Carter - 2 years old

My firstborn is two whole years.

As I write this a couple of days before your actual birthday, I remember exactly how I felt on the days leading to your birth day. I was uncomfortable, waddling around, in between wishing you would arrive NOW and wanting you to stay in there until I was a little more ready. 

4:30 pm on August 22 happened and we packed the car to head to Balboa Naval Medical Center to meet you---not without a burger on the way! Is that why you love "fwys" so much?

That person on August 22nd seems like such stranger to me now. I wasn't "this me" until I met you. You opened our world to selflessness, joy, laughter, tears, and loving a little soul more than we could ever understand. You made me love your daddy deeper and fuller than I could the years before your birth.

August 23rd, early in the morning was the first time I heard you cry. A part of my heart escaped my body and now I watch it run and play everyday. You are a part of me and I finally understand How Deep the Father's Love for me is. But just like you will never grasp how much I love you, I know I can never grasp the depth of God's love is for me. Its unmeasurable and infinite. Remember that.

My favorite things about you are:

You call people by name. "Thank you, Mama. Thank you Dada." Sometimes you get really ahead of yourself and call us opposite (depending on what track your little mind was on and who is in your line of vision) but ALWAYS correct yourself. "Hi Friends" at the gym is another popular one. You love to hop. You're favorite thing right now is Choo choos and Mickey Mouse. We rode the train twice this week and you had a ball. "Ride twain?" is now what we hear all the time. Your favorite books are Brown Bear, 100 First Animals (which you know most and their sounds), and any pop up book.

You are a little ball of energy. There is no sitting still. Even when you are super tired and snuggle with me, that little leg is kicking through the air. You still love me to "shhh" as a rock you back and forth before nap time or bedtime. By the way, you nap like a champ. 12-4pm most days! You sleep through the night and Bibby even told me you giggle uncontrollably as you sleep (she loves to sleep with you when she visits!) You love bath time and could play in there forever. You love to call Pop Pop on the toy phone, too! You LOVE your daddy. It's playtime non stop when he is home from work. Daddy's face lights up whenever you are awake. He always has time for you. No matter how long of a day (or night when you can't stay asleep), he always gives you his full attention. You will snuggle with him when Im away and I love walking into watching y'all together. You always ask for our hands and drag us all over the place.

I think you are a genius, but I am your mother. You can count to 12 and you totally get the concept of what you are saying. You can almost sing your full ABCs (you started learning with "QRS" somehow) and know Twinkle Twinkle by heart. We are learning Jesus Loves Me and you always pick up at "Yes, Jesus Loves Me!" and sing the rest of that chorus. This week, you have picked up on so many new words and phrases. You repeat most things I say and Im learning what I sound like for sure! We can give you simple directions and you follow them easily! "Go throw this away" or "Go find so and so" and you really do it! You are going to be such a big help in a few months.

One funny thing is that we are learning that you call most men "Nick". At the restaurant last night, every time our waiter brought you something (chips and salsa mostly), you would say "Thank you, Nick". Also, one morning I asked you if you wanted a piece of toast. Now overtime you want pizza, you say "pizza toast?". I don't know how you got there, but its really funny.

Your not so favorite things are:

The walk down the hall to nap time. Doctor visits. Being in your carseat after I put the car into park (and now you say "Alright!" Every time I park, like its time to get out of the car). Lots of different food.  You are a bird, dinner time is not the easiest right now but we are all working through it. Im sad to say you are beginning to not like any smocked outfits. You'll grow out of this phase right???

Carter, you are a happy little boy. You have a joy that shines through you and you brighten every single day. I'm so glad God saw us fit to take care of you and enjoy you while at our temporary home. I pray for your salvation early in life and that you always follow Jesus with a joyful and humble heart. You teach us so much every single day. You are our daily reminder to cling to Jesus. I love everything about you and the journey you have taken us on so far. I can't wait to bring New Baby home to you. I pray the first days are sweet and that we soak them up as a family of 4. I also am excited to enjoy these last 12 weeks with just you. You are my favorite little Carter in the world. You are special and I will always choose you over and over again.

Fingers go straight to face when I pull out my camera!

Not so happy with the flash

ten months

Carter is the big 1-0 months!

Adventures in the 10th month:

-Spent much needed time in Mississippi.

-We survived the heat.

-You began eating everything that I do.

- You gave us your first belly laugh. Your great daddy was the first to get it and it was the most wonderful noise!

My most precious boy,

I can't believe we are in double digits. They have brought new meaning to our life. 

Your personality is shining. You love people. You are so happy when we are out and about. You grin at everyone and still will go to anyone that wants to hold you. If you do cry as I walk away, its because you are overwhelmed, which means you are probably tired. You are my loud talking baby boy. We say all kinds of things..Da Da, Ma Ma, La La, Na Na, Ba Ba. But mostly Da Da. 

You eat everything. Cheese toast, graham crackers, most vegetables, most fruit (blueberries especially), turkey burgers, chicken...you name it. Most meats I pinch off, but other than that, you are a champ at chewing. I never even flinch at what you can eat. You love yogurt! I would say its the last thing Ill ever feed you with a spoon though. You'd rather feed yourself. And you normally always take a poop break during your meal. Always a show. We nurse 3-4 times a day and you can go a very long time in between now, thanks to food!

You pull up on everything. We still have the one knee- one foot scoot going on. You've stood by yourself a few times, but you didn't know it. You climb up my legs to stand up most of all. Ill be fine if you wait until after a year to walk, but I don't think that will happen. You are a mover. From the time you wake up to the time you nap or sleep, you go 100 miles an hour. I play by yourself great. I try not to disturb you when you do that. I think its healthy for children to learn to play alone. Builds that imagination. 

You love bath time, though now you just stand at the side and throw toys out. Apparently the noise I make is hilarious when you do that and worth testing. You are a dream in your stroller. You are so curious about this big ole world and you just take it in. I love watching you learn. Our favorite thing is bouncy balls. You squeal when you play with them. You chase them all over the house. Thats what got your first belly laugh too. 

Lets not talk about the sleep because its actually going well. Ill leave it at that.

Carter, you are so special. I know that I'm your mom, but you amaze me. You are so smart and have such  sweet and social spirit. I have a feeling you have an extrovert side to you. I look at you and wonder what I did before you. Its a love I can't explain. I love the family that you have made us. You give us so much joy. I feel the bond we have and Im so proud of it. Even those whiny tugs at my legs pull on my heartstrings. We are in for some fun times as you grow. This age is so demanding, but its so joy filled and fun. You understand things. You have begun to know what no means and stop when I tell you to stop. You give me that little mischievous smile and I just try to keep a straight face while my heart flutters. I love your outstretched arms as I scoop you up. I love your huge smile you give me for no reason at all. I love how much you love me. Its a confidence builder for sure. I would say stop growing, but there has been so much joy that comes with each new week. I think you are pretty wonderful. Ive never known exhaustion or love like this. They kinda go together and the love cancels out the exhaustion. You make me love your daddy even more than I thought I could. He loves you so much. You light up every time you see him. I can't wait to see what kind of little boy you will be! Remember how much we love you. I don't think we will ever let you forget.

eight months

Carter is 8 months old!

Adventures in the eighth month:

-Bibby came for a visit!

-We celebrated your first Easter!

- Learned to crawl!

Carter,

My sweet boy is on the move. You went from swaying on your hands and knees to crawling all over the place in about 2 days time. I didn't realize you would change so much so fast. Sometimes you seem to stay at one step forever...other times you seem to skip 3 steps. You follow me all over the house. You are fast, too. I think what I want to remember most about your crawling is your one leg and one knee combination. You must think that using your right foot to crawl will get your there faster. Rosie isn't thrilled at this new skill. She does bring you her toys to see if you will chase her though. Your hands are still a bit too rough for her taste, though. You think she is the funniest and she got your first belly laugh. 

I just realized you don't cuddle as much these days. You always cuddle before naps and bedtime but other than that you want to play and move. Even sometimes before naps you arch your back and want me to put you in the crib. I do and you go right to sleep. Little stinker.  I'll be honest...sometimes I miss the days when I got tired all I would have to do is nuzzle you up to my side and we would fall asleep. You have been a champ at sleeping in your crib, but thats the only place you want to sleep now! The other night, you didn't have the best sleep time in your crib or while I was holding you. I finally got you to sleep beside me in bed and sleep from 430-630. It was wonderful to have you beside me again! You go to sleep anywhere between 7-8 pm and sleep until 4 am when you are ready to nurse. Most of the time you sleep until 615 after that. The past couple of mornings its been 5 am though. I think Im about to see your top teeth come through and that will explain the waking up at night part. 

We are on the go all of the time. I love the days we stay at home, but you are such a social butterfly that sometimes you seem to be happier out and about with people. You smile and cough at everyone to get their attention. You rarely cry in public. You have started to realize when I take things away from you, like keys... You get a little irritated at me then. You grunt when you aren't getting your way completely but mama knows best, Im sorry! I normally say, "Carter, you are going to be ok" in the calmest voice possible and you look at me like, "Hmm...thats not the reaction I wanted so I guess I'll calm down". You reach for me when I put my hands out to pick you up. You get so excited.

You still love that paci. Praise the Lord for that magical thing. I buy a new pack all the time. We can't have too many. When I am carrying you up the stairs, Ill stick to paci in my mouth to carry it, and you think that is just hilarious. You try to grab it from me to put it back in your mouth. Today at lunch we figured out a new game where you try to put the paci in my mouth. I get a pretty good laugh out of you then. 

We finally have a very normal nursing schedule. Its just about every four hours. I didn't realize how much we nursed the past 8 months until it evened out recently. Wooh, I don't know how we did it! Now that you eat food, you go longer which means nursing sessions go way better. You get the job done, no playing around. You know when you are done and sit straight up ready to play. Im getting a little sad that our year of nursing is coming up fast. I will miss it so much once we wean in 4 or 5 months....Im being a softy about it so we will see how it goes! I know once we stop that I will be sending you with daddy a lot and y'all will be best friends. Im so excited for that but I also want you to stay my nursing baby forever!

Our days consist of playing, napping, eating, Stroller Strides, MOPs, and bible study. We stay busy and you are easy to take everywhere. You will go with anyone so I pass you around once we reach our destination. You have the absolute best personality. I couldn't have made up a little boy like you. You are my biggest dream and my favorite miracle! I know you will do some big things. I love you so much, Carter! I hope you know that without me even having to say it. But don't worry, I still will :)

Poor bud has a nasty rash around his mouth we are dealing with today. I've been using a coconut oil mixture with Doterra's Lavender, Melaleuca, and Frankincense. I expect it almost gone by this weekend!

Click for 7 months

march happenings

I had a few issues with my Mac this month..... I learned you have to empty the trash bin. Who knew!!! 

It only took two appointments to the Apple Store to figure that one out. I'm still having a couple of issues that I will probably have to go back for so I am super late on my March Happenings post. Here is what happened last month in iPhone pictures!

This pictures cracks me up. I was trying to use the flash so this is the face I got 

I realized that I've taken more videos lately than pictures mostly because he is doing so many new things! He is on the move more and more everyday. I'm loving our time together!

He is risen, indeed!

Easter is my favorite holiday. I love the newness and the tradition of it. I love the food. I love the Easter dresses prancing around after church, the Easter lilies, the pastel colors. It is just so good. As I've grown in my walk with Christ, each year Easter means a little more to me. The sacrifice. The unbearable pain our Savior went through. All for us. 

