Boys Boys Less Noise..

Carter is going to be 11 months old tomorrow. I can't believe it. This time last year I went into premature labor with him. I'm glad he ended up staying in a month longer and came out healthy and happy. I've been trying to think about what I want to do for his birthday. I've been avoiding the fact that my baby is turning one, but I think it's starting to hit me.

He's been growing up so fast! And let me just say... He is such a boy! I can't believe it. I feel like I'm starting to get out numbered in my own house. He absolutely LOVES cars. If he's not eating, sleeping, or crying, he is pushing a car around the house. He even knows how to make the "brrrmmm" noise. So that is what I listen to all day. He also loves to knock down blocks after I stack them up. We've taught him how to "ROAR" so he goes around saying that all the time. Keith wants to make him a dinosaur for Halloween because he's already got the roar down. 

We took him to Toys R Us this weekend to get a toy for Easton's birthday and we found this cool car. He loved it! Too bad Santa's not rich...

He's such a daddy's boy. Any room that daddy is in, Carter has to be in. It's all worth it though when Carter wakes up in the morning and I hear "Dadadadad" on the baby monitor. :)

The Playroom is Done!

Life has been a little crazy lately. Keith has had so much going on at work the past few weeks and has been working 12 hour days. It makes for a long day for all of us but it was really nice to have a 3 day weekend and just spend time together. We got so much done around the house. We have been working on the playroom in our house and it turned out great! (Thank you pinterest!) Keith managed to find great deals at garage sales or craigslist on the bookshelf, toy bins, and time out bench. He spray painted it all to match and it looks great! I found my play wall decorating idea on pinterest and it actually turned out super cute. We painted the picture frames and hot glued closepins to them to hang up pictures. 

Carter has been a huge handful lately. He's getting into everything and growing like crazy. I took him into his 9 month appointment last week and he's a healthy happy boy! He's absolutely fearless and has given me a couple of scares already. Today he fell and bit his tongue on the way down and I was freaking out. I called Keith and he told me that this is what I have to look forward to with a boy. 

He's been getting so smart lately. The other day he crawled over by the front door and I saw him bring his hand up to his mouth. I knew he was trying to eat something he wasn't suppose to so I start walking over there and he looks up at me and starts waving and saying "bye bye bye bye." Yeah...that's never a good sign! But I had my first little conversation with him the other day. He was sitting in his high chair watching me do the dishes and Keith left the room for a minute. He says "dadadada." So I asked him, "Where's dad?" He waves and says, "bye bye." So I asked him, "Did he leave?" and he shakes his head no. He cracks me up. I love him so much. I can't believe how fast it goes. I feel like just yesterday I brought him home from the hospital and now he's almost 10 months old. I'm excited to dress him up for his first Halloween and celebrate his first birthday!

3 babies, 3 McDowell sisters, 2 crazy boys, and a Keith

These past two months have been absolutely crazy! Breezer and Brayden got here a little over a month ago and we have loved being able to play together. Carter and Brayden actually get along really well even though Carter feels the need to claw his eyeballs out.

Lindsay and Dis weren't going to be able to make it down while Bre was here so we decided, What the heck? Let's just take a road trip up there with everyone so all the sisters can be together. I'm still trying to decide if this was a good idea or not. We had Ash, Bre, Brayden, Cooper, Hudson, and Emmet in Ash's van and then Keith, Carter, and I in our car. I think a road trip with one baby is hard enough but the combination of 3 was a little hard. They were all troopers though and we did make it in one piece. It was a lot of fun to be able to have all of our family together. Saturday was our only full day with everyone since my parents were leaving Sunday so we took pictures of all of the boys and came back and played games with everyone. Monday I got to go see Emily and Sam and Liz and Brandt and have a little game night with them. Those are always so much fun. I wish they just lived here! Tuesday was Pioneer Day and a little crazy! We went to Liberty Park first and hung out there for a while. Then we went to Heritage Park and saw the "This is the Place" monument. That was really cool. Then we headed to Salt Lake. I love that temple so much for some reason and it was really neat to be able to take a family picture in front of it.

