Cool New Things

Carter turned 9 months old yesterday! He is in an "exploring" phase where he is discovering and attempting so many cool new things. Basically he doesn't stop moving to see, feel, and taste everything he can get his hands on. He's also pulling up on everything. He loves to stand. He also started trying to move his feet a little once he's standing up. Every day he seems to get better at slowly moving around with the help of whatever is holding him up.

Here he is trying to stand up with the help of his bus. He'll use anything to get on his knees or feet. He even tries using the dogs...much to their dismay.


And here he is standing to play...

As you will notice, we also got Carter a gate type play pen. This keeps him contained but gives him freedom to move about. It's a HUGE help. We can actually leave him for a second without him getting into something. Plus it's his favorite thing to pull up on. He just stands up against the gates sticking his tongue out the holes.

Another cool new thing for Carter is grass! He loves to play outside in the grass. Here he is trying to get a dandelion.

A TOOTH! Carter also just got his first tooth! It's down there somewhere.

I had to add this picture since the theme is "cool new things." He is definitely the coolest baby around!

GO WINGS!

Mother's Day

When I woke up on Mother’s Day I heard a lot of babbling and laughing going on in our kitchen…so when I got up to investigate, this is what I found!

Carter was busy painting me the most brilliant picture! I don’t know what was cuter, the painting, or Carter standing in his diaper covered in paint. He had a little help from Daddy, but we’re pretty sure we have the next Picasso on our hands.

After spending the afternoon hanging out with my two favorite boys, my mom, Dave’s mom, Josh, Josh's friend Summer, Mark, and Mark’s friend Deb and her kids came over for a grill out.

Carter wore his new Tiger's outfit just for Grandma B.

I must be the luckiest Mom in the world!

Big BikeCarter took a seat on his first Harley a few weekends ago...for those of you who don't know, this is Uncle Mark's "big bike." Much to my dismay, he seemed to love it. He even cried when we took him off.

Carter’s favorite part was trying to eat all the pretty, shiny parts. Uncle Mark loved showing Carter all the gadgets and gizmos on the thing, and he didn't even mind the mouth and finger prints all over his formerly clean bike.

Don't worry, he's not allowed to actually ride this thing or any other until he's like 45 years old.

Eight Month Update:

Eight months is such a cool age! Carter is crawling all over the place, he's babbling and interacting a lot more, he's really starting to understand some words and statements, and he's eating a lot more "real people food."

Here is Carter "giving a kiss" which is one of the statements he clearly understands. He loves to kiss just about anything! He'll give Dave and I kisses, the dogs get kisses, his favorite duck gets kisses, and Julie the daycare lady gets about 10 kisses every day before we go home. He's such a lovey baby!

His favorites: crawling as fast as he can to the entertainment center, crawling as fast as he can to the dog bowls, his singing and dancing duck, standing up, and bath time.

Least favorites: nap time, nap time, nap time!

Other recent 8 month pictures...

Dave thought it would be fun to give Carter a mohawk.

Carter and Shady sharing a moment.

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!