Walking and disrobing!

My sister sent me some adorable pictures from Christmas that she took on her camera.

Roxy and Carter looking for squirrels...or something outside. Carter loved hanging out with Roxy!

Then these are what Carter has been up to since we have been home. He is now starting to try to walk to things instead of crawling. Not just back and forth between Jim and I...now he thinks he can walk to his toys or places. A little nerve racking...Jim is better at letting him fall. That may be why when he walks to me he can walk further cause he goes slower. When he is walking to Jim he tries to go faster and can't balance as well so can't go as far. It may be because he trusts me to make sure he doesn't fall, but who knows. He is always pulling off his socks. And a few times in the past few days he has disrobed in his crib. One day he pulled his pants and socks off. One morning he had one arm out of his PJ's. Not sure what this is all about, but he keeps things interesting that is for sure.

He loves knocking over towers and putting objects inside each other. He was a daddy's boy this weekend and would follow Jim where ever he went. He loves playing with his dad.

Baby's first Christmas!

We went to Canada for Carter's first Christmas! People were saying all he would want was the paper and boxes, but that is not true. He loved playing with his toys and didn't even try to get the paper or boxes.

Besides playing with his toys, he loved my brother's dog, Roxy. He was also pretty good around her. He got a big kick out of watching her run after her toys or do tricks. He also learned to crawl up and down stairs while at grandma and grandpas. He started trying to take a few steps on his own. Basically he is on the go all day long. He did have a cold for the first week we were there and that was miserable. He couldn't breathe and hated mom coming after him with a Kleenex or nose sucker. But a moms got to do what needs to be done, or what dad is too chicken to do. Thank heavens he is better.
He had so much fun playing with grandma, grandpa, and aunt Tami. He loves music and playing the piano.

He also loves cell phones, TV remotes, and i-pads/computers. But he really learning how to play and interact with his toys. Putting things inside each other, crawling through tunnels, playing with cars, or walking with his walker/rider.

It was fun to be able to spend time with my family. My brother and his family were there for Christmas eve. My niece Kionah was so good about looking out for Carter and Carter really liked her. He is funny about who he is comfortable with...still can't figure it out. I think Levi and Sophie weren't sure about Carter. Levi was worried that Carter would get his toys and Sophie wasn't sure where all the noise was coming from.

We had our tradition of cinnamon knots for breakfast and we had our big dinner the night before. I swear that turkey and ham was used for every meal for the next week. Thankfully they only get cooked a few times a year, cause I am over them for a while.
Before we left Utah there was another tub incident. Once again Carter was innocently playing in the bathroom. I left to wash a dish. Came back and couldn't see him, until I pulled back the curtains to find him standing there. Honestly. This kid is always on the move....not sure I signed up for a BOY. haha. He is pretty fun and a good boy, but going to keep me on my toes.

When we came home Carter spent an hour rediscovering his old toys, he went from one toy to the other. It was funny. He was so happy to be home but we had a great trip.
So more about our 10 month old. He loves his car seat facing forward and doesn't fight getting in anymore. he is now trying to get into draws and cupboards. He loves pulling his clothes out of his drawer. He is getting pretty fast racing along furniture or coffee tables. He eats whenever someone else is eating. He likes bananas and pretty much any food you put on his tray, he eats. He loves to walk with help, walker or hands, and has started taking steps on his own. Today he took 5-6 steps towards me on his own and was pretty proud of himself. He learned to turn around before going down the stairs and is pretty proficient at going up and down them, and knock on wood, hasn't fallen down them yet. Well, that is kind of not true....before our trip while I was packing the car and Carter was wanting to climb down the cement steps in the garage...he tried to hold on to a stroller and it fell and he fell down one step, getting a raspberry on his head and cheek. Poor baby.

Vegas baby!

I thought this picture was hilarious! Carter kicking back watching a little TV. 

We went to Vegas because Jim got some amazing NFR (National Finals Rodeo) tickets given to him. We debated what to do with Carter, take him or leave him, but I still can't do it. So we enlisted the help of our traveling buddies, Heather and Don, and we headed to Vegas. Carter sitting in the lap of luxury in his first class seat. He does really well on airplanes and no one even knows he is there. Of course it is nice to have an extra set of hands to help keep him occupied. Jim almost didn't get upgraded in the way back and I was a little nervous to be on my own. But thankfully, my prayers were answered and Jim was there to help. After a weekend of go go go, Carter was a little more tired and wound up, so I was lucky to have Jim there. 

The next wonderful thing about the trip was the amazing hotel Jim booked. It is a new place and it seems to be "the place to be". Trendy, but so nice. The pictures from my phone do not do the room justice. But the shower and tub were sort of combined in the shower area. The tub was square but deep and Carter loved it. You could do a necked shower and tub dance for the person in the bedroom, sweet. 

There was lots of room for Carter to wonder around and for the crib in the sitting room. As you can see, I used the couch as a bed the first night because we were above the Dance club and I was awake all night thumping to the techno beats. So we moved rooms the next night and I slept very well. We had to push the crib across the hotel when we moved. People were loving it and so was Carter cause we pushed him in it. 

The room and bathroom had sliding doors, so it was really nice to be able to have a space for Carter.

Here is Carter going for his ride through the hotel.

He loved the fish tank in front of the Cheesecake Factory. That is a must, when we are in Vegas. Love it!

Then we walked through the Bellagio Hotel to see their Christmas display, which was amazing. 

The rodeo was so fun and Carter loved spending time with His aunt and uncle. He did get a little mad when Jim and I ditched him at the restaurant as he realized we weren't coming back. But then he was fine. He started to get a little nervous the next day when Jim and I stood up from the table at the same time again....but we didn't leave that time. He is pretty smart though. We had a great time. Thanks to Heather and Don for coming with us on short notice. We miss going on trips with them.

Thankful

November has flown by....probably because we were out of town for 2 weekends and had family in town for Thanksgiving. Carter keeps getting more and more daring....he has started trying to stand on his own. NO Hands....which is a little scary.

He loves playing in the bathroom, with his bath toys. I walked into my kitchen a few weeks ago while he was innocently playing with his toys.......

Walked back in 30 seconds later to find him in the bathtub. He must have slid on down cause there was no thump or complaining. Apparently one of his toys fell in and he went after it. Ummm, okay!

He misses going outside everyday. He is standing up on anything now...walls, couches, drawers, my pant legs, Jim's leg hairs (since he wears shorts). I don't worry about him standing as much anymore cause he can get himself safely down for the most part.

He is still cruising around on all fours when no one will be his walker. Always has to explore what is new, tasting it or figuring out what it is all about. Also trying to get the remotes, computers, or cell phones.

We went to Boise because my brother was blessing his baby. My sister has recently moved there too which is nice to have two siblings in the same place. Carter got a LOT of attention for the past week or so. My sister has 3 kids that were very fond of Carter and loved him every minute he would allow. Jessica and Jacob were such good helpers with Carter and Lucas was happy to have someone smaller to mug. Pretty funny. Lucas shared his cape with Carter. And Carter thinks he only needs to hold on with one hand, if that.

Here is Jacob and Carter, just planning what fun to have next. Carter loved watching the boys play football outside and learned to tackle and get tackled by his cousins.

My cute little man!

That night at the hotel he slept like a log, sure all the excitement and playing tuckered him out.

Here is Anson, my adorable nephew. What a cutie! So glad we got to meet him and hang out with my family.

JJ and Audie make some cute kids. Oakley would say "Albuquerque" when she was getting her picture taken. She is a little ham, and Jovie tries to keep her dad in line (good luck with that). So fun to be able to be there for Anson's special day. He was an angel for the blessing, just starring up at his dad.

Jovie came over and got out some of her toys for Carter. He loved the blocks.

