Our Old Kentucky Home...

Wow! It's been an amazing, and crazy last couple of days! I could blog about our first few days in Kentucky forever but I'll try to cram it all into one post :)

Carson was, of course, quite the trooper on the trip south! He slept most of the time and even slept great in the hotel once we stopped to spend the night. I love this picture of him and Chloe sleeping in the 2nd bed...Priceless!Carson finally got to meet Andy, Liz, and Parker!!! And, for those of you that remember my blog post WAY back about Parker saying he was going to throw Carson in the trash can, he didn't. He actually thought he was pretty cool!
Carson also got to meet his great-grandmother, Ree :) Of course she thought he was pretty perfect too!!

Carson brought his big smile all the way to Kentucky! He loves it here... He's a southern boy at heart!
Carson had his first big party! On Sunday my parents had a get-together so that all of our family and friends could meet our little man. But, before the party Stacey and Holli played photographer and Carson got to have a big photo shoot.... Got some pictures that are to die for :) I'll share more later!
Our little man is still working on tummy time... His neck is getting stronger everyday :)
Carson got to meet his future girlfriend... Miss Lillian Gail Norris :)Carson meets his cousin Miles! He was born the day after Carson :)
The other night we took Carson swimming for the first time... He wasn't sure what he thought about it!
Can you tell?


Carson spent his entire 2 month birthday sick :( He caught a little stomach bug! He threw up a couple times, but after a day of Pedialyte and some R & R our boy is back to normal :)

Splish Splash! I was taking a bath...

I'm getting all squeaky clean for my big road trip tomorrow :)

2 Month Check-Up

Today Carson went to the doctor for his 2 month well visit! He is not quite two months old yet (next Tuesday) but since we will be in Kentucky then he went a little bit early :) As most of you probably know babies get their first big round of shots at their 2 month check-up. James is super busy at work right now so I had to fly solo today at the doc's office. I was a little nervous about how Carson would do with the shots, and how I would do for that matter! We got off to a good start because Carson was doing some serious sleeping when we got there.

First things first the nurse weighed and measured the little guy....and....He weighs a whopping 11 lbs 3 oz (50th%tile), his head measured 15.25 inches (25th%tile), and he is 23.5 inches long (75th%tile) <-- We could have guessed that, we know he's one long fellow! After getting weighed and measured Carson fell back asleep on the exam table waiting for the doctor. She came in, did all of her check-up things, and then we had to wait again for the lab tech. to come in. While Carson and I were waiting he was ALL SMILES....I felt sorry for him because he had absolutely no idea what was coming.... I tried to tell him but he just kept smiling! haha The lab tech came in and gave him an oral vaccination, followed by 4 HUGE shots to the thighs (two on each side). The needles were as big as the tears coming down his face. I felt SOOOO sorry for the little guy. He was crying so hard his face was bright red! A couple minutes later he got a little dose of Tylenol and then went right back to sleep :) Since he was SO brave Mommy thought he should get to go shopping....So, we spent the rest of the afternoon doing just that. And, as if you expected anything else, Mommy & Carson both got a couple of things! I'm thinking this could be a tradition....If we're all good at the doctor, we all get to go shopping! Wonder what Daddy will think of this little family tradition?

Carson is smiling "on command" more and more each day. He's been practicing for his big trip to Kentucky this weekend! Today I got a few super cute pictures of my smiley boy after our afternoon of shopping :)

A Stormy Situation...

For as long as I can remember I haven't been a big fan of storms. I wouldn't say I'm scared of your regular old thunderstorm but when the meteorologist starts talking about tornadoes I do get a little, ok a lot, uneasy! Especially now that the little man is here. Once he gets older and a storm is blowing in I'll have to put on my big girl pants and act like it's no big deal, or else Carson will be scared too. How can you not get a little nervous when you see a sky like this?

Of course, James is outside checking it all out. So typical of a Dad! My dad still to this day would probably have to actually SEE the tornado coming down the street before he'd take cover. Must be a guy thing!

Movin' on up...Well, down actually!

Yes! It's true!!!! James got offered a position in St. Louis on Monday of this week! Why am I just now sharing the news you ask? Well, that would be because James wanted to wait until we got to Kentucky next weekend to tell everyone! I am proud of us for making it until Friday really, considering James and I are the type that give each other birthday presents two days early because we just can't wait! haha I made Carson this special little outfit to arrive to Granny & Pops', then Mimi & Poppy's house in...So I am a little bummed he didn't get to wear it. So this morning when I put it on him to grab a couple cute pictures he smiled for me (I caught like 1/2 of it in the first picture). He's SUPER excited too!! As Granny said last night, "Now Carson won't think Granny is the talking black webcam. hahaha James and I couldn't be more excited, and I know our parents are feeling the same way! We called them last night via Skype and showed them Carson's new outfit! They were just ecstatic and I feel sure none of them slept well last night thinking of all of the great things we can do together being only 3-4 hours away! Family get-togethers are now possible, birthday parties, weekends on the lake, holidays, and even just visiting for the heck of it! And, best of all.... No more Minnesota winters! Woo Hoo! I feel sure Carson will be glad the only Minnesota winter he experienced was from inside the warm walls of my tummy :)

When are we moving? Well, we don't have an exact date yet but its looking like it will be end of August/beginning of September! Yes, we will definitely miss this city and all of the wonderful people we have met here! We'll fill everyone in with more details as soon as we know more! But in the meantime... WE'RE SO EXCITED WE CAN HARDLY STAND IT!!!!

