Not sugar and spice and everything nice

Here is Carter's favorite play medium: a birdbath at my parent's house that he fills with mud.

Carter at Cousin Dave's

Two weeks ago we went to my second cousin's graduation. Carter fell in love with their cat. He loves all cats, but this one was perfect-soft and sweet.

One of those days you laugh about later

Well it all started out so beautifully. We woke up, had delicious applesauce pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast. We began preparing for the dinner we were going to grill this evening. Around 2:15 we went to a get together at the pool and had a wonderful afternoon swimming. Afterward we were pretty tired, but Carter had already napped so I watched Carter while Damian took a nap. Carter was in great spirits for about an hour and a half afterward when all the sudden he started smacking his lips like he does when he's hungry. He also clutched his tummy. I told him I would get his food ready, and he followed me into the kitchen. During the next fifteen minutes he became so fussy, that I couldn't believe it.

When the food was ready, he was so upset he wouldn't eat or drink anything. His body was all tense and he looked like he was in severe internal pain. He was screaming for "Dada" and so I woke Damian up. Even when Damian tried to comfort him he wouldn't calm down, he only became worse. So we got in the car and started to drive to the emergency room scared to death that he had swallowed something sharp. I knew he had a poopy diaper, but was in such a rush to get to the hospital that I didn't change it.

Luckily, when we got into the car and began to drive, he calmed down. We drove all the way to the hospital and by the time we were almost there, he was playing peekaboo with me. So we drove back home. When we got inside the house, the screaming started all over again, but I was less worried this time so I changed his diaper. That was when we discovered he had developed a diaper rash. It was so bad that he couldn't even walk right. After we put the ointment on it, he was a mess. The only thing that calmed him down was going outside. However, considering we had already spent so much time outside today and it was miserably hot, I was not keen on being out there. He would only be happy inside when Damian was inside and burst into tears every time Damian or I put him down. In hindsight, I should not have told Damian to go ahead and grill the chicken since every time Damian went out to check the grill, Carter had a meltdown.

The roughness continued. Bathtime was awful becuase Carter could not even sit in the water without it hurting him. He would not eat anything during this whole time. (He had also eaten very little at lunch). He was so fussy and overtired. But fortunately, when we all sat down for dinner, I managed to get him to eat yogurt with rice cereal mixed into it which has worked before when he has gone on hunger strikes. Phew! After he ate, he was in better spirits and fortunately went down to bed without the huge drama we were expecting. So Dad, now WE have a story that we will someday tell our poor Carter ad nauseum. :)

cuddling with Willie and rocking his horse

Carter loves to cuddle with his cat and rock his horse. And play with the diaper bin.

First haircut

Carter finally got a hair cut. I asked Damian if we could take him to the salon and then next thing I know, Damian is whipping out the trimmer. I should have known better. Damian had that very same day almost completely hacked down my beloved fig tree under the guise of "trimming it so it won't grow into the neighbor's yard and block the sun for the other plants. Well, I think Damian was out to get revenge for me nagging him incessantly the past two months to start the tradition of taking Carter to go get his hair cut becuase Carter now sports a buzz cut. I do have to say that although he absolutely in no way looks like a baby now, I do kind of like it on him even though buzz cuts are not my favorite style. It suits his spritely personality.

Being home with him this week has been a lot of fun. We have gone to the park, the children's museum and tomorrow we'll go to the pool. He has developed an obsession with the moon and now wants to read every book we have with moons in it. During the day he points to the sky and says "moon" fifty billion times. Tonight there was no moon and we were bummed. He is still obsessed with kitty cats as well. He is insisting on reading Eric Carl's From Head to Toe before every nap and bedtime. He likes moving his body like the animals.

We are enjoying hearing him talk more, dance more and run around all over the place. This is just a precious age seeing his developing personality. He has become so affectionate. One sad development that I thought I was going to escape is that he now cries whenever one of us leaves. It breaks my heart. When Damian goes to work, he asks for him all day long.