Carter: 28 Months

Here is a little of what our sweet boy is up to these days:

-Carter is absolutely obsessed with animals... live animals, pictures of animals, animal figurines, etc. He can name just about any animal you show him including different types of insects such as daddy-longlegs, centipedes, dragonflies... you get the idea. Jeremy found a couple of apps for our Ipod Touch that have really encouraged his learning in this area. They show pictures of different animals along with the name and sound that they make. Carter is so crazy about the apps that we have to strongly limit the time he can play with them.

-Carter can name all the letters of the alphabet. He also knows the sounds for all of the letters.

-He has started spelling out different words. I looked on our refrigerator the other day and he had spelled out the words "CAT" and "YES" with his magnetic letters. He has also memorized how to spell the words YES, NO, STOP, GO, DOG, MAMA, and CARTER.

-He can identify numbers 1-11 and sometimes a few numbers between 12 and 20.

-His favorite TV show is still Little Einsteins, though he also enjoys Super Why, Max & Ruby, and sometimes Sesame Street.

-Carter continues to LOVE books. We make weekly trips to the library, which he really looks forward to.

-He can identify all his colors and really likes to color. He once adamantly corrected my mom when she noted that he was using an orange crayon. "No, Ba {Bella}... it's PEACH". Oh... excuse me, Mr. Particular :)

-Carter is still a very good eater. His favorite foods are fruit (especially blueberries & strawberries), chicken, milk, (especially vanilla soy milk and chocolate milk), goldfish, and cookies.

-He still LOVES Chick-fil-A, but also really enjoys eating at Chipotle.

-I have decided that my trade-off for him being such a good eater is the fact that he is a TERRIBLE sleeper. We've had sleep issues with Carter pretty much since he was born. I'm absolutely positive this is God's way of playing a practical joke on me since I LOVE to sleep and require a lot of it. Some months are better than others and the past 3 months or so have been going really well, but something changed on Easter and we are back to the sleep battle. He struggles to take naps (unless in the car) and really struggles to go to sleep at night. Many times over the past week, it has taken us 2++ hours to get him to sleep and even then sometimes it doesn't work. This is EXHAUSTING for Jeremy and I and we are really praying it's just a phase. Carter is currently "sleeping" in his toddler bed (though he usually ends up in our bed at some point during the night) and we need to transition him to a big-boy bed at some point before August.

-I'll end on a more positive note :) Carter's language is continuing to develop rapidly. He talks allll the time and is discovering new words every day. A few days ago, we were reading a book and I pointed to an animal and asked him to identify it. He confidently said, "It's an antelope!" ... and it was perfectly clear! This is HUGE progress for a boy who started saying "mama" consistently just 6 months ago!

I'll try to be back soon with a pregnancy update. Our other little guy is getting big inside his mama!

Sweet Conversations

It is not uncommon to hear a conversation at my house like this one:

{Carter inspecting a very small bruise on my leg}

Carter: "You got boo boo, Mama?"

Me: "Yes, Mama has a boo boo."

{Carter, continuing to look concerned, gives the bruise a big kiss}

Carter: "You need dan-daid (band-aid), Mama?"

Me: "No, I don't need a band-aid. Thank you though."

Carter: "You okay, Mama?"

Me: "Yes, Carter. I'm okay."

He loves his Mama. And I'm totally, 100% okay with that.

Always, Sometimes. Never

I've seen this fun little game on several other blogs and thought I'd give it a try. I think it works best if you don't over-think your answers. I allowed myself 5 answers per category...

I Always...

love to bake

want more sleep

enjoy receiving a handwritten letter

wish I had someone to do my hair/makeup

procrastinate too much

I Sometimes...

am selfish

wonder if I was born in the wrong era

think too much

love my son so much it makes me cry

forget how blessed I am

I Never...

skip breakfast

wear heels (ok, verrry rarely)

wash my hair every day

drink milk by itself. eww.

go without nail polish on my toes

"Mimosa"

I adore mimosas. I think I first fell in love with them when we were on our honeymoon and the waiter brought us complimentary ones every single morning. I'm pretty sure I drank both mine and Jeremy's :)

This pregnant lady isn't drinking mimosas these days, but I have found a concoction that is just as good... well, not really... but it is as close as I'm going to get right now. I've been combining half (maybe a little less) a glass of orange juice with half a glass of ginger ale... NOT Sprite (it's too sweet). I like to call them virgin mimosas! Delicious.

Photo Credit

Children's Books

Before Carter was even born, I knew I wanted him to be exposed to books and reading as early as possible. Once he was here, I started to realize how expensive books can be- especially if you are buying them new. So over the past 2 years, I have figured out several ways to accumulate children's books without breaking the bank and thought I'd share a few!

1. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library If you live in Tennessee, then you probably already know about this amazing program. Enroll your child (as soon as they are born) for free and they will receive a book in the mail once a month until they turn 5! We have really enjoyed these books and look forward to receiving them every month.

2. Paperback Swap I love this site! If you are like me, you probably have a lot of old books lying around that you could get rid of. Here's how it works:

-Post your used (but in good condition) books online

-Wait for someone to request your book

-Mail book to sender (if you mail it as "media mail" the shipping cost is usually less than $3)

-Earn a credit for the book you mailed

-Using your credit, request any book posted on Paperbackswap.com and it will be mailed to you!

I've used this site for children's books, as well as books for Jeremy and I.

3. Library Book Sales: Our local libraries have book sales several times per year. These events are usually packed with all kinds of books- especially children's books! They are very affordable (25-50 cents per kids book) ... and you can also find fiction books for about $1 or so a piece. I've found some great books this way and even if they aren't something my family is interested in, I will usually buy them anyways and post them on Paperbackswap.

4. Garage Sales: I'm not a huge garage-sale-shopper, but every now and then I will stop at one if I'm driving by. Last weekend was one of those times. A church just down the street from our neighborhood was having an "Adoption Sale" where all the proceeds went to a family adopting a child from overseas. What a great cause! They had a huge selection of children's books for 25 cents a piece... and many of them were in excellent condition! I got Carter 4 books that he loves for $1 ... you seriously can't beat that!

{On a side note, I also found an adorable BRAND NEW Pottery Barn Kids sheet set... flat sheet, fitted sheet, and pillow case for $10! Based on my research, I have estimated the retail value of these items to be around $70! Yes, I was extremely excited about this deal!}

Thanks to these four tactics, Carter's (and soon to be Cooper's) little library is growing rapidly and the boy loves to read! I couldn't be happier. Let me know if you have any other ways of acquiring children's books.