A trip to the park!

Our first trip to the park, specifically for Carson. Sure we've gone with Ethan and Isabelle (but he always stayed in the stroller), we've swung in a swing at Brayden and Brinley's, we've walked to the park, through the park, but never to the park. For Carson to play.

Until today. It was after his second nap, so we packed our bags and went. He went in the swing and he would giggle when he would swing towards me. Then we played in the sand. Sure he ate some, but really - what kid hasn't eaten sand? Then we went to the water park and sat on the ground and splashed in the water. It was pretty hot, so I didn't want to keep him out in the sun too long (despite all the sun screen and his hat) so we only stayed an hour or so.

Got him, and put him directly to bed - the outside exhuasts him (hehehe another reason why I love it so much)

Pictures...

Ok, I have a question. Where do you all get your digital pictures developed at? I usually bring mine into Loblaws or Walmart but the matte are too dull and the shiny ones (whatever they are called) are too shiny. I don't know if I should spend the extra money and get them printed at Black's..?

Do you like the way yours turn out? If so, WHERE?

Thanks :) (Can you tell I'm starting my scrapbook!) (My mom didn't keep the Michael's coupon so I have to wait until next week to go shopping there)

A new (well new to the blog anyways) trick

Since we left for PEI, he's been able to stand up on his own. Holding onto something, obviously, but standing up none the less. Jeff was staying close in the picture - hard wood floors and a hard cedar chest give mommy weak knees.



He sometimes manages to walk a few steps if I'm holding him up by his hands, but he's still shaky. I'm not expecting him to walk anytime soon (so you can stop rolling your eyes!) but I like giving his legs some practice. And really, I think I owe it to the Jumperoo for his legs being so strong.


We were playing in the grass yesterday and I really liked these two pictures :) The second one shows him kind of puckering his lips (I caught him just as he was finishing). He thinks it is hilarious when I made the fish face and he tries to imitate me. Now he just puckers his lips randomly.

Oohh and Jeff was the SMRT one, and took a short video of Carson's inchworm routine

Giggle

Is it so wrong to give your baby a lemon to suck on?

If it is, sue me. He LOVED it. Now it's his treat if we go out to eat - I always ask for lemon in my water and now I give it to him.

He's eating (and I use that term loosely, it's more like just gumming) crackers and bread. And cheerios - he loves the damn Cheerios. He is so good at picking them up, but sometimes they drop out of his hand before he gets it into his mouth and then he looks around wondering where it went.

I haven't started him on meat yet, but I'm intending to today.

We're back home now, I swear when I brought him into his room yesterday he looked at his crib and smiled. I was happy to see MY own bed, so why wouldn't he be happy to see his bed?

I'm collecting the Michael's coupons to pick up a scrapbook, some double sided tape and a package of super nice pens to make his photo album. It's going to be gorgeus! Now to sift through the 3000+ pictures that I've taken since he's been born and decide which ones are going in the album.

Baptism Pictures

Baby for Sale

Today he woke up tooo early. For him. For me too.

The rest of the day he was cranky, tired and fussy.

I think it's getting to be time to go home. Everyone says they go through a 6 month growth spurt, maybe he's just delayed on that? He's growing SO quickly. Honestly every day he's doing something that he didn't do the day before. You should see him move around now - he does the inch worm to constantly move when he's on the ground. It's hilarious

Deanna and I took him for a walk, and he flipped right over in his stroller and was peeking out the back (where the two flaps meet). My heart melted and I forgave him for his awful mood today.

I tried my best to keep him up till his bedtime but about a half hour before bedtime I had it. He had enough. I brought him into his room, laid him down and less then 20 seconds later he was asleep.

I'm going to shower, give myself a facial mask, have a cup of hot tea and go to bed.

Cheerios

This is a sure sign that he's growing up - we gave him Cheerios for his first time yesterday. He was sitting in his highchair and finished his dinner so I gave him a few Cheerios. Well he just thought they were the greatest things. He ate them one at a time and smiled the whole time. It was great! Today we are going into town for the morning and for some lunch and I packed a little bowl of Cheerios!

Mommy's little boy

Over the past two weeks or so, Carson has really become a momma's little boy. At the beginning, sure it made my heart swell when he only wanted me, but now it's become a bit of a pain. If he sees me when he's with anyone else, he whines until I go get him. His face lights up, a smile bigger than anything on his face and his feet kick faster then a blender, and it makes me melt, but then when I need to do anything, I can't. Cause he wants me. I'm sure it's just a phase but it's a bit frusterating right now.

I think there's something bothering him too. He used to be happy as anything to sit on the floor, surrounded by his toys for a really long time. Now as soon as I put him down to play, he isn't happy and always wants to be held.

At least it's summer. He loves being outside, so we spend quite a bit of time outside playing on the grass, on the beach and in the water.

So happy

He truly is made of PEI blood. He LOVES the water and LOVES being outside. Today we went for a long walk, then had a long nap, played with cousin Lucca, went swimming in the ocean, went for another long nap, went for a walk in the ocean while the tide was out, ate some dinner and went back to bed. A perfect day.

I was walking along a sand bar, looking along the shore and seeing quite a few families with the kids splashing in the ocean, digging for clams and making sand castles and I thought to myself that I'm quite spoiled, being able to spend a month by the ocean - with my husband and little boy.

PERFECT!!!

For any other couple, today may have been a bit of a disappointment, but to Jeff and I, it was perfect.

