7 Month Picture

Took forever to find time to download pics from the last month, but I finally have the 7 month shot.  Yay!  Jason was out of town twice, he had a stomach bug, our sitter had a stomach bug, then gallbladder surgery, then I got the stomach bug this past week.  Needless to say, it has not been fun to see our friend/sitter Holli be sick and in pain, scramble to find someone to watch the kids, and I have now used up nine (or all?  I lost count!!) of my sick days for the entire year.  And it's not even cold/flu season yet.  Fun times!

Reid was more of an observer.  He would sit in one spot and fuss because he couldn't reach the toy he wanted.  Carter, on the other hand, sees something he wants, and he finds a way to get there.  Eek! One of the times Jason had to be out of town, Carter discovered his first ball.  Wow, the love was instantaneous, and it was hilarious to watch him try to grab it, have the ball roll away, repeat. 

Backing up a few weeks, we had fortunately had our last trip to the pool on a very warm weekend.  Good thing...my appendectomy was soon after, so the pool was out of the question.

Grandma Penny had been planning a trip to come to Dallas to meet the newest French boy and see the kids/grandkids.  Carter loved her big smiles and I sure appreciated the help as it happened to be the week of my surgery and I wasn't supposed to be lifting anything above five pounds or so.  Hard to do when you have a 17 lb baby and hubby works far away.  We loved seeing her, but little stinker Reid decided to pull his usual and threw up while she was here.  (ended up being postnasal drip/drainage and a random fever, but we weren't sure at the time) So the boys and I pretty much didn't get to see the cousins, but we were excited that Penny stayed with us.  "Grandma Jellybean" did not disappoint and came with yummy jellybeans, as Reid had hoped :)  As always, her visit seemed too short, but we were so thankful she chose to use precious vacation time to come see us!

I realized I haven't taken many nudie pictures of our little roly poly baby.  But for some reason in these, our little chunk actually looks kind of skinny.  Weird.  But still so cute!

This is more like it...  Chunky monkey!  He's loving bath time now... chewing his washcloth, splashing, playing with anything (and everything).

And our big baby still loves his bath time, too.  This is the bath toy he picked out for baby Carter when we made our last trip to Babies R Us before he was born.  Guess who's the only one that plays with it?

Our other nightly rituals have evolved, too.  I pretty much take care of Carter and Jason pretty much takes care of Reid.  They read books while I give Carter his last bottle, then it's time for prayers.  Reid finds a new, random position to pray in each night.

 

Papa and Mamare made a surprise visit to see the cousins' various ball games, so they swung by in between to see our guys.  Carter was quite enamored with Mamare's phone.

"That text said WHAT?!"

Mamare had to get the traditional A&M gear shot with the newest grandkid.  The fit was close for this little chunk, but it worked.

They got to see him bouncing crazily, and Papa got a couple of kisses in.  Carter not only bounces, but rocks, sways, turns, and makes this bouncer do all kinds of things we didn't know it could.  Where Reid would bounce and only play with the musical part, Carter is all over the place and plays with every single thing on it. 

Our little stinker...

 

And this one has figured out how to put in his own paci.  He still prefers Wubbanubs because they are easier to grab with the animals, but this one was handy.  Ben's old bib still comes in handy, too!

Reid's imagination still cracks us up.  One morning, he decided that he and all of his friends were going to watch The Very Tiny Caterpillar movie.  They all had to be in a certain order, tucked in the blanket.  I had to draw the line when they all wanted their own snacks.  On Friday, Reid declared that, "Tomorrow is T's birthday!  His is in October, just like yours, Mommy!"  (T is the beloved teddy lovey)  I was hoping it didn't involve making a cake... But luckily he'd forgotten by the next day.

Carter has been loving his baby food "solids" but is quite impatient when it comes to my getting them ready.  So I tried him out a little early with a Mum Mum baby cracker.  He LOVED it!

And just as I figured, he's wanting to crawl.  Right after he turned seven months, he figured out how to get up on all fours and rock.  He'd cry because he wanted to go, but couldn't coordinate it just yet.

