Let Me Catch You Up!

These are some of his 9 month pictures.

Wow! It has been a long time since I have posted. This summer has been so crazy and has gone by so fast. So far, no luck in finding a way to keep Carter a baby and not let him grow up. He is growing up so fast and it seems to get faster every day. Let me tell you all his new tricks:

He can wave bye-bye.

He can cover his face and play peek-a-boo/"where's Carter?".

He gives high five.

He has a toy phone and when you say "hello" he holds it to his ear and starts jabbering.

He scoots all around while sitting up (He really hates being on his belly).

He does patty cake.

He loves to drum.

He really loves music all together. He claps and drums whenever music is played. Sometimes he even sounds like he is trying to sing.

He recognizes people and show affection.

He gives kisses.

I can't believe he is 10 months old. I have started looking at things for his 1st birhtday and it makes me want to cry. I mean serioulsy, he was just born yesterday. He should not be getting so big already. Don't get me wrong, there are benefits to him getting older: he sleeps longer at night, he is becoming more independent which equals easier, he knows people and show affection. Watching him grow has been one of the greatest joys in my life. When he grabs on to me and squeezes there is no better feeling. When he looks at me a gives me that huge smile that covers his entire face my day is always better. Being a wife and a mommy is the greatest blessing God has given me.

All I Want to do is Have Some Fun

Adam and Carter playing in the pool in the backyard

Little man all tuckered out at the Cardinals game.

Mommy and Carter laying out.

All of us at the Cardinals game.

We have had such a fun summer. We have taken Carter all around the country and back. We have been swimming and cooked out and spent lots of time with family and friends.

Carter loves the water. As soon as he hits the water he kicks and splashes. He is so close to crawling. He scoots and swims on the ground. He loves to be read to and to look at pictures. He absolutely loves the dvd Praise Baby.

Carter is growing up so fast. I am so excited to see what he will do next. I can't wait to see his first steps and to hear his first words. At the same time I want to freeze time for a little while. I am not ready for him to be a big boy. That is the joys of motherhood. I am enjoying every moment of motherhood (well most moments anyway :) ) This is an amazing journey God has allowed me to be a part of. I can't wait to see what happens next!!

Father's Day

Adam is such a wonderful father. I wanted to make his first Father's Day special. I made a sign to put on the fireplace. I let Carter hold the pen and scribble all over the sign. It looked fantastic. We gave Adam a big bag of gummy bears, a pop up shooting house, and 2 cds. I made his father's day card by tracing Carter's hands on the front and letting Carter "write" on the inside.

He deserved this and so much more. He is so wonderful with Carter. Carter lights up when he sees his daddy. Adam is not only the fun one, but he has been so much help with Carter since day one. He has also made an effort to make sure we have dates and time together. He helps me not be too crazy as a first time mommy.

He wins best all around for being a daddy!! Thank you, Adam, for being the best husband and daddy in the world. I love you!!

St. Louis

Carter has been a traveling dude this summer. We have been to visit grandparents, on a mission trip to Maine, and on vacation in St. Louis. We met the West family in St. Louis for a little vacationing. We went to 2 Cardinal games, to the zoo, to Grant's Farm, to the top of the arch, and had lots of good food. Carter loved the fish and the snakes at the zoo. He got to pet the goats at Grant's Farm and ride the carousal. He got to share Dippin Dots at the games. He had a blast! We had a blast taking him to all those places. It is so amazing seeing how much he is growing and changing everyday. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Maine

The bottom 2 pictures are Carter on the plane. The top picture is the family eating lobster rolls in Maine and the 2nd picture is Adam and I at the top of the light house in Pemaquid.

We went with the youth, to Maine, to work with a church that our church partners with. We stuffed bags, passed out candy, fliers, and ice cream. We held a youth revival on two nights and we did some work for a youth center. We had a great time. Carter was wonderful. He went with the flow and was a perfect baby the whole time. We couldn't have asked for more from him. I really enjoyed getting to hang out with all the youth and to work with the church in Maine.

You are My Sunshine My only Sunshine

These pictures are from Adam's company picnic. It was a great way to kick off the summer. They had anything and everything you could imagine to eat, games, music and lots of fun stuff. The picnic is one of the many things his company does to promote family. We are so blessed by his job. Carter had a blast until he got hit in the head with a volley ball. It was pretty much game over at that point. It didn't help that it was getting close to bed time. Look how cute he looks in his little hat. I can't wait to see what else the summer holds for us!!

Swim Fishy Swim

This is Carter's first time in the pool. I was scared that the water was going to be too cold or that Carter was going to hate it, but I was wrong. He was like a little fish. It was amazing how he just seemed to know what to do as soon as his little body hit the water. He kicked and splashed as fast as his little arms and legs could go. I tried to get a picture of him looking at the camera in his float, but he was too interested in eating the float. He had the best time. I finally had to make him get out when his lips started turning blue. haha First time swimming was a success!! Can't wait to go again.