I am Yao, King of the Rock

This week our little guy decided to start climbing.  He climbs on the couch, on totes, on dad, etc.  Also, he is pretty pro at walking, especially with his walking stick (picture to follow).

Carter climbing  on the tote.  He found his treats! 

He's really good at walking, but he loves using his walking stick, aka dad's level.  

 Helping Mom around the house

Carter loves the vacuum...

...until it turns on.

I'm so glad when daddy comes home.

Carter's favorite game.  Tag

Cousins!  Grandma Batty made these outfits for them.  

Pink stroller bad, pink bunny good!

Left the level at home, had to use this instead. 

Ready for swimming, Don't forget the sunscreen! 

The Guardian.  Carter loves his monkey.  The other night we came in to find that he had set his monkey up to watch over him.  We had to snap a picture! Risky, but worth it.

 Scaling the Mighty Pink Chair

Step 1: Insert face in chair.

Step 2: Pull up legs. Keep face in chair.

Step 3: Relax and enjoy after a hard days work.

Blueberry Pancakes and a Pink Princess Stroller

Earlier this week we learned that Carter likes pancakes, but his true love is the spatula used to make them.  We made blueberry pancakes and he enjoyed getting them all over the place.  

"What?! Do I have something on my face?"

"Spatula!"

 Carter's First Drive-in Movie--The Avengers

A local theater had a free movie night this week.  It was a drive-in movie which was a new experience.  Carter really enjoyed being in the front seat for once.

Crazy hair.

"My turn to drive. What does he mean license and registration?"

 The Splash Pad

You can see, he's pretty comfortable being in the water.  Of course, everybody seems that way in Phoenix.  

 Carter loves exploring.  This week he discovered that there is space underneath the crib where he can crawl.  He also discovered that it can be hard to get out if you go the wrong way.  

"I'm stuck"

"Oh, this way looks easier."

Scottsdale Historic Train Depot
      We went with Kyler, Amanda, and Alicia to the train park in Scottsdale.  It was a nice place to spend the afternoon and learn some history.

History Lesson from Carter's old man.  The Payphone. 

Old man: "Back in my day we used these instead of cell phones."

Carter: "What do you mean it's attached? Does it do texting? Video? Apps?"

Teeter-totter!

When we got to the park we realized our stroller had a flat tire.  Luckily Amanda saved the day with their extra pink princess stroller!  

"Seriously guys?"

"Okay, really isn't this considered child abuse?"

"Dad! Get me out!"

Us by the train.

Craig's new ride.

Carter: "Whoa.  It must be a time machine."

Alicia: "Great. Make me five. Then I can make chicken. Chicken nuggets."

Looking at the model trains.

Craig's Great Escape.  Foiled again. Maybe by Kyler, maybe the width of the gap...or Craig...You be the judge.

"So let me get this straight.  It doesn't even go upside down? Is this a kiddie ride?"

"Don't leave me in here."

Partners in crime.

First haircut and other adventures

The last few weeks have been pretty busy around here.  We've all had a lot of new experiences.  Craig started med school, Paige is adjusting to being a stay at home mom, and Carter is doing new things pretty much daily.  New cupboards to explore, new food to eat, even a new hairstyle.  Okay not really new...just shorter.  

Carter loves corn cobs.  Too bad that mommy ate all the corn first.  He didn't seem to mind though.

On Craig's last night before medical school started we decided to splurge.  We had Red Velvet cake ice cream (amazing by the way) in waffle bowls with hot chocolate syrup and cool whip.  Mmm.  I wish we still had some now.  :(

Student Dr. Batty's first day of school :)  Sorry Carter, you can't go yet.  

Craig and Carter getting ready for some pool time.  

Uh oh.  Busted!  When we found Carter he was completely inside the cupboard.  When he saw us, he promptly climbed back out and shut the door.  It was hilarious.  

Ready for Church.  

 The New Do, aka First Haircut.

Carter had fun looking at himself during his haircut.

"What the heck are you doing?!"

"What do you mean 'uh oh'?"

Before...

After

Stylin' the new haircut, carrot in hand.

 Pool Party with Alicia and Aunt Amanda

"Can we go swimming yet?"

Alicia: "I think it's broken"

Carter: "Don't worry, I will help"

"It looks like there is a problem with your blinker fluid.  You'd better have your dad check that."

Helping mom with the laundry. Mom folds it, Carter unfolds it.  Fun that never ends!

Culture Passes. A poor family's best friend.

For those of you not from the Phoenix area, the local libraries have something called culture passes.  These passes allow you to check out tickets to various educational places around Phoenix as you would a book.  We ended up getting tickets to the Phoenix Zoo and the Phoenix Science Center using these culture passes.  They are absolutely free to use, so this is perfect for poor students.They have allowed us to see some of the sites we would not normally see due to the cost.

The Phoenix Zoo

"Are we there yet?"

We though this was a rock at first until it started moving.  It is seriously about 3 feet tall, so it really looked like a big boulder. 

"Can we go see the monkeys now?"

Carter was having a lot of fun trying to grab the mist outside the Orangutan building.   

"I'm so hot."

Carter and Paige after playing in the splash pad.

We went with Kyler, Amanda, and Alicia.  

Us again.

Taking a break for lunch.  

 The Phoenix Science Center

Our favorite part of the museum was the human body exhibit.  Craig thought it would be a good idea to spend some time here in preparation for medical school.

Learning about the Central Nervous System. (Which forms from the neural tube during neurulation during weeks 3-4 of fetal development).  Craig learned that this past week in school! :)

Buttons!!! Press all the buttons!!

Craig teaching us about the skin.  (The epidermis forms from dermatome sections of the somites.  These arise from paraxial mesoderm during weeks 3-4 of fetal development.  In case you can't tell, our first week has been full of embryology!)

Carter loved the cardiac ball pit.  He is currently playing in the left ventricle.  (The heart originates from the cardiac plate, anterior to the oropharyngeal membrane on the bilaminar disk.  Sick of these yet? Better question is Craig sick of these yet?).

Carter is getting really good at standing by himself.  He's also getting good at walking.  His current record is 2 steps toward Dad, 3 steps toward Mom, and 4 steps toward a gummy bear.  He is definitely his mother's son.

The Bed of Nails.

Carter got pretty frustrated when he found out the rocks were glued down.  

Carter, meet Plexiglas.  Shortly after this picture was taken he got very upset that he couldn't grab the stuff inside.  Poor buddy.   

Bubbles!

Carter strikes his best scientist face. Hum....

Carter's favorite area was the kids play area.  There were lots of new toys to play with.