Soup Self-Feeder

Carter usually sits in a big chair at the regular dinner table each night and will feed himself dry things (like bread, a sandwich, etc) and let us feed him more messy things (like spaghetti, soup, etc.) Last night, however, he threw the biggest fit ever - think crying so hard he was making himself sick, not be able to breathe - to feed himself soup. For one, it was way too hot for him to feed himself and secondly, he would have gotten it everywhere.

Well, as you can see from the video below, we compromised and let him feed himself (in a diaper only) in his high chair. Cleanup was honestly not as bad as I anticipated - just a bath and diaper change for him and a quick tray cleanup. He only got one bean in the actual seat of the high chair - so I guess I should let him do this more often!

I know that with the new baby coming soon, I will need him to be more independent, but for now, I enjoy helping him / doing things for him. It is so hard to find the balance between keeping him little and letting him be independent. He is (and probably always will seem like) still my baby!

Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a good weekend and great Valentine's Day! On Friday, Carter got to play with Kirsten and Emma then have a quiet night at home. Saturday, I went to Low's Bridal in Brinkley, AR with Traci to pick out her wedding dress, while Derrick and Carter stayed home. And, on Sunday, we celebrated Valentine's Day by having lunch with most of Derrick's family and going to Southaven to visit Lindsey, Scott, and Katlin. The kids had fun playing together for a couple of hours...even with the numerous different toys available, they wanted to play with the same thing (spoons at one point) but never really fought. It is so fun to see them together and remember a time when all they could do was sleep beside one another....my how time flies!


Katlin sitting with MiMi


Derrick & Carter...this is his "say cheese" face


Derrick, Carter, and I...we only have 5 weeks until baby brother is here!

Carter, MiMi, & Katlin - she's too busy on the phone to pay any attention to me!

Feeding himself Taco Soup

Say cheese, buddy!

SNOW!

Here's a short video of Carter in the snow. If you listen closely, you can hear him say snow, though it sounds like "no." As you can tell from the background (our front walkway), it was drizzling and freezing, so this is all the footage I managed to get.

Watching Handy Manny

As I mentioned many times, Carter loves Handy Manny. The tools and Manny sing a couple of songs on the show, which is his favorite part. I was trying to get him to talk to me about the show, but all he wanted to do was watch it, so here he is barely tolerating me! He is saying "Hop Hop" (one of the songs, even though it really says Hop UP) and half-heartedly giving me knuckles. I didn't realize my 17 month old would be too cool for me this early :)

Snow Days!!!

On Monday & Tuesday, February 8 & 9, Carter and I stayed home and enjoyed two snow days together. Unfortunately, Derrick had to go to work both days, but it was nice to spend some 1:1 time with Carter...especially with baby brother's arrival just around the corner.


View from our front door


The trees in our front yard


Carter loves to play in the ottoman

No, he didn't nap here, but I'm sure he would if I let him!

All bundled up and ready for the snow...he has on pajamas, a windsuit, two hats, two pair of socks, boots, gloves, and eventually a coat to top it all off!

Ready to hit the snow!

Walking outside with MiMi

Not sure what to think about it...he wants to be held

Throwing a snowball

Licking some snow from his glove

All in all, he liked it...as long as he got to stand in one place and we kept handing him snowballs to throw. He wouldn't bend down and make them himself or take one step without holding someone's hand. We don't get much snow, so I imagine it will take a while for him to adjust to having fun outside in it!

Pop Turns 50

On Saturday night, February 6, we attended Pop's Surprise 50th Birthday Party at Colletta's. There were probably about 40 people there, and we had a private room to ourselves, and a wonderful time. Here are some pictures I got of our fun :)

Carter with Pop - he LOVES his Pop!

Running around the room

Cheeks STUFFED full of bread - what can I say, he likes to eat!

Nana & Emma

Amy, Kirsten, Zack, Emma, Garrett, Joe, Big Joe, & Susie

Jason, Pete, Larry, Uncle Jim, & Lisa

Jennifer, Jimmy, Keith, Elaine, & MiMi

Sandy, Mark, Zack, Joseph, Savannah, Shannon, Samantha, Me, & Carter

The Cake

Derrick, Carter, Baby Bump, and Mommy

Close-up of my little sweetie!

February Update

Well, February is here...and almost halfway over; I can't believe it! Carter is growing like a weed and repeating everything we say these days. He turned 17 months old on February 2, and I took a couple snapshots to commemorate the day. He is into everything, sits in a big person chair at the dinner table, dances, sings, plays with GiGi, and so much more. This is such a fun stage!


Climbing on the kitchen counter - something he does despite getting into Time Out


Watching Handy Manny and holding Monkey - a favorite pastime

The morning he turned 17 months - on the way to see Mrs. Michelle