2 months already

Carter's started talking to us! Sure, we don't understand, but I'm sure that's just our fault. His favorite word? "Guh."

No wonder he's increasing his vocabulary... he's been helping Cierra while she volunteers at the library. Mainly he helps by sleeping while she shelves books.

On a tour of the back deck, Carter points out some interesting flora to Dad.


We celebrated a late Mother's Day this week (Cierra works on Sundays) with a family outing to Latta Plantation here in Charlotte, where we hiked on several trails and took a tour of the historic plantation house. Carter took 30 seconds to notice that the tour was boring and began screaming his head off, requiring us to skip the tour and make up the history of the plantation ourselves. Over 500 years old, Latta Plantation was built by the Vikings who came to the Carolinas after receiving instructions from extraterrestrials! Cool.



Carter screams a lot less as long as you keep walking.

Here, he does an impression of a very cute, hairless Count Chocula.

What do you mean, we aren't going to see any lions or giraffes? I got my safari hat on!

Stronger by the day... Carter's interest in everything is pretty remarkable. He's got amazing head control, powerful legs that he can use to stand while we help him with the whole balance issue... what an amazing baby!

One of the reasons he's so powerful must be his incredible milk intake. Now that I'm caring for him on the weekends we can have a better idea of how much he can gulp down at a time. 6-7 ounces in a feeding is not uncommon! After that much milk, it's usually time for a milk coma... but every once in a while we have a disaster. It was near the end of a feeding the other day when I looked away for a second while he was gulping away in my lap, heard a gurgle and felt a warm gush against my hand. There was Carter, looking newborn again, head completely covered in milky goo, smacking his lips and looking satisfied. Around his head was a halo of more partially digested milk, on top of but quickly soaking into the burp cloth and pillow. Aggh! "How did you do that?" I asked in amazement.

"Guh!"

He loves to hang out on his playmat and stare at just about anything that's colorful. This week his saliva production is out of control... I think he wants to put things in his mouth, he just hasn't quite figured out how to get them there.

Carter and Mom came to visit Dad in the "office"... out in our garden, which is healthy and growing... knock on wood. We have tiny green tomatoes growing, and squash nearly ready for harvest!

Earlier today, we went for the 2 month appointment and he got the shots he needed to keep him healthy and growing. 3 shots in all... and Cierra was so worried about it all day long. Carter's face turned bright red and he started to yell... but he calmed down almost immediately after it was over. I think he handled it like a champ... I've heard him yell louder at me to hurry up and heat up more milk.

Finally, Cierra got this video of vigorous movement on the changing table. We'll try to enjoy the remaining moments where we get to decide where he is every second without constantly chasing after him.

An eventful two weeks....

Life with Carter is becoming more and more fun all of the time. We were thrilled to see his first smiles a couple of weeks ago, but they were sporadic. Now, he smiles like crazy (I'll get video of that soon, hopefully). It is a daily household game to see what funny faces or activities will get him going the most. Plus, the 'goos' and 'gaas' are starting to come on strong. Too fun!

Maybe that's why Hunter seems not to have minded much that he's had Carter for 6 days these past two weeks when I've been back at work. They've done great together - playing, singing, cooking, gardening (and even a little cleaning!) It hasn't been easy for me to leave in the mornings especially since Carter is the most interactive and interested then, but at least I don't have to worry much during the day because I know Hunter's got it covered. He even had cookies waiting when I got home Saturday night - thanks, babe!

We were careful not to take Carter to any public places for the first four weeks, but that didn't help him avoid his first cold. Hunter brought it home first and coughed and sneezed for about 10 days before Carter and I started doing the same. Fortunately, Carter handled it like a champ (better than the two of us actually). He would probably say that having his nose suctioned out was the worst part, but he eventually got used to that, too. As a side note - if they made those suction syringes with tips big enough for adult noses, I would totally give it a try!! (especially since I can't take any medication while breastfeeding).

Our most recent round of visitors were two new uncles - Freeman and Sawyer as well as Grandpa and 'Mimi' Baer. We love showing the little man off and exposing him to different activites. With Freeman and Sawyer, we spent a lot of time singing and playing guitar. With the new Grandparents, we went out for long delicious meals each evening - Carter was extremely cooperative both times (and I had fun dressing him up in his most adorable outfits for each occasion)!

In development news, his neck continues to get stronger and the control over his hands and arms seems to improve each day. That may be part of what is helping us to enjoy longer nights since he can reliably put his hand in his mouth to soothe himself. The transition from sleeping between us in bed into his own crib in the nursery was thankfully not that difficult, either - probably for the same reason.

Now that the weather is warmer, he is wearing more 'onesie' outfits which is fun for us because we can see the baby folds and bulk that he is beginning to add to his arms and legs. I need to count how many folds he has total one day - I'm guessing it is over 50! Hunter says he's starting to resemble a Shar-Pei (don't worry - he is hairy - but not THAT hairy!)

Look everyone - I'm big enough to wear pants now....

...but mom still likes me in the onesies - especially this one that says 'my mom rocks'!

The bouncy chair is lots of fun because I've learned how to kick and make it light up....

...but not as fun as dancing with dad!

Photo post...

We've had two new uncles visit this week as well as Cierra's parents, so we are behind on our blogging! Here are some new photos and I'll work on having Hunter write more Monday....

He smiled at us!!

Such a pretty boy! As you can tell from the accompanying photo, Carter is ready for his modeling career. We got a really good photographer to come out to our house and do a family sitting, which produced the much improved photos that you see in this post...

Here, we all work on getting familiar with the local insect population.

A unique idea... that really worked out!

Carter got to sit in the grown-up chair all by himself. Seeing these photos full resolution is just plain amazing....

