Summer Camp 07

This is going to be a short post... I have to run and finish packing now that the boys are both in bed.

First, some fun pictures...

The boys...I love that Carson is **almost always** affectionate with Caden. Caden adores Carson. I can see it already. :) I hope that they are the very best of friends.


Caden has gotten really good at sitting up when placed on the floor. He'll usually stay upright for several minutes at a time...generally until he wants a toy that's to far away.


He's also getting better at standing if he can lean on something. We're still a ways off from pulling up and such, but he really likes to be upright.


"Wrap up" is one of Carson's favorite things lately. Especially if he's getting sleepy, just woken up, or has had a bath. He'll stay like this for up to a half hour! How fun is this elephant towel?


Tomorrow, Carson will be going to hang out with my parents until Saturday, while Caden and I join Cary and the youth at youth camp. The rest of the gang headed up on Monday. We are all going to have so much fun (Carson included). I'll miss that kid though... :)

Da-da-da's, Carson Songs, and Idaho Springs

Caden started talking yesterday. He's always been quite the conversationalist, but yesterday he started a whole string of da-da-das and la-la-las and a combination of the two. He was very serious about it too. Like it took all of his attention to get those syllabals out... It was pretty funny. And in an earlier post, I said that he had been up on his hands and knees a lot...I finally got it on camera.


He has also decided that he prefers his thumb to the pacifier. I am still trying to trick him into taking the pacifier, but most of the time he throws an absolute fit as if to say "What is WRONG with you???? I am perfectly fine on my own!" This is how he ends up most of the time during naps and bedtime...(I just hope I can break him of it before he's 5... At least he only sucks his thumb when he's sleeping...


We've also moved from icky rice cereal to squash. I had to figure out what I could feed him easily while we were at youth conference (last week) and youth camp (next week) and rice cereal just wasn't easy, plus he wasn't too crazy about it. Anyway, I moved on to squash, and he has eaten a whole jar every day since we started. He loves the stuff.


Just to brighten your day, here is a video of entertainment a la Carson. He is so funny and plays his air guitar for us all the time...


A few weeks ago, we took a last minute overnight trip with my family to Idaho Springs. I was so excited. I love to do things like that, and spontenaity always heightens my excitement. Anyway, my mom and I booked the hotel online, sight unseen...never, ever do that, people... Online, it looked really rustic and fun, and it has hot springs - that were very blue in the pictures (if you don't know what that is, it's a pool that is filled with naturally flowing water that is at a constant warmer temp...usually in the low hundreds...). The "resort" as they called it has been around since the late 1800's and they advertized that all sorts of really cool people had stayed there on a regular basis during their lives - Walt Whitman, old presidents, and people like that. So we're thinking it should be pretty cool, right??? Not so much...It was really gross...like not renovated since the '70s gross... and on top of that, there were lots of gross, not so clean people there...the whole experience was just really weird... The hot springs pool was in this green house of sorts, and had lots of neat plants, but the water was a weird green color, and there were weird signs all over the place saying things like "share the hot water." We made the best of it, and had so much fun together, and it for sure has memories that we will laugh about for a long time to come. :) I guess that will teach us to add a little more research to our spontaneous trips.... Anyway, Caden fell asleep on my shoulder in the hot springs that were as warm as bath water, and Carson had so much fun swimming with his water wings on. He figured out that he could put his head under the water and was showing off for everyone. He kept sticking his head under the water and then would look around at everyone like it was the coolest thing he had ever done while he said "See that?! See that?!"

Check Ups

Carson & Caden had check-ups today. They are a little behind schedule, but with vacations and the doctor's schedule, this was the earliest we could get in. Anyway, the appointments went well, and the boys wowed the docs and nurses. Carson showed off his moves, and Caden flirted. They both had to have shots, but only cried for a bit, which I was thankful for because I only had my two hands to sooth them. They really did well!

Now for the stats...

At 2 years, almost 2 months old, our little bit, Carson, weighed 25 lbs., 6 oz. He's in the 15th percentile for weight. He is 33" tall, which puts him in the 8th percentile for height. Our doctor said he's doing really well, and actually went up in weight since his last appointment. She said that a lot of kids lose weight during their 2nd year. She said that just because he is little now, does not mean that he will be small necessarily, but that some boys grow slowly. I'll remind him of this when he's 14.

At almost 5 months old, Caden is 15 lbs., 2 oz., 32nd percentile for weight. He is 27" tall, which is the 91st percentile for height!! Our doctor was super impressed with his development, and remarked at how strong he is. She couldn't believe how well he rolled over (EVERY time she tried to check anything on him). At this rate, I'll have to teach Caden not to pick on his "little" brother by the time they are 3 and 5!

Teeth & Rice Cereal

Poor Caden was miserable almost the whole time we were in Arkansas. I know everyone was thinking I must be crazy thinking that he was an easy baby. He was just so out of sorts. I'm sure it was because of his teeth coming in, because by Saturday, he was back to his normal happy, smiley self. I promised a picture of Caden with his teeth... He cut his first tooth on Sunday, July 1st, and his second on Friday, July 6th. Here's the best picture I could get of his teeth...it seems he is constantly rubbing his tongue on them. :)



While he was cutting teeth, he did not sleep very well. I think it was both the teeth and the fact that he wasn't sleeping in his crib. When we got home, he still woke up several times through the night, so yesterday, we decided to start him on rice cereal, and voila! He slept 12 1/2 hours last night! :) When I woke up for the first time at 8:30 this morning, I couldn't believe it! He also made up for lost sleep today and took several long naps. Hopefully he'll sleep well again tonight thanks to the cereal filling his belly. He really did well with it. After the first few bites he started to expect the spoon, and he ate everything I had made for him. Carson kept wanting to taste it, so we had to give him regular cereal so he would feel a part. I think this was the first time he truly felt that he wasn't the center of attention, and he didn't quite get it. He kept trying to get our attention. It was pretty funny. He didn't mind that Caden was eating though, or that he used his highchair. Today, he kept referring to the highchair as "Taden's chair." Here are some fun pictures from his first experience with "food"

First time in the highchair:








And just for all of the grandparents, aunts and uncles, a short video clip for your viewing pleasure:

Arkansas fun, post 3

We're home now, and although we had such a fun time and miss everyone already, it really is nice to be back. The boys (especially Caden) are getting back into their normal routines, and who doesn't love sleeping in their own bed! :) Anyway, I wanted to post a few last pictures from our trip before I forgot...

Cary & Carson playing with sparklers:




Carson & his cousin Chandler...I think this is the longest that they stood still. :)


And one of Cary & I when we went for dessert one night...

Arkansas fun, post 2

We had a great 4th of July! Lots of the family came over and we had some wonderful brisket. Carson couldn't get enough of the corn on the cob. It was nice to see everybody. After lunch, we hung out in the pool and enjoyed the sunshine. And of course we shot off some fireworks once it was dark. Cary and Ash put on a nice show for us with only a few fireworks aimed in the wrong direction. ;) Carson really loved the fireworks this year, which was so much fun! Last year he cried through them and we ended up inside. But this year he sat with me and watched the whole show. He even was willing to play with a sparkler. It was a wonderful day!


Caden and Nanny, Cary's grandma:


Caden & Aunt Steph (Carson calls her Step-an-me...too cute!!)

Carson & his cousin Parker:

My sweet pool-boy. This trip has been his first attempt with water wings, and he loves being able to play freely. He keeps telling me, "Swim, Mama! Swim!!"

Arkansas fun, post 1

We're having a great time with Cary's family. Carson is loving hanging out with his cousins, and of course he feels like he is as big as they are. Incidentally, his sentences have really improved over the last few days. He has them chasing him all over the place to play with one thing or another, and they've been enjoying Paw-Paw's pool as often as possible, even with blue lips and chattering teeth. Tomorrow should be so much fun with a lot of the family coming over to celebrate the 4th. Here are some pictures from our time so far:

Caden playing with Aunt Brittney:


Carson playing with Jackson (Carson can't get enough of these boys!)




Gi Gi & Caden...I'm not sure who was giggling more...


Carson and PawPaw:


Pool time with Mommy:




The other day, I heard Caden waking up in his crib. A few minutes later, I heard him giggling to himself. I decided to go see what was so funny, and this is what I found:


Rogers has a new outdoor mall called the Promenade, and it is such a great place! They have good restaurants and good stores, and EVERY store is having major sales right now! We decided to see what we could find today, and I got a dress, a pair of jeans and a shirt at the GAP for $32!! How awesome is that!! I got many other deals, but those were the most impressive in my mind. :)

Eruption

Caden's first tooth came in yesterday!! his lower right one... His second one will probably be in by tomorrow. You can see it right under his gums. Poor thing has been having such a rough time. He's chewing on everything, but then chewing hurts his mouth and he cries. It's pretty pitiful. Thankfully he's such a happy boy, that he's smiley and happy until he hurts his mouth, and then he's happy again with a little consoling. If it's really bad, baby orajel seems to do the trick. I'll take pictures when there is a little more to see.

We're enjoying a week with Cary's Dad's family this week, so I'm sure I'll have some fun pictures to post soon.

Oh! Go check out Kelly's blog for some adoreable pictures of their sweet baby Patriot. He's been home for a few weeks now, and they seem to be doing really well! He's such a cutie!! http://mylifeisafiesta.blogspot.com