My life..if your interested

birthday party

2008-11-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

so today is baileys birthday party. he is having 4 boys over to spend the night- so that brings the total to 5 young boys, 1 cranky 10 month old, 1 tired, exhausted mom, and 1 Chad. right now i am in the middle of making his cakes. when i asked him if he want yellow, white, or chocolate he of course asked for half yellow and half chocolate. so we compromised that they would be one on top of the other then i asked him what kind of frosting. he said, "orange". i knew where this was going...yes, he wants me to make it look like a basketball.

two years ago for his birthday i attempted to make his cake look like a football. i have yet to live that down because it came out a disaster. i have faith that the basketball will turn out much better. we will see. i am going to take pictures as i make it so i can post them later.

wish me luck!

okay, okay

2008-11-19T06:08:00.000-08:00

i am promise i will keep up better. from now on, this blog won't only be about carter but will also be about basically everything i feel like writing about! recipes, pictures, television, sports, etc. so hopefully that will force me to update a little more often.

with carter being at the point in his life where he is- let's face it- milestones don't happen everyday and our days sort of blend together because they are so scheduled. so adding more info and glimpses into my life might make me look a little less pathetic. in the mean time, here is my little moo cow on halloween! i will update more later! probably with a recipe!

thinking

2008-10-08T17:34:00.001-07:00

i have been thinking a lot lately about how life can just pass you by without you even noticing. i realize that i look at carter and still see a helpless, little, tiny baby who wants to do nothing but cuddle and sleep. today- carter is all over the place, getting into everything, and not wanting to stop for more than a few seconds to sit on momma's lap. it almost makes me cry, every time it happens too! i guess with me being so busy with school and keeping up with things around here has distracted me from what is most important. i need to cherish every second i have with my son. one of these days he will be a pesky teenage who will want nothing to do with me and then a man in college- hoping his mom doesn't call him every day just to check in. i have in mind the type of mother i will be in the future and i have in mind the type of son carter will be. i just hope that day doesn't come too soon.

i recently watched an episode of oprah that was basically about slowing down. i know many many many women in my family that need to slow down (you know who you are! mom, debbie, amy!) :)
on this episode a mother simply rushed through her morning, out of routine, and forgot her baby in the car all day. the baby passed and the mother is not left with the guilt of killing her own child. from this moment on i promise to slow down and not sweat the small stuff. i will take deep breaths, say a prayer, and continue on. i love my life. and don't want to miss a millisecond of it.

love to all. slow down. :)

nothing to do with carter...again!

2008-09-26T12:58:00.001-07:00

so besides being overly tired i am doing just wonderful juggling school and home life. i mist give credit to my hubby though- without him there is no way i could do this. he does have his moments when i have to slam around a few things in the kitchen but he quickly remembers that there are things that must get done that can't possibly get done with carter in my arms. he is might night in shining armor. now...i just have to get him to do that without causing damage to the kitchen cabinets.

i have a few rough exams coming up but have been studying for them everyday. my goal is a B+ on both. hopefully it happens!

well, this is getting cut short- i hear my little man crying for me! ta ta for now!

new pictures

2008-09-23T04:53:00.001-07:00

This was my rocking chair when I was little. Aww...
Daddy and Carter rocking away!

So cute

First time at the orchard!

Baaa! Baaa!

Cheese!

So big!

His favorite thing to do. He looooves doing this with daddy! He laughs so hard it looks like he is crying sometimes.

So there are some new pics of the little man. Even though he isn't so little anymore! I am trying to get him into the doctor today (on hold as I type) because he has had a snotty nose, runny and itchy eyes for the last week or so. I am now convinced it is not a cold but allergies. I just hope that there is something they can do for him because he gets miserable at times. Poor little tyke...

Everything else is just peachy! School is keeping me way busy and I feel like I am running out of steam. Hopefully things will get better soon, after I take two huge exams I have coming up!

Thats all for now! :)

i can't keep up with anything!

2008-09-12T05:07:00.000-07:00

i promise i will at least try to update every friday! okay?

okay- so in Carter news- so much has happened in the last few weeks- crawling and now pulling up! he is soo soo strong! and very smart as well! he will be 8 months old on sunday and i just can't believe it! he is talking more (baby blabber) and it is just so adorable. always saying "mamamamamama" and making little clicking noises. he thinks it is so cool. what it comes down to is that i do have the cutest, smartest, most adorable child in the universe. period.

so in other news- school is in full swing. i am taking three classes (anatomy, english, speech). i am pretty peeved about having to take speech considering BSU gave me a bachelor's degree without taking it. ugh...but its okay! i gave a speech the other night in class and was the only one who got a perfect score! GO ME! what can i say- i love to talk! i am also studing for a TEAS exam (tests reading, writing, science, math) i have to take 3 times before april to get into the nursing program. they only take 5-7 people a semester! YIKES! but i am determined to get all A's this semester and do wonderfully on the exam. that is my focus anyway!

so now- for your viewing pleasure i give you my son, Master Carter:

help mom! how do i get down?

don't you just want to squeeze those chubby thighs??

this is his favorite spot. isn't it so cute how he is just smiling a daisy! she doesn't really like him- she's a old grump.

How can I stop him?

2008-09-04T05:09:00.000-07:00

Well, since the crawling has begun I am having issues of keeping him out of places that he shouldn't be. Like in the table, for example. Of course I watch him all the time so I want you to be reassured that we haven't had any "accidents" while he does this. But of course, I had to catch some pics:

look out!!!

2008-09-04T04:58:00.000-07:00

Look at what my Carter can do now!

sorry!

2008-08-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

so its been awhile...to say the least. but let me tell you, once your child starts to leard how to army crawl (and gets faster at it every minute) your life turns upside down. Carter is now hearing the word "No!" several times a day. He loves to play with everything he isn't supposed to. The fireplace screen, the cords hanging from the phone, curtains, etc. Let's just say he is a very curious child.

If you haven't seen him in awhile you would be in shock at how much he has grown up. He is so big! He has so much hair now! He is sitting, crawling, can go from all fours to sitting up, and...saying "Mama". And yes, I do understand that he isn't saying it at me, he has no idea that I am Mama, but once he does realize it at least he will already be able to say it! YAY!

He is eating three meals a day of baby food. I still make my own organic carrots, peaches, green beans, peas, and sweet potatoes. I buy the Motts All Natural applesauce and most other fruits. Pears are hard to find, blueberries are way too expensive, and other fruits are a pain to make. He also started eating yogurt for breakfast. He LOVES it! (But the wallet doesn't, baby yogurt is expensive!) He eats the Yo!Baby Soy yogurt. Why? Because babies have to have whole milk yogurt, no lowfat or nonfat and whole milk yogurt is so hard to find! The only things he does not like are banana's and apricots. I am really trying to get him to work on his self feeding skills with Gerber Puffs but he can't quite get down the "claw" grasp. So the end up sticking in his fist for awhile. Poor kid. He also gets around 27 ounces of formula a day.

He is sleeping from 8pm-6:30am. Wonderful...now if I could just get him to sleep until 7am. Or 7:30am...hmm...that would be lovely. He usually goes down without a fight, we have a small bottle, read a book, then it is off to the land of nod and party time for mommy!

Well, I think you are caught up with Carter. Words can't explain all his talents right now. You have to see him in action to understand. He is amazing. Period.

a little late

2008-08-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

okay, okay- i am in late. but in my defense i did get the 7 month pic emailed to everyone.

anyway- so my little man is 7 months old. which means i am less than half way there to 1 year. holy crap. i swear i still look at him like he is a tiny, helpless baby. everyone always says "oh he is so big!" i swear i don't see it. he still looks like my baby to me. i guess that's a mom thing, huh?

before i know it i will be planning his first birthday party, buying him his first school supplies, and then arguing with him about his first car, then....dropping him off at Ball State. Okay, so i am getting a little ahead of myself, but i swear i need to quit blinking. it is all going way too fast. now i know why some people have so many babies. they never want to stop being 'momma'.

speaking of having more babies (and NO I AM NOT PREGNANT) it has come to my attention that i need to seriously get my butt in shape. one reason- someone asked me at church if i was expecting. now WHY ON EARTH would you ask someone that if you weren't 110% sure??? chad says he would never ask a lady if she was pregnant unless he actually saw a baby coming out of her. nice... so- ab workouts here i come!!!! :)

here is a list of my little man's accomplishments thus far:

sitting up unassisted

getting on all fours

rocking on all fours

a very very very slight army crawl on all fours

can "wave" bye bye except for when you say bye bye (we're working on it)

can stand while holding on to things

has one tooth on the bottom and the other one pushing thru

blowing raspberries...constantly

eating three meals a day

he is fully weaned from nursing

and my favorite one of all...the day i thought would never come...he is sleeping 7:30am-5am (then he will fall back asleep until 7am). YAY!

so there you have it. my baby. all grown up.

