Jumping for Joy! ...And Garlic!

This is just a silly post to end the weekend on a good note. As I wrote previously, we crammed a LOT into this little weekend and managed to have a really great time doing so!

Carter, on the other hand, had a really, REALLY great time this weekend! Got to spend a little time in his jump-a-roo and STILL loves bouncing around like a goon (thanks Grandma C for keeping our boy occupied so happily!) - and sorry these next 2 pics are fuzzy - he wouldn't exactly stay still:
In real-time, it sort of looks like this:


If you heard the spoon clanging in the background, that's because Matt was making dinner on Saturday night while I was working on the computer. Asked him to make a sauce up for the GIANT spaghetti squash and told him to throw in 2 cloves of garlic when he made the sauce.

Well, luckily I got up to check on dinner's progress and noticed that Matt had cleaned up a few more than 2 cloves of garlic. Exhibit A:
And here's a close up - must be about 25 cloves there(!!!!): After getting a good laugh out of it, I notified him that a "clove" isn't the same as a "bulb" of garlic! He was all ready to toss it in and get dinner to the table. Bless him for having such a big heart, but sometimes he REALLY gives me a good laugh always doing the "right" thing! :)

Anywho, time to fold up some laundry and hit the hay!
~kerrie

Good Eats

It's been QUITE a busy weekend for the Greenies! On Friday, I had my annual Book Club Gift Exchange (which was a riot...as always!). Carter spent the evening with Paul and Eileen (and slept through most of it...bummer for them, as they LOVE spending time with the lil' guy). And Matt went out with the guys to see "Avatar" (which he's been raving about). All this on Friday after work!

Saturday was just as jam-packed! I worked most of the day on some SWE stuff (award nominations) and then I went to my first "Cookie Exchange." It was a hoot and I came home with about 5 dozen cookies (and I'm happy to report that there are at least 3 cookies left as of Sunday night...).

Here are a couple pics from the party - first up, the cookie table (and this wasn't all of them!):The girls - part 1:
The girls - part 2 (and that's Kim, the hostess, in the black - thanks for hosting, Kim!): Sunday was even busier, as we packed all of our errands, a trip to my office, dinner out on the town, and a round of baby-food making all in one day! Happy that we got everything done, but I'm completely zonked!

Few fun pics from the weekend to share...First up, is Carter with his "banana pop." These are nifty little contraptions that allow you to put food in the mesh baggie part and it keeps him occupied for quite some time (thanks for the tip Jim & Wendy!). Only downside, it leaves a sticky, sticky mess all over the place (because, of course, Carter needs to bang it on the tray and whatnot)...
Also happy to report that the redness in his cheeks is GONE. No more meds needed and he's back to his cute 'ol self (in my opinion he's TOTALLY cute!):
And finally, I love taking photos of all of the food I whip up for him. Always seems to look like a rainbow in the fridge! Here's a sampling of this week's food (including some new foods: lima beans, pineapple, and spinach!):
Here's hoping the week flies by and closes with a terrific Christmas day!
~kerrie

Greased Lightning

Why this car is automatic...
It's systematic...
It's hydromatic...
Why it's greased lightning!

...as sung for you by "Evil, Greasy Carter" (this pic cracks me up - he looks like a crazy kid):
Only teasing...and try getting THAT song out of your head for the rest of the day!

Putting up a few silly photos from dinner tonight and blogging about nothing in particular. Carter had a tasty feast of mixed berries with cottage cheese, some cabbage and rice, and a little bit of ground chicken (mixed with onions and rice). Pretty much every bit of it (that you don't see on his face) went in his belly. The kid can eat, I tell ya!

Smeared him up with some vaseline and thought he looked a little bit goofy with the food remnants over his shiny face:
And he was CLEARLY upset by the whole ordeal...or not:
Anywho, weekend is almost here and we're ready to relax! My third annual holiday gift exchange is tomorrow with my Book Club (while Matt hangs with the guys and Carter hangs with Paul and Eileen). I'm also participating in a Cookie Exchange on Saturday (my first ever). So I'll be as big as a house after I eat all 5 dozen cookies! Or...maybe I'll share a cookie or two...maybe...

Have a great night!
~kerrie

All Clear!

...well, not quite ALL clear, but doc says Carter just had a bad reaction to the meds (the antibiotic he was on after ear-tube surgery). So got a little "topical cream" (cue old Southpark episode where the whole town got a topical cream to cure their zombie afflictions...)...

I digress...twice a day we'll slather him up with the meds and keep him "greasy" (doc's word, not mine) during the rest of the day with some vaseline. Will do this for a week and should be a-ok. Already applied a little of the steroid cream to his cheeks last night and by morning it's already making the redness go away. Will take a few photos tonight, but let's just say that we're happy that it's nothing too serious!

So we'll go to our "happy place" (can't take credit for this photo - I think it's from National Geographic):
...and be thankful that our little boy is a-ok!

