Thursday, June 26, 2008

One More Beach Video!!

I thought I'd uploaded this one but discovered it was missing. This is the hilarious time when the sneaker wave got Carson and I! The video cuts off just as I'm screaming, "I only brought one pair of shoes!!!"

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Camping at the Beach!

So much fun! Where to start? 180 pictures and 10 videos!

Ft. Stevens campsite was awesome!! Very private visually but very loud with all 550 campsites full with families, screaming kids, and barking dogs. We felt like old farts when we wanted to tell the kids playing kickball at9:30 to go to bed!

Food was so-so. First night was cheesy dogs. Yum. I purposely packed the whole package just in case we had a food fiasco. Thank God! Carson's mac & cheese was decidedly GROSS tasting. Jer blamed it on the "healthy" butter substitute and wheat mac. I promised to start buying regular butter again and regular ol' Kraft MacNCheese. However, our second night of steak and rice pilaf turned into steak and cheesy dogs after the rice came out tasting TERRIBLE. And it tasted just like the mac n cheese. At which point we figured out that we should NEVER cook anything with hose water. We threw out the rice and cooked the back-up dogs. You've heard of surf and turf . . . we enjoyed surf and surf.

Sleeping arrangments: Carson stayed up too late and got up too early! Carson minus sleep is not fun and by the middle of Sunday, we were ready to pack up camp and get him back to bed! The first morning, an alarm went off at 6 am so we were all up whether we wanted to be or not. There was some cursing directed at whatever evil force set off the alarm. We tried very hard to make sure it didn't happen again. However, at 1:30 am the next morning, another alarm went off. Miraculously it didn't wake up Carson or Jeremy. Unfortunately, I heard it and laid there in a panic that it was going to go again. I finally woke Jeremy up so he could suffer as well. I gingerly tiptoed around the camper taking the batteries out of every electronic device I could find.

Bikes: We borrowed a bike trailer from a friend and Carson LOVED riding around in it. MOH MOH is all we heard. Sadly we realized that this was the first time Jeremy and I had ridden bikes together in 10 years!! First time in our entire relationship! It also proved that it had been MANY years for our poor bums and the hard seats from our college bikes. One day of riding was all we could take and we couldn't get back on the bikes the next day! Carson was pissed!

Beach: The best part of all was our morning experience at the beach. I hate to bore you with videos and am trying to only post the funniest ones but it captured our experience perfectly! We had no idea that Carson would do what he did!

First we took off Carson's shoes and socks, rolled up his pants, set him down in the sand. He was not liking it at all.

Slowly he got used to it and then found a puddle. Jeremy let him stick one toe in and then pulled him back. It was all over from there. Here is my first attempt at a slideshow! Turn on the music as the song is pretty cute. I teared up watching it the first time










First exploration of the waves:
Next: The water is getting too fun and Carson is ready to wetter. Only Mommy & Daddy weren't quite prepared for that!

As if he weren't wet enough, Carson decided to dunk his whole head in!


More to follow but it's time for bed now!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Moh Mo-Mo

If I hadn't already bought the decorations for Carson's construction themed 2nd birthday party, it would be a no-brainer to go with a John Deere theme. The kid is addicted to "diggas" and "mo-mos" (diggers and mowers).

With the insane price of gas these days, consider this:

A trip to the grocery store, $6

A trip to the playground, $12

A trip to the zoo, $20

Riding around the yard over and over on Daddy's mower, priceless!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Tractor Update

Riding a tractor is MUCH more fun outside!! Carson is still getting the hang of steering but he rode it until the battery finally ran out of juice!!


Trying out the shop driveway!

Mowing the field
Posing like any good farmer!
Daddy rescuing me from a collision with a tree
I love my mower
Where to?
Thanks again Aunt Kiki!
Moh! Moh!

Video #1





Video #2

Video #3-


Unfortunate Event

This is a post to save any other mom's from the same unfortunate, painful event that I brought on myself yesterday.

Carson was such a trooper yesterday as I dragged him to four of my listings delivering flyers and posting up sale pending stickers. It was sunny out and sitting in his carseat was the last thing either of us wanted. But being a working mommy is all about compromise. So I promised him we would find a park as soon as we were done.

