That Bites

I got a call yesterday from Carter's daycare to report that another baby had bitten him. He was fine - the bite didn't break the skin, and apparently he was more upset about having it cleaned than he was about the bite itself. When I went to pick him up, I got the full scoop, which was that first Carter pulled the boy's hair, and then the boy bit Carter. Of course, I couldn't really be too upset, seeing as how I was a biter myself as a child...

For Stubbie

Carter's Months 7 and 8

Carter was 8 months old last Tuesday! Here are clips from his seventh and eighth months.

Feed Self Avocado

For a couple of months now, the baby books have said that, on average, a baby Carter's age should be able to "feed self cracker." We found that difficult to understand, seeing as how a baby his age isn't really eating hard food yet. But we thought we'd try "feed self (something else)". While Carter seemed to understand what he was supposed to do, the first attempts were no good because the banana proved too slippery. However, on his third night of avocado, he finally got it together - avocado in mouth, chew, chew, swallow! Works about every fourth time.

Aquarium Fun

Carter got up early this morning and enjoyed playing with the aquarium that Mimi got him for Christmas.

Home From Florida

I'm back. Then again, you might not have even known that I was gone, seeing as how it was just a day trip. To Tampa. Yep, I flew six hours today for a ninety minute meeting. I didn't even set foot outside because my meeting was in the hotel in the Tampa airport! The warm, salt air smelled so sweet inside the jetway, but it was just a tease. Here I am back in chilly New York. But, the meeting was good and the trip was so smooth. Taking a trip with such a tight turn around is a gamble to begin with, not to mention doing it in January. But the flights were easy and on time - and I got a full 6 hours to mostly read and relax.

Inchworm

Carter is slowly figuring out how to get where he wants to go. It isn't the most efficient means of travel, but if he wants something bad enough, he can get to it!

Keys

We picked up the keys for our new apartment today. We went over to take some measurements to see what will fit where, and we snapped a few pictures. We posted some pictures back in December when we signed the lease, but there were a few things we didn't have pictures of then, so here are some more pictures:

The basement is a bit short...

But it is very spacious - and it has laundry!

And there is an unfinished portion for (much-coveted-in-nyc) STORAGE.

In the entryway, we have stairs that lead up to... nowhere. (Many of the old houses in this neighborhood used to be single family residences and are now converted into 3-4 apartments, so the old stairs take you up to the backside of someone else's apartment wall.)

Mandi's Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from last weekend. Mandi took these - apparently Carter was the only thing she took pictures of all weekend!

New Tricks

Carter has two new tricks. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of either - but video would be more applicable for these tricks anyway.

Carter has figured out how to shake his head. We don't think that he associates it with meaning "no", because he does it most often at dinnertime - and he loves to eat! He has also figured out how to clap his hands, which is very, very cute.

Carter's Tips for Picking Up Chicks

Fill your crib with soft furry things - especially things with hearts. Girls like hearts.

Condition and style hair (plum/apple mixture works well).

Don't limit yourself to only one lady. Spread the love.

Works every time.

Crawling Prep

Carter is starting to get up on his hands and knees. He's practicing this a lot in at night - both in his sleep and after he wakes up (luckily, he does this fairly quietly). We also catch him practicing during the day. We are happy that he has this new skill, but we are simultaneously begging him to please not actually learn to crawl until we are in our new apartment (and if he'd give us a couple weeks there to get baby-proofed, that would be great).

Mandi is here!

Our friend Mandi is visiting this weekend. Carter was so pleased to finally meet her!

Carter Likes...

In no particluar order, Carter likes:

• spoons
• rattling
• his hands
• his feet
• chewing on menus (the plastic coated kind)
• watching people clap
• making sounds when someone pats his mouth (we'll get this on video sometime)
• sitting up
• eating vegetables (he prefers veggies over fruit and doesn't care for cereal at all)
• pulling hair
• chewing on my nose
• pulling on Thomas' glasses
• chewing on baseball caps
• chicken dance elmo
• eating paper
• mirrors

TV

Carter has been getting up earlier in the mornings. So we've discovered the magic of early morning Disney Channel. Carter seems to enjoy it, we get a few minutes to fix a cup of coffee. Everyone is happy.

Sleep, Sweet... Sleep??

Apparently, we spoke too soon.

I blame the weather. If it is going to fluctuate wildly between 40 and 70 degrees, how is a parent supposed to keep the household temperature regulated so that it is conducive to baby's sleeping? And how is a baby supposed to avoid getting a stuffy nose??

Damn weather.

Hard at Play

Carter was hard at play all day today! This afternoon, he figured out how to lift up on his hands and knees, and he is very close to being able to pull up to a standing position while holding on to something.

Sleep, Sweet Sleep

It's been four nights in a row, so I'm taking a gamble and telling you that...

Carter is sleeping through the night!

7:30pm-7:30am. We'll probably undo all this good when we move and upset his routine, but even if it doesn't last, the 8 hours of sleep we parents get is so very nice (and deserved, I think, after 7.5 months of getting up 2-5 times a night).

All this wonderful sleep required only one (very) painful night of letting Carter cry himself back to sleep. The boy catches on fast.

Scary Warm

It was so warm here today! It hit 70 degrees. While we were out walking around, Thomas was looking for the Mister Softee man, and I had to remind him that the ice cream truck probably isn't out in January - even though it felt like summer. Despite how much this weird weather freaks me out, it was a beautiful day. After running errands and doing some packing (thanks to Joo for watching Carter so that we could get some boxes packed!) we took Carter for a dusk swing. And we stopped at Tasti-d-lite for some ice cream on the way!

Lazy Morning

Just a fun picture that I took using Elizabeth's talent (for those who aren't quite sure what that is, I took it myself...of myself).

A nice morning with just the boys as mom slept in.

Self Portrait +1

Bully

You may remember that on Tuesday, Carter's teacher, Daisy, had lots to say about how happy he was at school that day, but today, she had a complaint. Apparently Carter made another baby cry by grabbing his hair and refusing to let go. I know all babies go through a grabbing stage, but Carter is known at school for his fierce grip. These are people who work with babies and children all day, every day - and yet, I rarely walk down the hall there without having someone comment on what a grip the boy has. Even teachers from other classrooms that I don't know will mention it to me.

We're so proud.

Back to School

I was a little bit worried about Carter going back to school today. He's been very fussy ever since we got back from Atlanta, and he is getting to the separation anxiety age, so I was concerned about how he'd do after 10 days off of school. I was planning to ask the teacher if he'd been fussy today, but I didn't have to. As soon as the teacher saw me, she volunteered the information: "Carter has been so HAPPY today!" He had just been delighted to see all of his teachers. He was laughing at the other babies all day. His teacher usually tells me that he had a good day and gives me some specifics - but today she was effusive about how happy and excited he'd been ALL DAY.

Apparently, being at home with boring old Mom and Dad for 6 straight days was a real drag.

Last Day of Vacation

It is back to work and school for us tomorrow. Today, we relaxed and enjoyed our last day off. Here are a few pictures that I snapped.

Happy New Year!

Joo came over for an early glass of champagne. Carter was entranced by it.

Thomas and I got ever so slightly dressed up for the adult portion of the evening. New blazer and new bangs pictured below.

Mike Kass and his friend Jackie came over tonight. Mike and Jackie both went to Rice, so even though we weren't with our usual Rice group, we were in good Rice-company. Here are Mike and Thomas looking manly in their slightly matching blazers.