9 1/2 months...

Oh where do I begin.  It's pretty hard to keep up with this.  I need a new laptop at home. I can't dwnload pix quickly on our desktop. Hopefully soon.  We've taken a ton of video but are unable to dwnload them either.  It's somewhat stressful.  So I will do my best to update you w/o pix.

Carter turned 9 months at the end of August...he is a constant babbler.  Dadada is a favorite but so is woahwoahwoah.  He keeps us constantly entertained with noises and chatter.  He is free standing for longer periods of time, but not really taking too many steps...fine by me. Knock on wood, he rarely falls in a way to let himself get hurt.  9 out of 10 times he just sits down when he feels himself falling down.

He loves to race...he crawls and so do we.  He makes cute noises and rushes to "get away" from us, only to stop every 10 feet or so to make sure that we're still coming after him.  Driving cars and making a motor sound seems to be an attraction.  If it has wheels or a steering wheel, Carter is glued to it!

He was low in iron at his 9 month appt so he's taking Poly Vis Sol with iron...smells like liquid multivitamin and judging from his adverse reaction, it tastes like crap!  It's a two man job to get it into him daily:(  However, he HAS started to enjoy iron-enriched cereal, so hopefully his PolyVisSol days will end at his 12 month appt.

Yesterday was a check up at Childrens Hospital with Dr. Losee and the team.  Rarely are they running late, but that was not the case.  With a 1:00 appt, we werent called back until after 2:00 and didnt get to leave the hospital until after 3:30.  It was a long one.  Having to wait was all but forgotten when Dr. Losee said that Carter looked awesome!  I know we think so, but when the plastic surgeon is filled with pride at his work, it made it ten times better.  Thrilled with the appearance of his Cupid's Bow, he instructed us to continue as long as we could with the brown tape and the rubberband band aid.  Did you know that a baby's scar is actively healing and changing for a YEAR???  Interesting.

Let's see...Putting his arms around my neck and sometimes pulling my hair is how Carter soothes himself to sleep.  He's not a fan of the crib, but we love having him between us.  People say that we may regret that someday, but for now it works for our family.  Carter is content and sleeps through the night with us close by.

At the advice of my cousin, Donna, Carter learned to crawl up the stairs in August.  He can easily handle a flight...the way down is a different story, as he has no fear yet. Kitten, aka Sydney, tolerates Carter, too.  Bath time is a splash fest and he's figuring out how to WAVE...although it's more like his whole arm up and down, but I'll take it!

I am 2 weeks in to the new school year...it's been fun teaching a new grade level and material.  I am challenged everyday, so that makes it exciting!  It's been rough re-reading everything the night before we will be discussing in class, but Carter's early bedtime does allow that to happen.

My cheerleaders are busy with football season and several of them play 2 sports in the fall...they're exhausted, but I am impressed with their ability to manage their time:)  We are working on our competition routine, now, as we are hosting a cheer scrimmage Oct 30th.

Josh is working 2 days from home, so Carter gets to see his daddy more often through the week...I am totally jealous!!!  Carter is super excited to meet his new baby cousins, due in April & June:)

Carter Update

I felt compelled to write today.  Carter is entertaining me so much; I wish you could be sitting on my sofa watching him with me.  Right now he's in his exersaucer making faces and noises into the mirror.  It's so adorable.  He's really learning to entertain himself better...I was worried about that after spending most of June and July needing (or wanting) to be held and entertained by us.  I want him to be able to "play" on his own, too.
We spent this morning at Peanut Park with many of my co-workers and their children.  How nice to work with such wonderful people!!  The kids were so fun to watch! Carter wore out around 11:30, so we didnt stay to eat lunch.
Right now my free moments are spent with my cheerleaders and school preparation, so I havent had much time to think about how my awesome summer with Carter is almost over:(  I had seriously considered resigning from coaching, but Josh is extremely supportive of me maintaining that part of my life that I love so much.  He enjoys the time that I am with my girls b/c it's Daddy/Carter time.  He's so great with him.  They play in his room, run errands, read and nap together.
Looking forward to the Horsethief 5K (yes I am organizing it again) on Saturday (Josh is running in it) and going up to Cousin Stephanie and Curt's escape by the lake in Erie on Sunday...if we ever can afford one, ours will be a salt water pool like theirs!  We cannot wait to take Carter swimming again!!!  He also has become VERY aware of other KIDS...so Carter is really going to enjoy Basil, Fina and Lance this weekend!!!

Carter is 8 months old

 

Carter looks forward to getting to touch Syd.  She's a very elusive cat!

