First Family Vacation!

I felt my heart swell and my soul sing in Oregon; one of the most amazing and beautiful stretches of land in our Country.

With both boys growing and becoming more independent, they are easier to travel with, thus us deciding it was time to take our first family vacation. Portland was the first place I wanted to go after living there for a number of years and immediately falling in love with the scenery. On the plus side, my sisters still live there and the boys hadn't yet met their cousins. So it was sure to be a fun trip for all.

On the drive to the airport, we were filled with anticipation and excitement. The boys were all about it and got their groove on in the back seat.

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Our flight out there wasn't very fun, though. Logan was an awesome travel companion, set with his videos on the lap top and various activities to keep him entertained. Carter, however, was that crying baby on the plane. He actually started his hysterics in the airport while we were checking in. We were waiting in a huge line that moved slowly and Carter was screaming bloody murder the entire time. Being a seasoned mom, I was not bothered, nor flustered or angry that he wouldn't calm down. I'm callous to the worst terrible-two's tantrums imaginable.

Knowing that he was tired, there was no consoling him and my repeated attempts to shoosh him were futile. I just waited to him to conk out. That didn't stop some of the other people in line who thought they could calm him better than I. I just looked at them and shrugged my shoulders as they tried to unsuccessfully charm him. After taking off, he cried for another 10 minutes and passed out cold.

We stayed in Seaside which ended up being pretty cold. The first night we settled into the hotel room and then drove to the beach. Logan walked along the shore, experiencing the ocean for the first time. He immediately loved it. After years of not hearing the sound of the ocean, it was shockingly loud, yet comforting at the same time. It was an interesting realization that the sound is not gentle but amazingly powerful. I loved and missed it so much.


Later that night we drove up on to the beach at watched the sunset from our car. The beach was speckled with headlights from cars doing the same thing. It was breathtakingly beautiful.


The next morning we went straight to Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. There were tide pools to explore and sea creatures to show the boys. It's a protected area so there were environmental specialists there to educate the public about the rock. They had binoculars and telescopes set up for people to bird watch and they gathered animals from the tide pools for kids to get up close and personal with. We watched a Bald Eagle grab a Puffin from the rock and fly away.


We spent most of the morning walking along the beach barefoot, getting soaked in the ocean waves, and enjoying every minute we could. It was pure bliss and some of the happiest family memories we share. Later that day we fed the seals at the aquarium and looked at huge, aggressive octopus.


The next day we drove down the coast to Tillamook. Driving along side the vast blue ocean with the road hugged by lush green forest, I was choked up and teary from the gorgeousness of it all. We stopped at Cape Mears Lighthouse that had recently suffered some damage to vandals, but the area was amazing, nonetheless.


Sadly, we weren't able to check out the top of the Lighthouse, but we did walk around and looked at the Octopus tree before heading to the Tillamook Cheese Factory.


The cheese factory was the lamest tour ever. They weren't even making any cheese while we were there. But, we did stay for lunch and I ate some delicious clam chowder and a milkshake. Tillamook makes a damn good ice cream.


The next day was Saturday, where we spent the day at Saturday's Market with my sister J and brother-in-law C. We browsed the tents for interesting finds, eating sugary elephant ears and Logan got to hang out at the carnival for the Rose Festival. He rode rides and played in ball pits with Bill. They shared some father-son time while I walked Carter around in his stroller to sleep. He also got a snazzy new shirt from his Aunt and Uncle because he spilled grape juice all over the one he was wearing.


We spent our 11th wedding anniversary at the zoo, in the rain, jumping in puddles and mesmerized by the dinosaur exhibit. Both boys are obsessed and loved every scary minute of that part of our day. Logan knows quite a bit more than we were aware of! He's totally into carnivores because they are "killing dinosaurs". Such a boy.


We played at The Children's Museum and also the Science and Discovery Center, where we met up with my other sister R and her kids, cousins that Logan and Carter have never really met. They all had fun splashing in tubs of water and playing in imaginary forests.


We drove over to the Columbia River Gorge with brilliant green mountains spotted with graceful waterfalls. We ate ice cream in Hood river and watched Kite Boarders. On the way back, we stopped at Multnoma Falls, powerful and gorgeous, with campfire smells drifting through the warm summer evening air filled with soft fluffs from the cottonwood trees. A summer snowstorm.


This week vacation, our first family vacation, was filled with some of the best memories that I will never forget. What a way to begin a family vacation trend! We plan to go on a winter vacation and I'm sure it will be just as magical.

