Another Week in the Life of Carter

Yes, another week has blurred on by and now I sit down to attempt to remember something about it. Carter continues to get stronger, faster and more talkative, although he's still just shouting random syllables. (BAH!) I keep wanting to add "Humbug!" to the end of that one.

He's putting all things in his mouth as always, but a new game has started where he tries to take something out of his mouth and put it in mine. If he succeeds, then he takes great pleasure in reclaiming whatever it is and sticking it right back where it all started. Big grins all around.
We've been going to the YMCA for several weeks now to take swim lessons, but on Wednesday Cierra took a few hours off from her 17 jobs and joined us for a family swim day. Carter showed off his moves, which mostly consist of floating around with a dazed look on his face. He is really good at crawling out of the pool if he gets close to the edge. (That is a survival skill, so yay for Carter) Reach and pull, buddy!
This is the week Carter discovered soy yogurt. Well, actually I found it at the store and figured that it couldn't hurt to try this stuff since Carter was turning his nose up at real yogurt. I tasted a little bit before giving it to him and it tasted like yogurt and whole wheat flour, with maybe a little talcum powder mixed in. Imagine my surprise when he gobbled down most of the container in one sitting! He's a hungry boy! Also on the menu this week, rice crackers. He thought it was a toy until I sat right across from him holding another one and slowly ate mine, taking tiny bites. Pretty soon he was going after it, using his new teeth to break off big chunks and then gumming them to death.
Carter's also taken to enjoying the occasional cigar, Cuban of course. Just kidding, that's a log from the back of Carter's tiny logging truck. They are excellent for chewing. And why not? Everything goes in his mouth, so everything must be for chewing.

Faster and Faster

Ha! I might not be faster than you, but I can outlast you! Who has to take a nap now?

Oooo.... you've got something going on in your lower back here. I can fix all that, I just need about 21 years and 50 grand to get me through chiropractor classes.

Woo hoo, look at me, I'm king of Daddy Mountain! Who's your Daddy? Oh, that's right, you're my daddy. Hmmm. Well that might not quite work here, but you get the message... I OWNED you. Rest up, bub. Because I'm going to go find something heavy to knock over or a hard surface to topple over on.

Carter here again folks, and things in my life are happening fast and furious. Got my 4th and 5th teeth nearly through the gumline up top. Maybe someday I'll want to use them but for right now, it's all about the milk.

Went over to Riley's house for a play date this week while the parents were busy...
Hello my good man! I'll have a milk, straight, neat, warmed and shaken, not stirred. And whatever the lady would like as well. Put it on my tab.
Man, this date was going great, then she asked about my outfit and I panicked and told her I play for the Red Sox. Now I'll have to get dad to edit me into all the games this year. Or I could just explain myself. What would I do if this were a high-concept romantic comedy?

On a positive note, it's finally warmed up enough here for me to go outside again! Charlotte had a stretch of cold the last two weeks that was the worst since 1977, which is like forever ago. Maybe that was the same stretch that killed all the dinosaurs? Anyway, I'm just happy to get out of that house-prison! That's it for now... until next week!

Crunch n' Munch

Hi there. I'm a mite peckish. I think I will have the bowl of strawberry yogurt, followed by 20 to 30 pieces of cereal. Then, to wash it all down, I will have all the milk in the house.

Sorry this video is so crappy, Mommy and Daddy are shooting video with their phones now, but they have trouble remembering to hold the phone sideways. I'm not really this wide. You know, the camera adds 10 pounds... that's like 50% of my body weight. Anyway, here I am stuffing my craw. At this rate, it's gonna take forever for me to get full.

Lots of stuff going on in my mouth this week. Dad's all excited because he spotted my third tooth coming in on top this morning while changing me. Well, DUH, what do you think I've been yelling at you about all week? Parents. They never listen.

Also, I got to taste something different this week when I tried out my new chewing skills on Mommy. She didn't like it too much. Parents. They never listen, plus they don't like bleeding. Sheesh.

Think I've got the hang of this thing. When can I get on the road?

Hey everybody, look at me....

I can stand up all by myself! Well, as long as I can hold on for dear life. Of course, the difficult part is getting back down. The parents keep telling me to go feet first, which is clearly stupid. I don't have eyes in my feet! At least, I don't think I have eyes in them. Better get these shoes off and check one more time.

I started swim lessons at the YMCA this week, and here I am doing my homework with Daddy. This isn't nearly as big as the Saturday pool!

I guess I'm okay with the whole water thing, as long as you keep it outta the whole face area. I don't have gills, you know! At least, I don't think so. Hmmm. I'm checking out an anatomy book next time Mom takes me to the library.

Gettin' into Trouble...

Uh, hello officer. This isn't what it looks like. I'm not stealing this car, this is actually my car. License? I'm a baby. Registration? I'm sure it's right here in the glovebox... wait a minute, that's just a decal! What kinda product is Detroit putting out these days, anyway?












Yes, that's right, Carter continues to find new ways to move around and get into trouble on a minute-by-minute basis. We can't leave him alone for a second these days, and that very nearly goes for the nighttime too. As I type this, Cierra is with him in his nursery. He's so tired that he just can't sleep. As you can imagine, this is a hard problem to solve. At least, without whiskey it's a hard problem to solve. But we're not going down that road! Also all the liquor stores are closed at this hour.

Caught in my jumperoo! This is a great way for me to build my leg muscle and get a little energy out while Dad takes a breather. Try to keep up with me now, old man!!!

Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm hunting Pogo.

Being a baby is thirsty work!

Good thing I've got my trusty canteen! Aww, man, it's empty again. Guess I'd better hike over to the kitchen and borrow some more water from Pogo.

A Very Carter Christmas!

So it's been awhile since we posted any Carter news, but we've been busy seeing family and having fun over the holidays. Actual Christmas was spent at home with just our little family, but the week before we made our usual trip up to Indiana to visit the folks...

Cierra laughed at me for my awkward baby hold in this picture, but what she didn't know is that Carter wanted to show off his baby abs.

Carter looking dapper as usual. Is he looking up at mommy, or a ceiling fan? We'll never know.

Mmm. I think I'll sneak a little eggnog binky while no one's watching.

If I can turn this on, does this mean I can get milk at the drive thru?

Hey mom, look. Uncle Krin brought me flowers!

Put me down, dad! I see some trouble worth getting into.

Guess what? Reindeer butt!

I love this outfit because as Carter crawls, the little Reindeer looks like he's walking.

So yes, Carter crawls now, and he's going non-stop. We're still a lot faster than him, but he never lets up, so our distraction with other tasks around the house make watching him a very tortoise vs hare experience... we take a rest and he keeps trucking, sometimes beating us to the finish line... which is usually Pogo's water bowl.

Carter also loves springy doorstops. Boiiiing!

Finally some video: First up, Carter listens to Uncle Krin on guitar. He is a very attentive audience!

Baby jumping jacks! BOIIING! Whee....

And, I know this video doesn't prove it, but Carter is climbing small sets of stairs now, no problem. But we don't have good video of it because I always have two hands right around him, ready if he decides to topple over and try to crack his head on the tile.

In other news, he also stood up while learning to climb the stairs a few days ago. But that was an accident, and he only stood for 5 or 6 seconds. His expression during his swaying stance said everything to me.... "Oh, man! How did I do that? And how do I get down? I'm gonna fall, aren't I, and it's gonna hurt. Wahhhhh!"

Happy New Year to all.... we'll try to get back to our usual schedule starting next Thursday.