Go Jackets!

Football season is in full swing around here!  The past two weekends have been filled with tailgating, eating, playing and even SOME game-watching.  We took Griffin to the first home game this year.  With a 7:00pm kick off it was risky, but we figured G would do pretty well staying up late if he got in a good nap.  Thankfully he did that day - naps are pretty hit or miss around here these days.  I think Chad and I would both call the day a success.  Griffin had a blast tailgating with his friends Jack and Leah, and we've even got some new kids to the mix this year with the addition of the Harper's adorable boys.  All the kids had fun playing together!  Griffin even did a good job at the game.  He didn't watch much of the game, but he and Jack entertained themselves by eating popcorn and looking for Buzz.  We actually chased Buzz down and got a high five - very fun!

Jack, Chad and Griffin - cheering on the Jackets!

 The next weekend it was Carson's turn to go to a game - his FIRST game!  True to form, this little man did a great job.   

Dada fed Carson his bottle as soon as we arrived at the tailgate...

...and after that he was happy and ready to flirt with the ladies!  I think he won everyone over with that smile and those rolly-polly thighs. 

He even stayed on schedule and took a great nap in the stroller, giving Mama and Dada time to eat and socialize.

Then we strapped him up and headed towards the stadium.  It was a 3:30 game and we were a little worried about the heat and the sun beating down on us, but we got very lucky with a nice cloud cover for the entire game.  So great!

Chad, Carson and the new Bobby Dodd statue.

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We've got a picture of Elizabeth holding Griffin at HIS first GT game so we had to get a picture of Carson with her as well.  We are so lucky to have friends who don't mind us bringing our kiddos along to the games and who are even willing to help us out when we get tired of holding them! 

This sweet boy stayed awake for the entire game.  When we FIRST arrived in the stadium Tech scored a 70 yard touchdown - to say the crowd went wild is an understatement.  Poor Carson was so shocked he just lost it and started crying.  I was afraid that he wasn't going to be able to handle the noise in the stadium.  Luckily, after a bottle and some quiet time out near the concession stands, he was ready to go back in and had no problem as all of our friends cheered on the Jackets - loudly.

 Chad and I have decided that a 2:1 parent/child ratio is the best way to enjoy a game.  We are lucky to have parents in town to help us out in the babysitting department.  As I mentioned earlier, we're also lucky to have such a fun group of friends at the games with us.  We look forward to our football weekends so much and it's great to see our group evolving from a few college buddies to wives and children.  The group keeps growing and it is oh so fun!

Summer Lovin'...Happened So Fast

Well fall is in the air (thank goodness) and the summer is over.  I really can't believe how quickly it flew by and how big our "Carson Man"- as Griffin likes to call him - is getting. I think it's safe to say that Chad, Griffin and I all fell in love this summer...with a little, squishy, rolly-polly sweet heart. 

 

 I had all intentions of doing this post after his 4 month doctor visit...just not THIS long after.  By now C is a good 4.5 months, but here are his stats anyways:

 

Height = 25 1/2 inches (71%)

Weight = 16lbs. 3oz. (74%)

Head Circumference = 42cm (42%)  

 

Yes, he's a pretty big boy.  I was worried Dr. B was going to put him on a diet or something but she said he was growing beautifully!  She said she'll look to see that the height % goes above the weight % in the next few visits.  We, of course, brought up Carson's excessive spit up issue.  She said she's not too worried but that if it doesn't start getting better she'll look into it a little more with a barium swallow to make sure his little intestines are where they need to be.  In the mean time she switched us to soy/lactose free formula to see if that helps at all.  Well, 2+ weeks in and it ain't helping!  This boy is a spit up machine.  And to make matters worse, this soy formula smells terrible.  Like dog food.  Now our house smells like dog food.  YUCK.  We are never getting a dog.

 

Here are a few pictures from the last month or so:

 

I love this.  We did this so much with Griffin but really haven't had the luxury of napping with Carson very much. Having a baby sleep on your chest is the best feeling in the world and Chad and I both wanted to make a point to do this before we outgrow this stage.