But he's pretty good at moving around despite that.  Our carpet is pretty much going to be shot.  Holli said, "I can't remember a baby that still had reflux once they were crawling/sitting up," and she's watched babies for about 16 years, I believe.  But this one is going to be an exception.  Ick. We already have a rainbow on our carpet, each one just past the huge blankets I've bought in an attempt to save the carpet.  Oh, well.

Last weekend I walked the boys to the park.  It's been unusually hot, but the morning wasn't too bad.  Carter hadn't been in the swing yet and Reid is learning how to swing by himself, so I traded off between pushing the two. 

 

 

September...School, 7 Months, & Sickness

I'm embarrassed to admit that it's taken me this long to realize that the video uploading problem was our crummy old laptop.  I bit the bullet and got out the "new" laptop (that's about a year old, but we hate the user interface and it's just not as user friendly, nor does it have all our bookmarks the old one does)...sure enough, I can upload videos again!!  Of course, most of the adorable ones are over two minutes, so the files are too large to upload.  BUT I'll keep working on it...  I had the most hilarious one of Carter's first solids and all the classic, precious faces he was making, but we'll have to settle for a cute one of his first time in the bouncer. 

And very exciting...  Reid's been dying for his school to start.  He was a bit disappointed when I got to go to Parent Night (but he did not-and Jason stayed home with the kids since this was an evening deal).  I took some pictures of the Frog classroom to show him (although this is also typically the classroom Kids' Club, the afterschool program, meets in...so it's not like he hasn't seen it before).  He got a big grin when I showed him the frog with his name on it and how he can see Mommy's school from the Frog classroom's window.

 

Unfortunately, being a teacher myself, there will always be things Reid misses out on.  It was my second week of school with students, so I had to pick which day I was going to take a 1/2 day off for... Meet the Teacher, or his first day.  I opted to be there for his first day (especially since meet the teacher was just a come and go event).  My little cutie, ready for Pre-K!!

He was more excited than anything.  The pictures bugged him and he just wanted to go!  Once we got there, a little bit of uncertainty set in.  Thankfully, his little buddy Ellison (from the Monkey class last year) is also in the Frog class, so I think that has helped.

After a bit of urging him to quit clinging to Mommy and be a big boy, he found his frog.

He was a little bit shy, but thankfully no tears (or Mommy might've lost it!).  Once he found toys he liked, he was good to go! 

They don't have the carpool lane running the first week of school, so Jason took him on Thursday.  I made sure he got a picture with his new teachers since I'd forgotten on Wednesday.  Since then, he is able to be dropped off in the carpool lane (the ONLY way we're able to have him go since Holli has so many babies this year...I'd never ask her to get out of the car with all of them!) like a big boy.  I smile when I think of him walking to his class, unpacking his backpack, etc.  I sure hope he's actually doing all that!!  In the four year old classes, we don't get any daily communication unless there was a problem...

Reid grows by the day, I swear!  He is constantly picking up new things, some of which I have no idea where he got it.  And his imagination cracks us up.  Here's the "tent" he made for his stuffed animal friends during quiet time one Saturday:

And after playing with the toy "dump" at Ben and Alex's house, he's been obsessed!  He had to make one of his own (which we will never do again!!  It took DAYS to clean it up!) and all the vehicles that looked like something that could work in a dump came to 'help.'

He's also so good about entertaining Carter for a few minutes here and there when I'm gathering lunchboxes in the mornings or unpacking the car in the afternoons.  He automatically goes over (without being asked) when Carter cries and tries to make him laugh.  And of course, who better to make you laugh than your big bro?  Way funnier than Mom or Dad!!

The dynamic duo in adorable shirts Taunt had her mom make for them...  We've had them since Carter was born, but I always forgot to take a picture and was afraid we'd end up with Reid's stained since he loves it! 

Carter is officially seven months as of Wednesday.  As usual, I need to take a picture in between feedings, school, spit ups, you get the idea.  More pics to come!  But we had a little hiccup this week... an unexpected surgery for me!!  I went to bed on Sunday night at the normal time and felt fine--I'd had a great workout at the gym that afternoon and everything.  But I awoke 45 minutes or an hour later feeling bad.  Bad went to worse and I just writhed around in what I thought was stomach pain, thinking, "Here's my first stomach virus of the year...wonder if it'll be over with soon or if I need to call in a sub for tomorrow."  It got so bad that I took a painkiller and went downstairs in hopes that at least Jason would have a chance to sleep.  I'd writhe around on the couch for awhile, then run into the bathroom thinking I needed to vomit (or have thunder down under), but nothing.  I finally did get sick one time but really didn't feel any better.  It got to about 3am and I'd had enough.  I arranged for a sub at school, went upstairs to tell Jason I felt awful and was going to the ER (so he was in charge of the kids), and drove myself.  Once I arrived, they took my vitals, admitted me, gave me a painkiller, and did a quick abdominal check.  My pain was mainly in the upper left side of my abdomen (and shooting through to the back) but when the doc pressed around, my lower abdomen on the right is what really hurt.  He ordered a CT with contrast, so I had to drink two cups of lovely contrast, wait 1 1/2 hours for it to circulate through my system, then the CT lady came in.  In the meantime, I was worried about not having sub plans, Jason having to hang out at home not knowing when I'd be done, etc.  So I didn't sleep/rest a wink.  After the CT, the doctor came in and announced that I had appendicitis and I'd be having surgery that morning.  Um, what????  So long story short, Jason dropped the kids off at Holli's, came to pick me up (it was finally determined that since the surgical hospital was about .25 miles away, he could transport me rather than the ambulance), I was admitted to Methodist McKinney, and in surgery by about 9am.  Quick, successful surgery.  I am just so thankful that Jason was in town (he was out of town last Wednesday through late Friday), that the kids were already scheduled to go to Holli's, that my team at school could throw together plans for a sub, and for that ER place to be close and open.  God was certainly watching out for me!!  I spent a night in the hospital, but everything else has kind of been "whenever you feel like it"...picking up 17 lb. Carter, driving, going back to work.  I'd really prefer more of a black and white answer on stuff like that, but I know everyone's body is different.  Recovery has been slow and I am absolutely exhausted.  But I am sooooo thankful for the well-wishes, do-gooders, and kind thoughts we've been sent.  We've even had several folks send us a meal, which has been fabulous!  And my school sent the most beautiful flowers yesterday--such a sweet surprise.  It's nice to know you're loved and missed! ;) 

6 Months

Carter is officially half a year old!!  Reid still has trouble understanding that Carter is less than one...so he calls Carter "zero years old".  This little guy is still spitting up a storm with the reflux, but other than that...healthy and happy, happy, happy guy!

Grandma Will sent the most adorable outfit to Carter.  It has a cute little submarine on the booty, then the front says "Captain Adorable".  It has been really hard to get a pic of him in it because he always spits up before I can snap it.  But this day, he actually cooperated.

And if you look very closely at the picture above, you can see his first two teeth!!  Yes, apparently sometime around the time I went back to work, he decided to sprout a couple of teeth.  No redness of the gums for two weeks (like Reid), just a little fussy a few days and then BAM...two teeth!!  Reid also didn't get teeth until he was 10 months...this one was sometime in the 5th month!  Guess that just puts him a wee bit closer to solid food, he hopes.  He insists on sitting at the kitchen table when we do and watches us eat and makes the little chewing motions.  He was never a big fan of the rice cereal (maybe because he has a tablespoon of it in every ounce of his formula, for the reflux), but oatmeal was a hit.  So it came time to try out solids last week.  I figured it'd be a hit, but boy...was I wrong.  Look at that face!

He really didn't care for the green beans unless you totally mix it in with his oatmeal.  We tried peas today--a little bit better, but still not a fan.  Hopefully he won't be as picky as Reid.  I don't think I can handle two eaters that picky!

This kid is sure on the move, too.  He looooves his bouncer and plays with everything on it, carefully tugging, pulling, and inspecting it all. And I'm afraid crawling isn't too far away...  I can set him down, turn around for a second, and he's already somehow rolled/scooted himself off of the blanket.  He loves tummy time and immediately rolls over if you put him down on his back.  I'm just worried with the constant spit up and starting solids--looks like our carpet and couches are doomed :( 

Already being chased by the girls!  Rylan is about 2 months younger that him and goes to Holli's every day, too.  Holli sent me this picture last week.  So cute!

