Miscellany Monday

I always have random things to say, but never really want to dedicate an entire post to them, so....I thought I would start participating in Miscellany Monday.

1. We had a low key weekend, Cory and I watched movies after Carson went to bed(Juno and Angels and Demons..great movies BTW).

2. Carson took 2 naps on Saturday and 2 on Sunday which is odd for him (usually just a 2 hour nap mid-day), it usually is a sign that he is getting sick..so I hope that is not the case. Maybe just a growth spurt. 

3. We locked our keys in the car on Sunday while at target. Thanks to Alison for helping us out! We are so fortunate that you live close and that you have a key to our house!

4. Rainy weekends are tough when you have a toddler in the house, we had to move my car out of the garage so Carson and Cory could play ball, and we put the big couch cushion on the floor so Carson could do some climbing and get some energy out!

5. I have been posting lately about Carson's development as far as recognizing words, etc...and this weekend I figured out he understands so much more than I thought. So I am going to start spending a little more time on baby sign language to help him communicate since he understands a lot of words/ideas but can't speak them. 

6. We got a new vacuum, way overdue! I think we spent like $50 on the one we got when we got married...bad choice, it sucks! So we got a good one and I am very excited to use it frequently!

7. We are having our house appraised today. We have just been thinking that with almost our entire family living hours away, we need more space if we want to have another baby, we just won't have the room for the grandmothers to stay and help out, or for family to come and visit either. So this is just something we are "thinking about" for now. It's no biggie if we can't sell, b/c we love our house, we just want to see if we can take advantage of the current market and find something with 4 bedrooms and bigger common areas.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

A few new developments...

• I have been figuring out that Carson understands a lot more than I thought he did. I had no idea he knew what "Glow worm" meant until the other day, I told him to go get the glow worm and he did.
• Then I asked him to find a book and he went straight to his bookshelf. And I remember reading on Babycenter a couple of months ago that it was important to teach him names and words, items etc...b/c he is building his vocabulary tremendously even though he can't speak all of these words. 
• I was cutting a pizza on the counter yesterday when he tried to wedge himself between me and the cabinet (as usual) but this time he sat down on my feet and played peek-a-boo with the dog. It was the cutest! 
• We also taught him how to kick a ball. 
• Everytime he sees a dog he says "boof boof"
• I can ask him what the cow says and he says "moooo"
• He loves to put his sippy cup in the cup holders on his tray and his car seat over and over again.

I can't believe how much he is learning!

Ready for Fall

I love how the house feels so warm with seasonal decorations out and candles burning. Here is a little peek of my fall decor. Let me preface these pics by saying I know I need to dust, and I know some of the linens need to be ironed :)

This is a wall hanging that I got from Hobby Lobby, I wanted to hang it on the back door, but there is too much coming and going I think it would drive us crazy! So I hung it beside the back door:

I made a little scarecrow bouquet and put it on the window ledge above my kitchen sink:

I got this pumpkin from Hobby Lobby and made the wreath with materials from Hobby Lobby as well, the place mats and linens were all wedding presents that I decided to finally put to use, the leaf candles were a gift from my mom a few years ago:

A little splash of color for the kitchen:

I love having a pumpkin lit up in the house, so I got one that plugs into the wall last year, this thing pretty much stays on all the time:

I also wanted to show the finished product on the fireplace (don't have a before pic handy, just picture black marble tile where the new cream tile is), hubby did a great job:

Close-up of the decor on the mantle:

Pumpkin tea light candle holders:

And I wanted something for the coffee table that could be thrown around by Carson and I couldn't resist this tiny plush pumpkin from Hobby Lobby:

Can't wait to see everyone else's fall decorations!!!!

Game Day

All of my friends know I am not big on Football, however my husband likes it and I enjoy a reason to hang out and cook out with friends and family. So with Football season in session, I had to order Carson some Auburn gear (hubby is the big Auburn fan, I went to UA). I just started off with a couple of T-shirts and some socks. I ordered a 12-month t-shirt and an 18-month size t-shirt b/c as I suspected this stuff runs small. The 12 month is more like a 6 month size, and the 18-month was more like 12 month. So I will probably be ordering another shirt or 2 for him in probably 2T so I can wash and dry it worry free!

Anyway...isn't he cute in his little shirt!

It was super hot outside Saturday..hence the red face!

Oh how I love Toddlerhood...

