Too Cute for Words

The Cutest "Chunky Monkey" Ever.

Our cutie little monkey. We borrowed a stuffed banana from a friend.

His pumpkin for collecting candy. :)

We let him pick out his own candy out of the baskets at each house we trick-or-treated to. Most times, he picked M & Ms. We were secretly hoping he'd get some Reese's but he never did. It didn't really matter anyway because Bentley ate 75% of Carter's stash while we were gone one morning. Crazy dog.

Family picture while out trick-or-treating. I was so excited to take him out even though he'll clearly never remember it. Oh well, I will!!

While up at my parent's house, we dressed the twins and Carter up to go get some more loot from great grandma. Plus, gramma hooked him up, too. Oh, and Uncle Brad was home from college and wanted to see him in his costume.

His daycare had a parade on Friday. It was cute...they put them into strollers and paraded them around. Our little monkey fell fast asleep.

The Mail (Male) Issue

Maybe this is just something that happens in our house. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say YEAH RIGHT.

Seth gets home before me every day and, therefore, gets the mail before I get home. And every day--and I do mean every--the mail gets stacked on the kitchen table.

(*As a sidenote, when asked what is one thing in your marriage that drives you absolutely insane, this would be it. Hands down. His for me? Leaving shoes laying around the house.)

The mail being stacked stresses me out beyond belief. I am a firm believer that junk mail should be discarded of immediately, because if it is not, it only starts the vicious cycle of mail piling. And Seth does not do this. I've tried the "mail basket" where important to-do type things go. He sneers at this.

SO....a few days ago, I sort of gently told him that my head is going to explode if he does not stop stacking the mail on the table. And then? THEN?

He stopped getting the mail altogether.

And so did I.

So for one whole week, the mailman continued to stuff our box to maximum capacity, both of us refusing to give in and get the mail. Realizing the Carter's acid reflux medicine refill STILL never came, I called the pharmacy and politely asked what is taking so long. "Hmm, we sent that days ago."

Shoot.

The mailbox is now empty again.

Weekend Wrap-Up

I realized I never did a wrap-up of our date night from last Friday, so I will now! We had a BLAST. After work (I get off at 11 a.m. on Fridays), I drove Carter and Bentley up to my parent's and Michelle and Jason's, respectively. After getting everything all set up for Mr. Carter and dropping Bentley off at Michelle's, we had some lunch and I headed home. It was about 1:30 when I left. I thought to myself that I could swing into the roadside stand on the way home and get some mums and whatnot to decorate some more outside (and eventually plant). But then it hit me that I am downright crazy.

If I hurry home, I can nap for an hour IN PEACE before Seth gets home from work and we need to get ready to go out. Trust me, I blew off that road side stand in a split second. Who needs pretty mums anyway??

I got home at precisely 2:20 and was in my warm, cozy bed by precisely 2:23. Have mercy. I set my alarm for 3:23 and drifted off. I heard Seth come home around that time, but he was on the phone. I reasoned that I could get ready really quickly and reset my alarm to 4:00. It was heaven.on.earth.

We then headed to dinner. I ordered fancy meatloaf. I almost couldn't believe it myself because I am picky about my meatloaf. And with good reason. This meatloaf wasn't so good--it was weird. But everything else was yummy. Then we headed over to the Giant Center for Jeff Dunham where I saw the stereotypical people you would see at Jeff Dunham....central PA rednecks. :)
I was almost giddy to be out on a date with Seth - so much fun to just hold hands and talk (and do some SERIOUS people-watching) for hours! The show was hysterical and we had such a blast. It started late at almost 8:30 so needless to say it went much later than we're used to these days. But since Carter was with my mom, we got to sleep several glorious uninterrupted hours Friday night. Then I headed to get Squirt on Saturday morning while Seth was at work.

We had so much fun but I really did miss the little guy after only one night. I couldn't wait to kiss those chubby little cheeks and tickle those chunky baby thighs. And to see Bentley, of course.

I love my boys.

On Sunday, we met a bunch of friends from Messiah for lunch and then they came back to our house. Cheryl is in massage therapy school right now and I made a remark about how she can "practice on me if she wants." And do you know what she said?!?!?! "Oh definitely. Lay down, and I'll give you a massage." She proceeded to give me a full body massage, complete with the head and feet. Again I say heaven.on.earth.

We had lots of fun with everyone and it was great to see everybody, too!

Date Night/Carter Travels to Gramma's

Tonight, Seth and I are so excited to be having a date night! We are going to see a comedian, Jeff Dunham, in Hershey. Beforehand, we're going for dinner at a place we haven't been to in a long time!

AND, perhaps most exciting, Mr. Carter will be staying at Gramma and Grampa's house overnight (and Bentley at Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jason's), which means Seth and I get a full night of uninterrupted sleep. Hallelujah. We'll miss the little squirt, but he'll be in perfectly capable, spoilable hands, with lots more perfectly capable and spoilable hands next door in the form of Michelle and my grandma. :)

Of course, I'm sure he'll make us look like liars again and probably sleep through the night. My mom can only hope. ha!

Have a great Friday!

Leaves.

Even if something

is left undone,

everyone must take time

to sit still

and watch the leaves turn.

~Elizabeth Lawrence

 

I'll be the Classroom Mom!

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I have been so excited to be "that mom." You know the one. The one who bakes homemade goods, decorates them cutely and sends them into school with their kid. Or makes them create cute Valentines. And helps host cute parties for the little ones.

Well, lucky for me, Carter's daycare often seems like a real school so this could be a reality for me. Ha! Picture day was yesterday, and you better believe I decked him out in his finest fall gear. I spit-shined his hair (kidding. Sort of.) and I delivered him fed and happy so that he would smile. She said he did great, but because he wasn't sitting very straight they had to put him on his belly. Oh well, I think you'll still get the effect of the outfit.

This Sunday is his school's Fall Fest at a local orchard market, which should be fun. You know I signed up for the cupcakes. What else would I take? Especially when there will be 70 families there who have kids that have birthday parties and they might need cupcakes. :) I'm making these, except I envision a slightly different look for the icing, though it will still look like candy corn. Anyway, I'm excited to go and meet other families, do some pumpkin picking, go on a hayride with Carter (hopefully), and more.


This morning when I dropped him off, his teacher was talking about his Halloween parade (he's going as a monkey--a chunky monkey to be exact--if you were wondering). She said they start at 9 but could use some extra hands beforehand and I was welcome to help. Um, yes please. Babies dressed up in costume?? I'm there!! So I'm becoming a classroom mom for real now. :)

Anyway, that's all for now. Oh wait. In other news, Bentley is becoming a devil dog. The jealousy of a baby has suddenly kicked in full force. He has started destroying things lately. Namely, the rug by the front door. Then another day, a blanket. I cut it down to remove the ripped parts to salvage it and he ruined the other half the next day. Grrr. Then it was the laundry bag that holds Carter's tiny things like socks. And yesterday it was another blanket.

He has one more strike and then he'll be for sale for the low, low price of free (kidding, I think). ;)

Or we'll turn him into a little brown rug to replace the one he ruined at the front door.

Some Parenting Thoughts (in a List)

1. I made homemade baby food this week, and it was actually a lot of fun. And, by far, cheaper. Three sweet potatoes made two whole trays of baby food cubes, a half of a bag of frozen green beans made a whole tray, one bag of baby carrots made over a whole tray, and one avocado made five cubes. So far, Carter has loved ALL of them. But you already knew that by looking at his thighs, right? :)

2. The terrible twos? Is there such a thing as the frustrating five months? I swear, he sometimes throws temper tantrums (almost always at feeding time. haha). He arches his back, makes his legs stiff and screams until we feed him (or continue feeding him if we stop to burp him).

3. After a lot of reading (and some personal experience on the latter), I firmly believe that vaccines do not cause autism (that's just Jenny McCarthy talking), letting your baby watch Baby Einstein or other educational tv programs in moderation (less than an hour per day) before age two does not make them get ADHD, and solid foods do help your baby sleep better. Just my personal opinions...

4. When you are feeding your baby and he caresses your cheek, it is the most precious thing ever.

5. Now that Carter can roll both ways and essentially get into the position he wants anyway, I am a firm believer in belly sleeping. He slept twelve hours last night. Amen.

6. Convertible carseats are outrageously priced. And when you want one for each car because one drops off at daycare and one picks up....wow. We are now the proud owners of $600 worth of car seat. Ouch.

7. How you feel your child is behaving at a restaurant is directly opposite of what others around you think. I'm sure where just hyper-sensitive about our child fussing at all, because when he was last night at Red Lobster, it was starting to stress us out a bit, yet everyone around us stopped to comment about how well-behaved our baby was. Hmm, okay. Guess I'll stop stressing.

That's all for now! :)

Five Months.

Carter, at five months, you:

- Wear size 2 diapers (Pampers during the day, and Huggies at night because they don't leak as much when you're sleeping)
- Are wearing size 6 month clothing for the most part, although just this past week, the pants that are 6 months seem to be "high waters" - you must have gotten taller!! I've put a few 9 month things on you, but you swim in those.
- Weigh 19 lbs, 4 oz. (as of his sick appt last week, not sure the stats this week)
- Suddenly prefer to nap in your crib and not the swing (which is fine with us, except now the swing is just taking up space in our living room)
- No longer need the swaddler AT ALL (thank goodness!) to sleep
- Have adjusted to daycare for the most part - you napped really, really well for a few weeks and just this past week things have been a bit dicey and you're back to 30 minute naps.
- Started sitting unassisted. It only lasts briefly and then you start to topple a bit, but you do really well for a five month old!
- (Apparently) rolled over from your back to your belly. Miss Brittani, one of the day care teachers, told mommy you did this one day out of the blue. YAY! I've given you a little nudge and you very easily do it with that help at home. Can't wait to see it myself :)
- SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT for three whole nights in a row. Then you got sick, and that ended. We ended up holding you to sleep for almost a whole week. At least you're back to only 1 time getting up a night (usually around 11:30) but then you sleep until I wake you up for day care at 6:30. So we're getting there...
- Started baby food (rice cereal, oatmeal, and then veggies like green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and prunes). You do really well - the pediatrician told mommy she was right that you were ready.
- Eat 5.5 oz. every 3-4 hours, with a longer stretch at night.
- FREAK OUT when you are "starving" (one look at those thighs will tell you this is not true) and we try to feed you solids. You want the bottle first then!
- Push buttons on toys, and put everything in your mouth.
- Have been sick several times - so far, you've had bronchiolitis, pink eye, and a cold. There is a bout of hand, foot, and mouth disease at daycare right now and we are praying so very hard that it just skips you.
- Found your feet and love to pull on them!
- Are pretty much too big for your bouncer. You can slide right out of it.
- Sleep on your belly now. I swore I wouldn't do this, but one night out of desperation, I flipped you over and you slept from 8 p.m. until 7 a.m., so mommy was a believer (thanks, Aunt Salli ;) haha). Trust me, we check on you a lot.
- Still take Zantac for your acid reflux though I'm not sure you need it too much anymore. We'll discuss with the doctor soon.
- Still LOVE bath time. You soak mommy and daddy every night.
- Started watching Bentley more and "patting" him - one day you pulled out one of his whiskers, but he was a good sport about it
- Went to the Apple Harvest Festival with mommy, gramma, Aunt Michelle, and cousin McKenna and were such a good boy in your stroller. You even took a nap.
- Skype with Uncle Bradley and "talk" on the phone to gramma.
- Are going to have a sleepover with gramma and grampa in a few weeks so mommy and daddy can have a whole night out to see a comedian and then sleep through the night. Hallelujah.
- Have such a personality. You giggle, flail, smile that big open-mouthed smile with those cute little gums, throw little temper tantrums when we try to burp you mid-bottle.
- Are getting more and more blonde hair, and looking like both mommy and daddy. I still maintain that he looks more like me (Danielle) in his 5 month pictures than Seth. But everyone, and I do mean everyone, says he looks like Seth when they see him in person.

Carter, we can't believe you are already 5 months old. Seems like just yesterday, I was on the verge of threatening the doctor if she did not remove you from my body ASAP. You changed our lives forever when you were born (and made us a bit lot more tired) and we are so in love with you. Sometimes mommy says there is never going to be a woman good enough for you because you're all mine. But we can discuss this when you're a little older. ;) We can't wait to see how you grow and change over the next few months. You're our precious little "squirt" and we love you tons!!

Ran's Bakery

One of my friends asked me to make the smash cake and cupcakes for her son's first birthday party on Sunday, and I happily obliged. Because we all know that if I somehow managed to have enough money to finance my own cupcake business, I so totally would. But for now, I will settle with making them for friends and family when they need them! :)

She requested chocolate cupcakes with blue-tinted vanilla icing, vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing, and a vanilla smash cake for her son. The party had a sports theme, so I wanted to work that in where possible.

After baking all the cupcakes and making all of the icing - blue-tinted vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream, and plain white vanilla buttercream - I got to work!

I tried ALL new recipes that day which I realize was very daring, but they turned out well!! In fact, I was THRILLED with the way the icings turned out. They were so fluffy and perfect for the cloud-like decorations on top! :)

The chocolate icing smelled so strong she told me she could smell it through the box. Yum, that's the best kind then!

Almost finished with all of the cupcakes now!

Annnnd, DONE with the cupcakes. Very happy with the way they turned out. Onto the smash cake...

I was very frank with her and told her that I'm much better at cupcakes than I am at cakes, but that I would give the smash cake a try. I made two 6" round cakes, leveled them (thank you online tutorials for that little tip), iced and stacked them, and got to decorating. I was very excited to use all the new Wilton and Ateco decorating tips I got, and ended up getting to use all of my new ones in this one cake! I did alternating dots around the edges, free-handed the football with an icing spatula, drew the stitching, and wrote the message. I did the best I could to smooth out the sides and top, but realized I was missing an essential tool for this process part way through. Too late, though. Next time. I did keep in mind that the one-year-old would be smashing it to smithereens before real long. :)

Packing them up! I ordered online inserts for inside the window boxes I purchased to keep them from sliding in transit. Plus, it makes it look so much more professional, don't you think?

These are the little sports picks I made for each cupcake. I did them by hand (well, and with my computer and printer). There were eight designs in total. "One" on blue and brown and then each sports ball on blue and brown. Blue picks in the chocolate icing cupcakes, and vice versa.

Then, I made simple tags for on top of the box with my name and phone number (blocked out for privacy).

All in all, everything turned out great and she said they were a huge hit!! I have another first birthday party to do coming up which should be super cute -- ladybugs!!