Blog Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Meaning Behind Your Blog Name

Today's should be really self-explanatory. The name of the blog is "Life as a Carr." My last name is Carr, and my blog is all about what my life is like...any questions?

Blog Challenge: Day 1

Day One: Introduce yourself, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

My name is Tracy Carr and I'm 26 years old. I've been married to my wonderful husband Kevin for almost 2 and a half years now. We are the parents to the most amazing little boy, Wyatt, and we're expecting baby #2, a girl, in early March. I have the most important job in the whole world: staying at home to raise our children in Christ.

This is our most recent family picture. It was taken Sunday night, right before we took Wyatt trick-or-treating for halloween. He was the most adorable little dinosaur ever!

15 facts (interesting is in the mind of the beholder!):

1. I just had my 26th birthday on October 24th. It was really great because my hubby let me do whatever I wanted (and didn't complain too much)!
2. This is my natural hair color. I've never dyed it--EVER!
3. I don't tan. I used to be quite sad about it, but now I've accepted it as a fact of my life. I get freckles and I get a pretty pink/red without sunscreen, but I will never tan.
4. I love that I can go to work in my pajamas everyday without getting hassled by the boss!
5. My work is being a SAHM and it is the best job ever!
6. My favorite outfit is jeans and a t-shirt. If I could wear that everywhere (church, weddings, special events, etc...) without guilt, I would.
7. I enjoy getting dressed up occasionally...if it's in something I already own and makes me feel pretty!
8. Next to Him dying for my sins, I consider my family to be the best gift God has given me.
9. I could enjoy fall and winter weather all year. I just love the crisp cool air and wearing sweaters and a scarf and hat!
10. I've only been out of the country twice--once for my sister's wedding in Mexico and the second time was to Jamaica for my honeymoon.
11. I consider children to be God's most precious creation!
12. I secretly hope that I'll never have to go back to work and I pray that God will continue to provide us with ways to make that possible. (Okay, so it might not be a secret! teehee!)
13. My favorite reading material is children's literature.
14. The main thing I miss from being a kid/youth playing competitive sports. I love basketball and volleyball!
15. My secret to happiness is trying not to take anything for granted and always looking for positives in the negatives. (It doesn't hurt that I try to communicate my desire for happiness to God daily.)

30 Day Blog Challenge

So my friends Hollie and Melissa are doing this 30 day blog challenge. They started yesterday, so I'm a day behind. Here's the 30 day schedule:

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3: Your first love
Day 4: Your parents
Day 5: Your siblings
Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7: Favorite movies
Day 8: A place you've traveled to
Day 9: A picture of your friends
Day 10: Something you're afraid of
Day 11: Favorite tv shows
Day 12: What you believe
Day 13: Goals
Day 14: A picture you love
Day 15: Bible verse
Day 16: Dream house
Day 17: Something you're looking forward to
Day 18: Something you regret
Day 19: Something you miss
Day 20: Nicknames
Day 21: Picture of yourself
Day 22: Favorite city
Day 23: Favorite vacation
Day 24: Something you've learned
Day 25: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26: Picture of your family
Day 27: Pets
Day 28: Something that stresses you out
Day 29: 3 Wishes
Day 30: A picture

Now, some of these really won't require much, so I'll still be able to do some regular posts to keep you updated on the goings on of our everyday life here. I've got some great pics of Wyatt from Kev's day off and of course some super-cute pics from halloween!

Be sure to stay tuned for Day 1...and maybe some pics soon!

Baby #2 is...

So yesterday we went to the doctor for our 2nd trimester sonogram with the hopes of finding out what the gender is. We went in for the sonogram and the sonographer measured this and measured that and showed us bones and brains and we got to see the heartbeat some more, which is probably one of my favorite things. I just love seeing the little heart just moving and beating and pumping life into my sweet little monster inside me! Everything looks good and normal and healthy and that, above all, is the most important thing imaginable for us. The sonograher kept poking around, saving the good stuff for last and then it was finally time. She moved the little stick around and around and around and all we could see was a little foot blocking our view. I was sooooo bummed, to say the least. I have been going crazy just waiting to find out what this little baby is. However, she told us that since it was the end of the day, we could come back after we saw the doctor and take one more little peak! I was so anxious! After we talked to the doc, we had to wait just a little longer and finally we were able to go in. So what's the verdict?


It's a...


First, a picture of my pizza-loving man!

