Creepy Crawly...

Carson is huge, and probably by next weekend I'm going to need to completely baby proof the house. Yikes, Yikes, and double yikes. I have a feeling my fairly quite days at home with Carson are about to be a thing of the past! Bring it on buddy... I can't wait :)Caught this video of my main man today. This was the first time I actually saw him be interested in crawling! So cute :)

We're back!

I'm pretty sure Carson has turned into a whole new child since I've blogged last! It's amazing how much he's changed in just two weeks! I could blog for days about the past couple of weeks but instead I'll try to keep it short and sweet, hitting the high points :)

Carson and I went to Owensboro on the 16th for the arrival of our latest nephew, Easton William Fiorella! He was born on December 16th, weighed 6 lbs 3oz, and was 19 3/4 inches long. Easton and Liz are both doing great and they are all settling in quite nicely :) Parker of course loves his little brother!! So with the arrival of grand-baby number three Carson is no longer the "baby"... and after looking at this picture of him with his newest cousin I'd have to agree that he looks more like a little boy than a baby!

While in Owensboro Carson mastered the art of sitting up! Woot Woot! We've been waiting for this day for quite a while. I'm sure Carson has too, he had to get tired of laying on his back looking at the ceiling.
Because Carson can now sit up, without the help of the Boppy pillow, he was able to take his first bath sitting up :) Cutest thing ever.

Of course while in KY Carson got to celebrate Christmas 5 more times! That meant for lots of opening gifts! By the time we got to Benton to celebrate Christmas with the Harper's Carson had somewhat figured out what to do with the gifts...


The three, well four including Chloe, of us had a WONDERFUL time celebrating Christmas with all of our families. We were reminded again just how lucky we are! Of course Carson had an awesome first Christmas! He racked up an overwhelming amount of presents...

Now if Mommy can just find a place to put them all. Thank goodness we aren't still in that tiny townhouse in Minnesota...

You all know that I take an exorbitant amount of pictures. Because I was at home for two weeks celebrating the arrival of a nephew, along with 5 Christmas', I took a little over 300 pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras)! Yes, I know some of you probably think that is quite ridiculous. haha But how could you not take pictures of this face...

Or this one...

And of course this one :)

There are SO many cute pictures from trip, I just wish I could post them all! I'll finish up with a few of my favs! An attempt at a family picture... Chloe totally ruined it showing off her belly.

James, Josh, Carson, and Jett :)

It doesn't get much sweeter than this...

Oh, and I forgot to mention that while I was on my blogging hiatus Carson turned 7 months old! Before I know it I will be planning his 1st birthday party... Crazy!

I'm also pretty sure his amount of hair has doubled since his 6 month photo shoot!! The second picture of him chewing on the blocks pretty much sums up Carson at 7 months. He is chewing on absolutely everything! And is really close to getting a tooth!

Gotta love this kid :)

Let's Start a Tradition...

Yesterday I read my friend Melodye's blog post The Non-Crafter's Guide to Crafting Homemade Christmas Ornaments and I was inspired! She makes a good point... Every good stay at home mom should make homemade Christmas ornaments with their kiddos! Sooo yesterday Carson and I did our first craft project together. Sorry buddy, this wont be your last because of course you all know I love a good project. haha Again, if you know me you probably know I can't just do something simple... I have to make it complicated. So I took Melodye's idea of an ornament that will later become a reminder of just how small Carson's hands were on his first Christmas. Yesterday it was really cold out so I didn't want to make Carson get out in the weather just to buy craft supplies so I tried to come up with something I could make with what I already had.

When I put Carson in his highchair to start on the project he was ALL smiles...I'm pretty sure he thought he was about to eat. Sorry for the pump-fake little man! I started by putting a little paint onto a paper plate and stamping his hand into the paint, and then onto some watercolor paper (just a thick artist type paper, same paper I used for Carson's letters in his room). Note to self: Next time you do a paint project with a 6 1/2 month old take off his clothes, and have something to clean him up with handy...duh.

As you can see if took us a couple of tries to get the perfect little hand print! After I stamped his hand, and got him cleaned up and playing on the floor, I traced around his hand print with a pencil, and then cut it out. I pined the paper hand print onto some pieces of left over red felt (from Carson's stocking project) and then cut out two felt hands.

I then found some red floss, or string, in my sewing box and stitched the two hands together, filling them with a small amount of fiberfill. This was a little tedious but I knew the outcome would be worth it :) Once it was complete I went back and added the date into the palm of the hand. Of course I needed to add something so we could hang it on the tree. I snipped off a little piece of ribbon I had leftover from a super cute diaper wreath Pam made for us at a baby shower, and just sewed it to the back of the hand :) Wha-la...Our first homemade ornament!

I love, love, love the way it turned out and I plan making this a tradition! We'll make these every year with Carson, and eventually Harper # 4 :) I'm envisioning a kid friendly tree in the basement (which will be finished someday) covered in soft hand print ornaments. So cute, and so special!

Notice my ultrasound ornament behind the hand? I made that last year right after Carson's first ultra sound, at 10 weeks. This will forever be on our tree, for its the first picture of our sweet baby boy!

Our First Christmas Morning

Growing up we always woke up EXTRA early on Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought for us, and this year Carson kept the tradition going :) haha He woke up at about 5:00am happy as a clam! James and I just love to lay in bed and listen to him, via the monitors. It's so funny to listen to all of the sounds he makes. Before we know he'll be yelling for us to come get him out of his crib!

Carson LOVED the toys Santa brought him, as well as the things we got for him! And of course, as expected, he loved the paper :) We can't wait to see him tear into more gifts at Granny & Pops' house, and then again at Mimi and Poppy's!

He just couldn't decide what to play with first!

Our happy guy :)

Carson was cracking us up chewing on this thing :)

Who needs breakfast when you can just eat paper?

Carson loved his car but he's not quite big enough yet!

Trying out the new car :) Probably the only time he will ever get a car for Christmas! haha

Priceless :)

Best Christmas EVER!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

'Twas the night before Christmas (yes, I realize it's early) and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse (that is unless there are still some in our attic). The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicolas would soon be there.

The child (that would be our main man, Carson) was nestled all snug in his bed, while visions of sugarplums (or maybe apples and sweet potatoes) danced in his head. And Daddy in his kerchief (let's call em' sweats) , and I in my cap had just settled down for a long winter's nap.

Ok, I know what your thinking...It's only December 11th?!?! Well, this Thursday my brother Andy will be welcoming a sweet little baby, Easton, into the world :) So, Carson and I are heading to Owensboro for his arrival Thursday morning and will be staying until James comes into town for Christmas on the following Wednesday. Therefore... That leaves tomorrow as our only day to have our Christmas morning! We are SOOOOOOO excited to share our first Christmas with Carson! We can't wait to see his face, and hear his squeals, when he tears into the wrapping paper. Yes, we are totally aware that's all he is going to care about! haha Although...the little guy does have several presents under the tree! Tonight James and I enjoyed being Santa and putting together a few toys :) Now I just hope I'm not too excited to sleep.

Carson + Chloe = Best Buds

Carson loves his Chloe, and I'm pretty sure Carson is starting to grow on Chloe. haha I think she's figured out if she wants extra attention she's going to have to get it from Carson! Yesterday I captured this sweet little moment...

A little sniff
A little kiss
A little snuggle

I'm pretty sure Chloe is daydreaming of the days when Carson is big enough to chase her around the yard :)

Changes...They are a comin'

Our little man is changing. Everyday he seems to to be doing something new! When we were at the doctor last week he went over all of the changes I could be seeing before his 9 month check-up. Waving, crawling, maybe saying mama or dada, pulling up, teeth, and maybe even finger foods! Oh how things will change when Carson is mobile. I have to admit, that scares the heck out of me!

We've been trying to get Carson to say mama and dada for a while of course. He LOVES it when we say it. He always grins, which of course just melts my heart! It's like he wants to say it but just can figure out how. He's been doing LOTS of squealing when he gets excited, and in the last couple days I've noticed him making some other new sounds like he's trying to put together some words or something! But, my favorite right now is the fake cough. Cracks me up. He's figured out that if he coughs we stop what we are doing and look at him (to make sure he's ok, and not choking of course) and when he sees us watching him he smiles. It's funny that at such a young age he already knows how to pull our strings. Yikes!

One of my favorite things to do with Carson right now is feed him! I love to watch him eat his fruits and veggies. When I put him in his high chair you can see the excitement in his eyes as if he's saying, "Yay! Time to eat!" Then, the excitement builds as the bib goes on. Once the bib is on he usually looks, to the right, at the counter where his bowl of food sits until we get situated. It's like he's trying to figure out what he's about to eat. Then it's finally time to eat :) I love the face he makes when he takes that first bite. You can see him thinking...trying to determine what he's eating and if he likes it. What a priceless face.

As far as playtime goes Carson is still loving his Exersaucer, he's got it totally figured out. He also still loves the crinkly paper, and anything that can fit into his mouth. Heck, he even likes the things that wont fit! haha He's got a big ball thing that spins and sings the alphabet; it's about the size of a cantaloupe but he still tries to get it in his mouth! So funny! Do you see why I'm nervous about a mobile Carson? There is NO telling what all he will find to put in his mouth! Carson also loves books. I read him a new one last night night, "Peek-a-Boo, I Love You". It has flaps that lift up... Oh man he loved those. He was amazed that a book could do such crazy things! haha

And yes, Carson is still sucking his two fingers :)

Peas and Carrots

According to Forest Gump "peas and carrots" are a good combo. But, if you ask Carson he'd disagree! Normally I serve Carson's veggies with a side of fruit. Tonight, we did peas and carrots, and Carson said no thanks. I tried to get him to eat it all but he just wasn't having it. We had to mix a few pears in. I have a feeling when it comes time to say, "Carson, you're not leaving the table until you eat your carrots." Carson is going to win the battle. I might be more like my mom than I think....

Long and Lean

Yes, those two words describe our little Carson quite well. Actually, I should say long and lean, cute, smiley, happy, adorable, best kid ever, blondie, and lovable. Now those words describe Carson! Well, this post isn't about how cute and lovable our little guy is...It's about his 6 month check-up yesterday :) We got, yet another, great report from the doc! Eyes, ears, tummy, heart, lungs, and even his little pee pee were perfect :) He weighs 16lbs 11oz (32%tile) and is 27 1/2in. long (83%tile), and they said his head was 16 3/4in around (16%tile, but normal for his long and leaness). James and I have had some concerns about Carson's head. It appears to be a little flat in the back. Of course the child has spent about 75% of his life so far laying on his back...No wonder. When talking to the doctor about it yesterday he said it was just "mildly" flat and he didn't think it required a helmet, yes, they have those, sad I know. Hearing that a helmet wasn't necessary was good news, but had that been the route we needed to go I feel sure Carson would have "rocked" the helmet quite well :) haha I asked the doctor lots about his eating. As you know he's been eating cereal, fruits, and veggies twice a day, and I was curious as to when he needed to start protein (he suggested around 7 months) and when to feed him food 3 times a day (whenever we want to start). I am NOT looking forward to making homemade meat. The thought of pureeing chicken, pork, and beef makes me what to throw up. Yuck. Hopefully I can tough it out for the little guy :)

At this visit Carson also had to get more shots! Poor, poor guy. He screamed, oh how he screamed. The nurse that gave him the shots is SUPER nice and he loves her. But, after she poked him with two huge needles he was YELLING at her, not just crying, but yelling. I felt sorry for the guy but I have to admit his little 2 minute fit was a little comical considering I've never seen the guy get that mad. I hope I never make him that mad.

On a lighter note...Carson had a blast during his visit (until the shots). If you remember me saying before the kid LOVES the paper that lines the exam table. This time I captured a few pictures of him playing...

I wish we could get a roll of that stuff. haha

In other "development news" Carson is still working on sitting up. We discovered that he can do a pretty good job with the help of his Boppy pillow :) He LOVES being able to sit up and see whats going on (I think he's pretty much seen enough of the ceiling)! I took a little video of him playing this morning. He's playing with is little puppy and he is just dying to eat it. Funny.

Carson meets Santa!

Today James and I took Carson to meet Santa at the mall... He loved him :) And we love this picture... Priceless!

1/2 a year

It's so hard to believe that this guy:

Has already turned into this guy:

Carson has been in our lives for 1/2 of a year today and I can't imagine what our lives would be like with out him in it. He makes us smile a million times a day and he really does keep getting cuter. The kid is growing like a weed, a really pretty weed that you want to pick up a take home. He loves to stand up with some help, and he's been sitting up by himself for a few seconds, but we feel like by Christmas he'll have it down! Carson has been eating, and loving, fruits and veggies! So far he's eating sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, pears, bananas, apples, and cereal. We're looking forward to starting some new things this week like squash and mangoes! We go back to the doctor this week for his 6 month well visit, where Carson will get shots :( James is planning on going with us this time and I'm sooooo glad! Everyone has been asking if Carson has teeth. The answer, is no. We feel like they've got to be coming soon. The kid drools ALL of the time, and constantly has something in his mouth! Tonight we laid him down for bed around 8:45ish and just a minute ago (9:40ish) we were in the living room watching football, and blogging, when we heard him screaming. We ran in to get him (because it was very unlike him) and we really couldn't get him to stop crying. He cried for a solid 5 minutes. We changed diapers, tried songs, rocking, his teether, the whole bit. We kind of felt like it was his teeth, or gums for lack thereof, so we rubbed a little Ora-gel on the gums and gave him a dose of Tylenol. After a mini bottle and some cuddling he was back asleep. We're a little nervous that tonight might be that night. The night he's up and down crying and nobody gets any sleep. We haven't experienced this night yet....Has our good luck run out?

Carson's 6 month recap