Dentist

     Carson had his first dentist appt. today and did great!  The staff was great with him and let him touch the polisher, drink water out of the water squirter and play with a mask.  We were just hoping he would let them look in his mouth, but he got his 10 teeth polished and painted with fluoride.  He not only walked away with a toothbrush and toothpaste, but also a mini bat and ball toy.  And of course he had all the ladies in the office swooning over him! 

Potty

      We have poop in the potty!!!!!!!  I don't think Carson is going to be doing this on a regular basis yet, but it was one less diaper we have to change! 

Fire Station Tour

     My Moms Club toured a fire station today in Tacoma.  Carson loved "driving" the fire truck and sitting in the back seat.  He climbed right up on the seat in the back and wouldn't get out until I made him!  The station we toured has been in use since 1911 and we got to see where the horses used to be kept before they used motorized trucks.  One of the fireman dressed up in all his gear and as expected Carson was scared and clung to me.  He did okay as long as the mask wasn't on.  Here are some pictures from his adventure today!


Carson's driving, watch out!!



His favorite seat

The whole gang

Sparkee the fire fish

Wearing his Junior Firefighter badge

Swim and Eating

   Carson has been taking swim lessons for about a year now.  In the last three months he's really started to grasp the concept of what he's doing in the water.  Yesterday he did full 'bobs' (holding on to the  edge of the pool, going under and come back up) all the way under on his own!  The last couple months he would put his mouth in the water and then up to his nose, but yesterday was the first time he went over his eyes and then all the way under.  Once he realized he could do it he was a bobbing machine.  He's learned all the songs we sing in class as well and now is doing the hand motions with everyone else. 
    I'm also letting down my guard and allowing Carson feed himself with a spoon.  When he eats he turns the spoon or fork upside down and ends up dumping it on his shirt if it's not stabbed on the fork.  He's been showing a lot of interest in feeding himself so I got the bib on him (first time since he was just over a year old) and let him go for it.  It went much better than expected and he's learning to keep the spoon level, otherwise nothing gets in his mouth.  We still have a long way to go, but he's growing up! 
   On Sunday we went down to Owen Beach and Jason was showing Carson how to skip rocks.

Fourth of July

   We spent the fourth of July weekend down in Ashland for my 10 year high school reunion.  It was so great to be back in town!  We took a walk through Lithia Park and hit up my favorite pizza place, Giseppis!  Carson went to his first parade in downtown Ashland.  He loved watching the people and listening to the music, he even got a balloon!  We had a couple breakdowns due to the jet fly over at the start of the parade that scared him and also when the ambulance set off its horns right in front of us.  I was really looking foward to the warm weather down there (low 90s) only to realize when it's that warm all I want is to be inside in air conditioning!  I much prefer Tacoma summers in the low 80s. 



Running through the sprinklers with Gabby

  
                                             Playing baseball with Bobby

Watching the parade

 

Keeping himself entertained on the car ride home

Peek - A - Boo

Mascots and Water Park

I started writing this post about three weeks ago and just never finished it, so here is from June 27th!   
   We went to the Rainiers game on Friday night and were lucky enough to have Rhubarb (the mascot) come and visit.  Now was the time to find out if Carson would be scared of people in costume.  He looked at him and was interested, but as he got closer he wasn't so sure.  He put his hand out for a high-five, but by the time Rhubarb got to him he was terrified!  Needless to say, he did not high-five him.  As Carson spotted him throughout the stadium he would point and make noises like, 'don't let him come back here!'
   Carson had his first experience at a spray park on Saturday.  He was so excited to see the water, but didn't want to go in by himself.  So he drug me in by my finger and once I got him to touch the water he was more comfortable.  He would touch the water and then run back to me and sit on the edge petting the dog that was lying on the grass.  I'm still not sure which he liked better, the dog or the water.   

   My Bible study group met for the last time last night before a summer break, so we decided to sit outside by the fire and roast marshmallows for s'mores.  Carson ate graham crackers and helped hold the stick while roasting the marshmallows.  He ran around outside all night long in the grass, in the dirt, and the rocks.  For the first time in his life he asked to go inside!  He had so much fun outside he ended up taking a bath before he came home.  
   Today we ventured down to the beach and Carson had fun throwing rocks in the water.  We spent the day digging in the sand, climbing on logs and running through the grass.   A group of seals popped their heads out of the water at us as they passed through the sound.  We put on his sandals so he could go in the water.  He would get his toes right to the edge of the water but in the end decided he didn't want to go in.  I don't blame him the water was really cold! 

Videos

Pitching just like Daddy


Perfecting his swing


Run run run

Outside Fun

     Carson is spending as much time outside as he can; weather and parent permitting.  The neighbor kids were playing with sidewalk chalk and Carson wanted to make his mark on the ground too! 



Oh, I'm supposed to draw on the ground
not my pants.



