A fun day & night!

Yesterday I drove down to the school that my Mom & sister work at. I was helping my sister get her classroom all decorated and my Mom always loves to show off her grandkids. :) The boys didn't sleep on the way down, so they were nice and awake when we got there. (We have learned that if Logan sleeps on the way down, he is a tad cranky when he wakes up and not always excited to say hi to new people and hug those that he loves). My moms friends immediately showered them with hellos, juice boxes and cookies - yeah they pretty much won them over!

We headed up to Aunt Dawn's classroom and oh, they had so much fun! After shutting the door so nobody could escape, the boys just played and played while Dawn and I hung posters and such. Aunt Dawn's team is doing a camping them...so Aunt Dawn even had a cool small tent in her classroom with a lion (not sure if you see those camping too much) and a snake. Aunt Dawn also had fun little toy animals to play with ...in her classroom...despite the fact that she teaches junior high! They thought it was all pretty cool. And let's not forget that Aunt Dawn also had crackers...they just kept eating...especially Carter.

At one point we did venture out into the hallway and Aunt Dawn opened a couple lockers for them to check out. They loved it and we got a couple really cute pictures!


We left the school and went out to lunch with Aunt Dawn & Grandma. After the boys weren't eating...I reflected back to all the crackers & cookies they had been spoiled with. Well, that explained it. They fell asleep on the way to Aunt Dawn's and both transferred wonderfully. This gave me an hour and a half to hang by my sister's pool with my mom and sister - so nice!

My parents had offered to take the boys for an overnight...in fact, they had all their grandkids, except the oldest and the youngest (that is 6 kids...are they awesome, brave, or crazy? - I think a little combo platter, but definitely awesome.) They apparently took them all to McD's and they played around in the tubes like crazy and ate a really good dinner. Okay, sure, McD's is not the healthiest place so 'good' is used differently. The fact that Logan actually ate his whole dinner is GOOD!!! He is such a tough kid to get to eat sometimes! I think having his cousins eating so well, helped. :) hm....if only we lived closer, we'd eat together more often!

They had a great sleepover - they all played so nicely. They fell asleep kinda late.....like 10/10:30ish...eeks! And I guess Carter woke them all up around 6:30 with an awesome scream! Yeah...you're welcome!

Meanwhile....I left around 3 to head home. I quickly cleaned, let Buddy out and put on a dress....for I had a date with my husband! He took the 3:30 train home, changed and then we went to Olive Garden. While waiting, we ordered some drinks at the bar. I got a pomegranate margarita martini...it was yummy...and strong...and I had an empty stomach. I think we all know where this is going. After a few sips, I was a bit woozy. I thought it would get better after I had some food...but wow - I was a smidgen drunk...off one martini! I am a cheap date. :) Amongst other craziness...I believe in the nice atmosphere at Olive Garden, I may have said loudly, "What, what in your butt?" See....John and I are a bit goofy and sarcastic at home. So when somebody says 'What?'...that is often our response. I just did it loudly at an inappropriate place. Thankfully I wasn't sitting towards the other customers...so I ignored any looks I may have gotten. How embarrassing.

We drove home, changed into painting clothes, then went over to our friends house to help them paint as they are just moving in. We had a nice time, painted 2 of the 3 rooms and shared some laughs!

Best part....John and I slept in until 10AM!!!!! Buddy wasn't too annoying in the morning with his allergies (itching & licking). There was a thunderstorm - so it was just so lovely. :)

Everybody had fun and everybody was refreshed! (Granted, they boys....they are currently a little melty...but worth the fun at Grandma & Papas house!)

Our 2nd birthday party this week

It seems between August - November...all kinds of friends are having birthday parties! Today was a pretty cool one. It was at a place nearby called Jumps N Jiggles. It has 2 rooms: one with climbing structures and tubes to crawl thru and another with a giant carousel! So between those 2 rooms no child should be bored in the 2 hours!

