Christmas Hangover.

I guess that is what you call it when you have too much fun and too many toys to play with that you just pass out!

This was the day after Christmas by the way but I have been so bad at keeping up with this blog that I forgot to post Merry Christmas! We had a great day and Carson rose to the occassion after fighting off some type of virus with a low grade fever and restless sleep.

And just for you Gammy, we practiced "Merry Christmas" and here it is on video....

Christmas Eve.

So it's Christmas Eve and we just finished playing Santa - meaning getting the large toys ready to go for Christmas morning. I just told Dan that now I know how my mom did it and how she felt the night before Christmas. Clearly, I am not as organized as my mom was since I just finished baking cookies, a pie, and wrapping gifts. Yes all ON Christmas eve!!!

I am so excited for tomorrow that I probably won't sleep well tonight. Carson didn't feel that great today so we are praying he gets a good night's sleep and is ready for the fun. As I type this I hear him babbling in his crib which means he must be tossing and turning and still not feeling well. Sigh.

Anyway, just wanted to wish everyone an early Merry Christmas. I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband and amazing little man and to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends. xoxoxoxo.

p.s if you are wondering where your Christmas card is, I slacked and didn't have time to do them so you will be getting a Happy New Year card this year instead!

Santa and his package = not a happy Carson!

Carson's new school had a breakfast with Santa last week so Dan took Carson to see him and hang with the class for a bit. He told me that he wasn't a fan just like last year but I had no idea how funny the pictures would be when I downloaded them. I could not stop laughing. Check out Santa's package!!!! Seriously, someone needs to tell him that his suit is way too tight.

Oh and yes I put these pics LARGE to make sure you can see the package, tee hee!!!

First Christmas Pageant!!!

Check out the video above! Carson started a new school 2 weeks ago since we moved and he is doing GREAT. We love this place and they had a Christmas show today where all the different classes performed. I was hiding in the back of the room because I knew he would cry and run off the stage if he saw me. He's been practicing jingle bells all week and his 'FREEZE' dance. I had no idea what it was but he kept saying FREEZE and throwing his arms back. It was all for the show!!!

This is his class, how cute are they? It's not a great video since it was very crowded and there were a lot of heads in my way but I did my best and zoomed in on Carson most of the time. I had to stop the video because he saw me and went to run off the stage! His teacher (in the Santa hat) caught him and he threw his arms up and yelled FREEZE!!

Enjoy the cuteness!

Melt my heart little man!

Carson now says "I miss you and I love you" when I say it to him which is ALL the time of course since I am at work all day and miss him so much it hurts!

I caught it on video tonight. Enjoy!

Big day in our house today.

Carson announced he pooped!!! Who knew I would be so excited. Normally I ask him when he smells from across the room and he says 'noooo' so believable but tonight while getting ready to take a bath he went into the bathroom and first told Dan and of course he sent him to me and he came right up and said "i pooped mama!"

Why does that make me so happy?!! Now I know potty training will be a long road and seeing what my sister when through with her 2 boys does not excite me to get started. Sorry Cara! I actually just found a very large potty training manual she handed down to me, LOL!!!

Boo!

Happy Halloween from our little monkey boy!!!!

Carson and the girls on a playdate!

This is 2 weeks old but I am so behind on my updates!

Anyway, Carson had a playdate with Gabby and Natalie and we had so much fun.

Here we are with the kiddos...



Here is Gabby and her mama...


Natalie and her mama (right) and aunt....


Carson brought his lawn mower to the park!


Leaving the girls to play by himself on the slide...

Pumpkin Patch - Take 1.

We love fall. It was still so warm here up until last week so we waited to go to the pumpkin patch until the air was a bit more crisp since it really doesn't feel like fall until you can wear a jacket. So 2 weekends ago we went to Weber Farm and the boys has a BLAST. Yes I said boys, Dan and Carson were having so much fun while I played paparazzi. I kept trying to get pics of Carson alone but you will notice Dan is in almost every single one. (honey I love you but do you now see why I wanted you to move?!!!)

So here is Carson enjoying the mini tractors...

Playing in the corn maze or shall I say hay maze....

Running through the mini mazee with daddy in tow...

On a hayride...

This is what you get when Dan has the camera....nice picture, right?!

I was actually kind of disappointed since there wasn't a real pumpkin patch at this farm so I had to go to the one we went to last year. Pics coming soon!

I almost forgot......

I am 40!!!! Gasp. Yep that's right, I am officially old. Sigh. I turned 40 two weeks ago and was going to post but forgot. I guess your memory really is the first to go right?!

