My baby is ONE!!!!

Happy birthday Carson Boy!!!!


On October 16th my baby turned one year old!! He had a great day! Rob and I kept saying "Happy birthday!!!" And Carson would reach his arms up in the air and laugh and clap. To celebrate we had my mom, my 2 brothers and B and J and their kids come over for cake and presents. At first Car wasn't too sure about the cake but eventually he dug in. I'm pretty sure more of it ended up on his face and hands rather in his mouth though ;) Car got a ton of new toys and he is in heaven with so many new things to play with! Thank you to everyone that wished him happy birthday!! 


Here are some of his latest....


-He still loves pretty much anything to eat. He does not care too much for fruit though. He loves his veggies.
-He isn't walking yet but that's okay! 
-Still no stranger danger for this kid. He loves anyone! 
-He doesn't prefer one parent over the other except in the morning. He would rather I get him up and hold him for a few minutes. It doesn't take long for him to warm up to dada though! :)
-He has discovered that he can take of his pants. He only does it when he is supposed to be napping.
-He is hilarious! He is always cracking us, and himself up!
-He is pretty much always happy. 
-When I go to the bathroom he sticks his chubby fingers under the door. Make me laugh out loud every time!
-He LOVES bath time! We have to spell bath because if he hears us say it he starts heading for the bathroom.
-He repeats pretty much everything we tell him to say!
-He is never quiet. That boy has so much to say all the time. I love it!
-He has done amazing without having bottles anymore. I was worried about it but he doesn't miss them.
-He is FINALLY sleeping through the night! We're talking 12 hours straight! It's wonderful, even though I miss giving him midnight snuggles. (I may or may not tip toe into his room while he is asleep, pick him up and rock him for a few minutes)
-He is getting molars on the bottom and it's so painful. The poor boy is such a slow teether. His teeth take forever to come in. 
-One of his favorite things to do right now is take things out. Example, he'll take all the toys out of  the bins, clothes out of a drawer, blankets/binkys out of his crib, pots and pans out of the cupboard. 
-He is also really into banging things together to make noise. 


Carson is SUCH a joy and light in our lives. This last year has been so incredible. It went by way to fast but we have loved every minute of it! It is so bitter-sweet that his is one!! I look forward to watching him continue to learn and grow this next year! 
WE LOVE YOU CAR MAN!!!

Goodbye 21 hello 30.....Uh I mean 22

I am now officially 22! Ugh that just sounds so young! I feel like I'm 30 :) Hopefully by the time I really am 30 we'll have lots more babies!


Rob worked on my actual birthday but my wonderful, beautiful friend J and her darling kiddos came over and brought me lunch, a gift and an awesome cake made out of maple bars! How amazing is that?! We had fun chatting and eating and the kids were extremely well behaved! Such a great friend to come and spend the afternoon with me! My wonderful and beautiful mama also stopped by with some beautiful flowers and an ice cream cake! These ladies sure know how to make me happy!! 


Tonight we are all celebrating together. My fam is coming over and we'll have dinner and cake!


Anyway for my birthday post I am going to post 22 facts about myself that you probably didn't know. Here goes....


