B-man rolled over today!

And guess who was next to him when he did?!

Brady's 4-month stats

Weight - 17.1 pounds (90%)
Height - 26 inches (90%)
HC - 41.6 (50%)

My sweet boy is a tank!

Carson-speak

"Yeah, Carson. I do it!"
"Buckle up, Daddy."
"You hear dat guitar? I hear the guitar, too."
"I eat chicky nuggets, Baa-baa. Chicky nuggets so good."
"We don't go in Coo-Coo's house. No-no, we don't do that."
"The moon too high. I can't weach it. Mommy can't weach it. Daddy can't weach it. Bwardy can't reach it."
"Yummy to Carson's tummy."

I'll try to get some of these on tape. They truly are priceless!

The Farm

"Ride tractor. Ride combine. Ride hor-wheeler." This is all we heard come out of Carson's mouth after returning from a weekend at my parent's house a few weekends ago. There's something about the harvest air that makes me smile. And speaking of smiles, I'm not sure who had more fun, Carson or my dad. (It's a good thing that Brady loves his Baa-baa, or she might have felt left out -- the boys spent nearly the entire weekend outside.) See for yourself.....

Contrary to popular belief, I am alive.

I returned to work on October 4th and have since....disappeared really. I don't think I've checked my Yahoo account in the last two weeks. I haven't gotten groceries outside of quick stops at Walgreens for milk, formula and diapers. I haven't put away one single load of laundry and have been pulling clean clothes for Carson and Brady directly out of the dryer. I haven't cooked a meal for my family. I haven't been home before 10pm, and when I have, I've been on my computer from 8:30 PM - midnight. I haven't tucked my boys in to bed 4 of the last 10 business days. I worked from 8 AM - 10:30 PM on my birthday.

I have worked a hell of a lot. Welcome back, Trish.

Brothers, for sure.

Brady 3.5 months



Carson 3.5 months

"That so easy." (CER 2-yr stats)

We veered slightly from the "at-home-mom" routine to which we've become accustomed. Today, Nate took Brady to school (as a trial-run for Monday -- MY FIRST DAY BACK TO WORK!) and I took Carson to his 2-year check-up. It's been months since I've been alone with Carson. And to celebrate the reuniting of our former duo, I got him milk and cookies from Starbucks when I picked up my morning cup of Joe. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed his morning "treat" because as we drove to Dr. Hartman's office he kept saying, "Mommy and Carson's treats sooooo good, Mommy!"

Carson did really well at the doctor, except for his shots, of course. After what seemed like a few hundred tears and a handful of Thomas the Train stickers for his bravery, Nurse Kay hit the red "That was easy." button as we walked out the door. Carson smiled and looked out at everyone in the waiting room and said with a sniffle, "That so easy, Mommy."

Height: 37 1/4" (97%)
Weight: 33 lbs 14 oz (95%)
HC: 49.6 (70%)

(I snapped this picture this morning on our way to the doc.)

Hog

Yes, Carson is still an attention-hog. :)

Cupcake Day - 9.29.10

Since we had birthday cake this weekend with family, we decided to celebrate Carson's actual birthday with cupcakes. The "wed icing" was a request from Carson, as were the french fries, brats and carrots we had for dinner. :)

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy!

Happy Birthday (Party), Carson!

We celebrated Carson's 2nd birthday with family this weekend. Our little ham thoroughly enjoyed his cake, opening presents and quality time with both sets of grandparents, Uncle Creep & Aunt Carrie and Luke. As the night came to an end, he eagerly hugged everyone and told them all "Tank you! You're welcome!" for spoiling him rotten. (I can't believe my kiddo will be two years old on Wednesday. How the hell did this happen?!?)


(A quick family pic before the festivities began.)


(One of Carson's favorite gifts!)

Updates

Brady: He's getting so big! This weekend he enjoyed talking to anyone within ear-shot, smiling at himself in the mirror and sitting in his Bumbo.


Carson: He's bilingual. Well, sort of. After playing in the park on Friday afternoon, we headed to El Maguey for dinner. As we finished up our meal Carson yelled out, "Hola!" Not kidding.

We have made a habit of sitting Carson on his "Carson toilet" before bath time each night. He usually just pees a bit and then hops up and clasps his hands while saying, "Yeah, Carson!!!" Last night he left a little something extra in the potty. He may not be telling us when he has to go throughout the day, but at least he thinks it's fun to sit on the potty, show results and then flush them down "Daddy's toilet" each night.

(As you can see, Carson, too, confirmed he is still able to sit in the Bumbo seat.)

Inventive

Carson seems to be finding new places to store (or should I say display!) his toys.

Five years and counting!

Nate and I were married five years ago Friday. To celebrate, we spent the weekend in Hermann, Missouri at the Hermann Hill Riverbluff Cottages. After a day of walking around Hermann, touring Hermannhof Winery, scoping out the ancient Gasconade courthouse and drinking micro-brews at Tin Mill Brewing Company, we napped and headed out for dinner at The Cottage and drinks at The Bank Bar at Schiller. We had so much fun but rolled out of the B&B at 7:30a on Sunday to get back to the boys. Who wants to guess what most of our conversations were about while we were away - THE BOYS! Needless to say, we missed our rug rats but were thankful that Baa-baa and PawPaw held down our fort.

Now...


...and then.


The view from our cottage.


Hermannhof Winery

Whirlwind Weekend

Saturday: ILL-INI! Nate and I went to the Mizzou/Illinois football game sans the boys. (Thank you, Gma, for watching the boys!) It was a great game, though unfortunately, Mizzou won. MU Alumni Nate was thrilled with the outcome, however.

Sunday: We trekked it to Eckert's with the Brummonds for apple-picking and kiddie rides/activities. Carson loved it all. He's seriously happiest when he's in the middle of a crowd taking it all in. I'm pretty sure he cried every time we had to pull him from a ride, out of the jumperoo, off the blow-up slide, etc. The only reason he left Eckert's without throwing a fit was because we promised him we'd go out to eat. And he followed through in true Carson-fashion and shoveled in at least 30 french fries at Red Robin.)

Monday: We played outside all morning and ended the day with dinner at our neighbor's house. (Yummy ribs, Carters!) The kids played while the adults visited.

WHAT A BUSY WEEKEND!


Such a little ham!


Reaaaaachhhh, Buggy!


Enjoying the "fruits" of his labor.


Take me home, please. I need a nap!

My heart melted.

I am finding that my favorite day of the week is Wednesday -- it's the day of the week I'm alone with both boys. (Sorry, Nate - I'm selfish when it comes to boy-time!) Yesterday, Carson brought me Max's House and proceeded to climb on to my lap while saying, "Read to you, Mommy." (Brady was laying on his Boppy pillow next to me.) As I began to read the book to both boys, Carson reached over and grabbed Brady's hand.

Carson held Brady's hand throughout the entire story.

Happiest Baby on the Block (Well, sort of.)

Brady is a smiling fool these days. Over the weekend we hosted the 3rd annual Kabobfest at our house, so he had plenty of time to strut his stuff. (And speaking of strutting, Carson is an attention-monger. God help his future classmates!)

After a busy weekend, I thought that Brady seemed a bit "off" on Monday afternoon. I ended up taking him to Urgent Care. After three attempts to draw enough blood for the necessary tests, a catheter for a urine sample and lots of poking and prodding, he was diagnosed with thrush and a serious case of diarrhea. Brady and I returned home at 2 AM on Tuesday morning after having spent 6 hours at the hospital.

Despite all the "yuck" associated with a trip to St. Anthony's, Brady managed to smile at every nurse, doctor and lab tech in the joint.

Brady is my BFF.

We hold hands numerous times throughout the day. :)

11-Man

The 11-Man was what we called the gi-normous "shit-box-of-a-house" we (me and 10 of my closest sorority sisters) lived in my senior year at the University of Illinois. In true 11-Man fashion, we all decided to get together for a (many!) cold beer in honor of our 10-year reunion. I left the boys at home and flew to Chicago on Saturday for an afternoon Cubs game and a night out with the girls. We spent most of the game laughing, drinking and eating. (I know the Cubs played the Braves, though I only know that the Chubs won compliments of a text from Nate!)

After the game we hit a few bars; before hitting the third bar, my friend Kathy and I decided to call it quits. We were both sure it was at least midnight, but looked at our watches and realized it was only 9:30 PM. (We're both new moms. That should count for something, right?!)

I missed my boys but am glad I made the trip to the windy city. It was great to see you all, Ladies!!!

