Week 21- Leaning Tower of Pisa & More!

Carson enjoyed a playdate with his friend Ian who is 3 months older (7.5 months). Ian is very skilled at sitting up and crawling. Carson is very skilled at screeching and eating his toes. Sitting up is getting better but as evidenced by these pictures, Carson resembles the Leaning Tower of Pisa! I think Ian is leaning to make Carson feel better.

Mommy is making funny faces for the boys while Ian's daddy takes pictures. Clearly Ian understands how to smile for the camera. Carson is just frustrated that he can't sit up straight!

At this point in the day, we've run out of bibs so the front of Carson's sweater is soaked in drool!

Ian still smiling for the camera . . . Carson planning on eating the block!

Later on in the week . . .

Carson enjoying his mirror "friend" after bathtime!

I wish you could see the mass of bubbles coming out of Carson's mouth!Lower lip is gone!Just practicing! What a fun new ride! Complete with a rain/sun shade

Week 21- Let's Go Streaking!

Nothing makes Carson happier than being naked! In fact, I think he would prefer it if we never dressed him at all. Today up in the hills we enjoyed a white winter wonderland with snow and endured the chilly 32 degree weather. In spite of this, Carson enjoyed his naked time in the living room, actually only getting fussy when we finally put a diaper on him (dog pee is no longer the only kind of urine on the carpet!).

Anonymous Centerfold Submission for Cutest Buttocks of the Year Award

Enjoying "tummy time" much more while naked. Happily peeing on blanket while Mommy is snapping pictures.

Screeching with delight, which is the only way to describe the sounds that come from Carson these days.

Look at me!! I'm still naked!

Hold on there buckaroo!

Loving the Jumpaoo!

Bouncing so high his hand is still in mid-air while he gathers his legs "Tigger" style underneath for more bounce!

Actually cracking himself up as he often does.

Poor, poor big brother Jackson is a little miffed at all the attention that Naked Carson is getting. He decided to hide behind the curtains with a really sad face.

Week 20- Happy Thanksgiving!

Jumping right into the holidays, Carson endured a 3 hour car ride to a small town south of Eugene to meet his extended family on Grandpa Rader's side! We celebrated Thanksgiving at 2 pm with Aunt Lori, Uncle Brian, Jeremy's aunt, uncle, cousins and their 10 kids and a few others as well. After stuffing ourselves on Thai food, turkey, ham, and more, we stuffed ourselves back into the car for the long ride back to keep on schedule for our second Thanksgiving feast of the day. Unfortunately Carson did not sleep for more than 30 minutes on the way back and screamed at the top of his lungs for the last 45 minutes. Apparently babies don't like sitting in the dark, wide awake with nothing to do! Combine the screaming with the rain and traffic and Mommy and Daddy were at the end of their ropes by the end.

Getting ready in the morning! Looking like quite the big boy in his sweater and jeans!Mommy and Carson!Grandpa Rader and Carson!
Grandma Rader and Carson!
In the evening we shared a feast with Grandpa and Nana Kuntz and Uncle Jeff & Aunt Liza. Carson stayed up a little bit past his bedtime and did attend the meal in his pajamas. He enjoyed playing in Nana's high chair while we ate and ate and ate!

Uncle Jeff and Carson!

The Rader Family!

If you look closely, Carson's bib reads, "Grandma's Little Gobbler"

The Kuntz's, Wheeler's, and Rader's (minus the photographer)

Nibbling on his yummy toys in his big boy high chair!

Week 19- Da Boys!

Carson had some friends over for dinner this weekend! Cade, 4 years old, and his younger brother, Kellen, about to turn 1, and their cousin Lucas, about to turn 2 years old. Trying to get four boys to smile at the camera at the same time was basically impossible! Here is the hilarious sequence of pictures as the attention spans and smiles did not work together. The only camera-wise smiler of course was Cade. Watch as he tries his hardest to get everyone to cooperate!

Cade and Kellen, happy! Lucas and Carson not quite getting it!

Cade smiling and trying to get his best to get the other boys on board. Kellen busy eating a block, Lucas contemplating eating a block! Carson completely unaware of anything going on around him.
Cade is thrilled that he got Lucas to smile. Kellen is thrilled with the taste of the block. Lucas is thrilled with Cade's attention. Carson is enthralled by his toes, doesn't seem to notice the boys around him.
Finally! Everyone is looking at the camera, or at least in the general direction! Cade=Smiling!! Lucas=Smiling! Kellon=Eating Block! Carson=NOT HAPPY!! Just realized he is stuck in a dorky chair and someone is taking his picture in it!

Week 19- Cold Weather Running & High Chair Trial

What a cute guy! We were stuck at home today and getting bored so we did a trial run in the high chair!

Not quite ready for it, as he is slumped over to one side but provided at least 10 minutes of new entertainment.

Mr. Happy has been randomly fussy for the last few days! No fun! Especially when you can't figure out what's wrong!


Brrr!! With only one day without rain for the month of November and frigid temperatures, running outdoors is a bit challenging.


Getting the dog decked out in his raincoat, Carson decked out in his polar fleece outfit, and Mommy in all her raingear takes extra time and will power!

Conveniently Carson takes his first morning nap despite the crazy wind, rain, cars, and construction noise.

Week 18- Big Boy Clothes

Carson officially turned 4 months old this week! He weighed in at 16 lbs 14 oz and measured 26 3/4 inches long! Mommy is addicted to shopping at Gymboree and BabyGap and must stop! Here is Carson in his "big boy" clothes, however still wearing a bib because of the constant spitting up. He is dressed in layers so we can peel off each soaked shirt to get through the day.

Carson helps Mommy with sit ups! However, the drool that coats Mommy's tummy and sometimes her face, is not a very motivating factor!

Week 17- Introducing . . . the Jumperoo!

Reading back through my babybook and looking at pictures of Jeremy as a baby, it turns out we were both big fans of our "Johnny Jump Ups". We decided Carson was ready to give it a shot since he has started trying to bounce in his exersaucer. Since our house doesn't have a good doorway for a jump-up, we purchased the freestanding "Deluxe Jumperoo".

I can't even describe how hard it makes us laugh to watch Carson try to launch himself in every possible direction. He makes himself laugh. One time he bounced so high both arms flew in the air! I am doing my darndest to figure out to get video on here so every can share in his delight!

Week 17- Halloween Costumes & Touching Toes!

A few exciting firsts this week! Carson began touching his toes and rolling onto his side from his back. This was also his first week in the exersaucer without blankets padding him in. He is loving the freedom of going forward and backward. Time to buy a jumperoo! Carson also spent the night at Nana & Grandpa Kuntz's for Mommy and Daddy to have their adult Halloween party. In fact, he spent most of the weekend there and had a blast!

He also graduated to his 6-9 month clothes! Baby clothes are so frustrating when it comes to sizing! Gap, Gymboree, and Old Navy- he is wearing the 6-12 month clothes but in the Target brand, he is a 9-12 month size. Granted he is a big little boy but the inconsistency is infuriating!

Mommy & Daddy's social life is suffering because Carson goes to bed around 6:15-6:30 pm. Great for getting things done around the house but murder on evenings out! But he usually only gets up at 4 am to eat and then 6:45 am he is up for good.

Touching my toes is so fun! Especially without clothes getting in the way!

I feel like such a stud muffin with these two cute ladies! They made a very cute cowgirl and Indian!

Katlynn and Emily are 4 and 2 and love playing with me! I'm like a live dolly for them!

Reece is just over a week younger than me but we're darn close in size! It turns out that he is a lion too! I was very impressed by his paws and tried to pull them off. We didn't time our smiles very well . . . our photographers finally ran out of patience. Thank goodness for digital pics or they would have run out of film!Lions are the cool thing this year! I found another one! My friend Aaron is 8 months old and he has a really cool tail that snaps off. My tail is stuck underneath me somewhere! I hope I'm done dressing up for Halloween now!

Now I'm hanging with my friend Luka! He was born on the day I was supposed to arrive! Our parents met in a child birth class and now we get to play together! Apparently I'm not done dressing up yet! Trying to get both the kangaroo and the lion to smile at the same time was a bit challenging! So darn cute!
Now our mommies just let us be regular baby boys! We enjoyed tummy time much more when we could stare at each other!Here we tried to get in the exact same pose but couldn't quite get it right!