Saturday Mornings

Ever since I can remember, Saturday mornings at my parents' house meant PANCAKES!  Thus Pancake Day has lived on at our home.  I love that Carter is old enough to help.  He sure enjoys eating them, too!

Hanging Out at Home

We are never home. No, really.  I mean NEVER home.  Try to call our landline.  You won't get us...ever. If I am not at work, I am always running errands, going to work at church, going to visit our friends, hanging out with Papa, etc....   This weekend Carter and I spent an entire day at home.  That is big for us.  We had so much fun!  Carter found toys he had forgotten about.  It was like Christmas all over again.  It made me realize that we need more days like that.

The weather was chilly, but sunny, and great for playing on our deck.  

  This is what he does when we ask him to show us his "face."

Later that night, we were sitting in the living room. After a few moments of silence from his bedroom, I went looking for Carter.  Here's what I found:

He said he was "rea a booookkk."

20 Months

I guess we skipped a few, huh?!  Life with a toddler is busy to say the least!  I am a bit sad that I didn't document all the little things, but I guess I can revel in the fact that I was so busy enjoying them that I didn't have time to write about them. 

Carter is the love of our lives!!!  I remember pre-mom stage hearing people talk about not being able to imagine life without their little one(s).  Yeah, yeah.  To be totally honest, I remember a blog somewhere on here about remembering more sleep, etc.  What I am trying to say is that I CAN'T imagine not having him to make my days so bright.  I am so in love with him and so greatful that God (and Rachael) chose me to be his mommy! 

Okay, let's think back to the last posting....I guess I have 4 months of catching up to do.  The best way to do this is to ramble.  Enjoy!!!

Carter runs everywhere.  We only walk when there is something cool to look at.  I am literally chasing him wherever we go.  He no longer walks with his hands up-now he bends them at the elbow and sticks them out in Chris Farley fashion.

He eats us out of house and home. I can't imagine the grocery bill when he grows up to be on the football team.  His favorites are fruit, McDonald's cheeseburgers, sweets of any kind, and milk.  Healthy, right?

Lately he has started watching "Thomas the train" but rarely is interested in T.V.  I won't complain, although sometimes it might be nice to have him occupied while I am cooking dinner.   He likes to "help."  We all know what that means....

Bathtime is still his favorite.  He soaks the entire floor and walls.

Carter is in LOVE with his Red Rider tricycle bike, Daddy, the dog, his tree swing, swimming, and Papa K.

He repeats everything!  My favorite things he says are "tur-tle," "bellybutton," (as fast as possible), "apple," and "love you."  He first few sentences were "I want Daddy," and "I'm reading a book." 

We are officially in a big boy bed now.  The other day he thought he was spiderman and crawled up and out.  So far, so good.  He hasn't figured out that he can come off the bed.  I think it's hilarious!

We are not sure how we will live during the winter, because this kid wants to be outside ALL THE TIME and mommy boycotts cold temperatures. 

I have to admit that I adore our daycare.  For those who didn't hear, we had a few little biting incidences (put together with the fact that they are pretty full and had to promote a few kids to the next room early) so Carter is now in the 2 year old room. They are so great at teaching him new songs and doing crafts with him.  He hears about Jesus and prays before meals.  He even gets to attend Chapel once a week.  He loves to fold his hands, listen to the prayers, then scream, "A-men!"  It secretly melts my heart everytime.  I am working on teaching him to say, "Happy Birthday, Jesus!"  for the Christmas program since he is being demoted from baby Jesus. 

It was today in the grocery store that I realized that I needed to keep this up-to-date.  We were shopping and he waved and smiled and said hello to everyone we passed.  He brought so many smiles to stranger's faces.  One elderly woman even stopped to talk to us and held his hand.  He and I chatted and sang the whole way through the grocery.  He helped me pick out things and reminded me that I needed bananas (nanas). I am so proud that he such an outgoing, caring boy. 

Sometimes I think that I want him to stop growing so fast and I miss my baby, but then I remember all the adventures that are in store for us as he grows up.  We have been given a true gift and we are enjoying every minute of it.

15 and 16 months

I guess both Carter and the time is zooming right past me now.  I realized that I had let the fifteenth month slip by, but I didn't realize how late I was at updating this until today.  Happy exhaustion is my guilty plea....

Let's see.... What doesn't Carter do now?  He is walking, and partially running.  It cracks me up that he still walks with this hands pointed straight up.  The daycare ladies teased that Carter walked around all the time saying "I'm number one," because his pointer finger is usually pointing up too!  He LOVES to play chase.  He has such a mischeivious grin on this face, and I am in awe that is growing fast enough to even understand that it is a game.  If anyone says, "Oh no!" and heads the opposite way, he'll go for them, open his mouth wide, and "catch" them by grunting and grabbing their legs.  Sometimes he even gets really close, then turns around, screams, and wants you to chase him.  This could keep him occupied for hours!!

