Today Carter Lee turns 8 months old!!!
This is what he looked like after waking up this morning:
Each month keeps getting better. I know that might sound ridiculous and totally unrealistic, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t have good days and bad days. It just means that spending time with Carter is more fun all the time! We learn more and more about who he is each day. Watching him learn, do new things, grow and process the world around him is amazing. Once again, we thank God for this precious angel who lives under our roof (at least for the next 18 years). We love you, Carter Lee Johnson!!!
* Carter’s eating schedule hasn’t changed much. He is eating 6-8 oz. of formula every four hours (7am, 11am, 3pm & 7pm). He did get over the phase of not wanting to hold his bottle and he is holding it by himself more often these days. It has also gotten a little bit easier to feed him while other people are around. He still gets distracted, but not as much as he used to. This is very helpful when we are out & about and he gets hungry!
NOTE: Carter has finally learned to spit out his paci when we give him the bottle, but he doesn’t do it every time. We have always thought it was so funny how he wants the bottle, but he keeps sucking on his paci!
* We have continued to introduce solid foods this month. Carter is eating 2-3 meals a day and is somewhat of a picky eater. However, we have found that he will tolerate almost any food as long as it is mixed with yogurt :) I know this is not a good habit to develop, but it is one way that I have gotten him to eat/try real food. I am hoping to slowly “wean” him off the yogurt over the next few weeks. I am afraid too much of it might lead to a big weight gain at his 9-month appointment! He also totally lost his appetite the week of September 24th and is just now getting it back. I don’t know why this happened, but I feel like a lot of motherhood is that way!
A few foods that Carter LOVES: prunes; yogurt; cinnamon; apples & blueberries; apple cinnamon oatmeal; apples, carrots & mango; most anything mixed with yogurt
Ready for lunch!
A few foods that Carter Lee does NOT love: avocado; peas; sweet potatoes; butternut squash; peaches; plain mangos; plain carrots; bananas (which I think he is allergic to)
Rash from the bananas the next day
* Sleeping about 11-12 hours at night with a bedtime at 7:30-8pm and usually waking up around 7:00am. Yippee!
Reading Brown Bear with Dad before bed
Yes, he loves reading this one "upside down"!
Getting a diaper change before Mom & Dad go to sleep
* As far as naps go, the “usual” is a morning nap around 9am (2 hours after waking up) that lasts 45 minutes to 1.5 hours and an afternoon nap sometime between 1:00 & 3:00pm that lasts for 1 to 2 hours. However, this is not always predictable. Some days he might sleep for 30 minutes in the morning and then 1 hour in the afternoon. Other days he might sleep 1 hour in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. I never really know! If we are out & about or if he falls asleep in the car, it can mess up the whole day’s schedule. I am okay with this because I think it is better to be out of the house & off schedule than it is to have a perfect routine and be home-bound, don’t you?
One new thing during naptime is that Carter will now play in his crib for a little bit after I put him down, usually in the afternoons. He does not cry, just rolls around, talks to himself and plays with the bumper. It is pretty cute!
This month Carter:
* Started Mother’s Day Out at Park Cities Baptist Church on September 6th. He is going one day a week (Tuesdays) from 9:00am to 2:00pm. His teachers are Ms. Nancy & Ms. Andrea and Carter loves them. It took him a few weeks to get used to the new setting and new people, but I truly think he has a good time when he is there. He enjoys being around other people (especially other babies) and he is getting quite a bit of attention because there are usually only 4-5 babies in his class each week. I am very thankful for some time “off” and for these sweet ladies who are so great with Carter. He also brought home his very first piece of artwork!!!
1st piece of artwork
* Experienced his first Aggie game day (even if is was at home)! He was so excited to support Texas A&M as they played SMU. And we won 43-14! I think Carter Lee was good luck. The boys in this house are both excited about football season beginning…
* Found out that he is going to have another cousin next year, sometime around April 15, 2012. Congratulations to the Armstrongs!!!
Jenna Mae is going to be a great big sister!
