4 months old

Carter turned 4 months last Friday and is just getting so big!! His doctor appt is Thursday so I'll post his stats after that. He is in size 2 diapers and size 3-6 month clothes. His sleep patterns are all over the board! He has slept 9-11 hours a handful of times but still wakes up at least once a night...sometimes twice. He is already eating solid foods twice a day and eats 6-7 ozs in his bottle (so we are blown away he still wakes up to eat but he does!!) Carter is starting to try to roll over (he can get on his side) and has found his feet. He is super ticklish and smiles a lot. I know they grow up right before your eyes so I am really trying to take in every minute I can!!

Playdate Fun

This weekend was so much fun! Saturday evening Trent, Carter and I met up with one of my girlfriends at our community pool. She has a 3 year old and was also babysitting a friends 5 year old boy. We hung out, ate pizza and just let all the boys play, play, play!! Trent did so much better in the pool this year than he did last year. By time we left he was jumping in (with an inter tube around his waste) and would doggy paddle back to the stairs and start all over. (Sorry, I forgot my camera so no pictures.) Last night we had a good friend of David's over, Jason, his wife Jennifer and their two little boys; the oldest is 3 and the youngest is 1. All of them had so much fun running around and playing outside together. She brought over this awesome dessert and of course Trent ate it right up!!! It's so great to be able to do play dates now that he's older plus we actually get more adult time with our friends :-)

Happy Birthday Troy

Last weekend was David's grandfather's 80th birthday party. His family put together a surprise party for him and he sure was surprised!! It was a really good time. Since David's mom and her sisters had their kids around the same time all the little ones are really close in age too. That being said, Trent had a blast playing with them all! David's aunt had a ton of things for them to play with from toys to a parachute and pin wheels. Here are some pictures from the party.

Pam & Carter

Troy, Trent & Me

Cameron, Kylee, Carter & Trent with their great grandpa

Braden's House?

Trent is really developing a memory of things he does and people he meets. When we went to the zoo, he kept asking to go back for about a week after. One thing he hasn't forgotten is his cousin Braden. My sister was in town at the beginning of the month from North Carolina for her brother in law's wedding. The boys had a blast together!! Every once in awhile he'll ask if we can go to Braden's house or if Braden can come to our house. Just the other morning, the first thing he said when he woke up was "Braden's house?" Hopefully David and I will be able to work something out so we can go visit them soon.
(Above is a picture of them hugging good bye the last time they played together)
Here is a video of the boys jumping on Trent's bed. I normally don't allow this but it was pretty cute :-)

Some Conversations

This one made me realize some things I say to him very often!

I was hanging new monkey decorations in the boy's bathroom. Trent was sitting ther watching and as I finish hanging it I get a very enthusiastic "Good job mama!!!! High five (as he raises his hand to high five me). It's SO cute mama!!"

Tonight I got home from work and was sitting on the couch feeding Carter.

Trent: Come in my play room mama.

Me: After I finish feeding Carter I'll come play with you in your playroom. Will you come give me a hug and kiss?

Trent as he walks to his playroom: When you come in my play room I'll give hug and kiss.

He must know how valuable those hugs and kisses are!! :-)

Adrianne, this picture is for you...notice what's in his ear...

3 months old

Yesterday Carter was 3 months old and here is his picture with his big red dog. It's funny because while I was taking these picture he was actually grabbing and hugging him! He's doing great with his grasping. He grabs at his toys, blankets, bibs, burp clothes, pretty much anything near him. He is also doing an awesome job with his head control. He loves bath time and just smiles and kicks as we pour water over him. Trent also enjoys pouring...well more like dumping water on him too but Carter still loves it! He loves being held and involved with what everyone else is doing. We are really seeing his laid back personality too. He is so ticklish and happy!! Smiles, smiles, smiles!!! He's doing pretty good at sleeping during the night and is working towards a 9 hour stretch. He teases us and sleeps for 9 hours then he'll wake up the next two nights (just once so not horrible!) then he'll sleep 9 hours again. I just know the sleeping through the night is right around the corner!!! He wears 3-6 month clothes and is in a size 2 diaper. I'm blown away by how fast he's growing but taking in every single moment of it.

It's time...

So the time has come for me to return back to work tomorrow. I thought it would be easier since I've done this before but I actually think it's worse since I'm leaving two kids and my husband. It was so great being able to spend more time with David since when I'm working we are on different work schedules and only get a few nights together during the week. I'm just so thankful we both have jobs and are able to support our family that is just a sacrifice we have to make right now. I just love the bond that I've built with both my boys during this time too! I really think I'm one of the luckiest people in the world to have two sweet and healthy sons, a great husband and a home for us. I just have to remind myself to take it all in and enjoy every moment as much as I can because before I know it my little boys won't be so little anymore! I hope tomorrow goes well and I'm really hoping to make it through the day without completely breaking down.

On a happier note, David and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on Friday. We stayed downtown at the W hotel which was extremely nice!! We had dinner in the West End and really had a great time. I can't believe it's been 5 years!!

Cousins

I just wanted to post a couple of videos and some pictures of Trent playing with his cousin Braden along with Teagan and Carter. My sister came in town from North Carolina the other day and the boys had a blast together!! Trent keeps asking to play with Braden some more!!!

Braden & Teagan

Tegan & Carter

Braden

Road Trip to Houston

Since my dad's surgery to remove his bladder I have been wanting to go visit him before returning to work. He still needed some time after the surgery before having visitors. Last Wednesday Ginger and my dad gave me the go ahead to come on to Houston for a weekend visit! So I got all packed up Thursday and left around 5am on Friday morning. David wasn't able to go since he had to work all weekend so it was just the boys and me. I was a little nervous traveling with two little ones but they both did great!!! We only had to stop once for breakfast and a break on the way there and back. I will say the hardest part about traveling by yourself with two little kids is bathroom breaks. I had drank a couple of redbulls so I had to use the restroom really bad but to stop I would have woken them both up and didn't want to take the chance so just kept on going. We arrived around 10:30am on Friday morning. When we got there I got unloaded and took over their house with baby chairs, swings, bags of clothes, diapers, bottles and all the fun stuff! At a garage sale Ginger had a found Trent a little desk so we got that all set up in the living room and he had his own little play area. Later Trent, Grandpa Bob and I laid down for naps while Carter hung out with GG (Grandma Ginger). We had a quiet evening and just hung out watching tv, eating and playing with Trent. Grandpa Bob was playing catch with Trent which he really liked! We had to keep reminding Trent to be gentle and not throw things at Grandpa because his stomach is still healing from the surgery. Before you know it Grandpa Bob will be running around with him!!! Saturday morning Ginger and I went to a community garage sale with the kids. We were very amused by how Trent wore my sunglasses! I think it's so funny how he puts them on upside down!! While garage selling, I found a magnetic fishing pole that Trent loved playing with. Him and Grandpa had a lot of fun with this! For lunch we had some food from this Tea Room they have in Houston. They have the best soup and chicken salad sandwich!! (Adrianne, it was SO good!! :-) ) After nap time I took Trent outside to play with his play-doh set that I brought down for him. He had a blast with it! Carter enjoyed watching his big brother playing. That night Ginger had a bridal shower to go to so Trent, Carter and I hung out with Grandpa Bob watching a movie and playing some more. I helped Trent put his new puzzle together which took a good 15-20 mins. Once it was together he broke it apart and then tried pushing it under the rug! That's a boy for you! Sunday morning we all took it easy. Dad made us some eggs and bacon for breakfast and that was very yummy! I love his breakfasts!!!!! When Ginger got home from church she took Trent to Target and got him some gardening tools, car PJs and some of his own sunglasses. (This kid is always so spoiled by all of his grandparents! That is their job and they all sure do it well :-) ) They spent most of the day in the yard planting flowers and watering them. Then Trent watered me and GG!!! LOL He had a great time! He was even talking about it at dinner. How he dug holes in the dirt and put flowers in. We then left at 5am this morning and got home around 10:30am. It was raining pretty hard when I hit the Dallas area so that was not fun but we made it home safe and sound.



Trent and Grandpa Bob

Trent sneaking in Grandpa's chair!

Puzzle complete

Puzzle destroyed!

I'm so glad I got to take the boys to Houston! The last time we were there was when Trent was about 9 months old, way too long ago. He had such a great time playing with his Grandpa Bob & GG and I think they had a great time playing with him. Carter just enjoyed being around everyone and "talking" to them. I'll be going back to work next Monday and am extremely sad but am happy that I got visit to Houston in before returning. Now I'm just waiting for Adrianne, Nigel, Braden and Teagan to arrive from North Carolina on Thursday.

Two little people

Having two boys makes it so hard not to compare almost every little thing about them; their size, their features, their personalities. One thing I like about having another child is that I have noticed his personality sooner than I did with Trent because I do see the differences! Carter is much more laid back and patient; he will be ready for a bottle but as soon as you start talking to him and playing with him, he'll "forget" for a minute and talk back. Their cries are like night and day. Trent would scream and cry so loud it would echo through any home. Carter's cry is a very pitiful cry with the pouty lip and all. Carter also has started to coo and laugh sooner than Trent did. One thing these boys have in common, they want to be involved with everyone else! Carter wants to see what's going on and just take everything in just like Trent did. I have pictures of the boys at about the same age. It's so neat to me to compare their traits this way. I still think they look different but like brothers. (Trent is on the left & Carter on the right)