Lazybones

I've been so bad about posting. But the good news is that it's because we've been keeping busy. We've gone to playgrounds, and parks, and playdates trying to make the most of the beautiful weather. Plus, work has me so busy that I don't really have time to post while I'm there. So, in the meantime, here are some pics to whet your cuteness appetite.

Three

Happy anniversary, my love!

Happy Anniversary, My Love!!!

It has been the best 3 years, yet! I can't wait for the next 50!!!

I love you!

#14

Toofer #14 is in. His right incisor has joined its buddy, Left Incisor. He handled it like a champ. I love those nice sharp teeth; they seem to not hurt as much coming in.

Haircut

Carter got another haircut tonight, and he's progressively getting better each time. We went a lot shorter this time but I think it turned out really cute. And I love the faces he makes when he has hair up his nose.







Before:


After:


Such a handsome boy.

Playground fun!

Some of the Mamistad girls were meeting up at Clemyjontri Park today so we thought that sounded like a great idea! I'd heard it gets packed on the weekend so we got there early (around 10:00) and we still had to park in the overflow lot. Carter had a blast! He ran around exploring all the structures, going down slides, running in the grass, swinging, going on the carousel. He really enjoyed himself.

This playground is so amazing. It's made for all kids...able-bodied, hearing- and sight-impaired, wheelchair-bound, everyone. It was really cool. I've never seen such a huge playground in my life, either. The swings really impressed me. They had your standard big kid and baby swings, but they also had swings with 5 point harnesses for kids with less body control. Carter liked that one I think because he felt safer swinging really hard. There's a pic below of him clapping, but he laughed and laughed the whole time he was swinging.

We only saw a few of the Mamistad girls, and not for long, because we'd been there a lot earlier than most of them. But it was still cool to see how much the kids had grown up since we last got together a few months ago. More than half of them are pregnant again! I can't imagine.








Check out the aerial view I stole from the website:

Note to self:

Note to self: Don't allow Carter to feed himself ravioli until he can properly use a fork.

It's Here!!

And my favorite subject...



(that's a crumb on his face, not dust on the camera)

Tomorrow

Something awesome is happening tomorrow. Here's a hint...it starts with an "N" and ends with an "ikon." I'm going to be stalking the UPS guy all day long...

Customer Service is alive and well!

I just went to the Metro Silver Diner to get some lunch and milkshake. I waited and waited and my order just wasn't coming out, and they weren't busy at all. Finally I asked the cashier and he sent the manager over who apologized profusely and completely refunded my $11 lunch. And then gave me a coupon for a free entree for next time I come. Sweet!

Potty progress

I have no illusions that Carter will be potty-trained any time soon, but he's making great strides. He tells us when he has "poo-poo" in his diaper, and the other day he was standing naked in the bathroom waiting for his tub to fill and he said, "Pee-pee! Pee-pee!" Next thing I know, he's peeing on the floor. I was so proud of him that he knew it was coming. Now we just have to show him how to do that in his potty and not the floor.

Reunited, and it feels so good

Chris has been gone for the past week at a convention in Vegas. The first couple of days Carter would ask for him and run around the house looking for him. Then, the day he was coming home I told Carter that Daddy would be home that night, and he ran into our bedroom saying, "Dada? Dada?!" and looking for him in the usual spot on our bed. He missed his Daddy. Needless to say, there were lots of kisses.

Happy birthday!

Happy 31st birthday to my wonderful husband! Carter's on the sidebar giving you kisses.

Ashes and Twinkle

Carter's two favorite songs.

Poop

This morning I was sitting on the couch while Carter played. He came up to me, said hi, and then proceeded to obviously poop. Then he said, "Poopoo" and then "diaper."

Continuous Loop

There are three songs in rotation in our house: Pat-a-Cake, Ring Around the Rosy, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We sing others but these are the ones Carter likes to join in on.

For Pat-a-Cake, he does the clapping part, and then he loves to roll his hands while saying "yule" which is "roll" roughly translated. And to mark it with a "C" he points to his belly.

