Photo Shoot with Auntie!

Here are a few of my favorites!

3 Weeks Old!

Carter is officially 3 weeks old and unofficially 10lbs. We weighed her on our scale at home and were not surprised to see that she is getting big! I put her in a 3 month outfit today and it fit nicely! She isn't really getting chunky at all but it is spread out over quite a long body! She seems so long when you look at her stretched out.

A walk in the neighbhorhood.

It was actually Sean's idea to take a walk after dinner and so we all headed out for a stroll around the neighborhood. Sean, of course, wanted to help push!

Growing Fast!!

Carter is growing by the minute! She is getting so big and even longer!


She stays awake for hours at a time.
A happy girl!
Watching brother play!Her friend is 2 weeks younger and several inches shorter!

Love!

Brotherly love!

On my own...

I had my first day at home alone...with the two kids and it was a great day! Our routine was a little off as Dan's car is in the shop so I had to drive Dan to work at 7 am and pick him up at 4pm. Carter had a great day and so all was good! She has her moments in the car when she is unhappy but for the most part she is doing a lot better than Sean. He screamed in the car for the first year of his life. I actually rode in the back seat for the majority of the time when Dan was driving. Carter seems to be ok in the car though the carseat isn't her favorite place. Once Dan got home from work yesterday we tacos for dinner and headed outside for a walk around the neighborhood. I'd say my first day home alone was a success! Lets hope that this continues!

Yellow light. . .

We were all in the car together yesterday and Dan drove through a yellow light. Sean says, "Daddy, I thought you were supposed to go slow when the light turns yellow, but you went faster?" LOL

He also is quick to tell you to "slow down" in the neighborhood or else the policeman will "give you a ticket".

First dinner out!

We had our first outing as a family of four and it was a total success! We went to dinner with our closest friends to Bertucci's. It was a great night out and Carter was an angel. She slept the entire time in her carseat. We didn't hear a peep out of her and so we were all able to enjoy a nice dinner. Sean even got to play with his bff, Gracyn.

Slept the whole time!

Gracyn and Sean.

Rain!

Since Carter was born it has been raining almost everyday. One good thing is that Sean gets to wear his awesome rain gear to school, which he loves and the other is that the new grass seed that Dan planted in the yard is getting plenty of water!

When Dan went to pick up Sean was school today it was pouring. Sean walked in and said to me,
"Mommy, there are cats and dogs in the rain!" ha ha I had to post because it is classic Sean.

Two weeks old!

It is hard to believe that it already has been two weeks since Carter was born but at the same time it is hard to remember a time when she wasn't here. I don't miss being 9 months pregnant but I don't want her to grow up! Time goes by so fast! Here are a few of her latest pics. She is definitely developing a personality of her own and staying awake for longer periods of time.

Playing!

As I've said before Sean LOVES to "play" on the floor with Carter. As she is getting older and staying awake longer she likes to lay on the floor for longer periods of time. She is very interested in learning all about what her big brother is doing! It looks like the start of a great relationship! I just hope it continues!

Weigh in

Carter went to the Dr. today for a quick weigh-in and she did great! Because her weight was so good we didn't even have to see the Dr. Her official weight at 12 days old is 9lbs 3 oz...she is growing so fast!

Sean's first soccer game

Today was the first game of the soccer season for Sean. He is playing on a team for 3-4 year olds every Saturday for 6 weeks. He was super excited to get to the game and start playing. He did a great job with the drills and was listening very well to the coach. He did get frustrated a few times when he wasn't able to do what he wanted to as far as trapping the ball and dribbling. There were a few tears...well a lot of tears especially during the actual game. It was a little chaotic, to say the least, and he didn't get a chance to really kick the ball too many times so of course he was super hard on himself and got disappointed. We hope that he'll want to go back next week. The popsicle after the game was a hit for him so if nothing else, that will motivate him! I hope it is a good experience for him. We just thought it was a great time to do something special with the arrival of a baby sister and a lot of changes right now. We'll see!

Look alikes!

Sean loves to look at pictures of himself as a baby. He looks through all of the photo books that we have of him all the time. We were going through his pictures on my computer and I found a couple that are very similar of Sean and Carter. It is hard to tell them apart!

Sean-May 14th 2008Carter-September 8th 2011
Daddy and Sean

Daddy and Carter

We made it a week!

Wow, Carter is a week old! Time flies. Since we got home from the hospital we have been settling in and enjoying our time as a family of four. Dan went back to work on Monday so he has been struggling through the days but he is surviving. Sean went to his first full week of school in his new class and has adjusted to the part time schedule. Some days he is disappointed that he cannot stay at school for lunch and nap but he quickly gets over it. He has an enjoyed having 'Nama and Auntie here all week with us. Especially since Nama makes him special sandwiches everyday for lunch in the shape of a different animal (he has been warned that might not continue when it is just mommy at home!) Carter is growing and we just love snuggling with her. She is starting to take on her own personality and is awake more often. Obviously, Sean loves being a big brother!

Hola!

Sean had a spanish class at school today and learned a few new words!

Play with me!!

Sean is waiting anxiously for Carter to play with him. He likes it when she gets on the floor and is awake enough to pay attention to her. He was teaching her last night about some sea creatures. I think she enjoyed it!

Looking at Big bro!Showing her some of his toys.

It was also Dan's birthday today and I didn't get any pictures! Oops. Nana and Poppi came and we all had dinner together followed by cupcakes and apple pie. It was a different kind of birthday for Dan, but equally good!

Sean and his "Baby Sister"

Every parent worries a little bit when introducing a baby in to an existing family. Dan and I were no different. We had no idea how Sean would react to our new life as a family of four. I hate to put this in writing for fear of jinxing things, but he is doing really great. He was a little apprehensive about her at first but now he is just full of love and lots of kisses. We practiced "baby" kisses before her arrival and he has mastered the art of a gentle kiss. He asks to hold her sometimes but not very often. He loves to get all of her toys out when she is on the floor and tries to get her to play with them or look at them. So far...so good! He is being a great big brother and we are so proud of him!

Giving her a "baby" kiss.

So proud to be holding her all by himself!

Carter's First Dr.'s Appointment

Carter had her first check up and got a clean bill of health! When she left the hospital she was 8lbs 3 oz and she is back up to 8lbs 8 oz. The girl likes to eat! Everything checked out and she even had to get a shot. Surprisingly, she calmed herself down before we even got into the car. Sean was also a really good boy and enjoyed her lollipop after the appointment!

All buckled in and ready to go!At the Dr.'s office

Sean loves school!

Sean started school last week and has been doing great in his new class. He comes everyday excited to tell me what he has learned, who he has played with, and most importantly who got in trouble that day! (Luckily, it isn't ever him!)

The school sends pics quite often to let us know how he is doing throughout the day. We enjoy getting these pics and getting a sneak peak into his days at school.

I wondered how he would do leaving for school each day while Carter and I were at home, but he gladly runs out the door each day and into school without a problem. I also wondered how he would do leaving school early without eating lunch and taking his nap and to this point it also has not been an issue. I hope he continues to do so well!

Riding a bike!

Learning and writing the letter "A"

Circle time!

A happy boy!

Welcome Home Carter!

After a few days in a very small hospital room (and only a chair for Dan to sleep in) we were all anxious to get home and get settled. We left the hospital on Saturday around 12:00 and arrived home to a very excited Sean. He was excited for two reasons, one to have us all at home but two because we found something he had been missing for weeks. I guess at some point he took one of his favorite cars and put it in the car seat which was then moved to the car. After weeks of searching we finally gave up and just assumed it was gone forever. When Dan brought the car seat into the hospital we found the car strapped in to the seat. We both had a good laugh about that because we knew that Sean had obviously put it in there and strapped it in. So, when we got home we let him find it in Carter's seat. Boy, was he ever excited to have his favorite car back and of course to have his family back under one roof. The car ride was uneventful and she was very content in her car seat (Sean screamed quite often in his car seat so it was a nice surprise)

We had lots of family over to visit and had a nice dinner outside on the deck and then Dan and I crashed for the night. Dan was glad to have a real bed back and we were both glad to be back with Sean and get settled in as a family of four!

Her special going home outfit.

All dressed and ready to go!

First time in the car seat.Gotta have styling shoes!