Swing Set

I am so excited, we ordered Carson's swing set the other night and it should be here sometime next week! He loves being thrown up in the air and has always been a motion-loving baby, so I can't wait to see him swing outside!

We wanted something very simple and easy to put together.

Here it is!

And until he is old enough for the big boy swing, here is his infant swing to attach to the set:

Yet another 1st!

Carson and I were playing in the yard before bath time yesterday and out of nowhere he went from sitting to standing all on his own! He stood there for about 5 seconds or so; and repeated the process a few times! I was so proud, and I got it on camera to show Da-Da since he was out of town last night. I will post pics later, but just had to go ahead and brag!!!!!!!!

Uh-oh!

...is Carson's new word. After his bath last night I said it a few times, and he repeated it to me. I got so excited and from then on he knew what I wanted him to do when I said it. He is getting so smart! Of course he wouldn't do it for his teachers this morning when I dropped him off  :)

We are officially calling Da-Da his first word, but Uh-oh is the first word that he has repeated back to us and he knows that we want him to say it. It is SO cute hearing him say it. Now if I can only get him to say Mama!

1st Braves Game

We took Carson to his 1st Atlanta Braves Game this past weekend, and he really enjoyed it. I don't think he complained one bit. There were so many new things and people to look at, he just took it all in, and was very content. He especially loved the Jumbotron, and the cotton candy man. His eyes followed the cotton candy everywhere! 

All 3 of us waiting on the game to start (please excuse my hair, this was after a long day of work)

  

This was on the way into the stadium:

Carson's obsession:

YAY, GO BRAVES!

It's a little loud, ya think?

And....the poor thing was so tired the rest of the weekend, he took a ton of naps.

Why Blog?

Recently I started reading Kelly's Corner, a few of my friends like her blog so I thought I would read a few posts. Her recent post is on why she blogs and she asked her readers, Why Blog? I like her blog b/c it is interactive.

Anyway...why blog? I started blogging after I married Cory, b/c it seemed like "the thing to do." So I started mine, and it consisted of a few posts on our wedding, honeymoon, and our precious doggies. Then I got pregnant and my blogging exploded! Pregnancy was no picnic for me, especially in the beginning, well ok, the whole time! My 1st ultrasound which most people experience as the most amazing day ever- to get to see their baby for the very 1st time...well that was one of the worst days of my life. They told us to see a specialist and that there may be something wrong with the baby. I was devastated. Even though I had plenty of supportive friends and family to talk to, every time I talked about it, I cried and couldn't get the words out. So, I blogged, and the blogger support was amazing. And it continues that way to this day. Thankfully Carson was just fine and there was no valid reason for my OB to send me to a Specialist, which I found out 1/2 way through my pregnancy...thus began my mistrust of Doctors.

As for being a mommy, I was the first of my group of friends to have a baby, so I often felt very alone. Through blogging, I met new friends, and re-connected with High School and College buddies who had gone through pregnancy and giving birth. There are some moms out there who are SO helpful whenever I reach out for advice. Thanks girls, your comments mean a lot to me!

Other than finding support for myself and re-connecting with old friends, I blog to also provide a look into my life and experience as a mother. As a mother, I hate when people tell me how to be a mother, so I don't want to inflict that on anyone, I keep Carson's development/my baby advice in the labels section, so its there if anyone wants it.

A new theme you may have noticed is that my opinion on childbirth is changing dramatically. With my first baby, I would have been 1st in line for an unnecessary induction, taken all the drugs they would give me, which probably would have led me to a cesarean anyway based on research I have been doing, and didn't question anything my Doctor said. The 2nd time around, I will be prepared, informed, and will have an active voice in my child-birthing experience. If anyone out there is interested in correlations between cesarean/breastfeeding (or lack-there-of)/unnecessary intervention, I suggest you read my new favorite blog: The Feminist Breeder who has opened my eyes. After reading her blog like a book - its that good, I realized that women are so uninformed about the way childbirth should be. So I will use my blog to help get the word out.

