17 months!

Stats: 23ish lbs (at dr office with clothes on), size 4 diapers, 12-18 month tops, 9-12 mos shorts/pants

EAT:
Carter does not like leftovers. He will devour a freshly cooked meal, I'll put some in a tupperware, heat it up the very next night and he wants nothing to do with it. Let's just say he's gone to bed hungry a few nights this month b/c Mama is not making fresh cooked meals every night and we can't get in a no-leftover habits this young! He's funny--loves canned green beans, won't touch frozen or fresh. He likes strong flavors--so long are the days of freshly steamed veggies to do the trick, they now need butter, or basil, or to be grilled in a marinade. He's not a huge breakfast eater but definitely makes up for it with lunch and dinner. He quit drinking milk in the mornings, but I've learned the only time he really wants his milk is when he's tired. So, he now gets an 8 ounce cup of milk before nap and before bed and will pretty much drink it all.

DEVELOPMENT:
Gross Motor: Now insists on running everywhere but his mind is going faster than his body--so this has been a month for lots and lots of falls, bruises, and bloody noses. I think he has a pretty good fall atleast once a day. I've called the doctor twice this month and have had to look for signs of concussion (pupil dilation, throwing up, etc) and we went into Pediatric After Hours last weekend due to a suspected broken leg as he couldn't walk, bear weight after he was trampled on by a big kid on an inflatable toy. Thankfully, it was just a sprained ankle and after 3 days he was back to his normal, busy, active self.
Fine Motor: Still uses both hands but is quickly gaining dexterity. This past week he unlatched the latch on the flour canister, spilling flour everywhere (after dropping it on his foot...lovely). He can wind the knob to his jack in the box and will pretty much push anything that resembles a button to see what will happen :).
Language. Receptively, we have to be careful because he understands way more than I think! Expressively, he's learning new words almost every day! Some of his favorite words these days: yeah, wawa (for water), uh oh, cracker, nana (banana), boca (mouth), night night. He still signs please, eat, and all done. He can't say "no" but has started shaking his head (and pretty much his whole body) to say no. This is also how I know he understands so much--Carter, do you want to go night night? No. etc, etc, etc. :).
Behavior: Let's just say I finished "Parenting the Strong Willed Child" in 2 days and have read "Parenting with Love and Logic for Early Childhood" 2 times already. Whew, it's beginning. I love his passion and fully respect his discovering his independence, but man it's hard to figure out how to discipline and create boundaries without crushing his spirit. We're really working on using the language "good choice" and "bad choice" and trying to let him learn from natural consequences. He's definitely got his temper and he's found that the entryway between the coat closet and the door is his place to go for a tantrum (his thing, not mine!). He will sometimes throw himself on the floor, other times bang his head against the wall (Caleb asked me if he's "past the age where we think he could be showing signs of autism"!) but he wants NOTHING to do with us. I've learned he just needs to let it out so I let him be! The other day he wanted to go to the front yard right after we had gotten home from school/work. I told him "not right now" and woa, ran to his "spot", threw himself on the floor and started SCREAMING. After about 10 minutes of this I walked in and tried to love on him--he wasn't having it .I gave him his blankey and a sippy cup and went to change clothes. Long story short, he is stubborn and screamed for a good 30 minutes. He then decided he was done and realized we weren't going outside, came and got a book, and brought it to me. We sat down, read a book, and all was well again in his world :). I really think this month for the first time he has demonstrated "willfull defiance"--he knows exactly what he's supposed (or not supposed) to do and will look at me and do the opposite. My. goodness, and so it begins! Even though we do see his little temper come out a few times a day, he's mostly a very happy, loving, playful little boy!

Sleeping is 7:30-7 at night and about 12:30-3 during day. No complaints here :).

Some "favorites": making coffee, getting stuff out of the pantry, play-doh, throwing balls, wagon rides, anything with water (water hose, water table, bath, etc), sliding, playing at the park, running, pulling Mommy's shoes off the rack in the closet, playing with the bicycle air pump in the garage, watching Mommy vacuum, lifting the dumptruck back and "riding" the dumptruck, going over to Stephen and Diana's, lights (turning off and on), loud noises (vacuum, coffee grinding, lawnmower), books (we read atleast 20 books/day around here!), JoJo Bunny, Daddy walking through the door, putting groceries in the basket...

