Christmas Day
Already a pro at Christmas festivities, Carter really enjoyed his first actual Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We spent Christmas Eve at our house with Grandpa Shaffer, Grandma and Grandpa Jernstadt, and Uncle Mark. On Christmas morning the three of us opened presents at our house then headed over to Grandma Webb's house in the afternoon. We had fun with Grandma Webb, Uncle Josh, Uncle Mark, and lots of other family and friends. Grandma Baldwin and Grandpa Pries stopped by to see us too.

As you can guess, Carter was bombarded by presents. He even slept through some of the present opening (it was a tiring experience!) but he bounced back in the evening and enjoyed playing with his new toys and watching the crazy card games that happen at Grandma Webb's house.

Santa after his huge Christmas dinner...

Wearing Daddy's Michigan Santa hat Christmas morning.

Not completely sure about Santa...as long as he didn't have to face him he was o.k.

He really got into ripping the paper!

Cool new blocks

A lot of yawning happened after opening all those presents!

Uncle Mark teaching Carter how to maximize the noise and motion in the exersaucer.

Loving his first Christmas!

Christmas with the Burke's

Carter got to celebrate his second Christmas over at the Burke's house on December 23rd. It was more crazy present opening and having fun with Tyler, Drew, Kayley, Jim and Betsy!

The kids posing in front of the tree...it was hard to get everyone to focus...

Santa and Mrs. Clause

A very cute present!

Carter checking out his new Wheel Pals

Early Christmas

We celebrated Carter's first Christmas experience when Aunt Lee and Elsa came to visit December 14th - 17th. Carter and Elsa had a lot of fun together opening presents, practicing their sitting up, and hanging out with their grandparents and great aunt. They smiled a lot at each other during this visit and seemed to pay more attention to each other. As you can see below, they loved checking out each other's sitting techniques. There was a lot of tipping over during the sitting sessions but they are both getting the hang of it!

Trying to sit together...I think we captured this shot just before some tipping happened.

Carter checking out his new alligator hand puppet. Who knew alligators roar like godzilla?

A cool new book about doggies!

Carter and Elsa hanging out in their p.j.'s. Elsa is always so festive!

Carter in one of this favorite new contraptions - the Johnny Jump Up. So far he just spins around on one foot and slobbers on the front part...we hope actual jumping happens soon.

On bad hair days, it's nice to know you can just throw on a doo-rag.

Back to Work

As many of you know, I'm now back to work full time and Carter has started daycare. I started back the Monday after Thanksgiving. Luckily my work let me start a "flex" schedule which means I work Monday - Thursday from 6am - 5pm. This allows me to be off work on Friday and be at home with Carter. Dave is doing the same type of schedule but he works Tuesday - Friday and stays home with Carter on Monday. We feel very lucky to have such a wonderful schedule and for only having Carter in daycare 3 days a week.

If you know me, you know I'm not a "morning person." I'm not really a night owl either, I guess you could say I like my sleep. A lot. So getting up at 4:45am 4 days a week isn't exactly fun, but believe it or not I am still very grateful to be doing it. Getting to be with Carter that extra day a week is definitely worth the lack of sleep. Plus it wasn't like I was sleeping tons the last few months anyway!

I'm also very grateful to Dave for having to take the morning shift (and not complaining). Since I'm off to work before they are awake, Dave has to get ready for work plus get Carter ready for daycare and drop him off. I get the awesome job of picking Carter up, the absolute highlight of my day. I honestly don't think I would have been able to drop him off that first day...or week...it was hard enough just thinking of him being dropped off. Definitely the worst part of being a mom is having to drop your child off to a stranger and trust they will kiss and rock and comfort and genuinely love him like you do. The good part is that Carter seems to love Julie, his daycare lady. We were referred to Julie through another daycare provider and when we interviewed her, both Dave and I thought she was wonderful. We also found out she provides daycare for a friend and we grilled her about Julie. She got rave reviews so after interviewing some other places and people, we decided she was the one.

This is Carter's second week and he seems to be the same happy and smiley baby as always. When I pick him up he is always sitting on her lap smiling and Julie goes over their day with me. Sometimes there are other children waiting for their parents and they all seem very happy and talkative too. At most, Julie has 6 kids but on most days she has 4 (some of them are part time like Carter). Yesterday I met the mom of Desire', a three year old little girl who also goes to Julie for daycare. Desire' was telling me all about their day and was very enthusiastic. She kissed Julie about 5 times before she let her mom put her boots on to go. The mom told me Desire' has been going to Julie since Carter's age. I feel so much better when I see and hear these types of things from other parents and kids. It seems that they all love Julie so much.

