The picture says it all.......

Yes, our little Carter is a "really big deal" and we also learned at his 2 month doctor's appointment (although we had our suspicions) that he is a really big baby as well.  Carter's two month appointment was scheduled a little later because our doctor was on vacation for most of July.  On August 12th he weighed 17 pounds 9 ounces (97th+ percentile) and measured 24 1/4 inches (90th percentile).  He also received three shots and was a brave little guy.  The doctor said that he looked great and is obviously growing well:)  Getting his official stats only confirmed what we already knew...he's a BIG Boy and quite the eater.  It's interesting to hear the responses from people when we are out and about.  They'll say how cute he is and ask how old?  When we tell them 12 weeks, the look of surprise on their faces is classic.  Some people have even called their friends or co-workers over to check him out.  Seriously,  I feel like we should wear shirts that say..."yes, our child is a big boy and we're proud of it."

Here are some other highlights from our last few weeks...

• Carter loves to laugh and is trying to talk more and more.  He'll babble and respond to your babbles with even more babbling. Watching Carter and Addy interact and "play" with each other is so much fun!

• Our festival season is in full swing.  We went to the county fair and the Illinois State Fair over several weekends.  Addy enjoyed her first snow cone and loved checking out all of the animals.  She also got to check out the butter cow at the state fair, which she wasn't all that thrilled over.

Checking out the tires of the combine at the county fair.

Yes, the cow is carved from a huge block of butter!

Trying to stay cool at the State Fair.
• We found a really neat nature center very near our house. I have heard about the area before, but had no idea there was so much for kids to do and explore.  We checked it out this past Sunday and Addy loved it.  Since Derek and I grew up exploring the outdoors we love to find places where Addy can do the same. 

Hanging out on a tree.

Loving the horse tire swing, which she named Bullet.

Addy and Derek took the hard way and Carter and I took the bridge!

• We have had some potty training progress!!  I don't want to jinx her, so I'm not going to say much about it yet(3 days accident free:), but I will keep you posted:)

Sweet Home Indiana--Carter's First Visit

During the last week of July we packed up our vehicle and headed to Indiana for a 6 day visit with our families. We headed out on a Tuesday night after Derek came home from work and we shoved the last of the baby/toddler gear in the back of our SUV. It's always a surprise to me to see just how stuffed full our vehicle is as we pull out of our driveway for a trip home. I catch a lot of flack from Derek for packing "too much," but you never know what you're going to need!

First we headed to Derek's mom's house in Evansville.  This was Addy's first experience sleeping at Grandma's house in something other than the Pack-n-Play.  She slept on an inflatable bed and did a great job!  Since it was so hot outside we decided to so some inside activities.  Addy loved playing with Grandma's toys.  In the afternoon after lunch at Chik-Fil-A (one of our favorites) we headed to Pump It Up.  We had never been there before and didn't know what to expect.  It is a warehouse with huge inflatables for kids and their parents to jump around and play in. Addy was a little hesitant at first, but after a little coaxing and participation by us she warmed up to all the bounce houses and slides and ended up loving them.  Derek and I had a great time too, but several of the items on the inflatable obstacle course helped to remind us that we aren't so young anymore. 

I think I can, I think I can....

After spending the day with Derek's mom we headed to my parents house to visit my family for a few days. As you can see in the picture, Carter's first visit to my parent's house included his very own cake, which he couldn't eat but we were happy to enjoy it for him and he did manage to shove his head in the yummy icing during the photos.    On Thursday my mom took off work to watch Carter, and we took off with Adalyn to Holiday World.  She LOVED Holiday World.  It was interesting to see the park through her eyes.  After working there for so many years (seven to be exact) I still tend to walk through the park with the mentality of an employee. There were even several instances when I saw trash on the ground and I has to remind myself that it wasn't my responsibility to pick it up, which I know is very sad.  So, it was nice watching her take in all of the excitement.  She loved Splashin' Safari and played in the water playground with her dad for quite a while.  She even went down a few of the water slides on her own.  Addy also enjoyed the kiddie rides and the fountains at Holidog's Funtown. 

We took a break midday and headed back to my parent's house so that Addy could get her nap.  Addy gets down right cranky when we are out and about and she doesn't get her nap!  After resting at mom and dad's Ashley came along with us back to the park for more fun. In the evening we stayed in the dry park and Addy rode most of the Kiddie Rides.  We also ate in the restaurant I used to work in--Kringles.  The highlight of the evening was taking Addy on the Frightful Falls log flume.  Since Addy is a tall two year old she met the height requirements and acted very interested in giving it a shot.  We were a bit nervous about how she would do, but she showed no nervousness in line and after going down the hill she asked to go again!  We finished a great visit to the park with Udderly Blue ice cream, which may have been Addy's favorite part!

On Friday we spent the day with my parents.  We considered doing several things but ultimately decided to stay close to home.  We actually went to the Candy Castle and Christmas Store in Santa Claus.  I have been wanting to go to the candy Castle for a while now, but never found the time when we were home.  It is a really neat place with great frozen hot chocolate.  Since we were in Santa Claus we decided to drop in to the Christmas Store and much to our surprise Santa was there.  Addy eagerly sat on his lap (another surprise!) and we took pictures of Addy and Carter with Santa. 

Addy's always manages to find the books and suckers someone into reading with her!

Carter modeling a hat at the Candy Castle

Later that evening we went to visit my Grandma Heilers.  This was the first time she met Carter and she hadn't seen Addy since we were home in April, so she was very surprised to see just how big both kids were.  We also went to visit my cousin who was recovering from back surgery after a crazy fall.  We were glad to see that she was up and about and doing well.  Carter got to meet several of my aunts and uncles, which is always a trip:) I caught some flack from my aunt Ruth for being late on posting to the blog and I'm sure that she is currently not happy that it has been three weeks since I last posted!  It was great to see all of them and catch up.

Visiting Great Grandma--She's got her hands full in this picture!

Saturday we spent the morning packing up our overstuffed SUV and headed back to Derek's mom's house to go out to eat and spend the night before heading home.  Sunday morning Carter and I headed to Red Robin to meet my friend Sheila and her mom for lunch. Sheila and I played basketball together at Olney and have been very close ever since. She hadn't met Carter before then and it was great catching up with her in person instead of on the phone.

Our trip home to Indiana was great.  As usual we didn't get to see everyone we would have liked.  It seems as though that's the way it always goes.  However, it was great seeing everyone we did get the chance to see and enjoyed the time with our families.  Carter did relatively well in car and seemed to really like his first visit to the Hoosier State!

Carter got to meet his Uncle Brian on this visit to Indiana.

Sporting the Holdiay World gear Brian bought him.