Dear Carter Boy,
You wear me out but I wouldn't trade a day at home with you for anything. You are constantly on the move and will run anywhere you want to go. You still point to show me what you want--and believe me, you know what you want. I love that about you. We go and go and go all day but at night you still let me rock you and sing to you, and you snuggle up on my shoulder. You're getting pretty big, but you don't fight it--you will sometimes wiggle around to try to get comfortable on my shoulder, but you stay there until I put you in your bed. You now initiate "praying hands" before bed and I pray that you will grow up to be a boy and a man that treasures talking with the Lord. You give me and your daddy so much joy--we love you so much!

Would you judge me...

...if I put Carter in a helmet and knee/elbow pads on a regular basis? This is a short, photo-free post (but don't worry, I am chronicling all the "firsts" on the camera and pics to come..) but man, this past week Carter has taken his activity to a whole new level. Let's just say Friday I was monitoring his pupil sizes and closely watching for signs of concussion after a major head bang (out of temper...but that's a whole other story) with subsequent nose bleed. On Saturday as I was on a college reunion roadtrip Caleb texted me a pic with only text "fyi" and pic of Carter with blood on his nose/mouth/face. Yesterday he was playing at the park, fell on his face (better than head I guess?) and today is sporting a "shiner" (Caleb's turn) on his left cheek. I'm now composing an email to his teachers for fair warning of our bruised, bloody boy so hopefully they will not report me to CPS. I'm sure this is only the beginning...Lord, protect this baby as I have a feeling we have a long road ahead!

Good Friday

God has been teaching me a lot about his desire for me to need Him. Not just in the tough times where I realize I can't do this on my own, but in the daily grind of life to look to Him. To seek Him. To care about what He thinks more than what other people think. To trust that He has things prepared for me to do in this short time I live on this earth--and seek those out. 

Hebrews chapter 10 talks about Christ's sacrifice once and for all:

Talking about the sacrifices made under law..

v 3 "But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world he said "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--I have come to do your will O God'" 

And that, my friends, is why I celebrate Good Friday. Jesus died once and for all because we NEEDED him to. Only by his blood am I forgiven. The perfect lamb, perfect sacrifice. His blood was shed so that I may live.

Today is only good because Sunday is coming, when we remember that he didn't stay dead. He rose. He's alive and sitting next to the Father. Oh, how he loves us. That he would die so that I may live. And although I am still a sinner, I can approach the throne of grace with confidence because of the blood of Christ. I don't have to have a high priest go before me and sacrifice a bull or a goat as a sin offering. Jesus, the ultimate high priest, paid it all on the cross so that I can go before the throne and seek the Lord. Worship Him. Seek his will in this daily grind of life. Thank you, Jesus. 

Dad's Birthday, Arboretum, Half Marathon

So I try to take pics from my actual camera when we have a "photo worthy" event. Problem is, I upload these pics about once every 3 months. So, here's a taste of the "camera worthy" pics the past few months...

Dad really wanted a "fruit pizza" for his 60th. He knew he had one before, but didn't know where it came from. He told me it was a "fruit tart" so my job for the party was to get a fruit tart. After spending some time with my friend google, I found that Whole Foods had the best fruit tart in Austin. I ordered one up and thankfully Dad went with me to get it....and it was NOT what he was wanting. So, after much discussion over what exactly was in his mind for this birthday dessert, this is what we came up with :). I made it with my own 2 hands and he says it was exactly what he wanted...hmmm, not sure, but it sure was good!

Have to have candles on the fruit pizza!

Mamie, Grandaddy and all their grandbabies!

Carter "teaching" Kennedy what to do

Photos at the Arboretum were a complete disaster as far as photo worthy photos go. Have I mentioned Carter is busy? And trying to "pose" a busy 15 month old for pictures...no way, jose. We attempted to get one of Carter and the 3 girls and every time we would sit Carter next to them, he immediately got up. All he wanted to do was run! That grass is awesome though, I didn't blame him !