Good thing too: no bloody lips today - hooray! :) John and I got a bit dizzy riding around on the carousel. Then a lightbulb moment hit us...we let Logan ride alone on every other carousel...why were we hanging with him on this one? So he then went solo and we took turns with Carter. Thankfully every so often they wanted to go play in the other room and gave us a break. They had a fun time and it was nice for both John and I to see them playing so well together and having such a nice time. :)

At the end of the party, the 'goody bag' was to create your own candy bag. Logan thought that was pretty cool and wanted the m&m's, jelly beans, skittles & lollipops - he wanted it all! The bag will be hidden and they will get a few little treats here and there! :)

Carter's 18 Month Checkup

After a well-needed nap from the super fun birthday party...we headed to the doctor's office. I could not have been more proud of both boys at this trip! We all held hands nicely in the parking lot. Carter didn't run off once we entered the office building. While we waited a couple minutes to be called back, the boys played with the fish mural on the wall. Funny - I asked Logan where the eel was. Carter thought I asked where his ear was - so he pointed to his ear. Then the two goofballs walked around with their fingers in their ears! They thought they were hilarious!

We were called back and Logan immediately sat on the bench and waited nicely. I stripped Carter down without any complaint and answered all the questions which proved that Carter is progressing right on track. He can run, stack blocks more than 2 high, say at least between 7-20 words (he can say more)....I'm sure there are more; I just don't remember. Here are his stats:

26 pounds 11 ounces (60th percentile)
33.5 inches tall (80th percentile)
Head: 19 inches (50th percentile)

Overall, he is growing at a great rate! He is now 1.5 pounds greater than Logan was at this age; still one inch shorter.

When the doctor came in, Carter didn't cry, though he did scope him out. I asked him to say doctor...and he did! Dr. M was impressed. While the doctor was asking me questions, Carter pointed to the tractor on the border and the doc was impressed that he was picking out objects and naming them. That's my boy! :) Then he started poking around. Logan instinctively got up and went to the end of the table. The doctor would show Carter what he was going to do by doing it to Logan first. Logan was a champ! Without having prepped him with what we were going to do that day, Logan let the doctor listen to his breathing...then Carter said 'me too!' That is how the visit went for looking at the eyes, checking out the ears and so on... Even when Carter was poked in the belly and checked out and doing exercises with the doc, he did great. I was very proud of him! He did cling to me a bit at first, but still let the doc touch him, which was just perfect.

Carter was all caught up on shots, so he didn't even need one! The boys both got stickers, said Thank You to Dr. M. and we were out the door within 25 minutes! Love this doctors office - we don't often have to wait longer than 5 minutes in the waiting room and 5 minutes in the office. :)

I am thankful for another healthy checkup! Way to go, Carter!!!

A birthday party

Today we had a busy day planned. We had a birthday party at pump it up. Both boys did great pretty close to the entire time! I remembered socks this time...so it was a big relief. I was able to go in with the boys when they started getting clingy. They thought it was pretty cool that I was in there. Because most of the kids were Logan's age through age 5, I was pretty much the only Mom bouncing around. Every so often, my good friend Kathy joined me. :) It was a lot of fun. I did head into one obstacle course, which was very difficult when Carter decided halfway through that he was done - like turn into jello and scream done. I still had to climb an inflatable wall one-handed while holding said screaming jello. It was good fun. But then - it was time to put on our shoes and head in for lunch & cake.

One would think that would be where things calmed down. No. During the cake, Maddie's dropped onto the floor. I picked it up and during that time, I have no clue what Carter was trying to do - perhaps trying to swing his leg over to get down?? I don't know. Anyway, he kind of flipped off the bench and smacked down on the hard floor. People gasped a bit, I picked him up and waited for the big wail - of which everybody (which was mostly friends of mine, so it wasn't awkward or anything) turned and looked. I said 'oh he's fine'. He was just exhausted and this scared him a bit. I looked at my shoulder - oh, apparently he's not as fine as I thought - there were little dabs of blood. He must've bit his lip. While he was on my lap and I was trying to get some water on a napkin to blot...the little stinker is already putting a forkful of cake in his mouth! Needless to say, he was just fine!! Granted he had a fat lip - and he had his 18 month checkup....of course!!! Oh well, it was a fun birthday - happy 4th birthday, Leo!

June Trip to WI

I took the boys with me to visit my in-laws up in the Cheese State in mid-late June. On our way up, we picked up my SIL, Brittany, niece, Myella and their dog, Oakley (my boys looovvee him). It was a nice ride - the kids napped, the dogs behaved and Britt and I chatted.