Sweet Carson all dressed up for church in an outfit from Grandma Purvis.  Doesn't he pull off the bonnet nicely?

This picture makes me smile from ear to ear.  Love those shades and those chins.

Our "cool dude" photo shoot quickly went awry.

Knock on wood, but Carson is SUCH a good passenger in the car.  I'm hoping this continues as he gets older because Griffin was NOT a fan of the car.

Carson's first meeting with Great Grandma Jenny.

I hope I NEVER forget how good it feels to kiss those squishy cheeks.  Probably my most favorite thing in the world right now.

I know this isn't a great picture but I just love how C is looking over at G.  It just melts my heart how much Carson LOVES his big brother.

 

For the sake of my memory, here's what Carson is up to these days...

• He is rolling over from back to stomach (both ways) and every now and then can get from stomach to back.  He loves sleeping on his stomach.
• It appears we officially have a thumb sucker.  He has no interest in pacifiers.  Fine with me now, but will be tricky to "get rid of" the thumb.  Lord, I know all too well (from my own experience).
• He smiles at just about anyone who looks at him.  He just loves face to face contact and seems to have such a sweet little personality. 
• I'm sure this means that we're in for it when he gets older, but right now he is the BEST, most WELL BEHAVED baby I know.  He seriously only cries when he is tired or hungry - or sometimes if he just needs a change of scenery.  He is so easy going and is making this "mom of two" thing so easy on me.  Thank you Carson!
• He is grabbing at things and really likes holding/chewing those little plastic rings.  I'm not sure that he's teething but EVERYTHING goes straight to the mouth.
• Carson loves to read.  If he's upset we just lay down and read a book and he is so content to sit and listen to us read or just look at the pages.  One of my favorite parts of the day is before bedtime when Chad lays down on the floor with Griffin and Carson and reads a book.  Carson is either very into the book or very into watching to see what Griffin is doing.  It's just so neat to sit back and watch Carson take everything in.  He seems to be so observant!  I'd love to know what's going on in that little head of his.

I often find myself thinking Carson is older than he really is - I'm not sure why.  I also find myself wishing he was older - how things will be better when he stops spitting up so much, and when he can crawl, and when he can "play" with Griffin.  Chad is great about reminding me to try to live in the moment and cherish what's going on RIGHT NOW.  He's so right and it's something that we try to remind ourselves of daily.  Last Sunday, the topic at church just happened to be parenting and our preacher, Andy and his wife Sandra just sat on stage and gave parenting advice.  It was awesome to hear what they had to say.  Something that struck a chord with me was Sandra saying that" the days are long but the years are short and before we know it our kids will be grown ups." 

 

I started bawling.  Like, ugly crying.

 

DON'T TELL ME THAT MY BOYS WILL BE ADULTS SOON!  

 

Then someone got on stage and sang the Trace Atkins song "You're Gonna Miss This."  Now, I've heard that song on the radio a million times and have always liked it, but on this particular day I just couldn't quit crying.  Tears were rolling down my neck.  Hahaha!

 

So, while it's not always smiles, laughs and giggles around here and we do get frustrated with the little things {spit up everywhere, smelly soy formula, pee on the wall, changing diapers, tons of laundry} Chad and I are really trying to remind ourselves that one day we are going to look back and we ARE going to miss this stage of life.  We wouldn't trade our life for anything in the world right now.  Nothing.

 

A Busy Summer For the G Man

This train-loving 2 year old has had a busy summer.  Well, now that I say that I'm not sure that I'd call it busy since we stayed home most of the summer and were actually inside a lot (remember, we've got a new born in the house folks), but Griffin is a busy body and is always on the go...even if it's just to the island of Sodor - a very busy place in Griffin's vivid imagination. 

