11/04/2005
So, I realized that Andy and I have been short on updates to Carter's page, at least comments-wise. So much has changed since I last updated this page. Carter's now a very energetic two-year old. Some days are terrible two's days, but most are normal. Despite being dog tired from the new pregnancy, I do my best to go out some where in the morning, be it an art class at Gymboree, playing at the mall, or just running a few errands around town. He seems to get restless here at home and just looks for things he's not suppose to do or get into. Naps (and sleeping in general) as gotten a bit more complicated since we moved him into a toddler bed last weekend. He usually ends up waking up at 5am, but we've put a gate on his door so all he can do is fall back alseep or play in his room until 7am when we wake up. Carter seems to like the new bed although we did see a crib in a store the other day, and he asked to go in it. The next monster to conquer is potty training. He seems super eager to go on the toilet, maybe he's just too young to actaully master his bladder. I'm not worried about it. It's up to him. I just wish he'd stop taking off his diapers. We've resorted to duct tape at bedtimes to contain any messes. And of course, Carter continues to amaze us with his little brain. He's talking in sentences and can also hold a full-on conversation. Best of all, he can now understand what you're asking him to do. And boy do I praise him when he actaully does it since Carter doesn't always like following directions. What two-year old does though? The last amazing feat that my son can do is sing his abc's, which is just about the cutest thing ever!
posted by Dawnna

06/12/2005
New pictures for your picture viewing pleasure.
posted by Andy

02/24/2005
There's new pictures up!
posted by Dawnna

02/21/2005
So, I've finally uploaded some "new" photos. Most are from before Christmas though. Sorry. He has me busy enough without worrying about his webpage.

So far as the boy is concerned, he's great. I swear he learns two or three new words a day. He also likes inventing this own though. He hasn't really grown much lately. I guess that its time for his little brain to grow right now. He's smart already though. I can't imagine how I'll keep his little mind busy for the next ten years or so. That's probably why I've got super-smart Andy here to help.

Well, now that I'm on a roll, I should have newer photos up soon. And I'll snap a few really recent ones too.
posted by Dawnna

12/12/2004
Carter had his fifteen month check-up on Wednesday. Everything's great. His stats are: 25 lbs. and 32 inches, the 50th and 75th percentile respectivly. Life has certainly gotten a lot more interesting now that he can walk and reach almost anything not three and a half feet from the ground. What's amazing lately is his speech development. He's "talking" more in his own little language, and he'll point out every truck and car when we're driving, saying "truck" or "car." There's more pictures coming soon too; I just have to annotate them and post them.
posted by Dawnna

10/29/2004
New pics are up!
posted by Andy

07/17/2004
So, here's a funny story. Tonight I gave Carter a handful of Cheerios as a treat for finishing all of his dinner. He picks at them, happily eating two or three at a time. Then I catch him bending over his highchair tray and lapping up the breakfast cereal like a dog. It looked something like this.
posted by Dawnna

07/13/2004
The new photos are up!
posted by Dawnna

07/11/2004
Since Rob is smokin' us on updates, here's what's up with C-Dawg. We had a dr.appt. Tuesday, and Carter now weighs in at 21 lbs. and measures 30 inches, putting him in the 50 and 80 percentile respectively. If he keeps up with the height stats and continues to exhibit the ball handling skills he already has, our little boy is heading to the NBA. Throwing and then getting a ball is one of his favorite games to play. He'll totally go through the whole house playing this game. Maybe that makes him a shoe-in for golf. I don't know. As long as he plays some sport would probably make Uncle Jeff proud :-).

Carter's also getting all of his top four teeth in right now. The only way for us to see them though requires us to turn him upside down and hope to get him to either laugh or cry. Then his mouth will open far enough for us to see in. Who knows when he'll walk. He's learned how to crawl properly, ie not the combat crawl he used for a while. And Carter can definitely pull himself up to just about anything. He is still hesitant to cruise for too long, and he hates it when you try to make him walk by holding up his arms and standing behind him. In fact, he usually just lifts up his feet and hangs there, waiting for you to carry him.

I promise to get up some new photos. I just thought I'd give everyone an update on the world's cutest baby!
posted by Dawnna

04/21/2004
There's some new photos up. I'm proud to report that Carter has finally got a tooth. It's still working it's way up, so no photos yet. We were starting to think that we'd have a tooth-less baby. Maybe now some of the drooling will subside. Carter's also learned how to clap. Well, more like he's learned to bring his right hand up to meet his left one. All the credit for this trick goes to my mom for the countless hours of Paddy-Cakes she's played with him. We've also started going to Gymboree every week. Carter's begining to really like it. He enjoys the other babies as well as the bubbles. He was literally shaking with excitement the other day when the teacher brought out the little wiffle-balls. Carter does start to tire of all the stimulation after a half hour or so. Good thing the classes are only 45 mintutes long!

