A Whole New World

Last night we stepped into a whole new world of baby solids. Grace had her first "bowl" of rice cereal. While Grace didn't think that the experience was the best ever, Rob was really, really, really excited to get to feed her her first bites of "real" food. She ate a few bites and then lost interest - as you can see from the photos she wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole experience.

January

Here's a photo montage of what we've been up to recently since I haven't posted in a while. I don't have much to say, so enjoy the pictures!

Gracie looking cute while sleeping after a run with her parents.

Brian taught me how to make bread. It was delicious! He is an amazing cook!

Happy Birthday to me!

The Carter Family Birthday Squeeze

Gracie looks like her daddy, doesn't she?

My dad came to visit this weekend. We had a good time visiting and playing.

Grace was fascinated by all the funny sounds her Grandpa could make.

I finally finished Grace's crib bedding. I have had the crib skirt to do for the past 6 months. It feels great to get it done. (It's cuter in real life than it is in the photo...)

Bendy Grace!
She loves to suck on her toes.

Today Grace had her 6 month doctor appointment. She is very healthy. In the 50th percentile for weight and 95th for height - I guess she's not that chubby. :) We'll be starting solids soon. Rob is really excited to get to feed her, so is her Grandpa Dave. :)

We're doing great! I'm sure we'll be posting the classic messy food face photos soon.

The New Year's Resolution Song

Since it's about that time where New Year's Resolutions are running faster away from us than we are to burn those calories, I thought I'd give a little laugh as a reminder of our conviction of just a few short weeks ago. I've had the song "You're the One That I Want" from Grease in my head for the past week and started thinking that I'd better shape up :)

I've got chubs, they're multiplying
And I'm losing control, for the sweet treats you've been supplying
It's so fat-i-fying!

I'd better shape up - doo, doo, doo
'Cause I need a tan - I need a ta-a-an
And these white thighs just won't do-o-o
I'd better shape up
But I don't wanna run - don't wanna run
But to my goals I must be true - that's a lot, that's a lot for me to do!

That's the weight that I want - that is the weight I want - o, o, oo, honey!
That's the weight that I'm not - that is the weight I'm not - o, o, oo, honey!
That's the weight that I want - that is the weight I want - o, o, oo, honey!
Just what I need, oh yes indeed....

Good luck with keeping up on your goals! We're doing alright with the jogging, just still looking for a jogging stroller, so if you know of one, let us know!

Want a little ROCK with that ROLL?

Grace rolled last week for the first time and it's taken me this long to get it on film. She apparently is slightly camera shy, but I'm sure it won't last for long. This has been a long time in coming, but we're proud that she finally figured out that her head has most of her body weight so it needs to go the direction that she wants to go. You go girl! So, finally, here's a little clip of her rolling.

We also learned last week that Grace loves music. Her current favorite band is Five For Fighting. It calms her right down. I have a hunch that she likes all types of music and that Five For Fighting just happens to be what is playing recently, but who knows? Anyway, when she's crying I just turn on the music really loud and she calms right down. I love it. She's our little Rock 'n Roll baby. :)

Don't feel obligated, but I know that there are some out there who would like this video of her making cute sounds. So enjoy, but don't if you don't want to. Isn;t it amazing that she can blow raspberries with her fingers in her mouth?

The Challenge

Happy New Years everyone! Sorry I haven't been feeling too hot recently and life hasn't been very exciting except for the neverending snow. When we moved into this apartment we thought about the hills but then thought that it wouldn't be so bad. Wrong. The other day we could hardly get up the hill, but we made it home without hiking. I'm thinking that we're not going to be going anywhere for the rest of the winter, so don't expect to see us.

