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!

15 months!

Carter had his 15 month well baby check up today. He is TALL! Off the charts tall. 34 inches! >99%! The little dot they use to plot his growth is above everything else. Crazy! I knew he'd gotten taller over the last month. His shorts that used to be too long now looked normal. However I had no idea he'd grown 2.5 inches in 3 months.

He's at 87% for weight at 25lbs. Grew 2.5 inches gained a pound. Not too bad! His Van Thiel head is at 97%.

He had 2 shots and was such a trooper and didn't even cry. He liked the bandaids he got after... so much so that he wanted to pull them off his leg and get a closer look.

Carter is hitting all the milestones they look for. 4-6 words, walking, waving, etc. Then he started showing off and doing things above his age group. Like opening the door, lifting heavy things, pointing to what he wants, etc.

Carter's favorite part of the visit was the new book he got. The nurse handed it to him when she called us back and he didn't let it get too far away the whole visit. He loves books! All he wanted to do when we got home was read that book over and over and over again. Then at bedtime, yep all he wanted was his new book! If you want to make Carter happy, give him a new book! So cute!

Carter Videos

Got a couple cute videos of Cartboo today. He loves water. Running faucets, bath time, the dogs' water bowl, etc. It wasn't long before he learned to turn the water on in our master bathroom tub. But recently he's really gotten into playing with the water. After this session he was soaked from head to toe!

The following video kills me! Carter loves the dogs and he especially likes playing with them. He thinks tugging with Kody is SOO funny! There is a part towards the middle of the video that he laughing so hard no sound is coming out. So cute!

Carterisms

As Carter eases into being 1 whole year old his little personality is coming out more and more each day.

There are few things Carter dislikes. One of them being the car. 8 times out of 10 he is not impressed with riding in the car for more than 10 minutes. He also hates running errands because it means getting in and out of the car and that is even less fun than being stuck in the carseat.

Diaper changes don't rank high on Carter's list either. Unless he is just waking from a nap and has a sippy of milk he loathes having his diaper changed. Every second he spends on the changing table is a second lost that could have been used exploring.

While the carseat and diaper changes aren't fun, there is one thing that tops Carter's list of dislikes. Coming inside from playing outside. Carter loves, loves, loves to play outside. When we have to go inside he definitely lets me know how much he doesn't approve of my plan.

On the flip side there are tons and tons of things Carter does like. He loves dogs. The other day, at the park, he was pointing and random dogs and chasing them going "daasss!" If we're driving and we see a daass he points to it and smiles like crazy. He loves daas!

We met a really friendly yellow lab at the park who let Carter touch her paws, pet her face, poke her nose, etc. Carter loved this dog. He'd go play for a bit then go back to the dog and bring her a rock or just walk over and smile at her and walk away again. It was so funny! Normally he explores the park in all directions but this day we spent our entire time no more than 7 feet from this daass. Carter loved her and she seemed to like Carter too. She gave him a big sloppy kiss on the cheek that had Carter in giggles. So cute!

Luckily getting to the park isn't like going in the car. Carter loves his "chariot" aka stroller. It's a huge comfy stroller so I started calling it his orange chariot. We keep it in the entryway and Carter will walk over to it and try to climb inside like "mom! lets get me in here and get going!" I hope he never outgrows liking to go for walks!

Carter is always on the go. Since he became fully mobile we've had a hard time getting him to eat anything while sitting at the table. So for breakfast and lunch we eat picnic style in the living room. Which means Carter comes by to take a bite, then go check something out, come back for another bite, check out something else, etc.

On the current menu of favorite foods: cantaloupe, strawberries, cuties oranges, toast with jelly, crackers, waffles, frozen yogurt, ice cream, raisins, fruit pouches, whole grain cheerios, sweet potato fries, green beans, peas, corn, pizza, sometimes pasta, grilled cheese, fruit roll ups, cherries. Cherries! This kid LOVES cherries. I tried to give him some dinner with a few cherries. All he'd eat were the cherries and he kept pointing to where the other cherries were so I'd get him more. He loves cherries!

