Water oh water...how I love thee!

Today I decided to blog about my true affinity for water. Sure, I've talked about it before, but it's become such a great part of my life (and since I'm already 2/3's water it makes sense) I wanted to tell you all about it!

Mama and I go to the pool just about every day that she doesn't work. And since she's been off work for a little over 2 weeks, there have been a plethora of trips. Lucky me! Most recently, my favorite trick at the pool is a little game Mama calls "Dunk the Boy!" I really like this game and try to do it by myself--without much success--but I digress. How this game works is Mama takes me out to the deeper part of the pool where I can't touch. She hangs onto me and says "1, 2, 3, Go!" and then she dunks me. Although it sounds simple, Mama is proud of the fact that it's teaching me how to count to three as well as how to hold my breath. I have been trying to tell her that I'm a pretty knowledgeable dude and I already know these things, but she insists. If Mama does not play "Dunk the Boy!" enough I kick her and try to escape from her grasp until I can dunk myself. Mama says it doesn't work very well, but I disagree. I get dunked and then Mama rescues me. It actually works out quite well.

The next trick that I have started at the pool does not involve Mama much at all. I stand along the edge and play with my toys. Then I throw a ball into the pool and dive after it. Mama calls this game "Rescue the Drowning Victim". I don't find that very amusing, but Mama's got a weird sense of humor so I'll let her have her way this one time. Of course after I dive in after the ball, Mama doesn't give me the chance to right myself and return safely to the side. She just grabs me and looks at me intently (sometimes with panic on her face--it's actually quite comical) and puts me back to the side of the pool. The other day she told me that we had to leave because it was getting too stressful playing "Rescue the Drowning Victim". I'll just have to keep doing it to break her in. Ha ha ha.

The final trick that I am perfecting is walking in the pool. Initially I tended to ambulate much more in the pool that I did at home and although that is leveling itself out a bit, I still love to take off from Mama and walk away. I do pretty well and if I do fall in the pool where it's too deep for me, I flip myself over and try to get my little face out of the water. Mama typically does the grab me, look at me, and return me to where I was thing, but again, I'll just have to keep breaking her in.


Another exciting water fact is that my friends Andy and Calison gave me a water table for my birthday! See the picture above if you are not sure what that is. This thing is fantastic! I can use this when the pool is not yet open or when I just feel like cooling off for a minute. It's got this cool spinning wheel that is activated by water, a cup (probably my favorite part), and two sail boats. This thing is the coolest! I really love to play with it and think that the only thing that would make it better is if Mama would let Alice play up on the deck with me in my water table. Mama says that would be too messy. I just think she's too strict. I'll keep begging her and eventually she'll give in. I'm just sure of it!


If you all notice, Mama and I are blogging only about her and I up to this point. So here comes the good part...Papa joins the blogging circuit! Whooo hooo! Today Mama, Papa, and I went on a picnic and swim trip to the Coralville Reservoir. It was great! First we ate on a picnic table in a shaded area overlooking the beautiful lake. (See the picture above). Mama made a fine meal of gourmet sandwiches and intricate salads with an accoutrement of crudete. Okay, so I'm embellishing a bit. It was really just turkey sandwiches, lettuce salads, and veggies and dip, but it was quite tasty on this hot summer day. After the feast, came the best part that I'm completely jazzed to tell you about. We went swimming in the lake! Now when I say 'we', I must be more specific. It was really just me swimming. Mama and Papa did not have their swim gear, but I had strategically placed my swim trunks in the car when Mama wasn't looking. I'm a thinker! Papa walked me out so that I could stick my face in the water and kick my legs and paddle my hands. I really liked that part. Mama was being a total woos on the shore because she thought that the bottom of the lake felt "gross". What a BABY! And to think--she's the oldest one of us and 27 years older than me! I kinda liked the squishy stuff under my feet and really had fun playing in the sand both in the water and on the beach. Mama told me that she thought that we would be finding sand in every crevice of my body for many days to come--and that was after my bath when we got home! The sand was great, but I didn't like it on my hands very much. I stick them in my mouth a lot and sand just isn't very appetizing.



Well, I'd better head off to bed. Mama, Papa, and I had a late dinner at The Vine in Coralville this evening. I feasted on a burger, some bun, a couple of french fries, some applesauce, and lots of water. I'm stuffed and exhausted from my exciting day that I got to spend with my Papa. I love you, man! :-)

Have a good night everyone!

Carter Sherman

Good morning, friends!

Walking from Papa to Mama--in my tight jammies!

This was Papa entertaining me yesterday morning. He's so fun to play with!

This is Papa and I at the pool last week. We had a really wonderful time together as a family!

Well, this is my first experience blogging in the morning! I am quite the morning guy, my Mama and Papa will tell you. When I wake up, even if I'm starving, I'm still so happy to see those smiling faces of my parents. My mama (who's helping me compose this morning) has been very happy because I've been waking up less in the middle of the night and sleeping in a little later. It used to be that I would wake up between 4 and 5 am wanting a bottle and now that I've switched exclusively to the sippy cup, I sleep until 6 or 7! Mama says "whooo hooo!"

It was sure a hot one on Saturday here in North Liberty. Mama said early in the morning that we would have to be 'pool rats' today to beat the heat. I'm not really sure what that means, but she said pool so I was game! I have to tell you how very much I love the pool, swimming, the water, friends, and all the people at the pool! It is such a great time. We go there a lot and I have a stellar tan from it. Mama feels bad about the tan, but I assure you that she lathers me up with the dreaded sunscreen every 45-60 minutes every time we're at the pool. I personally think the tan looks good on me. Now Papa is the only white like the clouds guy in our house. :-) Love ya Papa! Anyway, on Saturday, we went to the pool and were met by my good friend Adam and his Mama Michelle. We had a great time and practiced going under water together. That's my favorite part of the pool and if Mama doesn't dunk me enough, I'm kicking her until she said the beloved "1, 2, 3 GO!" and submerges me. I almost never cough, never cry, and don't have to wipe the water from my face after. People look at us funny when Mama dunks me so much, but they just need to understand that I love it!

Yesterday was an amazing day spent with my Mama and Papa. Papa finally had the day off and didn't even have to work the night before so he didn't need to sleep during the day. In the morning he got up and played with me hard. We practiced my ambulation (by the way--I will now walk all the way across the living room all by myself with no help and no one to catch me should I tumble), played with my Sing Along Stage, and the new tractor and wagon set that Adam gave me for my birthday. It was fantastic. In the afternoon, Mama and I went to the pool where we met my friend Collin and his Mama Jennifer and his Papa Chris. We also had a great time. I studied Collin's excellent ambulation skills intently and he even let me play with some of his toys. Thanks, Collin! We didn't stay very long at the pool yesterday because that Iowa weather is fickle and it was kinda cold for me. Mama said it was time to go when my lips got blue. I didn't mind at all, but Mama's kind of a worry wort.

I'm looking forward to this evening because my birthday celebration is going to continue. I love birthdays! Papa's colleague Andy and his bride-to-be Calison are coming over to bring me a present. Mama's going to make them supper and then I hope that we will get to play all together. Papa is working the day shift this week so he'll even get to be here when we have guests this time.

Well, I'd better leave you now. We're going to the pool this afternoon and I need a lot of energy so that I can swim with the best of them!

Have a fantastic day!

Carter Sherman

Big day...big tears...

This is me showing how well I walk with my walker toy and showing you why I'm not getting chubby!

This is me on my birthday playing with my new scooter/walking toy that my "Aunt" Katie gave me. I LOVE this thing!

This is me a few days ago playing with my favorite activity table. I like to wrinkle my nose at my Mama!



Today was a big day for me. I had my 1-year check up appointment at the doctor. Mama and Papa got to accompany me and boy was I glad. I didn't know what this doctor had in store for me, but I've gotta tell you that I wouldn't have been so agreeable to attending this appointment had I known I was going to get picked on. Let me tell you about it.

I got my head measured, height measured, and weight measured. I didn't pee on the nurse this time, but retrospectively, I think I should have. I am an impressive 31 inches tall and weigh almost 25 pounds! Mama had guessed me to be about 26 pounds, but I think I've been working too hard at the walking thing to gain weight very quickly. After the nurse time, I got to see the doctor. She was very nice to me, so I impressed her by showing her that I can talk (dik 'em--which is my version of get 'em), walk (I walked across the exam room from Papa to Mama), do Soooooo Big!, and wave bye bye. I was very well behaved and even laid very still while she listened to my heart for an extra long time because I have a murmur. Papa says that murmur is no big deal and that I'll grow out of it. It doesn't bother me at all! :-) Next, the doctor got me a very nice book. It's about penguins and there is a song online that goes along with the book. I love it!

Of course, they buttered me up real good, just to pick on me. I had to get 4 shots! I was only supposed to get 3, but Papa has shingles so Mama requested that I get the chickenpox vaccine too. I had lots of crocodile tears during the shots and for a short while after, but cuddling with Mama seemed to help a lot. Now as if this torture wasn't enough, I had to get a blood draw after the dreaded shots. I had to have my hemoglobin and lead levels checked. I just cried when they poked me with the needle, but sat very still and quite while they got two whole tubes of blood. I didn't care much for the bandaid that they put on my finger afterward and so I pulled it off. That didn't do me much good, though, because I was still bleeding and ended up getting blood on my new Cubs jersey, Mama, and Papa. Then they held me down to apply pressure and put another Band-aid on. I pulled that one off, too, so Mama just gave up and held pressure for a few minutes until the bleeding finally stopped.

