Carter turns 2!

Our big guy turned two on June 27th!  We started the day with breakfast with his friends, Maria and Pedro, who cooked him a Mexican breakfast that he (and Taylor and I!) love, and then he chose to check out the Adventure Science Center, or "mooo-seum" as he calls it. He and I spent a couple of hours wandering around and playing, until he decided it was time to go eat a "peanut-butter-jelly" lunch. After his nap, his dad came home early and we headed out to his favorite restaurant (Chik Fil A) where he ate every bite of his dinner and played in the play area until he got kicked (accidentally) by another kid :).  We then headed home for cake (he picked a small one out from Whole Foods) and we ate cake and opened a couple of presents while FaceTiming with his Gigi and GP in Seattle. 

He then ran around upstairs in his playroom with his new baseball bat and basketball hoop from his mom and dad, and practiced casting with his new fishing pole from his Gigi and GP! He stayed up a little too late, hyped up on sugar, but he went to bed happy, asking us to sing "Happy to you" (Happy Birthday to you...) for him before falling asleep. 

Friday, the day after his birthday, we woke up to an early morning doctor's check up (with shots), which didn't start the day off in the best way. He is still a giant- off the charts at 37 inches tall and 34 lbs, and he actually smiled and talked to the doctor a bit before melting down once they started poking at him. Poor guy.  We got the day back on track by heading to check out Thomas and lots of other trains at Philip's toy store.  And we came home to another gift- his first set of Legos- from his aunt Anne and Uncle Bobby!

 We had a small (only 5 people small), super low-key party for him on Saturday with just family and a couple of friends...and a mom-made train cupcake "cake" (clearly made by a rookie! haha). I think he has a little bit of his mom in him, and he gets overwhelmed and shy in big groups at first.  I went a little overboard for his first birthday with balloons and decorations, and I felt so bad when he started crying and wanting to cling to me halfway through the party. He and I snuck away and ended up just sitting upstairs for a little while where it was quiet, and he was so happy to be back in his own space! I realized that I would have felt the same way if all these grown ups were singing and clapping at me amidst lots of strange brightly colored objects! :)
 So we decided to let this party be completely laid back without any agenda...which he seemed to love (as did his tired pregnant mom)!  We asked him what he wanted to do- cake or presents- and he said, presents....and while opening presents, he came over and whispered to me "Happy to you, Mama?" So cute! That was his way of asking for us to give him cake :) Although he was super shy when everyone started singing at him, he smiled the whole time, and after he had played and eaten cupcakes, he grabbed his friend Margaret's hand, and said "Mah-get, go watch race cars on couch?" So we ended the party with him snuggled next to his favorite friends watching his favorite move (Cars).  It was a total success!

June- Getting ready for Caroline!

Carter moved to a brand new room and into a big boy bed so that his little sister could have his crib! I was worried he would feel displaced or we would ruin his perfect sleeping track record... but his doctor and his dad were both convinced he would do just fine. So I gave in, and was happily proven wrong! He was more than happy to leave the "baby bed" as he chose to call the crib, and he has championed the transition without any issues! I took him to Target to pick out some wall stickers and a nightlight, and he had so much fun. I showed him all the choices- trucks, spaceships, sports balls, princesses, flowers- and he carefully examined each box until he proudly grabbed the sports balls, and said "Dis one, Mama!" and put it in the cart. Then he chose a dump truck night light, and even chose to forego his outdoor pre-dinner playtime so we could put the stickers on the wall as soon as we got home!  He is still so proud of his room that he doesn't fight going upstairs to bed, and walks up the stairs all by himself (which his hugely pregnant mom greatly appreciates!).

He is talking all the time now, making sentences, having full on conversations with us, and making connections between the books we read to him and real life! Here are some favorite phrases overheard in our house:

- Dad: "Carter, Where are you?"

  Carter: "Dada, playing choo choo trains!!! "(yelled back from the other room)

-"Mama, Cah-ter sad (with a completely dramatic, half smiling frown)... Cah-ter need huuuugs."

-"Meno look a quarral (squirrel)!!!"

-"Mama, peeease don't go" (said in the tone that I say it when reading his favorite book of the moment, Where the Wild Things Are)

- Heard over the monitor in the morning "MAMAAAAAA Where ahhhh YOUUU??? DADA!!! MAMA GET UP HERE!"  (He still won't get out of his bed until we open his door. Or if he does, he will just grab a toy and scurry back into his bed).

-"Cah-ter do by hisself" when climbing stairs, getting into the car, fixing train tracks. 

-With his toy screw driver in hand, he marches up to wherever his dad is working on putting furniture or baby gear together, and days "Dada and Cah-ter do guy stuff."

Carter in his big boy room!

Caroline's room is ready for her!

The day after our ER trip (and our sleepless night), I decided to take my injured guy to Chik Fil A since his dad had to work late... which unfortunately took an unlucky turn as my car completely broke down! I was lucky enough to inch into a parking lot with no power steering, and we made the best of a bad experience by getting some ice cream (we ended up breaking down in front of a Baskin Robbins thank goodness!) and watching the tow truck operator load the car on the truck.  As always, Carter hung in there and kept on smiling through it all. Such a trooper!

A common scene now as we try to leave the house... he has let me convince him to choose his two favorite toys  with the promise that his toys will be safe when we return (and I just hope one of the dogs doesn't break my promise!!)

