Big Trucks

Carter LOVES big trucks and buses. Every time we are in the car, he looks for them and points them out. So, when Deanna & Connor and Sarah & Miles asked us if we'd be interested in joining them for Carmel's "Touch a Truck," the answer was definitely yes. I thought Carter would love it.

I was semi-right.

This morning, the six of us ventured out to the Carmel High School stadium to see all kinds of trucks--Fire trucks, police cars, U-hauls, golf carts, school buses, even the chicken limo.

Carter really loved looking at all of the trucks close up, but didn't really want to get in or on any of them. He was happy to touch them...especially all of the big tires.

I forced him to get on the school bus, and he eventually warmed up to it.

Then, he found this

and he was right at home.

After seeing and touching a few more trucks, we decided to head out and have a yummy lunch at Patachou. It was definitely a fun way to spend a morning with friends!

The best photo I could get of all three--too much to see to stop and pose for pictures!

Our little fish

Carter is becoming more and more brave in the water. His favorite thing to do lately is jump off of the diving board. We have to keep him occupied for a little while when we first get to the pool, because once he starts jumping off the board, that is all he wants to do! {which wouldn't be so bad, but one of us has to put him up on the board!} As you can tell, he is pretty fearless!

You can hear him in the first video telling Nick, "Carter do it!" He was NOT wanting any help jumping off the board...so we moved to just putting him on the board by himself, which is what the second video shows.

Mr. Independent

This little man is getting more and more independent every day. His favorite, most used phrase these days is either "Carter do it" or "I do it." And, honestly, it doesn't matter what "it" is. He wants to try to tackle it on his own. He continues to make us smile and laugh. So far, I am very thankful that the "terrible twos" seem to be staying away.

Carter also might be the most polite almost-two-year old that I have ever been around. He LOVES to say thank you and excuse me. He makes me so proud. He is mostly willing to try new things, though sometimes he is a bit stand-offish. His vocabulary grows daily and Nick and I find ourselves looking at each other wondering where he learned some of them (not that they are bad words, just words we either can't remember using around him or don't use on a regular basis).

We bought him a book last week about becoming a big brother. I think it has really helped him understand a little bit more about the little one who is about to join our family. Though, I am not sure that he has any clue as to how his life will change! He is precious with the book, though, he will hold it and say, "Big Brother book, Mama read it, please!" Let's just hope that he loves the baby as much as he loves the book! ha, ha

This Blog Post

is brought to you by our new Mac and Eli Lilly & Co.

For my birthday recently, Nick got me (us, really, I guess) a new computer. We'd been talking for a while about joining the ranks of Mac users, and since the majority of what I use our home computer for is pictures, email and internet, it just made sense for us to switch from a PC to a Mac. Due to the fact that the monitor on our old laptop shorted out last weekend, I got my birthday present a little early. So far, we are really enjoying the new computer; though, I must say that we are still learning. I'd really gotten comfortable with a PC after years and years of using only that, but I am excited to entering new (for me) territory.

And as of 5:00pm yesterday, I am on maternity leave! Yay! Lilly's maternity leave is from 4 weeks prior to your anticipated delivery date up to 12 weeks post the baby's birth. That equates to at least a few weeks of down time prior to the baby's birth, since life is pretty hectic after that point for one growing Mommy. I need to get busy working on the finishing touches in Carter's big boy room and getting all of our baby items/clothes out and organized. BUT, I keep telling myself, that I have plenty of time for that, so I am relaxing for a few days.

While I was on blog-hiatus trying to figure out how to do the basics on my new computer, sweet Leslie gave me an Aww-Summ award for which I am very appreciative. I am supposed to share 7 things that make me Aww-Summ and then tag 7 fellow bloggers that I think are Aww-Summ. So, I'll give it a try. In general, there is not much about me specifically that makes me awesome...I prefer to focus on those things around me that create and/or elicit awesome-ness:

1. Jesus

2. My sweet husband

3. My precious son

4. Our extended family--my family and Nick's. I have learned and grown so much from the love and support they give me.

5. I am 2x graduate of The University of Alabama...I include this because it has also shaped who I am in so many ways.

6. My amazing friends--those who are near and those who are far...my relationship with them has and continues to make me a better person, friend, and mom.

7. Did I mention my husband and my son (and of course the future Baby Willis, too!)? They truly inspire me and bring out the best and also, sadly, sometimes the worst in me.

So, now it is my turn to tag 7 others (in no particular order), who can share 7 Awe-Summ things about themselves!

1. Button

2. Andrea

3. Deanna

4. Sarah

5. Caroline

6. Meg

7. Leslie (though, I don't expect you to re-do your 7 things!)

The Joys of Freedom

After we had a successful week at the beach with Carter in a big-boy bed, we decided not to go back to the crib. Nick made the necessary adjustments to the bed in our guest room {which is to say that he took the box springs and matress off of the bed frame and put them on the floor}, and we moved Carter into his very own big-boy bed & room.