Brady 2-Month Stats

Brady has really come in to his own! He's started to smile (with his entire face!) and now coos to try to get our attention. I wondered how I was going to be able to love a second child as much as I love Carson, and now I know how. It's effortless...there is more than enough room in my heart for you, Brady. I love you more than you know, sweet boy!

Weight: 12 lbs 9.5 oz (75%)
Height: 24" (90%)
HC: 39.3 cm (50%)


(Brady's eye-balling his Paw-Paw, who is just over my left shoulder!)

ABC, it's easy as 123.

I'm working on getting Baa-Baa Black Sheep, Mom. This will have to do for now.

"I puke."

We went over to our friends today for play time, and while Carson is 3 years younger than Sophie, he tried his hardest to keep up with her. They played in Sophie's room, in the play room, outside, on the swing set, in the side yard. You get the picture. We ended up taking off around noon because Carson was suddenly lethargic. (Over-heated from being outside? Worn out from 3 straight hours of playing?)

On our way home, I turned around to see Carson dozing off in his car seat. His eyes sort of rolled in to the back of his head...and...wait for it...he puked...three or four times actually. The puke was all over the place - it completely saturated his clothes, his car seat, was inside my bag, in the basket I keep between the seats (that houses Wet Ones, Goldfish, an extra diaper for each boy, an empty sippy, an annoying toy that makes sounds, etc.), in his shoes, in his hair - EVERYWHERE.

We pulled over and yanked him out of his car seat. The poor kid said with a whimper, "Mommy, I puke." I replied, "I know, Buddy. Let's go home."

:(

Green-eyed Monster

Signs of jealousy, no?

Goodnight GorillGa

He's close.

(almost) Two going on 20!

Carson has quite the social calendar....on Saturday morning, we all ventured to a local Farmer's Market. While munching on a sample of beef jerky, Carson said, "Yummy, durky. Oh, so yummy!" The guy selling the jerky asked us how old he was. When I told him Carson was not yet two, the guy said, "Wow, he seems so old and is full of personality." Yep.

Carson later proceeded to make friends with some lady walking her dog through the market. This is what followed:

Carson - "Doggy! Touch doggy? Carson touch doggy?"
Lady - "Sure, Honey. You can touch her. She's friendly."
Carson - "Whoo-hoo. Doggy kickle (tickle). Doggy kickle (tickle) Carson's hand."
Lady - "You sure are a big boy, Kid."
Carson - "Tank (thank) you. Have good day!"

At yesterday's annual Green Jacobson pool party, one of Nate's co-workers said, "That little boy is two going on 20!" This statement was appropriate due to Mr. Personality's need to talk to everyone in attendance, though it missed the mark when Carson melted down after two hours of showing off.

And what did Brady do this weekend? He chilled in his car seat while we were out and about and cried out maybe once!

Guilty Pleasures

Mommy is addicted to Bravo. (Isn't Bethenny's Jason the nicest guy?! And I also like internet connectivity. My internet has been jacked up for the last 11 days!)

Carson enjoys a McDonald's chocolate shake now and then, particularly on the way home from school.


Brady likes to eat.


And Nate loves Mike and Ikes, Hershey bars and Icees. (And since Carson loves whatever his dad loves, Carson loves the above, too. :)

Hallelujah!

Brady's turned the corner, and by that, I mean he doesn't scream 90% of his waking hours. Whoo-hoo...life with two kids isn't that bad after all. ;)

Brady - 1 Month Stats

22 1/2 inches - 90%
10 lbs 8 oz - 75%
37.6 inch head circumference - 50%

Let's compare composite photos (I haven't use the words "composite photo" since I was in college getting sorority pictures!):

CARSON (one month and a day after gracing us with his presence)


BRADY (one month and a day after gracing us with his presence)

Tyrant

Brady is one.


He doesn't like any of the following:
bouncy seat
pacifier
swing
tummy time
play mat
diaper changes
riding in the car
napping during the day
hanging out

There are no options other than what I've listed above, Kid.

(This is how Carson deals with Brady in the car.)

"Bwady's cwyin', Momma."

Either I have the smartest toddler on the planet, or my infant cries so much during the day that if his big brother utters the words, "Brady's crying, Momma.", there is a strong possibility BRADY IS CRYING and Carson has accurately described the situation at hand.

WTF?! I thought it was supposed to be easier the second time around? And what's going on below?

Identity Crisis

Carson has a ton of toys in his playroom, though he chose to play with these: