Sip n See and Check Ups

This past weekend Jeni and I hosted a Sip n See for Paige and sweet Aven. Although it was during a torrential rain storm, lots of friends and family came out to see Aven. I enjoyed opening my home and celebrating a new little one!


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I had Monday off so that is when I scheduled Carter's 4 month well check. Here's a cell phone pic from the doctor's office. Caroline assured Carter the doctor is nice and shots only hurt a little bit. Carter is doing perfectly well. He is 16.65 lbs and 26 inches. That is 73% for weight and 80% for height. BIG BOY...I don't thing Caroline weighed 16 lbs until around 6 months. His appetite has been crazy lately so I've been giving him a bit of cereal, it seems no matter how much breast milk he takes or how often he nurses he still wants more. He loves the cereal and gobbles it right up. The doctor told me as soon as he masters cereal he can move onto veggies, so today he tried his first vegetable sweet potatoes. He loved them, I'm pretty sure he would've licked the bowl if he could.


Here's a video of his first veggie experience. I hate listening to myself on video, but I want to remember the occasion so I'll just accept the embarrassment. Oh yeah, and ignore the pink bumbo, we didn't feel it was necessary to buy a new one just so he could have boy colors.

The next video might make you a bit sick due to my poor photography, but I just can't get enough of that laugh. So so so sweet. Ignore the red chin(and eyes), he is having some serious drool problems.



After the doctor on Monday I felt really adventurous and headed to the mall with both the kids. I put Carter in the stroller and gave Caroline a strict run down of my expectations for her. I also did a little bribing with some bubble gum, her new favorite treat. I was pleasantly surprised! Our trip was not perfect or hassle free by any means, but I knew it wouldn't be and prepared myself for a bit of stress. I would say the trip was successful though because there were no major meltdowns, runaways, or inconsolable baby moments, and I bought some new jeans that I've been needing forever! Hooray! I'm gaining confidence in my ability to handle two little ones.

4 months and other stuff

This little blue eyed boy is 4 months. When Caroline was a baby it seemed like an eternity until she was 4 months, I feel like Carter got there in a blink of an eye.
In front of the camera for once!

At four months Carter seems to be changing daily. I am sure the normal person wouldn't notice or care, but every day he is doing something new. He reaches, grabs, and hits at everything he sees. Today he was basically beating on his rainforest bouncer to get the music to play, or at least I think that is why. If you put him down, he is going to roll right over, and then back over again usually into a puddle of spit up. He still smiles easily but has begun to really chuckle often...love that noise! The past couple of days he seems to be sleeping a bit better, day and night. We are getting hour stretches during the day, and at night he is eating and going right back down again. Thank goodness. Hopefully, we will be starting food soon and he'll begin going longer without being fed.
Speaking of being fed, I decided to get really adventurous and make some baby food. This is something that is completely unnatural and out of my comfort zone but I went for it anyway. I made sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots. They are currently frozen and awaiting his first meal. I'm not in a big rush to start on food, but I had some time this weekend so I decided to go ahead and make some. I always wanted to make baby food for Caroline but never got around to it. If I can keep it up, it sure will save a lot of money. The veggies were around $5 total and it made about 50 small servings.
Carter in his bean bag at 4 months. I really need to work on my photography skills, he's way overblown here. Oh well, you can still see his cuteness.

This little guy weighs a whopping 15lbs 11 oz. I'm pretty sure Caroline was 13 something at 4 months so he's got some size on her. Unfortunately we spent the week going back and forth from the doctor, or Justin and the kids did. He was super dad this week as we had illness strike our home. Caroline had RSV, I had a terrible cold...possibly RSV, and Carter luckily only had a cold. I was getting nervous Carter had been exposed and was coming down with RSV, but nope just a cold. By Sunday we all were feeling better, which we were thankful for because Andrea, Jesse, and Maddy were in town. Now onto this terrific three year old. Caroline has become a puzzle girl. She is so interested and engaged by working a puzzle. I've said countless times that she hardly sits still, but she will sit and work a puzzle for 20 minutes. I'm so proud of her, she works at it and problem solves so well!
Have I mentioned she is also a fabulous big sister? She loves her brother so much, he is one lucky little boy.

