At least Carter's happy to finally be here.

We just got the key and we are moving in today!

You've got to be kidding!

We are in Utah about 25 minutes away from our apartment, but we've got a bit of a problem. When Dave called the apartment office to tell them we wouldn't make it in time to sign the lease today they said we wouldn't be able to until Monday. The office is open tomorrow so we plan on showing up and begging. We'll keep everyone posted.

Waiting patiently for Daddy at the Elko gas station. Our 2nd stop of the day.

We made our first pit stop in Nevada and everyone is doing good.

Out of Cali

We just crossed the border into Nevada and Carter is still asleep. There's no turning back now.

Dave decided he was too

Dave decided he was too tired to start the drive last night so we stayed at his parent's house and are just now leaving. Better safe than sorry.

Crappy, Crappy Birthday Brooklynn dear

Tomorrow is the big day so you can guess how my birthday was spent today. PACKING!!!! Actually most of my day was spent doing laundry and looking after the dooder. He did give us a nice little break when he sat and watched Monsters Inc. without fussing for quite some time.

So tomorrow we take off at around 10PM. We wouldn't have been able to move then if my Step Dad, Matt hadn't come over to help us pack today and pack our WHOLE kitchen! I could not even say thank you enough. Now maybe we can actually get some sleep tonight before the big drive.

Speaking of that I should probably finish blogging so I can help. We will try to blog on the way and when we get there so everyone knows we made it safe and sound.

Goodbye California! We'll miss you!

A haircut

Carter's new favorite thing

He loves sitting!

Carter and his good friend jazzy.

We bought Carter this mouse the day he was supposed to be induced thinking we could bribe him to come out. It didn't work, but it was next to me when he was born the following day. He seems to like it.

A day at the nursery with Tia!

Today Carter and I visited "Tia" (My sister is learning spanish and that is how you say aunt so she wants that to be her auntie name) at Urban Tree Farm where she works. She took us all around the nursery on the little golf cart thing which I knew he would like because he loves bumpy rides. It was very fun and we were glad to spend a little time with Tia before we move.

Carter and I also went to visit Daddy on his last day of work since they were having a BBQ. It was the oddest place we've had a diaper change, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Time flies!

I cannot believe we are moving in a week from tomorrow. We are getting some packing done, but it just doesn't seem like we will ever finish. Tomorrow is Dave's last day at work and I am excited to have him home with us next week even if we will be insanely busy.

Carter had another doctor appointment this week and he was 11 lbs 6 oz and 24 1/4 in long. That puts him in the 50th % for length and the 10th % for weight! Yikes! He's a skinny little guy! He got his shots and the nurse asked if he was really only 3 1/2 months old because his thighs are SO strong! It's true he's a buff guy. He is so fun and he is giggling more which is super cute. He is really good at grabbing and he loves to "run" when you move his legs.

We had a sad day when we took Pele to the humane society the other day, but they are very good at finding homes for all animals so I feel good about it. It is very weird not to have cats though. We will definitely miss them.

A series of unfortunate events

This weekend was a crazy and exciting one. Brook's Dad was visiting in the Bay Area on Friday, so we met up with him, his wife and step-daughter in San Jose. Brook's best friend from 3rd grade lives down there, so we decided to spend the day with her before meeting up with Brook's Dad in the evening. On our way to San Jose, we experienced a close call on the road. A station wagon (one of the old kinds with the fake wood on the sides) started to merge into the slow lane from the middle lane, where another car was currently positioned. The wagon soon realized the problem, but over corrected, causing the wagon to fish-tail sideways into our lane (the fast lane) about twenty feet ahead of us. Recognizing the situation, I let off the gas and waited to perform some crazy maneuvers to avoid a serious accident. Luckily, the wagon went back across the freeway in front of the car it originally hit, sweeping both cars off to the side of the freeway and out of our path. It was scary!

