Carter LOVED having this toy back! He's been playing with it all day today too.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Ball Pit
Carter hasn't had his ball pit all summer. The pool we had used for it has been his outdoor pool this summer. I finally got a new baby pool on sale at Target the other day and blew it up yesterday.
Carter LOVED having this toy back! He's been playing with it all day today too.
Carter LOVED having this toy back! He's been playing with it all day today too.
Touch a Truck
We went to the Knoxville Zoo today because they were having their "Touch a Truck" event. There were several emergency vehicles, construction vehicles, and a few other random trucks spread through out the zoo today.
The first truck we saw was a fire rescue truck. Carter got to try on a hat and had a very serious expression the entire time. He wasn't sure what was going on.
We thought Carter would love all the trucks but he was generally scared of all of them. He was in the stroller when we got to a fire truck and we both asked him if he wanted to get out to see the truck and he adamantly shook his head "no" both times.
The only trucks Carter was remotely interested in were the construction vehicles, and he still didn't care that much. He did do a good job of pointing out the wheels to us though!
Carter remembered the kids play area when he saw the building and wouldn't give up wanting to go in so we hung out there for a little while.
Pointing out a toucan ...
Posing with the hot turtle ...
Carter rode an alligator on the carousel. Brian taught him to say "gator" while they were on carousel and Carter repeated it for me when they got off.
And Rylan did go with us but he slept the entire time so I didn't get any pictures of him. I was hoping to put him in the Bjorn and show him some animals. Maybe next time.
The first truck we saw was a fire rescue truck. Carter got to try on a hat and had a very serious expression the entire time. He wasn't sure what was going on.
We thought Carter would love all the trucks but he was generally scared of all of them. He was in the stroller when we got to a fire truck and we both asked him if he wanted to get out to see the truck and he adamantly shook his head "no" both times.
The only trucks Carter was remotely interested in were the construction vehicles, and he still didn't care that much. He did do a good job of pointing out the wheels to us though!
Carter remembered the kids play area when he saw the building and wouldn't give up wanting to go in so we hung out there for a little while.
Pointing out a toucan ...
Posing with the hot turtle ...
Carter rode an alligator on the carousel. Brian taught him to say "gator" while they were on carousel and Carter repeated it for me when they got off.
And Rylan did go with us but he slept the entire time so I didn't get any pictures of him. I was hoping to put him in the Bjorn and show him some animals. Maybe next time.
2 Months Old
Rylan is 2 months old today.
He's growing like a weed still. I still feed him almost every 2 hours during the day but I am usually able to get one (sometimes two) times when it's 3 hours between feedings. Recently (for the last week), I usually get 4 or 5 hours between feedings after going to bed and then it's back to every 2 hours. That wasn't how it went last night though and now that I'm writing about it, I bet tonight is also going to be bad!
Rylan is definitely chubby, but we don't think he looks ridiculously fat with tons of rolls like some babies. His 2 month checkup is on Tuesday so we'll see how big he really is then.
Rylan is mostly in 6 month sized clothes now. He can wear some of his 3 month sized stuff still, but the 6-month sized clothes look more comfortable. Rylan is wearing size 2 Swaddlers but he's going to be in the size 3 Cruisers really soon, which are the size of diapers Carter wears!
Rylan is usually great when we're out. He usually sleeps the entire time we're in the car. The car did nothing to soothe Carter and I used to sing the entire time we were driving when he was this age just to keep the crying at a level I could handle. Rylan is generally good when we go out to eat (as long as we've timed it right between his feedings) and when running errands or doing fun stuff for Carter.
When at home, Rylan has both fussy times and times when we can just put him down on the playmat and he'll be content with no interaction from us. Sometimes it takes a lot of bouncing and swaying when he's fussy, but Rylan's usually never inconsolable. His worst time is still after Carter goes to bed and before he does. We usually put Rylan to bed between 9:30 and 10:30 pm depending on his feeding schedule. I usually go to bed at the same time because I feed him in our bedroom where it's dark and it makes me really sleepy too!
