We've made it to the talkies....

Some of you might have been under the impression that life with Carter was a little like a silent movie:



But these days, he's down right chatty most of the time.  Here's a little sample:

California Trip

We decided that before we get too close to the due date, we should take a plane trip somewhere so Carter can gain some travel experience before we're homebound with a new baby for a while again.  We thought about Montreal (oops - haven't gotten a passport yet), Hawaii (too far just now), and California to visit my family in Santa Barbara.  Uncle Walter and Aunt Lucinda were generous in hosting the three of us for the weekend, AND taking some time off work to spend with us!  So Carter got to play in the garden:

And enjoy Uncle Waldo's (and Aunt Lucinda's!) company:

And be super cute:

Marni met us out there as well so it was a regular family reunion!  Carter got to go to the beach, the zoo, play with his younger cousin Leo and Auntie Georgia and Uncle Nate.  Nate's family was nice enough to host a Superbowl party where Carter was thoroughly uninterested in football but VERY interested in guacamole.  And cheese.

As I mentioned, we did go to the beach:

Everybody had fun there digging in the sand, watching the kites fly, and running madly around until Carter got surprised by the (chilly!) water coming up around his ankles.  That was the end of the fun at the beach - we did talk him down, but not until after we walked away from the waves.  In an effort to get back on the sand, we went to the city wharf the next day to hopefully reintroduce the ocean to him so he won't be so scared next time.  He did pretty well there, especially since he got to have pancakes for lunch...

We also went to the zoo with Auntie Georgia and Cousin Leo:

The Santa Barbara Zoo was the perfect size for a little one - I think it took us about 2 hours to see almost the whole thing.  With a playground at the end that the little guys were all over.  We noted a few interesting differences between Leo (who's about 16 months) and Carter.  For instance, Leo is WAY more physical than our little guy - he's throwing and kicking balls around, running headlong into things whereas Carter's a little more cautious (not surprising given his dad's tendencies).  Carter was a little freaked out about the tunnel in the picture above until Leo ran through it a couple of times, then he couldn't get enough!  He needed his little cousin to show him how to have a good time with a new toy.

The fave pic of the weekend was Carter smooching his Aunt Georgia:

We were so happy to be able to get a little quality time in with the family before another little guy or girl shows up on the scene...

There were definitely some challenges, though: the sleep schedule got completely undone.  If you know us as a family, you know that the sleep schedule is sacred.  We're trying to deal - we had no nap for 3 days and bedtime an hour and a half late for 3 nights because Carter just wouldn't calm down enough to sleep.  (Cue Samuel L. Jackson).  When we're not wrestling him into bed, though, he has been pretty normal despite the sleep deprivation.  I'm going to give it a week to get back in to his routine.  If you haven't heard from us by then, please send help.

Big Ol' Jet Airliner

Last weekend we took Carter on his second plane trip ever - all the way to California. There will be a post to follow soon with more from our adventures. These three shots of Mimi and Carter horsing around just seemed like they needed their own post. He was surprisingly good on the 6 hour flight...whew.

Dude's Weekend

Mimi had to work this weekend so Carter and I were on our own for a 3 day guy fest. Saturday morning over breakfast I asked Carter what he wanted to do, and he answered, "Make big boy bed."  We were thinking of waiting for a couple weeks since we have some trips coming up and didn't want to jinx our normally solid sleep routine, but how could I resist a little guy who wants to put stuff together?

Carter showed remarkable patience and managed to get 5 of the screws put in (by himself!) before he was off to do other things like "cook cake in pan" leaving me to do the rest.  (Thanks to Ikea for making little allen wrenches that can be turned by eager toddlers.)

He slept like a champ in the new bed and we seem to have made the transition easily - whew.    

We cleaned out a fireplace and Carter told me, "No me like orange robot.  Too loud." referring to the shop vac.  It was also a complete surprise me when he reminded me,  "Dad, get egg boxes" on the way out the door to the Farmer's Market.  Thanks little guy -- I would have completely forgotten!

We got together with friends and brewed some beer, fixed lots of little things around the house, had tons of play time, and squeezed in some Sunday night nachos.  

He seems to surprise us every day with new words or phrases but here are a few that stand out from the weekend:

"Watch out" - pushing us aside

"Better hide" - covering us with a blanket

"Dad, be right back down, no need help" - going upstairs to get a book

"Me make cupcake [with] bacon and peas" - maybe cupcake carbonara will be the next big thing