Standing... soon to be crawling/walking

So, Otto stood up last night. He just was sitting on my lap (almost indian style), and pulled on my shirt to stand up! He did it again when I exclaimed in surprise to Eric, too.

I was not expecting it at all and now I'm a little apprehensive about how quickly things are going to progress... he's not crawling or walking... yet. I knew he was strong, but come on! There was no real warning at all!

Goodbye world. This is our official goodbye since we'll be chasing around our little boy any day now! Wish us luck!

Smart man

So, Otto was evidently bored one day when I had set him in his high chair early November and figured this fun trick out... before this he was smiling, amused and laughing. I almost missed the best of it.

Man’s surprising laugh

Man’s surprising laugh

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Therapy with Donald

So, this was mid-September... Otto hates to be on his tummy sometimes and this was right after he had tummy time. Apparently Donald Duck isn't just a beloved Walt Disney character; he's also a very effective therapist. In all seriousness, Otto loves his Donald that Grandma & Grandpa Carter brought back from Disneyland for him!

Playing with Daddy

We love to bounce Otto and he loves it, too! Otto has begun laughing a lot more now - his most recent favorite is laughing at mommy dance. I knew I was rusty in my dancing, but really... is it that ridiculous? :)

TV + Otto

He's mesmerized sometimes! We'll have to make sure he watches good shows! :)

Babysitters & such

Thank you to all you have babysat and continue to babysit Otto for us! We are hoping this will only continue for a short while longer, of course, but we wanted you to know we appreciate you!



The other day our neighbor, Abby, babysat Otto even though she has her two little ones to take care of. She was sweet enough to take a few pictures of him and they are so well done! All those who think she could earn money doing this, say aye! Aye!

Hiking

Eric's family invited us to hike Mt Timpanogos with them and so we decided to prepare by going on other hikes. Here we are at Donut Falls... it's only a couple miles total, but it was fun to get used to hiking again. Otto was really good in our front carrier - he just fell asleep and enjoyed the ride.

That was the only hike we did in preparation for the big hike. Probably should have done more, but we

survived. Here we are on our way up Mt Timp on Sept. 5th. We met up with BriAnn and Derek (on their way down). We ended up leaving late that morning,

which made it so we missed Eric's family on the way up, but we also missed the rain (that

was our plan all along). We enjoyed the hike - the exercise, the beauty, and the fresh air were great for us! It was a fun hike; we went just over halfway, but I was very sore for a couple of days and Otto's schedule was thrown off for a while. He was a champ, though, along the way. He's finally sleeping through the night again - yay! (Sorry for the poor picture quality - it was pretty misty from the morning rain.)

We've resolved to make it to the top next year with Otto!

Eric graduated in May!

So, I didn't post anything on Eric's graduation in May of this year, but I just wanted to express how excited we are to begin our next adventures together, but to have a milestone behind us! He graduated with a Bachelor's in Architecture. Way to go, Eric!

Now on to bigger and better - his Master's at the U. I'm so grateful for a hard working husband who is excited about architecture! He's wonderful!

He rolled over!

Today, after work, I set Otto on a blanket for "tummy-time" and he was pushing up and doing what we used to call "superman" exercises when I was in gymnastics where he lifts his arms/shoulders and legs off the floor. I was amazed so I got out the camera and recorded a video... then he rolled over! I was so surprised! He's getting so strong!

Just ignore my reaction/voice! I sound goofy. :)

Bath time!

Otto is really enjoying bathtime these days... since his umbilical cord fell off and he's able to sit in warm water, he loves it. The other day I took him out of the bathtub, set him on his cute towel, and he started wimpering. I opened his towel to hurry and put lotion on him. He then started urinating and I immediately put the towel back over him. What else could I expect from a naked little boy? :) It's actually the second time he's done that... I wonder what that means.

He's so cute!

Otto's Sneeze

Little Otto

Becoming a mother is an interesting, challenging, and rewarding gift. I'm sure Eric has felt the same about becoming a father. I intend to write more on this in the future, but for now, these few pictures from our hospital stay say quite a bit!

We've given in!

So, we've finally begun our blogging adventures! We hope to add many features and such, but are just starting afresh, so be patient! :)

Feel free to send us your blog addresses so we can add you to our friends and family!