SAM & ALYSSA'S WEDDING

Click here to view these pictures larger

SNOW, SNOW and more SNOW!!! We've had a lot of snow this winter. Today is Alyssa and Sam's wedding day and Aunt Lori asked me to take some pictures because Aunt Vera couldn't be at their wedding. Carter and I just kind of laid around the house until it was time to get ready to go to the wedding. He was doing his tummy time this morning when he rolled over again. This is the second time I've seen him roll over. It happened while I was wiping his nose. He was already unhappy that I'd put him on his belly to play and it made him even angrier when I leaned over to clean him up. Carter has a temper. This is why I call him my "bear cub" or "tiger kitty cat." Sometimes he really snarls and growls like a wild animal too - LOL!!! Anyway, I do wish that I could help him enjoy his "tummy time" more. I'm also hoping that he will learn to roll over more often. At the same time I keep telling myself to enjoy this time while he is so little and not to pressure him to mature and grow up too fast. Because it snowed so much last night, it made traveling the roads difficult for my little Honda. I bundled Carter up and packed up all my gear for the journey over to the church which wasn't too far away. It took a little while to get there though because my car kept getting stuck in the snow. It did make me a little nervous to tires squealing while they tried to find some traction. It was so cold outside that nobody else was on the road except for one ambulance who passed by me. When Carter and I arrived at the church there was nobody there. We had to wait outside for several minutes before somebody from the church let us in. I had everything set up and ready to go by the time everyone started to arrive. Different members of my family held Carter while I took pictures before the ceremony and my cousin Seth held Carter during the ceremony. Sam's dad was the officiant and the ceremony didn't last very long. Alyssa was so beautiful today and I felt a little teary-eyed watching the two of them say their vows. I hope Sam realizes what a great wife he's getting. I remember when Alyssa was just a baby. I think that I was 11 or 12 when she was born. When her family moved to North Carolina, I was so excited. She was an adorable baby and much loved by everyone who knows her. I wish Alyssa and her new groom a wonderful and happy life together. They are expecting their first little one this June. Sometimes I really like my camera and other times I don't. Today was one of those "don't" days. I did the best I could, but my camera's incapability and my inexperience really put a damper on things for me today. I would have liked to have done more creative photography of today's events. Oh well! Perhaps Sam's brother got better pictures since I think his camera was nicer than mine. Hopefully he's a better photographer than me.

CARTER ROLLED OVER FOR THE 1ST TIME...

Today Carter turned 5 months old and he rolled over for the 1st time!  I was surprised when it happened because I was not expecting him to do it at the time. He was doing "tummy time" on the nursery floor when he got angry at me for being on his belly too long and rolled over. Carter hates tummy time because he gets tired and frustrated of holding his head up and using his arms to push up. I also think that he doesn’t appreciate not being able to look around the room as easily as he can when he’s upright. However, his legs are very strong and he likes to stand up with my support. He also LOVES to bounce. He goes crazy like a wild man in the jumperoo at church and daycare. 

Wilson purchased a Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe Stroller and a Graco SnugRide 32 Infant Car Seat for Carter. I LOVE them!!! They are modern looking and practical.  I really like the green and brown print. Remember? This is his nursery color scheme. Very matchy-matchy, which I also like. The new car seat fits snug and secure into my car.  The old one shifted back and forth too much. It didn’t matter how tight I tried to strap the base in, it still moved out of place and made me very nervous. Since this new seat is also a carrier, I can lift it out of the base without having to wake the baby up.  Another very wonderful thing is that it fits into the frame of my Graco Sweetpeace Infant Sooth Swing.  Therefore, when I get home all I have to do is lift out the seat to the swing, place his carrier seat in and let the swing continue to rock him while he sleeps. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!!! He should be able to use this new car seat until he is at least 1 years old. Other carriers have to be retired long before that because they are smaller and the baby outgrows it too fast. Another thing that I like is how the car seat carrier fits right into the stroller. Again, I do not have to wake Carter up when I transfer him. Together this car seat/stroller combination is quite the set-up. The stroller is a little bit heavy, but not as heavy as the first one I had. The previous one was so big that it took two people to lift it up, shove it into the trunk of my car and drag it back out.  It was horrible and so impractical. This new Graco stroller is so easy to push, lift and fit into my car.  Another plus is that there is still enough room for groceries, etc… to fit in my trunk along with the stroller.

Carter is still not sleeping through night.  I put him to bed sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.  He usually wakes back up around 10:00 pm. for a bottle then again at 2:00 a.m. and yet again at 5:00 a.m.  I’m so tired sometimes that I cannot think straight. About every 4 to 6 weeks I can convince (beg) Mom or Rachel to come over one evening and stay for several hours while I take a long nap and this helps immensely. I am so grateful when they do this for me. I also get to take a nap most Saturday’s when we visit Mom. She lets me sleep in her bed while she and Rachel watch the baby.

Carter started going to daycare on Monday, January 4, 2010.  This was a very difficult thing for me to do, but I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.  I cannot afford to pay for a babysitter or nanny.  Mom and Rachel live to far away.  The government is helping me out by giving me vouchers which are only accepted at certified daycares.  I went last September to get him signed up for the vouchers, but there was a long waiting list.  My social worker told me that that I could expect to be in the program by the end of October.  However, there was a big snafu with my notification being mailed out which I feel was an answer to prayer.  It allowed me to keep Carter at home until he was a little more than 4 months old.  (Much better than sending a newborn to daycare.)  Mom and Rachel had been helping me watch him, but like I previously stated they live to far away to continue doing this on a long term basis.  I do thank God that he provided a way for Carter to stay at home until he was a little older, and I’m so grateful to Mom and Rachel for their help. Anyway, he seems to be slowly adjusting to this change.  Carter is so tired when I pick him up in the evenings.  By the time I get home he’s usually already asleep so I put on his pajamas and zipper him into his sleep sack. Then I feed him his bottle which he sometimes doesn’t finish because he’s just too tired. Most nights he sleeps in his crib, but other times I let him sleep in his swing to help sooth him.  On the weekends he sleeps for hours at a time.  I feel depressed about all of this because I didn’t want him to have to be placed into daycare in the first place and because I feel like he’s never awake when we are together.  My little guy deserves so much better than this and I feel like I have failed him.  This was not my plan.  I dreamed that I would be a stay at home wife and mother – not a single mother dependent on government aid.  I have to keep reminding myself to trust God…He has a plan for both me and Carter. 

 

  

CARTER IS 5 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!

JUST BEAR CUB & DADDY

Click here to view these pictures larger

These pictures were taken in Carter's nursery. You can see the love Wilson has for Carter by the way he looks at him and cuddles him. There's not a whole lot to say about Wilson's visit today. They sure do look a lot alike - don't they?!?! The only resemblance of me that I see in Carter is the large round eye shape and lighter skin tone although his skin is much tanner than my pasty white skin. Truth be told, he is more of combination of Wilson and I in this area. Carter mostly looks like Wilson. He has Wilson's beautiful dark brown eyes, voluptuous pouty lips and silky black hair. Heck, even the shape of ears and feet look like his daddy's. I also think that he has Wilson's personality - he loves people and strives to make eye contact with everyone we pass. Carter is very smiley and friendly. He thinks that everyone is his friend. No one is a stranger to him and he will gladly go to anyone with outstretched arms. I've seen him persistently try to get a strangers attention and he doesn't give up until he succeeds. If someone doesn’t notice Carter right away, he will flirt with them until they take notice. This is one of my most favorite personality traits of Wilson so I'm glad that Carter seems to be following his daddy in this direction.