January

Some random pictures of the month:

Mike's parents gave us a huge tent for our birthdays. Mike set it up in our living room. It took up the whole room--we had to move our couch out. Then Carson and Mike slept in it.

Carson was entertaining Blake by singing and leading music last Sunday.

Carson always asks to hold Blake. This time Blake actually appears like he's enjoying it! :)

The Blake-ster

Blake is now 4 months old. He's so much fun and we all really love him. We took him to the doctor yesterday and found out some new stats:
Weight: 13 lbs. 11 ounces (18%)
Height: 25.5 inches (63%)

Some other stuff about Blake:
*He smiles a lot now, I love it when he looks at someone (especially me) and smiles. Good stuff!
*He laughs more often. When one of us gets him to laugh, the rest of us come running to watch.
*He has been more fussy these last two months (not a complaint, just a fact) but I think he's getting MUCH better. It could be that he just likes the familiarity of home, cuz he wasn't the happiest baby during our holiday travels.
*He's likes to suck and chew on toys and fingers (his own and others' if you let him!).
*He doesn't sleep through the night, but is getting closer, and I can't decide if I'm excited for him to sleep better or sad cuz I'll miss the extra cuddle time.
*I think he already admires Carson. For example, when they are in the car together, Blake will just stare at Carson and Carson can usually make Blake happy by singing a song.

Snow Much Fun

I'm so behind! Here are some pictures of the rest of our December (FINALLY! I know!).

We went to Island Park to celebrate Christmas at the cabin. It was tons of fun and there was tons of snow!

Christmas morning pictures:

We cut the top of our tree off and brought it. It added to the ambiance.

Blake was pretty excited to be there with us.

Blake and I modeling our new clothes.

When we woke up Christmas morning I was pleasantly surprised to see this much snow on our car: (Notice that you can still see the outline of the vehicles.)

Then I took the following picture at 1 pm. No one in my family had ever witnessed this much snowfall in such a short period of time.

Carson loved the cabin. He loved to play outside with his dad, uncles and grandpa.

One day we went sledding at a friend's cabin. That was great. Even Mike and I got in some of the action.

This is what we did mostly. Relaxed and spent some quality time together. Look how excited Carson is! :)

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!