Father Joe (from our church in Ottawa) was vacationing in PEI and agreed to baptize Carson for us. Deanna asked Father Brian (from the church here in Summerside) if the church was available for today at 6pm and would he allow Father Joe to come in and perform the blessing? They said yes. Deanna confirmed on about 4 different occasions.

We all got showered, prettied up, dressed up and to the church for 6pm. Doors are locked. Jerry went around the whole church and each and every door was locked.

Father Joe showed up - in his jeans and casual beach short sleeved shirt. No one from the church showed up.

So what did we do?

Carson got baptized in the garden. The holy water? Was in a Dasani water bottle.

It was about a 10 minute do, Father Joe was amazing as always, Carson spent the whole time looking at Father Joe with the cutest face, like he was actually listening to him. He was blessed with the Holy Water and didn't even flinch.

Honestly - it was perfect. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather (it was probably the nicest day we've had since we've been here). After the 'ceremony' we all headed back to the cottage for dinner and lobster cake. I mean, he's getting baptized on PEI - it only makes sense that we get a lobster cake, right? I loved today because it wasn't a big shin-do. I don't like big fusses, I'm all about non traditional, easy going, low maintenance things. We got some fantastic presents that were completely unnecessary but appreciated none the less.

Some wonderful pictures will be coming soon (Jeff just went out to his 20th high school reunion and took the camera with him)

Not so good "first"

Carson went to bed at his normal bedtime and woke up crying about two hours later. Erin got him out of his playpen and held him until he fell back asleep. The house was awfully hot (we were staying at Erin and Jan's in Charlottetown) so we carried the playpen downstairs and put him back to bed. He woke up a few times crying and then finally around 2 he wouldn't stop, so I got him up and we snuggled on the couch for about 2 hours. He wasn't sad, he was quite happy - touching my face, looking around, smiling.... just not sleeping.

Back to bed he went, around 4am and up again at 6.

I'm not sure why, but it never happens so it wasn't really that bad. I like to think he's nervous about getting baptized tonight. Lots to do today, we are just having breakfast and then heading back to Summerside to get ready for tonight (I got such a pretty dress for tonight!). Will post pictures later (only sometimes will blogger let me post, the connection at the cottage is rather slow so it doesn't always work)

Seee, I DID jinx myself

I feel guilty...

But a little part of me wishes Carson would sleep like half an hour longer. He's waking up around 6am here, which is fine, but that means it's 5am Ottawa time. We've kept him on Ottawa time (goes to bed at 8 here, 7 in Ottawa) so 5am is just a tad toooo early.

Maybe when we go back home he'll sleep a tad longer.

I feel guilty wishing for it, like I'm going to jinx everything good about him. I'd rather him wake up early then not nap, or cry at night, or wake up during the night, or just about anything actually. See? I'm just being greedy.

So excited...

Carson, Grandma, Grammy and I just went out walking on the sand bars (low tide) , digging clams, looking at snails, starfish, mussels, oysters... and I loved it. I love just walking and pointing out all the different things that we were seeing and Carson was in his bjorn, kicking his feet, singing, talking, leaning his head back towards me and snuggling, and just being happy.

I can't wait until he's older and he can be out walking with me and I can tell him all about the world, everything that lives in it and why they are there, what they do. I'm so looking forward to teaching him so many things.

Some times I just feel like I want to do so many things all at once, I just feel like I won't have enough time with him, which I guess is silly, but maybe not.

I also love that fact that each summer we will migrate to PEI to a beautiful cottage RIGHT on the water - he'll be saying "How much longer until we are there" and he'll run right out of the car and towards the cottage... almost like we do right now :)

Dada

I didn't see it happen, but Erin told me that Carson was in Jeff's lap - standing up and looking at Jeff. Holding his nose, touching his chin and his lips, just touching Jeff all over the face and then he clearly said Dada.

Now, whether or not he meant it will remain unknown, but we'd like to think he meant it.

He's moving like an inch worm all over, and still spinning himself in circles. He's been pretty cranky-ish the past couple days. Who knows if he's teething, bothered by mosquitoe bites, overwhelmed by all the people, a bit messed up cause of the time change or what. He's not quite himself these days and always wants his momma. Which makes my heart smile, of course, but also can get a bit tiring!

Loving the island life

This past week has flown by. We are enjoying our vacation and Carson is getting loads and loads of attention from his grammy and grampy, aunts and uncles and cousins. We are staying at the cottage with Deanna and Jerry, Erin and Jan and our three person family. The way it works out, Carson is in the playpen in Erin and Jan's room (they are too tall to sleep in the bed we are sleeping in, but the room we are sleeping in is too small to put the playpen). Everyone else hears Carson first thing in the morning before we do, so I've been able to sleep in each and every morning. They claim they like getting up with him, so really, who am I to rob them of this joy?


Erin and Jan took him into their bed this morning (Erin said she walked by to go to the washroom and he was looking up and smiling, and on her way back he had his toes in his mouth so she couldn't resist and got him out of bed). When I heard people up, I walked into their room and he PULLED HIMSELF UP TO SEE ME. Definitely a first.

The weather isn't exactly cooperating with us so far, but we have sunshine in amongst the rain so we've been able to get outside a bit. The mosquitoes are driving me insane, but I don't want to be negative and curse on my blog, so I'll leave it at at that.

My mom and Ricky left Ottawa this morning around 4am and are driving straight to PEI today. They are mainly coming for Carson's baptism on Friday, but they are spending the week with us and I'm excited! It's so wonderful being in a family where absolutely everyone gets along so well.

