It's Here!

Baseball Season!

The Carter family is a baseball loving family and we are true to our Houston Astros. I am a day late because yesterday was the home opener, but we wanted to show our support anyway. I had some help from Ben's Aunt T and Aunt Cilla and Ben now has two Astros outfits and Dad got a new shirt too! Lucky boys.

Take me out to the ballgame!

Smile Reflex

Ben does not actually smile yet, but I think this reflex is too funny. Don't ask me how I discovered it. Time alone with someone so fun makes me try all sorts of creative things. He is looking at our faces more and more and I just can't get enough of it!
Enjoy.

Bundled Up in Kansas

It is cold here and the Kansas wind makes things even worse. But, Ben and I had to go to Wal-Mart. Some friends and fellow missionaries here gave us lots of their old baby stuff. One of the items was a baby carrier cover. I didn't think I would be using it in April, but I had to. It was so much better than trying to keep a blanket from flying away in the wind.

Where did he go?

Ben's Debut at Church

I had planned for Ben's debut at our church to be on Easter Sunday. But, I feel great and Ben is pretty predictable, so we went today. Of course, he woke up 30 minutes earlier that usual (6:30am) and then wanted to eat again in 3 hours (9:30am) instead of stretching to make up for that 30 minutes, so we were pushing it to get out of church and him not wake up to eat. We did make it, but barely. He started fussing a little early, but never really woke up.

Remember, we are church planters and members of a small, new church plant, so we just meet in a living room of a ministry house and sit in a circle. Ben stayed in the carrier, facing the rest of the room like any other church member.

Here is a picture of us on our way out the door to church. It is super casual, since we are encouraging non-churched people from urban neighborhoods to attend. It really is a "come as you are" environment.

It seems like Ben is always asleep in the pictures we take. This time, we were glad so that he would sleep through church. And, he covered up his shirt with his hands. Since I have been away from church for a while and this was his debut, I figured he could wear a shirt with my name on it. His shirt said "I Love Mommy and Mommy loves me." Like I said, casual. Much different from our church in Dallas.

Just for Fun

The two men in my life took me on a date yesterday. Ryan and I used to go to dinner every Thursday evening and decided to move our date to Friday lunches instead. Ben is pretty fussy and much more unpredictable in the evenings, so lunch works better and Ryan is off on Fridays. We went to a cute little sandwich/soup/salad spot where I had never been. We had to take a table right by the soda machines, so we got lots of looks and compliments from many people. It was fun! No one tried to touch - big plus! I didn't get a picture of us though, so you will just have to use your imagination. But, I must say, we all three were quite a good lookin' family.

Here are some pictures just to keep you interested.

See my big belly.
I am about to outgrow the Newborn stuff, but the 0-3 is still too big.
(He was squirming on his changing table.)

Some fun time with Mommy after my bath. We read a book and then took our picture. My Aunt Can Can and Aunt T love taking their own pictures like this, so this is for them!


I was trying to resist the kisses from Mommy and Daddy, but they got them!

Who does he look like?

Ryan and I are fortunate enough to have some pictures of us as babies.

This is me (Amber) with my mom in the hospital after I was born.
(Thanks Aunt Lisa for the picture.)

This is me and Ben in the hospital after he was born.
(Sorry, not a good face picture of Ben.)

This is Ryan (3 months old) with his Grandpa Carter.
(Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Carter for the picture.)

For comparison, here is the face picture of Ben at 3 days old.

Growing Update

Our little porker, Ryan's endearing term for our growing son.

We went to the pediatrician this morning and Ben is definitely growing! Ryan and I could tell he was filling out and seemed longer as well. And both of those were true. The nurse measured his length twice, not quite believing how much longer he was. She said, "Neither of you will be able to guess how long he actually is!" We don't go back until Ben is 2 months old.

Here are the stats:
Weight
2 weeks ago - 7 lb 8 oz
today - 9 lb 4 oz
Height
2 weeks ago - 20 3/8 in
Today - 21 3/4 in
Head
2 weeks ago - 13.5

Today - 13 7/8

This is his first time in his jeans. They are still a bit big. The mirror is just to his left on his changing table, so he is looking at himself in this picture. It is hard to get him to look up at me when he is lying there. He likes to look all around the room through the mirror when he gets changed.

We continue to love our new roles as parents. We are settling in well to our new routine. Ryan spends as much time working from his home office as possible, but is gone off and on throughout the day. We are so grateful that he can come and go so much and see Ben and me each day.

Ben is also settling in to his routine. He generally eats every three hours faithfully throughout the day. In the evenings, he gets pretty fussy and will eat more often and refuse to lay down in his pack-n-play or crib, but instead will need to be held to sleep. If he is going to be fussy, 5-10pm is as good a time as any. We are both home and just around the house so we love holding him then. He usually gets a feeding at 10pm and will be down for the night, like a totally different baby suddenly. Throughout the night, he usually does 1am, 4am and then we are up at 7am to start the day. 7am seems to be his most alert time. He is somewhat hard to keep awake after feedings during the daytime, but loves to be awake at 7am. That works for me since I like to start my day then anyway and Ryan is usually up getting ready for the day.

Speaking of Ryan, he has been the best dad a little boy (and new mom) could hope for. Ryan gets up at the 1am and 4am feedings, brings Ben to me in our room to feed him and then takes him back to his room, changes his diaper and puts him back down to sleep. I certainly don't complain about this arrangement. Ryan loves to hold him and play with him anytime he gets the chance. I can't say enough good things about both the men in my life! They bring me great joy!