Why do YOU blog?

Let the Planning Begin!

I began thinking of Carson's 1st Birthday party a few months ago, but when he turned 9 months old, reality set in...he will be ONE in 3 months! INSANE. Ok, so now that I am over my initial shock that my baby will soon be a toddler, I can plan this shindig. 

At first I thought of an Elmo, Cookie Monster, or Clifford theme..all of which are such cute characters that Carson loves. But I just couldn't commit to any of them. Then we started noticing how much he loves the Dinosaur Train show on PBS, and I have bought him a few Dinosaur books to read (or mainly chew on) I really started to like the Dinosaur idea. And I bet the Dessert Box can make a phenomenal Dino cake! YUM. 

I saw on Baby Foreste's blog  a great Etsy shop for invitations - and saw the cutest Dino invite. This is going to be SO fun! 

My First Mothers' Day

“Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.” -Marion C. Garretty

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." - Lin Yutang

“Making a decision to have a child-it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” - Elizabeth Stone

“Remember that behind every successful woman......is a basket of dirty laundry.” - Author Unknown

That last quote is the ANTHEM of the working mother! I love it! I hope every mom out there had a great Mothers' Day. My first one was wonderful! Cory let me sleep in and made me breakfast. There were 2 cards under my plate, one from Cory and one from Carson. :) I also got a huge canvas picture of Carson from canvas press.com. Cory is going to make a frame for it, then I will post the finished product.

We relaxed all day, and played outside. Cory grilled steaks for dinner and we made strawberry shortcakes with fresh strawberries from our garden. We also discovered Carson's 1st tooth peeking through!

The highlight of the entire day: During breakfast Cory said "I don't know how you do this every morning" - referring to getting Carson fed/changed/ready and doing the same for myself. That made me feel good, and appreciated - which is the ultimate goal of Mothers' Day.

To MY mom, Faye....thanks for everything you have done for me...I now understand. I totally get why you wanted 10 million pictures of us in front of the azaleas every year! :)

Carson is 9 months old!

We have had a lot going on this month, Carson is growing like a weed, and is getting into everything. Here is what's new:

• He started crawling (the real thing, up on both knees)
• He will take steps when you hold his hands
• He tries to stand on his own, he can do it for about a second, then falls
• He pulls up and travels holding on to tables, etc...
• Teething...he is constantly chewing on his hands and passy, still no sign of teeth breaking through
• Has been playing outside a lot, he loves the grass
• Has bumped his head a few times...guess he is toughening up
• We lowered the crib to the lowest setting
• He is EXTREMELY interested in the dogs, he is constantly following them trying to grab them (Chase wants nothing to do with him, and Charlie wants to French kiss him)
• He weighs a little over 18 lbs, not sure of the inches
• He is wearing 9 months clothing and some 12 months
• He loves to be tickled on the collar bone and thighs, getting rasberries blown on him, and being thrown in the air
• He is becoming a copy cat, we repeat some of the sounds he makes and he will do it again, then if we laugh, he laughs and so on
• Still loves making noises with his tongue
• Still loves to clap, we are working on waving bye-bye
• His favorite toy is the play table Nana got him, he LOVES it
• He loves any sweet foods, and his fav veggies are squash, sweet potatoes, and green beans. Recently he has been trying small bites of pasta, gerber star puffs, biter biscuits, and toast; he is not a fan of chunky textures, but we will keep trying
• He can feed himself some finger foods
• He still takes a bottle every 4 hours and can hold it himself
• Has been Zantac-free for about 2 weeks now and doing great
• He had his first haircut this month and he did great
• I have started to think about the BIG 1st Birthday! We are 3 months away, I get a little sad thinking about my baby not being a baby. I love rocking him to sleep every night, and I hate thinking that those days are numbered. :(

  

This is the play table he loves: