The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker

They all sailed out to sea! Check out my baker's chef hat...we were in the kitchen getting coffee this morning and returned to the living room to find this:

Carson somehow wrapped his head in his burpie!

Jolly Green Giant

Okay, so Carson isn't green, but he is definitely jolly and giant. This is what I have to report after today's 6-month check-up at the doctor:

Head Circumference - 43.9 centimeters (55%)
Height - 27 1/2 inches (90%)
Weight - 18 pounds 15 ounces (75%)

I am 6 months old today!

This is what it looked like outside my house today. What is that white stuff?

Tickle Monster

He attacks Carson every night before bath time.

Babydaddy

IS THERE ANY QUESTION!?!

(I have seen this look on Nate's face hundreds of times!)

There's a tear in my beer.

I actually shed one (a tear) last night while watching Carson and Nate play. Someone has obviously stolen my baby boy, because the kid who was playing with my husband was TOO DAMN BIG to be Carson.

I absolutely love seeing Carson change and learn new things, but a huge part of me is unable to comprehend the rate at which the changes are occurring. The change is exponential these days!

A sippy cup, what?! Repeating sounds back to me, what?! Watching TV while holding the remote, what?! Actually playing with a rubber ducky while taking a bath, what?! Turning the pages of a book while being read to, what?!

I forgot to mention...

...just how big I am getting. Yesterday I:

ate an entire jar of sweet potatoes and 2 tablespoons of rice and an 8 ounce bottle for dinner. (Amy, I now know what you mean about not being able to shovel it in fast enough! :)

drank a sip of water out of Daddy's cup while at El Maguey. Eating at a restaurant is so fun!

repeated "Ahhhh, boo!" back to Mommy when we were playing Peek-a-Boo.

wore shoes for the first time!

-CER

Grumpy Old Men

Mommy and I went to a baby shower this weekend. Daddy's cousin is going to have a baby girl in April, so we got to eat ice cream cake in her honor. Everyone kept talking about how big I am. I am nearly as big as my mommy! Take a look...


(Finally, a picture of Mommy and me!)


(I think Braeden wanted to go home.)


(Aunt Carrie is going to be a great mom - she makes me laugh all the time!)

Ode to Carson: Pictures

Veggies

What better way for Carson to celebrate his first St. Patty's Day than with a spoonful of green?!

"So Long, Farewell"

I think I have settled in to the working-wife-and-mommy role quite nicely, though I have really lost sight of one thing during the transformation - ME. I do look presentable every day for work - makeup, styled hair, accessories, perfume, etc. And I habitually load used bottles and dishes into the dishwasher every night, wash and fold baby laundry, pack the day care bag and put it by the front door, pick up the house before turning off the lights in the great room....blah, blah, blah. You get the picture. I do not, however, do the following anymore.....ever (Okay, rarely.): browse Target, get pedicures, read for pleasure, email friends, watch one consecutive hour of TV, work-out, write creative blogs, tinker with my home's decor, make meals that aren't processed.....

There are not enough hours in the day, Ladies.

Deep Thoughts, by Carson Ross

Mommy's a slacker, yet again, so here it goes...

GRAVILLE & ROSS, LLC - My daddy is starting his own law firm! When I get big I am going to go to law school, too. That way I can work with him every day in our office. How fun will that be?! I'll try to stay awake as long as I possibly can tonight to get more details on Daddy's new job. Once they put me in bed, I'm toast, so no promises. (They always save their "good" conversations after I'm asleep!)


Mommy and Daddy decided to get rid of our gravel driveway and put in something I can draw chalk pictures on and cruise around on the tricycle Aunt Brooke gave me. I can't wait to wear my blue flying pig helmet! (Guess I need to learn to walk first, huh?)


I rolled over on my own today! My left shoulder always seems to get in the way, but today, I swung my leg over fast enough to flip myself onto my tummy. It was so cool! Mommy was working from home, so she got to see me do it. I saved that one just for you, Mommy! : )


Oh, and I had bronchitis and an ear infection over the weekend. Dr. Laura gave me the yummiest pink medicine to take. The only hang-up is that it makes the skin under my chin stick to my chest. Gross!


