Look What My Daddy Got Me

Since Carter's birthday is next month, I have been trying to convince Jeff that we should get Carter a new bike with training wheels. Carter saw some of the neighbor kids riding around on their bikes and and has repeatedly said "I want a big boy bike Momma." All Carter wants to do is ride bikes lately, so I figured it would be a great gift. When I talked to Jeff about it he was let's just say not really into the idea. He felt that Carter was fine with his tricycle and that he would grow out of the bike too quickly. I knew he was probably right so I told him I would look and see if I could find one at a garage sale for under $10 or so. Carter and I hunted and even went as far as looking on Craigs list for one. However, we never found one. When I mentioned it to my mom, she happened to mention it to a co-worker and behold the following weekend, we had a bike for $5. A few days later, we took a trip to Toys R Us to let Carter point out some things he wanted for his birthday. (Big mistake, of course he wanted everything :) Anyway, while we were there Carter wanted to ride one of the bikes with training wheels. So Jeff pulled one down expecting to prove to me that he wouldn't even be able to climb up on the bike. Carter climbed on without problem, and took off riding up and down isles in the store. Jeff was shocked and saw just how excited Carter was to ride it. Then, he turns to me and said "Yeah, I think we are going to have to get him that bike. I just didn't expect him to take off like that." I just smiled and tried not to say I told you so, but I was saying it in my mind for sure. I reminded him that my mom had already gotten him one, but Jeff insisted we leave that one at Grandma's and get him one for our house. He claimed that it is a joy that every Dad should get to experience, picking out his son's first bike. So, I figured who am I to stand in his way. A few days later, Jeff picked up the bike on his lunch hour and came home with it. We decided since Wisconsin summers are so short, we would give it to him early so that he would have more time to ride it. That evening we surprised Carter with the bike. The picture below is Carter the moment he saw the bike. Carter has said at least 5 times now, "thank you so much Daddy for my new bike." Or he will show his friends the bike and say "look what my Daddy got me." Even though I am the one that worked on convincing Daddy to get the bike, Daddy takes all the credit. Can someone please explain to me how that happens. Do all Dads take a class on how to sneak in and take the credit for all things good? Oh the injustice!!!!

My Buddy's Birthday

Carter's best friend, Bryce, just turned three. Last weekend we went to his birthday party and the boys had so much fun. Here are some pictures of them together.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Nature Preserve

Today I took Carter to the Riveredge Wildlife Preserve in Newburg. They have a program geared towards 3-5 year old kids, in which they will read some sort of nature related story, do an experiment with the kids, let them explore on a hike, picnic, and then hunt for pond wildlife. Today, they read the book "Diary of a Worm" and then did did an experiment to learn about the type of environment worms like best. Then, they went outside and got the opportunity to dig for worms out in the garden. Carter found several and got so excited. He would hold them on his shovel but would not hold them in his hands. I think in time this will likely pass:) He had pb & j for lunch and then went to the pond. Carter found tadpoles, frogs, turtles, slugs, ladybugs, toads and fish. By the time we were all done, Carter had ventured into about a foot of water trying to net a frog. So cute and a really fun day. The last two pictures, are at the house. He was having so much fun being outside, he didn't want to come in.

"I miss the snow, but I really like the sun."

Today is supposed to be a remarkable 80 degrees! We met some friends at the park and the kids had a blast playing and riding bikes. We really needed the Vitamin D after this long winter. He just learned how to peddle his bike a few weeks ago and so that is all he wants to do. Before, he would ride the bike but do the Flinstone peddling. This afternoon we are going to play with his play sink. The weather is finally nice enough and he has been wanting to play with it since Christmas. Before he went down for nap, he said "I miss the snow mommy, but I really like the sun."

Easter Egg Hunt 2009

This morning I took Carter to an Easter Egg hunt with the Mom's Group. He had a blast.

Bedtime Songs

Carter has stopped wanting us to sing to him before bed, now he wants to sing. This is the song he chose to sing the other night. Sorry the video is a little dark as the room was dimmed for bedtime. I ran down to get the camera and made him start over.

Spring Fever

Sorry for the lack of updates. We bought a new desk and have been in the process of transferring our computer, cameras, and files over. Last week was beautiful here in Wisconsin so we took advantage and went with my friend Judy and her 2 twin boys to the Brookfield Zoo. Fun, Fun, Fun!!!! This time Carter was looking forward to seeing the Lions and Tigers, which in the past have scared his so much, he wouldn't look at them. I guess this time, he was feeling extra strong having his buddies Ethan and Tyler by his side. Some of the highlights from our day:

Crazy Illinois squirrels that walk right up to people begging for food
Geese that came uninvited to our picnic
Fantastic life sized animated Dinasoar statues
A trip to a really cool Korean Market (Jeff was in heaven)after the zoo.

