Swim Lessons-TXPhotoDump

School and swim lessons started in just enough time to be cancelled for "wintery weather."  HA!  I'm dying over here!  Too funny!

What a blast yesterday!  Carter had so much fun at Grammy's School, as he calls it.  My expectations have been set waaaay too high.  It was always my dream growing up that my children would go to her school, so I guess in a way, "my dream has came true." (As Carter would put it.)

Swim Lessons were AWESOME!  I arrived early, anticipating a freak out because the pool isn't a hot tub and is chilly.  So he and I played in there, in that cold water.  I just kept lying saying "this feels awesome!"  and "man this is so much fun!!"  Ha!  The plan worked because freak out happened, he was over it and then class started!  He had a ball!  So many fun games and he was so joyful!  Just as happy as can be trying to be silly for his new friends and kicking those little, white, legs non-stop.

He has in his head that he doesn't know how to swim.  I honestly think the few times he's seen his cousins L&H swim on their own has really impacted him.  He says "I can't swim."  We tell him things like: What do you think you are doing with us on vacation!?  The more we swim the better you'll get on your own!  It takes practice!  We don't live in a swimmy place, we just need to swim more!

But he pretty self-aware in this area.  It's interesting.

So after being AWESOME in this class (with the noodle) they were done with Night 1.  He got out of that pool so proud of himself saying "I think I can swim without the noodle!!!!  I want to try it!! I think I can do it!"  Let me clarify that the class had not gone that far, he was just feeling good.  So to the hot tub we went, because momma was freezing.  He attempted the usual push-off to mom and did great!  But was just like always.  A little sink-age toward the end.  He came up with a quivered lip and tears forming.  "I can't swim."  :(  Poor buddy, it's just the beginning, you'll get there.  I promise.

Without further ado:

He was chasing the blue ball!

He kept going out on his own. Crazy boy!

Supposed to be a pic of how far they were going!  Kick, kick, kick.

Listen closely, the man tells me I can't take pictures.

One more to prove I'm a rebel.

Love you Dad!!!!!

4 to 4.

Dear Carter,

You are 4 days away from turning 4 Years Old.  I can't even believe it.  Four seems so big to me.  Then again, every milestone you've hit has made you seem bigger, while every milestone Corbin hits he still seem so little.  I have to remind myself often that you are little.  "Let him be little."

You are an energetic, smart, loving, thoughtful little boy.  You are a toot, no doubt, but above that, the others I listed, of course.  You are in love with trains, and all that goes with trains; building tracks, playing stories with your train characters.  You could spend hours (by hours I mean minutes) building with legos, magna-tiles, reading books, playing dinosaurs, playing games of chase or tag around our house.

I'm fascinated at what your four-year-young mind comes up with.  There is a song on the radio that sings "that girl is so dangerous, that girl is so dangerous.." and you hear every.single.word. that plays.  Of course, you asked why that girl is so dangerous.  Daddy and I replied we weren't sure and asked what you thought.  "I think that girl is so dangerous because she touched the plug (outlet) in the wall."  Right on, little man, that girl is obviously dangerous.  Also, The Big Yellow Monkey from 2, yes t.w.o. years ago (that's half of your life!!) still visits in dreams or fantasy.  Just yesterday you brought him up out of the blue.  While riding in the car you said that "The Big Yellow Monkey is in Heaven because he hasn't been made yet."  I was definitely taken back by that statement for several reasons.  Really THREE specific parts of that sentence.  What a brain!!!  So I asked who will make The Big Yellow Monkey, "God."  DUH!!!

Four little years ago, in Shanghai, I was days beyond my due date.  Grammy had arrived for your birth and we were set to visit the doctor every other day at that point.

When you are not having babies in China, you are shopping.  Since you had not arrived, Grammy and I were shopping!  We had already traveled so far to the tactile markets to have chair covers made, the fabric market for a cashmere coat and of course, the jewelry market for...jewelry.  All of this within a few days.  Poor Mr. Gu, our driver, was no doubt annoyed with having to drop Daddy off way on the other side of Shanghai, then to drive all the way back to pick us up, then all the way back to the markets, and again for drop offs.

I love you to the Moon and Back!
(then you say "I love you to Heaven and back!"  then I say "I love you to Heaven and back and to the moon, then down to Texas over to Shanghai, to the North Pole back to the moon and then to Canada!!")