At the beach, he didn't get out of the bed; he just went right to sleep for naps and at night. Now, I can see that this probably had quite a bit to do with his level of exhaustion. His first night at home was a very different experience. He kept getting out of the bed and running all around the upstairs. We decided to jimmy his door shut since it is the room with the faulty doorknob/latch that we still haven't really fixed, and establish the rule that you can get out of your bed--to get a book or a stuffed animal, for example--but you can't leave your room, and you have to get back in the bed. I told him that if he would do that for the week, then we would get a special treat {a milkshake, which he got last Friday night! Yay!}

So, one evening earlier this week, I read him some books, jimmied the door closed and left him upstairs to go to sleep. A brief while later, Nick says, "he's out of his bed." I asked if he was out of his room and the answer was no, so I let it go. After maybe 30 minutes, all was quiet, so I went up to check on the little guy and make sure that he was sleeping in his bed rather than on the floor.

This is what I found:

In case you are missing it, here's a close up:

Just for the record: I don't put my child to sleep with shoes on. He got out of the bed to put his crocs on the wrong feet to go to sleep.

He always makes me smile and laugh when I least expect it. I love it!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

So I can go outside and play!

Saturday it rained for the majority of the day. After Carter woke up from his nap, we went to see if the pool was open, but it wasn't. We ran a few errands and then returned home. Our driveway gets nice-sized puddles or at least one might think they're nice-sized if you were a two-year-old little boy; I am not a fan when it rains a fair amount. I suppose Carter figured that if the pool wasn't open, he could make his own merriment in the puddles in the driveway.

He was a mess! I stripped him down at our back door and took him straight to the bathtub. He had a blast, though, which I guess is the really important thing!

Ah, the things we tell ourselves we won't let our children do...

Walking with Dinosaurs

Carter's friend, Jackson {and his mom & dad} invited us to go see Walking with Dinosaurs yesterday with them. Carter likes dinosaurs so we accepted the invitation, but we weren't 100% sure that he'd do well with life-sized dinosaurs right in front of him.

He talked about going to see the dinosaurs all week, and then when the lights went out and the narrator/paleontologist was talking, he kept saying "go home," so I was getting a little worried. However, once the dinosaurs actually made an appearance, he was fine. He loved watching the dinosaurs!

Brachiosaurus

Watching the dinosaurs with Mom

Carter fell asleep {it was his normal naptime} right before the last dinosaurs came out, so he missed T-Rex. There was a full-on dinosaur fight between T-Rex and two other dinosaurs that he slept through. I found myself laughing that I worry about whether or not our creaking floors will wake him up, but he can sleep through a dinosaur fight with sound broadcast through an arena. I guess I can stop worrying.

T-Rex

Sleeping on Daddy on the way out

It was a fun morning, and Carter loved seeing the dinosaurs. Thanks to the Willetts for including us!

A Special Adventure

On our way back to Indianapolis from the beach, we stopped for the day in Decatur to visit with Nick's family {minus the honeymooners, of course} one more time. Debbie and Andrea prepared a yummy southern veggie dinner and Christopher fried some delicious chicken. Once the preparation for the dinner was complete, Debbie wanted to take Carter on a special adventure...to pick blueberries!

Blueberries are Carter's favorite fruit. Nick swears he has eaten his weight in them over his two years--well, I guess in the 16 months he has been eating solids, anyway.

Carter loved the trip! He was so delighted to go with Debbie, and was such a big boy picking blue-bees {as he calls them} from the vine and eating them rather than putting them in the bucket. You can definitely tell which bucket is Debbie's and which one is Carter's!

We have been enjoying fresh-off-of-the-bush blueberries since we got home! Thanks, Debbie, for such a fun and yummy adventure!

My Water Baby

I couldn't resist posting this video of Carter jumping into the water! When we got to the beach, he would only jump to someone; by two days in, he didn't care if there was someone in the water or not. It was all I could do to slow him down long enough to get his floaties on!

Where to begin???

We just got back from a wonderful, busy, and exhausting trip to Alabama. We celebrated Nick's little sister's wedding, went to the beach with my family, celebrated the 4th, and visited with Nick's family on the way back to Indy. It was such a fun trip, and I have so many pictures, but I haven't had time to go through them all yet. I wanted to post a few, though.

Jumping from the stairs with Bamma

Carter had lots of new experiences...he walked down the aisle in Stacey's wedding, went to his first wedding reception, came a long way in his swimming, went riding in Big Pat's boat, caught fish and watched fireworks.

Fishing with Dad, Steve & Big Pat

Touching one of the fish he caughtRiding on Big Pat's boat...Mr. Lamb got to ride, too.

Enjoying a little grilled cheese lunch, poolside

He also started sleeping in a big boy bed!!! I highly suggest the take-your-child-somewhere-he-doesn't-have-his-own-bed-and-wear-him-out-swimming-so-that-he-doesn't-care-where-he-sleeps technique. We'll see how it goes at home tonight. {Since we got home at 1:30am last night, I decided the crib was probably our best bet!}

I am so proud of our little man! He was a great traveler! We don't have a DVD player (portable or in our car) and he does fabulously on long car trips. He points out "big trucks," buses, and many other things...Nick and I laughed because on our trip from Indy to Decatur, he literally talked the entire 6.5 hours! He got sleepy when we were about 10 minutes from Nick's mom's house, and started saying "Carter sleepy time" over and over and over. Carter was in a great mood all week and enjoyed seeing and celebrating with family and friends.

My sister has some pictures on her blog from our trip too. I'll post more soon!