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!!!