1. I can put my feet behind my head.
2. I hate brownies and pie.
3. I can't sleep unless I am wearing socks.
4. Speaking of sleep, I LOVE IT! I could seriously sleep for 18 hours a day....if I didn't have a life.
5. Snickerdoodles are my all time favorite cookie.
6. Spiders make me cry.
7. I don't believe in big foot.
8. I love my sweet son so much it makes me cry.
9. I absolutely love to dance. Ballet is my happy place.
10. I love to have everything neat and tidy. I can't go to bed if there are dishes in the sink.
11. I have an awful relationship with my father. I could easily  be bitter but instead I choose to be grateful that my children will have wonderful relationships with their dad. Knowing that brings me much peace when I am hurting inside for my own dad.
12. I am a size 2 and 120 pounds but I struggle when I look in the mirror. I see someone much bigger.
13. I really don't have a comfort zone or boundaries. I have to remind myself that somethings aren't appropriate to say or talk about.
14. I was born and raised mormon. I love my religion and I am so grateful for the wonderful blessings it has brought me.
15. My mom is the most amazing woman I know. Seriously, do you know her? You should. She's fantastic!
16. I don't like reading parenting books. It makes me feel like I'm doing it wrong.
17. I'm terribly clumsy. Especially in the kitchen. But it's fun and makes my Rob smile :)
18. I love to have Rob play with my hair. LOVE it. It puts me right to sleep.
19. I would love to have 6 or 7 kids.
20. When I was little I had a fear of vomit. Being a preschool teacher and mom gets rid of that fear fast!
21. I was 9 months pregnant on my 21st birthday. My birthday was my due date! How cool is that?! Car came 3 days late though :)
22. I love change. I welcome it! In fact, I thrive on it. I get tired when everything is always the same.

Lows and highs

Have you read my sister-in-laws blog? If you haven't, you should. She's a doll. Anyway, she did a high and low post and I am going to copy her. My highs and lows from the week are as followed....
Lows

Ending my weekend in Utah on very bad terms with my father

Carson having a cold

Having to go to the doctor twice

Getting a migraine from crying (Thanks dad)


Highs

Carson saying a new word everyday!

Being back home with my Rob and sleeping in our bed!

Nice cold weather. I love it. Hot chocolate anyone?

Putting up Halloween/Fall decorations

Seeing lots of mormon.org commercials

My mom bringing me lunch 2 times this week

Birthday shopping for Mr. Car :)

Reading

Last week Rob surprised me and bought me the book The Help. It was a real treat that he bought me a book! For some reason he doesn't like when I read. I guess he would rather have me present than reading every free second I get and I think he prefers that I sleep next to him when we go to bed rather than stay up all night reading. I mean I guess that's understandable ;) ANYWAY, if you haven't read this book, stop what you are doing right now, go to the book store, library, your neighbors house or even my house, borrow or buy the book and READ IT!! It is so amazing. It also really makes you think about society and kindness.
 My friend J and I went and saw the movie today. It was really good but of course the book was way better. Anyway, read the book then go see the movie. Just do it.



I am now book less and going crazy. Any suggestions??

Dear 11 month old Carson

September 16th, 2011




Oh my goodness my Carson boy! I cannot believe that you are 11 months old today! You have changed so much over the last couple of months. It is so fun to watch you learn and play. You are such a happy boy! My favorite time is when you wake up in the morning. It is so nice waking up to the sounds of my baby boy talking and playing. When I walk in your room to get you up you are standing in your crib and you are so excited to see me! I LOVE that. Usually when I walk in you yell, "Mommm!!" I let you play for awhile. Mornings is your most happy time of the day. After you play for a bit, you eat your breakfast. Getting you to eat has become kind of a chore lately. You would much rather be playing. You have also discovered that you can spit your food out. Although eating isn't your favorite activity right now these are some of your favorite foods at the moment: Whole wheat, blue berry waffles, greek yougurt, corn, mashed potatoes, peas, mac n cheese, fish crackers and string cheese. You prefer veggies over fruit and you still drink water like it's running out. Also, you are so over baby food. You are now only eating big people food :)

You LOVE other babies/kids. I am a nursery leader at church and I bring you in there with me. You love watching the older kids playing. Sometimes you'll be watching some kids playing and you'll just laugh and laugh. We take you to the mall sometimes to play at the play place. A little boy kept coming up to you and hugging you. You were in heaven. A little girl kept coming up to you and trying to push you down but you didn't mind. As far as you were concerned, you had made a new friend! She was also 2 years old but smaller then you so she was never actually able to push you down. I can't wait for you to be a big brother. I long for the day when we can give you a little brother or sister but that's just not in the cards for us right now. I know that we had your first for a reason. You will be the oldest sibling and you will be great at it!

