I’d like to say we’ve been so busy these days that I just haven’t had time to blog, but the only thing we’ve really been busy with is the every day activities of work and home in addition to a few of our own personal interests. So, I guess that means I’ve been avoiding blogging out of pure laziness and avoidance of extra time on the computer. Wait, I can’t really say I’ve been avoiding the computer because over the last few weeks I’ve gained an addiction to Craig’s List, which means that I’m checking the stupid website every day, sometimes three to four times a day. I don’t even know why I scroll through the postings of items so frequently…which is why I can only label this habit as an addiction. Sure, I’ve purchased a few things – an outdoor swing and gently used toys for Carter and a couple of upgrades for our computer room (a desk and flat panel monitor) – but for the most part I don’t actually need or even want anything on the site.
Thanks to my addiction though (I found a great steel desk for $5), I’ve decided that it’s time to complete the last room in the house that needs a “makeover” – the computer room **insert scary sound effect here**. Currently, our computer room (aka – the 3rd bedroom) is a total pig sty. It is like our dumping grounds, and within the last few weeks I’ve really gotten lazy about keeping it even semi organized, so it’s gone completely into the toilet (not literally, but you know what I mean). We have a little path into the room, and that path is surrounded by all of the things we can’t find a place for in other parts of our home. The desk is now piled with I think three stacks of papers that need to be filed, and the treadmill that hasn’t been used in over a year is just an eye sore. Honestly, I think every house has one of these rooms or spaces…or at least every house that is home to a child. But that’s no excuse for me…I’m determined to get it cleaned up and looking decent! So, this weekend’s projects are to get the new desk painted, do some new carpet research, and hopefully throw everything out that we don’t plan to keep. Doesn’t sound like much, but honestly, it’s hard to do too much when we have a babe to watch as well.
Our weekends have really been laid back lately, which feels great. We’ve spent some time with neighbors, and family has visited here and there, but for the most part we’ve had a lot of time to ourselves. Matt has gone golfing with friends a few times, I’ve gotten to spend quality time with Carter, and on Sunday afternoons we try to relax together and watch the Packers and Steelers games. It’s been the perfect balance of activities for me, so I’m feeling very relaxed these days. Carter and I have even gotten a few walks in. He really loves being outside. It’s the best way to calm him down if he’s fussy. He loves watching Ace & Sassy run around in the yard, but also likes just riding in the stroller and taking in all of the neighborhood activities…mostly the kids that are playing in their front yards. Hopefully the weather stays nice for a few more weeks so he can continue to enjoy it!
A couple of weeks ago, Carter experienced the zoo for the first time. Our life insurance company hosted a night at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to introduce Carter to the world of watching animals in cages (not to mention get out of the house for an evening). At first, I don’t think he got the point of the zoo as he took absolutely no interest in watching the reindeer. But then we got to the monkeys and his eyes lit up! He watched the monkeys swinging from branch to branch, and was in complete awe. The bats were next, and although they weren’t as active (and were harder to see), he was able to follow them as they flew across their concrete cell. I think Matt was embarrassed as I was squatting next to the stroller, explaining things to Carter. I was making monkey noises, telling him that bats hang upside down, and when we got to the camels, I explained that they store water in their humps (which then made me wonder if that was true, or if it’s just something I had dreamt up on my own as a kid – turns out they don’t actually store water in their humps, in case you were wondering). Anyway, Carter also got to hear a cheetah growl, and compared his foot size with a baboon’s. It was a fun time for all of us. 
On the 18th, we brought Carter home from daycare and instead of putting him on a blanket to roll around and play, we just let him play on the carpet (a first for us). It wasn’t 10 minutes later when the little bugger was scooting around using both his arms to pull and legs to push him around. Prior to that night Carter would only move backward. And ever since that night, we’ve had to keep a much closer eye on him. As far as my crawling prediction goes, I think he has a couple more weeks. He will still prop himself up on all fours quite frequently, but always plops back down to the belly without any forward motion. Matt did install the “tot-locks” in the kitchen for the cupboards which hold anything that would harm him, so whenever he does decide to crawl, we’re prepared!!
Carter’s vocalization has dropped a little, even though he never talked a heck of a lot. He seems too busy focusing on his toys to be thinking about talking. Amanda, our daycare provider, said that one day he sat for 25 minutes just staring at the alphabet she has up on the wall. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he’s blabbing like mommy and daddy though. He did finally start saying ‘dadadada’ on our way home from the zoo (yay!) and whenever he gets hungry, we still hear ‘mamama’. He’s eating a lot more solid foods these days, and is getting really close to cutting down to 4 bottles of mama’s milk a day instead of the 5 he’s been drinking up until now. I also bought him a little “mesh feeder” that I can put fresh fruits and soft veggies into for him to chew on. It forces him to mash the food himself, and allows him to get fresh food instead of jarred all of the time. We tried it for the first time last night with a fresh peach, and he absolutely loved it!! He wasn’t a big fan of peaches from the jar, but after taking one whiff of the jarred variety, I didn’t imagine he’d like them too much. The fresh peach was a much better experience for him.
The other exciting event in Carter’s life (okay, it’s really just exciting for me and Matt), is that we’ve purchased the larger car seats for our vehicles, so no more lugging our tiny tot around in an infant carrier! At first, Carter was a little confused by it, but now I think he likes it as he can see a lot more from his propped up position. And I’m enjoying it as well. It’s so much easier to carry just him than to have an awkward carrier. Not to mention, he hated being in the carrier, so I feel better knowing he’s a little happier. I packed up the carrier, the infant swing we don’t use anymore, the bouncy seat, boppy, and a few other items/toys Carter doesn’t use anymore and hauled them out to our storage shed. All the while, I was in complete amazement that all of these things only lasted us six and a half months. Hopefully we’ll be fortunate to have another child in the future so we can use them all again, but I can’t believe how quickly he out-grew everything (even though everyone told me I’d be surprised by it). It’s probably only a matter of another few months before I’ll have to go through his things again and move more items to storage. Just crazy!
I can’t believe that tomorrow will be October and Carter will be seven months old…where did September go?!?