Ring Around the Rosy starts off normal. He sort of runs around in a version of a circle and then after the first two lines says, "Ash ash" and then likes to yell the "DOWN" part. Sometimes he'll fall, sometimes he won't. I have this on video, but haven't gotten around to uploading it yet.

To me, Twinkle Twinkle is the most impressive. He makes a "k" sound repeatedly with his hands in the air opening and closing for the "twinkle twinkle little star" parts (his sitter does up high jazz hands and that's his interpretation of it). And then he'll say the first part of each line. For instance, when it's time for "Up above the world so high" he'll say "up-ah" and for "How I wonder what you are" he says "how."

And I swear the other day he said "ABC" when I asked him if he wanted to sing the ABC song.

This morning he was in his car seat saying "Ash...ash...DOWN" over and over again. And then I saw his little hands in my rear view mirror doing his twinkle fingers.

So cute.

Got milk?

Yesterday Carter and I were watching TV (and I have no guilt about that, thank you very much) and a commercial came on for the Got Milk campaign. At the very end they said, "Got milk?" and Carter yelled out "Yeah!" and ran up to me and said, "Muh! Muh!" asking for some milk.

Damn commercials are already infiltrating his little brain. Not looking forward to the holiday season when all the toy commercials are on.

Graduation!

I took Carter in to the doctor this morning to look at a rash he's had on his face for over a week. Turns out it's probably a bacterial infection that he keeps spreading when he rubs it, but that's not the point of this post. The point is that they weighed him on the big kid's scale. AND they took his temp in his ear, not his butt! He's in the big leagues now.

Shaken

Just the other day, I read Amalah's post about her son choking on a cereal bar, and thought to myself, "Gah, I have no idea what I would do if Carter choked on something like that." Tonight? I found out what I'd do.

I'd yank him out of his highchair, and finger sweep his mouth, and then whack him on the back a few times like I would never hit him in real life. And then? I'd thank God for his fearful screaming and crying. And I'd hug him and kiss his tears and not take my eyes off him for the rest of the night.

The only reason I kept my cool afterwards is because my in-laws were with us, and I didn't want to embarass myself by breaking down in hysterics. But I sure felt that way inside. It's hours later and I still feel on the verge of tears. I've never felt that terrified in my life.

Lucky #13

I was brushing Carter's teeth this morning with him laying in my lap, as opposed to in front of me, or sitting on my lap, and noticed he has a new tooth! One of his incisors is poked through. I wasn't expecting any new teeth so I hadn't been inpecting his mouth at all so I was surprised to see it.

Also, I forgot to mention the big event that happened this past weekend. Carter got his first fat lip. He was running around my mom's and his foot landed on a book, which slid on the wood floor, which caused him to fall. He handled it really well. He whined/cried just like he normally would when something doesn't feel good, but he wasn't full on wailing by any means. I told him he was okay and gave him a hug and when I pulled away I saw that he was bleeding. Surprisingly (to me), I didn't panic at all. My mom got him a cold wet paper towel but he didn't like that too much, so we gave him a popsicle to suck on. That seemed to do the trick. His lip swelled pretty nicely anyway but he didn't seem to mind, or even notice to be honest. Little rock star.

Catching Up

We spent last weekend up in Baltimore because my grandparents were in town. It also happened to be their 61st wedding anniversary. I can't even imagine. Carter had a great time running around my mom's condo and opening doors and eating every bit of food that made its way out of the pantry or fridge. Only downfall is that he refuses to nap at my mom's house. I don't know if it's the Pack N Play, or that the room is too bright, or that he's too excited to be in a different place, but it's exhausting for me to always be "on." When he naps I get to decompress and stop being on edge watching everything he's doing to make sure he doesn't break any antiques or get chocolate on their furniture. Alas, no break for mama.

One highlight was that we got video of my grandparents talking about their childhood, dating, and early adult life, which was really interesting. Next time they're in town, we'll have some questions ready to guide them because it was hard to think about what to talk about. But my grandmother? The second the red light on the camera lit up, she was talking like she'd been doing documentaries her whole life. She's a natural.

We didn't get to see my new cousin Mason because Carter has a cold, so that was a little disappointing. I'll just have to live with Facebook pictures for now. I can't wait to hold and squeeze and kiss on him. Carter's going to look so grown up next to a tiny little baby.

Nothing else is really going on. Work is still very busy, which is great. Carter is talking more and more each day, and now answers his cell phone with an I Love You instead of Hello. And the second he wakes up, he's running into the kitchen saying "Waffle? Waffle?"

Some pics of our leprechaun from yesterday.

A regular comedian

Carter discovered that if he fake falls off the step, we laugh. He did it one night, and then a few nights later saw the step and remembered, so he did it again. Check it out. The dude's a laugh a minute.

Lots of Sadness

They say things come in threes. Girl had an extra tough day yesterday. Two babies lost.

Today I got news that a former friend's daughter just lost another precious baby. I know she reads this blog sometimes, and although she and I aren't friends anymore, my heart aches and the tears flow for her and her family. Once is too much, twice is too much to handle. I'm so sorry, K.

Could you just DIE???

Some videos

This one is Carter telling you what he's eating for breakfast. I love the way he says it at the very end.




Today we went to Fairfax Corner and Carter ran around for a little while with the big kids. During the summer, where he's running is a fountain. The water shoots up through these little holes in the ground. I can't wait to take him there to play!

Pimp Daddy

It doesn't get much cuter than this little Pimp Daddy rollin in his tracksuit.

Daddy gave him another haircut last night and I must say this one was way more successful. I think it looks great!


And this one I just included because he was sick of me taking pictures and it made me laugh.

Giveaway!

Tara's having an awesome giveaway that I'm dying to win, if the fact that I commented three times doesn't give it away. (Ha! See what I did there?) Check it out!

He didn't like it

I thought he'd love the snow. Nope, not so much.

Yellow and Purple

You can't hear it super well, but here he is saying his new colors.

Go Vikings!

Carter's Grandpa Don will be happy to hear his first colors are yellow and purple. And it's super cute to hear him say. I'm not sure he knows exactly what they mean, but he says them pretty clearly.

Yogurt mess

Carter watched this with me this morning and kept saying "Baby!" "Mmm!" "Foo!" (spoon)

Toofer update

Molar #4 (top right) is causing all sorts of trouble for little Carter. It's due to cut through any day now so hopefully the every-3-hour nursing sessions in the middle of the night will stop. And his 4th bottom front tooth (on the left) finally cut through the other day, so his bottom teeth won't be funny looking with just three of them in there anymore.

So, we're up to 12 teeth, including that bastard Molar #4.

And so it begins

Carter had his first true temper tantrum yesterday. I gave him two cookies, one for each hand. The little turkey moved them both into one hand and asked for more because he had an empty hand. I told him to eat the ones he has and then he could have more. Well, apparently that wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. Homeboy flopped himself on the ground and started wailing, tears flowing, spit falling out of his mouth. It was awesome.

Ah-Choo!

Whenever anyone sneezes, including himself, Carter likes to talk about it.

Best. Day. EVER!

Saturday, Carter was doing better and hadn't thrown up in over 24 hours so we headed up to Baltimore to meet up with some friends. Most of them I know through a mom's board I'm on, and two of them, I'd never met before and was REALLY looking forward to it. When I got sick on Friday I was so upset that I wasn't going to be able to go up there. Honestly? Heartbroken is more the word.

Saturday morning rolled around and I was feeling 100%, and Carter was doing great except for his runny poops, so we headed up there. I'm so happy we got to go. I was the first one there, intentionally, because I knew Heather, our host, would be nervous. I wanted to be there early to help make it more comfortable. A little while later, I see the world's most beautiful family walking down the driveway and knew that Girl had arrived. After that, everyone started coming and it was so great. After the first minute or so, it felt really comfortable. We all know each other so well so it just sort of carried over easily into "real life."

The babies got cranky after about...oh...5 hours so we all called it a day. Girl and Jill had long drives back home to PA and NY, and Nita, Marty, and Jess all were headed back to Virginia that night.

And now I'm just basking in the glow of getting to see the people who just may know me better than anyone.