Big bro loves making Carter laugh and giving him toys to play with.  I (finally!) got a picture before someone spit up.  Taunt (Aunt Aimee) had these adorable shirts made for them and I've been meaning to get a pic before Carter grows too big for his newborn sleeper.  I squeezed him into it and lucked out.  Reid loves that his says "big brother" and has "his" letter r.

Carter is no longer in the swaddle blanket, thankfully!  This was one of the last nights he was in it.  I worried because he'd  flip onto his tummy and not be able to get back onto his back.  He doesn't really do much better in the sleep sacks now, but at least he can move his arms.  I still have to elevate the mattress and make a little nest for him to not end up rolled down to the bottom in his own spit up. 

And hopefully he won't have the neck and back issues Jason and I have...but then again, most nights he's sleeping like this.  Ouch!

 

This little guy is growing up way too fast!!  We are so thankful that he is healthy and happy.  And he is the perfect fit for our family.  

End of Summer

I started this post last week, the day before school was going to begin. I was officially back for two weeks before that, and I was trying to distract myself from the reality that summer break was officially over.  It's been so hectic with carting everyone to the sitter, re-setting up my classroom, etc. that I realized I never posted the rest of our summer break pics!

We finally got to visit Houston in a mad dash.  It's really hard to do a solo trip with two little ones!  I had to work around Carter's eating schedule and Reid's and my breakfast and lunch schedule.  Reid doesn't really nap anymore and Carter's napping wasn't extremely great at that point, so I guess that was helpful...one less thing to worry about.  I packed up the car the night before and we headed to Aunt Lala's in Katy. It took forEVER to get there!!  But once there, Reid was in heaven with the boys' toys and playing with cousins. 

We also got to meet Casey, the newest member of their family.  I really thought even Reid would like her because she's pretty much scared of everyone and (aside from sniffing) steers clear.  But Reid screamed like a little girl every time he saw her.  Carter thought she was pretty cute, I think!

Reid had never been to Chuck E. Cheese before, so we had to make our first trip.  The hardest part was getting the boys to sit down and actually eat lunch before we started.  Laura knew all the tricks and even knew to go online for coupons and vouchers to get free tokens.  Right after we'd gotten there, Chuck E. Cheese made an appearance and invited the kids to dance with him.  I couldn't get Reid enthused and he hung out by Carter's stroller.  I did get him to grab a couple of tickets at the end when Chuck E. made it "rain". 

Reid loved the games and lights, but really just wanted to play on their (free) playground.  Go figure.  He did get to do his first racing game with Ben, compliments of Aunt Lala's foot on the gas pedal since he wasn't tall enough to reach yet.  We also got a cute Official Chuck E. Cheese Police badge with his pic, and a group black and white photo print out.  I was sure Reid would be disappointed at the end when Ben and Alex cashed in their tickets for prizes and he didn't have anything, so Laura and I ended up figuring out which games you could get the most tickets for your tokens and we had a blast ourselves!  In true Reid fashion, however, all he really cared about on the prizes was one package of Smarties candy.  I pretty much picked out the rest of his prizes and he really never cared much about the others.

 
It was so hot and humid that the only way we could stand being outside was at the pool or splashpad.  Carter obviously can't play in it yet, but he didn't seem to mind the heat. 

And a few minutes later, OUT!  And I was worried about him not getting his 5:30 catnap...

Reid has always loved "Aunt Lala's pool" so of course we had to go there.  Our last day there was the only day we could fit it in.  We packed lunches for the big boys, but the baby decided to nap there just before we were going to leave...so darn--we had to stay another hour!  Ben was so sweet with Carter and loved getting him to smile. 

I grossly misjudged our timing (basically on the entire trip) and we hit a little bit of afternoon traffic on the Beltway even though it was early.  But we made it to Grammy and Grumpy's house, and Aunt Kristen popped in after work.  I hope we didn't scare her with the craziness and overtiredness of two boys doing dinner/bath/bed.  Obviously, Reid had a lot of trouble falling asleep...HA. (this was at 10-something)

We made the obligatory trip to the duck pond the next day.  Reid had fun feeding the ducks and fish with Grumpy, then he and I floated a few leaf boats down the fountain.

Carter, being a man of the times, was more intrigued with Grumpy's iPad.  Go figure.

