Easter 2012

Celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior is the reason to celebrate the Easter holiday, but a big added perk is getting to spend time with great friends and family.  We had the most wonderful Easter this year and just wanted to share some of our memories.

Saturday we all (mom and dad, John and Shara and their crew, Brady, Carson and I) went out to the beautiful Kobza place in Engle, TX.  One of John's best friends from high school, Carman, was visiting from Germany with his beautiful wife, Kristin, and their brand new baby girl, Everly.  There were lots of kiddos there and lots and lots of catching up going on.  Here's the group lining up for the Easter egg hunt.

Here's my little nut getting ready.....

And, off he goes....

Precious baby Everly celebrating her first Easter in Texas....

The Niesner/Brown bunch after a successful egg hunt....

Carson checking out his loot with cousin Tucker and Dalton....

Then, it was back to the farm to pick blue bonnets (or, as Carson would say "bue blonnets")  for Easter nests. Notice PawPaw's big stick....he was using it make sure there were no snakes in the grass.  Such a shame he doesn't love his grand babies.  :-)  :-)

What can I say...the day was absolutely perfect.  I even got to share a special hug with my special little man....

The loves of my life....

All ready for Mr. Easter Bunny  :-)  .......

And finally, a little play time with Uncle John before heading off to bed....

EASTER MORNING....looks like the Easter bunny found us.....

Quick hug with cousin Presley before the final Easter egg hunt for this year (Nana and PawPaw's egg hunt)....

And they're off (after all of these egg hunts, Carson could be a professional Easter egg hunter).....

Proof that my sweet little boy is being brainwashed by his Aggie-loving cousins.  Notice the gig'em sign he's taunting me with.....

The whole crew.  There's a LOT of love in this picture....

Well, it can't be all fun...time to do a little plowing in the fields on his very first John Deere....

And the tradition continues as we wrap up a wonderful weekend with a little kite flying...

The look on his face pretty much says it all....

BEST_WEEKEND_EVER......

Halloween 2011

This year Halloween was SO much fun for all of us.  Carson really understood what it was all about this year, and he really got into it.  Around August I started asking him what he wanted to be for Halloween, and his response was "a chicken".  A chicken...really???  (at least that was my thought)  So, I waited a week or so and asked him again.....same response, "a chicken". Another week later, and the same response. At this point, I was beginning to think that I would be shopping for a chicken costume since the kid was obviously firm in his decision.  I asked one more time before I started searching for the ultimate chicken costume and lo' and behold he said that he wanted to be a dinosaur.   Whew...now that's more like it!!  Here are a few pictures of our little dinosaur as we prepared to head out for our evening.

Practicing his roar.....

He told us that he was a mean dinosaur, but I think he's about the cutest, sweetest dinosaur that has ever walked this earth....

For the past several years, we've meet with our neighbors at the corner across the street from our house the night of Halloween.  We gather and have a pot luck dinner for the kids and snacks for the adults, and then the kids set out for trick-or-treating while some of the parents hang out on the corner and hand out candy.  It's a great time, and it's so much fun to get to see all of the neighbor kids in their costumes.

Carson got to dine with a princess....

Loading up and getting ready to head out for some trick-or-treating....

Carson really grasped the concept of trick-or-treating this year.  We were so proud of him, because he was so good about telling everyone "thank you" and then wished them a Happy Halloween.  He even gave one lady a VERY loud roar upon her request.  She must have been impressed, because she asked for a second one.  He quickly picked up on the fact that we didn't go up to a house unless the front porch light was on.  As he was bounding down the sidewalk, he asked Brady and I if every night could be Halloween.  Ha!

Even before Halloween, Carson had become very fond of lollipops.  Here he's letting out a big roar to show his excitement for the lollipop he just landed.

The fun had to finally come to an end, but mommy let him indulge in one lollipop before heading up for a much needed bath.

It was truly a wonderful Halloween for us all.  Great fun and great memories.....