I wish I could be home with Carter every day but I know he is getting excellent care and he will be a well rounded child. I'm sure daycare will allow him to make friends easily and challenge his mind. Plus I know this is way harder for me and Dave than it is for Carter, for him it's just another fun adventure in life!

Carter's Baptism

Carter was baptized at St. Paul the Apostle Church on Sunday, 11/28/06. He was very blessed to have his Godparents with him - Aunt Lee and Uncle Bob, as well as his grandparents, Great Aunt Nancy, Great Grandma (Gigi), and Uncle Josh.

Carter had on his own special three piece suit for the occasion (my original baptismal gown was a little too "girly" for him). Both he and Elsa did very well during the mass before the baptism. Elsa even sang along with some of the hymns! Carter did not enjoy getting wet during the actual baptism but he was only upset for a minute and settled down once we dried him off. He did very well overall, Dave and I are very proud of him.

Thank you to everyone for helping us celebrate this special occasion! We really appreciate the love and support from everyone.

Grandma Sandy and Uncle Josh

Carter with his Godparents - Aunt Lee and Uncle Bob (and Elsa!)
Carter and Elsa hanging out at the baptism "party" at Grandma Baldwin and Grandpa Pries' house.

Carter's First Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful holiday weekend with family and friends. Carter and cousin Elsa hung out and compared notes on sitting up, rolling over, and babbling. Carter celebrated his 3 month birthday with Gigi (the original 8/21 birthday holder). We ate several delicious Thanksgiving dinners at various grandparents’ houses. Lee, Mom and I enjoyed an awesome pedicure at the spa. Carter (almost) saw his very first hockey game … (he at least experienced the “rink” atmosphere and met some of Daddy’s hockey friends). Plus he opened his very first Christmas present! (A little early due to packing constraints when Elsa and Lee come back at Christmas time).

Overall it was a fantastic weekend full of fun “firsts” for Carter. Below are some pictures from the weekend.

Carter in his Turkey Day attire.

Aunt Ellen with Elsa

Carter and Elsa working off their turkey dinner in their gym.

Spending the day at Grandpa and Grandma Jernstadt's house

Uncle Brandt meeting Carter for the first time

Opening his first Christmas present

Gigi with the babies

3 Months Old!

Carter turned three months old on 11/21/06. He was lucky enough to celebrate with his Great Grandma (Gigi) whom he also shares his birthday with!

Carter celebrating his birthday with Raggedy Ann & Andy also.

Quality tummy time. At 3 months old he is really enjoying it now!

Smiley Guy!

Eating, pooping, napping...what's not to smile about? Life is good.

Recent Pictures...

Working out in his "gym" with Mr. Monkey. He's getting so good at grabbing!

We think he looks like a little astronaut in his snow suit. He is in there somewhere!

Visiting with Friends and Family

Carter is so lucky to have so many friends and family around him all the time. From loving grandparents to fun friends from Ireland to his adorable "girlfriend" Kayley. Carter is always entertaining guests with his charm and wit.

Carter and Kayley hanging out in their fun Halloween pj's.

Jake and Luise all the way from Ireland!

Carter and Grandpa Shaffer talking sports.

Dr's Visit

Carter had his "2 month" check up last week Wednesday. He was a little past 2 months when he went in (just past 10 weeks old). Everything is going great, the Dr. said he looks wonderful and he's definitely eating well! He weighed in at 13 lbs. and his height was 21.75 inches. The Dr.'s office always tells the parents what percentile their baby fits in according to their height and weight compared to other babies their age. Dave and I knew Carter was not going to be a pro basketball player due to our height (or lack there of), so when the Dr. told us Carter was in a low percentile for height we weren't shocked. Then she told us the actual number...5th%. That means 95% of the kids will be taller?? We're positive he'll grow more and I also think they were wrong...5th%? I like to tell myself there's a high level of error on those tests. For weight he was doing awesome, he was in the 65th%. With my baby-fat genes (I was a hugely fat baby) I think only the 65th% is great! So he's a little short and stocky at this point, but how can I not love those little thigh rolls?

Carter did NOT enjoy the 4 different shots he had to endure at the Dr.'s visit. But he was a strong little guy and took it well once he got a hug from Mommy and Daddy. Overall he is very happy and healthy!

BOO!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

The cutest spider I've ever seen.

Since he can't eat any candy, Carter prefers to sit in his trick or treat bag.

This is Carter's ghost impression.

Two Months Old!

Carter is officially 2 months old today and he is growing like crazy! He can sit by himself in his "bebe pod" chair and is smiling like crazy. We still haven't captured his biggest grin on camera, but take my word for it, his smile is the cutest thing ever.

We also switched his formula and he seems to be MUCH happier with less squirms and grunts after eating. I think his tummy likes this formula way better. But no matter what we give him, he's a good eater. It's never a problem getting him to finish a bottle.

He also is doing a lot better at night. Last night he slept 6.5 hours (we had to check on him after about 5 because we were so astonished!) and he's having more and more nights along these lines. Yippeee!




The coolest chair for babies...the "bebe pod." Carter loves hanging out in his.


His half smile, which is almost as cute as his full blown smile.

Here are Carter and Aunt Meredith hanging out watching a Tiger's game together. As you can see, Carter is totally enamored with Meredith.

Here Carter's friend, Noah, is teaching Carter the basics of sitting without a prop. Carter is deep in thought.

Road Trip!

This past weekend Dave, Carter and I loaded up in Dave's Jeep and drove down to Greenfield Indiana for a fun wedding weekend with relatives. Getting there was a battle but the rest of the time we had a blast.

Carter taught me some valuable lessons on the ride down there. The trip is about 4.5 hours total and about half way there we decided to take a quick rest stop. We were trying to time things so that when Dave and I wanted to stop for lunch, Carter would need to eat too, so this quick rest stop was mainly for Dave and I. We planned to stop and eat in another hour or so. Well... when we wanted to leave the rest area, Dave's car was dead. We seemed to be stranded. But a nice stranger a few parking spots away gave us a jump and we decided we could not stop or even attempt to get off the highway for fear of the car dying again. We called Dave's brother Mark (our awesome mechanic) who happened to already be in Greenfield for the wedding festivities and he said "just get here and I'll fix it up." So we were on our way again and we were not stopping even though I was starving. Since we couldn't really explain the situation to Carter (how do you break it to a baby he can't eat because we can't stop?), I decided to crawl in the backseat at his feeding time and give him his bottle in his car seat while we were driving. I thought I timed it pretty well so that by the time we got off the highway and arrived at our destination I could burp him. Lesson number one: don't feed a baby in the moving car with no chance of burping. By the time we got off the highway he was completely done with his bottle, so I got him out of his seat to burp him. Before I could even put him to my shoulder he puked everywhere. It came out his nose, his mouth, AND on top of it he pooped at the same exact time. I was grabbing every burp rag I could find. The formula wouldn't stop coming out! A valuable lesson, thanks Carter.

Once we got settled and changed every piece of clothing, we thought we were in the clear. So we went about our business and met up with family and friends. Dave, Mark, and Dave's cousin Mike installed a new battery in Dave's Jeep and we were all set. When it came time for Carter's next bottle I made him one and fed it to him thinking this time we wouldn't have so many issues. Wrong. Lesson number two: be careful if your baby is used to city water and you switch him to well water. Thanks again Carter. So after the second wardrobe change in about 4 hours we decided to go out and buy some bottled water for the rest of the trip.

The highlight of Carter's trip was during the wedding reception when he was photographed with an ex-NFL player (Steve Knight, I think). Steve was gracious enough to hold Carter and even put his Superbowl ring on Carter's chest during the photo shoot. Carter looked even tinier than normal next to this huge football guy!

Overall we had a fun trip (thanks Indiana folks!) and I will never again feed Carter in a moving car.



The whole family posing after the wedding. You can't see it very well but Carter is in his fancy sweater vest outfit. He loves dressing up.

Hanging out with cousin Jean at the rehearsal dinner.

Posing with the NFL guy at the reception. Notice the superbowl ring on Carter's tummy! (Dave wanted to grab the ring and run but thought better after sizing the guy up).
Here is Carter posing in the sleigh Uncle Kenny built for Christmas pictures.
Hanging out with Uncle Kenny...no, he's not strangling Carter.