He slept so well on his tummy, he never even noticed the camera... or his lack of clothes. Hey! My contract explicitly says no nudity, lady!

Carter smiled for the first time this week. At first it was very sporadic, but over the last few days, he's smiled at both of us multiple times, and even at our visitors. Unfortunately, he doesn't do it on cue... so we don't have a picture of this yet.

We've been doing a lot of growing this week, so that means that we need to be near Mom all the time. And when we're not eating, chances are we're enjoying a nap... or thinking about one.

Grandpa Bardonner has decided that he wants to be Umpa. He took the time this weekend to drive all the way down from Indiana with Great-Grandma Treva Bardonner to meet Carter. Last time Treva was here, she missed meeting Carter by only 3 days! It was a great time having them both here... but of course the visit was all too short. Cierra and I were sorry that they ended up spending more time in the car than with Carter... but we were really happy they made it. Treva even brought a homemade meal with her in a cooler... what a treat!

Carter may have the makings of a daredevil. He likes to suddenly push away from you when you're not expecting it, or stretch backwards with all his strength, then suddenly crash his head forwards to land on your collarbone. We were thinking that was probably normal, but he even surprised Treva with his strength, and she has a lot of experience with little ones.

"Two hands, Great-Grandma! You never know what I'm gonna do next!"

How can he be 5 weeks old already?!

Cierra here....

The three of us have just returned from our first vacation together - we headed to Kiawah Island, SC for a 4 day weekend. I had continuing education seminars in the morning, which gave Hunter and Carter a chance to hang out together as a little 'trial run' before I go back to work in a couple of weeks and leave the two of them all alone (I know it will be harder on me than them!) Everything went great! Even the 4 hr car ride each way and daily trips to restaurants were easier than we expected - yeah!

Kiawah is an absolutely gorgeous island - spanish moss hangs from the oak trees and there are waterways and golf courses everywhere. We had lots of nice walks, but will have to save the bike riding until next year...

In development news, it seems like every morning we wake up and say 'he's bigger again today!'. The digital scale puts him at 9.8lbs which seems like pretty healthy growth from a 7lb 5oz birth weight. I know that when I hold his head in one hand my fingers are having to stretch much more than they did in the beginning! His head is getting stronger every day - it isn't uncommon for him to hold it up for 30+ seconds before crashing back into your chest. The three of us seem to be communicating better now. He is crying less maybe because we are better at predicting or understanding what he needs. We are still anxiously awaiting his first 'social smiles' - hopefully by next week!!

And now...what you really came to see...

We've been 'flying' around the house as taught by Grandma Baer. Despite what his face seems to say here, he seems to like it!

Grandparents Tabony came to visit over Easter weekend - everyone loves a sleeping baby!

Since we had his carseat covered with a light blanket to keep the sun at bay during the car trip to Kiawah, this is what we saw most of the time :-)

Playtime with Dad on the screened porch

What?! Why are you taking pictures of me naked?!

Carter - Week 4

Are you my Mommy? You're not my Mommy. Could you get my Mommy?

Carter is now four whole weeks old! He's still busily growing away, eating every chance he gets. Here is a picture of him trying to nurse Daddy's nose.

Week four brought more visits from family, as Grandma Baer came in for a couple of days. Grandma is still deciding what she wants to be called. Beep beep is one of the contenders.

Aunt Kaelie flew in for just one night after one of her big meets. She is an awesome gymnast who competes nationally. Here she is instructing Carter how to use the in-home gymnastic equipment. It's never too early to start training!

We've been spending our days keeping Carter entertained. Sometimes that means dancing around the house with him in your arms...

I'm done with my bath... now can I get some milk over here?

And because babies need a lot of rest, we spend lots of time on naps...

And when nap's all done, it's time for him to wake up... and that's our favorite part....

Feedback from Carter

Good morning. I'm Carter Tabony. I am feeling fine. How are you? Could you move your face a little bit closer please? That's great. Now hold still...


This moment has been brought to you by "The Exorcist". Seriously, there's nothing like Mom's milk... sometimes I bring a bottle or two back up just to see what it tastes like going the other direction.



So, week 3 of this "life" thing and I'm still not sure about it all. Sleep, poop, eat, repeat. Boooring. To spice things up a bit, I'm adding some screaming in when I feel like it. Parents still have me sequestered in this house, when I'm just itching to get out and see the world, maybe get a job somewhere down in Latin America... I hear they're not so strict on age requirements. Hmpf. Stupid ageists.



Finally, the tedium broke yesterday when I had a visitor I could actually relate to! My friend Adelaide came by for a couple of hours. Could have been a really cool time, but Mom ruined it by putting me in a milk coma.





Chairman: Baby Conference 2009 is hereby called to order.



Adelaide: Chairman, point of order!



Yes?



Adelaide: Carter is asleep and therefore we do not have quorum. I move we adjourn and proceed directly to our next feeding.



Do we have a second to this motion?



Carter: Zzzzzz.



Milk. Mmmm. It controls my life. I'm always thinking about it, where I'm going to get my next hit. Then I score and it's lights out for hours, and I wake up jonesing for the white stuff again. Time to admit it. I think I have a problem. Gotta see if theres like a twelve step program out there for me.


The furry beast that shares this place with me keeps getting closer. Yesterday she sat down with me on my play pad. Strangely, I don't think she was interested in me so much. It's like she's always trying to get the attention of the parents.

I keep showing her the only way is to scream but she won't do it.

Anyway. There just isn't that much to tell you guys. Mom's pretty great, she's good at giving me what I like. Then there's Dad. Boy, is he dense. I keep ramming my face into his chest, trying to give him a hint, but he just bounces me around on his knee more and more. Finally, I have to feign sleep so he'll give it a rest before I hurl again.

Sleep, Eat, Barf, Eat, Poop, Repeat. Booring.