Carson's First Visit to the Zoo

We've wanted to take Carson to the zoo but weren't too sure if he was really ready yet or not....short attention span and all.  So, we decided to give it a try one weekend when we were visiting Brady's parents (Mimi and Pops) down in Victoria, TX.  They have a nice little zoo, but it's not so huge and overwhelming that you need to spend hours there to get your money's worth.  Perfect setting for our first zoo trip....or, so we thought.   :-)

All started off well, and Carson was excited about going to the zoo.

He was excited to see all of the animals in the petting zoo area (goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens), but he made REAL sure that daddy stayed closed by.   :-)

 Even with all of the fun animals there, one of Carson's favorite attractions was the caboose car.  He loved "driving" the train.  He would say "Choo, choo.....all d'board".   :-)

 Carson and daddy feeding the ducks and other birds.

We took a little break from walking about and seeing the animails.  Carson had a blast and met some new friends while playing in the gravel pit.

 The BEST part of the entire zoo trip was watching Carson's excitement when he would watch the little flying squirrel.  He could have watched that little squirrel jump back and forth across it's cage all day long.  And, Carson's little squeals of excitement would have it made it WORTH watching that squirrel all day long.   :-)  :-)

Winding up the zoo trip.  Carson and his Mimi and Pops.

And, one quick shot with mommy and daddy.....

Week 1 of ISR (Infant Swim Resource)

Today was our first day of ISR.  ISR is a instructional program that teaches children ages 6 months to 6 years old to survive should they fall into water (swimming pool, lake, etc) unattended.  Rather than typical swim lesson (learning the crawl, backstroke, etc), the students are taught survival skills to help save their life.  From the ages of six months to 1 year, they are taught to float on their backs and cry out for help. From the ages of 1 year to (I think) 3 yrs, they are taught to float on their backs and take a few breaths of air, flip over on their tummies and paddled toward the side, flip on their back to float and take breaths, and then continue the sequence until they can reach the side.

Having a pool, it was a no-brainer for us to enroll Carson in ISR.  As necessary as I knew it was for him to learn these survival skills, I was so nervous about going.  I had heard that the course is serious business....no play time.....and that most children cry a lot.  We go to lessons every day for only 10 minutes at a time for the next 4 to 6 weeks depending on how well he does. The lessons are one-on-one with the instructor, so she is able to focus her full attention on Carson for the entire 10 minutes. I was a nervous wreck driving Carson to his first day of lessons, but after only three days of lessons, I am reassured that this was definitely the right step for us to take!!!!

Day 1 (4/5) - When Carson and I arrived, Ms. Shauna (the instructor) informed us that she was running late and had two other kiddos before us.  Great...I got to prolong my anxiety.  So, Carson and I decided to go for a walk down the street until it was our turn.  Carson has to wear a reusable swim diaper that the ISR organization recommends, and it cracks Brady and I up because it looks like a little Speedo.  I've NEVER been a fan of Speedo swimsuits for men, but Carson looks adorable!!!  Ms. Shauna spent the majority of the class just holding Carson under his arms and slowly lowering him all the way into the water.  She worked with him on keeping his mouth shut when he went under.  Of course, he cried, but I have to admit it wasn't as bad as I had expected.  She also spent time getting Carson to face the side of the pool and grab onto the wall.  She was basically evaluating his strength to hold on.  Through out the lesson, Ms. Shauna would press her thumb on Carson's back and on the heel of his foot to determine his body temperature.  She ended up cutting the lesson a few minutes short, because Carson's abdomen was slightly distended.  She indicated that it was from him crying and swallowing so much air.  After his lesson, he has to lay on his left side for a few minutes, so I used this time to wrap him in his towel and tell him very proud of him I was.  As I sat him up to get dressed, he let out a big ol' burp and smiled....I knew then that it was all good and that we were both were going to survive the next several weeks.   :-)

