Monte, Shelley, Lexie, and Carter: WALKING ON SUNSHINE

I LOVE, LOVE Daylight Saving Time. I wish we could have it all year. I am not a fan of losing that hour of sleep, but the end result is definitely worth it. The weather the past few days has been wonderful! I have enjoyed getting outside.

Yesterday we went outside and blew bubbles. Carter loves watching them and chasing them. It was really windy yesterday, so the bubbles didn't hang around long. The grass is starting to turn green, so hopefully Carter will venture off the patio soon. (I think it's just the weeds, but I'll take what I can get.) Carter wasn't feeling well, so I let him wear his jammies all day. I don't know if he's getting a cold or if it's his teeth. The poor guy has 4 coming in all at the same time.

We went for a ride around the neighborhood. We made several laps around the neighborhood before I made a huge mistake. Right after I took this picture, I made the mistake of saying,"Carter, are we going for a walk?" He started trying to unbuckle his strap (Unsuccessfully) and climb out of the stroller. A "ride" is when I push him in the stroller. A "walk" is when he gets to walk. He was screaming mad, so we had to go home.

"Look mom. I found a stick."

Pictures from our "walk" a few days ago.

Lexie had a busy weekend, so I didn't get many pictures of her. Her dad, aunt, and little sister had birthday parties over the weekend, so she was gone most of the weekend. Next weekend is her talent competition, so I am sure I'll have plenty of pictures of her to post. Lexie's basketball league had their end of the season awards ceremony on Saturday. Lexie's team got the best sportsmanship award. (I know what your thinking, and no her team did not have the worst record in the league. Close, but not the worst.) She had a great time playing basketball, so that's all that really matters to us. She doesn't want to be in the WNBA, so fun is what we push for.

FUNNY PICTURES

Carter (like every man in the world) is IN LOVE with Taylor Swift. He was playing in his kitchen, and when she came on the tv (singing Love Story) he ran in there and just stared in awe at the tv.

"It's not a purse, it's a murse."
Carter loves to carry around bags. (Monte's not a fan.) I went in my closet and found a blue one for him to carry around. It's a little more manly since it's blue. I did just buy him a Mickey Mouse backpack, so hopefully he'll carry it instead.

These are supposed to go on the front of Carter's kitchen, but he and Lexie prefer to sword fight with them.

Carter Update

Carter loves to "read" and be read to. He will sit by the window with his book basket and look at the books forever.

Carter is understanding a lot. I'll say "let's go bye-bye", and he will drop everything and go to the door to the garage. As you can tell by this picture, we are going to have to start locking the door all of the time. He might decide he wants to go bye-bye all by himself.

Last week I was in the bathroom getting ready, and Carter was in there playing. He looked up at me, waved, said "bye-bye", and left the room. He is finally starting to say real words. He still babbles a lot, but every once in a while he will throw in a word I understand. Right now he can say: cat, mama, dada, that, uh that (what's that), cracker (minus the r sounds), ball, all done (minus the l and n sounds), bye-bye, hi, uh buh (oh boy- from Mickey Mouse). That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure I'll add more to the list later.

Carter is OBSESSED with Mickey Mouse. When he hears the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song, he will drop everything and run into the living room. He dances along to the songs. I bought him a MM stuffed animal, and he carries it everywhere. We'll say, "Where's Mickey?" and he will go get him. I downloaded the MM Clubhouse soundtrack to my phone. I turned it on for him, and I didn't get my phone back for over an hour. Every time I would try to take it, he would put the death grip on it. There was no way I was getting it back without a fight. When I finally got it back, he had rated the theme song 5 stars and changed my screen saver to the soundtrack cover. He hated his new car seat. Lexie took him for a walk down the toy aisle at Wal-Mart. He picked up a Mickey Mouse book. Now he reads the MM book when he's in the car, and I don't hear a peep out of him. We are going to Disney World in a couple of weeks. I am sure when he actually sees Mickey, he will cry and hold tight to me. Isn't that the way it usually goes?

When we were at Gymboree last week I was watching Carter play, and I was remembering back to when we first started going (in Cali). He has gotten so big. He is not a baby anymore. He's a little boy. (And I mean ALL BOY--a very busy boy.) His favorite toys are balls, cars/trucks, and his kitchen. He has quite the arm when he throws the ball. When you hear him say "ball", you know there is one getting ready to fly by your head.