Birthday Flight

December is a very busy month for our family. Two birthdays, an anniversary, and Christmas. We love it. Mike's birthday was this week. He turned 30! We went out to dinner and then I surprised him with a trip to the iFLY in Ogden. It's an indoor skydiving wind tunnel. Carson was very excited to see Daddy "fly".

Carson making a birthday sign (yes, that's permanent marker on his face, and I even gave him the offending instrument, oops!)

Opening his gift

Getting suited up

Carson waiting to see his dad fly.

Mike in the wind tunnel

A short video of one of his flights

He had a great time and said he would recommend it to anyone!

Let's Snuggle 'til It's Christmas

Carson is constantly saying cute slash funny things. I often forget them so I'm going to write them down in an effort to do better.

Yesterday while I was loading the dishwasher Carson was in the kitchen with me. He looked at me and said, "Mom, let's snuggle 'til it's Christmas." So precious!! I said I would, of course!

Last night I was trying to get Carson excited to go to bed and so I told him that I had just washed his sheets, blanket, and pajamas. Here's the conversation that ensued:

Carson said, "Mommy, you washed my sheets and blanket and jammies?" He was very excited and I felt good that my plan to get him to get in bed would work wonderfully.

Then he hit me with, "Wow! I'm so PROUD of you!"

Not exactly the response I was looking for. But, I guess it has been a while since I've done the laundry. . .

New Hobby

I have a shocking secret! I know how to sew. Yes, it's true. And, I actually like it! Since we've been married Mike has occasionally suggested that I learn how to sew. I always brushed him aside and thought that I would hate it or that I wouldn't be very good. I didn't even take home-ec in junior high. Then after helping my mom make a quilt, I caved in. This sewing thing actually looked like something I would like. So, last year for Christmas I received a sewing machine and have since taken a class on sewing. I'm definitely not the best at it, but I am trying to improve. I don't consider myself crafty or anything like that so that's why this is such a big deal to me.

My most recent project is that I made a rag blanket for my new nephew. It was easier than I thought and I just watched an online video to figure out how to do it. Thanks for letting me showcase my new hobby!

Recovered

I think this word best describes how I feel today. We've had an eventful week and a half and now we're home and I'm starting to feel a little more back to normal.

Here's what we've been up to:

We went to Mike's brother's wedding on the 22nd. It was in Logan. After the reception we were headed to Preston to spend some time with his family when I looked back at Carson in the car and he threw up all over himself and the seats. So, after a quick clean up we kept on going. We thought he was better and maybe it was just a fluke but later that night he got a fever and kept throwing up. It was really sad to see him so miserable. We decided to come home Sunday morning.

Carson was sick until probably Tuesday and didn't feel completely better until Wednesday night. We were glad his sickness didn't upset our Thanksgiving plans and we headed back to Preston on Thursday to be with the Holt clan. We had yummy food and a great time visiting with family.

Friday we braved some crowds and tried to do some shopping. We didn't get too many things but we had a great time with each other (we left Carson with his grandma).

Saturday we went with everyone to cut down Christmas trees. I had fun, but pretty much just stayed in the car with Blake. There was a little bit of snow and from what I heard the kids had a fabulous time.

We came back that night and on Sunday set up our Christmas decorations. It's been fun to have something different to look at around here. Now I'm just dealing with mounds of laundry and errands to do.

Now for some pictures:

Some of the grandkids helping Grandma make pancakes. If we have any more children, she'll have to buy more stools!

19 people + 3 vehicles + 5 Christmas trees = Lots of holiday fun!

Carson "helping" clean up the mess we made setting up the Christmas stuff!

Doctor Visit

Mike and I took Blake and Carson to the doctor yesterday for their check-ups. It was Blake's two month visit and Carson's three year visit.

Their stats:
Carson--30.7 pounds (38th percentile), 36.5 inches (24th percentile)
Blake--11.56 pounds (35th percentile), 23.5 inches (60th percentile)

All was well until they ushered us in to get shots. I got a great idea from my sister-in-law who told her older son to be brave and show the younger son how not to cry when he got shots. It worked great for her. Mike and I tried the same trick on Carson and it didn't work at all. Carson cried a lot more than Blake. We promised Carson some soda pop (one of his favorite treats) if he would stop crying. He eventually calmed down and on the way to get some soda I started reading a pamphlet from the doctor that said children his age should "avoid sweets, especially sugary drinks". I guess it's too late for us, Carson likes his treats. Does anyone really deny their child sweets at this age?

Blessing Day

Blake was blessed on Sunday. Earlier in the week I had a great idea to get someone to take a picture of the four of us. The weather had been great and we don't have many pictures of our family because we don't usually have someone to take them when I get the idea. So, Sunday was going to be the day. And then it rained. I mean it poured! I spent quite a bit of time on my hair and I just got drenched. Oh well! We got a few pictures inside the church, so it worked out, just not like I had it imagined in my mind.

Many of our family came and Mike did a great job on the blessing. Then we had a fun visit and meal after church.

Halloween 2008

We had a great Halloween full of pumpkin carving, a ward party, trunk-or-treating, dressing up as a bear (Carson) and a bee (Blake), and touring the local pumpkin patch.


