Happy Halloween!

Just last week I was telling one of the fabulous ladies at daycare that Carter was "teething challenged."  This kid has been teething on and off since he was three months old with nothing to show for it.  Anyhow, as I was saying this, I poked my finger in this mouth and was REALLY surprised to find a tooth popping through.  FINALLY!  Needless to say, Carter has been very vocal in letting us know his tooth is coming through.  On top of this he also had a cold, which is getting better now. 

I didn't want to take him trick-or-treating this year (partly because it is too cold and partly because people would know we were doing it only to get the candy for ourselves!!!)  I couldn't resist buying him a costume though.  Instead we had a great dinner at Pam and Frank's and helped them and Eric pass out candy.  Carter was very interested in watching all the little kids walk up in their costumes.  He also LOVES their dog Chief and could be kept busy for a very long time playing with him. 

Carter is growing and changing so quickly.  He has mastered the art of standing up while holding onto furniture and is getting braver about walking down the length of the couch. He still thinks he is dying when he falls (which makes me VERY nervous about when he starts to walk).  He moves constantly, rotating from belly to sitting to a four-legged butt in the air yoga pose to kneeling to standing... With all this exercise he is napping much better these days!

Mr. Carter eats everything in sight.  He hasn't met a food he doesn't like.  There are some textures that will bother him after a few bites but even that is getting less frequent.  I am preparing for the days when he will bring his friends over after school and eat us out of house and home.

My favorite part about this age is that, even when he is so busy playing and moving, he will occasionally stop, look at me very seriously, grab both sides of my face (or my hair), and give me a nice, slobbery kiss.  It melts my heart every time!  To be honest, pretty much anything he does makes me realize how lucky I am.

My Big Boy

The past two weeks were some of the hardest of my life.  I had the opportunity to travel to China as part of an education initiative connecting schools from Indiana with schools in China.  I was able to sight-see the amazing ancient Chinese buildings, climb (and tobaggan down) the Great Wall, and be treated like a celebrity-but they paled in comparison to missing Travis and Carter.  I was able to Skype them but not as often as I would have liked because of the 12-hour time difference.

Needless to say, I was SPEEDING home to see my boys.  I could not believe how big Carter had gotten!  Travis did an incredible job taking care of him.  (You have such a great daddy, Carter!!!)  While I was away, Carter learned to pull himself up into standing position on toys and in the crib.  Today we will be lowering the mattress.....

There was no better feeling than opening the door and seeing them.  Carter stared at me for a few seconds then started a slow, creep across the face, then ear-to-ear smile.  Since I've been home, I can't get enough of him.  Although I've known it all along, two weeks away certainly makes a person realize how blessed they truly are.  I'm so glad to be home!!!

Friends

When I was in college,  I met Biz, one of my very best friends..  Although I was a Christian, it was Biz (although she may not know it) who inspired me to refocus my faith.  I am blessed to have such a great friend, and can only pray that Carter will be blessed with many friends like her when he's grown.

Now, Biz and her hubby have two girls-the cutie pie, Grace, in the picture and one on the way.  They were nice enough to invite Carter over for a visit.  It looks like they had a blast! 

Right when I saw this picture (I stole them from her), I fast-forwarded fifteen years to a time when Grace and Carter were being teased about their first slumber party.

Close, but not yet...

So, the other day, Carter and I were hanging out and I SWORE he said the M-word.  I ran to tell Travis, who then ran in.  He hasn't said it since.  I thought I could get him to do it on video but no such luck.  Here's Carter telling us about his day, without the M-word-

Almost on the Move

Our family has been ridiculously busy lately (the reason I haven't updated this in two weeks).  The days and nights are packed full with work, youth group, church, errands, and lots and lots of playing.

Carter has mastered the art of pushing himself backwards, but isn't fond of crawling.  I'm not too upset by this...this gives me more time to baby-proof the house.  He is so funny though, because when he does do something new, he looks so proud and gives this little smirk:

 Check out the outfit-it was Travis's in 1983.  Talk about retro!

 Carter praticing his skills:

Such a Big Boy

A few times a day, I stop and am amazed at how big Carter is getting.  This entire week was filled with those moments.  He's huge!  I got out the rubbermaid totes and decided to clean out his drawers and closet.  For two hours, I sat on the floor ooohhing and aaahhing over how little everything looked.  I found the outfit we put on him when we got home from the hospital (the one we brought there was WAY too big!).  I spread it out on my arm and could not believe that Carter was ever that tiny.