3 Wonderful Lives

Using the toilet like a big boy

2012-01-25T21:59:00.000-08:00

Carter has a thing about going potty in every public restroom we come across. We are at a community center for their Indoor Playground time the other day and Carter wanted to use the potty three times. This particular time I saw him decide he had to go and not mention it to me. He went out the door and into the bathroom by himself. I caught him before he locked the door:

He is not using the toilet to a point that I would say he is potty trained. He is very helpful in telling me when he has just gone, or when he doesn't want to do what it is time to do (like nap or bed).

Potty Training Success

2012-01-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

We decided to go swimming with Daddy because he was off.

Carter was in the water with Daddy and told him that he needed to use the potty!! David put him out of the water, and he walked into the locker room bathroom. He sat on the potty for a while, but it was not very comfortable. He decided to hold it. He held it until we got home!! I am so proud of him. We are not in underwear yet, but I think we might be close.

Snow

2012-01-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

We got snow this week. The weatherman is calling for up to 10 inches tomorrow!

Carter was less than thrilled. Don't be fooled by these pictures. We captured his best faces.

We went on a walk with some friends today in the sled & he cried the whole way. He wanted Daddy not Mommy. Daddy happens to be home today because of the snow.

Just to compare with last year:

Thanks to our neighbors for letting us borrow their sled! He hates it. But I think it is great.

And, what are the chances that David's camera and mine are on the same number sequence? We put the pictures that we both took in the snow, and they had the same numbers. It was kind of cool.

Bye Bye Croup

2012-01-15T22:23:00.000-08:00

Croup can apparently be deadly. I am glad they didn't tell me that when he had it as an infant. The airway swells up and they can't breathe. The doctor told me to keep Carter in cool damp places to keep the swelling down - so that is what we did. Within 2 hours of our doctor's appointment we were at the pool. The next day I remembered that the Children's Museum has a water exhibit so off we went. We played in the water for a good 30 minutes. The day after that we went swimming again. The next morning, his croup symptoms seemed to be pretty well gone. He has a runny nose, but what toddler doesn't right now?

I didn't get any pictures from us swimming. However, I did get pictures at the museum.

He wouldn't take the glasses or the hat off for quite a while.

This is his new "GASP! That is really cool!" and accompanying face:

Croup and Poop

2012-01-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

I'll start out with the poop. Carter peed in the toilet for the fist time today!! I sat him down on the toilet and he peed before I could come back with books. He peed all over his pants - of course. Then I asked him if he needed to poop. Yes he said he did. Then he did it. I was so excited. He finally knows what it feels like to actually go in the toilet. I am hoping that it will be a little easier from here on out - now that I can remind him of how he did it.

He was so excited. He asked to call "Grandma and Jordan" and "Pop Pops". So, he called my mother and my father to tell them what a big boy he was. They did not answer so he left a message. Of course we also called David at work. By then, his hoarse little voice (see story below) made it hard for anyone to understand him. So, we went off to play.

On the croup part. Carter woke up multiple times during the night crying for daddy. I called the doctor and they talked to him on the phone. They said he has croup. Nothing we can do, but keep him in a cool moist place. So, we went for a walk this morning, and I have been moving the humidifier around. He just looks so miserable. All I have to do is look at him and he says to me "I'm okay mommy. Are you okay?"

On the bright side, I took this picture yesterday as Carter moved into 3T church shirts. He is such a handsome boy. I love the bumps and bruises. He is such a boy.

Growing Up Too Fast

2012-01-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

The toddler bed is going great - now that David put a new lock on the front door. We haven't had any problems with going out the front door. However, last night he slept for about 5 hours before waking up. He came to our room at about midnight wanting me to put him in his crib. He would not go back in his toddler bed. He tried to climb back in the crib.

Friday my father "Pop Pops" came to visit. Carter was really excited to show him pictures that I printed out for him. We got to this picture:

We asked Carter who was in the picture and Carter said Lydia was his girlfriend!! This is the first I've heard him say that. Luckily SOMEONE was video taping this. It certainly wasn't me. I got my camera out and got it again. I merged the videos together. In between Carter was trying to explain that he takes Lydia to "The Show". Whatever that means. So, in the second part of the video he is merging his thoughts together about Lydia and "The Show":

My wonderful husband

2012-01-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

Carter woke up and told me "Daddy is happy." I asked him why daddy is happy. He said "Because he loves mommy."

I went to a church activity last night for the women. David's phone was ringing when I left, and I didn't really get a chance to say good-bye like I would have liked to. I felt pretty guilty about it - he always kisses me before he goes out the door, followed by an "I love you". After almost 8 years, I still get to hear it every day.

He apparently got off the phone in enough time to play ball with Carter and wash my car.

I love that he thinks of me like that. It was dark and cold, and he loves me enough to think about me and do something that he knew would make me really happy. I know it seems like a silly thing, but he knows how important keeping my car up is to me.

I also love the fact that he loves me enough to make sure Carter knows he loves me. Except on Christmas night when Carter tried to kiss me like daddy kisses me. That was not cool.

"The one called Mariah" - Aunt Donna

Aunt Donna named the car Mariah - it was hers before. I believe she got it from this poem Question the Wind.

Thanks Aunt Donna.

Operation Toddler Bed Fail

2012-01-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

He went down great last night! But I spoke too soon. This morning at 4:00 AM I heard "Mommy, Daddy, I'm awake!" Then I heard the front door swing wide open, followed by the screen door. David jumped out of bed in time to corral our toddler back in the house and put him back in his room - in his crib. It was a very rude awakening. Just yesterday I was telling David that we needed to put some sort of alternate lock on our front door - since we knew Carter could get out on his own. He has never been unattended in the house for it to be an issue. Apparently I have found a time when I cannot be watching my child well enough.

Since we were on the subject of the front door. I have been doing some remodeling. Well, painting. We tiled over the funky linoleum a little while ago, but the pink trim was still off, and it looked horrible. I finally convinced David to put some trim up. The pink door was a little much for me, and the scratch marks on the paint really bothered me. I got a few comments about how my dogs are destructive. My dogs don't scratch at doors. What bothers me about the scratch marks is not the comments I get about them, it is the people that think my dogs did it and don't say anything. I don't get a chance to correct them. Then, they leave thinking I have destructive dogs.

Without the trim:

Do you like the green? It was the color I had. I think it goes well together. David thinks green and purple are a horrible combo. He couldn't think of anything better, and says that as long as I like it, he doesn't care. I can paint over it if I get a better idea. It was better than pink.

Operation Toddler Bed

2012-01-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

Day 2 was a success. We heard the pitter patter of footsteps just after we crawled in bed, but they quickly stopped and we heard nothing more.

Day 3 was even more successful than the first two. David put Carter to bed without having to sit in his room with him. We will see how the morning ends up.

Naps have not been so easy. He ended up napping in his crib today. Baby steps.

Operation Toddler Bed

2012-01-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

I realized that I was putting the cart before the horse when we started working on potty training. Carter was still in his crib, and needed to have unobstructed access to the bathroom if we were going to transition him. We decided a week ago that it was time to move him to his toddler bed officially.

Carter was against it from the beginning. So, we started him out in his crib and moved him after he was asleep. We did that for one week. Last night we put him in his toddler bed to fall asleep.

It was a success!! We put him down at 6:30 PM. He cried at first, but I sat in the chair next to his bed. After less than 3 minutes he tells me to go tell Daddy that he's okay. I went out and didn't see him again until 8:30 this morning!!

He got to wear his big boy fire jacket that I bought a couple years ago.

December is a busy month!

2012-01-01T00:38:00.000-08:00

The title explains it all. I have not been able to keep up on all the funny things that Carter says and does because I get so bogged down with the larger events I want to put up. So, here is the month of little quirks in a nutshell.

Carter and I have been working on doing a craft. We do crafts at our story times and playgroups, but he is never interested. However, we make an extra effort to include my family who are not close.

What is Blue doing, I asked. "Doing a craft!" Carter responded.

I didn't know Carter was an artist. I do not appreciate his art.

We made him clean it off.

In case you haven't seen my eraser:

I had to put a gate at the pantry. He could reach right over it. So I put it up a little higher. Well, then he crawled right under it. Grrr.

What are the animals doing? "They are dancing". Of course, I don't know why I didn't see it before.

Big loud crash. I came out to find this. At first all he did was lay there, but by the time I got the camera out, he perked up.

All his pretzels are covering a fruit. He ate the "Banana" next.

He was hiding. It is the furthest corner of the house, and the one with them most stuff in it.

We got the opportunity to sit in a police car. He got a sticker that says "Junior Officer".

He was so excited to push the buttons and make the noises. What fun!!

This piece of ham is apparently a tie (where does he get this stuff?):

I learned the proper way to put on underwear:

What is the ducky doing Carter? He is supposed to be over the spout.

"He's watching the 6". Aren't we all?

Went to a friend's house and they had goggles. It was so hard to get them away from him when it was time to leave.

They set up tables for the kids. Carter found an opening, but no chair. He found his own chair and made due.

Blue wanted to build a tent. Steve spent the entire episode with a hammer, a screw driver, and a tool belt. Carter decided he needed a tool belt tool. Afterwards, we went to his crib to build a tent too.

He has been so helpful with his vacuum!! This was just a couple days worth of "Yucky Things" he found:

I am constantly amazed at the things he says and does. I need to make a post for some of the funny things he says. I also have some fun Davidisms that lead me to believe it is no accident that my child is the way he is.