I saw so many verses put on social media. As lost as this world is, its so refreshing to see so many of my friends acknowledge Easter as Resurrection Sunday. Coronado churches come together each Easter to put out crosses in The Village yards. One side is blank. That stays up for about 2-4 weeks. On Easter morning, we go out as families to turn our crosses around to the other side. The side that says "He is Risen!...And It Is Finished". It really does give you chills when you turn that plastic sign around and dig that stake into the ground. What a statement it was to see those crosses all over our island! I plan to keep mine up on the "He Is Risen!" side until next year when those blank crosses go up again. I can't wait to explain to Carter why we practice this tradition. I'm praying continuously that he will come to know His Lord early on in life and that he joyously will serve Him all the days of his life. 

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

Luke 24:2-3

He is risen, indeed!

And what would Easter be without some cute bunny pictures

seven months

Carter is 7 months old!

Adventures in the seventh month:

- We visited a strawberry patch, which you slept through the whole time.

-We had ice cream night with the girls. You were the only person in the footed pajamas at the ritzy Hotel Del and it was totally okay!

-You let me run a 5k without even a peep. Thank goodness you love your stroller!

-You went swimming for the first time and loved it. You wanted to drink all the water though.

Carter,

Seven months of life with you has been amazing. You love your daddy and think he's just the funniest. I know y'all will be best friends as you grow. I'm so so thankful that you have a daddy that wants to be with you so much and teach you things only a daddy can. My heart is full of joy knowing you will experience that your whole life and become such a God loving man because of him. 

We have gone full force with puree foods. Sweet potato, avocado, squash, zucchini, green beans, apples, pears, sweet peas, bananas. I recently bought a Squeeze Station and its making my life so much easier. You can't use the pouch yourself yet so I either squeeze the puree into a bowl or use the awesome spoon attachment when we are on the go. You want everything I eat so I make sure we eat at the same time. You still nurse just about the same, except you are able to go longer which is so much easier on me. You sleep longer and we had our first full night of sleep! You gained a lot this past month since we started food. We are in 6-9 month clothing but those little piggys still aren't big enough to keep shoes on. Too much trouble anyways!

Most of our days are spent on the go. We go from Stroller Strides to bible study to MOPS during the week. You are so easy to take around and smile at everyone. Im so glad it was such an easy transition for you to go to our nursery workers at the church. Im sure separation anxiety will happen a little at some point, but for now I can pass you off and you are just fine with everyone. I do notice that if I stand near you while someone else is holding you, you try to dive into my arms. I do love that. But you are totally fine if I walk away. 

You got your first tooth! Teething wasn't the monster I thought it would be. You might have been a little more clingy and had a shorter fuse than normal. Maybe it explains you getting up in the middle of the night..but all in all, you have been the same baby. You still love peek a boo and the ABC song. When you cry in the car, thats what I sing and you give me a little smirk like "Im not all that happy, but I really do love this song". 

You are just about to crawl. Rosie is your motivation. You rock back and forth on your hands and knees. But when you make that first move to crawl you belly flop. You still can get to where you want to go though. Once you figure it out, I'll have two shadows following me all over the house. You are able to sit up like a champ. Thats not even an iffy thing for you anymore. I set you down in the living room, put a basket of toys in front of you and you are good for 10-20 minutes. I still wear you a lot and you are fine with that. 

The funniest thing you do is roll your tongue. I don't know how you learned that, I can't even do it. You sound like a tiny Chewbacca and do it alllll dayyyy long. You say Ma Ma and Ba Ba Ba, and Ive heard Da Da a couple times too. I know you would say Ma Ma first only because you suck in your lips and make a M noise a lot. We are working on Da Da but for now you just smile when I say either. Your eyes are bright and blue. They shine whenever I see you. It makes me so happy that you have such a good connection with me and other people. I don't think you will be the quiet baby that me and your daddy were. You've got some spunk, kid.

So again, Carter, this was my favorite month. Next month will be, too. It is a joy being your mother. It is the ultimate gift and I love watching you grow. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a mom. I never had that fire for anything else and never understood why that was (and honestly was a little insecure that I didn't have passion for future careers). Now I do know why. Im so happy I am able to be your mom. 

Click for 6 months

February Happenings

February in pictures

As you can tell, we are on the GO. I love watching my Carter Man experience all the new things in life. I am filled with JOY!