An Early Visit From...

The Birthday Fairy {aka: The UPS man}, who brought this from Bamma and Big Pat:

About which Carter feels like this:

And, Carter has discovered uses beyond the intended:

He absolutely loves this chair! He cracked me up this afternoon by pushing his music table over to it {as if his music table were a push-toy! Looks like we know the next purchase I need to make!}, climbing into the chair, and then laying over the arm of the chair to play with the music table. It was priceless; but, of course, I wasn't fast enough with the camera!

Carter has also started sleeping on a cot at school! His teacher told me that he really loves it. When they put him in a crib now, he fusses and won't go to sleep. When they put him on a cot, he drifts right off {sometimes he requires a little patting}. Nick and I can't figure out how that happens because we can't imagine him slowing down long enough to fall asleep on a cot!

PS: Thanks for all of the comments/suggestions on the previous post. Now we have some places to start. Hopefully, we will get something up soon!

Things that make you go, "hmmm?"

This is what the bottom of our stairs leading upstairs looks like.

This is what my {almost} 11 month old likes to do on the stairs. (In fact, he loves this. If I come behind him or the cat is in front of him, he climbs faster. Cute, but also a little scary.)

Baby gates won't fit on these stairs as a barrier because the railing isn't wide enough.

What is a mom to do? Suggestions welcome!

It's 5:00 Somewhere

For those of you who went to UA and were there when Capstone Grill was around the corner (and down a bit) from The Corner, here is a nice little recipe to take you back:

Walk-Me-Down
1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Tequilla
1/2 oz Rum
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Blue Curacao
1 oz Sweet and Sour mix
4-6 oz Spr.ite

For those of you unfamiliar with the reference, the recipe makes a drink about the color of the name and very sweet. I suppose if you prefer not so sweet, you could half the Spr.ite and add the same amount of club soda. Be careful, though. As you might imagine from the ingredients, a little goes a long way!

A fun summer time drink! Enjoy!

On My Soapbox

(Disclaimer: This post is not intended to offend; it is more of a vent on my part. Please feel free to comment with your perspective if it differs from my own...or even if it doesn't)

So, I have been irked a few times lately by a particular comment. For some reason, when I hear moms who stay at home say, "I am a full time mom," it really gets under my skin. Well, not really for some reason...for this reason: So am I.

I am not a part time mother because I work outside the home. I am very much a full time mom. Sometimes, I think I am a crazy full time mom, because, as SAHMs know very well, when you add up taking care of your little one(s), taking care of your home, and other responsibilities, you wind up having little time for YOU. That is equally true for me regarding working outside the home. I don't view work as "me" time. In fact, it is, in my opinion, anything but.

I want to be clear. I am not suggesting that one is better than the other. Both are perfectly wonderful options, and I think that each family makes the decision that is right for them (which can, and often does, change at different times).

I want to give the women who make that comment the benefit of the doubt. I want to be able to say that they don't mean to imply that moms who work outside the home aren't full-time moms. But I don't know. Perhaps there are some out there who truly do mean to imply just that.

I'd like to think that, as moms, we could recognize that whether we work at home or outside the home, we are all both working mothers and full time moms.

The little one to whom I am a full time mom

This past weekend he LOVED climbing, playing, & rocking in this rocking chair that was my grandfather's.

Beach Baby

I am finally getting around to posting about our vacation last week. We were able to drive back down to Alabama to visit our family and spend some time at the beach. It was a great trip, but I have to say it was quite a bit different from previous beach trips Nick and I have taken solo!

Carter was introduced to the gulf through his"toe dipping." He was definitely not a fan. He started crying as soon as we walked toward the surf, and I swear he was holding on so tightly that I could have let go and he wouldn't have gone anywhere (I didn't!).

Carter's "toe dippin'"

He wasn't really sure what to think of the sand, but after a few minutes, he was crawling all over. Which, of course meant that we all had sand all over us as well...and everything else!

This sand stuff is weird

To redeem his skepticism of the gulf, Carter felt obligated to show off his love of the pool. He continues to love it and loves being out of his float and "swimming" like a big boy. He has even graduated to going under water--with help, of course!

Swimming like a big boy with Dad

We got to spend lots of time with my family, visit with Nick's mom, brother and sister, Stacey, and Nick managed to play in a golf tournament last weekend as we drove back through Birmingham on our way home.

It was fun to see Carter explore so many new things and see him grow up so fast. He is definitely getting a little more steady on his feet. He is quite the "cruiser" now, and will even stand on his own every now and again!

These are just a few of our pictures...I will try to upload some to our picture site soon!

Family picture on the dock