Wonderful Weather Weekend

Last week was another in a string of great days here in Atlanta with the clear skies and temps almost hitting 80! So we were off to do the things Colin wishes he could get paid to do - OFF TO THE ZOO!!!


Not really sure what anyone is looking at in the aviary, but Carter's fingers sure are tasty

Carter has been showing more confidence and interest in the animals at home lately, so Mom and Dad decided he was ready for the big show, into the petting zoo Carter went.

Carter wanted to take his time getting acclimated to all the new animals that he could touch and feel, so he started out slow by watching all the children and animals from the back corner for a few minutes

But we were soon full of confidence and curiosity so we started to venture into the fray

We even wore our booties to make sure our feet stayed clean

After saying hello to a few goats, a pig, and a sheep (even scaring one off after we gave a big hair pull). We were pretty pooped, so we headed home wondering what to do tomorrow

Luckily Mom and Dad had a few ideas of what to do on Sunday, and they finally decided to take Carter to the park down the road. We took our time walking around the jungle gym with Mom and watching the other older kids playing, but then came the fun. Carter's first time on the swings!

Mom and Dad were both a bit nervous having Carter on the swings, but immediately that changed to uncontrolled smiling and happiness as Carter could not stop laughing every time the swing went back and forth.

The best part was when Dad started pushing from behind, every push let out a huge giggle

Mom followed it up with a foot tickle and Carter's laughing was non-stop

Like all adventures, exhaustion soon caught up to us and it was time to head back home.

After a quick wardrobe change, we decided to hit the front porch and hang out as it was such a nice evening. Carter was very excited as he got to hang out in his own mini-rocking chair.

We had a fun evening till dinner time hanging out and showing off our milk belly which was rather pudgy this afternoon

I wonder what we will be up to next weekend?

Month 9 - Week 3

Again Carter has had a great week. He has learned a lot in such a short period of time, including an affinity for brushing his teeth (unfortunately he doesn't always get the right end in his mouth) but he tries hard and Mom and Dad help him every night to get it right. With four teeth, brushing is now serious business.

We have also moved from simple pulling up and looking around, to becoming a professional cruiser. He has mastered the ability to move from one object to another while using only one hand for balance. He has also figured out that his WubNub likes to fall out when on the move. So he has developed a new move using his lower lip to secure it as he moves.

We have started to get very serious with all our tasks (hands always at ten and two).

Carter is also showing an interest in music and making artificial noises. He loves to rock back and forth and dance to easy songs, and even gets in on the action by banging multiple objects together.

Over the past week the weather has really springed up. Carter loves that the house has been opened as a number of the windows are at a perfect height for him to look out.

But most of all we continue to expand out eating abilities. Carter has become a master of the finger food and has moved on from simple puffs to cut up fruits, gold fish, and even sharing in some small pieces from mom and dad's plates.

He has gained a ton of confidence and is showing more and more independence each day. Pretty soon we will be needing to turn on the alarm system notification beeps when doors and window open as he already is showing signs of being an escape artist.

Overall Carter has had a great week with a bunch of smiles and laughs

He seems to find himself very humorous lately and has been know to have a few laughing fits from time to time.

The giggles just keep coming! Off to another fun filled week!

Carter and Morgan

This week Carter seems so much more interested in Morgan. All of a sudden her tail has caught Carter's eye. He likes to laugh and try to catch it.
Surprisingly Morgan doesn't seem to care at all.
Carter also likes to pet Morgan.
But most of the time they just hang out. I think they have bonded over their jealousy over their sisters getting to run around by themselves outside while they are couped up inside. Little does Carter know that will change one day. Probably sooner then mom and dad would like!

Visit to Mom at Work

President's Day means daycare is closed but unfortunately mom and dad still had work. Luckily Colin was able to swing it so he could work from home. But mom still got in on the fun as dad brought Carter by for a visit to mom at work!

Carter couldn't contain his excitement at all the new toys.There were windows to look out of...

A chair to spin around in...And stand on (smiling of course)! And lots of new places to crawl and people to charm! Mom was very excited to see her little guys during the day. If only this could become a regular event!

Carter's First Birthday Party

Carter was super excited because he went to his first birthday party this weekend. It was for one of Carter's pals at daycare and it was at an indoor gym. Carter had a great time in the crawling zone. There were so many things to crawl on, over and under!

He was surprised to see his daycare buds on the weekend.

Soon the crawling area got old, so it was time for Carter to cut loose!
We took a few trips down the inflatable slides.

There was wrestling in the jumpy room.

Carter even made time to show off his balancing skills. On a good day, he can stand for a few seconds before he tumbles. So the jumpy room made the perfect spot for some practice.

Carter had a great time. He tried his first few bites of pizza but no cake yet!

9 Months - Week 2

The Holden's had a great week! That isn't abnormal these days but between birthdays and Valentine's Day, it was a busy week.

This week Carter has decided that everything is hilarious. Mom hitting her head on a balloon... hilarious. Dad hitting Carter with an envelope... belly buster. Peek-a-boo... can't contain himself. Banging his piano, someone pointing at him, funny faces, dogs wrestling... all funny.

Carter continues to do well at daycare. He has adjusted to his new room really well. He is down to 2 bottles a day at daycare. And this week he ate the daycare food for lunch each day, no more baby food during the week for lunch. Carter had vegetable soup, chicken & rice, tacos and sloppy joes plus the usual fruits, veggies and snacks. It was quite the week. We can tell he is really getting into the finger food as feeding him baby food at home is becoming more difficult so we are trying to also go the finger food route as much as possible. So far it's going ok. We need to do a better job of cooking Carter can gum easily. Hopefully that 2nd top tooth will come in soon. Either way Carter seems to enjoy mealtime!
We also seem to have finally found a sippy cup he likes. Carter is doing really well with it. We're not sure how much he really likes water but at least he can get it when he wants it.
Carter's favorite activity this week is banging two objects together. He thinks its funny and likes to yell while he does it.
Carter actually likes to talk a lot these days. He has gotten pretty good with the Da-Da, hopefully the 'M' sounds will follow soon. When not eating, the child is either talking or laughing.

Carter's other favorite activity this week is looking outside. With the weather being so nice, we have taken Carter out lots more and he seems to really like it.
Last, I wanted to show off Carter's first finger painting. He made it for dad for Valentine's Day. Not quite a Picasso, but still adorable.

To finish off a great week, we took Carter out for Sushi. They were out of high chairs so Carter ate in his first booster seat. He did quite well.

Playing in the Kitchen

While cooking dinner, it's easier to keep an eye on Carter when he's in the kitchen but sometimes its hard to keep him out of the dog food so we gave him a few items to entertain himself with while cooking dinner tonight. Carter really seemed to enjoy himself.

Things started small. The old bowl as a drum trick.
Then the wooden spoon got in on the action.Before we knew it, Carter had decided that every good drummer needs a hat. So the strainer got in on the action.Carter had quite the assortment of instruments.
Though he was having a great time...



Carter decided to take his show on the road.
Things started out so promising.

But then there was a strainer accident... so we decided it was for dinner. Look out for the Carter Kitchen Band... coming soon to a kitchen near you!