Carson's been slightly overtired (so many people, so much action!) so it took him a while to go to bed this morning. Grammy took him into her room with her and she said he fell asleep when she gave him the bottle and she was just watching him lie in the bed. Then he woke up (a few minutes later) saw the bottle. He rolled over, CRAWLED towards it, grabbed it and put it in his mouth. Like what? When did my little boy grow up so fast? Holy! It may have been easier to crawl on the bed - who knows. I do put him on the floor quite often now and he does the inch worm to move towards his toys. It's so frigging cute.

So then he was awake and Jeff brought him into our room, he was there for about 45 minutes on his own, talking, playing and then... quiet. He's exhausted, poor little guy. All my clothes are in that room and I don't to go in and wake him, so I will hang out in my pyjamas for a while longer. There could be worse things, right?

Today there's a parade in town (for Lobster Carnival week!) so we will be heading to that. Carson even has a special outfit :)

Restless

Is what Carson is yesterday and today. Yesterday he had 3 two hour naps today and went down to bed at 8 after crying for a few minutes (which is not like him). He was happy just lying in bed with mommy or daddy but otherwise he was restless. Restless while eating, restless while playing, just plain restless.....


His top gums are a tad red - so maybe his two top teeth are coming in? He has a bit of a rash on his tummy and his cheeks have been flushed after his naps.


I gave him a hit of camilia, yesterday and today. He had a bath last night (which he cried for the first minute or so, which is strange because he LOVES his bath) and today it's much the same thing. We went for a long walk and he slept in the stroller the whole time, and I think he'll be off to bed again soon.

(still can't post pictures and I have some good ones!)

He's growing up...

He always sits up now (he only fell once, on top of his hands and he cried because I think he was scared)
He makes a ton of noises and I think he's close to saying Dada (the D is easier then the M to say)
He is REALLY loving his mom these days (sometimes he cries when I leave the room)
You can always get him to laugh
He's super tall
He takes his pants off when he's sleeping (not looking forward to him taking his diaper off)
He wants to feed himself instead of me doing it
He's starting to move (he can inch himself forward on the ground)
If I'm lying down with him he'll turn himself all the way around and try to crawl up on me
It's only a matter of time before he's crawling
His two teeth are so big now!
He puts his head down on my shoulder when he's tired

He's so adorable and such a really good baby and I love him to bits and bits and want to throw him against the wall (believe it or not that's how I explain just how cute something is)

On vacation!

We made it in one piece :)

Carson was an absolute dream on the car ride. We left around 5:40 am on Monday morning and made it to St. Stephen by 4pm our time. For an 11 hour car ride, he was quite good! He cried once, for about 5 minutes before he crashed. He didn't sleep that much (not like I was anticipating) but he was happy, chattering in the background and staring outside at the scenery. We stopped at my Grammie's house, had dinner, and then put Carson down. He slept for about 1/2 hour and then woke up for an hour, just really unhappy. This hadn't happened in months, but I guess it's the drive that finally got to him and he was so tired he just couldn't sleep. He finally crashed and slept till about 6 the next morning.

Tuesday morning we got up, had breakfast and then visited with my Grammie's good friends (and got a few books, Shirley founded the "Born to Read" program in NB and gave us the books they send out to babies in New Brunswick. A few of them we already had, but we got a few goodies!) and the hit the road. We made it to PEI around 5 and we are happy to be here.

As soon as I figure out how to download the pictures from my camera to Jeff's laptop, I'll post some. The tide was out last night so we walked out a bit and put Carson's feet in the water and sand and he quite liked it. I wish it was a bit warmer here so we could put him in the water (on the sandbar) and he would love it... we'll just have to wait and see what happens. It's sunny and about 24 today. I think Carson will be in a bit of shock of the cold water, he's used to Grandma's pool which is at 89 all the time :)

We went out for a run this morning, and now Jeff's trying to convince his mom to fry up the trout that Richard brought to him last night (I laughed and said if anyone brought me a bag of fish, I'd kill them!).

Asleep on my shoulder

It's always the smallest things that happen that make me stop and think - wow I love being a mom. I just got home from a run, and Carson had fallen asleep in the stroller. I picked him up (and he got up, looking around, a tad confused, but smiled when he saw me and stretched his arms towards me) and then he just rested his chin on my shoulder, then his head fell ever so slightly and I looked in the mirror and he was asleep. How freaking cute is that.

Honestly, it's so true. Each stage is that much better then the last. At the time you think it's the best age ever, and then the next month you realize that it's going to get just that much better every day.

I was talking to my friend Mike last night, who has a little boy Jack who is 4 months. He was talking about how amazing baby smiles are. And I realized, that's when I started to REALLY enjoy being a mom. When Carson started to have a personality, when he was able to give back to me. And the rewards just keep coming.

Oh la la

After a manicure, pedicure and an eyebrow wax I feel more like Christy and less like Carson's mom.

Don't get me wrong, I love being Carson's mom - but I feel pretty good right now :)

The summer is flying by so fast

It's already almost the end of June!

This weekend we have Kate and LJ's wedding (I got a beautiful dress, wicked shoes and a purse and some gorgeus jewellery and my makeup will be done at MAC),Sunday is Canada Day (most likely recovering from the wedding) and then Monday we leave for PEI for three weeks! We haven't decided for sure how long we are staying, but Jeff has the whole month of July off so we definitely aren't in any rush to get back.