Frolicking might be the right word here?

Yoga baby

Short rest break with the blankey, then back to it!

Seriously, the only "still" shots of him were drinking or head buried in blanket. Geez, I have much respect for child photographers!

Love this!

Completed the Rock N Roll half a couple of weeks ago. It was a hot, tough race but  I'm so glad Shannon was by my side the whole time and Carter and Caleb came to cheer us on! It was nice to be back in the running groove--first half post Carter :)

Could not have done it without this girl! 

Daily Life Feb&Mar courtesy of iphone

Feb artwork at school

First carousel ride

We both love the fridge farm! 

Chillin' in the loungechair

My little helper on the patio

Mavs game with the Mayes--sweet seats and in great view of Khloe :)

Diana sent me this pic while we were at the game--haha , love this kid and LOVE that we my bro and sis in law are next door to watch him so we can do fun things :)

LOTS of parks lately!

We loved that Amanda and the girls came in for Spring Break. Here are the 4 kids swinging. We had such a fun time with them, trying to convince them to move up here!

lazy days at the Arboretum

dressed in green for St. Patty's day!

The wagon is always a hit

Picture of our new fort/slide outside--the girls helping Carter break it in!

We've been doing lots of  egg "hunting" with this Easter basket

grilling out

Although we have tons of fun around here, it sure is tough being one!

Combing the hair

lookin' cool 

Helping Dr. Gelfand write notes

My little Easter bunny (Thanks Aunt Diana for the fun Easter basket of treats!)

Promise you he's not dehydrated

Such a big boy! I love what a sound sleeper he is. I was trying to wake him up--lights on, windows open, calling his name--nope, so thought I would snap a pic instead :)

It's not spring in Texas without a bluebonnet pic!

Gave him the hose to play in--and this is what he did. Again,I  promise  I don't deprive him of water!

Didn't quite like getting all wet!

Helping Daddy mow the grass

Crystal Light Mommy? 

Can I PLEASE make coffee now?!

 Courtesy of Vista View gymnastics

And we'll leave you with this cute smooshy face.

Happy Spring!!

16 months!

Here's what's going on at 16 months:

22 lbs at dr's office

size 4 diapers

9-12 mos pants, 12-18 tops

EAT:

I don't see how this child eats so much and stays so skinny. Veggies are still hit or miss, crackers and bananas are still all time faves. I love that school lunches are now much easier to pack--pb&j, slice of ham/cheese, strawberries, fruit/veggie pouch, and he's on his way! He's also doing great eating out at restaurants as long as there are plenty of people to entertain him. 

DEVELOPMENT:

YAY that language is the big winner in the development category! Woo hoo! Receptively, he pretty much knows all of his toys ( I can say go get your car, fan, ball, book, etc) and will follow functional 1 step commands without cues. He's great about routines so before we leave I'll tell him "go get your blankey" or "go turn off the lights" or "go to Mommy's car" and he'll do it. He LOVES going so of course all these things mean we're about to leave.

I need expressive language to have it's own paragraph because although /dada/ is still anything he can't say, he is saying:

mama (melts my heart)

cracker /kae.kuh/ (high pitched rising intonation always...LOVE)

night night /nai.nai/

uh oh

all done /a.duh/

banana /nae.nuh/

.....WOO HOO!!! Makes this SLP so proud :)

Nothing  new in gross motor/fine motor categories---just busy.as.always! We went to playgroup this morning and there was an 18 month old, 15 month old, and 14 month old--and Carter was by far the busiest of the bunch! 

PLAY:

New this month is "organizing" the pantry--ie: going in and finding syrup, vegetable oil, waffle mix, bread, etc and bringing to me. However, his absolute favorite thing to get out of the pantry is crystal light. Especially the little pouches. LOVES it. So although most of the time I make sure the pantry door is closed, sometimes I will indulge (or forget) and he has a ball.  

He also now loves to watch me make coffee. Caleb especially likes this because the coffee is now set every night for the next morning. Carter will point to the coffee pot multiple times a day requesting to make coffee, so this has become part of the 5:30 pm what-are-we-going-to-do-until-Daddy-gets-home routine.

