Mr. Photogenic

Handsome little guy, isn't he!?!?

Everyday Moments

He's so content when his belly is full and he can just play :)

Izzy and her headband... Arranged all by herself of course!

Making monkey bread with dad

Hanging with mom on a Jammie Saturday.

These three think it's so funny to b me in the crib together!!  I must admit, I think they're pretty cute too :)

9 Month Update

How is this kid already 9 months old!?!?  We love this soft and squishy little dude so much!  The 'baby' in him is getting harder and harder to see each day... 

Carson is a very happy, very content, very smiley little guy.  His giggles are pretty easy to get, and he is very ticklish. Big smiles come out whenever he peeks around the corner at one of us, when he looks in the mirror, and when he sees food.  I also LOVE picking him up from daycare--he jumps up and down in Kris's arms and I get an ear-to-ear smile.  Cooper still seems to get his very best smiles and giggles!

The biggest excitement this month was Carson learning to crawl forward.  He'd been stuck in reverse for weeks, and finally figured it out!!  He was lured by remote controls and musical toys :). Now he is a crawling machine, getting into everything... Earning himself the name 'Baby Godzilla.'  Crawling has opened up a whole new world for him... He is even happier and more content than he's always been.  He also can get himself from laying to crawling to sitting, and just once, he pulled up to standing by the couch.  Otherwise, he has absolutely zero interest in standing on his own two feet.  I think he's just a bit of a lazy little bum for now.

His current favorites include watching Homer (grandma and grandpa Kalal's dog), swinging in the yard or at the park, crunching paper (weirdo!!), sitting up and splashing and kicking during bath time, and smacking his hands on the kitchen floor.  

Carson likes to babble, and is just starting to make some real sounds.  A whiny 'maaaamaaaaa' was what I count as his first word:).  It seems mama only comes out when he's whining or when I've left the room!  A few dada's have also popped out:)  Cooper is DYING for Carson to say 'Cooper.'  He keeps trying to have him say 'Coo Coo.'  No luck yet! Carson tecognizes his name, and he recognizes all of our voices... I think he's starting to get the hang of a few baby signs, too!  He has a FIERCE 'no' head shake.  It's hilarious and extremely frustrating at the very same time.

For monthly stats, he's in 12-month clothes, just into size 4 diapers, weighs 21 lbs. 3 oz. (76%ile), is 28.5 in tall (57%ile), and his big brains take up 47.1 cm (95%ile).  We have some big-headed, smart babies!!!  He nurses four times a day (sometimes 5) and eats two baby food meals a day.  He sleeps about ten or eleven hours a night and takes one good nap of 2-3 hours.  Carson is still inconsistent with night wakings... But is sitting at about 50/50 :). If he wakes, I end up feeding him to get back to sleep.

Carson looooves to eat food... His favorites are squash and pears, but he eats pretty much anything.  He really likes to be able to feed himself... He does well with finger foods, but I don't like to get too adventurous yet since he still has no teeth.  His favorite finger foods are Brocolli and graham crackers.  He is certainly trying our determination, because he's less and less interested in baby food purees and more and more interested in finger foods.  But with a pretty  limited 'menu,' he doesn't end up getting a full meal in by finger food just yet.

This little boy has stolen my heart.  He is the sweetest, softest little snuggler, and a total Mommy's boy.  His cheeks are getting smaller, so I try to cover them in kisses every chance I get :)

We love you, little Carson.  Would you please stop growing so fast!?!?!?!

Happy Halloween!!

IWhat a blast this Halloween turned out to be!!  Cooper wanted to dress as Miles the astronaut from 'Miles from Tomorrowland,' Izzy wanted to be Izzy the pirate from 'Hake and the Neverland Pirates,' and Carson was the cutest little zebra in history.

We kicked off the festivities with the annual ECFE Costume Party.  The favorite activity of the night was playing in the Glow Room :)

We carved Jack-o-Lanterns... Jeremy was afraid of the goo as usual, and has now passed that fear onto Cooper

And then we made lots of pre-Halloween visits:

Halloween night... Lots of trick or treating and LOTS of candy!!

Carson's first Halloween!

MEA Weekend Fun

When dad's away, we PLAY!!  Jeremy headed up north to go fishing over MEA weekend, and we decided to go have some fun!!!

First, we met some friends at Jumps and Downs.  Cooper and Izzy had a blast jumping and running around, and Carson actually loved his first experience in a bounce house.

He didn't really love the balls, but I think he looks so cute and funny!

Riding the bouncy horse

This little but and her silly face...

Bombs Away!

Cooper's favorite was playing air hockey.

The next day, we played at the Children's Museum for hours.  Grandma Lori came along for her first trip.  This time, Cooper's favorite activity was the 'factory' where he sent foam bricks up the conveyor belt with some other kids.  He also loved the boat racing.  Izzy loved having her face painted and petting the therapy dogs that were visiting that day.  Carson loved watching everyone!!  He also loved a few well-placed mirrors that he kept making huge smiley faces into :)

Cooper told Izzy to get off because she was getting too heavy.  

Smiley boy!

Little worker bees

She did her own makeup!

Grandma and her babies

Getting kisses from the dogs

Boat racing 

Sliding fun!

Izzy is THREE!!!

 Our little lady is three!!   We celebrated her birthday on Sunday, and she loved being the center of attention :)

She picked Hello Kitty for her party theme, and enjoyed the company of aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas and cousins.  Her favorite presents are a Hello  Kitty umbrella and a new bike!

She was so excited when it was raining on Tuesday so she could use it...

She took a few laps around the kitchen island...

Out spunky and sassy girl has a very contagious happy disposition.  Although she can turn her pouting off and on like a switch, she is usually very happy-go-lucky and smiley.  

She loves the color purple, spaghetti, and wearing fun shoes.  There isn't a project she'll pass up, and her patience for fine motor activities is pretty incredible.  She's a little smartie pants.  When asked to count to ten at her well-visit this week, she counted in Spanish.  Her vocabulary is out of this world for a three year old, and the words and phrases that come out of her mouth amaze us nearly every day.

Her hair is getting long, and it makes her look older and like a young lady (faster than in ready for!)... Her crazy night and early morning hair is pretty memorable though!

The girl is a putz.  She takes a long time to do pretty much everything.  She rarely spends less than an hour at the table for meals, she insists on putting her own shoes on and then whines when she can't do it, and she gets very distracted when she's supposed to be busy doing something we told her to.  Ah, the life of a three year old!

She still looks like a spitting image of her grandma Lori.  She definitely got the Seurer eyes.  She is turning into a beautiful little lady!

Izzy seems to get everyone to like her instantly.  She knows just how to be cute and say cute things at the perfect times.  Just tonight, I was scolding her for something, and she walked up to me, mid-sentence, grabbed my face, and gave me a sweet gentle kiss on the cheek.  She then did the exact same thing to Carson.  She knew she was in trouble, but also knew just what to do to soften me!!

Although she has a spunky and sassy side, we wouldn't change a thing about her.  She is such a special little girl!!

I am excited to what being three has in store for her!!