I have everything ready to go, just a couple of laundrys and then I can pack up. I packed up a bunch of Carson's stuff to bring to Erin and Jan, and boxes of his clothes (even though I think it's a girl, just in case it's a boy he can wear Carson's clothes!). We are SO looking forward to relaxing at the cottage for a few weeks. My parents are coming down for a week, specifically for his baptism which is on the 13th. I can't wait.

Well, Carson is just trying to decide whether he's happy or sad in his crib and if he's awake much longer I'll grab him and go to my mom's. The cleaning lady comes today so we gotta get the heck out of dodge.

(I'm trying to make an effort to stay away from shopping centers/malls and try not to spend money)

He's cute

I love how now when I go to get him from his crib after a nap, I have no idea where in the crib he's going to be. He likes to be squished up against the side of the crib. He's so active these days. You put him on the ground and he turns around and around, just pulling himself with his hands. When you hold him, he's constantly trying to move around in your arms, and he pulls himself up and down your body. He's sitting up now, but I still sit him up on comfy places so if he falls he doesn't smack his head.

He's got two teeth on the bottom, I can't believe how much it's changed his appearance. Now when he smiles you see both teeth (although they aren't completely out, they are out a good bit).

He had applesauce for the first time this morning and he loved it. I'm going to spend most of tomorrow making his fruits (pears, apples, papayas, bananas) and hopefully going to freeze a whole bunch to bring to PEI with us (just bring a cooler for the trip). It shouldn't take that long though, so I could always make a fresh batch out there for him.

P.S. I've started a new blog to record my training for the half marathon - so I'll leave my running, weight and all MY issues to the other blog - this one is just for Carson.

Our day in pictures

Sunday already?

I've just been laying low the last couple days. I've realized how incredibly lucky and blessed I am that I'm healthy, happy and so is my husband and son. I have a wonderful family who I'm super close with and I have amazing friends that I couldn't live without. So really, I have it all. Some days I take things for granted and I really shouldn't.

Not much else to say - so here's a few pictures. Of my new hair (don't mind how silly I look) and of course, Carson.

I could squeeze squeeze squeeze him to death

It's one of those nights I can't get enough of him. He's been in bed for 3 hours and I've checked on him probably a dozen times. Just to peek. He sleeps on his side now and his arms go out straight like they've done since he was a newborn. Whenever I go into his room he moves, flips over, sometimes open his eyes briefly, stretches his arms and legs - I love it. I want to pick him up and snuggle him for 24 hours.

When i brought him downstairs in his new jammies (pictures below) Jeff looked at him and said - he looks like he's 7. He does. He looks so old. It's one of those Gap baby pyjamas that I bought months ago cause they were on super sale. So. Cute.

One more peek and then I'm off to bed.

Blurb

I just read on someone else's blog about Blurb which allows you to import your blog into a book format and you can get it published (the cost depends on the number of pages, size of book etc...). I'm really excited about this and will look into getting it done after Carson's first year.

Successful shopping trip

So I FINALLY have Carson's outfit for the baptism. Not at all traditional, but I'm not traditional so it's rather fitting. I don't have a white surface to take a picture of it on, so here's the best I could do. It's an outfit from Mexx and it's white linen pants and a white with blue stripe linen top. It's super cute.

The past week or so Carson has really been protesting his sleep. He's tired when it's nap time. I know he's tired because he's rubbing his eyes, yawning, and I just know him and I know when he's tired. Yet he fights going to sleep with everything he's got. Twice yesterday I had to pick him up and comfort him before he fell asleep which I've never had to do before (well, not since I can remember). This morning I took him out to the mall early (needed to find a dress) and assumed he'd fall asleep in the car seat. Nope. Then into the mall, and I assumed he'd fall asleep in his stroller. Nope. He was looking around, flirting with all the women, smiling at us, playing with his toys... basically everything BUT sleep. He fell asleep on the way home and I transferred him to his bed and he's still sleeping (right through lunch!). Like everything else, I know this phase will pass.


I'm trying to find someone to come stay at the house after he goes to sleep tonight, as we have a wake to go to. Jeff's friend Marc passed away yesterday morning, after a fight with cancer. It's so sad, Shelley is left behind with three kids (I think the oldest is almost 4). Not that I'm trying to use their tragedy to make myself feel better but it really makes me realize that the fact I have 30 lbs to lose isn't the end of the world. I should be happy for everything that I have and I should live each day to the fullest and kiss my baby and husband a million times a day.

I love the rain

I'm watching my garden get fed, having a glass of tea, the warm lights are on, Jeff's at basketball, Carson has been asleep since 7 (after dinner at The Keg with Dad and Arlene before they flew back to Edmonton, Carrie, Rob, Ethan and Isabelle), and I'm about to take a bath and then get into bed. I'd be happy doing this any night of the week.

Quick picture

Carson getting his feet painted blue to make the frame for his Dad!

Marking the date

Someone was just mentioning a soother in one of their sites and I would say it's been about a month since we have given Carson a soother. I still had one in my diaper bag and I tried it aout 3 weeks ago when he was overtired while we were shopping, but he wanted no part of it. I remember stressing so much about when the time would come to have to take it away, and now I realize I didn't have to stress at all.

It's funny, how much I will stress about something that in the long run I find out isn't so important after all? (That's after chatting with Tarrah). She said something along the same lines and it ran go true. I remember before Carson was born I was stressed about his room. I wanted to make it perfect and everything had to be just so right. And really? The colour of his walls, the pictures I insisted we hung before he came, the curtains - it really doesn't matter. But I think maybe I do that to prevent myself from stressing about the bigger things, the things that are important.