Daddy also bought Carter a new (to us! Thanks Cragslist!) slide/fort for outside, so much of our day is spent outside sliding, pushing the wagon, and playing ball. He's really loving books and will go get a book, give it to you, and sit down your lap with the full expectation you will read to him! He doesn't have quite the attention span to read the story, but loves for you to point and label the pictures.

He's also started doing "praying hands" for prayers before meals and bed--so sweet :). 

HEALTH:

Boo to say this has been a big  month (or week) for health issues. First ear infection down (on right) so finishing up first round of antibiotics. Not sure if it's all the changing weather but 2 weeks ago Carter had an awful cough that kept him home and ended up with lots 'o breathing tx's. Then, last Thursday I picked him up from school and he had 102 fever and was just felt miserable--lethargic (3 naps!), laying on me, very irritable.  He got tachypneic and I couldn't control the fever with tylenol so I took him in Friday afternoon and after lots of discussion between 2 doctors, he was diagnosed with likely a respiratory virus and ear infection. However, this virus was really affecting his breathing, so we did another round of steroids 3/30-4/3. BOO. Poor kid at one point was on 8 medications with breathing tx's q 4 (even at night) but we're now down to 2-3 breathing tx's/day, antibiotics, probiotic for gut protection, and regular advair puffs and nasonex. He was also prescribed Patenase by the pulmonologist to use when he has a nasal drip. Whew. Again, this is all for my records--Carter is really happy and only slowed down for about 2 days :). 

I switched my work schedule this month so I'm working Tues/Thurs while he's in MDO. I'm loving the extra day at home!

Dear Carter Boy,

I have a feeling you are going to be very active just like your Daddy. From the moment Daddy gets you out of bed you're just pointing, jabbering, and telling us all about what you're doing and where you want to go. You are very busy but sometimes you realize you need a little rest--so you'll stick your 2 left fingers in your mouth and go searching for your blankey. Sometimes you'll "rest" for a minute or two and sometimes it's all of 2 seconds before you drop your blankey and you're back on the go. People always comment about your pretty eyes and bright smile. You rarely know a stranger and will wave and blow kisses to anyone that passes by--whether they're interacting with you or not! I can't express how much I love watching your little personality develop, I'm so lucky to be your Mommy!

Pics to come.....

Going out to the front yard these days means...

...open the door and Carter jets as fast as his little legs will carry him next door to Uncle Stephen and Aunt Diana's house (Di Di) :). Carter LOVES going to their house and does not understand if 1) I don't let him go or 2) they're not home. This gets really fun if we ever have to park in the front of the house. And don't even think we'll walk visitors to their cars anymore...just not worth the meltdown, folks!

I had to get this on video. It's sad but oh so cute. Carter is heartbroken that they're not home:

Daily life in pics...

As I just uploaded photos, here's what we've been up to:

learning to pull our pants off during naptime

January artwork at school

loving the loungchair

transitioning to the big boy sippy cup

Mama's first lake loop since pregnancy--SO good to be back in the running swing!

neighborhood V-day party

helping Mommy vacuum

sweet boy on Vday. Going to visit Aunt Diana

Playdate with Aaron

Practicing our warrior stance

And it's not always smiles around here....this is daily life folks, lots of melt downs that thankfully can be cured with a blanket, ritz cracker, or redirection :)

just love this sweet face

grabbing the ice cream cone from Daddy--yummy Braum's peanut butter cup

helping Mommy mop the floors

jumping on the mattress

enjoying beautiful weather at the Arboretum

being silly with Daddy

Kemp's came in town to visit--storytime in pj's!

Getting spoiled with Grandma and Grandpa sending us cookies in the mail. Yummy Tiff's Treats!

Playing at the park

Storytime with Great Nana

Carter came down with rotavirus last week--a good 6 days of vomiting :(

LOVE this pic taken by my talented bro in law. Carter while playing with his cousins.

My boys in their Texas gear

Did I mention he LOVES the vacuum?

Neighborhood bike rides

Helping rake the leaves and plant spring flowers!