Birthday Boy

Three years ago, we were lucky enough to bring another baby boy into our family. And after a rocky first year of life, Carter has really been such a great addition to our family.

We celebrated his birthday on Monday, the 28th, with my sister and brother. Carter was easy to please, just wanting cupcakes and ice cream to celebrate.

He opened his presents and was happy to get a Potato Head family!

Damon quickly assembled Grandma Karen, Grandpa Dale and Buffy. 

And then he made Grandma Karen, 2008 (chemo)

Yesterday, on Carter's actual birthday, we had the Pinewood Derby and Carter was wiped out! He fell asleep about an hour into the races. Happy birthday buddy!

He did get a cupcake (notice a different shirt at night--I thought the girls liked to change clothes a lot, but this boy does too!)

Last week, Carter had hernia surgery. We noticed a large bulge on his groin around Thanksgiving, and he had an inguinal hernia repair. Everything went very smoothly, but he was a little nervous going in.

His recovery was especially quick, as he was up and about only hours after the surgery. Now, five days out, he is dealing with a lot of bruising and swelling in his boy parts. It all seems normal, but man oh man, does it look painful! That may have had something to do with his early bedtime last night.

Carter is the happiest, most fun little boy. About 80% of the time. He is eager to please, excited about life, and a pure joy to be around. 

Unless you get him the other 20% of the time. And then it's not fun. He is stubborn, and will not give in for anything! He is particular and wants things to be a certain way or he loses it. He can throw a tantrum with the best of them. And don't even think about waking him up in the night to do something like go to the bathroom. He'll holler like he's been robbed and it's not pretty. 

But most of the time, he's the most fun kid to be around. He loves his daddy and he is a great brother. He started having more night time accidents and I tried to put him back in a diaper at night. That did not go well. So I got some Pull Ups and the first night, he was really excited. But then he decided they were too tight (one of his BIGGEST pet peeves) and refused to wear them again. He even went so far as to change out of his Pull Up after I had put him to bed, put underwear on, and then wet the bed. I was so mad!

I still don't know what the solution to that problem is. He is dry most of the time (only wet once a week or less), but when he does wake up wet (at 4:00 am usually), he is grouchy, I am grouchy and then I have to do MORE laundry. Grrr. I guess we'll keep at it. Oh, and I have also tried putting a Pull Up on him after he was asleep. It was equivalent to waking him up to go pee. He screamed and cried and fought me every single step of the way.

He is very independent. He wants to do everything himself and he is capable of doing a lot! If there is food in his reach, he will get it. And make a huge mess. One of his favorites is bread and toast.

He is really into Diego and Jake and the Neverland Pirates right now. He still loves his trains and plays with them a lot. He gets into a phase and it lasts for a few weeks (Buzz Lightyear, Smurfs, random things like dice in his pocket, etc) and then he's on to something else. 

He is completely finished with naps and can finally make it to bedtime without melting down. I do miss my quiet afternoons, but he is a fun companion. 

He only likes certain clothes--like the pumpkin shirt, the vampire shirt, sweatpants, and certain shoes. And these things can change from day to day. He may suddenly be willing to wear jeans that were "too tight" the day before. And if his clothes get wet or dirty, he will HAVE to change. 

He has basically outgrown his respiratory problems and hasn't had any issues lately. Thank goodness, because he won't take oral steroids anymore. They are too nasty. What a blessing that has been, especially with the horrible air we have had this winter. 

He can navigate the computer with ease. I have nothing to do with that, he has learned completely by watching his siblings. He loves the library and we go once or twice a week. Right now he wants to get pirate books. But next week I'm sure it will be something different. 

I do love my picky Carter boy. I would take a whole house full of Carter's. He's that cool.