Sunny Day

2008-08-12T04:58:00.001-07:00

my olympic boyfriends

2008-08-12T04:51:00.001-07:00

i'm in love with this man.

and this man.

yes. i am in the olympic spirit. chad undertands- all i hear about is womens beach volleyball and jenny finch. so we are okay with eachother lusting after this years olympic athletes.

a nice weekend

2008-08-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

so it was a pretty quiet, normal weekend in the Leduc house. on saturday we hung around until it was time to go to my nephews bday party at my moms house. it was fun....he got a lot of wonderful presents for his birthday and carter was a very, very good boy. mamaw even gave him some icing and icecream (when my back was turned). we stayed out there for dinner (ribs, chicken, baked taters...YUM!) and then came home. sunday was our usual-mass, grocery, etc. carter went to aunt debbies house for a couple hours while i shopped and while daddy watched the USA bball team play. then we went to my grandmas for my cousins bday dinner (mexican chicken, ribs, baked taters....YUM!) if i had to sum up the weekend in two words it would be "I'm full."

i took some pretty good pics of carter today outside- stay tuned!

amazing blog

2008-08-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

yes, i am a blog addict. and yes, this one is truly amazing. take the 15-20 minutes to read this blog- start from the beginning- it is a story of faith, hope, loss, and love. really makes you appreciate what you have and to not take any second of life for granted.

here it is:
Mom4Life

and here is her store she runs:
Mom4Life Store

some six month pics

2008-08-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

MORE TO COME LATER!!!!!

my son doesn't want me to sleep...only daddy

2008-08-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

so last night when i went to tell chad goodnight (i do homework all night long) he told me he was going to get carter when he woke up in the middle of the night. AWESOME! carter has been getting up around 3:30am and then again around 5 or 5:30am. he doesn't want to eat you just have to soothe him back to sleep. rub his back, give him paci and blankie, etc...

so chad took the monitior and put it on the table next to his side of the bed. well, guess what happened? carter didn't wake up once. what a punk. he is so grounded. but it was nice sleep! of course i woke up when chad did at 5:30 in a panic...i went to check on him and he was just fine!

of course.

pictures I wanted to share

2008-08-04T05:32:00.003-07:00

Bliss. I am having this picture drawn. Can't wait!

Chaos in the form of grandchildren

9 of the 14 grandchildren + 3 great-grandchlildren

My aunts, my grandma, and me at the surprise party

BIG BOY!

2008-07-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

I had to share this video of Carter trying to feed himself some Gerber Puffs and also some pictures of him sitting up. He is getting so close to staying up all by himself! Enjoy!

update!

2008-07-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

okay so this was a crazy, fun and amazing weekend! it started on friday when i threw Chad's birthday party. it was small and relazing- my mom and Dale, Sis and Tyler- Chad's mom and dad, his brother, and my Grandma. It was a good party with good food and talk! Ross stayed until about midnight and the three of us just sat outside and talked. It was super fun!

Saturday started with my lilttle angel taking a WONDERFUL nap in the morning so I could run around like a crazy person getting everything together for my grandma's surprise party. The party was a HUGE success and everyone had such a great time. And yes, Grandma was so surprised she said "Oh for Heaven's sakes!" twice!

Sunday was pretty low key. We went to breakfast with grandma and my aunt and uncle from Wisconsin and Jeff and Debbie and Dana. When we got home I took a much needed nap- it was wonderful. So today is Wednesday and I think I am finally rested and recuperated from the weekends festivites. It was such a great weekend! Here are some pics:

exhaustion.

2008-07-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

i am so tired i am not even sure i spelled the title of this blog correctly. let me explain to you why i am tired:

1.) carter had his shots monday
2.) carter started cutting his first tooth monday (for real this time)
3.) carter caught a cold on Tuesday

Wednesday night i slept on the couch while C slept in his swing- we thought the incline would help him sleep better. HA! i ended up with 3 1/2 hours of sleep....

enough said, huh? well.......
4.) school is stressing me out, my future is stressing me out. i need a crystal ball so i can see 10 years down the road so i know what to do. BSU? Ivy Tech? Nursing? X-Ray tech?
5.) parties, parties and more parties (which oddly enough, i LOVE planning these things!)
6.) church donations....don't even know where to start
7.) homework...lots and lots of homework
8.) see numbers 1-3

on that note- i better go to bed...lots of cooking and cleaning to do tomorrow!! Yay for parties! I am SOOOOOOOO excited! can't wait!

Jon and Kate Plus 8

2008-07-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

anywho knows me well knows that i am a HUGE fan of the show Jon and Kate Plus 8- if you have never heard of it, here is a quick synopsis. Jon and Kate are a married couple who struggled with infertility (IF)- they got pregnant and had twin girls, Cara and Maddy. When they wanted more the did the same IF treatments and soon found out they were pregnant with six babies. They were very against reduction so decided to keep all 6 and had perfectly healthy babies- Aidan, Joel, Collin, Leah, Alexis, and Hannah. The show is on TLC on Monday nights at 9pm but can also be found on Wednesday nights starting at 7pm.

Anyway- I recently came across blogs that are bashing the validity of this show. I have always been an advocate for Kate- if you have seen the show you know she can be uptight, grouchy, strict, a little sarcasitc, bossy, etc...however, i believe that you never judge someone without walking in their shoes first. Jon reminds me of my dear husband, just sort of goes with the flow, everything will work out in the end, sort of attitude. While Kate does things often that do get under my skin (although it rarely has to do with the children) i still love her and respect everything she does.

These blogs are horrible! I will post the links at the bottom if you want to check them out- they made me so sick. One is actually a blog by Aunt Jodie's sister! These people are basically claiming that the show is fake, the kids are miserable, all Jon and Kate do is things for themselves, all they care about is money, neither of them work (not true- Jon works) and why on earth would Kate want to work? I am just sooo upset! I can;t believe i am this mad over some blogs that don't have to do with me whatsoever! i feel like i know Jon and Kate and all the kids! I feel for them because i know they hear this all the time. As much i would hate to see them go off the air i would completely understand them doing it to protect the family.

I emailed the Gosselins earlier today and told them how much i loved their show and feel like they knew them. I told them i pray for their family daily and the stupid nonsense that is out there in cyperspace is completely ridiculous. Please do the same if you want!

Here are the gross blogs that make me so upset! Ugh!!!!
http://gosselinswithoutpity.blogspot.com/
http://truthbreedshatred.blogspot.com/

the 6 month appointment

2008-07-21T08:43:00.001-07:00

we just got back from seeing Dr. Blum- LOVE the lady! Carter is doing wonderful and she basically said he is perfect, but we knew that already, right? The only issue is that his thrush has moved down to his little baby butt- naturally...so we have a stronger diaper cream we have to use for a while until it clears up. Also, I am not allowed to rock him back to sleep anymore when he wakes in the middle of the night. It will be tough- but I can do it! Even though it usually happens at 2:30am it is one of my favorite moments I spend with my little booger.

Here are a few other things we found out!
Weight: 16 pounds 4 ounces
Height: 26 1/2 inches (I think he is only up 1/2 inch from his last appoinment...he is so going to be vertically challenged)
New stuff: sitting will improve dramatically she said, we can start giving him the Gerber Stars to eat (kind of like really soft cheerios), he can eat three meals of solids a day now and have bottles/breast milk for snacks, not quite ready for a new carseat yet- have 4 pounds to go!

That is about it...but for the biggest surprise of all..........................................................

THERE IS A TOOTH ON THE BOTTOM COMING IN!!!! I can see it, feel it and Carter LOVES when i rub that spot. Hopefully it will poke through soon! :)

our son the comedian...

2008-07-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

carter now rolls over so much and he thinks it is SOOO funny to grab the blanket and roll himself up in it. too funny- he is my little piggy in a blanket!

the second time around...

2008-07-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

my poor baby is "plugged up" again...poor little guy. i tried bananas again on Friday (apparently you can wait and see if it has the same effect). well, it did...so no more bananas until he is older. sad too, cause he LOVES them! so...for everyones viewing pleasure here is Carter's infamous "poo face" Precious, isn't it?

So better news: we also tried swimming again! This time it was a HUGE success! He absolutley loved, loved, loved the pool and his crabby float. He was so relaxed and happy in it. We were in for about 20 minutes the first time and then took a break- had lunch- then got back in. He would get mad if you stopped pulling him around in the float- SO ADORABLE! Here are a few pics from that!

So thats about it for us and new adventures. Just constipation and swimming...woohoo! Carter will go to his 6 month appointment this week and also get his next round of shots. I will post stats when I get them! Stay tuned! :)

something fun

2008-07-14T06:35:00.001-07:00

what a change!!!! :)

Carter's 1/2 Birthday!

2008-07-14T05:09:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby boy is 6 months old already. Where does the time go...I really need to quit blinking. Here are some pics of him today...he was too funny during our photo session. I had a hard time getting him to sit still.

He is wearing a Ron Jon shirt from Cocoa Beach- only fitting since today is mine and Chad's 2nd anniversary!

Here is his playing on his new playmat that Aunt Debbie got him! HE LOVES IT! So much room for him to roll and roll and roll and.....roll!

And here are some from our monthly photo sessions!

whats goin on?

2008-07-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

okay so here is what has been going on in the world of the Leduc's

friday carter had his first experience in a swimming pool. not a succes...see pictures for details. he was okay when i held him but hated his crabby float...it actually made him quite crabby. at least he he looked cute though!

saturday we had our friends Andy and Eric Snell and there kids over for dinner. andy loves to fish so he brought different types of fish and fried it...i made the sides. it was sooo delicious and we had such a good time. it is nice getting to kick back with our friends and relax.

sunday we had mass...we then had a last minute lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and salsa, guacamole, and pasta salad...pretty big lunch so we decided to ask my dad, dede and nick over. it was a good time- i didn't get to "play" but carter was very good and ate his lunch, had bottle, and took a good nap when they left. that night chads parents took us out for dinner at los amigos (since tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary) and then came back here for some cornhole and smores.

Nick help Carter...they are going to be best buddies someday!

all in all it was a WONDERFUL weeked...mostly because chad had all weekend off and is going to have this week off as well. it is going to be sooo nice having him home.

stay tuned for the big 6 month pic tomorrow- i promise i will post it as soon as i can! :)

summer time baby

2008-07-08T10:47:00.001-07:00

here are some pics i took yesterday of C outside. he loves to play with the grass and flowers...oh and attempt to eat them as well! enjoy!

"mom hair"

2008-07-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

I chopped all my hair off yesterday and i seriously feel like i lost 10 pounds. Getting ready today was a breeze! This is going to simplify my life so much! yay!

My hand is all better- just a little, tiny blister but i will survive!

These next two weeks are going to be super busy so if i get behind i am sorry i am doing one of the following:

1.) making cornhole bags (my new job)

2.) getting ready for 2 big parties coming up

3.) lots and lots of homework

4.) entertaining my rolling baby and trying to keep him in one place

it doesn't seem like much but trust me- i feel like i need about 10-12 more hours each day to get everything accomplished. i have been staying up very late trying to get stuff done but all that does is make me super tired during the day- when i need to be more energetic. i need a nanny...a free one. :)

i am so bad...

2008-07-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

***Disclaimer: if there are a lot of typos i am sorry...i burnt the CRAP out of my hand today and its all wrapped up... :(***

i am horrible at keeping up with this blog. but in my defense we have had a busy week and weekend and will have another busy one this week! oh, and i do have a almost 6 month old to keep up with!!

so some new things that have happened:

1.) carter is ALL OVER THE PLACE...when he starts crawling i am in big, big trouble. i want to get him one of those huge alphabet puzzle mats so he has more area to roll around on. i think that would be perfection...and also a walker so he can get movin!

2.) he is taking formula like a champ...thank goodness. i was really worried that he was going to have problems but none so far! yay!

3.) he is also eating solids more now...so far we have had (with success) peaches, sweet potatoes, and applesauce. bananas made him constipated and apricots didn;t settle well so i will try them again later. i am actually making my own babyfood for those that didn't know- its so fun! i have made peaches, bananas, sweet potatoes, organic carropts, plums, and apricots. so fun and so easy!!! i LOVE it!

4.) i am getting my hair cut tomorrow- will post pics as soon as i can!

catching up

2008-07-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

well, we had a pretty busy weekend. Saturday I went to the Fishers Freedom Festival with Grandma, Amy, Mark, Luke, Brock, Bailey, Cassie, and Carter. We had a really nice day. It started out a little rocky because we couldn't get Carter to settle down (it was his nap time) and it started pouring down rain. We found shelter under a tent and ate lunch. Once it stopped we got up and walked around and Carter finally gave in to the sleeping fairy in his stroller. Mark took the kids to do a rock climb and the girls (and Carter) went shopping! We got an adorable Colt's shirt for Carter, a "taggie" blanket for him, and I got a mom's bracelet. I had been wanting one for awhile and I finally got it! It is sooo pretty with Carter's name on it and a 'Mom' charm. Amy pointed out that it should say "Mama" though. :)

I was really exhausted when we got home and I wanted to take a nap so badly- but of course, that didn't happen. We went and grabbed dinner at Wendy's and Chad and Bailey went to buy fireworks. We had a firework show that night (didn't wake Carter, yay!) and then we all went to bed. Had to get up early for mass. Sunday was our usual- mass, grocery shopping, wonderful food at my mom's.

I am looking forward to the rest of this week- Chad will have ALL WEEKEND OFF!! WOOHOO!!!! I miss that man when he is gone! :)

I love the 4th of July- good food, good drink, good company.

Oh- I am getting my haircut next Monday! Stay tuned!

nothing to do with carter...just me!

2008-06-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

a few things i found out about being a new mom (that no one warns you about):

1.) YOU WORRY ABOUT EVERYTHING

i have always been a worry wart- i get it honest from my aunt amy (hi!). but now with carter, it is insane the things i worry about. the sun, is he too hot, too cold, is he comfortable, am i feeding him enough, does he need a bath, was that too much spit up, is he on schedule...the list goes on and one. but the one thing i find utterly terrifying is when he is sleeping. i find myself up all the time just checking on him- i put my hand on him to make sure he is breathing, i make sure his paci is close in case he wants it, i turn music on; the kid is seriously going to be sick of me before he turns one. well, maybe not; hopefully not. i promise myself i am not going to be one of those "overprotective" moms. i am already loosening up about how clean his paci is and clean hands...i just have to work on a few other things.

2.) YOU LOSE HAIR

not just normal hair loss that everyone has everyday but GLOBS and GLOBS of hair. i could have made 16 wigs by now...it is disgusting and so so annoying. therefore, this is what i think i am going to do:

do you think it will make me look like her?

3.) NO MATTER WHAT, YOU WILL NEVER THINK OF YOURSELF PRETTY AGAIN

let me be honest- i lost all my baby weight (plus some) before carter turned a month old. yes i am lucky as i know many women out there cannot do that, HOWEVER, nothing looks the same. my bellybutton is a mess, i still have that dark line done my belly, my stomach looks saggy, and lets not even talk about my boobs- ewww....

thats it for now...the list will go on...don't worry!

houston, we have a poo problem...

2008-06-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

little c is clogged up...poor guy! i called the pedi and the nurse said to give him 3-4 ounces of juice and if he doesn't have is normal poo by friday they want to see him. i just have to watch for a hard belly and fever. this could explain how difficult it was to get him to sleep last night. until about midnight all he wanted to do was rock while i held him- i guess it must have felt nice on his belly or something. who knows- i'm not a baby whisperer! :)

so he had his juice in a bottle but first i wanted to put it in a sippy to see what would happen. the smart little guy snatched it right up and started sucking away! i ended up putting it in his bottle because i wanted to make sure he drank it all. i also made my first baby food today! peaches! yum- they smelled soooo good i about ate the puree myself!

i will keep you posted on the poo situation! baseball tourney starts tonight, hopefully bailey will get to pitch. a lot of people are coming to see him! then he is off to Holiday World on Friday- my wonderful aunts and uncles are taking him...they are so great!

where is my good napper?

2008-06-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

carter used to be such a good napper. what on earth has happened? right now he is swinging and just talking away. before this started he would have already been asleep for about 45 mintues by now. he used to sleep anywhere from 2-3 hours in the morning...sunday and yesterday he slept one hour. it made for a very cranky baby and a very cranky mommy as well. that was the time when i got things accomplished- homework, housework, shower....so now i have no idea when to fit all this stuff in.

his sleeping has been wacky as well- he used to go down around 7:30-8 and sleep until 2ish-4ish and would then eat. then sleep until 7-7:30. well, the past 2 nights he has gone to bed at the same time but gotten up at 12:30 (i rocked him back to sleep) and then from then on it is just touch and go. he would fuss, sleep, rock, eat- and then sleep until 8am! he is throwing everything off and i have no clue why!

this is the one thing that stresses me out the most about having a baby....schedules! it seems like once you get into a routine something happens and everything gets thrown out of whack! i think its going to be a loooong week...

nothing else to report- baseball season ends this week (woohoo!) and i hope it is going to warm up soon so i can get carter in the pool! :)

a wedding story...

2008-06-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

last night carter and i went to hailey's wedding reception. hailey used to be my step-sister...its still weird saying that because they all still feel like my family. i was welcomed by everyone with open arms last night and so was carter. it was really great. i ended up shipping carter home so i could enjoy myself a little more and catch up with everyone. at one point i found myself sitting at the table by myself watching hailey, lori, j.t., nancy, rachel...the whole clan up dancing and having a good time. then the waterworks hit me...i don't know if it was because hailey was married, if i was just lonely but at that moment i realized that even though they still feel like family; it isn't the same and never will be again. i used to picture hailey's wedding and lori's wedding- i would stand up beside them, fix their dresses, hold their bouquets but yet there i was- sitting at a table alone remembering what it was like growing up with them and very very sad that i can't share in this new chapter with hailey. we would be fun wives together and eventually fun mommies together. sometimes life just isn't very fair.

i have realized that i CAN NOT burn bridges with these people. i spent 10 years of my life with them...you can't just forget about 4 people that impacted your life so profoundly. i still love them all and always will. i miss them and am planning on keeping in better contact with all of them- especially hailey and lori.

the riley appointment

2008-06-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

so today carter had his appointment with Dr. Meldrum- his pediatric urologist. for those of you that do now know about c's issues let me fill you in.

after he was born during his first physical by his pedi Dr. Blum she felt something on the left side of his belly. at that point she didn't know if it was merconium or not so she waited to say anything until his first well baby check that was later that week. after that visit she still felt it and said it was his kidney. so we had an ultrasound at the hospital and waited. the u/s was so terrifying for me. here i was- a new mom all of 4 days and my tiny baby is on a big table getting an u/s. dr. blum called us back and told us his left kidney was bigger than the right and it was something that had to be checked out by a specialist. they got us into Riley Childrens Hospital in indy and that is when we met Dr. Meldrum. there he had a VCUG to look for reflux (there wasn't any) and we now have to go back every 3-4 months for u/s to make sure the swelling doesn't get any larger. in march the swelling had grown.

so that brings us to now! his u/s showed the same thing today...not enough improvement to move us to 6 month visits so we go back in October. he will have an u/s done as well as a renal scan. during the renal scan they will fill his bladder via cath and give him an i.v. with a dye so we can watch his kidney fill and release. what she wants to achieve with this is to prove the kidney is funtioning properly so we can move visits to every 6 months. he will more than likey grow into this problem without it causing major issues and will be able to stop going all together around the age of 2 or 3. there is a very SLIGHT chance that if it doesn't correct itself by the time he is 2-3 years old surgery will have to take place.

this is all news that was expected- as long as my little man is doing okay then i am okay. he hasn't had any issues with infections so that is wonderful! if something like that was to happen we would have to go back before october.

other than that it was a pretty normal week! lots of baseball games, lunches, and quiet time at home. i had lunch with one of my best friends from high school and that was really nice. all in all it was a pretty great week!

and the worst mother of the year award goes to...

2008-06-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

ME!!!!!

i locked Carter in the car at Dairy Queen. I think i had 4 nervous breakdowns in 5 minutes. I called Chad and told him he had to leave work and go home and get the extra keys. For some reason it never dawned on me to call 911. The manager of Dairy Queen (who is now my best friend) called the saftey officer and he was there in about 45 seconds because he was in the area. He had my doors open in 30 seconds. I think carter was in the car alone for about 4 minutes. He was just sitting in his carseat looking from left to right like..."Okay mom, come out now. I am all alone....Mom? Mom? Did you seriously leave me in the car?" He never cried and eventually started laughing at all the Dairy Queen employers that were making faces at them. In the mean time i was walking around thinking about how i am one of those mother's you see on t.v. neglecting their child. He is fine, i am fine...but i just seriously want to go throw up i am so disgusted with myself.

Happy Fathers Day

2008-06-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

What a day! It started out with our regular trip to Mass at 8am. Carter was very good, as usual. Everyone at church is so impressed with how good he is. He usually sits or stands in my lap during the entire service. Sometimes he will fall asleep and sometimes he will start to get a little whiny towards the end. Today he did just that...he started to get a little cranky during communion but by the end song he was out. I told Chad I would take him to breakfast and to pick anywhere he wanted- he chose White Castle. Bless his heart- I was expecting to have to spend $30 of breakfast for us and it only ended up being $8!

So then we went home and messed around until we went to my dad's at noon. We had lunch there and the boys all played. Carter was very good and napped, ate, swung in the hammock and slept some more. It was a really nice day spent with my Dad. It made my day! We played cornhole and tried to keep up with my little brother, Nick. The poor kid was sick but still had the wittiest things to say and the biggest smiles to share.