Now we all have it

Carter thankfully hasn't vomited since yesterday, but he's still got the nasty diarrhea. Me? I spent the whole early morning in the bathroom doing both. Chris came home early from work because he's sick too. Damn stomach bug has infiltrated our house. Sorry, Mom. You're next.

Dude

Dude. No clue. But it made me laugh more than 3 times. Therefore, I must share.

Go away, ickies

Carter has puked no less than four times today. And I'm not talking spit-up, I'm talking full-on, fire hydrant puking. Banana chunks everywhere. Like you needed that visual.

On top of the puking, he's had some decent diarrhea also. Poor kid. Chris had to give him a bath and change his clothes a few times from the blowouts and leaking wet poop. It's been quite a day.

The funny thing is, between episodes, you'd never know he was sick. He's been sweet and funny and adorable. He's been walking around saying, "Hi Daddy" all night. It's so cute.

Playground

The weather was really nice the past few days, so we had some fun with Carter at the local playgrounds.





As for how he's feeling, he's doing much better, obviously. He's still got the cold symptoms (runny nose, cough, etc.) but it's not impacting him at all.

Carter update

That poor child. So miserable. I finally got him to nurse last night but it was a really half-hearted effort. He just didn't have the energy to do it.

The good news? He slept through the night. His fever is down, although he's still a bit warm. He ate half a banana and a cereal bar, and nursed from both sides this morning. And he's talking a little. Yesterday he hardly said a word until 7:00.

Today he's going to spend the day cuddling with my mom. She's good medicine for him.

Carter's No Good Awful Very Bad Day

Yesterday, Carter had a runny nose and a nasty sounding cough, but seemed in good spirits so I didn't worry too much. I figured it was just a cold and we'd wait it out. Well, this morning I got a call from his sitter telling me that he's got a fever and his eyes are excessively watering and he's miserable. She also said he was trembling, which sort of freaked me out a little. So I picked him up, intending to spend the rest of the afternoon cuddling the sick out of him. But in the car, he started doing this thing where his eyes would start rolling back into his head. I even pulled over to make sure he was okay. He was fine, just exhausted. But it was enough to scare me into calling the doc.

They fit us in at 2:15 and I'm really glad I took him in. He has a fever of 103.5 and a double ear infection. His left ear is minor but his right ear is severely infected. The doctor said it was making his own ear hurt just looking at it. The poor baby spent the entire doctor's visit just completely lethargic, laying against me. And he was so hot. I'd never felt him like that before. The doctor was surprised that his flu test came back negative because of how quickly his symptoms presented, but that was good news.

So now, we pump him full of antibiotics and pain relievers, and wait. And cuddle.

Tickle Me Carter

We brought Carter into bed with us for a little bit last night because he wasn't feeling well. We were all just hanging out when suddenly he reached over and started tickling Chris' leg. Thanks to our new Flip, I was able to catch the action moments later.

Night night

I love that he understands what I'm saying. Earlier today, I asked him if he wanted to take a bath and he said "yeah" and then walked over to the bathroom. The door was closed and he called for me because he couldn't get in (we leave the door closed because he likes to throw things in the tub).

A few things

• Carter can show you his ear when you ask him where it is. When you ask where his nose is, he points to the corner of his mouth. But...this is the kid who covers his ears to play peekaboo. He's a little confused.

• I've had a blog post about the flood at my mom's condo for forever now, but can't seem to get it finished. Suffice it to say, a pipe burst and flooded her entire place and now they're displaced for weeks. It's awful. The force of the water pouring down her walls was unbelievable. Thankfully, they have a nice hotel suite they've been staying in.

• Finally, FINALLY, Carter does the sign for "milkies" which is our word for nursing. And now that he learned how to do it, he looooves doing it. He was nursing tonight, and kept sticking his hand in the air to do the sign.

• You may notice that our video is a lot clearer and nicer than it used to be. We bought a new toy, a Flip camcorder. It's so cute and easy and fun! It uploads to YouTube in minutes, whereas before it would take an hour or more. It was awful.

