Happy 8 Months, Carter!

Dear Carter,
What a fun month! You're a true explorer now, and you definitely love your mobility. Here are a few highlights from this past month:

Weight: a whopping 20.7 lbs!
Height: not sure, but you're tall (everyone thinks you must be a year already!)
Nicknames: CarterMan (which Mommy sometimes sings to the tune and likes of They Must Be Giants' "Particle Man" song; I think Aunt JuJu first used this nickname), Buddy, Bud, Darlin, Little Prince, Booger, Little Man, Stinker, Lil' Monkey, Baby (how original!), Little Rascal (your Grand Dad's name for you), Precious (your Gram Me's name for you), My Handsome (Aunt Coco's name for you)Fave foods: bananas, prunes, harvest vegetables, sweet potato puffs, cheerios, turkey, water, cheese (except it's off limits now that we know it makes you very sick...milk allergy?)

Food dislikes: anything green

Favorite toys: fringe on the rugs, Sadie and Jackson's bones, door knockers on the armoire, laptops, and your new Fisher Price Laugh & Learn "Learning Home." (worth the investment!) You also still love your activity table. If you're in a low-key mood, you might look at a book. The only time you really sit still is when I put on Baby Einstein's "Baby's First Signs" dvd. Playtime with your pal, Ben

Favorite activities: bathtime, crawling, pulling up, opening drawers, looking out the back door, watching the dogs, pulling up grass at the park, playing with other babies, being tickled by Daddy, hamming it up for the camera.
Activities you dislike: getting strapped into the carseat, having your diaper changed, and occasionally, napping.

New tricks: waving bye-bye, pulling up on anything, climbing stairs, finding your paci and putting it in yourself, swinging in the baby swing at Homewood Park.

Other changes: This month, since you're now on the move, you graduated from the "Crib Babies" nursery at church to the "Crawlers." You also have cried a few times when we've dropped you off because you're more aware of us leaving. But on a whole, you love seeing other people! You can be almost asleep, but you'll perk up as soon as you see someone. We're pegging you as an extrovert already.

Mommy's favorite moments: I love the look on your face when you see your Daddy. You are in awe of him, and rightly so.

My other favorite moment was when I picked you up from Gram Me and Grand Dad's.... you hugged me so tightly, pulled back to look at my face, giggled with delight, hugged me so tightly again, and repeated three or four more times. I felt so loved and missed, and I loved your reaction to my return!

Also, you are laughing more and more as you develop your sense of humor. If I sing in a funny voice or make a face, you giggle uncontrollably. That gets me tickled, and on several occasions, we've laughed together for several minutes before we could compose ourselves. I felt like we were buddies, and I guess I never expected to share such funny moments with an 8-month-old!

Carter, Daddy and I continue to find such joy in your life. Thank you for giving us daily reasons to smile, laugh, and thank God for our blessings. We love you!

Happy 8 Months, CarterMan!
Love,
Mommy

Carter's 1st Vacation

Emerald Isle, NC

August 31-September 7

We had a great vacation on the beaches of coastal Carolina. Our house, Crystal Palms, was right on the beach, offering us a beautiful view of the water. We spent the week there with my parents who were a huge help with Carter! Here are a few highlights from the trip...

August 31

We flew into Raleigh (where my parents live) on Saturday and then drove with them on Sunday to Emerald Isle. Carter was a great traveler. We were really nervous about flying, but he was quiet and even slept most of the time. When awake, he loved peeking around our seats to smile at the people behind us.