Bailey left from there to go to the airport to pick up Chad's dad with Brenda and we left to go grocery shopping. Got that finished, went to my mom's for dinner, and came home. Carter was in a very grumpy mood. Poor guy...he was so tired and I really think his teeth are starting to bother him. He ate as soon as we got home and was asleep in about 10 mintues. Hopefully he stays that way until 7am....well, maybe 3am. Hopefully.....

Here are some pics from today!

My dad, me, my brother Nick, and Carter

Bailey and his hammock...he didn't know I caught him on camera! haha!

Me and my little brother Nick

HAPPY 5 MONTH BDAY!!!

2008-06-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Carter is 5 months old today!! Holy moly! Was it really five months ago when he came into this world? Time has flown by. In a way I am so happy to see my little man happy, laughing and thriving in this world but I also miss the days when he was just a little baby.

Here is what he is doing now:

Rolling over (constantly)

Only waking once to eat at night- usually around 2:30 or 3

Eating rice cereal and oatmeal cereal for breakfast and dinner

Grabbing his feet

Putting everything in his mouth

Grabbing for toys, hair, glasses, necklaces, ANYTHING

Talking a lot more

Turns to the sound of his name or the sound of mine or Chad's voice

Carter at 6 days old:

Carter at 5 months old:

We have a roller!!!

2008-06-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

After weeks of waiting and trying to make him roll over he finally did it! I confess- I missed the first two rolls thanks to dishes and cleaning up around the house but I caught the next ones! It was so sweet and made me want to cry because I know what is next- crawling. This is going way too fast- I still look at him like he is a little baby. I told Chad the other day that I can't remember what it is was like back in January and yesterday I realized that it is because I think we are still there. There is no way Carter is going to be 5 months old tomorrow....holy crap!

So for your viewing pleasure today here he is! My big boy! :)

and because this deserves a post of its own...

2008-06-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

So...Carter and I were doing our morning routine. He had just had his morning nursing session and was in his jumparoo bouncing and laughing away. I made myself a bowl of Cheerios and was watching the Today Show. I kept looking over at him and smiling...and then i noticed something running down his legs...yes, it was poo. And a lot of it! I screamed and jumped up. Not quite knowing how to get him out with out poo getting all over me (did I mention it was all over our NEW carpet as well?). I ran to his room and wiped him off enough so he wouldn't get poo everywhere and laid him in his crib while i started a bath. Got him all spic and span and dressed- he was still not bothered by the trauma we had just gone thru...

Unfortunately, our new carpet is not so lucky. It is now poo stained. :( So sad...but so funny at the same time. Just one mommy moment I will never forget!

A kink in the schedule

2008-06-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

I wonder all the time why it is that the minute we do something different Carter gets all out of whack. Last night I had to go to a baby shower. I stressed all day about how i was going to get him fed and in bed and still maintain his normal schedule. Well, I ended up having to feed him a little earlier than usual and then he was up way past his bedtime. He ate before bed but it was still a larger gap in between the 2 feedings. Apparently, he didn't like that. He was up at 2:30 and i went against the doctor rule of letting him CIO (cry it out) and fed him. I figured he was hungry- it wasn't his fault we had to go to a baby shower at 6:30pm on a Wednesday night. then he decided to get up at 5:00...WHAT?? So, tired me let him eat for a few minutes and he (and I) passed out in the chair. I put him back to bed and he didn't wake up until 8:20. Holy crap- now we are really out of whack.

So it will be interesting to see what the day brings...in the meantime here is a beautiful picture of him for your pleasure! :)

Please go here...

2008-06-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

On the side of my blog i have a link to "matt, liz and madeline". This is a blog i was turned on to by someone on the nest. Matt and Madeline live in L.A. and the day after madeline was born Liz passed away. I read his blog everyday and then thank God that I have Chad in my life. It really puts a lot of things into perspective. If I am having a bad day or if Chad is on my last nerve I stop and think of Matt and Madeline.

So please read and keep them in your prayers.

My first blog

2008-06-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

Well here i am! my first blog entry! I decided to start this mainly so my friends and relatives that i don't see everyday can stay in touch and see my family as it grows. Here is a quick update for those of you who need one :)

Chad and I were married on July 14, 2006. We started trying for a baby right away and I found out i was pregnant May 2007. After 9 long, tiring, fat months Carter Aidan arrived. He was born on January 14th at 3:13pm. He is wonderful. He is my life. He is absolutley perfect.

Here is a pic:

Please excuse the way I look- I just gave birth :)

So here I am- almost 5 months later. I just can't believe it has been that long. People always say to cherish the moments you have with your baby...and boy, is it true.

Stay tuned for more to come and thanks for reading! :)