Hope you have a great one!
~kerrie

Cheeky Monkey

Today I ran a quick errand over at the mall and picked up some new tennis shoes for Carter. Since he's standing around, it's only a matter of time before he's walking. And well, the girls at school said it's finally time to be putting him in some shoes (I've put it off as long as I could...because, well, non-walking-babies and shoes...what's the point?!).

He's not QUITE walking yet, but he's starting to "cruise." Yep, grabbing on to furniture, chairs, our legs, etc. to get himself around. Actually pretty amusing, as you can almost SEE the little cogs in his brain working to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B! Also pretty funny to watch him "dismount" (as we call it)...it's just sort of a PLOP down on his tush. Good to see that he isn't one of those kids that freaks out because he can't figure out how to get down now that he knows how to get up!

Took a couple photos tonight while he was jumping (yes, jumping...) in his crib. I'm too lazy to adjust the red eye and well, he looks a little evil against the red wall, eh? (Click to make them bigger.)

In other news, he's got an appointment tomorrow with Dr. R to check out his rash on his cheeks. It's definitely gone down, but it's still hanging around. Doesn't appear to be itchy or burning or anything like that, it just makes him look goofy (and not nearly as adorable as he should be). So we'll check it out with the doc and have a report tomorrow.

As you can see in the next couple of photos, it's still red and still looks like he got a nice sunburn.
And this next one shows off his choppers pretty well...of which he has a new tooth on the bottom. Took a while for this one to come in, but finally it poked through. So our little man now has SEVEN teeth. More than any of the other babies in his class! That's right, he's an over-achiever already! Will post something quick tomorrow after the doctor's report, so cross your fingers that it's just something simple. Like my laundry detergent choice. Or something silly like fuzzy toys. Or whatever... Just something non-serious.

Alrighty, time to wash up some dishes. Have a great night!
~kerrie

What's So Funny?

Silly post tonight...just to say that Carter cracks us up! The lil' dude has been in quite a good mood of late and was just cracking up the other night before dinner. Captured a quick little video to share his completely infectious laugh:



In other random news, the Greenies are looking forward to a quiet Christmas at home (I'm working all next week, Matt is off). The tree is up and Santa already has a few presents for Carter (waiting to wrap them on Christmas Eve):
You can't quite see them in the photo, but Matt and I exchange ornaments each year. Something to "symbolize" the year and add a little clutter to the tree. This year, Matt got me an adorable little snowman family (I'm easy...I LOVE snowmen), I got Matt an RV ornament (from "Christmas Vacation"...Cousin Eddie's RV...it even plays a few quotes from the movie - hilarious!), and Carter got his first Christmas ornament (a silver teddy bear).

Figure by the time we're 80, the tree will be so cluttered with randomness, it'll actually be pretty cool! And well, we'll be able to reminisce about our wacky youth, eh?

Alas...the weather is getting colder, but the daylight hours will soon start being longer (solstice on the 21st!). I'm looking forward to summer already!
~kerrie

PS And the symbolism of the RV ornament: Matt [annoyingly] sings "Holiday Road" from the original "Vacation" movie on pretty much every car trip longer than 30 minutes. So when I saw the RV, it was just PERFECT to symbolize the year. "That there is an RRRRRVeeee!"

Just Standin' Around

Last Thursday when I picked Carter up from school, one of his teachers told me that after his nap, he pulled himself up in his crib. Not just to his knees...no, to a full-blown standing position! Sure enough, he started doing the same thing in his regular crib (which we've since lowered down two notches)!

So I captured a few photos of him standing up in the pack-and-play this weekend - starting with the "Nothing out of the ordinary here, Mom..."
Then the "busted" look (and just SO guilty looking, eh?):
"Nothing to see here, folks, nothing at all...."
Other fun developmental news - looks like Carter is allergic to penicillin... Had 5 days left of his 30-day course of "maintenance" antibiotics and well, he started to develop a REALLY bad rash on his face. First it was just a small spot on his lower jaw and Matt and I just thought it was chaffed from the car seat shoulder pads.

Then it moved to his cheeks. Matt and I thought maybe it was just from the cold weather (of which he's exposed to about 2 minutes a day...). Then maybe it was from sleeping on his front...

And then it got REALLY bad at school and the girls were all worried, as it was BRIGHT red and bumpy and was starting to peel. So, Carter was pulled off the antibiotics (and got to wear some shiny face cream all weekend!) and we're happy to report he's on the mend.

Poor dude, eh? Never bothered him a bit; he just looked like he sat in the sun or something a little too long...

In the next couple of photos you can see the redness fading (click to enlarge) and you can tell how much the rash was affecting him...
CLEARLY distraught by the whole thing... (and yes, the mobile has since come down - he was ready to devour it while standing in the corner a mere 3 minutes after the photos were taken...)
But, back to the standing...yeah, the "easy" part of this parenting gig is over. It's only a matter of days before we're chasing him around the house! Hope you're staying warm, it's supposed to snow a couple inches here over the next few days. Brrrrr!!
~kerrie

Christmas Party at the ABQ Aquarium

So Matt and I [finally] got a night out! My company holiday party was held this past weekend at the Albuquerque Aquarium and Botanical Gardens (technically 2 separate attractions here in town...) and we got decked out in our holiday best.

Before the party we walked through the "River of Lights" (which I guess is one of ABQ's hottest attractions during the holiday season). It was about 4 degrees outside or something that felt close to that, so we walked pretty quickly through the light show. Some pretty impressive displays, but it was too chilly to take out the camera...

After our chilly walk, we headed into the aquarium and had dinner in front of the shark tank. Matt and I were being a little silly while everyone was taking photos, but here we are in all of our fancy-pants glory:
Right after we had our photo taken, one of the bigger sharks did barrel rolls right behind us:
And my favorite fish in the tank, the "ugly fish" (top left) swimming right on by:
We're quite thankful to have such wonderful neighbors and friends to watch Carter. So a big THANK YOU goes out to Kristin and Justin for watching the dude while we had a fun night out!
~kerrie

Carter is 9 Months Old!

Carter is growing up so fast! In 3 months he'll be a YEAR old! Crazy! Well here's a brief post on his life and busy-bee-ness... Biggest highlight of the month is he's sitting up on his own and then...yikes...he's pulling himself up on the furniture! Before we know it he'll be standing, then walking, then sprinting. Yeesh.

At his check-up today he weighed in at almost 21 pounds and was 28.5 inches tall. So still a tall, skinny kid, right where he needs to be on the charts. Doc says he looks great (and the tubes in his ears have REALLY helped him stay healthy!) and he's a really easy-going 9-month old! Yay!

He's a mile-a-minute playtime kid and can empty (and subsequently get bored with) every single toy he owns in about 10 minutes...but it's ok because there's still the cat to keep him entertained!

He's still eating everything we give him (even the okra!) and we've started some more table foods (noodles!). Looking forward to trying some chunkier stuff this month and we're even going to start the sippy cups (yay for no more bottle washing!)! I'll be sure to post on the progress, as it will be riddled with hilarity, I'm sure!

Still trying to use the monthly photo cards from Aunt Katrina and this month was quite similar to last month...difficult! Since he's always being decked out in MY choice of clothing (KU!), this month he's sportin' one of Dad's faves: Star Wars!

Starting out he was quite interested in Yoda and the light saber:
Then it was all about crawling away during the photo shoot:
"Eh, no need to watch the camera...check out this sign!"
"Tasty, tasty!"
"Again, definitely worth snacking on - paper is good for you, right?"
"Ok, not so much of this sign will be left when I'm done with it...that's cool, right?"
"Dang it! Where'd the sign go?!" (And I love taking pouty pictures...we don't get a whole lot of them since he's generally a happy, happy kid...)
So we tried. Really, we did! These next two are his "official" 9 month shots (and I say "official" because I'm putting them all up on the wall in the hall!):
And you can't see his cheesy grin behind the sign all that well, but he really was smiling and having a great time!
Matt and I are still really enjoying this parenting gig (and never thought we'd have so much love for the wee little lad!) and are looking forward to spending Christmas together as our little family! Hope you're doing well and keeping warm!
~kerrie

Granola Kid

Mommy turned the big 2-9 this week (again...) and in honor of her environmentalist ways, Carter was decked out in his "Tree Hugger" shirt. Sure, he's already an organic veg head, so it's a lost cause for anyone trying to steer him toward the pollution train, right? I kid, I kid...I thought the shirt was cute, so I had to buy it!

Must have been a little early for him (notice how he still looks sleepy and a little "puffy" as Matt says), as he wasn't quite up to his hammy self for the camera...but I did capture a couple shots:
Ok, just one shot before he flipped over:
And then started chasing Kitty-Kitty around the bed:
Oh well, we'll try again next time!

Peace!
~kerrie

Gobble! Gobble!

Since Carter FINALLY hit the sack early (I swear, that kid is related to his father and NEVER goes to sleep at night...been staying up past 10, 10:30PM!!!)...

Anyway, I'm playing catch up with the Greenie Times. Thought I'd get a post up about Thanksgiving 2009 and Carter's first taste 'o turkey! Since we weren't able to travel, our kind pals invited us to Rio Rancho for the T-day feast. So, thanks be to Erik and Christi and their unbelievable hospitality (they even let us attempt to stain their carpet!). Here's the wonderful hosts (with Christi's mom in the background - REALLY nice lady!):
Few shot of Erik and his proud turkey-cooking skills (yes, there were TWO turkeys):
Few other attendees - The Ladies (Jenny, Michelle, and the kiddos):
The Neighbors (Phil and Gen - and this was Gen's first T-day in the U.S.!):Everyone in the crowded kitchen - which is how it SHOULD be on Thanksgiving (and a pic with Brian in it - in the orange shirt):
Christi's beautiful table set-up:
And, of course, the Greenies - Carter with a free ride from Daddy:
Matt looking a little squinty, but Carter was having a blast:
And finally, good 'ol Phil offering a beer to the baby...and boy was Carter ready to try it!
Thank you again to all of our wonderful friends who let us share in the Thanksgiving festivities with them! The company was great, but the food (and dessert!) was even better! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving too!
~kerrie