We're Diggin the Park

Carter is just about big enough that he can go to the park and climb/slide by himself now. This is apparent as I hear him saying "I do it" more and more now signalling that he wants to try something on his own. It's the toddler Independence I have heard so much about. While finding that fine line between a good parent and an overprotective parent is difficult, I think that Carter is growing more and more each day.

On another note, we have an appointment with the children's Ear Nose and Throat surgeon on Monday to gain information about Carter's ear pinning surgery. We have decided to hear what the surgeon has to say and then make up our minds as to when/if he will have the surgery at all. Knowledge is power I guess, right? I certainly could use the power these days.

Maritime Festival in Port Washington

We took Carter up to Port Washington for the Maritime Festival. He seems to be a typical boy in that he loves just about anything that moves. The weather was nice and they had a few large sailboats docked for people to view. We didn't go onto the boats as the lines were extremely long, but we did sit back and look at them from a distance. Just another nice day on the lake. Here are some pictures of our day.

New Phrases

Here are a few of Carter's latest phrases:

I no like it.
Watch out!
Scooz me (supposed to be excuse me)
I want Queen shoes (lightening McQueen crocs)
I see it
Got it
Oh, there it is
Go to da park Momma?
Momma, hair all gone ( I recently got my hair cut)
Go potty
It not workin
It broken

Keepin Busy

Friday, we headed to the zoo for members only night. I just can't say enough about the Milwaukee zoo. It is the nicest zoo I have ever been to. Because it was the evening time, and the temperature was a little cooler, the animals were so active. The way they have the zoo set up we were able to get really close to the animals. It was neat. Then, Saturday morning, we took Carter to the Family Farm a few miles away from our house. It was a little muddy but, so worth going. We took a hayride, fed the animals including lamas, sheep, cows, pigs, chickens etc. Carter especially got a kick out of tossing corn to the chickens. The owner of the farm was nice enough to see how interested Carter was in the pigs, and offered to feed the pigs so Carter could watch how they ate. It was so funny to see the pigs fight over the food. In fact, they got so loud and rude that Carter was getting a little angry with them. After a few hours, Carter had his fill of animals so we headed home to give him a rest before heading to the Port Washington Fish fry. Grandma came up and went along. Of course, she did what she claims all Grandmas do and that is spoil him rotten. She made sure he went on just about every ride and even brought him homemade apple pie for dessert when we got home. Carter is growing up so fast. This was the first time he was able to ride any rides alone and not mind that we were watching from a few feet away. Oh and, notice the big boy hat that Carter is wearing. He has graduated from the sun hat to the big boy hat at Nonna's request. I guess it was time to let it go.

The Birthday Blues

To my dismay, we had to cancel the party I was going to throw for Carter with all of his other 2 and 3 year old friends. Too many of his friends were unable to attend and then to top matters off, Carter came down with a horrible virus. He spent his birthday curled up on the couch most of the day besides for the brief vomit episode he had that morning in the local ice cream shop. And once again, I do whole heartily regret that you Judy and the boys had the most unfortunate luck as to bear witness to this event. I am happy to report though that all of the birthday cards and wishes from all of you did brighten him up. He is finally off of the couch (as is mommy) for the night and into his own bed. The fever has subsided and his appetite returned with a vengeance. Grandma can attest to this as she happened to call as Carter was demanding pizza for dinner and was a little upset that it wouldn't just appear in front of him along with a magic cup of milk. We will just plan on having a play-date at our house at a later date to make up for the party that he missed out on having.

On a brighter note, Carter's doctor has finally given us the OK to switch Carter off of the whole milk to 2%. This makes me so happy as now I will no longer have to pay ridiculous milk prices for milk that will rarely be on sale and due to expire within days. It's the little things that make moms happy I tell ya.

Visit with Cousin Andrew

Over the 4th of July weekend, Carter visited with his cousin Andrew. Andrew gave Carter more of his old toys and Carter just couldn't decide what he wanted to play with more. Among the toys was a bag full of dress-up clothing items. Carter couldn't decide if he wanted to be a cowboy, businessman, or handyman so he decided to combine all the outfits. It was so cute, I had to snap a picture.

