August: A Wild Month!

August was a fun month for us!  I titled it a "wild" month because we were busy, and several of our activities seemed to center around wild animals-other than the ones living in our house :)  We made THREE trips to the Knoxville Zoo this month.  First, we went with our friends, the Whites.  Josh, Cassandra, and their boys Henry and Thomas drove over for a day and met us at the zoo!  It was fun taking the kids through to see the animals together and fun visiting with our friends too!  We always have a great time with them, and it's just like old times.  Four days after we went with the Whites, our meetup group went so we went again!  The group that went was a lot of fun, and there were two other 3 year old boys then Dawson, of course, a 4 year old girl, and then three-including Carter-boys under 6 months!  Then three days later we went back to the zoo for a special event:  Touch a Truck!  They had brought some heavy equipment, ambulances, fire trucks, etc. to the zoo.  We spent a little while seeing the animals, but spent the majority of this trip checking out all the equipment-this was the perfect event for Dawson since he loves this stuff! 

Also, to add to the wild animal theme :) this month we went to a drive thru safari.  We did one in Alabama and loved it so we wanted to try one here!  We visited Circle C Ranch (there's another one here too we plan to check out soon!).  It was great!  We drove through a 3 mile safari, fed the animals, and even were allowed to pet them at this safari!  The zebras were all at the beginning of the safari and wouldn't leave us alone because they wanted more and more food.  In addition to the zebras, Dawson also liked the alpacas, antelope, and rheas the best!  There were numerous times when the animals would just not leave us alone and we had to roll all our windows up to make them back off and stay out of our car for a minute.  Dawson got to ride on my lap in the front while John drove (and Carter slept in the backseat).  Dawson LOVED the drive thru safari, and he is still talking about it.  After driving through, we went to the petting zoo there where we touched lots of llamas, camels, goats, sheep, donkeys, and, Dawson's favorite-a rooster!  Carter woke up for the petting zoo, so I took him in the petting zoo in his Moby wrap.  He loved hearing all the animal noises and looked around the whole time flailing his arms and legs he was so excited!

Also in August, Dawson and Carter have had several playdate at our house and going to some friends houses which are always fun!  We also went to Tumblebears Gym to play one morning and get some energy out.  Dawson has now mastered holding on to the rope and swinging, and he spent most of his time doing this and walking across the balance beams very easily-he seems to have great balance on there.  Carter loved being held and looking all around Tumblebears-it was loud in there with other kids and this kept him entertained! 

To keep us entertained on days we are home most of the day, we have continued doing "activities."  Dawson loves these little things I plan for us to do, and sometimes they are so simple, but he is happy!  Some of his favorites this month have been dripping colored vinegar into baking soda, making the solid/liquid cornstarch experiment, and making our own bathtub crayons.  We usually do these when Carter is napping, so that Dawson has my undivided attention-and I think this makes the little activities even more special to Dawson this way. 

Dawson has been one lucky boy this month in getting to go play golf with his Daddy two times!  John has been using his golf lessons that we gave him for Father's Day, and he is supposed to practice between lessons so he has been playing a lot of golf!  Dawson has gotten to go along a couple times, and LOVES it!  He thinks it's such a special treat and that he is such a big boy.

A couple of weeks ago we drove up to Townsend and had a picnic dinner.  The treat of this outing for Dawson was getting to swim in the river and go across the swinging bridge.  We stuck Carter's toes in the water, but it was a little cool and he wasn't thrilled.  So we took turns holding him while the other got in the water with Dawson. 

My big sis, Lauren, came in town a couple of weeks ago, and I was so glad that we got to have dinner together!  I took Carter with me, and he got to meet Lauren!  It was great catching up with her!

Dawson has gotten to spend a couple nights with his Lolly and Pop this month, and he loves this.  It is also nice for me to catch up on sleep for one morning since Carter usually sleeps later than Dawson I get to sleep until Carter wakes up!!  Dawson always loves going to their house and always comes home with stories!