Okay, I'll tell you now!

It's a

girl!!!

Wyatt's going to have a little sister! Kev and I are both so excited! Before we went to sleep last night, I asked him if the shock had worn off yet. He said it probably wouldn't sink in until he had to change her diaper! I just laughed and told him it would definitely be a new experience!

A Walking Machine

Wyatt has recently taken up walking as his preferred method of movement. It has been quite a long process to get to where we are today, but he is so fabulous! He took his first steps September 1st (you know--those 2-3 steps in between Kev and me). He got so tickled with himself and we would all clap. It's been very exciting! A month later, he's gained more confidence, letting go of our fingers more often than holding on. Thankfully, he's not so daring outside on the uneven ground yet, but with time I'm sure we'll all be chasing him around! It's so amazing to watch him develop and grow. I just keep loving him more and more all the time. So here are some pictures of his first outdoor walk with Daddy.

Have I mentioned that Wyatt loves hats?! He has even added it to his vocabulary (his second word after "dada")! He's so precious! I just can't get enough of him!

The rest of August/September

So not much is going on, but I have some pics from August and September that I haven't put up yet. So here goes.

Obviously this is my niece. This dress was my mom's. My grandfather brought it back from (or sent it from) Japan while he was there. He wasn't able to be home when she was born (his first child) so mom wore this when he finally came home. My sister and I both wore it and now it's E's turn. She's so precious and I hope I have a daughter one day who can wear it as well!

This pic just cracks me up. My little monster is just such a ham!

One of my favorite people came to visit last month. My cousin Nelson came in town to celebrate his birthday. I haven't seen him and he hasn't seen Wyatt since Thanksgiving last year. Obviously, Wyatt has changed quite a bit.

Allergies Part 2

Wyatt's allergy testing has been put on hold until he's a little older. We took him to one lab twice and another lab once and neither of them could get what they needed. They said he had good veins, but that they just kept rolling and it was hard to get them. I called Dr. B and she said she could usually get the hard ones so I took him in Monday morning, first thing. The result: Dr. B was surprised that even she was not able to get it done. We all decided that my poor little man had been tortured enough right now so it's the elimination game for us.
What does this mean? It means that the main foods that I thought might be causing problems for him have to be removed from his diet (which we pretty much already did) and will have to be re-introduced to him one at a time so we can try to figure out what his problems are. We still have the epi-pens for emergencies and if he non-emergent reactions, then we'll use the benadryl. It's a lot more stressful, but at least my poor baby won't get any more holes in his arms.
Now I realize that I haven't posted any pictures lately so I will try to post later today or tomorrow with some fabulous goings on lately! He's just growing and changing so much that I'm doing all I can to hold on to him and savor every moment I have with him!

Allergies

It has become apparent that Wyatt has allergies. We've known for a while that he has seasonal allergies (not surprising since Kev and I both have them). However, we've recently discovered that he has some food allergies. Unfortunately, we're not exactly sure what he's allergic to. Here's the story:

About 6 weeks ago I fed Wyatt a little pre-made meal. I noticed that by the end of the meal his eyes were reddish, he was rubbing them a good bit, he was sneezy, and he had a bit of break-out around his mouth.
I decided to wait a while and try the meal again to see if he reacted again just to be sure it was that and not something else. Almost 2 weeks ago we tried it again. Well this time, it was worse. His breathing got really heavy and had a kind of wheeze on the end of each breath. He was pretty upset and crying and just holding on to me. There were a couple minutes there where I thought I was going to have to take him to the hospital. It was pretty scary and Kev was on his way home from a PTO thing so I was by myself. Wyatt did end up settling down, but his breathing was still heavy and wheezy. I finally called Dr. B (though I was very hesitant to call her at home). She was perfectly fine with it and told us what to give him. Needless to say, Wyatt slept in our room that night. I didn't sleep much because I kept waking up to listen to his snoring. He was so pitiful. It took a few days, but he finally started acting like he felt better.

So now we're trying to get Wyatt allergy tested. I've taken him 3 times to get his blood drawn, but it's very hard to do on a baby. He's done really well being stuck, he just screams because he HATES to be held down. Have I mentioned before that Wyatt has super-baby strength? Well he does. I takes all of me and at least another person to hold him down while the 3rd person tries to stick him. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get the veins to stay still. So we've got to try again. In the mean time, Dr. B did prescribe us an epi-pen for emergencies. Apparently, if you're exposed to the same allergy trigger, it can be much worse the next time. It was in this case and if Wyatt does come up against this trigger again, we could be using that epi-pen.

