I've been holding out...

My phone is FULL of Carson videos and pictures that are too cute not to share... Enjoy :)

This is cute...most of the time.

Playing IPad games with Daddy :)

The boy loves his 4-Wheeler!

Playin' in the car on our way home from Kentucky :)


One of my favorites :)

I took this today, he just LOVES watching himself in the mirror!

Eating a peanut butter cracker...Yum :)

Our little man is ALL over the place :) I love the sound of my little inch worm moving around the house!

10 Months

Sunday our little guy turned 10 months old :) He still continues to make us smile each and everyday, hour, and minute! It still amazes us how much he changes from day to day. Friday at lunch Carson figured out how to "suck" on his sippy cup instead of biting it, and then by the afternoon he was crawling around. Yes....He's finally decided to crawl! I've always heard that crawling comes in all shapes and sizes. James' brother never let his knees touch the ground, he just crawled around with his bum in the air. My grandmother told me that my mom, and her brother and sister all crawled around without ever lifting their tummy off the ground, which must be where Carson gets it from. He can blame his tummy rug burns on his Granny. Carson kind of has the whole "army crawl" thing going on right now :) He looks like a little inch worm making his way around the living room, or the kitchen. Right now he loves to play with any kind of ball, so he is loving being able to chase it around the house.

A re-cap of Carson's 10 month happenings....

Carson LOVES to bang on anything and everything he can get his hands (or feet) on! He's still loving that big yellow bouncy ball, his new 4 wheeler, and his music table (the guy LOVES to dance), but...His favorite thing to do is walk around the house (with a little assistance). He just started using his car/walker that he got for Christmas, he'll walk behind it but is a little reckless so we've got to be ready to catch him when he gets to going too fast! haha We love to watch him walk around the house, however...We don't love to walk him around. It's a killer on the back, and your fingers, considering he has a death grip on them. Let's just hope before too long he wont need our help. I know all of you mom's are thinking, "Don't rush it... You'll miss the days he couldn't move on his own!" I know this is true but, we're ready! Our goal is for him to be walking before our trip to the beach, we leave in 42 days, but who's counting?

Every day Carson gets harder, and harder to photograph. He is still just as smiley as always its just harder to catch. I've got to get a camera with a faster shutter speed. With as many pictures as I take I know it would be a good investment. Can someone convince my husband?
Speaking of the hubs...I'm thinking Carson is going to have his Daddy's people skills. James is quite the people person! He ALWAYS remembers names, and can strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere, at anytime. When Carson and I are out and about he's always trying to start up a convo with anyone, and everyone. When we are waiting in line somewhere he will be leaning from side to side to look around me so he can smile at the person behind us in line. So stinkin' cute.

I know this picture is a bit blurry but I love the facial expression. I'm pretty sure that everyday Carson adds a new expression to his repertoire. I love those little eyebrows :) Speaking of eyebrows and hair....The boys got tons! James has been saying for the last two months that he needs a hair cut! And, I have to admit...It's a little long around his ears. It's just so cute when it lays on top of his ears, all flipped out and stuff, I just don't know if I can do it!

See what I mean?

Our little guy also loves to be read to, and of course play/eat the books! Reading books with him is such a special, intimate thing... I love it :)
The little man is still putting everything in his mouth! He was a little fussy last night and when James rubbed the top of his gums he started screaming....We're thinking he might be in the very beginning stages of getting his top teeth. While we're talking about teeth I have to tell you that the boy is eating sooooo many new foods! He isn't totally eating "from the table" but he's close! Right now his favorite food is definitely the PB & J! He also loves, peanut butter crackers, vanilla wafers, goldfish, chicken, fruit, fruit, and fruit, crackers, yogurt, and grilled cheese. Of course he's still eating his veggies, and cereal, along with some pasta. It's sooo much easier to feed him foods that we actually eat :) Can't wait until we don't have to mess with baby food. I'm tired of the mess and mashing....

I just love this guy...Skinny arms, smiley face, shiny white teeth and all :) Happy 10 months Carson!

A Dinner Date

Wednesday night Carson and I shared a special dinner. James was out of town for work so we were home alone. I thought it was the perfect chance to have a special little dinner with my main man. After a day of shopping, and a lunch date with the moms & kids from The Little Gym, he'd had a long day. I'll also take a minute to add that he only had one nap. Oh geez...I am not ready for him to drop his morning nap. Anyways...back to our dinner. I was SO excited to share one of my favorite sandwiches of all time with Carson. Have you figured it out yet? Well, it's official...Carson is no longer a PB&J virgin. We didn't really have much around for dinner so we both enjoyed a little PB&J! Carson LOVED it! He ate a whole half of the sandwich...crust and all :) He even ate half a cup of banana yogurt too.


Speaking of eating a lot...I've been having a hard time finding shorts/swim trunks to fit my skinny baby. This is what I'm working with....


Those shorts are 9 months and they aren't even close to fitting. I guess we'll have to try the 6 months... We've had a hard time with bathing suits too. I found one that fits him pretty well today and then I got one as a shower gift a while back that's actually 6-9 months that fits him like a glove. He must have been eating such a big dinner to try and fill out his shorts/trunks. Now, how many people can say they have that problem? Uh...Not me. haha

After our day of shopping, new friends, and PB&J's we were both ready for a little bit of this...

I should invent this...

On the ride home from Owensboro the other day I semi invented a new use for a great toy. Carson LOVES to play with the links. He chews on them, and we love to play our little version of tug-o-war with them! After climbing back and fourth from the front, to the back seat at least 5 times I decided Carson would be more entertained if he had a toy he couldn't drop, or throw. So I created this....Why didn't I think of this sooner? There are about a million baby toys out there but I don't think I've ever seen one that connects to what we call the "Oh, shit handle", and hangs down for the little one to play with. I'm loving this new invention for four main reasons:

1. It swings around, which encourages hand-eye coordination.
2. You can adjust the length to suit your child. I made my long enough so he could still get it in his mouth.
3. Other toys can be connected to the end. I added baby keys to the end of mine :)
4. And most importantly...It allows Mommy to sit in the front seat.

