Ewwwww.

We will now be making sure certain doors are kept closed.

Carter's Balloon

Almost 3 weeks ago, Carter went to Mia's birthday party and left with a big, pink balloon. The next morning it was no longer up in the ceiling, but on the floor instead. I cut the ribbon off, and Carter began playing with it like it was a ball. He has chased, grabbed, bounced, and thrown this balloon every day, all day, ever since. It brings him SO much joy, and I just can't bring myself to throw it away. It has been slowly shrinking and shriveling up. To say it is kaput is an understatement. I know his time with the balloon is coming to an end very soon, so this morning I took some pictures of Carter and his favorite pink balloon.

Yes, I know it looks red. But I promise it was dark pink when it was blown up big full of helium!

You can finally see his two little teeth in these last two pics!

(I think if you click on them, you can see the larger size)

So long, pink balloon. Carter will miss you!!

Little Explorer

Carter has discovered there's so much more out there for him to play with and get into than just toys! Here are some pictures I've taken lately of Carter exploring all over the house.

Mommy has since had to remove all of her Bath & Body Works smell good plug-ins. Oh well.

He has found where we've been hiding our stash of unused remotes (we have a universal)

Digging for remotes. Let's not forget about the magazines here. These are lots of fun to pull out and rip apart.

He loves to roam in the kitchen. The oven, dishwasher and trash can (yuck) are among his favorites in this room. I'm embarassed to say I never realized how filthy the floor gets in here. Needless to stay, it stays pretty clean now.

Emptying small trash cans is great fun, too. This was the office trash can. Nothing but paper and water bottles.... pretty harmless. Bathroom trash cans... yuck!

Ohhh... the bathrooms. We try to keep the door closed, but he always sneaks off in there when he finds it cracked open. The dark doesn't keep him away, either.

Toilet pipes are fascinating.

St. Patty's Day & March Madness

In honor of St. Patty's day yesterday, we all wore our green!

Here is a rare family pic of us from dinner last night. We went out to eat Mexican food with Travis and Mark, two of Eric's friends that came into town for a visit. I didn't get a picture of it, but Travis was wearing a GREAT shirt, too!

If you don't know what this is about.... see it here. I guarantee a GOOD laugh!!

This morning the three of them left to go to Oklahoma City to watch some of the NCAA Tournament basketball games. There are 4 games today and 2 on Saturday. These three guys are CRAZY about March Madness and their brackets. Male bonding at it's best. Mine and Travis' alma mater, North Texas, is playing Kansas State there this afternoon. I know they were excited to go to that game... because we had to make a special trip to a Denton bookstore yesterday  after lunch for Eric to get a UNT t-shirt, hat, and flag for his car! Have fun boys! I'll be keeping up with my bracket here.... all by myself.

To Daddy, With Love

Dear Daddy,

Thank you for making me my first pancake. I loved that it was just my size. My only complaint is that you didn't let me have syrup. But I still loved it.

Also, thank you for teaching me how to use my walker. I'm really starting to enjoy it now instead of being scared. You've only let me fall once, so far. Soon, I will be a pro!  

Love Always,

Carter  

Gotta Start Somewhere

Carter has been doing much better at taking little steps. He mostly does this while standing against the furniture, but he gets very insecure and fusses when he knows something isn't real sturdy.... like his walker. Eric has been working with him a lot to get him more comfortable with the idea, and he's done really well taking some steps and leaning on the walker for support, even though it moves. Yes, he's taken a few spills, but we're making progress! Baby steps... HA.

At the beginning, he is mocking Eric. His newest thing is to howl like a dog. Eric howls, then Carter howls. I guess he's seen our dog, Stormie, do it. Who knows? SO FUNNY!

To Mommy, With Love

Dear Mommy,

Thank you for always buying my diapers in bulk, for the box is my favorite part.

Sitting in it and playing is the best part of my day!

I ♥ sitting in my box to watch TV, especially SportsCenter.

Also, thank you for letting me play in the bath tub an extra long time yesterday. My hands and feet are just now back to normal.

Love Always,

Carter

First Tooth.... x 2!

FINALLY!

On Thursday, just two days shy of turning 11 months old, Carter got  a tooth  teeth. After a few weeks of gnawing on anything he could get his hands on, drooling that could have warranted a flash flood warning, a whole bottle of infants motrin, countless swipes of teething tablets and orajel, and a couple of pretty rough nights/early mornings, these tiny little devils decided to stop torturing my baby. Well, I don't think they've completely stopped bothering him, but the worst is behind us now... Until the next batch decide to pop in.

I tried to get a picture of them, but it turns out trying to take a CLEAR picture of the inside of an 11 month old's mouth is pretty much impossible. And besides, the teeth are just barely showing, so this is the best I could get.

Fun & Games

Carter has recently put a new twist on an old, fun game we've always played. He now plays peekaboo with his own HANDS!

Bed Head

These pictures were taken earlier today after Carter woke up from his afternoon nap.... that lasted 2 and 1/2 hours. YES, I said 2 and 1/2 hours. I can count on one hand how many times my child has napped that long in his 11 months here with us. Sometimes 2 full hours, but 2 and 1/2, RARE! He had a serious case of bed head that just cracked me up!! Clearly, he slept hard. These pictures don't quite do it justice.

A Few Firsts

First ride in his new Big Boy Carseat

First time to fall asleep sitting up (At Nana's House)

First time to stand up in his crib... he was supposed to be napping

I went in to snap a few quick pictures, then laid him back down.

He stood up probably 3 more times before he actually fell asleep. 

First time to make a big mess of Mommy's things

He couldn't resist my new purchases.

He must have known they were all for him!

First Rat Tail!! HAHA.

Really, I just thought this was a cute picture with his

wet, messy hair and his adorable baby butt!

And last but not least, Carter attended his very first birthday party this weekend. One of his girlfriends from our playgroup, Mia, turned 1!! I had to steal some pictures from Amee, Ashley, and Rachel because I'm a goof and forgot my camera.

Here he is with his ladies -

Madee, Presley, Mia the birthday girl, and Carter

Some of the sweetest girls I know!!

Glad to have met these ladies and all their precious little ones.

Rachel, Ashley, Amee, and Me

Mia's wonderful parents, Matt and Ashley.

Look how much fun they're having!!

And the sweet birthday girl, Miss Mia, enjoying her new toys.

Thank you, Matt, Ashley and Mia for having us this weekend! We had so much fun!! Carter is NEXT!

Trip to the Park

We wanted to get out and enjoy the nice weather we've had the last few days, so we took Carter to our neighborhood park yesterday evening. He had so much fun in the swings! It was pretty windy, and he was so cute with his hair standing on end, blowing all around! Hopefully this weather will stick around so we can make park trips a regular thing.

       Very serious and unsure about the swing

I don't know about this, Mom.

Pointing and blowing kisses to Daddy

Okay, let's go!

Oh wow! This is actually pretty FUN!

WEEE!!!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for pushing me!!

What a blast!

Headed home on Dad's shoulders

I want to come back really soon!