Happy Baby!

Carter is a joy to be around. He is giggly and smiley and makes all sorts of silly faces. The downside is lately he has been waking up in the middle of the night because his teeth (or lack of teeth!) have been bugging him. I feel bad for him as it seems like he has been teething for over a month and there is still nothing there! Except his gums now feel swollen, so hopefully that is a sign that we will see a pearly white tooth pop up any day now! He bites everything! (Including people, as you will see later in this post!)

We have been house hunting, which has been SO fun. Molly (our long-time friend and now our realtor!) has been awesome and she has given us a ton of great information. I can't wait to buy our first official home. Such a big step and I am beyond ready for it!

This may be why Carter doesn't like to sleep in his crib--his daddy spoils him:

Our little Angel fan:

Fun with Auntie Harmony:

Don't let the above innocent face fool you. Poor Auntie Harmony did not know what was in store for her!

You'd think he would have learned his lesson about eating hair but nope--he still takes handfuls of mine every day!

8 Months!

Tomorrow Carter will be 8 months. He "passed" his neurodevelopment assessment, which means that he is testing in his age range and will not need therapy of any kind for at least a year--hooray! He is now pretty stable sitting up and playing with his toys, although he'd much rather have someone sitting by his side, watching him play (frustrating when I am trying to work and just want him to play by himself for 5 minutes!) He has me wrapped around his finger and he is definitely the boss of the house which is beginning to drive everyone crazy. Dave and I are finally determined to be a bit stricter at bedtime (making Carter stay in his crib all night!) We are trying it out this weekend... wish us luck! He now only naps in his crib (no more swing) so he is slowly getting used to it.

Carter is much more aware of his surroundings now. He knows when he has a toy in his hand and if you take it away, he protests. He loves my mom's dog Lily (a big boxer) but isn't too happy with my uncle's dogs (little Boston terriers--he bursts into tears when he sees them!) He loves being outside (as long as it isn't too sunny) and he loves swimming in the pool. He is starting to get a bit of anxiety around strangers or people he doesn't know too well... I am hoping this will pass or we will never be able to convince anyone to babysit for us!

Isn't this the cutest back of the head you've ever seen?

Lastly, we borrowed an activity saucer from Dave's brother. Carter likes it but is very unsure of one toy that I refer to as "clown dog" because it looks like a dog with a clown costume on--a bit creepy. Here is a funny video of Carter trying to decide what to do about this clown dog... I think he also thinks it is a bit scary!

Independence Day

We had a great 4th of July weekend. It was relaxing and fun. Dave, Carter, and I enjoyed spending time together. We started it off by visiting Grayson and bringing him some flowers and festive decorations. Carter always gets really somber and quiet when we are visiting Grayson. I still believe that they are connected somehow. Maybe it's just in my head but I find it comforting.

For the 4th, Crissy invited us to a party on Lake Forest lake. What a blast! We ate tons of food (including Crissy's very yummy chocolate cupcakes and cinnamon cake--yes, I ate both!) Sam was our captain and took us on a boat ride around the lake. I have to admit, I had a lot of hesitation about even taking Carter to the party as he has been so cranky lately... but he always amazes me. He was an angel. He loved all the attention he got and he met a new friend Alex that he just adored. We even kept him up past his bedtime to go on the boat to watch the fireworks. He snuggled up with me under a blanket and happily watched the fireworks. I covered his ears but he really didn't seem to mind the noise too much. It was such a wonderful experience!

Playtime!

So Carter is now 14 pounds, oodles of fun, and lots of work! He is increasingly becoming more defiant and more cranky every day. He knows what he wants and he wants to do things his way, on his schedule. I am desperate to keep him on a schedule, but the only thing that really remains consistent is bedtime around 8PM. My sweet baby boy that used to sleep through the night woke up last night at 12, 3, and 6. Arg! He demanded that he was starving. Hopefully this is just a growth spurt and he will grow out of it, as Dave and I are now used to getting sleep and both were pretty cranky ourselves this morning!

As for playtime, now that he is bigger and more aware, it is fun to play games with him. He likes to swim and splash around in the tub. He can sit up now (for the most part) and so he has better access to his toys. Tummy time exists no more since now whenever I put him on his tummy, he gets angry and rolls right over. Oh well--at least he is rolling over!

Carter is now going through a biting stage--he will try to get anything into his mouth! His poor stuffed animals get attacked daily... here he is biting the mane of his horsie:

And here he is with Zebra... another victim that seems to be endlessly covered in a slimy saliva goo:

I read somewhere that babies are ready to start solids when they show an interest in food. Well, Carter definitely does. We captured his culinary interest on video:

And lastly, Carter has learned how to kiss. He keeps his mouth open, which is a bit sticky and gross, but it is still super cute. :)