I think out of all of us, Carter loves the dog best.  In the morning, the first word is 'dog.' The last word of the day is 'dog.' Every other word during the day.....yup.. 'dog.'  Carter feeds him, chases him, hits (his version of petting) him, and tries to tackle him.  I'm just thankful Carter doesn't eat the dog's food anymore.

Like a good teacher's kid, Carter loves books.  I smile really big on the days that his paper at daycare has "Carter loves books" or "Carter read books for a long time today" or "Carter listened to our story well today."  The adoption agency sent us a prayer book and a bible this weekend that we have been reading at bed time. 

My eat-anything-any time- any where kid has disappeared.  Carter is still a good eater-he just is a little more picky about the things he munches.  NO MEAT!  I can sneak it in ravioli and he'll do hotdogs (sometimes) and chicken nuggets (I'm not sure I would count either of those as real meat).  He likes almost all veggies and even ate asparagus once.  WE LOVE SPAGHETTI!!!  I feel guilty about giving it to him WAY too often.  It really is the easiest thing to pack for daycare...  Of course, in true Keller fashion, any kind of sweet is okay in his book.

Carter's all-time favorite activity right now is taking wagon rides.  Miss Elomie at school said that when he hears the word wagon he freaks out and goes to the door immediately.  We have been walking almost every night around the addition, and he never wants to go in.  Grass is okay, dirt is yummy (don't worry, he hasn't eaten that much), and water is GREAT!  It's almost time to see if he likes cold lake water...  Speaking of the lake, Carter's swing is up, the life jackets are out, the dock is in, and we are ready.  He even got a floating seat for Easter.

Easter was great this year!  Of course Carter didn't get the idea of Easter egg hunting, or the reason for Easter, but he liked his basket, his gifts (especially the chocolate/marshmallow egg from the Halls), and hanging out with the cool, big boy and big girl cousins.

Hmmm....life is busy!  What else can I say?  Carter and I spent our second Mother's Day together.  Not just that day, but every day, I feel so blessed to get the chance to be a mom.  Not just anybody's mom.  HIS mom.  He is hilarious, and loving, with a fiery temper.  He is goofy, and serious, and smart.  He fits so perfectly into our little God-given family that I can't imagine being without him.  I am greatful for him, for Rachael, and for the relationship we are able to have.  Carter will always know how loved he is-that I am sure!

Zoo Adventure with Grace and Carter

Grace and Carter are best friends.  They are also set to be married one day.  Arranged marriages aren't so bad, are they? 

Anyhow, we went on our first trip of the year to the zoo (yay for their family pass!!!!)  These two had a blast.

Easter Fun

Happy Easter!  We had a great day!!!  As Carter gets older, the holidays and celebrations are getting more and more fun. I know that I am behind on posting Month 15, but I couldn't wait to post pictures of this handsome boy:

 Of course he doesn't get the whole "hunting for Easter eggs" thing. He has older cousins, so we went to watch them look for hidden treasures (and he did point to one egg he found).

Travis and I are notorious for forgetting to get the mail.  I only look through it on Sundays, so today I went to the mailbox....and surprise!  A gift for Carter from Rachael and her parents.  They are so wonderful and thoughtful.  Here is Carter opening his gift, but I'll warn you now that my camera died half-way through.

Thank you so much for thinking of him...

Best Buds

I have a lot of people ask how Carter and Hendrix are getting along.  Well, here's your answer.  I gave Carter some Cheerios and walked out of the room to get something.  This is what I saw when I came back in:

And this is what I heard:

Sorry.  I don't know how to rotate this sucker.

Yep, I'd say they are getting along just fine!!!

14 months

Fun.  Everytime someone asks me how the baby is, that is my response.  He has such a personality!  He wrestles and makes funny noises just to make us laugh.  He plays with his tongue and fake giggles.  He knows how to hold a ball under water and let go to make it POP out of the water, making water fly all over floor.  I adored Carter as a baby, but this is way more F.U.N.!!!

P.S. check out these teeth and Willy Wonka hair....

Carter is not picky about anything.  He will eat anything I put in front of him- lima beans included.  I won't even eat those suckers, but I figured I'd start him early on the gross stuff :-)  Of course, desserts are his favorite, just like great-grandpa.

At exactly 14 months he was standing on his own, and he had mastered the art of walking around tables, chairs, couches and toilets. 

He really has no interest in walking.  Carter crawls faster than any kid I have ever seen.  I think he figures, "Why walk when I can get there faster by crawling."  I can't believe we missed the annual baby crawling contest in Fort Wayne. We would have had a champion for sure!

He did take his first official steps three weeks ago.  Last night he walked a good 20 steps or so, got bored, and started crawling.  I'm not pushing the issue yet. He'll have all the time in the world to walk.  I'm enjoying him holding onto my finger for support right now.

13 Months

I am hoping to do a better job at updating this than I have been.  (Okay-let's get real.  Any attempt will be better than what I have done for the past few months).  Now that Carter is totally mobile, life is chaotic!

