Strawberry Picking

I turned 29 years old yesterday and, to the best of my knowledge, have never picked fresh strawberries. We have a pick-your-own patch nearby, so on Wednesday night, we decided to check it out!
 

A certain little peanut had NO problem jumping right in. Once she tasted a berry, she was ALL for strawberry picking! :)

 

Caught red-handed :)

Carter thought he was so cool because he got to hold the bin. He did a really great job finding dark red berries and snapping them off the stem just as he should!

 

It was a gorgeous--albeit, slightly humid--night and we had a great time. We will be eating strawberries for a very long time! :)

Last Year/This Year

Last year at this time, my baby boy weighed 16 pounds.

This year, my toddler weighs 31 pounds.

Last year at this time, he was wearing size 1/2 diapers.

This year, he is wearing size 5 diapers.

Last year at this time, my little man was wearing size 3 month clothing.

This year, he is wearing size 24 months.

Last year at this time, Carter was starting his first day of daycare.

This year, Carter is a seasoned professional and sometimes cries when it's time to leave to go home.

Last year at this time, Carter was saying "goo" and "gah."

This year, he says mama, dada, Bubba, bubble, duck, turtle, ball, all done, and more; he signs when he wants "more" and when he is "all done" and makes sounds for cows, tigers, trains, and trucks.

Last year at this time, my baby love was waking up every 3 hours during the night.

This year (And, for the love of all things good, KNOCK ON WOOD), he almost 100% sleeps through the night.

Last year at this time, he was the love of our life.

This year, he is the love of our life.

Some things change, but some things never will.

Want to get the full flashback? Check out his 3 month recap.

Jump, Jump!

With being two full-time working parents, Seth and I like to squeeze some additional family fun in on the weekends. This past Saturday, we took Carter to Monkey Joe's, a local bounce place for kids age 12 and under. There is even a special "tot zone" for kids under 3, which was part of what drew me in. He's never been in a bounce house before, and I had a feeling he might be a bit skiddish at first. The place was super cheap ($5 for kids under 3, parents are free!) so we figured if he hated it, we'd just head out.

We got there promptly at opening time (10 a.m.) because we knew it was only a matter of time before he got sleepy.

He was a little nervous at first, but once he got his 'sea legs,' he had a blast! For the first 10-15 minutes, we had the whole tot zone to ourselves, so he had some time to get used to everything.

That is one handsome little boy! :)

Before we left, we explored the building a bit and we found a little arcade. Carter played his first arcade game - Whack a mole! - and it was absolutely precious. He got 12 points (with some help) and his momma was so proud!

Around 11:30, he started laying down in the bounce house like he wanted to take a nap, so we headed next door to the mall to go to the food court and then home for naptime. It was lots of fun and we'd definitely go back again!

He Loves His Daddy...

He was daddy's biggest fan at the softball game tonight. He stood and the fence and cheered and yelled for him.

It was absolutely precious and I love both of my boys (all three of my boys if you count the furry one). :)

A Trip to the Zoo

On Saturday, we made a trip to Lake Tobias Wildlife Park, which is a small local zoo that is perfect for a day trip. Gramma and Pa came long for Carter's first zoo trip. There are lots of animals like bears, zebras, tigers, lions, camels, alligators, and tons more. You can walk around the park seeing many of these animals, but they also have a fun little safari ride that goes out in a huge wildlife area (like 200 acres or something), where you can get right up close to elk, water buffalo, deer, and emus among many other wildlife. Some of the animals even walk RIGHT up to the bus and you can hand-feed them crackers.

A "ze-donkey"!!

Carter did okay on the safari ride but it was so hot, so he was a little bit fussy. Once we got back from the ride, though, we did the walk through of the park, grabbed a Slushie, toured the reptile building, and went to the petting zoo.

Carter was soooo cute in the petting zoo. I honestly thought he might freak out in there when the goats and mini horses walked up to him but he didn't at all. He LOVED it and was having such a blast. It was hard not to smile watching him have so much fun. He pet the goats, and loved giving them food. Whenever he ran out, he found Seth or I or Gramma for some more.

There was a tiny little horse in the petting zoo - Carter walked right up to him and squatted down so they were eye level. He then proceeded to just hang out right beside him and keep feeding him. He didn't like when we moved him away so some of the other kids could enjoy feeding him. :)

After we toured the whole zoo, we had a picnic lunch at the pavillion. It was a great way to end a great (and hot) day. Carter was so happy the whole day (besides the original bout of fussy on the safari) and he seemed to have had a ton of fun. A three hour nap followed so I think it was a success. Thanks for coming along, Gramma and Pa!