Primary school graduation

Last month (yes, I suck at updating right now) Logan graduated from Primary school. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning he went to school for a few hours, learning about bugs and books, the farm, shapes and the alphabet. He sang songs and played with friends. He grew by leaps and bounds.

Being Agnostic/Atheist (whatever the hell we are), my biggest fear of needing to have religious discussions with a 4 year old were never a reality. Despite saying prayers (which were sing-song type rhymes), his only explanation to me was that they were thank you's. Not even to God or Jesus. Just 'thank you'. That worked for me! He will be attending again next year, moving up to the Pre-K class, so we'll see if that trend continues.

On the last day of class, we all met at a park to play and have a picnic. Logan was sweet handing his cards to his teachers (all three of them), signing his own name to each one. He played with a friend who seemed to be one of his best friends in class, and his mom and I talked about meeting up over the summer to get the boys together again. I handed her my business card and haven't received an email. Maybe I shouldn't be handing out my business cards when I lack a pen? Tacky, maybe. But it's better than writing my email address in spit, blood or the playground sand.

I'm so proud of Logan and all that he learned in school this last year. I hope I don't screw it up over the summer. So far, I've only made him write his name once. Mommy FAIL.

Here is a video of Logan's Spring performance. It is freakin' funny watching him up there, twisting around, bored out of his mind, singing songs that he learned this year (although, I'm taking credit for the ABC's. We worked HARD for that one!) It really shows how sweet and cute he is. Fair warning, this video is long and only appeals to my family. Everyone else couldn't care less. Unless watching random school performances is your thing.

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Logan's 4th birthday

It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years since the day that Logan was born and our life changed instantly. I feel like at this point in motherhood, I've hit my stride. I'm not saying it's easy, but we're in a groove and even with the now 4-year old back talk (that drives me NUTS) we've got a pretty good handle on things.

It's about time because the last 4 years have been some of the most challenging, most rewarding, most mind-numbing, most fun years I've had in my life. A mixed bag for sure.

We celebrated Logan's birthday with a huge dinosaur-themed party with his friends. This was the first year that we organized games and activities and lunch, rather than just hosting a playtime with snacks and cupcakes. 4 year old's have "real" birthday parties. So, invitations were sent to 20 of his friends and their parents and siblings came along with. We hosted here at home and had close to 40 people in our house. I made cupcakes (the same vegan chocolate cupcakes with butter cream frosting that I always make for birthdays) with orange frosting because that's Logan's favorite color, then we ordered about 10 pizzas and had both a fruit and vegetable tray.


Everyone hung around for a while eating lunch and chatting. We're lucky that even though it was a full house, we have enough room to host such a big party without everyone stepping on each other. There were people in the front room, people in the living room, people in the kitchen and people in the playroom. It was full and fun!


After we ate, we all gathered in the playroom for a few games. Because this was a dinosaur-themed party, we had a dino dig. Ideally, this would have been done outside in the sand, digging for fossils. But, it's winter, it's cold and snowy and going outside was not an option. I filled Easter eggs with miniature dinosaurs that I found at a party store and put them in an inflatable baby pool and covered them with balls from the ball pit we have. The kids thought it was a blast to jump in and dig for eggs, then announce what dinosaurs they found.


While the kids were patiently waiting for their turn, we had an art corner (that the kids had been at the whole time at the party) where they could color their own T-Rex cut out. The girls especially liked this activity.


Lastly, we had a pinata. We never found a dinosaur pinata, but Logan had his heart set on getting one, so he picked out a Spider Man pinata. He really wanted this Spider Man pinata, claiming that Spider Man is cool because he goes to the bank to wrestle with bad guys. I gasped at the $20 cost of a dumb pinata to which Logan repeated back to Bill later that day, "Dad, we got a Spider Man pinata! It's $20!"

Filled with miniature candy bars, the kids took turns pulling the strings on the pinata to open the trap door (which is much better than handing a bat to a bunch of riled-up 4 year olds). Logan got to go first and it took about 3 or 5 kids to finally get it pulled open with candy falling on top of their heads. They loved it.

After the short sugar rush, we all went into the kitchen where we sang happy birthday to Logan. It was a moving moment for me to hear because there were so many people. I felt so fortunate to have so many friends celebrate Logan's birthday with us. All of these friends have been a part of our lives for years since we've moved to our town, seeing them many times a week - at playgroups, preschool, and around town at activities.

