A day in the life of Carter

Lorein went back to work this week and it's been quite the transition. Here's how it's gone from Carter's point of view:

When mommy is with me in the morning, I have a great time . . . I lounge around

and I go exploring.

But then, (oh no!) Daddy comes home!

He scoops me up and takes me to his torture chamber

where he dresses me up in hideous outfits and puts me on the rack!

And then he makes me do homework with him! And not just any homework -- he makes me read Professional Responsibility, which is quite possibly the worst class ever!

I'm just so glad when mom gets home and restores some normalcy.

Thanks Grandma Ginny for making me this sweet hat!

59-0!

Here's Carter when he learned BYU beat UCLA 59-0!

Fight!

I saw a fight between two fifty-somethings at Costco yesterday. One of them was leaving the produce freezer while the other was trying to get in, and neither would budge. They stared each other down and argued for a little bit and then the guy going in pushed the other guy's shopping cart and started to walk away. The guy leaving put on a really annoyed look and it seemed like he was just going to move on, but then the rage boiled in his face and he slammed his shopping cart into the other guy's back. The guy going in whipped around and pushed him. Then the guy leaving pushed back. Then the guy going in slapped the guy leaving's arm. Then I yelled "Fight!" and everybody in the store ran over to the produce freezer and surrounded the two in a big circle -- just kidding. Instead, a Costco guy came over and asked what was going on. The two pleaded their cases and the Costco guy was like "whatever" and the valiant warriors went on their way. It was awesome. As Richard Hawkins can attest, you see amazing things when you hang out at the produce freezer in the Marina Del Rey Costco.
And in other disturbing news, I learned today that Lorein knows the names and can identify all the kids on "Jon & Kate Plus 8". Let's get that girl back to work!

Trip to Vegas

For the holiday weekend we went to Vegas to visit with my family. Driel, Evan, and Moriah drove down from Provo to hang out with us. It was great to see them and my parents. We also got to see my sister Breezy and my brother Chandler for one night before they headed back up to BYU. Something of note that we learned from the trip is a confirmation of Carter's expensive taste in cars. He hated the drive there and back from Vegas or anytime we put him in our car, but he loved riding in Justin's Cadillac and in Driel and Evan's Infiniti. It's luxury cars or nothing for this kid. Here are some highlights from the trip:

Carter and Driel just chillin. I'm pretty sure the spot on Driel's dress is from Carter's drool...not her own. I'm sure Driel will appreciate me
pointing that out:-)

If you ever wanted to know where Moriah was all you had to do was find Grandma. Moriah was glued to her side and very protective. She did not want Grandma holding Carter. She didn't really like it when her mom or dad held Carter either, but it was much worse if Grandma did. A girl's gotta defend her territory.

Here's Carter relaxing after getting out some major "miseries" as my brother Ammon calls them. To everyone else it was just a bowel movement. But he really felt so much better afterwards that he fell right to sleep almost instantly.
My brother Justin walked around with Carter like this for a long time and Carter loved it. Notice how our little chubbo's stomach is overflowing his diaper even when Justin is trying to help him out by sitting him up straight.

This is what Moriah looks like after enjoying some sweet rocky road ice cream. Who can blame her?
And this is just proof for my dad that Carter really does smile. He was a pretty serious little guy most of the time we were there.

Family Pictures

When we were in Temecula for Carter's blessing we were lucky enough to take family pictures with the Crall side of the family. It was great to get some shots of our new little family. On the flip side however, I've never dreaded family pictures before. Granted it is usually not the most exhilarating experience, but how hard is it to show up and smile? Well that was before Carter. I don't know if I've ever worked harder in a 2 and 1/2 hour period (yep, you read that right 150 minutes!). It was really tricky trying to keep him happy for the photos while also trying to get him propped up enough so people could see him. I know it will probably only get harder as he advances into toddlerhood and I feel for anyone who has more than one young child and takes family photos. You deserve a medal. Here are some of the shots:

I know, I know, most of them are of Carter...I think that's how everyone in Chris' family felt too. But isn't he great?!