Ocean Shores

This past weekend we drove to Ocean Shores for the weekend with my parents and brother and sister-in-law. We rented an amazing cottage right on the beach. Both Matt and I hadn't been to Ocean Shores in about 15 years. The beach was great (although a bit cold), but we realized there wasn't much else to do around town. That, along with a baby who didn't sleep well made for a very tiring weekend. Oh well...still fun to get away, right? Our first walk on the beach.

Obviously, the sun was a little bright! Carter still liked checking out the water though.Trying to be brave and stick my feet in the water.

We spent much of the weekend relaxing and playing in the cottage. Grandma was a big help!
So was Aunt Joy!
On Saturday, we spent part of the day walking around some of the worst gift shops I've ever seen! We found a few hilarious sweatshirts too!Classic.

Carter was a little unsure about his "puppy with flowers" shirt.
Matt and his wolf shirt. Awesome.Carter had a great time playing and even learned how to climb up the stairs while we were there!

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the 8th month.

Carter will be 9 months old on Friday. As I was looking back at this past month, I realized how many huge milestones occured during his 8th month. He can now:
1. Say Dada, Mom, Bob, Hi, Hey, Duck (who knows where he picked up Bob from???)
2. Crawl everywhere...and fast!
3. Pull himself up onto anything
4. Walk holding onto something
5. Push his car around the living room
6. Stand by himself
7. Wave byebye to himself (so cute watching him do it backwards!)
8. Eat more finger foods
9. Stand up in his crib
10. Grow hair quickly
11. Get new teeth (6 total)
Ignore the mismatched pajamas!Such a good helper in the kitchen!

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a boat ride.

We have been wanting to do a day trip to the San Juans all summer and today seemed like the perfect day. So...we got up early (well, our normal hour of 5:30am), picked up our friends (Brandon & Carrie Glanzer) and drove down to Anacortes to catch the ferry to Friday Harbor. It was Carter's first ferry and he loved it! Carrie and Brandon waiting in the terminal to board the boat. Matt and Carter.Carter checking out the view from the boat. He loved looking at the water, walking around the ferry and smiling at all the girls.Family pic.

It was 90+ degrees today so we spent most of the day going in and out of shops trying to find some air conditioning. After lunch it was time for ice cream!Matt and Carter on the ferry heading home. He did such a good job despite the fact he was hot and sweaty and stuck in a stroller for most of the day.

Here are a couple more pictures just because I thought they were cute. Carter's hair has been coming in more blond, his eyes turning a brighter blue and just basically getting cuter every single day!

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8 months

Our not-so-little boy is already 8 months old! He now weighs 24lbs, 10oz and is wearing 24month-2T clothes! Crazy, I know. This summer has been so fun with Carter. We take walks in the stroller, play on the swings, splash in the pool and scoot all over the house

Big milestones:
He has officially started crawling (okay, well, like 2 steps and then falls to his stomach to reach for a toy) but still...he's mobile!
Pulling himself up onto the coffee table, crib, and anywhere else he can get his hands onto.
Letting go of our hands when he's walking to reach out for something.
Taking off his diaper (luckily, it's only happened on the changing table and I've been able to put it right back on!)
Peeing for the first time standing up! Happened last night when we were waiting for the bathtub to fill up. Yep...all over the floor! He was very proud of himself.
Eating all sorts of foods - sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, avocado, apples, peaches, peas, green beans, zucchini, blueberries, yogurt, oatmeal, rice and cheerios. We are trying chicken tomorrow!
Mastering the art of the sippy cup.
Transitioning from 3 naps to 2.
Cheerios are his new favorite snack. And I must admit, it's a great snack to have on hand when we are at the park/restaurant/friends house and I need to keep him happy! He loves to grab an entire handful and then try to shove them in.

His new favorite toy is this rubber ducky. It's really just a bath toy, but it's the only thing that will keep him distracted long enough for me to change his diaper without him rolling all over the place.

We are loving this stage and loving our sweet boy. Happy 8 months Carter!

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