Good to my word, we jumped out of the car and chased each other up and down the steps and slides of a local playground. It was going great until we attempted the highest, longest slide. Here's the critical piece of information you need to understand what was about to happen.

We had gone straight from working out with Baby Boot Camp to working to the playing in the park. I was still wearing my small, silky Nike running shorts. You would think these would make me slide down the slide faster, making for an enjoyable ride.

Oh yes, I was sliding fast on my silky shorts until they rode right up my keister and my bare sweaty butt skin caught on the plastic slide like a frog's tounge to a fly. Only 115 pounds of human body was no match for one inch of bare skin stuck to plastic! YEEOOWW!!!

I am now left with an incredibly painful raspberry right on the skin that turns from thigh to butt cheek.

I recommend you never, ever visit the park after working out. If you do, stay away from the slides!!!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Funny Toddler Moments!

Carson turned 23 months today and he gets funnier by the day! Most car rides are a stream of conversation, albeit somewhat limited. Here are a few examples:

Carson: Neigh
Me: You saw a horse?
C: Yes!
M: (thinking no you didn't)
C: Ziza neigh?
M: Yes, Liza rides a horse.
C: Ga neigh?
M: No, Uncle Jeff does NOT ride a horse.
C: Poppa neigh?
M: Yes, Poppa has a horse.
C: Nana neigh?
M: Yes, Nana likes horses.
C: Dada neigh?
M: No, daddy doesn't have a horse.
C: Mama neigh?
M: Yes, I like horses.

A few minutes later . . .

C: MO MO!!!
M: You saw a mower! Wow! Cool!
C: Moh Momo
M: You saw another mower! Whoa!
C: Dada mo
M: Yes, daddy mows the lawn
C: Poppa mo
M: Yes, Poppa has a mower too.
C: Ga mo
M: Yes, Uncle Jeff mows the lawn too.
C: Ziza mo?
M: Hmm, Aunt Liza? I think she mows the lawn.
C: Nana mo
M: Yes, Nana mows too.
C: Mama mo?
M: No way! Mama does not mow!

It's cute and mind numbing all at the same time. Carson fixates on a word and then runs through each name with the word. Some are definitely questions and some are statements.

Potty training update: The little floor potty seems to be a fun toy right now. He picks up the inner pot and wears it as a hat. And he likes to sit on it but doesn't sit for long. However, he is always very interested in Mommy & Daddy's excellent potty role modeling. The big potty seemed to impress him.

So today I picked up the potty training device that fits into the regular seat, making it smaller and of course it has the all important pee guard. Carson carried the box in from the car and helped me unpack it in the bathroom. He was very excited and wanted his pants off to try it out. We sat for awhile but nothing.

After dinner it looked like he might be ready to "move things along" so we tried the potty again. This time I read him books and he sat there so long that he got ring around the butt! Sadly, nothing. But that's okay. I let him run around naked for a few minutes while his bath filled up.

Our timing was so close! Carson was standing outside the tub, leaning in to grab a toy and suddenly sounded very surprised, "Uh Oh!" and pointed down. He had peed on the floor. I was so excited and explained that it was pee and I was so proud of him. However in my head I was screaming, Don't touch it! Step away from the pee!!

He played in the bath for awhile, then when the water was almost all the way drained, he decided to drain too! I could see pee shooting up through the water. I knocked the toy out of his hand to show him the pee coming out. He was absolutely facinated!! Staring down until it ended, he looked up at me expectedly, "Moh!". His face was so earnest and excited! "Moh!" As if I could make more pee come out. When I told him that he had to do it, he instantly grabbed Mr. Peepers and pulled to milk out a little more pee. When that didn't work, he squished his ball sack in hopes the pee might come out. I was laughing my buns off!!

Art update: I tried giving Carson a tray of shaving cream to play with. He was disgusted that I would let him make a mess. He obviously does not take after me since I can make a mess in 5 second flat. Notice the tears in several of the pictures!

This is NOT how Dada does it!
Mess Mama Mess!
Yup, that's a mess!
Get it off me! Now!

Carson FINALLY got the courage and know-how to operate the battery powered tractor that his Great Aunt Kiki got him for Christmas. I should say that the know-how came first but it scared the be-jesus out of him! This week he grew a pair and is LOVING the tractor. Unfortunately, our house is bearing the brunt of the learning curve for steering (no pun intended). Drywall is now missing from walls, our wood is scratched, and the dressor is dented.
We had to limit him to the home theater room to minimize damage and that caused him to totally lose it! He cried for a good five minutes.

Once the weather gets nice, we’re hoping it will work outside on the grass ;-)
Here are the first attempts:



Here is the next attempt:

Saturday, June 07, 2008

It's A Rarity

It's a rarity for me to say, "I'm bored", but today it's a reality. Carson had a late night with a friend so he slept from 9 pm to 9:45 am when I finally woke him up. So I blogged this morning. Now he's napping to prepare for another night with a friend and I have nothing to do. Are there mundane chores I could be doing? Of course. But it's yet another grey June day and my motivation level is loooow. So I'm blogging again.

We just got back from buying Carson his first bike helmet. I tried getting him one at Fred Meyer but getting the fit right was challenging and I don't want to cheap out my kid's noggin!! So we went to a real bike store and Carson very patiently waited while the man adjusted about a million straps and dials. I was quite surprised he stood still for so long.

It's killing me that I forgot my camera at home!! Carson loved his helmet so much that he refused to let us take it off. We had to go to Starbucks and Walgreens with a helmeted little boy. Did I mention that it is bright red with obnoxious orange and white ducks all over it??
Fortunately he's not smart enough yet to question why on earth we bought him a bike helmet if he doesn't own a bike ;-)

Carson enjoyed playing outside while Daddy did tractor work in the out-0f-control field. That kid could sit on "mo mo" all day and be perfectly happy.
MO-MO!
I am the Happiest Toddler on the Block!
My kitty won't leave me alone!
Daddy is the best tractor driver I know! Even if he is the only tractor driver I know!
These ear muffs are way cool!
Do I look like a professional mo mo driver?
Daddy has a fun stick that shoots fire out of it! Maybe some day I'll get to play with it!
I love being outside! Why is it so quiet today?
Thanks for letting us borrow your tractor Poppa!

Another Rainy June Day

Exciting and funny Carson updates!

His skill of climbing of his Pack n Play transferred to his crib. Yesterday as I was putting Carson's clean clothes away, I hear, "Mama, neigh, neigh" along with tounge clicking noises (Carson's version of clip-clopping). I turned around, confused because we don't have any horse items in his room, and Carson is straddling the top rail of his crib, riding it like "Aunt Ziza" rides her horse. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing!!

Carson is talking a lot more but Thursday was the first day of almost all two word "sentences". I can't tell you how exciting such a small step is to a new parent. I was bursting with pride all day and couldn't wait to tell Daddy when he got home from his business trip. It has continued for several days and we are overjoyed!

He continues to be a total ham and definitely is an entertainer. He is learning how to "fake" sleep with his eyes tightly shut and a pretend snore. Hilarious.

His only speed is still run.

I am absolutely DYING to give Carson his 2nd birthday present early!!! I lost my eBay virginity bidding on a German LikeABike. It is a "glider bike", basically a bike with a special steering wheel limiter and without pedals. The European way to teach a child how to ride a bike. They sit on it, run, and learn to balance on it by picking up their feet. www.likeabikeusa.com/ We got the "Jumper" version. Mostly because I found a used one on eBay. Did totally lose my mind in the bidding war and paid more than I had planned on!!! But when it arrived, it was virtually brand new so I felt a little better about my lack of self control.

I'm even toying with the idea of taking it on our Sunriver trip and pretending to find it in the garage so he can ride it there. Then hiding it for the trip home and giving it to him for his birthday. Thoughts?? Am I crazy?

Nana & Poppa watched Carson Thursday since I had to work and Jeremy was on a flight back from Cali. Apparently Carson wante to wear my shoes, so Nana tied them on as tight as she could. She said it was much funnier in person because the picture doesn't do justice to just how BIG the shoes were on him. But he was loving it!


We headed out Friday for a fun trip to the zoo but it was PACKED with a zillion school kids and it was raining so Plan B came into play. Literally, decided to play at the Children's Museum instead. A few cute pics.

In the director's chair, directing for a good 10 minutes!

This funny little girl pushed her way in behind Carson to sit on the directors chair. He didn't seem to mind and kept on directing!
Kellon singing his heart out on stage! Actually he was just spitting into the fake microphone we discovered later. Notice how his knees are soaked from the water play area.
The boys (7 months apart) steering the train
Baby Ellie is now 13 months old and walking!
Carson LOVED the train table! Notice his white trash white undershirt. We were prepared and layered for the zoo, not getting soaking wet at the Children's Museum. Sorry guy!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Picnic on the Patio

Ian, Carson, & I got asked to join a twins mommy's group today at the park. I had to politely explain that they were not twins but BFF's. We get a lot of strange looks when we go out because people ask how old they are and then get very confused as they try to do the mental math of figuring out how I could possibly have had two children just three months apart. It's quite comical watching them try to figure it out.

We decided to eat lunch on the back patio today and the boys enjoyed time at the pint sized picnic table!



Update on Climbing Carson: As I was changing Ian's diaper, I looked over my shoulder to see Carson straddling the top rail of his crib. With great pride and fear, I told him to really contemplate his next move because it would be a long way down if he didn't dismount correctly. Fortunately for both of us, he wisely chose to stay in his crib.

I am on my way to Babies R Us tomorrow to procure a crib tent. I have absolutely NO intentions of transitioning him to a big boy bed in the near or far future. In fact, I was hoping he could stay in the crib until kindergarten.

Houston, We Have a Problem

Carson and I were goofing around this morning. For better or worse, we were climbing (I use the term we loosely here), Carson was climbing from his trampoline to my bed and then sliding down into the Pack N Play in a sort of obstacle course. I was merely laying on the bed laughing and encouraging him. It was all fun and games until he swung his leg over the edge of the pack n play and climbed back out.

At first I watched to see if he could really do it. I convinced myself that he was only able to do it because he used the comforter and height of the bed in his acrobatics. I dismissed it as a fluke. But then he did it again, and again. I previously posted that novice parents like myself inadvertantly encourage bad behavior by clapping or laughing. Yet here I was, in awe, letting it happen again.

It was funny and exciting and then, the unthinkable happened. He decided to go out the other side. Meaning, no comforter to help him out, no bed to climb UP onto. He simply hooked a leg over the edge, smiled and let go. Done.

We are so screwed.

Let me count the ways. Nap time at friend's homes, gone. Sleeping in the camp trailer, dangerous. We carefully stack his pack n play up on the dining room table in there so the climb out could cause a drop similar to jumping off a bridge.

Jeremy is going to kill me when he finds out that I let this happen. I stood by and laughed while our son taught himself to escape one of the two remaining safe spots. I can only hope and pray (are you listening God) that he does NOT transfer this new skill to the crib. Then WHAT?!?!

Monday, June 02, 2008

Carson's Antics

Tonight as I type this, Carson is lying awake in his crib talking to himself (it's 8:13 pm). Just a few moments ago, he had reached over the rail and was slamming his easel against this crib. He was soooo wound up prior to bedtime that he broke down in hysterics when Daddy tried to read him his books. He was inconsolable so Daddy gave up and left him in his crib sobbing. I let it go for about 5 minutes. Just as I put my hand on the door to try to calm him down, the crying stopped.

Here is how he got so wound up!




Carson is talking a lot more now and once a day or so we are overjoyed to hear him put two words together. But for the most part it is a whole conversation with one word over and over and over and over until you want to duct tape his mouth shut if you hear "mo-mo" (lawn mower) one more freaking time. Oops. Bad mommy! I mean, we are so proud of him!

He accidentally discovered the release mechanism on his car seat. I looked back the other day to find him loose as a goose, floating around in his seat. Weighed the option of yelling "NO are you CRAZY?!?" versus ignorning it and praying to the toddler gods that it was a fluke and he would quickly forget it.

As novice parents, we are quickly learning that some behaviors are best ignored. If you make a big deal out of it, he is MUCH more likely to do it again. Like, say, the key in the sub-woofer. So far, so good. Maybe one day I will be able to say it was a one time event!

He is back in the stage of taking his shoes and socks off in the car. Forgot how much I hated that stage the first time! Not enjoying it any more the second time around.

