July... leading up to Caroline's arrival!

So we have a new member of our family who turned one month old today...and we are oh-so-blessed to have her in our lives!  The summer of 2013 was very kind to this heavily pregnant mama with lots of cool, rainy days and lots of helpful visitors to keep our precious, wild Carter entertained.

Carter is absolutely adorable these days. Talking in sentences, communicating his wants and needs SO well, and just becoming more and more fun every day! He has SUCH a fun, happy, goofy personality, and I feel so lucky to be his mom! He was very patient with me as I slowed down with my big belly this summer, and focused his energy on playing with his dad in the afternoons and spending his days being relatively calm and snuggly with me! On one zoo trip that was especially hot, he took my hand and asked to sit on a bench with me, where we discussed the animals we had seen. I mean, could this guy melt my heart any more!

Here's a photo recap of the first half of our July... before our world was happily turned upside down by our itty bitty angel girl! 

Fishing with Dad

Visiting Dad's office and learning to play some old school Nintendo

Meeting goats and alligators at the zoo  

A belated impromptu birthday celebration with Deacon and Evelyn

Piano playing with Ev

Swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Bonding with cars and trains and legos

Super pregnant me and a medicated Taylor (who had thrown out his back the day before) at the courthouse for two of our good friends' spontaneous wedding!

Hanging out with Grandpa after a Saturday brunch

Gigi and GP flew in from Seattle to await the arrival of Carter's baby sister!

How Carter and I spent many of our afternoons in the last couple weeks of this pregnancy! My sweet snuggle bug :) 

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!!