C-A-R-S-O-N

Is it the turkey that makes you sleepy or the hope that a little shut-eye will ease the bloated feeling associated with Thanksgiving? Turkey is believed to be a natural sedative, though the self-driven nap gets my nod.

Nate, Carson and I loaded up the Yukon and headed to Kirksville, Missur-a (Yes, that is how many Missourians pronounce Missouri. I am not one of those people.) on Thursday morning. It was Carson's first overnight trip, and he was an angel baby! Grammie and Paw-Paw held their own against the doting Nelson clan and enjoyed quality time with CER. I now realize that grandparents are wired to spoil their grandchildren. I caught my dad "talking" to Carson after I had put him down for a nap. When I scolded my dad for disturbing Carson he responded, "I'm just talking to him. He isn't really sleeping anyway." What can a daughter do but walk away and smile.

And speaking of smiling, Nate and I are proud parents of a crib-sleeping baby. That's right - Carson Actually, without Reluctance, Slept On his back in his crib last Night.

Go Green

It's cool. My shirt says so!

Indie, not Indy

No, not the race - a film. Starring yours truly, made especially for Grammie and Paw-Paw and Grandma & Grandpa. Enjoy!

-Love, Carson

Babies R Us

I hate this place. Really, I do. (As a mother, am I allowed to voice this?) My first experience with BRU was six months into my pregnancy. I thought it would be fun for us to set up our baby registry in the actual store. As we walked through the automatic doors and took in the many sections of baby crap - toys, furniture, gear, clothes, etc., I seriously almost hyper-ventilated. (I have this same feeling when entering a Macy's-like store. What department am I supposed to be shopping in anyway - too much stuff, too many options and too much work for one freakin' shirt.) Needless to say, I set up my baby registry online and continue to purchase stuff for Carson via www.babiesrus.com; the UPS guy and I are BFFs.

Carson and I went to Nate's cousin Melissa's baby shower this weekend. Melissa is expecting in January; her sister Angie is due in April. And Jess, another Ross/Hagen cousin, is due this December. The Hagen family continues to grow at rapid speed. Babies are us!

PwC

This is where I work - PricewaterhouseCoopers. I do like my job, though I'd be lying to you if I didn't say how wonderful it has been to "check out" these last few months. I plan to continue with this lack of interest until I resume my commute in mid-January.

Work headaches, challenges, fires, deadlines, plans, strategies, goals, budgets, blah, blah, blah, and blah have clearly not been missed. I do, however, miss my PwC friends and everything that goes along with professional comradery. (HR team - you miss my bluntness and four-letter words, don't you!?!)

The entire HR team trekked to my house for lunch yesterday. (For those of you who have been to my house, you know why I used the word "trekked" - terrain aside, the drive to my house from work is 50-minutes, which is why I was so excited that everyone chose to dine with me!) Thankfully, Carson was on his best behavior and cried only once. He was Pretty good with the Chicks.

Once everyone left, I "chatted" with Carson about our day. Listen below for his side of the story:

Jargon

After much deliberation, the verdict is in:

LET...


...HIM...


...CRY!


(Slight digression - I put Carson in his crib this morning for a nap and was strong enough to let him scream for 20 minutes. I did peek my head in at the 21 minute mark just make sure he wasn't hurt in any way. Hurt, he was not, but he did have one hell of a poopy diaper. I changed his diaper and rocked him back to sleep because I felt guilty. Sue me!)

The Ants Go Marching

Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales - I really need to brush up on mine. I don't think Taylor Swift's "Love Story" falls into either of the above rhythmic categories, but I like it none the less, so Carson gets to hear about Romeo and Juliet via my rendition.

I'm sure I could buy one large book of infamous children's' stories, rhymes and tales, but I am boy-cotting all children-related books for now. I have come to find that the many books written on child-rearing, child development, motherhood, etc. contradict one another. How's a person to know what to do when "experts" are giving different advice on the same subject? I'll tell you how - Momma knows best! And in my case, any Momma. I am relying on my gut and the advice of friends and family from now on. Other moms' suggestions trump the advice of the experts in my book. (Amy - the crib wedge and back sleeper are on order. And Cassie, Carson is fussing in his crib as I type this. I hope that by the time I'm done writing this blog he will have soothed himself back to sleep. I appreciate the advice, Ladies!)

We had another busy weekend in the Lou. My sister was in town from Columbus, my brother-in-law and his fiance were in from Detroit and my Aunt Jan and cousin Kelsey drove in from the Land-of-Lincoln on Saturday. Outside of all of that, we celebrated Nate's grandma's 85th birthday on Sunday. The entire weekend was controlled chaos.....a common thread in our life these days.

As luck would have it, Carson actually had all three of his aunts in the same room on Friday night - Aunt Brooke (my sister), Aunt Carrie (my sister-in-law) and Aunt Melissa (my soon-to-be sister-in-law). I look forward to blaming the three of you for spoiling Carson rotten and making him a terror. (It will be much easier to point the finger than to take blame myself.) The least I can do is give you a heads up, Ladies!

The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three,
The little one stops to climb a tree
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain

Calling all moms!

HELP - how in the hell did you get your precious baby to sleep in his/her crib? Mine won't; I'm getting pissed and feeling very defeated. A penny for your thoughts......

9 to 5

Mommy seems to be dropping the ball on this blogging thing, so I'm taking over for now......let me fill you in on this week at the Ross house.

For starters, they have finally let me out of the house! Mommy and I spent Tuesday morning visiting with our neighbors. Jacob kept asking his dad if he could play with me. Give me a chance to motor around, Jake, and then it's game on! (Melanie took this picture of me while I was at their house.)



That afternoon Mommy and I ran errands and went to Babies R Us. Mommy bought a bunch of junk, if you ask me, although I guess the new tummy mat is kind of cool. And I like the books she picked out. The onsie, though, with the peace signs all over it - umm, it doesn't scream "manly." Better luck next time, Mom.

Wednesday was even better! Mommy said Daddy billed a ton of hours on Tuesday (What exactly does that mean?), so he took the day off to spend with us. We went out to lunch, got coffees, shopped......I rode in an elevator for the first time too! I also stared at myself in the mirror while Daddy tried on suits. I wonder if I'll have to wear suits to work when I get big?

After two busy days, I'm beat! This must be what it's like to work every day - Yuk. Dolly Parton knew what she was talking about!

Workin' 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by
It's all takin'
And no givin'
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

Ask and ye shall receive.

Sleep - everyone needs it, though some of us seem to need it more than others. I used to fall in to the latter category. My mom said that when I was a toddler I would sleep more than my newborn sister! My perspective on sleep has obviously changed since having Carson - a little more would be nice, but functioning on 5 or less hours a night is totally doable. Coffee will give you the same well-rested effect if you drink enough of it, although I can't say 10 hours of sleep ever made me jittery.

Carson's favorite place to sleep seems to be -- me! He would sleep on his momma all day long if I let him. Just as I'm about to put him down, he wrinkles his nose, sighs, quivers a little during a "puppy dream," puckers his lips, squeezes my arm......you get the picture. How do you part from something so damn cute? It's a manipulation technique, I'm sure, similar to the one I used to give my dad when I was little. As we pulled in to the garage after a day of grocery-getting, Bergner's-shopping, McDonald's-eating and Aladdin's Castle Ski Ball-playing, I would immediately pretend to be asleep. There was something so special about being carried in to the house by Dad. I wonder if my mom ever caught me smiling as my dad hoisted me out of the car. I'll be looking for that same smile on Carson's face when Nate is the one doing the hoisting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

I'm a stud.

I smiled at my momma today for the very first time!

This is for the birds!

We're taking another stab at getting Carson to sleep in his crib. I have high hopes that by the end of this week my kid will no longer spend 4-5 hour intervals slouched in his bouncy seat. As my friend Kim said, "I have never seen a 3 year old sleep through the night in a bouncy seat." Cross your fingers that CER does not cause Kim to eat crow!

I heart B.O.

I'm not talking about smelly armpits. I voted. Did you?

Crank

My family was here! My parents spent the weekend with us and my aunt Jan and cousin Kelsey came for dinner on Saturday. For the first time I had to fight to hold my child...during the day that is. As luck would have it, all of my "helpers" magically disappeared from midnight until 7a. What the hell?

The one thing I learned from this weekend is that moms have super-human strength. Somehow I managed to make dinner (steak, mashed potatoes and grilled veggies, mind you!) for six people and then sit at the table with everyone, feed myself and feed Carson all at the same time. What the heck did I do with myself before I had a little rug rat......oh, wait - I remember now. RELAX! Regardless, it was a great weekend.

My parents were more amazed by all of our baby gadgets than by my multi-tasking abilities. The hand-cranked swing they put me in pales in comparison to the battery-powered one we have. They said their version used a jack-in-box-like mechanism. I didn't pop up and out of the swing, per say, but I did sway back and forth a bit until coming to a stop, patiently waiting for another "crank."

Me and my Diaper Champ, vibrating bouncy seat, battery-powered swing, aloe-infused wipes and video monitor are humbled!

Say, "Cheeeeese!!!"

It's Carson...I don't know what has gotten in to Mommy, but she must have dressed up as a professional photographer for Halloween. These close-ups are getting ridiculous!