Even more of the First Big Adventure

Syracuse has had more than 70 inches of snow this December so it seemed like the perfect time to introduce Carter to the joys of being outdoors in the winter.   We had a great walk in our neighbor's back fields, but what we like best is tromping through the woods on snowshoes.

Happy to be outside!

I would say that Carter enjoyed himself, but since it was only 17F out there he was snuggled tight against me.  I'm pretty sure he slept the whole time...  Shaylie, on the other hand, tore tirelessly around the back forty in search of the rabbits she KNEW were there somewhere.

Carter was hard to see so I labeled him...

It might be corny, but being out in the silent snowy woods always makes me think of the Robert Frost poem.  We'll put that on the list to read with Carter some day.

Holiday Season and First Big Adventure!

We had an uneventful Solstice (we made dinner at home and I tried to see the eclipse while I was feeding Carter overnight, but ended up looking out the wrong window and missed it...), although I did feel grateful all day that the sunset would be later each night going forward.  I would like to try to start some kind of Solstice tradition in this family, but this year sort of snuck up on me, so I missed it.  I read about a similar situation on one of my blogs, Hip Mountain Mama, and they ended up going to Red Rocks (they live in CO) and drummed up the sun that morning.  *sigh* This sort of stuff still just makes me want to move away from here even more so we can have the sort of community that I want Carter to grow up in.

A few days later, we rallied to go up to the 'Cuse to be with the Jordans on Christmas:  first big trip!  He did great in the car, including a precarious diaper change on the floor of an Arby's bathroom.

A Great Grammy cuddle is super-soporiffic.

Upon arrival, Great Grammy promptly came over to the Jordans' house and hypnotized Carter.  There are a bazillion pictures like this one.  I begged her to come home with us, but she had to stay.  Since this was the first time they met, Grammy had a ball hanging out with Carter and the rest of us had a ball watching it.







We had a great Christmas Eve dinner at the Greats' house with much picture taking:

X-mas Eve at the Dundons'

Carter especially liked the lights on the Christmas tree and the after-effects of the Scarlett O'Hara's that Mama had!










Christmas morning brought so many presents for Carter from so many generous folks!  Our favorites (although not Carter's, yet) were all the books - Sheep in a Jeep, Truck Duck, the Read Aloud Handbook, First the Egg, Ten Little Garden Snails, and Fuzzy Bee among others.

Toy for Carter, or the adults?

And there were tons of clothes and a few toys.  Another great addition was the Great Horned Owl puppet that Gram gifted.  All of us were fascinated by it (Carter was trying).

Great-Aunt Sarah's special Christmas cuddle

Carter got to meet the rest of the family: Great-Uncle Curt and Aunt Sarah (who got her major baby fix on X-mas morning - Carter was a big fan of her lap!), Uncle Ed and cousin Kaia (I didn't get a picture - gah!).

meh.

Shaylie was non-plussed by the whole event.



And best of all - great family time!!

Great-Grammy's hand-knit stocking for Carter
(swoon!)

We hope everyone had fun and safe holidays.  Here's hoping for a great 2011!

Little Guy Smiley

It happened for the first time on 12/12/10 and since then we've been trying to capture it on camera.  Today, we got it!  Yes, they are blurry, but around here we smile on the move...

Little Smile

Big Smile

We've definitely seen an increase in Carter's awareness of the world around him.  He enjoys "playing" more these days and is particularly interested in the crazy monkey on his play mat.

Where's that silly monkey?

Who said anything about kissing?

In other news we had our 2 month visit to the pediatrician on Thursday.  Everything looks good and he's been growing like a weed -- 11lbs 10oz now.  (See the growth chart at the bottom)  He took his shots like a trooper, but the soreness of the tetanus vaccine caught up with him later in the evening...  He boarded the fuss bus and rode it to the last stop.    

Hang'in with Sue's Pack

Our friend Sue was over for dinner and got witness the post shot drama.  Luckily Coffey and Ruffian were on hand to provide comfort.

Gym time for Carter

Carter's starting to think about playing a little bit (sorry for the craptastic pics):

Almost ready to swipe at the monkey.

Most of the time, he just wants to look.

He's just sort of becoming accustomed to hanging out on the little activity mat that my work-mates gave to him - it was (I think) a little too scary a few weeks ago.  So during the awake time, we try to spend some energy working out how to play with the crazy jungle animals (must go get soundtrack to The Jungle Book for playtime).  We also use the mat for tummy time:  

Boo-ya!  Headlift!

FTW!

He can lift his head up and hold it when he's being burped, but he doesn't do it much when he's actually doing tummy time.  We gotta work on getting those muscles developed.

We read a few stories this morning - Tortoise and the Hare, The Sun and the West Wind.  Carter doesn't seem too interested yet, but I hope with repetition and persistence, he'll start to pay attention.  (Rip Van Winkle is a SUPER sad story, by the way.  The guy sleeps his life away and wakes up to find his wife old, his dog dead, and his kids grown!  I hope the other nursery tales we read don't end up so fatally...  Don't even get me started on Aesop.)

Side by Side

Almost everyday folks ask us if Carter is changing.  To us he seems a little chubbier and certainly more alert, but we have a tough time seeing the changes day to day.  I noticed that I happened to take a picture this morning that was in the same position and outfit as one taken back in October.  So, I've decided to post them side by side and let you all decide for yourselves.

12/5/10 (8 Weeks Old)

10/24/10  (2 Weeks Old)

I take silly pleasure in propping the little guy up and letting him sit on his own.  (It make it easier to take pictures too.)  So here's a few from today.

Rockin Out

Sack'O'Potatoes

In the second one you can see some of that chubbiness I was talking about...  That outfit isn't going to fit for much longer.