Carter's Newborn Pictures

Check these photos out! Taken by Heather at Light Art Photography in Lake Forest, CA. She is amazing and I strongly recommend her for any of your family (or pet!) photography needs.

http://lightart.us/slideshows/Hill_Carter_Newborn_Showit/

Picnic with Grayson

Today we took Carter to visit Grayson. Dave and I picked up some lunch and we had a little picnic. It was nice to finally have our family together again, even if it had to be under these circumstances. It was hard on us to go there but being close to Grayson seems to help me feel a sense of peace, at least for a moment. I know that Carter shares a special bond with Grayson and I plan to always remind him of his brother and how much we love him and the special place that he has in our family.

Happy Monday

The exhaustion is finally getting to me. I am sooo absent-minded lately! I forgot to bring bottles to my mom's house but managed to remember to bring them to Dave's parents house, only to forget them there when we left! A testament to my exhaustion: I nursed Carter last night at 1:00AM, and put him over my shoulder to burp him. All of a sudden he was getting fussy like he wanted to eat again. I couldn't figure out how he could still be hungry until I looked at the clock. It was 3:30AM! Two and a half hours had passed with him asleep on my shoulder and me completely oblivious that any time had elapsed!
I start work again next Monday. I am SO lucky that I work for such a great company that lets me work from home. I just hope Carter gets on board with the transition and lets me have some time to work!
Here are some cute pictures from last week:

Carter Loves His Grandparents!

Grandpa Robert and Grandma Mary came to visit yesterday and we had so much fun. We took Carter on his first adventure out of the house (that wasn't to a doctor's office!) We went to Beach Pit BBQ in the circle and sat and ate dinner. Carter stayed in his carseat the whole time and happily slept and grooved to David Bowie songs. We had a blast!
Anyway, our day yesterday prompted me to have a little tribute to the grandparents. They give us so much support as a family and they love Carter so much. My dad built a playhouse in his backyard for his granddaughters but now that he has a grandson, the "cottage" has been renamed "castle." My mom is already planning to build a fort in her backyard and Suzi wants to make a track where Carter can race his tricycle! And I know that this summer, Carter will be happy to swim in the pool at Grandma Linda and Grandpa Frank's house. He is definitely a lucky little boy and I am certain that he will continue to be spoiled by his grandparents for years to come!
Here is Grandma Carol:

And Grandma Suzi:

Here is Grandma Linda and Grandpa Frank:

And Grandpa Robert and Grandma Mary:

And I am so thankful that Carter has his Great-Grandma Julie! She is such a sweet Grandma to me and has already been such a wonderful Great-Grandma to Carter:

We love you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a lovely Valentine's Day weekend. Grandma Carol and Grandma Suzi came over yesterday to babysit while Dave and I took a walk and ate a big sushi lunch--yummy! Here is Carter in his cute Valentine's Day outfit from his Grandma:

Today we slept in and had a relaxing morning. Dave redid the fish tank while Carter and I watched. It looks really nice! It isn't complete yet but here is a picture:

After cleaning the tank, Dave and Carter took a shower. Here is proof that he really does love water. The shower will spray him in the face and he doesn't seem to mind!

And here he is in his other Valentine's Day outfit. This one is from his Aunt Jackie and it reads "Owl Be Your Valentine." SO CUTE!

Carter loves spending time with his daddy. He wants to be just like him! He falls asleep watching sports:

And he LOVES Star Wars!

So Happy Valentine's Day to you all. I hope your weekend was as full of love as ours was! XOXO

Happy Unbirthday Carter!

Sunday, February 7th was my official due date. That means that yesterday marks Carter as being zero days old, at least from a developmental standard. Hard to believe since Carter and Grayson were born 12 weeks ago. It felt a little bittersweet... I miss my little Grayson every day and I somehow can't help but wonder what things would be like if I could have stayed pregnant just a little bit longer... However, I see Carter growing bigger every day and know that he is our little miracle and we are so thankful for what we have. I baked a big cake yesterday (funfetti of course!) and we indulged with pieces of cake that were bigger than Carter's head! Carter was unimpressed with the cake as you can see from this picture...

Carter's Cuteness Takes Over the World

Pic courtesy of Erik Wargo. :)

Carter Updates: Everything is good. He is awake more of the time now and is starting to play a bit more which is so fun. He absolutely loves water. Dave and I decided to take him in the shower this morning and we were wondering how he would react. He was very content the whole time and seemed to really love it--even when the water was in his face!

We went to the cardiologist this week and found out that he still has an atrial septal defect, although it is not presenting itself as a problem. The cardiologist will follow up with him on a regular basis and then when he is around 4 years old, they will fix it. They have a new procedure that isn't surgery... they just use a catheter and go through a vein... the doctor was very reassuring that everything will be just fine. We are going to the pediatric surgeon on Monday to find out about when they will fix Carter's hernias... and then we will be done! No more things to really worry about and he will be a "normal" baby. Carter's official due date is this Sunday, February 7th. I am thinking about having a "Happy Unbirthday" party for him. :)