Happies

*Summer concerts: We saw Coldplay in Dallas and the Idol tour in Little Rock all in one week. If you are a Coldplay fan, the concert is worth every penny. It was amazing. I've been listening to The Scientist, The Hardest Part and Sparks.

*Watching my little man accomplish something new every single day. He blows my mind. It's so special to watch someone you adore learn the ways of the world, and even more honoring to be the teacher.

*Rainforest Cafe: Mom and I took the kids to Rainforest Cafe this week. We had so much fun together. The company made the day special. I love you, mom. You are my best friend. I miss laughing with you like we did Friday. I am so proud of you and admire your undying optimism.

*Summer camps: pictures to come. Alex is in drill team camp, ballerina princess camp and a princess dress up camp.

*Grape propel...I've listed this before, but it deserves another shout out!

*Ballet...I'm actually considering taking classes again. I miss it.

*3GS: loving the speed and video features.

*Fruit snack fights: I love you, Nathan.

*Driving at the beginning of sunset. There is something really special about this time of day. I love to be outside just before the sun goes to sleep. Especially in the summer b/c it's finally cool enough to go out!

*Rolemodels: has anyone seen this movie? AHHH!

*Finally, a sentimental happy...realizing you are stronger than you thought you were. Motherhood has given me a sense of independence and strength. I adore this place in time.

Alex Bragging

I haven't talked much about Alex or her latest accomplishments, so let me fill you in:
*She is a fish in the water. She loves to dive and retrieve items from the bottom of the pool. She can swim across the pool and her favorite thing is to take "big jumps" from the high rocks over the deep water. Freak out! She is doing so well in the water.
*Her latest funny: she calls her bum area her "blowhole" -- ahh! I will leave it at that, but we have had a LOT of funny conversations about the blowhole as of late. NOT OKAY!
*Reading: she is learning the sounds of each letter and trying to read. She is asking to learn to read and is ready. I am excited about this step.
*Feeding Carson-- she makes his meals, puts on his bibs and will feed him. She makes her own PB&J's, snacks and completely brushes her teeth without assistance.
*Jesus: she knows that Jesus is God's son. She recognizes that Jesus created all of the great things in the world and that "satum" is evil.
*Singing is her one and only passion (well, then there are birds).....but she sings constantly. She is learning how to play the guitar as well. I have to say, I believe she is a true musical talent. I need to post videos of the girl....she can hold a tune and is incredibly passionate!
*Ballet: she loves to do her ballet all the time. She is starting ballet and tumbling classes next Wednesday. Another amazing moment for mommy.
*Mommy's helper: I am so thankful for my Alex. She is SO good. She has come such a long way in the past year. I adore her, and she tells me daily that she loves me and we are best friends. She will also comfort me when I am sad and empathizes when people are sad. She has a heart of gold! So proud of you, baby girl! Oh, and she wants earrings! I told her when she turns 5....which is just around the corner.

Unbelievable

One month from today, my BABY turns one. That seems so hard to imagine. Didn't I JUST have him?! Crazy!! Not sure if I am excited or sad. Probably a bit of both. My BABY?!!

Unpleasant dining experience

Well, that's putting it nicely. I drove the kids back from Little Rock on Thursday and we hit Rockwall around 6:30pm. I was so hoping we could make it all the way home without pulling over to eat. Carson had other plans-- he was a mess! I knew he was hungry and knew I couldn't and didn't want to make him cry it out for an hour. I pulled over and realized all of his baby food was in the trunk, but not to worry... Whataburger's motto is "just like you like it." Um, not so much. Here's what went down in 35 minutes:

1. Alex freaked out b/c they didn't have apple juice or lemonade. The OJ was unacceptable and she let me know countless times. She told me it made her belly sharp. Hmm?

2. Got Carson in the highchair and poured all three jars of Gerber baby food into the bowl as Alex was asking (over and over and over) for ketchup. I turned for a split moment to get her the ketchup and Carson managed to grab the bowl of baby food and chunk it across the restaurant. Awesome.

3. Unstrap Carson from highchair and take both kids out to the car to get more baby food. Come back to table and start all over again. Sigh. People are looking at the "poor single mom" at this point.

4. Carson works up a steamy diaper while eating his dinner. So, I unstrap him from the highchair again and take both kids to the bathroom. Whataburger didn't have a changing table in the bathroom and my car was full of luggage so I had to change him ON the sink. He is screaming (understandably). Poop falls on floor. After I get him situated I ask Alex several times to go potty and she reassures me that she doesn't have to go. Okay, fine then.

5. Go back to the table, strap Carson in AGAIN and we have five minutes of "normal" dinner. Then I hear, "Mommy, I really need to go potty right now. I can't hold it. Hurry!" Are you kidding me?! You know the drill...unstrap Carson and head to the bathroom with both kids.

6. Strap Carson back into the highchair. While feeding him I mistake the baby carrots for ketchup. GAG! Not what I was expecting. Multi-tasking at it's best.

7. After about four bites of dinner, Carson starts arching and crying....he was DONE and so was mommy. So, I unhooked him from the highchair and walked out, mess and all. Alex had to carry her "chickens" to the car. A man that Alex so kindly called, "the funny old man with blue hair" opened the door for me on the way out and told me that a mother's job is never appreciated enough. I agree!

WOW. Good times. I felt like Goldie Hawn in Overboard..."buh buh buh buh."

Father's Day on the lake

I am still a solid month behind on the blog, but slowly catching up. We spent Father's Day on Grapevine Lake with the DeWall family. They just got an awesome ski boat and we were thrilled to get the invite. Gotta love friends with the hook up!

I am SO proud of our little girl. She is so brave. She's never been on a ski boat or the lake, so I wasn't sure if she would be intimidated or scared. Oh no, not Alex! She was the first one to volunteer to go tubing. I was scared for her-- what if she was thrown off, etc?! There was nothing to worry about -- she was a stud! She kept letting go of the rope with one hand to give the "thumbs up" (which means faster) signal. She has no fear! She didn't want it to end. She got to ride the tube twice. It was so fun to watch her and I think she had a permagrin for the rest of the day. She was in heaven!

Nathan and I gave it a try too which was quite entertaining. The goal was to see if we could throw the person off the tube...we both managed to hold on but both of us were sore for a few days. We worked some muscles that hadn't been used in a while - ha! We are looking forward to our next lake day where will tackle water skiing!


Father's Day fun


Daddy and Carson had major father/son bonding time



Our little daredevil!

Nathan did an amazing job hanging on-- we tried HARD to throw him!

Mel went airborne several times!

Carson cheered us on! He loved the lake-- never made a fuss.

Alex and Sam (her boyfriend) watched Abbi take a turn

It was a big day at sea. We were all wiped out!

Carson month 10: June 2 - July 2

Carson's 9th - 10th month started off with a bang by going to DeDe and Pops house in Little Rock and staying the whole week while mom and dad were on vacation. I can't believe how much he grew up while we were gone. Before we left he was only eating 4-5 bites of baby food per meal. When we returned, he was eating 2-3 FULL JARS of food per meal. Go baby go! The best part of Carson taking to solids (finally) is that it has given me the ability to reduce the amount of nursing from 6 feedings to 3. HUGE improvement! He also is a pooping machine now. He went from 1 poo every 7-9 days to 3-4 per day (this fact is only for his baby book and sorry for TMI). This is much more normal to me at least and I'm thrilled! He's finally sleeping through the night too-- hallelujah! Alex slept through the night very early on. He's been a different story entirely. But, now that he is eating solids, it's really changed things for us and now he can stretch longer between meals. He still can only eat fruits, veggies and protein so our options are limited; however, I am just thankful for the progression.

Carson is rocking on all 4’s and rolls EVERYWHERE. He can crawl, but his preferred mode of transportation is rolling. It is very entertaining to watch him get stuck in the funniest places. We have to keep our eyes on him at all times. Speaking of...Alex is the cutest big sister. She is Carson's personal body guard. If he starts crying she will run in to the room and start to sing to him or try to make him laugh. If she spots any "choking hazards" she will scream at the top of her lungs, "momma, baby Carson has a chokin' hazurd!" You have to hear it for yourself, but she is too much. She loves to teach him and play with him. We are so blessed that she loves him the way she does. He's been getting into her Barbie dolls and toys and she's been extremely patient. We keep waiting for her to go to the dark side, but so far, so great.

