My Running Buddy
Posted: October 6, 2009 at 6:43 pm
On Sunday, I asked Carter if he wanted to go for a run with me and he was super excited. I jog slowly so i knew he wouldn’t have a problem keeping up – i was afraid I’d have a problem keeping up with him! I was surprised that he hung in there with me for a mile before he asked if we could walk and he loved it! He kept going fast so we’ll have to work on the concept of speed vs distance. 
I hope we’ll continue to do this together and run a couple of times a week. Maybe it will turn into something he really loves and soon enough he’ll be running marathons with me.
tags: Carter Add a comment
New Baby
Posted: October 5, 2009 at 2:05 pm
We found out this weekend that my sister is pregnant! Here’s how the conversation went when we told Carter and Gracey:
Me: Guess who has a baby growing in her tummy?
Kids: WHO????
Me: Aunt Tina! Isn’t that great? Wesley is going to be a big brother.
Carter: that’s cool
(i can see he is really thinking about something)
Carter: the baby is in her tummy, right?
me: yes
Carter: Your tummy is broken, right?
Me: (wondering if he was making sure there wasn’t a baby in my tummy!) that’s right. and I’m sooo glad it is so I could be your mommy
Carter: (smiling) yeah. But what if I was in your tummy and came out just the size I am now
Me: hmmmm, that wouldn’t work – look how big you are. There’s no way you’d fit in my tummy like that
(I can see the wheels turning in his head. He is wondering how the baby gets out and I’m praying he won’t ask.)
Me: So did you have fun at the race?
LOL. I’m not ready to explain to my 5 year old how a baby gets out of his mommy’s tummy. Especially when three year old ears are listening and would repeat it all day every day for a week.
tags: Carter 2 comments
Because I missed you, mom
Tags: Adoption, Foster Care
Posted: September 23, 2009 at 5:22 pm
When I returned home from Phoenix, Carter is the one who immediately displayed his joy at my return. He crawled into my bed that first morning and snuggled close to me saying, “I just missed you so much, mommy.” While I was gone, Gracey is the one who voiced her separation anxiety but it didn’t show once I was home. And Mathew always loves mommy best whether I’m gone for 5 minutes or 5 days!
The thing with Carter is that he didn’t talk about it much while I was away but it was so obvious he thought a lot about it. It was on his heart and I felt a great sense of relief from him that I was back and all was right in his world. At one point in the day he even said to me, “you can do whatever you want today, mommy, even take pictures of me because that’s how much I missed you.” (Carter is at a stage where he absolutely DOES NOT want his picture taken) It’s not that a 5 year old missing his mommy is a big deal. It’s what this 5 year old’s frame of reference is.
Carter has a profound understanding of loss. At almost two years old he lost the only mother and father he’d ever known. One day she was there and the next she was not. No matter how much we prepare him for a trip or a time away from one or both of us, I can’t help but wonder if he secretly questions whether or not we’ll come back for him. And that breaks. my. heart.
tags: Carter, Foster Care Add a comment
Oh Mommyo
Posted: July 30, 2008 at 2:24 am
Carter has this thing about wanting me to make up songs at bedtime. I’ve made up songs about Batman, Spiderman, various other superheroes, his toy box, his ceiling fan, etc… you get the idea. Tonight, we were on the couch doing our little bedtime routine and I said, “let’s sing a song about daddy”. So I would sing a line and then he would. Most of his lines were “Daddy kicks…or….Daddy farts…. or Daddy stinks….. or Daddy you are mean.” Said with a big smile. then he and daddy made up a song about me. This is how it went:
Daddy: Oh Mommyo
Carter: you fart alot
Daddy: Oh Mommyo
Carter: you kick your feet
Daddy: Oh mommyo
Carter: you are so hairy
Nice. Thanks for that, Carter. Sadly, the first thing I thought of was I have to blog about this. No, scratch that, the first thing I thought was, “wow, he has really noticed the obvious”. He added another line that said something about me being as hairy as daddyo. Nice. Good thing I’m not sensitive about my ancestors the apes.
Hmmmm….
Posted: July 27, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Trip went very well. Wish I had a lot more time to visit with friends I don’t see often enough. We make friends as we go through life, some for a season and some for the remainder of our lives. There is nothing in the world better than a good visit with an old friend. There’s just never enough time.
In the bathtub last night:
After I returned from getting towels:
Me: Carter, are you peeing in the bathtub?
Carter: I already did and I just teed on Gracey’s hair
Me: really? hmmm How did you manage that?
Carter: I just got it on her head
Me: did you stand up in the tub (which would be a great infraction that peeing on his sister, ironically)
Carter: No, I just peed really really really hard and made it shoot up and then I leaned my wee wee over like this and it got in her hair
Me: (trying not to laugh) Okay. Well, I need to go talk to daddyo about this and see what we’re going to do. That was a bad choice.
Carter: I’m sorry, mom.
I had to get out of there before I cracked up. I mean, what do you say to that? Maybe it’s time for them to stop bathing together but it sure is convenient.
Yesterday, Grammy was over for a bit and Carter was in the backyard playing with the water hose and various other amusing items. We watched as he very cleverly used a long pipe to reach through the fence and get a bbq spatula. He kept looking towards the window to see if we were watching and we had to duck down. Grammy was leaving and went to tell him goodbye. Their conversation went something like this:
Grammy: Carter, mommy and daddy saw you get that spatula so be careful. I don’t want you to get in trouble.
Carter: Is there something we can use to cover the window so they can’t see me?
That kid.
On the road once more
Posted: July 24, 2008 at 2:32 pm
We are taking our first trip as a family of five. Drivining for about 2 1/2 hours to visit with friends and pay our respects to a wonderful man who touched my heart throughout my childhood. He was a father figure and I can remember him picking me up to be his “helper” at a church Day CAmp when I was too young to be a counselor and too old to be a camper. He was the kindest man I’ve ever known.
I can see him, with his rosy red cheeks and big smile, sitting at the feet of Jesus and hanging on every word.
I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time – though I wish it were under different circumstances.
And I have to tell you, traveling with a family of five is quite an adventure. First off, who REALLY wants FIVE extra people sleeping in their house? Especially when 3 of those 5 are under the age of 5. 
So finding a place to stay if you don’t want to get a hotel room is challenging. Luckily, I have a great friend who still has young children who is taking us in for the night. Carter will get to spend the night with my sister and his favorite cousin – which he is VERY excited about. I think he is most excited to get them all to himself.
It’s going to be a long ride – it already is. We’ve been driving for an hour and although Carter and Gracey are watching the DVD player, Carter feels it necessary to act as commentator for us since we can’t see the screen. It’s not annoying at all. Really.
Sigh.
Pause, Please
Posted: July 19, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Well, I guess we spend a little too much time watching tv and when we need Carter to get dressed or whatever, we’ll pause the tv for him. Sometimes he’ll say things like, “pause! I need to go pee!”
Just a few minutes ago, as he and Daddyo were working on a model car, he said, “oooh! I have to go poo…. wait! wait! Pause please!”
LOL
In other news, Mathew smiled a real smile for the first time the day he turned 4 weeks old. Two nights ago, he slept for SIX hours straight at night. Woo Hoo. He is now just 5 weeks old.
I’m going to write a sleep post later because those of you who know me know that I am the sleep nazi. I believe it is soooo important for babies and kids and I believe most kids don’t get nearly the sleep they need. In fact, I attribute the fact that I’ve never had a problem with tantrums or too much whining to the fact that my kids get good, quality sleep.
Now, just because I said that out loud, I’m sure Gracey will start throwing major tantrums.
tags: Carter, Mathew 3 comments
Protected: Professional Photos
Posted: July 8, 2008 at 11:55 pm
tags: Carter, Gracey, Mathew, Photos 6 comments
3 days?
Tags: Adoption
Posted: July 2, 2008 at 4:42 am
Has it really been three days since the last post? I guess the excitement has worn off and the exhaustion has set in. It’s a good kind of exhaustion, though. Mathew is growing way too fast and I just want to cuddle him on my chest and savor every minute. Carter and Gracey are still loving their baby brother but have lost interest, for the most part, in feeding, etc….
Gracey has displayed only a small amount of jealousy. Granny was over the other day and I was holding Mathew. Granny walked over to my chair and was going to take him from me when Gracey ran in between us, grabbed on to her legs and said, “MY GRANNY!” ha ha ha Needless to say, Granny did not hold baby Mathew at that point.
Carter continues to entertain us with his latest interest in dressing up. I got some cute pictures of him in some of Gracey’ dresses, spinning, trying to make them fly up. We went to Sears this afternoon and I guess I’m just going to have to post the picture for you. It was too funny. We got quite a few looks. I know there are lots of mothers out there who wouldn’t dream of letting their kids leave the house looking the way Carter sometimes looks, but I think it’s great! I admit it may be more difficult for me to allow that when it comes to Gracey. But I’m going to try.
I talked to the caseworker today and she explained the process to me a bit more. The test that bparents will have to take the morning of each visit will likely not be finished, or shall we say “graded”, before the actual visit. So, this week at least, they will get their visit and it will be closely monitored. If their tests come back with unfavorable results, they will not get the next visit. In addition to this, they will also have regular (but random) tests. Daddy is taking off of work on Thursday to travel with me to the visit – it is about 3 hours away from our house so it is quite the trek. But Mathew is definitely worth it.
One thing I have not yet done is get pictures made with all the kids. I’m trying to wait for a time when daddyo can be there, too, so we can go ahead and get a whole family picture but I don’t know how long that may take. Between middle of the night feedings and Carter and Gracey occasionally waking up, it’s just too tuff to plan. The sleep deprivation is catching up with me – I think I forgot what a toll it can take on your body. We’ve been running the roads and haven’t slowed down at all and I’m thinking now may be a good time to slow down a bit. Besides, I have to get some work done and catch up on a few things aound here!
I still love being a mom of three and I still don’t think it is harder than having Carter and Gracey at the same time. I feel good. I love being a mom and other than buckling and unbuckling everyone, it isn’t all that hard to go places, either.
I’ll try to update more. Be praying about the visit, please. And now here’s Pirate Carter, dressed and ready to go to Sears.
tags: Adoption, Carter, Photos 3 comments
Carter Dresses Himself
Posted: June 28, 2008 at 3:41 pm
here are some funny pictures of Carter getting himself ready for special occasions:
Getting dressed for bed:
The underwear is to “help him breathe and keep the stink out”.. not sure how that works, especially since I don’t know if those were clean or dirty! Eeeew!
He really wanted to wear his Batman Cape to Music Camp that day. He picked out his clothes and tried so hard to be sneaky:
Getting ready to out and mow the grass with daddy. did it all himself:
Getting ready to go out and use the blower with daddy:
