water park (and a bad baby mama)

I was a terrible baby mama today! We went to the super fun water park but I only took like 5 pictures total. Boo on me! It was so busy and wet that I didn't take many at all. All I need is someone to go with me during the week when it's way less busy and I could take a ton. Anyway, Carter loves this place. Both times we've been there he's really unsure about it and clings to me while he looks around and takes it all in. Then, about 10 minutes later, he's ready to explore and there is no holding him back. It's fun to watch him go from unsure to totally confident and ready to explore everything. He looks back for occasional encouragement or support, or maybe he's just making sure I'm ok, but regardless I love to see his little confident independent side come out. But I also love those 10 minutes that he clings to me too :) He's like a little monkey climbing as high up into my arms as possible and wrapping his arms and legs around me. Can't argue with that!

This is a picture from the water parks website. They have all these levers, cranks, ropes and steering wheels that turn on the water. There is a huge bucket up top that randomly fills up then dumps all over everything. They also have a splash pad area with fun fountains that Carter loves.

The pool is zero entry so Carter can walk in and out of as he pleases. He also does really well walking in the water. We met friends there today and she was commenting on how well Carter walks in the water all by himself. He did get knocked down by the big bucket dumping but he was a trooper and took it so well! He loves the water! Not only is this place super fun but it also makes for good naps! Look how sleepy he looks!

Today we met Mel and her almost 4 year old Chase there. Chase was so cute with Carter! He was so gentle with him and would gently tickle his hand or foot. It was so cute! Mel and Chase loved the lazy river.

It's so fun to have people to see and things to do on the weekend! This water park is so fun and super close to our house and super super cheap. I have a feeling we'll be there a lot this summer. It's too bad the weekend hours are super close to nap time though. We were only able to stay for an hour today before Carter was way ready for his nap. Mel and Chase stayed for 3+ hours - they had so much fun!

While summers in Arizona might be really hot at least we have fun places to go play! It is a far cry from our weekends in Flagstaff! Next weekend I think we might go check out the aquarium. Love love love living in Gilbert again!

16 months!

Carter somehow turned 16 months overnight! 16 months? That's crazy! We don't have a ton of new stuff report. Carter has a few new words: waer (water), duts (ducks) and, finally mum! He is still super active and as Beth called him "danger baby" cause he's fearless. He's a climber, a dancer, and a runner!

The other day we tried a new diaper. He decided he didn't like it, ripped it off and ran from me!

peeking around the couch checking to see where I am

I've mentioned before that Carter gets really frustrated if you don't realize he wants to be picked up. It starts with getting me in a position so he can hug my legs. So if I'm standing against the counter he pushes my legs back so he can scoot in between my legs and the counter and hug my legs. Then he looks up at me with the cutest little eyes.

(this picture makes me realize at some point my belly will block his little peepers... he'll have to hug from the side then)

If the cute little peepers don't work, he grabs up at your shirt and pulls.

If all else fails, this is what you get.

Once he gets picked up sometimes he directs where he wants to go, with grunts and pointing. The directing started when Nana and Papa were here. Carter would go to Papa, get him to pick him up then direct and Papa followed Carter's instructions very nicely! Now Carter isn't impressed when his directions aren't followed. Sometimes he wants to go look out the window, sometimes he wants something from the counter and other times he wants to open the medicine cabinet and take things out. How he figured out that the medicine cabinets open is beyond me but he knows where both of them are and how to open them.

In other news Carter visited his first splash pad the other week. At first he was scared of the water hitting him on the chest or face and he'd run back to my legs and bury his face. But the end he was running directly into the streams of water and letting it get him right in the face then turning around and laughing and running away. So funny! I found a really cool pool/lazy river/splash pad all in one that we're going to go to this weekend so hopefully I can get some pictures. When it's just Carter and I at the splash pad I end up just as wet as Carter does so pictures aren't really possible.