Christmas

2011-12-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

We had a nice quiet Christmas this year. Santa brought Carter a tool bench (Which has been hidden in the basement next to the dryer for about 2 years now. I bought it at a second hand store - new in the box - when he was just an infant. I knew it would come in handy for a Christmas eventually.) My mother sent me money to buy Carter something and I found a vacuum cleaner - a real one - that was short enough for Carter to use comfortably. He LOVES it. He uses it about 45 minutes a day. He got a lot of toys and clothes from family and friends. We are very grateful. He was getting packages constantly the last couple weeks. He loves all his new toys and new clothes (especially the ones with balls on them).

Carter is holding up the Mater Pez dispenser he got in his stocking (David took the candy out before he learned they are supposed to have candy. There will be plenty of time for that later, but for right now we wanted him to enjoy the toy without wanting to discard it when the intended use for the toy - i.e. dispensing candy - was expended.). Carter got gloves last year for Christmas, but they came too late for our trip to the snow, and the weather here was so mild he didn't get to use them. Now his hands are too big for them. He got these cool gloves from a boy at church. Carter LOVES them because they have balls on them.

We went to the Douglas home again this year for fun and singing. Carter was completely consumed in the iPhone. He also loved playing piano with Zoe. They had a lot of fun. They both really missed Chloe this year, but they will see her soon enough.

We went to David's parents' house for more Christmas fun.

He seemed more interested in dancing to the music (It's okay if you can't hear it, I couldn't either.). I am so grateful that he is not the type of kid to open every present all at once. He really likes to enjoy what he gets.

Carter got some fun new toys that he loves. Uncle Daniel got him a Cabbage Patch doll named Lincoln:

Just like he had when he was a boy. David's mother took this picture and emailed it to me after I took the one above. So cute.

We went home Christmas evening and had our own celebration of Christ's birth. We cleared the floor and sat on a blanket. Carter wanted to exercise instead.

We all got a sheep and pretended to be shepherds.

Then we sat down and watched this video:

Even though there are no English words, the message is pretty powerful. I have always loved this version of the Nativity. It was a perfect tie-in to the spirit of the season.

Remember Him:

Good Deals

2011-12-20T04:59:00.000-08:00

I am a sucker for a good deal. I cannot pay full price for anything. I just can't do it. I have trouble paying sales prices for most things. I use a lot of coupons, but not like those extreme couponers. I don't want something for free just because it is free. I just wanted to toot my own horn here for a minute and brag about a couple of good deals I have gotten lately.

You may remember this suit, but for those of you who don't - I got it for $2.73 at JC Penney.

I got this metal gate for the top of our scary basement stairs on Friday for a quarter. Yes, 25 cents. List price on this is $119!!

And this jacket I also got for a quarter:

It looks like a Letterman's jacket.

David and I decided when Carter was born that we would not do too many character themed bedding or clothing items. I could have done his whole nursery in Blue's Clues. However, that was too commercialized for me. I don't want to teach my child that the characters on TV are that important.

That being said, I do have to give him some choice in what he wears. We are having trouble getting him to wear jackets right now. He would rather freeze than wear one. I saw this and decided that I want him covered, and if it takes a bribe - I'm okay with that.

Carter in Christmas Lights

2011-12-13T12:09:00.000-08:00

This will be our Christmas card picture this year. Thank you David.

If you get a card from us, you are on my Christmas card list. If you do not get our Christmas card by Christmas, and you wanted one - let me know. I may not have you on my list. But that doesn't mean I didn't want you there.

Santa Again

2011-12-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

I am OCD about pictures. I know that we will not get a perfect picture every time. I have never been worried about bumps and bruises - to be honest I forgot about the bruise from our "Cedar Chest" incident (Carter is very quick to point out that he got his bruise because: "I fall down on a cedar chess". It is super cute). I am more concerned that you can see my child's cute little face, and with any luck, a smile.

We get our Santa pictures at The Old Cannery.

So, I was spoiled with this picture in 2009:

In 2010, I knew that we were going to have to have a "Crying on Santa's Lap" picture. Everybody has one right? I was proud to put that on my list of fun photos.

No family picture this year because he was screaming too much.

But, these didn't sit well with me. I knew that once my child warmed up to Santa, he would be fine. So, in the hour that we stood in line (and the whole day leading up to it) I prepped him. We watched other kids sit on Santa's lap, and we showed him the candy you get. But, I still have the "Get me outta here!!", sucking on his hands, crying look.

Not to mention - I don't like the family picture. It is not very symmetrical.

So, without question, my husband braved the line with me again to get the perfect Santa picture.

I think it was worth it!! Carter walked right up to Santa and climbed up on his lap all by his self! We were struggling to catch up with the camera and the stroller. He was such a big boy.

And we got an awesome family picture.

We waited in line for 3 hours to get these pictures (cumulative 4 hours if you count the time we spent in line 2 weeks ago), but it was well worth it. Every time I stand in this line, I make new friends.

We also got to walk around and get some other cute shots. These are some pictures that we weren't intending on comparing, but just happened to get similar shots of.

3 months old:

2 years old:

3 years old:

3 months old:

1 year old:

2 years old:

Day off with Daddy

2011-12-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

The day after the concert Daddy surprised us by taking a day off work. We went to our favorite playgroup (Carter loves it because he gets a name tag. He calls it his "Friends Playgroup").

Carter and Daddy built this town:

Then Carter climbed to the top of this thing:

Then we all wore hats (sorry daddy):

Then Carter drew a giraffe (it is the thing in between him and the little girl that kind of looks like a giraffe!):

We went straight from there to a Caspar Babypants concert at the mall.

We have seen Caspar at least 7 times in concert and this is THE FIRST TIME he has ever SMILED, STOOD BY HIMSELF, or DANCED!!! He always has a permagrump face. I was shocked. I got video!! He hopped to "Mr. Rabbit", and he ran, jumped, danced, spun, ect. . . to "Run Baby". That video was harder to get because of the massive amounts of kids there.

We have so much fun with Daddy when he is home. I almost wonder if Daddy's car wakes him up every morning, then he goes back to sleep. Because when Daddy is home - he knows it.

Straight No Chaser

2011-12-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

After seeing a video on YouTube, I was hooked. I cannot believe how amazing this group is. David bought me tickets last year. This year, he bought the tickets in May!! We had a blast.

This video is horrible quality. We had great seats - down on the floor as opposed to last years up on a balcony. However, my little camera cannot take the overload of noise, or the constant movement. David was manually focusing, so it was also hard on him. However, he did a great job. Enjoy:

Carter stayed with his friends Emma & Andrew while we were at the concert. He had so much fun.

Volleyball

2011-12-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

Some of Carter's friends at church play volleyball. They think it is really cool that the volleyball is among all the balls that he can tell you about ("Soccer ball goes in the goal net", "Football goes in the end zone", "Golf Ball goes in the hole", "Baseball goes in the mitt", "Hit the Tennis Ball with the racket"). "The Volleyball goes over the net" he says. So, they invited him to one of their games. He sat almost the entire game and watched (as long as he had this ball to hold).

At the end, he got to go down and play around. Ben lifted him up so he could hit the ball over the net. He was excited to do it, until he saw somebody on the other side - then he didn't want to let go of the ball and loose it.

We are so glad that he has such great friends - even if they are so much older than he is.

Christmas Party

2011-12-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

Our ward Christmas party was awesome this year. It was a night in Bethlehem theme. Different people set up "Shops" around the gym. We were all given coins to purchase food and crafts. We set up blankets to eat our food on - Carter and I are right up front on our blanket.

These are the missionaries assigned to our area. They are pretty cool. We got to have them over for dinner last week and get to know them better. The one on the left always looks up when we call Carter. It doesn't matter where we are - at church on Sunday, at the Christmas party, at our house - he turns like he is going to answer me. We got him to admit that his first name isn't really Elder, like his name tag says, it is Carter.

These are our neighbors - the Froislands. Carter loves "Brother/Grandpa" Froisland. We go over to visit and Carter follows him around the house. We don't see him at church on Sunday because he is not actually a member of our church. But his wife is, and he is very supportive. He comes to all the activities, and to church whenever the kids or grandkids have a part in the service. Carter saw him from across the room and was very excited to see him. I hadn't noticed him until Carter pointed him out. That kid has better recognition than I do sometimes!!

This is Carter's friend Ben (on the left). He plays the trumpet. Carter thinks that is pretty cool.

In the end, Carter wanted to help put away tables and chairs. What a great helper. It was a chore getting him out of there though.

Blue's Clues

2011-12-05T18:58:00.000-08:00

Anyone that knew me pre-Carter knows how much I love Blue's Clues. I have a plethora of Blue's Clues toys and games. (Not all pictured here)

David made me this blanket for Christmas 7 years ago:

So, now my child has discovered Blue's Clues. And it totally helps that we have a dog named Blu. I ask him in the morning what he thinks Blu wants to eat/play/sing/do. My mother is sending us some "Clues" that I can move around and put on things.

Thanks to my good friends the Transiers, I have a Blue's Clues Memory game that we play together.

I found this "Thinking Chair" at the Deseret Industries for $1!!!! (For anyone that doesn't know, he is dressed as a firefighter. That is his "Fireman Hat" and his fireman boots.)

I love Blue's Clues because it really gives me a chance to test his recall, and it gives me time that he will wear his eye patch. We were in the car today and I asked him what Blue's first clue was. I was amazed when he answered correctly - a sun. Then he answered the second clue correctly too - the rain. Blue wanted to sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

The ladies at the Therapy Center that we go to said it is a great show that you can talk with your child about. There are concrete things they are putting together, and critical thinking skills they are using. It is also a good show you can watch with your child to encourage their skills. Thank you Netflix!!!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T22:05:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year we spent it with our friends Matt & Bethany. We had such a fun time. Bethany made some really yummy food, and she also kept Carter's diet in mind - which made it so much less stressful for me. I didn't have to worry about what was in everything, and how I would pay for it tomorrow if I wasn't diligent enough. David made some really good mashed potatoes using rice milk and dairy-free/soy-free butter. He also added some other things for good measure, keeping it Carter friendly.

