Carson's birthday party

It's going to be a good day!! It is the day of Carson's 3rd birthday party and he is chilling on the couch taking it all in!

One of the presents Carson asked for was his "birthday Thomas". It is a ride on train that has tracks and everything.

He is saying hello to Thomas!

I love this year that he opened all of the cards and pretended to read them!

This is one of the presents he got and both boys have been playing with it since Sunday. They get to build different towers and then send the marbles down!

A new guitar for my musician. He loves to sing us songs and play instruments.

Aidan liked one of Carson's new presents...a Bears football outfit, including the helmet and pads.

Carson's Car themed cake.

Carson was embarrassed when we sang him "Happy Birthday". He hid on the table until we were done.

Carson blowing out his candles.

His cake came with 2 cars (Lightning McQueen and Mater). I think that was his favorite part, other than the frosting of course!

Aidan with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.

Thanks again to all who came and celebrated Carson's birthday with us.

Happy 3rd Birthday Carson!!!

Carson turns 3 today!!! I look back on the past 3 years and can't believe how far we have come!! Above is where it all started (taken right before the c-section) and I have posted many pictures below to show how far Carson has grown and changed in the last 3 years.

Carson was born on Monday, November, 20, 2006. He was 8 pounds, 5.5 oz. He has been full of life since the beginning. He has always let us know when he wasn't happy. But when he was happy, his giggling and laughing were contagious and we would always join in.

Picture in the hospital. He looks pretty mellow here huh? Big brother Aidan gets to meet his new brother. Look at those cheeks on Aidan!! :-)

Carson's c-section was scheduled about 2 weeks before his actual due date. This is what we woke up to on his due date, December 1st. Good thing he didn't wait until then!! Every December 1st since Carson was born, we have had a huge snowstorm.

Carson smile is one of his best features. He just pulls you in with that smile. It usually helps him stay out of trouble too!

During Carson's first year or so, he loved to sleep in the stroller. Luckily now he likes his bed!

My little man.

I posted this picture to prove that at some point Carson willingly ate green beans! He is not a fan of veggies (unless they're hidden).

My crawling spiderbaby.

He was always an active eater!

Carson loved his "ba ba". It took some work, but he eventually took it from others. Once he was able to feed himself a bottle, he never dropped it or put it down. As you can see above, this is how he kept his hands free. Strong front teeth!

Carson had several black eyes over his first couple of years. But I think he pulls it off well!

Wondering where Carson went to? Check the fridge! He was busted in this position several times....and he still is!

Carson loves life. He is often seen with a smile on his face and running all around.

He loves donuts! Again, active eater!

Carson loves his big brother and loves spending time with him. Here they are snuggled up in the chair reading books. If you look closely, he has another black eye in this picture too!

Always has a crazy, goofy expression on his face.

Happy face again!

My little Bear fan at Soldier Field. He loved all the action.
Carson on 4th of July 2009. He loved the fireworks and sparklers. He is not afraid to try anything reckless.
Carson at the Cubs/White Sox Alumni game.
Look how much he has grown. He is over 3 feet tall this Fall at the Pumpkin Patch.

It is amazing how much our lives have changed in the last 3 years. We went from easy life with 1 son to a crazy life with 2 boys. Carson didn't sleep through the night until about a year so it was a rough start, but we are starting to come out on the other end. We are starting to travel as a family more, do more daily outings, even shopping is easier now.

I can't wait to see what the next year brings for us. Happy Birthday Carson!! Love you!

Carson's Doctor Visit

Carson had his 3 year checkup this morning. With Carson, you never know what you are going to get. This morning I lucked out and got the nice and cooperative Carson! He had a great visit, followed the doctor's instructions and never cried or threw a tantrum.
He measured out at 35 pounds (75% percentile) and 37.5 inches tall (50% percentile). He has grown 2.5 inches since he 2.5 inches year visit! He has always been much smaller than Aidan except at birth (Aidan has been off the charts since 2 months in height, weight and head circumference) so it is good to see him growing a little and getting past the under 50% percentile where he has spent most of his almost 3 years of life. Another piece of good news is that he has outgrown his heart murmur!! Yeah! It only took 3 years, but we got there. But now we have to watch the size of his tonsils, I guess one is bigger than the other and may cause sleep problems in the future. Always something.

He also got his flu shot today and the nurse was prepared for a big fit. Well Carson watched her give him the shot and didn't even flinch! He never cried or anything! So all in all it was a great doctor visit.

I know most of you reading this really don't care about this visit, but again, this is a diary of my life and I wanted to remember this visit.

Boo! Halloween 2009

Happy Halloween! Each year we go to our friends house and go trick or treating first to get the kids all sugared up then we have dinner. We had cold weather this year, but all the kids had fun. Last year Aidan was trying his best to keep up with the big kids. This year he was leading the pack and telling everyone to hurry up! What a difference a year makes. This Halloween, Aidan was a Police Officer and Carson was an inmate (for those of you who know my kids well, this was very fitting!)

Here are the boys at the Pumpkin Patch. They love that place. Unfortunately, we went on what seemed to be the coldest day yet this Fall. So we ran around to get our annual pictures and bought some apple doughnuts and got back in the warm car.

Little Carson is growing up.

My little man. Aidan has always been big for his age (off the charts since 2 months old).

Jason and his boys.

The picture above shows our group before we headed out for trick or treating. As you can see, Carson was living up to his costume! Eventually Carson did join in with the group, but it was pretty funny that he stayed separate as we were getting everyone situated.

It was a great night this year and the boys even slept in the next morning...even better!

Here we go!

It occurred to me the other day that our lives are changing and moving into another stage and I wanted to start documenting our lives at this stage before it is all gone. The stage are leaving is the babyhood stage and part of me is sad and the other part is SO HAPPY!!!

So a little bit of background for those of you who don't know it:
I married my college sweetheart on December 15, 2001. It was a normal grey December day in the Midwest, but no snow and not too cold!
We were lucky to travel to Europe, Mexico, Caribbean, and other US States.
After a few years of traveling, we decided it was time to start a family. We welcomed our first baby boy, Aidan Michael, on April 7, 2004. It was a rough delivery and after 24 hours of labor and c -section, we got to meet our little man. He was a tough baby but after the first year has been a really good kid. He is very affectionate and loving and I hope he never stops loving to snuggle with his mommy!
A couple of years later, we decided Aidan needed a buddy and on November 20, 2006, we welcomed Carson Alexander to the world. He has added some excitement to our lives to say the least! I knew when I was pregnant with Carson that he was going to be trouble and boy was I ever right! He is much more active and devilish than Aidan ever was. He does things that Aidan never even thought of! But I suppose we couldn't be so lucky twice! But I wouldn't change him for the world....he is our little devil and we love everything about him.

Aidan is now 5 1/2 and in Kindergarten. He is our little man now. Carson is almost 3 and becoming very independent. He is dressing himself (most days) and is about 90% potty trained (good during the day and still need some protection at night). This brings me to the reason why I have started this blog. I have been meaning to start one for a while now and just haven't done it. The other day it occurred to me that we really don't have babies in our house anymore. We are getting back a little bit of a normal life and more importantly, I am getting back to a life that includes a little more me time, which quite frankly is good for the whole family! I have been able to start reading again and completed my first (of hopefully many) Sprint Triathlons this past summer, going out with girlfriends and every once in a while my husband and I get to go out too!
This blog is more of a digital diary for me to capture my time with my boys but also to allow friends and family to see what we are up to also. I hope you enjoy!