PAMPERED PET

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I LOVE this swing! It was a gift from my mother and given to me at my baby shower. Thanks Mom!!! It has been an absolute godsend and I wish that every new parent could have one. It's called the sweetpeace™ infant soothing swing and it's made by Graco. It's worked wonderfully for my little pampered pet these past 6 months and it has truly brought "sweet peace" to this home. I put Carter in this swing every morning while I shower and get ready for work. He takes all of his naps in it especially on weekends when he will sleep in the swing for several hours during the day. He gets so tired going to daycare during the week and the swing helps him to unwind, relax and recuperate for the following week's activities. Carter also sleeps in his swing during the night when he's sick with a cold or ear infection. I think it helps him to keep his head elevated when he's not feeling well. If only they would make a swing like this in my size! It plugs into the wall outlet so that I do not have to buy tons of batteries. The swing also has lots of different controls for speed, different sounds and music. I also like how the seat can recline, vibrate and be placed into four different positions which is supposed to mimic the way a mother naturally rocks her baby. This swing even has a plug-in for an MP3 player! How cool is that!!! Another nice feature is that I can pull the swing's seat out and place his Graco car seat into the frame. This is very convenient for times when we get home and he's fallen asleep in his car seat. Everything about the swing is super nice and oh so comfy. I plan to sell Carter's swing once he's outgrown it because it has a good resale value. However, if God ever gives me another little one, this swing will be at the top of my "To Buy For Baby" list. 

 

EASTER OUTFIT

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Wilson and I purchased this outfit for Carter from The Children's Place which is one of my favorite childrens clothing stores.  These pictures were taken at Carter's daycare several weeks prior to Easter.  I think that he looks like such a cute little man in this outfit.

SPRING IS GETTING READY TO SPRUNG

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Wilson had his visitation today with Carter and went to Concord Mills for several hours.  It was beautiful and sunny outside. The first signs of spring are just starting to make their appearances...green grass, flower petals and new buds on the trees. The air is fresh, clean and pleasantly cool. I feel re-energized after spending a little bit of time out and about.  I find it interesting how we all wore blue today.

HANG'N WITH DADDY

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Not much to say about these pictures. Tonight was pretty uneventful. As you can see, Wilson came over for his bi-weekly visitation with Carter.

SQUEAKY CLEAN

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Tonight I gave Carter a bath. I took these pictures after I dried him up. I love his soft, kissable skin and his innocent face in these pictures.  I don't often take pictures of the two of us together because I have to plan ahead and get the tripod set up which kind of ruins the spontaneity and the fun. Sometimes I really wish that I was not a single parent and I could hand the camera over to my husband.

6 MONTH CHECK-UP & SHOTS

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Carter had his six month check up today. As you can see in the pictures, there are bright blue band aids on both of his thighs from where the nurse gave his inoculations. Ouch! I've thought about bringing my camera to one of his doctor's appointments, but so far I've not had enough courage to do so. Also, as any mother can tell you, baby check-ups are not exactly the proper time to take pictures. It would be difficult to juggle a crying infant in one arm and a camera in the other. These pictures were taken after we got home.

GYM TIME

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Carter turned 6 months old yesterday.

A few times recently Carter has “teased” me by sleeping from the time I put him to bed until his 5:00 a.m. feeding. It was so wonderful to wake up feeling refreshed and revitalized.

I’m still using my Moby sling sometimes to carry Carter, but he sure is getting heavy in it.  I really only use it when he’s really fussy or when we are out running errands and he refuses to sit in the stroller.

I’ve been reading some baby board books to Carter in the evening, but so far he seems more interested in chewing on them then listening to the story.

Carter can just about sit up on his own, but he’s still having trouble balancing.

I have been putting a little bit of oatmeal once a day in his bottle, but I’ve not really started feeding Carter any baby food yet.  I’ve been waiting until he turns 6 months old because this is what the American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends.  Therefore, I guess this means that I will start feeding him actual food just as soon as WIC give me the vouchers to do so. 

MOMMY'S LITTLE LAMB

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My Dearest Carter,

In the stillness of the night I tiptoe into your nursery.  It is so quiet and peaceful here.  I can hear you breathing softly and I watch your little chest rise and fall.  Sometimes I reach over to stroke your hair.  It is so soft and very fine.  Other times I gently caress your little chubby hands or pat your little round tummy.  Every once in awhile you stir a little so I have to stop before I wake you up.  I go in here to check up on you to make sure that you are warm enough and that you are breathing okay.  This is a nightly ritual. I think about you all the time and want to spend every possible minute of my life with you.  You are my heart’s delight and you have brought unspeakable joy into my once dull life. I begged God to give me a baby and he gave you to me.  Now my arms have someone to hold and to love forever.  I’m more fully aware of my human existence now that I have become your mother.  You are part of the reason for why I was created and for why I was put on this earth.  I thank God every day for giving you to me.  If anything ever happened to you my heart would be rent into pieces never to be put back together.  As I stand here in your nursery I think about our future together and how I can help you grow into a man.  God has given me this responsibility and I do not want to let Him down.  I look forward to watching you grow and mature. You are so precious to me.  I want to experience with you every happy or sad event in your life.  No matter what happens I will always be here for you with open arms to share in your excitement or to wipe away your tears.  My love for you is like a two edged sword – one side is a dull, constant pain because I know that someday you will grow to be a man and leave me to start your own family.  Sometimes this pain feels so sharp and I weep.  This time of your infancy is too short and so precious.  I try to slow the time down, but to no avail.  We’re living on God’s timetable.  The other side of the sword is a feeling of excitement, happiness and contentment in living our lives together here and now.  I prefer to feel this side of the sword the most, but I cannot get away from the knowledge that you are growing too fast and the ache in my heart sets back in. The clock is ticking fast and I feel so rushed to spend as much time with you as possible. You are my darling baby boy and I love you extreme.

- Mommy

CARTER IS 6 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!

GRANDPA COMES FOR A VISIT

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Dad came over for a visit this morning.  I can tell that he loves seeing Carter.  He doesn’t say it so much in words, but I can see it in the way he interacts with the baby.  I enjoy being able to see him which is something I don’t get to do very often.  Carter was his usual self today – cheerful and bouncy except for when he got hungry.  Then he was like a wild cat, lol.  Dad didn’t seem to mind though and took it all in stride.  Here is super short video of the two of them. 

PLAYTIME WITH DADDY

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 Wilson came over for his bi-weekly visitation today.  Look at how short Carter’s legs are in these pictures.  He wasn’t quite sure what to do about sitting on Wilson this way. 

PLAY TIME

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I purchased this Graco Baby Einstein Discover and Play Entertainer before Carter was born for about $60.00 from a little store down the street from where I live. It has turned out to be one of the best purchases ever.  It was used when I got it and it is has gotten even more used since Carter has played in it. He loves this thing and will stay in it for long periods of time. I started putting Carter in it when he was still very tiny. I remember him crying around 2:00 a.m. one night.  After feeding him, he still didn't want to go back to sleep. So, I placed him in the exersaucer with a couple of receiving blankets surrounding his body to keep him from flopping around. He was only about three weeks old, but even as a newborn he had really good neck and head control - strong and sturdy! After getting him situated, I laid back down, but I could see him from my bed.  He sat there like a little prince looking all around with his tiny little black marble eyes. His feet literally only hung like an inch or two down from the bottom of the cloth padded seat. Such a tiny sweet baby. I was so exhausted that I dozed off.  When I woke back up, he was still there and still looking all around. 

 

TUMMY TIME

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Carter hates tummy time!  (Wow, how many times have I said this???) Tonight I placed him on his belly on my bedroom floor with a full length mirror (a very dirty one at that!) lying horizontally in front of him. Carter is learning to hold his head up, crane it from side to side and lift the front of his chest of the floor, but he gets tired and frustrated easily and fussiness soon follows.  The mirror held his attention for 1-2 minutes before he lost interest. It was cute while it lasted though. Whenever we pass by any mirror Carter smiles and coos at the sweet baby on the other side.  He gets so excited when he sees and hears the other baby in the mirror that he kicks his legs, waives his arms in the air and bounces in my arms.  It’s moments like this that make my heart ache.  I love Carter so. 

DIDDLE DIDDLE DUMPLING...

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Diddle diddle dumpling, 

my son John

Went to bed wit his breeches on,

One stocking off,

and one stocking on:

Diddle diddle dumpling, 

my son John.

SAM & ALYSSA'S WEDDING

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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

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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.

EXERSAUCER

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CARTER IS 4 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!

CARTER'S 1st SNOW

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TURKEY BIRD

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Albuquerque Turkey

(sung to the tune of "Clementine")

Albuquerque is a turkey
And he's feathered and he's fine
And he wobbles and he gobbles
and he's absolutely mine.

He's the best pet that you can get.
Better than a dog or cat.
He's my Albuquerque turkey
And I'm awfully proud of that.

{Author Unknown}

WRAPPED AROUND MY FINGER

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FUSSY WUSSY WAS A BEAR

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AT GRANDMA'S HOUSE

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OLD FASHIONED SUNDAY

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CARTER IS 3 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!

THE LADIES TEA

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CARTER IS 2 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!

2nd MEETING WITH DADDY

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MYRTLE BEACH

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1st MEETING WITH DADDY

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JUST BEAR CUB & I

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CARTER IS 1 MONTH OLD TODAY!!!

NAKED BABY

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NEW KITTY

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ELVA'S BLANKET

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YELLOW BLANKET

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A WHIMSICAL PLACE

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KYLE'S 4th BIRTHDAY PARTY

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CARTER'S 1ST BATH

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SO TIRED!

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LABOR, C-SECTION, DELIVERY

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CARTER MCKINLEY HAS ARRIVED!

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[PREGNANT: 35 weeks 3 days] MY PREGNANCY CANKLES

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PREGNANT: 34 weeks 5 days] BABY SHOWER

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[PREGNANT: 34 weeks 4 days] CARTER'S WHIMSICAL OWL NURSERY

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[PREGNANT: 28 weeks 6 days] GRANDMA'S WHIMSICAL PAINTINGS

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[PREGNANT: 25 weeks 5 days]

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[PREGNANT: 25 weeks 4 days] DAN NICHOLAS PARK

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[PREGNANT: 25 weeks 1 day] RACHEL'S GRADUATION

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[PREGNANT: 24 weeks 3 days] M. DILLON'S 5TH BIRTHDAY

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[PREGNANT: 20 weeks 6 days]

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[PREGNANT: 18 weeks 1 day] IT'S A BOY!!!

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[PREGNANT: 13 weeks 6 days]

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