Carter @ 1 Years Old : Photo Shoot & Cake Smash

Our little "Carter-Man" has turned one! Seriously, I can't believe it. I have not posted about him at all the last 6 months. Turns out it is hard when you have two that are mobile to find time to blog for some reason but here is his little update about what he is up to these days.

--He loves to smile. I know that sounds silly but he is so smiley  90% of the day. His signature smile is when he curls under his top lip like in a lot of the photos below.

--Loves following Mav around the house and playing with him (aka...stealing his dinosaur toys) It usually ends in Carter or Mav crying but they have fun together most of the time.

--Likes to sing. I will sing a song and then I can here him doing his own rendition of it while jabbering.

--Waves "hi" and "bye". Its so cute. =)

--Has a fake laugh.

--Is starting to learn to run a little bit. He looks so silly doing it. Like he still has no control of his upper body.

--Has 4 teeth so far. Two front top teeth and two bottom ones. 

--He eats pretty good. Sometimes I have to force feed him the first bite and then he realizes he likes it.

--Currently throws his food on the floor the second he is not interested in it anymore. SO ANNOYING!

--He is so curious. Constantly getting into drawers, cabinets, baskets of clothes, bins. 

--Points with his finger all the time at things he wants to see or us to notice.

--He has been walking for about 3 months now.

--Walks around the room while talking to himself and swinging his head back and forth.

--Loves fruit snacks. He could eat 3 packaged in one sitting if I let him.

--Not sure about his height and weight yet but he wears a size 5 shoe and is in 12-18 month clothes.

 

CAKE SMASH

Mav and Ryan wanted to get in on the action too. Hehe. =)

Me and my little guy.

Daddy and Carter!

Carter @ 6 Months: Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Seriously...when did this happen? I can't even believe he is 6 months old! Lately I have been getting super sentimental about them growing up so fast, savoring moments, and thinking of how I can remember then. It's exhausting! Haha.=) I keep figuring up in my head how much longer I have with both of them before they go on missions and move out of my home and Ryan keeps having to tell me to stop it! Haha. Anyway...enough of that. Carter, aka "Carter-Man", is such a ball of sunshine in our lives. Here are a few things he is doing at 6 months. 

• He is CRAWLING! Started about a week ago but crawling he is. He is still not the most coordinated at it but he is started to go everywhere. 
• He has lost most of his dark hair and it seems to be an auburn brown that is coming in. YAY! =) Maybe one of my children will have my hair color.
• His eyes are still blue and I think they are going to be staying that way. =)
• He loves doing "downward dog" yoga pose. Its the cutest thing in the world when his butt goes up in the air.
• He can go in a full circle rolling someone.
• He is teething and wants to naw on everything.
• He loves to chew on his feet.
• He thinks his brother Mavrick is the funniest thing in the world. I don't think anyone can make him laugh more than Mavrick.
• He is an insta-smiler. You look at him and he instantly starts smiling and charming you to pick him up.
• He is such a social butterfly. He loves being in on the action and is very aware of people. Kinda funny how young that stuff starts.
• He is starting to eat real food. So far he likes peas, sweet potatoes, quinoa, bananas, and applesauce. He is not the best at keeping it in his mouth but we will get there. =)
• Chatters a lot like he has something to say. 
• He loves to pull hair! Makes me want to cut it all off!
• He loves to scratch and try to pull the skin off your face. No matter how short I cut his nails.
• He still nurses about 4-5 times a day but I am starting to ween him to formula. So far the transition has been pretty easy.
• He weighs about 18 pounds and at 5 months he was 26 inches long. Not exactly sure what he is now.
• He sleep like a champ most of the time. He still takes about 3 naps a day and one of them will be for about an 1 1/2 hours and the others about 45 - 60 min.

And these are of Carter @ 5 Months old.

I kinda missed that post so here it is. =)

Our Adventure to Shangri La Gardens

(Post transferred from my design blog)
My boys and I recently had a fun little day trip to Shangri La. 

Its a botanical garden and nature center that is located here in Southeast Texas. 

I never knew it exsisted and I am kind of upset that I did not know about it sooner. It is absolutely amazing for kids and adults.

Image from Shangri La Website. Visit Here.

The entrance was beautiful as we walked up. So refreshing from the usual harsh cement that leads up to most places. We walked down this path through the woods where squirrels and birds were everywhere. We spent a good 15 min just on this path because Mav was wanting to stop and look at everything. He is his Father's child.

My boys had such a blast. Mavrick loves nature and animals so this was right up his ally. Carter was good as usual but he enjoys being outside as well. They had fish and snake tanks there, a gazebo that was on the water, and even a virtual boat that you could steer like you were on the water.

 

And then my son decided that he wanted to spice things up a little and jump in the water during the 5 seconds that my back was turned! LUCKILY, the water only went to his waste and was shallow but he did have to walk around wet. The nice garden keepers gave us a towel and nicely told us to come to the front after so they could file a report. Perfect! So I figured we did pretty good if that was the only thing that happened in the hour we were there.

 I love the way they designed the gardens and set up of the whole park. The little details were the best. Like the paved brick walkways everywhere, mini orchards, metal cafe chairs in the courtyard and water cans that recyled the rain water into their water system throughout the park. So neat!

And these trees were my favorite. So creative.

It was just so beautiful and peaceful. There is something about being in nature that just rejuvenates the soul. I felt like taking out my yoga mat and doing yoga right in the middle of the park but unfortunately my kids were with me and people were around.

If you live in the area and haven't been I highly recommend it.

Carter @ 4 Months

I can't even begin to tell you how much we love this little man. He is such a joy to have in our home with his on cue smiles and cooing. Here is what has been going on the last month...

• He has found his hands and is constantly trying to grab stuff and gnaw on them.
• Has lost some of his hair...especially in the back where there is a ring of bald from laying on his back.
• His eyes are still a dark blue and his hair has lightened a little bit from last month.
• He stil has a goopey eye but it is getting better. 
• Likes tummy time a lot more these days
• He can roll over from tummy to back and can almost go from back to tummy. I give it 2 more weeks before he has it down.
• He has been a little more fussy when it comes to nap time but if we stand up and rock him to sleep he usually does ok.
• He is constantly talking/cooing like he has something to say.
• His cries have gotten a lot louder lately. My kids just have really good vocal cords.
• He loves to sit up these days but when he does lay down he kicks his legs ferociously while his arms flap up and down. 
• He stilly sleeps about 7-8 hours through the night.
• Likes to sleep on his side.
• Scoots around on his back in a circle.
• He also scoots backwards when he is on his tummy.
• Not sure if he is teething, but he naws on his fist like crazy lately and is wanting to eat like every 3 hours. I think it might just be because it feels good on his gums when he nurses but its still super annoying having to feed him so soon.
• Likes his Bebe Pod seat where he gets to sit on the the table and counter while we cook or eat.
• Not sure what his wight is or height but all I know is that his carseat is getting heavier and heavier every day. =)

Love you little man!