17 months....

Well, I said I wanted to do this so I would remember! I have got to do better.  Life is going so fast with this little one. SO....today I'm gonna blog about things my Carter man says, does, likes and dislikes!  I want to remember every detail! Before I get into that, Clark says he's a trained monkey....I say he's just unbelievably smart! HA! (Bare with me teacher friends, I know we laugh at THOSE parents) But I am slowly becoming one of them...I guess if I don't brag on him and say how smart he is who will right?!?!
So here goes.....  At 17 months (today) these are his "tricks!"
things he says: 
people: mama, dada, nana, pappy, mimi, papaw, pop, jb (jaylee-beth), jimbo, nonna (johnna), mark (his favorite), shae-shae (lashae), l.d., emma, mouse (Mickey), sizzy (grizzly), ace (both dog and friend)
other words: hot, bass (bath), boat, fast, up, juice, shoes, outside, car, ride, teeth, nose, eye, bap-bap (passy), tractor, spoon, be-boo (belly button), bat, ball, cheese, dog, duck, airplane, zoom, amen, night-night, star, and red

animal sounds:  baa for sheep, chomp chomp for gator (thanks to swamp people), roar for dinosaur and lion, grr for bear, mooo for cow, meow for cat, woof woof for dog, quack for duck, tweet tweet for bird,    hop hop for rabbit, ribbit for frog, ooooh oooh for monkey

likes:  his daddy to get him out of the bed in the morning, to chill in the recliner after getting out of bed, his bap-bap, watching mickey mouse clubhouse, reading books, singing "little bunny foo foo," "two little monkeys," "the frog song," and "happy and you know it," playing with any kind of ball or bat, his golf clubs (that have to be put up when he uses them to attack grizzly), matchbox cars, puzzles, his grizzly dog, climbing on daddy, playing outside, seeing jb and emma, bathtime, play with play-dough, color, and paint

dislikes: having his finger nails and toenails cut, brushing his teeth, not getting what he wants, loud noises

food:  loves mac and cheese, milk, juice, animal crackers, yogurt, eggs, green beans, potatoes, pb&j, goldfish, carrots....doesn't love meat and fruit

he can: wave bye, give high five, hop, run, climb, count to three (but skips one), tell you when he has a yucky diaper, tell you when he wants to eat or wants to do pretty much anything else,  blow kisses, make the cutest fish face

I'm sure there's plenty I have left out, but these are the basics! I love this kid to the moon and back and he pretty much amazes me every single day! Of course every move he makes we are watching and laughing.  We think he is the best, cutest thing in the world! Everyday he changes and becomes more independent and learns something new.  I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...literally!! 

Why blogger?

Clark always says "Why do people bother with that blog stuff?" So I decided that today, I would create my own blog! I love looking back at pictures in photo albums....so why not look back at my thoughts during such an exciting time in our lives.  I'm getting a late start at this, but here goes.....
We are constantly laughing at our little monkey! Carter just turned 16 months on Saturday.  When he was born, we weren't sure that we'd ever laugh again! Literally....we thought our lives were over as we knew them (they were to an extent), we wondered what we had done, if we had made the right decision, and why in the world was this not turning out like the fairy tale endings on the movies.  I was an emotional mess! Well we both were really.
Let me catch you up a bit....Clark and I began dating my junior year of HIGH SCHOOL! Wow! We dated all through college...yep 7 years of dating at such  a young age! It seems as if God just wanted me to begin training him so he would be perfect in later years!  So, after we both graduated we got married! June 25, 2005! What a day! We began a new journey with one another.  We did almost whatever we wanted, went wherever we wanted, and didn't do anything if we wanted.  Lots of lazy, quiet days laying on the couch....just the two of us! Trips with friends, movie nights at the theater, date nights at actual resturants, etc.  We decided in 2009 to take the next step....have a baby! It would be fun right?!?!  So in June of 2009, we found out we were expecting our little bundle of joy.  And John Carter Vineyard arrived on February 18, 2010.  It was an EASY labor! I was blessed! He was exactly 7lbs, 19 1/2 inches long, head full of hair! Perfect!!!
Then they let us go home....and he came with us.....and they didn't tell us what to do next!!  We knew we loved him, but we were not sure if we liked him a lot! I can tell you this now, because I no longer feel guilty about it.  It's the honest truth! Clark and I thought we were ready, but we had no idea what a complete change this baby would bring about! I can't imagine if we hadn't been "ready!"  So, he cried a lot....well we all cried alot! It took us about 2 weeks to get "use" to him, 7 weeks for him to sleep all night, and 9 weeks for us to fall in love with him!! When Clark and I finally got over our selfishness, we began to finally enjoy this precious gift from God!  And we haven't stopped loving or enjoying him yet....
He is now the love we never knew we could have for anyone else, the silly monkey we laugh at continuously, and the topic of most conversations! I want to remember what his childhood is like, and how I feel when he does or says funny things! This is the reason for my blogging.  I hope you don't find my honesty to terrible! God just had to do a little work on me...and He still is! But I love every second of it! even if it's not the fairy tale you see on tv...it's our fairy tale!!! And we love it!!! (By the way, as I type, my monkey is climbing all over me and my computer....and bangning me on the head with a puzzle! Yes I'll take this over the movies anyday of the week!)