 Here are a few highlights of the summer:

 

Griffin is still VERY into his trains.  He could (and does) literally spend hours playing with his trains on the track.  It's really fun to watch him.  He has started telling little stories and giving his trains voices.  Most of the stories revolve around Thomas episodes in some way or another and they all start the same way, "One day...."  It is soooo cute listening to him.  I'm so impressed by his imagination and his story-telling abilities.  Pretty soon he will have his You Tube debut!  (He loves watching other kids play with their trains on the computer.  It makes me feel better to see that other kids are just as obsessed as my child.)

Griffin and Dada had their first "Big Boys Night" complete with a movie, pop corn and beverages!  Mama had a night out with some friends and G had a fun night with Chad.  He was excited about staying up late and watching a new movie.

All snuggled up and ready to watch!

My good friend Molly came to visit for a few days from Tampa.  We had fun showing her all of our trains (many of which she gave to Griffin....she is actually the one who got G started on Thomas with her visit last summer...thanks Molly!), going to the playground and the pool.  We also went to dinner at a fun "food truck park" where we got YUMMY cup cakes.  Griffin really enjoyed the icing and being able to run around like a wild child.

Me and my sweet boy!  I love this picture.

We have had MANY indoor picnic lunches this summer.  It usually means that Mama is too lazy busy to sit at the table with G while he eats...probably feeding little brother his lunch at the same time. 

 

A major HIGHLIGHT of the summer was going to see The Wiggles in concert with our friend Tate!  Griff really loves The Wiggles and I got lucky and won 4 tickets to the show.  It was their farewell tour, so it was extra special to be able to see the guys - Jeff, Murray, Greg and Anthony - together for the last time!  haha.

The show was at the fabulous Fox theater so we, of course, ate dinner at the Varsity and then walked (that's right - walked!) to the Fox for the show.  I'm not sure who was more excited about it, the boys or Chad and me.

 

As you can see, the boys LOVED the show. They couldn't even be bothered to turn away for one second for a picture.  It was so fun for Chad and I to see how much fun they were having.  It would have been totally worth it even if we had to pay for the tickets!

Griffin took a big step towards becoming a big boy this summer.  He gave up his paci!  We decided that we would offer him a deal - he could trade in his pacis for a new train.  He didn't pause one second before he said, "oh yeah!"  He and Dada went around to gather up all of his pacifiers in exchange for Emily.  It was a hard transition (the first night especially) and we are still dealing with the ramifications of no paci during nap time.  I'm afraid this is the beginning of the end of naps for my boy.  I will admit, it makes me a little sad that this paci stage is over...he looked so sweet with it in his mouth and it still kind of made him look like a baby, which I loved.  He's growing up so fast!

G has really taken an interest in saving his money and putting it in his piggy bank.  He has already purchased one train this summer (Edward) with his own "monies" and is saving up for another (Hiro).  When Papa Don and Boo came to visit Papa brought a whole bag full of change for G to add to his bank.  I know Papa and Dada take a lot of pride in seeing Griffin save his money! 

 

Speaking of Papa Don and Boo's visit - it got cut very short because of the arrival of our niece - sweet baby Leah!  Natalie called to say she was in labor and they packed up their bags and left in a flash.  A few hours later Leah made her way into the world.  We are so happy to finally have a little girl around.  Congrats to Nat Nat, Jake and big brother Blake!

Now, this was a first that I wasn't looking forward to at all - our first dentist appointment!  I was sure it was going to be terrible and that G would freak out.  Memories of our first hair cut kept flashing through my head and I would break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.  Well - this kid sure is growing up because he did GREAT at the dentist!  She counted his teeth (he had twenty), cleaned them and let Griffin hold "Mr. Thirsty" to suck all of the spit, drool and tooth paste out of his mouth.  Afterwards he got a token to put in a machine and got this little orange bouncy ball.  I think he'll have no problems going back in 6 months!  (PS - the dentist was very pleased that he had given up the paci.  We're hoping this means less orthodontic bills in our future.)

Otherwise, we have pretty much been "chillin" this summer. Griffin has been a great big brother to the Carson man.  While he still doesn't show a ton of interest in him, I can tell that's changing quickly.  I often ask him to go talk to Carson if he's crying and G will usually oblige.  It's so funny and cute to hear Griffin talk to him because I can tell he's imitating me.  His voice gets really high and sing-songy and he'll say, "Haaay Carson.  It's okay Carson.  What's wrong Carson?  I know... I know..."  (as in like a soothing there, there kind of way).  It's adorable.  What's even more adorable is that Carson immediately stops crying and is absolutely enamored with his big brother.

And what better way to end the summer than with the first day of school?!  Mama Griffin has been looking forward to this all summer!  haha.  Really though, he was excited!  He's in the same class as his buddy Tate along with some of the other kiddos from his class last year. 

Unlike last year, Griffin walked right in his classroom with no tears and lots of excitement for the day.  When I picked him up he said he had a lot of fun.  I asked him what he did and he said, "I played with cars but they didn't have any tracks or trains."  (Thank goodness.)

 

So, I'd say Griffin's first summer as a big brother was a huge success.  There was a lot of change and a lot of growing up which is very bitter sweet for this Mama.  I'm so proud of the big boy he is becoming but a little emotional - okay very emotional (typing through tears now) - about the baby boy he is leaving behind.

 

Okay, enough mushy stuff.  I'll leave you with something to laugh about.  Chad and I are afraid G might get kicked out of school tomorrow because he has - all of a sudden - become super interested in his penis and wants to "take it out" and talk about it all the time.  Tonight in the bath tub he told a story that started like this..."One day, the penis...."  Thankfully it trailed off from there but he repeated that intro about 50 times.  I'm sure the fact that Chad and I were laughing our heads off didn't help the fact.  Oh well.  Boys will be boys and they sure are FUN!

 

July 4th Weekend: New Place, Same Great Fun!

The past few years we have made Daytona over the 4th a Knight family tradition.  This year, with the addition of TWO precious babies, we decided to forgo the 8 our drive and settle on a 2 hour drive to beautiful lake Hartwell!  While it wasn't a nice loooong vacation, we were able to make a long weekend out of it and it was great!  Griffin had been up there once before, and it had been forever since Chad and I spent any time up there.  Obviously it was Carson's first trip and I'll speak for him and say he loved it. 

As seems to be the norm these days, Griffin was very scared cautious about everything in the beginning...which is okay with me.  He likes to do things at his own pace, but always seems to come around, which I love!  He's a cautious adventurer!  So, after he spent a little time on the dock, we moved on to spending some time on the parked boat.  By the time we were ready to head out for a pontoon ride, Griffin was on board with the idea and loved it.

How cute is he?!

Carson did great on his first boat ride.  Had a bottle and then enjoyed the ride.

Griffin even got to drive the boat!

Sloppy eater.

The Herrings!

It's tradition to go under the bridge and signal at the trucks passing on top to honk their horns.  Griffin kind of got into it and liked saying "whoop whoop!"

Hey!  Thanks for the honk man.

Carson got a turn behind the wheel too.

Hello sweetness!

Swimming under the pontoon.  Griffin was actually brave enough to go because we told him it was the "Misty Island Tunnel."  (A Thomas reference for those who don't know.)

Griffin did great with his puddle jumper to help him swim.  Kick, kick, kick, kick!

Playing with is trucks.

Two cool dudes if you ask me! 

We, of course, had to have a family photo shoot.  Griffin did as well as we expected him to. 

We were bribing him with bites of brownie.  He's ready for more!

These two look like they are conspiring....could be trouble in the years ahead!

....and Griffin is done.

We were able to capture one good group shot!  The group has grown by 2 since last 4th of July!

Another evening boat ride.  There's nothing better!

The moms and their babies.

I love this picture...

...and this one.  That smile can melt some hearts!

It was a great weekend with family!  I just can't wait to see these boys grow up together and become great friends.  We look forward to many more family vacations like this!