In addition to liking the splash pad Carter also really likes to swim in the pool. He loves the steps and climbing in and out of the pool. This past time he got a little more brave. Instead of getting down and crawling backward into the pool he walked right up to the edge and stepped down. Again, danger baby! No fear! But he doesn't get that there are only steps in one specific location and wanted to step down all around the pool. Thankfully we're getting our pool fence installed soon. As silly as it seems, since we have a big pool, I'm thinking of getting Carter a little blow up pool that he can climb in and out of to his hearts desire. I'm also looking into baby life jackets because Carter wants to swim on his own. He is only content being held in the water for so long before he wants me to let him go so he can swim by himself. I have a feeling Carter is always going to be keeping me on my toes!

Beth & Avery's Visit

November 2008 - July 2011 = almost 3 years since I've seen my high school BFF Beth! That is terrible! Since Nov. 2008 a lot has changed between the two of us. Beth now has 2 kids - Avery & Mack - and a 3rd (and maybe 4th??) on the way. We've moved twice and now have Carter and baby #2 on the way.

It's been way too long since we've seen each other but it was like no time had passed when she got here. You know how some people you just have that connection that it doesn't matter if you don't talk every week or see each other every year? That's Beth and I. I'm so glad we randomly met before a high school trip to Spain when Beth got mad at her Spain roommate and asked me to be her roommate instead. We've had some ups and downs since then but I've always known she'd be someone who'd be in my life forever.

Beth had a hell of a time getting to AZ. She and Avery drove to St Louis (1.5 hours from their house) the night before their early morning flight, got up early to get to the airport to find out their flight had been cancelled! The next flight wasn't until later that night; scheduled to arrive in AZ at 7:30pm. They go back to the airport and their flight is delayed and not scheduled to arrive in AZ until 8:40pm. Which is after both babies bedtimes for sure! Both kids were troopers. Especially Avery who'd gotten up early and it was 10:40pm her time when they landed. Poor girl!

Carter and I met Beth and Avery at the airport and the kids were instant friends! We put them next to each other and Carter instantly reached over to touch Avery and they held hands! I was a ding dong and didn't bring my camera but thankfully Beth did! I stole a couple pics from her blog :)

Once we got home and got the kids out of the car it was the cutest thing ever. Avery walked over to Carter and gave him three hugs! I so wish I had a video. Carter just stood there and let Avery hug him. So cute!

We had a pretty chill weekend and didn't too a ton but it was so relaxing and so fun to have them here. Carter loved having a buddy to play with and I loved having girl time.

We went to lunch one day and Beth was saying how much her kids loved lemons. Back up for a second, we gave Carter a lime in Mexico. He loved the lime but then he used his lime juice fingers to rub his eye... obviously it wasn't a good ending! I was a little nervous but gave Carter the lemon from my water. He was so funny! He kept sticking it in his mouth then doing this full body shudder and taking it out of his mouth, repeat, repeat, repeat. So funny! Again I was a ding dong and had my camera but didn't put the battery in. DUH! So mad at myself!

Avery normally sleeps until 8:30. 8:30!! I was a little worried Carter was going to wake them up every morning since he gets up around 6. However, with the time difference they both woke up at the same time every day. This meant that we were able to go out to breakfast at 7am! The restaurant wasn't busy when we got there! Lately Carter hasn't been the greatest about going out to eat, but he was loving ihop. The little creamers for the coffee, fruit, looking at Avery, etc.

Avery loves her milk and didn't want to put down her sippy for a picture! Look at her curls!

This girl was hungry for her mac n cheese and was not impressed about waiting for it! Hey swimming makes a girl hungry!

I'm not sure what made Carter frustrated in this picture but it cracks me up. I probably wasn't picking him up! Like I said, we're working on "up" so he can tell me that's what he wants.

I didn't take nearly enough pictures while they were here. This is the only one of the two of them together. Both kids got new shoes - Avery got these pink high tops and Carter got some red low tops.

Avery was so cute with sharing her snacks with Carter. Once they were eating popcorn and Avery would take a piece and hand it to Carter. Carter stood patiently and waited for Avery to hand him another piece. So cute! Here they are sharing fruit snacks.

Beth brought some sidewalk chalk... Avery drew and Carter ate the chalk! Carter definitely loves Avery!

Beth and Avery left on Sunday and we already miss having them here. I looked outside and saw this chalk as a reminder of our friends and the fun we had. It make me smile remembering the fun, but sad that they live so far away.

