Friday, February 29, 2008

Catching Up!

I have received several complaints about my lack of blogging lately! I am truly sorry but life has been incredibly busy! Between getting our taxes ready for the accountant, Carson teething again, and work being insanely busy, I just haven't had time to do anything else. Did I mention one of our renters left the home just filthy and I've been trying to get that dealt with! Gross and disrespectful!

Any any rate, here are some updated pics and fun times in no particular order!

Carson is okay about sharing his toys until Ian comes to hang out. Carson just becomes extra possessive and jerky. Ian's favorite toy at our house is the cozy coupe. Well, Carson tried to make it an extra cozy coupe. You can clearly see that Ian does not appreciate being a back seat driver! In fact, there is no back seat! Get off him Carson!!
We have done some dog-sitting lately for Nana & Papa (Jeremy just informed me that I've been spelling "Poppa" wrong). Carson loves to sit in "NiNi's" crate. That's his version of Whitney.
He even shut himself in. I was VERY tempted to lock it. So very tempted.
We often lend out toys and other baby paraphenilia to friends. It's like Christmas for Carson when an old/new toy comes up from the shop on its way out or if something gets returned to us. Here he is enjoying his old activity table. But now he's big enough to use it as a chair!
A lot of Carson's friends are getting their potty's already. We have not ventured down that path yet but Carson clearly knows that a potty is for "poo poo" as he tells us. Here he is at Ian's enjoying a moment on the practice throne!
Just goofin around with Jeremy & Ian! Or as Carson calls him, "Neenan". It's adorable because he will point to Ian's carset and say Neenan! Or as we pull up to his driveway, Neenan, Neenan!!!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

President's Day Weekend- Annual Vacation!

We've lost track of how many years we've been doing this trip but it's up to 7 or 8 now. Along with the Clary family, we trek to the Mosley's family's home in Broken Top (Bend, OR). It used to be an all adult, crazy weekend of skiing, drinking, and hot-tubbing! It has evolved over the years and now we're up to 5 kids under the age of 5, sledding, spa treatments, and Disney videos, however we have managed to keep drinking and hot-tubbing ;-)

We were really hoping Carson would enjoy sledding this year but he wasn't quite ready for it. He screamed bloody murder the first time he saw me fly down the hill. It was all over after that. He did enjoy throwing snow, feeding the geese, and playing with the older boys.

Here's the gang! From left to right, Dan, Lucas (3 yrs), Kari, Ellie (9 mnths), Kristi, Kade (5 yrs), Tony, Kellen (2 yrs), Carson (19 months), me, & Jeremy.
Getting ready to go outside!
But where did they go?

Suited up! Snow bibs courtesy of his friend Mason!
Kade looking cool on the sled!
I told you no more bears in the house!
Jeremy has really blossomed with his artistic abilities and the magna doodle! Here he has a captive audience!
Beer, yay!!

Meal time for the tots!
Bedtime stories by Dan!
Such cute brothers!
Our hostess with the mostess . . . Ginny Tower!
Our other host with the most . . . Randy Tower!

Please can I go outside??
I LOVE, LOVE this picture!!!
Happy cousins!
Daddy is so fun!
Daddies and boys feeding the geese while Mommies were getting massages at the spa!

I really want to be a big boy soon!
Throwing stuff is way cool!
The little guys trying to climb the hill.
Time for the remote control car!
It's much safer off the ground when Kade is steering!
Skiis are now replaced by strollers and bikes!
Little Miss Ellie taking a bath!
Giving us her best faces!
Playing the piano is sooo great!
Kellon taking a bath!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Our big boy!

Today when I dropped Carson off, he reached out his arms for his teacher and waved good-bye to me!! No crying, no clinging, nothing! It felt so great! When I picked him up, he said hi to me but then without me telling him, he proceeded to wave and tell bye-bye to each teacher and friend in the room. It was just precious!! His teachers told me they don't even have to pat his back to help him fall asleep anymore! He walks over to his cot and puts himself to sleep! I love it!

He is such a little sponge right now! He will copy anything you show him to do. It's pretty darn funny at times.

Today I took him in for an impromptu haircut. It was only his third one so I wasn't sure what to expect but thought there might be some crying like the others. He wasn't ready to sit by himself but once he was on my lap, he hardly moved a muscle. No crying! Half the time he watched Curious George and half the time he watched himself in the mirror. It was great! She even used the clippers toward the end and he didn't even flinch!! Yea!!

I'm so excited he's growing up but already sad knowing that he's growing up!! Sounds dumb but it's so true!!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Mr. Fix-it

Carson is obsessed with trucks and cars. Occassionally, one of his vehicles gets a "flat tire". This simply means that it has either tipped over or was deliberately tipped over and we hear "uh oh". This is toddler for "flat tire". Carson then runs to his toy box, er, tool box, and fetches his drill to fix the flat. Neither of us have the heart to tell him that this is really an oxymoron. I keep trying to catch it on video but he gets stage fright every time I pull out the camera. So this video does have a little "coaching" but you'll get the idea.

FINALLY on the mend!

Where do I start?? Carson finally started feeling better on Saturday! Still blowing his nose but very happy, running at top speed, sleeping a lot, and eating a lot! It's like he's making up for a lost two weeks. He also has a great sense of humor! He's such a ham!! And in case anyone cares ;-) I just started to feel better today (Monday). Here are some cute tales of the last few days.

This weekend Carson hung out with his Grandpa and Grandma Rader for two days. He had a blast and learned to say "Gmpa" and "Gamma". Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics.

I bought Carson a little stool so he could reach the sink to wash his hands. Unfortunately he still isn't tall enough but that little stool is now his favorite tool. He carries it everywhere! He can now turn the lights on and off. He can reach much farther onto the counters. Or he can just stand in the middle of the room, 6 inches taller and 10 times happier.

He discovered Daddy's "soccer" underpants in a drawer and put them on. Then he had to check himself out.
This morning, I was showering and he was chatting up a storm. I was very curious what he was doing so I climbed up onto the bench in our shower and peeked over the door. There was Carson standing on his stool in front of the full length mirror, making faces at himself and having a full conversation. It was adorable. Then it got even cuter!! He stepped down and started to walk away. But then he remembered his manners, turned around, waved at himself in the mirror and said "bye-bye". It was hilarious!!

Today was his first day at Jeremy & Ian's in over two weeks. Usually he cries and clings to me when he realizes I'm leaving. Today he walked in carrying his lunch box, and as soon as I took his coat off, he took off to find Ian. Very unusual. Jeremy and I were catching up and watching the boys play. Suddenly Carson walked up to me, patted me on the leg, and said "GO"!! I about fell over!! Wow! Not only was he not crying, he was asking me to leave!! I didn't even know he could say "go"!! So proud of him!

Jeremy and I have really enjoyed Carson over the last three days. We are relishing his energy level (which we usually think is too much). I really think that our sick days have made us appreciate Carson more than ever! It's getting harder and harder to imagine leaving him for 9 days when we head to Hawaii. But don't worry, we'll be okay ;-)

Here is Carson's morning look! He can't leave the house without his gloves, hat, and sunglasses.



Monday, February 04, 2008

When will it end?

Our sick baby hasn't stopped crying since Saturday so I took him in to the doctor today. I usually err on the side of "just wait it out, it'll get better". Our doctor thanked me for our patience but it turns out that Carson has a double ear infection. That explains the non-stop crying. My ears were starting to hurt this morning, which is when I realized it might be worse than just a cough/cold. Fortunately our friends with kids who had experienced this before said relief should come within 12 hours, bringing back our happy little guy. I can only hope. I'm missing out on a date night tonight!! My dad took my place for dinner and the Blazer game with Jeremy!

Carson loves sunglasses so we got him his own pair this weekend. He has very specific ideas about what he needs to leave the house, which includes his sunglasses, his gloves (these are Daddy's work gloves with convenient velcro wrists), and his hat (which is Daddy's UofO stocking cap). He looks quite hilarious and gets lots of attention where-ever he goes. I will do my best to get a picture of it tomorrow morning. It's so strange that he has such strong desires already. I would not have guessed that for an almost 19 month old!

He was reading a book to himself the other day and in-between pages, he was putting his finger in his mouth. At first I thought he was licking off leftover lunch but he did it between each page consistently. I finally realized that he was copying what I do, on "page" books (as opposed to board books) I lick my finger to get a better grip on the page. He is so observant!

Saturday, February 02, 2008

And Sick Again!

Now we are in the midest of sick Carson again. Nasty cough and a snot faucet for a nose. Fever that returns with a vengence as soon as the drugs wear off. He is an unhappy camper, which in turn makes for unhappy parents. And as much as I'm trying to not breathe or eat his germs, my throat is scratchy and my voice is crackly. This whole parenting thing has really been trying this week. To remind myself of how cute Carson is when he is well, I've been sitting at my Open House (with two lone visitors) watching videos of Carson when he was a baby. Oh my gosh! He was so cute and sweet and quiet! From day one to the last video at 9-10 months.

It's crazy how quickly he has grown up and developed very strong likes and dislikes. It's like we have this giant piece of little boy Playdoh and it is ours to mold and shape. But it has legs and arms and an attitude. It tests us constantly to see where the limits are and how much he can get away with. The open defiance is frustrating yet funny. The temper tantrums get old quick. And time out is a several time a day occurrence.

I just hope we figure it all out before the next one comes along. If there is a next one ;-) We change our minds week to week. I should clarify, that Jeremy would be perfectly happy with just one child but I really want to take two brothers to Disneyland instead of one lone boy. So I guess I change my mind week to week as Carson tends to have one good week and then one tough week. This week would not be a good one. So do not ask me when #2 is coming along this week.

How Old is Carson?

How Old is Keaton?