Love,
Mom

It's Fall!

Fall...or in Texas we'd say:  Winter is here!

"It's cold."

Yesterday morning we had snow.  But it didn't stick...yet.

See the brown thing in his left hand?  He found a lady's glove.  And used it.  His hands were too cold to climb up the slide.  Thank you, random lady for leaving your glove.

"Ma!  No more pictures of Carter!"

Time to go!!

"No Mom.  Carter just plays hide and seek, first."

"BOO!"

"I'm just going play hide and seek first."

(He has to do lots of things first right now.)

First Day of School Photo Shoot FAIL

Carter started University Heights Preschool today.

It's a cooperative preschool meaning parents have to be pretty involved.  So today I had to join him.  No saying "goodbye" at the door or anything.  But he would have been fine.  That begins next week.

Any Who...Those of you who got great pictures of your 2 year old baffle me.  What did you do?  Bribe your child with chocolate?

Hiding from me.

Running toward me.

CHEEESE!!!

NO Way Mama!

The front door.  Serious now.

"Caw-Ter a Big Boy!"

Fun!

Hard at work!

May have to try for more on Day 2.

End of Soccer (and End of Help)

Well, as of last week, soccer is officially over.  It was awesome.

Carter's enthusiasm from the first practice never died however, it did change.

He did join the ranks of the other Under 3 Year Old's at the playground shortly after practice started.

Those darn Tonka Trucks will get'cha every time!  He'd last about 10 minutes and off with his buddies!  It was a blast and he looked forward to it every week!

Thank YOU Aunt Shae for this awesome soccer uniform!

*Please notice the black on top of his shoes.  Those are not his socks.  They are shin guards from a Build a Bear "Soccer Dinosaur."  He wears them every time he plays soccer now.  Yes, it's ridiculous.

With the End of the Season Soccer Cupcake.

Totally awesome to Carter.

"Cheese"  Only way I can get him to not look sad in pictures.  Not sure if this is any better.  Ha!

Group shot.

Please excuse my paleness...it's really no biggie here in Canada, but you Texans are all lookin so fine and tan!  And yes, I just finished nursing Corbin.

In other randomness.  Here are some pics from my last day with helpers in the house!

Thanks Grammy for all of your help!  We miss you!

Grammy with Corbin.

Papa made it out too!

VanSickle Grandparents!!

McCoy Family!

Apple Tea

Let's take a break from the craziness that IS our current life for a little tea.

Recipe:  Apple Juice, in a mug, heated.

P.S. Why did I post this randomness while all of this new baby/big brother/starting over in motherhood  stuff is going on?  Because I'm deliriously tired and was having tea, with the camera and computer near by.  It just happened.

The China in him.

Going #1.

Now you don't ever have to wonder how people in China use a Western Potty again.

In Western restaurants in China, there would be signs saying:

"No STANDING on the toilet!"

Yet, there'd always be muddy footprints on the seat.

He's had some really random potty moves lately. 

-Knees on the seat. A pseudo man-stand, if you will. (Great b/c pants and shoes stay on.)

-Backwards. (Hilarious on the little potty)

-One knee down and one foot on.  Like he was too lazy to turn and sit.  (Quick, time- efficient.)

OH and I have to share...

We were invited to dinner with our neighbors also named Johnny and Sarah.  They are expecting their first child.  None yet.

We brought Carter.

We were eating in their dining room, like civilized human beings.

Carter farted, on purpose, and laughed for like five minutes during dinner.

(I'm going to go ahead and blame this on China too.)

Dropped and China Photo Shoot

First of all, thank you ladies so much for the amazing advice!!! I don't know why I make these things so scary in my head? It was a wonderful day with out the anticipation of struggling for an afternoon nap that he is no longer tired for.

I was going to wait until after our trip next week, but then thought if I waited that would be about 4 weeks total of crazy days for him. I also thought, "he's dropped it, what am I waiting for?"

It was a fabulous day!!! We actually got to do lots of fun things without the stress of running back home for a nap. Ahhh. Freedom, I've missed you. I felt like an old piece of me was back! The "busy bee" part.

He only slept 1.5 hours and we went to bed at 6:30 (an hour earlier). I hope the nap grows so he can stay up and play with Daddy more!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

.......................