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Even though we weren't planning on it, Logan opened his presents at the party. I think we all think that's the most boring part about a kids' party - but I couldn't be the party Nazi and tell him "No, you can't open your presents." Lame-o mom, I would be. He opened presents that were super cool dinosaur books, awesome cars, and everything a 4 year old boy would love. Afterward, Logan and Carter played with them all together. So cute!

All of the kids left with gift "buckets" - small sandbox pails with shovels (for digging for dinosaurs), a growing dinosaur that increases in size when soaking in water, and a wooden dinosaur puzzle or maze that they can color and it will last longer than other cheap gift bag items. And tons of candy from the pinata too.

The party was a smashing success and not nearly as crazy as I thought it would be. I told Bill that I hope it's a birthday that Logan remembers, not because I was up cleaning the house until 1am the night before, or spending so much time putting it all together - but I hoped he remembered it because it was fun. It was happy. It was awesome.

The best month of December and Christmas EVER

So there's been a lot of celebrating over here with the biggest holiday season upon us. First, there was Bill's company Christmas Party. Unlike other people who may dread these parties, we absolutely love and look forward to the company party every year. Bill works with a great group of people and it makes the night even more fun. We've been to three Christmas parties for the company and every year it gets bigger and better. The food is delicious, the open bar is fantastic (and I would never want to see that bill!) and there are always tears of gratitude from many people during speeches and award ceremonies.


The boys were at home with a sitter and Bill's boss/co-worker's two kids. They had a pizza pajama party and enjoyed every minute. While we ate, drank and mingled, they jumped off couches and ran around the house screaming to their delight. We got a ride home from the limo/party bus service the Company provided so everyone could get home safely.

Then there was Logan's preschool Christmas program. As I mentioned, he was the kid in the class who didn't want to sing. Granted, he wasn't the biggest Grinch in the class, one of his other classmates had his arms crossed with a very angry scowl on his face. But, nevertheless, Logan looked like he was too cool for school. He must get it from his Father. During the "Jingle Bells" song, Logan's friend turns to him and tells him to sing. To which Logan Logan shakes his head and adamantly says "NO". It's hilarious.

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After that, we had our Annual MOMS Club Holiday Potluck. It started out as a rough night. Bill had been out of town for the week on business and just as I was unloading the groceries from the car, the LDS missionaries came up the driveway and tried convincing me to come back to church for 15 minutes (again). Not wanting to be a jerk to them, I nicely told them why I wasn't only to get blank stares of disbelief and empty apologies. This whole event caused me to be late in getting dinner ready, which caused me to be late to the party. I was the only one who had the keys to get in. So getting there, by myself with the kids, was a complete nightmare. But, once we did, it was the best party our chapter has had yet. We had a White Elephant Exchange, a large potluck and lots of laughs and conversation. There were 25 families, about 100 people including kids and husbands and a lot of fun.

That night Bill came home from his business trip to New York. He came back with a ton of pictures to share (from the new camera we bought because I need one here at home for restaurant reviews while he's gone), presents for the boys and a Christmas present for me. A huge diamond necklace that made my jaw drop. I've wanted a necklace for a while and it just wasn't possible in the past. Bill has been doing very well at work this year so we've been by the jewelry store a few times to look. While in New York, he did some negotiating in the Diamond District and came home with a necklace that I never expected to have. I LOVE IT! And I'm thankful he couldn't wait to give it to me so I could start wearing it early.


Next, we took the kids to see Santa downtown (there are two in town - one in the mall and one downtown. The downtown Santa is more authentic and better). Logan was so excited, Carter, not so much. While we waited for our turn, Logan kept dancing around, poking his head through the curtain (it's in a cute wooden cabin) and asking when we would be able to sit on Santa's lap. Finally it was our turn, and this guy was a pro. He knew right away that Carter wasn't going for it, just by the look on his face. He had instructions for me - how to sit with Carter and where while Logan sat on the other side listing his Christmas wants - dinosaurs, race cars, flutes and guitars. It was a well organized process (almost too organized, but I guess you have to be when dealing with thousands of kids every day) and we got the excited squeals of an almost 4 year old in return.


A few days later I got an email from Bill saying that we should go look for a new car that night. We have been a one-car-family for years, even before kids. It's worked for us and our trusty Outback has been a great car with minimal problems. With Bill traveling and our family growing, it has been more of a necessity to have a second car. We had been discussing buying another in the spring. But, we only had a few payments left on our old car and were ready to get another now.