And Grammie and Paw-Paw Flesner visited me this weekend! They spoiled me rotten, or at least that's what I heard Mommy tell Daddy on Sunday night. I know now that Mommy and Daddy could actually be holding me more than they do. Paw-Paw and Grammie had me in their arms all day long except for when I was napping or "wronging" my diaper. (That's a Daddy term. He says it every time I go #2.)




...I think that's it for now.

Love,
CER

Mud Butt

So, I have this....diarrhea! Mommy thinks it's funny to call it Mud Butt. (Not funny, Mommy.) I pretty much have blown out every poopy diaper I've had for the last couple of days. I'm not sure what's worse - the smell coming from my Diaper Genie or the giant amounts of A & D ointment being smeared on my butt every hour or so.

CER

Do they look alike?

You tell me. :)

More raspberries, please.

I am biased, I know, but this is adorable! Our son is learning to take his turn!

Whoo-hoo!

Grammie & Paw-Paw,

I can't wait to see you next weekend! Remind me to show you some of my tricks: bouncing in my Jumperoo, blowing raspberries, rolling over (Okay, so I can't do this just yet, but almost!), throwing down an entire bowl of rice cereal AND an 8 ounce bottle (I'm big!), grabbing my toes...I could go on, but I don't want to spoil everything I have planned for you.

XOXO,
CER

Sonar

Do you think baby dolphins will want to play with Carson after hearing this?

Week in Review

2nd Attempt at Cereal...umm, I don't think he likes it.


Introduction to the Jumperoo...Carson definitely likes this!



"Quality time" on Work-from-Home-Wednesday...Mommy likes this!



XOXO - Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!

Raspberry Baret

My prince can now blow raspberries!

Self-Imposed Milestones & Setbacks

Rice Cereal - 2.10.09
Guess what? I let Mommy feed me rice cereal last night. I spit out most of what she shoved in my mouth, but oh, well. Daddy was the camera man, which was probably a smart choice on his part - he was lucky enough not to get hit with the "spray" of food I shot out a couple of times. Anyway, I still ate an 8 ounce bottle after the cereal......suckers!



I have also decided to start waking up in the middle of the night. (I have been sleeping 9-10 hours uninterrupted for at least two months now, so this "new development" is really confusing Mommy and Daddy.) Two nights ago, I woke up at
3:30a and wouldn't go back to sleep until Mommy gave me a bottle. Last night I decided to wake up at 1:00a and 5:30a. And get this - they didn't come for me. What?! Get up! I cried for 20 minutes each time and nothing. I must be loosing my touch. I finally gave in and fell back to sleep on my own. How boring!

Feel the touch of a precious child...

...and know a mother's love." Move over Zac Brown Band. Meet the Nate Ross Band!



P.S. - I got tired of Cupid.
P.S.S - Amy, your "chicken fried" post inspired mine!

Doctor, Doctor, give me the news!

The Rosses are doctor-friendly this week...I have a giant band-aid on my big toe due to the removal of an ingrown toenail (How disgusting, I know. My only request to the podiatrist was: Don't you dare mess up my ability to wear OPI Red - it's a summer staple!) and Carson has three band-aids on his plump little legs due to his 4-month vaccines.

Carson's 4-Month Stats
Head Circumference - 42.3 centimeters (50%)
Weight - 16 pounds 7.5 ounces (80%)
Length - 26 inches (85%)

Thanks goodness for the 55 degree weather in the Lou this weekend - I can wear sandals and Carson can go pantless, so that our wounds can heal!

"Doctor, doctor, give me the news I've gotta bad case of lovin' you!"

Blue Man Group

The real Blue Man Group freaks me out. My blue men, however, are adorable! I took this picture this morning with my Blackberry before Nate and Carson headed off to school. Look at my boys' blue eyes - how sweet!

No More Fizz

Gone are the days of creative posts. (We can blame this on work.) I do not have enough brain cells to support PwC and Blogger. I've come to the conclusion that posting pictures and videos of my growing boy (sans clever commentary) is better than not giving family and friends a glimpse of Ross daily life. I feel like my parents need to see as many pictures as possible of Carson since they only see him once every couple of months, and my sister sees him a couple of times a year. (How did we get so spread out, Family!?!)

