animal day

I made the trek to the zoo this week.

I think that this is Emma's favorite place in the entire world.

We met some of our friends there, which is always more fun.

The weather was cooler. Which meant instead of 105, it was 90 something. The flowers were pretty too.

And, the weather was tolerable for my little fellow. Tolerable in Texas means that you might not die from a heat stroke while attempting to take your children to the zoo. This was Carson's very first zoo trip, unless of course you count the ones in utero :)

The girls were checking out the male lion. He was really close to the glass...

Then, they proceeded to roar at him. They were really loud y'all...really loud.

I am hoping we might be able to wear a jacket on our next zoo visit. Emma wants her daddy to come with us then. She wants to check out the dinosaur exhibit when he's with us. She is such a daddy's girl...

Oh Mr. Sun...

Thanks for cutting us a break!

It has been so hot here that our time outside has been few and far between.

Buddy gets so hot so quickly, but we were all able to enjoy the pool today.

Buddy enjoyed playing with his boats.

As long as it's not too hot, and the sun's not in his eyes, Buddy loves the water.

Sister enjoyed playing with him too.

Lucy became a "neighborhood"dog again, about a month ago. So if you live in the neighborhood, please accept our apologies. Miss E unplugged the electric fence, which allowed Miss L to escape. Miss L tore through the wiring that surrounded our backyard, so the electric fence no longer works. We have attempted to splice the wiring numerous times, but no success yet. The next alternative is to replace the entire circuit surrounding the backyard. Digging up the perimeter of the backyard in August to re-bury the wire sounds oh so appealing, doesn't it?

Miss E enjoyed some of the goodies from our strawberry picking...strawberry lemonade popsicles.

Yum

O!

And Buddy was chill, as usual.

I just love his feet :)

His cry is pitiful...

But, he usually cheers right back up.

Here's my favorite of Sister...

And here's my favorite of Buddy...

Well, that was Wednesday. So, for Thursday, it's always Chick-fil-a for us. That was the plan, but our friends canceled, so I went to search for new plans. We ended up with some good friends and a plan to meet at the park for a picnic.

Just to get out the door....

I got everyone dressed.

Woke Carson from his nap.

Nursed Carson.

Changed Carson.

Packed a sippy cup, baby food, spoon, and bib for Carson.

Loaded everyone in the car.

Drove to CFA.

Ordered lunch.

Drove to the park.

It was going to be fun...

I dumped my 32 oz. coke zero on Carson, while he was in the stroller.

The lid came off.

He was covered.

Blew it off.

I told y'all that I was trying to roll....

300 baby wipes later, we were okay.

Then, Emma tee-teed.

Um...we haven't had an accident in over a year.

So, she was covered in pee.

I borrowed panties from a friend....

Emma stripped down to panties a her t-shirt in the car.

We headed home, where I proceeded to bath both kids before naps.

Then, I had their load of coke zero/tee tee laundry to do.

Followed by cleaning out my car.

And, a stroller that needs to be de-coke zeroed.

Please tell me you've been there.

And, let's hope that our trip to the zoo tomorrow involves less drama and less liquids.

And, one more thing, if you want to see more photos, you can click any of the photos of the blog, and it will take you to my flickr page. There are lots more unpublished photos there...only if you're interested :)

something funny & something to think about

This video is hilarious! So, take a few minutes to watch it. If you live in the suburbs, you will appreciate it for sure. This video is so Rob, but shhhhhh.....don't say I said so.

And, if you haven't watched this documentary, you should. They say that, "you'll never look at dinner the same way again," and it is so true. Let's just say that it is very eye-opening and informative :) I'll leave it at that. I rented it at Blockbuster, and you should too-especially if you have little ones at home.

Off for Carson's six month check up and shots....thrilling. I feel terrible for my little buddy. Hopefully, I'll be back later today with another post. Happy Tuesday y'all!

she reads to him & sweet potatoes

Emma reads to Carson now, and it is oh so sweet!

They were so cute together this morning, that I just had to grab my camera.

And, we've moved onto sweet potatoes, and from what I can tell, he likes them better than avocado.

We just love him. Now, I'm off to make chicken salad, baked oatmeal, hard-boiled eggs and cut a watermelon. Have a great weekend y'all!

Lucky Number 7

It's been seven years since our big day, so to celebrate, we got a babysitter for a night out. It's been six months since we have gone on a date together, yes six, and yes, it is shameful. But that's the truth, so I would say it was well deserved. Here's a photo taken by the restaurant...they brought us complimentary dessert, which was delicious. Our meal was wonderful, but the uninterrupted conversation was even better.

Here we are seven years ago...

And, here we are today...


Rob got one quick photo of me with my kiddos. Carson was actually not looking a Emma when it was shot. Now, that's rare! It's been a wonderful seven years, but I think Rob and I both spent the week wishing we were on some tropical island...somewhere. Oh well, there's always next year, right? Here's last year...I was pregnant and puking, so compared to that, this year is much improved :)

it's a first...

Well, first food that is. I started out by making a few batches of baby food last week.

I had an assistant, and she was oh so excited! We cranked out avocado, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and carrots. All for Mr. Carson.

When the big day came, it was a family affair. All four of us were in the kitchen.

I was thinking all along that Carson was clueless about what was to come.

He was.

Avocado was his very first food, and he did better than I expected.

After the big meal, brother and sister hung out.

And then, Miss Emma had to feed her baby. Kids definitely don't learn by example, right? :)

P.S. If you knew me when I was little Jenny, and you think you might recognize that baby doll, you're right. She was my very special baby. I fed her, bathed her, swam with her, played with her, and twirled all of her hair out. Some of you know that I still love to do the hair twirl. So, that's her, and she's bald on top, but Emma loves her now, and I love that Emma loves her.

buddy's fifth month

Well, our little buddy is just shy of six months old, so I wanted to take a minute to reflect on his fifth month of life.

I call him my "little baby dinosaur," because he makes this sort of hissing sound when he talks to me. The noise is so cute and sounds just like a "little baby dinosaur" would sound. I also call him my "little boy blue" and "happy", and I bet you can figure out how these names came to be. But mainly, we all call him "buddy." Just buddy. "I'm taking buddy with me, go get buddy his paci, it's time for buddy's nap." My family is notorious for a multitude of nick names, and for the the life of us, Rob and I couldn't figure out what nick name would come from Carson. Well, he's a buddy now :) And Memms just loves her Buddy.

Schedule wise, we have made it to a four hour schedule, well sort of anyway. Generally, he nurses at 7 am, 11 am, 3 pm, around 6-7 pm, and the dream feed around 10-11 pm. On a perfect day, he naps from 9-11 am and 1-3 pm, with a 45 minute catnap around 5. Bedtime usually falls around 8 pm, and the last few days, he's been sleeping until 7 am. Although, it's not unusual for him to wake around the 6 am mark. The gym usually throws a kink in his schedule. He never gets a two hour morning nap in there, so I've learned to roll with the flow a bit, adjusting his schedule throughout the day, if I need to.

Most of you probably know that rolling with the flow is not my strong point, so this has been a huge accomplishment for me. With no family around to keep my kiddos and no babysitter, the gym is a very important outlet for me. Emma enjoys it too, so despite the scheduling difficulties, I've decided to keep on keeping on :)

Last week was a difficult week, for a multitude of reasons, but the biggest one being Carson. The pediatrician was worried about his flat head, so I'll spare you the details, worrying, and tears, and just let you know that we are now certain that he is perfect. In my heart I knew he was okay, but sometimes a pediatrician and the internet do an outstanding job of severely freaking out a mom. I am so very thankful to the Lord for both of my healthy children, and my heart goes out to all of the parents of sick little ones. I just can't even begin to imagine...

I bought Carson a sleep positioner, so the foam mat that he now sleeps on is much softer than his mattress. Since he can roll now, sometimes I sleep him on his stomach for naps, and when he's awake, I try my best to keep him off of his head, utilizing the exersaucer, walker, bumbo, tummy time, or my moby wrap. At night, he still sleeps swaddled, on his back, and yes, I gave the paci back. He rarely wakes up in the middle of the night needing his paci and usually spits it out after falling asleep, so it hasn't been a problem.

Buddy has no teeth yet, but is working so very hard on some. At times, he just seems miserable, chewing on his fingers, fussing, and struggling to nurse. He looks like this when he's fitful...

Carson has rolled from tummy to back and back to tummy, but is so laid back, that his rolling is ever so rare. And, he kind of sat up for me this morning, while we were playing on the floor.

No solids have been introduced yet. I am waiting until he is six months old; which, even though I can't believe it, is just around the corner. He sleeps beautifully, so I am confident that he is getting everything that he needs from nursing. When he turns six months, I will probably start with single grain oatmeal and move onto butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and avocado from there. I don't give my babies rice cereal. It's just a personal opinion of mine. I am so excited that I get to make baby food again :)

Carson's personality is wonderful. I am so lucky that he is so easy going! He smiles constantly and has the most beautiful laugh. I enjoy my time with him so much. He is very ticklish, and it is so much fun to see him wiggle, squirm, and giggle. Bath time is his favorite. He has started to kick and splash. Although he is super happy most of the time, he does love to be held. If I'm holding him and walking around, he is absolutely quiet and content. When I wear him in the moby, he's like a little monkey hanging onto his momma. I'll leave you with this one. Please congratulate me on his "tummy strength." We've been working so so hard :)