9 month appointment

Our poor baby has been battling ear infections for 5 weeks now! Courtney took him to the doctor on Friday, October 30th for yet another re-check. We practically live at the doctor's office lately so they decided to go ahead and do his 9 month appointment (Carter was 8 months and 1 week). Fortunately Courtney had the camera with her but she didn't know it was his 9 month appointment until after all the "action" shots (weight, length, and head measurements). Carter weighed 24 pounds 4 ounces which put him in the 96 %. His length was 29.25 inches (89%) and his head is now 44.8 which puts him in the 44%! The funny thing is that we had to take him back to the doctor on Monday (Nov. 2nd) with ear infections... yes, again... and he had gained 6.5 ounces over the weekend! He didn't even eat anything on Sunday but bottles and still gained weight!

Waiting to see Dr. Roberts and Nurse Lou

He was so tired because he missed his naptime.

He didn't even cry when Nurse Lou pricked his finger!
He was very curious about the band-aid!


Carter with Dr. Pebbles and Nurse Bam Bam!
The doctors and nurses dress up for Halloween.
Carter couldn't keep his hands off Dr. Roberts pink wig!

Boo! at the Zoo

On Friday, October 23rd, we took Carter to Boo! at the Zoo. We met Aunt Mandi, Uncle Aaron and the boys there. We dressed Carter up in his monkey costume and wheeled him through the trick-or-treat stations. Cousin Owen was also dressed as a monkey and was so excited to let Carter have the banana that came with his costume. Cater loved holding on to that silly banana! Everyone thought Carter was hilarious!! I think his favorite part was the tent area with the music. He "dances" now everytime he hears music.

Welcome to Boo! at the Zoo

Our chunky monkey!

A family picture with Shoney Bear

Mommy and her little monkey

Daddy and his monkey

Our family picture

Carter with his cousins, Owen and Reed, and Reed's friend Drew

All smiles!

New Cousins

Fall Break weekend (October 17-18) we drove to Alabama to visit Joe's family. His sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Mike, are expecting their 1st child and were able to fly in from Arizona for a baby shower for them. We were also able to see our new step-nephew, Ethan, for the 1st time. It was hard to imagine Carter ever being that small! We had a great time visiting with family!

Carter with his new cousin, Ethan.

Isn't it so cute how Carter is holding Ethan's hand?

Pawpaw with his 2 boys!

Mawmaw with her 2 boys!

Joe's mom bought the boys matching pjs so we put them on and took their picture!

Carter looks HUGE next to baby Ethan!

Pawpaw and Mawmaw with Carter and Ethan

Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Mike with Carter

Getting ready to head back home!

Great Uncle Bill and Aunt Betty

Joe's Uncle Bill and Aunt Betty were in town for the Appalachian Fall Festival this weekend (October 10-11). They gave us a call Saturday and we were able to meet up so that we could visit with one another. We were so happy they called us and were able to come see Carter for the 1st time. Carter LOVED Uncle Bill's facial hair! He just kept staring and touching it when Uncle Bill was holding him.

Aunt Betty, Uncle Bill, and Carter

Carter with his Great Uncle Bill

Great Aunt Betty and Carter

The Lancaster Boys

Ear Infections

Joe went to the UT game so Courtney went to her parents house for Saturday family dinner. Of course Carter was dressed in his UT gear to cheer the VOLS on to victory! Courtney had to get a picture of Carter in his overalls since they were already too snug before he wore them the 1st time. On Sunday, Carter was not himself! He was fussy and not eating very well. He never ran a fever (we checked it several times that day) so we sent him on to daycare on Monday. Daycare ended up calling Courtney at school and said Carter was running a small fever. We called the doctor and took him on in. He ended up having double ear infections!

We hadn't noticed Carter pulling at his ears more than normal. We were downloading pictures onto the computer and ran across this picture! Our poor baby!

Go VOLS!

An updated picture of all the cousins!

Here Fishy Fishy!

Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies has Teacher Appreciation Day once a year when we can get in free. We thought it would be fun to take Carter and see what he thought of the big fish. As you can tell, he enjoyed looking at EVERYTHING! (so much that we didn't get very good pictures!) We went on Saturday, September 19th. We had no idea it was "Hot Rod" weekend in Pigeon Forge so traffic was a nightmare! We can't wait to go again next year when he can really enjoy what he is looking at in the tanks.

Watching the fish swim by

He loved seeing the bigger fish and sharks!

He would watch them until he couldn't see them any longer.

The one picture Carter smiled in for us that day!

Peek-A-Boo!

Joe and Carter climbed into the seahorse aquarium.

Our little scuba diver!

Our attempt at a family picture!

Watch it Wiggle, See it Jiggle...

JELL-O!!! We had all just finished our dinner and Courtney opened a Jell-O cup for herself for dessert. Carter saw that he wasn't getting to eat any of it and started crying so we decided to let him try some. As you can see from the pictures, he LOVES Jell-O (Black Cherry flavor)! We put some on his tray and he had the best time smearing it all around. He hasn't grasped the concept of feeding himself but that didn't stop him from having a blast!

What is this fun stuff?

Yea! I love it!

If you look close, you can see it in his hair and all over his face!

This is his new silly face that he makes! It always cracks us up! He grins as hard as he can and laughs!

V-O-L-S, V-O-L-S, Go Vols Go!

Joe LOVES Tennessee Football! Before the UT game last week, September 5th, Courtney dressed Carter in his UT gear to have his picture made with his daddy. His hat was a little big but he'll grow into it! It's still adorable for a picture! Courtney did a cheer with Carter's arms and he thought that was hilarious! If Joe has any say in the matter Carter will be a Vol fan for life! GO VOLS!

My 2 UT fans!