Carson-isms

1.) When we were checking out at Wal-mart yesterday, I mentioned to Nate just how much stuff we had in our over-flowing cart. He said, "Ya, we have so many groceries I'm going to be broke. Carson, are you broke?"

"No, Dad. I'm not broke. I'm fixed."

2.) When I was putting Carson down for his nap, he gave me a hug and said, "I like you so much, Mom. Too much to talk about."

3.) The rain does a number on our mulch, so after every storm, we have to go outside and sweep mulch off of the drive-way. I was doing this a few days ago when Carson said to me, "Good job with the mulch, Mom. I 'preciate it."

Strong like bull.

Brady could win a "strongest baby" contest if we entered him. He's been crawling now for 2-3 weeks and is now on to bigger and better things, like: climbing up the stairs, pushing his activity center across the floor, dancing by anything he can pull himself next to, pushing away from me when I'm holding him (He looks like he's climbing on to my head!)...the kid is fearless. Carson better toughen up, because B-man is comin' for him!




(Brady's First "Accessory" Casualty)

"Talk about my day."

Nate and I were talking about work over dinner when Carson interjected, "What are you guys talkin' 'bout?" We both said, "Work." at the same time. He let us go on for a few minutes before shouting, "Talk about my day. Ask me!" We followed orders and here was his response:

"Today I played with tractors, trucks, fire engines and trains. I rode Camden's tricycle, Henry's tricycle, Will's tricycle....and......Drake took my car from me."

I quickly reminded him that he didn't go to school today but was instead home with Brady and me, and that we played outside, went on a wagon ride and bought a Caterpillar bulldozer at Wal-mart for - outside digging - as Carson puts it. He looked at me and said "Oh?!?"

A story-teller, he is.....a spoiled little man he is, too. Check out his new back pack.

Dance Party

Carson loved to dance (and still does) when he first learned to pull up. It looks as if Brady is following in his foot-steps. (Let me remind you that Brady first crawled a week ago. Two days later, he began pulling up and cruising on anything he can get his little hands on/around.) Go, Brady!

Brady's crawling!

It's been a long time coming, but Brady has finally figured it out. He isn't crawling all over the place, but he will venture out a few feet at a time. Yeah, Brady!!! (Now....on to walking. Lugging around a 27 pound 11-month old is taking a toll on my back. Ouch!)

Imagination Train

Carson built this "train" this morning while Nate and I were getting ready for work. His green chair is the "engine" and the baskets are the "rail cars." As you can see, he's using the TV remote as his "engine controller." (All of the words in quotes are straight from Carson's mouth!) As we left the house, he said, "Don't wreck my train, Mom. It's going to wait for me while I'm at school today."

Our little man has quite the imagination.

Oh, how I love these two!

Mother's Day 2011

I had a wonderful Mother's Day (weekend) with my boys! My favorite part of the weekend -- a family walk/wagon ride Saturday afternoon, followed by a trip to Sonic for some very kid-friendly grub, topped off by a stop at our local ice cream shack. (I think this "adventure," as Carson calls it, will be one we'll take a lot this summer! :)

I cherish the time I spend with my little rug rats and Nate. We are making such great memories, ones that I will keep with me forever. (And thanks, Mom, for making such wonderful memories with us when we were little. They are irreplaceable!)


We met Nate's parents and Greg, Carrie, Luke and Laura for brunch on Sunday. Eating out is always chaotic with 4 under 2 and 1/2, but that's our life these days. : )


It will be years before we are all smiling at the camera!


Oh, B-man.

Weekend Rendezvous

We had a great weekend in Hermann, our new favorite Saturday night getaway...

1.) It's one hour from our house and is ridiculously quaint. I'm in love with it because I get that "small town" feel when I'm there.

2.) We have managed to find the best B&B in town, Haus Wineries at The Inn at Hermannhof. We recommend the Brahms suite in the Berger Grass Haus Winery.

3.) We have befriended the owners of The Bank Bar at Schiller and feel like we are welcomed by close friends every time we return there.

4.) We love Three California Vineyards within Hermannhof. They have fabulous Cab, Shiraz and Chardonnay that is born, raised and bottled in California and then shipped to Missouri via the Dierberg family.

5.) You can't go wrong with a bottle of Hermannhof Vineyard's Norton, Genoa summer sausage, creamy Havarti, an apple and fresh baked wheat bread.

Thank you Papa Mo, BaaBaa, Aunt Brookie and Missy for hanging out with the boys while we were gone. The boys miss you already!

Ma-ma

He's on a roll...Brady said this to me this morning while we were playing!

Easter Weekend

We....took off Good Friday and played with the boys, headed to El Agave on Friday night for dinner, weathered horrible storms and tornadoes that wrecked parts of north St. Louis and the airport, headed to Washington for errands on Saturday morning, went to Aunt Carrie and Uncle Creep's for fresh fish that Uncle Creep and Uncle Boog caught that afternoon, walked to get ice cream with the Ross crew after dinner and ended up getting caught in the rain (the boys loved it!), Skyped Baa-Baa and Papa Mo on Sunday morning after an egg hunt around our house, enjoyed a huge meal at Gma and Gpa's before another Easter egg hunt, played in the puddles with Luke, blew bubbles and road the Zuma. And finally, baths and bed for all after one fun-filled, family-packed, yet rainy and cold Easter weekend. Whew.

Rain boots were a necessity this weekend.


I didn't intend on an action shot, but this is what I got!


Brady loves to wrestle with his daddy.


You almost have it, Brady!

Da-da

He said it this morning as I was changing his diaper.

Likes Peas and Carrots

They are finally starting to hang out together!

Brady's 9 mo stats (late again!)

Weight - 24 lbs (97%)
Height - 97% (I lost the spec sheet and can't remember anything other than his percentile.)
HC - NO CLUE....I did remember to bring Brady home with me, so that's good.

Carson's 9 mo Stats
Weight - 22 lbs. 12.5 oz (85%)
Height - 30" (95%)
HC - 45.6 cm (55%)

For Bowen

What's up?

Since my last post....

1) I was in the hospital for extreme dehydration after days of the flu. I'm better now though!

2) Brady has had two ear infections, though you wouldn't know it. The kid is the happiest baby on the block - he eats well, sleeps well, loves his bath, smiles and giggles throughout the day, loves to sit by his brother and is still a mama's boy. Too bad he isn't crawling yet. His 25 lbs of girth is whipping my "summer arms" in to shape!

3) Carson has had the flu and battled a cold. After 4 missed days of day care and a persistent 100 degree fever, he's finally back to carrying on adult-like conversations with who ever will listen.

4) Nate was sick. He is NEVER sick! He's still battling a bad cold but is on the mend.

5) My parents visited us. (My dad actually held down the fort at our house while I was on an IV drip and Nate was taking care of me - THANK YOU, Papa Mo!)

6) Carson has become quite the little helper. When I pulled out my carpenter-grade tape measure to see how large our great room was, Carson was in-toe with his mini-version tape measure. Minutes later Carson decided to measure the back of the couch. When I asked him what it measured, he said, "Five toes." I was like, "Five toes? Oh, my goodness. You mean five feet. It's feet, Baby." Too cute!

7.) Nate settled a major case he was working on, so Daddy is around more and less stressed.

8.) We booked a trip to Florida this summer! Nate and me, the boys and my parents are going to load up the Yukon in August and head to the beach for an entire week. We're so excited!!!

9.) I deactivated my Facebook account. It really isn't all it's cracked up to be. Who really cares what acquaintances (at best!) are having for breakfast anyway?

10.) We bought a gi-normous swing set for the boys. It's still a work-in-progress, though Nate and his dad made major strides yesterday. I can't wait to see the look on Carson's face when we cut him loose on it!

3 (pees) + 2 (poops) = (high) 5

We're getting there! Potty training has not really been a challenge for us...yet that is. We have yet to put undies on Carson and head out for the day, but we have rolled sans diaper and in a t-shirt only for the last two days. I'm happy to report I haven't had to clean up any messes! Here's the catch - Carson literally pees 15 times a day on the potty. He hasn't quite mastered "holding it" or "letting it build up." Hence the millions of "itty-bitty-teeny-weeny pees," as he calls it.

Cutie Pie

I may not be crawling, but so what. I have my mom wrapped around my finger, and I'm pretty sure she'll carry me forever if needed.

Carson-isms

"I'm eating these green beans like a monkey eats bananas!" Seriously? For you grammar buffs, yes, that's a simile.

BaaBaa - "What's your mom's name?"
CER - "Trish Ross"
BaaBaa - "What's your dad's name?"
CER - "I'm not sure. I think it might be Nate."

"Daddy says, NO. Mama says, YES." Right on, little man.

"Mommy, I will take care of you. I am a doctor. Now let me kiss your forehead." Carson said this to me after I explained to him that I couldn't carry both him and Brady up the stairs at the same time because my back hurt. Sweet boy.

"Mom, don't freak out." I'm sure this had to do with some sort of mess he made. : )

Howdy!

Brady is getting so big (literally and developmentally!). He now drinks from a sippy cup, devours any type of grain he's given (crackers, cookies, Mum-Mums, Puffs, graham crackers, etc.), and tries to wave when he hears the words "bye-bye."

It's exciting, but....sniffle, sniffle. Who stole my newborn?

Three's a Crowd

(more) Carson-isms

"I'm a man to do this." Carson said this to me as he lugged a 3/4 full milk jug to me from the fridge.

"I want candy canes, marshmellows, tacos, hot dogs and bread." This is what you get when you ask a toddler what they want for dinner.

"You have Cripes, Mom?!" It was taking me forever to pull on to the highway from our house, so I said under my breath, "Oh, Cripes!" I erupted in laughter at Carson's reaction to my frustration. Then I responded, "Yes, Honey, I have Cripes." At least he didn't ask me to further explain.

Brady has a tooth! (teeth, actually)

Brady's lower left, front tooth is in! His right front tooth is right behind it. The kid who never throws a fit was slightly fussy the last few weeks, so I knew something was up. And then...his first tooth magically appeared. No wonder he's doing so well with Ritz crackers - lots of slobber to soak up the starch!

Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show

Or, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, as Carson would say. Last night Carson and I had our first ever date night! We went to see a Disney production at Chaifetz Arena with my friend, Heather, and her little boy, Brodie. Both boys shoveled in popcorn until they nearly burst. Carson of course had to have candy, too, so he rounded off his popcorn "dinner" with Skittles. My little man did really well -- we only had to get up once to burn off some energy. (Dancing in the lobby was fun!) Other than that, he sat through the entire show, clapped when Mickey needed applause and thanked me for taking him when we walked to our car at the end of the night.

I can't wait for our next date!

Carson-isms

"Mom, you're pretty." He says this every time I put on make-up and dry my hair. Hmmm, what does he think I look like on weekends or when I work from home?!

"Guys, get out of my bed. This is my bed." He said this to Nate and me this weekend when we piled in to his bed as Papa Mo was reading him his bedtime story.

"Brady, it's alright. I'm here, Honey." He says this every time Brady let's out the slightest whimper. And sure enough, Brady always smiles when Carson magically appears.

"Can I have a Skittle? I'm a good boy." I once told Carson that Skittles where for "good boys." Nice to see he's put two and two together.

"Let me see the bottom of the bottle. There is still some in there." On the way to school on Monday, I was drinking a bottled water. Carson asked for a sip and I told him it was all gone, when in reality there were a few drinks left. I just didn't want to hand the bottle back to him and risk him spilling it all over the place. The kid can not be fooled; he called me out and asked to see the bottom of the water bottle!

Snow Days

I love them!