You can click on the collage to make it bigger. I realize the one picture is on there twice, but I'm new at this so please overlook it!

It's a Wonder "Fall" Life

Our neighbor's tree shed a bunch of leaves this week and we've had a lot of fun playing in them.

Grandpa and Grandma Crockett came for a visit and got a surprise:

Birthday Boy

Carson turned 3 years old this week. He had a great day. It started out with playgroup at the park. This is the only picture I got of that before my camera battery died. I think little boys are so cute. I just love to watch Carson interact with other little kids.

Mike made him a construction scene cake. Mike is definitely the birthday cake maker/builder at our house. He's a lot more creative/artistic/patient than I am!

Yum! Chocolate cake with chocolate Aggie Ice Cream.

Nighttime Laugh

A couple of nights ago I was awake feeding Blake (it was about 3:30 am) and Carson came out and told me he wanted a drink. He went into the kitchen and I noticed a few minutes later (yeah, I'm real quick this time of night) that he hadn't opened the fridge or made any noise. I got up to go see what he was doing and this is what I found:

Carson asleep on our kitchen rug. I guess he didn't make it to get the drink. So, of course, I put the baby down and grabbed our camera! After snapping a picture, I sweetly carried him back to bed. :)

Circus Fun

Mike took Carson to the circus in Salt Lake yesterday. They said they had a great time and saw lots of animals (including goats that rode on top of miniature horses, I think) and motorcycles. They also rode the FrontRunner train from Ogden to downtown Salt Lake and Trax over to the Energy Solutions Arena (where the circus was).

Carson on the FrontRunner.

At the circus.

Mike saw some of our friends from the ward at the circus and they got a picture of all of the kids together.

Blake and I didn't go, but I couldn't resist adding a picture of him!

The First Week

We've had Blake home for just over a week. So far I think we are adjusting pretty well. Mike took some time off from work and my mom and his mom have been here to help as well. I'll see how it goes on Monday when it's just me for the day!

Blake was a little bit jaundiced, so the doctor ordered him to be put on lights for 2 days to help him break down the extra bilirubin. The hard thing was that we could only take him out to feed him and change his diaper. Here's a picture of Carson and my dad trying to calm him down with the pacifier. It was so cute!

Carson hates to hear Blake cry. If Blake starts to get upset then Carson starts hunting for the pacifier. The first few days he would run around and say "fire, fire" (meaning pacifier) until he found it and stuck it in Blake's mouth. It was really funny. He loves to tell people that he is a big brother and he is a little protective. One time my mom was holding Blake and she said to him, "I would like to take you home with me." Carson heard and walked up to her with his index finger pointing at her and said, "You can't take him home. He's my brother and he needs to stay here." He was very serious about it too. :)

Here's another picture of the "bili-bed" (light bed) and Blake's first scrub at home.

Our New Arrival

Introducing
Blake Blair Holt

We had our baby boy on Thursday, September 4th at 4:14 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. We're all doing great here. Carson seems to love being a big brother and Mike and I are in love with our new bundle of joy.

Kacey and Tyler's wedding

Mike's sister Kacey got married last Friday. We're really excited for them both.

Here's a picture of the Holt cousins-- Emma, Dallin, Carson, Jaden, Sarah and Logan.

Farming with Grandpa

On the way home from Island Park (see following post) we stopped at my parents' house for a short visit. My dad took Carson out to "help" him go farming. It was really cute. Carson enjoyed "driving" the small tractor, checking the water, turning on the pump, and riding his first 4-wheeler. (By the way, don't those crops look great!)

Island Park Reunion

We went to Island Park with Mike's extended family (the Crocketts) this past week. Carson loved playing with his cousins. We visited Big Springs to feed the fish, but it turned out there were more seagulls than fish to feed. He also loved playing in the dirt and picking wild flowers. The first day we were there we went rafting, but I don't have any pictures because we were all too afraid our cameras would get wet and so we left them in the car.

Tomatoes

The house we live in has a small garden plot, so we decided to try our hand at growing tomatoes. Only tomatoes. Here's Carson holding our first ripe tomato. We're pretty excited that we actually grew something.

Fishing

Mike took Carson fishing at a pond here in Brigham City last week. They had a lot of fun, but didn't catch anything.

Happy 4th of July!

We previewed our fireworks last night. Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!

Swim Lessons

Carson and I have been taking mom & tot swim lessons together at the Brigham City Pool. We've had a lot of fun.

Summer Fun

The weather finally got hot here! We've been trying to find a way to stay cool. Here are some pictures of our efforts!

Carson playing at a friend's house. He didn't really want to get wet, but kept saying how much fun he was having.

Mike decided Carson needed a slip-and-slide. They had a blast playing with it in the backyard.

Carson running through some water spray from the hose.

A Trip to the Zoo

Last Saturday we went to Hogle Zoo with some of our Brigham City friends. They have a little boy that is just a few months older than Carson. The two were really cute and Carson was super excited to see all of the animals.


Here's Carson checking out the elephants.

The two boys rode in this wagon most of the day. Here they are consulting the map. Every time Carson got back in the wagon he had to get his map out. Super cute! (But, I am biased!)Carson loved taking a drink out of the lion's mouth. Even today he asked me if he could get another drink from the lion.