Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hope you got your Irish on today...we certainly did with yet another afternoon spent at the zoo. It was very festive, they had Irish folk music playing outside & we all wore green. It was a beautiful day with near 70-degree weather here. Bring on Spring!

Our chunky monkey!

Carter & his Leprechaun hat. He didn't like the fact that it kept leaving green sparkles all over his hands.

Enjoying some green ice cream after dinner. He decided that the ice cream was too cold on his teeth, so ate his cone backwards. It was very creative and very messy.

jammin' in the saucer

We are getting a lot of mileage out of our baby toys. (This is a HUGE understatement when you consider that we purchased many of our big baby gear items from Craig's List when Carter was a baby. Have I mentioned how much I love CL?) Anyway, not only is Davis getting to enjoy them now, but Carter is re-enjoying them. He loves playing the piano on the exersaucer & was jamming out while I was trying to get a picture of him with Davis, hence the "action shots".

Holding still for a brief moment.


Davis likes to bang on the piano...when he gets a turn.

Happy baby!

being "helpful"

Carter spends his days going between: 1) ignoring his brother, 2) hurting his brother,
3) "helping" me with his brother

He took this rare moment to hold the teether for Davis so he could chomp on it. I wouldn't be surprised if he cuts some teeth soon...he shoves his fist in his mouth whenever given the chance.

For me?

still jumping

Here is our happy, big boy posing in his jumper. He's got to find a way to burn all of the calories he's taking in now. This child eats 7oz. every three hours during the day. Did I mention the hypoallergenic formula is EXPENSIVE!? I have already started thinking of ways to break the news to Davis that his college fund was sacrificed so that we could afford to feed him for his first year of life (assuming that he outgrows this allergy by 12 months).

Sorry about the video quality. I took it using my phone & the sound and picture both seem distorted.

funny guy

Carter has been saying so many funny things lately, I have been trying to write them all down. Who needs entertainment with a two-year-old around? Here are a few recent ones:

~When I wiped down his hands and face after dinner he said: "Thanks, baby!" Then the rest of the night, anytime I would help him: "Thanks, Honey Mom!".

~Davis broke into a sudden "mad" cry, and knowing it probably had something to do with Carter, I asked him what was wrong with his brother. Carter said: "Brother's head hit my book." Poor Davis.

~Sean was up in the attic working on something & Carter kept asking "Where did Sean go?" me: "You mean Daddy?" C: "Where did Sean My Daddy go?" me: "Daddy's up in the attic." (I was pointing to the ceiling) C: "You mean he's gone?"

~He loves to tell us when he's sad, which usually means that he's mad or frustrated because we have told him "No" about something. This morning I wouldn't let him get down from the table until he finished his breakfast. He said "Mommy, I'm sad. And I'm not happy, either."

Zzzzzz...

When I woke up for work on Saturday night, I found all three of my boys snoozing on the couch. It was too cute for words. I am so glad they stayed asleep long enough to get a picture!

fire truck!

Today we made a trip to Target & got an added bonus...there was a fire truck parked out front! Carter thought it was pretty cool, so I got a picture of him (Davis is kind of hidden in the basket) in front of it. He was pretty excited about that, but then the firemen came out and asked if he wanted to sit in the truck.

Carter wasn't so sure about sitting up so high, but he sat still long enough for me to get a quick photo for Daddy. Maybe next time he'll be a little more relaxed.

at the zoo

The weather was so nice last week, we made TWO trips to the zoo! We had fun seeing all the animals, riding the train and watching the sea lion (Or are they seals? I can never remember.) show. We got up close & personal with the elephants, one of Carter's favorites!

Me riding the train with the boys (see the top of Carter's head?).

The highlight of Thursday's trip was seeing five zookeepers trying to direct a baby kangaroo (she is in the upper right, above the branch) into the kangaroo house. It literally took five people holding lawn rakes corral her. After several minutes of her hopping right by them, the zookeepers finally won. It was hilarious! Carter and I were both laughing and he kept saying "GO kangaroo, GO!!!"

