The Terrible and Terrific Twos

The Terrific Two's:

Carter's imagination is really growing as of late, and is so fun to watch! He can turn any ordinary object into a toy.

First Example: Bananas for Breakfast can also double as "high towers" or blocks. He'd stack them, knock them over, then giggle!

The bananas were getting soooo slimy from him playing with them.

Deep in concentration as he just achieved his "highest tower" of the day. He was having bread the other day and was tearing it into pieces and then lining it up. He told me they were train tracks!

I kept a lot of my old teaching supplies when I retired, and keep them in a special place in the basement we call the "Library Room." We go in once a week or so and pull out something that Carter has never seen before. Todays find was play-doh.

The first thing he asked me to make was a snake. He even knew the motions to roll it out on the table. He then asked for me to build him a snow plow! I will need to brush up on my play-doh skills in order to make a snow plow. He settled on a snake and a tunnel which entertained him for nearly 30 minutes as he pulled the snake thru the tunnel over and over!

Terrible Two's:

I found this cute costume last month at a garage sale and thought it would be perfect for him. It's a dragon but thought I'd call it a dinosaur because he likes and plays with dinosaurs. From the beginning he wanted nothing to do with it. The first time I tried to try it on him, he screamed, kicked, cried and held his breath until he passed out. (Don't know if I've mentioned this trick of Carter's. It's not common but it's not rare either!) The second time had similar results. He doesn't act scared of the costume but has never been a fan of "new" or different clothing. Finally, on Sunday, my sister and I bribed him enough with promises of a cupcake that he caved and put on the top with no crying! He refused to wear the pants, but I figure I still have another few weeks to work on that. He also refuses to wear the hat part....baby steps....

So he may or may not be a dragon/dinosaur for Halloween. I'm hoping the bribe of unlimited candy will motivate him for Halloween.

Side story: Carter is scared of a few things. Thunder and monsters. I have no idea how he even knows what monsters are. But he knows and is terrified. Back in Aug. we took our monthly trip to Sams Club where they had already put out their Halloween items. There was a skeleton type monster in a black cloak that moaned at you as you walked by. I didn't think anything of it. We walked past it and Carter (who refuses to ride in shopping carts anymore) stopped, got wide eyed and asked to ride in the cart. As we were making our way back up the aisle he immediately started screaming and crying before we even reached the monster. We left and I figured it was over. Nope. He talked about the "scary monster at Sams" for weeks. Everytime we'd even drive by Sam's he'd tell me "I don't want to go in there. Scary monster." Today we had to go back and I had forgotten about the monster. Sadly, he did not. He spotted that thing a mile away and the hysterical crying and shaking began. The monster wasn't even on today and wasn't moving or making sound. I felt so bad for him. He was beyond scared and wanted to leave. I hurried as fast as I could but he cried the entire time in the store until we got outside. Anyone else know this monster I am referring to?

Trying to get a few good pictures before Church:

Refusing to Smile...

Breaking down....
Fake Tears and fake crying within seconds. He reacts much like his Father when I whip out the camera.......:)

I love watching him grow up and seeing his little mind in action. We love this little boy and his sassy behavior!

Favorite Pics of the Week

Pic #1: Robe Love. Carter and I share a love for robes. After a nice bath/shower who doesn't wear a fluffy robe? C is very modest in his robe and freaks out if he shows to much skin. Yesterday his robe came open slightly at the top and he yelled "Help. My boobies!" Oops for teaching him body parts....

Pic #2: Stomach Sleeper. C is a stomach sleeper. So am I. I also move around a lot in my sleep. I never get to enjoy sleeping sideways/halfway off the bed because I share a bed. I don't however have Tow-Mater sheets. Why do adults always have boring sheets?

Pic #3 Daddy's Helper. C loves to help pick produce from our garden. He doesn't discriminate between green or red tomatoes though. He pops them all into his mouth without washing them. Dirt flavored tomatoes are the best!

Lotoja

This is the first time I have ever done a post about Neil and just Neil. But I figured that riding 206 miles on your bike in one day is a good reason for a post, all to yourself. Neil just wants to make sure that no one thinks he wrote this post.....because that would be embarrassing, apparently. So I take all the credit for this post. And I must give credit to my wonderful friend Kristen for being our "photographer" for the day. I asked her to snap some pics and did she ever! 250 pictures in a span of 8ish hours. Now that's impressive.

I was the support car for Neil this year. This is his 3rd time doing the race, but my first time as the support: Thanks to moving into our house and having a baby shortly before the other 2 races (I know people are judging me!) This was at the 2nd pit stop in Montpieler, ID. I was so stressed and nervous for Neil the whole race and kept asking him if he was ok, and if he felt alright.
Neil pulling into the stop at the top of "King of the Hill." So glad I got to ride in my car to the top and was not pedaling a bike like he was. He wasn't even breathing hard at the top.

My friend Kristen, aside from being the photographer was also the artist of the group. She made this colorful sign that we displayed at each rest stop.

Talented Kristen showing her support. Kristen and I are planning on riding the the Lotoja next year on a tandem bike. Stay tuned for next year!

I had to post this one because when I showed it to Neil he said "I had no problem drafting off a girl."

Kristen was snapping pics out the window while I drove and Neil was kind enough to turn and show his joy for this picture. He has now successfully passed the girl at this point!

Neil felt quite well the whole ride and was nice enough to stop and pose for a picture with his talented support crew!

The last feed zone before the finish line.

The blur of Neil just before he crossed the finish line with half of his team. Neil finished an hour earlier than the last time so it was a great finish.

Neil and I after the race discussing our strategy for the next race. We make a great team. And boy was I ready to get rid of that massive backpack I'd been wearing all day. It was almost as big as I was.

9 of the 12 guys Neil rode with...and one crazy lady who jumped in the picture. I'm still kind of mad she jumped in and ruined our great shot. And they are not wearing "matching outfits" they are wearing "the same uniforms!"

Great job Neil. You did awesome and I'm very proud of you and your hard work.

I Love....

Dear Carter,

I LOVE:

Your need for Band-aids on owies that are weeks old. And that when I put a fresh Band-aid on, you tell me "That's better now." And that you'd prefer to not wear long pants so that you can always see your Band-aid.

Your fascination with the potty. That you beg to sit on the potty and can sit there for 30 minutes straight without 1 single drop coming out. And then immediately get in the bathtub and pee like a race horse.

Your obsession with vehicles of every kind.

And that riding the bus around town made your day. You didn't stop talking about it for weeks.

Your cute golf attire.
Your obsession with going golfing. You love everything your daddy loves.
How well you listen while we golf and patiently wait your turn.

How you are content to ride in the cart with me and ALWAYS tell me "Good driving Mommy."
Your obsession with animals but refusal to ride them and/or pet them. We wasted $3 this day to hear you cry for 2 straight laps.

Your ability to have fun anywhere. Even in our boring backyard. With boring Mommy.
Your plumbers crack.
Your complete adoration with tractors and earthmovers. You would rather ride a tractor than a pony.
Your hesitation to try corn on the cob. But after the first bite, you were hooked and you haven't looked back since.
That when Mommy says no more cantaloupe that you wait til I'm not looking and steal a slice from the counter. And you aren't afraid to dig the rinds out of the garbage for seconds. You can clean a rind like nobody's business. And, How you're not afraid to make a mess when you eat. On the table, the chairs, the floor...etc.
That you love to wrestle and jump on us at the most inappropriate times. This time caused a black eye for Daddy.
Your complete and utter love for Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. Those 2 plastic cars are your best buddies. They will entertain you for hours and are great for long car trips. You would watch this movie 12 times a day if I let you.

I love everything about you. Even your ever increasing Sass and tantrums!

Love,

Mommy

Lagoon

With a trip to Disney Land coming up in 2.5 months we thought we see how Carter handled amusement parks. And it was exactly as I thought...he hated it, at first. There were tears and screams at the first. I finally convinced him to ride with his cousin Jace; actually I bribed him with some Swedish Fish (he would walk on fire for Swedish Fish).

His first ride he didn't love. There were still tears but he managed to make it for the 24 seconds it took to get around the track.

Hours later he asked to ride the cars again. We thought he was joking; he'd been doing this all day. Asking to ride and then chickening out as he got on. But this time he was serious. He rode this ride several times in a row. I loved watching him on this ride. He was so serious and concentrating so hard. He really believed he was steering and powering this car! (This was the same day. His lunch got the best of him so I changed his outfit)

The only ride Carter wasn't scared of was the train ride. We rode this ride about 6 times. He loved it.

Onto Lagoona Beach. He had a blast. I thought the windy weather would scare him away but he had the time of his life.

The slide was a hit. We could barely keep up with him as he would run back and forth to the slide. He is fearless in the water and requires close supervision!

It was hard to contain him for a quick family shot. He ended up loving Lagoon and was sad to leave.

Bring on Disneyland!

Boy oh Boy

I sure love these 2 boys......and the way they adore each other.

They are the best of Friends

And the best snuggle buddies

Carter has the best daddy. We love him!

Summer Fun

Carter loves being in the water so a lot of our summer activities have involved water. We are convinced that his cold sensor is broken though....he doesn't feel the cold. He definitely does NOT get that from his mother.

We went to Tony's Grove with Neil's family the other night and took dinner and enjoyed the water. It was kind of chilly outside and so we didn't anticipate the kids getting in the water. We were wrong. Carter got right in and stayed in for almost 30 minutes until we noticed him shivering and made him get out.

Carter hasn't realized how to bend over to get rocks without sitting on his heels. He was soaked within minutes!

He kept squealing "I'm swimming!" And "This is fun!"
This kid is obsessed with rocks, throwing them, and water. Put the 3 together and it turns into a party. We've had to explain that rocks are not to be thrown at cars or windows, only water.

The next part involves Grandpa's boat and Glendale Reservoir. Carter loves anything motorized but was a little apprehensive this day because it was our first time of the summer.

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He started slowly by sitting on the beach with grandma. Notice his feet are tucked safely up to avoid touching the sand. He did get a bit more comfortable with being barefoot as the day went on.

He didn't like the wind blowing on him either in the boat but got use to that and loved being in the boat.
He was a little mad about wearing a life jacket at first but soon forgot about it and enjoyed the ride
The highlight of the trip was getting to drive grandpa's boat. Grandpa would point right or left and Carter would turn the wheel that way. They were quite a team!

And just to prove that Neil was with us:) I hope to have Carter up on skis next summer, but we'll see.

And nothing finishes off the day better than throwing rocks with cousin Tyler. A little boys Paradise.

Summer is almost over so we've got to squeeze more boating, swimming and camping in quickly. I wish it could stay summer all year round!