Update

I've got cute pics to post, but I'm a bit lazy tonight and am not up for connecting the cord, cropping, editing, and uploading so they will have to wait. Things around here have been busy, that's what this time of year brings! At work I'm tutoring after school to prepare for state assessments, and coordinating the TELPAS test which is going to drive me to drinking. At home, I have two crazy but wonderful kiddos and a hardworking husband who has successfully kicked off his new business. As far as Justin's business goes, he's got tons of work, which is awesome, but it requires lots of man hours and Justin is currently the only man. So he is often up for the day around 3:30 AM so he can get work done and head to meetings during the day light hours. Maybe someday soon he'll hire someone on to help with the load.
My girl Caroline is doing great. No lie...three is a tough age and I find myself questioning my parenting a lot. She is spirited, independent, very active, and strong willed which causes us to butt heads frequently. The biggest issue we have is her hair, oh her hair is wild and she doesn't like anyone touching it. Her school teacher has also been talking to us a lot about Caroline's ability to "focus," or lack there of ability. No...she hasn't come right out and said anything blatant, but she hints around at it. Honestly, at this point I'm not too concerned, she is only three and I'm a believer in letting her be little. In a year and a half she will spend the next 12-16 years in school. I'll worry about lack of focus then, at this point she just is not interested in letters, numbers, reading, TV, anything academic, or anything that requires her to sit still. I know she's intelligent so I'm sure she'll be fine when she matures a bit. Some days are tough with her, but she has a loving heart and a precious personality which makes me feel like I must be doing something right. A couple of weeks ago she went with her Granny to a movie and afterwards she bought her a balloon. Well as soon as they opened the door, that balloon flew out and away. We figured she'd get upset and cry, but she just looked over at Granny and said, "That's ok, God knows where I live."
Mr. Carter is just a big ole bundle of chubby boy that I cannot get enough of. He has begun laughing easily and frequently which just makes me want to squeal. Earlier this week (February 1st to be exact) Carter finally got over that big belly of his and rolled onto his stomach, then he just pushed back and rolled back onto his back. He's pretty proud of this new trick and does it all the time. It's only a problem when he spits up on his tummy and then flips over and rolls all in it. It's just lovely to have a baby whose head is covered in spit up. I also have to remind myself I can no longer just leave him lying on my bed or raised places. Lately he has been a drool machine, not sure if teeth are coming in or what. Now the big issue with Carter is he won't sleep. LIKE WILL NOT SLEEP A WINK DURING THE DAY AND WAKES OFTEN AT NIGHT. We and our sitters have tried day after day to get him on a schedule, to get him to take any sort of nap, to get him to even shut his eyes and rest.... NOPE. I swear he thinks if he even blinks he's going to miss some action. I knows he's got to be overly exhausted, but we've tried different strategies and nothing is working consistently. With Caroline I was sure people who couldn't get their babies to sleep must be doing something wrong, boy am I eating crow now. At night he's going down about 7:30 and will sleep until around midnight. After that it's up every three hours. Sigh...this no sleep thing is going to age me like no other. I'm sure this will all pass soon and I'll forget all about these exhausting days. I'm still nursing and pumping which is going well, all that seems to be so much easier this time around. I'm guessing at his upcoming four month appointment we will get to start food.
Well that's about it for now. We are busy and super tired, but we realize how blessed we are. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Joyful Noise!

Big Life Changes

DISCLAIMER: It is apparent that lately I cannot spell or use the correct homonym when writing a blog. This is concerning considering I am a 6th grade language arts/reading teacher. Good thing none of my students read my blog! Please know, outside of blogging, I am aware of most grammar rules and understand proper uses of homophones/homonyms and commonly confused words.

Anyway, our family is the midst of an exciting, scary, freeing life change. I say our family, when really it is Justin, but it definitely affects all of us. After Christmas Justin quit his job to begin working for himself and building his own architecture company. This was not an easy decision, as Justin has worked for Southwest Architects for 8 years and formed good, strong relationships with the people and clients he worked with daily. However, owning his own firm has been his dream since college days.

It has been an unbelievably smooth transition, so smooth that we cannot attribute any of this to anything but faith in God and his perfect timing. This is a goal Justin has been working toward for years and something has always been in his way. Finally in November, the final hurdle was behind us and Justin committed to taking the leap of faith. Justin has already signed multiple contracts and has enough work to keep him more than busy.

As for me, I am so proud of him I could burst. I've always known Justin is capable of big things, but seeing him in action is amazing. His confidence, work ethic, and respect for clients gives me no doubt that he will be successful. I look forward to being his biggest cheerleader as his company continues to grow and prosper.

Thanks for your well wishes and prayers in advance. When Justin has his website the way he likes it I'll post the link for all to see.

Here in Texas

It's Stock Show time in Ft. Worth. Yee Haw!!! I love the Stock Show and Rodeo, I really do. We go annually, usually with my dad who loves the sights, smells, and lifestyle that Cowboys live. He says it brings back memories from his young days in the small west Texas town of Knox City. I love it because it is all so foreign to me. You mean young people get up with the sun to take tip top care of an animal that will eventually be sold to slaughter? Men risk their lives to ride bulls for the sport and thrill? People around here still make money farming and ranching? Horseback riding clubs exist? It just seems so crazy and different, but here in Texas although not in my backyard, it is obviously a big deal. Spending an afternoon out there gives me a little glimpse into the true Texas culture, which growing up a city girl I've never experienced.


Today we went to the Stock Show parade because Caroline got to ride in a wagon with her Grammy. Grammy, Justin's mom, has a great job with Traders Village and every year they enter the parade.

Here's the wagon Caroline got to ride in, pretty cool huh? Apparently the driver is 81 and has been driving wagons all his life. Did you know people still drive wagons other places besides parades? Yeah me neither, but apparently he is an avid wagon driver and a good one. At one point during the parade the wagon got stuck in a hole, which broke the bar that connects the train to the horses. No problem, the expert wagon driver had an extra and got them all fixed up and back in the parade.
Caroline looked so serious riding, but Grammy said she had a blast and waved the entire time!
It turned out to be a perfect day and we really enjoyed our time walking around and taking in the parade. I'm so glad Caroline got this experience and I hope this will be something that she can continue to do annually. I know she will be talking about it forever because it so different from anything we've ever done. She even got to sit on the horse that pulled the wagon!!
Mr. Carter was a proud little brother as he looked on! I'm sure he'll be in that wagon before long!

3 Months

Yesterday, January 11th, Carter was three months old! I cannot get enough of this sweet boy. I hug him, hold him, snuggle, kiss, and spoil him absolutely rotten day in and day out. I'll probably be paying for this soon when he won't let anyone leave his sight, or when he grows up to be a mama's boy, but I don't care one bit right now. You see, he is probably our last baby and I don't want to take one minute of his babyhood for granted. They just grow too quick!

I must gladly say, I've been blessed with two easy, laid back babies. Carter is a delight, unless he is hungry or it's 3:00 AM. He just smiles, occasionally laughs, and talks all the time. He is much more vocal with his baby noises and coos than Caroline ever was. He has begun reaching for things and loves time spent on his play mat. He rolls on his side, but that is about as far as his big belly will let him go. He is a chunk and I just love it, well love it's cuteness, but as far as him still wanting to eat every 3-4 hours around the clock, that is getting a bit tiresome. He is currently wearing size 0-3 months, but is transitioning into 3-6 month clothing. As of today, he is in size 2 diapers. He has not been as easy to "sleep train" as Caroline was. He fights sleep like crazy and we are working hard to get him to fall into some sort of schedule. Lately, we've been pushing for a morning and afternoon nap, bath around 6:30 and bed around 7 or 7:30. The bedtime routine has been working, but about12:00 or 1:00, he is up and hungry. From then on it's every 2-3 hours that he is re-awaking. That makes for a tired mama, but like I said before, with him possibly being my last I'm taking it all in stride. He didn't want to smile for his 3 month pictures, but he is about to crack a grin here.

And here, well he looks like he is done and probably wondering when he is going to be fed again. On that note, he has been spitting up more lately, which is annoying but doesn't seem to be causing him pain.

In some of these pictures his hair looks to be a strawberry color. Caroline's hair was like that until her first birthday when it went blonde. I think he is going to look so much like her, however, I think his eyes might stay blue. Caroline's are greenish/hazel.


Here are some pics of Caroline from around 3 months, what do you think? I think Carter definitely has more of a boy look to him, but they do favor quite a bit. ____________
And now some random pictures!
One of Carter's favorite places is his changing table, I'm sure to get a smile out of him there. LOVE!

Dad with his babies. Speaking of dad, big changes are happening with him and for our family. I'll blog about all that soon!