The Tee Ball Season Continues...

Jeremy has been helping Brady's coach out by organizing batters, etc., over the past few ball games. When he's not encouraging bitty ball players to get a giant helmet on, however, he is in the outfield cheering Brady on. Brady gets a little "frustrated" if the ball doesn't come to him, but he still seems to be having a great time. Either tee ball is more for him than soccer was, or he is just getting older and more patient. It's much more fun when Brady's having fun, though. Carson, of course, is itching to join the team. He brings his own glove to every game just in case they need him!

Carson Relaxes

After bath time, Carson's favorite thing to do is curl up on the floor with his towel wrapped around him and his coolie in the air. He still thinks I can't see him if he can't see me. Is that normal? Regardless, I will be sad when it changes...it's so cute!

Carson's First Day of School!

After A "last hurrah" at the cupcake store, it was back-to-school for Brady, and the start of Children's-Day-Out for Carson. Brady was an old pro on his first day. As we got to the door of his classroom, he spotted 2 of his buddies, and ran into the room without a backwards glance. I didn't even get a smooch. Oh well, I'm glad he's happy!

I expected Carson to cry a little and maybe cling to me. Instead, he carried his own nap mat proudly and put it in his spot. At the door, he looked slightly skeptical, but went into his classroom without hesitating or crying, and apparently never cried all day. When I picked him up, his teacher told me that he was a happy guy, and he was smiling from ear to ear. He even told Jeremy later about a song he learned during music class. My baby...!

A Spot on Psych Week

After seeing ads for Psych week on TCL (or was is Biography?), Jeremy and I decided that maybe Carson deserves a spot on the show...a little too cleanly if you know what I mean. The only real thing left to ponder, however, is how the child looks so DIRTY all of the time even though his favorite word is "towel" and he is constantly wiping his face (or some other surface). Hmm...

Carson Jumps!

I think, on certain occasions, one might even be able to slide a piece of paper under Carson's feet (one at a time, of course) while he is jumping. Amazing! I am told, by a credible pediatric physician, that children are not expected to have the skill to jump until they are 2 years old. As you all know, Carson is only 18 months...Princeton Lacrosse, here we come! U-hem, I mean "He"...here "He" comes. And brady is such a supportice brother! I'm so proud.

Picture Day - 2010!

There is a long list of things that I LOVE. This list includes dresses with pockets, shoes with bows, babies with cellulite (preferably named Chip), smutty books, emotional books, funny books, riding on vehicles made for toddlers, and...dressing my kids in matching outfits! So, you can imagine why I woke up in a wonderful mood on this, Picture Day 2010!

However, 2 hours later, after playing peek-a-boo and pretending I was a monkey (both things that have appeared on the list of things that I love) until sweat was gathering on my upper lip while STILL not managing to get Carson, my smiley kid, to smile, picture day seems to have slipped a few places on the list. Or maybe just "picture day when one of the photographed is only 18 months old". Anyway, Brady smiled and giggled brilliantly and we ended up still spending a small fortune. Everyone send me an email to request sizes and check your mailbox for photos of my adorable, matchy-matchy boys!

PS - I sort of ended up being a little "yelly" today because of all of the things that I had to run around and do (of course, I expected the boys to be perfect angels while they were being dragged around, primped and photographed). At dinner Brady told me that I yell too much and he doesn't like it. I felt horrible...being told that I yell too much is now on the list of things that I HATE. And I'm working on the yelling thing.

Changing Every Day

The boys, especially Carson, seem to be changing every day. Carson is in the phase of life that every toddler goes through where EVERYTHING he does is funny. He struts around with his belly out in front of him demanding attention. He wants to do everything that Brady does, whether it's alongside Brady, or if he has to shove Brady out of the way. But we feel so proud of Brady for (usually) being a patient and kind older brother who truly seems to enjoy having Carson around.

