I Love...

Carter's shoe socks.  My parents got them for him and a few months ago one of them went missing.  When Ty moved all the furniture for our carpet installation, he found it.  Now if only I could justify putting them on Carter every day!

Our dishwasher magnet.  Ty's parents were visiting and we were all in the kitchen.  I turned and asked Ty if the dishes in the dishwasher were clean or dirty.  Then Ty's mom pulled out a present for me.  This has to be the cutest way to keep track of your dishes!  I get so excited to run the dishwasher so I can flip it over.  Then I get excited to empty the clean dishes so I can flip it back over.

Wearing my grandma's ring.  Anytime I look down at it I think of her and my grandpa and I love all the memories that flood my mind.  Carter loves how shiny it is.  He will reach for it and try to play with it.  When he does I always tell him who it belonged to and then I tell him a story about my grandma.  I want Carter to always know his great-grandparents.  They are all such amazing people. 

 

Redneck Crazy by Tyler Farr.  I told Ty I'm embarrassed for myself that I like this song.  Seriously, it has redneck in the title, it's an unacceptable choice.  For some reason, I just love it.  If it comes on the radio when I'm parking, I sit to listen to the rest of it.  I told Ty at least he's the only person who knows I like it, but here I am admitting it to all of you...

Our baby pool.  I love bath time because Carter is so adorable and loves the water so much.  Having a pool is an acceptable way to have bath time during the day and stretch it into an hour long event.  Now what will I do during the fall, winter, and spring?  Indoor baby pool... in the bath tub?

We even put bubble bath in the pool yesterday.

Carter's sleeping positions.  He is stinkin adorable when he sleeps.  I can't get over how he lays like a big boy.  When I go in to check on him I swear he looks like a toddler! 

That I get to see my students in 5 days!  I'm not excited to be away from Carter, but I can't wait to see my kiddos looping up to 2nd grade again and to meet my new 1st graders.  The best age group to teach, they are so much fun!  I'm normally nervous for Meet the Teacher night, but this year I'm just overly excited.  Looping is really an amazing concept and since I'm mulit-age instead of doing it every other year, I get to do it every year!

Baby boy's teeth.  When I see them they brighten my day.  They are the most visible when he is fussing and when he's laughing.  If I take too long in between bites of food he fusses and shows them off and I can't help but giggle.  Now the first time he uses them on me when nursing I may have a different opinion.

The sidewalk by our house.  I know I've mentioned this before, but I can't say it enough.  There wasn't a sidewalk within walking distance of our house until this summer.  They put a sidewalk in a block from our house stretching about three-quarters of a mile.  We use it to walk to the library.  I've also taken Harper and Carter on walks using it when Carter just had to be in his baby carrier.

Harper and Carter together.  I just can't get enough of them being sweet to each other.  Carter rolls and scoots toward Harper and she repays him by allowing him to "pet" her and pull her fur.  I can't believe how much Carter loves her.  He can be all out scream crying, look over, see Harper, and laugh.  Seriously, I get the screams and she gets giggles?!!?  I've even called her into the room when he was screaming and I couldn't get him calmed down.  Works like a charm... for a couple seconds as she walks by.

Babbling.  Carter is all about his voice and loves to babble.  It's so much fun to pretend we are having a conversation and talk back to him. 

The End of Summer

Summer is quickly coming to an end.  Tuesday is my first day back at work and our first day of school is Monday the 19th.  As sad as I am to see summer and my time at home with Carter go, I'm making the most of these last few days.  I'm not going up to school to work, I brought home some things I can work on at home while Carter naps.  The rest will just have to wait until next week during our teacher work day.

I'm so excited for these last few days and plan to pack in as much summer fun as humanly possible.  Yesterday I pulled out the baby pool and plan to get it back out today.  When I put Carter in the pool I was shocked that he wanted to sit up.  It made me nervous, but I let him sit all by himself.  

Of course I was right there by him with my hands up ready to catch him.  I just kept picturing him face planting into the water and I couldn't bear that thought.  When he would get tired from sitting up and splashing, he would just rest his arm on the side of the pool and chill for a little bit.  He looked so cute!

Just taking a break and resting.

When he finally wore out and wanted to lay down, I couldn't believe how much bigger he was than the first time we used the pool.  Two months later and he was almost touching one end with his toes and the other with his head!  He has grown so much and I feel so lucky to have been home with him to watch every moment. 

The way he played in the pool had also changed.  Before he was all about kicking his legs and splashing with his feet.  This time all he wanted to do was stare at the water and splash with his hands.  He splashed himself in the face a few times but didn't seem to mind.  To see pictures and video from his first time in the pool click here.