I'm so happy being a mom. It is the absolute best job in the universe. I mean I haven't had every job or a real career before he was born, but nothing in the world makes me as happy and fulfilled as seeing that little man smile or accomplish something difficult or reach for me when he's in need.
posted by Dawnna

03/08/2004
Carter's six months old now. Among his newly acquired skills are: sitting up on his own (once we get him there), devouring any sort of baby food you put in his face (well, it takes a bit for him to warm to the veggies), rolling over (he goes from back to front and cries to be flipped over again), and high-fiving like no one's business (it took him all of a day to get this talent down). At his last doctor's appointment he weighed in at 18 lbs. and was 27 inches long. We decided to move him to a big boy car seat even though he could still be in his carrier. But you try lugging around a 18 lb. kid in the heaviest carrier on the market, and you'll streamline things too! We're still waiting for some teeth to pop up. He continues to have a extraordinarily huge amount of drool, and he'll bite anything that comes anywhere near his mouth.
There's some new photos up too.
posted by Dawnna

01/07/2004
We went to Carter's four month check-up today, and boy is our boy BIG. Carter now weighs in at 16 and 1/2 punds and measures 25 and 3/4 inches. That puts him around the 75th percentile. The Lillies sure do know how to grow 'em big!
In other news, Carter's weathered his first cold with flying colors, still sleeping through the night despite the stuffy nose. He's probably two weeks away from figuring out the rolling over thing and still working on the sitting alone. He had his first solid food today: rice cereal, which he promptly spit out. But he didn't cry or get impatient with me shoving more in there.
We should probably have more pictures up soon. I just have to learn how our scanner works, etc.
posted by Dawnna

12/24/2003
I've finally made some minor updates to the page, including a link to Carter's birth story (as told by Dawnna), and a new header image/title.
I've also updated the backend a bit, so hopefully you should start seeing more updates more frequently.
posted by Andy

10/17/2003
We survived Carter's first six weeks and are settling into family life quite nicely. We don't have his official stats, but Carter's growing like a weed, gaining both weight and more notably length. He's starting to get a personality too, "talking" to us every once in a while and smiling when we coo back. He's awake a lot more now and becoming more to us than just the bundle in the bassinet. Overall, Carter's a great baby, really only crying when he's hungry or wet. (Boy can this kid pee!) Everyday is different though, and his care can get frustrating. These will no doubt be looked back upon as the "good ol' days."
posted by Dawnna

09/17/2003
Uploaded some more pictures. No fancy index page yet, sorry. (And, yes, I guess I still owe you that "something a bit more official").
posted by Andy

09/05/2003
Our little boy has finally arrived! I'll post something a bit more official later (after I've gotten some sleep and such). For now, there's a blurb on Big Dis and a few pictures.
posted by Andy

07/18/2003
Gosh, I guess I've been pretty delinquent in updating. Sorry about that. We haven't really had any new media to share, so it's slipped my mind. Anyway, things are coming along nicely. The lil guy is still in there, doing fine, and getting bigger all the time. Dawnna is doing well for the most part, too, though she is getting a bit tired of getting kicked in the ribs and having her various internal organs pushed up to the top of her abdomen. I, however, get a real kick out of it when he starts getting all crazy since I can actually feel him moving around.
I'm starting to get pretty excited, and at the same time pretty nervous. Part of me is really anxious about the idea of being a father. And, despite the fact that everything I've read suggests this feeling is perfectly normal, it still makes me uncomfortable to not be 100% confident about the job.
Anyway, on a less down note, we've got some new ultrasounds in the ultrasounds gallery, and two pictures of the beautiful mom to be: one at 24 weeks and one at 26 weeks.
posted by Andy

04/21/2003
We went to the "big" ultrasound appointment today for them to check on development and such. Everything's going great from what they can tell, and the baby's right on target size wise. It was a bit nerve-racking since the woman performing the ultrasound didn't say anything through almost the entire 30 minutes of the session. Being a complete rookie at this, I had no way to tell if silence was good or bad. In this case at least, it turns out to be good.
Also, we finally got photographic evidence that "it" is, infact, "he". I'd kinda had a feeling it would be a boy, though I don't know why. Perhaps it has something to do with my brother having three boys.
posted by Andy

04/10/2003
Just got back from our most recent doctor's appointment. No new pictures this time. But, I did manage to get a recording of the baby's heartbeat, in your choice of MP3 or RealAudio. (Other formats available upon request.)
Beyond that, things remain pretty much the same as before. We've got the "big" ultrasound coming up in a week-and-a-half, though, so we should have some good new pics to post soon.
posted by Andy

03/28/2003
Yup, that's right. We're having a baby! Well, OK, Dawnna is having a baby. But, I helped! Or, so I'm told.
Anyway, the monster (as the often tired and occasionally morning-sick Dawnna has come to call it) is due on September 10th, 2003. There's not really much else to report at this time, but we've got several ultrasounds to look at if you're so inclined.
posted by Andy