Our little ballerina

Alex started her first ballet & tumbling class on Wednesday. She has taken gymnastics before, but this is an introduction to dance. I am so excited for her (far more than she is). I love the studio and I think she will learn a lot this year. The best part for Alex is dressing up! She dresses up every single day, so it's especially fun to wear her ballerina outfit in public.
Here are two pics from her first day:

I can't wait for her recital. Ahh, thank you God for blessing us with a daughter!

Carson month 11: July 2 - August 2

I can't believe Carson is 11 months old. Every month brings new challenges, new firsts and many changes. We are all having a blast raising this baby (Alex included).
We had our first sick scare this month. While in Little Rock celebrating Deb's birthday, I was pretty sure Carson was sick or had an ear infection. He was up for several nights in a row and even had bloody ears from pulling at them so frequently. When I noticed blood, we packed him up and headed to the pediatric ER. That was a nightmare! All I wanted to find out was if he had an ear infection. The doc said his ears looked great. I knew we were dealing with teething at that point, but the doc insisted on running EVERY test in the book to make sure we weren't missing anything. I really didn't want to watch him go through the "heck" he went through. They did a CBC test which required a foot prick and they literally squeezed blood from his foot and held him down for 15 minutes. Keep in mind this was at 10:30 at night (and my mom in love and sis in love were at the movies....so I was missing out and sad). After checking for everything imaginable, the doc said he had a viral infection. She diagnosed him with hand, foot & mouth. Whatever! Even I know he didn't show any symptoms of the coxsackie virus. GRR. We left irritated and I still think he was just teething. Such is life. I do need to count our blessings-- that visit aside, Carson has never been sick. Not a cold-- nada. He's a healthy little dude, and I am so thankful for that! Moving on...
Carson celebrated his first Independence Day in Farmersville, Texas with my entire family. My aunt and uncle own 7 acres in the country and each year we shoot off hundreds of dollars of fireworks. This year we had 120 people there, so by the time everyone pitched in $5.00, we had an insane arsenal of explosives. Unfortunately, Carson slept through the fireworks, but his sis had a blast.
Carson's main achievements this month: crawling and diversity in diet. Carson is ALL over the place. He is pulling up on everything and exploring anything in reach. I feel like a helicopter hovering over him at all times. He got a hold of Alex's hairband and we caught him choking on it, so needless to say the house is completely baby proofed now. Whew! You can't leave him unattended for a moment. He is so much fun though! He is so proud of himself too. When he learns something new (clapping, waving, saying "pee-a-boo") he busts out with the biggest grin. He melts me like butta!
His diet is getting better and better by the day. His favorite food on earth is a good ole hot dog. He loves avocado, grapes, corn, peas, pears, green beans, asparagus, chicken and even tried sourdough bread. I am excited that his GI tract seems to be healing up. He has also become a "biter"...so nursing has NOT been so fun lately. Um, yeah. Unacceptable. I am slowly starting the weaning process by giving him 1/2 breast milk, 1/2 hemp milk. I am thrilled we discovered hemp milk. I could go on and on, but it's the most nutritious milk I could find (and trust that I researched like crazy). It has all of the necessary Omega 3 & 6's, has more calcium than cows milk, has no trans fat, etc. I am totally off subject, but if you haven't read about cow's milk, please take a moment to research. It truly isn't made for humans. Okay, I've said enough...email me if you want to talk about it. ANYWHOOOO ;)
Carson loves Baby Einstein too. Although he doesn't watch it often, he busts out in the biggest grin, giggles at the puppets and talks to them. It's so cute. I have no idea what he is saying, but he certainly knows!
Carson and Alex are really starting to play together now. It's the best! I know I say this every month, but she is simply amazing. She helps me make his meals and she is even assisting with feedings now. She loves to mix up his food and says "baby Carson, open big" and shoves a bite in his mouth. Now that he is mobile, he is all up her stuff, and bless her heart, she is so patient with him. He has pulled her hair a few times which was major drama. Otherwise, she lets him play with all of her toys and amazes me with her patience and adoration. If he is ever upset, she is the first to try and cheer him up. My favorite thing in the world is to listen to them giggle in the car together. She will sing and play with him and they are both belly laughing until everyone has hiccups. Ahh, this is a good place.
For some reason, he doesn't have his typical permagrin in pics this month, but I can assure you he is all smiles. He is really looking like his daddy more and more each day. I got a bit carried away with the 4th of July pics, but I couldn't eliminate any.
DeDe and the grandbabies celebrating her 59th birthday. Notice Alex has her eye on the prize.

Pops steals some lovin

Mommy and her buddy

Alex got a hold of him. Poor little fella. He doesn't have a fighting chance.

Aunt Onnie brought C his own firetruck couch as an early bday gift. Thanks Onnie!

Psycho in camo

Ahhh! I love him!

He actually has a 'normal' hairstyle in this pic. He's getting so much hair it's starting to lay flat :(

LOVE this pic. He gives us the tilted head grin constantly.

Not the cutest pic, but I have to include it b/c he is OBSESSED with this tractor. Look at his arm lovin' too. Love the baby phat!

Big sis assisting with mealtime. Check out the serious tan lines. TOO CUTE!
--

4th of July pics:

My favorite of the batch

I can't believe we are planning a birthday party for our little man. Stop it, stop it!!

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!