Backyard Fun

Lots of great memories made in the backyard of our Carter house.  Thanks to Tony for building such a wonderful swing set!

First Day of School 2016

 Johanna moved into the 4 year old preschool Red Room with Erica and Amy.  She skipped the 3 year old Orange Room because of spacing and went directly into preschool so she will end up going through the preschool program twice before being old enough for kindergarten.

 Walter had already moved to the Toddler Room with Kim.  He was getting a little restless in the baby room and needed more opportunities for play.  So on the first day of school he was in the same room - which his teachers were pretty happy to see Walter's smiling face because all the kids other than Walter were crying with the adjustment to a new room!  Walter didn't stay in the Toddler Room long, before the end of the year he was already moved to the Blue Room with Emily.

Walter's First Birthday and Baptism

We combined Walter's first birthday and baptism.  Much like Johanna's baptism, it was held at Eagle Point Park and presided over by Lisa Fondell.  Drew and Melissa were the sponsors.  For the birthday party at our house, Walter enjoyed but wasn't too into his cake so Johanna helped by joining in with a fork.  And all the kids were more than happy to help him open presents!

Walter's First Year

First Smile: 1 month
Grabs and Holds: 2 months
First Laugh:3 months
Rolls Over: 4 months, rolls both ways 7 months
First Cereal: 5 months
Sitting: 5.5 months
First Solid Food: 5 months - Carrots
Clapping: 6.5 months
First Tooth: 4.5 months
Sit Youself Up: 7.5 months
Babble: 8 months -- Gaa, gaa!
Crawling: 8 months
First Steps: 10 months
Wave: 10 months
First Words: 12 months -- Hi
Stand Yourself Up: 8.5 months
Walking: 11.5 months
Sleeping Through the Night: Over 1 year old! 

Walter likes getting into things and we need to keep an eye on him.  He can even climb the stairs for the slide on the swing set.  He LOVES his daddy and prefers to have him within sight and often screams until daddy picks him up.  Walter isn't a man of many words yet but usually gets his point across with loud vocals and pointing.  Walter is starting to sleep through the night a bit more (finally) and we look forward to additional progress.  He loves to have a good time and has the most precious smile.

Kids Summer Trips 2016

Madison Children's Museum with Goldsmiths

Madison Zoo

The Dubuque County Fair.  The first fair for the kids.  It was a little too warm for the farm animals so there wasn't too much to see there.  We ran into Johanna's friend Naya and they were able to ride the rides together.

Niabi Zoo in the Quad Cities.  The train ride was obviously the highlight.

Peosta Days.  Johanna and Tony had a father/daughter day at the Peosta Days.  They ran into Johanna's friend Sienna and were able to enjoy some activities together.

Johanna Sports

Johanna got to try out a few sports in Summer 2016 - Soccer, Swimming, and Gymnastics.

Johanna played soccer through the Dubuque Soccer Club and was lucky enough to have Jason on her team.  At one of the first practices, the coach asked if anyone knew how to dribble.  Johanna excitedly exclaimed that she did!  And she picked up the soccer ball and dribbled it like a basketball :-) Johanna was a bit shy when it came to playing with the team, and acted pretty much how you would expect a 3 year old to act in their first team sport.  At one point, she had a great break away and was heading for the goal but then stumbled.  The cheering and attention followed by the stumble soured her a bit.  We are looking forward to seeing her try a team sport again when she is a little older.

Swimming by far seemed to be Johanna's favorite activity.  She was in the Pike swimming class at the YMCA.  She loves the water and I think appreciated the one-on-one attention with the teacher.  She wouldn't stop smiling whenever it was her turn.  She often chatted up the teacher while taking her turn and had to be reminded to focus on the task at hand.  She always looked forward to getting into the water and especially enjoyed the free play time at the end of class.  She is convinced that she now knows how to swim on her own (not hardly) but her report card said she should continue in the same class to build her skills.

Johanna also participated in Tumble Tots at the YMCA.  Her friend Ben from school was also in the class.  It was pretty cool to see her on the bars but she mentioned her favorite activity was using the "pickle".  It's a green padded cylinder they used to do back flips.