Here are the cousins. They are some cute kids. It is amazing to me to see how grown up and mature they are getting. Love those faces!

5 minutes after getting home from Boise, as Jim and I were unloading the car, Carter fell on one of his toys as we has crawling with it and gave himself a black eye. Poor little guy! Hard to get a good picture of the shiner, but it was a bad one.

The party followed us from Boise to our house. My parents, sister, Tami, and my sister Angela and her 3 kids came and stayed with us for the week of Thanksgiving. Here are Jacob and Lucas with their snowman.

Jessica and Grandpa made a dragon. I should have got a picture when it was finished cause it was good.

There was a LOT of shopping done this week. Got most of my Christmas shopping done. There were also some Black Friday craziness. But we had it down to a science and did it pretty fast. My sisters and I saw Twilight, which was fun. Mostly it was shopping and more shopping. It was nice to have to extra hands to help with Carter, and dinner. I really wish my family lived closer....by closer I mean next door. They are amazing and I love having them around.

Aunt Tami gave Carter his first haircut. We knew he would freak out with clippers, so she used her scissors. It went okay, just tried to keep Carter distracted.

Grandpa bought Carter a giant teddy bear, which Carter loves.

Everyone is gone now, the house is quiet again, and it's just our little family. Yesterday Carter found a new walking toy, the step ladder. He pushed it around. He actually got better at his toy walker cause Jacob was a sport and helped him practice while he was here. He is feeling more confident and getting more daring, so I'm sure more bumps and bruises are in Carter's future.

We started putting up some of our Christmas decorations yesterday. Carter has to check out the new things and help rearrange them for me.

That's my baby! He laughs all the time and is so fun!

Look close and you can see his two bottom teeth. Those things are SHARP! He is still trying to bite everything, so more are probably on there way, but ouch, they hurt!

I am so Thankful for an amazing family. For a healthy, happy baby. For a hardworking, loving husband. For my home that is filled with the Gospel. For the knowledge I have been blessed with and for the freedoms and comforts I enjoy everyday!  I truly have so much!

Walking

Sometimes I worry that we are creating a spaz of a child. It's so funny to get Carter worked up though. When one of us is playing with the boy and the other one starts walking towards Carter he gets excited and starts crawling/ climbing/ booking it away, then looks to see if we are still after him. It is hilarious. He is such a character.
BabyCenter.com says that by this age kids can start showing emotion for another person, like empathy. Not sure Carter has empathy but his sense of humor might be a little off....I was holding Carter as Jim was coming in the garage door. Jim had his arms full or apples and started dropping them, accidentally, and Carter started laughing at him. He also started laughing when Jim tripped over one of his toys. Makes you wonder what he will be like when he is older. Hopefully not mean and laughing at others expense.
I have to watch him all the time cause he is crawling and trying to climb everything. He was on this box and got off going head first. Honestly...more gray hairs for me.

He loves to walk. He always wants our hands to hold and help him. I bought this walker for Christmas, but then I figured he might be walking by himself by then, so we gave it to him early. The first time he was running behind it. Then after falling and bonking his head a few times and having it land on top of him, he has slowed down. Well, we helped by tying a string around the back wheels so it can't go as fast and adding a little weight under it so it hopefully doesn't fall on him so easy.

 He loves the bathtub and always tries to climb in it even when there is no water.
He loves to play with musical toys. Especially now that he can stand up and reach all sides. Of course, he is still learning the best ways to get down. I still put pillows all around him when I can....but it's hard to follow him around with pillows as he is walking from chair to chair as you see in the video. I pray they are all small bumps and bruises.

He is getting good at climbing the stairs. I hope he remembers how we are teaching him to go down them. I am not sure that we are going to be successful because he climbs on my pilates box or machine and gets off head first. But I have to say it is how he learns and he does get better. Here he is trying to get past the bars.

He is cutting a tooth, I can see it. Finally...but I only really see one...I was hoping they would all come together. More sleepless nights in my future, got to love it! My baby....he is funny!