Father's Day

It is hard to believe that this is David's 4th Father's Day. Carter is 3, Beckett is 6 months.

So, what do you do on Father's day with your kid. Play hide & seek of course:

David took Carter on a Father/Son camp-out at Ensign Ranch Friday night. They had a blast. It was Carter's first camp-out in his remembrance.  I had guys at church come up to me today telling me that Carter had come up to them and asked them if they were going to put up their "fort" next to his. All was well, until they announced the organized games. 

Carter does not like games. At birthday parties, preschool, and at church - Carter ALWAYS chooses to sit on the sidelines and watch. I think he is embarrassed to make a fool out of himself. 

So, they announce games, and Carter runs to the car. He jumps in, buckles himself in the car seat, and says "Let's go". He WOULD NOT get out of the car. David loaded it up, and they left. 

Beckett Updates

Beckett is quite the little bruiser. We had him weighed at Urgent Care on Sunday - 20 lbs 8 oz!! He is over half of Carter's weight. 

He sure loves his brother. Today he was actively trying to get Carter's attention by grunting and laughing until  Carter would look at him. Carter has been looking forward to his brother giggling for a year now. The only other thing Carter has ever asked for baby to do is play football with him. That will be a while longer!! 

My only hope for now is that he will sleep through the night. He was doing really well, until that first tooth. Now his sleeping is worse. He is back to his colic days when he would cry in between. He isn't even awake, he is just crying. He will cry for 5 to 10 minutes at a time, then stop. An hour or 2 later, he will do it again. I wish there was something I could do for him. 

Stitches Update

Carter started out the day very embarrassed about his accident. I babysit, and the little girl asked about his large band-aid. He ran down the hall and locked himself in the office. When I broke in, he was crying. He said he didn't want to talk about it. I told him a lot of people were going to ask, and that if he didn't want to talk about it, he could say "I don't want to talk about it."

Then I asked if he wanted me to talk about it or not. He said he wanted me to tell the story. After a couple times of hearing me give a one sentence synopsis, that didn't make him look bad, he was much happier to tell the story - with no shame. 

It is so nice to have a kid who is so much like me. It is easier to help him because I already understand where he is coming from.

The hardest part was the changing of the band-aid. I had to pull off the old Band-aid, put medicine on it, and replace the large Band-aid. He was very resistant. I squirted some medicine on his fingers and let him squish it around, then I asked him what would make it fun. He wanted a Cars Band-aid. So, I had him peel and stick the Cars Band-Aid onto the monster of a Band-Aid. I then applied the medicine and the Band-Aid on his forehead. It went so much easier!!

Now, onto helping him cope with the removal. I have some fishing line we are going to practice cutting. I am hoping that will show him it is quick and painless.

Not for the faint of heart ***Warning graphic photos***

Carter is a runner. No surprise.

Today, shortly after church started, David took Carter to the bathroom. Just as Carter was running down the hall, someone exited the gym - opening a door into the hallway. He was going so fast, he ran into the door and it split his forehead open. Blood all over his shirt ant tie. Poor kid. Luckily, his tie was already red!

Two ladies noticed me get up after the very loud banging, and followed me into the kitchen. One grabbed Beckett for me, and one was a nurse who came in with gauze and a wrap.

 

Carter also HATES blood. If he doesn't see it, he is fine. However, the sight of blood causes hysterics. Once we had the blood cleaned up, his mood improved 100%

 

We went straight to Urgent Care. They told us they would numb his forehead, then they would have a "Water Fight". I wondered what they meant, until they pulled the sterile bottle out & Carter lost it! He hates water on his face. I do to, so no surprise there. He let them stick the needle in his body to numb it up no problem. They said they almost always have to try multiple times because the child pulls back when they put the needle in. Not Carter.

I explained to them that he is very cooperative, and brave. I am always careful to explain everything that is going to happen so he knows what to expect. The doctor asked me to take Beckett out of the room. He didn't want Carter's crying to upset him and cause him to cry as well. Silly me, I left. While I was gone, they got a blanket and wrapped Carter up. He HATES being restrained. He will go along with just about anything as long as you don't hold him down. After a few minutes, I gave up waiting and went back into the room - where they had 2 nurses holding Carter down - Dan and Garrett. He was screaming at them. I was so frustrated. Despite the fact that the doctor was sewing Carter up, the only thing he was complaining about was the fact that the nurse was hurting his arm. The nurse was doing a very good job, and not hurting his arm, but he didn't like it just the same. Carter was very polite. "NO THANK YOU! PLEASE STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING MY ARM! OW OW OW. NO THANK YOU!!! CAN YOU PLEASE STOP??!!??" Eliciting giggles from the nurses. They kept verifying with me that he really was only 3. They said he was talking very well through his screaming for being 3. Finally, Dan looked under the little napkin thing they put over his face and made eye contact with him. Dan talked calmly to him, and Carter quieted right down. I wish he had done that from the beginning. 

5 stitches later, Carter is still pretty worked up.

Then, some random nurse walked in our room. She looked very surprised to see us there, like she thought the room was going to be empty. She saw Carter still visibly shaken and asked him if he wanted a popsicle. OF COURSE!

On the way home he kept saying "This is a great day!"

I guess I was more shaken up than he was! The doctor did say that we as parents did very well. Even the nurses commented on how well we did. I am not sure what that is supposed to mean, I know that if I freak out, so will my child. You have to put on a brave front, for them.