The trip was a lot of fun. I just can't say that it was the most relaxing vacation I've ever had. :)


Well here's the Carter update. This kid is a handful! He started crawling and is into just about everything. He's so much fun and just about as happy as can be with this new freedom. I, on the other hand, just want a nap. :) The past few days, I have been his playground. He crawls over me, under me, around me, through me. It cracks me up but sometimes my head gets body slammed in the process and that's not too much fun. I just love that little boy so much. I can't believe how fast he is growing up. People have already been talking to me about my plans for his first birthday in November and it blows my mind just thinking about it. It's all just going way too fast. I'm so grateful I get to stay at home with him and see him develop each and every day.

Personality!

Everyone has told me from the start that 6 months is their favorite age for a baby. I never believed them because I was so convinced that the newborn stage was the best. (I know, I'm weird), even though he was up every couple of hours, he would just lay in my arms so peacefully and sleep. I loved that! Well anyway, I think I'm starting to see what everyone else was talking about.

I've been so lucky to be able to be around the Conrad family a lot lately. Me and Ash will just switch babies for a little bit and I'll get to hold baby Emmet in my arms! (My favorite!) Well anywho, I had to change Emmet's diaper and clothes the other day and I seriously thought I was going to break him. It's crazy how so much changes in 5 months! I don't know how to change a newborn anymore! I should videotape my adventures of trying to change Carter's diaper these days. I tell Keith that it's an obstacle course. I have to roll him back over, make it through the kicking scissor legs, try and find the new diaper, which Carter seems to always have. And just as I grab the diaper....It starts all over. I have to roll him back over and make it through the scissor legs. I'm just grateful he's not crawling yet... :)

He really has developed quite the personality. This kid could keep you entertained for hours. The only bad thing is I think he takes after his father.... Can you say trouble maker? I'll share some stories so you can see what I'm talking about!

#1-  One day when I was exhausted, Keith let me lay down and he took care of Carter for a while. I woke up to banging noises so I went and checked it out. He had Carter sitting in his bumbo and banging my pots and pans with different kitchen utensils. I thought it was pretty cute and harmless so I let Carter do it while I made dinner one night. Epic fail! He broke two of my mixing bowls. These weren't even glass, they were plastic! Yeah... no more pots and pans and wooden spoons for Carter!

#2- This one isn't bad but it shows his personality. When we were packing to go to San Diego, I found these cute baby sunglasses. I figured he'd pull them off right away but they were $5 and I couldn't resist. Surprisingly, the kid LOVES them. He thinks he is such a cool kid. I love it!

#3- Carter rolls SO much! He likes to be on his stomach so I can never keep him on his back. The other day, I had him in his infant bathtub, which he's pretty much out grown, and I don't know how but he managed to roll over in it. I saw him trying and I thought, "He'll never be able to do it.." But sure enough, he did! Crazy boy!

#4- When Carter is being fussy, the one thing that never fails is water. The kid is seriously a fish. I usually will just put a little water in the sink and just let him kick his feet. He's now discovered how to turn the water on and off. He thinks he's so funny too. It's a good thing he can't climb up there. :)

#5- Carter can sit up all by himself now, which is actually really nice! I'll sit him on his bum and put toys down for him to play with. It's turned out to be hazardous though. I'm pretty sure I've almost gotten a fat lip a time or two!

I love this kid so much! Every day is definitely an adventure. I'm so grateful that I get to be his mom. 

I have one last picture I want to share. This poor guy has been trying to get his first tooth and I've gotten a lot of suggestions of different solutions to help ease the pain. However, the one thing he loves, no one suggested. He was playing in his bath tub one day and just gnawing on his rubber ducky. If you know Carter, you know he absolutely hates the binky, but the rubber ducky, not so much. I just take that thing every where and pop it in his mouth when he gets fussy. Works like a charm. :)

Summer Begins!

This past month has been a little bit crazy! I think every day of May has something written on it in the Calendar. I'm exhausted but I love staying busy.

