's no longer really sleeping in the car unless it's over 40 minutes or so, so so long are the days when we can run an errand and I'll think "oh good, he'll fall asleep in the car". He does still fight sleep during naptime which I guess is just in his bones. He knows Mama isn't sleeping and is doing something fun so why should he have to sleep? Oh, so it begins....can't wait till he's 2 to see what this is like! He is our little "angel baby" when he sleeps and I do still find myself just starting at the video monitor at night and watching him sleep....still not old :).

Whew, if you got through that, here are some pics:

Daddy teaching random boy at the park to fly a kite, anticipating the days when Carter will be able to join him!

Haha, we had to get him a different hat as Caleb said this hat was a "girly bonnet". He now sports a very BOY safari hat outside, but I love this pic at our community group park day.

He really did only wear this shirt twice (Sat before St Pattys and St Pattys) but I sure do have lots of pictures with it! The little guy chillin in the bumbo.

Admiring those squirrels in the tree out in the front yard.

We went to see Daddy at work and to watch the first round of Texas in the NCAA tournament (hence, all the orange). Daddy was proud to show him off to all of his work friends!

Great Nana and Burlie came to visit us!

Tummy time is always better when someone gets down on the floor with me!

Big eyes, sportin' the bib.

Babies at playgroup!

Carter: "Mom, quit taking my picture and get me off my tummy!"
Mom: "Carter, just roll over and you'll be off your tummy!"

Haha, LOVE this pic. Will and Carter ready for their lunch date!

Carter's first service project. If you look closely you can see his boy hat :).

The many faces of Carter at 4 months:

Mimi came over to play, it was warm so we let him stay in his diaper for a while!

Not a great photo, but he's watching his FIRST (of many!) UT football games. Granted, it's the orange/white scrimmage but he just can't take his eyes of that TV!

Teething ALREADY?

2011-03-28T17:02:00.001-05:00

That's right. Not even 4 months old and the boy is cutting 2 top teeth. Ever since this past Thursday Carter was just a little "off". Fighting sleep more, more fussy, and just having some rough days. He's also been drooling more and putting his hands in his mouth ALL.THE.TIME. However, I was thinking there's no way he's teething--that doesn't happen until 6+ months. WRONG. Thankfully my generation's answer to anything is google so when I googled "3 month teething" I came across message board after message board of Moms saying their 3 month old babies are teething, yielding the SAME symptoms as our little man. Carter has even gotten to the point where he wants his paci again--the poor guy just constantly wants something in his mouth. I felt his little gums yesterday and sure enough--2 little notches on the top. I lifted up his upper lip today and you betcha, 2 little pearly whites (well...I don't think I'd go that far yet--but definitely white tinted splotches were seen underneath the gums) are right up there which helps to explain the irritability/sleep fighting/fist eating-ness which has been a part of our life these past 5 days. Most of the teething toys are too big, so right now we're resorting to his hands, my hands (washed of course), pacis, and cold washcloths (did I mention how I love google?!).

Even though there have been some rough days, he definitely still has his moments of being SO much fun. We took out the playmat and replaced it with the jumper as he's much more into seeing things on eye level vs looking up at the ceiling. The weather has been really nice so we've been spending more time outside and Mama even planted flowers--and is determined this year that they will live. We shall see.

Here's a video I took today...please pardon all the baby talk and my singing, I tried to edit it down to just the laughing part but I'm still figuring out the video camera technology.

First "Sick" Visit :(

2011-03-23T11:36:00.000-05:00

Don't let the title make you feel sorry for our little man....he's his normal, happy, "I only cry when I'm hungry or tired" self. However, he's had this nasty cough for 3 days (no fever or other symptoms) so I decided to take him in and get it checked out. When I called the doctor's office they said "is this for a sick visit or well visit?", so my friends, at almost 4 months Carter had his first "sick" visit at the doctor. Of course he didnt cough while the doctor was in there, but since he's never had fever and the only symptom is the cough he was diagnosed with croup and a prescription to use the humidifer and put him in the bathroom with a steamy shower. So, that's what we'll do! I feel very blessed that he lasted almost 4 months--fingers crossed, we made it through flu/RSV season! :).

They did weigh him and with clothes on the boy is a hefty 15 lbs, 2 ounces. Our little chunker and we love it. Here are some iphone photos (remember the 3 pics/day rule) I just downloaded 648 iphone photos to the camera so these are just a select few :).

This was when he was 7 weeks or so, it just shows me how much he's grown because these overalls would now be capris and the shirt wouldn't button as a onesie!

Not sure why this is sideways, but lots of Max/Carter playing time going on these days!

Hanging out with Daddy after work!

You can really see the belly here :). He still LOVES the bath!

"Superman" arms--he always does this after his naps/in the morning when you undo the swaddle

3 months old and Daddy already has him working out!

Rockband with Uncle Stephen and Aunt Diana on one of the snow days!

LOVE this pic. Caleb coaching Carter before he got his first set of shots!

Big belly laugh. Haha.

Our little valentine

More Carter and Max playtime!

First run at the lake with Daddy (7 miles!)

Sporting his Daddy Boot Camp shirt :)

A pic of "modified tummy time" :)

Such a great age to run errands! Here we are playing while the car gets inspected!

Little talker in overalls

The Friday of my first week back to work Carter fell asleep on me. He NEVER does this so I had to document. I just let him sleep for 2 hours and loved every.minute.

Little Leprechaun

Whattup Mom, just chillin' in my bumbo.

Tummy time is getting a *little* better!

All 5 cousins together!

Happy baby!

Love his expressions.

Admiring the squirrels on St. Patrick's Day!

Loving this beautiful weather in the front yard with Daddy and Aunt Diana (we sent this picture to Uncle Stephen to make him jealous!)

He continues to love the play mat and really grabs at the toys now.

Lovin' lots of time with family!

2011-03-09T09:31:00.002-06:00

The 4 boy cousins. I can't imagine what sort of adventures these boys will get into one of these days! They will have SO much fun together! I also loved how excited Harrison was to get to hold Carter...so sweet.

Talking to Aunt Emily

In Austin this past weekend we went with Sofia to an elementary school carnival. Caleb took her on this slide secretly hoping she would need help so he would "have" to slide down with her....nope, she's very independent :)

Carter chillin' in the carseat during the carnival

Not sure who had more fun at the carnival--Sofia or Caleb! I did make sure she did the cake walk--I LOVED those things growing up! I don't think she loved it like I did :)

Stephen and Diana's wedding shower!

LOVE this pic of Mamie and Grandaddy. They will both turn 80 this year and still so healthy and so in love :).

The "5 grands" with the 3 "great grands"--it's very rare for all of us to be together

Mamie and Grandaddy with all their babies--this is the "calendar cover" for 2012 :)

To give Stephen credit, Carter was crying when we handed him off!

Playing outside with Grandpa in beautiful Austin weather