Ice Cream Swimming

Luke loves the water and going swimming.  Almost as much as he loves ice cream.  Put the two together and it makes for one happy kid!

Yes, It's Been a While...

Having a new baby takes up so much of your time!  Who would've thought? Ha!  But we have been busy and Luke has been having a blast this summer.  We are very busy during the week.  Luke has music school on Mondays and Wednesdays and he is learning so much!  They say he's very musically inclined (not sure what that means yet but will soon when they put on their show at the end of the month).  Tuesdays Luke has Little Gym and Thursdays is kids movie day at Warren Theaters so he gets to go to a movie every week.  He seems to really like going to movies...especially the popcorn part.  But he sits through all of them!

Luke will be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, singing "We Will Rock You," and "See Ya Later Alligator" at his music school program.  He can imitate the beat of "We Will Rock You" on his drums here at home like a champ!  I'm not sure what really goes on behind those doors of music school, but he's excited when I pick him up and worn out from playing so hard.  He's learning valuable lessons, like biting hurts, when his friend bit through Luke's finger and broke the skin...as well as... time out sucks at school when you push and hit the other kids.  I'm just glad to know that my kid is not the only one raising hell in there.

I have a ton of pictures to share but will keep it to a minimum to avoid boredom for my readers (all of the hundreds I have out there :)

Playing in the ocean on our recent trip to Miami

The shark was a big hit in the pool

This picture just cracks me up

Flying a kite on the beach

Lyla's first dip in the sand

Walking into the stadium on our recent trip to Kansas City to see the Cardinals play the Royals

Ready to catch a fly ball

The "Train"

Luke was very busy this morning.  He decided he needed a "train" of ALL of his toys down the hallway.  I just can't wait to put everything back!

To Soap or Not to Soap?

To soap is definitely the answer.  Everywhere.  At least that's what Luke thought the other night.  You always know something is up when it gets really quiet.  Apparently he thought he was REALLY dirty because nearly a whole thing of foamy soap went into his hand washing.  So funny that as we were cracking up at him, the words "no no" just didn't have the appropriate effect.

I'm not sure what the one arm out of his sleeve through the neck hole means, but apparently he thought his right arm was extra dirty.

"*GASP* SANTA?! PRESENTS?!"

I wrapped some of Luke's Christmas presents the other day and put them under the tree.  When he woke up from his nap and walked into the living room to do his routine round of puzzles, he saw these wonderful gifts all wrapped up.  I hope I can write this in the most effective way so as to capture his total and complete surprise at what he saw.

     Luke:  *GASP* [mouth wide open in shock for more than 5 seconds]. Santa come? PRESENTS???!!!
     Mommy:  Those are from mommy & daddy, but Santa comes in 5 days.  Do you like those presents?
     Luke:  [clapping, laughing, & running hysterically] YAY! PRESENTS!!

So our sweet little boy gets it.  Who knew?

I wish, wish, wish I had a picture or video to capture that moment.  I was caught off guard.

Oh My Fishy Pie

Yesterday was a day for the history books.  We (meaning Justin) had the grand idea that Luke needed his very first fish.  So one day on a trip to Petsmart to get dog food, I picked up a little bitty goldfish and a plain ol' fishy bowl for it to swim in.  Luke promptly named this little fishy "Will."  Well, according to my dear, loving husband, I didn't get the right stuff (wrong bowl, what, no rocks? what, no fake vegetation?).  So he and Luke went back to Petsmart and got a "good" bowl and rocks and fake vegetation.  Then, daddy had the grand idea of putting the fishy bowl in Luke's playroom on the little desk in there...with the fishy food on the shelf above.  As I was putting dinner in the crockpot yesterday morning, I hear screaming from the back playroom, "Mommy!  Help! Help!"  So I go running thinking the worst.  Well, it was bad, but not bad in the way I was thinking.  Luke had moved his little play table up to the desk, used it to climb up on top of the desk, stood up to get the fish food off the shelf, opened the fish food bottle and proceeded to dump ALL of the fish food out....on himself, the desk, the bowl, EVERYWHERE.  He was distraught.  He just wanted Will to "eat."  Oh my...Calgon take me away.