On a day he chose to play in his room and jump on his bed during nap time... I never see this guy asleep anywhere but in his bed!

Very interested in helping me cook...

"Cah-ter being silly, Mama" and I turn around to see this... haha

Father's Day with our favorite dad!

Baking cookies for his dad on Father's Day and learning to be very patient....

His grandpa taught him this trick with the bucket... he thinks it's hilarious.

Just being a boy :) This was the toy he wanted to bring in the car with him...

Introducing "Baby sister Caroline" to Lightening and Mater

Every afternoon, we can be found drawing on our front porch!

Learning to share on a playdate with his two friends.

With Lucy (who he walked up to the other day and said "This my dog, Mama") at his grandparents house. She was a rescue we took in last year after being tied outside and beaten.  I went to Walden's Puddle to drop off a baby bird we rescued in the back yard, and they asked me to help them take on a dog in return!  She is turning out to be the sweetest dog and not that fearful of people anymore :)  And she has adored Carter since the day she met him. Love that he loves dogs!!

First ER Trip

June started out a bit rough when Carter fell and took his first trip to the ER! Luckily it happened right as Taylor was getting home from work- although he walked in the door to find me and Carter covered in blood... probably not the best scene to come home to! Our tough little guy barely cried, and it was right after dinner, so he took a nap on the way to the hospital. But whatever cut him (we think a branch,  or maybe a rock by the branch) definitely did enough damage to warrant a doctor's visit.

We went to the Vanderbilt Children's ER, and they were fantastic. Taylor, our crisis manager in the family, kept Carter laughing and kept the whole experience positive and low stress- even knowing the exact moment when to grab my hand as the nurses strapped our little guy to the bed and started stapling while he screamed. I'm proud to say I completely held it together so Carter didn't have the added stress of a crying mom! All the nurses and doctors were so nice and focused on keeping Carter (and his parents!) calm and happy. Carter did great. He cried every time they touched his head, or when anyone in a white coat got too close... but the minute he was with just a nurse or one of us, he was running around, dancing, laughing, eating purple popsicles, and playing with the toys they brought to our private room. They even sent a child life specialist with an iPad full of cartoons to keep him distracted when the doctor came to put three staples at the top of his head. The second they handed him back to me after the procedure, he was our happy, smiling boy again (although he clung to me and kept saying "bye bye" loudly to all the nurses and doctors until they cleared the room :)) . Kids are so brave and so resilient!

We then headed to Walgreens at 9:30pm to pick up some pain meds and antibiotics, and Carter just thought that was the most fun he'd ever had! Of course, having his dad there helped a ton!  While waiting on the meds, his amazing dad ran him around the store in the cart (I could hear his sweet toddler giggles all the way at the back of the store), and picked out some ice cream for him to snack on (and for us to sneak his meds into).

After finally getting home after 10:30pm, we got him cleaned up and medicated, and finally into bed. At which point, I completely broke down for a few moments. I'm just proud of myself for not crying in front of him- quite a feat for this overly emotional pregnant mom!  He had trouble sleeping that night when he kept rolling over onto the sore parts of his face, so I just slept on the floor by his bed on a futon mattress where he joined me, waking up every hour or so crying, and then snuggling into me and back to sleep (so so sweet!). And the next morning  (even on about 5 hours sleep), he was back to his playful little self again...bragging to anyone who asked that he "hurt head" last night and was a "big boy." Now if only that could be our last trip to the ER... highly unlikely with this little daredevil!!

Spring!

Spring flew past us in a blur, with lots of time spent outside taking advantage of the beautiful weather and my second trimester energy burst!

Playing with Grandpa's toys

Hugs for Nemo!

Fishing with Dad

Cooking with Mom and Dad 

Watching Vandy baseball- with his very own ball and glove

Helping Mom get a dog on the rescue transport to her new home

Playing at the zoo and the dirt park with his favorite friend, Ev!

Playing catch with Dad

Making his own fashion choices

Playing with Grandma and Grandpa's rescue boy,  Buddy. He calls Buddy his "best friend" (without any prompting from us!)

Breakfast in bed for Mother's Day- that he ended up eating most of!

Checking out the meerkats and flamingos with his cousin Colin 

Loving spending time with his big boy friend

Hanging with his 4 legged siblings (he is learning not to share his toys as freely with the dogs... )

Watching golf with his Godfather, Andy, and some other friends in town for a bachelor party.

He walked around the house in Mom's shoes one morning :)

Mother's Day 

He picked flowers from our yard on the way to brunch for his Great Gigi and Grandma.

Playing with water and chalk- what our spring and summer  are all about!

Being outside... A LOT. The hardest part of Carter's day is when we have to bring him inside for dinner and bed (and lots of times we just do picnics to make it easier!)...  He wants to be in the yard running with the dogs or on the front porch with his chalk all day, every day!

He has attached himself to two of the many stuffed animals he has in his room... these are "Monkey" and "Bay-ball"...and he  sleeps with them (and a random array of other cars and/or trucks) every naptime and every night.

Piano playing with friends!

In Carter's words: "Meno LOVES Cah-ter"

His friend Margaret taught him how to blow on a dandelion - even though most of the it ends up on his mouth :) 

Mom and Dad went on their first flight away form Carter  for a mini baby moon , and Carter spent the weekend at his grandparents house!

Discovering ice cream cones

Lessons in flower planting with Maria