Toofs

They're really starting to pop out quite a bit. Thankfully he's been really good (except that one day but I think it was a tummy thing, not his teeth) and I'd have never known he was teething except for when he bites me.

And for those that are curious about teeth and breastfeeding, so far he's been okay. He's tentatively bitten down a few times but I usually catch him in time to make him stop. Right now he's doing a lot of pulling away to see what else is going on in the room (Marty, your post last week about this made me laugh..Carter does the exact thing), and tends to scrape my nipple with his sharp little teeth. That hurts.

Giggle Monster

Apparently it's funny watching Mommy struggling to do crunches while sitting on her lap...

Brutal

Yesterday was brutal. Carter cried all day long. When he wasn't crying, he was sleeping or nursing (which seemed to happen way more than normal yesterday). If I made the slightest sound when he was sleeping, he was up and crying. It was awful.

I'm hoping he's better for his sitter today. I know how frazzled I was. I can't imagine having to take care of other kids while he's like that!

Two toofers!

You see 'em???

Hangin with the monkeys

Carter had a great time at Jess' house. He watched the kids play with some seriously intense interest. And he seemed to LOVE Jess. Who doesn't??

That's her mother-in-law in the background making a ROCKIN birthday cake for the kids. It was the coolest barn. I dug it. She better clear her schedule for our birthdays in the fall!

So excited!

We're going to see Jess and her monkeys tomorrow. I can't wait!

Too damn cute

15 years in a nutshell

Canape started a meme and Tara tagged me. Dammit. So...here goes:

Graduated high school in 1994 and went on to University of Maryland for 4.5 years. Majored in Family Studies with a minor in Women's Studies. Held a variety of jobs while in school...front desk in my dorm, receptionist at a psychology practice, office manager for a plastic surgeon.

After graduation, I moved to a house in Arlington, VA with two roommates. I got a job as an Account Coordinator at a public relations firm (that I won't like to because they suck) and moved up the ranks there for a few years. From there I worked in quality assurance for a software company and got fired. I still don't really know why. I took a temp job at a title company, and I'm still here six years later as the office manager.

9/11/01 struck close to home, literally. I was working blocks from the White House and it took hours to get home. I thought I was going to die. I wanted to move to New Orleans with my boyfriend at the time and get away from the terrorists, but thank god I didn't because we broke up a few months later.

I decided I'd had enough of roommates and moved into my own apartment in July 2002. There, I met Chris. I lived there for about a year, Chris and I broke up, and I moved to another part of town. The breakup didn't take, and we were officially back together within a few weeks. He got deployed to go to Afghanistan and spent 7 months in Fort Bragg, NC. They sent him home in the fall of 2004 after he had surgery on a pilonidal cyst and they deemed him unable to serve overseas. He proposed on October 1st.

2006 was a big year. We bought a condo in January, got married in April, got pregnant in October, and miscarried in December. Pretty stressful year.

A few months later I got pregnant again, and Carter was born on November 15, 2007. Nothing else matters since that day.

And she's off!

Girl's on her way to the east coast!

Father's Day gift

Carter got Chris the funniest shirt for Father's Day. Check it out:

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to Bri, Don, Bob and Lawrence! We're lucky to have you. And Carter's lucky to have grandfathers like you.

Love,

Amy, Chris and Carter

Favorite Toy

Guess which one's his favorite. Yep, that boring, gray, bland remote. He'll choose it over the other ones any day.

Weird kid.

Excuse the nasty stain on the bed. Just a little spit-up.

Lefty?

Carter may be a lefty like his daddy. When I'm feeding him, he "helps" me by grabbing the spoon handle and guiding it into his mouth. Theoretically, he could feed himself, but he doesn't yet know how to not shove the spoon down his throat and gag himself, so he still needs help. :-)

Anyway. I'm right-handed, so he grabs the spoon with his left hand, since I'm facing him. When Chris feeds him? He doesn't do it. We think it's because Chris is left-handed so Carter would need to use his right hand to guide the spoon. Must not feel natural to him.

Interesting to see how this pans out...

Arms up!

Little man was sitting playing on his activity mat and I leaned down and put my arms out to pick him up so we could leave for work/daycare. Guess what he did?? He raised his arms to me! He's never done that before. He'd raise them a little once my hands were under his armpits, but never before I actually touched him. I love it.

In other, totally unrelated news...I'm starting 4 day work weeks next week. The extra 4 days a month pretty much pays for daycare, which is great. I'm looking forward to having a little more money. It's actually been easier living on a smaller income than I/we anticipated, but a cushion would be nice. Especially since I'm having a freaking root canal in a few weeks, and who knows what after that.

Carter's mom

I was leaving Shaista's house this morning after dropping off Carter and I heard someone yell out, "Hi Carter's mom!" It took me a second to realize she was talking to me. It was one of the elementary school girls she watches every once in a while when they have a half-day. She was on her way to school (the elementary school is right around the corner).

I know theoretically I'm someone's mother, but it still feels surreal to me. To hear someone say it like that was just...strange. I don't know how to explain it. And it's so crazy that Carter has this other life that he lives while I'm at work, where kids know him and play with him.

Um

Someone found my blog by searching "emaciated with fat ankles." Weird.

Makes me laugh every time

I love this face. I've watched this video dozens of times, and it makes me laugh every single time.

I love mornings

He's so sweet in the mornings. He likes to just sit in bed and watch tv and chat.

Kickin' it old school

I tried to ignore it. I tried to keep the anxiety at bay. I tried not to over-react. But the more I hear about BPA, the more it scares me, and I don't feel right exposing Carter to something I can easily avoid.

So. I took all of my Dr. Browns bottles back to BRU, since they were accepting used ones with no receipts. They allowed me to exchange them all for BPA-free bottles. I decided to try out the old school Evenflo Classic glass bottles, but I bought some Dr. Browns glass bottles just in case Carter still has an issue with other kinds (he used to "drown" with other brands of bottles...only Dr. Browns worked). I'd have been tempted to get the Born Free ones, but since everyone else is panicking also, they were all sold out. They're super expensive anyway.

I gave him 2 oz of formula last night in the Evenflo bottle and he took it with no problem. Gulped it down like a champ.

I felt like a 1950's mom with these bottles. They're so retro. I love them. Oh, and they're super cheap. Gotta love that.

Ouch!

Looks like I need to stop letting Carter gnaw on my thumb because there's a tiny little sharp thing sticking out! It's too small for pictures yet, but not too small to feel. And of course every time I try to look at it, he sticks his tongue out over it to block me. Turkey.

And right now he's trying desperately to eat the laptop screen. He has it bent all the way down and I can't see what I'm typing. Eh, gotta get him to daycare and me to work anyway...

I'm going to hell

I laugh uncontrollably every time he makes this face. Even though I know there'll be a mess to clean up when he's done squeezing. :-D

Is it just me?

Ever since I met him, I'm reminded of Jack Black (but of course a more handsome, slimmer version!). What do you think?

And isn't that the cutest kid???

WhyMommy

WhyMommy was profiled in Health magazine and it's an amazing article that will make you cry. She's my friend Canape's best friend, and an inspirational survivor. Check it out!

Food Fun

I love making baby food. More specifically, I find it to be so much fun to reach in the freezer and take a couple cubes of different foods to mix together. Last night I pulled out a couple of carrot cubes and a peach cube. Add in some cereal, and there's dinner! Voila. It's so colorful and pretty before you defrost it.

I'm a nerd.

Guess who peed in the pool?

Just kidding! Well, maybe not. I don't know. But that's not important. What IS important is that our little dude went to the pool for the first time today and he freaking LOVED it. I thought he'd hate it because it's cold water, but he was so happy. See for yourself: