Dear Carter

I am sitting in your playroom writing this as you run around in your robot pjs, with a breakfast smeared face, simultaneously managing to wreck havoc while organizing funny things, like putting my slippers on the shelf and stacking up the cars. 

I've been thinking lately what an exciting time in your life this is! I feel like this is the fastest period of development next to being a newborn. You literally are figuring out something new everyday. Your communication skills aren't super strong (although I almost always know what you want when you point and grunt), but you make up for it in every other way, so I'm not too worried! You can run so fast I have to run as well to catch you. You can throw a ball (or your dinner) with accuracy (aka right at me). You can dunk the basketball. You can climb on almost anything now. You're so strong that even things that are too tall to get a leg up on you can pull up on. You are watching Daddy and me and imitating everything! You love to feel like a big boy and do exactly what we do. You love your puppy dogs, and they love you back, most of the time. You love the water. You love baths, showers, pool time, the splash park, the dogs' water bowls, or even a decent sized puddle! Yesterday you climbed into your kiddie pool that was empty except for a little rainwater, and managed to get wet from head to toe. Shirt, overalls, socks & shoes all had to come off! You like to clean, organize, stack, sort. You will sweep with the broom and if you find anything that looks like a paper towel you will use it to clean. You like headbands and shoes. You will put on any pair you find, whether they're mine or dad's and even if you already have shoes on. You do talk constantly, but very little of it is real words. Yesterday you dropped your cup & said "uh oh!" for the first time! You are finally interested in books, and will do more than throw them. You look at them by yourself (usually upside down for some reason), but also will crawl into our laps and let us read to you.

Since you were tiny you have been stubborn and opinionated. You have always wanted to do things your way. (I have no idea where you get that from!) This is great because you crawled and walked early, but I knew you were going to be slow to talk, because what's the need in communicating when you can do it yourself? When we're out Daddy likes to hold your hand and let you walk around, but that's easier said than done since there's a 100% chance you pull away and take off running. You may look like me but you are all Daddy on the inside!

After months of worrying and working, you are finally a decent eater! Still as unpredictable as any toddler, but I can usually count on you to eat your favorites, especially Mexican food! You can now drink out of a sippy cup, through a straw, or a regular cup by yourself! You're reluctant to practice with a spoon or fork for very long, because you can eat so much faster with your hands!

You only have 6 teeth, although all signs point to more very soon! Teething is honestly no big deal so far. You don't act any different and I am thankful for that!  Several people told us late teethers were easier than early ones, and that is proving true! I do wish you were farther along, because eating will be so much easier when you have more! (Like apples, which are the one fruit you try to eat, but end up swallowing a lot whole because your gums just can't crush them up enough!)

You are THE BEST SLEEPER! And momma is so grateful because I need my sleep! You still sleep 11 hours at night and then two 2 hour naps per day. When you are awake you are go-go-going, so I know you tucker yourself out! 

You are still a snuggler, and you give the best hugs. You like to pat my arm or back while I hold you, and when you're sleepy you still bury your fingers in my hair (and then yours when I lay you down). You give kisses, but not on command, only when you feel like it. You suddenly will come at us with an open mouth, aiming for our mouths! (I'm working with you on puckering!) I love when you come crawl in my lap and lean into me. I might have to find a new soap for the next baby, so I can always associate the smell of Aveeno with my guy. 

The whole point of this was to share a little bit of what you're up to, but mostly to make sure you know how much I love you! You're a boy, so this probably won't make you cry like it would your Momma, but one day, either when you're a little older, or a lot older, I hope you will read this and appreciate it. I should have kept better records of what you're into at each stage, but we can always check Facebook and see what I wrote! :) I cherish every single day with you. I LOVED having you in my tummy - every day you grew I was smiling more than I ever had before. I LOVE having you out of my tummy just as much. I complain to daddy that I'm bored, or lonely sometimes, but honestly I wouldn't give up staying home with you! I fought very hard for you, and you're the best thing I've ever done. Losing your little brother or sister a couple of months ago was a reminder to focus on you for the foreseeable future! Momma would have liked to make you a big brother this summer, but now I get to focus on you and make you the happiest guy ever! Hopefully we won't ruin you by spoiling you rotten for a little while!

You were throwing a ball around, but now you're dancing with your "Animales" book, so I'm thinking it's getting close to nap time! I love you little one! 

Momma 

Sleep struggles & successes!

I am fascinated by this enigma we call "infant sleep". (In quotes because some do very little of it.) Any parent will tell you that to "sleep like a baby" sounds awful. Though I guess when they do sleep, they crash, hard. We've been lucky overall, Carter slept through the night since at 10 weeks. And I mean 7 or more hours, not this 5+ business. That was about 6 weeks in. But that was luck & not any theory in action. Of course, he had to be held to sleep for the first 8 or 9 weeks. A 15 minute nap in the swing or a 1.5 hour nap on mom's chest? You can guess what we went with! But we slowly transitioned him to the pack & play bassinet next to our bed, and then to his crib across the hall at around 5 months. And he did great, until we moved...

All the variables kill me. Was it:  the change in scenery? The developmental stage? The head cold he got? The onset of separation anxiety? Going to sleep too late? Too early? Too much napping during the day? Too little? The pajamas (the things on the feet would bug me!)? Socks? No socks? 74°? 68°? 78°? Head toward the door? Head toward the window? Go to sleep with paci? No paci? Noise machine? No noise machine? Night light? No night light? Can he hear Louis snoring? Should we use the ceiling fan or a small fan near his crib? Whatever it was, suddenly my good sleeper was no more. He *would not* sleep in his crib for anything. Ever. Which was fine when I had nothing to do, but when mom is trying to get ready for 30+ guests or work at Sunshine School, it is no bueno. 

We three slept in our queen bed every night for over a month. Its hard to gear yourself up for any kind of sleeplessness when you've had months of 10 hour nights, so we took the easy (albeit uncomfortable) route for a good while. Eventually we bit the bullet and decided to start sleep training. Of course cry-it-out sounded like the worst thing every so we started with the "Sleep Lady Shuffle", but Carter wanted no part of that. It failed miserably. It might have been easier had we started before he was so aware of us, but at this point seeing us sitting next to the crib fueled a meltdown for the record books. He cried harder than I have ever seen. So we gave up & all got in bed :) We asked our pediatrician and he told us that he had heard the most success from cry-it-out. And when we were ready to try sleep training again, that's what we did. And it worked. Much better than we thought and much better than the SLS. He cried like someone was hurting him for 90 minutes before we gave in during the SLS, & for maybe 40 minutes with CIO ranging from whimpers to full on crying. And now less than a week in he is putting himself to sleep for bedtime & naps with <10 minutes of fussing. And he'll sleep for an hour minimum at nap time & 11ish hours at night. He had never ever put himself down - he had to be 100% asleep & then I'd carefully, 1cm at a time move him to his crib. I know people who love SLS & I'm glad it worked for them, it is certainly easier on mommy's nerves, but our stubborn boy would not give up while he could see us! Regardless, glad something worked! We are all happier & better rested for it!

I am still a little worried because God was kind to us and gave us one of the most easy going children of all time. Besides being a cruddy nurser & eater in general, he hasn't given us much trouble. Well there is the copious amounts of spitup I dealt with. I haven't seen another child who rivals him in that. A few come close. But seriously? A load of laundry daily is welcomed since I have such a happy guy. Which means... Either he's going to hit a real rough phase later, or we might as well call the next one Ike or Katrina 'cause (s)he'll be a hurricane. I feel like with Carter's pregnancy all I worried about was health. Mine & his, then & in the future. But now looking at getting pregnant again, I'm worried about personality!! What about you, mom friends? Did you worry more or less the second time? Did you pray for health? Smarts? Smiles? Good sleeper? 

The Nursery

This nursery was a labor of love.  As in I loved it but it was a lot of work.  As with most momma's on a budget, I did everything myself (slash with my mom's help)(and sisters' advice).  I had very specific ideas about what I wanted this room to look like, but very little idea where to find what I wanted!  (and I apologize for the poor quality of the photos - this room has very little natural light thanks to a southeast facing window and a dark curtain.  Perfect for a napping child, not so great for the photography!)

