Line Up

A friend of mine, and fellow mother to a three year old, was telling me how her daughter was often lining things up and asked if Carter did the same.








-- Post From My iPhone

Sunbeam

Carter got to go on a special trip with his Dad
to the air show last weekend in a town about
30 miles from here.

Carter was trilled to see
an airplane that looked like the one from a book "The Flying Sunbeam"
Ryan got to see his favorite plane, an A-10 fighter.
I think the boys had a great time!

The Emotional Adventures of a 3 Year Old

Let's start by looking at what we were doing one year ago.
Carter was 2.

I was about 6 weeks pregnant in this picture
and Ryan was finishing his fellowship.
Sweet, smiling Carter.

He had his typical 2 year old trials. His language skills were
developing more and more and he was learning how to test limits.

I took lots of pictures, of course.
When searching through the '08 files,
it was easy to find pictures with the same engaging smile.

Change was an adventure...it was fun!
He moved from his crib to a big boy bed!

Woo hoo!

Fun at the zoo.
Here began Carter's fascination with maps.

Riding the train at the zoo.
He is sitting so still.

A few weeks later, he got ride Thomas the Train.
Excited.
Still.
Focused.

(we rode a lot of trains and wore a lot of overalls in April of '08)

Still seated.
Focused.
Seriously Excited.

And happy!

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3 is........different.
Not bad, not terrible, just different.

It's hard being 3.
His language skills have developed so much in the past year.
However, his vocabulary and his reasoning run parallel.

He has so many words to express his wide array of emotions.
So many words to negotiate with mom & dad.
So many words to say kind things.
So many words to make us laugh.
So many words to express his extreme displeasure with our ideas.
And a few words we are still trying to figure out.

Here, he was particularly displeased with my idea to take his picture.

Not even going to show his face in this one....

More displeasure...

What makes 3 even more challenging is his refusal to nap on some days.
He will do alright until about 5 or 6, then he usually lays on the couch
and has a major meltdown at some point during his bedtime routine.

Being 3 has brought out so many dimensions in his personality.
Its hard, but equally fun.

He loves to build things - he gets so focused...

Here he is constructing a car out of pieces from his wooden tool set.
Bolts become the tires and nails become the axle.
Pieces of wood became the car's body.

He can be playful and adventurous.
He likes to go head first down the slide sometimes.
He usually slows down enough that he stops himself ,
but this time he was going "super fast" and he did a flip.
Still smiling though.
He loves to play outside.
Dirt, rocks, tractors - that's where all of those things live.
That is where he wants to be.

Putting on a little concert.
He is not shy. Not shy at all.

3 also brings out some odd (and funny) behavior.
Like taking a pretend nap on the kitchen floor.

Or watching TV while under an umbrella.
Or "rainbrella" as he refers to it .

Or laying like this.

Hiding is a popular activity.
Here he is hiding in the laundry.

Hiding in the bathroom

And hiding in the car

Carter has a big heart.
As self-involved as kids this age can be (he shares this trait too),
he is thoughtful, compassionate, and nurturing.

He is a helper (most of the time)
He helps out with Cannon by singing a song when he is crying,
"teaching" him things, like how to roll over and how to talk.


He is outgoing.
He introduces himself to everyone and will often
extend his hand for a friendly handshake.

He gives compliments.
If there is more than one person around,
he makes sure to find something to compliment each person on,
as if he doesn't want anyone to feel left out.

He is thoughtful.
He wants to throw everyone a birthday party.
He loves to pick flowers and have you put them behind your ear.

Here he was setting up a picnic.
He was expecting a lot of people.
He even feeds the dog.
If Murphy's bowl is empty, he fills it up.
He also feeds his stuffed dog.

It can be hard to get a good family shot these days.
Trying to get an infant,
3 year old and Dad to smile simultaneously
is going up against some stiff odds.

But when you least expect it.....he will crack a smile.
We're only 4 months into Carter as a 3 year old and what an adventure it has been!

Big Boys and Babies

Carter has been into role playing.
It's fun sit back and watch him play.
His trains now have taken on different voices.
There is a lot of crashing,
jumping, flying, and fire....
fire powered rockets,
fire powered trains,
fire powered cars,
and today, fire powered playdough.
His toys also play nice too.
They say please and thank you.
And they always check on eachother
after they crash.
"Thomas, you ok?" "Yes Percy, that was a big crash!!"

Carter also likes to play the daddy.
Below is a picture of him sitting at my desk playing the daddy.
When I asked him how he plays daddy, he gave me this face...

"Now its time to take a shower, Carter"
I asked what else Daddy says.
"Oh, I love you!"

Cannon is still enjoying his playmat.
He can almost reach the butterflys now (they hang down from the top)

Carter likes it too.
Here he is pretending to be a baby.

Cannon likes it that Carter likes it.

Cannon - 5 Months

Well, Cannon is a little over 5 months old now, but I'm behind on my posts
(busy dad = busy mom = no time for blogging)

So these pictures were taken right about the time
Cannon passed the 5 month mark - April 3rd

Cannon is one smiley guy. He hasn't slowed down in size either -
he's sportin' the 9 month and 12 month duds.

He has started eating solids,
or more like "mushies"
He loooooves bananas like his big brother.
How do I know?
I usually don't have to change his clothes
after eating bananas.
He doesn't let a single bit go to waste.
Sweet potatoes and squash are good too -
applesauce is yummy, but it gives him a rash.

He still loves being on his tummy.
He can roll from front to back and back to front like a pro.
If something he wants is out of reach he can scoot over to it.
I'll be surprised if this guy isn't crawling soon.

He rarely naps when we are out and about.
He's gotta stay up and see what all of the action is about.
Carter would sleep wherever -
the louder the restaurant, the harder he would sleep.


Here he is trying to take flight.
He will flap and kick his arms and legs around.
I did this in an aerobics class once.

He can push up on to his hands
and has started bringing his knees in to his tummy.

The other day, he accomplished both at once
and took a nose dive into the floor.

Notice Carter relaxin' in the background.

No teeth yet.
I thought he was going to get them at the same time Carter did.
He is drooling a lot and you can see where the top and bottom
teeth are in waiting.
Ryan and Carter both got their teeth unusually early -
and Ryan has perfect teeth.
I'm so jealous of Ryan's teeth.

I hope he doesn't inherit my teeth genes -
lots of money spent at the dentist and ortho.

He loves dogs - laughing and studying
their snouts whenever he is around them.
He got to meet Rosie Wright a few weekends ago,
she was like a smaller, curlier
version of Murphy - and extra funny.
Murphy loves the extra attention and admiration.
Can't you tell?

Helper

Cannon is already helping around the house.
Here he is hanging out in his Baby K'tan carrier helping me vacuum.

He was really focused.

And look at these adorably chunky arms.