Please pray that we can find out what is causing the reactions so we can avoid it and a possible visit to the ER.

It's Official!

Okay, so it's been official for 17 weeks, but here's the big announcement:

Wyatt's going to be a big brother!

Baby #2 is due March 7 and we are all very excited!

Wyatt's One Year Stats

Wyatt had his 12 month check-up last Thursday. Even though he's already 13 months, I doubt the stats should be too different!

So here we go:

Head: 20 in.

Weight: 27 lbs. 4 oz.

Height: 34 3/4 in.

He's still above the 97th percentile in all categories. I know--you're completely shocked! Haha! We looked at his marks on the growth curve chart and his height is still truckin along on it's own curve well above the normal lines. His weight mark is still above, but it did drop a little bit closer to the normal lines this time. He's just getting taller and slimming down some from all of his activity. He loves to be on the go!

As for his progress in other areas--Wyatt has started walking. He's trying to take steps on his own and he's getting much steadier on his feet. He's clapping his hands and shaking his head "no" to everything! He gets so tickled with himself when he does something that he claps for himself. If we say "Yay Wyatt!" he starts clapping. It's just the cutest thing. He's grown up so much in the last couple months. He doesn't look like a baby anymore. He's taken on the look of a little boy; complete with all the bumps and bruises and scratches that seem to come out of nowhere! No real words yet, but he is identifying and pointing to different things so we know he's learning really fast. He's even signing a little too so that's really neat!

We're having such a great time watching him grow and develop. He's so amazing and we thank God for this blessing everyday we get to be with him!

And because no post is complete without a picture of my little man,here you go!

Wyatt and Daddy waiting for the season to start! Go Dawgs!

Why we love our kids!

My sis came into town last weekend with my niece E. We had a great visit and Saturday night we had a late dinner at my parents' house. Mom decided to play with the babies while the rest of us ate (the babies had already eaten). We had to close the doors to the dining room so they wouldn't come begging for food. This was the result.

E started it...

...and Wyatt joined in!

We had a great visit and the cousins loved playing with each other!

More Birthday Fun

So we didn't invite any of Wyatt's friends over for his party because, on top of all of his family, it may have gotten overwhelming for him...and us. So Tuesday after his birthday, we had our friends over for dinner and cake/ice cream. I didn't take enough pictures, but here are the few I did get.

Wondering why he's in his chair.

He got a Thomas the Train and one of those books that makes noise when you push the buttons. He loves books!

A Year of Wyatt

It's uncanny how much a baby can change over the course of a few days, let alone a whole year! My little man is so different from when we first met him. Kev and I look back at the pictures and remark at how much he's grown and changed. So I thought I'd share his growth through the year on the blog. Here we go!

Our family!

Welcome home Wyatt!

My serious little man.

One week old!

One month!

First smile caught on camera!

Goooo Dawgs! Two months old.

Three months.

Merry Christmas! Four months.

First solid food! Five months.

Six months old. Sittin up with my buddies!

Happy seven month old!

Lovin the beach at eight months!

Nine months old and his hair is finally coming in!

Summer vacation at ten months!

Showing musical talents at eleven months!

One gorgeous little man at one year old!

Wyatt is One!

This past Saturday was Wyatt's first birthday!! We had a blast! Since we had the shindig at our house, we decided just immediate family only. So we invited Wyatt's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. All but Uncle J (who was sick and very much missed) were able to come.
Prepare yourself for picture overload!! :)

Waiting for the party to begin, so we played with balloons!

Gotta love that face!

When are they going to get here?

Playing with Cousin E. They love each other!

Yay! Cousin B is here!

Let's open presents!

Cake Time!

"Happy Birthday to you!" (sing along!)

He had no hesitations and dug right in!

Two hands...even better!

Mmmmm, there's cake too!

Isn't this supposed to be my cake?

Sharing with Daddy and Mommy.

He thought it would look great in my hair!

Still going!

Cousin B was shocked at how much he ate!

And now it's time for a bath!

All clean and ready to play!

Wyatt's new wagon! It's a two-seater so he can share! Cousin E likes it too!

Cousin E likes to ride in Wyatt's car too!

So tired, but still going!