Carter reached his 8th month on Sunday, July 25th (Grandma Darlene's bday, too).  He spent the day at cousin Curt, Stephanie, Basil and Fina's house.  We had a wonderfully relaxing day!  Dinner out was a little "busy" as the food took forever and Lance, Fina, Basil & Carter grew restless.  Dinner "out" is getting to be a difficult task for Josh and I. Now this meal took a very long time compared to most...in fact if we would have been alone we probably would have walked out or demanded to speak to manager, but the excitement of all the children and the beautiful view entertained us...to an extent! It was difficult as an adult to stay in my seat...however...that brings me to my 1st question:  When is he old enough to expect him to stay in a seat while we eat a meal?  As of now, we A. try to hurry through a meal (I dont see that changing) B. hold him in our lap until food arrives C. put him highchair when food arrives D. feed him or put toys out for him while we eat...however it seems 9 times out of 10 he gets testy & to avoid disrupting any other restaurant patrons, one or both of us takes a turn getting up and walking around with him...while the other one eats alone:( If we go out with others, someone always offers to take him for a walk while we eat, which is thoughtful, but I want to instill patience in Carter...so---moms around the world---WHEN oh when can I demand that Carter stay in his seat and eat/play while we finish a meal?  And--HOW do I achieve this goal???

Carter loved riding this mechanical pony at his Cousin Lance's Bday party!

Swimming Lessons made Carter very happy:)

So more Carter updates--he just finished swimming lessons at the Franklin Y with his cousin Gavin!  It was super fun, and I'll admit that I am impressed by what Carter can do in the water already! When I get videos figured out, I'll post some swimming lessons! He can get out of the pool with very little help and kicks and paddles to get toys!

Gavin & Carter practicing "reach & pull"

Pretty excited to be swimming with Cousin Gavin

Gavin entertaining us!

He's actually swimming to get this rubber ducky!

Kissing Cousins

Waiting for Red Light Green Light to get in the pool

Gavin and Lauren-so cute!!!

Love this face Gavin is making!! Notice all the toys???

These are photos of Carter getting out of the pool on his own!

Look at him go!

And he can do it!

Safe to say...we LOVED swimming lessons!  Thanks Aunt Lauren for inviting us!

He is mimicking raspberry & popping sounds and facial expressions--and he has a "motor" when playing with his favorite car.  However...the coolest is that he rattles off DA DA all the time!  It's so sweet.  He sleeps between 10-12 hours with one wake up for food around 4AM (fine by me b/c that way I can make sure Josh is up for work) and he still is taking 2-3 naps per day.  Not gonna lie though, folks, most of those naps are NOT in the crib:(  He sees that as a playpen and I cannot convince him otherwise...yet.  I know I need to get tough and get him to sleep in there...but I'm an ol' softy when that lower lip comes out!
He's about 22 lbs now and we had to move into the next carseat. My dad also installed gates at the top of the stairs as Carter is quite mobile.  Pulling himself up on ANYTHING he can get his hands on...whether it's stable or not seems to make no difference!  He's taken his share of tumbles...but doesnt cry very often. Today he was making this grinding sound, but we thought he only had the two bottom teeth through.  Upon further inspection, we found his top right tooth has debuted:)
Every day spent with Carter is such a gift and I thank the Lord for him.  I recently reflected on the first 7 months of his life and realized that through all of the trials one of the incredible gifts that the Lord blessed us with, besides our handsome boy, was a deeply strengthened marriage.  I didnt realize it was possible to be even closer to Josh, but we are. We celebrated 9 yrs of marriage on Wed--seems like yesterday. Yet, I can't remember life without him; he is truly my best friend. Over the past 7 months God has really bonded us and brought us closer that I could have imagined.  AND, we are "considering" a bit of a remodel...so (from what I hear) that marriage strengthening is gonna come in handy!!!
Pictures coming soon!!!

Carter Update

Statistically speaking, Carter reached 20 lbs 4 ozs last Monday at the dr office.  He is crawling and pulling himself up to the kneeling and standing position.  He can go from his back, to belly to crawling to sitting up and then go back down to crawling and so on...but the coolest is his personality!  He is so sweet; he loves to give hugs and kisses.  You rarely see him without a smile.  He is really into exploring his toys, but it's funny to watch him when he's sick of a toy!  He pushes it away or throws it to the side...if I pick it up and re-offer it, he pushes it away again...including the use of his feet to get something away from himself.  It is hilarious!  He enjoys things that make sound...See & Say is still his favorite I'd say...but he loves this car that he kifed from Grandma's house!

