Videos of Carter

I took some random videos of Carter today. Sometimes I wonder what's going on in that head of his!

Carter loves to dance. I was trying to get a video of him dancing but he stopped when I starting filming and starting doing this instead ...

Carter's favorite outdoor toy right now is the golf set we gave him for Easter. He's pretty good at hitting the ball (sometimes after many "practice" swings).

Carter has started pointing a lot when he wants us to do something. If he wants you to sit next to him, he'll point at the floor next to him. If he wants more milk, he'll grab my finger, drag me over to the fridge, and point at it. There are lots of other examples, including this video ...

I have no idea what Carter was thinking in this video!

28 Week Appointment

I had an appointment with my OB this afternoon. Nothing exciting - just a routine check.

My blood pressure was 102/64 and I'm up about 28 lbs to 147 lbs. I saw my regular doctor today and she said the baby's heartbeat sounded great and I'm measuring right where I should. I also got my results of the glucose test I did a couple of weeks ago. My blood sugar level was 84 mg/dL and they want it to be between 70 and 140 mg/dL (I higher number could mean gestational diabetes).

It was an uneventful appointment but Carter and I were still there 1 1/2 hours waiting for 95% of that time. I go back again in 3 weeks for another check.

Saturday & Sunday

We had a really busy day yesterday. We started off the morning by going to the Build and Grow Workshop at Lowe's and then going to get Carter's hair cut. Next we went to lunch and Brian ran a few errands. Then we all went back to Lowe's to buy a tree for the backyard. He had left a spot in the new bed we made last fall for a tree and finally found one that we liked. We got a weeping cherry.


We also put down new mulch in most of that bed and cleaned up some of the other plants in the yard. Luckily Carter took a long nap yesterday afternoon and didn't wake up until we were almost done working in the yard.

We played with Carter for awhile after he woke up, went out to dinner, and then to Target to get 2 more chairs for our front porch. When we got home we put them together while Carter played in the yard. We finally have all the furniture for the porch and just need a second outdoor rug, throw pillows, and some candles for the tables.



Today was a much slower day. Brian spent too much time outside yesterday and his allergies have caused his head to basically explode today. At least the Masters was on today so he had something good to watch on TV. I managed to tape the nursery so Brian can do the primer one night this week and played outside with Carter for a long time while also putting down more new mulch in the yard. We're almost done putting down new mulch!

Somehow Carter got a bunch of splinters in his right hand. I think he got them from our fence. There are a few in his palm and some in his index finger. We managed to hold him down and get the ones out of his finger but haven't been able to get the ones in his palm yet. It took us 15 minutes of struggling to get what we got. Carter is strong and squirmy! We felt really bad about "torturing" him and hope we can get the rest of the splitters out tomorrow without causing too much trauma.

Carter's last baby tooth (other than his 2-year-old molars) is finally coming through. He's getting his bottom right eye tooth. He slept TERRIBLE last night and I finally figured out why. Hopefully he sleeps better tonight because I'm exhausted!

Lowe's Build and Grow

Brian and I took Carter to the Build and Grow Workshop at Lowe's this morning. On Saturday mornings they have a free workshop where kids get to build something. This weeks project was a mini baseball game. All the pieces come in a bag with a set of instructions and you get to build the project with your kids at your own pace.

Because it was our first time there, Carter got an apron to keep with his name on it. He wore it most of the time and was very cute!


The wood pieces were already all cut to the right size and all we had to do was nail everything together. Lowe's provided mini hammers for the kids to use. We started each nail and then let Carter try to hit the nails and get them in a little further. He wasn't bad! We had to finish up each nail, but he definitely helped.

Once we got the game together, Carter got to put stickers on the game. He's not too good at getting stickers off his fingers so I usually took them off for him, put the sticker where he was trying to get it, and then let him press it down the rest of the way.

Here is the finished project ...


Carter started getting a little fussy near the end because he wanted to throw the ping pong ball around and not stay in one place, but overall I think he liked it. I'm always up for free activities and I'm sure we'll be returning.

First Haircut

Brian and I took Carter to get his very first haircut today! And he did amazing!

We went to the Western Plaza Barber Shop near the Bearden area. I called the shop on Friday and they recommended just walking in instead of making an appointment. It was such a beautiful day here today that the barber shop wasn't very crowded. We didn't have to wait at all.

The lady that cut Carter's hair (Natasha) was wonderful! We put him in the tractor seat while she got everything she needed for his first haircut, including an envelope to put all the hair she cut off (we didn't ask for it but we'll take it!).


Natasha had a big jar of animal crackers and immediately started giving Carter some crackers and playing with him. Carter usually gets shy as soon as someone he doesn't know gives him attention, but he smiled for Natasha right away. She did such a good job with him talking to him and taking her time with simple things that could scare him like putting on the cape. I was very impressed.

Carter did a really good job throughout the haircut. It was necessary though for us to keep feeding him crackers! He never got fussy but pulled away or shook his head a few times. Carter generally stayed still though for Natasha and it didn't look like she was having too much trouble cutting what she needed to.






