Today Carter Lee turns 7 months old!!!
I don't want to sit here anymore...
Look how LONG I am!
What a fun month this has been! I have heard from a number of people that the 6th month is the most wonderful one and I have to agree. Carter has been such a joy to be around this month. A lot has happened and his sweet little personality comes more alive every day. I truly love being around him all day and just hanging out together. As he gains more skills (sitting up, etc.), our interaction increases to where we can actually do a few more things together. LOVE! We are so thankful for this precious brown-eyed boy who invaded our home & lives 7 months ago. Tyler & I were talking the other day and we really don’t remember what we did without you :) We love you, Little Dude!
A few highlights from this past month:
* Carter is eating 8 oz. of formula every four hours (7am, 11am, 3pm & 7pm approximately). Sometimes he will eat 5-6oz. and then have the rest right before his next nap…I am not rigid on this exact schedule. He has recently decided that holding his own bottle is no longer cool and he usually will not do it :( Hopefully he will change his mind again soon! He is still our extremely distracted baby and we try to give him a bottle in a quiet room with no one else around if possible. Even me talking on the phone now gets his attention and he will stop eating! We have decided that he just likes to be part of the action.
* We have continued to introduce solid foods this month. After the stomach bug at the end of last month, we took a few weeks off to give Carter’s tummy a break. We did try quite a few new foods though – avocado, roasted butternut squash, roasted apples, peaches, mangos, blueberry yogurt and roasted pears (I might have left a few out).
Trying Avocado (8/15/11 & 8/16/11)
Not sure what to think about this...
(I don't think he liked the texture)
Roasted Butternut Squash (8/17/11)
This is not his favorite food either!
Are we done yet?
Roasted Apples (8/20/11)
These are yucky!
(Thank goodness he has come around since then...)
Peaches and Mangos during our family vacation in Colorado
Are you sensing the trend here? Carter Lee is not a big fan of food so far...
Daddy can sometimes get Carter to eat when Mommy can't!
Carter LOVES Blueberry YoBaby Yogurt (8/30/11)
More please!
Thank goodness we found something that he likes!
It is all gone? Can I have more please?
He also loved Roasted Pears (9/2/11)
I adore those big brown eyes
Playing with the spoon is so much fun!
We also now use the Fisher Price booster seat at the kitchen table
during our meals. It keeps him entertained and he can't drop the toys on the floor!
* Sleeping about 11-12 hours at night with a bedtime at 7:30-8pm and usually waking up around 7:00am. Sooo thankful for this! Tyler has been changing his diaper right before we go to bed (10-11pm) because it has been getting so full. He is Super Dad because he can do it so that Carter does not wake up. Nice!
* We are still doing pretty well with naps, but this always seems to be a work in progress. As of right now, he usually goes down around 9am (2 hours after waking up) and will sleep for 1 to 1.5 hours. The afternoons are not as predictable, but if we are home, he will take a nap somewhere between 1:00 & 3:00pm and sleep for another 1 to 1.5 hours. Some days he will take another late afternoon nap around 4:00 or 4:30pm. He does not fall asleep as easily in the car as he used to, but if he is tired, he will be knocked out in a few seconds. If this happens, I sometimes get lucky and he will sleep longer when we get home if I put his carseat on the swing base. He still loves that thing!
This month Carter:
* Sits up well on his own. No more pillow needed! He looks like such a big boy when he does this! He enjoys being able to play with toys and watch all that is going on around him this way. It is definitely the next step to mobility!
Sitting up playing on the floor in the study
The crib is also a new favorite place to sit & play!
Looking at himself in the mirror (while trying on clothes for our CO trip)
Driving!
Chewing on Sophie the Giraffe
* Continues to love “playing with his toys. Some of his favorites right now are his laptop and his workbench. They can keep him entertained for quite a while. Carter has also developed a fondness for paper and enjoys helping me open the mail in the afternoons. He also loves balls and anything else that makes a fun noise!
* Started to play independently in his crib. If I put him in there with a few toys, he will be good to go for a good 15-20 minutes if I let him. It is so nice and I think he truly enjoys it!
* Loves to talk and hear his own voice. This might be one of his favorite pastimes! Carter is learning to talk and make sounds – dada, dydy, etc. He babbles quite frequently and squeals A LOT!
* Is still our serious, laid back baby. Even strangers we see while we are out running errands comment on how he checks them out very intently. He just wants to make sure he knows someone before he gives them any kind of trust. Not sure if this is a good thing or not…
* Chews on EVERYTHING! Still no teeth, but there sure is a lot of chewing going on. He does not care what is it - a teether, a toy, ice, his pacis or our fingers! Maybe he will get some teeth soon. Who knows!
* Is still taking a bath in the Tummy Tub, which we place inside our big bathtub because of all the splashing that goes on :) He continues to lock his legs & splashes when we first put him in the tub. Everyone in our house loves bathtime! Carter is usually content while he is in there and we have fun playing with him & singing to him and trying to make him laugh. One of his favorite parts now is when we take him out of the bathtub into his warm towel and place him on the counter in front of the mirror. He smiles big every time! I pray that he continues to like baths as he grows into a little boy :) I have heard that those can be a struggle sometimes.
* Still enjoys watching his Praise Baby DVDs. If I have tried a few things and he is not content doing any of them, I can usually turn on Praise Baby and he will calm down and relax. It really is amazing! I bought another DVD called Baby Faith and he was bored out of his mind. I tried to return it, but my attempt was unsuccessful, so it is now in our Goodwill pile.
* Loves the exersaucer and can play with many more of the parts now
* Thinks his Dad is the man! They have so much fun together. His face lights up at the end of the day when Tyler walks in from work.
* Loves to stand up (assisted) and move his legs around. He also still likes to stand in his crib after he wakes up and grab at his mobile. When I go in his room to get him, he immediately glances toward the mobile (after smiling at me, of course) to remind me to please turn it on. The “fishies” on the crib soother also are a favorite after he wakes up.
* Has a new bedtime routine. The routine consists of bath, bottle, books & bed. However, it now includes reading three books with Daddy – one randomly chosen book, one recordable storybook (read by a family member) and “Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See” (his favorite book). My two boys have so much fun reading together at night!
* Wears some 3/6, but mostly 6 or 9 month clothing and size 2 diapers (moving up to 3 soon)
* Went on his first vacation!!! See my previous post about our trip to Frisco, Colorado. He had a blast! Carter loved hiking, going on walks, looking at the scenery and the cooler weather. He also rode in a big boy swing for the first time!
Trying on hats at Babies R Us to prepare for the cool weather!
Blurry picture of Carter's 1st Plane Ride (8/23/11)
He had fun looking out the windows
1st Time in a Big Boy Swing (8/28/11)
* Has had quite a few outings recently:
Square One Playgroup (8/4/11)
Testing out the backpack with Grandpa (8/7/11)
Trip to Temple for Moon Daddy’s knee replacement (ouch!) (8/7/11 - 8/9/11)
He always loves being around Jenna!
It is fun to see the resemblance between these two!
Drinking a bottle from Aunt Sally
Codi came over, too! JMA adores her!
Poor Lee!
Once again, Carter is so relaxed when he is with Lee!
Buddies
I absolutely adore this girl!
Jenna's "super excited" face
Playing with Lissy
So proud that he can sit all by himself!
First bath together!
Jenna is such a sweet big cousin to Carter!
We got to see Kayle & Pierce Hubble, too!
These boys are about 10 days apart...
We went to visit Mimi at The Meridian while we were in town
Carter "performed" for Mimi and showed her all the things he can do!
1st Movie – The Angelika Cry Baby Matinee with Celeste & Stella McClatchy (8/11/11)
1st time sitting in a restaurant high chair at Pei Wei (8/12/11)
Eating the chopsticks
Watching the "fishies" at Central Market (one of our favorite places)
Visit from Grandad (8/31/11)
We are so thankful for you, Carter Lee! You make our days so much fun. You cause us to want to be better people, better parents, better children and just better all-around. You make every day better just by being in our lives. We have loved watching you grow this month and look forward to seeing all of the wonderful things the Lord allows you to learn & do next month…and far into the future...
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. – Mark 10: 13-16