I'm really looking forward to when we put Rylan to bed at the same time as Carter so we have a little free time in the evening (or at least time to catch up on stuff around the house). I don't want to force that now though because I don't want to be awake through half of Rylan's long sleep and then not get more than an hour or two of consecutive sleep myself.
Rylan still doesn't have perfect head control, but he's getting stronger. I still need to be prepared for him to flop his head back, but he doesn't do it too often. He's a strong baby though. He can bear quite a bit of his weight on his legs already too.
This last 2 months have flown by. I remember that those first few months with Carter crept by. It helps that it's summer and I have friends with their own kids this time around!
He's growing like a weed still. I still feed him almost every 2 hours during the day but I am usually able to get one (sometimes two) times when it's 3 hours between feedings. Recently (for the last week), I usually get 4 or 5 hours between feedings after going to bed and then it's back to every 2 hours. That wasn't how it went last night though and now that I'm writing about it, I bet tonight is also going to be bad!
Rylan is definitely chubby, but we don't think he looks ridiculously fat with tons of rolls like some babies. His 2 month checkup is on Tuesday so we'll see how big he really is then.
Rylan is mostly in 6 month sized clothes now. He can wear some of his 3 month sized stuff still, but the 6-month sized clothes look more comfortable. Rylan is wearing size 2 Swaddlers but he's going to be in the size 3 Cruisers really soon, which are the size of diapers Carter wears!
Rylan is usually great when we're out. He usually sleeps the entire time we're in the car. The car did nothing to soothe Carter and I used to sing the entire time we were driving when he was this age just to keep the crying at a level I could handle. Rylan is generally good when we go out to eat (as long as we've timed it right between his feedings) and when running errands or doing fun stuff for Carter.
When at home, Rylan has both fussy times and times when we can just put him down on the playmat and he'll be content with no interaction from us. Sometimes it takes a lot of bouncing and swaying when he's fussy, but Rylan's usually never inconsolable. His worst time is still after Carter goes to bed and before he does. We usually put Rylan to bed between 9:30 and 10:30 pm depending on his feeding schedule. I usually go to bed at the same time because I feed him in our bedroom where it's dark and it makes me really sleepy too!
I'm really looking forward to when we put Rylan to bed at the same time as Carter so we have a little free time in the evening (or at least time to catch up on stuff around the house). I don't want to force that now though because I don't want to be awake through half of Rylan's long sleep and then not get more than an hour or two of consecutive sleep myself.
Rylan still doesn't have perfect head control, but he's getting stronger. I still need to be prepared for him to flop his head back, but he doesn't do it too often. He's a strong baby though. He can bear quite a bit of his weight on his legs already too.
This last 2 months have flown by. I remember that those first few months with Carter crept by. It helps that it's summer and I have friends with their own kids this time around!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Tyson Park
We met Brian for lunch today so on the way home, we stopped by Tyson Park to play for a bit. The park is downtown adjacent to one of my favorite greenways (Third Creek Greenway). I've never taken Carter there before because the park can be a little sketchy sometimes. I scoped it out before we got out of the car and thought it looked safe. There were a few other moms there with their kids and no one that looked too scary.
The playground is huge (at least compared to all the other playgrounds we've been to in Knoxville).
Carter was very excited to explore when we got there ...
Scooting to get down a big step ...
"Are you still there, Mom?" ...
Carter ran back and forth across this bridge for awhile ...
"Hi!" ...
"I see you!" ...
I kept moving Rylan around to be in the shade near where Carter wanted to play. I tried leaving him under a tree at first, but the playground was so big that I couldn't always see both Carter and Rylan at the same time. So I ended up dragging the stroller through the pebbles and using the playground for shade.
Carter loved playing with the pebbles. He even had to take some home with him.
