Carter: 11 months

TODAY, this little boy is 11 months old.  My next update will be his BIRTHday.  And it wouldn't be the first time I've cried thinking about him growing up way too fast.  Both these little kiddos.  Gah, what am I going to do?  If I'm a mess now, boy, will I embarrass them when it comes time for events like the first day of kindergarten or any graduations, for that matter.

Back to this blue eyed, red haired angel baby of ours.  This little baby is really becoming a little boy.  He has opinions, preferences, and a personality of his own.

What's new
Carter loves to blow kisses, wave, play peek-a-boo (or cuckoo here) in the curtains, clap his hands, and push doors open and closed.  He's crawling faster going from one room to another.  He understands who "mama", "dada", and "Maddie" are and looks for them when you mention them.  He loves to pull things off shelves, empty out bins, baskets, and bags, take puzzles apart, and turn the pages of books.  He's enjoying walks in the stroller.

He still LOVES his mommy.   If I'm in sight, he'd like to be near me, pulling up on me, fed by me, held by me, even better with my full attention smiling and talking right at him.

Still grinding those teeth

He's not interested in the iPad or shows.  If Maddie is watching a show and laughs, he copies her and laughs.  In fact, they love to copy each other.  He's really ticklish and has the best belly laugh.  He likes to pull up on things to stand up or get up on his knees like the dishwasher.

Getting into Maddie's markers and crayons while she takes a nap.

He still only has 3 teeth-the 2 bottom and one front top tooth.  That second top tooth is driving me nuts.  It's been 3 weeks right there, the gum is red, and it's obviously bugging him.  He's never had a problem sitting in the car seat until recently.  He really wants to see me, hear me, or touch me, so a lot of times, I have to reach back and hold his hand or rub his cheek while we're driving home.

Sleep
Not much new here since last month...most nights he sleeps from 7pm-6am waking once or sometimes not at all.  His teeth have been bothering him a little, so every now and then he'll wake up twice.  He's up for the day between 6-6:30am.  He usually takes 2 naps a day, about an hour each, but it changes depending on our schedule.  If we're out in the morning, he usually just gets a cat nap or none at all.  I do make it a high priority to put them both down at the same time for an afternoon nap.  They usually go down between 1-2pm every day.  (Sanity, anyone?)

Eat
Not much new here either.  Lately, he's been eating: chunks of bread, yogurt, about 4 oz of whole milk a day, raisins, green peas, pureed carrot and apple sauce (favorite!), chunks of banana, chunks of cheese, baby oatmeal with fruit puree, sweet potato puree, other purees I've made like pears+quinoa, beets+blueberry+banana, rice cakes, saltine crackers, animal crackers, cut up grapes, scrambled eggs, he even ate up a piece of deli meat torn up a few days ago.

They say that girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice.  Well, I could strongly argue that.

Maddie at 11 months.

"I swimming, Mama! I swimming!"

I took the kids to an indoor community pool with friends about a week ago.  It was the first time Maddie was in water deeper than she could touch with her puddle jumper since last summer.  First off, I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of water parks or community pools.  A hotel pool or friend's pool doesn't bother me at all for some reason.  But this indoor pool was really well kept, clean, and overall really nice.  It was simple, no slides or extra fun kid area.  Many towns here have a community center with an indoor pool, outdoor pool, and some type of gym, also usually with a little cafe or restaurant.

We had so much fun that we may have to go on a regular basis.  We've already gone a second time.

Getting all three of us changed into swimsuits, then to walk with kids, both tubes, and towels up to the pool, then showered before we get into the pool... it's a process.  Then all over again once we get out.  It's extra effort, especially to make it to the car after without any meltdowns.  BUT definitely worth it.

It was really crowded the second time we went--on a Friday afternoon after school let out.

Snacks on the floor while we all get dried and dressed.

The first time we went, it took Maddie a full hour in the water to go off the steps without gripping my neck.  The second hour, she was doggy paddling *close* to the steps.  The second time we went, she couldn't wait to swim by herself and was jumping off the side into the water before we left.  I am so proud of her!  Once we left, she couldn't stop talking about swimming.  For almost a week after, she asked if we were going to the pool to go swimming.  I'm glad we're able to take them into the water so they will be used to it by this summer.  Her confidence level went through the roof from when she first stepped into the pool to the second time we visited.

I guess it's not normal here to do official swim lessons until later like 4-5 years old.  The classes for younger kids are just for them to play and get comfortable in the water.  Many of the community centers for each town have indoor and outdoor pools.  The outdoor pools have slides, fountains, play grounds, and look really fun.  Our town's outdoor pool is within walking distance from our house so we're really excited to check it out this summer.

An accomplishment

Just a few days ago (a couple days after I wrote his 10 month update), Carter realized that he can actually successful crawl to get somewhere.  He is getting better and quicker by the minute.  And he is so happy about it.

It doesn't feel like just an accomplishment for Carter, but for us, too.  He's been crawling for weeks now and I still get so excited to see him move to grab a toy.  It's been so amazing to watch his confidence grow as he learns.

My mommy brain was thinking all sorts of unnecessary worrying thoughts--will he need physical therapy or some help to crawl? are his gross motor skills delayed? what should I be doing to help? why is it taking him so long to get the hang of it when other babies his age are crawling?

I definitely learned one thing: scouring the internet for information can be super discouraging and dangerous to the emotional mommy.  It's easy to say "every child is different" but it's nearly impossible not to compare your child to others.  It's also way too easy to think that it's something I am doing wrong or not doing enough of another thing.  I think the most comforting comment I've ever heard about parenting was this:

You were chosen to be (Carter's) mom.  Nobody else could fill that role but you.  Find confidence in the sovereign power of God and His plan for your family.  God chooses exactly the right parents for each individual child.  The parents that are best equipped to support, grow, and nurture that child's gifts and abilities so that he/she reaches their full potential.  Only you are equipped with the right talents, gifts, dispositions, and decision-making abilities to raise (Carter) the way God intended, because He chose YOU.

How amazing, right?!  As a parent, insecurities abound and every where you look, it seems that someone else is better which makes you feel less of a parent.  Even so, there are so many choices and decisions to make as a parent even by the minute (lately I've been focusing on my reaction to certain situations which is a challenge in itself) - not to mention all the changes that a child goes through in the first few years of life.  I definitely need this reminder every single day--to remember that this entire thing called life has been planned far beyond myself.

All I know is, I am feeling beyond thankful for this seemingly big accomplishment, but even more thankful for being chosen to be his mommy.

Dad and Kim visit: Hike near Isenfluh and farewell dinner

All over Switzerland, there are trails.  Miles and miles of trails for walkers, hikers, and bikers.  Both paved and gravel.  All over the country side, through town after town, up mountains, through green hills reminiscent of the UK...you get it.  And we though we hit the jackpot with the Huckleberry Trail in Blacksburg then a few trails near our house in Portland.  Now we really understand the jackpot of trails.  It's like heaven for my runner husband.

While we were staying in Isenfluh, we walked maybe 30 minutes up trails and found a fun picnic shelter area complete with a swing and firepit.  In true Swiss fashion, we brought along lunch, cooked it on the fire, and sat outside in the freezing cold for awhile.

Dad and Kim visit: Mürren

I was most excited to take them to Mürren.  It may be my favorite.  But really, it's hard to choose here in Switzerland.  It might be the cleanest, most beautiful country I've been.  Of course, the USA is a tough competitor with so much variety (Really, think about it, the Grand Canyon, to Big Sur, the Rocky Mountains, I could go on but I'll just stop).  But Switzerland tops everywhere for cleanliness.  If you're a germaphobe who wants to travel, come to Switzerland.

Back to Mürren.  We took the cable cars all the way up to the top-the Schilthorn.  It was our first time, with it being expensive.

That's right.  We have helmets and goggles on because WE WENT SKIING!  Well, Bryce went snowboarding.  This is a miracle.  I think it was the first time we had time just the two of us since...before Carter was born.  I think it was 9 months since we had any kind of "date" without a child in tow.  After we all went to the top, took the necessary pictures, we parted ways.

Seriously, this first run from the top was narrow with cliffs on either side.

Dad and Kim visit: Thun

While we were staying in the mountains, we took a day trip to Thun (pronounced "Toon").  We had to take them to one of our favorite cities.  It was a short drive from our rental in Isenfluh.

Down the mountain, the weather was much warmer.  It was such a relaxing day walking for hours through town, along the river, then to the lake with a view of the mountains.

Dad and Kim visit: Konstanz and Isenfluh

On the third day that Dad and Kim were here, we took Kim to her "motherland" (Konstanz, Germany).  It was freezing with sleet/snow/rain.  We just spent a few hours walking around, eating lunch, shopping, and then headed back.   

The next day, we hopped in the car to spend five days in the Swiss Alps.  Since it's in our top favorite places to visit, we went back to the Bernese Oberland region.  We rented a little Chalet in the tiny village of Isenfluh.  The town is literally on the side of a mountain making the drive there a little frightening.  

A special visit

Dad and Kim flew all the way from North Carolina to Zurich on New Year's Eve.  We were so excited to have them here for 11 whole days.

I was most excited for them to just see what our life is like here.  A few weeks before they got here, I planned most of the trip.  We wanted to show them as much as possible but also have some time to simply hang out together.  The day they arrived, we ate lunch, played with the kids, and took a walk around Bulach.

Carter: 10 months

We are getting close to his birthday and I kind of can't believe it.

He brings all of us so much joy.  Just today, him and Maddie were "taking a trip to China" together, which is her favorite thing as of late.  She had her Dora backpack all packed with necessary items like Little People and a blankie.  She got her backpack on and with Carter sitting up, she pulled him by his feet all over the apartment.  He thought it was hilarious and they were giggling for a good 15 minutes together.  Then she jerked him a little too hard and he felt backwards (oops!!).  It was heaven while it lasted to hear both giggling.

He went shopping with me for an afternoon last weekend.

There's really not much new to share since last month besides more teething.  His top front left tooth took a good 2 painful weeks to come in and it looks like the top right tooth has just started.  The top two were the worst for Maddie and it looks to be the same with "Bubba" as she calls him.

He is mobile to a certain extent but is so frustrated that he isn't fast or efficient as he'd like to be.  He isn't full on crawling but can do a very slow army crawl or scoot himself along the hardwood floor in sitting position.  He likes to sit so much that he now can go from laying on his belly to sitting position quite easily.  He pulls up on things to get on up on his knees and sometimes on his feet.

I love this outfit on him because it's almost the exact same color as his eyes :-)

Eating
He loves milk.  I give him 2-4 oz of whole dairy milk once a day.  You aren't supposed to until 12 months old, but he loves it and that's the only way he'll take a bottle.  I change up when I give it to him so he's not used to a particular bottle every day.  It's definitely really nice to know he'll take a bottle if I am apart from him for more than a couple hours.  Other than that, not much new here.

Sleeping
He is getting into a good habit of sleeping all night.  About half the time, he sleeps from 7pm until around 6:30am.  The other half, he wakes up around 4-5am to feed.  Since teething lately, he isn't napping well, but in general, it hasn't changed.

Now that he has his bottom teeth and one top tooth peeking out, he has a habit of grinding them together.  It's a pretty horrible sound.

Madison at 10 months old.