Papa was also sweet enough to come over and visit (saving me the madness of attempting to schedule another trip based around nap/feeding/diaper times).  Carter couldn't get enough of the silly faces he made and was all giggles. Just wish we could've seem Mamare this time, but she had to work.  I think next summer, our trip will have to be longer...we didn't have enough time anywhere we went!!  But I didn't want to be gone over a weekend and leave Jason all alone.

My friend Lacy was in limbo all summer, wondering if or if not they'd be moving to New York.  So Reid, Carter, and I made the most of playdates...just in case.  We tried to do at least one a week, usually something free and outdoors.  But two weeks in a row, it was pouring.  The first week they were kind enough to come over (much appreciated, considering I was trying to work around Carter's morning nap and feedings), but the second week we decided to take the kids out.  So we went to an indoor trampoline park.  Laughingly, they were more entertained by the "hurricane machine" and claw machine (no winners, but they had fun putting in the quarters).  Lacy and I were cracking up.

And here's a typical shot of one of our playdates: Reid won't listen, Violet cutely wants to help me with Carter, and Lacy and I just laugh at (I mean, with!!) our kids and compare notes on the cute and annoying things they both do (whew...so that must be normal if they're both doing this, right??).

With my paycheck still being docked until September 15th, we've tried to cut back on various things here and there.  Reid's haircuts end up being about $19 with tip (even though I only go on "toddle waddle Wednesdays" when there's a discount), so I'd gotten electric clippers a couple of years ago.  But he moves around like a mad man and I've been too afraid to attempt it.  Jason bravely took on the task.  I was a bit worried at first, but he did a fabulous job...and it was free!!  Clippers paid for--in one use!

And this little guy just wants to fly...and fly...and fly...and...well, you get the picture.  

I'm very thankful for our summer break.  It was a crazy one this year, but I wouldn't change it for the world.  I love getting to spend time with my two little guys, and I'm sure Jason loves the "way less stressed" version of me. There's just something wonderful about the season--so laid back and free.  I'm sad the dog days of summer are here and school's back in session.  But I'm hoping for a good school year and I suppose it will be nice to have some routine back eventually...or at least I'd like to convince myself ;)

5 Months

So five months was a couple of weeks ago...  But I did remember to get pics!  This little guy can't be still long enough for an unblurry picture these days.  This was about as good as it gets this month.  Oddly enough, this one is actually from my phone.  I'm really trying to get a pic each month with his legs spread out so you can compare and see how long he's gotten.

But he has other ideas!  It's much more fun to pump those arms and legs around, slide down in the chair, kick up a leg...you get the picture.

 

 

Carter is loving tummy time, now.  He just can't get enough.  And I just can't seem to get enough laundry done each day with all the spit up everywhere!  Poor guy...  I honestly don't see how he's gaining weight, but he is a little chunky monkey, so I try to not worry about it.

 He loves tummy time so much that he fussed in his high chair (which conveniently scoots up nicely to the big table) and didn't want to be held, so I decided he could watch big bro eating like this (closely supervised, of course).  Reid loved it, too!

 

His absolute favorite thing right now is doing the airplane.  He'll literally practice doing this over and over (and spitting up over and over, lol) for an hour.  This kid better have a strong back one day!  He's also doing mini push-ups and can scoot around 360 degrees to see what's going on.  I have a feeling he won't be waiting to crawl at 11 months, like Reid.  He hasn't been up on all fours yet, but we're getting close...  If I leave him for a minute, I sometimes come back and he's somehow inched off of the blanket (to spit up, of course)...so the scooting has begun.

At the end of July, I attempted to surprise Jason (my surprises always crash and burn) with a date night.  We happily used our Pappa's gift card to enjoy some lobster and other delectable goodies, then had a refreshing beverage at a neat little bistro with live music. 

The next day, I dropped Reid off at Bible school, dropped Carter off at Holli's, and loaded up the car for a much needed girls' trip!  Laura, Lindy, Stephanie, and I enjoyed some great girl time, shopped, ate, and floated the river to relive some of our college days and catch up on each others' lives.  Jason was Superdad and held down the fort at home for the weekend...his first with both boys, brave man!  I returned relaxed, refreshed, and feeling more like myself.  Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.  It was a fun time, but it was also wonderful to get home to my sweet family.