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