Next summer Joe and I are planning to take a family vacation to Beth and Mark's neck of the woods. By then they'll be 5 kids between us. Crazy!

Thank you Beth and Avery for making the (difficult!) trip out to AZ in the blazing heat to spend some time with us! We loved having you!

uppp!

Going through some real pictures and had to add one. Feels good to be taking pictures again!

I'm working on teaching Carter "up" since this is usually what I see when he wants to be picked up and I don't realize it right away.

phone photos!

I swear my next post will have real pictures.. and more content! But for now here are some phone pictures and short explanations.

We went to Lowe's to pick up some stuff and Carter was getting restless.... until Carter and Daddy found this big cart to push around. Carter was LOVING it!

We went to dinner at Red Robin the other night and they had balloons all over the restaurant. Carter wanted all of them! He did get two - a blue one... that floated to the top of the restaurant and this yellow one. Who knew a balloon would be such a hit! Here he is watching cartoons on the couch with his balloon secured in both hands.

My BFF from high school came to visit this weekend. She brought her almost 2 year old Avery with her. We had a blast! More on the visit later but for now here's a picture of Carter on the way to the airport to pick them up. Beth and Avery had major flight issues and they didn't get in to PHX until 8:40... which is past Carter's bed time. He "napped" at 4:30 until 7ish when I got him up to head to the airport. As you can see he was still pretty sleepy on the way to the airport!

Beth had a portable DVD player and put on an Elmo DVD for Carter. He was fascinated by both the DVD player and Elmo!

So fascinated that he got on his belly to watch!

We dropped Beth and Avery off at the airport today. Here's Carter's new girlfriend at the airport.

hugs & i love yous

A friend from high school just found out her nephew has stage four terminal cancer.... he's 2.5. Since becoming a mama things like this really affect me. I don't personally know this little boy or his family but I found myself crying as I read her blog post about it. 2.5 years old, his mom & dad and older sister. Ugh it tears me up inside.

Squeeze your kids and loved ones closer and tell them I love you as much as possible.

When Carter was born Joe and I had ideas of how we wanted to raise him and what kind of parents we wanted to be. One of my personal "mama goals" was to be sure to tell him I love you all the time. I want Carter to grow up hearing those three words from Joe and I every day, multiple times a day. I want I loves yous to be said around our house like mad. I know the words aren't everything, but it's important to me that Carter hear it from me/us.

Reading about a 2 year old with terminal cancer makes me pause and think about my mama goals. Yes, it is still very important to me for Carter to hear "I love you". But it's also super important to me that we make the most of each day. I've been slacking in this area recently. My day to day focus was definitely off. It bothers me that it takes reading such tragic news to make me realize this. But I am thankful that I see it. Making the most of each day is important. It will vary from day to day, week to week, year to year. But right now, this week, what that means to me is saying screw it to the endless unpacking, cleaning and organizing that needs to be done and taking my bug swimming, jumping on the bed, or going to the splash pad. Or simply sitting down and reading books until my book loving dude's heart is content. When I'm 90 and Joe and I are sitting in our rocking chairs I'm not going to look back on all the cleaning I did and smile remembering what an organized, clean house I had. Who cares about that junk?! What will be etched in my memory are these times I have with Carter and knowing that we made the most of each and every day.

What I'm coming to realize, and accept, is that being a stay at home mom doesn't mean your house is always spotless and laundry is always folded and put away. I'm a stay at home MOM. Not a stay at home housekeeper. What being a stay at home mom means to me is that I have this amazing opportunity to spend all this great time with my kid(s) and I'll be damned if I don't take full advantage of it and live it to the fullest. To hell with the dust bunnies and wrinkled laundry! Call me a terrible housekeeper but don't ever say I took this time with my dude for granted. I realize how extremely lucky I am that I am able to be a stay at home mom and I'm going to make damn sure we live each day to its fullest.

Tonight, forget the dirty clothes and love your loved ones. If I could could fit in Carter's crib I'd be crawling in there right now whispering how much I love him and snuggling his little sleeping body.

phone pics

We're still not fully unpacked... but we're getting there! I haven't taken many pictures because our house is usually in a state of disaster. But I do have some phone pics!