Carson has learned a lot of new "words" including: Bye-bye, Pop-pop (pa-pa), Nona, hot, stop, no no no no no no no no (even when he means yes), Uh-oh, ta da!, cow, moo, quack (cack cack), oink (ink), and woof.

Brady is learning to repeat everything that he hears other people say, sometimes placing his momma in awkward positions. He loves the song "Imma Be" by the Black Eyes Peas and frequently holds after-dinner dance parties in the living room. The kid has moves, even though he has decided that he no longer wants to take ballet lessons. He is getting so old, and we are really working on making him more independent...he'll be babysitting Carson and driving himself to school in no time.

These boys are really keeping us on our toes these days!

The Bougie Boys

First of all, I had to look up how to spell "Bougie" online (a word that Amanda once used to describe Jeremy because he claims that Whoppers are a white trash candy) and found that it has a double meaning. The first: aspiring to be of a higher class that you are (urban dictionary) and the second: a small tube inserted into the intestine during surgery. You can all guess which meaning I am going for here. In the middle pictures, Carson decided that he was going to read himself a book, so he assumed the position we would normally use for reading books in bed at bedtime. Funny kid.

The boys are each becoming funnier every day in their own ways. Carson wants to do whatever Brady does, and often gets himself into trouble. And Brady thinks that he will get some extra sympathy if he cries like Carson once in a while. Carson can't stand when Brady is getting attention, so if Brady gets hurt and cries, Carson will also pretend to cry and ask for a hug. He has also learned the art of boxing Brady out where parental hugs are concerned. It's funny...most of the time.

Brady has made a habit of repeating what Jeremy and I say, so we are having to be really careful. Before he answers me he says, "Ummm, let me think....yeah." or "that's AWWWWWWEsome". It's really funny, but totally forces me to think about what kind of person I am.

We are really excited for any visitors that we have in the coming months so that you can all come see for yourselves.

Carson is Walking!

While I was hoping that maybe he would hold off for a few months so that I wouldn't have to worry about too many bumped heads just yet, Carson has decided that he would rather walk than mess around on the floor any longer. He has also decided that he prefers to feed himself with his own spoon. I really don't know why he needs me anymore. Oh, yes I do. I am around to clean up the mess he leaves in his wake.

We are very proud of him...almost as proud as he is of himself!

Some "Catch-up" Shots

Just a little update on the boys: Brady started school a few weeks ago and LOVES it. He walks in like he could care less about what his mama is doing all day. He is bringing home the cutest artwork, and already learning new letters and numbers. Carson has gotten 2 new "chicklets" as seen in the top picture. He is using them to eat things that babies just really shouldn't eat. He is also planning on joining the circus with his mad skills in roll-balancing, as shown in the bottom 2 pictures...he is carefully balancing a dinner roll on his shoulder while going about his business nonchalantly. Quite impressive, really.

As always, we are very proud of our boys!

Mish Mash

Tara here, just throwing you a mix of pictures to remind you of how cute (I think) my children are! Just as an update: Brady is in the middle of doing swim lessons, and he's doing great! He says hilariously funny things (none of which I can remember now) and keeps us all laughing. Gotta love 3-year-olds. Carson has 2 teeth, is eating us out of house and home, and is trying his best to crawl (he gets where he wants to go, but with the way he "crawls" the army should be looking to recruit him). Jeremy recently returned from a trip to Malaysia where he worked very hard and brought home his fair share of pewter and wooden artifacts (anyone else want to learn how to play Jung Cock?). And I have finally stopped ignoring my children while reading the Twilight Saga (including the half-book she wrote from Edwards perspective). In short, life all around is pretty great.

We are really looking forward to our trip home for Blaise and Jenny's wedding, and out trip West for Jon and Brittany's wedding. It's going to be a really fun summer (I am faking cheerfulness a little because it's 104 degrees here...I'm actually looking forward to Texas winter a little)!

