Carter Can't Wait for Christmas

Carter is so excited for Christmas, he cannot wait to open presents. The worst part is that this is not even his present. He gets so excited that he eats the paper too.

Whenever Carter drops his toys, we ask Seth to help him get a toy. Carter had just woken up from a nap and was crying a little. Before we found him, Seth had gotten him a toy.

Red Sheets? Not in Your Dreams!

Have you ever woken up and you were in the middle of doing something? May be a bad dream caused you to punch the air or kick your leg. I had a bad dream the other night. I dreamed that Jennifer had put red sheets on the bed and I was not happy about it. It felt horrible lying between those red sheets. I got out of bed, still asleep or mostly asleep. The first thing I remember was grabbing the blankets at the foot of the bed on my side and whipping them off the bed towards Jennifer’s side. All the blankets and the flat sheet lay on the floor in a heap. My brain was still in dream mode. I must have been thinking, “That will teach Jennifer to put red sheets on my bed.” As I climbed back in bed, I thought, “It’s kind of cold. May be I should go get another blanket from the other room.” Before I had to chance to move, I was back asleep. The next thing I remember was Jennifer pulling the blankets back up on me. My dreaming mind thought, “Not those dumb red sheets again.” I quickly came out of the dream and pulled the blankets up tight. I was back asleep in an instant.

The next morning as I got up to get ready for work, I realized what I had done during the night. I laughed to myself and wondered what Jennifer had thought when it happened. After I got out of the shower, Jennifer was up making my lunch. I asked her if the blankets had fallen off the bed during the night. She said the blankets felt like they were heavy on one side and just slipped right off the bed. She said that she must have been pulling on them. I then told her the whole story of what happened and how I had thrown the blankets on the floor. We laughed and Jennifer had a hard time breathing with the laughter caught in her throat.

I thought about it a few times during the next day and almost laughed out loud. It is still hard to believe I did it and that Jennifer thought that she really was the one to blame. Hopefully this will not be a reoccurring dream, or Jennifer might need to get her own blankets.

Have you ever done anything just as your were waking up that you laughed about later??

Christmas Tree

It has always been a tradition in my family to get the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We like to buy a tree permit from the BLM and cut down our own. In Price, it is much easier to find a tree. On BLM land there are a lot of natural gas wells and dirt roads going all over the place. The gas company keeps the roads plowed. It is easy to find a tree and not get stuck in the snow, even with a two wheel drive truck.

Here in Cedar City, I have always gone up the mountain on Hwy 14. It is a two lane highway with no shoulder at all. A few years ago we got stuck and it took me about an hour to dig the truck out. Luckily I grabbed Skip's shovel, not even thinking that I would need it. NowI try to plan where I pull off the road a little more carefully.

I planned to take Seth with me to get a tree this year. After I got him already, he did not want to go. It was a good that I did not take him. The snow on top of the mountain was pretty deep. Seth would have gotten lost. I pulled my truck into a parking lot by SUU's cabin. It was on a hill and I was able to roll back towards the asphalt road, and I did not get stuck. I walked up a dirt road that looked like it had been plowed once, and spotted the perfect tree. As I walked off the road, I sunk to my chest in snow. Good thing I had a shovel in my hands. I had to dig through the snow to get to the tree. I dug around the base of the tree to make room to cut it down. It was pretty easy to drag, on top of a tarp to save the needles, through the snow back to the truck.

Jennifer was happy I made it home and did not get stuck in the snow. She was prepared to come find me, if I did not return. She asked me afterwards, "How long should I have waited to come find you?"

Carter is growing and getting stronger. He can now sit up with a little help, but still sometimes falls over. He is rolling from back to belly and belly to back. He got up on his hands and knees the other day, but did not know what to do after that. He does push ups all the time. He is preparing for the day that Seth leaves the iPod on the floor and then he will make his move.

Indoor Activities

Seth always wants to go outside and play. He wants to throw a football on the grass out back, or ride his bike, or kick a soccer ball. It is way too cold and there is no grass, it is all covered with snow. I have to come up with games inside, so that I can stay warm. Here is what we have come up with.

We often go bowling. We would like to thank our sponsors, VO5 and Suave.

Seth was doing well rolling the ball and kicking it too. He gets a strike most times.

Carter likes to sit in his Bumbo chair and chew on some toy. This one is his favorite. This little guy spends most of the day with his head in Carter's mouth. He is the Thing from the Fantastic Four. We call him Cosa (that means "thing" in Spanish.) It is funny to hear Seth say the word Cosa.

Of course we play iPod. Seth is good enough to let Carter watch. Carter can't wait for his turn to get his hands on it. For now Carter would probably just put it in his mouth.

Seth loves his remote control car. He loves to drive it in the kitchen and run it into his Mom's feet. He also likes to tip over the garbage cans with it.

Sometimes we have too much fun and the little ones just get worn out. Please ignore the DI price tags on bottom of Carter's shoes. He would be so embarrassed if anyone knew that they were used and only cost $1.