By the way, I posted back in December about getting some professional pictures taken here. Well, the photo shoot was ridiculously silly, as they gave him silly outfits, crazy props and tacky backgrounds, so I haven't been in the biggest hurry to pick them up. Horrible, I know.

Well, we had time yesterday!!! Here is what came in the package:

The big one is a piece of wood to hang on your wall.

A board book. Carter is LOVING it.

A crystal-like key chain.

The best pictures taken....to enjoy in tiny form.

I love my crystal key chain.

We have no keys! Ha ha.

A few highlights from the book.

There is my son, with a pipe. My stomach turned when they gave that to him.

Yes, it's a toy, but still.

(he is crawling on the book in this picture...sorry for his arm shadow)

Side note: Two random men have tried to give him a pack of cigarettes to play with while in line at the grocery store. I am very persistent with my "Bu Hao!" (Not okay!)

They insist that they do not mind if my little baby plays with their new, unopened pack of cigarettes.

My head says this: "I don't care that you don't mind...I DO mind. Do not get one inch closer to my little baby with those things!!!"

The security guard came over both times and told them to back off.

Love the English words on this page.

"Thank you very much Carter, but you can just call me mom!"

Oh, and that is their outfit. At least I was persistent on him NOT wearing a military uniform.

Aside from the random package of photo goods, there were some really cute pictures in the book. I just wish I could print them out in normal size for picture frames! Ahh...memories!

Like everything in China, trial and error. We'll have to do it again!

P.S. Now I'm all worked up again thinking about those men and their cigarettes! Breathe, breathe Sarah.

Wild Thing

I love this kid.

Carter's First Year

A look back at the best year ever!

Hope you enjoy!

(I don't know why some pics are a bit yellow on Youtube.)

9 Months Old

Carter-Bear is officially 9.5 months old! We celebrated his 9 month birthday by going to Vietnam!

Here are the latest updates:

• Still crawling like crazy.
• Still pulling up.
• Three times now he has stood without holding anything...he didn't even realize it! (Dad and I freaked!!)
• 6 teeth. 2 on top, 4 on the bottom.
• 22 lbs.
• 16 airplane rides.
• First beach vacation. Vietnam.
• Talking a ton! He sounds like he is saying actual sentences. It is so crazy!
• "Ba ba ba" (This is our grandpa name for John's dad too! Ha ha!)
• "Da da." (Mama????)
• Whole arm wave. "Hello", "Goodbye", and random times because it is fun!
• Just the fingers wave. Same reasons as above.
• Still LOVES bath time!
• 2 naps (1.5-2 hours) sometimes longer.
• sleeps 7:30pm -8:30am
• Still nursing and Big-People-Food for breakfast and dinner! Sometimes snack time.

We love you little man! You are the light of our lives!

And a few pics of Carter on our trip!

{Must Do!} Bumpkin or Crack-o-lantern?

Last year a sorority sister of mine, Courtney Devine (as she is formerly known), blogged about a piece of art she received from a secret gift exchange at her church. The second I saw it I knew I would be doing the same thing with every one of my children!

This year, I had my chance!!! Here it is....

Yes, this is Carter's "Bum"! Check out that crack!

We joke that he can always fall back on plumbing with a crack like that! (It is very high.)

I'm not completely sure that I am done with it yet. I do have to touch up a black smudge I made with my hand. And I originally thought it would be more cutesy-woo but it kind of turned out more Charlie Brown-esk.

If I lived in the US I would have most likely done this on canvas. However, finding art supplies here was chore enough. So I settled with a thin canvas and had a frame made to fit. (Only because that is how you buy frames here and it just costs $3.50).

I purchased several thin canvases of the same size. I plan to do a print for every holiday of the season this year! So this frame will be filled with "Carter Art" for a while!

November: Hand Turkey

December: Foot & Hand Angel

January: Snowman

February: Hand Heart

March: ?? Is this where it ends? Ideas?

For another ADORABLE example, check out my sweet nephews' Bumpkins!

If you do it...let me know! I want to see!

{Momtog} No edits, crops or photoshop!

In my spare time/nap time, I've been trying to learn a bit more about photography. This is important to me only because I realize how quickly Carter is growing and changing. I want to be able to capture the little daily moments since we can't have a photographer follow us around all day.

I solicited advice and two trusty friends have helped out! Photographer friend, Lauren Harris and Momtog Friend, Jenni Caswell gave me a bit of insight on how to use my camera! :) Here is what I've got so far: