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!

One year stats

Our little munchkin is still a little munchkin.

Weight 20lb 3oz (14th percentile)
Length 29" (26th percentile)
Head circumference 47cm (69th percentile)

His height went down from 52nd percentile to 26th, so I'm hoping next time we go to the doc, he'll have grown a little taller. The doctor said she wasn't concerned at this point, but of course I am. I can't help it.

Carter's Birthday Party

Carter had a lot of fun at his party. He had a jungle theme and gave out animal mugs with animal crackers in them as "goody bags." The older girls got a jungle print journal to write in.

His cakes turned out really great. We got them at Graul's, which is pretty much guaranteed to be delicious.

My grandparents flew in from Florida to be there, so it was nice for Carter to have them and my other set of grandparents at his party. He doesn't get to see either of them too often so it was nice for him to spend time with them.

After everyone sang to him, we waited for him to go crazy and dig in to his cake. Yeah, not so much. He wasn't that into it. He was more interested in Chris or me feeding it to him than feeding it to himself. I was really looking forward to cake all in his hair, up his nose, in his ears. Oh well.






He even really enjoyed everyone singing to him. Lots of kids and babies get upset at the loudness and everyone looking at him, but Carter was really into it. Little sweetheart.

So, thanks to everyone that came, and to those that were there in spirit.

First Haircut

Carter had his first haircut yesterday. He actually didn't do too bad. He was a little cranky about the whole thing, but no serious meltdowns like I expected. And no meltdowns from me, either. :-)

He looks even cuter (if that's possible) with his shorter hair. I love it. The back is a little crooked and screwy, but there's only so much you can do with a squirmy child.

One year pics

We finally found a picture place we love. Portrait Innovations rocks. Hard. Here are just a few of the 45 pictures we have.

Yes, he got his hair cut. That's the next post. And then I swear I'm gonna do a birthday party post.

Comfy

This is how Chris found Carter when he went in to wake him from his nap last night. Look at his right leg. Weird.

Before I forget...

Tooth #8 is in, on the bottom. Also, Carter does Peek-a-Boo but instead of putting his hands over his eyes, he puts them over his ears. Crazy kid.

Odds and Ends

I have stuff to talk about (birthday party, etc.) but now I'm all out of whack because Carter and I were in a minor car accident this morning. We were stopped in traffic about 10 cars back from a light when I got rear-ended, and then rear-ended a second time. Guess one time wasn't good enough. :-)

Anyway, everyone was okay, just a little shaken up. After we got hit, Carter started crying because the jolts scared him. I've never moved so fast to get in that backseat and make sure he was okay (he's just fine).

My bumper will need to be replaced so now it's the waiting game to see what happens with the insurance companies. Thankfully I was the front car so I don't really need to worry too much about it. Just a pain.

So I'll post about his birthday a little later, after I stop obsessing over my baby being in an accident.

Happy Birthday, Carter!

It's official. My little baby is one year old. He's very excited for his party today...he even learned how to clap yesterday in honor of the occasion.

I have so much to say but just can't collect my thoughts. Later.

Ball

Baby Beethoven

I think he's got natural talent.

Caption this photo

I don't have a prize for you, but thought it would be fun to see what you come up with.

A new word

Carter has a new word to add to his repertoire. He says "book" pretty consistently. Except he doesn't pronounce the "k" sound.

Molar

Chris told me today that he thought maybe he saw the beginning of a new bottom tooth. I looked and felt and didn't see anything, but I mentioned that he will probably be getting his one year molars soon and, from what I hear, they're a real doozy.

A little while later I remembered that when Carter was laughing the other day, I thought I saw some white in the molar area but he was eating a cracker so I chalked it up to that. I stuck my finger back there and...whaddya know! He's got a molar! Well, three points of one at least. That explains why his jaw has been clenched so much recently. I just thought it was a phase because sometimes he does weird things for a while.

So, we have tooth #7. Woot!

Nice hair

Check out the bedhead.

Tongue

He's smart.

You know it's gonna be a good day when...

...your kid wakes up in this kind of mood.

JDRF Walk

From my friend Kris:

Hello everyone!

Since we recently moved from AZ to TX, we missed our regular JDRF Walk in Phoenix this year. We did manage to raise some money for that walk, though and to those who donated we are EXTREMELY grateful.

We have decided last minute to take part in the JDRF Walk with the Houston Chapter. So, since it is very last minute (the walk is on Saturday) we need to do some fundraising. And FAST. Please once again watch Hayleigh's video (below) to see what she deals with every day. After watching it, you will understand why we are working so hard to help find a cure.

Any amount will help us. $1, $5, $10 or more. No amount is too small and we appreciate each and every donation.

Please use this link (instead of the one on the video) to donate. We need all the help we can get. Thank you!!!

http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=87270978

Link for the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8GC5zzIqTw

Overwhelmed

I've been in tears all morning, trying to grasp the magnitude of what happened yesterday. To know that Carter will be reading about this day in his history books one day, and to be able to tell him that he was a part of it, is just so moving and amazing to me. To see the people who had never in their lives voted before, get out there and cast their ballot...well, that just makes me swell with pride and patriotism. People waited in line for HOURS to vote. That kind of tenacity and motivation is huge.

I'm just very, very moved.

Success!!

I watched the news this morning and saw the insanely long lines. I heard Chris tell me how bad it was at 6:00 a.m. However, I thought I'd just swing by my polling place on the way in to work just to see what the parking lot looked like.

I got a spot right in front. I walked right up to the "A-C" line and got checked in. I stood behind 4 people in the voting line. I took Carter out of his stroller so he could see what I was doing. And when the big red VOTE button came up, I took his hand and let him press it. 10 minutes, in and out.

My boy helped make history and I'm feeling very proud and patriotic.

Sort of bummed

I really wanted to take Carter with me when I go vote, but Chris told me the line was insane at 5:55 this morning. There's no way he'd make it through a long line like that. So, I'm just gonna go mid-morning and let him stay in daycare. I really wanted a picture of him helping me vote. It would have been so cool to show him that picture years from now and say, "You were there for that historical election."

Learning how to bite

I'm trying to teach Carter how to bite things, and not shove the entire thing in his mouth. This morning I handed him half a banana to see what happened. I think he did pretty well!

Getting there

Carter's making strides (no pun intended) on walking soon. Today, he stood on his own for 30 whole seconds. The only reason he fell was because he got so excited that he threw his arms up in the air and it knocked him off balance.

He's also started using this walker we got him a few weeks ago. I got it at a consignment sale for $2 and he had absolutely no interest in it until a few days ago. Now he loves to go back and forth across our living room. He's almost able to turn it around himself, but he gets frustrated and gives up.

Carter's First Halloween

What a fun day! He had a costume party at daycare. The kids were so cute all dressed up. They were so excited when I got there. They were all running around like crazy, touching each other's costumes, and running to the mirror to see themselves. It was hilarious.

After he left daycare, we went over to Chris' parents' house for dinner and trick or treating. I was so excited to finally be able to trick or treat after 15 years! We brought Carter's new wagon, and he did really well in it. I think it helped that he was tired, so he just sort of chilled out.

Here are some pics of our night:






And, finally, the pumpkins my MIL carved. Isn't she so talented??