It wouldn't be a trip to their house without David & Matt building something. Usually they have competing structures. However, today this time they worked together to build a ramp for the kids.

However, as Bethany pointed out, it also wouldn't be a trip to their house without a head wound for Carter. You'll have to enlarge this picture, but it looks pretty bad. He fell on a cedar chest and got a good line on his cheek. One of many to come in his toddlerhood. I'm just glad it didn't get his nose, eyes, or teeth.

Day after Thanksgiving, we went to the library to see Caspar Babypants. Carter LOVES the music. However, EVERY TIME we see him in concert he looks like this:

He really does enjoy his self, but he doesn't like the crowds. All the kids jumping up and down and running in circles really bothers him. He clings to daddy's lap with a grumpy face until it is over. Once all the kids leave, he sings the songs and dances. Silly kid.

The next day we did our annual pictures with Santa. He picked the soccer ball tie I got him while I was visiting my sister in Utah.

We really tried to prep him for Santa. However, he still cried. I am so glad we got one where he is not crying though. We need to clean it up in Photoshop, but this is the rough draft:

Then we came home and decorated the tree. David surprised me by putting it up while I ran out.

This is Carter when he first saw the tree - undecorated, but lit:

We let him help hang the ornaments that were less breakable.

I am so gratefull that David's mother collected ornaments for her kids when they were little. David has an ornament for every year he is alive. It is fun to see how old some of them are. It is like walking down memory lane. When he moved out, his mother gave him his ornaments so he would have something to hang on his own tree. We have continued that tradition with Carter in the hopes that he will appreciate it as much as we do.

So Creative

2011-11-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

Carter is a pretty creative fellow. I find things all over that make me scratch my head in amazement.

I saw these guys last week. He gave them all hats and left to go play with something else:

He likes to find numbers in EVERYTHING. He has a shirt with airplanes on it. The trail they leave behind vaguely resembles a 6. He calls it his 6 shirt.

He eats the pretzels until they look like a 3 or a 6 or a 9. He is so proud of his pretzel creations.

He arranged his chairs and hats. So symmetrical:

Carter is getting HAIR!!!

You can barely see it in this picture of static:

The above picture was taken at one of our playgroups. We also took this picture there together:

Carter likes to put something on me, and wear the same thing. These are two pictures that I have taken before. He INSISTED that I wear this hat.

His doll wore the same hat later.

We went to my aunt Darla's home a week or so ago. She is another one of Carter's "Grandma"s. Carter found this little guy. He came to me "Was he doing?" I told him the man was pointing. He asks that same question over and over again. Sometimes it drives me crazy. I always turn it around on him, which usually causes him to ask over and over again. However, this time he said "Ridin a skateboard."

I can see that.

My aunt Darla happened to have a skateboard!!! He was in heaven.

We had our friends the Webers over. They are considerably older than Carter, but he loves to play with them. They ran around playing all sorts of pretend games. He had a blast!!

Children's Museum

2011-11-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

Daddy had a day off work and so we decided to go to the Children's Museum. We had so much fun!!

There was a traditional Japanese home. Carter enjoyed going into the kitchen and making us dinner for a change. We "ate" a lot of Sushi. He was very excited about the Sushi.

The house even had a microwave in Japanese characters.

He had so much fun with the Sushi, that he decided to run the Sushi shop. He dished daddy out some sushi in a bento box.

When we went to India, they had this cool motorcycle to ride on:

They had water:

He got wet:

There was a little playground. This red haired boy climbed right around Carter on those steps. Carter started talking to him very sternly: "NO, My turn! Get down! My turn!". He was frustrated that the other boy was not taking turns.

Then we rode the monorail to the mall, where we had lunch. It was a pretty fun day.

Play Outside? TODAY? But it's raining!

2011-11-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

My one request for David this summer was that he prepare the back deck for winter. I foresaw a very active boy wanting to play with his outside toys, despite the fact that it is 40 degrees and raining outside. It involved him pressure washing the entire deck, and the roof above it, a bench, and his water table. It was no easy task. It took a good 4 hours.

You could not see sun through the roof before:

Now, it is always bright:

This was the finished product:

So today, when Carter asked if he could go outside and play, I gladly said "Yes, that's a great idea!". I don't think it got above 40 degrees F all day today, and it rained pretty hard. Boy was it nice to have a place Carter could play and get his energy out before we went to the library!!

A Clue!!

2011-11-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

Every morning I wake up before Carter and get completely ready before I get him out of bed. Sometimes my shower wakes him up, but I still finish getting him ready beforehand. I figure if I don't get ready before he is up I can kiss my shower goodbye. Not to boast, but I can count on one hand the number of times I have not been ready before he is up.

Today was one of those days. David woke me up before he left for work (at 6:30 AM) and told me that I should get up (an hour early) because Carter was awake. I told him to put some toys in the crib to hold him over until I could get up and ready. NOPE. David being the amazing dad that he is heard Carter awake and went in to take care of him. He was changed and fed and playing.

I put my bathrobe on and tried to take over. Carter looks at my bathrobe and shouts "A coo, a coo!!"

I was at a loss for what he was saying. This was a new word for me. Then I saw him point to the paw prints on the bathrobe.

It's a "Clue" from Blue's Clues. He was so excited to find a clue on mommy's bathrobe.

My mother-in-law made me this bathrobe for Christmas two years ago. I love it. It is so soft and comfortable. It is also just the right length - hard to find in a store bought bathrobe. She is a very good seamstress.

We had an day a couple weeks ago where I dilly dallied too long on the computer and Carter woke up before I got in the shower. I went in to his room with some toys and told him I would come get him in a couple minutes. He just stared blankly at me in my bathrobe. I didn't even get a chance to tell him anything. He said "Go get dressed. Put clothes on." and pushed at me. It was so funny. He had never really seen me not dressed before and it completely stunned him. The last time I was not dressed and showered before getting him out of bed, he was an infant in a bouncy seat.

"Grandma"s

2011-11-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

Carter has several "Grandma"s. Women in my life who have adopted me, and then turned around and adopted Carter as their own grandchild. This is Rocky. You may remember her from a post I made over a year ago. Her and her husband Chopper have a way with Carter. I am so sad I didn't get a picture of them together last year. However, I wasn't going to let that happen again.

Rocky was Carter's first kiss. He went to her right away and stayed in her arms the entire afternoon. Today, he was so busy, he hardly stayed anywhere for long. However, he had to visit with Grandma Rocky. We went to a birthday party for another "Grandma" - Janelle. We celebrated her 60th birthday. What fun. Her white couches sure gave me something to stress about all night!!

Carter has so many "Grandma"s that love him. I hope I don't leave anybody out. However, I want to acknowledge the "Grandma"s in his life that really try to spoil him. They truly enjoy getting down and playing with him. He has a "Grandma" Norma in Arizona (and "Grandpa" Carlos right beside her), and a "Grandma" Norma here in town, "Grandma" Douglas (Can't forget "Grandpa" Wes), Great-"Grandma" Barbara, "Grandma" Rocky (with "Grandpa" Chopper), "Grandma" Janelle (and mean old "Grandpa" Steve), "Grandma" Larsen (with "Grandpa" Larsen), "Grandma" Darla, "Grandma" Karen, "Grandma" Debi, "Grandma" Berni, "Grandma" Froisland (and "Grandpa" Froisland, also known as "Him" or "Wilson". He knows what I am talking about), and "Grandma" Bryan (Sorry, I can't call you Jennifer yet. After 18 years it is ingrained in me.). I also wanted to make special mention of "Aunt" Shalea.

It is so comforting to me to see how they show their love to him. They are always mindful of his special days, and are really excited to hear about his milestones. When they hear about an unexpected doctor's visit, they are always the first to call and check up on him (Which means so much to me). They don't all spoil him with toys or clothes, but they certainly dote on him with love and attention. When he talks, sings, or reads, it is like the whole world stops for them. He can feel their love for me, and it makes him at ease in their presence. They know that it is those special moments that they get with him when we are all together having fun where they really bond with him. I can see it when they are reading, playing, singing, dancing, and jumping with him. And I know when I ask him about (Insert Grandma's name here) and he can tell me what they did (Usually in one or two word answers. My child is smart, but he is not that good yet.). And when I can say "Do you remember when you ______ with _______?" and he answers me back - I know he bonded with them. It is hard to relive that with Carter and have those conversations when I don't even know what they did.

Thank you for being there for us.

And thank you to "Grandpa" Wes and "Grandpa" Chopper for not buying Carter that pony that you both so desperately wanted to get him.

I also wanted to mention a Grandma that I really think shows what I am talking about:

http://hillarystuff.blogspot.com/2011/11/things-grandmas-must-do-when-visiting.html

Our friends Matt & Bethany live very far from their family. It is hard, but they go to visit a couple times a year, and both grandparents fly in to visit for random weekends throughout. Grandma and grandpa get no alone time with their grandchildren, but that doesn't stop them from bonding with them because they know what is important in their relationship. Matt's mom keeps a blog which I follow. Carter and I saw her at playgroup when she was here last. It was so much fun to talk to her about everything that goes on in her grandchildren's lives. She really cares. I loved the title of her post "Things Grandmas must do when visiting". She is such a neat lady. Thank you Andrew and Emma for sharing your grandma with us for a weekend.

Eye Patch

2011-11-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

I noticed for about 6 months that Carter has one eye that seems to wander. I brought it up to my pediatrician and he gave us a referral to the Pediatric Opthamologist. We went last month and they saw right away what I was talking about. They diagnosed him with Exotropia.

They said the unusual thing about Carter's eye was that it unfocused and walked away while Carter was attempting to focus on something. The closer an object got, the more the eye said - "Too much work, I'm out of here". They told me that it is not normally like that. In a typical exotropia case, the eye will wander when tired or bored. Carter has an unusual form of exotropia called "convergence insufficiency". They told me that muscle exercises are usually pretty helpful in treating this.

So, we bought a box of eye patches, and are using them to strengthen Carter's eye. He thinks they are great. The first time I used them I told him we were going to watch Blue's Clues. He begs to watch it now. It is his favoritest thing to do. He is so engrossed in it. I couldn't get his attention for anything. He got all of his balls out and put them on the couch with him to watch. Today, we watched one episode, and then played with toys to get him to use his eye more. He really likes eye patch time, but it is probably because he gets to watch Blue's Clues.

The Temple

2011-11-10T15:18:00.000-08:00

We went to the Temple on our way home from trick-or-treating at the mall. Carter saw it from the freeway and wouldn't let us drive by without stopping. He was soooooo excited.

He wanted to play in the "garden" and really enjoyed playing hide and seek with the temple.

Unknowingly, we took a lot of pictures in the same places that I took last time (August of 2010):

He is not big enough to climb this by himself!!

With my brother Jordan:

He was worried about getting his hands wet, unlike last time:

With my sister Caroline:

We went "inside" the temple to get a drink of water in the foyer. He was soooooooo excited. He has been telling all his friends that he went in the temple just like daddy.

It was so cool to look back on the pictures I took a year ago. He has changed so much! He was a rolly-polly little guy that never moved. He didn't crawl, he didn't go anywhere. Pictures were so much easier to take!!!

Fun Videos

2011-11-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to post some of these videos of Carter. So, a little late, but still cute.

In this video he is playing with a keyboard and mouse that David donated to Carter. He moves it randomly around the house, calling it his laptop, checking his email: "Checkin da email". When he is in the entry way with it he is trying to plug the "lapop" in. Then he is looking for the mouse and he says "Ahind me, there it is, Ahind me da mouse." Ahind is his word for Behind.

I call this video "The Evolution of Vortex". He called Vortex Wei Wei, and he's now pretty proficient at it:

Is this child abuse?

Fire Men and Fire Stations

2011-11-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

I love this video because of how excited he is, and for the fact that after he knows it is a firetruck, the first thing he says is that he needs pictures! I think he sees me with my camera too much.

While I was in Arizona Carter and I visited with a friend of mine who is now a Firefighter. Carter was in awe of him. He did not want to wear the hat - but as soon as we got home, his yellow CAT construction hat was now called a "fire hat".

Erik's house was fun because he got water in a big boy cup:

Which he spilled 6 times!! Twice on me. AND because Erik put on football on the TV. Since then, EVERY TIME he sees a television he says "I wanna watch football on the TV". It is out of control. Apparently, that is the only thing you could do with a TV.

We got the opportunity to tour a real live fire station close to our house last week. David took the day off work so he could come with us. He is so excited to share these things with Carter too.

Carter will now tell you the difference between a fire truck and a ladder truck. Erik would be proud!

He got to climb in the truck, by himself, and with some buddies.

Best part - the hat.

Then, he went home and grabbed the fire man boots my mother got him when she was here.

Still, and empty fire truck toddler bed, but we're working on that.

International Auto Show

2011-11-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

Family Tradition.

David and I have been going to the auto show together since 2003. We continue that with Carter. He can identify 17 makes of car now (without being prompted). 15 are shown here, and 2 are no longer in production - being Saturn and Mercury. Please forgive me on the Mercedes at the end, I must have had my finger over the microphone. I tried to lower the volume on all the other cars so you don't have to turn up yours at the end.

Carter had a blast climbing in all of the cars and trying everything out.

I couldn't really tell what this button was for:

We had to get our annual STI picture:

He climbed back in to drive it "Really Fast":

In the end, he was tired!!

Grandma Time

2011-11-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

Carter has recently begun saying everything is whatever time. It is "Daddy Time" or "Oranges Time". So, this post is about Grandma Time. On our trip to Arizona we visited with my both my parents, my grandmother, and other aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. My mother came to visit a couple weeks ago as well.

While we were at her house, she was very conscientious about what Carter could and could not eat. She knows that he cannot tolerate dairy, and was very diligent in making dairy-free dishes for him. When I told her that we were going to go back to cutting out wheat, she tried to accommodate dinner to be wheat-free. When she couldn't make it wheat-free, she made him a wheat-free meal. She always had fresh fruit ready for him.

Carter really loves his Uncle Jordan. Jordan taught him how to play Foosball:

And to ride a Razor Scooter:

We also went to the park, although it was a little miserable. My mother also wanted to take Carter to the zoo and the spray pad. However, the heat really kept us in doors.

While my mother was here, we went to the Rain Forest Cafe twice:

They all came out and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. We got to play in the shop, and he was scared of all the animals. He really just wanted to watch football in the bar. I had to pull a chair out of the bar so he could watch from the store. Silly kid.

We went to playgroups and the park. We went to the bouncy house - where Carter cried the entire time. He was quite overwhelmed.

We also went to the farm (Where I took this picture above). They had kittens in the loft - where Carter reiterated his dislike for the "Meows". They had all of the farm animals, as well as a bouncy house, basketball courts, mini tractors:

Although, he took one look at the real tractor and he knew what he wanted:

When it was time to go he cried. But, she left him with a new mini skateboard, twistable crayons, and a Cars coloring book:

It was really nice of my mother to ask what kinds of things Carter was interested in, so she could get him a gift that he would really be able to use and enjoy. It was also nice of her to think about his dietary needs in Arizona AND while she was here. Plus the fact that she did things that Carter was interested in, really showed how much she cared about HIM. It really showed she cared about him, not just showing him off to her friends while we were in town. Although, I'm sure she wished she could do more of that. Seeing Carter have fun was all she was interested in.

Halloween

2011-11-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Carter was a mechanic for Halloween. Or as a lady from church pointed out - he was daddy.

He decided to put his mechanic skills to work fixing his bubble mower. Lydia kept saying "Noises Noises" while pointing to it. So, while she sounds like me telling David that my car is making noises, she was really a bumble bee. For the 3rd year in a row, my friend Chandra and I got the kids together and did a photo shoot for Halloween. Here are a couple good ones:

Carter saw me trying to fix Lydia's costume and he thought he would try to help.

To start off the festivities, we went to a Trunk-or-Treat at church. David dressed up this year:

This is Carter watching Daddy at church. Not so sure. He chose to hang out with me instead of Daddy this night - which is totally out of character for him. But, if you saw this man, how likely would you be to jump into his lap?

Carter and Daddy made up and they played putt-putt golf in a set up that David built for the Trunk-or-Treat carnival.

Carter got his face painted:

And got some cotton candy with the tickets he won from playing golf. He chose it, and then threw it in the garbage. He thought it was gross. Sad.

This was his very first piece of "Canny!!!!" he got:

I got to take him around to a couple cars. I dressed up as the family coordinator. Under my list of coordinator responsibilities: I made sure we had fun places to go, costumes, and that we were there on time. David took a picture to prove that I was there:

David told me last year that he didn't want to do the Trick-or-Treat thing. He said there are so many safe places to go collect candy he wanted to try one of those. I agree. We really wanted to go to the Trunk-or-Treat at the new LeMay Auto museum, but it was on a Sunday and we don't Trick-or-Treat on Sundays.

So, in addition to the Trunk-or-Treating we did at church, we went to the mall and gathered candy there. Carter was not really into it (he even cried) . . .

until he realized that they were giving him candy. Then we were too slow.

He was melting the chocolate in his hands, so we let him stop and eat some of his spoils. He really enjoyed that. We later went to the temple - that is another post. This kid was in HEAVEN that day!!

On actual Halloween day David made the decision to take the night off work and did the Trick-or-Treating thing with some of our friends, spur of the moment kind of thing. They moved into a very friendly neighborhood - the kind where you know all your neighbors and have block parties and stuff. They get together for 4th of July, and all sorts of barbecues during the summer. We went to a lot of them and know the neighbors by name now.

Plus Carter talks constantly about his friends Andrew and Emma. Carter tells me that Daddy goes to Andrew and Emma's house during the day instead of work. Their whole family dressed up as the Flintstones. Andrew was Bam Bam, Emma was Pebbles, and mom and dad were Fred and Wilma:

This was Carter's first door:

He knocked, then opened it right up. It took three houses before he stopped opening the door on his own. It was so funny.

Carter lasted 10 houses before he saw a basketball hoop. All he wanted to do was stand under it. No coercion of candy would convince him to walk on his own. David carried him to the next house. He got his candy and tried to run back (we wanted to finish the loop of the street). David carried him to the next house where they were watching a football game. That was it. Our night was pretty much over. We drug him kicking and screaming to the car. He fought the car seat screaming "I wanna watch football on da TV!!!!!!" We consider the night a success.

Animals

2011-10-31T16:05:00.000-07:00

One of Carter's grandmothers made Carter this blanket, unless you've been in his room you will not have seen it. I don't let out of his room because we don't want it to get ruined or damaged.

I know that some people don't know what happens to their stuff when they give it to someone and they get a little paranoid that their gift is in vain. It may just be the case that they cherish it so much, they take great care of it.

