Heart Breaker!!!!

I bought Carter a new toy to chew on....basically it could double as a dog chew toy. It squeaks and is rubbery, but he chews on it. He hooked his arm around it and it was propped in his mouth while he was holding the dog. The camera didn't capture how funny it looked, but it made me laugh.

Here we are getting ready for church. He is snugly....and this may become a problem since he wants more snuggles to go down for naps. Do they go through phases????Guess I will just enjoy the snuggles and give them when he wants them. Everyone says to enjoy each stage cause they grow up so fast. I'm sure it's just because it's my first, but I am look forward to him crawling and I wonder what he will be like the older he gets.

I took some pictures of him in his heart breaker tie shirt. It's cute, but it was funny trying to get his arms out of the way. The last one, I moved his arms and his face is priceless, like he just got in trouble or something.

He is finally getting how to help prop himself up and lift his head when on his stomach by using his arms. Today was the first time he really got it. Yesterday I had him on a pillow on his stomach and he was quick to figure out how to drop a shoulder and roll on his back. Pretty smart kid. He kept scooting down in the tub so more of his body was under water....so I decided to see how he did going all the way under. He did not like it, but it didn't stop him from sliding down to keep his body in the water.

Stretchy baby!

So, a few nights ago we went to put Carter is his PJ's and he was too long. Honestly....I didn't want him to be squished so I pulled out these cute ducky pj's. They are 3-6 months and as you can see Carter was rocking the belly shirt. Also, he fits width ways across his crib. He loves to stretch and posed nicely for these shots. He is always width ways when we get him in the morning.

This is not an attractive picture of me...but I love how he was cuddling me so I had to capture it. He is so cuddly and I can't get enough of him.

Years before I had a baby I found these books at Target. (oh how I miss Target). Look at the titles....an animal and first words book make sense. But I'm not sure Carter will be enjoying the United States book anytime soon. Look at the close up of a page below. I think he will be smart but this might be pushing it. It has the capital, bird, and flower of each state. Got to love it!

Swing time fun!

Carter likes being in his swing. But the other day he learned a new trick, an escape trick. I was vacuuming and when I came back in the room he had shimmied down and down, until his feet were on the floor. Of course I laughed and started taking pictures. So later that day, he did it again. Then when Jim came home he put him in while sitting right in front of him, and he went down even further. We wanted to see how far he could get. He was literally pushing off the floor and swinging himself. It was awesome. So now I have to buckle him in. Mom is such a buzz kill.

I went out for an hour a few Saturdays ago and left Carter asleep while Jim was cleaning out the garage. This is what I came back to find. Carter just hanging out in the swing in an empty garage. He is such a mellow baby most of the time. He is just happy hanging out at home. He likes being outside, even though there have only been a few days when it hasn't been raining. I am OVER the rain. It is so funny when there is a gust of wind and he inhales and smiles. Kind of the same reaction when Jim's whistling is high pitched.

3 1/2 month update - I have stopped swaddling him for naps and put him back in his crib for naps, instead of the napper. He was getting too big for it.

He laughed at this toy the other day, Jim and I were cracking up too.

I think he is starting to have more of an opinion about things. Trying to let me know what he likes and doesn't like.

He loves pulling himself to a sitting position while holding our fingers. Then as his reward he wants to chew on our hands.

We took him in the shower yesterday for his first time and got water in his face. He wasn't sure what to think about it.

We tried taking him for a jog in his jogging stroller yesterday front facing, it was ridiculously windy and cold so he was not having it. So we put him in his regular stroller and ran in it. It is definitely not meant for running. Jim had to keep the front wheels off the road the whole time. Carter was sleeping after a bit and Jim and I were dying. Out of shape.

Giant baby???

So leaving the house gives a different perspective....recently I have seen a few other friend's babies. I swear I may have a giant baby....which you don't realize until you see other kids. One friend's baby is almost a year and I think Carter is as long as him. She said her baby is small, but come on....3 months and a year. Then I saw another friend's baby who is a few days younger than Carter. Carter's head was double the size of the other baby. His head went from being in the 10% when he was 2 weeks old to the 70% at 2 months. How does that happen? I mean thank heavens it came out small, I appreciate that more than anyone. It was hard enough pushing out a pea sized head. I have always known his hands and feet seemed big, but maybe I just have a giant baby and I didn't know. Where is he getting his size? It will be interesting to see if he really is big when he grows up. By big I mean tall.
He is so fun. I don't think he likes loud noises and places. He refuses to smile when we are loud places, so I'm sure people think he is grouchy. But honestly he is pretty easy going and happy 95% of the time. I am so lucky to have an easy child like him. His only trouble is his spit up, but he comes by that naturally. I spit up all the time as a baby and Jim still has a bad stomach, poor Carter didn't have a chance.
He has started interacting with some of his toys. And everything goes in his mouth, I didn't realize this started so early, but I guess it does. He can also hold his head up pretty well. Sometimes he lifts his head and legs and balances on his stomach making this labored sound, like it's so much work. And it is, I try to tell him not to lift his legs and to use his arms to help push up, but he isn't there yet. He loves it when he pulls himself up to a sitting position holding on to my fingers. We are working those ab muscles.

 He is going cross eyed here looking at this dog cause it's so close. He is studying it closely, then chews on it.

He has started sleeping till 5am most nights, which is so nice. He wakes up so happy.  Sometimes chats with himself in his crib and when I go in he smiles and stretches. We took out a feed and nap cause he can go longer in between his feeding and is taking longer naps. I have been putting him in the napper, a places he barely fits in our room. Sometimes he wakes up and starts to fuss and when I go to check on him he just looks up at me with this smile. It's so precious, even though he is a little stinker, already working mom and dad. Big toothless grins are my favorite! It's hard to get a good picture of him smiling cause he is moving and gets a scared look when I am behind the camera. The other day he stuck out his lower lip cause he was sad. It was the cutest thing. But then we went to see his dad at his office and Carter was all smiles. Jim whistles to him and Carter loves his dad.

So I have a little more free time. I read a book the other day. Today I should be finishing up preparing my sharing time...but it's hard to be motivated to do it.
Of course he has incredibly long, gorgeous eyelashes. Why is it always boys that get those????Honestly,not fair.

I pulled out a picture of Jim and myself at 6 months. I am going to try to scan them and post them. People always ask who Carter looks like. I stick by my original thoughts. He has my eyes and chin and Jim's nose. Man he is so cute. I really LOVE this kid.

Soccer fun!

Here is Carter after his bath all warm and snuggled in his towel. It's hard to take a good picture when you are trying to hold him so he doesn't roll off the counter, keep the towel out of his face, and hope he isn't peeing in the towel.

The weather was nice for a few days. So on Friday we went for a walk in his stroller. He usually falls asleep in his car seat, but I still think he loved being outside.

 Then for the BIG adventure we went to Salt Lake for a REAL soccer game. Here is Jim and Carter in their soccer gear ready for the game. It was a little loud for Carter. I spent most of the time trying to cover his ears, he finally fell asleep. We went to the Cheese Cake Factory for dinner after, which I love. Avocado egg rolls, and the bread are a favorite. It was about an 8 hour outing and Carter did awesome. He is such a good baby.

For Mother's day Jim and Carter got me these gorgeous flowers. There was a card from Jim and another one from Carter. So precious. Jim made me breakfast and dinner. He is so good to me and Carter. I am lucky to have these two special guys in my life.

Blessing

Carter had his two month checkup a few weeks ago. He was almost 12 lbs, so now the doctor is saying I might be over feeding him. Really.....I give up!
I only had them give him some of his shots...which was a huge decision for me. He didn't cry getting the shots...but 4 hours later was horrible. He cried like he has never cried before and he didn't stop for a few hours. Anytime you touched his leg he would cry again. It was not fun. He finally went to sleep in my arms and I didn't move for a few hours. I am pretty sure it is not just me, but honestly, I can't get over how much more emotional I have become since having a baby. Sometimes it's the stress of not knowing what to do or what is best but sometimes it's just raw emotion. It might also have to do with not getting enough sleep, but whatever it is I hope it decreases with time. I am not used to it.