Share the Wealth

I thought I would just take a quick minute to share some of the funny things that our boys have been saying and doing lately.

Brady: When prompted to go to the potty, he puts his hand in your face and says "I'll TELL you!" Yeah, he totally give us the set-down.

"We only have Daddy's peanut butter? Awww, for Chr@#* sake!"

"I got TWO Easter baskets!", when he woke up and saw his and Carson's.

When saying our evening prayer " ...to who Od's love EMITS us here..."

"Mommy, we're best friends in the whole wide world" (Don't worry, he has more than one...no one needs to off me)

Carson: Our jolly little boy, who shakes when he laughs like a bowl full of jelly, has been crying when we put him down to sleep. If we go in to check on him, he stops crying immediately and smiles at you. Honestly, the kid's pretty smart. My defenses are rendered useless against his tricky tactics.

When he's finished eating, he blows raspberries all over the "feeder". BUT, today, he tried applesauce for the first time and, needless to say, not a drop was spit, spilled, or left in the jar...and I've never seem him cry tears more real than the ones he cried when the jar was empty. I think it's safe to say that he has his mother's sweet tooth. Sigh.

Proud Parents

I thought long and hard about whether this picture was appropriate for our blog, but in the end, I just couldn't help myself. We are so proud of our little boy, and how hard he is working to become potty trained! Obviously, Jeremy is teaching him a thing or 2 because that's the hand-held Yahtzee game that he's playing. Brady is getting so close to being finished with diapers, but we could use a little prayer from everyone to get there a little faster!

Little Angels

Can't you just see the innocent twinkling in their eyes...the faint outline of a halo? Can't you just smell the stench of purity? Well, I must be honest, "purity" is being smothered by the smell of dirty underpants (yes, I admit I just giggled at that word again). Potty training is moving along, but we still have a perpetual bucket of Brady's soaking undies.

As for Carson, I was thrilled to have a nice enough day to put him in this adorable outfit that my mom found for him. Well, I at least got a few pictures before his fat legs popped one of the buttons off.

A quick update: Carson rolled from his back to his front for the first time yesterday. He is getting so strong and is totally interested in what Brady is doing. He will be 4 months in another week+, and we will probably start to feed him solids soon after. He is VERY squeezable!

Tough Times, Overcome

I'm not gonna lie to ya...in the beginning, I shed a few tears thinking that my baby was miserable all of the time...well, not all of the time...only when he was awake. But as he has gotten older, Carson has become a really happy dude. He even goes with the flow when his older brother decides to use him as a prop during play time. Who needs dirt for your dump truck when you have a little brother?! Should I be putting a stop to this?

By the way, Brady is a VERY proud and helpful older brother.

Carson's Christening

Yeah...about the whole "I'll get caught up this week" thing...Parenting your own children by yourself is HARD (to be read with a hint of whining, like a spoiled child). Anyway, this pity-party reminds me of a much more fun celebration that we had over the holidays...the Baptism of our dear little Carson. A whole group of family came out for the joyous event, and the energetic priest made us feel like it was the most exciting day of his life. The celebration ended with a fun Italian dinner and, of course, cake! Not a bad way to be cleansed of original sin.

By the way, as of today, Carson is 13 pounds 4 ounces (big), 23 inches tall (average), and on his way to being immunized against 7 childhood illnesses...oh yeah, and GRUMPY!!!

And We're Back

Did you miss us? Well, we are finally back from PA and I will do my best to get caught up this week. But I will warn you that I am still typing one-handed quite often. While very adorable and squeezable, little Carsion is proving to be a bit of a diva. Every day is getting better, but my high-mantenance kids are winning most of my time. Is it because I do too much squeezing? Well, it's their fault for being so cute!

Phew!

Ok, I got that out of my system. I even managed to throw Jeremy in one of the pictures! Just a little update: At his 2 week appointment, Carson weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces...a pound more than the day he was born. Did I mention that I love chub?!