Aunt Lee and Cousin Elsa's Visit

Lee and Elsa came across on the ferry from Milwaukee last weekend. We hadn't seen them since before Christmas so we couldn't wait for them to get here! When they arrived on Thursday we all hung out at Grandma B's and Grandpa P's house for some dinner and play time. Carter and Elsa enjoyed getting acquainted again. Elsa has grown a lot since the last time we saw her. She is a bit taller than Carter and such a cutie. Carter showed Elsa his new crawling techniques and Elsa showed Carter how to really maximize his swing in their Johnny Jump Ups.

For some reason the "recycle truck" toy was a favorite for both of them...it kept popping up all weekend and they loved it for some reason. You can see the truck in the pictures below, they only seemed to want the truck if the other baby had it. (Carter hogged it most of the time).

Friday: Grandma B, Lee, Elsa, Dave, Carter and I all went to John Ball Park Zoo. We got to see some animals like a huge brown bear, a wolverine (Dave's favorite), some chimpanzees, monkeys, and penguins. We also saw lots of cages and areas with no animals...I think they had to move a lot of them due to some construction going on in the park. It was a gorgeous day and we all had fun despite the somewhat scarce selection of animals to see.

As you can see, the zoo was incredibly tiring for Elsa!

Saturday: Lee, Elsa, Dave, Carter and I headed for Grand Haven to visit Grandpa and Grandma J. Elsa got to see Grandpa's store for the first time and we all enjoyed lunch out on the deck of Snug Harbor. It was another beautiful day so we walked along the channel and watched the boats going in and out. Carter and Elsa also experienced the beach for the first time! They both seemed to really enjoy the sand - Carter tried to eat it several times.

Hanging out at Grandpa's store.

Crawling!

Last Monday, the 9th, Carter officially started crawling! He even waited for me to get home from work before doing it. Dave and I were watching him play on the floor and he was pivoting around in circles like normal when he spotted the dog's red ball a few feet away...I guess that was motivation enough because he started dragging himself (army crawl style) across the floor to get that ball! Another favorite crawl path is straight to the dangerously sharp coffee table, which we plan to have gone by next weekend. He also loves checking out his car seat if it's in the room, he cracks up as he rocks it back and forth.

Grabbing at the sharp table.

Playing with his seat.

Since last Monday he has drastically improved from a one arm dragging motion to a more efficient army crawl. Sometimes he even gets his butt up in the air and his knees underneath him. I think he's going to get the "real crawl" before we know it. We love the funny army crawl though, it's hilarious to watch him. He definitely has determination!

Here is Carter practicing his walking...I thought I'd add it to this post since it's all about his mobility. He still loves standing and trying to walk, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's an early walker. He loves this "play and walk" toy even though sometimes the toy keeps moving but his feet stay planted. As you can imagine, this stretches his body way out and then he eventually buckles. He loves this game!

1st Easter

We had an exhausting but fun Easter traveling around to three sets of Grandparents' houses. Carter opened his Easter basket at home with us and had a quick bottle and then we were off to Grandpa and Grandma J.'s for an Easter brunch and egg hunt. We brought the dogs so they could even get in on the egg hunting action. Because of the 5 inches of snow on the ground, we decided the egg hunt would be indoors. It's always nice when you have more snow on Easter than at Christmas! Carter got a fun Easter basket from Grandpa and Grandma J. with lots of cool new bath toys.

Opening up his basket at home.

He liked the grass more than the toys!

Dog hunt at Grandpa and Grandma J.'s

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After we ate brunch we were off to Grandma B. and Grandpa P.'s house. Carter had yet another Easter basket waiting for him here (if you're keeping track that's three baskets so far...) and we had fun playing with Traci and Susan's kids (Garrett, Anna, Ally, and Nick) and hanging out with everyone. Carter got a cool truck in his basket which he loves to watch race around.

Watching the Master's with Grandma and Grandpa.

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Playing with Ally.

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Grandma Webb's house was next for dinner. Grandma, Uncle Josh, Uncle Mark, Deb and her kids (Bridgett and Sean) were all waiting for us and Carter got yet another fun Easter basket! He got a cool "dancing duck" as well as clothes and candy. Carter loves the dancing duck (thanks Uncle Mark!) and even rocks along with it. We had a nice dinner and fun playing with all his toys.

Uncle Josh and Carter playing.

Hanging with Uncle Mark.

Carter certainly wasn't lacking for Easter presents and we thank everyone for everything. With the cold, snowy weather and all the presents it was like Christmas all over again!!

Sleepy Head

Carter fell asleep in the middle of dinner last week...I think this was a day of little naps. It was too cute to pass up a picture.

Butterfly Exhibit

Carter and I met Grandma B., Grandpa P., Susan, Ally, Nick, Traci, Garrett, Anna, and Mike at Frederick Meijer Gardens a few weekends ago for the butterfly exhibit. The kids loved it, and even though it was a bit chilly, it was a beautiful day. Carter liked looking at the butterflies and the big horse statue outside.

Their greenhouse (where the exhibit took place) was full of beautiful plants and flowers like this.

Carter with Grandma, she was teaching him about the butterflies.

Here are Ally and Carter posing with the big horse (Ally's hiding behind the hoof).

Playing Hooky with Mom


Well, not really. But due to a daycare emergency I had to take some time off work this afternoon (thanks Grandma B. and Grandpa P. for babysitting this morning!!) so Carter and I are hanging out this afternoon. We thought we'd get some laundry done, he is a huge help!

Here are some other recent pictures from the weekend.

Fresh Air!!

He loves riding in his car.

Sometimes he just cracks up spontaneously!

Seven Months


Updates: Carter is rolling all over the place lately. He rolls from front to back, back to front and uses this rolling and squirming to move around. He also scoots backwards in the above position (chest up, legs straight out behind him) and can pivot around in circles. No real forward movement yet though.

He's also eating more solids (3 times a day) including the meat varieties. He seems to enjoy them so far. We're also down to 4 bottles a day.

Nap time is still somewhat of a struggle for us and for Julie (daycare). He does not want to sleep in his crib during the day. His swing or a pair of arms are what he prefers. We're really trying to rid him of this habit. The good news is yesterday Julie actually got Carter to take an hour nap in his crib and ironically enough, Carter is napping in his crib right now! So two days in a row might be a good sign!!

He also found out that fits of crying can get people's attention ASAP...another habit we're trying to nix. These fits come out when he's tired or when he feels he's being ignored...he'll throw his head back and cry huge tears, he even makes himself cough if he cries hard enough. At first we would rush over thinking something was wrong but the second you get near him or pick him up, he's ALL smiles and laughing. Such a little con man!

His favorites things right now: playing in his exersaucer, his toy food table, putting everything in his mouth, sticking his tongue out, being thrown up in the air over and over, dancing around with Mom or Dad, and Barney.

Least favorite things right now: napping, getting his nails clipped, and being ignored during an attention getting fit.

Hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma J.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

CHEERS!

Tough Guy

Carter decided to take his toy keys and shove them in his mouth with such force that he punctured his gums and they started bleeding. His first real injury...luckily it wasn't a bad one. The bleeding stopped after a minute of sucking on a cold, wet cloth. Dave thought it was best to take pictures immediately to capture the moment (see the blood on his face and shirt). Fittingly enough he had his tough guy harley shirt on for the occasion. As Dave put it "...first of many, he's fine."

Six Months

Carter had his 6 month check-up on Friday afternoon. His ear infections are almost completely gone (the Dr. said this is exactly what we want them to look like at this stage) and other than that he is completely healthy. He weighed in at 17 lbs. 4 oz. (50th%), his height was 25.5 inches (25th%) and his head was 17.25 (60th%). He had two shots and one oral immunization and he did very well with all three. We don't need to go back to the Dr. for another check-up until his 9 month appointment! Seems hard to believe we're already past his 6 month milestone!!

Carter has been babbling like crazy - nothing coherent - but tons of babbling none-the-less. He's eating solid foods twice a day now and we've even started the "stage 2" foods from Gerber. He still loves vegetables - he eats any variety, fruits are o.k. but bananas and peaches are totally out of the question at this point. He also loves to play games - like peek-a-boo or any type of game where Dave or I make crazy sounds and jump around with him. He LOVES it when Dave tickles him too. He pretty much laughs at anything goofy we do now days.

His thigh is his most ticklish spot.

Playing airplane, another favorite game.

Carter also helped Grandma Webb celebrate her birthday at the end of February. We had dinner with her and Uncle Josh. Of course Dave had to put Carter in his U of M outfit for the occasion.

Sick of being sick

February has been a banner month of sickness in the Shaffer household. I don't remember a time when Dave and I were sick so often. Carter has been sick a lot too, poor baby, but he's been a trooper. His pink eye lasted about a week in early February and right when we got over that he had a stuffy nose for a bit. Then last week Sunday he started waking up at night and crying like crazy. We thought it must be teeth and did everything we could to soothe his gums. A few days later with no luck calming him down (and very little sleep) we took him to the Dr. and found out he had ear infections in both ears. (Happy 6 month birthday!) He's been on the antibiotics for 5 days now and he has drops for pain. He's sleeping like normal again and seems to be pain free. We feel horrible we ignored his poor ears for 3 days before taking him to the Dr., it's so hard to tell what's wrong when he can't tell or show us!

We hope that March brings some relief and some decent weather. Carter's 6 month appointment is this Friday so we'll have some new updates on weight, height and if he's over his ear infections very soon!

Not Quite Crawling...

We have been "practicing" our crawling a bunch lately...which consists of us putting Carter on his tummy, placing toys slightly out of reach all around him, and encouraging him to move to get the toys. He pushes way up on his arms as you can see from the pictures and sometimes he can even get one knee pretty close to underneath him. But that's the full extent of the crawling for now. He moves his legs around a lot (like he's swimming) and he seems to be concentrating hard to get those toys. He really likes to do this game too!

Other recent pictures...

Curls!!

Mr. Personality

Carter's personality is really emerging now days and it's so much fun to see it. He is a happy, goofy, laid back baby. Not much rattles him to the point of crying lately. Dog licks him in the face, no problem. Going to daycare, no problem. Stuffy nose, no problem (unless we try to clear it with the snuffer thing...then he has something to say for himself). Pink Eye, no problem. A new food to eat, no problem. (He eats pretty much everything we put in front of him so I think we avoided the Shaffer picky-eating trait!). Being quiet in church, no problem. Another great new thing is that when he wakes up in the morning and we're not there right away, he doesn't cry or fuss, he just talks to the mobile animals until we get him up.

He also started making this crazy new sound - kind of like a drawn out high pitched hiccup. When I first heard it I thought he was gasping for air and I think my panicked reaction was so funny he decided it's definitely a crowd pleaser. He does this noise a lot now.

He also seems very energetic and active - but this is nothing new. He goes crazy in his exersaucer - the thing almost takes off the ground when he gets rocking and rolling in it. He also finally figured out how much fun it is to actually jump in the Johnny Jump Up and he loves bouncing all over. We can tell he wants to crawl (or run) all over the place when he plays on the ground. He's itching to move but just can't seem to get his limbs to cooperate yet. He also loves to stand and play...he still buckles after about 30 seconds but he's getting pretty good at it!

Here he is practicing his standing.

His "I'm too cool to smile" face.

Apparently we don't feed him enough...

Pink Eye

Tuesday afternoon we learned that Carter has pink eye. We took him to the Dr. on Tuesday due to symptoms which started on Monday evening (goopy eye). We’re not sure where he got it because he hadn’t been to daycare since last Thursday and we didn’t go anywhere with him all weekend. But sure enough, he has pink eye and it’s apparently very contagious. We had to forget about daycare the rest of this week so Dave and I have been juggling our schedules around to stay home with him. On the up side Carter seems to be the same happy boy as always – he doesn’t even notice (except when we try to give him eye drops). Not a big fan of the drops. Dave and I are busy washing our hands constantly and everything else not nailed down that Carter may have touched (I know, maybe a bit overboard but we don’t want it spreading). His eye doesn't even look out of the ordinary anymore other than a little redness on the eyelid so I think we caught it early. As my boss put it, “Don’t worry, this is just one of many things to come which will put a wrench in your normal schedule.”