We went and test drove a Nissan that we didn't like and decided that we are a Subaru family through and through. We drove straight to another dealership, found a car that we love and bought it the next day. I LOVE IT! It snowed quite a bit the day after we got the new Subaru and it did great - smooth, easy to control, no sliding and very warm (seat warmers!). Bill is now driving the old Outback and the kids and I get to take the new one. So, I guess I got a new car for Christmas too!


Then - Christmas Eve. Wow. First we woke up and hung out for a while, drinking coffee and making Christmas Tree Cookies. After Carter woke up from his nap, we all went sledding. This was the first time Logan had ever been and he was thrilled - and fearless. Both he and Bill went down the hill many times with Logan having the biggest smile on his face. He would tuck himself into a little ball every time he would go down, increasing his speed and flying off the small ramp that someone had build on the hill. Carter was not a fan of being out in the cold, despite being bundled up in a snow suit. He was too small to go down the fast hill, so I would pull him around the flat parts of the park, with him crying most of the time. I eventually got him back in the car, warm and listening to Christmas music while Logan and Bill went dare devil sledding.

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We came back to eat dinner - a beef tenderloin that was good (but a bit too rare for our liking). It was hard to get the kids to eat because they were so excited to open presents. After much prodding, we finally gave in and let them go at it. There was wrapping paper everywhere as Logan searched under the tree for presents with his name on them. Carter mostly wanted to play with bows and the presents that Logan opened. They had an absolute blast this year and we all made out like bandits.


Christmas morning has been spent lounging around in our pajamas, eating sausage-hash brown casserole, watching Christmas movies and playing with toys. It's been a great year and the best Christmas EVER!

Halloween bust

This year Halloween was a bust. Well, not totally, but it was cold and snowy. Many of our plans were canceled because we got a record-breaking snowfall that shut down the city for a couple of days.

We were able to go to the pumpkin patch for Logan's school field trip and pick out some pumpkins together. We got to go trick-or-treating at The Farm the day before it got really cold, which was great. Logan got to knock on doors and Carter got to come along, all the while we didn't freeze our fingers off. On one of the snow-in days, we were still able to make it out to a Halloween party with Logan's friends who are also classmates. We all had a great time there too.


We missed out on Logan's preschool fall festival where they were going to dress up in their costumes and play games. I was going to do face painting for the class (I have no face painting skills, so that would have been interesting). On Halloween, it was still cold and even though the snow melted, it was too cold for Carter to go. Bill and Logan went out in the neighborhood and Carter and I stayed home to hand out candy.


It wasn't a horrible holiday, but it could have been so much more fun without the snow. Yuck. I hate winter.

The best part of the season this year was Logan's interest in being scary, spooky and having the creepiest costume an almost 4 year old could have. He really got into it. At first he wanted to be a Sleestak from the Land Of The Lost. We found a swamp monster costume at Target that would have been perfect. But, when we went to get it, he changed his mind and wanted to get the Grim Reaper costume with glowing red eyes. Whatever works!

So, here is this little kid in a creepy costume walking around with glowing eyes. When we were at The Farm, it was designed to be a "not so scary" event. I later heard that the kids weren't supposed to wear scary costumes. Oops! While the other kids were dressed up like pirates, princesses and super heroes, Carter was a super cute and cuddly frog, here comes Logan dressed as Death. Awesome.


Logan is getting more brave as the months go by. Not only did he want to dress in a scary costume, but having a mean mom moment, I wondered if he would be traumatized watching a scary video clip online. You know those pop out and scream monster videos that go around? Well, there was a Ghost of Michael Jackson one and I let him watch that (with the volume turned down). He thought it was funny and wanted to watch it three more times. I got this on camera too. Hilarious!

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A year of Carter

Carter's 1st birthday was on the 12th, a couple of weekends ago. It was a low key, fun day. Bill made a big breakfast, we sat in the living room helping Carter open his presents, had a nice family dinner and then cupcakes afterward. It was simple and sweet.

Now that our family's health is improving; Bill's foot is better, my asthma is getting under control and Logan's ear infection is clearing up - we're going to celebrate Carter's birthday with all of our friends this weekend with a big birthday bash. We have a list of close to 30 people an the RSVP's still aren't all in yet. It's going to be one big celebration!


This year with two boys has been both challenging and amazing. Juggling our schedule and multitasking has had me up in arms many times. However, the love that Logan and Carter have for each other is one of the sweetest bonds I've ever seen. It makes me smile many times throughout the day. I'm sad that Carter is growing so quickly, his first year has been full of cuddles, smiles and pure baby love. I love to kiss him all over, knowing that he won't let me do it for much longer. I will desperately miss this stage of babyhood - which was so much different the second time (probably because I knew what I was doing).


Baby Bean,

You have added such a sweetness to all of our lives and we love you so very much. Your charming personality, your coy smiles and the sparkle in your eyes enables you to make friends wherever you go. Your rowdiness and love for all things Boy makes you the perfect Best Friend with Logan. My heart is so full of love that it overflows into tears of joy.

With more love than I have words for,
Mommy

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The silent drive

"Let's get a dog", I told Bill 11 years ago. "We should get a Pug". He was reluctant at the idea of a Pug since he thought they were ugly. I had grown up with Pugs most of my life and loved them from their smooshed, snorty faces to their curly tails. Even though the answer was no, I kept pressing, being the person that I am that always tries to get my own way.

One afternoon on my lunch break at the law firm, we decided to kill some time at a nearby pet store. This store had some cool animals, like monkeys and sugar gliders. We had always laughed at the joke of getting a monkey, but this day we never imagined walking out with a Pug.

We saw him and knew from the moment we took him out of his kennel to play that he would be a part of our family. It was love at first sight for Bill as he played with the little roly poly Pug with a bulging Buddha belly that looked like he swallowed a tennis ball.

That name suck with him. Buddha.

Saturday morning Buddha wasn't doing so well. I was getting ready for a writing group meeting and while curling my eyelashes, Bill came into the bathroom to break the news. "I don't think Buddha has much longer. He's really struggling". Tearing up, because we've both known for some time that this day was coming, I came downstairs to asses the situation. Buddha was laying on the laundry room floor with extremely labor breathing and couldn't move. Bill propped him up on his legs, they quickly gave out and he left a puddle on the floor. It was not good.

In the last week or so, we've noticed that Buddha's arthritis was getting worse. It was difficult for him to walk from the laundry room to the back yard and he mostly just sat all day. Each day he moved slower and slower. In the last two days, Bill noticed that Buddha wasn't eating much. His food bowl was still full after a few days which is the typical food-strike he pulls when Bill is out of town, but that wasn't the case now.

We knew we had to make one of the most difficult decisions of our lives.

I asked Bill if he wanted me to stay at home rather than go to my meeting. He urged me to go but to take Logan with. Carter was sleeping and Bill was going to take some time to figure out what we should do and where to take Buddha. He spent some one-on-one time with our crippled, aged old man of a dog while Carter slept and Logan was clueless about the situation that lie ahead.

The meeting was a nice distraction, as I'm pretty good at shoving my feelings deep down to focus on the tasks at hand. Only when asked about my day did I cry about knowing of the upcoming death of our family dog. I'm not good at keeping secrets and have never really been one to say that everything is fine when it's not. So with tears streaming down my face, I told them of the situation at hand, moved on and got to work.

I came back with text messages from one of my sisters asking what was going on with Buddha. I knew that Bill must have made a facebook update about the situation and hoped that Buddha had passed naturally in the few short hours we were gone. He was still there in the laundry room, in the exact same place as he was before I left, only this time in a pool of urine and still panting heavily. He was dying. Slowly.

I arranged for someone to watch the boys while Bill and I took Buddha to the University Vet hospital to be euthanized. Before we left, I sat with Logan at the kids table, in a kid-sized chair and talked to him about what was going on. I told him that Buddha was really sick and that we were going to take him to the doctor. But Buddha was so sick that the doctors wouldn't be able to fix him so they were keeping him and taking him to a special place.

"You know when you squish a bug and it dies?" I asked Logan. "Does Buddha have bugs in him? Does he have butterflies in his stomach?" he asked. "No, Buddha doesn't have bugs in him. But he's sick." I tried to explain, realizing that Logan was too young to understand what was going on. "Buddha is so sick that he's not going to come home from the doctor. He's going to die." I tried to explain matter of factly so I wouldn't scare him. "Oh, we're going to get another dog!" he responded. "No, not right now, Sweetie Pea" I assured him. "Not for a while..."