This week he took up screaming like a girl. Thanks a lot to who ever taught him that one! Ear piercing, glass shattering screaming. Fortunately he usually only does it when he's extremely happy and goofing around.

One way to keep him happy (and when he's happy, we're happy) in the car, is to get him to repeat what we say. It starts with animal sounds, moves to numbers, then the alphabet. Yesterday we introduced "Oh yaaaa" "Booya" and "Damn it" , yes, you read that correctly. In the middle of our car speaking game, I accidentally knocked something of my lap and cursed before I could censure what came out of my mouth. Sure enough, our little parrot popped that one right out! Crap! I mean Oops!

I am a really lame mom when it comes to art projects, thank God for daycare! To relieve some of my guilt, I broke out the oversized chalk for the easel. Note to other parents, chalk is an activity that should be supervised--- Red chalk does NOT come off of white shirts or carpet easily. We switched to crayons but quickly discovered that he does not stay on the paper and now our vinyl floor is a rainbow of waxy fun!

Outside we tried bubbles. That wasn't a success either because Carson didn't quite understand that only one end of the bubble pipe was for his mouth. He dunked the entire thing in the bubble tray and ended up with a mouthful of soap. Then when I looked away for one millisecond (okay maybe more like two minutes), he dumped the entire tray of bubble juice on his head. At least we didn't need to add anything to his bath water that night.

Brushing teeth is still a battle. We tried the electronic Tigger toothbrush but that only scares him. I tried letting him stand on his stool and brush with me. It was going pretty well until he saw me spit out the toothpaste. Within 30 seconds, the bathroom mirror was splattered in spit and water as Carson tried to imitate me.

We've had a pretty fun week! He's eating better and sleeping in longer so stress levels are lower all around. Now we just want some warmer weather!!!

Trying to Get Organized

A lot of people think that I am very organized. I am flattered that I give off that impression but those that know me well, know that I (as much as I hate to admit it), am a PILER. I inherited this terrible trait from my loving mother who is the queen of collections, master of paper mountains, and overall, champion piler.
I am quite postive that my sister also recieved the gene that causes any horizontal surface to become covered by stacks of "to be filed" piles. This, of course, is much to the dismay of my very organized father and equally clean husband.

90% of the time I can find exactly what I am looking for in my carefully orchestrated stacks. What may look like extreme chaos to the untrained eye, is actually a system with classifications. To be filed, to be looked through later, to be turned in, to be read, to be recycled (yes, this is one pile that ought to be dealt with right way), to be shredded, to be shared, etc. etc.
So with the encouragement and support of my client and friend, Tessa, who became a professional organizer after leaving teaching, I am working on implementing more systems and ways to make my life easier and more organized.

The first task was Carson's clothes. He only has three drawers and I have a shopping addiction. And now we have winter and summer clothes to squish into a small space. AND his clothes get bigger and bigger so I have less and less room! Tessa showed me a great way to rotate through Carson's clothes!

Instead of stacking them into . . . wait for it . . . PILES, I should turn them on their side and line them up. That way you can see them easily all at once! Plus you could even start from one side and add clean laundry to the other side, just like going through a deck of cards. I'm only in week one so hopefully I can keep it up! But so far I'm loving it!

Pants on the left and shorts on the right! lined up like little soldiers! I probably should check with Tessa to see if it makes more sense to do one row of shorts and one row of pants! For some strange techno reason, Blogger keeps importing this picture sideways. I've tried 5 different ways to correct but am now giving up. Turn your laptop sideways to view this very organized drawer of sweaters, long sleeve, & short sleeve shirts. Obviously not arranged by color but by type!
Thank goodness we don't have a girl! She would have WAY too many shoes! This is too many many shoes even for a boy (there are three more pairs in the closet). But Carson's feet stopped growing and I am growing bored with the same pairs over and over!
Tessa even suggested larger and more baskets for Carson's books! Fred Meyer timed its storage/container sale perfectly!
Now if only she could tackle my home office! Notice the empty file folder rack and the pile of files in front of it!! Maybe I should add a disclaimer here: if you are my client or future client and reading, do NOT panic! I know where everything is!!

How Old is Carson?

How Old is Keaton?