My 8th Month

To all my faithful readers who have been checking by this blog for about 2 weeks now, I am sorry. You see, I have recently been sick and teething. You may ask, "Why can't you blog and teethe at the same time?" Well, mommy has hid the computer from me because she thinks I will drool all over it with my sick germs and kill it. I found it though, and she's finally taking a nap, so I finally have a minute to update you on my 8th month of life! Here's my birthday picture...

As I told you above, I am teething. Man, I don't know how many teeth I will eventually end up having, but I'm convinced that I am part shark and that my mouth is going to end up looking like this...

At my 8 month birthday, I had 4 teeth! I actually currently already have even more than that, but you'll have to wait until my 9th month blog post to hear about those babies!!! Teething is pretty terrible. It hurts because it feels like little knives are poking at my gums all the time. It makes me want to chew on everyone and everything at all times. I drool constantly, but I don't have enough teeth to keep the drool in my mouth, so it falls right out of my mouth all the time. I soak all my bibs and clothes. Fischer helps me out though. He likes to lick up my drool strings before they hit the floor. It's a new game in our house - mommy hates that game. Oh well, they say it won't last forever....I hope they are right!

To take my mind off of teething, mommy and daddy took me to the circus!

It was so much fun! I saw Tigers, Elephants, Horses, Crazy Bendy People, Flying People, and all sorts of other fantastically colorful things! I couldn't take my eyes off of it all.

When I grow up, I'm going to be a Circus Tiger.

I went to my very first Birthday party. The party wasn't for me of course - I'm only 8 months old. It was for Brooklyn - the very first kid I ever met! Here's Brooklyn and me when we first met - she was 4 months old and I was 2 days old....

Here we are at her 1st Birthday Party! Those other people are our mommies.

Birthday parties are pretty cool. A bunch of people get together and give you cake and presents on the day you were born. All you have to do is be born and then hang out for 364 more days! It's really not a bad deal. I think it's really mommy and daddy throwing a party that they figured out how to keep us alive for a whole year! I am pretty excited about getting to eat some cake at my first birthday - daddy says it's yummy! Brooklyn seemed to like her cake!

Mommy and Grandmama took me on a trip to see my Aunt Bebe. She lives in Washington state. Here I am on my very first airplane ride!

I was a little nervous, but I decided that I really like to fly. On the way to Washington, I slept on the floor of the plane most of the way there - it was the middle of the night. On the way back, I was awake almost the whole time though. Why sleep when you can get constant attention, and you also get to look out the window!?!?

We had a lot of fun visiting and sightseeing. We were there for a WHOLE WEEK!

Here we are in front of Mt. Rainier...it looks like the clouds...

Here we are in Olympia - the capital of Washington.

Here we are in front of the Freemont Troll....he was under a bridge in Seattle and totally awesome!

Here I am at the Japanese Gardens...

And here's a pic of me and the Space Needle...I was pretty tired by this point!

Mommy hasn't always lived with Daddy. When she was in college, she lived with Mrs. Sarah. Mommy and I got to hang out with Mrs. Sarah and her twins while we were in Seattle. Mommy and Mrs. Sarah hadn't seen each other in 5 years!!! That's a whole kindergartener!!!!!!

NEWS FLASH: I STARTED CRAWLING THIS MONTH!!!!

*Side note: I still cannot roll from my back to my stomach.

My daddy saw me crawl first on March 8th, but I got REALLY good at crawling while we were in Seattle - I practiced a lot so that I'd be a pro by the time I got home to see my daddy - I really missed him while we were gone!

Here are some things I'm a pro at now:

Holding a sippy cup.

Looking out of windows.

and CRAWLING!!!

Like my outfit? Here's the front...

Well, I think that's all my news for now. Gotta go find a towel to wipe all this drool off the keyboard before Mommy finds out! See you next month!!!

HERE ARE SOME OF MY 8 MONTH MILESTONES:

- I was 22 lbs (90th+) & 30 in. (97th+)!

