Carter is Two

I started this post a few weeks ago, and I just remembered I didn't finish. Then I looked at all of the stuff (pictures) I was trying to pack in, so I decided to break it into two posts. Next up: the other parties.


We had planned on having the grandparents over for a small celebration on Carter's birthday. (His big party was going to be a week and a half later.) But... the first snow storm of 2010 hit, so it ended up just being Monte, Lexie, Carter,and I. We had a fun and relaxing evening.



Starting off the evening with a little birthday tickle.
(so much more fun than a birthday spanking!)

We had Carter's favorite food for dinner: cheese pizza. We ate pizza in the living room and watched The Letter Factory. (one of his favorite "movies")

I don't know why he eats his pizza like that. I guess it's easier to hold.





"That's good pizza!"




Lexie and I made cookies while Carter was taking a nap.


Look carefully at LeXIe's cookie.
(You had to load the letters and words into the cookie cutter backwards, so it was very easy to make a mistake.)



"CARS!"

"Mmmmm! That's heavenly."

He loves to help me blow out the candles around the house, so he is an expert.

He's just like me; we both prefer the icing.

Lexie showing him how to make a mess. Trust me, he really doesn't need anyone to teach him that.

Then he opened presents. Since Christmas was just 2 weeks before, he was practiced up and ready to go!

What Carter is doing now:

*He loves to help cook and bake cookies, but he wants to do it all by himself.

*He has a very good vocabulary (well over 100 words on his own) and he repeats EVERYTHING! He puts words together to make simple sentences: That's my color. Where's (whatever he is looking for)? There it is!

*Counts to 10 without skipping numbers.

*Knows a lot of his letters and sounds- T and O are his favorites!

*He loves to sing.

*He loves to watch sports, but his attention span isn't very long so we never make it through a whole game.

*He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES girls- mainly older ones wearing dance uniforms. He and the girls on Lexie's dance team adore each other.

*Every time we walk into the gym for Lexie's games, he starts waving and yelling, "LEXIE!!!! LEXIE!!!! HI LEXIE!!!" then he looks at me, points to Lexie, and tells me "There's Lexie." and then starts the whole thing over again. He loves Lexie.

*He tells me every morning that ,"Daddy go to work."

*He is fascinated with clocks.

*He likes to go to school and see his "frinz." At bedtime he tells me all about them.

*He really likes school and is learning so much. (At first, I used to call it a preschool just to make myself feel better about leaving him. But now I call it a preschool because it really is. I am amazed at how much he has learned! His teachers are wonderful. The main one is certified for PreK literacy, and the teacher in me notices the little things she does that make a huge difference.

*He is a very healthy eater. He loves carrots, and will willingly try new foods. I think one reason he stays so slim is because he does prefer healthy food. I have decided to keep him on whole milk because I think he still needs the fat. (That being said, he does have a big sweet tooth. He loves cookies and cakes, but I do limit what he gets in that department.)

*He is potty trained. His little booty looks so cute in big boy underwear. The lack of a diaper also makes it hard to find pants that fit. He wears boxer briefs :) --I am extremely thrilled that he is not in diapers anymore, but it also makes me sad. He is young to be a potty trained boy, so it's not like I struggled for a long time to get him out of diapers. (Actually, it was not a struggle at all. He knew what he needed to do and did it. I was VERY lucky.) I feel like him being in diapers still kept him a baby, and now that the diapers are gone (except at bedtime-- he wakes up dry, but I'm not that brave yet) I feel like he is all big boy. I know I am weird.

*He loves his sleep. When school doesn't effect his sleep schedule, he will sleep about 11-12 hours at night and take a 2 1/2- 3 hour nap.

*He loves chapstick! He is constantly putting it on. I swear this boy has the softest lips in town :)

BIRTH

ONE

TWO

Carter's growth chart:

birth- 7 lbs. 8 oz. 21 inches

2 weeks- 7 lbs. 13 oz. 20 1/8 inches (he had a cone head at birth)

2 months- 11 lbs. 6 1/2 oz (90th percentile) 22 in. (20 %)

4 months- 14 lbs. (40%) 23 in. (3%)

7 months- 17 lbs 26 in. (5%)

9 months- 18 lbs (10-25 %) 27 in. (10%)

12 months- 19 lbs (5%) 28 in. (5%)

15 months- 20 lbs 4 oz (3-5%) 30 in (10-25%)

18 months- 23 pounds 31 3/4 in

2 years- 25 pounds (25%) 33 in. (25%)

**I know it looks like his height and weight are pretty even, but I think most of his height is in his legs. It is very hard to find pants that fit him in the waist (he is lean) and are long enough for him. I know a lot of pants have the adjustable waist band, but they usually start at a size that is too big for him. Garanimals knit pants and Gap jeans are our best friends right now; most other pants (with a few random exceptions) make Carter look like he is getting ready to go wading in the water. ha!


Here is a picture of the growth chart I started in my closet right after we moved in.