After arriving to San Jose, we met up with Becca, Brook's friend, and went out to lunch at P. F. Chang's. This time I was unable to avoid a "serious" accident. I had Carter on my lap near the end of lunch and a full glass of Coke in front of me on the table. I was very careful all throughout lunch to make sure Carter didn't get his hand in someone's food or anything like that, but I guess I got lazy after a while. During the waitress' speech about the different desserts, I transfered Carter from one knee to the other and in mid flight, Carter grabbed the glass of Coke and spilled it into my lap. Luckily, the restaurant was in the mall, so we went to Gap and I got new clothes. Once again, everything worked out fine.

Saturday was my 28th birthday!! YEA!!! Actually, I am not a big fan of birthdays, so I tried to be a good sport. Brook baked me a birthday cake and got some help from my mom (the pro) in decorating it. I was amazed at how well it turned out, both the decoration and the taste. I am so proud of Brook and her ability to learn new talents. We also went and visited Atticus at his new home. He is now living with Brook's Brother's girlfriend and seems to be doing well in his new environment. In the evening, we went to my co-worker's wedding reception at the Union Hotel restaurant in Occidental. Carter got all dolled up in one of his argyle sweaters and slept for most of the time we were there. It was definetly a busy two days.

Carter and Uncle Derek chillin' at fresh choice.

Scrapbook

I just have to say how much I LOVE www.howfasttheygrow.com. I just got 5 scrapbook pages that I made online in the mail today and they look amazing! I would recommend it to anyone who wants to scrapbook but doesn't have a lot of time. I am so glad I found this website so Carter's first year can be well documented. Everyone should check it out and next time you see me ask me to show you the pages. They are awesome! (I will work on finding a way to show them on here.)

Spoke too soon

Carter used to be totally scheduled, but lately not so much. He's waking up a few times during the night and refuses to take any real naps during the day. He's in his crib right now and I am hoping he stays asleep for a least a little while.

Sleeping through church.

Carter in his big boy car seat.

Things went well!

Carter's been sleeping in his crib for the past couple of nights and it's been great for everyone! He's also in his big boy car seat!

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

Friday's the night!

Since Carter has been successfully napping in his crib we think it may be time for him to make the big move. We've decided his first over night in the crib will be Friday in case it doesn't go so well and we end up getting up throughout the night. He has been sleeping through the night for a while now so I don't think it will be to much of a problem.

I've also figured out that our baby monitor reaches to the laundry room so I have been able to do a load of laundry during nap time. Hooray!

Mr. cool!

Carter's first nap in his crib!

Relocating!

We took a trip to Utah last weekend for Dave's U of U orientation and to find a place. We got a lot accomplished and are waiting for approval on an apartment we love! If you want to check it out go to http://www.foxpointinoldfarm.net/

Carter had an ok time on his first plane ride. He fell asleep instantly during take off and didn't like the landing. They even made me take his shoes off as we went through security!!!

He also met a bunch of family including his great-great grandpa. It turns out our apartment will be just a few blocks from him!!! It was a great visit and we are excited to move out there. As of August 1st we will be Utahns!!!

Hooray!

Carter slept for about 8 hours last night! It was weird waking up to an alarm!

Carter is becoming more aware of his tongue!

Smiles!

Blessings of all sorts

So much has happened since our last real blog and we haven't had a chance to write about it.

He's officially 2 months old (and then some) and at his doctor appointment on the 9th he weighed 10 lbs 6 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long. He is definitely growing! He got his shots and I had to leave the room. Luckily Dave was there so I was able to. According to the doctor Carter is very strong and is very physically advanced for his age. She was impressed that he is already starting to roll over when the norm is about 4 months. He slept for 7 hours straight last night and has been sleeping better most nights. He loves to play during the day and has his favorite toys like Ferguson the sock monster. He smiles a lot but we are still waiting on an actual giggle which could happen at any time.

The big news is that Carter was blessed on Father's day. It was an amazing blessing and we were so happy to have family and friends there. We are thankful to everyone that showed up and helped to make it a memorable and very special experience. We weren't able to get any pictures of just him in hs cute outfit when he was happy so we apologize for the face in this shot but hey, it's reality people... He was very well behaved during the blessing and the remainder of church so we don't need to capture it on film.

Playing with rattle booties!