Big boy Carter

Matt and I were reflecting lately on how much Carter has grown up over the last few months. Somehow during those months of bed rest, my toddler has turned into a little boy, a BOY, not a baby any more (except for the sweet chubby cheeks he hasn't lost yet).

Some of Carter's great accomplishments over the last few months include:

No more pacifier! Carter was such a paci baby, but he gave it up no problem. I don't even specifically remember how we got rid of it, except that there was lots of talk about how "big boys don't have pacis" and how we should give the pacis to the baby. Amazingly, it worked.

Carter is potty trained! Whew. I stressed about this one for a long time. I didn't know the mechanics on how to potty train, but thanks to a lot of ground work done by my mom, Carter caught on fairly quickly. Over a period of time he started to wear "big boy undies" and then surprisingly, while we were dealing with my hospitalized bed rest and delivery of Spencer, Carter decided to really show off and solidified the potty training business. Yippee! Poop in the toilet - not the pants!

In a mad dash to get ready for Spencer to come home, we recently purchased Carter a "big boy bed" that will eventually turn into bunk beds (when Spencer is old enough). I wasn't sure how Carter would do giving up his dearly-loved crib, but he was beside himself with excitement the day he came home and found his new bed assembled. Check out the video below. He is just so darn cute. Even better is that it only took a couple of nights and he has already learned to stay in his bed all night long!

Ever since we went to visit the cousins in Pennsylvania, Carter's vocabulary and comfort level in social settings has increased. Nearly every day he says a new word we didn't know he knew. Today he sang us the entire alphabet song.

Preschool! Today Carter visited the preschool he will be attending this fall. It was so much fun to watch him enjoy this new experience and I can't wait to see/hear all that he learns over the next year.

Watching him lately, my heart just swells up to see what an amazing, unique person he is becoming (it's great to have these moments, to help balance out all the dramatic moments of tantrums and fits we also experience!)

"Before" haircut

"After" haircut

Carter with his new big boy bed