Climbing the stairs to his Big Boy Room

Carter is officially out of the nursery and upstairs in his new room. The adjustment was a piece of cake...thankfully :) He loves climbing the stairs to go "nite nite." He is getting so big!

Snow Day!!!

Carter's first real snow (meaning more than just some frost/ice) was so much fun. He was smiling and dancing around in it. We even let the cats out to see their reaction. Carter was in heaven!

Fun in the Backyard

We bought this swing for Carter when he was about 6 months old, and he didn't seem to care about it at all. Yesterday we were in the backyard, so I decided to put him in it to see what his reaction would be, and he absolutely LOVED swinging. He cried when it was time to go inside. Hope it warms up soon so we can stand to be out there longer.

The night Max wore his wolf suit...his mother called him "WILD THING!"- Where the Wild Thing Are

I love the quote above considering over the past few months I have affectionately started calling Carter "Wild Man." Ha!

Lately I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking about the nature of boys. I think for several reasons:
1. I have a boy who is "all boy" and is becoming wilder by the day.
2. I am about to have another boy in two months.
3. When I tell people that my second child is going to be boy #2, they either get wide-eyed, shake their heads in pity, make a sighing noise, or tell me that I'll just have to try for a third in hopes of getting a girl. Ha! Gotta love their honesty!

So as I am becoming acquainted with what my future will probably look like with two boys and beginning to wonder what all this sympathy is about, I have come across some pretty funny stories, quotes, and emails. Here are two of my favorites:

"Of all animals, the boy is the most unmanageable, inasmuch as he has the fountain of reason in him not yet regulated." -Plato

"...one of the scariest aspects of raising boys is their tendency to risk life and limb for no good reason. It begins very early. If a toddler can climb on it, he will jump off it. He careens out of control towards tables, tubs, pools, steps, trees, and streets...He makes 'guns' out of cucumbers or toothbrushes and likes digging around in drawers, pill bottles, and Mom's purse...A boy harasses grumpy dogs and picks up kitties by their ears. His mom has to watch him every minute to keep him from killing himself. He loves to throw rocks, play with fire, and shatter glass...It's a wonder any of them survive."- Dr. James Dobson

Since Carter was 7 1/2 months old and beginning to crawl, I began to realize that he was all boy. If something touches his hands, he throws it or hits something with it. He rarely walks...running is his main source of transportation. He loves any kind of ball and would stay outside for days regardless of the weather. He harasses our cats constantly and loves anything that makes a lot of noise.Climbing is his favorite pasttime. He can now climb on almost every piece of furniture in our house unassisted. He loves to swing long objects in the air and yell, "Hi Yah," and he loves to "go crazy" which means throwing his head and arms and legs in all different directions in the car seat while we're riding down the road. So funny! And lastly, the way to his heart is through his stomach :)

My friend, Nancy, brought her little girl, Emily, over last week for a play date, and I just watched in amazement at how calm and quite Emily was. Carter was running, climbing, and yelling while Emily just played quitely and sweetly. I just had to laugh at the differences in those two. I guess I didn't realize how wild he was until I saw him next to a calm little girl. Ha!

Although this future of mine looks a little intimidating especially with all the info I am receiving about the challenges of little boys, I have to say that I am more than excited about it. God doesn't give us what we can't handle, right? And even though boys are so different than any other earthly being, they are not all that different from our God. In fact, they are his image-bearers. They reflect a part of God that otherwise we wouldn't know. In the book Wild Things, the authors put it like this, "Boys bear a unique image of our wild, playful, and imaginative Creator." So I think by having boys, I am being given a special look at God.

Several people have told me that moms and their boys have a special bond and that little boys love their mothers and protect them in a special way (I hope this is the case for me!) Wild Things put it like this, "For a long season at the beginning of a boy's life, Mom is the center of his universe, the safest place on earth...moms are like home plate- the place they are always moving toward and where they want to land." What a blessing to have this much influence...and also a huge responsibility!

My own little Wild Man has been such a joy to me that I can't even begin to describe my love for him. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about the past year and a half and all the fun times and laughs we've had. He and Cooper may destroy my house, run me ragged, and give me a few heart attacks, but I know that they are gifts from the Lord, made in His image, that will in the long run make me better disciple of Jesus...so for this and so much more, I am thankful for boys.

Here he is in action :)

Joel's Christmas Present

Joel and Carter are FINALLY getting to use their Christmas present! Thankfully, it has warmed up enough lately to be outside. I secretly took Joel's bike to a bike shop in early December, and they fixed it up with new brakes, tire tubes, oiled the gears, and put on this great kid seat. He was so surprised on Christmas morning :) So fun!

Due Date Mania and Some Fun Pictures too

So I went to the doctor yesterday only to find out that Cooper is measuring almost five weeks bigger than is his actual age. Yikes! Oh my goodness, I may be requesting a C-section! My original due date is April 5th, but he is measuring as if my due date is March 1st. My doctor isn't the least bit concerned; he just said, "She's just gonna have a big baby." We might have a Michael Orr on our hands here :) My doctor also said that he was sticking to his April 5th due date, but he thinks I'll deliver around mid to late March. That gives me about 10 weeks or so. It's almost here! Yay!

I got to see little Cooper on the ultrasound yesterday, and he is just adorable and so active. He was even sticking his tongue out :) I wonder if that's a foreshadowing of his personality. Ha! I got some great pictures of him for his baby book. He is already such a blessing to us, and we anticipate his arrival with great excitement. We can't wait to meet our little buddy #2! (This picture is of the profile of his face in case you can't see it)

Carter eating his typical morning snack. Life cereal and milk. That boy LOVES to eat! He actually goes to pantry multiple times a day, pulls out what he wants to eat and brings it to me.

All bundled up. He hated the mittens by the way...you can tell by the look on his face that this wasn't his happiest moment. He used to love to stroll, but now he'd much rather be walking/running around.

Thanks, Gunnar, for our cool, hand me down New Balances! They fit perfectly, and now Carter is running even more than he was before!

Family Worship

Joel and I went to a worship service tonight at our church focused on the concept of family worship in the home and what that looks like. It was SOOO good and very encouraging. Although, we pray together as a family at the dinner table, and I sing about Jesus and talk about Him to Carter, we haven't yet established an actual family worship routine. So it was great to get some guidelines and suggestions from our pastor who has raised five children.

(Side Note: If you ask Carter, "Carter, who loves you?" About 50% of the time, he will say, "JeJu" for Jesus. Precious! I pray he grows to believe it!)

I can remember as a child having family devotions at breakfast before school and especially during Advent season. I treasure those times where my parents took the initiative to plant the seeds of worship in my heart. Joel's parents also had a time of family worship after dinner each night, and I know he is so grateful for the foundation his parents laid for him. We want to do the same for our children.

When Carter was baptized last winter, Joel and I took this vow before God:

"Do you now unreservedly dedicate your child to God, and promise, in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before him a godly example, that you will pray with and for him, that you will teach him the doctrines of our holy faith, and that you will strive, by all the manes of God's appointment, to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?"

Overwhelming vow, huh? Yes, I agree. What a huge task to undertake (thankfully not without grace!). Our pastor said tonight that our children are to be reared for ONE purpose...not to be successful or moral or educated or good citizens, but our children are to be reared to be a worshipper of God. If we fail in this, then we fail in everything. It's our sole purpose as parents.

A couple of verses that were pointed out tonight were Deuteronomy 6:4-9 which says, " Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Also, Joshua 24:15 which says, "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

All this to say that I feel very convicted and very passionate about teaching my children about God and how to worship Him. Even though Carter is only 16 months old, he understands so much more that we give him credit for. I heard a statistic that said a child's spiritual wiring is complete by the time they are three years old. Yikes! We are already halfway there! I want Carter to be wired to love God, so why not start now?

Our pastor suggested coming up with a plan as a family. He said to have your family worship in the same place, at the same time, with the same format, on the same days, and keep it short. With Carter, it may only be one minute :) In other words, keep it simple and predictable. Even if Carter doesn't cognitively understand the scriptures we're reading to him and what we are saying during our prayers (which he won't for a while), he will grow up seeing that we are bowing before God and His Word. And he will never remember a time when he didn't know about God and His saving grace.