On the drive there, the moment was filled with silence. I sat there cinching my seat belt tighter and tighter to somehow secure myself into my seat more than I already was. Thinking about our life with Buddha, Bill and I didn't say anything to each other and Buddha didn't bark his usual excited and worked-up barking that he does when riding in the car. He knew this time he wasn't going to the park. And we knew that this was the best decision for our silver-faced Pug.

Bill went into the hospital to check Buddha in while I sat with him in the trunk of our Outback, lined in a tarp and with him wrapped up in a flannel sheet because if his loss of bodily functions. He continued his labored breathing while I sat stroking his ears and wiping his face with the blanket. While sitting with him, a couple walked out of the hospital in tears, sobbing, because they had just faced the same situation. I could only turn my head and cry as I heard the woman weeping as her husband held her tight.

Bill soon came out with one of the hospital workers and picked up Buddha from the back seat of the car. Both mourning, we walked the walk of sorrow to the exam room with our dying dog. After paperwork was complete and they had checked him out and prepped for the procedure, they brought Buddha back in the exam room and we sat with him on a gray padded mat on the floor and him wrapped in one of the hospitals' forest green heavy blankets that he was still leaking through. They had an oxygen tube for him to help his labored breathing. I twirled his ears and Bill pet his head as we sat together sobbing and comforted our first dog onto whatever place we go to next...


We picked him up from the pet store the day we moved into our first apartment together. Buddha was with us on Day One. He grew up with us. He was there waiting for us when we got home from our wedding. He was there for every wild party we had, Buddakan, aptly named in honor of him and the fortunes that came from the Chinese fortune cookies plastered all over our front door.

He was there in the best of times and in the worst of the worst. He rode trucker-style when we moved across the country from Vegas to Portland where he had a back yard to run around in (and get fleas for the first time). He was a good traveler when we moved from Portland to Denver for a better life and once more when we moved from Denver to Fort Collins for the sake of our family, always barking excitedly for the joy ride he was experiencing.

He was there when we brought Logan home from the hospital, wagging his tail and sniffing the newborn baby swaddled in the pink and blue stripped blanket. He was the best babysitter, racing me to the crying baby Logan in his crib, being the shadow dog that he was. He mourned the loss of his play pal Beck, our Beagle who passed shortly before moving to Fort Collins and was there to welcome another newborn baby, Carter.

He was there as "Buddha pillow", always ready to cuddle on the futon and wedged perfectly by the arm making a soft chubby pillow during TV times. He was there for entertainment, getting dressed up in ridiculous Halloween costumes, doing tricks and his peek-a-boo howl. He was also smart and did things as he wanted, but was surprisingly obedient. We talked to him like a person and he understood every word we said to him.

Buddha was our first family dog and his loss hurt us so much. Although we know we made the right decision, it doesn't make it any easier. We came home from the hospital and took care of the kids as usual, taking them to Chuck E. Cheese since that was the plan for "family fun day" and Logan didn't comprehend what was going on. As mourning parents, we have to still take care of our kids just as every other day, regardless of explanations of crying and feeling sad that Buddha was sick and gone.

Going out in the back yard that night brought tears to my eyes again, feeling his loss as he used to sit with us on the deck. Writing his eulogy sent me in tears for most of the night. The morning after was especially hard for Bill now that there wasn't our dog to let out in the morning.

There is an emptiness in our hearts and in our home.

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Carter is well past 11 months old

There are few words for what life has been like with Carter at 11 months old. It's shocking that in only a few weeks, we'll be celebrating his first birthday. His coy smile and charming personality make him Mr. Popularity around these parts. He's hard to resist with that 4-toothed grin.

He is funny, and smart and cuddly and cute. He is a trouble maker, climbing up the stairs (our many, steep stairs) all the way up to the top. He plays with Logan and falls over laughing.

He claps his hands in delight when I walk into the room, reaching out for me with his sort-of chubby baby arms. When Bill walks in the door from coming home from work, Carter crawls to him as fast as he can exclaiming "Dada! Dada!" Oh. So. Cute.

He loves to play with his little friends (or his "baby friends", as I call them). I seem to forget how quickly he's growing and how much he loves to play with little kids his own age. I don't think he'll be such a tag-along little brother - I think he'll be able to hold his own and do his own thing.


Soon he'll be walking, since he's walking around with only holding one of my hands now. He's eating everything we do when we go out to eat. He'll be giving up the bottle and switching to sippy cup only. These are my last days of babyhood...

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