I think I have a prodigy on my hands. Carter seems to have hit the terrible twos rather early. He is VERY rough. He loves to hit us in the face, kick us when we are changing him, or refuse to sit still to get dressed or brush his teeth. He loves phones, so I found some of our old cell phones, charged them, and made sure they weren't called anyone before I gave them to him. He loves to throw them at us. Last night, he smacked Kevin in the face with one. When we tell him "no," he hits the air and grunts. I am worried that I'm going to have the bad kid that no one wants to have around. Hopefully it's just a phase and will pass quickly.

We went to Reedy River Falls Park in Greenville. It is amazing they have such a nice park right in the middle of downtown:

June 29, 2002




and seven years later......

My parents wanted to go to Clemson, and I didn't mind. I hadn't been up there since I was pregnant with Carter.

Carter took a nap on the way up.

Our first stop was Pot Belly Deli for lunch. I had to have a Home on the Ranch and Zaps.

After, we parked downtown and went to the shops. We made sure Carter got a new T-shirt. I also picked up some Father's Day gifts. After, we walked to campus to show my parents our bricks. Here are a few pics from President's Park:

After, we headed over to Carillon Gardens and back to the car. It was HOT.


We made a quick stop at the Botanical Gardens before heading to Greenville.

Hmmm, where do I begin. I feel like I haven't had much of a break yet. As soon as I returned from DC, I worked the following Monday and Tuesday, I cleaned the house and my parents came in on Wednesday, I gave blood on Thursday, and we went to Clemson and Greenville on Friday. It was a busy week.

Carter also developed a "loose stool" problem. I had forgotten that he had woken up very messy right before I left for DC. Well, I got a call on Tuesday to tell me he had poop from one end of his classroom to another. I took him to the doctor that afternoon. She seemed to think it was too much juice and told me to just give him soy milk and water. The poop continued. From Friday to Monday, we adhered to a rather strict BRAT diet. I even kept him home on Monday to make sure he wasn't eating anything he shouldn't. When he was still poopy on Tuesday, I called the doctor and took him back on Wednesday. In doing some blood work, we determined it's jusgt a lingering virus. I also brought them a diaper to culture. (Hmm, isn't this a pleasent post?) We haven't gotten the results of the culture. Carter is only pooping once a day, but it is rather scary when he does.

Happy Father's Day:

The week after school got out, we left for our extended year field study. We took 61 rising 8th graders and 8 adults to Williamsburg and Washington, DC.

We started off our trip in Jamestown.

From there, we went to Williamsburg for dinner and a tour the following morning.

That afternoon, we headed over to Busch Gardens, and the following morning, we woke up and headed straight to the Capitol.

After, we went to the Air and Space Museum. While eating lunch, our principal called us to tell us she was getting many phone calls from parents because they had heard about the shooting at the Holocaust Memorial. That was the first we heard of it. We had every student call their parents to let them know we were ok. The crazy thing is that we would have been there that day had we not had to make some last minute adjustments to our itinerary. Due to reports of car bombs, our buses drove right past us waiting for them when we were done at the museums. One bus made it back, but the bus driver for my bus got lost. We ended up waiting for an hour and 45 minutes. We finally found out our bus was one street over, so we ran to it. Once on it, we were side-swiped and lost a mirror. That was the craziest day of the trip. We finally made it to our hotel and to th eKennedy center for dinner and a performance of "Sheer Madness." The play was hilarious. I would love to see it again.


The next day, we did our memorial and monument walk in the morning.


From there, we went to Mt. Vernon for the afternoon. That evening, we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and went to more monuments at night.

Friday morning FINALLY came. We packed up the bus and headed to Arlington. There, we had a few students lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

We were exhausted.

We boarded the bus for an uneventful trip home.

Carter enjoys rearranging the kitchen and playing in my plastic. I feel like I can never keep up with him!

His Dad has started calling him "Young Picasso" for his brilliant masterpieces:

Yes, we are still alive. Last week was very busy with 61 7th graders in Washington DC. I spent the weekend catching up around here. Now, I am off to work today through Wednesday. It will be work I enjoy (at least, I hope to). Don't give up on me. I will be posting soon....PROMISE.

A friend of mine gave Carter a swimming pool for his birthday. Carter has never been swimming. Today, I blew up the pool. After nearly passing out and getting cramps in my cheeks, it was done. Kevin set it up early, so the water could be warm when Carter woke up from his nap. I just knew he would be very excited about playing in it, and I could read my book while soaking my feet in the pool. He didn't last very long. He wanted to go over the patio and play with his car. Of course, he thought it was more fun to get in it without opening the doors. I would lead him back to the pool where he would play for a minute, get out, go back on the patio, and cry because it was hot on his feet.




I also have set up a swimming lesson. I found a guy who does them privately. With kids Carter's age, he really just teaches the parents how to work with them. I figured Carter and I can start going to the open swim at the gym on Thursday afternoons.

Carter has been rather cranky. This evening, I noticed his upper molars are really coming through and his bottom ones are starting to come in.

Carter has not been talking a lot lately. He babbles, but doesn't say the words he used to say. He just likes to say "ct" for cat, but today he starting saying "uh-oh."

I think that's all the excitement around here.

I have just finished a fun filled week of teaching sex-ed. 7th grade girls and 6th grade boys! Now, we only have 5 days left. I can do this. I really can. I actually LOVE my 7th graders this year. They are just a really fun group of kids, and for the most part, their parents have been very easy to deal with. Next year, I will be teaching 4 sixth grade math classes and 1 seventh grade math class. (Of course, that could very well change) The current group of 6th graders are very challenging, so I am happy to only have one class of them next year. It will be an interesting change for me. I love the team I have been on and absolutely love seventh graders. I'm hoping sixth graders will be as much fun. My team will be different, but I really like all of the members of it. Wish me luck making it through the final 5 days. The kids have already lost their minds, so I'm hoping no trouble arises. Of course, I will have the weekend to rest after this week, then the real fun begins....69 7th graders in Williamsburg and Washington DC. Thank goodness the doctor upped my thyroid medicine!

My hydrangeas are starting to bloom. The second picture is from a plant Kevin and his dad dug up at his grandmother's house. I've always wanted old hydrangeas. They didn't bloom last year after their move, but they will be full of blooms this year!

We decided to buy Carter his own broom since he has an odd obsession with my broom and Swiffers. He got a hold of it in the store and wouldn't even let the cashier scan it. In the mornings, we have to hide it under a blanket on the couch. If not, we must pry it out of his hands while he has a total melt down before leaving for daycare.

I am pretty sure we are raising a child prodigy. Carter is 11 months ahead on his terrible twos. Too bad daycare wasn't open today. We were tempted to drop him off on the front step with his blanket, soy milk, and a straw.

What could be a better toy than a Swiffer?

Anyone want a busy little boy who will keep you entertained for hours?






For more of Carter's antics, checkout flickr.

Hey, look at me cross the finish line at the Heart and Sole Women's Five Miler. (At least I think it's me)

Time: 43:49
#96 out of 509
#19 in my age division

I know you can't see it well. Hopefully, I will get the other pictures soon.

I had a blast running. I have walked this course a few times, but never had the guts to run it. I was able to run the whole thing and felt such a sense of accomplishment when I saw Kevin and Carter at the finish line.

I've been meaning to post pictures of Carter's school work. I am just thrilled when I check his cubby and find work in it to take home. Of course, my favorite is the mother's day card.