Even in the pool Carter's favorite toys are books!  I brought out a few of his bath books and he actually played with them.  I still haven't been successful in getting him to play with any other water toys.  I did my best to keep my legs out of pictures, but it's a small pool and it was hard.  Ty laughed when he realized I was in the pool with Carter.  Is he crazy?!?!  It was 100 degrees and with the heat index felt like 109.  Why would I sit anywhere else when there's cool water right next to me!?  I hope you all are having a great end to your summer too!  Are you excited to see it go or sad for it to end?

Carter loves to read!

Our Dentist Visit

I had a dentist visit scheduled for today since my last cleaning 6 months ago.  When I first scheduled the visit I was worried about what to do with Carter.  I thought I would need to find someone to watch him.  As the visit grew closer and Carter got older I wasn't worried.  I figured I'd just take him in his car seat and he'd hang out while I got my teeth cleaned.

Gotta clean those two teeth buds!

I kept remembering my appointment because I knew it was the same day as the math training I was leading.  After the training I was so excited to pick Carter up and hang out that the visit no longer registered in my mind.  Carter fell asleep around 1:00 and I sat on the couch working on the computer.  At 2:00 my phone dinged an appointment and I confusedly looked down at it.  I had totally forgotten about my 2:30 appointment, thank goodness for my phone!

I wanted to let Carter sleep for as long as possible, so I waited until 2:15 to go wake him up.  As I was walking to his room he woke up, talk about timing!  I quickly nursed him as I walked around gathering stuff and getting ready to go.  Finally at 2:25 I pulled him off because we had to go.  He was not a happy camper and rightfully so.

We got to the dentist and he was happily sitting in his car seat smiling at me while I talked and played with him.  Unfortunately we had to wait for about half an hour and after 20 minutes he was done with the car seat!  I pulled him out and held him while we waited some more.  They came to get us and when we got to the chair I tried putting him back in his car seat but he wasn't having it.  I held him and hoped when someone came to clean my teeth he would sit in his car seat okay.  Thankfully that was exactly what happened.

The minute she raised my chair back up and Carter saw my face he began to fuss again.  I got him out and we waited for the dentist to come look over my teeth.  He came in and lit up when he saw Carter.  I started to put him in his car seat, but the dentist told me to go ahead and hold him.  Carter was surprised when he leaned the chair back.  His eyes got really big!  The doctor took the mirror and started inspecting my teeth.  Little mister nosy reached out and tried to grab it.  I had to hold his hands down the whole time.  The dentist was really quick and then when he gave me my toothbrush, he also gave one to Carter.  Carter LOVED it and chewed on it the entire way home.  Pretty soon I'm going to be brushing 4 sets of teeth before I go to bed.   Anyone else out there brush your cat and dog's teeth?  It's super hilarious.  They both come to the bathroom when they hear me brush my teeth, sit by the door, and stare in waiting on me to brush their teeth.

Is it time to get our teeth brushed?

Race Fail

Friday Ty came home excited to run a race he had gotten an e-mail about.  The race was a 5 mile poker run.  During the race you get a card each mile and after the race prizes are given to the best poker hands.  He needed to run a 5 mile long run so it was perfect.  I was planning to run a 10 mile long run and thought the race sounded like fun so I decided to run the race and either run a few miles before and after or run 5 miles after depending on how early we got to the race.

My new shoes!

We arrived right on time for the race, barely got signed up, and I was still putting my bib on as it was time to take off.  I was running with Carter and Ty was going it alone.  I made it about half a mile out and it started to torrential downpour.  I looked in at Carter and he was getting soaked.  I immediately turned around and headed back to the car.  Ty saw us run past and followed suit.  As I changed Carter, Ty noticed I hadn't pulled the sun shade all the way down and that's why Carter got wet.  It stopped raining, but the stroller was wet and I could see lightning in the distance.  We decided to cut our losses and head home.

I was frustrated.  We got up at 6 am and didn't get to do the race and I still had to get my long run in.  I was disappointed I hadn't checked the weather and that I hadn't put the sun shade down all the way.  I couldn't help but think Carter may not have gotten wet if I had gotten the shade down and maybe we could have finished the race.  Ty could tell I was upset so we talked about a solution.  We decided he would go home with Carter and I would run home.

On my way home there were a couple more times where it rained as hard as it had at the race and once where it rained even harder.  I knew even if I'd gotten the shade down all the way Carter still would have gotten wet and we would have been farther away from the car.  I was so glad we made the decision to stop.  I made it home with a mile and a half to go so I ran out 3/4 of a mile and came back.

Soaked after my rainy day long run.

