Early Steps

Then and now ...

My, my how time flies ... I can hardly believe how quickly Carter has grown up. It seems like yesterday that I peed on a stick, saw two lines, took this ultrasound, and couldn't stop smiling. In fact, I doubt that I've stopped smiling since.
Carter is now 8 mos old now and had decided that crawling is "so yesterday"! He's decided that he wants to walk and/or cruise everywhere. We spend most of our day exploring every nook and cranny this house has to offer. And when he gets bored we explore the great outdoors. Even our cranky neighbor 'oohs and ahs' at him.

Speaking of oohing and ahhing - Andy and I came across the strangest character last night while grocery shopping. An older lady approached me while I was holding Carter and started complimenting me on how cute he was. OF course this makes ALL moms melt, but it's her appearance that really got my attention. Let me elaborate ... She wore an all silk and sequence gown that was a deep deep crimson and eggplant purple color with black details. She had on a pair of diamond earrings and a a ruby necklace. Her very thick white hair was pinned up using crystal encrusted combs. And she wore Fire engine red lipstick and dark eyeshadow. If I didn't know any better I would have thought we were on a movie set that was shooting a period piece. The nice old lady also referred to herself as 'Madam'. I can't make this stuff up - it was all I could do to keep from laughing and looking for the hidden cameras. She was the epitome of glamorous! As out of place that whole scene seemed - it really brought a smile to my face that this older lady took time out to congratulate and compliment a complete stranger. It's these little things that make you appreciate the big picture and also take time to look back and reflect on all that has come to pass.

Running with Carter

Carter shows of his fancy footwork. He's still working on the balance, but he sure knows where he wants to go... and that he wants to go fast!

And he's off ...

So Carter is crawling now. In fact, he may be on the verge of walking. He crawls to something that he can pull himself up on and then proceeds to "cruise". Of course he can not cruise from one object to the next so he's been experimenting with letting go and standing there and then diving to the next object.
AND he has upper teeth now!! He cut one yesterday and now the second one is visible! This might explain his need to eat every 2-3 hours (even at night) and his unusual fussiness. I came across these teeth accidentally. It hadn't registered with me that he might be teething again so soon. I was holding him upside down and giving him razzberries when I noticed the pearly white on his upper gum! I am amazed at how quickly things develop. I couldn't imagine being at work and missing all of these milestones.

Home Again

We recently returned from vacation in Ontario, Canada. Carter was a great traveler. In fact, he rarely complained and never once asked "are we there yet"! Within the first week at the family cabin, Carter got his first two teeth, learned to clap, and began to crawl. He had his 7-month birthday, and we celebrated our 4-year anniversary during the trip too. We had fun introducing Carter to the chilly waters of Lake Manitou and he even went on his first canoe ride.

May had a blast as usual, spending more than half of her time in the water. It was a great trip and a wonderful break. We'll get to see most of the family again in October for Dana and Steph's wedding. Who knows maybe Carter will be walking by then ;-)

Of course now that we are back we are both as busy as ever with work, etc. There are a few projects that I am currently working on as well as taking care of Carter. And Andy is busy working towards the end of his graduate program. Oh, and so far Cat-Cat seems to be doing better now that he's on meds. We'll get blood results back on Monday.

Stay tuned to Flickr ... we've posted new pics from the Canada trip. Enjoy!
Glad to be back!

More laughing

We continue to find things that are hilarious to Carter. This is a little Wimbledon-inspired tennis match with a wooden spoon and one of his knit toys. Even the dog gets in on the game.

Standing up

Carter demonstrating his newest skill of pulling himself up to stand.