Celebrating the 4th of July

This year we headed down to Grandma Lynne's house to celebrate the 4th. Just as we did last year, we took Carter to the Griffith parade. This year, we were prepared though. I brought along Carter's infant earmuffs for ear protection and he enjoyed the firetrucks much more. Carter was even more excited to see the fireworks at Hidden Lake because it meant that he was able to stay up really late that evening. It was a great 4th of July!

A Day at the Dairy Farm

Jeff took Carter to the Dairy Farm on Saturday. Here are some pictures from their day.

One Busy Week!

Now that the Summer is here, things have really seemed to pick up in terms up activities for Carter and I to do together. This week, we went to a kids group fun day at a blow up jump place called Pump it Up with my friend Judy's boys in Chicago. Tuesday, Carter and I met some other families from my mother's group at the zoo. Then, Wednesday Carter went to the library. I have enrolled him in a Summer reading program where for every 20 books we read with him, he wins prizes. They also have weekly story times that Carter loves going to. Well this week, Carter won several prizes for having 28 books read to him. He was able to pick out of a treasure chest a bug themed toy, he won a free book, and a pizza from Papa Murphy's. We were very proud. I think all of the reading is really paying off though, because other mother's tell me he has great vocabulary for his age. Today we went grocery shopping and Friday, we are participating in our neighborhood garage sale. Carter is going to help me, or so we'll see how much help he really will be. I have a feeling our garage may only be open for a few hours. Saturday, I will stay home and run our garage sale again and Jeff is planning on taking Carter to breakfast at a local farm. They are having clowns, a petting zoo, face painting, and blueberry pancakes. I am pretty sure Carter and Jeff will have a great day together! Below are a few pictures from the Milwaukee zoo and Pump it up.

Father's Day

For Father's Day, Carter and I took Jeff to the local dirt race track to watch some racing. Even though we didn't stay very long, as Carter could only sit still so long, Jeff said he had a great time. That's a success in my book :) I made Nanna's spagetti for dinner which I think turned out as good as can be considering it didn't have Nanna's actual touch. Then, we spent the afternoon enjoying the nice weather outside by running through the sprinkler with Carter. What an enjoyable day!

On another note, my car is back in the shop. Let's just pray that it doesn't rain while it's there. I don't want to lose my car to flooding.

Flooding in Saukville

The town that we live in is flooded. The Milwaukee river flows through downtown and it has risen above its banks. We have had horrible storms for the past week and have spent a good amount of time taking shelter in the basement due to tornado warnings. Luckily, our neighborhood is at the top of a hill so, we are safe from the flooding. Thank goodness. Wednesday, Carter and I tried to head out and run some errands since the news was saying it was the only break in weather we would have all week. Wouldn't you know it, my truck wouldn't start. So, we had it towed to a local mechanic. The next day, when the mechanic went to work on it, the truck started up fine. He thinks the fuel pump is going out which is causing an intermittent failure. But point of the story is that the mechanic allowed me to pick up my car last night since it was starting fine and just told me to call him if it happened again. Well thank God because today, that mechanic shop is completely under water. Someone was on our side, that's for sure! Poor Carter is feeling cooped up. We were supposed to go to the Petting Zoo today. Looks like the petting zoo will have to wait until things dry out.

Look Mom, Moon!

Last night our neighbors came over to visit with their 4 year old son. We all just visited in the back yard while the boys played. All of a sudden Carter came running over to me and said help. He grabbed my hand and took me over to the side of the house where he pointed to the sky and said, "Look Mom, moon. Up mom. Me reach." We have been taking weekly trips to the local library to check out board books and he has taken quite an interest in the moon. So when he noticed the real thing outside, he just couldn't contain himself I suppose. I tried to explain to him that even though it looks like he can reach the moon, he can't because it is very high in the sky. I explained that it is higher in the sky then airplanes fly. He just looked at me and said, "me high mom, me high mom!" While at the same time gestering for me to lift him higher. It was just so cute.

The picture below is just a random picture I thought was cute of him playing.

Motorcycle Mayhem

Carter was given a battery powered motorcycle as a hand me down that Cousin Andrew outgrew. This weekend Carter took it out for a spin. Although a little timid at first, he quickly made motorcycle mayhem down the sidewalk and through the parking lot behind Grandma Lynne's house. I can imagine he felt just as a 16 year old boy would feel when driving a car by himself for the first time. He just had this look of sheer joy and excitement on his face the entire time. While Jeff and I were excited for him, we also realized that soon the battery would need to be recharged and we would have one sad little boy on our hands. We quickly hatched a plan of distraction, that thankfully worked until the battery was charged once again. What did we do that distracted Carter away from his beloved motorcycle you ask? Ahh, the power of cookies and juice.

May Days

Boys and their toys! This is Carter's favorite way to watch cartoons in the morning. Very creative don't you think?



Just a few pictures of Carter playing in the backyard.

Looking Towards 2!

How time flies! We just can't believe that Carter will be 2 already in July. Just some cute random things about Carter.

Favorites:
Food: Pizza (He eats the same helping as Jeff and I when we have pizza)
Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star He sings this regurally
Cartoon: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse He knows every character
Phrase: Oh my!
Toy: Choo Choo
Stuffed Animal: Patches (his stuffed dog) and Doggie (another stuffed dog)
Farm animal: Duck (He likes to quack at the birds outside)

Things he loves to do:
Look for Birds outside
Run Trains
Spin in circles to make himself dizzy
Brush his teeth
Take Baths

Recent Firsts:
First time with the stomach flu
First time in time out
Singing parts of his ABC's
Counting to 5 (He usually skips number 2)

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Fun with Grandma

Last weekend we headed to Northwest Indiana to spend some time with Grandma Lynne. It was action packed. First, we went to a restaurant called Tyler's Tenders in Schererville. It's a train themed restaurant that has a train layout, a train ride, and a train that even delivers your food to you. Carter loved it.

Then, Jeff and Grandma Lynne took Carter to the park while I had lunch with a friend. The weather was so nice, they had to take advantage.

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Spring Time Fun

I can't tell you how happy we are that Spring is finally here! Carter wakes up in the morning and immediately says, "Outside?" We got him a little turtle sandbox that he is growing to like. He for some reason just doesn't like his hands to get dirty. If he gets sand on them, he says "Oh my, Oh no!" We've had to coach him to just brush off the sand on his pants. But now that he has been playing with it all week, he is finally beginning to enjoy the sand. On another note, I don't think he is going to have any problem with making holes in the knees of every pair of pants that he owns. He has recently taken to pushing his Tonka dump truck around the cement patio on his knees. Jeff has informed me that this is apparently in his genes and instructed me to call his mom for ideas for hole prevention. Ah, the joys of boys. Although, now that I think of it my mom claims I was quite the tom boy as a kid. As my eyes widen, I suddenly realize this is one of those moments that your family warns you about. You know how they say, "Just wait until you have kids, they will be just like you and you will understand." Yeah, point taken mom, point taken.

For an early mother's day present, Jeff bought me a bike and a really cool baby seat that attaches on the front. I had mentioned that I was looking for inexspensive entertainment for Carter and I during the day now that the weather was nice. The local park is pretty close but just a little too far to walk with a two year old. The bike with a baby seat sounded like a great way for us to get out, spend less money, and for me to get a little exercise at the same time. We took our first trip to the park on the bike yesterday. We were half way to the park when I suddenly realized as we were coasting downhill, that the ride home might not be as pleasant. Almost the entire trip was downhill. Just slightly downhill. When going back home that small hill felt like a mountain with a baby on the front of the bike. Let's just say, it was a great workout that required lots of tylenol for my sore, out of shape, muscles that night. Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun and look forward to taking bike rides often. With our credit card rewards, we were able to purchase a new Nikon camera. It takes such great pictures, that I couldn't decide which ones to post. So I just made a slideshow of my favorites. Hope you are enjoying the Spring as much as we are.

Construction Day in Port

The town of Port Washington, which is the town next to the town we live in, sponsered a kids construction day. They brought in the actual construction trucks like dump trucks, bulldozers etc. and let the kids climb around in them and gave each child a construction hat. Also, they dropped a pile of sand and let the kids dig and have a blast with their sand toys. There was so much Carter was interested in doing, that I think he had a little bit of a hard time staying focused on one thing at a time. He kind of walked aimlessly to each truck, then back to the sand pile and then back to the trucks. I think it was all a little overwhelming to him but fun nonetheless. Here are some photos of the day. It was so nice that the weather cooperated for once.

Carter Gets His Groove On