Now wait just a minute. . .

This kid cracks us up constantly with his high pitched voice and insights on life.  (When we aren't ready to lose it from how much he picks on his little sister. Those two have the worst rivalry going on.)

His new favorite ways to start a sentence:

- Now wait just a minute. . . 

- Actually. . . 

He is turning into quite the train engineer and almost daily wants me to take a picture of his handy work to send to someone.  At random times he will bring up a certain design with pride.

He is obsessed with Jesus and trying to figure out the secrets of heaven.  I am amazed at how much he does internalize from church and things we say. 

By far the most endearing quality is how he asks for about 10 signs of affection before bed every night.  It started with a snuggle and he has gradually added loves, kiss, hug, sugar, gentle, back scratch, leg rub, Eskimo kiss, bottom tap and bottom pinch to this nightly routine. 

Part of me wants this sweet boy to stay this young lover forever.  And the other part can't wait for him to grow out of the spitting, hitting, gross, pesky stage in which he is.

Oh the dichotomy of parenting a preschooler.

Hug hug. Kiss kiss.

I have been trying to cherish the good moments that occur in the long hours, days, and weeks of raising three young children - two of which are extremely strong willed.  I know that all too soon they will be grown, their tantrums forgotten, and these small moments treasured.  

Moments like how this one always wants to wear his PJ tops all day long.

Or how he always needs a hug and a kiss before I leave - Even if I am just going to get the mail.

I left tonight to go see a movie with a friend.  I was in a rush to hand off my kids so I didn't remember to give Carsten a proper send off.  As the garage door was closing, my baby boy burst through the door with tears welling in his eyes and a frantic voice pleading "Mommy!  Mommy!  Gimme a kiss and a hug."

He ran back inside with a spring in his step after the requested signs if affection.

I thank

 God for these beautiful moments.

He's met his match

This little boy is still my all-time favorite baby. Just last week he toddled upstairs three times during FHE to grab scriptures for each one of us and wouldn't sit down until we all had a set in our hands. I might add we did not ask him to do this. We started singing the opening song and bam, he was gone on his mission. How can that not melt your heart?

The one thing I don't adore about him is his aggressiveness when he is upset. The hair pulling and hitting are quite embarrassing and exasperating to say the least. Thus why "gentle" is one if the clear words he speaks.

He's met his match, though. Tonight his little girl friend gave him a bloody nose by whacking him with a book. Though I felt so sad for him as I tried to clean up his gushing nose and wipe his tears away, I couldn't help but laugh. This was payback for all the chunks of hair he has pulled from that poor girl's head.

I wonder if they will marry someday. .

Diddle diddle dumpling

This little kid hates shoes. No sooner do I get his shoes on then one comes off. We can't help but recite the nursery rhyme every day - so much Elisabeth knows it by heart.

One shoe off and one shoe on
Diddle diddle dumpling my son John

Another one bites the dust

The picture below illustrates what 16 month old does while his mom and big sister have a stomach virus and Dad has a meeting until 9 pm. Walk around all day pant less while having to entertain yourself by emptying DVD cases all day with no one feeling well enough to stop you.

Bathroom reader

Books are probably my kids' favorite toy. Carsten is constantly bringing us books to read the moment we sit down.

As you can see from this picture, his favorite place to catch us is when we are going to the bathroom. I guess he knows he has a captive audience.

Nine at Nine

Nine months is a wonderful age for this boy.  What I am saying?  Every month is a wonderful age for him.  Here were his stats at his last check-up:

9 month photo with his bear

Weight:  20 lbs, 3 oz (45th percentile)
Height: 28 1/2 inches (60th percentile)
Head Circ.:  17 3/4 inches (45th percentile)

He has really chunked up these last two months, providing a tasty little neck to smooch and chunky thighs to squeeze.  He only started wearing 6-9 month clothes a month ago and he is just about grown out of that size in 6 weeks.  Here is how else he has changed:


1.  Pass the peas please.  And the watermelon, the cereal, and whatever else that you have for me to eat.  He likes to especially steal french fries.  Sometime between 7 months and 9 months, Carsten has decided he LOVES to eat.  And eat.  And eat.

Watermelon season.  His favorite.

Don't mind if I do.  (Stealing french fries off of someone's plate while we were on vacation.)

2.  Movin' and Groovin'.  Carsten is a crawler, though he prefers to do the army crawl.  He hates to be held for extended periods of time unless he is sleepy and wants to snuggle.  He is close to pulling himself up.

Look at me!  I am crawling!  (And you obviously haven't childproofed yet, Mommy!)

3.  Throwing caution to the wind.  Electric cords?  Good teethers.  The beagle's tail?  A tasty snack.  The stairs?  A good place to crawl down.  Now that he is mobile, Carsten has a crazy sense of adventure.  Does anyone want to explain to me why, if my little boy has access to lots of toys and open floor space, is it that he always heads for the dangerous stuff?

Loves when his dad carries him around this way.

4.  Little voice.  Our little man has discovered he has a voice.  And he isn't afraid to use it.  Between his growls, raspberries, high pitched screams and the crooning he does in the car to the music we are listening too, we have affectionately started to call him "Lil' Pterodactyl."  He calls me "Mama" and has said "Papa" once or twice.

5. The charmer.  He still has a way with women.  He still openly flirts with any female that will look his way and he will often stare down any woman who isn't looking his way, in hopes she will give him a smile and the attention he deserves.

How can the ladies resist this?  I know I can't! 

6.  Self-entertaining.  I have been blessed with children who are good at self-entertaining.  Carsten has just discovered the joy of toys.  Mainly, he likes to empty toy boxes, throw balls and crawl after them and empty out our DVD shelves.  He can entertain himself for long periods of time and does so with a huge grin on his face and squeals of delight.

Emptying out the DVDs.  Again.  For about the 5th time that day.

7.  His sissy.  He loves his sissy and is happiest when he is in her presence.  He also loves to play with her things, much to her dismay.  However, despite how protective she can be about her toys, she takes the responsibility of "teaching" him how to play seriously and he eats up every bit of attention she will give him.

Playing together. 

8.  Water baby.  This boy LOVES to swim and about propels himself out of my lap and into the bathtub the moment I turn on the water.  Good thing we live in a climate that allows you to swim almost year round.

Bath time for baby.

9.  Practically perfect in every way.  He is still the happy-go-lucky, lovable, baby who will is ticklish beyond measure and lights up the room whenever he enters.  His patience is never-ending and his soul as tender as ever.

On a side note...I really need a better camera.  Any suggestions????