I had a fabulous birthday and got some really nice cards, phone calls and gifts too.

Dan got me this gorgeous 'Mama' necklace made by Tali Gillette (ww.taligillette.com). I saw it on Gwyneth and had to have it. After all, I am a celebrity right?!

The reason I have been a bad blogger.

I almost forgot I had a blog, oops! We have been extremely busy these last few weeks and I am behind on everything, or so it seems. I have 2 cameras full of pictures and lots to share but I am just too tired to type.

Our big news is that we are moving! We always knew we would leave the city when we had a family but I didn't think it would be this soon. Well we found the perfect house in the perfect community and couldn't pass it up. Here it is....single family on a corner lot in a gated golf course community (just for Dan!).

It's new construction but since we didn't pick out all the upgrades or basically anything in it, we have a contractor friend of Dan's in there now doing lots of work. We are moving in mid-November and are very excited. We go up there pretty regularly to take care of things and get Carson used to his new surroundings.

Wish us luck that we made the right choice!

Saturday at the farm.

We had so much fun this weekend since the weather was just perfect. We headed to Clarks Farm after Carson's nap on Saturday and I took some pics of my boys being boys. The farm has a fairy tale theme with lots of larger than life objects to climb and see, a petting zoo, pony rides, hay rides, you name it. He is a bit young to enjoy it all but come next year, it will be perfect.

Words.

Carson is extremely vocal to say the least and now has a vocabulary of over 50 words. Dan and I are amazed at how many words he knows and says and even phrases! Hmmm maybe I can even teach him how to read like the 17 month old recently profiled on the Today show.

Anyway, we've moved on from dog and milk to words like school bus and police car and he really says them all. He even knows all his friend's names too.

I took a short video clip last night so you can hear him talk. The names are his classmates. You can tell I am extremely exhausted and can't even think of words to ask him to say. I even forgot half of his friend's names. Oops. My mind was drawing a blank. Chalk it up to a long day of work or maybe Carson is just smarter than his mommy already! :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Favorite pic of the week.

I take a ton of pics but this was my favorite of this week. It really captures Carson in the moment of dragging daddy to the kitchen to show him something he wants. That's his latest thing, taking one of our hands and pulling us along. It's just too cute.

I might start doing a post like this each week. Good idea? What do you think?

Saturday fun.

We went to visit my sister today and Carson had so much fun running around in the yard with his cousins (R & C). Carson is much younger but fits right in just like one of the boys!

Here are some of the pics I took from today (click on them to see full size):

Cara and the boys (next time I won't pose you facing the sun!)

Ryan - the future Raven's quarterback!


Showing off his skillzzzz!


C & C!


Colin acting as goofy as ever....

Happy Birthday Honey!

I just want you to know how much I love you and how happy I am to be your wife. I hope you have a great day!!!

Oh and Carson says I love you and Happy Birthday to the best daddy in the world.

Happy 16 months baby boy!

I can't believe he is already 16 months old! He is getting so big (literally) and we are just so amazed at how much he changes every single week. He is talking up a storm and repeating everything we say and we really have to watch our mouths now esp since he was saying s-h-i-t for 2 weeks in place of uh oh! I've been bad at updating his words list to the right but I can't even keep track anymore.

We had his 15 month appt last week and he is 32 1/2 inches and 24.2 lbs so he has grown quite a bit since 12 months.

Here is a cute pic I took of him today. He got a haircut yesterday, isn't it cute?!

Spoon master.

Carson can eat with a spoon all by himself. I am so thrilled about this milestone since he is a picky eater and we don't have a lot of options in the finger foods area so this is huge for us!

Check him out....

Update.

So I haven't blogged in a few weeks since I just felt like I had nothing to say. If you know me, and really know me well....you know I always have something to say but quite honestly I really haven't taken a ton of pics lately either.

Anyway, here are few cute ones from the past week.

Carson loves helping his daddy water the grass (yes our small patch of grass for those of you who have seen where we live!!!).

Yesterday we went to visit Pops and Nan since we hadn't seen them in a quite a while. Carson was so excited when they brought out the box of crayons and Handy Manny coloring book.

"yay crayons!"

And then Pops showed up with a miniature shopping cart and Carson went crazy. Dan went a little more crazy pushing him around in it....

The monkey and his banana.

Carson LOVES bananas. Seriously you would think he was part monkey with the way he whines for them and eats them as if we are starving him. I am actually very happy since we finally have a go-to food that we know he will eat since he is super picky just like his mama.

So each night after work we have a little date on the deck where he eats his 'nana' and sometimes when he is in a good mood he even likes to share it with me.

Enjoy.

He's looking at Dan in this pic saying "yeah mama gave me a nana"

mmmmmm....love me some nana

my fingers got dirty though....


last bite and all done!

Happy 5th of July!!!

Yes you saw it correctly, it wasn't a typo....we are wishing everyone a happy 5th. Why you ask? Well Carson was soooooooo sick (for 4 days actually) and today is the first day he is feeling better. Dan and I were cooped up in the house taking turns cuddling out little man back to health. He had a fever that spiked as high as 105 at times and was very scary. Turns out it was a virus and he had a throat infection (like strep but not as bad according to our pedi.)

Anyway, because he was so sick we didn't get to enjoy our 4th as a family and participate in any activities. We did venture out today for a walk around the promenade and I got some cute pics my boys. We even came across a flag so I had to snap a pic and make it count as Carson's official 2nd 4th of July!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!

No more comb over for Carson!

Stinker got his first real haircut on Saturday! We don't have pics from the actual cutting because he was crying and fussy so one of us had to hold him while the other fed him his favorite food - goldfish! Once it was over, he was running around the shop like he owned it. Rearranging all the bottles of hair products, playing with the patrons, and ripping apart all the magazines as we waited for Dan to get his haircut too.


Here's the before picture and as you can see it was long enough for pigtails!


And the after....look at my little man!

Success.

I am happy to report that Carson "gets" the sippy cup!!!! Granted right now he is only drinking water from it at home but what a relief. He no longer yells at me and throws it on the ground. He actually likes to carry it around and drink from it as he walks. It must have been the fact that they give it to him at school all day long. Go little big boy!!!!

Here is a picture for proof!!

Now wish me luck that he will start drinking milk from it soon. I haven't even attempted it yet since I want him to get the hang of the water first.

Good times!

Question of the day.

Well maybe questions (plural) of the day.

Why does Carson still make me hold his bottle for him? If I don't, he won't drink. He is way too busy to have time to drink his milk.

And speaking of bottles, why does he not "get" the concept of a sippy cup? Seriously he will play with them, remove them all from the kitchen drawer, carry them around in his bucket, but once I put any form of liquid in them he squeals and screams and throws them.

Why me?

Our pediatrician wants him off bottles now but I don't see an end in sight. Kindergarten here we come with our bottles in tow!

So if any of you mamas out there want to help me, please do!

To all you beautiful and amazing mamas!

So I am a day late wishing all my mommy friends and family a happy mom's day but I have a good excuse. Since I am a mom myself now, I was out enjoying the day with my family and relaxing at home while Dan took care of the little man!

My mother-in-law sent this email to me and I loved it so much I wanted to share it with all of you beautiful moms. You may have already seen this floating around the internet but it's too good to not post here!

Before I was a Mom -
I never thought about immunizations.
I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

My mother's day gift from Carson.

I came home from work today to a little bag that said "To Mommy" on it and I knew that Carson had made me something at "school" today. I couldn't wait to open it. It is the most beautiful air freshener I have ever seen. I cried of course because although he comes home with art mostly every single day, this was for ME!

Front:

Back:

Isn't it sweet?!!!!

Now let's see what daddy gets me. LOL!!!! Just kidding honey!

Dear Daddy. From Carson.

Dear Daddy,

As you know Mother's Day and your anniversary are approaching and I wanted to let you know of a few things that I think mommy would really like. She always tells me about things she likes when we are out shopping on the weekends and out for walks and I know they would all make her very happy. Besides, she has been an amazing mommy for the past year and really deserves something special. Dontcha think?!

1 - A Nikon D40 camera. She's been talking about this thing since I was in her belly. She really acts like the paparazzi so this would be a perfect gift!



2 - Marc by Marc Jacobs Totally Turnlock Clutch. Mommy and I saw this at South Moon Under and she loved it!



3 - A Links of London bracelet. Mommy told me that she saw this when she used to travel to the UK and always wanted one. They now carry them at Nordstrom online too. Oh and you can buy little charms that go on the bracelet to make it really special!

4 - If all the others are too expensive, I also know she really really wants a Strollometer for our stroller since we exercise together. For 40 bucks at Target.com, it's a steal!

I know I don't have enough in my piggy bank just yet but I thought maybe we can chip in. Let me know what you think!


Love,
Carson