So, I'm going to try and just live in the now and not worry about something too much until it's necessary :) Jeff always tells me that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not all stressed out all the time, it's just to say that yes when I do stress, it's about the silly things.

Reasons to say YAY and one nay

1 - It's 2 weeks today until we leave for our PEI trip
2 - Kate and LJ's wedding is in LESS then 2 weeks
3 - I managed to get an appt at MAC to get my makeup done for said wedding
4 - I'm running the half marathon on October 7th
5 - I lost 6 lbs last week
6 - I fit into a size 10 pair of pants today (definitely not ALL size 10's but these ones fit!)
7 - I feel GREAT today
8 - Carson's 2nd tooth on the bottom is pushing through
9 - Three more of my plants have bloomed (so pretty!)
10 - I have to go shopping for quite a few things (but fun shopping)

Now the nay. Carson isn't overly digging his veggies. He's eaten carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans and peas. Anything I make, he gags while eaten. I think it's because I can't get it as pureed as the stuff out of a jar. So I bought a jar of each of the stuff that I made so I can mix it together so he'll eat it and then I will slowly put less and less of the jar stuff. I also add formula to my home made stuff to make it more of a smooth consistency for him. But still, argh. I get frusterated. Which I know I shouldn't, but you work so hard to make the stuff and then he spits it out. At me. I just keep plugging away and I know he'll eventually start to eat it more.

(Now I'm trying to figure out how to delete my own movie clip, cause I have one I want to post but it's too big to put up on youtube)

Happy Father's Day

I'm so lucky to have married such a wonderful man. A man whom I knew would be a fantastic father. People look for different things in their partners, and one of the most important things to me was "Would I want to raise a family with him". And the answer was, undoubtedly, yes. He's just proven what I've always known.

He loves Carson to death. Every night Jeff and I sneak into Carson's room and look at him. Jeff points at his bum when it's in the air, and we check under the blanket to see if his feet are crossed. With him feet crossed, and his hands under his tummy, he sleeps exactly like his Daddy does.

Jeff finds it hard to stay in bed once I start to get up to go get Carson. He often tells me to wait while he whips on a pair of shorts and comes into Carson's room with me. We start talking quietly as soon as we get into the room and he looks around for us and starts to smile. As soon as he spots us, he gives us the biggest toothless grin (You still can't see his tooth when he smiles, it's not fully out yet) and starts to kick his legs. It's adorable. You can never get tired of it.

Jeff loves reading to Carson, playing with him, giving him baths, spending tummy time with him and just being with him. They hang out together and Carson LOVES his Daddy.

And so do I.

Happy Father's Day Jeff!

And to my Dad, Ricky and Jerry.

Happy First Father's Day to Jeff, Sean, Phil, Jon, Damien, Brandon, Mike, Mundeep and Graham (Jan - you'll be mentioned soon enough!)

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's that I know out there.


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Guess who sits up by themselves now? That's right - Carson. There's a picture below to prove it. It depends on the surface he's sitting on (it's easier on the grass) but he was sitting up for a good 5 minutes. And there's a silly picture of him and I, I was trying to take a picture of the both of us.

This is what Carson and I made for Jeff for Father's Day. We went to the Mud Oven and painted a ceramic frame and then they glaze and bake it. Carson loved getting his feet "painted" but when we tried to put his foot onto the ceramic, it took a bit of coaxing to relax his feet. His toes are always squished up so we tried pressing down, but the right foot just never got relaxed enough. But I guess it will always be a reminder of this time! I'm SO not artistic so the paint job is not the greatest (plus, Carson was sitting on my lap playing with the paint brushes).

I feel beautiful!

Carson slept at mom's while I went and got my hair done (and maybe splurged on some Aveda make up that was 40% off). I don't care what people say, when you look good, you feel good. I have been feeling kind of bloated, icky, fat and ugly the past couple weeks. Now with a brand new (short and funky) haircut, some new make up and a promise to put myself together every day, I'm already feeling better!

My mom gushed about Carson when I called her on my way back from Kanata (ahh the distances we will go to get our hair done well) and said that she'd be stealing money from me if I was paying her to babysit (like, if she was a caregiver). He took a bottle when I said he would, he fell asleep when he said I would and had another 2.5 hour nap. He's happy, he only cries if he's tired or hungry (that's the complete truth) and he's content with playing by himself, he actually prefers it sometimes.

She said whatever we've done is good, becaues he's a perfect baby. And he really is. But I don't think we can take all the credit. I think babies are born a certain way and then we can only help (or unfortunately in some cases) or hinder their progress to be the person they are supposed to be. Sure we follow certain rules - like we never wake him up when he's sleeping, we get him to bed at 7pm every night (99.99% of the time), we feed him when he's hungry (we don't try to follow any schedule) and cuddle him whenever he wants (or whenever I want).

He's such an easy going baby, but Jeff and I are both easy going people so it's not really a surprise that he takes after us (we did make him after all).

I'm starting to get a bit nervous about daycare for him. Right now, I know what he does every minute of the day. If anyone was to ask me how much he ate, how long he slept, when was his last bum change? I could tell you. It's not like I'm a stickler for routine, I just mean I know exactly what he does. Well, because, I'm with him 24/7. Except for when he's with grandma. And giving up that is going to be hard. It's going to be hard to trust someone to care for him the same way Jeff and I do.

On a side note, the other day I wrote a post about how he spent the night at Grandma's and for some reason I always get a bit defensive when people tell me how little time they have spent away from their children. I feel like it's as if I shouldn't want to be away from him for that long, or that I don't love my child as much as they love yours. But I've recently found out that in some cases, they don't have someone here who they trust to leave their babies with for any amount of time. So, sorry if I went on and on about how I need time away - I shouldn' thave to explain to anyone - PLUS I probably took it the wrong way anyways. To be honest, I think it makes ME a better parent, taking some time away from Carson and it gets him used to people and keeps up his easy going nature. But different strokes for different folks - definitely! That's one thing I've realized reading all my mommy blogs.

My dilemna

Ok Carson went to sleep at 9am. It's now 11:25am and my cleaning lady normally comes around 11:45.


Carson currently looks like this:

The only other time I've ever woken Carson up is for our flight to Florida. I follow the old-age rule to never wake a sleeping baby! I suppose I can ask Stella to start in the basement, until he wakes up.

Good day

early morning - 10k jog with Carson
took a long shower - Carson sat in his bouncy chair
breakfast - for both Carson and I
Carson took a late nap, I cleaned the house
We had lunch, then went out to Costco
Carson fell asleep on the way home, so he skipped his afternoon nap
We played lots, he was in a great mood despite lack of sleep
Jeff came home and played with Carson while I made dinner
Jeff BBQd the steaks, my part of dinner was done so I played with Carson
We all ate, Carson - cereal, Jeff and I - steaks
We all played while we digested our dinner
I gave Carson a bath while Jeff cleaned up
Jeff gave Carson a bottle and then I went for a bike ride to the bank (to pay for Stella who comes tomorrow!) and then I watered my garden (a FUN chore)
Now I'm just drinking water and then heading to bed and Jeff's watching some TV show

These are our typical days, and they are my favourite. The only thing missing? A visit to grandma and nono's pool

So I've read

About teething. Some babies cry, get a fever, have a rash, don't sleep, complain, whine etc etc... what does mine do when he's teething? He sleeps.

I was just commenting to some friends today (great to see you both!) how he's been sleeping so much - like 11 hours straight last night, and two two-hour naps before 11:30 this morning.

We went out for about two hours, he fell asleep in the car ride home... and continued sleeping.

I was playing with him in my lap and he was coming forward to kiss me (yes, he does that) and what did I see? A freaking tooth appearing through his gums. I can see the top of the tooth on the bottom right hand side.

Wow - I would take a picture but he wouldn't let me get close enough - he would chomp my fingers. I'll try to take a picture tomorrow.

This was my weekend

Standing up!

If Carson is holding onto the coffee table (or the side of a bucket, see below) he can stand up on his own. Only for about 30 seconds, but he can do it. My mom's holding him in the bucket below but only because it's water and if he were to topple over I'd be sick.

He can sit up for a few seconds on his own but he hasn't quite mastered that. He loves his toes too much, as soon as you sit him down he goes forward to grab his feet and then his whole body just kind of tilts to the side until he eventually falls over.

This morning after our run, we were playing upstairs and he was the epitome of cute. He was squealing, laughing, giggling - you name it, he was doing it.

Jeff left to go to Kate's cottage for LJ's bachelor party, so although it's a bit of a bummer, we had lots of time with Daddy this week, he was off the majority of it. Carson and I once again are headed to grandma's pool and I think I may have convinced the rest of the troops to join me.

Carson eating sweet potatoes:

Sitting in a bucket!
Standing up:
Looking at the umbrella

What needles?

Carson was in good spirits last night (Daddy had him after his afternoon nap until bedtime as I took off with Carrie and the kids to go watch the Sens come home), he slept perfectly and is in bed for his second nap already (it's only 10am). It's supposed to be hot here today (of course it's going to be hot, Erin and Jan just left) so I'm packing up some stuff and going to my mom's to play in the pool.

I talked to my doctor about sunscreen and bugspray last night. I can put both of them on if I am going to be directly in the sun or around alot of bugs - but he told me to take it off as soon as I go inside so it's not sitting on his skin for too long. Also, to always keep his head covered (I'm a hat nazi so no problem there) and keep him covered, especially when in reflective environments (ie: pool). And since I'm in the pool quite a bit I think I'm going to look for that UV reflective swimwear for him. I will take a quick peek at Boomerang and then ask around to where I can get it. Oh - maybe I'll check the MEC website right now. I should have more pictures soon - I just haven't been using my camera. Bad Mom. Bad Bad Mom.

Solids

Carson has tried carrots, peas and sweet potato. In that order. He didn't want anything to do with the carrots, he made some pretty hilarious faces with the latter two, but he ate them.

I can't believe my son is eating food now!

At the doctor's today, I was given a "suggested diet sheet" that I thought I would post here. I know each doctor is different and probably provides different info - but this makes sense to me so I think I'll be following it (although maybe loosely)

The ** following an entry mean that should be introduced at that specific age

Breakfast:
4-6 tbsp of cereal
2-3 tbsp of fruit (pureed until baby chewing well)** 6.5 months
Breastmilk or 5-8 oz of formula

Should use formula or breastmilk to 10-12 months then gradually introduce homomilk over a few weeks. Next step formulas by 7 months. Leave 2% milk until 2 years. Milk intake should be 25-35 oz decreasing to 10-20 oz by 1 year. Can start cup feeding at 9 months.

Lunch:
2-4 tbsp of veggies (pureeed to 8-10 months then junior or table feeds) **6 months
1-3 tbsp of meat or meat alternatives ** 7 months
(eggs after 9-10 months; yolk initially, then whites after. Simple white fish 9-10 months leave shellfish until after 2 years. Peanuts leave to 18 months)
Vegetable and meat combinations together for taste
2-3 tbsp of desert (ie: yogurt, soft cheese or custard (after egg white started)** 8 to 9 months
Breastmilk or 5-8 oz formula

Supper:
4-6 tbsp cereal
2-4 tbsp of veggie +/- fruit
1-3 tbsp meat or meat alternative ** 7 months

Finger feeding:
Teething biscuits can be introduced beyond 7 months. Farley's Biscuits will dissolve easily in mouth as a starting biscuit (also num num's) Arrowroots/toast later. Do not leave unattended when starting more complex foods. By 8-10 months baby can finger feed. Use soft pea sized fruits or well cooked vegetables initially.
Baby at this age should be in high chair joining rest of family for meals. No TV at meal time from start this should be a strict family event.

__________________________________________________

Now, I have been feeding him cereal three times a day and I just noticed as I typing it out that he doesn't say to have cereal at lunch. I wish I would have noticed it back then, I could have asked him about it.

Jeff and I already feed him in his high chair and 90% of the time, when we are eating (sometimes we eat later, after he goes to bed) and it's in the kitchen, at the dinner table. My sister has two fantastic kids who have always always sat at the table, no TV and no toys until they are done dinner and they are 3 1/2 and wonderful eaters. They will be sitting at a table with tons of other kids and they are normally the only ones left at the end, looking at Carrie to see if they can leave the table. That's my dream!

So there you have it - hope it helps someone out there.

One less thing to be sad about

We're back from the doctor's.

The intern who looked at Carson kept laughing saying how cute Carson was - he'd giggle when the doctor touched his stomach, but then cried when they stuck the wood tongue depressor in his mouth.

Stats:
Weight 18 pounds 4 ounces - in between the 50th and 75th percentile (closer to 50th percentile)
Height 27.5 inches - same thing, just a bit over the 50th percentile
Head Circumference 17.4 inches - slightly over the 50th percentile

He said Carson is following the growth chart - he's a textbook baby in regards to that.

When the nurse came in, he smiled at her, then he watched as she soaked the cotton swab in alcohol and rubbed his leg with it, and his bottom lip came out and he started to cry. He's like his mom - he doesn't like needles. They stuck it in his leg and he had a different cry then I've ever heard before, he didn't like it at all. I fed him, we left the office and he was once again calm as soon as we got into the car. His forehead goes all splotchy after he cries - in a cute way (but you feel bad cause I know it's cause he was crying)

He fell asleep right as we turned onto our street (I swear that always happens) and he's right back in bed now.

He's healthy as a horse - I had the Dr look at his tongue again and he said the membrane below the tongue is really thin so he really doesn't see any problem with his tongue (I always make him look at the tongue-tied issue).

The next couple days he may just need a few extra snuggles, cuddling and loving - of which I am more than happy to oblige.

Today's no good

Why you ask?

1/ Erin and Jan left this morning (we loved having them with us, Carson will miss them!)
2/ The Sens lost last night (but I'm still super proud we made it to the finals)
3/ Carson has his 6 month appt, which includes getting needles
4/ I am taking Carson on my own to the dr. cause Jeff is driving Erin and Jan to Montreal
5/ I feel fat today

The only good thing about today? I booked my tickets to go to Vancouver and Edmonton in August!

Yikes

It's 4 degrees out there! Carson and I just got back from a run (8k woo!), he slept almost the whole way. It's Erin and Jan's last day, so we don't know exactly what today holds but it may involve Elgin St tonight with Carrie and Rob.

Sleepy-over

Carson had his first sleepover at Grandma's last night.

Erin, Jan, Peter, Jeff and I went and spent the greater part of the afternoon at the Scotiabank Place getting ready for the Sens game. We had a fantastic time (minus the rain). So Grandma took Carson around 1pm (I cried when I said goodbye) and she kept him till this morning (he's still there).

She said he was a perfect baby - he hasn't cried once since he's been there. He took all his naps, went to bed without a peep, is all smiles, and is talking constantly. I called this morning (was up at 5 thinking about him, and slept on and off for the rest of the morning, missing him) and my mom said as soon as she put the phone to his ear he was kicking his legs, smiling and just babbled in my ear for a good three minutes. God I love that kid.

I just checked the messages and there was one from my mom from ten oclock last night.

She told me that she was going to bed, she couldn't watch the game cause it stresses her out. She said that she knows it's hard on me, but that when I wake up in the morning I know my son is happy, warm, fed and being loved by grandma so she doesn't want to see my face before noon or she won't let me in the house. It was a really sweet message (she said way more then what I just wrote, but that was the jist of it) and made me cry.

Now to keep myself busy for the next hour or so. I know I won't wait till noon, Jeff is upstairs eating lobster right now (yes it's 9am) and I'm going to do some laundry, take a shower and then head over to see my little man.

Yay but nay

For the past two weeks or so, Carson has been freely flipping over from back to front and front to back. This is great! He's reached another milestone and I love seeing the new things he can do and he always seems proud of himself when he does it.

However, as we all know, Carson sleeps on his stomach. Now when I put him down for a nap, he immediately flips onto his back so he can look at his mobile, play with the mirror on the side of his crib (I hope it's not a sign of vanity! ha ha) and then when it's time to sleep he can't get comfy. Once in a while he'll flip right back onto his tummy and realize that this is his favourite way to sleep, but it's by accident. It's not like he rolls back onto his tummy because he knows that's how to fall asleep. At least I don't think so.

Anyways, now he doesn't go to sleep for his naps as easily anymore. He sometimes cries for up to ten minutes. Which I know tons of people go through all the time, and always have, but I'm not used to having to let him cry. But I dont' want to go up and flip him onto his tummy or else he won't figure out how to do it for himself. If he gets really angry, I do go up and help him figure it out, but otherwise I'm letting him go on his own.

It's hard, but it's gotta be done. Thankfully this hasn't happen in the middle of the night yet.

Roast is on, acorn squash with apples (yum), green beans and salad is ready to go. Jeff picked up Erin and Jan from their flight in, and they are just travelling back from Montreal. Carson and I are waiting, playing and about to go outside and water our garden.

I love weekends

The whole household slept till quarter after 6 this morning, then Carson and I got up and went for a run. 8K and I ran the whole way! I felt really, really good.

We came home, both had cereal, I showered and then the three of us got into the van and went garage sale-ing. We bought a used monitor, a few boys clothes, and a jogging stroller for Nadia and Sean. I already have oodles of clothes for Carson, but there were a few cute things I couldn't resist. The stuff they are selling at garage sales these days is NOTHING like it used to be. Things are rarely used, and I know when Carson is mobile and we need more toys, I'm definitely doing garage sales. Toys are super expensive, and I don't care that they are second hand, honestly the things Carson loves most are those that were handed down to me.

Carson's in bed, I'm eating lunch and then we are heading to mom and ricky's. Jeff is off to Game 3 tonight and I'm spending the day at mom's and then coming home to put Carson to bed.

Happy 6 month birthday Carson!

Today is June 1st, which means Carson is 6 months old. 6 months since he's come into our lives and now I can truly say I can't imagine our lives without him. I'm listening to him babbling in his bedroom. Jeff and I were watchin in the highchair this morning and we can't remember when he became the baby he is now. He's reaching for things, holding things intentionally, he cries when one of us (mostly me) leaves the room (again, I don't totally like this), he knows us, looks for us, loves our voice, likes to snuggle, rubs his face into your chest when he's tired, happily sits with us, plays with his feet, rolls over (back to front and front to back) all the time and is a constant joy to be around. When you're holding him, he's always turning his head trying to see everything around him. If anything is within his reach, he grabs for it. He loves feeling the different textures of things, he loves my hair, Jeff's glasses, holding things and turning them over in his hands over and over and above all else - EVERYTHING goes in his mouth. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by.

Yesterday we got his two car seats installed by a certified car seat safety instructor. Jeff met him through work, so we called him up and set up an appointment. He's one of 5 instructors in Canada who runs the car seat clinics (for those of you who will need to install one soon, you have to sign up the minute the clinic is open for registration, as it fills up really quickly) but lucky for us he was willing to help us out. He's a paramedic and he was on dispatch last nigh but he met us at his work an hour early to install our seats.

We had installed the Alpha Omega Elite ourselves, and he inspected it and said we were probably in the top 5% of getting it installed properly so that made me quite happy. But we ended up taking that one out and putting it in the van, and then putting the Eddie Bauer one in the Matrix (it's more pillowy (for lack of a better word)) so it looks like it's more comfortable for us. They are both made by the same company so for all intent purposes, it's the same car seat.

A little tip for those installing it themselves, in order to get it level (most cars don't have completely straight bum seats, they all kind of lean in towards the back) use pool noodles. He cut one up into three pieces, tied it together with duct tape (it looked like dynamite) and put it under the part of the seat closest to the back to get it level. We had used a phone book (bad) so now they are both installed correctly and I'm happy! We even got the sheet saying they were both installed according to the standards, apparently they sometimes have RIDE-type programs but for car seats. Crazy!

It's a completley different dynamic, now that he's in a car seat that stays in the car. We ran into Wendy's last night for a taco salad before we met up with Patrick and Carson can't quite sit in the high chairs they have available at the restaurants, and he's out of the infant car seat so he sat in my lap. Which was fine as we were just eating a salad, but I guess our restaurant dining is on hold until he can sit up himself. Which, we eat out so rarely now, isn't that big a deal. Also, if he falls asleep on the way to the grocery store, or anywhere else, I can't just pull out the seat and hope he stays asleep, I have to pull him out and carry him. I've been using my bjorn ALOT but it's still just not the same. It's funny how you so look forward to each new stage with them, but then you miss so much from the last stage.

Tomorrow is a garage sale in our neighbourhood, and I have quite a few things on my list to look for, the first and foremost being a monitor that we can keep at mom and rick's house seeing as he is often there taking naps and when we are out back I have to be constantly coming in to check on him. So much easier with a monitor. There are so many young parents with kids that I'm hoping to find lots of goodies for the C-man.

We had a wonderful walk this morning, Carson had a cat nap and we were walking for about an hour and a half. I love our mornings together. I'm starting him on veggies tomorrow, I have pureed carrot all ready to go!

Oh - he decided he loves sleeping again, thank goodness! Although I have experienced MANY new things since Carson's been around, the one thing (and please, don't hate me) that I didn't have to go through was sleep deprivation. I think the least amount of sleep I have gotten since he's been here is about 5 hours. Granted, I didn't get longer than a 2-3 hour stretch for the first two months, but he's always been a great sleeper. His naps sometimes aren't present, but he's never not gone to sleep at night. Maybe he'll be a bad sleeper as a toddler, or maybe he'll just keep loving his sleep!