Buggy Bumper Blog

Just FYI: I started making baby blankets and burp cloths in addition to the shopping cart covers. Keep me in mind if you are looking for a baby shower gift. You can see some samples of my work by clicking on the link on the left hand side of this page titled Buggy Bumpers.

That's the sound of the train

After Dinner Party

Just a little Clip

Super Bowl Sunday

Here is a picture of the boys wearing their 3D glasses on Sunday during the Super bowl. The commercials and previews the glasses were meant for were a little bit dissappointing, but we were prepared nonetheless.

Moving up to a Big Boy Bed

It's official. Carter has now gone from being our little boy to a big boy and has a new bed to prove it. I still haven't gotten around to taking a picture of him in it, but when I do, I'll post. We left the crib in his room for the first week of the transition with the advice of a friend of mine. She warned that the first week may be a little rough. However, I am pretty sure that Carter was ready because he slept better then he has in long while. Once he was in the new bed, he never went back to the crib. Now if we can only get him potty trained......

Christmas 2008

What a great Christmas! We started the holiday at my mom's house in Indiana. Then, we drove down to Georgia to spend Christmas with Jeff's family. We were fortunate that the weather cooperated and we had a fairly easy road trip. Jeff's Grandparents were able to make it and that made Christmas even more special. While Jeff's Dad had a short visit at the hospital, he was out just in time for our visit. We are so thankful everyone was present and healthy for this Christmas. Carter even had the opportunity to play with Grandaddy's trains and take a ride in his MG.

All Aboard!

Last weekend, we took a trip up to Green Bay. The railroad museum put on a special Polar Express train ride for kids. Well, anything to do with trains is right up Carter's alley (and Daddy's) so we got tickets and made a day trip out of it. They first read the Polar Express book aloud and passed out hot chocolate. They had people dressed up in costume to wait on the kids and then the conductors with lanterns. It was very cute. Then they took a ride on the polar express train. They were each given a bell and refreshments on the train ride up to the north pole. The final stop was to see Santa. This time Carter actually sat on his lap. Yeah!

Visit with Santa 2008

On the way to see Santa, we explained to Carter that he would have to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. Carter without hesitation said, "I want choo choos." When we finally got there and it was his turn to sit on Santa's lap, Carter quickly ran up and said, "I want choo, choos," and then ran back out of line. He was a little too nervous to sit on Santa's lap, but he would go to Mrs. Claus because she gave him a candy cane.

One sick kid, or mom, not sure which......

Dr. says that Carter has an ear infection in both ears. Looks like we caught them early, but are bad enough to warrant a round of antibiotics. Along with the ear infections, and probably the cause of them as well, is a terrible upper respiratory infection. I tend to be too sensitive about these types of issues and take his illnesses personally. Like it was something that I did or didn't do that caused him to get sick. Did I take him outside and not bundle him up enough, was he outside for too long in the cold, did I cause him to get sick by running the warm humidifier too much, or is it my fault because we did too many playgroups with other kids. Now I grapple with what to do to prevent this from occurring again or if there is even anything different that I should do. Do the benefits of having him socialize with other kids outweigh the negatives of the constant germ passing? Oh what I wouldn't give to be a man. To just make a decision and worry about the consequences later. To lay my head down to sleep, and my brain actually shut down. I'm not sure who is really worse off, now that I am reading what I have written, me or Carter. And just in case you weren't sure, that is a rhetorical question :)

He's Ready for Star Search

How Sweet!

These days, Carter has found joy in playing with a flashlight in the evenings. We occasionally will turn down the lights and let him flash the flashlight around the house as a wind down activity before we put him down for the night. Needless to say, he treasures his flashlight.

This morning, I packed Carter up and told him we were off to do a little Christmas shopping. He insisted that the flashlight came along for the ride. As I was driving, he again asked where we were going and when I told him once again that we were going shopping to buy presents for Christmas, he asked, "presents for me?" In which I responded with a list of people we had to buy for and said that maybe we would get him a present as well if he was good. Then, he asked "Will we get a present for you?" When I told him no we were shopping for other people, he said "I'm sorry mommy, here you have my flashlight." Seems so silly I know, but to me it meant a lot especially since I knew how much his flashlight meant to him. I had to blog this in hopes that I will find a way to save all the blogs I have created thus far, and keep the memories of special moments such as this one.