Day 2 (4/6) - Carson was seriously battling allergies...poor baby.  His little nose is running like an open faucet and he's been sneezing all day.  I was hesitant about even taking him to lessons today, but I figured I would go and just let Ms. Shauna determine what we should do.  She said as long as he wasn't running a fever, we could give it a try.  He did so good.  It was pretty much more of the same from the day before....going under water and catching his breath for a while, then doing it over and over again.  This time she'd have Carson face the wall, let him go and under and then reach for the wall to pull his face out of the water.  Toward the end of the 10 minutes, Ms. Shauna was able to hear his congestion and recommended that we call it day.  She said that the last two times he went under, he did really well.....he kept his mouth shut just like he was supposed to....so it was good to end the lesson on a good note.

Day 3 (4/7) - Daddy got to come with us to lessons today, and I could tell that Brady was really nervous.  Nobody likes to hear their baby cry, so it's tough when you know that's what is going to happen.  Ms. Shauna asked all about how Carson was feeling. He was doing MUCH better.  He took Zyrtec the night before and it seemed to do him wonders....no more runny nose and very few sneezes and coughs.  More of the same today....lots of time spent going under the water and working on keeping his mouth shut.  Ms. Shauna really has to work on keeping Carson's hand/fingers out of mouth.  :-)  Today she would take Carson toward the side of the pool, let his little foot touch and feel that the wall was right there, and then let him go under and grab for the wall and pull his head up.  Both Brady and I were amazed at how well Carson would grab for the side and pull himself up.  You would have thought our baby had just beat out Michael Phelps in a race or something the way we were cheering.  Ms. Shauna seems to be pleased with Carson's progress.  It might not really seems like much progress through my written word, but it's more obvious watching it in person. I really think we are off to a good start!!!

Day 4 and 5 (4/8 and 4/9) - Well, we got a mild cold front last night and the temps are bit chilly today...in addition to the crazy wind it left us.  So, Ms. Shauna thought it was best to cancel lessons for today and tomorrow...a bit too chilly for the kiddos to get in the water.  This might actually work out good for us, as it will give Carson a chance to get over his allergies and slight cough.  So....we'll pick up again on Monday.  Have a great weekend!!!

We're baaaaaack.........

(Week of January 17 - 23)
A lot of time has passed (yet again), and I realize what a gem of an opportunity I am missing by not taking advantage of this blog to record Carson's milestones.  He is growing and changing almost daily (it seems like).  I realize just how much he's growing when I look back at pictures that were taken just six months ago.  So, I know I've stated this before, but I am really going to try to be more diligent about "writing" things down here.  A lot of the things I record may seem insignificant to other readers, but hopefully some day Carson will enjoy reading through this info.

Carson is completely off of baby food and only eating table food.  He was still eating a jar of baby food fruit at lunch so that we could put his probiotic in there, but we're now putting the probiotic into his mid-morning milk cup and he's eating regular fruit with lunch. He is SUCH a good eater....in fact, there have been times when Brady and I wonder if we need to stop giving him food in fear that he might pop.  Ha!  I am sure there will come a day where he will not want to eat, but I sure am enjoying having such a good eater right now.  We are very pleased with the variety of foods that Carson will eat.  So far, he is showing signs of not being a picky eater...something we had hoped for and talked about before he was born.

New foods this past week: Rice chex and fig newtons.

Carson's cousins, Alex and Addison, were kind enough to let us borrow their Signing Times DVDs, and Carson is really starting to get the hang of signing several words. Here are some of the words that he either signs regularly or is in the process of learning: eat, more, milk, fish, flower, dog, want, ball, bath, mommy, daddy and no.

Carson is now completely off of formula and drinks all milk from his sippy cup (with the exception of his night time bottle).  He adjusted so well to whole milk and will even drink it cold (which I had been warned about).