We think Natasha did a great job with Carter's hair. She trimmed all around the edges first and then sort of did layers with the top and back. Carter didn't have much hair to cut, but she got rid of the stuff in his eyes, the "wings" above his ears, and the rat tail he was starting to get in the back! Carter did loose the curls in the back, but it won't take much growing out before they are back.

Natasha didn't charge us for the haircut (though we did tip her) and gave us a little certificate for Carter to show when and where he got his first haircut.


The envelope with Carter's hair ...


Here are some before and after pictures of Carter.

I took these before pictures this morning. You can see the front was starting to get in Carter's eyes a little bit ...


The back was just crazy and too long. It actually looks good in this picture - it's usually much worse by the end of the day.


Curls ...


And the after pictures. I got this picture tonight. It's a little out of focus and doesn't show the front too well, but you can definitely see that it's shorter!


I took this picture of the back right after we finished the haircut. So much better!


We will definitely be going back to Natasha for future haircuts!

Dogwood Arts Festival

Carter and I went downtown to the Market Square Art Fair today. It is part of the Dogwood Arts Festival that is going on all month. We browsed the vendor booths and found a few presents for people. There were less vendors there than last year so it didn't take long to see everything. I packed a lunch and we found a nice spot in the little park area to eat.

Carter enjoyed getting out of his stroller for a little bit in the park. He liked checking out the stream and this sculpture ...


Carter played on this bench/sculpture for about 20 minutes. He was very mad when I decided it was time to move on ...


We caught part of the Cirque de Chine performance (they have a full show in Gatlinburg). Carter seemed to enjoy watching all the performers and put up with sitting on my lap on the ground for over 30 minutes.

I tried to take a picture of the two of us ...


Here are a few videos of the performers ...

I got this video of Carter watching the performers ...

It was a really nice day - cooler but sunny. Carter took a short nap on the way home and then we played outside the rest of the afternoon until Brian came home from work.

Whack a Mole

Carter is going to be really good at whack-a-mole!

After more than a week of beautiful weather, it rained and rained and rained some more here today. I tried to run some errands with Carter this afternoon and we got soaked. Everything (including my jeans) are still drying out in the garage.

Carter and I went to the Mother Goose program this morning. Carter was a little tired near the end but loved it again. He especially loved the circular tarp that we held over the kids and brought up and down while they ran around underneath it. Carter loved it the most and couldn't get enough! I was also very proud of Carter because every time that it was time to put toys away (the balls and maracas), he collected as many as he could find and put them in the bag that the teacher was holding. I always expected a fit because he was having so much fun playing with the toys. Carter was a little show off again (talking and dancing) and got lots of attention from everyone in class!

Zoo

Carter and I went to the zoo today with Sarah and Mary Grace. I wasn't thinking that other counties might have their Spring Break this week, but apparently some did because it was pretty crowded. It was really warm and sunny again today so I'm sure that encouraged more people to come.

We had fun walking around and looking at the animals for a couple of hours. My favorite animals, the gibbons, were playful today and super chatty. I've never heard them make noise before but there were calling back and forth to each other the whole time we were at their exhibit. It was pretty neat to listen to.

I didn't take many pictures but here is one of the kids. Right after this Carter started giving Mary Grace some of his Cheerios and then when Mary Grace got her snack of animal crackers, she kept giving Carter some. They shared very well today!


I took this (not very good) picture in the same spot about 10 1/2 months ago (last May). These two sure have changed since then!

Spring or Summer?

I'm not complaining because this winter was awful (cold and wet). But it's been so warm and sunny here for about a week that it feels like summer. I think we set a record high today with a temperature of 85 F. I've already been turning on the air some because opening windows and turning on all the ceiling fans isn't cutting it. But I'm loving being able to get outside!

Our dogwoods are starting to bloom and our bulbs are starting to have some gorgeous flowers. Our yard is starting to look like spring!





Carter is obsessed with outside right now. We played outside twice today for about an hour each time, but he still threw several fits today when I wouldn't let him go out. One time he was standing on one of his books at the front door trying to reach the knob. He loves it out there.

Here are a few random videos of the little guy from today ...

Carter kept throwing his soccer ball down this sloped sidewalk. I'm not sure why he kept doing it!

Carter loves to close doors on us. Here's a video of him closing himself into the half bathroom today.

Carter figured out (all by himself!) how to stack the pieces on one of the toys my dad and Jan got him.

27 Weeks

I'm now 27 weeks along with baby #2. Here is a picture from today ...


And a picture from 23 weeks for comparison ...


I've been feeling pretty good throughout this second trimester. I'm beginning though to feel the effects of being so big. It's getting harder to lean over and generally just more difficult to do some things (though that's not stopping me from doing anything). I have another check up next Monday.

When I was trying to get a picture of my belly this afternoon, Carter just wanted to be held so I got some cute pictures of the two of us together.