Monday, October 31, 2011

TWO Years Old

I truly can't believe that I am writing this post right now.  It's such a bittersweet post, really.  I have always thought those Moms that were all sentimental about every. little. thing. were absolutely crazy.  And, I have now added myself to the list of things that are categorized as....."Things I never thought I would do, until I became a MOM myself"....

For some reason lately, every little change has gotten to me.  It makes me want to cry when I packed away Carson's Summer clothes, knowing he would never wear them again.  Or, when I look at him, and I swear he grew over night.  And when he gets a trim by Daddy, and he looks like a totally different boy, when in reality, he just cut off a few strangling hairs.

This weekend marked TWO years old for our dearest Wee Lad.  He has been such a joy to us in our lives, words truly can't describe.  We have been through a lot in two years, and yet here we are, the day that marks the birth of our first born, and we couldn't be more happier. 

Carl and I do a lot of reflecting on the life with, and without children.  And, let's just say...the talk about "without children" lasts for about 10 seconds.  We can't even really remember what we did, or talked about before Carson came along.  It's been wonderful, to say the least.

Carson is still our sweetheart, with a twist of a two-year-old's attitude.  I am going to admit that this is the hardest age, to date, for me.  I am struggling with reasoning with him, disciplining him, and getting through to him that biting is NOT acceptable.  But, even with those few challenging things, comes the good.....comes the great.....comes the fabulous that children bring to one's life.  And, he has brought good, great, fabulous, and so much more to our lives. 

I can tell that Carl being gone during the evening hours is really starting to take a toll on Carson's little life.  He really misses his Daddy, and there is nothing I can do about it, which is a huge bummer.  Every morning, and every evening he cries for Daddy.  If we by chance get to see Carl for 5 minutes at night before he goes to work, it is almost worse than not seeing him at all.  Carson stands at the door, cries, and says "No, Daddy Bye-bye"....and that just breaks my heart.  So, I would classify Carson as a "Daddy's Boy" at the moment.

Carson's Stats:
    Weight: 24 Pounds
     Diaper: Size 4
     Clothing: 12-18 Months
     Favorite Toy: He loves to play with puzzles, put things together, play with his tractors and trucks, his barn animals, and his blocks.  He is also still in love with his 5 Dr. Seuss books that we have.  He can't just carry around 1 of these books, his arms have to be plump full with all 5 of them.  It's like he can't decide which one is his favorite, or which one he wants to "read" first. 

Carson also has a bear, and a tiger that he loves to carry around.  They usually go everywhere with us, and he has to sleep with them every night.  The tiger is actually the stuffed animal that I got from Carl on our wedding day, that was with the roses that he gave me right before we saw each other for the first time that day.  I think it is so neat that Carson chose that stuffed animal, out of all of his, to love the most.
He is also back to really enjoying Norman, the turtle.  And, surprisingly enough, a few of Norman's buttons still work.  I hear them occasionally during the middle of the night, and I hope and pray that it doesn't wake him up :) 

As our little guy's birthday has been approaching, I have been reflecting on the day that we brought him into this world.  The anticipation, excitement, feeling so anxious, and very nervous.  I remember that day so clearly.  And, I will never forget the moment I laid eyes on our son for the first time, and instantly fell in love.  Or when I heard my husband whisper in my ear "He is here, and Ang, he is absolutely perfect"...while he was fighting back tears.  There are so many details to that day that I remember so vividly, and I hope I never forget them.  Not a single one of them.

Our little Carson is entering into the "Terrific Twos" and I still can't believe it.  I am anxious to watch him grow and learn new things, but a little part of me wants him to be a baby again.  But, I doubt that feeling will ever go away....even at the age of 16!

We are looking forward to another wonderful year with our little growing toddler.  He has blessed our life in so many ways, and I am looking forward to the future.  We don't know what it will entail, but I am excited for it all.

The next year will bring challenges, no doubt.  We have a two year old on our hands, and you never know what is going to be next.  But, this little body has brought so much life, and so much love into our family already, that those bad memories, or bad moments can quickly be erased from our memory.  We thank the good Lord every night for blessing us with such an amazing soul to raise.


We love you, little Wee Lad.  Happy 2nd Birthday!!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Fall

This year's Fall weather has truly been gorgeous.  We have actually been pretty spoiled with the super nice temps that we had a few weeks back.  About 20 degrees above normal is crazy/unheard of.  But, with that being said, I am completely content with the 60 degrees temps, too.  I love jeans and a sweatshirt kind of weather.  Something about that apparel combo screams Fall.  And, this is my favorite time of year.

Carson and I enjoyed some time outdoors last week in the leaves.  We have three mature trees in our backyard, that obviously produce millions of leaves.  We are finding out that the different trees are all going to drop their leaves at different times.  We have one bare tree, a tree that is turning right now, and one that is completely green yet.  So, we enjoyed some fun in the leaves from the bare tree!





I raked a huge pile of leaves, and Carson helped me.  Well, kind of helped.  I think he was dragging most of the leaves off of the pile with his big rake, but he was having fun. 



After I got the pile raked, I showed him what on earth we were supposed to do with this big pile.  I ran through the pile, and he followed right behind me.  He was throwing the leaves, falling down in them, and truly enjoying himself.  The smile on his face from him having so much fun, was enough to make me want to stay out there all night. 





Carson then came up with this brilliant idea (all by himself!) to take his 4-wheeler for a spin through the leaves!  I find it so funny to watch the wheels in his head spin, and then to watch him act out whatever idea he has come up with.  He was on a mission to find his 4-wheeler, and once he did, he was off.  He headed right towards the big pile of leaves, with the biggest grin across his face.  He had a look of contentment, that he was doing exactly what he had planned.  His plan kind of played out like he wanted.  This little motorized 4-wheeler wasn't powerful enough to make it through the leaves, but he was ok with that.  He rolled through a few stragglers that were next to the pile, and he was perfectly fine with that.  The smile he displayed across his face said it all.  This was fun.





I am not a big fan of how early the sky turns dark these days.  And, I know it will only get worse here in a few weeks...and, I am really not looking forward to that!  Our night time fun in the leaves was cut a little short due to the sun setting, and the temperature dropping a bit cooler than when we had started the evening outdoors.  So, we headed inside to start our nightly bedtime routine.  I said the word "bath", and Carson had no objections of going inside.  Phew!




Playing in the leaves is one childhood memory I vividly remember as a child.  We used to rake tons of leaves, put them in the big orange garbage sacks that look like pumpkins, and put on a huge Fall display at my Dad's house.

I hope this is a childhood memory that Carson remembers when he gets older.  And if he doesn't, I guess I have some super cute pictures of him in the leaves, to prove how much fun we had  :)

These are the kind of memories that I am loving about parenthood.  I have always dreamed of going and doing the different activities that I remember from when I was a child, and now I am doing that.  We have a soon to be 2 year old (which I am kind of sad about) that we are in love with.  It is so much fun to do different activities, and interact with him, as he enjoys himself along side us.