September 1
Labor Day began with a walk on the beach! Carter was very intrigued with the sand. He kept scrunching up his toes. We also tested out the ocean waves. However, the rip current was extremely strong the whole week, so it was too rough to actually swim (or even wade) in the ocean. The tide was so rough that the waves would leave behind foam on the beach. That's the white stuff you see. Thankfully, we had a small pool at our house so Carter could swim. He loved the water! My mom had bought him a car floatie. Too cute! He thought the wheel make a great teething toy. And he would mostly rest his head on the front part so he could stare at the water through the leg holes. Mom and Dad were always willing to entertain Carter so Scott and I could have some quality time together. September 2
This is a picture of Mom and Dad...they were going out to dinner to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary, which was September 8th!September 3
We drove to Beaufort (one of the oldest historical towns in NC) to check out the shops and eat at the highly recommended Beaufort Grocery Company. Poor Carter had this glazed-over look as we strolled him through antique shops. :) This is Carter's 1st crush, Jen White. She was the hostess at Beaufort Grocery Company. While Carter flirted with people on the planes, in every restaurant, and in the stores, he LOVED Jen more than anyone else. He literally dove into her arms when we walked into the restaurant. She loved it, having a son of her own about Carter's age. She kept coming by our table to talk to our little flirt. The other funny flirting story is from our plane trip home. On our flight from Memphis to Bham, we had just boarded and gotten settled in our seats. Suddenly, Carter looked up and gave a huge grin and raise of the eyebrow. Who did he see coming down the plane aisle? The entire Samford University Women's Volleyball team. They gushed...he gushed...it was enough to know that we need to lock Carter up for the next 20 years.

September 4

Lunch at Flipperz
Carter was staring at a couple in the booth to our left. While we thought it was cute that he would flirt with everyone, it was a bit embarrassing when he would continue to stare for 15 more minutes. Let the people eat for goodness sake! :)

Another nautical-themed outfit that we put on just because it was cute to photograph by the ocean. That's me and my mom for you. :)September 5
Making his crazy faces to entertain us.
Tropical Storm Hanna begins to blow in. September 6
We made it through the storm. But we were all up at 4 am...the house was literally shaking at the peaks of the 50-60 mph wind gusts. It was actually very exciting. But I can't imagine why people choose to stay in their home when hurricanes with 3x the strength come tearing through!

After the rain had stopped, Scott and I ran outside to see what it was like. The wind was so strong that I nearly fell over. The sand was pelting us, and we were barely able to get the sliding door closed again, but it was fun. And we weren't the only morons out on the beach! :)
By that evening, all had calmed down. We attempted a few final beach photos and then headed to dinner.


This was a funny picture. While the sky had cleared, it was still pretty windy. Carter and I were trying to avoid sand in our faces, and Scott has a big grin but closed eyes. And for some reason, my 6'5" husband looks huge behind us! :)
I think Carter enjoyed his first vacation! As did all of us. Bye Emerald Isle! We hope to be back!

Monkey Business

My Lil' Monkey has been crawling, climbing, and getting into everything. Look at that mischievous gleam in his eyes!Who wants Fisher Price multi-colored toys when you can discover shiny air vents, snake-like lamp cords, electrical outlets that resemble faces, and dog bones the size of my arm? Just call me Curious George.
Love, Carter
Don't I look innocent enough???

War Eagle!!

Are you ready for some football???




Go Auburn Tigers!

Love,
Carter

Carter's Comedy Act

I recently read that babies develop a sense of humor around 6-7 months. Carter's is definitely in full swing. Last week while we were at the beach with my parents, we put him in the pack-and-play so he could be with us while we sat outside on the deck. At one point, Carter smashed his face up against the netting, thus pushing up his nose and creating a funny face. We all started laughing, and Carter immediately caught on that he was doing something humorous. He continued to perform his little act for a good 10-15 minutes! Enjoy the video!

(If you can somehow watch it in a larger window, you can really see all his expressions...it's hilarious! The smaller window makes it hard to really see the faces he's making. Oh, and PLEASE excuse my obnoxious laughter and my dramatized accent. I guess the salty air had gone to my head.)

The Elusive First Tooth!

YAY! Carter finally cut his first tooth today! As you know, we have been blaming anything and everything on teething for the last, oh let's say 4 months. So this is really exciting that a tooth has finally come in! Sadly, Carter screamed all this evening. Hopefully the Tylenol and Orajel will help him sleep.

Here is a picture of him in his bath this evening. I bought all kinds of bath toys, fish net toy holder, faucet cover, etc. today, and I love how colorful it is! Carter particularly appreciated the foam letters because he could gnaw on them. :)