While We Were Gone

When we print the blog posts of our journey to China for Grace's book, I want to include what her big brother Carter was up to while Mom and Dad were gone. I've been working on this post for over a week, trying to go through all the cute pics my mom captured on her camera. Here's some snapshots of Carter's life while we were gone.We said goodbye to our little guy on April 6th and headed to the airport. My mom told us that he went back to the front door later and said, "Mommy, Daddy, home?" A little sad, he sat on the stairs with my mom and cuddled until he felt better. Mom was great at validating his feelings and helping him express and verbalize them so that he felt understood. My dear friend, Stacey, took us to the airport. While the car was being loaded, she snuck some goodies into our carry-on, as well as this laminated photo she had made for us, complete with Scripture to pray during our trip. If you don't recall, Carter went through another attachment phase a few weeks before our trip where he would get hysterical whenever I left him. Eventually, when I picked him up, he would smile with relief and say, "Mommy comes back." And I would say, "Mommy always comes back!" Before we left, Scott and I would repeat to him that we would come back. Stacey put that on the picture, and it was even reassuring to us when we looked at it. We definitely teared up at the airport when I pulled it out and we read it. Thank you Stacey!!Throughout the week, Carter opened little surprises from us so he would know we were thinking about him and so he'd feel special. I love how he has Handy Manny tucked into his shoulder while he picks up some of the tools.Carter did a lot of drawing. When my mom would draw a house, he would insist that the house have a garage. He LOVES our garage. Mainly because he likes to sit inside the cars in the garage and pretend to drive.His Aunt Coco (my sister Courtney) and Uncle Ivan came to play on several occasions. And they gave him this...And this little boy can really play the harmonica! He played it for us on Skype just one day after receiving it, and we were very impressed. He read books with Aunt JuJu and enjoyed a bubble bath. His Uncle Stuart came into town for a weekend for some hard-core outdoor fun. Climbing trees, running up and down hills, swinging, etc. And then they both crashed and did this...Carter played with his cousins (my cousin's kids) several days and had a blast. He really looks up to the boys...Graham, Tate, and Alex. And he loves to play with Cece. They jumped on a trampoline, played in a house,...rode a tractor, ...and played Guitar Hero. (or at least that's what I think they played)And he had more musical instruments to play at home. We were thrilled that he loved his flute/recorder. One day while skyping, he marched in playing it with his pointer finger on the free hand pointing up to the ceiling. It was hilarious!
He even slept with it. He adored spending one-on-one time with my 92-year-old grandmother, MaMa. She knows so many songs, and Carter would often ask her to sing. He would even specify which one he wanted to hear. My mom sang him a lot of songs too, and I need to learn them so I can keep passing them on. They also taught him the motions to several songs like the "Isty Bitsy Spider."He loved trying to walk in MaMa's shoes. (All of us grandchildren and great-grandchildren try to!)He helped take Jackson to the groomers. (And this cracked me up that Jackson got in Grace's carseat.)He spent a few nights at Gram Me and Sam's. (Scott's parents) Sam would email us to let us know how Carter was doing. Here are parts of a couple of emails...

A highlight was the Sunday morning visit Carter and I had together. It was around 3:30 AM and I was in my office trying to get myself sleepy and to find out what was going on via the internet. I looked around and there was this wonderful litttle guy with this very friendly smile that said hug me Sam. I held him very closely for a while and told him how much Sam loved him and as I held him tightly he snuggled up to me and we just rocked in my chair. Then we sat on the couch with me hugging him closely while he sat in my lap until Libby came down and asked him if he wanted to go back to bed. He got down and they went upstairs and he went back to sleep. He had very few times when he seemed sad. He has been a real trooper throughout your trip and has been a big boy. We had a lot of fun but his two Na-Na's are special. Mary Lynn is bringing him by tomorrow for us to keep him for most of the day. We will have more fun once he gets here. You might enjoy this story: Julie asked Carter was I Bob or Sam and he quickly answered "Bob" and grinned. He does like to have fun. (Note: Carter calls both grandmothers NaNa instead of Gram Me and GrandMary. Bob is my dad.)

Another email:

Carter has had a good day today. He and Na-Na are at the Simons for a short visit.

Uncle Stirt (how Carter pronounces Stuart) assembled his fire truck while he slept. Of course, firetrucks have to have water tanks and Carter did a good job with the water hose. He has not yet learned to propel the truck with his feet but that will come soon.

Stuart left early afternoon and Carter handled his leaving really well. I did my old trick

of asking the lamb if carter was a good boy and the lamb shook its head yes. When I

asked the lamb if Sam was a good boy and the lamb shook its head no-it has been a

while since I have heard Carter laugh so hard. He cackled and cackled and I had to repeat

these questions over and over. He then decided the lamb shold indicate that Carter was

not a good boy and that Na-Na was not a good girl. So we had our belly laugh for the day.

I think i will nick name him "Good Time Carter."

He does seem sad on occasions and wants affection. He came running into my office and

got in my lap and I kissed him on the forehead and he wanted me to keep on over and over.

So he got maybe 12-15 kisses and he really loved it. Libby bought Grace a rocking chair

today. Now she and Carter have new chairs-you can figure that out for yourself.

He made a big deal of patting the old chair and saying "Grace."

My dad, Papa, was able to fly in on the Thursday before we got home.

He grilled some turkey burgers (Carter's favorite!)...
played with his grandson, and gave my mom a much-needed break, I'm sure. At that point, she had been keeping him for 15 days! She had Mother's Day Out, playdates, and visits to Scott's parents to help with Carter, but I know it was still exhausting for her. She worked hard to keep Carter entertained...taught him songs, played "make believe" games, filled up the baby pool, and showed him how to help water all the beautiful flowers she managed to plant in our front yard. Thanks Mom!!! And she introduced Carter to a new fave show, Super WHY. Carter loves to interact as the characters teach them how to pick out letters and words. My parents took Carter to Build-a-Bear to pick out a stuffed animal for Grace.
And he loved giving the panda a path.And of course, he skyped with us each morning and night. He was always excited to run up to the office to see us, but he'd typically get upset when it was time to hang up. His running line was "NO goodbye!!!" He would often say, "Hold you NaNae," to my mom as we hung up. We could tell he was missing us, and we wanted so badly to hold him ourselves. He found a lot of comfort in his grandparents arms while we were gone. I don't have a picture of my mom from that week since she was behind the camera the whole time. But here she is with my dad, sister, and brother-in-law with us at the airport. Mom, I'm so thankful you survived the 2 1/2 weeks!! :) You are such a trooper and went above and beyond to make sure Carter did well. I don't have any pics that were taken with my MIL, FIL, and SIL. (If anyone has some, can you email them to me?) And Stuart and Noelle didn't get into town until that night. But Sam and Libby, thank you for helping to keep Carter, and as always, pitching in when needed. Carter loves going to your house to spend time with you!

THANK YOU to all of you who helped make our trip possible by taking such great care of Carter. It wasn't easy to leave him, but we were comforted by the fact that he was in such capable and loving hands. He learned and grew so much while we were gone, and y'all are to credit for that. He probably won't even remember this time since he's so young, but I hope seeing the pictures and emails will show him how loved and cared for he was in our absence. He's one lucky boy.