Birthdays...

Once you've had a baby you have a whole new perspective on "birthdays". They aren't just a day where you add a year to your age, and get a few presents. It's the actual day that your mother and father welcomed you into the world! I can't believe I am going to say this but it's almost like your parents should receive presents from you for having them...? Doesn't that make more sense? Why all of the birthday talk? Well, today is two very special people's birthdays! My brother, Andy, and my hubby James were both born on July 16th :) So, Happy Birthday James and Andy, but Also...Happy "I Gave Birth-Day" Mom and Pam! Love you all:)

He's Got the Whole World In His Hands...

Literally, I think the whole world could fit in this little guy's hands! Maybe it's not that his hands are that big but that his fingers are really long, just like the rest of him! Granny thinks that if he grows into his hands he'll be able to palm a basketball in no time!!

It really amazes me how much Carson is changing every day! Monday night he slept through the night for the first time...greatest thing ever! He only took about 1/2 of his bottle at 10:30, fell asleep while eating, and slept until 5:15am! Woo Hoo! Yesterday (Wednesday) he finally figured out how to work his little bouncy seat. I've been trying to put him in it for a while and he always fusses unless I'm bouncing it. But yesterday, he figured out that if he kicks his feet around he can bounce it himself! Good job little man :) He's also smiling more and more each day!! I can NOT wait until we get to Kentucky so we can show him off!

Carson goes back to the doctor on Tuesday for his two month check-up, which will actually be a week before he's two months. He will spend his two month birthday at Granny & Pops' house :) I'm really anxious to see how much he weighs and how long he is. According to Mommy's calculations (the ruler on the tummy time mat) he should be close to 24 inches! I'll be sure to share all of our stats with you Tuesday :)

A promise to Carson...

A week or so ago James, Carson, and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant. After dinner we always love to grab a few flavored peppermint candies on our way out. They are the yummy ones that are different flavors like grape, strawberry, orange, etc. After we each grabbed a small handful we jumped in the car to head home. James tried opening up one of his strawberry ones and it was super sticky. He said, "This is like one of the candies my mom used to dig out of the bottom of her purse and give me! Here, stick it in your purse!" haha We both started cracking up because doesn't every one's Mom have a few old peppermints floating around in the bottom of their purse? These peppermints I am referring to are usually sticky, half unwrapped, they might even have a Kleenex stuck to them, and if they've really been in there a while....they're totally unwrapped! haha I can almost guarantee you that if I were to open my Mom's purse right now I could find at least one peppermint in there. Mom, I know you are reading this and I bet you are now curious too...go ahead, check your purse...see what you find :)

So, after James and I had a good laugh about the peppermints I promised Carson I would never offer him an old piece of candy from the bottom of my purse, because we all know kids will take any kind of candy even if it is old and sticky.

Downtown Mini-apple...

James and I decided that since we wont be here forever (in Minnesota that is) we should take Carson around to see some of our favorite parts of this amazing city! There is SOO much to do and see. I know when we do leave this place we'll really miss it, and the people we've met while we've been here. So, with that said Saturday night James and I decided to take Carson to see downtown Minneapolis for the first time!

Thanks Mom for making me look so cute for my first trip to the big city :)
-Love Carson

Carson having a little dinner down by the river.

At the Stone Arch Bridge (a beautiful bridge that's a walking trail over the river)

In front of the Mill City Museum (on right), a museum about flour milling. For those of you that aren't aware...James works at a flour mill...So of course this is a favorite spot of ours! It's a was once a flour mill where a historic explosion took place, the building was preserved as is now a museum! On the left is the Guthrie Theater. In this picture you can see the large chunk of the building that sticks out, it's a deck you can walk out on to get an incredible view of the city!!!
James and Carson on the Stone Arch Bridge looking out over the river, and checking out the Mini-apple sky line. People here call it the "mini-apple" because they say the city is like a mini, clean version of New York City, the "big-apple". Minneapolis has TONS of shopping, cool restaurants, theaters, and just lots of neat culture that you don't see in every big city!

Carson and I by the dam :) Such a pretty view!

We started our family in this amazing city and we'll always remember this special place :)

Crib Sheets: 1 Mommy: 1

Thanks to some wonderful Mommies I can proudly say I've tied up the score! Last night Carson spit up a little during the night and guess what.... It landed in a nice neat little pile on my lovely, blue sheet saver. I did not have to change the crib sheets at 3:30am this morning and for that I am thankful. Saved me a few tears and allowed me to get a little extra sleep.

For those of you who are expecting, and wandering aimlessly around Target or Babies R' US trying to decide what in the world you need to register for, you must add sheet protectors to your list. Your beauty sleep will thank you.

And I can't make a post today with out shouting from the roof tops about how excited I am that my best buddy Holli is pregnant!!!! They are the most deserving people I know :) And I can NOT wait for Carson to play with the lil' Waltrip :) Love you guys!

We're all smiles around here!

On Monday I got Carson to smile at me! Sweetest moment I've had with the little man yet. After smiling at me, he smiled at James too. Love, love, love it! I was afraid maybe it was a fluke, so I was anxious to try again.... Tuesday morning James got up, fed Carson, and then brought him to me in bed. When I took him and started talking to him he smiled really big like he was glad to see me. Melts my heart! He's soooo precious!

On a random side note: As you can see Carson has shorts! He wore his first pair the other day....hilarious!

Carson is getting more and more active everyday! He spends less time sleeping and more time checking out this amazing world! He's really noticing different sounds, and he is still super interested in the toys that hang from his jungle gym. He's been touching them more often, but of course he's still hasn't figured out he could use his arms and hands to touch them whenever he wants. The boy is smart...but I think it's a little early for that! haha The Big Red mobile is still a lifesaver when I want to take a shower. He watches it everyday while I get ready. Thanks Stacey and Holli, without you I would be stinky. This morning Carson went to school for the first time!! I had to go back and pack of some of my things from the classroom so he got to go with me! His favorite part were the lights in the classroom. He didn't seem to concerned with much else. When we got home we played on the floor with his little jungle gym thingy and his mirror for a while. We took videos, talked, and then I got him to smile at me again, and guess what.... I actually managed to get a picture of the little smile!!!

Now, if that wont make you smile I don't know what will!

Family Photo Attempt...

While in the shower yesterday morning I had this vision of a 4th of July family photo. I wanted us all in our red, white, and blue in the front yard smiling like the happy little family that we are, Chloe included! Who was going to take this adorable little family photo you ask? Well, that was the only problemo...especially since our neighbors have officially moved out (yes we are quite bummed...). I figured we could probably use the self timer and sit the camera on the table outside, while we sat directly across in our two chairs. Sounds easy enough right? Well, did you forget we have a newborn and a dog here? Here's what we got....

I'm leaning in funny, and the angle is wrong on so many levels

New angle, not much better, I kind of fell into my seat, and Chloe is running away...

Now James is mad, I totally just stepped on his foot, then closed my eyes. And, oh yeah, Chloe is in James' crotch. I think Carson is looking around to make sure nobody is watching his crazy family.

Angle is still horrible, looks like we're all knees, and Chloe is still hanging out in James' crotch.

I closed my eyes...

Best one we got...and James has his legs all spread open. No wonder Chloe jumped in there.

"Ok. That's it. We're done. Just take a picture of me and Carson."
-Me

Luckily, while we were at the park watching the fireworks show we sat next to a super nice family who took a picture of us all :) I've come to the conclusion that family photos need to be taken by an actual person, not the self timer.

Happy 4th of July!

Crib sheets: 1 Mommy: 0

Last night Carson woke up ready to eat at about 2am. I crawled out of bed, half awake, got his bottle in some warm water, changed him, then fed him. It was about 2:30ish when he finished up, burps and all. He was in his "punch drunk" stage and I was SO looking forward to crawling back in my warm snugly bed. I came down stairs to put the "dead solider" in the sink and then headed back upstairs. After a quick trip to the bathroom I thought I heard Carson awake....No way, he was in a deep sleep just minutes ago...I walked in his room to take a peek and sure enough he was laying there with his little blue eyes WIDE OPEN. How did he go from punch drunk and sleeping to being wide awake you ask? Well, I'm guessing when he spit up a good ounce of formula everywhere that did the trick. haha There was a large puddle of spit up next to him and he had a little stream of spit up coming out of both sides of his mouth. Poor guy, so helpless laying there. He was looking up at me like, "Help Mommy...What happened?"

At this point I had to call in for reinforcements, James was excited I'm sure. He heard me moaning and groaning via the baby monitor and came running :) He took Carson and got him all cleaned up and left me to deal with the bed/sheets. Mommy got hosed. Anyone who has ever put a fitted sheet on a crib mattress will understand why. It's a pain! For those of you that haven't had the pleasure I'll explain why.... First of all the mattress fits into the crib tightly, for safety reasons of course. This alone makes putting on the sheets a challenge. But, if you've got bumper pads on the crib it's a whole new challenge. Kind of like trying to hit a 150 yd golf shot over the lake with your 140 yd club....nearly impossible. I pulled off the wet sheets and the wet mattress pad and tossed them aside, took a deep breath, and gave it my best. After about 10 minutes and a few tears later I finally got it on good enough for the little man to sleep on.

By then it was nearly 3am and we were both wide awake. At least Carson had clean sheets and ended up going right back to sleep without any problems...What a trooper.

To all of you experienced Mom's out there: If you have a trick to help me beat the sheets please do share.

My afternoon in a nutshell...

Jealous?