An Added Joy

I was even more nervous for this second baby than I ever was with the first. Excitement overwhelmed me the first time, and this time I was mostly nervous about the first few months with a toddler on top of it all. I was also paranoid about colic or some sort of medical concern with Carter, but Matt says that's because I'm a pessimist. (Really I just like to be prepared for the worst.) All these worries, so far, were unnecessary, because I'm loving having a baby in our home. Granted, the nights are rough (especially with Caleb waking up frequently), but I love little babies. We're having so much fun with Carter being a part of our family.

Carter is a calmer baby than I remember Caleb being. I love that Carter goes back to sleep most of the time right away after the nighttime nursings. With Caleb, he seemed to be wide awake at night for the first month, and it was not fun training him that nighttime is for sleeping. Carter brings a special spirit into our home (as Caleb did)...maybe because he was just with our Heavenly Father not too long ago.

Caleb is, for the most part, very sweet with Carter. If Carter is crying or upset, he will find the pacifier and put it in Carter's mouth. Caleb will also share his toys with Carter very well when Carter is sad and doesn't understand why this doesn't fix the problem. He's always giving the baby kisses. He's very proud of his little brother. If someone is admiring Carter, Caleb is quick to run over and smother the baby with kisses to take ownership that this is his baby. Caleb also is very aware of Carter, and if he doesn't see Carter, he will ask, "Where's the baby?" I can't wait until Carter is older and they can play together.

Here are some recent pictures of Carter:

9 days old

2 weeks old

20 days old

Big Brother

Caleb being a good helper by sharing his toys with Carter when Carter is crying.

(Carter is 4 weeks old)