Car, you are so close to walking!! You would much rather be standing than sitting. You pull yourself up on everything. You like to stand at the table and as your getting taller you are able to reach more. We have had to do a lot of baby proofing around here. You are almost able to pull out the outlet protectors now so we'll need to find a new solution for that. You don't do your army crawl anymore. You real crawl. It's cute but it's another reminder that you are growing up.

You are so fun to play with! You are really into copying us. We can make a noise and you mimic it. It's so cute! The other day you heard some ones tires squeal and you made a high pitch noise to match it! It was so funny! So many times you daddy and I find ourselves just watching you and laughing at how cute and funny you are! You have such a personality!!

Carson you love people! You will crawl up to anyone at church and play with their watch, the buttons on their suit and let anyone pick you up. When a stranger does pick you up, you don't cry for us. Instead you smile and giggle and touch their face or nose. I love seeing the joy you bring to other people. We had the missionaries over a few nights ago and you were in heaven! 2 new people in the house to climb on!

Carson boy, your dada and I love you so much. The last 11 months have been so amazing with you in our family! You are our special boy and we will love you forever. No matter what. Thank you for being such a sweet baby. I feel your love every minute. Thank you for loving me and dada. Thank you for letting us be your parents. We are so blessed to have you. Love love love you. Forever.

 

15 for Friday

1. I'm tired and crabby so this might be a lame post
2. I needed a lavender dress for my dad's upcoming wedding and I could not find one anywhere! So, I had this cute, white, cotton summer dress so I dyed it! It turned out perfect!
3. Carson gagged himself and threw up. He only does it when he is in his crib...I think he may be onto something. Oy!
4. I got to see one of my dear friends get sealed to her husband today in the temple. It was beautiful and I could not be more happy for them.
5. The weather has been unusually hot for September here. Like in the upper 80's and 90's. I do not like it. I am so ready for fall. I love the cool crisp air, the beautiful bright colored leaves and the fashion :)
6. Have you ever felt replaced by one of your friends? Or felt like you were always the one making the effort to hang out or even just talk to them? It's a sad feeling and I don't like it :(
7. We let Car play at the little play area at the mall a few days ago. He loved it! Mostly because he loves watching other kids and babies. This little girl (smaller than him) kept coming up to him and trying to push him over. She, for some reason did not like him. Carson thought it was hilarious though and smiled and giggled every time she came up to him.
8. I love reading. LOVE it.
9. I have been wanting to bake lately but it's so hot that I don't like to use the oven. Us Seattle folk don't have AC in our homes.
10. Carson is really into copying us lately. I'll make a noise he he mimics. It's so funny and cute!!
11. I am searching for the perfect pair of glitter pumps. I've seen a lot of pairs I like but I just can't seem to find the ones that speak to me.
12. I ran on the treadmill the other night and now my bum is sore.
13. Rob went fishing yesterday and caught a HUGE fish! 23 inches and about 7 pounds.
14. I am in serious need of some alone time. Time to myself. JUST ME. Cell phone off so no one can reach me (unless it's an emergency of course) I just feel like I give, and give and give and I am wearing out. I need some alone Mandy time to recharge.
15. I can't stop yawing. bye!

Yummy McYummers

I am obsessed with making home made oreos. Or Whoopie pies. Let me show you how to make these so you can enjoy this delish treat with me. Mkay? K.

First you'll need 2 boxes of this



You'll also need 4 of these

And 1 and 1/4th cup of this

Mix both boxes of cake mix, eggs and crisco in large bowl.

For extra flavor and yumminess I added these in

Scoop into balls and place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

Place in over heated to 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. I have found that the cookies are much softer and chewier if I bake for only 8 mins.

Let cool

Next you'll need some of this

Frost cookies like this

Enjoy!!