18 Months...I can't believe it!

What a fun month this has been! We have continued to work on the new house, and it is finally starting to feel like home. We feel so blessed to be closer to family! C is at such a fun stage! Being a speech pathologist, I am in awe at his love for words and his use of language. He LOVES trying to say new words, and his comprehension just amazes me! Three weeks ago, he brought tears to our eyes when he helped Daddy say his first prayer. He prayed for all the people that he knows well and the squirrels of which he named "Boo" and "Bebe". He thanked God for his milk and of course, his bread! He has also started naming all of the people in his Bible. He calls "Moses", "Mo" and of course "Mary" goes with Trinity instead of "Joseph"! (His babysitter's name is Mary, and he plays with her granddaughter at their house whose name is "Trinity"!) He also knows Jesus, Peter, John, Daniel, and David. His other favorite thing to do is sing. He LOVES TO SING! He can hum, which amazes me, and he can keep a tune! He sings "Holy...holy...holy", "ABC's", "Twinkle..Twinkle", "Jesus Loves Me", "E..I...E..I..O", "B..I..B..I..B" (no that is not a typo), and the list goes on! As always, it has been so much fun this month viewing life through the eyes of a child. He is trying to become more independent. He LOVES being a handyman, trying new foods (except meat), climbing, going to the park, interacting with people, and being outside. Thank you, God, for blessing us with such an amazing little boy!

This summer Carson's sweet KK is living with us! Carson just loves her to pieces! Here he is giving her a kiss. What a sweet boy!! He wakes up every morning saying, "KK?"

A few weekends ago, Carson was able to spend some time with his great-grandmother, Nannie! He asks about her all of the time. Here he is showing off how he can climb in the basket!

Carson is enjoying some chocolate cake with Grandy! Three weeks ago, he started saying everyone's name in the family! This cake MAY have been the bribe to say Grandy's name!

Carson has started realizing the power of words. He has started coming over to us and saying, "hand". He will then want you to stand up and follow him. He will then say, "play...play...play". Of course it works every time!

My special Mother's Day gift! It is hard to acknowledge myself as a mother when it comes to Mother's day. I still think of it as a day to celebrate my mother and my grandmother. They have both been such an amazing example to me as a mother! They are the most selfless people that I know! Maybe someday I will be able to fill their shoes!

Kelli, Nannie, Mom, and me

Carson loves riding in his car! He loves anything that has to do with the outside!

This past week has been crazy busy in our household. It is the end of the school year so that always means banquets. Last Thursday night, we were able to go to Brandon's golf banquet! It was a very nice evening. We are so proud of "daddy" as his first year as a head golf coach. He did an amazing job! He is an amazing example to all of the boys that he coaches, and I am so thankful that Carson has such an amazing person to look up to!

Here is Brandon's first group of varsity golfers! Way to go guys!

On Friday, Brandon put on his first field day! No, this is not his normal attire! It was 80's day! I am thankful that coaches don't dress like this any more:)

Let FIELD DAY begin! Here the kids are transferring marbles between their toes to the other bucket! Yuck...can't stand the thought of that!

C and daddy at Field Day! Wish I would have taken a picture of them in the three legged race! Sooooo cute!

This past weekend, we spent lots of time with family. Here C is swimming for the first time this summer. He loved making his boat go "boom" in Mimi and Pop's pool! The water was a little chilly, but I am sure it won't be long before he wants to get all the way in! So fun!!

C and his sweet Mimi!

Here C is playing some ball with Grandy!

Carson swinging with Granna and Grandy!

Carson and KK

Carson loves to swing. Our biggest challenge is getting him off of the swing! He also loves to have someone swing beside him. Here he is swinging with Granna and Grandy!

Happy 18 months, Little Man! We love you sooooooooooooo much!

Feeding the Ducks

I can remember looking at pictures of when I was about Carson's age where I was feeding the ducks with my Bob Bob. That is all I could think about when we went to feed the baby ducks last night. Oh, how I wish he could have met Carson. Someday! I can't even imagine how much he would have loved our little man. Carson's face lit up when he saw all of the baby ducks coming his way. Well, they were coming for bread but he didn't know that! There is no better time than being outside enjoying God's creation. I am so thankful that we were able to share a small part of it with little man last night. He only cried once and that was when we had to leave! We just don't understand what "we will come back" means yet!

What a fun, yet busy month this has been! Although we have our moments where independence is sprouting, it is so neat to see how much this little boy is learning. This month has been filled with exploring and saying so many new words. He says more words than I can count, which makes his mommy, the speech pathologist, thrilled! I love all of the new words he attempts. Since moving into the new house, there are several projects we had to tackle right up front. So...little man has become used to having visitors in our home very quickly. He has learned many of their names which just puts a smile on their faces. The man working outside, he calls "To" (short for Tony). He will run to the window saying, "To..To" to see if he is there. He also greets "John" the tile guy and "Brent" the plumber. God gave us a very friendly boy who is not shy to tell anyone "hi", not even the animals. He has also learned to climb on everything, which is fun, yet scary at times! This month he has started becoming a little more picky when it comes to food; however, he continues to love to try new things. I will say he doesn't like cucumbers! He has learned to put the foods he doesn't want in the cup holder of his tray. (Guess that is better than the floor!)

Carson has a fascination with all of Brandon's tools. He is especially in love with daddy's mower and his drill (aka.charger)!

Carson is in the explorer stage to say the least. He especially loves discovering new things outside!

Carson used his spoon by himself to eat part of his yogurt! He tried so hard. He wants to do everything himself!

Carson is holding one of his new "chargers" and looking for his mower to go fix. His new word is handyman. He has been helping daddy around the house so it was only appropriate to teach him "handyman". He leaves out the "d" so it comes out "hanyman". So cute, I have to say!

Yes, our little man has a belly but we love it. There is nothing like having a healthy baby! A couple of weeks ago, I told him that our good friend, Mindy, was having a baby and pointed to her tummy. He immediately pulled up his shirt and said, "baby?". He loves pulling things around the house. I have to say that he thinks objects with cords are pull toys! I am not sure how long our toaster is going to last:)

Here is C and Mimi. He has started saying lots of names, which include "Mimi". So sweet!

C is helping out at the garage sale! He looks so big sitting on the swing!

Aunt Ashley and Carson or as Carson says it, "Ashee".

Celebrating 16 months!

At the end of each month, I am reminded of all of the blessings that God has so richly blessed us with. This month is no different. Our greatest blessing is that Pop, Brandon's dad, is now cancer free! After a successful surgery, the results came in today, and there are no more cancer cells. We are so thankful for Pop, and the joy that he brings our little man! Also, this month we moved into our new house. We have basically lived outside these first two weeks!

This past month, we have also been blessed to watch our little boy grow! Every day, he is such a joy to be around. We have our moments, but I just love that moment when he figures out something new. He now has 4 teeth on the top and two on the bottom. More are trying to fight their way through. He is saying or attempting to say new words each day! "Buffalo" was one of the new ones! Crazy! Carson went to stay with Granna, Grandy, and KK over spring break while we moved. He seemed to have had a great time, but I can't even tell you how much I missed him. Thankfully, we were super busy so my mind was occupied. Carson is continuing to be a great eater, but has started rejecting some things. He continues to love turkey, cheese, avacado, fruit, milk, yogurt, and black beans. He has a "little" belly on him to prove it!

Here are some pictures of our precious little boy:)


These are the eggs that Carson dyed with Grandy, Granna, and KK. Lets just say one of them ended up in his mouth, and EVERYTHING turned blue!


Carson has loved exploring in his new backyard. He is very interested in shelling all of the acorns! Let's just say that he has lots of work to do!


Carson loves the new swingset. I have to say that I do too! It is nothing fancy...but just look at this smile!





This was Carson's last day at his first house. This is where we took pictures of when we brought him home from the hospital. Man, how time flies! We are excited about all of the new memories that will be made in our new place!


Here Carson is helping his mommy open her birthday presents. I already received my most precious gift!


Uncle J, Aunt Ashley, and Nannie


Sweet Carson and Logan

Love you, baby!

15 months-old

Well, for the first time in 15 months, I just realized that I didn't take many pictures this month. This month has flown by and everyday I watch Carson learn something new. Today, he learned that Mommy keeps cool things stored under the bed. So...Carson decided to drag it all out. It didn't add much to the clutter as we are in the process of moving so boxes are starting to stack up, and the things you don't know how to pack are just making there way to the corner. This month we were blessed with the visit from my college roommate and her husband, Kelly and Craig. I can't thank them enough for putting up with us. During the week they were here, we bought a house, sold a house, and cared for a sick baby! Not sure it was much of a vacation for them, but for me, it was such a blessing to have extra hands. You know you have great friends when they will hop up off the couch and start taking out toys, lighting candles, opening blinds, turning on lights, putting away all of their luggage, and doing it with a smile when a potential buyer was about to be at the house. God has blessed me so richly. We were all sad to see them go and little Carson had obviously gotten used to them "living" here. On the Monday morning after they left, I opened the guest room door. He ran in there, looked around, opened the closet door, and then came and looked at me with a very puzzled look and lots of sounds. He may not have had the words, but I have no doubt he was looking for his friends.

This month, Carson has his front top two teeth in and is getting at least 2 others if not more. He is growing daily, especially in the belly. He loves to eat! He had grapes for the first time yesterday, and you would have thought it was his birthday. He loves trying new things. For the first time this week, he also had lasagna. He loved it! My favorite thing this month is that he is singing. He sings his version of "Clean up", "B-I-B-L-E" and "Old McDonald". No he doesn't have all of the words, but he does have some, and he has the tune. Carson has also started to climb this month. He has figured out how to get on his stool, stand up, and get various objects off of the changing table. So...here is the little man. The first pictures are of him in the backyard. It has been so nice outside so we have taken advantage of it. He is still not sure what to think of grass, but other than that he LOVES staying outdoors!




Craig, Kelly, and Carson


Carson wishing he had an iPhone. Sorry bud!


Kelly reading to Carson some of his favorite books!


"Going to the zoo...zoo...zoo"