the chase

the other day i was putting carter down for his morning nap. he had fallen asleep in my arms and i was extending my sweet lullaby and swaying to ensure true slumber before i put him down. that is when i heard the garbage truck. the garbage comes on tuesday mornings and when i heard it i knew i had to act fast. tyrell will usually put it out on tuesday mornings as he is heading to work (the neighbor's trash on the street reminds him that today is the day). but i knew he had failed this tuesday because he was running late.

so i quickly put the baby down, put on a shirt and headed to the back door. i grabbed the trash can and ran to the street. it was at this point that i had to quickly evaluate the situation. was the truck coming or going? are the neighbors cans emptied? ok, it's going and yes they are, the truck has already past my house. ok, should i... take the trash can to the back yard because it is too late? do i yell? do i run? and that is when i knew what to do. i was not going to be the victim of trash over flow. so i yelled 'hey' to catch their attention and started running toward them with my trash can... in my pajamas and bare feet. i am sure this provided the garbage men with a good laugh. they were very nice and rewarded my charade by taking my trash and sent me home with an empty can.

it was almost as bad as the time i chased the mail lady waving my netflix video in the air. she was wearing head phones so i had to yell a lot more and chase her a lot further. she didn't seem to like the idea and ensured me that she would be down my side of the street in a minute. woops!

i suppose it is my sj upbringing (where the garbage man never leaves his truck and the mail is delivered to a box), which has left me unable to properly interact. i am sure all future service workers will be warned of the crazy lady on parker street.

i am pleased to announce.... that my adorable baby boy slept 8 hours straight last night! this is the third time in the last three weeks he has done this and i felt it was worthy of public praise (in hopes that such positive feedback and recognition will encourage the lad to make it a habit:).

he has also accomplished a few other things i thought i should mention.

he has finally realized how entertaining/funny his mother is, and at last, all my ridiculous voices, songs, faces, and dances are finally reaping a reward....smiles. tyrell's outlandish antics are also beginning to consistently provide our child with moments of visible happiness. a friend told me about a study she had read somewhere which claimed, that babies smiles activate the same area of the brain in mothers that methanphetamines do. i can believe this as i find carter's smiles both fulfilling and addicting!

at six weeks old, carter, in a fit of rage, managed to roll himself over... twice!! i would not have believed it if i had not seen it with my own eyes. it is amazing what a melt down can motivate a child to do. i have not seen this accomplishment since but i fear that once he begins moving around i am going to be in trouble.

chicago

this last weekend we met my parents in chicago. we left at 2:30am to get to chicago so that we would miss the st. patrick's day parade traffic. it was rough but i managed to stay awake the whole time.

it was our first road trip with carter... he did pretty well. and i did pretty well also i might add, as i ventured into the world of feeding carter in public. i nursed him in every major tourist attraction in chicago. it was a bit embarrassing but oh well, the poor kid has to eat.

1.we went to the top of sears tower but only to the 99th floor because the 103rd skydeck was closed. notice that carter is wrapped in a blanket. this is due to the fact that he managed to go through six outfits in two days. in this picture he had soiled himself but we did not have a place or the time to change him. (the blanket is serving as protection) good thing i packed so many clothes for him. he was a mess.

tyrell packed him around the city in the front baby carrier thing and it worked out really well. we just put him in the warm little suite with his hat and he looked adorable. tyrell also loved all the smiles he got from all the passers by who stopped to admire his adorable cargo.

a cute pair!

2.the shed aquarium was fun and the best thing we did was get a wheelchair. originally we thought we would just get it for my dad because he has been having back problems, but everyone ended up benefiting. my mom said i should use it to nurse. so she pushed me around to look at the fish and carter ate. a little awkward, but it was great that i didn't have to hull up in a corner and miss out on everything because the baby needed to eat. dad got his needed rest and mom got some QT with sleeping baby carter. the aquarium was crawling with other screaming children so we fit right in.

3.the field museum was great and carter is apparently already bored by history. we went to the special pirate exhibit and saw some neat stuff. and in the few hours we spent there we only scratched the surface of that huge place.

4.we ate chicago style pizza and hot dogs so we could say we had the full experience. and after eating his hot dog, tyrell claimed that he likes it better with just plain ketchup... he would:)

5.we met up with my cousin tammy and her husband jan for dinner. it was good to see them. thanks for traveling to see us.

6.my parents and tyrell went to the show, jersey boys, and really enjoyed it. i stayed at the hotel with carter... we took a nap. oh the sacrifices a mother must make:)

all in all we had a great time and were glad to get out of the house and have an adventure. it was really great to get to see my parents as well and for them to see carter. next trip... i am going to brave traveling to az by myself. i hope we survive.

ps.

this is a picture of carter on his first day of church (6weeks old). he looked so cute in his little vest.

my neighbor/landlord bought us a jogging stroller!!! i am so excited about it. he is really nice and said it is carter's present for "being born". or perhaps he got a look at me and thought this would help us both:) i took it out for it's maiden voyage yesterday (because it was a warm 50 degrees) and it is great. we are going to really like it. thanks mark!

carter smiles

tyrell can not get enough of carter's smiles. they are adorable that is for sure. and do you see what i mean lindy... it will be love at first sight. make sure you show lauren how handsome and jovial her future husband is :)

they're in

we got family pictures last week and they turned out pretty cute. here are a few. carter did alright at first and then he decided (after i scared him accidentally) that he really hated everything about it. the bright lights, the being naked, it was all a little too much stimulation for the little guy. we were able to get some, 'not crying' shots but the picture of us kissing him is a better indication of how he really felt about the whole thing.

we are doing alright here just getting a little more anxious to move home. but things are looking up; it is 55 degrees outside and i can't wait to take carter out for a walk in this beautiful weather. after living with temperatures in the teens, 50's is a real warm front.

i got some dental work done yesterday and it has been a while since i have been numb. i forgot how much i hate that feeling. but i suppose it would be much worse without the beauty of local anesthetic.

carter is sleeping a little more. four times this week he has managed to sleep for six hours straight!! thank heaven. he is smiling a little more and seems to be focusing on things better.

next weekend we get to go to chicago and see my parents!! hurray, i can't wait for them to see how much carter has changed in 7 weeks. he is getting cuter every day!