How we do it in NYC

We have heard that people in other parts of the country sometimes put their kids to sleep by driving them around in the car.

This is how it is done without a car:

Giant Baby or Tiny Pool?

Carter had a lot of fun playing outside with water this weekend. He likes it when it is coming out of the hose and he likes playing with Tupperware filled with water. He attempted to climb into the Tupperware several times. So we have ordered him a baby pool.

Pancakes!

Carter has a new favorite food. I made him pancakes yesterday morning and he ate THREE of them (and these weren't little silver dollar pancakes). He was jamming the pieces into his mouth much to quick for my comfort, and he filled up his little chipmunk cheeks! He seemed to prefer yesterday's cinnamon blueberry to today's cinnamon apple, but he enjoyed them both.

Bike Ride!

We took Carter for his first bike ride today (in his sassy new seat and helmet!). Riding with him on the bike was nerve wracking at first, but was pretty easy. However, it is much more difficult to ride slowly or walk the bike. Carter seemed to enjoy the ride.

Happy 1st Birthday, Carter!

Thanks to everyone for the gifts and well-wishes! Here are some pictures from our celebration this evening.

At 364 Days Old, Carter Likes...

eating
putting non-edible things in his mouth (still)
pulling hair (still)
books
playing peek-a-boo (he'll instigate the game, which is the cutest)
sticking out his tongue
standing up in the bath tub
being scared (i.e. surprised)
music (and especially music class)
his mom and dad
other people

And for his favorite thing of all...

At 364 days old, what Carter loves the most are things that open and shut (particularly the baby gates - generally, the bigger the thing, the better).

Cow's Milk

With his first birthday just around the corner, Carter got his first taste of cow's milk tonight. And he sipped it from a straw! We've been trying to get him to use a sippy cup for months, to no avail, but he took to the straw pretty easily.

More Atlanta Pictures

In these first two photos, you can tell that Carter may have inherited the bad car karma from my side of the family.

First you drive the car...

then you push it.

At the playground with Cart Cart.

Make way for ducklings!

Weekend in Atlanta

We had a nice weekend in Atlanta (though we were sad to not get to see Park and Ashely while we were there - our trip was during their trip to Africa!).

Carter had a good time with his cousin Gracie.

We played in the backyard.

And Carter rode in the car facing forward for the first time!

A few more pics tomorrow...

The True Meaning of Tofu

Just a quick post to say that Carter and I made it home safe and sound, and Elizabeth made it to Dallas as well.

Maybe instead of the true "meaning" of tofu, I mean the true "purpose" of tofu...actually, I mean Carter's true "purpose" of tofu...actually, Carter's purpose tonight for tofu.

I bite size tofu square fits nicely as the target for the crushing, flying fist of Carter the Food Barbarian. His crushing blow essentially pulverizes the poor tofu chunk-lette and leaves only tofu pebble remnants. Conveniently, this residue can then be smeared on the face to show total dominance and victory over the hapless tofu.

Beware, future semi-soft soybean products...

More Pics From Last Weekend

I have now milked last weekend for almost an entire weeks worth of blog postings. Here are a couple more I thought you'd enjoy. We are headed to Atlanta tomorrow for a quick trip and then I'm headed straight from there to Dallas for a couple of days on business. Posting will probably be slow...

Carter is getting much better at standing,

but sometimes he needs a rest.

The excitement of a new Elmo (an early birthday present),

results in another rest.

Garden Transformation

Thanks to Donna's very, very green thumb, our garden has made quite a transformation!

Here are some before and after pictures:

February


May


before Donna's magic


after Donna's magic

Cherry Blossoms

Here are some pics from our trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens to see the beautiful cherry blossoms!

Carousel

We took Carter for his first carousel ride in Prospect Park this weekend. He wasn't totally sure about it, but overall, he seemed to enjoy it.

Cart Cart and Nonna

Carter and Donna visited us this weekend. I'll post pictures of our adventures later this week, but here are some of the best group shots of the weekend.

Chores

This isn't exactly what I envisioned when I have said that we could use a little help around the house.