They grow so fast!!

I think I talk on the phone too much. I didn't realize it. Carter turns anything into a phone. This is a jump drive. David thinks Carter thinks it is a Blue Tooth. He is so funny. He is always on the "phone". His phones take many forms: a flat piece of rubber, an empty plastic package, a remote control, anything that is small, flat, or fits in his hand really. He talks to them, and laughs at them. I NEVER let him have my phone. When we talk to daddy, I hold the phone to his ear. He has just gotten used to that, and we don't have fights over it AT ALL. David, on the other hand, will let him hold the phone. Whenever David gets on the phone, Carter throws a fit. I think I have found the key to keeping my child away from my phone - he knows I'll never let him have it. He points to it and calls it a "Bye Bye", but he won't grab at it anymore.

It pays to be consistent!!

Carter is so stubborn. He won't say anything when prompted. He stopped identifying facial features - like nose and ears. He is learning so much though.

His favorite things are round. He especially loves lids. He can say lid, more like demand it. He loves to take the lids off things and put it back on. Especially if it twists.

He can say grapes "gee gee". He told me the other day - not in so many words - that he wanted grapes for breakfast instead of a banana. They have become his new favorite food.

He can identify a moon. He calls it a "Nigh Nigh". I think he is implying bed time. When you ask him what the dog says he blows at you. I have been teaching the babies to say "woof". Lydia pronounces it "Foof". It is more of a blowing noise than anything. Carter just blows air out. I really think that he is just copying her with most of the words he says. He mimics what she says. So, he doesn't really say anything that she doesn't. But he doesn't say everything she does either.

We think he has converted to Judaism. He puts this pad on his head and wears it around the house like a Yamaka. It sticks to his head like Velcro or felt. It NEVER falls off!! It is supposed to be a belly pad for his car seat. Oh well.

The other morning I was in the living room doing laundry. Lydia was still in her high chair eating toast. She started laughing hysterically. I walk in, and Carter is making faces at her through the stool. That crazy kid. He built his first Lego tower. He is very good at it. He brings me his shapes (each set at a time), and when he is finished putting them all in their homes, he brings me the Lego box he got for Christmas. He builds towers with them, then takes them apart. This picture is of his first tower: He is a busy kid. We are going to the park more, now that it is nice out. He just wants to run and play (after the first 5-10 minutes of not letting us put him down).

We had a little photo shoot last time we went.

He is such a cute kid. I am amazed at how adorable he is. Is it just me? Is it because I have some natural instinct that overpowers my interpretation of appearance in order to preserve my young? Or is he really as cute as I think he is?

He also has such a great personality. He is so friendly and helpful. He is not the most cuddly kid, but he will be there to pat you on the back. He does that to me often. I always know when I am having a particularly aggravating day because he will let out a big sigh, like he is seeing me sigh too much and starting to copy me. Or he will pat me on the back almost as if he is patronizing me. But it is cute nonetheless.

Another Davidism:

I noticed he had some pine needles and other debris on his back the other day. I started to brush it off, and asked him if he had been rolling on the ground.

He responds by saying "Hey, that was my air freshener!"

Piano Prodigy

Carter is not the typical kid when it comes to the piano. He is very gentle. I haven't played since I was pregnant with him, so he has never seen our piano used. However, he seems to know exactly what to do. He uses his fingers instead of his hands, and he uses all the keys he can. He has never seen this on TV, and up until recently he has never seen a piano played. On Sunday during church he ran over to help Sister Shumway play in Relief Society. He was content to watch for only so long. I actually couldn't hear his key strokes for a couple verses. Then I had to go and remove him. I think his playing was more quiet than the fight that ensued. Here is a small clip of Carter playing our piano:

I got this piano from Great-Great Grandma Lewis while I was pregnant, about a year before she died. We are indeed grateful for it. I know I need to play it more. She bought it brand new in 1951. Her and her kids walked up and down the road picking up cans to get the money to pay for it every month. She was an amazing lady. She was very musical. She could play a mean Old Rugged Cross, even at 96!!

Too Cute

Carter is sick right now. Him and I watched a few episodes of "Income Property" on the internet this morning. He grabbed his waffle blanket and a burp cloth and came to me. He did not want me to put him down. We never watch TV, but my arm was starting to hurt, and I had done all that I could do with him in my arms. He went through spouts of crying, and laughing. Crazy kid. The pictures above are him playing with the lid to the toy box. I think he plays with that more than the toys in it. He sits on it and stands on it. He loves his shapes, and he is starting to get into books.

Teaching Responsibility

Like I said in my last post, I am trying to teach Carter to feed the dogs. He is getting really good about noticing when their dish is empty. I loved the dish that said "Empty" on the bottom - and you could only see it when the food was all gone - but with Carter, I wanted something closer to the ground and a little less breakable. He likes to play in their water.

He will now walk up to the empty dog dish and make the sign for "eat". It is super cute. He will also go to the cabinet where I keep the dog's food.

(Blu in the yard)

(Vortex in bed)

However, he is not very skilled at making it in the dish. He did partially make it - there is kibble in the dish!! But this is better than one kibble at a time. Greatly improved. The dogs didn't care, they had it all cleaned up in minutes.

More on learning fast

Carter is quite the helper. He tries to help me do a lot of things. I asked him to help me feed the dogs. I tried to give him the scoop full of dog food and have him dump it in their dish. He grabbed one kibble out and put it in the bowl. He grabbed one kibble at a time until I gave up trying to have him dump the whole cup. I didn't want a kibble to "accidentally" end up in his mouth.

He also said his first two-word combination. "Daddy Hat" He loves daddy's hat!! Obviously, from the picture in the last post, I meant for this to go on that list. Oh well, my memory just isn't what it used to be.

WOW he's learning fast

Carter is learning at an amazing rate. New things that he has done this week:

• Said his first two-word combination: "Daddy Hat".
• Signs "Please" all by his self, no help.
• Says "Thank You" without prompting.
• Says "Bye Bye" without prompting. Everytime I end a conversation on the phone - he shouts "Bye Bye".
• Says "Amen" at the end of every prayer.
• Walks to the changing table when I tell him it is time for a diaper change - even if the door is shut, he waits for me to come and open it. He has the attention span to finish the trek.
• Signs "Eat" and "More" when he is hungry without prompting. He will come to me to let me know he is hungry.
• Concerned that I am hurt. When we went to the chiropractor, he was playing and having fun, until the doctor started his thing. Then he wanted me to hold him while he scowled at the doctor.
• Identifies himself verbally in his reflection. We still call him "Baby Carter", so he identifies himself as "Baby". He has not used that word for anything/anyone else to me.
• Has mastered the art of distraction. If he wants something and I derail his plans, he runs clear across the house and makes a diversion. When I get to his mess, he runs back to what he was trying to do in the first place.
  

More Milestones

Carter has started to think in more steps. He wanted to get something off the counter, so he moved this stool to get it. He tried climbing up, but was unsuccessful. He ended up playing with it instead. He is actually trying to get out, and can't. He sees something he wants and he tries to move the furniture around to get it. Help me if he ever figures out that the coffee table has wheels!!

He WILL NOT sit still. I get a lot of pictures like this, and most of them are the back of his head:
We are getting attitude:

He loves Daddy's Hat. He has a fit if he cannot have it. He wants the hat off Daddy's head too, not just another hat in his collection. He will put it on and walk around with it. Today he said his first two-word phrase: "Daddy Hat"

This is what happens when you sleep on your hand with your waffle blanket in it:

He is signing to me a lot more. He can sign "More" and "Eat". He signs "More" before he is finished with what is in his mouth. We were looking at a book today of foods and pointed at a Banana and asked him what that was. He signed "Eat". Bananas are clearly his favorite food. Signing has sure saved me. The reaction I get from walking up to his high chair to take him out when he is finished and when I bring him a new food are exactly the same. The sign has helped me distinguish which one he wants. Even though he can talk more now, and say "More" and "Eat" he will sign them quicker and more intelligibly.

The Park!!!

Yesterday we took Carter to the park by our house. It was the first time he had gotten to run around and play. During the summer we went to the park, but he wasn't walking yet and could only swing on the swings. He had a blast today. It was very wet, and you can see that in his pants. I am just glad I put overalls on him, and a sweatshirt over them. Otherwise, those pants would have been too heavy to hold themselves up.

They have a little kid playground and a big kid playground. Carter didn't seem to want to play on the big kid stuff just yet. We were grateful for that.

Carter is really good about not going up the slide - mostly because of my persistence in making him go up the stairs. He realizes it is futile to try with me pulling him off. The stairs were not in his line of sight, so he opted to go up the slide this time. I let him only because it made for a funny video. I can't decide whether to call this video "Persistence" or "Cruel & Unusual Punishment". You be the judge. I have shortened it to a fraction of the video length. He fought it for over a full minute before I took him off. He was not giving up!