Carson is One - Party Time!

I know this post is LONG over due, but better late than never, right?

 

First, let's get our one-year-old stats out of the way.  He had a great check up and, as always, Dr. B said our kid was beyond perfect. 

Weight - 23lbs. (52%)

Height - 29in. (24%) 

Head Circumference - 18.5cm. (68%) - big head, like your Dada!

 

Now on to the party.  Carson had a great first Birthday party!  Like Griffin's, it was just a low key "party" at the house.  Let me rephrase that, VERY low key.  It's amazing how things are different with the second child.  I hope C doesn't look back and feel gypped or anything, but the second time around, you realize (as a mom) that all the crazy preparation just isn't necessary.  The party was great and I was able to enjoy it and not be worried about silly little details (that no one would notice but me).  Carson was a perfect birthday boy.  He enjoyed opening his presents and had LOTS of help from Griffin and Blake - who were also happy to help him try out his new toys.   

A home-made cake (from a box, let's be honest) for my peanut allergy baby!

These two had a blast playing together.  They do a much better job of "playing" rather than "fighting" now that they are both a little older.  It's so fun to watch them. 

Birthday cuddles.  Seriously, the best!

Present time!

We were all excited to see how Carson would do with his cake.  He is SUCH a good eater (just look at those thighs) that we were sure he'd dig right in.  He was a bit hesitant and confused at first, but once he realized what was in front of him, he LOVED it!  These next few pictures of him enjoying his cake are so great.  Do I really have the cutest kids in the world?! 


Just look at those sweet hands and that fist full of cake.

 

 

I adore this picture!

After the excitement of cake and the party, I was lucky enough to have this special moment with my baby - feeding him his last bottle!  It is both a blessing and a curse that the "baby" phase goes by so quickly.  It's so hard yet so rewarding and worth. every. second!



 

Carson, our first year with you has been nothing short of amazing.  You are the sweetest, most easy-going baby.  You are ridiculously strong (I knew this before you were even born, as I was pretty sure you were going to kick your way right through my stomach) and 100% boy.  You are rough and tough (we worry about you beating up Griffin some times), yet you love a good cuddle session.  You seem to love sports - anything involving a ball - and this makes your Dada ridiculously happy.  You love your big brother and your Dada, but you really, really love your Mama...and I'm crazy about you too sweet boy!  Carson, we all love you so much and we thank God for the smiles you bring to us every day.   

Griffin is Three!

Griffin is really into birthdays.  Any birthday.  Real ones.  Imaginary ones.  You name it...he loves it!  And lucky for him, our three-year-old had quite the celebration this year! 

 

The festivities began with a party at school with his friends.  It was also pajama day, so it was extra fun for our birthday-lovin'-pajama-lovin' boy!  I'm guessing it's because of the many birthday parties he's had at school this year, but Griffin knows the drill (and we have make believe birthdays often to practice the drill).  1. Present the cake.  2. Everyone join in on an enthusiastic round of "Happy Birthday to You."  3. Clap and say "yay!" after the song.  4. Blow out candles.  5. Clap and say "yay!" after the candles.

 

Griffin got a little caught up at #4.  He had the hardest time blowing out those three little candles!  haha...It was very cute.  Then he, and all his adorable classmates, dug into their cupcakes.  Most of them with no hands.

 

After his school party G was running a little fever, which made for some fantastic snuggle time with his Mama.  I'll take it!

The next day, Saturday, was the day of Griffin's first REAL birthday party!  He invited his sweet friends and went to Catch Air to celebrate.  For me (and probably every other adult there) it was a bit overwhelming!  This place was so crowded with lots of other kids and lots of other parties, but G didn't care one bit!  All he knew was that his friends and family were there, he got to dance with Buzz Lightyear on the dance floor, and he got to eat cheetos, pizza and cake!  More importantly, he got to do the whole cake, sing, clap, candles, clap routine all over again.  He was one happy birthday boy!

 



 

This was the best we could do for a group shot.
From L to R: Henson Griffin, Chase M., Josiah Harper, Griffin, Jack Robinson, Dayon Harper (holding Carson), cousin Jackson, and cousin Leah.  Not pictured: Leah Sineway and cousin Blake.

"I was so surprised that they turned out the lights for my candles!" 
He said this for days after his party.

And even though we said no gifts, some sweet friends brought them anyways and this was, of course, a highlight of the party for Griffin.  This boys LOVES to open a surprise!

Lucky for Griffin, it just so happened that Chad had to be in Orlando for a work conference later in February.  We took this opportunity (and free place to stay) to take Griffin to Disney World as our birthday gift to him!  He was soooo excited to go to "Mickey's house!" 

 

We started with a full day at Magic Kingdom.  Neither Chad nor I had any idea what to expect out of Griffin.  I don't think anyone would describe him as a dare devil, so we weren't sure if he would enjoy the rides in the least, or if it would all just be a bit too overwhelming for him.  

 

We started out simple with a ride on "It's a Small World" and he really enjoyed it!  It was fun for Chad and I to see the awe in his eyes as he turned and looked at everything.  He was really taking it all in and was loving it.  (Phew, maybe this wouldn't be a huge bust after all.)  In fact, he loved all the age appropriate rides, even the ones that went up high or went in the dark.  It helped that Disney makes it nice and easy for Mama or Dada to be right by his side on all of these rides.

I just love this face!  It was something kind of scary in the Winny the Poo ride.

I have to mention that it was FREEZING on this particular day.  I bet it was the coldest temps Orlando saw all winter.  No joke!

I'd say meeting Buzz was a highlight of the trip.

A highlight for me was watching G and Chad on the iconic Dumbo ride.

Our sweet boy.  Look at that face!

Another highlight.  A hug from Mickey and Minnie!

Terrible picture, but we had to have one in front of the castle, right?

Griffin really did a great job.  He was happy to ride in the stroller when we were hurrying from ride to ride and he was fairly patient while waiting in the lines.  It was fun to be able to take a break and sit and watch a parade come down the street right in front of us, all while enjoying a chocolate covered Mickey ice cream treat!

 





Waving to the characters as the pass on the parade floats.  See the chocolate all over his face?  That's a happy boy.

 I think it was pretty close to 4:00 when the little man decided he'd had all the fun he could handle.  We were strolling over to our next attraction and G passed out cold.  We let him sleep for 30 or 45 minutes and then asked him if he wanted to do any more rides.  I think the only thing we had left to ride were the Tea Cups.  He decided he was done for the day, but he wanted to head back to the Buzz Lightyear ride and make a big purchase....

 



 

Griffin had gotten some cash for his birthday and was excited to spend his "very own monies" on whatever he wanted!  He decided on this Buzz toy and was so proud to pay for it with his money.

 

After a full day at Magic Kingdom we picked up dinner and headed back to the hotel.  Chad and I were exhausted and were sure Griffin would conk out early too.  Turns out we were very wrong.  That power nap of Griffin's gave him energy to last for quite a few more hours!  He had a blast jumping on the hotel bed and was just wired.  Chad was asleep way before Griffin.  I think he ended up nodding off to dream land around 11:00pm.  Whew!

 

The next day Chad had to work, but Griffin and I met up with my college roommate and BFF Lindsay and her son Carter at Animal Kingdom.  It was another fun, filled day and especially nice to be able to catch up with friends!

Donald is a favorite of Griffins.

Griffin fell asleep during a LOUD live performance of The Lion King.

A fun day with Lindsay and Carter!

 

Overall, I think the trip was a great success.  Guess I should mention that Carson was having a good time visiting Boo and Papa Don while we were at Disney.  It was nice to be able to focus our attention on Griffin and making him feel special.

 

Griffin, you are such a special boy and we love you so very much.  You are a spunky and smart three year old and we think you are so much fun.  We have learned that you are quite stubborn and very opinionated, yet you've got such a sweet and sensitive heart.  You are clever and funny and make us laugh every day!  You love telling jokes, especially ones that you've made up yourself and they make no sense at all....even funnier, right?  You really don't like sharing your toys with Carson, yet you can't stand to hear him cry and say things to us like, "I think he's hungry.  I think he's sad.  You need to rock him." etc... Thank you for looking out for Carson.  You are a sweet big brother!  You've got such a wild imagination and it's so fun to listen to you play and hear what kinds of adventures you come up with.  This vivid imagination of yours had made night time difficult though.  You often wake up screaming from bad dreams and you tell me about scary trains in the shadows.  (Sounds spooky!)  I've started calling you my roomate because you've been sleeping on the pull out couch in Mama and Dada's room the past few months, though this week we have tried you and Carson in the same room again and it has worked fairly well.  (Fingers crossed for continued success.) 

Your dad and I tell ourselves all the time to stop and enjoy these moments.  In 10 years I'm sure I'll long for the days where you wanted to come sleep in our room and needed me to make you feel safe after a bad dream.  And though sometimes we roll our eyes behind your back and force a laugh, I know we are going to miss you saying out of the blue, "Okay, I've got a joke for you!  Knock, Knock!"  Pretty soon you will be doing all of the eye rolling and you'll be too big for me to send to time out.  Haha.  Until then, we will cherish these moment we have with the most amazing three year old boy we know!

ONE MORE THING!  (I had to come back and add this because I think it's so funny and cute and a little bit sad.)  Over the last month or so, you have started calling us Mom and Dad instead of Mama and Dada.  It sort of came out of no where.  You started saying it every now and then, but now you say it more often than not.  Lord knows I didn't want to be called "Mama" my whole life, I just didn't expect plain old "mom" and "dad" so soon!  You sound so grown up.  I will say, it's still the sweetest sounding "mom" and "dad" we've ever heard.

Blink...9 Months Have Passed

The title of this post should actually be Blink...10.5 Months Have Passed!  I'm a little behind with my blogging (surprise), but I wanted to give the Carson Man a 9 month update (before he turns 1 on us!)

 

His stats from the 9 month check up were:

 

Weight: 20lbs. 2oz (37%)

Height: 27.5in (18%)

Head Circumference: 45.5cm (50%)

 

I'm convinced that his weight percentage was calculated incorrectly.  There is NOTHING below average about this kids weight.  He's a hoss!  ...a sweet, happy, flirty, cuddly, teddy bear hoss.

 

I love his smile in the reflection.

That tongue is always out!

We are lucky enough to see this smile a lot.

So, I'm trying to think about what Carson has been up to these past few months.  I feel like he is proving to be super smart.  (Said every mom about her kid.)  It has been so fun to watch him "catch on" to things.  He's clapping, waving, saying Dada and Mama (to no one in particular) and paying close attention to everything going on around him.  He loves playing with balls.  He likes to have someone sit with him and roll/throw the ball back and forth.  We have no doubt this child will be an athlete.  Carson is also the most ticklish human being I've ever met.  It's hilarious.  His "sweet spots" are his thighs and his ribs.  Chad can get the best belly laughs out of him!

 

Our first ER visit as parents.  C was running a super high fever (after hours, of course) and was just acting like a bump on a log.  Luckily it just turned out to be an ear infection, but it sure was scary.

Carson is a very tough little man.  He spends hours a day defending himself from his big brother.  Griffin has mastered the "box out" technique and puts his entire body between Carson and whatever Carson wants.  And, as it turns out, Carson is quite persistent.  Half the time G could care less about what C is going for, it's just the fact that Carson wants something and Griffin doesn't want him to have it.  {This drives me absolutely BONKERS!}  I spend so much of my day acting as a referee between these two that I'll probably put it at the top of my resume should I enter the work force again. 

 

We are fairly certain that it will only be a matter of months until Carson can easily shove Griffin out of the way.

"Mom?  What's he doing?" 

 

C-Man has 2 lone teeth on the bottom but the poor guy has FOUR about to break through up top.  That's not fun for anyone but I'm looking forward to the days of him actually being able to chew his food instead of inhaling it whole.

 

You can see that first little tooth popping up!

One of the most fun things for Chad and I to watch is the relationship between Carson and Griffin develop.  Though keeping things civil around the house is a big part of the day, there are so many sweet moments between these two.  If Carson is upset Griffin screams at Carson to be quiet will try to cheer him up by playing peek-a-boo with him.  He also loves playing "monsters" with Carson (see picture).  I'm pretty sure Carson likes almost everything about his big brother.  It will be so cool to see how their relationship shapes up as they get older.  I pray that they will be best friends and realize how lucky they are to have someone in their life who will always have their back.

 

Carson especially loved Griffin when he took the liberty of getting him more puffs!

 

 

This is their "monster" game.  Always in that same spot around the trash can.  Griffin says, "Ahh, a monster!" and Carson just giggles.  So cute.

Just like Griffin, Carson loves the Tupperware cabinet.  This is a life saver while I'm trying to cook dinner.

Carson loves the swing and has recently started enjoying the slide at the playground.

Fun at the park with Anna Robinson...

...and Leah Sineway.  Can you see Griffin under that pile?

Kisses for cousin Leah.

 

Carson is a good sleeper, but he has decided that he needs the whole room to himself to sleep soundly.  This means that Griffin has been sleeping on the pull out couch in Mama and Dada's room for the past...2 months??  Sheesh!  We're pretty sure that Carson would wake up during the night and see Griffin across the room and want to play and interact with him.  When he couldn't, he get would get SOOOO upset!  Haha.  So, in order for me everyone to get a good night sleep, Griffin is bunking up in our room (which he loves).  We will try them together again soon and see how it goes.

I just love this picture!  And if anyone is wondering where those thunder thighs come from (don't you dare say me)...

 

....pretty sure he got them from his Dada!  Anyone else think these two kind of look alike?

 

My sweet Carson, I can't believe you will be ONE in just over a month.  You are growing so fast, but your dad and I love nothing more than watching you turn into a smart, strong (maybe freakishly strong) boy.  You have the sweetest, happiest disposition and honestly, you seem too good to be true.  Your gummy smile, which we are lucky to see all the time, is the best and your chubby cheeks are just so kissable!  I know that with each new age and stage comes great things, but I'm pretty sure that if I could choose a time of life to hit the slow motion button it would be this one.  You are just so fun right now.  We love you more than you will ever know...until you have your own kids.  Then you'll understand.