We arrived and headed out to the Greenville Zoo. I was told this was a small zoo. I guess compared to Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, that is true - however it was MUCH bigger than the small zoo's I've visited in Chicago. We saw several cool animals and played on their big playground...but the coolest thing was probably the two grizzly bears! They were playing - jumping in their pool, sliding down their slide...they just put on a good 10 minute show for us!

Afterwards we headed out for ice cream. The funniest part was my SIL, Brittany wanted an ice cream cone (but she had to leave the zoo early since Myella needed a nap). My niece Meghan and I drove her cone home - approx. 2 miles. But it was a HOT day. The ice cream was not uber-firm (even for soft serve) to begin with. By the time we pulled in the drive way, it was dripping down Meghan's hand!! We had even tried turning the air conditioning on high and holding the cone in front - it was a losing battle! It provided for some great laughs for Megs and I...and Brittany got to quickly eat her cone!

The next day, the boys and I, along with my MIL, SIL, Sandy and nephew Alex headed out to go strawberry picking. Because it was a bit late in the season, the strawberries were soooooo tiny! While we picked a ton, but it didn't look like too much cuz they were so small. People though they were raspberries. I freezed most of the strawberries for smoothies later and toppings on ice cream or in a sauce for pancakes....but my MIL also made several batches of strawberry jam. Oh yum!!! It is super delicious - my boys and I love it!!!

We took a dip in the pool on this hot, gorgeous day. Carter and Myella chilled in the baby pool for a bit. Sometimes Carter came in the big pool with Logan and I. The one who kept getting in the pool SO much was our water-dog, Buddy! Oh man. He's okay if others are in the pool, but I think when they boys and I are in there he either feels left out or wants to protect us. We tried blockading the in-ground pool, but it didn't work. He ended up getting locked in the garage (no worries - it is a ventilated, 4-car garage...he was by no means cramped!

We left around 2, which was my idea...but was a bad one. Not only did I hit Milwaukee traffic, but then Chicago traffic as well. Bummer. I also took a wonky way home - towards Madison...which while I enjoyed no traffic for a bit....when I did hit Chicago traffic, it is was in small towns with lots of stoplights. Ugh.

Great trip - next time, we leave after lunch or around 4. :)

Summer 2011 - Recap 1

Okay...since I apparently don't have the time to update as often as I'd like...here's a recap of our summer thus far:

• I joined a gym back on April 30th - while it was to help prep for the triathalon I completed, it was one of the best things ever! I've not only lost a few pounds that were hanging on, but toned my body much more and I just feel great!! I am now much happier when I look at my body in the mirror...or in pretty much any outfit! I am down 10 pounds from where I was BEFORE Logan. So we have been spending some days at the gym. Since I am a stay at home mom, I certainly don't want to put my kids in daycare every day just to work out...but I do go 1-2 times during the day. Then sometimes I go at night after the kids are in bed...and John's asleep (since he gets up early). :)

• I was running a mommy group with my friend this past year...which ended up using more of my computer time than I thought (maybe I can blame that for my lack of blogging...yeah, we'll do that). :) It is a great group of moms and I love being a part of the group...I just don't think I have the time for organizing all the events - heck, I am still trying to FIND events for us to do....and if you know me, I am not a stellar researcher. Anyway, we relinquished the group to a fellow Mom who is doing an awesome job so far. That is a weight lifted off my chest!

• My brother had a day off work, as did my mom (and my sister & nephews always have the summer off)....so we all went to the zoo!! It was a first time out with my mom with just her kids and all her grandkids!!! It was great! My sisters kids, since they are older, brought some friends, so we didn't see them too much. The rest of us, trucked along. It was funny to see the difference it kids. James' kids thought every site was awesome and they were ready to move along. My boys thought each site was awesome and wanted to stay at that exhibit for about 10-15 minutes! This reminds me very much of Dawn's boys...even when they were little! It was a very nice day out and we did snap a few pictures to capture the memory.

• We also headed to my sisters pool and enjoyed some fun time. However....my boys are different dudes in the pool when I'm there. Mom, mom, mom, mommy, mama, mom, mommy, mama, mom, mom, mom. My sister says Carter reminds her of Stewie from Family Guy. Some days that is SOOOOO true! In the pool this particular day, it definitely was! Then Logan also wanted me. Logan is a pill sometimes. It's hard - while my family lives an hour away...it is easy enough to make a day trip without it being too much driving (in my eyes)...but the thing is, Logan only gets to sleep for one hour. One hour is enough to take some edge off...but not nearly enough. It sometimes takes him a half hour to get re-warmed up. So in the pool, nobody else could play with him cuz he was being a bit of a crab. Once he is warmed up...he is hilarious; he is fun in the pool; fun in the house with the toys; and always wants to feed Chubbs *the guinea pig* a carrott. By the time we leave, he doesn't want to. Now, if he could only warm up from the get go.... :)

I will do better!

I look back at my blog and just think how WELL I did before....I have been a super slacker with it! It's not that my day is busy with two very busy boys and a dog with whom will be glad that the weather is cooler so he can go on walks again....or that when I sit down at the computer, my brain needs to decompress...or I feel that I should be a decent instructor and work on my class... Man, check out those excuses!

Okay, so my goal is to post at least once a week...however, I'm aiming for 3 times a week! I don't write a journal to capture these moments, so this is my outlet to help me in my old age...or for my boys to see what a truly awesome childhood they had!!!

Carter's in a Big Boy Bed!

This past weekend, at 17.5 months, we switched Carter to his toddler bed. We mentioned it around 14 months (when we switched Logan)....but Carter wasn't ready. For starters, while he takes several steps at a time, walking alone (without any toys) is not his preferred method. He does stairs well enough, I'm not quite ready to have him come out of his room and be near the stairs without our knowing. Yes....we removed the gates once Carter mastered turning around for the stairs. John and I can't stand living in a gated community. Perhaps it is the type of gates we have that were annoying to open, but nonetheless we were glad to be free of them!

So after a few months...and after Carter mastered walking...we continued to hem and haw. See right now, Carter still sleeps until 8-8:30. We knew that Logan had started waking up earlier shortly after he switched to the toddler bed....but every kid is different. Logan currently wakes up early right now 6:15-6:30, but he climbs into my bed and either watches some cartoons or plays with some toys while I catch a bit more shut eye.

But we decided to just go for it. We all helped take the crib part down together (it converts) and then we helped Daddy assemble the toddler bed. The boys climbed around in there and Carter was very excited.

The first couple nights so far have been great! We stay in his room for now and read to him to help him fall asleep, then once he's out we leave. He stayed asleep all through the night and got up around 7:30 - not to shabby!!

Let's hope it continues to go so well. Yay for a crib-free household!

Train Day

We had such a fun adventure today as a family! We drove to a nearby train station and boarded the train. The boys were both very excited. We sat on the top (as that is where Daddy sits when he rides the train daily...). We went about 4 stops - both boys really excited the whole way! They kept looking around the train...then back outside. At one point, a freight train passed us going the opposite direction. Logan's eyes were nearly cross he was trying to look at it all!

After 4 stops we hopped off and walked a half a block to 2Toots. It is a cute little restaurant where your food is delivered via a little train. Our friends Kathy, Drent, Maddie and baby Emma met us there. The kids were so excited to be together and eat together. We had a nice lunch....a little distracted by all the train action, but they did very well.

We said good-bye to our friends and saw a bunch of police cars zooming around downtown, just up a block. We walked over and saw even more police, firetrucks and an ambulance. Then we noticed smoke about 2 blocks up just billowing. I pray for the family whose house or business caught on fire. That being said, it was very cool for Logan to see the firemen in action. We saw a couple of them wait for the call for a back-up truck and you can tell as soon as they got it. They all quickly grabbed their gear, ran to the truck and sped outta there.

We walked around a bit more waiting for our train. Carter was so super tired, so John and I took turns carrying him...which did I forget to mention it was 90 degrees with a heat index around 98? Yeah, next time we attempt a cool adventure like this....we should pick a cool day. :)

The train ride home was just as exciting and the boys were conked out within minutes of being in the car. It was a very fun family day.

No more pacifiers

They're gone. And it couldn't have been easier!