Carson is growing tons of hair. We love giving him a fohawk. It's so dang cute. In case you are wondering (as I was) the definition of a fohawk is:
The name comes from the word "faux," which means fake in French. A fake mohawk - sides are not shaved. The fohawk appears like a mohawk when it is spiked with hair gel, but because the hair on the side of your head is longer, a person can wear it down as well.
So now you know -- aren't you so glad you keep up with our blog? hehe

Carson is a teethin' fool too. He has four teeth on top and two on bottom. OUCH! He is much more advanced than his sis in the teething department.
His latest tricks are:
* he can wave bye-bye
* says mama, dada and all done
* can pull up on his own and loves to stand
* he can magically remove his bib just like his sister did. grr!
* he loves to hear his own voice and converses with himself frequently

We took him in for his 9 month check-up and I was surprised by his stats:
Height: 28.5 in, 33%
Weight: 18lbs 12.5oz, 10% (seriously?!)
Head: 18.5, 81%

So imagine a 10% weight, 81% head sized little man!! I went and checked out Nathan's baby book and found that he and Carson are almost identical in size and weight, so I am not as worried as the doc seemed to be. We are adding more protein to his diet so hopefully that helps. I see his thunder thighs and can't imagine the dude is hurting for anything!

We have enjoyed the pool so much this summer. I am very thankful Carson is a water bug. He will stay in the pool until we've all had our fun-- he is patient and so well minded. He loves to splash and watch all of the action. He never wants to miss a minute of anything. We are enjoying him so much and I thank God everyday for blessing us with this special little man. He melts my heart and I can only imagine what he will do to the ladies someday. Here are some pics from last month:

This is his "I'm so proud of myself" face.
Love his morning bedhead. He never had a chance.
Messy, mess!
Sporting the Adam Lambert look. Alex was having fun playing dress-up.
Our lake day on Father's Day. I'll post more on this soon, but how cute are my Darby boys?!
Daddy and Carson swim time
Edible
Look at my swim ensemble! Ahhh!

This is another one of my absolute favorite pictures. I can see a glimpse of what he will look like as he gets older. So so cute. He's giving the "ummm yeah I'm hot" face!
The typical Carson expression
The typical Carson temperament = perfection!

Wild weekend adventure!

I still can't believe we really did this! Nathan and I got....are you ready....tattoos this weekend! While we were vacationing in Key West, we came up with our idea. We have wanted to do this since we got married and once we agreed on the design, we were ready. We just needed to research to find the right artist to make sure everything was as safe and professional as possible.

One thing I love about being 30...you stop worrying about other people's opinions and you become more true to yourself. So, whether you like or dislike tattoos, I hope you will look at this for the meaning and symbolism behind it and appreciate that we both put on our big girl panties and got tattoos! AHH! This unites us forever in such a unique way. I love that they are completely unique-- I can't imagine anyone else in the world has the exact same tattoo.

We went to a private studio in Plano, which was really the way to go. Our artist travels to California to work on John Mayer, so I suppose he's good enough. We had an appointment, so it was just Nathan, myself and the artist. We weren't waiting downtown with a million people watching. It was private, which made the experience even more special.
--
Nathan's right inner bicep:

Mel's left shoulder:
I designed the "N" myself because I didn't like any of the font choices. We love that it's a unique design. We've named it the "Darby font." hehe
--

The meaning:
Mel has the latitude coordinates and Nathan has the longitude coordinates of where our children were born (Plano Presby hospital). It is the exact location and fortunately for us, we had the kids in the same location =)

What makes them special is that the meaning only makes sense when we are together. I have the north coordinates, and Nathan has the west coordinates.

Finally, my tattoo is horizontal and Nathan's is vertical. When we put them together, they form a cross, which symbolizes our faith.

I love that it represents our two great masterpieces (our children), our faith in God, and our love for each other.

Here is a video of Mel's reveal:

We are so giddy and just love them! No regrets!!