I took my parents to the airport at the end of April to go to Japan and a few days later, Emmet was born. We drove out to the hospital to see him that night. He is so cute. I tried convincing Ashley to just let me take him home, but apparently she wanted to keep him. ;)

I drove out the next day to pick up Cooper and Hudson and take them home with me for the weekend. We had a blast! We went swimming and played at the park and played the Avengers! Those boys kept Carter so entertained.

All 3 boys crashed out on the way home from swimming. :)

Watching a movie Saturday morning. Carter thinks he's such a big boy!

Then it was Mother's Day! My parents got back from Japan a few days before Mother's Day but we decided to celebrate with them the Monday after. We went over to Jared and Kristen's house for Alyssa's birthday on Saturday and then again on Sunday for Mother's Day. It was nice to spend a lot of time with them over the weekend. My boys took good care of me on Mother's Day too. I woke up with smiling faces from both of them and breakfast in bed. I was pretty impressed. :) On Monday, we went over to my parents house to celebrate. Thanks to my sisters, we got a pretty awesome gift for my mom. :)

We still need Brayden's hand print but we'll get it when he's here in a couple of weeks! :)

Then Thursday, we were off to San Diego for Lincoln's baby blessing. Carter did so good and we had a lot of fun! It was fun to see all of the Monroe girls together. It made me miss all of my sisters! We took Carter to the beach for the first time and he loved it!

Now it's Erica's wedding on Friday and we're celebrating Keith's birthday on Saturday! We are keeping very busy but loving the opportunity to spend so much time with family and friends. :)

Birthday Celebrations!

These past two weeks have been crazy busy but so much fun! Lindsay and Dis came down last Thursday for her birthday and we had so much fun spending time together as a family. The only thing missing was Bre, Chris, and Brayden. I'm super jealous that my parents get to go to Japan next weekend. They better give that little boy tons of hugs and kisses for me! :)

Friday we had the chance to go to opening game! My dad took me and Lindsay to opening game 6 years ago and we've kept the tradition ever since. I absolutely love it! The dbacks won this game to and are off to a great start this year! :)

On Saturday we threw Lindsay a baby shower. It was a lot of fun for her to see all of her friends and get some cute baby gifts along with it. I can't wait for these little boys to just get here already! :)

Sunday was Easter! We had the chance to go and listen to my parents speak in their ward. The spirit was so strong and I'm truly grateful for the amazing parents that I have. We had Easter dinner over at their house and celebrated Hudson, Linny, and my birthday. Then the boys had a little Easter egg hunt. Even Carter got to get an egg! 

We got Hudson Transformer masks for his birthday so this is Carter being Optimus Prime. :)

Monday we went out to dinner for Lindsay's actual birthday. It was a lot of fun but I was sad to say goodbye to them. Next time we see them, they'll have a beautiful baby boy! :)

Friday was my 21st birthday! I had told Keith that I didn't care what we did, I just wanted it to be something different and fun. He surprised me with taking me to a ballroom dance lesson! We weren't by any means good, but it was a lot of fun. He's a great husband to do little things like that for me. :)

Carter will be 5 months old tomorrow! I can't believe how fast time goes by. But here's a Carter picture because every blog needs one! :)

My growing boy!

I feel like I just blink and Carter gets bigger and bigger. We took him in for his 4 month check up last week and he weighs 15.4 lbs (42 percentile), is 26 inches long (72 percentile), and I don't know his head size but it was in the (13 percentile). She said because he was a little below average in weight, we could go ahead and start him on rice cereal. So last night, we introduced it to him for the first time and to my surprise he did really well. I can't believe how big he is. I seriously do not know where the past 5 months have gone. Here's a video of him eating his rice cereal. (He did really well, mom however did not do so well...I think half of it ended up on Keith's leg...)

Last week, Carter caught some bug and was sick. It was sad to see him not feel good, but I did love the extra snuggles I got. This kid hasn't fallen asleep in my arms since he was like 1 month old but he did it a couple of times last week and I loved it. :)  It's moments like these that make everything worth it!