Busy Saturday

We had a VERY busy Saturday with little man. We started with a haircut for the little guy. We have given it a good shot cutting Carter's hair at home but it had reached a point where professionals were required. We headed to a kid's haircut place and Carter picked out the plane.We distracted him with animal crackers and cartoons while the stylist cut off the mullet.
Carter looked quite cute when he was done. He decided to hang out at the store for a bit longer and stuff his face with animal crackers while checking out the train set.
After the haircut, we decided to run by Peachtree-Dekalb airport and check out the plans.
Carter LOVES planes. He is amazing at spotting them at our house so he had no trouble finding them at the airport.
Despite the wind, Carter had a blast watching all the activity.
There was even a little playground for some added fun.
We'll definitely have to come back when the weather warms up again. Once we got home and little guy woke up from his nap, he and dad had an afternoon snack while they watched some football.
After a busy afternoon of playing, getting ready for baby and dinner. Dad saved the best part of the day for last... ice cream. Carter was a little slow to get started but once he tasted the goodness he was hooked.
Like father, like son!
After all that sugar, Carter wasted no time burning off some steam by chasing Morgan around the house including off and on the coffee table.
It was a very busy day for little man!

Where's the Baby?

We have been spending time each day talking to Carter about his new baby and being a big brother. We have apparently done a really good job of explaining where the baby is because when you ask Carter to find the baby, he will lift up my shirt and give my belly a hug and kiss. We seem to have gone off track somewhere though because Carter will also lift up his own shirt and point to his belly when you ask him where the baby is.

Here's a standing picture so you can get the full effect.

It is so adorable! Hopefully Carter is this excited about the baby when he gets here!

18 Months

Time sure does fly! Carter is now 18 months old and turns into more of a little person each day. Here are some highlights of what he is up to in his old age.

From his 18 month Dr check -up, here are his stats.

Weight - 24lb 9oz (note: this was fully clothed with a jacket on and holding a book!)

Height - 32-1/4"

Head Circumference - 48

Thankfully he didn't have any shots to get at this appointment!

New Room - Carter has moved into a new room. We are going to use his old room at the nursery for our new addition. I'll post pictures in a separate post but Carter made the transition seamlessly!

First Girlfriend - Carter has a lady friend at daycare, Audrey. She is an older woman (she'll be 3 in January). The love started when Carter wore his GT football jersey before Tech's first home game a few months back. Audrey wore her GT cheerleader outfit the same day. Over the past few months, Carter has chased Audrey around the playground many times and practiced his best "Whoa" for her. In return Audrey greats Carter with a hug and has learned to say his name (it's the only name she knows). The relationship was cemented on Halloween when both came dressed as cows. We'll see what the future holds for these two crazy kids!

School - Carter continues to really enjoy daycare. He has a blast playing with the other kids. He also has started frequently bringing home some of his daycare fun. 2 or 3 days a week he comes home with a new art project. Here is a picture of 2 of his Halloween creations: a trick or treat bag and a pumpkin.

Eating - Carter has a really good appetite. He eats most anything we make for him. He has his picky moments from time to time but he eats his veggies every night!

Sleeping - Carter goes to bed around 8 and wakes up at 7. He takes a 2-3 hour nap each day.

Teething - Carter's sleep schedule has been a interrupted recently as he has started teething again. We have had a nice 5-6 month break from the last round. Both his bottom two-year molars are coming in as well as one of his top canines. Only five teeth to go after those 3 so hopefully we are getting to the end soon!

Playing - Carter is a ball of energy these days. He loves running around, laughing and being a toddler. He has several new games and moves that we'll have to post videos of. One consistent activity is the Holden House nightly band party. Carter leads the band. Each night he pulls out his various instruments and assigns them to mom and dad. We then play as long as Carter wants and rotate instruments as he demands. This can go on for a quite sometime. Carter is a very serious band director!

Here are a few miscellaneous pictures from the past few weeks...

Carter does take a break from the playing every one in a while to snuggle up with dad. Being fall, the snuggle often happens in front of the TV in order to watch some football (often on Pajama Sunday).

Carter is very mischievous these days. On this evening, we caught him as he pulled out all the cutting boards and climbed in the cabinet. Here is a picture as he was climbing back out.

Speaking of climbing, Carter can get into just about anything he wants to these days. On several occasions we have watched him climb into his trike and then give us a look as he waits to be pushed around.
One of Carter's favorite games these days is running into things and knocking them over. Sometimes he uses mom and dad but most of the time he tackles his lion.

Happy Halloween

We had an Udderly Great Halloween at the Holden House!Carter has fun playing with the fall display in the front yard while we waited for the trick or treating to start.
Carter got a treat when Grandmommy came over to enjoy the Halloween fun. And he had an even bigger treat when she fixed his dinner he got to eat it in his GT tailgate chair in the driveway.
Despite having a giant basket of candy options, Carter was diligent in finishing his peas.
After dinner, Carter helped hand out candy and watched for planes (his current favorite game).
Since Carter doesn't sit still for long, he had a great time running around the front yard...
playing peek-a-boo with the Magnolia tree...
handing out candy...
and showing off his dancing skills.
He also had a great time shaking the Nerd boxes and making music. The whole family got in on the Halloween fun and we had a mini-Holden family zoo: 2 cows, pig and a chicken.
We had a ton of kids come by and Carter made it pretty late watching the crowds. He and dad were even asked to pose for several pictures with our yard display.
Happy Halloween everyone!

Neighborhood Halloween Festival

Today was our neighborhood Halloween party. Carter had a great time! The weather was beautiful and Carter had fun looking for planes on our quick walk to the party.

We started with an afternoon snack while Carter surveyed the scene. Once he had checked out all he options, he headed for the toddler bouncy house. There were several older kids running around and Carter wasted no time getting in the middle.

The big kids were running and jumping around and Carter did his best to keep up but he wasn't too steady on his feet.
Luckily he thought it was hilarious every time he fell.

When he got bored of the other kids, he had dad bounce him around...

And then he would fall down.
He thought this game was hilarious and made dad play until his arms gave out. So Carter had to find something else to do and luckily there was a slide right around the corner. Carter is quite the climber these days and had no problem climbing up the slide...
and safely sliding down.
After the bouncy house got old, we took a stroll to see the other party guests. Carter was excited when he saw Elmo and gave him a big High Five.
During our stroll, we found the snow cone machine which gave us the perfect opportunity for a quick rest. Carter enjoyed his first snow cone, especially eating off the straw.
After we were refueled, we headed for the playground where Carter tried out each slide.
And even found a few drums to play.It was almost time to head home, so he stopped for a quick picture...

while waiting for the hayride. Dad got another snow cone for the ride and Carter made sure he sat all at the very front to get the best view.

After the ride, we took our little cow home.
What a fun afternoon!

Toe Meets Leather

As the old Tech saying goes, Toe Meets Leather at 8pm on the flats Saturday and being homecoming this meant a very long day for the Holden's. We decided to take the little guy to the homecoming parade in the morning and he was so excited he woke up extra early at 6:30.

We arrived on campus just as the parade was starting. Carter enjoyed the band and cheerleaders before we took a quick break to grab a photo of the Holden men and the Ramblin Wreck.
The wreck led off the classic car part of the parade. After that came the floats. I think this one was Colin's favorite (read the sign on the right first).The theme for Homecoming was Mardi Gras so Carter scored some beads!
After some more floats...
It was time for dad's favorite part of the parade.... the wrecks. These entries can't be powered by the vehicle's primary propulsion. In non-engineering speak, this means people have to come up with clever ways to power the vehicle besides a car engine. There is no requirement that they be attractive looking though.
After the parade, we ran a few errands and then went home for naps. Grandmommy came over to watch Carter so mom and dad could head back to campus. We had a fun time tailgating without children. It's definitely much more relaxing. Also since it was homecoming there were a ton of people on campus and we had a lot of fun catching up with old friends.

Soon it was time for the game, GT got their swagger back this week and put on a fabulous performance against #5 Clemson. There were lots of Touchdowns to celebrate...
And as all big wins require, things ended with the obligatory rushing of the field.
It was a very long but very fun day!

Baby Pineapple Update

Baby is officially 33 weeks along today and to celebrate we had two Doctor appointments to check things out. Our first appointment was our last trip to the Perinatologist. They did a complete anatomy scan and everything looks good. Baby is growing right on schedule and weighs approximately 4lbs 5oz (the size of a Pineapple). He is head down and very squirmy these days. The Dr even pointed out baby's hair. Carter didn't have much when he was born so we'll see how this little guy comes out! Everything looks good with me, no immediate signs of labor at this point but at the Tech said "That Can Change At Any Minute."

Our next stop was the OB. Baby's heartbeat was 150s/160s and I'm measuring right on size wise. We go back to the OB in 2 weeks so until then we are focused on getting things around the house ready for our new little man. We have lots to do and who knows how much time ;)