He fell asleep in the car on the way home, but it didn't last long. He woke up in the driveway, and has been non-stop ever since. 

The doctor told him he is on restriction. No running, jumping, heavy lifting, ect... GOOD LUCK!

David and I are just surprised it took 3 1/2 years for our first visit to Urgent Care. Carter is usually the kind of kid that if you tell him the stove is hot, he will back away and not come back until you tell him it is safe. I can't imagine we'll have too many dare-devil injuries.

P.S. Beckett never cried.

Slacking

David has been working A LOT. Last week, he worked 75 to 80 hours. This week, they sent him to a competition that lasted 2 days. It was only in Renton, but he couldn't come home. They didn't even have a pool.

With David being gone, I have kept myself pretty busy. Last week I had a class on planning meals for kids who have food issues, a music directing seminar (I lead the music at church), a workshop for kids and sleep, a food storage activity where we were putting together 72 hour kits, High School Drags, and a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts. Those were just my evening activities, we were quite busy during the day as well. Carter has gone back to napping, which is kind of nice.

In this time of business Beckett has grown out of his colic! He started sleeping 6 hour stretches! Just in time to grow a tooth. He has gone back to waking up 1 or 2 times a night. It finally broke through on Thursday and he has stopped crying. Poor kid.

When I get more time, I'll post more....

Brothers

Beckett LOVES Carter. It is amazing to see how he watches Carter and tracks his movements. He will laugh if Carter makes a silly noise, or makes a funny face - even if it is not directed at him (which it usually isn't). Even just a poke in the belly, or the touch of his big bald head, will insight laughter.

Carter really loves him back. He begs every night for his brother to share a room with him. I try it out for a few minutes, but it never works. Beckett just screams. Last night the screaming stopped. Carter was talking to him and trying to make him "Giggle". Later I heard a muffled screaming as I realized Carter had put another blanket in the crib - over his brother's face. One of my biggest fears with them sharing a room.

He is able to calm him in the car as well. Although he usually just covers his ears to ignore his screaming.

We made a race car out of this box & Carter really wanted Beckett to ride in it with him. Beckett did not want to leave Daddy's arms, so he was a little put out...

4 months

Beckett is 4 months old now. He is a little chunk. The doctor took one look at him and said to me: "You are obviously starving the kid." 

He weighs in at just over 18 lbs, and still in 100% for head size! As my friend calls him - my Double Stuff Mini Me (because of his likeness to Carter).

Stroller Skating

Today we went roller skating. But, not just any roller skating - Stroller Skating. They allow strollers and it is for kids 8 and under. 

Carter insisted he wear the full protection. We made him take David's knee pads off because they were falling down his legs and tripping him.

Mid-way through, they all got together and played Hokey-Pokey, Chicken Dance, and Macarena. 

At the end, the kids all got a slushy. It was a lot of fun.

Easter and the Resurrection

Teaching children about the Resurrection is tough. Easter is a very deep celebration, dealing with death and life. Often times we gloss over the death and go straight to the life. It is easier. 

This picture above is me and my paternal grandfather - Lawrence Everrett Faulkner. I have a few memories with him, he died while I was still a child. Most of my memories are visiting him at the various nursing homes he lived in.

This morning at breakfast, Carter said to me. "I saw a man. He was dressed in white. He had a white tie, and a white belt, and a white thing on his arm - I don't know what it was." I asked him if the man said anything to him. "No. He didn't do anything." I asked him if he knew the man's name. "It started with an L, and he had 2 Rs in his name. And a K." Then, he tried multiple variations of the man's name, but none of them sounded like a name. Carter often tells me about his dreams. They are usually about cars and Daddy.

I have to wonder if the man Carter saw watching over him was my grandpa - known by most as Larry. March 31st is the anniversary of his baptism. I also wonder if that had any significance. 

I tried to show pictures of my grandpa to Carter. However, the pictures I have are of him as an old man, like above. We believe that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we will get our bodies back in perfect form. If Carter did see my grandpa, he would have seen him as a young man. I will have to search for a picture of him as a young man. 

"I'm a big kid now!"

I first heard Carter stirring about 9:45 this morning. I went in to get him out to potty. (He's been waking up dry now for almost a week. I still have 5 cases of the heavy duty overnight diapers in the laundry room. We might not still need them.)

First thing he said to me was "I peed in there", pointing towards his garbage can. Instead of calling me to take him to the bathroom, he took matters into his own hands. He peed in his garbage can. I couldn't believe it!!! Then he wanted an M&M for his good deed. "But, I didn't potty in my diaper." The kid had a point. So, he got an M&M for not pottying in his diaper. I hope this doesn't become a habit!!

He wanted to wear "The big boy diapers". A friend of mine gave me some Pull-Ups. They have Monster Trucks on them. I tried using them a year ago when Carter refused to go potty before we left the house - just in case. He wasn't fooled. He knew they were not underwear, they were diapers. Today, he said "I'm a big kid now. I can wear the monster truck diapers!!" No, how about we stick with underwear for big kids?

In our house, we call someone's bottom a "bum" or "bottom", so when Carter started using the word "butt" last week, I was surprised. He first used it when his friend Lily fell on her rocking horse. She had slipped and the horse's head hit her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Carter relayed the story and said she fell on her butt. I asked him to repeat his self, and he didn't re-use the word. 

This morning, I poked his belly button and called him silly. He told me not to poke his "butt". I asked him where his butt was.

Right here. It is his belly "butt"on. He was abbreviating it!!