Renovations

Over the past few months we have been working on finishing our basement.  With all the stuff that comes with children, it was time to take advantage of the extra space.  We left a portion of the space unfinished for storage and added a craft room, workout room, game room and full bath.  Carter had a ton of fun playing in the space during the process.  He liked all the wide open space..

so he could show off his tumbling skills.... log rolls

and forward rolls.

We took advantage of every extra nook and cranny to add storage space.  This gave Carter lots of new locations for hide and seek!

We also took advantage of the labor while we had it and removed all the ivy in the backyard so it is a bit more child friendly.  

We are really excited about the extra space!  Now we just have to find the time to move everything in!

23 Months Old

Guess who is almost 2!

That's right, Carter is only a month away from his second birthday.  Here is a quick overview of what the little guys is up to...

Sleeping - Carter goes down around 8 and wakes up between 7 and 7:30.  He takes 1 nap a day around 11:30 and it lasts 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours.

Eating - Carter eats a wide variety of food but his likes/dislikes change daily and during meals.  He frequently says he doesn't like something only to eat it a minute later.  He loves to feed himself and does it well with a spoon.  He has recently started to get the hang of working the fork.

Playing - Carter loves to play with balls, instruments, cars, read books and ride bikes.  Lately he prefers anything he can do outside.  He also loves the TV but usually only stays interested in something for 10 minutes.  He likes to watch anything about animals, trains, planes or involving songs.  His favorite activity is watching "Wheels on the Bus" on YouTube.  It's a great distraction while trying to feed him dinner.  He loves rough housing and tickling.

Sizes - Carter is still in a size 4 diaper.  He wears size 6 shoes and 2T/24 month clothes.  He likes to have input into what he wears including which Sesame Street character is on his diaper.

Talking - Carter picks up a few new words each week.  He strings together several words and will ask questions.  Lately he likes to ask "What is that?".  He also likes to repeat what mom/dad say.  He has learned to say "Sorry" after he does something wrong.

Motor Skills - Carter is running, jumping and hopping these days.  He likes to do forward rolls (they are more like side rolls).  He is a great climber (thankfully he hasn't climbed out of the crib again since that on time in December).

Big Brother - Carter is great with Parker.  He insists on carrying Parker's bottles into daycare each morning.  He gets concerned when Parker isn't around.  He likes to sit at the dining room table with us while we feed Parker dinner.  When Parker cries, he tries to bring him a blanket or paci.

Overall, Carter is just so much fun.  He can definitely throw a temper tantrum but he is usually back to smiling and laughing within a few minutes.  Stay tuned for the last month of Carter's 1 year old adventures!

Carter the Tennis Star

We have been taking nightly walks with Carter and he always wants to go to the playground.  We walk right pass the tennis courts on the way and lately there have been several people playing.  Carter likes to sit and watch for a while.  

This week he decided that he wanted to play on the tennis courts.  So when they have been free we have gone in and Carter has started hunting tennis balls.  He has developed quite the collection.

When we go on the court, he likes to throw all his tennis balls around...

And then go pick them up.  This can take a while so we make sure to bring along refreshments.

Unfortunately, a problem arose this week.  Carter has so many balls he has a hard time rounding them all up.  So he decided to use his shirt as a ball carrier.  It works really well (as long as mom tucks it in first).

Carter is usually tired after all that ball hunting so he takes a load off in his trike while mom does all the heavy lifting on the way back home.

Add tennis to the list of sports Carter like.  Really just add anything that involves a ball and being outside to the list of things Carter likes!

Adventures with the Slip in Slide

It was a sunny, warm Sunday so we broke open the slip in side and took the family outside.  Dad worked hard to get everything set up.

Carter wasn't too sure what he thought once the sprinkler turned on.

Parker decided to avoid the cold water and supervise the scene from the tent.

Dad on the other hand was all in from the start!

His enthusiasm was contagious and Carter decided to give the slide a shot.

As long as the sprinkler didn't get him, he loved it!

Whoa!  That's one fun slide!

Parker enjoyed the warm weather and took advantage by showing off some skin.

Carter had a blast getting all wet.

When the excitement of the slide wore off, Carter practiced blowing bubbles (he's getting much better!).

Then he and dad took one more trip down the slide...

And it was time to head inside.  I'm sure this will be a regular summer activity.

Weekly Recap

Parker (4 months)
Parker has been working hard on his mobility this week.  His new trick is a half roll.  He rolls up onto his side but can't quite get over the shoulder yet.

His nap schedule has been fairly erratic.  He will take 2 - 30 minute naps some days or 3 - 1 hour naps others.  We have been consistently putting him down at the same time as Carter on the weekends which is nice but not always successful.  He does a great job napping in the car and while being pushed in the stroller.

He also continues to enjoy his dinner time.  We've been making our way though the veggies and so far he hasn't refused anything.

Carter (22 months)
Carter is a toddler who knows what he wants.  On the way home/to school, he has been making song requests for mom to sing.  His favorites are the dog (Bingo), farm (Old McDonald) and bus (Wheels on the Bus).

Carter loves being outside and has been taking nightly visits to the playground and tennis courts with mom/dad.  Unfortunately all that pollen might have caught up to the little guy as he was a little under the weather and stayed home on Friday.  But after a morning on the couch with his lovies, an episode of Sesame Street and a sippy cup with a koozie...

He was back on his feet after his nap.

Rested and ready for trouble!  The manta of s 23 month old!

Brothers
Here are a few pictures of a day in the life of the Holden brothers.  Before we go to school we all eat breakfast at the kitchen table.  Carter usually eats the last 25% while watching the dogs in the backyard.

He is usually in a super sweet mood....

and likes to sing, dance and yell about his upcoming day.  Poor Parker just sits there confused about all the noise.

After school, we come home and it's outside time.  

On this occasion, Carter wanted to push Parker in the stroller.  He made sure his brother was buckled in tight.

Crazy toddler driver!  Watch out Parker!

Then it's outside where Carter leaves his brother to hang with the older kids and Parker's nose starts running so we head inside ;)  It's always fun to see the little guys in action together.

An Afternoon at the Zoo

Once we were done at Turner Field, we decided we might as well head to the the Zoo as we were only a few blocks away.  The Flamingo's quickly grabbed Carter's attention and all sadness of leaving the baseball stadium quickly melted away.  Carter tried to count all the flamingo's with Mom's help, but every time he got to "ten" and "eleven" he would get confused and start over.

Parker was also having a great time at the zoo, he was pretty observant through the whole afternoon watching all the people and animals from the comfort of the stroller.

Carter was his normal curious and explorer self and found no hole not worth exploring.

Given the afternoon's previous events, this was a quicker than normal zoo visit as Carter's exhaustion was quickly apparent given his reluctance to continue to walk anywhere, but the monkeys always bring out his inquisitive side.

A quick fruit cup and visit to the reptile house and it was time to go home.

A Trip to Turner Field

Today we did something we'd been waiting a long time to do... get the whole family tickets to Turner Field.

So it wasn't for a real game since the Braves are in Florida for Spring Training but it was just as the fun.  The Braves had an open house so it was a good opportunity to introduce the boys to America's pastime. There were lots of games (Carter tried to run into the batting cage but luckily dad caught him in time!).

Parker had a great time just hanging out.

Carter was a big fan of all the chaos.  He had a blast checking out all the giant baseballs...

Running through the stands....

and surveying the action.

We tried to grab a family picture of the boys but mom wasn't too successful.

It was pretty warm out so we decided to get littlest man out of the sun.  Carter had a hard time leaving and insisted on giving all the baseballs he passed a big hug!

It was a fun day at the ballpark and I'm sure it won't be our last one!

Parker's Culinary Explorations

We decided to give Parker a little variety in his diet so we started his culinary exploration with peas!  He wasn't too sure what was going on at first.

He checked with mom to see if it was okay first...

Before he dug right in!

And he liked it!

He liked it even better when he got to eat them sitting in dad's lap ;)

Peas were a big hit and Parker has the clothes to prove it!