I've always kept the pacifiers for naptime/bedtime only. It was Logan's comfort item but I dislike when you see a pacifier in a kids mouth for pretty much every picture....a stuffed animal is different...nothing that blocks my cute kids smile. :) Plus Logan didn't appear to need it outside of bedtime. Every so often we'd allow it in the car (to help get him to sleep) or at Church...because...well obvious reasons of helping to keep him quiet during that stage of wanting to explore everywhere!!

I had said I would take them away at 2. John and I were on vacation right before then and he was staying at my in-laws...so I pushed it. Then knowing that the holidays were right around the corner...we pushed it a bit more. We started cutting the tips of the pacifiers to help wean him though. Then we went on vacation in FL...so we pushed it a bit more. I threw almost all of them away, but two of them...with the tips drastically cut.

One magical day in May (18th to be exact)....we were getting ready for bed and I searched and searched for the pacifiers. He had been playing with them and had hidden them. I could not find them....anywhere!!!

I finally said - well I guess tonight is the night we are done with pacifiers. I was planning on doing a bit more of an elaborate celebration of getting rid of them. Perhaps a toy in exchange or some ridiculous effort like that. Nope. Just cold turkey, adios amigos!

I kind of feared how bedtime would go, but here went nothing....

I put him to bed and said, Logan I can't find your pacifiers so you have to go to bed without them. He said 'where did my pacifier go?'. He looked under his pillow and said 'it's not here, oh well.'. And that. was. it! He went to bed without a problem. He didn't cry for them trying to get to sleep; he didn't wake up in the middle of the night; he didn't mention them in the morning.

Easiest thing ever!!

(And as a note on this about 6 months later.....I still have not found the pacifiers!!! I am guessing he threw them in the garbage maybe??) John still insists that I was tricking them all and that I threw them away and played dumb. I kind of wish I had, but I swear up and down that I did nothing of the sort. I really think that Logan did; he knew he didn't need them.

We've got ourselves an official walker...

Yay! He's doing it! Carter is walking!! He took his first steps at 12.5 months and since then has been taking a few steps here and there...mainly walking with a goal in mind, typically John or I. It has been very frustrating for me. Spring time is here...parks, playing outside, more dirt on the floor from being inside and outside...all things that make my skin crawl when I think of my sweet baby crawling on the ground. I knew he could do it as he proved himself time and time again. He also proved around 13 months that he knew how to get to a stand position from sitting. It was high time. Thursday night, April 14th, I told Carter I was done watching him crawl. After dinner I busted out the Teddy Grahams and made him walk to me, me moving further and further away. If he fell down and/or crawled, I put him back at the starting point. Seems harsh when I type it out, but there were only a few tears and he overall did very well. I was very excited, along with John and even Logan when he walked the whole way. We finally called it quits. Then he was up waaaay past his bedtime. Hm...due to much sugar?!? Could be.

We went to library storytime, he did his typical walk, then fall and crawl; got frustrated. He sat through baby storytime and then sat through toddler storytime. After toddler time, we hung out with our fav librarian, Miss Wendy (who reminds me a lot of my sister) and my friend Kathy and her daughter, Maddie. Logan and Maddie were running around, like usual chasing each other. All of a sudden, as if out of nowhere, Carter stood up and started chasing after them in his unsteady mummy-walk. He fell down, got back up and kept going....a couple times. What was amazing is that he had no destination!!! I was almost too shocked to speak! He was doing it - he was walking just to walk!!!!

So how about that....Logan takes his first steps at the library and Carter officially starts walking at the library!!! Too funny!

Ever since then, Carter walks everywhere...he is good at it...thinks he is just too awesome...and makes John and I so super proud with every step! We've gone outside and he walks everywhere...it is just awesome!

So yes, now that I waited so long for him to walk (14.5 months on the nose) I know I will be the crazy woman running after kids in two different directions. But at least I'm not the one running after the big kid while having to carry the other kid since he doesn't walk...or having to carry him many places outside so he doesn't crawl everywhere. Ah.......so nice.

Congrats Carter! We love you!

Carter says Mama!!

Haha...so today Carter said Mama!!! It is definitely not his first word, BUT it is extra special because he still hasn't said 'Daddy' yet. Score one for mom!!!

Funny that both our boys said so many other words before Mommy and Daddy. Logan said Daddy before Mommy, so at least Carter helped even out the playing field.

What a trip...

This past weekend had nothing on the calendar. We were going to continue to work on projects for the house, do our taxes and stay home. Then I learned that our niece, Brittany was going to be playing possibly her last basketball game of her career. She is in a junior college and this is her last year. She's been playing for gosh, so long, and is very good. So after talking to John, we wanted to go and cheer her on! It would be a perfect event for the boys, as they can be loud and it is a.o.k. :) It also was in the Milwaukee-area, so it wasn't too far of a drive to go there and back. It was in the afternoon, so how perfect that during our drive there would be during the boys naps. They'd be refreshed and ready to go and then we'd have a nice dinner with John's brother, Andy, Brittany and adorable little Myella...then head on home - which was convenient since it would be their bedtime. So to prep for this, I packed their pajamas. We also dressed in their school colors to show our support. Things were going great. We got some projects done in the morning, the boys were nice and tired. Okay, that all sounds great....almost too great.

The car ride starts - Carter is asleep by the time we are at the bottom of the driveway. Great! We stopped to get Wendy's to get some lunch. Within 15 minutes, Logan fell asleep while finishing his 2nd chicken nugget. Good! It was a little snowy, but the roads were good and we were on our way to being on-time (which we were). Lovely. 30 minutes into the ride, during a stretch of our drive that is at stoplights, Carter stirs when I stop at a light. Problem is when Carter stirred, his bright blue eyes just popped right open and that. was. it.

He wasn't pleased almost from the get-go. As I do most of the driving (I have trouble turning around a lot to help the kids when I'm the passenger and John isn't a huge fan of driving), John did everything to try and calm this kid down. We tried his blanket, taking off his socks, putting on a movie, feeding him 2 chicken nuggets, giving him some milk, playing peek-a-boo, shush'ing him, feeding him a pb&j, which as you can imagine went horribly wrong, feeding him crackers, you name it. The poor little bugger cried and often screamed during this trip. He eventually woke up Logan, who woke up crying for milk of which we didn't have, just the lovely, boring water. Luckily Logan calmed down quickly and we had only 15 minutes to our destination....where a Grandma, Godmothers, Aunts and cousins awaited these two lovely boys.

Really, during the game, the boys were pretty good. At times they were a little clingy to us, but after Aunt Kaye busted out candy for Logan and Grandma bought him some popcorn, he was pretty appeased. He clapped when the crowd cheered and had a good time. Carter was busy, going from person to person, crawling on the bleachers...sometimes a little too far, where he started climbing on this guy, using his butt. Um, sorry there college student. :) But Carter too enjoyed himself. It was nice and Brittany played very well...and they won!!! It was very exciting.

We said goodbye to most of the famil then left for a restaurant and Carter fell asleep - good, even a 15 minute nap will do him good. We ended up at TGIF. While it is nice to go to a nice sit down restaurant, doing it with a one and two year old can prove to be exhausting. We only had about a 20 minute wait, which we hung out in the bar area (yes, with our children) and they were well behaved. We then were escorted to our huge semi-circle booth, which sat about a foot and a half above the rest of the section seating - so we were kind of on display....like the head table at a wedding. We felt like entertainment and we didn't disappoint.

Our waiter came to the table to get a drink order. We ordered and also asked for a booster seat for Carter. The reason why became apparent within the next few seconds where Carter, while standing on the booth at the table, slipped and banged his lip. Blood-curdling screams ensued, heads flipped around to stare and I tried to laugh off this moment while trying to console my almost now hyperventilating child. Naturally, this didn't go well so within 30 seconds, I scooted my way out of the booth (naturally, Carter and I were in the back). Scoot, scoot, scoot. While scooting, I noticed that he was bleeding. Of course. So I scooted faster and tossed out an apology to all the people staring and bolted to the bathroom. As soon as I was walking away, Carter stopped his hyperventilating. I was able to clean him off in the bathroom. It wasn't a terrible amount of blood, but he did cut the inside of his lip and the outside of his lip. Okay...

So we went back to the table and he was okay, while we kept feeding him a snack. We ordered our meal which seemed to take a while to come. Why can't places learn to bring out the kids meal as soon as its ready? I'm sure the mac n cheese is in a vat that can easily be scooped out and heated up. I digress. They ate well. Sometimes at dinner I feel like an octopus. Since Carter was in a booster, I held onto his seat (it was leaning forward and I didn't want him to fall a second time) with one hand and ate with the other, while spooning some mac n cheese to Carter. He kept wanting to do it himself, but he gets way too messy, so I had to be on-guard and fast. It came with a side of mandarin oranges, which are Carter's favorite so he just chowed down. During octopus like moments, we did our best to carry on a conversation with Andy & Brittany, while they tended to their quiet and low-maintenance 4.5 month old baby. :) I was thankful that she did join in the craziness by crying for a few minutes while trying to fall asleep in a noisy restaurant. Thanks Myella. :) I also think during this time we secured Andy & Brittany's thoughts of not having a second child 'right' away. :)

The check came, coats went on, we got in the van. Keep in mind, we still needed to change the kids into pj's. I thought (and was correct) that this would be way easier in the van than a restaurant bathroom. Thankfully we still had our back seats down so I climbed back there and changed one child, then the other (love my van). Okay, breathe....all is okay.

I don't think I've mentioned that is was snowing like CRAZY up in WI...it just didn't stop!!! Which of course, made the roads, not so fantastic. Then boys both fell asleep within minutes....ah, peace and quiet. Then...yes...Carter woke up about 30ish minutes later. Cried, screamed pretty much the whole. way. home. The roads were bad, we were driving slow and hearing a screaming kid. John after going through the gammot of things to appease Carter, finally said, okay, I just need to stop trying for a moment and take a breather. And wouldn't you know, Carter took his queue and started quieting down? He still had moments of whining, but within 20 minutes, he fell asleep. Hallelujah!!!

We got home and successfully transferred both boys to their beds. Ahh....

To make up for it, Carter slept in until 10am, napped well and just wanted to cuddle all day. I really think part of it was a teething issue (he still only has 4 teeth and I feel some top ones coming in). But I hope this isn't the case on a car-ride as we have a long roadtrip ahead of us soon and I need them both to love the car!! Typically they are fine, just go figure that he has a rough time during a 2 hours drive.

All in all, we were able to see Brittany's last winning game...And hang out with family that we don't get to see too often. Despite the screams and the incident at the restaurant, we had a nice family day. :)

Mid-Feb

This month is already going by quickly!

In the past couple weeks, Carter has been rocking a 5 hour nap! He has also been sleeping anywhere between 12-14 hours at night! Sometimes he wakes up around 9, has breakfast, plays, has a snack (sometimes), naps from 12:30 - 5:30, has dinner then goes to bed between 7:30-8ish. Holy smackerel! That is a lot of sleeping. I am not complaining; I know it won't last forever and boy have I been able to accomplish a lot of projects during that naptime! Logan has sleeps about 10-11 hours (sometimes...) and naps about 3-3.5 hours....so still pretty awesome! At least when he is awake, he plays very well by himself, so I'm still able to get projects done. My kids rock!

We just got over yet another cold....and yes, while I wipe noses all the live, long day, I have to say that many of my friends have been battling with the flu and fevers and puking in their households....so, I'll take a snotty nose. :) We've also been getting back in the swing of things with library storytime. We had about 6 weeks off...which was a LONG time off from that routine. The first couple times back were a bit brutal. Carter wants nothing more than to crawl around (which is fine in baby storytime, but when he is a guest at toddler storytime, those kids are being taught to sit and listen). Plus when Carter starts getting antsy, Logan thinks he can too. So you can imagine in our half hour timeslot, how much time I spend chasing kids and get them to be quiet. Now granted, we spend quite a bit of that time getting settled in, singing songs and doing a craft...but for the 2-3 books that are read, it can be tricky with two little ones.

On that note, I've started implementing time outs more often as an effort to help control behavior and help *them* understand right behavior from wrong. I say them as them loosely; Carter does not get put in time out, but does test my limits more and more....stinker! Carter will stand on the couch and hit the blinds; I will tell him 'no touch' or 'no thank you' and he'll look right at me and do it again. When he is taken off the couch - watch out! The kid is mad!!! Logan's time-outs are more about not listening. We've also implemented counting to 3 in order for him to get 'motivated' to do said activity. This is working. I have gotten to 3, then he gets a time-out. Some days are fantastic and other days, he sees the time-out spot a couple times during the day. All in all, they're great kids.

At the library the other day, Logan was all hugs to Carter - showing everybody just how sweet he is. Later at home, he head-butted Carter....nice.

Logan has asked to sit on the potty a couple times. He hasn't done anything in there lately, but sitting there is a step in the right direction. We still 'flush' the majority of his poopy diapers, so that is another good step. Speaking of 'potty'...at the kitchen table the other day, Logan farted. He bursts out laughing and says 'I Faa-ted, I faa-ted'. I then giggled myself and told him to say excuse me...and he did.

Logan will also bump into somebody and say 'oh, sorry'. Too funny - I love his little mannerisms.

Carter walks smoothly even while holding just one hand; but the second we try to let go, he crumbles to the floor.

Today Logan had the big dump truck and asked for Buddy to come in from outside, so I let him in. Then Logan chased Buddy around the downstairs with the dumptruck - laughing hysterically. Finally Buddy went up onto the landing; so Logan went up too and coaxed Buddy to come back down...then chased him some more. Poor dog, but he loved the attention. :)

Our boys are such cuties!!

Carter turns 1!!

Oh it happened - my little baby Carter turned one!!!

So at the fine ol' age of one, my little Carter crawls around like nobody's business, pulls himself up to standing and every so often lets go for a second or two, walks around furniture, claps, smiles like crazy, laughs at his big brother, says 'uh-oh', cheese (when he sees his toy camera), has said 'hot', eats like CRAZY!!! Carter is a pickle when it comes to changing his diaper - he wiggles like crazy - he is either interested in what his brother is doing or just is plain distracted....and if you try to hold him down - oh man, he gets super mad! A funny thing is when I change his diaper he almost always pretends like he's running - it's so cute! Okay enough embarrassing things. Carter loves bathtime - he mostly likes to splash, which annoys Logan as Logan doesn't enjoy getting splashed. But Carter laughs about it. He also enjoys crawling around the tub and every so often he puts his face in and then looks surprised and laughs.

Carter seriously eats pretty much anything...accept for carrots - it's like he 'knows' they are good for you. I breastfed Carter solely until 9months...then John and I went away to Hawaii and it seemed as good a time as any to wean him. He was then on formula until I switched Carter to whole milk and a sippy cup around 10.5 months. It is just much easier and he gets plenty of nutrients.

Carter currently sleeps about 12 hours - oh fabulous! He's goes down around 8 and wakes up around 8-8:30. I can remember one time in the past 9 months when he woke up in the middle of the night. Even while meeting milestones, he does not wake up. He does have a tricky time falling asleep at other people's houses although lately he's done well at my moms and my mother-in-laws!

Carter is definitely going through a separation anxiety stage...even in the house. If I leave the room and he's not occuppied enough, he screams and cries after me. As soon as I pick him up, poof - all better!

Carter currently has 4 teeth and they are just the cutest ever! Two top; two bottom. I think there are a couple more on their way...but nothing yet. As far as teething is concerned, he's got the typical drool, but he isn't extra miserable (yet).

Carter is so daring! He still does not turn around to go down the stairs - he does fine with stairs once he gets going, but turning around at the top - not so much. He crawls up to the top of the stairs and yells. Logan has even tried helping and showing Carter how to do it, Carter doesn't care. :) He freaks me out everytime he is up there because he'll take a toy and throw it onto the step below and then lean over on his belly to check it out. Not cool, Carter - not cool.

A funny tantrum that Carter does of late is what I call a modified seal tantrum (I'm taking a pilates class, perhaps that is where my lingo comes from). Anyway, he'll be crawling along and then get so mad he'll push up on his hands, throw his head back and yell. Oh, it is funny! He has also perfected the fake cry and adds a lip quiver to it - it makes it sound like he's cold...but he's not...although it does wrap me around his finger a bit because it is soooo cute.

Carter remains to be a thumb sucker and loves stuffed animals. As soon as he sees one, he grabs it and puts his right thumb into his mouth - just so cute.

There are too many cute things that he does to name them all, but I will do my best to come back here and add them. :)

We love our Carter so much and he's brought even more joy to our lives.