August was also a month for baby girls!  Our friends the LuAllens had their baby girl a couple weeks ago, and we got to visit them and meet her last weekend!  She is an adorable little Sigma Kappa legacy!  :)  Then our friends the Gibsons had their baby girl this week, and John and I got to go meet her at the hospital this week!  She is precious too!  It's hard for me to look at both of these sweet newborns and realize how much Carter has already grown and changed in just four short months!  Its hard to believe how much happens and how much they grow in those first 4 months!  I'm excited for Carter though because this means there are going to be kids around his age to play with...for when they will actually start interacting a little more.

In addition to keeping up with Dawson and Carter, I have stayed busy this month with a few craft projects, canvases for Dawson's wall, and making homemade laundry detergent for the first time!  John has now had three golf lessons, gotten to play golf several times, and completed the second course toward receiving his masters!!  John and I enjoyed a date in the middle of the month where we went to see a movie together, leaving both boys with my parents!  It was nice to have a date and talk uninterrupted (what's that?!) even if the main thing we talk about are our sweet boys!!

September is already looking to be a busy month with lots of fun things planned! 

Enjoy the August pictures below...

(I could not get them in the correct order, so please excuse the sequence.)

 

 

 

 

Dawson and his new friend Jay standing

on the "elephants feet" at the zoo.

Dawson riding a lion.

One of our activities was dropping

colored vinegar into baking soda

with a dropper and watching it fizz.

Dawson loved this experiment, and said he

was being a scientist.

Dawson climbing out of an ambulance

at the Touch a Truck event.

The Gibbons at the zoo are now

some of our favorites!  This little

guy was hilarious!  He came right up

to the glass and watched Dawson's

every move.

Dawson leaned closer, and the

Gibbon put his forehead against

the glass too!  Dawson thought this

was great!

Dawson in the children's hospital

pediatric ambulance at Touch a Truck.

Daddy and Dawson at Touch a Truck.

Carter was a happy boy at the zoo!

Dawson in front of the scoop!

Construction workin' Daddy!

Driving the army vehicle.

Carter with his construction hat

I brought for him to wear to

Touch a Truck.

This was Dawson's favorite piece of equipment!

It was HUGE!

Practicing golf with Daddy!

The last day of August was the first

Tennessee game of the season.

Go Vols!

I love how Carter looks like he has football

pads on or something in this picture!

Haha!

When trying to take pictures of them in the

jerseys I got some funny expressions, so

I had to include a couple different pictures

of them!

And this is classic...

Dawson's "cheese" face he is

currently doing for almost every

picture!  haha, and Carter looks

slightly concerned!

Love these sweet boys!

One day early in the month

it rained A TON in a short amount

of time.  Dawson begged to put

on his rain boots and go stomp puddles.

I gave in, and he had fun playing!

(really out of order, sorry!)

Dawson the owl and Henry

at the Zoo!

Action shot!  Dawson is mid-air

about to land in this puddle!

Kicking puddles, another action shot!

Dawson was thrilled that the rain

storm blew this football out of the

tree that someone got it stuck

in at the beginning of summer!

He had so much fun running around

in the rain with this football, it was

sweet to see how something so little

is such a big deal to him!

Dawson driving Henry in the safari

jeep at the zoo!

Daddy and Dawson at the zoo!

The babies sleeping at the zoo!

(Don't worry, I just took the sun shades

down for the picture!)

John and Josh at the zoo.

(disappointed that I didn't get a single picture

of me and Cassandra together!)

As we were leaving the zoo this lion

gave Dawson a hug.  He still LOVES

characters dressed up, and he had to

pry him away from this lion!

The solid/liquid cornstarch experiment

was one of his favorites this month!

If you mix water and cornstarch it is

a liquid, but if you hit it it is a solid under

the pressure.  Dawson had fun testing this

out.  We added color just to make it fun!

(that dino canvas in the background

was one thing I was working on-and have now

finished for Dawson's room, and it obviously

normally doesn't stay in the kitchen, hah)

Making bathtub crayons!

(doesn't really like to get his hands

dirty!)

(again, out of order!)

Daddy and Dawson on the swinging bridge

in Townsend.

Dawson and Mommy in the river.

The finished product-bathtub crayons!

(It may look like I make him do

all the activities without a shirt,

but we had a couple this month I was worried

might stain, so we were just careful!)  :)

Love his face here!!

 

Me and Carter on the picnic in Townsend.

He is trying to grab the camera!

Dawson in the river.

He loved it!

Lauren meeting Carter!

Zebra in our Jeep!

Zebra harassing our driver! :)

Drive thru safari!

Another favorite this month

has been playing with his easel from

Lolly and Pop.  One side is a magnet board,

and they made this side a felt board! I've made

some felt board pieces to go along with some

of his favorite books, and he LOVES this!!

Drive thru safari!

Drive thru safari.

Drive thru safari.

Drive thru safari.

Drive thru safari.

About to visit some animals in the

petting zoo at the drive thru safari!

Carter enjoying the petting zoo

from his Moby!

Petting a bunny!

Another activity.  We were growing a

stalactite rock on the string between

the glasses!  This was the beginning stage,

however, due to someone doing a lot of jumping

(ahem, Dawson) the rock that was forming

fell a couple of days later and broke.  We are planning

to do it again and place it somewhere that it will be safe

for the amount of time it takes for the rock to form.

Dawson was really interested in this one too!

Carter loves playing with his zebra

especially in his carseat!

Dawson and Daddy about to touch the

rooster at the petting zoo!

Dawson touching a bears claw

at the zoo!

Carter's 4 Month Update

On Monday our baby turned FOUR months old!  His four month check up isn't until next week, so I'll update with his stats then.  This past month Carter has become SO chatty!  Dawson calls this "doing baby talk."  Carter is so loud and makes such high pitched "baby talk."  He talks A LOT!  We think it's to attempt to compete with his older brother!  :)  Carter also LOVES to laugh!  He laughs all the time, and we just love his sweet, happy laugh!
Unfortunately, days after I did his 3 month update and talked about how wonderful it was that he was sleeping a 5 hour stretch at night this ended and for over three weeks he ate every 1-2 hours around the clock.  We thought he was getting ready to need something to make him feel more full-rice cereal-like Dawson did at this age, but I was determined to wait until Carter turned 4 months old before giving it to him.  The suggested age to start cereal is 6 months, but Dawson was starving at 4 so the doctor said to go ahead and give it to him.  I felt like we had to wait until 4 months with Carter, but after over three weeks of getting about 4 hours of sleep a day, I could no longer function and so on August 9th we gave Carter rice cereal for the first time!  So now Carter eats 2oz of milk mixed with a couple scoops of rice cereal in the evening, and he's back to sleeping a 5 hour stretch at night!  YAY for sanity cereal!  I feel like a person again!  He's doing well with the cereal and learning to open his mouth for the spoon.  He gets a little frustrated that I have to take time to put each bite on the spoon before it goes in his mouth, but after just a few days he's getting even more patient with this.  I love seeing him sitting his his high chair eating his rice cereal because I have such happy memories of Dawson sitting in the high chair trying all kinds of foods for the first time-and loving most all of them!  I can't believe we'll be starting to make baby food again in just 2 short months, although Carter is very content with the cereal for now!
This month Carter has started loving his exersaucer even more now that he can hold himself up a little better.  He also loves sitting in his Bumbo and looking around.  His very favorite person to watch is his big brother!  When Carter watches Dawson playing rowdy, Carter gets wild and starts flailing his arms and kicking his legs being rowdy too...so cute!  One day I know the two of them can wear each other out running and playing rowdy!
Carter is a professional roller now and rolls over all the time and quickly too!  He has also started doing laps around his crib at night.  We put him in and he moves so much even during his sleep that you never know which end of the crib he will be on or which way he will be turned when you go in to get him! 
Carter continues to be a really good baby.  Even the three weeks where he was eating all the time he was still happy-just hungry!  He rarely gets worked up and rarely cries.  We love our sweet Carter Wade so much and already couldn't imagine our lives without him in it!
Now on to the good part...