Oops...adjustment to the paragraph above.  As of Friday night (1/22) Carson is 100% bottle-free.  We tried taking his night time milk from a sippy cup, and he did GREAT....actually, he did better than I did.   I am not sure why I was having such a hard time letting go of that one last bottle.  Maybe it was my way of trying to keep my baby a baby.  :-)

Carson loves to rock...whether it's in your arms, sitting on floor watching one of his shows, sitting on his changing pad holding his MP3 jambox  (from Miss Sam and Mr. Rich), or just standing there listening to music.  So, we decided to buy Carson a rocking horse.  I was SO excited when it was finally delivered by the FedEx guy...I was darn near giddy.  I couldn't wait for Brady to put it together that night so that we could "introduce" Carson to it first thing the next morning.  However, when we showed it to him, he was less than impressed.  He sat on it for a bit then pushed it for few seconds and then proceeded to find another toy to play with.  I was crushed.  But over the next several days, he began to grow more fond of his new friend. I think one of the problems might be that his little feet aren't quite yet able to reach the rails on each side, so he doesn't feel too secure.  But, at least he seems to be more interested.  :-)  Here's a picture of Carson and Miss Marilyn (Carson's nanny) on one of the first mornings where he started enjoying the rocking horse.

Where has this summer gone?!?!?!?

I hear all of this talk about shopping for school supplies and the first day of school and I wonder where in the world has this summer has gone. It seems to have flown by. Although we didn't have any big vacations planned this summer, it's been a great one watching Carson grow and go through so many different stages and phases. July was a fun month. Carson celebrated his first 4th of July with a dip in the pool.....



On July 7th, Carson's first tooth FINALLY decided to bust through. And, then the second followed on July 25th. So far, he still just has the two teeth.....the front bottom two....although, I have a feeling that a third one will be appearing soon.

On the 16th of July I celebrated my 40th (ouch!) birthday. I still can't believe that I've turned 40!!! Feels strange to say that. Oh well, like Brady kept telling me "It's better than the alternative". He's got a point! Brady and I celebrated by spending a long weekend in San Antonio on the Riverwalk. It was a great, relaxing weekend and also my first time to be away from Carson overnight. Carson stayed with Nana and PawPaw and didn't seem to miss us nearly as much as I missed him! LOL And, as hard as it was, I did pretty good and only called to check on him 3-4 times a day. :-) Here's a couple of pictures of Brady and I enjoying beautiful San Antonio (one where we're all hot and sweaty from walking around and one where we're enjoying a fabulous steak dinner at Morton's).



We knew that the time would go by fast, but I just can't believe that our baby boy is 9 months old. I can still remember last year at this time...getting ready for Carson's arrival....that seems like just yesterday. He's growing so fast and seems to change daily.

Carson is doing really good with his finger foods. He's eating cheerios, toast, rotisserie and baked chicken, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, pasta, cheese, bananas, nectarines, cantaloupe, and we're starting on strawberries. He LOVES fruit!!!

Our little stinker STILL isn't crawling. He's so close...he'll get up on his hands and knees and even rock, but he just can't/won't propel forward. He'll scoot and/or slide himself backwards and seems to be perfectly content with getting where he needs to go by that method or rolling. Seriously...the kid will roll around/across the entire living room floor. His latest "trick" is to get up on his hands and feet and push that cute little heinie up in the air. Check him out.....

As far as other updates....I am still searching for a job. I had two really good prospects that ended up falling through about as quickly as they came about. Talk about an emotional roller coaster!!! I am ready to get off of this ride!

Brady's project is going really well and his team seems to be out performing the other project teams. Which is good and bad....good for the obvious reasons, but bad because now everyone wants his team to take on their projects which means more travel. Carson and I are enjoying having Brady home for a few more weeks before his travel schedule kicks in once again and gets really demanding for the remainder of the year. :-(

That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to post another entry soon and announce that Carson is crawling! :-) Actually, I guess I better enjoy this time. I am sure that mobility will put a whole new twist on things around this house. LOL