     Last Saturday we spent the whole day outside and had beautiful weather!  In the morning we went to my Mom's club pajama brunch and went to a birthday party in the afternoon.  Carson was lathered with sunscreen, but the longer he was outside the pinker he got.  He did a good job of drinking water, but all the fun toys were in the sun.  We took Carson inside and he looked like a lobster!  We kept him inside and drinking water and soon his skin tone was back to normal.  Just today I noticed a couple freckles popping up on his face.                                                 Along with playing outside comes falling outside too.  Carson was wearing shorts on Monday and took a spill on the sidewalk.  His first official scraped knees.  We may keep pants on him outside a little bit longer.   



Hello?

Easter

     We had a great Easter!  He is risen!  We went to church and then had Easter lunch with Gary and Carolyn.  Carson did three Easter egg hunts this week.  The first one was on Friday with my moms club, then a community hunt on Saturday and finally a practice hunt at home on Easter morning and then another at Papa and Nena's house.  It's a good thing we had so many, on Friday he put one egg in his basket and then pulled it out and threw it!  Later he got up to three eggs in his basket before he dumped them all out and walked away.  At that point I think he thought they were just balls.  Once he realized there were treats/toys inside he did a lot better. 

 

We made cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Easter and gave Carson a few bites without frosting.  Here is the result... 


Easter Egg Hunt at Papa and Nena's

FORE!

     We bought Carson a small golf set which he loves!  At first he would swing the club like a baseball bat, but now he hit balls off the ground.  His favorite game right now is to have us roll a ball to him and he swings and hits it. After less than a week he has already broken a club!  

Catch Up

     I'll do my best to remember everything and catch you up on the last month.
     The sun was out yesterday so I did some weeding around the yard.  I thought Carson would run around and play, but he was far more interested in what I was doing, especially when he discovered worms!  He would squat down and stare at the worm and point at him.  Then stood up and kicked and tried to step on the worm.  At this point I tried keeping him away, but he still sneaked in a finger and touched the worm.  He was pretty excited about all of this.  He eventually went off and played with the neighbor kids, but whenever he came back he would sign 'more' wanting to see more worms.  Oh this is going to be an exciting summer!
     Carson is now up to 10 teeth, we're half way there, only 10 more to go!  He is working on a couple more bottom front teeth right now.  He's a big boy and brushes his teeth twice a day; well he chews on the toothbrush for a little bit and then Jason or I get a turn to actually brush them.
     With the weather getting nicer - every once and a while at least - we've been getting out to take walks and go to the park.  Carson loves to go to the park; whenever we walk by he tries to get out of the stroller to go play.  He's become quite the master on the slide.  He can walk up and go down all by himself (see video below)!    
     Carson is still doing swim lessons twice a week and enjoying the water.  Jason is helping coach baseball at Franklin Pierce High School so we've gone to quite a few games and Carson seems to be picking up habits from watching the guys on the field.  After the first game he came home, picked up his bat and got in a batters stance that neither of us have taught him.  A couple weeks ago he started 'sliding' around the house.  It's pretty entertaining to watch.
     HAPPY EASTER to everyone and we'll have Carson's first Easter egg hunt to post after Sunday!



The Batting Stance



On my way to the slide



Climbing



Big pushes from Dad



Trying on Uncle Zac's shoes

Batting Practice

     Sorry it's been so long since the last post!  Here's a look at batting practice this morning.

Growing Boy

     Carson had his 18 month appointment today and is a growing boy!  He is currently 23 lbs 10 oz and 32" long.  He grew almost two inches in the last three months (the nurse actually measured him twice just to make sure).  His growth curve is looking great and he's holding up the 25th percentile proudly :).  Jason decided that with this growth spurt Carson's basketball hoop was ready to be moved up another notch.  And yes, he can still make a jump shot at this new height, just no dunking! 

Just in case you weren't sure, we live with Captain Awesome

Being a super hero is tough work

My new haircut

Video Fun

     Here are some videos taken over the week.

Jump Shot

I'm not sure who uses this more, me or Carson...

You have to earn your keep at the Andrew Household



Lucky Number Seven

     Carson went from three teeth to seven in two weeks.  He now has six teeth on the top and one on the bottom.  Hopefully his bottom tooth will get some friends soon to help with the chewing! 

Snow Day

     The snow blanketed our home again today.  It snowed off and on yesterday but always melted after a few hours.  Today it stuck around a little longer and was good enough for a couple snowball fights between Jason and our four year old neighbor.  We got Carson into his snowsuit today, but it was a little on the tight side (note picture below with wedgie).  Last time it snowed Carson wasn't stable enough on his feet to walk around in.  Today he was walking fine on the sidewalks, but would do a face plant if he tried to go into the grass area.  He wasn't so happy about eating snow when that happened.  Everyone had a great time outside and enjoyed watching the snow fall from the inside too!
     Teething update:  We can see and feel two teeth coming in around his two front teeth, so that is where we have been applying the Orajel.  Yesterday I got my finger further back in his mouth and felt the tip of a tooth that broke the surface, one on each side of the top.  So he is actually working on four teeth right now! 
     Here are some pictures of our fun the last few days!



