Thank you!

Today was Lisa's last day with Carter.  Those of you who don't know, Lisa works with the Family Support Network, they help premature babies and babies with disabilities with their development.  Those of you who know me have heard me talk about Lisa a million and one times.  Here goes a million and two.  She has worked with Carter every other week since he was a month old.  Unfortunately she only works with the babies until they are 6 months old.  I'm sure she would have no life if it was up to the families she works with, because every family would want her to stay forever!  She has been such a blessing to our family.  She has been so wonderful with Carter, and he has grown so much because of her.  Lisa if you are reading this, know that we are going to miss you every other week, but don't think for one second you are getting rid of us! ;-)  Thank you so much for all your support professionally and personally.  You have such a big heart and it shows.  Your an amazing person and we appreciate you so much!  You have become a lifetime friend and lifetime member of Carter's Crew!  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!  From the bottom of my heart for all you do!   

Buddy Walk 2010

Carter's Crew minus 16 the rest were in Georgia, had already left or some were in the bathroom! haha Thank you all!!!!

All I can say is WOW!  Carter's Crew was a hit!  We had about 50 team members and a great time!  Thank you so much to all of our wonderful friends and family members that came out to support Carter!  And, thank you to our family in Georgia who could not be there, but represented Carter last week at the Buddy Walk in Macon!  Thanks to all who contributed to Carter's Crew!  I'm so glad that so many people have so much love for Jeff and I, but especially for Carter!  It was great seeing all the families supporting all the amazing kids and adults who have Down Syndrome.  It shows you there is still so much love out there in the world!  Again thank you all from the bottom of my heart!!!

Gearing up for the Buddy Walk

We are getting so excited about our first Buddy Walk tomorrow!  We are so blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends to support us!!  Look out everyone Carter's Crew is comin' through!!  To donate in Carter's honor or to get directions to the Buddy Walk click here:
http://www.buddywalkgreensboro.org/  Thanks to the many wonderful people who have donated already!

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Carter! I can't believe your already 6 months old. I love you so much!!!

Trying something new...

This is what mommy gets for letting me feed myself...

I think he is getting the concept that the spoon goes in his mouth, but we still have some work to do!! :)

I'm the lucky one!

Since Carter was born, so many people has said God knew who to give him to. I have heard how he is so lucky to have such a loving family. I love all the kind words everyone has said, but honestly I wonder how did I get to be so lucky? How is it that I get to be the mother of this beautiful little boy? The little boy who makes me smile every day, who makes my heart skip a beat when he giggles, and who makes my life have so much more meaning! I am so proud to call him my son...I love when someone notices that he has Down Syndrome, they simply smile with a he is sooooo cute and asks does he have DS? I reply with a yep, he sure does with a big grin on my face! What can I say, I am one proud momma!

Carter continues to amaze me everyday...Today he had his doctor's appointment at the developmental clinic at Women's hospital. He weighs 17 pounds 1 ounce and he is 25 and 3 quarters inches long. He passed his hearing screen and amazed the dietitian, showed off for the physical therapists, and the developmental pediatrician thought he was a hoot. I said he made all A's on his report card today! He is rolling over both ways, pivoting towards a toy on his belly, trying to crawl and sit! Go Carter!!!

So really what did I do to deserve such a wonderful gift?

Answered prayers...

I just wanted to take some time on my blog that means so much to me to say a huge thank you...

People that know me, know that I don't talk alot about religion. To me, my relationship with God is very personal. Considering I started a blog which is very personal I thought I should share........When I found out I was pregnant, I prayed every night. I prayed that God would give me a healthy child. I prayed that our baby would be happy, and I prayed that we would be great parents. I never once prayed for my child not to have any special needs. Because in the back of my mind, and deep in my heart I have always known that God would give me this wonderful gift. Call it intuition, I like to say it was Gods way of preparing me. If you read my very first blog about Carter's birth, you read that I was not shocked or upset about his diagnosis. We were just so happy to be finally holding this precious little boy in our arms. These 5 1/2 months that he has been here have been so life changing. Now every night as I am tucking Carter in, I whisper I love you I love you I love you I love you in his ear, kiss him on his head, then I say a prayer...

Dear God,

Please watch over my precious baby. Keep him safe. Let him be happy and healthy. Let him learn all that he can, and love with all of his heart. Thank you so much for this wonderful gift that you have given us. I feel so blessed to have him in my life.

Amen

Since Carter's birth, he has been doing so well. Thriving, this little guy amazes me. He inspires me want to be a better person, and live my life to the fullest. He is such a blessing to Jeff and I.

I am so thankful for answered prayers!

Family fun day!

This past weekend Jeff and I decided to do something outside with Carter, since the weather was so pretty. I chose the Natural Science Center. My sister Whitney and her boyfriend Andrew came along for the family outing. I figured Carter is a little young to appreciate the animals, and assumed he would sleep the whole time. To my surprise he actually stayed awake the first 30 minutes, and actually was checking out some of the animals. He checked out the tigers, giant tortoises, goats, and the meerkats. I guess he was bored with everything else.........

snoozin.....

Fall is in the air...

My favorite season is finally here! FALL! I love the smells, the cool air, pumpkins, the leaves, food, everything about the season! This year I have my bundle of joy to share it with! We got Carter's first halloween costume yesterday...can you guess who is going to be the cutest little monkey in the whole wide world? You guessed it, Carter!

Bedtime stories

So on day three of my blog challenge I thought I would talk about something I am very passionate about....Reading to your baby. I have read to Carter every night since he was a week old. Yes, there is an occasional slip where he is already asleep. I know there is a great big chance that he has know idea what I am saying to him, but every night he knows when it's story time. He gets so excited when I sit with him and put a book in front of him. He holds the book as I read, plays with the pages, slaps the book, gazes at all the pictures, and he looks up at me while I'm reading to him, watching every word as they are coming out of my mouth. After were done he is so calm, ready to go to sleep. I really think that reading to your child is so important, for their development and it's a wonderful time to unwind and bond with your baby. No matter how busy I am with school work or whatever else that can get in my way, I always ALWAYS have time to sit down, cuddle up with Carter, and read him a bedtime story. Night-night!

Day 2

Last night, Jeff and I were sitting on the couch with Carter. We were playing with him, trying to get him to do his adorable belly laugh that makes my heart explode full of happiness every time I hear it. Those times are truly the best times, being in our home, together as a family, entertaining "Carter bug." As I was soaking in every precious second with him, I looked up at Jeff and said, "can you believe he is almost 6 months old? He is almost a half a year old, I can't believe it has gone by so fast!" Jeff just smiled and said "it hasn't gone by fast at all." I smiled while thinking (you'll see one day we will look back and we will both say where did the time go?) That's the difference between a mommy and a daddy I guess. I actually had a conversation with Carter yesterday in his room, I was laying on the floor and Carter was on my belly, looking down at me. I asked him can you just stay little for as long as you can? He responded with his typical aaaagggggggoooo and laughed. I knew exactly what he was saying. ;-)

October is Down Syndrome Awareness month! I took a challenge called 31 for 21, to blog everyday about Carter...I'm going to try my very best not to skip a day...

We are getting so excited about the Buddy Walk on the 23rd! Look out everyone Carter's Crew is coming through! We are so blessed to have so many friends and family to come walk and support our sweet little boy.