Carson at 8 months

It's been a super long time since I've been on here! I was looking at the updates I put when he was 6 months old and how he has changed since then. We have his 9 month old appointment on November 6th. I asked my boss if I could leave a little bit earlier so I can be at his appointment too, she gave me the green light! So I get to be at his appointment with Travis and see how he has grown. :)

Here are some updates for now on Carson:

Besides his 2 bottom teeth, he has 4 top front teeth coming out! It’s so neat seeing him with all these teeth!

He sleeps through the night and wakes up around 5-6am to get his morning feeding. When I was with him for fall break, he would go back to sleep after that feeding and then get back up around 8am. When I have to go to work he has to stay up though.

Carson LOVES his sleep though and is very cranky when we have to get him up if he is still sleeping.

From a sitting position he can get down to his tummy. He crawls backwards. He is very mobile and loves getting into everything!

He can stand on his own when holding on to something.

He walks around the house with assistance from mom and dad. We hold his hands and he takes steps and walks. He is so eager to walk, but he doesn't have the balance to do it on his own.

He holds his bottle for the most part on his own. He wants to feed himself when he are giving him his fruits and veggies, but he would make a HUGE mess, so we still feed him.

He stares at us when we eat. He smacks his lips and sticks his tongue out when we have food.

We have tried giving him some finger foods, but he seems to gag when he tries to swallow it. This is something we will continue to work on.

He enjoys playing and likes to clap his hands. He likes playing peek-a-boo with us as well. He giggles at us when we make silly faces at him.

When he hears music, he "sings." He loves to make noises and at times it seems like he is really trying to tell us something...it's so cute!

He recognizes theme songs from t.v. shows. It's funny, the theme song will come on and then he will stop what he is doing and turn towards the t.v.

I just had my fall break and loved being able to spend my whole day with Carson. The last time I stayed with him for long periods of time all day long was when he was 5 months old. It was nice to be with him again and just see how he has grown.

Here is a video of our little munchkin. He is rocking on his knees and crawling backwards.

Short clip of Carson "driving."

What a crack up!

My mom wants a pic of Carson at 6 months. So I went with her & Carson to get a pic of him. There was a little girl (1 year old) with her family and they are going through their pictures. We are waiting for them to be done so Carson can get his pics done. Well he gets all giddy about this girl. He is just giggling and flapping his arms...lol...he is so girl crazy! My mom and I were just cracking up and so were the other people in the studio.

Sad to say though, he used all his smiles on her and we weren't able to get him to smile when it was his turn. Wish the photographer could have taken him while the little girl was there!

Here is a pic of him...all smiles!

6 months old

Well my baby boy is now 6 months old! We're halfway to a year old! At his 6 month old checkup he had to get 3 shots (2 shots in one leg!) My poor baby boy! Travis said he was tough though and quickly forgot about it. Carson now weighs 19 pounds and is 27 inches long. He is in the 90th percentile in both weight and height...our little chunky monkey.

I started back to work already! Our first babysitter for Carson didn't work out. But I found out that our neighbor across the street stays at home and watches a few kids. She has a 6 month old baby girl. Carson has been enjoying his time over there and he's happy. I feel so blessed to find someone that does so well with him. I feel at peace when I see him smiling when I drop him off and pick him up. Thank you Lord for finding a great person to watch Carson!

Here are some updates on Carson:

His first tooth is now all the way out.

He has a second tooth starting to pop out.

He is sitting up with support from his boppy pillow. He does a pretty good job for the most part of sitting up on his own. I just feel better with the boppy around him in case he falls.

He is babbling all the time. He loves to interact and smiles and laughs.

At bath time he loves to splash!!! He gets us wet from all his splashing!

He enjoys reaching for his toys that are around him and sticks everything in his mouth.

He is also scooting around when on his tummy.

He is such a joy and we love every moment we get to spend with him.

Prayers - Pics - Video

It's been a tough weekend for us. Last week (Wednesday), we tried out Carson's babysitter while I went to my school. When I went to pick him up, I could hear him crying. His babysitter said he has been crying for about an hour an a half! My poor baby had no voice for almost 2 days from all his crying. She said he did well in the morning but wouldn't stop crying after his nap. I know this is a big adjustment for him being away from me. It's going to take some time for him to adjust, but I know he can do it.

On Friday his sitter emailed me and said she doesn't think it's going to work with watching him. She says she can't provide him with the attention he needs while watching her 3 year old and a 4 year old. *sigh* So this weekend Travis and I have been searching for someone to watch him and no luck. We had an appointment today and we didn't feel comfortable with her. I've made a lot of calls and no one has gotten back with me.

I talked with Carson's sitter and she said she would watch him this week while we look for someone else. She says he is a sweet boy and she wants someone good for him too. She also mentioned that maybe he will adjust better this week and to us it seems like she is saying she would watch him then. So please keep us in your prayers. Pray that we will either find a great provider for Carson or that this one will end up working out. It's hard enough for me having to go back to work when I've been with him all summer. It's even harder going back to work knowing he is not happy.

Starting to sit up on his own and look at that innocent face.

With mommy.

Daddy giving him a sip of his water.

Carson trying to feed himself.

Carson is laughing at the "b" sound. Hollee, this reminded us on how Malachi laughed at the "z" sound. Too funny!

Moving on to Stage 1 Foods

We have now venture to eating stage 1 foods. We have only done vegetables so far. I'm excited to start introducing him to fruit. I can only imagine his expression when he eats something sweet. So far he has eaten green beans, peas, carrots, and squash. He has enjoyed all of them so far. The only time he didn't eat it is when I had to heat up leftovers. He doesnt like it warmed up. When I started feeding him, I would have to tell Carson to open his mouth and I would show him what to do. Now Carson opens his mouth without me telling him to...lol...he sees the spoon and opens his mouth. He cracks me up! :) I was going to post a video of him doing this...but it won't let me for some reason. I'll try to get another video of him doing it and try to post it. Here is a pic of him enjoying carrots though. Have a great day!

Carson "talking"

Here is a clip of Carson in his high chair making noises. I also got him to say da-da-da-da. He's a pretty funny guy.

Eating Rice Cereal

Here is Carson doing better at eating his rice cereal. He loves to grunt while eating. I think he is telling me to hurry up! :) I'm enjoying all the new moments with him. He is now saying da-da A LOT! Travis is lovin' it!!! Carson also waved to us today! I'm trying to work on getting him to say da-da on camera and the wave.

"New" Favorite Toy

Carson has been loving his jumparoo! Before he would just sit in there and play with the toys...never bounce. Now he LOVES bouncing in it. Here is a clip of him enjoying his toy.

We also decided to buy Carson a Bumbo. Here are a few pics of him trying it out for the 1st time.

Carson's Appt. and More

Carson had his 4 mo. check-up this past Friday. He is now 26 inches long and 17 lbs. 10 oz.! He did a good job at his appt. and was all smiles (until his shots). His doctor said we need to work on more tummy time and/or have him sitting upright. His head is starting to get a little flat for being on his back too much. We have been trying to do tummy time but he hates it! Before he would hold himself up for awhile. Now he puts his hands off to his sides and his face goes into the ground. It's fustrating for him and me. I keep putting his hands back to the front and as soon as I do that, his hands are back to his sides. So that is something we're going to keep working on. The doctor said he can start having rice cereal too. I tried that today and that was messy! He keeps pushing it out with his tongue. He likes grabbing his spoon too. Our little man is wearing 6-9 month clothing! Oh my! He likes to grab his bottles now when we feed him. His laugh is very contagious and he is just so darn cute! Last week we started to put him in his crib in his own room. That was hard for us! He has been doing pretty well with it though. He is starting to show his personality more and is just so fun to play with. Below are some more pics.

Writing on daddy's envelope.

Was fighting to take his nap. As soon as we put bear bear next to him, he was out!

With daddy on Father's Day.

Making a mess with rice cereal.

Such a cute grin!

Update

• Carson turned 4 months old!
  

• He is now eating 5 oz. every 2 hours!



• Carson went inside my parent's pool for the 1st time.



• We had friends come from Ohio to visit us for 2 weeks.



• We went to the Grand Canyon in one day...talk about a long day!



• Travis finally took a vacation from work (one week).



• I'm now on summer vacation.



• Found out I will be teaching 2nd grade next school year.

• Travis got a promotion!



• We went bowling and I almost beat my score of 154, bowled a 150.



• Travis bowled a 194 his last game because he was determined to beat our highest scores of the day.



• We need to start looking for someone to watch Carson when I start back to school.

Here are a few recent pics:

Super Busy

Since I've gone back to work I've been super busy! All my extra time is spent with Carson and cooking dinner. I miss having the whole day with him. I haven't been taking as many pics since I've been back to work either. *sigh* Well I have 5 more weeks of school then summer will be here! Shannon (my sister-n-law) will be with us for 3 weeks watching Carson for us during the day. That is a huge relief!!! It's nice having family being able to be with him while mommy & daddy are at work.

Carson had his 2 month appointment and weighs 13 lbs 10 oz!!! He is getting so big! He is such a cutie though and a trooper. He had to get 2 shots, one in each leg. The first shot he did a little cry and then stopped, but the 2nd shot surprised him and he let out a big cry...poor baby. He did pretty well while at home though and was smiling again, so that was nice. Carson is holding is head up on his own for long periods of time. He does pretty good on his tummy, but doesn't like to stay on it for too long. He is still exploring his hands and loves to suck on them! He does a lot of cooing and likes to have 'conversations'. He likes to smile as well and sometimes lets out a little giggle. Here are some pics of him while family from Ohio was visiting and some other photos.

Handsome Stud

Meeting Grandma Ashbaugh for 1st time

With Aunt Brooke

With Aunt Shannon

In his fav baseball team's outfit

It's a miracle...Carson was here in 2004...lol

Easter Sunday

Holding head up while on tummy

Sitting on chair...just love his expression

Ready to go in the car

Fell asleep on daddy

Video of Carson

Travis' family has spent this week with us visiting. I will post more later.

More pics

Here are some more pictures I've taken of Carson. He just keeps growing everyday and getting bigger and bigger. Next week is my last week home before going back to work. I'm going to miss playing with him and seeing all his cute expressions and hearing his gurgles.

St. Patty's Day

Bath Time

Looking at the fan in awe...lol...he loves that thing!

After bath time with Lita. He has been doing that with his tongue a lot lately.

All smiles...

How quickly their mood can change!

Travis and I bought him some shades...he needs them in sunny Arizona!

Too cute on how he naps. He is all sprawd out!

Carson with his monkey buddy in his crib.

'Playing' with his rattle that Lita bought him.