Happy Mother's Day!

We had a wonderful day. Well, as close to wonderful as it could be--the weather was the only thing not cooperating. It was raining and in the mid-50s today. :( Despite the weather, I had a great first Mother's Day. Nick and Carter treated me to brunch at Highland--Yum; one of my favorites. Then, I got to spend the day hanging out at home with my two fellas--with no agenda. In fact, Nick even did the laundry that was on my to-do list, so that I truly would have nothing that I had to do. It was such a great way to spend my first Mother's Day.

I also had a special treat when I picked Carter up from school on Friday. His teacher had helped Carter create a Mother's Day card with his handprints. It was so sweet, and although the handprints aren't very defined (I can only imagine him as she tried to do this--moving all around, trying to put his paint-covered hands in his mouth, etc), I know I will treasure it for a long time.

What a difference a year makes, huh?

Mother's Day 2007

Mother's Day 2008

I am so blessed and humbled that God chose us to be Carter's parents. There are so many things that I love about being a mom, and I love it more and more every day. I used to be annoyed when people would say that parenting and the love you have for your child is something that you really can't understand until you have a child of your own. Now, I completely understand. Some things are just beyond our ability to characterize them in words.

Helping Dad plant flowers

Bumps and Bruises

It appears that the little boy we have on our hands is ALL BOY. Which is to say that he is quite adventuresome and thinks he is bigger than he is. Thursday, I got back to my desk after a meeting to a voicemail from one of Carter's teachers. She wanted to tell me that he had been pulling up on a toy, fell and hit the side of his head on another toy. She knows what my standard questions are and answered them: Is he bleeding? There was no blood; it didn't break the skin. Is he okay? He is okay now. Is he happy now? He cried for just a little bit and we put some ice on it and now he is happy and back to playing. When I picked him up, if they hadn't pointed out the red mark on the side of his head, I would not have been able to tell. He was in a great mood and didn't show any signs of slowing down.

Yesterday, I was on the phone at my desk, and my message arrow appeared. When I got off the phone, I listened to the message, which was from Carter's other teacher. She wanted to let me know that Carter had fallen again and hit his head. He had been crawling over and pulling up on a futon (one that is on the ground) and pillows and fell forward over one of the pillows and hit his head. Again, they iced it and he was doing fine now. She said that she hoped this calling with Carter's falling events wouldn't become a daily occurance.

In the picture above, the red mark in the middle of his head is from bouncing around in his crib this morning when he woke up. The bruise over his left eyebrow (to the right in the picture) is from yesterday's fall. The mark from Thursday's fall is long gone in anticipation of what will certainly be another one to take its place.

Pictures from our weekend

Nick was out of town this weekend, so Carter and I spent the weekend hanging out. Saturday, the little guy got to hang out in his PJs for a while. I managed to snap a few pictures from our weekend together.

Mom, where's my bottle?

Okay. Now I see it.

Are you serious, woman? Enough with the pictures. Bottle, please.

After we managed to fill Carter's tummy, he was off and playing again. He has really perfected his crawling and pulling up! I'll have to post a video of the pulling up soon!



Having a little fun under the barstools.

I am officially going to give up on buying Carter toys. His favorite toys are the remote control, the telephone, sticks, the dog, and his newest favorite--water bottles. If anyone has any recommendations for (safe) household items that could be potential new favorites for the little man, please let me know! I suppose if anyone has recommendations for store-bought toys that he would like, I would be up for that. I think he is ready for some new stimulation!

All Over the Place

I have been reporting that Carter is quite the crawler, so I thought I would give you some video to support my claims. He is a little more tentative in the one where he is crawling outside. Nick had just cut the grass, and I think he was getting used to the prickly grass sensation on his hands.

The video of his crawling inside shows how busy he is--going from toy to toy to toy. Tonight, we were playing in his room and he pushed a truck under his bed and crawled under there to get it. Unfortunately, he couldn't figure out how to crawl back out, so I had to help.

Carter is truly the greatest blessing! I can't believe he is growing up so fast. I am trying to savor every minute!

The Truth...

Quote of the Week

--Nick talking to Wrigley (yes, the dog) about Carter--

"Wriggle P, he is a lot of work!"

Truer words have never been spoken.

though he is also the source of a lot of joy...