This snowsuit is riding up on me!





Carson's first snow angel
(more like we plopped him in the snow, there was no moving of the arms and hands)




Relaxing after fun in the snow



Lil Baller

     Carson got a new toy today.  It's not very often that I hear Jason say, "Carson, do you want to go shopping?"  I should have known it was for a new sports toy.  As we walked the aisles at Toys R Us Carson found every ball in sight, but we came home with a new basketball hoop.  Jason had the hoop up and running before I could get the groceries in the fridge.  The hoop is a big hit with Carson; so much so that when Jason wants to take a shot, Carson whines because he doesn't have the ball anymore.  All I can say is that we have a lil baller on our hands!

Building

     Carson had a first yesterday, he stacked blocks on top of each other!  I can finally say he builds instead destroys...well he still destroys.  He was playing with three blocks, would get two of them stacked and inevitably would knock them over while trying to pick up the third.  Every time this happened he would let out a whine of frustration.  Although I felt bad for the little guy it was pretty funny.  But when he would get all three stacked he would smile and clap.  The tower stands for about five seconds before his hand comes swinging through and knocks them over!
     His finicky eating continues, the only way he would eat his yogurt yesterday was if he fed himself, he refused if the spoon was in my hand.  I knew this day would come and I would have to suck it up and deal with the mess.  So I pulled out a bib, which he hasn't worn in months, and sat him in the kitchen.  After a few unsuccessful attempt at getting much on the spoon he would let me hold the spoon with him to scoop it and guide into his mouth.  Not only is he into feeding himself, but he also wants to feed other people.  Lately he has been feeding Jason and I as well as his friends at play dates.  
    Carson started swim lessons again this week.  I chose the 9 am time slot because we're up around 7:45/8 am anyway.  Yesterday was the first day of class and we had to wake Carson out of a snoring sleep at 8:30 am!!  I couldn't believe the one day he sleeps in we had to wake him up to leave.  Today he was back to 7:45 am, we'll see what tomorrow holds. He loves swimming and is doing well in the pool.   

Jumpin' Bean

     Carson liked the bouncy house so much he tried to bring it home!

Army Crawl

     We started strapping Carson into his booster chair on the floor in the corner for timeouts.  He was having too much fun getting up and being put back in the corner.  Last night he had one timeout in the corner and afterwards he moved his chair to the other side of the kitchen.  Later on in the evening he needed a second timeout (for the same misbehavior - you'd think he'd get it the first time :-)) and I decided to just strap him in the chair where it was, making sure he couldn't reach cabinets etc.  Next thing we know we hear his chair scooting...then dragging...we look around the couch to see Carson army crawling on his belly out of the kitchen with his booster seat still attached!!  It's hard to punish the kid when both parents are laughing hysterically.  Needless to say, next time he will be back in the corner.
     Today Carson and I went to a bounce house place that had several jump houses and slides.  We went to a similar place for a birthday party back in November and Carson wasn't a fan of going down the big slide or bouncing.  Today seemed to start off the same way; I took Carson up the slide and he started whining as we were climbing the ladder and sitting at the top, we slid down and as soon as I stood up he signed 'more.'  I thought to myself, okay, he liked it, so lets go again.  He did the same thing, whining on the way up and then wanted more after we slid down.  I concluded he likes the actual sliding and not the getting up there part.  I also became a slave to the bounce house.  I took him in and bounced with him and then both got out when I was tired and hot. Everytime I would take him out, he would grab my hand and pull me back to the bounce house.  Here are a few pictures and video...I promise he had a good time even though he's not smiling :)   
    

Sorry it's sideways! (If you know how to fix it please tell me!)



Taking a bouncy break



"Weeeeeeeeeeeee"

                      

Table with a view

     Carson has become very particular with how he eats lately.  Sometimes he wants to eat with his hands, other times he wants to eat with utensils.  On Monday it turned out all he wanted was a breakfast with a view.  I finally let him out of his chair and put breakfast on his small table in the living room and he ate like nothing was ever wrong.  I can't blame him, I like tables by the window too.

     Jason has been officiating several rec games near the house so Carson and I have gone to a couple.  The first game he sat on my lap the whole first half and watched the game go up and down the court.  He got a little antsy the second half but stayed in the stands near me.  The next week was a whole different story.  He lasted about four minutes on my lap before he wanted onto the court to get the basketball.  I was able to keep him corralled the first half.  During halftime Jason got him a ball and he played on the court.  Carson whined and ran after the ball after it was taken away.  We didn't last another five minutes into the second half before I decided it was best (and easier for me) to just go back home. 

     We had a fun birthday celebration with family last weekend!
    

Carson learned how to "cheers" his drink

                                   The birthday boys with their birthday cupcakes