Worn out!!!!!

A little too much fun with MiMaw and Poppie!

Enjoying Some Sunshine @ the Park

I'm not sure if he liked the magic trick of his foot disapearing in the sand!

yay, swings! 

A little mommy love (I know all the secret silly spots!) 

learning how to operate heavy machinery 

Poppie, seriously, it doesn't have an engine, it's pink and purple- and it has streamers!!! GET ME OFF THIS SISSY BIKE! 

poppie determined to have him walking by the end of their visit...and he almost did! 

weekend update

Well the Carter house is full again:) Jeff is off on his final week of training in Florida and my parents have flown down for a nice little spring break. Having them here makes it so much easier for Olivia to handle daddy's brief absence. We hung out yesterday and had a little easter celebration (olivia's favorite part) and then went out to eat at her favorite place- Buffalo Wild Wings...I swear that child can eat more chicken wings than I can!!!
Today we went and had our second attempt at getting a spring/6mo/bunnies photo taken by a new photographer. And this time things went VERY well. Deagan had one minor head bump incident, but that didn't last long and we had him laughing again. We ended up with some really cute pictures:) They'll be in next week and I can't wait to share them!
This afternoon we went to the humane society's fundraiser puppy parade/ outdoor family fun event. Olivia had a great time munching on hot dogs and slushies, and then jumping on the big spacewalks. Maverick got to join in the fun too, even being walked by miss olivia herself. (she was so proud to have him on his leash all by herself!).
It's getting really hot down here and we're all itching for the summer to come, but the humidity can stay away.

He Speaks!

Tonight we were on the way to the gym and Deagan was babbling as usual in his carseat. We all play games where we make sounds and see if he can imitate them (like ahhh and ooo), usually he does pretty well. Tonight though, he brought out the big guns- all on his own. It was quiet and he yelled "Ba Ba Bahhhhhhhhhhhh!" At first I thought he said Momma, but not quite. I made him repeat it a gazillion times:)
Then tonight when he was getting his jammies on Olivia was singing "La La Lu" (thanks Angie for putting that video on your blog and refreshing Olivia's mind of that song:) So Deagan copies her and belts out "La La La!"
It's so fascinating to be a parent right now. He's at the stage where he's changing each and every day- dramatic little changes. And I'm so lucky to be a part of it and see everything!

Did I mention he can stand now?

His kneel ended with his first successful pull up into a stand. He was so excited that he actually let go, fell back and bashed his head on the dinosaur...but it didn't phase him:)

He's the master of pulling up too, here he got on his knees to reach a toy 

The Evolution of a Crawl by Deagan Carter

Long ago (last week) he was doing what we like to call the "Inchworm." Where he would lay on his tummy, dig his head into the ground while sticking his butt up in the air, and pushing off with his feet- only moving maybe an inch at a time.
This weekend he started flopping forward from a sitting position onto his belly while trying to reach for things. I was playing with him in his room when it just seemed to click- and of course I had the camera. So scroll down and you can see the steps in which he is learning to crawl.
It all starts with a sit, then a belly flop, then a reach (just to be sure moving is in order). Then he goes into a full on push-up! It's quite the site to see:) Then he'll quickly tuck his knees under his belly and like magic he's in the crawling position.
Now if he could just learn to go forward, not backwards! He hasn't quite figured out the whole alternate your knee movements yet. But he's evolved each and every day. Even today at playgroup he scooted all the way across the floor and can now go from belly back to sitting.
He's on the move and there's no stopping him now;)

There you go with that camera again momma, but I just can't seem to get him to smile...hmm 

step 1- sit

The classic sitting start position, he's got his eye on the target...

step 2- sitting reach

The see if I can reach it while still sitting pose

step 3- belly flop

Rrrrrreach for it....

step 4- push up

Drop and give me 20!

final step- tuck knees and smile

Woo-hoo, I got my knees under my belly and I'm ready to go places!

LOST

Are you watching LOST? If so, how great was tonight's episode!!!! And what the heck is that glow in the dark map on the wall? I wish I had TiVo!!!!! I guess it will add another dimension to the show and give them something else to do. But how will they get that wall down again? And will Lock even tell them about it? And how did that guy (I knew he was an 'other') stop the thing from doing it's thing once the time ran out? CRAZY! But I'm addicted. Oh yeah, and it's convenient that someone dropped them a big batch of food...but that also means that the whole Dharma thing actually exists and is still going on. Someone knows there are people on the island. But did they drop it for someone else? As usual, what would LOST be without all these questions to keep us coming back for more:) There are two shows I can't miss- LOST and Grey's Anatomy! And if you don't watch them, then reading this you must think I'm a crazy woman.

Happy Birthday Brother!

Happy 26th Birthday Nick!!!!!! I can't believe it was so long ago that I lost you. It seems like just yesterday we were talking about moving to California and my crazy adventures in Australia. I still see you everywhere, in the airport, the mall, on your bike...are these signs or just coincidences? Regardless it still takes my breath away every time! I see you in my baby's eyes and in her devilish smile, where else would she have gotten it from;) I love it! I love the memories we share and the secrets we have. You gave me the happiest childhood any girl could ask for! I still have dreams like you're still here, tickling Olivia and tossing Deagan up in the air expelling tons of giggles. I wish they could meet you! I wish they could feel your free spirit. I still wake up all the time wondering if it was real and if you're really gone. And then I wish I could fall back asleep and go back to when life was so simple. But if there's one thing I learned from you it's to live life to the fullest and do what you love, take chances, and don't worry too much about what everyone else thinks! I love you man. I know you're here and I know you're rocking out in heaven today!!!!!!!