11 months old...

Carter turned 11 months old yesterday. I think I say "wow" every month. But "wow!" Almost a year old...unreal. This has been a super fun month, just like the rest. He has 4 teeth now, with others coming in probably as we speak. They are coming in so fast! He loves playing with his push toys. It's really funny because he tries to push EVERYTHING. From tiny toys to the huge ottoman that sits in front of the couch. I literally have watched him lean over & push the ottoman with all his might & get SO frustrated that he can't move it! He can stand by himself now...for several seconds (I have never counted, so don't know exactly how long!) He walks around holding onto everything, and can walk next to you, holding only one of your hands. Walking alone is just around the corner! Oh, and he had yet another haircut.

You can see from the pictures that bath time, eating, and rolling / throwing the ball TOP THE LIST of Carter's favorite things. Oh, and Tim's white Titleist hat. Seriously. This thing can make Carter happy INSTANTLY. He puts it on, takes it off, carries it around. And it's just that one! So bizarre...our quirky little cutie. Back to eating, oh eating. Baby food is pretty much gone now. He wants table food & he wants to feed himself! He eats all kinds of fruits and vegetables: apples, pears, bananas, peaches, carrots, green beans, peas, corn, and mashed potatoes (his FAVORITE. He actually scoops them into his mouth with both hands. Too cute). He loves yogurt, cheese, chicken sticks, turkey sticks, pasta and of course everyone's favorite, macaroni & cheese...YUM! And let's just say a MESS! (See the bottom picture and video for some "black bean fun" when we were out to eat one night).

Well his first birthday is sneaking up on us...trying to figure out plans. Everything I have thrown out, Tim has kind of described as "excessive" (I believe that was the word of choice). So we'll see what we come up with! :)

The picture to the left goes with the video below. We were at our favorite neighborhood mexican restaurant, Salsa Mex, a few weeks ago. And we introduced Carter to black beans. He LOVED them. The video shows how well he was feeding himself, and the picture is the messy disaster that was Carter when it was all over. Can you see the beans all over his face?!?! Too cute!

One more pic with Santa!

Here is a picture of Carter with Alex & Santa, that day we were in Grapevine. He took to this Santa MUCH better than the last! Maybe that's the key...take them to as many Santas as necessary, until they are comfortable enough to behave! ;)

Merry Christmas! (And Carter is 10 months old!)

On Christmas day, Carter turned 10 months old! It has been a rough month for the little guy. He got sick the week of Thanksgiving, and has pretty much been sick since. Pink eye (twice), an ear infection that would not go away, RSV. Poor little thing! He is hopefully on the mend now, getting to spend 2+ weeks at home with Mommy. We have managed to have a little fun, in spite of all the sickness. Carter's favorite things are playing with his toys, walking (not quite on his own yet), taking baths, playing outside (especially with leaves), going for walks, taking baths and eating, of course. He is starting to turn down baby food, aggressively, might I add. I guess he just wants to feed himself, like a big boy! He eats toast, bananas, pears, cheese. We are experimenting with all kinds of big boy food. He also likes to help Daddy around the house (see the fireplace pic). And of course loves to tear up magazines (what?!?! Bizarre, I know). We also got a visit from Gigi, Uncle Scotty and Cousin Alex. We went to Grapevine for their Main Street Christmas festival. Santa and Frosty the Snowman were there, we took a hayride through downtown and all kinds of cool Christmas stuff. He is a little young to enjoy it all, but we still had a great time. Carter's first Christmas was awesome! We got to spend a lot of time with all of our families. Of course, Carter got an INSANE amount of gifts. It was ridiculous! Toys, toys, toys. Books, puzzles, clothes, a new Baby Einstein video. You name it! And he loves playing with all of it. And even had fun learning how to open his gifts!

Santa!

This past Saturday, we had a Christmas Party up at my school. It was a family-friendly party, where everyone brought their kids (and all 23 babies born to teachers at Lamar last year!). There was a huge pot-luck dinner, Christmas Carols and of course SANTA! So we couldn't pass up the opportunity to put Carter in his lap. Here are a few pics. I know some are blurry, they are taken with a camera phone. But you get the gist! 1) Carter thinking..."Who the heck is this weird guy holding me?!" 2) "I'm good. Semi-smile for the camera." 3) "Mommy! I've had enough!!" (I know that last picture is so blurry, but it is so funny. That is me, in the red, leaning in to pick him up. And notice Santa's hands are off him, like, "I didn't do it!") More Christmas fun to come!

"Apples & Chicken...GROSS!"

Dr. McElroy gave us the go-ahead to try baby foods with meats for Carter once he turned 9 months old. He said he would LOVE them. Um....maybe not? This was the first thing we tried. Apples & Chicken. Side note: He loves apples. Another side note: My opinion, how disgusting. Ingredients: Apples, Chicken, Water. Yuck!! Now the video...Tim and I got some good laughs. Don't know if it quite stands up to "Bananas Make Me Twitch," but still hilarious! The best part is that Carter does his little giggle laugh several times. Like he is trying to enjoy the situation with us. What a good sport! Although, I wonder if we are damaging his views on food & eating by all of this trauma we keep putting him through?!?!