Valentines Day

We had a very busy, fun Valentines this year. We might have gone a little overboard! ;) But it was fun! Jaxon was very into all of it, which made it that much better!
First up... Valentine cookies! 

I am no decorator.... this is as good as it got! :)

Joel on the other hand.... by special request, made Jaxon a train. With heart steam. Who knew he was so dang talented?!

Jaxon went sprinkle CRAZY!

Valentine Cards for the Grandparents!! Lots and lots of paint! We hand delivered them on Valentines day.

I let Jaxon pick out his own Valentine presents for his friends. He picked some random stuff! Bubbles, Lightening McQueen cards (with Tattoos), and a couple suckers. He was pretty excited to take them to school.

After school, Jaxon and I "Heart Attacked" some cars! Joels, my sisters and my moms! It was a lot of fun!

Even the littlest guy had a fun day!

Joel and I got SPOILED!! I got an Ipad mini, and Joel got a Nexus 7. It was an Anniversary/Valentines/Tax Refund present for each other! :) Then Friday night we went on a mini date to see Safe Haven. I sure love my little family and especially that Husband of mine! ;)

EIGHT!

Carson turned 8 months old last Friday. This has been a big month for him! He has learned so many new things and is getting so big! He is also very clingy with me! He will smile, talk, and wave at just about anyone... until they try to hold him! Even grandparents with grandparents! So not fun! But he is the silliest, most smiley little guy ever! His favorite thing is to clap!! I die seeing those chubby arms/hands clapping!

He rolls ALL OVER the place now. Which means he gets stuck under things, finds random toys under the couches he shouldn't have, and has gotten a few good bonks from the tv stand. He is also scooting...but not in a normal way. While on his back, he arches he back, and pushes with his feet.... scooting along on the top of his head. So random! And it has worn off most of the hair he has finally grown back on the back of his head!

He is trying to figure out how to go from sitting, to laying down.... it usually ends badly. So we have gone back to keeping the boppy around him so the falls aren't so hard. But he can quickly roll off that boppy and get where he needs to go. 

He eats like a champ (but only if he is hungry), and definitely prefers fruits or fruit/veggie mixes. No straight veggies for him. We have struggled a bit with constipation, so no more rice cereal. Just oatmeal with fruit, and prunes every few days. But I am not convinced that is doing the trick.
STILL NOT SLEEPING. Don't ask. Just when I think he is doing better, he proves me wrong. Once a night minimum...and wide awake by 6:30am. I should just get up and work out... I am awake anyway.

He loves his brother, and is starting to really notice how he plays, what he is doing, and if Jaxon is paying attention to him. I make them take baths together, and Carson literally sits and smiles and splashes at Jaxon the whole time, waiting for a response. It's so cute!
He is soooooo loud! Something about listening to himself scream/squeal is so funny to him. It drives me nutty after a while! If you hand him a stuffed animal of any kind, he screams and bites it until you take it away! Jaxon always asks "what is he doing? why is he crying?" I've resorted to telling Jaxon that is how babies sing.... so when Carson starts up, Jaxon will usually "sing" with him. Lovely. Sorry neighbors!

 Still no teeth!! Not even one starting! I thought a few days ago I felt little bumpies and swollen gums, but nothing ever came. (Jaxons first tooth was at like 13-14 months, so nothing too unusual for our kids.)
Even without teeth he sure LOVES his puff treats. So far his favorite flavor are the vanilla ones. He was not a fan of the peach ones at all! He also likes cheerios, bread and pretty much anything we are eating. He will drink a little juice and water, but not very much at a time.

Naps are about 2-3 times a day. And an occasional cat nap in the car to or from somewhere. Bedtime is 8pm.... and it is tough to make it that long! We don't let him sleep past 6ish in the evening, so depending on how his naps went really makes or breaks the night time routine for us. But having both kids in bed around 8 is heaven! Wish it was 7:30.... ;)
Of course he is talks in baby jabber... but his favorite and first word.... Dada. He says it constantly! Carson sure loves his daddy! The last day or so I have heard the beginnings of Mama.... but it sound like Maaaaaamaaaaaa.... and it's only when he is crying or whining. 

Love my big boy!! His dimples melt me and his smile is contagious!

Muah!

Getting all ready for Valentines Day around here! I saw this on Pinterest a while ago.... and HAD to try it with my baby. Let me just say..... he is THE EASIEST baby to take pictures of! As soon as the camera comes out, he is full of smiles, giggles and silly faces. I LOVE it! (His brother is the exact opposite. It's bad.)

Here are a few of the ones I took today. Literally just a few, because I took 89!!  He was just cheesing it up! Love my Carson boy!

Last, but not least.... my favorite one!

7 Month Old Baby

This last month has been pretty exciting for Carson! Lots of changes and new things. First.... he is now eating food! Lots and lots of rice cereal with mixed fruit. He LOVES it! It took us a few days to figure out how he liked it best..... super, super thick! At first it was way to watery and he didn't like it at all!

Baby's first bite of "solids".

Now that we make it the right way for him, he is a pig! He sure loves it! Right now he is eating about 2 bowls a day. Lunch and dinner.

He can finally ROLL!! Well from his back to his tummy. Then he gets stuck. He wakes up in the middle of the night screaming because he can't get back over. Such a pain! But he does have more fun playing with Jaxon now that he is a little bit more mobility. He still prefers sitting up to watch everybody and play with all of his toys!

 He usually wakes up from his naps so happy!

 Sometimes we take a break from the bath seat so that the splashing can be even more intense! He loves it!

He isn't so little any more! He is now wearing 12-18 month shirts! Sleeves rolled up, and they are a little long..... but anything smaller is soooo dang tight!! And he is wearing 3-6 or 6-12 month pants. Lil' shorty. :) Love him!

Christmas!

 We had a very different Christmas then we are used to. Because all of our family is so close, we usually spend most of Christmas Day "making the rounds". So fun, and busy, but exhausting! Well that was our plan this year! Until Christmas Eve, when my mom and sister came over for dinner. Poor Jaxon got hit with the flu that Joel and I were fighting all last week. He spent all of Christmas Eve throwing up. Poor little guy. He was a good sport, took a few pictures, opened his jammies, and went to bed. No gingerbread house...it's still in the box on my counter. We spend all day at home, hanging out in a mess of presents, wrapping paper, and blankets.  Ready for A TON of pictures?

My poor guy.

Opening Jammies

My mom and sister are too funny in their jammies

Stef with Carson - His first Christmas Eve!

Brothers!

Abuela and Carson

Love my little family!

Santa came!

After we put both boys to bed, we all watched Pitch Perfect! So dang funny and totally not festive! Then Santa got to work!

Sadly, Jaxon didn't sleep well at all. We were all up way too early! 6 am!

Realizing that Santa really did come!

Totally got him his own Minnie. He loves her!

THE GIFT this year. Every time we went to see Santa he asked for his very own camera.

Too busy smiling to look through his stocking!

No candy for babies, so he got baby food in his stocking!

His favorite part, of course, was the tissue paper!

The toys are pretty fun too though.

Loving these monster trucks!

Later that morning my mom and sister stopped by and brought more presents! Over the weekend, Gma and Gpa Brown brought over their presents! And because Jaxon was so sick, we are waiting until tonight to go to my dads to finish exchanging gifts! Our Christmas is being spread into 4 days!

Last week, I was finishing my very last errand with both kids. I decided to pick my mom up at the car place where she was getting her oil changed so we could go to lunch. Well when I started my car, it was making a HORRIBLE sound! When I got there, the mechanic came out and told me to shut off the car and not to start it again. He said the oil in my car was completely gone, and after they looked at it better, realized it was not going to be able to be fixed. He labeled it a ticking time bomb. There was major damage to the engine, and no way to repair it without replacing it. UGH. So frustrating. It was in need of an oil change, but was not outrageously past the mileage recommended. For some reason the dang thing burned way too much oil and we didn't notice. 

Anyway, to make a long story "shorter", we have been using my dads truck all weekend because Joels car isn't super reliable either. We shopped around a little for a new car, but for our budget, very few cars fit the bill. Being right before Christmas, I told Joel, lets just figure it all out later....

Well Christmas morning, Joel sent me out in the ice and snow to "get something out of the trunk". And my new car was in our parking spot! I was so surprised!!!!! It's nothing super fancy, but way nicer then the other car. I am soooooo thankful for such a great husband who loves surprising me! And for taking care of all that stuff. He kinda spoils me! ;)
Merry Christmas!!