What a Night!!

Well, I woke up yesterday morning and decided that Carter and I were going to have so much fun outside.  I got his water table out, that Aunt Abbie and Uncle Neil got him for his birthday, and set it all up.  Nick brought home a little sprinkler thingy that Carter could run (walk fast) through.  He was acting ok in the house but really really cranky.  I just thought it was because he wanted to go outside.  So I put his bathing suit on and rubbed him down with sun block, all while he was screaming and fighting me, and out we went.  We got outside and he was not a happy camper at all.  Whined the entire time and wanted nothing to do with the sun or water and was crying unless I was holding him.  I thought well maybe some sun block got in his eyes or something so I washed his eyes and face down and he screamed even more.  All I wanted was for him to have fun and get some really cute pictures, but I threw in the towel and went in with him. 

I took him back to his room to put him down for a nap and he had 102 fever.  Awesome.  I gave him some medicine, he took a long nap, and woke up fine.  He played for a while after and I thought that maybe it was over....maybe just teeth or something.  I gave him a bath and he had so much fun!

After his bath he was still in a great mood with no fever.  When I tried to put him to bed he started to feel warm again so I gave him some more medicine.  He started off in his bed but around 2:00 a.m. we had a very out of control little flopping worm in our bed.  And his fever was back full force.  Yippee!  So we gave him more medicine and it was a nightmare from then till 5:00 a.m. until I had to get up and get ready for work.  He didn't want to be held, he definitely didn't want to be put down, he acted like he had to have his bottle and took 2 sips and threw it down....the poor thing had no idea what he wanted and neither did I!!  So he just laid there and flipped and flopped and moaned the entire time.  It was a horrible thing for me to endure and I can't imagine how it was for him.

It has been so long since Carter has been sick, at least 2 months, and Nick and I had totally forgotten what those nights were like.  It didn't take long for it to spark our memory though.  I just hope that he gets better before I freak out too much and rush him to the doctor.

So, just pray for my boy.  And for us.  Please.



Sweet Summer Time

I don't even know where to start.  It seems like we have been all over the place.  Last week Carter and I snuck off to have a mini vacation with my parents in Hot Springs.  We left Nick to man the house and get all the work done.  Poor guy.  We left Thursday around 10:00 and got to Hot Springs just in time for lunch.  I didn't pack any food for Carter so he ate off the menu like a big boy and did really good.  After lunch we went to our suite at the Arlington so Carter (and I) could take a long nap.  After waking up we decided to take him to the aquarium right beside the hotel.  Carter loved it!!  He loves anything in a fish tank!  He also enjoys hearing himself say fish.

We have also been spending a lot of time in the water.  We rode the Ducks in Hot Springs, went to the lake and rode Aunt Toshya and Uncle Craig's boat, and we have been to the water park in Murfreesboro.

Carter and Ava!

Carter is not running yet, but he sure is walking with some speed and walking really well.  He is a full time walker now...never crawls anymore.  I just started putting shoes on him last week and they have not slown him down a bit.  I actually think he has better balance with them on.  He has another tooth barely poking through which brings him to having 7 teeth now. 

He is still going to bed around 10:00 but he wakes up around 9 or 9:30 every morning.  We have tried until we are blue in the face to get him to go to bed earlier.  We are still going to keep trying to make him, though.  He sure is smiling a whole lot these days and it's not very hard to please him.  We have not had to have an attitude adjustment in a very long time.

My son is officially darker than I am.  That's not saying much because I am not that dark but I'm jealous that his skin darkens so quickly.  Just like his Daddy!!

Speaking of Daddy....Carter is really enjoying being thrown around by him.  Nick will throw him in the air and make him do a flip.  He throws him pretty high and it scares me to death but Carter loves it so much!!

GI Appointment and Water Park

Carter's GI appointment went really well.  They did take all of his measurements and he is still a little bitty toot.  His weight is in the 10th percentile.  Little Carter weighed 20 pounds 6 oz.  At least he is out of the teens now!!  He really has not grown since his 12 month checkup which was about 2 months ago but the doctor said not to worry that after they turn one, they start growing in spurts instead of week to week like they used to.  Plus he is walking and even more active than he was.  As long as he is on the charts at all then that means he is normal.  They also said to give him MiraLAX every day and he should grow out of his constipation one day.  They said it's very normal for infants/toddlers to go through constipation.