This kid keeps us laughing even after he has gone to bed. I was surfing the web and Cory was about to get into the shower when he discovered a pack of sweet-tarts in the tub. Then I remembered earlier in the evening the 60 seconds of calling Carson into the living room after he ventured into the bedroom with a handful of Halloween candy he swiped from the bowl. I thought something would probably end up in the toilet, but I was wrong.

I discovered today that Carson now knows what "shoes" mean. After supper, he was clinging to my leg while I was trying to change out of my work clothes and I said "Go find your shoes" and he immediately went to the kitchen table (which is where I put them every time I take them off of him) and began looking and reaching for them.

He also knows what "throw it" means. We have taught him to throw the balls for the dogs, but this has now been really beneficial for the times that he picks up something not ideal to put into his mouth..We say "throw it" and he throws the item back down. He thinks its a game, and it takes his interest off of putting something gross (carpet fuzz, old crumbs, dog food, etc...) in his mouth.

He has figured out that clapping goes with being proud, or goes with ending something. He usually claps after he does something that he thinks was special, or when we say "good job", and also at the end of his glow worm songs, or songs I sing for him. Can he get any cuter!

Carson is 13 months old.

Carson Lately

What is this little guy up to? He is recovering from being sick again, I feel so bad for him...he catches everything it seems. He had a virus in his throat and a sinus infection. At least it wasn't his ears this time. We actually held off on getting tubes for multiple reasons. We are going to give it some more time and see how he does, and then re-visit the ENT and that idea if we feel the need.

Carson loves to dance, it doesn't matter what type of music - classical, mexican, lady ga-ga..whatever..he always busts a move. He's a dancing machine! He shook his head "no" at Michael Jackson and Katy Perry...funny. 

He loves his Glow Worm, and a book about animals. He brings it to us constantly. He loves for us to make animal sounds. He can make the dog sound "woof woof" sounds more like "boo boo" and the cow sound which sounds like "boooooo" :) 

Cory swears he can say passy, but I haven't really heard that one yet. His latest word is ball. I may be missing a few but his vocab now consists of: bite, hey, hi, mama, dada, daddy, doggie, ducky, and uh-oh. The jabbering is hilarious, like he has his own language. And when he looks at me and says something in jabber, he really believes it and his face is so serious.

He loves to try and drink the bath water from the cup..ick!

When we went to the Dr. last, he weighed 21 pounds. So he has gained one pound since he started walking, pretty good. He still loves to eat, thank goodness, its really going to worry me when he loses his appetite due to teething or busy toddlerhood, etc...The Dr. also said his gums were very swollen so he may get some more teeth soon. 

I got out a few fall decorations...I am so ready for fall to arrive, I want some pictures of Carson with the changing leaves. I am a little worried though b/c I don't think he is going to fit into the winter clothes I bought him, he is short so all the pants are going to be too long. I guess I could have them altered???

We play outside everyday after supper, he just guides me around the yard. I got a few cute pictures of him today, very rare since I can never get him to look at the camera anymore.

And...I got a rare family picture over Labor Day weekend!

Carson is 13 months old.

Prayers needed

I am sure most of you are familiar with My Sister-in-law's blog http://asouthernboyandacitygirl.blogspot.com/. If not please visit and read baby Oliver's story. Please leave comments of encouragement and support. Please keep the Phillips and Byrne families in your prayers.



Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Blossoming...

Carson is really starting to pick up on more and more activities and mainly matching ideas together. I didn't realize how much attention he really pays to what we do. He knows that pen/crayon goes to the paper, the remote goes to the TV (he will point it at the TV), the phone goes to his ear, the brush goes to his hair.

If he has a blanket or anything soft he presses it to his cheek and leans his head over (sweetest thing ever).

He knows that socks and shoes go onto his feet. He will also bring me his shoes in the hope that I will take him outside. He loves to try to put our shoes on, and he is so good for me (knock on wood) when I put his socks and shoes on in the mornings, he will try to put his foot in the shoe.

He also thinks the word "easy" means to pet something. When he first started grabbing and touching the dogs we would tell him "be easy" and show him how to pet the dog. I noticed last time his cousin Zoe visited, I wanted to make sure he wasn't rough with her since he is older and bigger, so I told him be easy, and he started petting her arm. So cute! This morning, he was rolling over and trying to sit and stand on me so I told him be easy and he started to pet my arm...I just melted!

Carson will be 13 months old tomorrow!