Carter loves to add to the mess! Here are pretzles all over the floor.

Then he decided it would be super fun to crunch them with his feet!

This is an almost daily occurrence in our house - moving the humidifier tank. Carter prefers if the tank is mostly full because then it is heavy. When it's heavy he grunts when he lifts it. Too funny! He likes to move the tank throughout the house. One morning he grabbed the tank and brought it to the front door and left it there.

Carter is a wild man. If you turn your back for a second or two too long you'll find something like this. Actually what I really found was him standing on top of this bin, but by the time I took a picture he sat down.

Carter loves to walk on things other than the floor. When Joe and my dad were putting in the new countertop they had it laying on the floor for a bit. Carter used it as a runway, going back and forth. He loved it! He also loves walking on cardboard for some reason.

Once we get settled I promise to start taking some real pictures!

baby numero dos....

If you don't know, now you know! We're expecting baby numero dos in January. January 18th, 2012 is my due date.

We had our 12 week ultrasound last week. As soon as the tech started the ultrasound we saw baby number two waving at us! Pretty great way to start the ultrasound. Baby was super active and moving all over the place so we didn't get great pictures. :( However baby definitely had 2 arms, 2 legs, and at least one hand :)

Last time around, with Carter, we had this same ultrasound done - NT scan, which checks for genetic defects, like Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18, but to us it was more about seeing the baby. Anyway, with Carter the tech never asked us if we wanted her to check between the legs. So this time when the tech asked if we wanted her to take a peek we were totally shocked. First off, we don't want to know if baby is a boy or a girl until delivery day. Second, we didn't think they'd guess this early on. However, the temptation of a guess was too much for me/us to pass up. I made sure any "guess" at this point was just that. A guess. She said her odds at guessing today were 50/50. Knowing that I said why not? Lets add another guess to the old wives tails. The tech guessed boy but said she wasn't very confident in that as it could go either way from what she saw.

Being that we aren't finding out until sometime in January I've looked at some of the old wives tales... just to see what they say. So far here's what we've got:

heartbeat at 6 week ultrasound: boy (heartbeat predictor was wrong for Carter this early on)
heartbeat at 12 week ultrasound: girl (heartbeat predictor was right for Carter every time after the first ultrasound)
chinese gender chart: girl (chart was right for Carter)
some theory about where the placenta forms: girl (no idea if that would be right for Carter or not)

One thing is for certain. We are having a boy or a girl! Joe and I are totally happy with either, although Joe does say he'd prefer another boy. Apparently Joe isn't crazy about the idea of being a father to a teenage girl! I really don't care either way. Some days I say, ohh another boy would be so fun for Carter and other days I think a girl would be just as fun. Either way, a happy healthy baby is number one priority. And so far everything looks good!

I think it's going to be really hard waiting until delivery day to find out.... especially when we have the anatomy scan (20ish weeks) and we know they could tell us. But, I'm so excited about the surprise and think it will all be soooo worth the wait!

When I was pregnant with Carter everyone asked what I though we were having. I honestly never had a gut feeling if Carter was a boy or a girl. I kind of assumed boy since Joe's family is all boys, but it was never a gut instinct or maternal feeling. I never dreamt if he was a boy or a girl either.

With this baby, right after we found out I was pregnant, I had 2 dreams right away and both times the baby was a boy. Then some days I really think baby is a girl... others I think boy. Haa!

It is still a little surreal that we're expecting another baby. I've had my share of OMG-how-am-I-going-to-pull-this-off moments! Which I'm guessing (hoping!) is normal. Two babies! Scary and exciting all at the same time. Carter and this baby will be 22 months apart. 2 under 2! While that does sound a little daunting I am super excited for Carter to be a big brother. He loves other kids and I think he'll be a fantastic big brother.

As for names we haven't made much progress. We're not totally sold on any of following. We still like Graham for a boy. Other boy names we've tossed around are Landon, Griffen, and Sawyer. Girl names are harder for us. Ellie is still in the running (was our top girl name while I was pregnant with Carter). Others we've tossed around are Mallory and Molly. Although Mallory means unlucky... not that I put much, if any, stock into what a name means.... but that meaning kinda makes me rethink it. Ehh, at least we have some time to think about it!