Kalahari vacation...and a sick boy

This is the only part of a our vacation location that Carter really got into:)

We returned early from our Kalahari vacation due to Carter running a fever and me suffering from either the flu or food poisoning...ugh. 

I couldnt figure out why our boy was feeling so cranky and the smiles had to be coaxed out of him...we were on vacation!  However, when the fever set in the 2nd night and the sleepless night began the answer became clear.  Carter was sick.  Of course I learned from this experience: a. bring the thermometer so daddy doesnt have to run to Wal-mart at 2:00AM, b. praise the Lord that Hope Pediatrics has an "on-call" service that resulted in professional advice at 3:00AM c. I am in NO HURRY to vacation while Carter is young. After speaking with the dr, I got really sick to my stomach, which I thought was just as a result of being worried about our boy.  Josh even yelled at me to "get it together, we dont have time to get sick, we need to take care of Carter." haha...we can laugh about that now!  I completely agreed...nonetheless, my body had other plans AND during the very few times we got Carter to get some sleep, I'd go running to throw up again and even with the door shut, my barking and bowing to the porcelain god FREAKED Carter out and he would begin to scream (and obviously wake...yet again).  That continued through the night, so we decided to pack up and head home...I use the word WE loosely as I was so nauseated and weak that I couldn't do anything...I could barely hold Carter to allow him to nurse.  It was quite possibly the sickest I've been in my life...not to mention our boy was still running a fever (alleviated by baby acetaminophen throughout the morning).  TO make a LONG story a little shorter...Carter was diagnosed with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, which we found out that morning that his cousin, who we had over for a play date three days prior, had been diagnosed with as well.  I have a feeling our little boys are going to share many illnesses over the years:)  After two days, Carter and I were both feeling much better...Josh also had an night of tossing his cookies two nights later...so I think it was the flu.  Guess we'll never know!

Vacationing...going anywhere overnight...is just difficult.  I had a hard time actually relaxing like I used to on a vacation...I find our beautiful home far more pleasing and relaxing.  I dont mind little day trips while Carter's young, but I'd rather wait to do vacations when he's older and can truly enjoy it.

4th of July Pix

New and Exciting

It's official, Carter is crawling! Over the past two weeks he has been rocking, getting up on all fours and lunging forward and landing like a baby seal, but yesterday when we were cleaning his room he started picking up one arm and moving the opposite leg and so on.  He was so excited about being able to make such progress towards toys or us!  I have it on video, and hopefully today I can figure out how to put my videos on my Mac to share on this blog.

Food no longer APPEARS to be the enemy:)  He ate butternut squash using the spoon the past two days.  I think we'll try a green veggie next, but my pediatrician recommended the yellow/orange veggies first.  I'm over trying rice cereal--maybe after we try the veggies we can try it again.  He seems to enjoy the taste of the fluoride, so at least that's a plus!  I downloaded Feeding Baby Green by Dr. Greene to my Kindle and read it this weekend.  It has already proven to be a great resource (I do recommend it).  And, if by the grace of our God, we have another child, I will reference the book during my pregnancy as well.  It's very interesting!  One of Josh's co-workers purchased a book for us, So Easy Baby Food; so I plan to start making Carter's food this week.  I've read the book a couple times and looked at recipes, but until Carter showed interest in food, I didn't want to get started.  Now I am excited to try some out!!! Wish me luck that my ability to prepare Carter's food goes better than my cooking for Josh! lol.  I'm a great baker...not such a great cook:(

While Carter naps 2-3 times a day, I am also busy reading American Lit on my Kindle...super fun!  I am writing unit and lesson plans for my new position as 11th grade English teacher.  In addition, I received a letter congratulating me on being named Language Arts Department Head for our school.  It's going to be a new and exciting year with a new superintendent and several new dept heads, including my sister Lauren, who was named LS Dept Head.   

Every day is new and exciting as Carter makes new noises, expressions and progress.  He is still so sweet...such a cuddler.  He constantly gives hugs and kisses, and it's rare NOT to see a smile on his face.  Carter LOVES music and he still smiles like crazy and even talks back when Ni-Hao Kai-Lan is on.  He especially loves the intro song to her cartoon, but any time she is on the screen talking to the audience he just beams back at her.  He enjoys watching other kids and loves being entertained my our friends in the congregation at church!  We are so blessed by our Lord to have such a sweet, good-natured and happy little boy.  Thank you Jesus for this wonderful little boy.