The sneaky kangaroo

Brother sitting outside with us one warm afternoon last week.

story time...sort of

Jumperoo

The jumperoo is quickly becoming Davis's favorite place to hang out. His feet just barely touch the floor but he is able to get it going and loves watching the lights and animals. Carter "helps" him jump if we aren't careful! I think having an older brother is going to make Davis one tough cookie when he gets older.

kids say the darndest things...

This afternoon, we saw a commercial for the new movie Alice in Wonderland, starring Johnny Depp (see photo below). I was feeding Davis & not really paying attention but Carter kept saying "There's Mimi. There's Mimi!" and pointing to the TV. I finally got it.

I guess all redheads look the same to a two-year-old. Sorry, mom!! For the record, I reminded him that you are MUCH prettier than Johnny Depp.

Mickey Mouse Club

The boys wanted to model their matching Mickey Mouse shirts this morning! Grandad & Grandma Nancy brought them back from a seminar in California a couple of months ago. We just found out this week that Grandad is going to be leading a parenting workshop in Hong Kong!! Congratulations, Grandad! Wonder what kind of souvenirs they have in China?! ;-)

This is the look Carter gave me when I told him to make a "handsome face".

snow day

Sean took Carter outside to play in the snow on Saturday. I guess they were both getting a case of cabin fever. Carter had a blast and came in freezing cold (due to some soggy mittens), but wanted to go right back outside. I think we are all ready for Spring!

being silly

Carter found these glasses and has been wearing them all weekend. He put his hat on all by himself (it's backwards) and wanted to wear the glasses with his PJ's, too! What a goof-ball!

Three months old!

Davis is three months old today! I cannot believe how fast the time is flying by. He is a happy baby and we are enjoying him being more social and interactive. He smiles and laughs now and "talks" to you. Still, his favorite thing is watching his big brother. I can't wait to see these two in another few months when Davis is able to sit up and start playing.

All smiles as we head out to pick up Carter from "school".
Just had a big spit-up episode, so not as happy in this pic.

bumbo time

Davis is getting really good at holding his head up, just working on control now. He seems to enjoy his vantage point from the Bumbo seat. He loves to smile at Carter and was even laughing at Sean over the weekend, but wasn't feeling it today. Oh well!

dreams

Last night as I was watching the Olympics, I was suddenly overcome with emotion as Lindsey Vonn won a gold medal, despite her shin injury. Some people work their entire lives to receive recognition and validation on the world's stage while others work just as tirelessly for private successes. More than likely, my boys will not be winning gold medals in the Olympics when they grow up...and I'm fine with that.


My dream for my boys is that they find something they are passionate about and pursue that, either as a career or a supplement to their work; sometimes dreams don't pay so well. I want them to be happy, and of course successful, (What parent doesn't want that for their child?) but above all I want them to feel accepted and loved by us no matter what they choose to be. As they grow up and life becomes more complicated, I hope my boys know I will be behind them every step of the way. Mommy will always be your biggest fan, no medal required.

We love you both SO much!

questions

Carter has been saying so many funny things lately. We think his verbal skills are pretty impressive! He has started asking about what things "do". (Can you say future engineer?) Anyway, he will ask "Mommy, what does a fan do?" "Mommy, what does a car do?" and my favorite: "Mommy, what does a strawberry do?" As Sean pointed out last week, sometimes it is difficult to come up with an answer for him.


This morning he was asking me a series of questions at breakfast, so I asked him: "Carter, what does Mommy do?" He said "Mommy goes in the kitchen." Hmmm...an interesting answer since I am certainly no cook. But, I guess heating up hot dogs and unloading the dishwasher have made quite an impression! So, I decided to ask him "What does Daddy do?". Carter thought about it for a second (I was secretly hoping he would say "watch TV" so I could use that against Sean someday, but I guess Carter enjoys watching Myth Busters) then said "Daddy goes in the car". I think this is partly because we had just said "goodbye" to Sean as he left for work and got into his car, and partly because Sean often takes Carter out in the garage when he is working on the car. In any case, it was pretty cute!

Today, Carter walked into our bedroom and said: "Hi, my name is Carter". I told him I knew it was his name because I picked it! I guess he's ready for his first cocktail party!

the Olympics

Daddy & Davis chillin' on the couch, enjoying the Olympics. Davis says he wants to learn to snowboard, too!

Valentine's Day

Thank you to everyone for the Valentine cards & gifts for the boys! Carter loved opening up the cards and took the liberty of opening up Davis's cards as well.

This is the card that Carter made for Sean! He colored it and put the letters in place (with a little coaching from me). He had so much fun making it that he now wants to make something every day. Maybe the glitter glue was a little premature on my part!


Sunday morning was snowy and cold, but we had already planned on going out to breakfast after I got off work. However, the girls coming in for the day shift said that the roads were really slick so we decided to scrap our original idea of Sean bringing the boys downtown to meet me & settled on IHOP by our house instead.

When we got home, Carter opened up his Valentine gifts. He ended up getting more than I intended, but we have been talking about using the "big boy potty" so I had gotten an Elmo potty book, DVD and "big boy undies". I didn't want it to be all about potty-training, so he got a couple of other things, too. Let's just say that not every year will be this bountiful. Davis got a new outfit on sale at Target and a teether. He was happy with that.

Not pictured is my Valentine's gift...a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit Plus! I had been hinting to Sean that I wanted one since I will never find the time to actually leave the house to work out. I am so excited to start using it! Hopefully the pounds will just melt away. :-)

fun visit

Mimi was in town for the last weekend of my maternity leave. We had a short, but fun-filled weekend! She watched the boys for us on Saturday night so Sean and I could go out to dinner and a movie...thanks, Mimi! We enjoyed every second of it as it will probably be our last "date night" for a long time.

Our morning routine: Up at 5:30ish, fix Carter breakfast & feed Davis, make coffee, keep Carter from maiming the dog, watch the dog seek refuge on Mimi's feet.
We met Sean for lunch at Johnny Rocket's on Monday

The Beilman gang, sans Davis (he was sleeping like a good baby!)

Mimi & Carter on the carousel in the middle of the mall--pretty cool!

Early Valentine's present from Mimi--new books! Thank you, Mimi!

Mimi & her favorite boys

nice touch

I had ordered a couple of things from Uppercase Living several months ago & we just got around to putting them up in the boys' room. I think they look great & Carter agreed!

Thanks for putting these up, Daddy!

Super Bowl fun

Mimi is in town for a short visit this weekend, so we decided to have the Hutchinsons over to watch the Super Bowl. We had fun watching the game (and commercials) and Carter enjoyed all the attention.

Carter modeling Mimi's shoes and a chip clip
Carter showing off his new faux-hawk 'do with Mimi

Think we could have fit anyone else on the couch?

Taylor brought Carter some of his old Duplo Legos and they were a HUGE hit! This set is 20+ years old and still has almost all the pieces, original box and instructions! Carter had a blast building all sorts of things. Thanks, Taylor!

Lego airplane

brotherly love

I think it is so sweet to see how much Davis already idolizes his big brother. My hope is for these boys to be the best of friends as they grow up.

the boy has a name

puzzle mania

The amazing thing about this video is that I have a hard time putting this puzzle together. There is no picture to match the puzzle piece to the cut-out, plus the numbers on the cars are not in any particular order. I had no idea Carter could do this puzzle so well and was pretty impressed when Sean showed me the video. What do puzzle skills translate to later in life?

Carter sure knows the alphabet forwards and backwards...we're working on our numbers. :-)