They let us give them a break down of everything we feed Carter and they said it all sounds great and not to change a thing that we are doing with him.  It's great just to hear that from another doctor besides his regular pediatrician.  So hopefully we are done with appointments for a while besides just a regular checkup.

After his appointment Mom, Tosh, Carter and I did a little shopping.  He did great and did not fuss one time.  I have such a good boy!!

Carter had a pretty fun weekend.  Mom and I took him to the water park, Saturday, in Murfreesboro.  That park is every toddler-6 year old's dream.  He loved it and walked and splashed around.  I am going to try to take him at least once a week so he can get some sun and get used to the water.  He fell one time and his whole head went under water.  I expected it to totally ruin his day, but he never acted like it bothered him.  I think he was more shocked than anything.  Nick and I took him back the next day and he was not so into it like he was the day before but he still had fun.  I only took one picture with my phone and the rest are on my camera, I will have to upload them soon.



Mr. Attitude

Yesterday Nick and I went to Texarkana to pick out some new blinds for the house and danishes for the hotel.  We also bought Father's Day presents for my dad, his dad, and him.  It's just better for us to pick out our own presents.  Carter did really good....for the most part.  As long as there were snacks and juice available he was ok.  But right when he ran out he got ticked off and let all of Home Depot know about it.  He sure did have himself a little attitude yesterday.  And in the Car....if Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was not on he was growling and pointing at the tv until it was.  Nick has spoiled him into thinking he can watch tv every second in the car....I am not happy about this.  I missed my workout yesterday and I HATE that!!!  I am really enjoying working out.  We are starting to do a lot more cardio along with weight training and it makes me feel so much better when we are done.

Besides that nothing much to report.  My show Dance Mom's has come back on.  It is the same drama over and over again but I love it.  I have fallen in love with some of the girls.

Carter is so close to being a full-time walker.  Yesterday he decided that he actually likes it better than crawling or even using his walker toy.  I guess I am going to have to start putting shoes back on his little feet so he can get used to them again.  It's funny how babies can just make their minds up about something and just go for it full force.

On a very bad note...Carter is hating bed time now.  If it was up to him he would play all night long.  I don't understand how he goes for so long.  At 10:00 he is still going like he just drank a Red Bull.  It don't matter if he has had only one nap that day or not one at all he will not go to bed any earlier than 10:30.  I just don't know what to do with him.  Right when I pick him up and head to his room he starts kicking and screaming because he knows it's bedtime.  I think I just may start doing that around 9:00.  10:30 is just way to late for him.  I'll show him who's boss and that will really give him something to kick and scream about.

Carter has his GI appointment for his constipation Monday at Children's.  I soooo can't wait to get that over with.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Tosh!

Yesterday was Aunt Toshya's 27th birthday.  She is becoming an old woman!!  She is such a good aunt to my Carter.  He is a very lucky child to get to spend every Monday with her.  She seriously spoils him rotten!!  Actually I probably should not say that.  She makes him act right and she is about the only person that I can get to actually lay him down to sleep instead of hold him the whole time.  I feel 100% comfortable with him being with her.  Carter loves his Aunt Toshya so much!!

And in honor of Tosh, we had to be an Ohio State Buckeye fan for the day since that is where she is from.

After we had cake and ice cream they went out and went swimming.  My little water bug was all for that idea.

After they swam for a while he got to ride the golf cart and eat popsicles around the neighborhood.  Carter had a big day!



ENT Checkup

We had Carter's Ear, Nose, and Throat checkup at Children's Hospital yesterday.  Since his appointment was at 8:15 we decided to go up and stay the night before.  A really good decision!  I can't imagine having to get Carter up at like 5:30 when he sleeps in until about 8:30 to 9:30 every morning.  He was grouchy when he had to get up at 7:00. 