The Many Faces of Beethoven

A statue of Beethoven sits on top of our entertainment center.  He really gets into the different holidays. 

Here he is in the month of October.  This one really freaked Seth out.

Here he is in November.  He did not get any turkey and he did not get any pie.

Early December he wears an elf hat and takes notes on the good and the bad that goes on.

The week of Christmas he wears a Santa hat but he leaves no presents under the tree.

Seth's Birthday Ice Cream

Back on July 22, 2010, Seth had his second birthday. His dentist sent him a card for a free ice cream cone. We kept meaning to go, but never got around to it. We went out for ice cream last night. We are only 4 months late. Seth really enjoyed it. I told him Happy Birthday a few times and he would repeat it back to me in a very confused voice. He was probably looking for the cake and candles too. Seth chose strawberry, I chose mango and Jennifer chose blue cotton candy. Carter just sat and watched. He will get some of his Mom's ice cream after it has been processed. Seth stole Jennifer's ice cream after a few minutes. Others' ice cream always looks better than your own.

Halloween

Here we are on Halloween. Seth dressed up as Mickey Mouse. Carter dressed up as a mouse. Jennifer wore her poodle skirt and I just wore my BYU hoody. It was a chilly night but we walked a lot and stayed plenty warm.

Seth did not completely understand the idea of Halloween, but he knew that he got to wear his Mickey ears and his Mickey pants that his mom made. He also knew that he was going to go get candy. He practiced all day, saying Trick or Treat.

This little mouse got in a fight with a cat. The cat won. We bought Carter's Halloween costume last year the day after Halloween, way cheap. He was kind enough to give all his candy to Daddy.

Seth's Football

Last weekend we bought a little BYU football from the bookstore. Seth loves it. He even sleeps with it sometimes. (Mostly he sleeps with McQueen or Buzz)

He is getting pretty good at throwing the it. He can hit you right in the hands most of the time.

It took me about 10 tries to get a picture with the ball just leaving his hand.

He is getting pretty good at catching it as well, as long as I throw it just right. He sometimes gets scared and won't try to catch it after his mom hits him in the face with the ball.

He really likes to kick the ball as well. I think this is boring and hate when he wants to play this way. I just want to throw the ball. However, it is his ball and he gets to decide how we play. Otherwise, he cries.

Seth is enjoying playing most sports: Football, Basketball, Soccer, Golf, Baseball. Carter is not really into sports yet. He mostly likes to sit and watch Seth. The most physical activity that he gets into is pulling his socks off.

Rainy Weekend

We went to the BYU football game this last weekend and we had a great time. The weather was not the best. It rained really hard before the game and after it too. During the game it did not rain at all. We stayed mostly dry and we were plenty warm.

We all wore ponchos, but Seth wore a garbage bag. It fit him just right and kept him perfectly dry.

We ate lunch before the game in the down pour. The chips got a little wet, but they still tasted good.

Carter was good at the game. He just snuggled with his Mom and kept warm. He slept during the first half and ate during the second half.



Seth was very excited to watch Cougar Football. He very much enjoyed the Cougar Fight Song.

Linda's sister was nice enough to share her gloves with Seth.

After the game we went to Jennifer's parents' house. They had a huge squash that they had grown in their garden. We decided to carve it into a Jack O Lantern.

Here is the finished product. We put it in the front window, so it would not get smashed by some punk kids.

On Monday evening we carved our own pumpkins. Seth was very excited to turn off the lights and shine a flashlight in the top.

We will keep them by the front door, so they do not freeze at night. After Halloween, Jennifer plans to cut the pumpkins in half and cook them. Then she'll scrap the pumpkin fruit off the shells and freeze it. It will be used later to make pumpkin pie and other treats.

Where has the time gone?!?!?!

Carter is growing so fast. He is almost 4 months old. Time has gone by so quickly. He no longer likes to lie down on his back to play. He wants to be sitting up but cannot do it on his own so his bumbo has become his best friend.

He has also been practicing his driving skills, so he will be ready as soon as he can see over the dash. It is never too early.

The bouncer is no longer good enough to sit in while we eat. He has to be up to the table as well. We have to roll up a hand towel to place next to him, so that he does not tip over and with a few toys he is content (for now) to sit and watch us eat. Before too much longer he will want to start to take in some of the goodness he sees on the table. We are already seeing signs of this.

Seth's Bed Pictures

It is hard to post without putting up pictures as well. The one time that I tried to do it, the comments said it would have been nice to see some pictures. Here are some pictures of the bed frame that I made for Seth.

First I cut the 2X4’s into four inch lengths.

Then I nailed the 2X4’s together to make L shaped pieces.

Seth was helpful in bring nails to me. He was a little slow and only brought one at a time.

Seth liked to hear the hammering sounds. He wanted a turn too. He did not get one.

I put a Y on it to make it feel more specialized. Seth sleeps better knowing that he has a Y supporting him. It is also a sign that it was made with love.

It holds his bed off the ground just enough.

It is the perfect height for him to see out the window.