My Best Buddy

You never realize the number of ways that having a child would actually change your life until you have one. While I was expecting Carter, I knew my future life included lots of sleepless nights (under exaggeration) bottles, diapers of all kinds, more laundry, pure exhaustion, and a little stow away. I knew I would have to sacrifice a lot of my usual friday/saturday nights with my husband out on the town for earlier bed times and snuggles. And I realized that I probably wouldn't have as much "me" time to shower, (heaven forbid) put on make-up, do my hair, etc. Before Carter came, since we did not exactly plan on our little surprise, as a mother-to-be I became fairly skeptical that I was ready for this alternative existence. The thought of turning in my "newly-wed, cute young couple badge", my weekly dates out, and the freedom that I had, as selfish as it sounds- this scared me. I loved all my alone time with just me and Nathan! But little did I know I'd be trading in this seemingly great husband/wife experience for even more smiles, laughter, kisses, hugs, tender moments, blessings, and a deeper relationship with my Heavenly Father while I cared for one of his special children. Little did I know that my heart could contain so much love for such a little person! Or that I could feel so successful and fulfilled! And most of all, how little I understood that this little person would not just change my routine day to day- but he would little by little change ME entirely. Thank heavens for that. All of this is to say, that my little Carter Moo is not just my cute 20 month old. He is my good humor, my patience, my better judgement, my sweetest dreams, my day to day companion, and truly- my best little friend. Here are a few Carter-isms that I love the most!

-Every night, before bedtime we get Carter showered with Daddy and read him books. Daddy can't take him up to shower alone, he's always concerned about his Mama. So if Daddy leaves me behind, Carter will come back down the stairs, into the kitchen, and take my hand to direct me upstairs :) At least he knows I will sit on the floor outside the shower and make faces at him through the glass.

-After books and bedtime stories are read, Daddy turns off the lights and Mommy sings a few songs while Carter lays in his bed falling asleep. But each and every night as I kneel by that crib, Carter requests which songs he'd like to hear by saying, "hush-a-bye? Ok." then reaches through the crib slats to hold my hand until I am all done singing. He just wants me close!
-Crossing the streets or walking anywhere at all, Carter wants to hold my hand to make sure I am right there with him.

-Carter is such a cute little helper! At the store, I hand him the groceries and he turns around in his seat to drop them in the cart. If he's not driving the cart for us that is- he loves his "wheels!"
- Carter weighs 32 lbs. He is a tank. Sometimes I feel amazed by his little body and how much it resembles a linebacker's. He is super strong too, and I have found him helping unload groceries with a full gallon of milk high above his head. Little intimidating at times haha

- He always helps put the silverware into the dishwasher when they are dirty, and into the drawer when they are clean. Every day when I make dinner or lunch he will grab a chair from our dining table and push it around the kitchen so he can "see! see!". As I chop something up, I slide it to him and he drops it into the pot or pan. Especially when we use the kitchen Aid. He likes to ask for lots of tastes and loves helping me make cookies.

- Whenever Carter wakes up, he smiles and jumps in his bed to say good morning. After he says hi, I ask "how are you doing Carter?" to which he always responds, "Good!"
-Carter likes to brush his teeth with mommy

-Carter is very sweet and sensitive. He gives lots of kisses and loves. This morning he snuggled with me on my bed with his arms around my neck, then looked up at me to pull out his binky and give me a big kiss. He touched my face with his chubby little hand, and patted my cheek a few times before snuggling down again.
-Lately Carter is learning how to jump. Hysterical to see my stocky guy up on his tippy toes trying to jump.
- Little Carter says "thank you" to everyone around him, and usually without being prompted any. He also says "I love you" without being told, and uses it quite often with mommy and daddy.
- Whenever it's time to "clean up, clean up!" Carter grabs his little toy bucket and mumbles something that is supposed to mean "do your share".
-If ever my little man notices maybe mommy is sad for a minute or the least bit emotional (oh pregnancy), he runs to my side to offer me his binky and lots of loves.

-My little guy is smart and has been counting and singing ABC's with us.
-Whenever I wash my face with my electric face scrubber, he will rush in to pull it from me and gently massage it on my cheeks. He loves to "elp!" (help)
-Carter loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Thomas the Train. Whenever he sees a train he jumps up to yell "COOOH COOOOH!!!" hasn't quite gotten the "ch" sound down yet but i think I prefer this anyways.
-Carter loves to Skype with our families back in Utah. He knows all of their names and is such a ham because they encourage it.

I could likely go on forever, thus I will stop myself. Truly this little boy is the purest joy in my life and Nathan and I have often asked ourselves, "what did we ever do before we had Carter? What a waste of our time!" Realizing what a sweet joy he is has made us all the more excited for another little person to join us in 7-9 weeks. Little Clarissa Mae will have the sweetest older brother she could ever hope for and we can't wait to see what her personality brings into our home. Carter is saying her name and frequently looks in her bassinet to see if "baby" is ever going to be in it or not. We are SO excited!!! HOORAY FOR KIDS! They make us better people by the day!