I was a sopping mess.  Normally when it rains I braid my hair so it doesn't get all tangled.  Since I didn't realize it was supposed to rain my hair was just in a regular ponytail.  I spent 20 minutes in the shower with conditioner untangling the rat's nest hanging from my head.  After running 10 miles that was simply exhausting!  I ordered new running shoes and had just run in them for the first time on Thursday, so they definitely got broken in on Saturday!

Later in the day Carter decided he didn't want to nap anywhere but in my arms.  I was exhausted and finally just gave in, putting him in the baby carrier.  Nothing like getting up at 6 am on a Saturday, running 10 miles, and then lugging an 18+ pound baby around in a baby carrier for 45 minutes while he sleeps to make your legs burn and eyes droopy!  But man, is he cute!

Last Week's Stats
Weekly Mileage: 30 miles
Long Run: 10 miles (I did a step back week because my body had been feeling worn out)
Tempo Run: 4 miles at 7:55 pace

Linking up with Ashley for Move it Monday!

A Weekend of Celebrations

This weekend my parents and brother, Thomas, came to visit.  We celebrated my birthday (which was Monday) and my parents' anniversary (which was Friday).  Of course Carter was the center of attention and enjoyed every minute of it!  He wears himself out and doesn't know what to do having 4 visitors along with his mommy and daddy all to gloat on him and shower him with kisses!

Playing with an old abacus a friend gave me.

Yesterday we celebrated my parents' anniversary.  They arrived later than expected so Jeremy wasn't able to come see them before he went to work.  Carter made them a painting as an anniversary present and we got them a Berry Chantilly cake from Whole Foods because my mom is slightly obsessed.  I also had them open a present from Ty's mom which they LOVED!  More on it later.

Carter looks ready to open the cake!

My parents had never tried Top That! Pizza and really wanted to, so we ate there for dinner.  A while back Thomas had wanted to go there and asked me about it.  I told him that the food was good, but there just wasn't enough and I left still hungry.  Later I realized I was pregnant when I had gone and the pizza is actually very filling.  We always joke about it now.

Everyone was sleepy!

When we got home Carter was asleep and actually stayed asleep in his car seat when we brought him in.  We laid around and relaxed for a while and then it was time for cake.  I had my parents cut the cake together which Thomas thought was ridiculous, but who cares, I thought it was cute!

Celebrating 33 years of marriage!

We stayed up WAY too late!  I didn't go to bed until a little after 1 am.  I knew I was in for a rough day the next day because Carter has been waking up at 7 am most days.  Once I was ready for bed I went into Carter's room and whispered in his ear, "Mommy's going to bed way too late, please sleep until 8:00 or later tomorrow morning.  I love you!"  This morning I woke up at 8:30 and Carter was still asleep so I went back to bed.  He slept until 10 am!  I kid you not, he woke up to eat pretty much right after I went to bed and then slept from 1:30-10:00!  I guess that was a late birthday present for me!

Lovin on our sweet baby!

Ty cooked breakfast burritos for everyone, Jeremy arrived, and we all sat around and played with/watched Carter for a while.  My parents, Jeremy, and Ty all went house hunting for some prospective houses for Jeremy as Carter napped.  Then it was time for family pictures.  Every year for my parents' anniversary we take a family picture.  This year when deciding what color to wear, my mom wanted blue to match Carter's eyes.  I picked one of Carter's onesies and we all matched as closely to it as we could.

After pictures we all walked to one of the houses on their list that was about three-quarters of a mile away.  It wasn't too hot, but very humid and we all came home very sweaty.  Which made us so glad my mom wanted to take our picture at the house so we wouldn't have to drag Carter around for pictures.  The whole walk we were joking about being some kind of gang with all of our matching shirts.  Then we happened to walk by a woman out mowing her lawn wearing the same color shirt as all of us.

I got to pick where we ate for dinner for my birthday so I picked Pei Wei.  It was delicious!  I swear by their honey seared chicken.  It's always what I want after a marathon, half marathon, or long training run.  Ty even fed it to me after a marathon while I took an ice bath, but was too exhausted to hold my sweatshirt out of the water and feed myself at the same time.  The fortune I got in my cookie was very fitting after the post I wrote on Friday.

We had a wonderful weekend, which as always, went by too quickly.  Tuesday I am leading a training for new teachers on our math curriculum and the alignment with Common Core.  It will be the first training I've lead by myself.  I've lead a few trainings, but always with other teachers.  I'm actually pretty excited to share great resources with new teachers to help make their first year in our district easier.  I just need to straighten up my classroom (I've been working on it and just piling stuff on tables, whoops!) and finish up my Powerpoint tomorrow.  But plenty of time will be spent cuddling with this cute baby!

The Teething Monster and My Last Week

This next week is my last week at home with Carter before heading back to work for the school year.  It makes me feel like a big ole ball of emotions.  It's hard to bear the thought of not spending every waking moment with Carter.  Even when he transforms into Carter the Teething Monster there's still no where I'd rather be than with his chubby cheeked little self.

Does it get any cuter!?

Right now is the time when I should be getting him ready for the transition into daycare.  I should be just laying him down in his crib for naps and having him spend more time playing independently.  All of that is easier said than done when I can count the number of days left at home with him on my fingers.  Add in the whole teething monster aspect and it's next to impossible.

Little Mister has had multiple days this week where he was exhausted but refused to nap.  The only way I could get him to sleep was putting him in the baby carrier and walking around with him.  Cuddles didn't work, rocking didn't work, singing didn't work.  The baby carrier has been a life saver.  I would gladly carry him around in it all day regardless of the back pain that inevitably follows.  Does this bode well for naps at daycare?  I'm afraid not.

My view of Carter sleeping in our ErgoBaby carrier.

I may be dreading Carter going back to daycare, but I'm definitely not dreading going back to work.  I know I've mentioned it before, but I LOVE my job and I LOVE my students.  When I start to get really sad about going back I think about the 1st graders looping up into our 2nd grade class.  I picture their sweet faces and how excited they'll be to share their stories of travel and adventure from the summer.  I think of the toothy smiles with gaps from losing teeth over the summer.  I picture the inches they've grown.  How their hugs will be different because they are different.  They will be taller, tanner, smarter, more mature.  Normally at this time of year I would be counting down the days until school started, eagerly awaiting the endless hugs, smiles, and I love yous.  I love feeling like I'm making a difference.  Knowing that there are children who know what it feels like to be loved because I was their teacher.  Some children who may have never felt that before. 

After I moved away from the first school I taught at, one of my previous co-teachers called me.  She told me she had seen one of my old students in the hallway.  She told him she'd just seen someone who loved him very much and asked him if he could guess who.  He very excitedly guessed me.  That was such a wonderful moment for me.  To know that even years later he knew how much I loved him.  I used to live for moments like that.  I still do, but I also live for even simpler moments.  The moments when my baby is sitting next to me resting his hand on my leg or I'm holding him and he's drooling down the front of my shirt. 

Who would want to leave this face?

It's such an inward struggle to want to be with my baby all day long, but at the same time feel the need to impact the lives of other children.  There's really no perfect solution, no best answer, no way for me to feel completely satisfied.  That is until I convince my superintendent I would still be an effective teacher with a Pack N Play in my classroom...

Big Boy Transitions

I can't believe everything Carter is able to do now.  It seems like this month he started doing so many "big boy" things!  He isn't crawling yet, but he is rolling all over the place and getting into things.  Today he found a pencil and shoved it in his mouth before I was able to pry it out of his grip.  Wild boy!

For a while now when I would feed Carter, he would reach for the spoon wanting to feed himself.  I thought we'd try feeding him small pieces of soft foods.  So far he's had banana and avocado.  Right away he caught on to mashing the piece of food with his tongue and gums.  He hasn't quite figured out getting the food to his mouth, so I've been feeding it to him.  He will grab the food and mash it in his hands, it just never makes it to his mouth.

When I pulled the tray off he had avocado all over his front from grabbing pieces and not putting them in his mouth.

We also got out some sippy cups so he could start drinking out of them.  I have been putting just a little bit of water in one and giving it to him during a meal.  It's hard to tell if he gets much water down or not.  I can hear him guzzling, but he ends up with lots of water on his chin and front, so it's hard to tell.  Sometimes he'll hold the cup on his own and sometimes he wants me to hold it for him.  I think he gets more water when I hold it because I tip it up for him.

Using his sippy cup from great grandma and grandpa.

We went to dinner for my birthday on Tuesday and put Carter in a restaurant high chair for the first time.  He did really well at first and while I was feeding him.  After a while his neck got tired and he started sloping and fussing.  Ty was finished with his meal, so he held him for a while.

Playing with my sunglasses in the high chair.

Carter has been chewing on anything he can get into his mouth and his bottom teeth have popped through.  We got him some Nibblers figuring he'd like feeding himself and frozen food would soothe his gums.  I took one of his frozen food cubes, cut it in half, and put half in the Nibbler.  I didn't think he'd be able to use it on his own, but he went to town with it.  When he finished all the frozen apple he started crying so I put the other half in and he ate part of it too.  It was absolutely adorable!  As I watched him I felt like I was getting a glimpse into the future.  His method of eating looked so much like eating an ice cream cone!

I am amazed at everything he has picked up and how much he has changed.  I swear when I look down at his thighs they are slowly shrinking and losing baby fat.  What will he be up to next?  I am so excited to find out!