 I'm not sure if I've mentioned before how adorable I think Carter is, but I really can't get over it. He is smiling and getting more personality and it is so fun to see. He likes to listen to Jim whistle and follows us with his eyes.  He screams when he has to get burped, but I think that is because he usually throws up and it can't be fun for him.

These may be a bit blurry, but Carter is a wiggler. And trying to capture the smile is not easy.

My sister found this shirt. How did they know that is what I call Carter.

I love that he looks like he is reading along with Aunt Tami. I do read to him and hope he will love it.

Aunt Tami loved his rocker pj's so we tried to take some pictures of him doing his air guitar.

I bought this darling outfit for him. His little army outfit. What a little cutie.

One of my talented friends made this hat for him. So cute, even if he isn't a fan of hats.

This animal should be a skunk, then that caption would be perfect.

He isn't trouble but is does have gas.

I love this one of Grandpa and Carter looking at each other. He was starring at Grandpa. It was cute. Grandpa was probably telling him stories about riding horses and driving the old red truck when he visits on the farm.

                          You can't really see it, but his shirt says Property of mom. That is true

He is now 10 weeks and he got blessed on Sunday. Some of my family got to be here and that was so fun. My sister and mom shopped a LOT and we even took Carter with us and he did great. Carter loved all the attention he got from everyone. We took some pictures on Sunday and I was going to take more with Jim's family but it never happened. They aren't big picture people. We missed all the family that couldn't be here, but we sure were happy to be able to have all the family and friends be apart of Carter's big day. He did cry through the blessing, he had lost his soother and wasn't happy about it. But Jim did great under pressure and I am so lucky to be married to him.

My cute sisters and mom. It was so fun to spend the weekend together. They are some of the most amazing people I know. So glad they are apart of my life and made the effort to be here with me. Ok, let's be honest, it had nothing to do with me, it was all about being with Carter, but I will take it anyway. It was like calling for shotgun. They would call for who gets to hold him, or get him up from his nap, or babysit. I really wish they lived closer.

This is a shirt that he needs when he is with Grandma in Canada. I have seen it with nieces and nephews and know Carter will be just as spoiled. That is what Grandmas are for.

He looks so innocent.

Favorite things

Some of my favorite things that Carter does:
Sometimes he gets frantic when he wants to eat or his pacifier and he starts moving his head back and forth really fast. I call it his wild man and it cracks me up every time.
When he is done eating he puts his lips together, telling me he will not take anymore. It's a cute little face.
When I am burping him over my shoulder he just holds his head up and stares at me sometimes. Sometimes his eyes are closed.
I love snuggling him close.
I love the feel of his hand on my arm or hand. It is so soft and light.
All his little baby sounds, especially when he is talking to himself in his crib. He is noisy but in a good way.
He loves to be on his changing table. Not sure what he looks at on the wall or shelf but he just smiles and chills there when he is getting changed. Maybe he is just happy to be getting a fresh diaper.
When he is eating sometimes, halfway asleep, he stops eating, smiles and moves his little tongue. He even laughed the other night. So cute. I can't wait till he is smiling more and laughing.
I really am in LOVE with my little guy and miss him when I am away...which is never more than an hour and only on the weekends when Jim is home.
He also rolled over onto his back by himself this week. He did it a few times when he was 3 weeks, but it has been awhile. Also, I had to put away all his newborn clothes. He doesn't fit in them. In fact he managed to rip 2 button holes in a pair of his newborn pj's cause he was too big. I took the hint and bought him some bigger pj's.
I don't like that his little tummy is upset or how gassy he is. Or how his throwing up has made his baby acne worse. I hope these stages pass quickly.

Next year he will be our little tax deduction. This year he is just reminding us to get our taxes done.

This is him starring at the wall when he is being changed. I wonder what he sees.

His shirt says, " Daddy's best friend." Pretty sure Jim dressed him.

There are a few pictures, cause I don't have a lot. I would love to get pictures/video of the things I love (up above) but they are hard to capture.