End of Summer

So, it's my favorite time of the year..

The time when I get to put up my FALL decorations. Woohoo!

There are other reasons I love the fall season coming up this year..

1) It's almost time that I will stop being a single mom and Graham will be home before 10 PM every night..

2) Carter is turning 1! But, I haven't decided on birthday stuff yet..

3) I love the slight chill in the air and the reminder of high school football and cheerleading. I love the turning colors of the leaves and trees.

4) Sweaters.. although I CAN wear sweaters practically all year long here in the Northwest.

5) Soups and stews.. More dinner choices..

Life is boring lately. I work, pick up Carter from daycare, make dinner, work out, and put Carter to bed.. and then wait for Graham to come home.

I have started working out again, though.. which is definitely a good thing. I freaking hate this baby paunch that remains from my pregnancy. I don't even like to look at my body in the mirror anymore! And, what's with the saggy boobs?!

What's Carter up to lately? He's learning to "crawl like a man", ie, on all fours.. He still loves his army crawl though. He's started pulling himself up on stuff, which is not fun. He sometimes wakes up in his crib sitting up and crying because he's too tired to lay back down. He still is the cutest boy ever with the happiest disposition ever. He like never cries and is always smiling. His eyes are turning the coolest hazel color. His hair is still blond, and is growing out after his haircut. He is currently sprouting his 6th tooth. He loves ALL food, from quinoa with zucchini to Greek yogurt with fruit. His favorite food has unfortunately become the Graham cracker, which we are limiting to one half-cracker daily. He also is able to drink water from a sippy cup.

Graham is finishing his ice cream truck driver job next week. He heads back to school on September 19th and is gearing up for a hard core quarter of engineering physics and differential equations. We recently got a new desktop that has enough memory for Graham's engineering programs so he can do homework at home.

It also means we are getting the internet at home soon.. So I should be posting more.. but like I said, life isn't exactly moving fast here..

10 months!

An update

Carter with mom before church. Doesn't he look like a missionary?


Below: trying a raw onion. (Yes we are mean parents.)

Before haircut

After haircut..

So.. to all of you faithful readers.. I think you deserve an update on our lives.

1) We moved to a new place, just across town. Graham was spending about an hour and a half every day in the car driving me to work, Carter to daycare, to school, etc., so we made the decision to move in June. Now, we live 3 minutes from daycare and 5 minutes from my work. It's a 2-story townhouse with more storage and a bigger kitchen, so it's nice. We don't have a view of the water anymore, but it's ok.

2) Carter is 9 months!! How crazy is that?! He has teeth and he's crawling!

3) Graham has a summer job as an ice cream man. Graham, Graham, the ice cream man. So random! Too bad the summer SUCKS right now. I think it'll be better in August though. So yeah, Graham works until like 9:3o every night, so I'm a single mom every evening. Carter really misses his dad like crazy and gives him the biggest smiles whenever he comes home.

4) I am not working weekends this summer due to staffing changes, which would be nice if Graham weren't working every weekend!

5) I am no longer pumping/breast feeding anymore. Long story, but it got extremely painful, so I stopped cold turkey around the 4th of July. I had rocks for boobs for almost 2 weeks!

6) Carter is hilarious. He has the happiest disposition as a baby that I've ever seen. He is literally a joy to be around. He does some funny things, like sucking his tongue to comfort himself, crawling around like a wounded soldier and dragging one leg behind him, wrestling with pillows (I wish I could post the video). He is also so sweet. One night when I was holding his bottle, he was running his hand through my hair as he ate. I wanted to die it was so cute!

7) Carter eats food like a champ. He likes everything, including raw onions (gross I know), lime rinds, and pureed prunes. However, some things he did not like included lime-cilantro rice and beef taco meat. He actually threw up after trying the rice.

8) I posted this on Facebook, but I wanted to clarify that Graham has 3 more years of school left. The Washington State extension engineering program at our local college only offers classes at specific times, and requires him to go over to Pullman, WA, to the main campus for 2 summers in 2013 and 2014 for labs he can only complete there. Soooo, the extra year SUCKS, but it also allows us to remain here in our town, where Graham can get his school paid for and an guaranteed job out of college. Oh, and Graham is doing very well in school. He's been on the Dean's Honor Roll for 7 out of the last 8 quarters.

So what are we doing for the rest of the summer?

1) Graham's sister, Grace, is here this week watching Carter for us while our daycare is closed.

2) My parents are coming up next week in preparation for their Alaska cruise. Their cruise leaves from Vancouver, British Columbia, so we are going up to Canada next weekend. Carter has his first passport with a giant baby headshot! We are planning on taking a Greyhound bus tour, and I want to walk over this awesome suspension bridge.

3) Graham turns 26 next week.. I've gotten him some fishing supplies for the salmon season coming up.

4) Losing weight. Now that I am no longer breastfeeding, I am 0.6 pounds from my pre-baby weight, but my spare tire doesn't agree. I'm slowly but surely trying to lose my gut. Graham has also gained weight rather quickly. When your diet subsists of Costco muffins, 3 bags of Famous Amos cookies, 3 PB&J sandwiches, and Mountain Dew, you can gain a belly even with Graham's metabolism. I am also trying to get the motivation to exercise, but it's been difficult. I almost always choose time with Carter over exercise.

5) Nothing! Graham is working 5 afternoons/evenings a week, and he has Scouts the other nights. Sucky summer.. but it's ok.


Hope you all are doing well. I'll try to post more pictures of Carter.

8 Months

Time is just flying by!

Boy Meets Dog