Bye-bye, PlayStation 3. Hello, Atari.



(This is what happens when I leave the boys alone - look at what Nate is teaching him to do while watching TV. Are you kidding me?!)


(Carson is learning new things!)

Ross House: Before and After

Work has really thrown a wrench into the machine, so to speak.

Laundry:
Used to be clean and put away
Is now dirty and all over the place

Dinner:
Used to be planned in advance and made from scratch
Is now processed and hardly nourishing

Carson's Toys:
Used to be put "in their place" after each use
Are now ticking time bombs for bare feet

Blog Posts:
Used to be creative, funny and frequent
Are now half-assed, ordinary and scarce

My Response to Personal Emails:
Used to be a day or two
Sucks - I'm not being selective; it's universal across the board.

Conversations with my Dad:
Used to be daily
Are now hit-or-miss if I'm able to pick up

Tolerance of Clutter:
I'm sorry; did you just say something? OCD Trish didn't hear you.
Is now through the roof

TV-watching:
Used to consume my evenings
Is now replaced by nightly baby chores

I could go on and on, but I won't. You get my drift!


(Neither Nate nor I went into the office today...we were snowed in!)


(Carson is learning to "smile" for the camera.)

Leasons Learned

TUESDAY - I got my butt, Carson's rump and my hubby's rear out of the house by 7:30AM, which allowed enough time for Nate and I to drop Carson off at school and grab a coffee at Panera, all before reaching work by 9:00 AM. Now, I'm fairly certain I'll have to drink even more coffee than I already do, wear extra concealer to hide my dark circles, and hold my eyelids open for pillow-talk with Nate, but all that is doable.

WEDNESDAY - I worked from home. It is not easy cranking out solid work product while entertaining your son; however, I will make this work. Seeing Carson roll over for the first time outweighs my lack of productivity while at home. (That's right - Carson rolled from his back to his tummy Wednesday afternoon!)

THURSDAY - Leaving clean clothes in the dryer for days on end until I have the time to fold them and put them away is acceptable. Spending time with my family takes precedent over a picked-up house.

FRIDAY - I no longer get up at 5:30 AM. The entire family gets up when Carson decides we should, which is normally around 6:30 AM. Nate and I spend the rest of the morning juggling what needs to be done until we're all three out of the house. Tag-teaming the morning's responsibilities makes for a more pleasant and less stressed Trish.

Heading back to work was really, really great for me. I was welcomed back with open-arms and realized just how much I missed my friends, adult conversation, work challenges, professional attire, etc. And Carson really does enjoy his "new" environment. He is certainly well on his way to winning over every adult, toddler and baby at school. What can I say, they love him!

My ability and capacity to love and care for my son (and my hubby) will not change because I'm a working mother.

The Ross Family's new routine is taking shape.

Bluto: TOGA! TOGA!

I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday night so that Mommy and Daddy could go to their friend's wedding in Kansas City. It was their first night away from me, and from what I can tell, Mommy and Daddy did great without me! I heard Mommy say that the last time she was up at 3:00 AM was when I was a tiny, little baby and had to eat in the middle of the night.

You know that movie, Animal House? I bet that's how Mommy and Daddy acted at the reception - out of control. Thank goodness I didn't have to watch.

Snap out of it!

Yesterday was Carson's first day at school. (I decided it best to do a dry run before next Tuesday.) To my surprise, I didn't shed a tear. I dropped my baby off, along with a laundry list of Carson-isms for the head teacher, and headed out for a day of errands.

After a venti Starbucks (to raise my spirits!) and a few errands, I called to check in - Carson was just fine. When I picked him up, Miss Kim said he had the best "first day" of any baby she has ever cared for. He didn't cry or fuss one time while away from me. (Not sure how that makes me feel.) What he did do was flash a toothless grin at anyone who would look his direction.

I know the saying goes, "If Momma's not happy, no one is," but I'd like to adjust it slightly - "If Carson's happy, Momma is."

And in response to the title of this post, I have.


(Carson's ready for school!)