5 Months!

Carson is turning into a crazy little baby.

He is no longer my sweet newborn that lays around all day.

He wants to talk and scream all the time and grab everything he sees (usually my face or hair).

-He is weighing in at 14 lbs 14 oz (25th percentile).

-He is still in size 3-6 month clothes (and some 6 month) and size 2 diapers.

-Carson is now falling asleep on his own thank goodness.  We got in the bad habit about two months ago of holding him until he fell asleep, but he has luckily adjusted back to his easygoing newborn ways.

-He still goes to sleep around 8:30 or 9 and sleeps until around 5:00.  He eats and goes back to sleep until about 8:00.  However, the past 2 nights he has woken up a little later than 6 and gone back down for a few hours.  I'm hoping this will be his new schedule!

-Carson is still awful at taking naps.  I am pretty much to the point where I don't believe a nap longer than 40 minutes can ever exist.  We are trying to cut out his 4th nap right now.

-He tried baby oatmeal for the first time about a week after he turned 4 months.  He has now tried carrots and sweet potatoes and loves both!  I try to feed him solids 1-2 times a day.
-Carson is crazy around Steve and me but is actually a very shy, observant baby in public.  He never cries when we are out and loves to just watch people and see what is going on.  It makes getting out with a baby pretty easy!

celebrating dad's birthday!

loving the tub

trying out his first real food!

can't get enough snuggles with this boy

4 Months!

My little baby is growing up!

All of a sudden in the past couple of weeks he seems a lot less like a newborn and more like an older, interactive baby.

Carson is still a very mellow baby.  He loves to be held and snuggled. We both feel lucky to have such an easy baby (so far).

Here are some highlights from the past month of his life:

-Carson weighs in at 13 lb. 2 oz.  He has only gained 1 pound in the past 2 months!  He is in the 15th percentile and we are trying to fatten him up!
-He is about 25 inches tall and in the 60th percentile for height.
-He is in 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.

-He is usually asleep by 9 and wakes up around 5. He then eats and goes right back to sleep until around 8.

-He eats every 2-3 hours during the day.
-He is a horrible napper lately.  I'm lucky if I get 45 minutes out of him but naps are usually 20-30 minutes.  He naps 4 times a day.
-I am a sucker for letting him nap on me or with me.  A lot of his naps are laying with me in bed or in the moby wrap.

-Carson has probably only rolled tummy to back 10 times. It's like he forgets each time and has to let relearn.

-He rolls from his back to his side a lot when he is playing. I think he'll be rolling back to tummy pretty soon here.

-He discovered his toes recently and thinks they are way more fun to play with than any of his toys.

-He is now grabbing at things and trying to put everything in his mouth.

-Carson laughed for the first time about a week ago and it was hands down my favorite thing that he has done so far.

going crazy over one of his favorite toys

playing with his toes

at Steve's program's Halloween party

discovering his toes for the first time

playing with me in our pjs...a regular occurrence in our home

playing in his jumperoo for the first time...his eyes say it all

my handsome boys after church

our snuggly little bear

Visitors!

Steve's parents came out for a visit a few weeks ago.

Steve convinced his dad to go to the Minnesota Vikings game that was on a Thursday night.

Of course, I'm sure Carson was another major reason they came to visit :)

I love having visitors because Carson gets so much love!!

We had a blast with them.

A few things we did included checking out Mall of America and the aquarium inside, trying some favorite Minneapolis restaurants, touring campus, and just hanging out at home.

Please come back soon!

Two Years!

After last year's exciting anniversary, Steve and I decided to have a low key one this year.

With a little baby, it is enough excitement for us to just get out and enjoy a night alone.

Prior to our anniversary, we had only been out one time alone when Carson was 3 weeks old.

It was hard to leave him, but we had a great time!

We checked out a restaurant downtown called 112 Eatery.  It was pretty good.  Lots of fancy things on the menu that we couldn't understand.

Then we headed to the movie theater and saw Taken 2.  It did not disappoint.  We know it got horrible ratings, but we haven't seen a movie in the theaters for over 3 months now, and I think anything could entertain us.

Afterwards we headed to get a delicious dessert from the McDonald's drive through so that we could be home in time to put Carson to bed!  The life of parents--so thrilling.

It has been the best two years ever, Steve!  I love you!!!

Girls Weekend! +1

My sister Lindsay, mom, and I had a girls weekend planned since before Carson was born.

Lindsay had Fall Break this past weekend so we decided to take advantage of it and they both flew out here for a girls weekend! (plus Carson...and occasionally Steve)

It was perfect because our anniversary was during their stay so they got to babysit Carson.

Anyway, we started the trip off right with shopping, and lots of it!

I picked them up from the airport on Thursday and we all headed over to the Mall of America.

We were there so long that Carson had to eat twice.  (nursing mothers, you know how much of a hassle that is)

My legs ached that night from all the walking, but we each made some great purchases and enjoyed our time together.

The next day, we explored Grand Avenue, a popular street in St Paul.  We ate at a delicious cafe and did a lot of window shopping.

Diet coke and turtle cake...nothin better.

Carson was the best shopping companion.  I love my little boy.

On Saturday, of course we had to find the nearest Potbelly (our family favorite in Virginia).  Then we hung out and watched some of the BYU game before Steve and I went out for our anniversary that night.

 Sunday we lounged around a lot and made sugar cookies.  What a work of art.

I was so sad to see them go...but I have a good feeling that this could be an annual thing:)

3 Months!

Now for some updates and pictures.

-Carson is 25 inches long.  Not sure how much he weighs because his doctor's appt is next month!

-He loves splashing in the bathtub, blowing bubbles, books, and cuddling.

-He is in size 2 diapers and 3 month clothes. He will probably move to 3-6 month clothes shortly.

-He just rolled over for the first time!

-Carson goes to sleep around 11 and wakes up between 5 and 7. If he wakes up before 7 I feed him and put him back to sleep. He would sleep in til 10 most days if I let him.
-We have tried getting him to sleep earlier, but he gets so fussy that it isn't worth it to me!  I'll let him sleep when he wants and try working out a better schedule later. 

-He takes 4 naps a day. Sometimes 5.  Usually he sleeps for around 2 hours in the morning and each nap gets progressively shorter throughout the day.

-He is getting much more interactive and loves watching people.