Anyways, Carter and I were talking about animals, and I didn't know he knew Zebra.

Carter is definitely 2, can you tell with the "No I don't"?

This quilt was made by Carter's Great-Grandmother. He loves to point out the shapes. I will come in and see that is naming the animals and shapes on their bodies.

This quilt is the perfect size for his toddler bed. Although he is not sleeping in it yet, he plays in it all the time. My mother made this quilt, a raggy-flannel quilt with "I love to see the temple" fabric. (Really fitting since Carter seems to really enjoy seeing pictures of the temple, and our most recent trip there on Saturday. I'll post about that later.) Usually the bed is filled with the fabric books my mother made for Carter. He has to have 3 or 4 in bed with him every night. I think it gives him something to do in the morning quietly before I get him up.

A good friend of mine just passed away and at her funeral were many of her crafts and creations. When they talked in the service of how she loved to make gifts for people, I had to smile and think of the blanket she made for Carter while I was in the hospital. It meant so much to me then, but it is that much more special now.

We have so many other blankets that we love that our friends and family have given us. I am so sentimental I couldn't bear to part with them. It was too hot to use them during the summer months, but now that it is chilly at night, I am remembering all of the wonderful people in our lives that put so much time and effort into a blanket or other item for Carter and our family.

On that same note, David and I still use the quilts that we were given for our wedding on our bed - almost 8 years later. Including one that David's grandmother made, and one that my friend Penny Douglas made.

You are a Child of God too!!

2011-10-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was changing Carter's diaper, he was singing Itsy-Bitsy Spider. He loves to sing. He stops and looks at me like he just figured something out. He says "Mommy a child of God!" then he says "Daddy a child of God!" and he finished by saying "Baby Carter a child of God TOO!!". He was so excited to learn this about himself and about us. Some people don't figure that out until they are adults. It is so nice to know that my child has that knowledge about himself at 25 months old!

What is a blog post without a picture right?? I am really excited for this new car seat cover that I traded with my cousin Deborah for. Carter got these new glasses from the bank when he made a deposit of the birthday money he got from all of his family and friends. The whole ride home he was in the back seat exclaiming "Glasses on LIKE DADDY! Hat on LIKE DADDY!!" He was so excited to be just like daddy. I am so grateful for a husband and father who is such a great role model for our child!!!

Playgroups & Bed Time

2011-10-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

We keep pretty busy with playgroups. There is not a day on the calendar without a playgroup of some sort. Carter seems pretty well socialized because of it. That and he is a pretty easy going kid. (As you can tell in the end of the video when a little girl sits down and picks up the same toys that he just had in his hand. He didn't freak out, or even try to stop her.)

There is an awesome playgroup that we go to every week. They have a trampoline, blocks, trains, cars, puzzles, pillows, a slide, dress up stuff, a kitchen with food. . . They also have a tactile activity, a craft, and story/music/bubble time.

Carter gets a name tag, which is the highlight of the week. He talks about his name tag all the time.

Today he discovered the baby dolls. He usually just brushes past the "Girly" stuff, but today he was very interested. In the video I asked him if his baby needed a drink because he was feeding the baby earlier and I loved how he made the sucking sound for his baby. It is kind of hard to hear in the video so I wanted to point it out. Also, you might not understand what he is searching for in the basket. He said "I need a puck", which translates to: pacifier or binky. We call it a plug. I can tell when he's really tired, he will ask for his plug. Before I shot the video, he was looking for the baby's plug and blanket to tell the baby to go to bed.

I didn't lead him to any of the play in this video, I have a very hands off approach. You learn who they are when you let them lead the way. If I was constantly pushing cars on him, I may never know his talent for kicking a soccer ball.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

On the subject of bed time. Carter seems obsessed with bed time. I find him putting his toys to "Nigh Night" all over the house. . .

. . .and sometimes yelling at them. I have been known to tell him some of the things he tells his toys - like no grape juice right before bed, or in bed - but I have never yelled it at him about it. Especially not like this:

Quirky Kid.

Automobiles

2011-10-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

So, at the end of his second year of life, Carter can identify 11 makes of car: Subaru, Saturn or "Scion", Chevrolet or "Chawy", Toyota or "Toyoya", Audi (not pictured in the video), Volkswagen, Ford, Mazda, and he can tell the difference between Honda & Hyundai - a feat most adults struggle with.

I had printed this paper up because I was getting tired of a toddler trying to run away from me to get to the parking lot just to see the emblems. He LOVES to practise on it.

He loves to tell me who drives what. For example, he told me at breakfast this morning that Melissa at our Chiropractor drives a Kia. He can also tell you what the doctors in the office drive.

What a crazy kid.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

I am getting so behind!!! We went to the Pumpkin Patch to Stoltz Family Farm again this year.

Carter was in a MUCH better mood:

Although we couldn't get him to sit here like last year. . .

We got a great shot of him just above these pumpkins.

Couldn't get him to stand still at the spider this year.

But he loved the duckies just as much!

And this year he got to pump!!

Spray Pad with our friend Owen and our friend Felicity

2011-10-21T23:15:00.000-07:00

This is another Arizona post. I will get through this trip - soon I hope.

Carter was MISERABLE. We tried to take him to the spray pad when the water was actually on, and he fought us the entire time. He WOULD NOT play in the water or on the playground.

There was a soccer game going on, and Carter did go over and watch. However, it turned into a huge screaming fit because Carter tried to go onto the field and get the ball. No pictures of that - I was too busy chasing him.

A friend from high school met us there with his wife and son Owen. Owen is about 8 months younger than Carter. He had a blast!!

We also met up with my brother John and his girlfriend Natalie. I really like Natalie. She is fun to talk with and she has a very positive attitude. She brought her niece Felicity - who happens to share a birthday with Carter's best friend Lydia (4 weeks younger than Carter). She was also fine with the heat/water combo.

These were my sad attempts at trying to pose them together:

My brother John never could quite make it into Carter's comfort zone.

Although, with all the balls John had hidden around his house, he may have come close. After the park we went back to John's house. Carter had a good nap in the car, and a lot of Gatorade.

He was not real fond of John's pit bulls, but he's not real fond of Blu & Vortex either. They are just easier to bully.

Carter's Chiropractor

2011-10-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

Carter has been going to the Chiropractor since he was old 2 months old. We go to Lake Meridian Chiropractic. He LOVED Dr. Geigert. She moved to Africa to save the world. We really miss her.

Carter has been going there so long, he is getting ready to be a chiropractor himself:

Our friend Ember

2011-10-17T12:41:00.001-07:00

While in Arizona, we got to play with another little girl who was born around the same time as Carter. She was a little over 2 weeks younger than him. Ember is so much further in her development of verbal skills. Carter can talk, and he talks well. But Ember narrates. She narrates everything she and everyone else is doing. It is so cute.

(Daddy did her hair on this day - what a great daddy)

We had a lot of fun playing and eating dinner.

We went out to ice cream (sorbet for Carter) afterwards. All he wanted to do was watch football on TV - his new thing. Ember put up with his boyness and willingly followed him to the neighboring Pizza place to eat our dessert in full view of football. What a trooper.

I Am a Child of God

2011-10-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

Carter's favorite song right now is Follow the Prophet. I went on YouTube to find some more interesting versions of it. I came across this on YouTube. The second time they sing it really hit me. I don't know what it was, but it brought tears to my eyes. I hope you enjoy it too.

Our Friend Braelynn

2011-10-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

One of my friends who was pregnant the same time I was had her baby about 3 weeks after I did. Braelynn.

We got together with them on Braelynn's birthday to go to the splash park in Arizona - which they call "Spray Pads".

Carter did not want to play, he only wanted to watch the boys play basketball.

It was so dark, this was the best picture of hand holding I got. They stood there holding hands, watching basketball for quiet a while.

After much coaxing, he began to play.

Then there was jumping . . .

and running. . .

and swinging. . .

They had a lot of fun together.

But in the end, all he wanted to do was play basketball, and watch some other boys skateboard.

What are these pigs doing?

2011-10-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Carter has this cute book: "Busy Piggies". Every page has piggies doing something. I opened to this page, and Carter had a very unexpected answer. See bottom for his answer.

Today was the hardest time I've ever had sitting through church with Carter. In our service we have a portion where we take the Sacrament - bread and water (similar to the Catholic church's communion - except we do it every Sunday and in a different way).

Some parents give their very young child the bread and the water. I believe that we should wait until the child is old enough to understand what is going on - that way it will mean something. I don't want my children going through the motions with no meaning to them.

David is afraid that if we withhold it from them if they ask, they will resent it. We decided that we would wait until Carter was old enough to ask for the Sacrament, and I would try to explain it to him.

So far, we have been able distract him during the Sacrament and it hasn't been an issue. Well, he stayed with a friend of mine for the weekend a few weeks back while David and I were out of town and she didn't know. So, he got to taste the bread and drink the water from the little cup. Now he wants it. We were not expecting the screaming. "I want some! I want some!" over and over. When it came down our pew and the pew behind us it was the worst. After it was gone, he forgot about it.

I had a friend come up to me after church and tell me that Carter really reminded her how we should all have such a desire to take the Sacrament. She said it made her think "Do I want it that bad?". All the more justifying my thinking of going through the motions without much meaning. However, it was nice to know that my child's fit today gave someone meaning to their Sunday service.

So, the piggies. I asked Carter what the piggies were doing, expecting him to say "running". He said they were following the prophet! How cute is that?

The Airport

2011-10-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

So, I am going to start documenting our Arizona trip. Slowly.