- I'm sleeping 9-11 hours a night.

- I'm taking about two naps a day (anywhere from 1.5 - 3 hours)

- I have 4 teeth now and TONS of DROOL!!!!

- I respond to my name (most of the time:-)

- I AM FINALLY MOBILE!!!! Crawling is AWESOME, and I can get into anything and everything!!!!

- I can pick up/hold my sippy cup by myself whenever I want a drink!

- I love to throw any ball back and forth and play with all my fun toys.

- I love to look out of windows - especially ones I can pull up on!

My Reason for Not Posting....

Hey Everyone (cough, cough - sniff, sniff),

I know I'm overdue for my 8 month post, but the truth is that I am sick, and I can't seem to get to the computer to post, so here's a picture to hold you all over until I do my birthday post!

Mr. Sniffles (AKA: Carter)

My 7th Month

Hey Y'all!

That's right, I'm a good ole' southern boy and I know it. I'm back to fill you in on my seventh month of life! It's been busy.

It all started on my very first Ski Trip. Daddy, Mommy, and me drove for my entire life up to West Virginia to a place called Winterplace. Boy was it a Wintery Place!!! There was snow everywhere. Nana and Papa J were there when we got there - I'm not sure how they got there though - they must know how to drive like Daddy. I was pretty excited about going skiing for the first time! I'm pretty sure I'll win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics - that's how good I was!

I hung out in the cabin with my Nana most of the time. I didn't want to show the parents up too badly. It was such a fun trip!

When we got home from the ski trip, we had a few weeks of rest, and then everybody started to go crazy about THE wedding - you know, Aunt Bebe's wedding, the one mommy blogged about HERE. Mommy and I went down early to help Aunt Bebe getting packed up for her move to Washington state. I'm pretty bummed that she doesn't live close by anymore, but I'm pretty sure I'll visit her in her new, cool hometown! I might actually get to fly on a plane to get to her!!!!

I honestly don't remember too much about the wedding. Daddy took me to play with my cousins all day long,

then I went to the church nursery to play with complete strangers, then they took me to a really big party called "The Reception." It was really crowded and a bunch of people that I didn't know were getting all up in my face, so I decided to go to sleep - on a table! Aunt Bebe knew that I wanted to stay awake though - it's the thought that counts, right?

Everyone said it was a beautiful wedding, and mommy and daddy sure seemed to have fun!!!

I'm just glad that it means we've got another dude in the family, and Aunt BeBe's name makes sense now - Beka Bruner!!!

Ever since the wedding, the weather has been beautiful! Daddy, Mommy, and me have been doing tons of really fun stuff. We took Fischer to the dog park one day, and they have a great playground there too! I got to swing in a big kid swing!!!! I wasn't sure what to think at first,

but I decided that I LOVE TO SWING!!!!!!

That Sunday, after church, we went to Monte Sano State Park. We took a picnic and then went hiking, and we had a blast!!!

I was really awake in these next two pictures, I was just pretending to sleep...

My Daddy is the greatest!!!

I saw my first waterfall - it was pretty amazing!!!

I think I'm really gonna like the warmer weather! Mommy and Daddy do really fun stuff when it's pretty outside.

Some of my friends are crawling now. This is Ella Grace. She's 2 weeks older than I am. She was crawling over me in this picture - it's our version of leap frog. She's getting a head start on me as far as crawling goes, but I'm just giving her a head start because she's a girl - Mommy says that means I'm a gentleman.

Actually, I've decided to master each step before actually crawling - rather than going ahead and crawling, but only being mediocre at it. I also think the Parents may need a little more time - they don't seem like they would be able to keep up with me! Last month I mastered getting on my hands and knees. This month, I have mastered going from a crawling position to a sitting position. This skill will be much needed when I begin to crawl. It will help me rest, or as you will see in my step by step instructional pictures below, it will help me be able to chew on whatever I capture. Notice my concentration level.

You start on your hands and knees:

Then you stick one foot out - it does not matter which:

You push yourself backwards onto the bent leg:

Then you sit up. WARNING: There is a danger of falling backwards during this step if you do not balance just perfectly! Be careful. At this time, feel free to chew on whatever you can reach!

I graduated from my baby bathtub to a big kid bath tub this month! My Uncle Rob gave me the coolest big kid bathtub ever - it's a duck....and it really quacks too! Check me out....

After bathtime, I transform into a dragon...

I've started looking at the world differently...I prefer sideways! Everything looks so different when I turn my head - it's so cool!

Well, I think that's about it for now - here's one more cute picture of my adorable face :-)

HERE ARE SOME OF MY 7 MONTH MILESTONES:

- I was 20 lbs 5 oz (97th+) & 30 in. (97th+)!

- I'm sleeping 9-11 hours a night.

- I'm taking about two naps a day (anywhere from 1.5 - 3 hours)

- I sit up all by myself!

- I still have 2 teeth.

- I respond to my name (about half the time:-)

- I love to grab hands and pull myself into a standing position.

- I bounce up and down when I'm held in a standing position.

- I can get up on my hands an knees - and sometimes even my hands and feet!

- I can hold myself up with one hand when I'm laying on my stomach.

- I can go from my crawling position to sitting up by myself.

- I turn my head sideways to look at things and people.

- I call Fischer by saying "Uh! Uh!"

- I love Ride-a-little-Horsey!

- My depth perception is getting better. I am better able to grab onto whatever I want!

- I transfer things from one hand to the other - I especially love balls.

- I'm eating snacks now! I like my peach puffs and yogurt puffs even though I get a little choked on them from time to time. I also drink juices out of a sippy cup now - yummy!!!

- I love to bang my hands on my highchair - and anything else for that matter!

- I'm trying to learn how to hold my bottle and sippy cup, but it's going to take some time.

- I still love chewing on my feet! Mommy and I have a game - she puts socks on my feet, and I take them off!

- I still talk and sing to myself when I wake up to let mommy and daddy know that I'm awake.

See you next month - I'm out!!!

She's Getting Married

I don't know where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday that we were playing in our playhouse, wearing matching Easter outfits,

playing with babydolls, curling our hair, painting our fingernails, watching our favorite movies, telling each other secrets, going on youth trips, driving to college...

I don't know when we grew up - it seemed to happen so fast - too fast. I'm a wife and mommy - tomorrow you'll be a bride. I love you with all of my heart - a sister's heart. You're going to make a beautiful bride. I cannot wait to watch you walk down the aisle, to see the look on your sweet face as you look into the eyes of your groom - your handsome Lieutenant. I'm going to cry tears of joy because words cannot describe how very happy I am for you on this your wedding weekend.

"Who Gives This Woman?"

Exchanging of Rings

"You May Now Kiss Your Bride"

"I Now Pronounce you Man and Wife"

I cannot wait to hug your neck, my new sister, Mrs. Jason Bruner.

May the Lord Richly Bless

Your Wedding,

Your Marriage,

Your Happily Ever After!

A Time of Need

I was discouraged yesterday...really discouraged, and God spoke these verses to my heart. I thought I'd share them with you!

What a friend we have in Jesus, 
all our sins and griefs to bear! 
What a privilege to carry 
everything to God in prayer! 
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear, 
all because we do not carry 
everything to God in prayer. 

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; 
take it to the Lord in prayer. 
Can we find a friend so faithful 
who will all our sorrows share? 
Jesus knows our every weakness; 
take it to the Lord in prayer. 

Are we weak and heavy laden,  
cumbered with a load of care? 
Precious Savior, still our refuge; 
take it to the Lord in prayer. 
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? 
Take it to the Lord in prayer! 
In his arms he'll take and shield thee; 
thou wilt find a solace there.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9