These are not great quality because I took them with my phone. 

But you can see him sitting surrounded by all the food and clearly upset.

Potty Training Success!

Our little "big" boy is officially potty trained....in the pee pee department that is.  He now wears big boy undies during the day and pull ups for naptime and nighttime.  He's a champ during the day with the pee pees.  However, getting the No. 2's mastered is still a little scary for him, but three times so far and I'm happy, happy!  Jumping up and down and cheering like a madwoman....yes, he definitely thinks I'm crazy.  Now we just have to keep it up!  We went on vacation and he did excellent.  We went to the zoo and not one accident.  We go to the grocery store, running errands, and out and about and no accidents yet.  Knock on wood, please. 

I Officially Have My Living Room Back

After Luke's birthday party we were drowning in toys.  His little room was bursting at the seams and our little living room was filled to the brim.  "What are we going to do?" I say.  Get rid of some baby toys...yes, that's the answer.  Except that didn't clean out too much because he still plays with a lot of his old toys, too.  So, over Labor Day weekend, we officially made Luke a "playroom."  The back bedroom that had been used for storage (however, it had a bed in it should someone want to sleep there amidst the stuff), was cleaned out, packed up, organized, and reorganized for toys, toys, and more toys.  What a fortunate little boy Luke is.  So now he has a little table and chairs that he colors at most of the time, a shelf to store everything neatly, and room to roam.  He loves it back there and at no time are you able to do anything else besides play in there with him.  Because if you do decide you need to do something else, he grabs your hand, pulls you up, and says, "Play momma, please."  Or, "Sit, momma." Or, "Sit, play, momma."  So smart, he is.

Luke Turns 2!

Luke has officially turned 2.  He's such a big boy now.  Looking back through pictures when he was just one proves this.  He looks different...like a toddler...like a true big boy.  He's funny with a super personality, he's smart, he's loving, he's mischievous, he's all boy, and he's the best!  He had fun at his birthday party, blew out his candles by himself, and opened [most] of his presents (with my help).

Bye, bye, Kiev!

If There's One Thing I Know for Sure.....

It's that I love this kid.....

even though......

he takes such delight......

in peeling our Lacebark Elm.....

until almost no bark is left from his level down......

and then bringing us all the pieces.....

for us to see.....

I love this kid.....

because he takes such delight in peeling our Lacebark Elm and then bringing all the pieces for us to see.

Bouncin' Craze Bonanza!

Luke and I had a fantastic day with our friends Jehan and Kiev at Bouncin' Craze. Kiev and Luke played very well together and thankfully Luke was on good behavior. Luke is a natural climber (thanks to the Little Gym), so climbing up in those big bouncy things was fun for him. I lost track of him a couple of times, because, although I went in with him at first to check it out, this cramped space is not ideal for people over three to four feet tall. But he always seemed to make it out unharmed. Luke and Kiev also liked to play in the "fenced" area with the stove and other knick-knack toys....it's the most adorable, melt-your-heart thing to watch....ahhh...my boy wants to learn to cook.

"Going up now, Mom."

"Almost there ."

Poor Kiev with a monkey on his back

"I think Kiev needs a hug."

"No, wait...maybe he needs a kiss." Adorable....no matter which way you look at it.

Wow. Could there be any more of a difference in our facial expressions? Perhaps I should tone it down a bit.

The Little Lovey

Luke has loved Charlie ever since he could crawl around and try to get to him. Charlie, on the other hand, has always run as fast as he could in the other direction to get away from Luke. Luke has never really gotten ahold of Charlie and Charlie has never, ever gotten close enough to let Luke get him. However, on this particular day, Luke got what he has always wished for, and Charlie, poor, sweet Charlie, let him. Luke held on for all it was worth.