Carter wanted to play with these balls but wouldn't put down the pebbles which made it a little more difficult ...
Carter had lots of fun today. He's getting a lot better about staying back from open spots that are high up. I still follow him around most of the time but I trust him enough now to not be right next to him all the time.
It's been really difficult to get Carter to leave places lately when he's having fun but he surprised me by being willing to go and walking to the car by himself without any screaming or refusal to move!
The playground is huge (at least compared to all the other playgrounds we've been to in Knoxville).
Carter was very excited to explore when we got there ...
Scooting to get down a big step ...
"Are you still there, Mom?" ...
Carter ran back and forth across this bridge for awhile ...
"Hi!" ...
"I see you!" ...
I kept moving Rylan around to be in the shade near where Carter wanted to play. I tried leaving him under a tree at first, but the playground was so big that I couldn't always see both Carter and Rylan at the same time. So I ended up dragging the stroller through the pebbles and using the playground for shade.
Carter loved playing with the pebbles. He even had to take some home with him.
Carter wanted to play with these balls but wouldn't put down the pebbles which made it a little more difficult ...
Carter had lots of fun today. He's getting a lot better about staying back from open spots that are high up. I still follow him around most of the time but I trust him enough now to not be right next to him all the time.
It's been really difficult to get Carter to leave places lately when he's having fun but he surprised me by being willing to go and walking to the car by himself without any screaming or refusal to move!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Playdate with Caitlyn & Alek
We went over to Amy's house today for a playdate. Today was Chad's first day back to work since Alek was born so it was Amy's first day with both kids by herself.
Alek is adorable (and so small compared to Rylan)! Rylan is 6 weeks and 5 days older than Alek. I couldn't believe how light Alek is when I held him. Alek is still a couple of pounds lighter than Rylan was when he was born so we didn't get to experience Rylan at this size.
Our 4 kids - Carter (21 months), Rylan (2 months), Alek (2 weeks), and Caitlyn (23.5 months). We're looking forward to lots of playdates in the future since the kids' ages match up so well!
Carter really liked Caitlyn's big girl bed. I think Carter would like having a big bed but I'm going to keep him in a crib as long as I can. It's nice to know that he's safe in his crib and not wandering around the house at night.
Taking a break from playing in the pool and sharing a snack ...
We had lots of fun and hopefully helped Amy some instead of making it harder for her. Carter did a good job of pulling out most of Caitlyn's toys but we tried to put them all back before we left. Hopefully we didn't end up hiding any of Caitlyn's favorites by putting them in the wrong spots!
Alek is adorable (and so small compared to Rylan)! Rylan is 6 weeks and 5 days older than Alek. I couldn't believe how light Alek is when I held him. Alek is still a couple of pounds lighter than Rylan was when he was born so we didn't get to experience Rylan at this size.
Our 4 kids - Carter (21 months), Rylan (2 months), Alek (2 weeks), and Caitlyn (23.5 months). We're looking forward to lots of playdates in the future since the kids' ages match up so well!
Carter really liked Caitlyn's big girl bed. I think Carter would like having a big bed but I'm going to keep him in a crib as long as I can. It's nice to know that he's safe in his crib and not wandering around the house at night.
Taking a break from playing in the pool and sharing a snack ...
We had lots of fun and hopefully helped Amy some instead of making it harder for her. Carter did a good job of pulling out most of Caitlyn's toys but we tried to put them all back before we left. Hopefully we didn't end up hiding any of Caitlyn's favorites by putting them in the wrong spots!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
New Park
We tried out a new park today.
I had to go run an errand off Watt Rd so I decided to stop by Major Bob Leonard Park with the boys. Rylan slept in the shade while Carter and I played for about an hour.
I've played soccer at this park several times so I knew there was a playground, but I wasn't sure how great it was. There are some swings and one big play structure. Carter's still a little small for the playground, but everything is on super-soft, rubberized ground that makes falls much less scary.