* Met his second cousin Maxine “Max” Messerschmitt. She was born at the end of August, but we were out of town and then I got sick, so we had been unable to go by to see her. She was 5 weeks old and is adorable!
* Is very vocal!!! This boy loves to talk and hear his own voice. His favorite word is “dada” and he laughs so much more than he used to! I think the sound of his laughter might seriously be the sweetest sound I have ever heard. Tyler & I both absolutely love it! What more could a parent ask for than a happy, healthy, giggling baby?
* Has become a little copycat. He will imitate things we do (i.e. turning head from side to side, shaking head no) or noises that we make, or at least try. This does not happen every time, but it symbolizes just how much he watches us and soaks in everything that is going on around him!
* Loves to watch us brush our teeth! It totally mesmerizes him. This usually happens in the mornings when he is in the Pack N Play and we are both getting ready for the day. It makes him so happy for us to come over and brush our teeth right in front of him. Oh the simple things in life!
* Thinks it is so much fun to play with Tyler’s ears. The thing that makes this funny is that he never touches mine! When Tyler picks him up, his ears are pretty much the first thing that Carter goes for. Who knows why!
* Loves to swing in his new swing on the back patio. Aunt Sally bought this for him and I can already tell that it will be used many times over the next few months, especially with the nice weather we have been having lately!
* Is trying to crawl, but cannot get both his knees underneath him and his forehead off the ground at the same time. It doesn’t seem to bother him. He is still such an easy, laid back baby and is content to sit or roll wherever he wants to go :)
* Still has no teeth, but the bottom two look as if they could pop up any day now. He still loves to chew on pretty much everything and the drool has begun!
Chewing on ice through the mesh teether while watching football
* Continues to LOVE bathtime! We are still using the Tummy Tub, but in a few days will be moving over to the new blow-up duck bathtub to give him some extra wiggle room. He is also strong enough (and heavy enough) that I feel like he could knock the Tummy Tub over if he moved fast enough.
* Enjoys spending time with Dad! They have so much fun together. Tyler can make him smile & laugh like no one else. Silly faces, funny games, wrestling, you name it…Carter loves doing everything with his daddy!
* Accidentally rolled off the bed while Mama was getting dressed the morning of September 27th before Mother’s Day Out. Oops! He was watching Praise Baby and I was not more than 8 feet away, but I couldn’t get to him fast enough to catch him. He cried, I think more out of fear than actually being hurt, but I felt like the most horrible mother on Earth. Little Dude can roll around too much now, so no more playing on the bed (at least not by himself).
* Started showing signs of minor separation anxiety. For example, last night we tried out the Watermark Community Church’s 5:30pm service and we got “buzzed” towards the end of the service to come get him in the nursery. Apparently, he had been crying almost the whole time :( The minute they handed him to me he was fine. Hmmm…
* Enjoys playing with his toys. He will do this all day long! A few favorites are his Poppin' Pals (he can push all of them down in a few seconds), stacking cups, learning laptop, Fisher Price Puppy, workbench, any type of ball and anything that makes a fun noise when it shakes!
Playing with the Poppin' Pals
Playing in his crib
Handyman Johnson working at the workbench
* Wears some 6 month, but mostly 9 month clothing (but quickly growing out of these) and size 3 Pampers diapers
* Has had quite a few outings recently:
1st Visit to White Rock Lake (9/4/11)
Walking with Celeste & Stella McClatchy (9/6/11)
This is a weekly occurrence!
Trip to Temple for our 10-year high school reunion (9/23-25/11)
Relaxing with Moon Daddy on the back porch
We also took family pictures with Lindsay Rosenbaum
***Note: Our computer crashed this month and I lost about two weeks of pictures. Thus the reason for the lack of photos this month. I promise to do better backing up all of our data!!!
Overall, this has been a great month. We love you more & more each day, Carter Lee! You are the sunshine of our lives and we are so grateful that the Lord has allowed us to be your parents. You definitely make our house more fun and our hearts more full.
