Odds and Ends

Some fun pictures that I just wanted to post of my little girl taken in the last couple days.

Carter really likes curling up on Robert after a long day of playing for a little cuddle--although I'm not exactly sure who likes the snuggle time more! (If Robert's not home, I'm a distance second best option, but I take advantage of getting my snuggles in when I can. The belly is really starting to get in the way of my lap though...) Carter even got in several naps sleeping right on her poppa's chest during our week long monsoon, which worked great right up until she had an accident in her sleep and completely soaked him!

What could possibly be better than coloring up mom's meeting notes straight from the bath? She informed me that she was busy writing her name. With Carter, clothes really are optional. And since we live out in the middle of no where, there doesn't seem to be much point to staying fully clothed at all time. We're trying to at least implement a "clothes must be on if there is company" policy, but mostly she really would prefer just prefer to be naked. I'm constantly looking outside to see clothing strewn from one end of the place to the other and Carter running around happy as can be. Seems to be that I had a very similar attitude at her age and really, who cares?

Her new smile for the camera--not sure where she picked up the idea that she needs to open her mouth wide, but it's pretty cute. Gramma Aunty sent over a whole coffee can full of old pens and Carter has had a ball trying them all out, taking them apart, and scribbling all over with them. Mostly we've managed to contain all scribbling to paper, with only a few minor lapses on the table, clothing, and various body parts. Nothing else that I can find anyway, but I've been trying to enforce a "Paper Only" policy and so far, she's been trying pretty hard to follow it--about as much as you can expect from a curious 2 year old. What's really fun is to listen to her conversations with herself while she is busy coloring or taking a bath. I especially love it when she is singing.

With all the mud, Carter decided she didn't want to wear her shoes (which at this point were all completely caked in mud) and now wanted to test how mommy's shoes performed. Ha! Those were my only clean pair!

Helping mom cook. She was pretty excited that she had gotten both the beater and the spoon--again the new camera smile. She really likes to help and while it certainly ups the mess factor, it's pretty entertaining to have her help. She's funny about certain things: I have to use a certain set of measuring spoons, only she can turn on the mixer and she gets to crack all the eggs. We compromised on the eggs and I let her crack them in a separate bowl before adding to the mix so I can first get all the shells out. I have to watch pretty closely though. Her new favorite trick is to try and sneak sprinkles in all the recipes. Not bad in muffins, but a bit strange in potato salad.