• I haven't been posting to this blog as often lately, but it's for good reason. I've been really, really busy at work. It's great. I forgot what it's like to actually do work all day long. Sometimes, it's a little overwhelming and frantic, but my days go by really quickly. And I feel like I'm actually EARNING my paycheck.
  

New words!

Carter combined signs last night, including using one he'd never used before. He did "more" and then "eat"!! It was awesome. I was so proud of him.

As for spoken words, he said "cookie" a few times yesterday when we were reading his Cookie Monster book. And he also says "two" after you say "one." Smart little dude.

Snow

We're having our first snow of the season today. It's really pretty outside. When we left the house and stepped outside, Carter said, "Wow!" He's funny.

The commute was a little scary though. It's so different driving in this weather with a happy little boy in the backseat. But he made it to daycare safe and sound and I'm at work, so we're both warm and inside. And if I had to walk to get to him, I could. It would take me a little while, but it's possible. That's reassuring and one of the reasons we chose the daycare we did.

Anyway, I've been working on a blog post for several days now updating everyone on the past week or two, but I've been so slammed at work it's been hard to get it out. Stay with me, I'll be less busy next week. I promise.

#10

Tooth #10 (molar #3) has popped through on the bottom right. He's handled it pretty well, but he usually waits to get cranky from it until the day after it breaks through. So, tonight should be interesting.

And, I got an appointment at a dermatologist for next week. I'm seeing a Physician's Assistant, but that's okay. If it's even questionable, I know she'll bring the doc in to double check it.

Ridiculous

So I have this mole that I want looked at. I have a coworker that died of melanoma a few years ago, and since then I've been really vigilant about looking at my skin and Chris' skin for any weirdness. I have a mole that's been around for a while but it's just looking a little odd so I want to have it checked. You'd agree that's important to do, right?

So why is it that I'm finding it nearly impossible to get an appointment with a freaking dermatologist?? None of the docs I've called are taking new patients, and the one derm I've been to before won't see me until late March. And I even told them that there's a questionable mole I'm concerned about. Nope, they don't care. Their suggestion? Call every morning at 9:30 to check on any cancellations for the day and they'd fit me in. Nice.

Some advice

Don't do a home haircut unless you don't mind your kid looking like Lloyd Christmas.

Jump jump!

When I dropped Carter off at daycare this morning, he made a beeline for the trampoline. His sitter has one of those personal trampolines that people use for exercising, and the older kids love to jump on it. Carter has always enjoyed watching them and sitting on there while they jumped. Today, he climbed on, stood up, and started bouncing on it!

Vote

Go and vote for Jenny, The Bloggess for Best Humor Blog. She's crude and funny, and she comments on this blog. And I have a little bit of a girl crush on her.

She can't lose to that stupid Comics Curmudgeon. Please help her. You can vote once a day.

What a difference a day makes...

By the way...

I'm proud to say we are officially totally bottle-free (for about 2 weeks now), and mostly binky-free. I gave him his binky yesterday when he was inconsolable after I woke him from a nap to take him to the doctor. When I got into the backseat to take him out of the car, he pulled it out of his mouth and handed it to me, like "Thanks, Mom, but I'm done with it now. I appreciate the loan." He was never really addicted to the binky like a lot of kids are, but he enjoyed it. And he still does if I hand it to him, but it's happening less and less often that I feel he needs it.

My boy's growing up. Fast.

Walking

After a week and a half since his first steps, Carter finally decided tonight was the night he'd start full on walking. He had so much fun!

Yuck

Carter had his first Ledo pizza today and of course loved it. Then? He blew chunks all over himself and his carseat. Lovely. First pizza and first real puke.

We think he coughed up a little piece that triggered his gag reflex because he was perfectly fine after that.

Showing off

Just showing off my smart kid.

Here he is reading his "Where is Spot" book. Every time you open the flap, the animal hiding says "No." Carter says a cross between "nay" and "naw."



This one is self-explanatory:

Surgery

I swear I posted after he got out of surgery, but for some reason Blogger didn't publish it. Sorry if I worried anyone!

Anyway, Chris did great and is feeling much better already. In fact, he's on his way home as I type! I'm so glad we'll get to spend New Year's Eve together so we can sleep through the ball dropping, just like we did last year. :-D

They finally just took him back. Should be about two hours.

Still waiting for him to get taken into surgery. We're bored!

Headed out to the hospital. Chris' surgery is at 9:30.

Christmas

Chris and I opened our presents on Christmas Eve since we'd be driving to Delaware on Christmas Day and didn't want to have to rush, or schlep the gifts with us. He got a coat, and I got a pillow and a purse. Both of which I asked for.





The next morning we drove to see Chris' extended family in Delaware on Christmas morning. We had a wonderful breakfast at his aunt and uncle's house, and then headed to our hotel for a little nap. Afterward, we headed to Chris' grandmother's house for dinner and presents.





The next morning we headed back over to MomMom's house for breakfast and to hang out for a while before heading home. Carter ate blueberry pancakes and loved them. He made an absolute mess of himself. We were going to head out to the mall to see if we could get any good after-Christmas deals, but Carter had other plans:



He slept on his MomMom for a good hour. It was so sweet. I think MomMom enjoyed it too.

Walker!

Carter has taken 7 steps so far today. 3 at a time twice, and then 4 steps the third time. I was so shocked the first time it happened that I just stood there, mouth dropped open, and stared at him. It was so cute seeing him taking his first tentative steps. I'm sorry Chris missed it...he was getting some library books in preparation for his surgery on Tuesday.

Yes, he's having back surgery AGAIN. They're doing a more exploratory surgery, as well as fixing a disc that's still really bothering him. He's been in quite a bit of pain the past few weeks. It's awful. So, we will most likely be spending our New Year's Eve in the hospital. Good times.

Thank you

He says it ALL THE TIME. It's so freaking cute.

Yum

I think he likes blueberry pancakes...

Carter's Christmas Party

Carter's daycare had a Christmas party yesterday. He had so much fun!

Thank you!

I just got a very excited phone call from Carter's babysitter. I picked up the phone and she yelled, "He said thank you! Twice!" She was so excited that she had to call me to tell me. It was so funny.

Fractured Prune

Have y'all heard of this place? Holy hell. We went for breakfast on Saturday and it was unbelievable.

They make each donut to order. They fry it up, slather on whatever toppings you choose, and serve it up piping hot. I got the Black Forest which had raspberry glaze, mini chocolate chips, and coconut. It was fantastic. Carter had just a plain donut with cinnamon sugar on it and he was just delighted. Chris had the Reese Cup and Sundae donuts.

The pictures on their site don't look as good as they are in person. They are sheer perfection.

Signing time

Here's a video of Carter signing "more." He tries to say it too which is just too cute.

Happy Hanukkah!

Carter enjoyed his Hanukkah. We lit the candles and I sang what I could remember of the prayers while he danced in his seat. Then he got to open his present and loved it! We were so happy that he loved it so much.

More

Carter finally signed "more"!

I was brushing his teeth and had just finished my first go-round (I usually do two) and stopped to wipe the drool from his face and my hand. Then I noticed him putting his hands together and realized he wanted me to keep doing it!

I thought maybe it was a fluke and he was trying to clap or something, but last night he did it again. I was feeding him some pasta from my bowl and we finished it and I told him it was all done. So he put his hands together and signed for more. Of course I had to oblige!

Some new things

Carter now points to stuff. For instance, when I ask him where the tree is, he points at the Christmas tree. And then says, "tuh" which seems to mean "tree."

He also puts his hand on his mouth to do that Indian thing (sorry, Bird). You know, like he keeps hitting his mouth while he says, "Aaaahhhh." What's that called?

And, lastly, if you say "dog" or ask him what sound a dog makes, he says, "fff fff fff" which is his version of "woof woof." Way cute.

No, we didn't get a puppy

Just a 13 month old.

Oops!

I don't know if he is intentionally saying it or not, but Carter's new word? Shit.

Parents of the year, I tell ya.

It finally happened!!!!

I know, I've gone a little YouTube crazy today, but this is soooo great!