He's a snack kind of eater. He still isn't a big fan of meals - like lasagna or burgers. Luckily he likes his vitamins!

In an effort to get Carter to eat more things Joe and I have been making a big deal over how good things are. We take a bite and go "mmmm, so good!" Now Carter will take a bite and go "mmmm" and smile. So funny!

Since switching to sippy cups Carter has become pretty particular about which cups he likes to use for specific drinks. He will only drink milk out of one specific sippy with handles that you have to tilt up to get the liquid to flow. He will only drink water or lemonade (the only juice he likes) from a straw sippy. If you try to give him milk in a straw sippy he refuses. If you try to give water or lemonade in a tilty sippy/non straw sippy he refuses.

Carter still loves, loves, loves to read. I love it when he goes to get a specific book and brings it to me and climbs in my lap. Love that! I love that he loves to read because it means lots of snuggle time for mama! Right now his favorites include, Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Moo Baa La La La, Let's Eat, and I Love You All The Time.

Aside from reading Carter's really interested in heavy objects, things with handles, and things with cords. Because of this he LOVES the hand mixer. It's all of those great things; heavy with a handle and a cord. We joke that Carter is a little weight lifting baby. He loves to try and lift heavy things. For example, his humidifier has a handle on the bottom. When it's full (gallon of water) Carter loves to grab the handle, grunt and try and lift it/walk with it. So funny!

Carter's newest little trick is running in place. It started off with him stumbling in the bath a bit and me saying "woaaahh" Now it's turned into him running in place while Joe or I go "woaaahh!!!" and he smiles and thinks it is so funny. He's a funny guy!

He also loves to be chased. He tries to entice the dogs to chase him and if he's successful he giggles the entire time he's running from the dogs. When Joe or I chase him he giggles and anticipates the belly tickle or neck nibbles that come with being caught. He is totally like Joe in that he starts to giggle with anticipation of the neck nibble or belly tickle. If he knows it is coming he is giggling waiting for it!

Carter is really starting to talk a lot more. He copies what we say much much more. His first word was dog (daas) which is totally appropriate since he loves dogs! We went to the farmer's market this past weekend and there were tons of dogs. Carter was pointing to all of them and smiling. He was probably saying daas too but we couldn't hear him. He also says Tuck (Tucker), meow, that, tees (trees, he loves trees), dad, mom (rarely though :( ), and.... shit. We're not sure what he's trying to say and are really hoping that he isn't actually trying to say shit!

One of Carter's newest things is dancing when I sing if you're happy and you know it stop your feet, stomp, stomp! He gets this huge smile and stomps his feet. Too cute and I've tried to get it on video but haven't been able to yet.

That's all I can think of right now. Bug is an amazing 14 month old dude and we love him to pieces!

Outside

Carter LOVES to play outside! He loves to push the broom or shovel around, pick up rocks, touch spider webs, etc. He loves to be outside. Carter doesn't really have many, what I'd call, meltdowns... but going inside is meltdown city. He gets so upset when we have to go inside.

aahh my broom is stuck! help me!

He sure knows how to make a mess of himself!

Carter likes to help me pack. He likes the boxes, finding new things and putting things in and out of the boxes. Our boxes are going to be so randomly packed because of this! Carter will throw one random thing in, and take 5 others out. (these pics were before his hair cut)

for the record books!

This morning I was laying in bed (cause I felt like poo) while Joe put Carter down for his first nap. Joe comes in and we're listening to Carter talk baby babble on Cartey TV (monitor) so I pick it up and click on the video to see what he's doing. I laugh because he is so stinking cute it kills me. Then Joe says "You know... I wasn't happy when you bought this monitor but I think it has made up for it in pure happiness being able to watch him." Ahhhaaa!!! I couldn't agree more! There were those that said a video monitor was totally unnecessary and that babies needed privacy too. Psh! They obviously never had a video monitor. We love being able to see him fast asleep and in the funny positions he sleeps in. And if he wakes up we can see if he is totally awake or going back to sleep, etc. Plus it's just so cute to be able to watch him fall asleep. Starting with the yawning, snuggling the blanket, getting comfy, etc. Love it!