Let's see-

He is 23 pounds and ? inches (whatever it was, it was perfectly 50th percentile)

What he says:
Dada, mama, ball, juice, dog, this, that, roar, no, yeah, and I think he says what's that

What he eats:
At the beginning of the month I was so afraid we were going to have MAJOR issues with table food.  He was totally against any textures except totally smooth or crunchy.  We have since gotten over this and pretty much eat anything in sight, besides meat.  Not a big meat eater.  Notes from school often say, "He had a big appetite today."  That's my boy!  Favorites are graham crackers, toast, waffles and pancakes, mixed fruit, bananas, sweet potatoes, spaghetti....

What he likes:

Playing with Kaylynne

Carter will bypass all other toys and head straight for a ball. He taps it, rolls it, chases it, throws it.  Sometimes Hendrix will join in on the fun and steal it from him.  Don't worry.  Carter thinks it is hilarious!  He also likes to climb stairs and does so surprisingly fast thanks to all the practice he gets at the Hall's house. He is beginning to like books and music more and more which warms my little teacher heart.

Things I don't want to forget:
The kisses.  He is such a lover-especially close to bedtime.  Wide-open mouth, both arms around my neck or pulling on my hair.  SO SWEET!
Apparently I squeal when I wrestle with him, and he has picked that up.  He will stand on the bed, raise his arms, let out an ear piercing girly squeal, and attack.  It is pretty funny!
How he sleeps with his arms tucked under his cheek and his butt way up in the air.

Until next month....

No longer a baby, but a boy...

I'm not going to lie.  I've been avoiding this post.  It's been quite a while and I have had people demand that I update the blog.  Yes-I've been busy.  Yes-I have a million other things to do when I get home.  But that's not why.  I just plain didn't want to write about how my baby turned one year old. 
It went way too fast.  I started putting pictures together from the first year and couldn't believe it was possible....that my baby was a boy now.  I sobbed on the night of his birthday when I went in to check on him.  How can I make Carter grow in slow-motion?

Now that I have ranted and rambled, here it is...

Carter had a great birthday!  Even though he won't remember, I wanted this day to be one that we could show him was fabulous through pictures and videos.  We celebrated a few times, so I'll talk about one at a time.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  We are so blessed to have an open adoption with Carter's birth-mother.  A few days before the "actual day" Rachael, her parents, and her brother's cute little family were able to join us at our home.  It is alway great to catch up with them.  I love watching Rachael with Carter. I can tell how much she loves the little guy, yet she is kind and understanding of our place in his life.  He played with friend, Logan, opened presents, and touched the cake.  Apparently chocolate frosting is not is favorite thing on the planet.  (I quickly called the bakery the next day to switch the frosting for our family party).  It was an awesome day!

On his actual birthday, I took the day off work and we spent the day trudging though a blizzard of snow. Carter had his one year old pictures taken by my cousin, Tina, who did a FABULOUS job.  For dinner, we had macaroni and cheese, something Carter liked the week before but hated that day.  More on his food issues another time.... 

The weekend following the big day, Carter had a big party at the gym at church.  We invited friends and family members (41 people total) to celebrate with him.  Carter loved playing with his friends, cousins, and great-grandpa.  Now for the funny part-when we started singing 'Happy Birthday,' Carter's mouth dropped open and he looked around the room like something was wrong with each of us.  He was so tired from all the excitement.

Carter's First Year in Review

Dear Carter Lee,

I could never count the number of times I prayed for you.  Before you came along, I wanted nothing more than to hold you and to be your mommy.  Before I even knew you, I loved you.  When I first saw you, my heart was bursting with thankfulness to God.  This past year has been full of joyful memories for your daddy and I.  We are amazed everyday at the new things you learn, the faces you make, the way you call me 'dad' still...

When you grow up, you might have questions about your adoption.  You're father and I will be here to answer them.  Whatever your feelings are about it-know that we love you completely, totally, and unconditionally.  Through God's perfect plan we were made a family.  Looking back on our lives now, it is wonderous to see the different ways he has been working through us and in us for years to make this happen.  I can't wait to share that with you when  you're old enough to understand.

Although I hate to say it because it means you're growing up too fast-Happy birthday, my sweet boy! 

                                                                                                                      Love,

                                                                                                                      Mommy

Smooches

Baby C and I are having a ball being together during my Christmas break.  I love getting to wake up with him, cuddle on the couch in our jammies, make breakfast, and just take things nice and slowly.  Usually we are in such a hurry that I don't get to treasure the mornings with him like I have lately.  I go back to school on Thursday...

Travis and I-being overloaded with toys- have cleaned, installed shelves, and organized all his toys in the laundry room.  It was like Christmas all over again.  We found toys that we either didn't knew existed or that we had forgotten about.   

Carter is at the stage when he is giving kisses-you know the ones.  The wide-open, slobbery smooches.  Tonight when I was putting him to bed, he just kept kissing my cheeks then smiling.  When he was done, my cheeks soaking wet while my heart was overflowing.