Christmas!

Really fun Christmas morning with a two year old! This year Scott's parents joined us and we had lots of fun watching Braden open (so many!) presents!
Carter even tried to open a few :)

Great surprise for Gramma...she got the Demy e-recipe book from all her "kids":

Relaxing with Papa after a great Christmas dinner!

We're going to California too so I think Braden and Carter are going to get a second Christmas there with my family, lucky boys!!!

Presents!

We got a huge box of Christmas presents yesterday from my Dad and Step-Mom, so I thought we should put them under the tree...not the best idea! First Braden took them out and lined them up...
and then he started opening...
He now has a new bath toy for Carter, the rest are now downstairs waiting to be opened on Christmas!

3 Months Old

Baby Carter is now 3 months old...wow, time flies!
Stats: about 13lbs (there isn't a well baby appointment for 3 month-olds here, so that's just what our scale says).
Accomplishments: He has rolled over from stomach to back on his own a few times, but we're not sure if it has been intentional of just a kind of a lucky side effect to a burst of energy:) Also, his neck is getting really strong so we've been able to put him in the bumbo seat for a few minutes at a time, and he likes the change of perspective. Otherwise, he just continues to be a very good, happy baby! We're so lucky!! He usually wakes up around 4am to eat, but usually only the once...so I'll take that for sure!!

Bubbles!

A fun indoor activity on a snowy, cold day at home!

First snow!!

The first of many fun days in the snow this winter!

Gymnastics

I don't know why we've waited so long to try out the open gym at Regal Gymnastics...Braden LOVED it! Perfect thing for our first morning waking up with snow on the ground! Huge trampoline, foam pit, gymnastics equipment, what could be better for a very active little boy?!?

International Festival

Since it was another drill weekend for Scott, the boys and I decided to check out the Vermont International Festival with our friends...fun performances, crafts, and ethnic food (of course my favorite part!!). Here we're watching the "On the Border Morris" (English folk dance):

It really wasn't that loud...I think Braden's ears have been hurting a bit because he's getting those two-yr molars...
Braden was a little stand-off-ish with the "Soul Beat Africa" drummer and the belly dancers...but the other kids loved playing the drum:
Even though I didn't get great pictures, we really did have a lot of fun!

This is how we Roll...

Carter's really been enjoying his little play mat lately; he loves the bright colors and dangling toys: He's been doing a lot of tummy time and getting stronger each day so he'll learn to roll over...of course, Braden wants to help him learn this now: (video): **Don't worry, we were watching and the baby was safe! Braden is a bit rough, as you can see!, so we watch him really carefully whenever he wants to "help" Carter!

Happy Thanksgiving

Lots to be thankful for...

Trees and Two Year Olds...

We had a lot of fun putting up our tree this year since we'll actually be home for Christmas, but I have to think that whoever started the whole tree decorating tradition didn't have a two-year old...we keep finding pretty shiny ornaments all over the house because apparently they are much more fun to play with than actual toys! Hence the "two-yr old tree"--my name for a tree that has decorations on the top two thirds only! This kind of tree also has no glass or breakable ornaments (or anything extremely irreplaceable) for obvious reasons :)

Showing Carter how it's done!
Stockings waiting to be filled w/ presents because of course the boys were good this year!
My favorite part of having a "two-yr old tree" is the special decorations; here are the three ornaments Braden made this week! Love them!!

Daddy, what did you do today at work?!?

The other day there was a professional photographer on the tanker, so he got actual pictures of Scott flying!! Here he's "#1" (the closest jet):

Open Gym

Best way ever to burn a bunch of energy running around on a Saturday morning (Braden, not me!!)

Two Months Old!

Can you believe Carter is already two months old?!?
Today was his two month check up, so here are his stats:
Weight: 11 lbs, 14 oz (50th percentile)
Height: 23 1/4 in (60th percentile)
Schedule: He’s still pretty much on the every three hour feeding (at least during the day), but he’s much more alert during the day and has slept several nights for 5-6 hours stretches! He still LOVES his swing…sometimes more than being held!...so he does spend a lot of time in there. He’s also started playing on his playmat and really likes seeing his reflection in the little mirror. He’s not a big fan of tummy time, but I try to give him that a couple times throughout the day.
Accomplishments: The biggest thing is that he’s now started smiling!! So very cute! Of course he usually does it after he eats and I never have a camera, so I’m still working on getting a good smile picture. He’s also started holding his head up really well now, not perfectly but he’s pretty strong and steady.


As you can see he's catching up to Raggedy Andy!!