And yet, this is where he ended up:
Any tips from those of you that have been there, done that?
And yes, this means Carter is on the move. Not a full crawl, but he can definitely move. Here is a quick video to show off his latest moves.
The Portrait Innovation experience was a bit overwhelming at times, but in the end we walked away with all of the pictures you see above in less than 2 hours and for less than $50. Here is how it works. We arrived, changed Carter into his first photo outfit and the picture taking began. We did the standard portrait shot with a black background and good lighting and then it was time to let Carter do his thing on the floor while mommy and daddy embarrassed themselves making silly faces and jumping up and down behind the photographer. Anything for a good smile, right? Carter was mainly uninterested in our silly moves – we probably got more laughs from Mimi in the background. Once Carter quit smiling, we took a break, changed his outfit and did the same thing all over again. This time we had to let him keep a toy – he was done with the whole ‘sit on a blank white floor with no toys in grabbing distance’ plan. But, the toy turned out cute in the picture so it worked.
Those of you that know Adam understand that this game has his name all over it – transportation, Europe, geography… We played the game several times last year then it managed to sit on the shelf for awhile. Well, Mimi was the latest victim of being forced to play a long and drawn out, but interesting game. I can’t tell you who won because it is still in progress. My eyes gave out last night and we called it a night shortly after Adam raked in several million pounds.
He is also moving all over the place. He is rolling all over the floor and even trying to roll off the changing table as you can see in this picture. Carter is also starting to creep. He can bring himself to all fours very briefly and shift forward with his weight. Other times he will pivot on his tummy and do complete 360s while looking for the perfect toy. Won't be long at all before his hands and knees are working together and we have a crawler - yikes!
Carter's small motor skills are excellent - especially at grabbing hair. Carter grabbed a couple of handfuls of Adam's hair and had no intention of letting go. Adam seemed to enjoy it - can't you tell?
Carter also experienced his first ride on daddy's shoulders. He was all smiles - especially with his hands full of daddy's hair.
This picture is totally Carter - he is in this position many times each day. He will grab at his socks for minutes at a time until he gets them off of his feet. Then he will grab his feet and suck on his own toes - don't know how he does it - but he loves it.
Here he is chillin' in his exersaucer. I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures after I put this bucket on his head.
Everything still goes in the mouth. As I was writing this entry Carter was soaking several books with his drool. We tried to exchange the books for teethers but they weren't quite as tasty.
And finally, here is a shot of Carter with one of his favorite toys, his paci. He doesn't really use it to sooth himself or to go to sleep, he just loves to play with it. He can now pull it out turn it all around in his hands then get it back in his mouth - sometimes upside down - but most of the time the right way.
So many changes in such a short amount of time - what a fun age. We are enjoying a weekend with a visit from Mimi! Hope you have a great weekend too.
Adam loves this type of patio furniture. It is typically old and rusty and expensive. Go figure. I must admit it does have some charm to it but I usually get hung up on the price tag for a piece of furniture that is creaky and very worn. 
I thought this door was very attractive. I don't think it would work for our house - but I snapped a picture anyway. I love the color, the six panes of glass at the top, and the vertical wood detail - basically the entire door.
…brought me these last Friday. Last week was my first full week of keeping Carter without Adam’s flexible fall schedule and after a two week trip of numerous baby sitters during the holidays. I know – I have been spoiled. But, I knew I was being spoiled and I kept telling myself to enjoy all of the mornings in the fall where Adam didn’t have to leave until 10:00 or so as well as the work days where he wasn’t busy and could leave early because he was hourly. But, now the reality has set in and it is 9-5 for Adam (plus or minus a couple of hours on either end). So, he brought me flowers just because it was my first week alone with Carter. Thanks, Adam – they make me smile all day long.
For Christmas we gave all of Carter’s grandparents web cams. They all love hearing Carter noises over the phone so I thought it would be a big hit if they could see Carter over the Internet. I think I was right.
Until today the furniture shopping plan included finding all the perfect pieces for the living room (the couch, the chairs, and the rug) and once we had found all the perfect pieces for the perfect room we would haggle and make our purchases. After several visits to various furniture stores and no perfect picture it was time for a new strategy.
Adam and I had breakfast, a cup of coffee, and were reading the Saturday paper before Carter woke up this morning. No, we didn’t get up at the crack of dawn. We woke up at 8:45 and were SHOCKED when we looked at the clock. So, we tiptoed past Carter’s room and headed downstairs to enjoy a few quiet minutes.
Carter and I started on a new adventure this morning: learning baby sign language. I bought our family the Baby Signs program as a Christmas gift in hopes we can teach Carter some helpful words via sign language before he is able to talk. The program came with four small baby books (Mealtime, Bathtime, Bedtime, and Pets), a dvd for parents, a dvd for babies, a refrigerator cheat sheet of frequently used signs, and a small manual. This morning I popped in the dvd for babies just out of curiosity. The dvd taught six signs by animated babies, signing stuffed animals, and video of real babies signing the words. The dvd reminded me of Baby Einstein videos with similar graphics and animation which seems to send babies into a trance in my opinion. But, he did pay attention for most of the dvd and I tried to interact with him as the signs were introduced. I think we are a little on the early side as far as timing, but I believe the sooner the better. Plus, mom and dad need a slow learning curve to teach ourselves before we can teach Carter. 
We arrived home early Friday morning and spent yesterday relaxing at home. We decided to do the same ‘drive late while Carter sleeps’ plan and it worked out well. I was afraid Carter wouldn’t recognize home and that we would have to teach him how to put himself to sleep in his own crib all over again. But, when we got him out of his carseat and put him on his changing table to get him ready for bed he started smiling and cooing up a storm. I really think he recognized his room and was having a conversation with the animals canvases on the walls. We really enjoyed our holiday vacation but are also really glad to be home.