Ok Mom's...I'm sure I'm not the only one to come up with a new way to use and old toy....Spill the beans. What new toys have you created with your little ones toys?

One FULL Weekend!

Last Wednesday we loaded up the car and headed to Owensboro. Carson and I were staying for a long weekend but James had to do some traveling for work on Thursday and Friday, which of course was a real bummer. I was anxious to get home and see everyone, especially my dad! He had surgery on Monday to correct his irregular heart beat. It was supposed to be a pretty simple thing, but lucky him, he fell in the 4% that had a complication. The doc accidentally burned a hole in his heart. Yeah, scary right? Before I go any further, he's ok! haha He went back to work yesterday and is feeling much better. After the hole was clotted everything was fine. It just took him a few extra days to get over the added trama of it all. We are SO glad he is ok and back to normal!

On a much lighter note, the extra days in Owensboro also allowed Carson and I time to go visit our favorite Bowling Greenians. Yeah, I'm aware that's not a word...it just seemed to fit. Thursday we spent a few hours visiting Carson new buddy Cooper Waltrip. He is absolutely adorable and Carson can't wait to play with him again! Oh, and we also got to see Holli, Stacey, and Tara :)

During our trip the weather was beautiful which allowed for some good old fun on Pop's Playhouse! In this picture Carson is standing up by himself! This is his latest trick, and when he gets it going it's like his little feet are glued to the ground! So cute :) Everyone seems to think he'll be walking soon....Yikes. Yikes. Did I already say Yikes?

Thank God he survived Pops & James' sliding experiment... Scared me to death.

Another fun part of our trip was getting to see my cousin Justin and meet his fiance Vrinda! They live out in California and aren't in town often. They hadn't gotten to meet Carson yet, and I hadn't met Vrinda! They came out to visit for a while and brought Carson's buddy Miles...What a crew :) Saturday night my mom and aunt hosted a shower for them so we got to see the rest of the Fiorella crew too!!
When we got back to St. Louie on Sunday James and I made use of the pretty day by doing a little bit of yard work, and taking our pup and baby for two walks through the neighborhood.

Playing in the yard :)

On another house related note, Friday we are getting rid of our white landscaping rock! Woo Hoo :) I am quite excited, and proud of myself. I haven't really been a fan of the white rock since day one. I've been wanting to replace it with dark brown mulch for a while! We were going to pay someone to come dig it out of the landscaping, and haul it off. It was probably going to cost us a couple hundred dollars...boo. This weekend I posted an add on Craigslist...The rock was free if you'd come scoop and haul it. Believe it or not I got about 15 e-mails from people wanting it! I spoke to a guy today that will be coming Friday to get it. I'm SO pumped! Buh bye white rock :)

The Little Gym

I love this place, and I'm pretty sure my little guy does too! Today was our 3rd time and it just keeps getting better :) Carson loves all of the different activities we get to do together, but most of all I think he likes the other kids (or "bugs" as their referred to in class), and the change of scenery!

Look at my little "bug" in action...

He loves these bars!

Look Ma, no hands!
(He's really started letting go of things and balancing himself! I love watching his little toes flex as he tries to balance...so cute!)

Playing with his friend Carter

Rolling on the big donut was Carson's favorite thing today!


The boy loves his balls. I know how that sounds...haha Funny thing is, he loves the big bouncy balls, and yes...his too. He's found them and he thinks they are quite fun to play with as well. Sometimes, he even laughs out loud while doing so! True boy.


I'm pretty sure this is his, "Mom, I don't want to leave" face.

Before we even get out of the parking lot this is what we've got...

The gym totally wears him out. So cute.

One of the other things I like about the gym is being around other mom's! It's so nice to "compare notes" with other mom's that have kids right around Carson's age. It sounds like several of the mom's in our class stay home with their kiddos too. Today some of us exchanged numbers so we can get together outside of class :) Yay! I smell a play date in our near future!

Sunday Funday

Today we had such a fun day :) This morning we got up and went to church. Carson was a little angel! He was awake and extra alert during all of the signing and about the time the message started he fell asleep on my chest, and woke up just in time to enjoy a little more music before we left! When we got home we had lunch and then James and I watched a little basketball while Carson napped. This afternoon we took Carson to the library for the first time. He LOVED all of the books and said he wants to go back :) Heck, the boy even met two girls while he was there! Who knew the library was a place to pick up the ladies? haha One of the girls was older (probably around 5-6) she came over to us and said, "Uhh, did you know your kid just yelled in the library?" Crack me up! I just told her I didn't think he was old enough to know better! haha

Now, you know me well enough to know that I took a few minutes to snap some pics of my boy during his first library visit!

Daddy chose this book...of course.

After the library we ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a carrier seat to attach to the back of our bike! We also let Carson pick out a helmet. Well, Mommy picked it out, but I think he liked it. It's Paul Frank and has the little monkeys all over it! Too cute :) When we got home James got it all attached and we took turns taking him for a spin!

Another photo opportunity...

I'm thinking this is a thumbs up?

After a good old fashioned Sunday Funday (I know, that's so cheesy but I couldn't think of anything better...) Carson was ready for a big ol' bottle and a bath!

Oh, and by the way... How cute is my new picture of Carson at the top of the blog? Carson and I had a little photo shoot Saturday morning and I got some adorable pictures of the little guy! I just loved the way the sun was shining on him. Precious :)