Furniture - I wanted dark wood... I LOVE white, but its not super gender neutral. (I guess it can be - but white furniture with navy & white bedding felt very nautical, not the direction I wanted)  I did a lot of research, price comparing, etc. and found this at Burlington Baby Depot.  It's highly rated by Consumer Reports for safety, it was a pretty, dark wood, solid construction, and had a coordinating wide, low dresser that I could make into our changing table (one of my must-haves).  The recliner is a craigslist find from a lovely family in Allen who bought it when their daughter was born!  I have slept in it, and it was much better than I would have slept in a non-reclining glider.

Textiles - I searched and searched for bedding I liked, but I was not able to find what I was looking for (at least for a decent price).  I searched and search fabric stores, but still couldn't find what I wanted, so I ordered fabric online.  It arrived, minus the curtain fabric which was backordered, so my my mom and I made the bedding before school started.  The curtain fabric arrived the day he was born, and we didn't make the curtain until he was about a month old, which was no big deal since at that point he had never slept in his room! (And the perfectly coordinating green crib sheet is from his Oklahoma City cousins!) The rug I found on rugsusa.com, and had timing issues thanks to it constantly being out of stock in the size I needed.  I finally managed to get it during one of their big sales, and it arrived the week before he was born, 3 weeks ahead of schedule!  And its perfect!

 

Knick-knacks - hanging toy storage from Ikea.  On his dresser is a lamp from Aunt Kara, a photo from our maternity session, and two model cars.  A blue Shelby Cobra (his Papa's dream car) and an orange Chevy Bel Air (a car his Papi actually had).  On the shelf next to the curtain is a silver duck (mine) and a block (Aunt Kara's I think), a glass clown that was his Papa's when he was little, and some word art found on Pinterest!

"Art" - Carter letters above the door (made by me) and collage above the crib with images that are special to us (and don't worry, they are hanging on nails, with 3m velcro strips for reinforcement.  A earthquake could bring the house down and those guys will still be stuck to that wall!)  That collage was the bane of my existence for awhile, and the reason his nursery wasn't finished finished until like last week.  I started with just the round plate and the bible verse with the signed mat from my baby shower, and had to select the images I wanted, decide what size I wanted them to be, find the rest of the frames in dark brown in the correct sizes and coordinating styles, and then send the images to kinkos for printing.  And then frame and hang them all (with my tape measure, pencil, and level, after first creating the design on the floor, because I'm OCD and thanks to my dad I don't hang anything on the wall without it being flawless).

Images from L to R, top to bottom: Chili's logo, polo player, "C is for Carter" print, Batman, Winnie the Pooh quote, birth stats, his hospital bracelet, Dallas Cowboys, special Bible verse plate from Miss Laura, picture of his two favorite people, Texas, Bible verse with signed mat from baby shower, RCA dog (who Sadie resembles), Winnie the Pooh quote.

 

Reading nook - as a teacher, but more importantly a life-long book worm, I wanted to have a special place for reading.  I saw the Ikea spice rack bookshelf idea on Pinterest, and decided to go with it, and I love how they turned out.  He actually has quite a bit more books than fit on the shelves, so we have some on the shelves, in that basket, downstairs, and in the other bedroom.  My mom found the Eric Carle alphabet print, which I love, and is perfect because those are currently his favorite books (simple, bold pictures and sing songy words are right up his alley)! 

I'm completely in love with it!  Sadie too, as you can see she already has her "spot" where she hangs out while we change him or read!  Every single thing was carefully considered and chosen by me, (with advice from my mom and sisters), and is special to us!  And Lord willing when we get a little girl, I will change the green to pink and change out some of the accessories and we'll be good to go.  I have now done every room in our house besides the extra bedroom (aka Carter's future big boy room) and the dining room, and the dining room is getting a makeover asap (like this weekend?!).  Somehow there isn't enough room for the gear/toys we've already acquired for him, so the dining room we never use is going to be the play room.  As much as it feels weird to do, I really want all the toys in one location, and there just isn't enough room in his room or the living room.  Next house we'll have both, but for now this plan will do fine! (How did I fill up this more than big enough house with stuff?)(but I digress, my shopping addiction and hoarding problem is a whole other blog topic!) =)

I think I made my oldest friend/freshman roommate/interior designer extraordinaire proud!  Melis - don't tell me if not! ;)