Carter's 1st Overnight

This is what's going on in my house right now...

The kitchen this morning.

The kitchen now.

Our room almost finished, with Carter's furniture
moved in so his room can be done.

Our floors are being torn out and replaced with hardwood. My mom took Carter for the day because I thought the noise would bother him. I needed to stay here with the floor guys in case they needed something. I didn't plan for all the dust that would be left behind. My mom asked me if I wanted her to keep Carter at my aunt's overnight so he doesn't have to breathe in all the nasty dust and gunk in the air. After automatically thinking "No way! I could never spend the night away from my baby!", I thought about how terrible his cough was when he was sick and how I never want to hear it again. The air in the house is actually bothering me! I have been coughing and I am so stuffy from all the dust floating around. Steven and I talked and decided it would be best for Carter not to be here until the floors are done. I was going to go stay there too, but the lift in my truck is broken and my mom can't lift me up into it. I wouldn't be able to get back by 9am to let the floor guys in. So, I packed jammies, diapers, formula, and wrote Carter a note telling him to be a good boy for Nana and that I love him.

Ugh...its gonna be a rough night! Please say a prayer that I make it through the night without driving over to get him!! Maybe Steven and I will have a nice romantic night alone. (Bow chicka wow wow!) I will post more pictures of the house tomorrow.

Carter's Dedication

We had Carter's dedication ceremony in NY this weekend. I was so proud of him. There is no feeling like that of dedicating your child's life to the Lord. We felt like it was important to do it at our church in NY because that is our true church family and we couldn't ask for better people to help us raise Carter in the word of God. We were married in their presence and it just seemed natural to take this next step with them. It was a beautiful ceremony and I will post pics as soon as I get them off my camera.

My mother-in-law took Carter to have professional photos done on Saturday. Here are a few of my faves...

Aren't they amazing?! As a gift to us, she purchased a wonderfully large package that should be here in a couple weeks.

We just got home a little while ago, so we are getting ready to hit the hay. I just fed Carter at 11:30...he never woke up to eat on the way home and hadn't eaten since 4:00! I am curious to see if he sleeps long tonight!

Giveaway...My Faves!

This is a really cool contest from Barking Mad. I am supposed to pick my most favorite posts and link them here. I could win a $250 Target gift card...which, let's face it, all new mothers would kill for! Plus, it seems like fun...

1. More Worried Than Relieved: This is where I posted my first positive pregnancy test ever!! I was certainly being cautious about getting too excited, but I was finally pregnant and I had never felt that kind of happiness!

2. How Awesome Is This??: I was so fortunate to capture this on video. Truly one of my favorite pregnant moments.

3. 100th Post...What I Have Learned: Life had changed from post #1 to post #100...and I wanted to thank everyone of my blogfamily members for being by my side the entire time.

4. Welcome Carter John!!: The day my life changed forever. Photos of my beautiful boy along with what I remembered of my birth story.

5. A Day In The Life...: I wanted to share my daily life as a disabled mother. I truly felt that I needed to put this out there for all my readers and any disabled women who didn't believe in themselves. To me, motherhood is so much more than the "mommy can'ts".

2 kids under 2...

Right now, I have one in diapers and one in Pull-ups. I know what you are thinking...how about a visual explanation...

Bianca is in heat. This is my brilliant attempt to save my furniture. They are Disney Princess!

Jumping up an appetite.

What a little heartbreaker we have on our hands!

"Hmm...this looks like it goes in my mouth!"

Carter is enjoying his new jumperoo. Although he is a bit short and has to stand on phonebooks, he just jumps away and is fascenated by all the colorful toys surrounding him. He enjoys spinning the little spinny-disc and making the lights and music come on when he jumps. I am amazed by him every time he is in it!

We are also officially giving him baby food every day! He loves it!! His favorites are peaches and pears. We give him about 1/3 of a jar at a time, along with a couple ounces of formula. At night, he gets baby food plus formula with cereal...he sleeps very well these days!

First time in his high chair.

This is what happens when the jar is empty.

And to think they used to refer to him as a "lazy eater"!

After lunch, he asked if he could ride the dog...
Who are we to say no??

We aren't the only ones who can't help but
kiss those adorable little lips!