Carter 4 months and Dawson 3 years 3 months.

My sweet, sweet boys!

Carter's 4 Month Picture!

Little baby big chair!

Precious Carter.

Other than smiling, this is Carter's

most frequently made expression.

Usually he makes this face when

watching his brother-which he is

doing here.  (Dawson was hopping

around the room on one foot!)

Smiles!

Who me?!

Carter 4 months!

He has his hands in his mouth

constantly!

Carter's very first bite of rice cereal!

Haha!

And his second bite!  He liked it better

after he figured out that it was food!

You can see we had to wedge him in the

high chair between two blankets so he wouldn't

lean to the side too much!

July Part 2

After our Alabama trip in mid-July, we did a little more traveling the following weekend when we went to Asheville, North Carolina for the day to attend Henry's (adorable son of our friends Josh and Cassandra) second birthday party!  Unfortunately it was John's weekend to work so he didn't get to come along, but my mom rode along with me to entertain the backseat boys and went to the mall during the party.  Everything at the party was army themed, and tied together...everyone knows I love a good themed party!  :)  Dawson had fun running around, playing army men, wearing his army hat, and drinking from his canteen...AND doing the slip and slide about 4 times before it started thundering!  Carter enjoyed being passed around and was perfectly content.  It was great to see the Whites!  For the ride back, I was so glad that my mom came along since it poured down rain, there was a wreck that backed up traffic, and Dawson and Carter were both crying (not the whole way...everything just happened at once).  I'm not sure that Lolly will ever offer to go anywhere with us again, haha! (disclaimer-this makes my boys seem like they were bad, but in reality they were both just extremely tired and ready to be home and the "bad part" lasted only a short time of the total time in the car!).
Dawson, Carter, and I invited Lolly to come to the zoo with us one Tuesday, and we had a fun day seeing the animals and playing in the indoor (and air conditioned) mini-children's museum while we were there too!
I have been meaning to include this in previous posts but keep forgetting, about two months ago, John began taking classes to get his MBA.  He's doing great, and he has already completed the first class receiving an A.  Now he has almost finished the second class!  He is also continuing to stay very busy with work, and has managed to squeeze in a few rounds of golf and taking the first of 5 golf lessons that we got him for Father's Day!
Speaking of golf, one of those rounds he managed to squeeze in was special because he and Grandad took Dawson to the golf course for the first time!  Dawson thought it was so special, and I am told, he was such a good little golf buddy.  He talked about it everyday for at least the next week!  So, it's a good excuse for John to go golfing again soon since Dawson wants too!  :)  PS-I don't mind at all because I took my child who cannot yet object to the one store Dawson cannot stand-Hobby Lobby!  So really it was a win-win!
We have also had lots of playdates in the second part of July.  Dawson loved having Charlie over to play and both boys riding John Deeres around the backyard.  Dawson was especially excited because Charlie agreed to be a passenger in the Gator...which Dawson has been wanting to have someone to ride with him!  One of Dawson's favorites was getting to go swim with his friend Charlie in their neighborhood pool!  He still talks about swimming in "Charlie's pool."
Another fun playdate we did was at Safety City in Knoxville.  In June and July they open two days a week to the public and kids can ride bikes, scooters, or battery operated vehicles around this mini-Knoxville.  (During the school year, they are not open to the public-unfortunately-as they have school groups come.)  Dawson, of course, took his John Deere tractor and rode it all around Safety City while I (with Carter in the Moby wrap) tried to keep up with Dawson.  His friends Jay and Wesley were there too!  This was such a cool place with miniature buildings, stop lights, railroad crossing, etc.  We will be going back next summer for sure.  I only wish I had known about it earlier to take advantage of it all summer long!
Dawson also got to spend the night with Nana and Grandad.  He came home talking about all the fun he had playing with playdough and "getting out all those toys!"  So I know he had a fun time!
Carter has been really enjoying spending time in his exersaucer and his Bumbo seat lately, and he has gotten so strong that he can do it for long periods of time now!  I'm so impressed with how well he can do both.  In the Bumbo he doesn't get tired and lean to the side anymore after only 5 minutes.  In the exersaucer he has figured out how to straighten his legs and make himself do little "jumps" in it to move around a little more.  I think he's happy in the playroom now with more options of things to do other than just lay and be held. 
We've also had the inflatable pool out in our backyard a couple of times which Dawson loves!  I found a Cars themed slip-n-slide at Target and got it for Dawson.  He loves it, but it makes John and I laugh because sometimes he will run down the whole thing forgetting to drop and slide!  Haha!  His favorite thing to do is lay down on it at the beginning and pull himself slowly on his tummy down the entire thing to the end. 
In order to not spend every waking moment outside in the heat and mosquitoes I've been coming up with a few new things for Dawson to do that I call his "activity" for the day.  He loves this and talks about "my activities."  We've put pipe cleaners in a colander which I read builds fine motor skills.  He was awesome at this and did it quickly, but was still willing to be entertained by this for at least 45 minutes the first time after I showed him how we could keep taking them back out and making it look different.  We've also done "rubber band boards" (I'm not exactly sure what these are really called) to make lines and shapes which also builds fine motor skills, and he loves this too.  Another activity he LOVES which I didn't expect him to enjoy quiet as much is looking for letters in magazines, having me cut them out, and him gluing them on a paper.  This was our activity one day to find all the "D"'s and he surprised me by finding D's even in long paragraphs not just bold, big font titles and ads.  The next day he asked what letter we were going to look for, so we did what he always calls "Carter's letter C."  And we've also done A.  I haven't gotten a picture of this yet, but I will have to because he enjoys it SO much!  I was really surprised, but he will sit with me on the floor in the playroom for a long time looking at each page until he finds the letter we're looking for. 
And now onto the most interesting part-the pictures!

Dawson and Charlie swimming!

Dawson cooling off in the pool!

Dawson doing his pipe cleaner activity

while Carter watches from the exersaucer.

Dawson was proud the first time

he got all the pipe cleaners in the

colander!  He asked me to take a

picture of him with "my funny thing I made!"

Dawson on the slip-n-slide!

Slip-n-slide fun in our backyard!

Slip-n-slide action shot!

Dawson doing his rubber band board

activity.  This was when he first

started and was just making lines

out of the rubber bands on the boards, but

later he figured out how to stretch one side

to make them into shapes.

Carter chilling beside us while

we did the rubber band activity board.

He doesn't mind being on his tummy

now that he can roll over when he wants, and

he can hold his head up so well.

Dawson and his Lolly brushing

goats in the petting zoo.

Dawson got to go on the carousel TWO times

when Lolly came to the zoo with us, and he

loved it!  Lolly rode with him, and I stayed with

Carter.

Dawson making his own zoo in the kids

museum area of the Knoxville Zoo.

Dawson and Charlie riding John Deeres

in our backyard.

Dawson was thrilled to finally have a

passenger!  Charlie held on with both

hands the entire time..smart decision!

Two cute, blonde boys!

Dawson wearing his camo hat

at Henry's Army-themed 2nd

birthday party.

During a visit to their great Mamaw's

house, I snapped a picture of the boys

with Mamaw.  Dawson had fun, despite

the look on his face!  :)  He's in a stage

where whenever I take a picture he

gives me a cheesy grin or makes this

wide-eyed face...maybe candid shots are

a better option right now!  :)

Dawson has also been really into

board games lately.  He loves this

Curious George game.  We've been

playing a lot of Don't Break the Ice

and Don't Spill the Beans too!

One evening when Dawson got out

of the bathtub, he wrapped this towel

around himself and ran into the living

room to show me...he said, "Look,

it's a Moby wrap!"  I just thought it

was too funny, since he loves to

pretend he's wearing a Moby

to carry a baby in!  He's been really interested

in the Moby and wanted in it one day.  It is supposed

to go up to 35 pounds, which is exactly what he weighs.

I put him in it, and he hasn't asked again!  His legs are so

long and he's so tall that it looked hilarious!

My sweet Carter tucked in his crib

for the night.  Just thought he looked so sweet!

Safety City!  Look at all the mini

buildings, lights, and the road!

Cute!

Safety City

Obeying the driving rules.

Driving by Alcoa.

Safety City.

Mine and Carter's reflection

in one of the buildings.  We were

sweating to death in the Moby

at Safety City, but we still had fun!

More of Safety City...Tennessee

Theater and the Knoxville News

Sentinel Building.

Mini-Sun Sphere!  Too cool!

Milestone: Carter's First Time at Church

Carter attended church for the first time while we were in Alabama.  Since we haven't found a church in Tennessee yet, we had not been visiting since Carter was born-although now that he's a little older we're going to start visiting again.  SO while we were in Alabama, we knew we had to go back to our wonderful church there.  We love Asbury UMC where we went the entire time we lived in Huntsville, and Dawson obviously felt the same way about it because when we pulled in the parking lot he said, "We're going to THIS church!!! I'm excited!"  Dawson was thrilled to be back there, and so it was kind of special that Carter's first "church experience" was there too!
We kept him with us the entire time and didn't do nursery because I knew he would be happy and quiet, and sure enough, he was.  He even took a nap the exact length of Sunday School in my arms which I, of course, loved!
Since we were out of town, I didn't get a good picture of Carter in his first church outfit, so we had to do a little photo shoot when we got home so he would have pictures like his big brother.  Speaking of big brother, the boys coordinated...Carter wore a blue seersucker outfit with boat shoes and Dawson wore a blue seersucker bow tie (made by his Mommy!) and boat shoes. 
On to the pictures...

Milestones: Ready to Roll & Party in my Crib

I am a little behind in posting these, but better late than never....
Ready to Roll
On Monday, July 16, at 3 months and 3 days old Carter rolled over for the first time!  We were all in the playroom and got to witness it.  He rolled from his tummy to back.  John, Dawson, and I all cheered for him, and Dawson ran over and said, "Good job rolling over and doing that, Carter!"  Now every time we lay Carter down he rolls over.  (Just for fun...Dawson rolled over at 3 months 5 days, so Carter managed to beat his big bro's record by 2 days!)
Party in my Crib
To backtrack a little, on Sunday night July 15th, John insisted that Carter was ready to be moved to his crib from the bassinet in our bedroom.  While I knew Carter was ready, I wasn't quiet ready to move him, but since John and I had had this conversation every day for a couple of weeks AND since our bassinet says that it is not for use after a child reaches 3 months AND since Carter didn't have much room in the bassinet anymore, I decided to agree.  SO, July 15th Carter spent his first night in his crib in his room and did GREAT!  AND, it's a good thing we moved him to the crib since the next day he rolled over which is a no-no in the bassinet since-according to the warning-children who can roll over should not be in the bassinet.  Now we have our two baby monitors side by side so we can hear both of our sleeping boys in their own rooms! 

Carter in his "ready to roll" shirt

after rolling over for the first time!

Look at that sweet smile!

Carter sleeping like a big boy in

his crib.  Dawson wanted to

hop in with him for a minute!

Sweet brothers in their pjs!

Carter his last time sleeping in his bassinet.

There's not much room left around him!