Celebrations!

On April 5th, my sister Courtney (Carter's aunt Coco) tied the knot with Ivan Wright. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. I managed to carry out my matron of honor duties without making a fool of myself, and Carter somehow stayed up the entire afternoon and evening with the exception of two 20-minute naps. He was enthralled with all the commotion and excitement.

This past Saturday, April 12th, my inlaws (Carter's Gram Me and Grandad) celebrated tying the knot 40 years ago! In this day and age where marriages barely make it to the 10-year mark, it is quite a joy to witness a couple celebrate forty years of love and commitment to each other, to marriage, to God, and to their family.

Thank you to both couples for your testimonies of love, and congratulations!

Today, we also celebrate Carter's 11th week! Here are a few highlights from the last couple of weeks:

• At Carter's 2 month checkup, he weighed 13 lbs 11 oz and measured 24 1/2 inches, placing him in the 90th percentile for both weight and length. He had to get 4 shots at this appointment, which broke his mommy's heart, but he didn't cry for too long.
  
• This picture is of Carter with his 3rd?? cousin, Cece. Cece is my cousin Ashley's 7-month-old daughter. They have matching duckie outfits so we had to get a picture!

• The other day, while driving home from running errands, Carter began to fuss and cry. The times he cries most are when we're in the car and I can't do anything to comfort him. It's so hard to hear those cries and not pull over immediately. I decided to sing for him, and since he now loves "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," I launched into the song. Within seconds, he was silent. I could see in the mirror that he still had his bottom lip out and his eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't cry the rest of the way home. I sang about every animal I could think of to make the song last....I even included "mice...with a squeak squeak here." Hey, I'll do anything to stop my son's tears if I can help it.
• Carter attended his 1st playgroup last Friday. The mothers are wives of some guys I went to seminary with. Carter is by far the youngest, but he seemed to enjoy watching the "big kids."

• The day Carter got his shots, he ran a low fever that evening. I was holding him on the couch as he sucked on his pacifier and let out sad moans and cries. Again, I tried the tactic of singing. He immediately broke into an enormous, gum-revealing grin, causing his paci to drop out, and I felt like I was the best mom (and the best singer) in the world!
  
• His smiles are so big and contagious. The bathtub video I posted last month is now only a tiny glimpse of the big grin he loves to flash. Here is a video of him smiling and cooing. Unfortunately, every time I get out the camera, it distracts him so I can't ever capture the best smiles on video. I did, however, capture a very humorous look at the end of the video. I have no idea what caused it!

• This past month, we got the special treat of having my two childhood best friends from New Jersey come visit! Jen and her husband Blake were driving through Alabama on their way from Mississippi back to Pennsylvania where they are helping with the Barack Obama campaign. Then, Cara and her husband Graham were in town for a week performing with the Spamalot Broadway tour. It was such a joy to introduce them to Carter, and I loved catching up with them.
  

Jen, Blake and Carter
Me, Cara and Carter

We also got a visit from my sweet friend Kelley who now lives in Dallas. This picture is of my friend Susan, Kelley, Carter, and me. We miss you Kel! (Yes, I realize Carter has on his duckie outfit in practically every picture, but I want to get good use out of it before he grows more!) :)

We're still working on sleeping through the night, but that will happen soon enough. After all this celebrating, we're all bound to conk out eventually. Til then, I toast to family, friends, loving marriages, sweet memories, and catnaps!