...And He's on the Move!

We have been very fortunate in the last two years -- well, for multiple reasons, obviously -- we have quite a few great friends who have bestowed "hand me downs" upon us (furniture, toys, and clothes). One of the toys we got from our friends, the Carrolls, is a pushing walker. While Carter does enjoy playing with it, the majority of our house is hard wood. The toy moves medium/slow on our carpet, but then hits the hardwood and well, let's just say the result isn't pretty. Carter has taken quite a few face plants.

Just today, though, we pulled out the walker again and the results were dramatically different. Our little boy has developed enough balance and strength in the past few weeks to have control of the walker on the hardwood. He's now cruising all around the house -- and it's like a whole new world has opened to him! Now if only we could get him to steer it straight...

Parent & Tot Swim Classes

As another way to beat the heat, and do something fun, we enrolled Carter in Parent & Tot swim classes. The neighborhood next to ours has a wonderful park and recreation center. It's great to have a pool, softball field, basketball court, playground and tennis courts so close for use! So, for the last two weeks, Monday-Thursday, we have been swimming!

If you've seen any of our previous posts, you'll know that Carter is quite the water lover. He was the youngest baby in his class, but started laughing and splashing the minute we got in -- regardless of the fact that kids much bigger than him were screaming in fear. Our major goal each day was to keep him from drinking half the pool. You would think he was dehyradated or something!

Water Fun

For those of you that don't know, it is HOT in Sacramento in the summers! It is not unusual to see temperatures over 100 degrees. Enter Baba (Dave's mom). Thankfully, last time she was in town, she bought us a water toy of sorts. It's perfect for Carter and Philip since it doesn't hold too much water. And, it's big enough with enough extra pieces and toys that the boys are able to wander around it not get bored -- in theory. For now, the hose water is cold enough, and they are still young enough, that they mostly sit in one place and chew on things. We anticipate that changing very quickly, though (see later posts).

Carter cooling off

Carter & Philip having fun

The boys and their dads

We're Back!

Yes, we know it has been a ridiculous amount of time since we've updated -- and for that, we're sorry. The last few months have been supremely busy! Carter is now 10 1/2 months old, and off the charts in height, weight, and head size. That's our boy...He's keeping us on our toes, too. He's crawling at top speed, getting into everything, and never wastes a minute to test his boundaries (i.e. oh, when you say "no, you cannot go out the doggie door" that applied to today, too?).

For Christmas, Dave and I each got new bicycles with the best of intentions. We foresee long bike rides and picnics in our future. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to use them as frequently as we would like, as it has required finding a babysitter -- they just don't make a seat or trailer for small babies. So, we were thrilled when Carter finally approached the 25lb. mark. He is now big enough for the back bicycle seat, and his head is big enough for the smallest helmet. Bring on the family bike rides!!!

Initially, Carter was NOT a fan of his helmet. Turns out the trick is to make Dave wear his -- if Dad's doing it, it must be ok, right? That motto may get us into trouble later, but for now, it's working like a charm.