Fierce

I seriously could watch this all day long.

Riding his giraffe

Carter got this giraffe this weekend as a birthday present from Chris' Aunt Bev in Minnesota. He went to the store and picked it out himself and he's a pro at getting himself on and off. He loves it. Usually he says, "Eeeee!" which I think is him imitating my "Wheeeee!"

Still??

Now that Carter is a year old, I'm getting a lot of, "You're STILL breastfeeding??" Some, "How much longer are you going to do it?" And a lot of "Wow" said in an ew-that's-really-gross tone.

I never in a million years thought I'd be breastfeeding an almost-toddler, much less an almost-toddler with 9 teeth. I was going to try for 3 months, and then be comfortable with switching to formula. I've talked about it before, but we worked really hard in the beginning. I cried. A lot. My toes curled, my nipples bled. And then the angel lactation consultant saved us, the day after Thanksgiving last year. After all that determination and pain, I wasn't going to give it up so easily. Three months came and went, and then I set a new goal of six months. Then 9 months. And at nine months I was sure the well was running dry. Pumping at work was yielding next to nothing and it was very frustrating. But Carter seemed to be getting what he needed when he nursed directly so we kept at it.

And here we are a few months later and still going strong. He eats table food and drinks whole milk instead of formula (at daycare), but he is still a breastfed baby when I'm around. And he loves it. If you so much as mention the word "milkies" around him, he drops what he's doing and gets to me as fast as he can, whining and licking his lips.

So, yes, we are STILL breastfeeding and will continue to do so as long as we're both happy with it. And for right now, neither of us is ready to give it up.

And now, just for curiosity's sake, how long (if at all) did you nurse your child?

#9

We have tooth #9! His top left molar has halfway popped through, which would explain the horrible screaming and nursing the past two nights.

And we also have a new word...shoe! He loves to carry his shoes around and always wants to be holding them if they're not on his feet. The other day he kept saying "sh, sh" and I asked Chris if that counts as saying "shoe" and he said no because there was no vowel sound. Next thing we know, we hear a little voice say very clearly, "shoe." It was so cute.

Oh, and his favorite song now? Happy Birthday. My mom kept singing it to him this weekend and he looooves it. He gets a big grin and flaps his arms and sometimes even blows at the end (to blow out his candles).

MIA

I know, I've been MIA for a week. Sorry bout that.

Thanksgiving was nice. Thursday morning I woke up with diarrhea, which is always pleasant. And then dry heaved in the shower and felt like I was going to pass out. So I spent a few minutes sitting in the shower until I felt okay enough to stand up. I felt really light-headed and nauseated and all around yucky. I was seconds away from telling Chris to go to Delaware without me. But I went, and the drive was awful. I had grocery bags in my hand in case I needed to puke which I was trying desperately not to do so it wouldn't make Chris all gaggy and pukey while he was driving. Every time I moved or talked it made me nauseous. It was a long 2 hours.

Once we got to Delaware I was feeling a little bit better but still not great. I wound up eating just a few bites of Thanksgiving dinner, but Carter made up for it by eating a LOT. He had mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, sweet potato biscuit, and sweet potato casserole. He was in heaven. We just filled the tray on his chair and let him go to it.

Later that evening we had another Thanksgiving dinner at Chris' grandmother's house. I just ate some fruit but all the food looked so good. But I still wasn't feeling 100%. I was maybe at 80% at this point, which was a vast improvement from the morning.

The next morning I woke up actually feeling pretty good. I was ready to eat, and thank goodness breakfast was waiting for us when we got to MomMom's house! We had eggs and pancakes. Carter had blackberry pancakes, with blackberries grown in their backyard. He loved them.

We left Delaware around lunchtime on Friday and headed out to my mom's to celebrate with her. This time I was actually able to drive and life was good again. I was really bummed about missing out on all that good food, though. Really bummed.

Dinner at my mom's was good, and again, Carter loved everything he ate. Little piggy. We spent the night and came back home late Saturday afternoon.

So Thanksgiving is sort of a blur of being sick, being in a car, and being surrounded by food. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but there's always Christmas!