Carter did AMAZING. He didn't run away, and he followed me onto the airplane - despite the fact that we were waaaaaaaay past his bedtime.

Because I have this almost unhealthy fear of checking bags, I chose to carry on all of our luggage. I had my two bags, and Carter's two bags. In addition to Carter, and his car seat. I also gate checked his stroller. I only used it in the airport. It sat in the trunk of the car the entire trip. Carter sat in his seat the entire ride with NO FUSS. It was a blessing for sure.

Talking & Singing

2011-10-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

Carter loves to sing. When he wakes up in the morning I can hear him singing to himself, in the bath, and in the car he sings to himself. It is pretty cute. He can sing the entire alphabet, Twinkle Twinkle, & Itsy Bitsy Spider. I am amazed at how much his brain absorbs and regurgitates!

Carter now mainly calls us by our first names. There is not much I can do about it. I can't force him to call me "Mommy". I don't know what was wrong with "Mommy" either. Yesterday at a playgroup he was in another room calling me to him using my first name. I tried to correct him on it and he became more adamant that he call me Lisa. This is a video of a typical morning or after nap scenario. Carter is screaming for "Dawid" to come and get him:

Mostly what I hear all day is "Where's Dawid? (answering his own question) Oh, Dawid at work. Dawid come home and kick-a soccer ball!" I keep telling him that I don't know who David is, and I only call him "Daddy" around Carter. Hopefully he grows out of it. At home I can give him very little attention regarding it, but when we are out and people see a toddler call his mom by her first name, they all snicker and it really fuels it.

Carter was never much of a reader. He always tried to eat the books. I really wanted him to love books. He is just now catching on!!! I have cropped these videos down quite a bit, but there was no prompting at all. I did not read him the stories ahead of time, or give him hints. He has excellent comprehension skills. I never though to tell him that Humpty Dumpty cried when he fell off the wall.

While we were in Arizona - which I will post about soon!! - one of my aunts taught him a cute garden rhyme involving a teddy bear. I bought this book and found it in here. He was pretty excited to find it. You can see how excited he gets when he sees the "Garden". I actually cut the part out when he grabs the book asking about the "Garden" story. Watch all the way to the end where he tells me to stop singing to him. He has started really telling me when he doesn't want me to do something.

Duct Cleaning

2011-10-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

We should have done it 3 years ago, but we just now got around to having our air ducts cleaned out. When we first moved in I laid awake at night listening to the rats use them as a highway. It was pretty unnerving. Especially knowing that we were breathing in what they left behind.

I called Jared at ACT Air Duct Cleaning, and he came out the next day.

Carter was really excited to watch. It got kind of loud, and Carter ran over and put my hands over his ears, but Jared showed him everything he was doing.

Then Carter insisted on making Jared catch his ball. Jared stopped to play catch with him.

Although it smelled like burning right after he came (he sanitized the ducts, and the heat burns it up a little - he warned us first), it does not have that dirty smell that finally forced me to call him in the first place. So, if you've been thinking about it, I highly recommend Jared.

Queen of Seattle

2011-10-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

We took a ride on the Queen of Seattle last month. It is an old steam ship that runs from the southern most tip of Lake Union all the way to the Ballard boat locks - almost to the Puget Sound.

Carter had so much fun just running around the boat.

We saw this on our way through the Lake Washington Ship Canal - "The Indoor Sun Shoppe":

They had people dressed in costume to play the part, and a real pianist on the boat. Carter thought that was pretty cool:

What was even cooler, was that the piano played itself when nobody was around!

We went under three bridges that went up just for us! Carter thought that was pretty cool. Heck, David and I thought that was pretty cool.

It was a 2 hour trip, with lots to see. He did surprisingly well, consindering it was during Carter's nap.

In the end, we got to meet the captain. Carter was afraid of him, but still wanted to play with his walkie-talkie thing.

"Bye Bye Boat"

Northwest Trek

2011-10-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

David suggested that I go and visit my sister in Utah. He sent me without Carter. So, for an entire week David got Carter ready every day, made his meals, prepared his diaper bag, and wore him out, in addition to going to work. I have some great friends who watched Carter while I was out of town.

While I was gone, Carter got to go to Northwest Trek with Lydia.

From what I hear, this was a quick posed shot. All he really wanted to do was move those chairs around. He does love to move chairs around!

I wish I'd gotten to be there to share this with him, but I am happy he had the opportunity to go. I am also thankful for Lydia's mom who takes pictures for me when I can't be there. She understands how it is to want to be there to enjoy your child enjoying life.

Two Year Pictures

2011-09-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

I have never been able to bring myself to pay for pictures. I am just to particular. What if I don't like any of them? Plus it is sooooo expensive. (Worth it if you have a good photographer though.) David got me this new camera so I could take my own. These are some pictures that we took. I did not take all of these - David took half of them.

I love his little tongue sticking out in this one:

And his goofy smile in this one:

This one was hard to know if I should change it to Sepia or keep it the same:

So, I tried it in Sepia and left his eyes in color. They are gorgeous eyes! (Click on it to get an enlarged view)

Turning Two

2011-09-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Carter turned two, and we had a "Yay! You made it!" party. We invited his friends from church, and some of the neighbor kids - the ones he knows. I tried really hard not to get carried away. I have been to some birthday parties that make me feel seriously inadequate as a mother. I was not about to even attempt that. It was very low key. Let them run around and have fun right? That's all they want to do anyways. So, I borrowed some toys from the neighbor, and we had some games. I also did a scavenger hunt of sorts. There was no structure at all.

All-in-all we had a little over 50 people come. He had no idea what the fuss was all about.

My cousin brought chocolate covered strawberries & he was in heaven. He got kind of carried away.

David & I made a cake to look like a basketball. He was sooooooo excited about it, until he learned that it wasn't a real ball. He was very disappointed, and wanted none of it.

He got so many fun things, despite the fact that I strongly discouraged toys, and he loves them all.

This was one of my favorite parts. A boy in his nursery class at church brought him a book with a Fire Truck on the front. David asked him what it was. He said "Toddler Bed". His toddler bed is a fire truck: See Past Post Here. We have since educated him on what a fire truck is. I'll post his rendition of a Fire Truck sound on another day.

For the scavenger hunt, kids & adults went around the yard and garden identifying plants. They were all tagged, and some were very difficult. The hardest ones were the plants that had already flowered, and were just leaves. Even the adults had trouble.

Thanks to my neighbor, we had some ring toss, and a few VERY competitive games of Tug-Of-War. Carter was perfectly fine watching.

Until Daddy got involved. He bawled.

So Daddy had to hold him while he played.

We had a great time. The aftermath was kind of crazy, but we got to send it all back at the end of the day. Carter sure enjoyed himself.

Summer Seems Over

2011-09-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

Carter Turned 2! I will have to get pictures of his party later. But, for now I have to chronicle our summer!!

We did a lot of playing outside.

Daddy gave him his first real Popsicle, other than the ones I made.

He really enjoys sitting on the potty. I'm not sure why, but he BEGS to do it.

We tried to get the maximum use out of the Zoo membership Grandma Hammond got him. Of course, his favorite part of the zoo was the tractor.

We went to a lot of free concerts in the park. This was Caspar Babypants. We saw them twice. Carter is standing in the front, totally mesmerized (You might notice his hat, he is the shortest child up there). They are singing Googly Eyes in these pictures:

Caspar sang right next to the splash park, he sure did enjoy it.

He helped Daddy wash his cars:

And he also got to wash his car too:

Carter had a special date with Daddy at an event called Touch-A-Truck. The county brought out all their vehicles, the fire department, police department, garbage company, school district, a construction company, and animal control were all there. He got to sit in all the fun equipment.

Every button was pushable:

Every horn was honkable. They got to see lights and sirens!!

They even got to use the walkie-talkies:

Carter got to enjoy my garden. He apparently loves carrots. He pulled them right out of the ground and ate them (after David washed them).

And he was nice enough to share them with Blu:

He even got to help Daddy work on his car!!! He is almost old enough to hold the flashlight - a major milestone according to David.

Fun with Family

2011-09-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do! David had a cousin in town last month, so we went and visited aunts, uncles, cousins, & grandparents that he doesn't normally see.

Aunt Bonnie had a bike in her garage that Carter just had to ride:

Uncle Billy taught Carter how to throw and catch a football. He still talks about Uncle Billy throwing the football with him:

We really enjoyed visiting with Great Grandpa Bob:

Cousin Michael and Grandpa Bob had a music session:

Carter did some singing:

And loved to get grandpa's stuff. He found his belt and his hats (as you can see from the first picture with grandpa's cowboy hat):

Where was I?

2011-09-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

10 years ago today I had just finished a 2 day drive from Puyallup, Washington to Tucson, Arizona for my grandfather's funeral. I awoke to a phone call from my friend Ben telling me to turn on the news. No explanation, no response to my question of what channel, no more was spoken. I sat in disbelief as our country banded together as it fell apart. Grateful I had driven instead of flown, I was now unsure when I would be returning home. I wasn't sure where I would go from there. What would those families do, and how they would continue on? I was drowning in thoughts of what would become of our country and how life would be changed as a result of this one day. I had been dating a guy in the military. He was stationed at Fort Lewis, although we had met on the cross country team in Tucson in high school. September 7, 2001 was the last time I ever spoke with him.

Ben came over and we watched the empty sky for the first time in our lives. No planes flew overhead. It was eerily quiet. He had a job working on airplanes. His future was also unsure.

Wow, to look back on the last 10 years. For those of us who didn't loose someone, all we have left is a little frustration at the airport, and a war. How am I going to educate my child about the events of September 11, 2001? How can he possibly comprehend? It is like people trying to explain to me about the day Kennedy was shot, or the space shuttle explosion. It just doesn't hit me as hard.

As I read the comics today, I had time to reflect and to contemplate this task. It seems that the comics would be the place to start. Thank you Jeff Keane, Jim Borgman, Terry Libenson. . . :

http://cartoonistsremember911.com/

Pictures with Lydia

2011-09-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

I got some cute photos of Lydia and Carter:

And some cute ones of just Lydia:

They were saying prayers, and he thought that was pretty funny:

Then she thought he needed a little head pat:

She thought he needed some hugs and kisses:

This was my favorite. I did it two ways:

He was bracing himself for a kiss:

And the two of them watching the ducks:

For those of you who are late to my blog - I babysit Lydia. We have been trading babysitting since post maternity leave at work. I am home full time now, but I still watch Lydia so I can have some ME time. They have grown up together, and it is heartbreaking to watch them being separated.

Pictures

2011-09-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

I tried to take a couple pictures of Carter in the last week. I am having trouble getting him to look at me long enough for a cute pose.

This is his classic fingers in the pockets look:

I played around with PhotoShop a little bit on these two:

Definitely like this one better:

Watching the ducks:

Jumping:

He is just so full of energy and personality. He says the funniest things too!!

I was showing these pictures to Carter. I asked him about the picture where he's watching the ducks. I said "What are you doing?" he said "Laughing". He has such a positive outlook on life.

He has been telling me since Tuesday that "Guys kick footballs". I have been really trying to teach him that girls kick footballs too.

He can finally pronounce Vortex better than "Wei Wei". It is now "WoahTex"

He figured out how to use those pull-back cars to make them go. He has been sending cars racing all over the house.

Sometimes he grabs his head after eating - getting food in his head fuzz. I walked in on him rubbing applesauce on his head. I asked him why he was doing that. He said "Caus I silly".

Later I came back and saw his plate on the floor. I asked him what happened to it. He points down and said "Drop". Like "Duh mom".

Bee Stingssssssss

2011-09-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

So much to catch up on. We'll start here. Carter climbed into a bees nest. He was swarmed with bees. Here are a couple of his stings:

Cheek

Back of the ear.

Scary!! Thanks to my friend Chandra for getting more bee stings than he did to save him.

Little trooper, hardly cried at all. Lydia, on the other hand - was a little harder to calm down. After seeing Carter go through a harrowing event like that - she was traumatized.

This is the two of them at Lydia's house on the same day. She just climbed into his arms.

Girls

2011-08-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before I have been babysitting the "girls" down the street. They are almost a full year older than Carter. He LOVES them!! He can tell me who is who, and on days when I don't have them, he begs to play with them. We walk by their house and he gets really excited. "Girls Girls!!!" Then he talks about them individually. I don't know what he is saying yet, but hopefully soon it will make sense.

Things were a little too quiet on Wednesday. I found them down the hall. They had all carried a stool and put them in a circle. They were "eating" train tracks. It was soooooo cute. Carter got up off his stool and said "Out Mommy, Out". He got up and pushed me all the way down the hallway.

He's not even a teenager yet!!!!

I took these pictures on Thursday:

It was really cute - they were all looking out the window, so I went out to take a picture of the three of them. This is what I found!! Carter is smooshing his face up against the glass, then licking it.

Quirky Kid

2011-08-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

Carter is so much smarter than I am!!

I wondered why things were so quiet. I walked out into the living room and saw him watching "Baby Carter"

I've been babysitting twins the last couple months, and it is really hard to feed all three of them at once. Carter is just too short to reach his plate at the big table. I set him up because he was begging to eat. He made his own booster seat. . . out of a basketball. He is so clever.

If you have ever worked or lived with me - or your name is Sister Bryan - you know how much I love to read the paper. There is just something about the newspaper in my hand that I really enjoy.

I have apparently passed that on to my son.

Except, he is reading the sports page looking for balls & high-5s.

He loves our truck. He came to me begging "Truck Please, Truck Please!!!"

Greatest Phobias

2011-08-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Today was an immense challenge for me. I have determined not to pass my phobias on to my child. I have gone right up to a bee with him and happily told him how wonderful they are. I have pointed at snakes and told him that they are great.

I don't want to have them in my house or touch them.

Today, I saw this GINORMOUS spider on the wall above Carter's changing table. It might-could not have been so bad if I wasn't changing Carter's diaper at the time. He was a good 3/4" tall and easily 4 inches from leg to leg. I measured him when I caught him. Yes, I CAUGHT him. It took every ounce of my being not to wet my pants. The real hard part was not screaming while changing Carter's diaper. I had to show him how "cool" spiders are.

Then, there was the snake. My temperature gauge says 83 degrees F outside. I am wearing shorts. I was walking with Carter to the mailbox when this guy slipped off the ledge next to me, falling down my bare leg. He then slithered over my foot in his escape. I screamed. Then awkwardly, I composed myself and tried to reassure my toddler that snakes are our friends. Very quickly, it became apparent that my dogs did not consider this snake their friend. They saw him as their toy. I had to fight them off, while trying not to scare Carter. Grrrrrrr.

I still get chills thinking about it.

What to do on a hot day?

2011-08-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Carter can do a couple of new things this week!

First, he put two and sometimes three words together on his own. He has never been able to put two words together when prompted, but today he said "Banana Please" when I asked him to. It took multiple tries, but he did it.

He noticed two guys giving a high-5 on the cover of the newspaper. He was so excited that he wanted to give me a high-5 too.

He is starting to sing actual songs. I caught this on video today. Sorry it is so bright. I had the camera on the wrong setting, and it washed everything out.

We are having a rough day. You know those days where your child is into EVERYTHING!?! While you are busy cleaning up the last mess, he is making a fresh one? Things were going great, and he started to get a little antsy. He was getting into things that he knew he wasn't supposed to. I told him we were going to take a walk. I bring the dogs inside, and send them to their room while Carter goes outside to get his bike. He is distracted by the water. I pull him out of the water table splashing away, and while I am putting my shoes on - he decides to play in dog poop. I take him in to clean him off. He is reaching for EVERYTHING. I tell him to stop touching things. So what does he do? Not 5 seconds after I say that, he grabs my white door and smears poop on it. I get him into the bathroom and wash his hands. I cannot get the poop out of his fingernails, so I grab the clippers to trim them down to nothing. While I am clipping one hand, the other has reached behind his back and is scraping inside my toothpaste. I look up to see toothpaste smeared all over his face!!!!!

He has worn 3 onesies today because of bowel issues leaking onto the onesie.

I tried to lay him down for a nap so I could think. (And update my blog so I could tell you how cute and smart he is instead of thinking about how frustrated I am) He talked for most of the time. 15 minutes after he stopped talking, the neighbor comes home and the dogs freaked out. BARK BARK BARK BARK. Carter then wakes up and starts calling for me. NO NAP Wednesday. Grrrrrrrr.

So, here is my attempt at remembering all the fun things we did last week:

He can't go anywhere without his basketballs. He put them both on the seat of his car and got in:

I love his tongue in this one:

We went to the park and he played hula hoops with his friend Audrey:

But, all he wanted to do was watch the basketball hoops at the school across the street:

Until he found another kid's football. Then all he wanted to do was watch the basketball hoops with the football.

We set up the sprinkler in the front yard:

He is yelling "WATER!":

He is very into Subaru's right now. He was crying that he wanted to color a Subaru. So, I printed one off for him. He was very excited about it, and only wanted to color in green. (I think that is because it is the only color he knows).

Quirky

2011-08-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

The last 2 Sundays Carter has pulled his diaper changing pad out of his diaper bag and said - very loudly - "Poo Poos! I have Poo Poos!!". Then, he proceeds to lay on the pad on the floor and say it over and over again. He does not need his diaper changed. At least he is not asking to go out to be changed.

Usually on Sunday Carter will have something he wants to do that he wants to share with everyone. Some Sundays it is prayers, and some it is high-5. He will go to everyone that he can reach - or that can reach him - and try to give them a high-5 or pray with him. Yesterday it was kisses. He wanted everyone within reach to kiss him. That was fine for mommy & daddy - but the 13 & 15 year old boys behind us did NOT want to kiss him.

In nursery, Carter shared quite a few kisses with a girl named Caroline who is about a year older than him. She has always loved to rub his head and be with him. Lately, they have been kissing. A few weeks ago we did not get to church early enough to sit in our normal pew. We sat behind Caroline and her family. She leaned over the bench in front of us and kissed Carter multiple times. So cute.

He is starting to sing the ABC song. Mostly he can only remember the end "Now I've sung my ABCs, Next time won't you sing with me?". It is so cute to hear him try to say all the words together, let alone how he pronounces them!

Now for the pictures:

Carter playing on his counting phone.

Carter discovered bubble wrap.

Carter found the Toys-R-Us catalog that came in the mail and had to peruse it before I could get him dressed.

Subaru vs Saturn

2011-08-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

I am a Saturn girl. My first car was a Saturn, and I have never owned anything else. It will be a sad day when my wagon dies and I can no longer replace her.

David is Subaru all the way. Because of that, Carter can identify the Subaru badge (the one on the front of the car with the stars).

Today I tried to introduce him to Saturn. We happen to have three of them in our driveway (because we love them so much). We walked around to identify all of their badges.

As we walked up the stairs to go back in the house he says to me "I want Subaru".

Great.

Splash Park

2011-08-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today for playgroup we went to the splash park. For those of you who don't know, a splash park is a an area in a park with sprinklers that come out of the ground. Some parks are really elaborate with wet toys to climb on, and some just have water that shoots out of the ground randomly.