UPDATE: (Answer to comment by JB) When we introduced solid food, we started with bananas...we use Beech-nut (Stage 1). We gave him a few bites before his bottle at bedtime for about a week. Then we moved it to 2 feedings per day. Now, we feed him the baby food 3 times per day with 2 ounces of formula. We just let him eat until he starts acting like he is full (spits food out, doesn't open his mouth, etc.) At first, he was confused about how to eat it, but got the hang of it after a few feedings. My big advice to you would be to always use a bib!!

Easy come, easy go.

We got our tax refund on Friday. It is just about gone. We went car shopping 1st thing Saturday morning and bought an 02 Nissan Sentra Spec-V. We spent more on it than I wanted to, but Steven has not had a car of his own since 2003ish. He has been using my car. Having 1 car between 2 people is nearly impossible, yet we have been doing it since I got the Escalade in 2005. Now that we have Carter, we need our own cars. He deserves it anyway. He is an amazing provider and should feel proud of that...what better to be proud of than a hot sports car! We pick it up tomorrow.

After the car dealer, we went to Gabriel Brothers because I got a hot tip earlier in the day that they had Juicy Couture clothes for cheap. By the time we got there, the selection had dwindled and the only sizes left would be tight on Carter. Luckily I found 1 velour top. I looked it up and it retails for $195...I paid $24. Not bad!

On to BRU. I know what you are thinking..."oh there goes the rest of her money." Well, if we spent more that 15 minutes in there, you'd be exactly right. We had to pick up Carter so my mom could go to work, so it was in-and-out. We got him his jumperoo and a second carseat base for the new car. Steven was all "He's not going to be able to use this jumperoo yet. Why are we getting it??" I kept trying to tell him that he can totally jump. Lo and behold, we put him and it and he loved it! I know my crazy baby!

Today we tried a new church. It was actually very cool. Totally modern and casual. Its exactly what we are looking for. I want to raise Carter in a church where he can feel that the people are his family. That is what we left in NY and what we have been looking for since we moved here in 2006. I have been listening to the podcast from our church in NY instead of going to church on Sundays because we just haven't fit in anywhere we've been in OH. The vibe I got today was great. People were just cool. One guy came up to me, gave me a little punch on the shoulder and said "how you doin' today babe?" It was just nice to feel like I already knew everyone. I look forward to going back.

I'm totally excited for mail this week! I ordered a "Teething Bling" necklace from smartmomjewelry.com. Carter has been putting random things in his mouth lately and drooling everywhere, so I think teething is in our near future. I saw one of the necklaces on Tori Spelling and said I wanted one. One day, I will have everything celebs have...and paparazzi will camp out in my back yard. Anyway...I can't wait to get it and review it for you guys. Seems like a great idea...so we'll give it a try!

OK, my little man is fussing in the Pack n Play. I'm sure he's pretty hungry. Hope everyone had a great Sunday. If you're in the mood for a great movie, I recommend "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron. In my opinion, it should be manditory for married couples!

Feeling much better.

Carter is feeling much better. His cough is subsiding and he is acting himself again. That was certainly very rough for me. I hated seeing my angel so sick. Thankfully, the breathing treatments helped and the doctor said we can stop them tomorrow morning. This weekend should be much happier!

We put Carter in his new excersaucer today! At first, he was a little unsure, but once he started playing with the toys, he was just jumping and smiling away. It was so cute. He is getting so curious and so smart. I enjoyed watching him interact.

Carter taking a breathing treatment.

Making a new friend.

Hi...I'm Carter. What's your name?

We got our tax return, so tomorrow Steven and I are going car shopping. I will post pics of the new ride when we get it. Have a great weekend!

My poor baby.

Carter is sick. It started out with a dry cough on Friday and made for quite a miserable Super Bowl on Sunday...

The last 2 nights have been spent on the couch holding him as upright as I can while still being able to sleep. Most importantly, it keeps him comfortable. I called the pediatrician yesterday and they wanted to see him today. He has bronchiolitis. The doctor said it doesn't sound that bad and that it is totally normal for his age. She sent him home with a nebulizer and I have to do his treatment every 8 hours. Ironically, it is the only thing that calms him. Apparently, most babies hate it because they could not believe how still and calm he was during the whole thing.

I can't help but feel a little bit at fault. I am his mom and my job is to keep him healthy. I know that there was nothing I could've done, but I just feel awful. The poor thing will cough then smile...it breaks my heart to see such a happy innocent little angel so sick. I am thankful that he is taking things better today than he was on Sunday. I just want him to feel better.

We follow up with the pedi on Thursday...until then, mommy and Carter will be snuggling on the couch. Have I mentioned how much I love being his mom??