I Just Love Him

I don't know if I could ever express how special this little boy is. He truly brings me so much joy. It's easy to let Braden rule the roost around here as the older brother, but that doesn't put Carter in any lesser light at all. Our little Carter is a bright, happy boy. He is perfectly content just sitting in his own little corner doing his own little thing, but if you pay close attention, you'll see so much more. Carter loves to play with cars, trains, blocks, and of course anything Braden is playing with. He also loves to dance and his new favorite thing to do is read. When he's not busy using his little hands he toddles over to his books, picks out his favorite, and toddles right over to sit in your lap for a read.  He points at all the pictures and is so excited to hear the sounds of animals or even just the sound of my voice reading to him. And when dad is around he plays musical chairs by sitting on dad's lap to read a story and then when dad's done, he climbs down, picks up a new book and climbs up on my lap to read and repeats going back and forth from the two of us. When Carter plays it is so cute. He is very intentional on what buttons he will push or how he'll move his car across the carpet. The best part about watching Carter play is the pure joy that you can see on his face. When this boy is happy he'll show it, from his little smirk to giant eye glittering smile and squeals! I remember Braden at this very age and it is amazing at how different these two little brothers are. Braden, who has always been much more vocal, needed much more prompting to play on his own. His play was based more on what I said or what I've described to him. Carter on the other hand doesn't talk the way Brady did, but his play is more visual. He watches me or brother and then acts out what we do. It's really cute. Carter can say a few words. He repeats with grunts and oohs almost anything I say. I know that he is trying and with time I'm sure the amount of words he knows in his head will come out clear soon. He can say "uh-oh," "ba" (ball), "hi dad," "momma," "dadada" and "hello," as well as some other words that don't sound like words at all, but as his mom I know just what he's saying. Carter is also a "shy, social butterfly." He loves to be around people, but if anyone he doesn't really know comes and talks to him he shies away, but from a distant he is ready and eager to "flirt" with all the girls and flash his bright smile. He does have favorite people that as soon as he sees them he is out of my arms and headed to theirs. His most favorite is his daddy. As soon as dad is home he will fake cry until daddy picks him up and from there doesn't want to be put down. He also loves just about everyone at church, his most favorite being Janey, our friend down the street. He adores her and I hope he'll be okay sharing her when she has her baby in a few months. Carter's favorite time of the day is bath time. He loves to swim. This kid could be cranky, sad, or even throwing a tantrum, but as soon as he is in the water he is just as happy as can be, splashing and playing with the bath toys. Luckily, he is good about getting out of the tub when he's done, just so long as he is still holding one of his toys. And when bed time comes, he goes right to sleep and sleeps well. He really is the best baby. He is almost never sad and always has a smile or a love to share. Oh, how I just love him!