Denver Children's Museum, Animal Farm & Bathtime

For Carson's 2nd birthday, my parents got Carson a one-year family pass to the Children's Museum. We took him there for the first time a few Saturdays ago, and he had so much fun! It's a pretty cool place with all of these different rooms to explore. You can paint on easels, grocery shop, cook pretend food, explore humansize animal burrows and bug tunnels, work in the building stations, play basketball in a little bitty full-court gym (which of course was Carson's favorite), and so much more! He had a great time! Here are some fun pics from our time there:

Playing dress up:






Climbing out of the ant hill with Daddy and a random playmate:


In the birdnest:


building a boat with dad:








We also visited a really fun park a few days ago that had a petting zoo and train ride. Carson LOVED it, and has been asking to ride the train every day since.





Caden was there too, but this was the only picture I took of him :)


And here are a few fun pics of Caden at bathtime. I'm so glad he has loved every one since the first!

Yay for my boys!

Probably TMI, but I think this is exciting. We started unofficially potty-training yesterday. Unofficially, because it's hard to start training on a busy weekend. I had planned on starting on Monday, but Carson found the training pants and pottyseat that I had purchased this week. He was excited, so I figured we would give it a go. Anyway, since yesterday, he has gone "poo-poo" twice - both times in the toilet! Yay for Carson! Going #1 has proven a bit more difficult...he sits there forever...I'm not kidding, like 20-30 minutes at a time, and then the moment he gets off, he pees... but I'm not worried. We've just started here, and as far as I'm concerned, he has pretty much figured out the hard part, now if Mommy could just figure out the timing for #1, we'd be good to go.

Concerning my other boy... this week Caden has started scooting all over the place during tummy time. Isn't it a little early for him to have figured out the beginnings of crawling? He actually sticks his feet to the ground and pushes himself forward. It looks like he's going to be trying to keep up with Carson in no time!

Oh, in other great news...our friends Josh & Kelly were able to bring their new baby, Patriot home on Wednesday! He made a sudden recovery due to many answered prayers and was able to come home early! Praise the Lord!!

Edit: Josh & Kelly just texted me to let me know that they Patriot has been readmitted to the hospital. He is too jaundiced, so they want him under the lights where they can watch him. Please pray for this sweet famiy. I know they want Patriot to be whole and are ready for things to get back to normal. For pictures of this sweet boy, and a better update, click here.

Pictures

One of our friends took pictures of the boys to document 3 months for Caden and 2 years for Carson. Here is a peek at some of my favorites...

More Baby News

Our friends Matt & Kari, who have been trying to have a baby for 7 years just found out that they are expecting for the first time! God is so good! This is a wonderful answer to many, many prayers! We are so excited for you guys!!!!

Babies

Congrats to our sweet friends Josh & Kelly who welcomed their first son into the world this evening! Patriot Shane was born at 7:45 PM. He was 7 lbs, 2 oz and 19.5 inches long. He was about a month early, so the hospital has him in the nursery to monitor his breathing. Be praying for this sweet family. They are going to have so much fun with their sweet little bundle. Feel free to send your congratulations their way by going to Kelly's blog.

Also, our other sweet friends BJ & Lindsay found out they are having twins!!! We are so excited for them...and I'm secretly a little jealous. ;) You can keep up with their journey through Lindsay's blog, and feel free to congratulate them too!

Congratulations to you all!!

Congratulations, Kelsey Lou!!

Congratulations on your graduation. I am so very proud of you! There is so much ahead of you. I am amazed at the woman you are, and I want you to know that I aspire to be like my baby sister in so many ways. I am sad to know you will be leaving us soon, but I can't wait to see where God takes you!!!

I love you!!!!

I'm so blessed!!

Last night, Caden (who has been averaging 9 hours sleep a night for the last several weeks) slept from 7:30 p.m. until 7:30 a.m.! Carson averages 12 hours a night also! They are both really good nappers. I think God knows that I might lose my salvation if my children weren't good sleepers. ;)

A magazine I got in the mail yesterday said that by 4 months of age, babies sleep about 6-8 hours consecutively. My boys must be geniuses with the advancements they've already mustered!

Carson's 2nd Birthday and Mother's Day

What a wonderful and busy weekend! Today, Carson turned 2! I can't believe that he is 2 already! My sweet boy is so big. We had a very fun celebration with about 50 people in honor of him on Saturday. We had wonderful fajitas thanks to Cary, and a jumphouse in the backyard that both young and young at heart enjoyed. It was so much fun, and Carson added plenty of entertainment for the bunch. Then today, we celebrated Mom's Day altogether at Mom's house after church. The guys made all of the mom's a wonderful tri-tip steak dinner----yum!!! And then we enjoyed each other's company and the gorgeous Colorado weather. Here are some fun pictures from our weekend:

First pictures from Carson's party....








Carson and Cary playing with his favorite present:


Look at that form:


Happy 2nd Birthday, Carson!!!


And here are some fun pictures from Mother's Day today:

This is a real graphite club set for toddlers - how fun! :)

Carson's New Toy

Carson was given a toddler dunebuggy, and he LOVES it! He has spent hours in our backyard the last few days riding round and round in it and laughing hysterically at Fisher (our dog) trying to catch him. It's a pretty cool toy, I have to admit!



Also, our church is doing a mom's day video, so I had an excuse to have someone take a picture of me and the boys. :)

Mom's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Mom! We are so thankful to have you in our lives. Thanks for letting us spend some time with you to help you celebrate today!!

laughter

Caden laughed outloud today repeatedly. It was so funny and adorable! I was lifting him up in the air over and over again, and he kept giggling. So funny! He's getting big way too fast. I don't remember Carson laughing until around 4 months or so.

Not much else going on though... I'm still a single parent for the time being - Cary gets home Friday night. It's going pretty well...the house is clean, laundry is getting done, and I've been out and about a few times, so not too shabby. Also, it snowed here yesterday...nearly a foot. This winter has been SO crazy.

Caden's Dedication and other stuff

Caden's baby dedication was today, on his 2 month birthday. It was very sweet. We had our Pastor Russ and my dad dedicate him, and a lot of my family came up for the day, and DeAnne was here too. Everyone came over for lunch afterwards. It was a wonderful day. We dressed Caden in the outfit that Carson wore for his dedication, and he also wore Cary's white leather shoes from when he was a baby.

Here he is today:


And here is the picture we took for the bulletin and announcements:


We've had a great time with DeAnne this past week. She was such a huge help to Cary and I as we attempted to get our house in some sort of order. And I know Carson has had so much fun with her here. I think he will be really sad tomorrow when he wakes up and realizes she's not here. :( I wish our visits were more frequent. Actually, I wish we could talk them into moving to Colorado. :)



Carson has been super funny lately, and had our whole house rolling today. He's such a busy boy, and loves his house and backyard. He has also discovered the doggy door, and thinks it is "the" way to enter and exit. He gets so excited about it. Here's the view from one of our living room windows:


Today, Grandma Lola and Poppa Dicky brought him a Fisher Price sand and water table and chairs that they scavenged. They are in great shape, and Carson loves them! He wanted to sit outside for lunch, and when he first sat down at the table, he slapped it with both hands and proudly announced that he wanted "mona milt" (chocolate milk - not sure how that translates, but that's what he calls it). Alex, my cousin, also kept putting a cell phone in his pocket, and then would call it from another phone. He was so excited when it would ring, and he would pull it out and answer it. Then she would hand him the other phone, and he would stand there as long as we would let him with both phones up to his ears, talking to himself. It was a riot and he was having so much fun!

Tonight I had our girls' Bible Study at our house, and it was so much fun to have everyone over to "my" house. I know that's silly, but it's been a long time coming. We've had so much company today, and I've loved every minute of it! So, if you are in the area, just stop by! We'd love to have you! Cary is on his way to yet another business trip tomorrow, and has one next week too, so I'm going to be on my own with the boys for a while. :( We'll have fun, and I'm trying to make lots of plans with friends and family so I have a break from pure mommy mode. Pray that it goes well! It's a long time for me to be a single parent of two...even if they are super cute! :)

Happy Easter and a Big Boy Bed

We spent the first night in our new house Thursday (Our 4 year wedding anniversary! Love you, Cary!), and we have been making progress on finishing details since then. Caden is being dedicated next Sunday, so we're trying to finish most of the stuff this week for our bbq celebration after church. It should be fun. Cary's mom is in town, and we've been having a great time so far. Carson has been so funny and has loved having his DeeDee here.

Carson began sleeping in his big boy bed Thursday night, and has done great so far. He loves having a pillow and tells me about the cars and airplanes on his bedding, but often moves it so he can sleep in his bed sideways...it's pretty funny, and I love checking on him to see how funny he is even when he's asleep. He's adjusting to life as a big boy in a new house remarkably well...the next step is potty training, and I hope to begin that within a month or so, so stay tuned! Those should be funny and edited pictures! ;)





And today was a beautiful and very snowy Easter. We've had a great day in spite of the cold. Carson loved Easter and all his treats and 'prizes (surprises), although I think he was a little confused about the Easter Bunny. He kept asking for it and looking for it, and I think he though he was going to find a really rabbit, like the ones we see in the yard, bringing him a surprise.

the boys in their Easter outfits:


Hunting for eggs


So proud of his success:


Hope your Easter was as nice as ours!!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!

We moved our stuff into our home this weekend! Carpet went in Saturday, and we were able to move our things in that afternoon and evening. We had lots of help from friends and family, and felt so loved because of it! There are a few more things that need to be done this week besides unpacking, but I think we will spend our first night in our home Wednesday or Thursday night! :) I am SO excited! I'll post before and after pictures as soon as we get a little more settled. Everything is so nice and has that wonderful new home smell thanks to all of the new paint and carpet.

Cary's mom is coming in this Friday to spend Easter with us and meet Caden and be here for his dedication (on the 15th). I'm so excited to see her and have her meet Caden, hang out with Carson, see our home and all of the work Cary has done. It should be a wonderful week! :)

Carson has been super funny as usual. He's been learning to count to ten, and has it pretty mastered until he's distracted - especially by cameras. Even so, here's a video for you all. He counts a little bit, but mostly, he's just being silly...or as he would say, an "oof ball" (goof ball).



Caden has become a very smiley baby lately. He always looks like he's on the verge of a big grin, which I love! Carson is our entertainer, and it looks like Caden will be our flirt. :) Today at lunch, I was kissing him over and over because every time I did, he would smile really big and sound like he was almost giggling. It was very funny.





We also found the coolest park, thanks to my friend Celeste. It has a toddler playground with little houses and a sand box, and a huge play area for older kids. The play area is lower than the parking lot, so the entrance to the park is a huge slide. There is also this stage area with a pretend tree built into the back wall where the kids can play. Carson LOVED the park, and even I can't wait to go back!