Okay, I've rambled long enough. But I look forward to our family worship, seeing how God blesses us and teaches us, and making memories as a family that hopefully my children will treasure from their childhood just like I do. And hopefully by God's grace, my babies will grow up to love God and enjoy Him forever.

Surprise Birthday Cake

I had this picture printed at Schnucks on sugar paper and made this cake for Joel for his birthday. We had reservations to go to Fleming's Steakhouse Wednesday night, so I took it up there that afternoon and asked them if they would bring it out after we ate dinner with the candles lit. Joel was shocked when they put it in front of him. What a fun surprise! I loved seeing his jaw drop when he saw his little buddy on a cake just for him. Kids make special occasions so easy to be creative.

Big Boy Room and Nursery

I can't believe it's almost time to move my baby all the way upstairs! He is going to seem so far away. My goal is to move him by the end of the month so that he won't feel like he's being "booted" out of the nursery. He loves going upstairs and playing, so I'm hoping that this will be an easy transition. I am moving his crib up with him for at least the first few months, maybe a lot longer...he just seems too young to go to a big bed right now. Plus, he is such a good sleeper that I don't want to mess with a good thing. I went ahead and bought another crib on Craigslist for Cooper so that Carter can keep his for as long as he wants/needs it.

I found Carter's jungle quilt on Ebay and his bed rails on Craigslist. I didn't put a picture of it on here, but I also bought a brown slip cover and put it on an old recliner we had so that I can still rock him. I am going to savor the rocking as long as possible. I don't want him to grow up! I painted his giraffe growth chart because I couldn't find one I liked anywhere that wasn't at least $75. Scrap wood and a little craft paint did the trick :)

One of the perks of having a second boy is that I am not changing anything about the nursery except for the name above the crib (obviously). My sister-in-law, Ginny, found these letters at Hobby Lobby for her son, Caleb, and I decided to copy her because I thought they were so cute.

It's hard to imagine that little Cooper will be here in a just a few months! We are so excited. I know life will be crazy for a while, but I can only imagine the fun we will have in the years to come with our two boys.

Crossing Over

As my friend, Jamie, put it the other day, I have officially "crossed over" into the world of motherhood. I got a mini van!!! Ahhhhh! Let me tell you, it is luxury on wheels. I LOVE it! It has a DVD player, automatic sliding doors, automatic hatch, and leather seats. It is so much easier getting Carter in and out with this big pregnant belly. Thanks, Joel! You are too generous and so good to me. So I guess I lost a little of my youth last week...oh well, it was worth it :)

A Day with Carter

Carter is 16 months old now, so needless to say, there are very few dull moments. He is picking up new words, facial expressions, dances (he LOVES to dance), and tricks everyday. He is like a little sponge soaking up the world around him. I can't describe the joy he brings me. He is a little miracle and a gift from God that I do not deserve. He makes me laugh out loud several times a day. I am so thankful that he is such a happy child and enjoys the simple things in life like playing in the pantry and chasing the cats around the house. A few of his loves right now include any kind of ball, his Cozy Coupe, animal noises (any kind of animal for that matter), Life cereal, raisins, warm milk, the Cedarmont kids, and his giraffe lovey just to name a few.

Here is a video I shot this afternoon during a snack. Just a little peek at the fun I have everyday. Priceless!

(I couldn't get the video to download directly on the blog, so I had to go through youtube. Just click the link below)

*** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGFrk5ogHac ***

Finally Time to Blog :)

So it seems that the time to start a blog is right before/after you have your first child. Although I thought about it 16 months ago when Carter was born, the interest just wasn't there. It seemed a little intimidating to keep it up to date with a newborn. But a few days ago my friend, Nancy (our babies are only 6 days apart), started a blog, and she inspired me to start my own. Nancy is quite the inspirer :) Since I am not a journaler, I thought a blog would be a great place to keep a record of special events, fun times, and my thoughts as my children grow. Everyone keeps telling me to write things down so I won't forget these fleeting and priceless moments. So here goes....