Someone Help Me!

Anyone know what it feels like to be locked out of your house by your not-quite-yet-two-year-old child? Yep....I do! While in the process of feeding my two four-legged furry children (whose food happens to be stored in the garage), my son decided it would be funny to close the door to the garage behind me and lock the deadbolt. FUNNY! HAHA! You got me, Luke! NOW PLEEEEEAAAASE open the door and let mommy in! Whose response on the other side of the door is giggling and the little pitter patter of feet running away. He comes back to check on me (whew!) but then laughs and runs away again (is this really happening to me?). Now the crying starts because he can't find me and he's scared. Five minutes later, after much pleading, I get the bright idea to ring the front doorbell and knock and HOPEFULLY (puhlease) he will open the deadbolt there and let me in. Sweet savior! My child still loves me. Lesson learned: have a spare house key somewhere outside just in case your toddler wants to be funny. But who can be mad at this face? Certainly not the banished one.

Backyard Fun in the Sun

Luke and I had fun in the backyard today. We both got soaked and we both laughed our heads off. I cracked up at Luke and Luke cracked up at himself. He likes to play in the water, but he prefers to carry the garden hose around by himself instead of having it hooked into a [super-fun to mommy, but not to Luke] water sprinkler. Instead of running happily through the sprinkler, he prefers to soak our lab, Colby, which makes him giggle (very funny to Luke...not so funny to Colby). And instead of running happily through the sprinkler, he prefers to soak his mommy (also funny....to everyone).

This video is a couple minutes but pays off in the end (at least Luke thought so).



We also "rigged" his plastic slide into his blow-up pool. I'm pretty sure there's WARNING signs on all blow-up pools and plastic kid slides saying, "NEVER under any circumstances should you put THIS slide into THAT pool." But, who am I to deny my child a smile? Under supervised conditions...

And as much as I would have loved to sit in the chair with my feet in the pool to supervise...little Luke had a much different idea of what I should be doing. I was not allowed to sit under any circumstances and I must always be standing, either with my feet in the pool with him or right next to him in the grass...always.

The chair in which I would have liked to sit

The only person allowed to sit in the chair. Ever.

Welcome back to St. Louis

We just returned from our annual "Carter Family Baseball Trip." This year it was in St. Louis and pretty much all the Carters made it (except for a few and they were missed). This means 30+ Carters all bonding...over the good ole Cardinals. We went up in the Arch (630 feet tall) and then took in the game from the "Musial Bridge Suite" where we could all watch the game together. Luke had a blast swimming and playing with his cousins (however, mommy got accosted in the water by water noodles and beach balls from the hundreds of kids in the pool)....ok that's an exaggeration, but it seemed like a lot! Looking forward to next year!

In front of the "pink" fountain, which we're pretty sure is supposed to be Cardinal "red."

Striking a pose

Checking out his new boo-boo. We left St. Louis with both knees skinned up and he likes to point them out whenever possible.

The stadium from the Arch

The smallest #1 fan watching the game

The fam. And one tired kid ready to go to sleep.

Happy Easter!

Well, Easter was a success. Eggs were hunted, the Easter bunny was there for more slightly terrified pictures with a mythical holiday character, and goats & pot bellied pigs were petted. That's right...I said there was a petting zoo! Luke ran around with the animals and loved it. He was a little wary at first, but after a while he warmed up and wanted to keep going in to see the animals.

All ready to go hunt eggs

Going through his basket from the Easter bunny. "Is this ALL for me?"

With his bunny ears on

Tackling the blowup Easter bunny. I was hoping we'd make it through the day without Luke tackling something.

At the petting zoo. Yes, I'm pointing to the goat's butt. Haha. No, I'm saying, "Look at Nana taking a picture!" (I know what Luke's Nana will say to that).

The fam. Luke's worried the Easter bunny will come back and get him.