Change.

It's amazing to think how much can change in just one week and how much growth can take place. Carter is unstopable these days. I look at the picture above and it's hard to believe this is my little baby, he looks like a little man.

This past week he's been "exploring" everything. You put him down and immediatly he is crawling in the opposite direction. In fact, last night he crawled under the exercauser and sat and played, then became mad because he kept bumping his head when trying to get out. What really entices him right now - tags on anything, he can also spot cords to anything (this is very dangerous and has been a big motivation for baby proofing), he also loves to go after a framed picture of Mike and I on the bookcase in the living room and he loves to chase after the dogs. He is crawling, and going from crawling to sitting on his own, and has begun to pull up on things. The pulling up on things has been pretty trying for him. Now when he is mad and doesn't want to go to bed at night he cries and tries to pull up on the crib, as if to say "let me out", then his hand slips and he bumps his head on the crib. Poor kiddo, it has to be frustrating to be little sometimes.

It's a big joy for me to watch him explore and discover the world, well our living room. :) I do cherish each day with Carter and the opportunity I have to see him change daily. Thank you for working so hard Mike so that I can stay home with Carter.

In Remembrance.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

June 23, 1910-January 27, 2008

Our beloved prophet passed away last night and I wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude for him. He was such an amazing man, a true servant of the Lord. He was called of God and served The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints faithfully. I am grateful to be a member of this church and to have had the opportunity to be led by such a humble, loving and inspiring prophet. I can't help but think the Lord was there to welcome him and say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Mathew 25:21

Survive.

There is only one word that could sum up the last three days... Survive. It's been all that I could do to just survive.

On Tuesday morning I woke up in the middle of the night sicker than a dog. So sick that it was all that I could do to roll over and hit the waste basket. Turns out I was having an allergic reaction to some antibiotics I was on. You know the warning labels they hand out with new prescriptions, you could have the following side effects... blah, blah, blah. I had ALL of them! So bad that a good friend of mine, Staci, saved me by coming to get Carter at 7:45 a.m. and packing a bag for him, getting milk for him from out of the freezer, packing the portacrib and taking my little man for the day. I made it to the door to let her in and that was all I could do, there was no way I could have even lifted Carter out of his crib. She was so wonderful and selfless to spend her day, well the last three days, serving our family. Thank you Staci!

Then there was this afternoon. Carter has learned how to crawl, very exciting at first. Now I can't keep the little guy in the same spot for two seconds. Yesterday he figured out how to go from crawling to sitting on his own, also very exciting. So back to this afternoon, I needed to work on my lesson for Sunday and I thought the only safe place to put him for 15 minutes was in his crib. I left him in there happy as a bug, talking and playing. Next thing I hear, BANG, I go running into his room and there he is flat on his face, OUTSIDE of the crib on the FLOOR. How in the heck did he do that?!? He's only 7 months and I have never seen him try to pull up. So I hurried and scooped him up and held him while he screamed. I about had a heart attach. He's fine, not even a bruise, he was just scared from the fall. I mean wouldn't you? It's a long way down. So as we speak he is in the portacrib taking a nap until Mike gets back and can lower the mattress in the crib.

So until Mike gets back all I have to do is... Survive.

Progress.

Here's a quick view of Carters progress. He's crawling and learning when you don't succeed try, try again! Hurray!

Rest.

I love Sundays for reasons like this picture, a day of rest. The sabbath has become a day I really look forward to. I love attending church and the opportunity it provides me to fill up my cup for the week, to renew my covenants with the Lord and start the week fresh. Although church is different now trying to entertain Carter and not be the loud family in the back :), I'm still able to feel the spirit and learn more about my Heavenly Father. Now that I'm a stay at home mom, church is a great opportunity to dress up and get out of the house, in which I am also grateful for. I love Sundays because we get time to spend with our little family, time to take a nap, catch up with each other and to turn off the TV and just be a family. I'm grateful for my many blessings. I know that my Redeemer lives and blesses our lives continually as we exercise faith in Him. I hope you had a restful sabbath and it has filled your cup for the week.

Exodus 23:12 "Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest"

Thief.

Does this look like the face of a thief?

It should.

This little bandit has been stealing Carters socks! I found her tonight with another pair and earlier this week she devoured a pair and dragged them around outside. She doesn't care about onesies, pants or burb cloths, she only cares for socks. What the fascination with them is, is beyond me. So if you ask me how our dogs have adjusted since Carter arrived, this is my reply. I have one thief, the above picture of Casey, and the other dog, Steiger, is like a jealous toddler. Just wait until Carter is bigger, then they'll learn who's boss.

Highlights.

Here are a few highlights from the week.

Monday, Tuesday - Carter and I are turning into gym go-ers. He loves playing in the kids club with Will and Tayson, and I love that I can finally get into pre-baby jeans. Goodbye baby weight! Hurray!

Wednesday - Our little man has figured out that if he pulls the crib bumper down he can see his bedroom door and see where we are. There goes our ability of sneaking in and out of his room.

Thursday - I hosted Bunco this month and I am happy to say we survived and I think dinner was a success. Marie was a lifesaver and made last minute dessert for me and came and held Carter for me while I finished dinner. My theme was "recipes for a delicious 2008" and one of the prizes included the new cookbook by Jessica Sienfield, Deceptively Delicious, where she hides veggies in normal kid happy foods. I got a book for me too. I can't wait to try it out. :)

Friday - We spent the day at home, recooping from our busy Thursday, spending lots of time rolling around on the carpet trying to get Carter to crawl. He's almost there, he's up on his knees still but now he moves his knees and arms, makes about two "crawls" and then is back on his tummy and drags himself. Here's a video from tonight Mom. :)

I was also able to watch the last Greys Anatomy and loved it. Now I'm even more ticked that the writers strike still hasn't resolved. It's busy season, I need to have something to entertain me at night when Carter goes to bed and Mike is working super late. I don't know how much longer I can take just reality shows.

Saturday - We finally got to spend some time with Mike, who had been working crazy hours this past week. He took us out to dinner and Carter was a great sport. He hung out in the high chair and ate cheerios.

Sunday - Carter makes it through all of church without spitting up. This is monumental!

Mohawk.

We purchased our first can of mousse for Carter this weekend. This is the result of a can of mousse, Mike and 5 minutes in the bathroom. This same hairdo was repeated this afternoon for church. No one said anything about his Mohawk so that makes me think no one else thought it was as cute as we did. He's a hip baby and we had to do something to tame his baby hair. Here are a few more pictures.

We had a great weekend. It's the beginning of busy season for Mike so it was nice to spend time as a family before Mike disappears. We went out to lunch on Saturday to Chipotle's (our favorite place, the best guacamole ever! I highly recommend the burrito in a bowl with the tortilla on the side with steak.) This morning we hung out in our pj's playing with Carter before 3 p.m. church. Late church is no fun. When we left the building it was dark - yuck - and then is was a mad dash to get home, eat dinner and get Carter to bed. Some other exciting news, Carter turned seven months this past week and now has TWO teeth. This tooth was a little easier and I knew what to expect from the last one. So we loaded up on baby tylenol and gave Carter extra hugs and snuggles and he survived - until the next tooth.

Tagged

Lynette tagged me back before Christmas and I finally had a chance to fulfill the tag. Here are six things you didn't know about my hubby Mike.

1. Mike is Mr. Fix It. No seriously, he's an accountant but should have been a carpenter. He loves it and is good at it. He's made our log bed, including chopping down the pine trees. Now that's impressive. He's put up chair rail, crown molding, lays carpet, custom builds doggy doors and can fix plumbing and other household dilemmas. I use to talk with ladies at work and they would complain about their hired handymen taking forever to fix things. I always use to ask why they didn't just have their husbands do it. Turns out it is pretty rare to have such a handy and talented hubby.

2. Mike stock piles American Express points and cashes them in for Home Depot gift cards. I don't think he's paid for a tool or other HD odds and ends in over three years.

3. He's a good Samaritan. I don't know how many times he has pulled over on the side of the road to help someone change a tire, but there have been numerous occasions. He's always willing to help and never says no.

4. He's meticulous and can't skim through a book. He's very detailed and reads every word. This drives me nuts, especially in college I never understood why it would take him forever to study. In the long run I think it's a key to his success, he doesn't miss things that we might because we rush through it.

5. I like to call Mike a water bug. He leaves water everywhere! For example, when he washes his hands he first turns on the water, gets his hands wet and then leaves a trail of water from the sink to the soap dispenser and back. Then he washes and flicks his hands to shake off the excess water, from this single action he leaves water prints all over the mirror and the rest of the counter. He's gotten better at drying his hands, but he use to just wipe them on his shirt and walk around with hand prints for twenty minutes. Five and a half years later, this is still a work in progress. :)

6. Mike is the most patient person I know. He is the most wonderful and loving husband and is a great hands on dad. He doesn't shy away from dirty diapers or spit up, he rolls up his sleeves and helps with Carter and helps to keep me happy and sane. We're very lucky to have such a wonderful man leading our family and enriching our lives. We love you Mike!

I tag, Lindsay, Marie, Brynn and Alissa.

Sleep

I'm happy to report Carter is well on his way to his old schedule and both baby and mommy are starting to sleep again! Hurray! Last night I put him down at 8 p.m. and he woke up crying at 9, but went right back down until I went to get him this morning at 7:45 a.m. Success. Now, on to the next goal to get him back to going to bed at 7.

Sleeping Baby = Happy Mommy

A New Year and A New Tooth

You can barely see it here, but Carter has his first tooth. Santa brought it to him on Christmas morning and it's finally gotten to a point where I could snap a picture to share.

Happy New Year!