Anyways, Carter is good to go!!  The wonderful doctor said that he thinks he has grown out of his acid reflux and his adenoids are no longer swollen.  We are going to conitnue all of his medicine for the rest of this month then we he is taking him off of it.  Thank goodness!!  Medicine is no fun....especially when it is three of them twice a day.  We are beyond happy for Carter.  Now if we can just get his constipation problem resolved then he will be completely healthy.  We go for that appointment at Children's in a couple of weeks.

The hotel that we stayed at was really nice.  The crib that they brought to the room, though, was really really old and really really hard.   And there were no bumper pads.  Carter is a crazy sleeper and he really needs them so we just let him sleep in the bed with us.

On our way home we stopped and ate at Chili's.  I had already packed Carter food for him for the whole trip.  I guess it is just habit.  Because Chili's has a great menu with lots of stuff I like for him to eat.  But he ate salmon, mango, carrots, and green beans, along with some of mom's chicken and tomatoes from her salad.

While in that shopping center I bought myself a little happy.  I got some really good, light running shoes.  I got to break them in really well yesterday doing bleachers and I love them.  I think I made a good choice.

Carter has finally decided to walk.  He is doing really well.  He has gone from taking 2-3 steps to about 20-30 in about 3 days.  When he wants to get somewhere quickly, he still prefers to crawl though.  But I am proud of him and I love watching him walk.  It is just so funny and precious.  He still don't really know what to do with his hands so he looks like a zombie and holds them straight out....I guess for balance.  Sometimes the top of his body gets to going way faster than his legs and he takes off in a dead run, not meaning to.  And it usually results in a very dramatic face plant.  But he's getting better and better!

The doctor asked us if Carter was streaming two words together and I about laughed in his face.  He is seriously saying nothing except daddy and dog and sometimes fish.  He did like the fact that he can recognize things that we ask and point to them.  He will probably be like his daddy and not say a word until he is 2.  He has his crazy days when he likes to babble a whole lot but for the most part he is very very quiet.



A couple days ago we went over to our our friend's Callie and Cody Parker's house to eat.  We had missed them so much!  We went a good while without seeing them because either Carter or Ava was always sick.  Ava is such a crazy and funny little girl.  She is so smart!!  She is saying about 20 words and always laughing.  Carter says daddy and dog.....and that's it!  While Carter sat over playing with Ava's car, not wanting to be bothered and not making a sound, Ava was very busy entertaining us.  She made us laugh the whole time we were there.  She makes some of the funniest sounds and faces and I swear she has 3 different laughs.  I bet there is never a dull moment in the Parker house.

My Aunt Gloria gave me a juicer for Carter.  When she gave it to me my attitude was like, "who in the world has the time to make their own juice?  I can't even find time to fold the pile of laundry that has steadily gotten bigger the entire week."  But I decided to put my big girl panties on and first fold the pile of laundry and put away and then make my boy some juice.  It seriously takes no effort.  You don't even have to peel the fruit or vegetables.  Just stick it in the shoot and juice is made in about 10 seconds....with no pulp at all.  It's great.  I made Carter apple and carrot juice mixed together and he absolutely loves it.  Next, I'm going to make him kiwi and strawberry juice.  I know that will be an all time favorite.  It's actually a really cool thing.  And you know me, anything with zero added sugar and artificial colors and flavors is great to me.

Aunt Toshya cut Carter's hair yesterday.  A full-fledged hair cut.  I honestly didn't know how much hair he actually had.  A lot more than what I thought.  He looks a little different, but not drastic.  We cut so much so his hair will grow back in thicker.  He was asleep on me the whole time so it was a breeze.

Thursday we go to the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor at children's.  His appointment is at 8:15 in the morning!!  So I think we have decided to just drive up Wednesday night and stay at a nearby hotel.  That will be easier on him and us.

I played softball again this past weekend.  We ended up placing 2nd in the tournament.  We didn't get done until about 1:15 a.m.  We had a blast, though, and I think we did really well as a team.  I am really enjoying playing again.  Nick kept Carter by himself all day and Carter decided to run a little fever.  I guess it was teeth, though, because it didn't last too long and it never got above 102.  I'm sure Nick was about to go a little crazy.