This is the first time Carter has actually gotten into the water and played. We have been to 2 other splash parks, and he has been afraid of the water. Today, he really got into it.

This picture is really cute because he is sticking out his tongue:

We went to the playground, and saw a squirrel. Carter walked right up to him. This squirrel is about 5 feet away and staring right at Carter. I called him back at this point because the squirrel was just a little too brave:

I took this picture today. I COULD NOT GET HIM TO LOOK AT ME!! So, I settled for this shot. I don't edit many of my photos. When I do, it is really obvious - like making them Black & White or Sepia. This is the first time I have experimented with Photo Shop.

Which one do you like best?

Full Sepia:

Eyes in color:

Eyes with other blue accents in color:

Or just the original?

On a side note, Carter pointed out that he has helicopters on his shirt, not airplanes today. They are not very well outlined , more like silhouettes of helicopters.

Recess Monkey

2011-08-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

Today, Carter and I went to the library for story time. We heard "Clifford, The Big Red Dog" from a librarian with a thick southern accent. It was fun. Carter didn't care. Until the big scary dog came out. He was petrified. Almost all of the kids lined up to get their picture taken with Clifford. I love this stage where he will tell me what he wants and doesn't want. I asked him if he wanted to sit with Clifford. "No" (and adamant head shaking). So we watched all the kids sit on Clifford's lap, we grabbed the Clifford mask craft, and we headed off to the concert.

(Insert story about the disaster in the bathroom where my child crawled from my stall into the stall next to us and then twice out into the general bathroom area, yelling at the woman changing her baby that he had poo poos and she needed to change him, playing in the toilet, and the giant spider on the wall)

Recess Monkey is a group of three male teachers who tour the library system during the summer singing fun songs about having a vacuum on your back that flies you around like a rocket, and riding on a roller coaster. When we first got there, Carter remembered that we saw Caspar Babypants at that same spot and asked if we were going to hear "Googly Eyes". The kid has a memory like an elephant!

He was not so sure at first. Too much noise and too much going on around him.

Then, he saw something in the air.

Hard to tell (Even though my camera is zoomed in as far as it would go!), but he correctly identified it as a helicopter!!

Then, he started getting into it. He was putting his hands in the air and down in his lap at appropriate times.

Then he asked to get out of the stroller. He promptly took this chair over as his own. If you notice, his hand is in the cup holder - he thinks it is a basketball hoop. How cool, a chair with its own basketball hoop!!

Then he got up and danced:

From 420 feet away, across the street and through the parking lot, we could faintly hear the music from the stands on our way out. They played songs from other artists while people packed up and left. He could hear the Caspar Babypants song "Nine Ninety Nine", and he correctly identified it:

If you listen very carefully in the beginning, you can hear the music.

Broccoli

2011-08-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Carter now has a love for broccoli. I sat down to eat some broccoli salad that I had made, and he had to have it:

The baby blue velour track suit

2011-08-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

The poison control man said to keep Carter hydrated. So I did. In the space of 1 hour, he drank 3 sippie cups full of watered down Gatorade.

His bowels opened up with the Chest Rub for sure. I haven't had that much nastiness since before we started the Gluten-Free. Carter had a sandwich the other day without Gluten-Free bread and the SAND IS BACK! Wow, is it awful. It is almost worth keeping him on a Gluten-Free diet to keep the sand away. We went to a kids consignment sale. I changed a dirty diaper right before we left. By the time we got there, he had pooped all the way down his legs and up his back. Luckily, I had an extra outfit. Every prepared mother should right? I normally have 2 - not today. It only happens when you're not ready for it.

I threw every stitch of clothing he was wearing in a plastic bag and put a new outfit on. Within the hour, he peed right through the outfit he was wearing. I was out of clothes. But Lydia wasn't. She had a baby blue velour track suit in her bag (unfortunately, no onesie). It is a little small.

Looks so redneck right?

Put a bow in his ~~hair~~ fuzz, and you'd never know he was a little boy right? Except the ball obsession.

Unfortunately, on the car ride home (about 20 minutes) he peed through the track suit. I pulled him out of the car seat wet. He noticed and said "Wet Wet" all the way to the changing table. He got a new outfit and wore that for the remaining hours of the day.

What my child does while I blog

2011-08-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

I made my last blog post, and realized that my child was too quiet. I went out to find this:

I had a brand new tub of generic Vicks Vapo-Rub that I had taken from him earlier and put out of his reach. Or so I thought. He spread it all over the couch, the floor, himself, and the table. I didn't know he was eating it until I started the video. Grrrrr. I ask him what it is, he says "Honey". Just goes to show, he has never actually had honey. Honey can't be THAT gross. The camera just cannot capture the grossness of the oil all over his face and hands!! And that noise you hear while he is putting it in his mouth is me gagging.

Does anyone know if this is Gluten-Free?

Just kidding. The poison control guy said that because I had the generic Vapo-Rub, Carter won't go into seizures. Yay for saving money and my child's life at the same time!!

Stroller!!

2011-08-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Carter loves pushing things, especially his umbrella stroller. Sometimes he just wants to go for a walk in it. I have been looking out for one that is not pink and girly. THEY ARE HARD TO FIND! I got this one for free!! Yay free!!

More importantly, Carter loves it. I love how he carries it around the house. He will pick it up and run with it. I am trying to capture it on camera, but it is hard.

This is how he looks at me when I tell him I want him to hold still so I can take a picture of him:

He actually held that face for a while so I could get it on camera. It's the "Really mom?" look.

Tickle Tickle

2011-08-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today Carter and Lydia were playing "Read, Set, Go". A little game that Carter likes to play. He tries to goat EVERYBODY into playing, even the dogs. It is a lot like "Chase", except you are playing with everyone else instead of against everyone else. I like it. I like that he tries to include everyone. "Chase" can get kind of mean. I always see kids crying because everyone is running away from them and they don't know why.

ANYWAYS. He was playing this with Lydia. They start with their backs to the wall/door/fridge/air/whatever and Carter says "SetGo" and they run. Lydia ran into the door, and Carter ran into her. She fell down, and Carter probably stepped on her. He didn't notice and kept on running. She laid there and cried. I called Carter over to explain what happened and ask him to say he was sorry. Lydia's mom was holding her to calm her down. Carter came over and did something I had never seen him do before.

"Tickle Tickle"

He reached out for her and pretended to tickle her while saying "tickle tickle"!

Where do they get these things?

She pulled herself in and yelled at him. She did not want to be tickled. But, she forgot about crying. That was the end of that. They ran off and played again.

What is a post without pictures, right?

Chew Your Food! Another pictureless post.

2011-08-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

I knew that Carter wasn't a very good chewer. He likes his food mushy so he can swallow it. I don't know what to do to encourage this necessary life skill. He is almost 2, and needs to eat solid foods!

Last night while he was brushing his teeth I smelled it. Then I pulled up his shirt and I saw it soak up the onesie. It went all up his back. Upon David's suggestion, we gave him a bath for the first time in months. He had a shower this morning, so we were hoping that we didn't have to wash his hair and be to thorough. While soaping him up in the bath I saw him start to grunt. I wasn't quick enough, and couldn't get him on the toilet. He exploded in the bathtub. It was gross.

I won't describe his poop except to say there were WHOLE SHELL NOODLES. The kind I use in his Macaroni & "Cheese". ENTIRE NOODLES. They weren't chewed or digested in any way. They went in one side and came out the other side unchanged.

What the heck am I supposed to do about that!!! No wonder food is going right through him, his body can't do anything with it.

Gluten is not our issue. We need to watch YouTube videos on chewing.

Coloring

2011-08-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

Carter is not really into coloring, it is a great struggle to keep the crayons out of his mouth. However, today he asked me to color. He didn't see a coloring book, or crayons. He just wanted to color. He couldn't put his "FooFoo" down, and he didn't color long before the crayon ended up in his mouth. I took some pages from nursery that he never actually colored, and we reused them.

Then, he took his page and spun circles with it.

Even Lydia enjoyed coloring. She is a little more into it than Carter is.

Day 11

2011-07-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

No change. I will stop posting daily, until there is a change. Grrrrr. Shower Shower Shower!

I have a onesie with a monkey on it, and a pair of khaki pants - both from Carters. I remember when I got them both. They are blowout targets. It feels like EVERY TIME he wears these articles of clothing, I am washing poop out of them.

The doctor said potty training was one of the solutions, because he would learn to hold it in and expel it all at once on comand. RIGHT!

Can anyone else - with REAL child experience - tell me this is normal????

Day 10

2011-07-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

Carter's friend Tanner had his third birthday party. It was so fun, and humbling. I don't think I could ever be so creative. I had Lydia, so she got to enjoy the party too. They played a lot of games and had races. Carter was really only interested in playing ball. Lydia didn't want to stray too far from me for the first 45 minutes we were there. Then she figured it out. The kids decorated license plates, which is where Carter found the Googly Eyes. It was so hot that they stuck to his head through the sweat and sunscreen. They stayed on for quite a while too. Later we went to a 25 cent sale and I found a container of googly eyes for a quarter. It was a good score.

They both fought over this tricycle. Since Carter was already in the seat, I put Lydia on the back. This was okay until they tipped over. Not too much crying, they really just wanted back on.

Today Carter fell on our sidewalk. He scraped up his forehead, cheek, & nose. He wanted me to take a picture so he could see daddy in the camera. He was still hurting though.

I got a cute smile out of him. The camera doesn't do his scrapes justice!!

Day 10 went well. We had one step forward and one step backwards. Grrrrr. But, a lot of fun.