Mama was feeling bad about me having to get shots and get a blood draw so she took me out to dinner with our friends Shukrije and Endrit. We had a really good time! We went to HuHot and boy was that food good! I had potatoes, noodles, beans, chicken, beef, and more noodles. All the while, Miss Shukrije was doting over me while Mama doted on Endrit. I didn't mind much because I really just wanted someone to love me up!

Tomorrow Mama, Papa, and I are going to the pool again. I'm hoping that Mama will finally get some pool pictures of me so that I can blog again soon and show you all how I'm such a fish! Wish me luck in making her remember.

Well, I'd better head to ni-night. I'm pretty sleepy from all my shots and from the two molars that I'm getting. By the way, incase you're counting, that will make 12 teeth for me!

Much love...

Carter Sherman

I'm 1!

This is my brand new pair of sneakers that my Papa bought me. He has the same pair! I love to chew on shoes and like to look hip, so it's a good gift all around. Thanks, Papa!

This is me rubbing cupcake all over my face. It was delicious--and so pretty I felt a little bad destroying it--but only for a milli-second.

This is me being silly after eating most of my very first piece of cake on my birthday. It was delicious and definitely gave me a bit of a sugar rush--as evidenced by my bedtime of after 9 that night--which is about 3 hours late for me!

Well it finally happened. I turned 1! My parents can't believe it, but I gotta tell you, I wish it would happen more often, because I had a blast! Not only did I have a small party on my birthday, but I had a HUGE party a few days after. I was given fantastic gifts, wonderful attention, and cake! My mama, who is helping me write this post, is very happy that it only happens once a year 'cause apparently it's a lot of work. I don't know about it, though, because most of it was done when I was sleeping. Also, according to Mama, none of the party could have happened without Gramma A so I've got to give her a big thanks. Also, Mama wants to thank Uncle Jess and Grandpa A because of the "Family Do" list that they completed for her. The favorite things that they did was fix the stoppers in the sinks in Mama and Papa's bathroom and remove the ugly sunburst from the garage door. Those were tasks that made Mama feel wonderful as they had been bothering her since moving into the house last May.

So, let me tell you about my birthday celebrations. On my actual birthday (July 30th), I got to go shopping with Mama and Gramma A and Jess in preparation for Jess's senior pictures and our family photos that happened on Saturday. That was pretty fun. I got to watch Uncle Jess get dressed up by Mama (much to his disdain). Then Mama and Papa took me out for a special family lunch at Old Chicago. I indulged on pasta, breadsticks, pizza, salad...and everything was so good! Then we went home and hung out as a family until I napped. For supper, Mama made me hotdogs and mac 'n cheese. It was my very first "kiddo" meal and I LOVED it! Gramma A told us that Mama and Uncle Jess loved their first hotdog too...until they regifted it later. I was lucky enough not to regift it. :-) Then for dessert, I got angelfood cake with confetti frosting (instead of my typical fruit). Boy oh boy was that delicious! I got terribly messy and even threw some cake and frosting behind me onto the new carpet. That was fun too! After the cake Mama had no choice but to strip me naked in the kitchen and then give me a nice long bath. After the bath, we opened presents. My favorite gifts of the day were new shoes, lots of baseball stuff, and a Sing-Along Stage. The stage has a mirror, microphone, and lots of songs that inspire me to sing and dance like a maniac. What a cool invention. My favorite thing to do with it is to shake the microphone, put my face on the mirror and say "bah, bah, bah". I'm pretty good at singing and dancing.

Finally, today, I had my great big birthday bash with all my friends and family. I had grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, friends of my parents, and friends my own age! There were 4 of us babies that were born within 5 weeks of each other. We had a blast! We had some good food of beefburgers, fruit, veggies, chips, and cupcakes (definitely the best part!). Gramma A decorated the cupcakes like a baseball and put a "C" for Carter in the middle. They looked really cool and tasted even better! I destroyed my cupcake and rubbed it all over myself, Mama, and Gramma and had to have a bath while I had company 'cause I was so messy. I was kinda embarassed while that many people sang Happy Birthday to me, but it was okay. After lunch we all went outside and the big kids (parents) played yard games and us kids play BUBBLES! Mama got us giant bubbles and it was really fun. Everyone was thrilled to meet Alice too, which was kinda fun for me. I like showing off my giant puppy. :-)

Well, I am exhausted from my big day, so I'd better sign off. I want to thank everyone for making my birthday so wonderful and tell you that I look forward to celebrating your birthdays with you and am really looking forward to birthday #2!

Love to each and every one of you.

Carter.