Anyway, I digress. The challenge. My niece Erin is amazing and last year she ran a 5K. You may not think that sounds too hard, but as she puts it, Graffs don't run and while I'm not a Graff, I am a Bunker, through which half of those Graff genes come from. So by deductive reasoning and experience, Bunkers don't run. Erin has challenged the family to do a family 5K in may and Rob and I have decided that this would be a great opportunity to grow closer to family as well as get in shape so we're in training (really as soon as we can find a jogging stroller). If the snow would stop. We've made a great plan to run on Mondays, Wednesday and Saturdays but what days has it snowed so far? Saturday and Monday. When is it going to snow this week? Wednesday and Saturday. Someday the sun will come out again. I hope. Anyway, good luck to us. Feel free to keep us honest by asking about it in the coming months, I think we'll need that motivation. :)

The White Christmas

We had a delightful Christmas today. Gracie did a good job opening her gifts and was a good sport with very little napping all day.
It was so nice to spend the day with family.

Then it started to snow.

And in 30 minutes we had a good inch and a half (at least!) before we knew it. Knowing that we live in the STEEP Avenues, we decided it'd be a great idea to leave early and head home so we could get home. There was very low visibility and one slide off on the way home.

Then it started to snow harder.

And harder.

And even harder.

It was officially a blizzard when we got to Temple Square and we were slipping and sliding through the intersection before we even got to any of the hills.

Then I freaked out. I'm from California and don't do snow. If I'm going to be out in the snow at all, I want Rob to drive. He's really good (and patient with me). And even Rob didn't think we could make it up the hill in our little Honda. We had four options which were thus: 1) try to find the least steep avenue to go up, but we didn't even think that we could get up it without it being plowed; 2) wait for a plow to come and plow B Street - this may have taken all night since not even State Street had been plowed; 3) turn around and head back to Bountiful and pray that we could make it to the Carters and into their hilly driveway; or 4) park and hike home.

We chose option 4. And, like the pioneers of old, we hiked through the snow. We parked illegally in 2-hour parking, dumped everything out of the baby bag that we didn't need and filled it with the most valuable things that we could carry (the cameras and laptop, but had to leave most of the presents). Note: I didn't even have a coat, just a light cardigan on. So, Rob wrapped the baby in all the blankets we could find. I strapped on the laptop bag, the camera bag and the baby bag and wrapped myself in a couple of wool blankets we had in the trunk and hoofed it up to our home. Also note: I was wearing the flimsiest, most non-traction flats that you could find. We huffed and puffed up the hill and made it home with nothing more than a bit of superficial frost-bite on Rob's head and my feet. You think those pioneer treks give you a glimpse into the pioneers, try this. Thank you, ancestors! Here's a photo of me when we got home.

Whoever was "dreaming of a white Christmas" was safe at home by the fire. It's all a beautiful lie. I hate white Christmases!

Santa Baby

In my Am"anne"da Geddes fashion, I tried to put Grace into a stocking, but alas, she was too big to look cute in it. :( So here's what we'll settle for...Santa Baby!

My mom had this cute little outfit just waiting for a cute little munchkin to put into it.

She didn't so much enjoy being out while it was snowing, but as usual, she was a trooper!

Merry Christmas!!!

News Flash...The Queen of Raspberries is Crowned

AP (Amanda's Press) - Hear ye, hear ye, the Queen of Raspberries was crowned this morning. At approximately 7:15 am Grace Annette Carter was officially given the title of the Queen of Raspberries. The coronation was done in a very small ceremony attended only by her faithful and humble servants, Rob and Amanda Carter. The Queen was very gracious and accepted the title with a big smile and, of course, a raspberry. It is reported that the Queen's favorite time to blow raspberries is right after nursing when there is excess milk left over in her mouth that makes for a good shower for herself and anyone holding her.

Funny

I was just organizing my photos and labeling them in folders and I came across this one from Rob's birthday dinner. The Carters have a tradition of doing a "squeeze" shot where everyone squeezes the birthday person and makes them laugh and squeal and whatever other funny noises you can make them make. This photo is funny because the person taking the picture (Annette?) was apparently only focused on Rob and Grace. What a good little squeezer she is! The eye was one place no one had thought of yet!

Grandma Millie

I'm ashamed to say that these are the first photos we've taken with Gracie and her Great-Grandma Millie. We had such a nice time visiting with her last night!Four generations of Carters.