There were only a few other kids there, but Carter still copied what they were doing ...
When we first got to the park and I was getting Rylan set up, Carter got half way up this before I got to him to help him. After a few tries he had it figured out and I was only there to catch him if he fell.
Sweaty and red-cheeked ...
When we got home, I got out Carter's finger paints. These are the Crayola Color Wonder paints and paper (we also have the markers). I really like these because they only show up on the special paper. Carter still has a short attention span so we never go through more than one piece of paper a day (the paper isn't very cheap).
Carter's vocabulary is growing every day now. One thing he does though is instead of calling an animal by it's name (such as cow), he just makes the sound it makes (he even started calling dogs "woof woofs" today). He also does this for car (he calls it a "go").
Carter has trouble differentiating between cows and horses. We usually see horses, not cows, when driving. When Carter sees one, he'll say "moo". I'll tell him it's actually a horse, and then he'll say "neigh".
I had to go run an errand off Watt Rd so I decided to stop by Major Bob Leonard Park with the boys. Rylan slept in the shade while Carter and I played for about an hour.
I've played soccer at this park several times so I knew there was a playground, but I wasn't sure how great it was. There are some swings and one big play structure. Carter's still a little small for the playground, but everything is on super-soft, rubberized ground that makes falls much less scary.
There were only a few other kids there, but Carter still copied what they were doing ...
When we first got to the park and I was getting Rylan set up, Carter got half way up this before I got to him to help him. After a few tries he had it figured out and I was only there to catch him if he fell.
Sweaty and red-cheeked ...
When we got home, I got out Carter's finger paints. These are the Crayola Color Wonder paints and paper (we also have the markers). I really like these because they only show up on the special paper. Carter still has a short attention span so we never go through more than one piece of paper a day (the paper isn't very cheap).
Carter's vocabulary is growing every day now. One thing he does though is instead of calling an animal by it's name (such as cow), he just makes the sound it makes (he even started calling dogs "woof woofs" today). He also does this for car (he calls it a "go").
Carter has trouble differentiating between cows and horses. We usually see horses, not cows, when driving. When Carter sees one, he'll say "moo". I'll tell him it's actually a horse, and then he'll say "neigh".
Monday, August 23, 2010
Playmat
Brian's co-workers gave us a $100 Target gift card recently as a gift for Rylan. So today I got him a playmat. We never got one for Carter because he was never content laying on the floor or looking at his mobile like Rylan is.
So far Rylan seems to like his present ...
So far Rylan seems to like his present ...
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Weekend
We didn't do anything too exciting this weekend, but we definitely stayed busy.
Yesterday morning we got tires for my car (finally - we've been needing to get new tires for a couple of months now) and had Carter's hair cut.
This was Carter's third time getting a haircut. We went to the same place but had another new person cut Carter's hair. This time a man cut his hair (I didn't catch his name). The barber did a great job interacting with Carter and gave him a good haircut. Carter sat in the chair with a booster all by himself. Right away the barber got Carter some toys to play with and got him to give him "five".
Carter did a good job this time. There was no freaking out like last time. Occasionally he pulled away a little from the barber, but he generally stayed still. Carter's hair looks so much better now!
After Carter's morning nap, we went to Fuddrucker's for lunch and then shopping for Brian for some new soccer stuff. I decided to sit out this season and finally give Brian a chance to play. My old team is splitting into two teams this fall so they could finally use some new guys (we're normally hurting for girls but have more than enough guys on the team).
I'm excited to bring the kids to the games and have them watch Brian play. It's probably going to be a challenge to keep Carter off the field but hopefully he'll understand after a little explaining. Most of the fields have paved trails around the fields so I'm planning on taking the boys running in the jogging stroller for part of each game so I don't have to chase after Carter the entire time.
After some playtime, another nap for Carter, some yard work done by Brian, and dinner, we all went to the pool last night. Rylan slept most of the time there so both Brian and I were able to get in with Carter. Unfortunately after about 45 minutes it started thundering and we had to leave. We had a lot of fun while we were there though. I'm sad that the pool will be closing in a couple of weeks.
After the pool, we made a quick run over to Babies 'R Us to pick up some diapers after I realized that their sale on Pampers was only through Saturday and then we put Carter to bed. After Carter was asleep, I was holding Rylan as we watched a little TV. Rylan had been asleep for about 15 minutes when he started laughing in his sleep. He's been smiling at us for a few weeks but this was the first time he's laughed. It was a big, long belly laugh. He even woke himself up! It was super, super cute!
Today was a little more laid back.
I took the boys running when we got up. I added a mile to my run so we're up to 3.3 miles now. We spent the rest of the morning playing inside and getting in a morning nap for Carter.
After lunch Brian cut the grass and I took Carter outside to play. Rylan chilled out in his bouncer in the shade of the garage with the fan on him, as usual. I wasn't planning on getting out any water toys, but it got hot so I ended up pulling out the water table. I put a swim diaper on Carter but no trunks. These are the cute/funny pictures I ended up with:
After Carter's afternoon nap we went out for a quick dinner and trip to Target. By the time we got home, it was time to give Carter a bath and get him to bed.
Hopefully next weekend will be even more fun. We're planning on going to "Touch-a-Truck" at the zoo next weekend. Hopefully Carter will enjoy seeing and climbing on all types of trucks!
Yesterday morning we got tires for my car (finally - we've been needing to get new tires for a couple of months now) and had Carter's hair cut.
This was Carter's third time getting a haircut. We went to the same place but had another new person cut Carter's hair. This time a man cut his hair (I didn't catch his name). The barber did a great job interacting with Carter and gave him a good haircut. Carter sat in the chair with a booster all by himself. Right away the barber got Carter some toys to play with and got him to give him "five".
Carter did a good job this time. There was no freaking out like last time. Occasionally he pulled away a little from the barber, but he generally stayed still. Carter's hair looks so much better now!
After Carter's morning nap, we went to Fuddrucker's for lunch and then shopping for Brian for some new soccer stuff. I decided to sit out this season and finally give Brian a chance to play. My old team is splitting into two teams this fall so they could finally use some new guys (we're normally hurting for girls but have more than enough guys on the team).
I'm excited to bring the kids to the games and have them watch Brian play. It's probably going to be a challenge to keep Carter off the field but hopefully he'll understand after a little explaining. Most of the fields have paved trails around the fields so I'm planning on taking the boys running in the jogging stroller for part of each game so I don't have to chase after Carter the entire time.
After some playtime, another nap for Carter, some yard work done by Brian, and dinner, we all went to the pool last night. Rylan slept most of the time there so both Brian and I were able to get in with Carter. Unfortunately after about 45 minutes it started thundering and we had to leave. We had a lot of fun while we were there though. I'm sad that the pool will be closing in a couple of weeks.
After the pool, we made a quick run over to Babies 'R Us to pick up some diapers after I realized that their sale on Pampers was only through Saturday and then we put Carter to bed. After Carter was asleep, I was holding Rylan as we watched a little TV. Rylan had been asleep for about 15 minutes when he started laughing in his sleep. He's been smiling at us for a few weeks but this was the first time he's laughed. It was a big, long belly laugh. He even woke himself up! It was super, super cute!
Today was a little more laid back.
I took the boys running when we got up. I added a mile to my run so we're up to 3.3 miles now. We spent the rest of the morning playing inside and getting in a morning nap for Carter.
After lunch Brian cut the grass and I took Carter outside to play. Rylan chilled out in his bouncer in the shade of the garage with the fan on him, as usual. I wasn't planning on getting out any water toys, but it got hot so I ended up pulling out the water table. I put a swim diaper on Carter but no trunks. These are the cute/funny pictures I ended up with:
After Carter's afternoon nap we went out for a quick dinner and trip to Target. By the time we got home, it was time to give Carter a bath and get him to bed.
Hopefully next weekend will be even more fun. We're planning on going to "Touch-a-Truck" at the zoo next weekend. Hopefully Carter will enjoy seeing and climbing on all types of trucks!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Pretend
Carter is starting to play "pretend".
He's played with his Little People and Playmobil people and animals for a long time, but he's usually just putting them all in the barn or lining them up. He'll make the sound one of the animals makes and make it hop around. He'll push cars around and make sounds and run them down ramps.
But yesterday Carter started playing with his toys a little differently. He kept putting a little dog down on it's side and made snoring sounds. Then today he put a Cheerio up to the dogs mouth and a grape up to a persons mouth and made smacking noises. It just seems like now he's pretending that his toys can do things that he does.
It was a cooler, overcast morning so I took the boys to the splash pad when it opened. There were only a couple of other people there when we got there and it never got very crowded. Plus, school started this week in our county so there weren't any big kids to watch out for.
Carter enjoyed it for awhile but then became obsessed with eating. The kids at the table next to us were getting a snack and Carter kept saying "eat, eat, eat" and getting upset. I had one little snack with us that I gave him, but it wasn't enough. Carter had just had a whole cup of Cheerios before we left the house so I didn't bring much with us. We stayed about an hour but I never could get Carter to play for very long after he got his mind set on eating.
Here's a picture of Carter from yesterday afternoon and one from our run this morning. Notice anything in common?
Carter is obsessed with these rainboots. Brian's parents bought them for Carter a long time ago and his feet are finally big enough for them. I pulled them out of his closet yesterday and he wants to wear them all the time. This morning Carter was looking for them first thing after I got him out of his crib.
Carter tells Rylan hi and bye all the time. He always says, "Hi, Baby" or "Bye, Baby". Carter also loves to tell random people, animals, and objects (like airplanes) hi and bye. He's been getting a little confused lately though. Yesterday while saying bye to the garbage truck, he said, "Bye. Bye. Bye, Baby. Bye." I guess he's just used to attaching "Baby" to hi and bye!
He's played with his Little People and Playmobil people and animals for a long time, but he's usually just putting them all in the barn or lining them up. He'll make the sound one of the animals makes and make it hop around. He'll push cars around and make sounds and run them down ramps.
But yesterday Carter started playing with his toys a little differently. He kept putting a little dog down on it's side and made snoring sounds. Then today he put a Cheerio up to the dogs mouth and a grape up to a persons mouth and made smacking noises. It just seems like now he's pretending that his toys can do things that he does.
It was a cooler, overcast morning so I took the boys to the splash pad when it opened. There were only a couple of other people there when we got there and it never got very crowded. Plus, school started this week in our county so there weren't any big kids to watch out for.
Carter enjoyed it for awhile but then became obsessed with eating. The kids at the table next to us were getting a snack and Carter kept saying "eat, eat, eat" and getting upset. I had one little snack with us that I gave him, but it wasn't enough. Carter had just had a whole cup of Cheerios before we left the house so I didn't bring much with us. We stayed about an hour but I never could get Carter to play for very long after he got his mind set on eating.
Here's a picture of Carter from yesterday afternoon and one from our run this morning. Notice anything in common?
Carter is obsessed with these rainboots. Brian's parents bought them for Carter a long time ago and his feet are finally big enough for them. I pulled them out of his closet yesterday and he wants to wear them all the time. This morning Carter was looking for them first thing after I got him out of his crib.
Carter tells Rylan hi and bye all the time. He always says, "Hi, Baby" or "Bye, Baby". Carter also loves to tell random people, animals, and objects (like airplanes) hi and bye. He's been getting a little confused lately though. Yesterday while saying bye to the garbage truck, he said, "Bye. Bye. Bye, Baby. Bye." I guess he's just used to attaching "Baby" to hi and bye!
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