2 Years + 1 Month

Carson is another month old.  He is definitely a 2 year old, through and through, but we are embracing every stage of life this little one of ours is going through.

I am going to try and make a few mental notes here about our Wee Lad that I don't want to forget.  Good or bad, I want to remember the different stages we went through.

Carson now has all of his teeth.  Thank goodness!  I feel like we have been battling a whiny boy, soaking wet shirts, and this stage forever.  Now, I am just waiting for his molars to come through, to give him another round of pain.  Boo!

He is starting to talk more and more words each day.  Sometimes we can get him to repeat everything we want him to say, and other times he is a complete mute box.  I am not really worried about it, as I am sure soon enough he won't "stop talking."  But, he does have a language of his own, for some words.  A few that I want to make note of are:
    -Shower= Sha Sha
    -Diaper= Beu (Bee-You)  I have NO idea where this came from, or why he calls it that.  It obviously sounds nothing like the word diaper, but that is what he calls it.
    -Blanket= Kinky
He also says numerous other words that are really easy to understand: Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, Juice, Baby, Shoes, Blue (everything is the color blue), Purple, Book, etc.

Carl and I have been struggling with Carson in the biting department for a while now, but I have good news in that area!  We don't have to constantly tell him "no biting" anymore!  I feel like that is one area that I wasn't really prepared for as a parent.  Well, I should say....I knew kids did it, but I didn't think they did it THAT much.  Or, as much as Carson did it.  But, I am hoping we are past that stage....and, I won't miss it one bit :) 

Carson has been spending a lot of time in time-out, and has been getting numerous spanking these days.  He has been throwing complete fits about every. little. thing lately, and that results in a time-out.  Whining (excessive) or crying because he doesn't get something he wants, means he is sent to his room, where his time out chair is located.  Carl and I started getting very serious about this about 2 week ago, and I feel like Carson is getting it.  He knows what comes next if he does any of these things.  He sometimes chooses to do it anyway, so he gets some "alone" time to himself as a result.  He doesn't get out of his time out chair when placed there, which is kind of shocking to me.  After a few minutes, one of us will go and get him, and talk with him about why he is sitting there, and then he seems to be fine.  Well, until the next trip to the chair :)
    We have also been struggling with bed time, as Carson has been spoiled for 2 years when it comes to this area.  We still rock him to bed every night, and wait until he is in a dead sleep, to transfer him to his bed.  Carl and I finally decided that we have waited way too long to put an end to this....but, it is so much easier said than done.  The other night, we decided to fight the battle, and we were going to fight it hard.  April, when the next baby is due to arrive, is going to come soon enough for us, and I don't want to be battling 2 little ones to go to bed every night.  We have come to the conclusion that we feel as if Carson is scared of the dark.  The other night when we decided to have him put himself to sleep for the first time (which was a long night, by the way!) he was very shook up, until we left his door open, which allowed some light to shine in his room.  So, I am hoping this little trick will help with him going to sleep on his own.  We have started our bedtime routine in his bed, and hoping we can lay him down, and walk out the door.  I may have to report/update on this topic later....but I am hoping it will be an excellent, and very successful report!

Ok, well after reporting on our "struggles" with Carson, which I like to write down to remember, because life isn't always peachy with a toddler....there are A LOT of good things happening in the Brouwer household!  Carl started 3rd shift on Sunday night, which means his hours have been switched to 11PM-7AM!!  Phew, that was an answered prayer on my part!  He used to leave the house at 4:30 in the afternoon, which means Carson and I never got to see him.  But now we get to see him until 10:00 at night, which is usually when we are all headed to bed anyway, so it works out great!  When we were sitting down for our first Monday night supper together in over a year, I just smiled.  I feel like the Lord must have heard my prayer for long enough, because this was perfect timing.  I really felt like I needed this change, right when it happened.  The only bad part about this shift switch is; we don't know how long it will last.  It could be 1 month, or 6.  I am hoping for the latter.

Carson is also starting to learn new things everyday, and I just love that part of raising an ever curious toddler.  He gets so excited about the little things, which makes me stop and think about these things as well.  To see the world through his eyes, is truly amazing.

Carson is not potty trained, and I refuse to get serious about it until at least after the Holidays.  He does show a lot of interest, which is good to see.  He likes to take his diaper off, A LOT, and ask to go potty.  As cute as it is, and as happy as I am about him showing interest.......the 15th time of him doing such task in about an hours time gets rather old :)  He gets on the toilet, for about 10 seconds (literally) will ask for a piece of toilet paper, throw it in, get off the toilet, and flush it and say "all done."  He has yet to go to the bathroom on the toilet, but I am sure that will come.  I am waiting for the time that he "accidentally" goes, and then we can all get super excited, dance around the house, and give out some cool treats!  We shall see if this all pans out like I would like. Ha.

Carson is still in size 18 month clothes, size 4 diaper, and size 5 shoe.  We put him up against his growth chart the other day, and he is getting taller!  Not by much, but he is growing little bits at a time.  He is still wearing some 12 months pants from last year, but a few of them are getting too short for him.  So, I can tell he is growing from just a few months ago, when they fit him perfectly! 

Carson has recently been interested in putting a diaper on his bear.  It is so cute, and funny to watch him do this.  He is actually getting really good at the task!  I think his favorite part is to pull the tabs away from the diaper, because he will do it numerous times during the diaper change.  It's so funny to watch him run to get his bear, and will hand it to me and say "beu", and then will run to get a diaper for the bear.  He will lay the diaper down on the floor, put the bear on top of the diaper, and then put each tab where they are supposed to go.  He actually does a really good job of getting it on securely...usually.  And then comes the real deal.  Any time we are around baby Natalie, he is very interested in changing her diaper (beu).  But, I have to hold back from laughing when he puts the diaper down on the floor, and then tries to pick her up, to move her on top of the diaper, like he does his bear.  Ha!  Poor girl has no idea what is going on. 

Carson is still as sweet as ever, and is our little cuddle bug.  He has been getting some great reports from daycare lately, which make me so happy.  Knowing that he is content and happy during the days, puts my mind at ease. 

I will say.....as much as I feel like this stage is a "hard" one, I am still in love with it.  I love to watch him grown, learn new things, show interest in helping us with things he was just too little to do, and have fun while doing it all.  We have so much fun with our little guy, and our hearts swell over how much we love him.   

A family of FOUR

I have been anxiously awaiting to post an entry with the title of "Family of FOUR" across the top.  And, here it is!

Carson is going to be a BIG BROTHER, and we are all so excited!  I don't think that Carson really gets the concept of being a big brother, but I am sure he will in the next few months.  We think he is going to be a great big brother. 

Carl and I are expecting another little bundle of joy in April :)  We are in our 19th week, and the actual due date is April 28th.

I feel like I have been slacking in every department in my life these days, including blogging, because of this pregnancy.  I have been really sick, literally, and have felt super crummy for the last 8-10 weeks or so.  Last week was the first week that I actually felt human, and I hope the trend continues!  I really hope that I am over that "hump" and I don't go back down that alley.

I will be honest when it comes to this topic, and I am not one of those people that enjoyed my first pregnancy.  But, I am going to try my best to embrace it all, and enjoy this little miracle that is growing inside of me, regardless of what the side effects may be.

I have a feeling (and am hoping) that this pregnancy will go fast.  It is almost December already, which is so crazy to even fathom.  I feel like the months of November and December fly by, and before we know it, it will be January!  And, a few short months later, we will be preparing for another little one to enter this world.

We are beyond excited for this next chapter in our lives!  We have so much to be thankful for, including a healthy growing little one.  We thank the Good Lord for this amazing blessing.

Barnyard Birthday Party

On Sunday, October 30th, we had a big Barnyard birthday party for our little 2 year old!  I still can't get over how I am saying we have a 2 year old.  Ok, I think I have said that enough already :)

The birthday party was so much fun.  We had a great turn out, fun games, good food, and a crowded house.  And that can only mean one thing.....there are a lot of people that love our little guy!

Carson got so many new toys, and we are now trying to find a new place for all of them.  And, I am pretty sure all of the toys require at least 2 batteries.  You know what that means, right?  NOISY toys.  Yay for noisy toys!  Haha. 

Carson was in a good mood for his party, which I was so happy about.  We had to wake him up from a nap, that we had to fight him to take in the first place.  I was so nervous he would be crabby from us waking him, but he wasn't at all, which was awesome!  He did really well with the big crowd, and played well with the little kids.  It was a wonderful day.

His birthday cake turned out so neat!  A lady in town made it for us, and I was so pleased with how it turned out.  It was super delicious, and a big hit with the party goers.  Win-win!  Carson doesn't really care for sweets, so he didn't have much cake, but he enjoyed blowing out the candles, and playing with toys that were on the cake.  

 

 

We also played some fun games, that everyone enjoyed.  The adults joined in for some fun rounds of barnyard bingo, and the kids enjoyed playing "pin the tail" game, but it was stick the chick on the paper.

 

 

 

All in all, I was so happy with how the party turned out.  Carson was happy, excited, and loved all of his gifts.  And, a happy little 2 year old= happy parents!  

 

I have to give a HUGE thank you to my Mom and Sister for pretty much planning the whole party.  Right down to the little details, they did it all.  They are amazing, that's for sure. 

I hope you had fun at your birthday party, Carson!  You are loved by so many people.  Happy 2nd Birthday, Wee Lad.

Halloween

We had a lot of fun for Halloween this year.  I will be completely honest, and admit that Halloween isn't my favorite holiday.  I LOVE to see all the kids dressed up so cute, hand out candy, watch as the kids enjoy themselves trick-or-treating, and we enjoyed trick-or-treating with Carson this year.  But, I just don't really get off on celebrating a scary holiday.  I don't like the scary costumes, scream masks, or anything bloody and gory.  Not to mention, everything that represents evil.  So, with that being said.....we do not decorate to the extent for Halloween.  No spider webs, skeletons, or scary decor at our house.  We stick with the basic pumpkins, and dressed our little one up as a cute Lion and Tiger, and did a little trick-or treating.

On Saturday night, it was trick-or-treating in Aplington, and we had a lot of fun going around to a few houses.  Mostly to the people we knew, and some family members.  We ended at my G&G Sents' house, and we helped dish out some candy.  Carson was not fond of his costume this year.  I think mostly because it was a one-piece, and it was too small.  On Saturday night, he was a lion.  And, I am sad to report....I didn't get a single one picture of the cute little lion!  Bummer.

On Halloween night, we went into Cedar Falls, and started at Frannie and Grandpa Gary's house.  Carson was a Tiger this night, and he actually wore his costume (after I fought him to put it on) and we went around to a few houses on their street.  After Carson's hands were cold, it was getting dark, and he was walking super slow, we called it quits.  We hung around their house for the remainder of the night, and I had a lot of fun handing out candy to all the kids.  I just love to see all the cute costumes that people are dressed in.

We didn't do any pumpkin carving this year, and I am not sure why.  I think mostly because our schedules are so opposite, and if we don't get something done on the weekends together, we have to wait until the following weekend.  And, this past weekend it was out of the picture with everything else going on.  But, we did decorate a pumpkin, we just did it in a way that Carson could actually do himself, which was really fun.  We gave him a bunch of stickers, and let him decorate the pumpkin himself.  Ok, we did help with the basic "face" details, but he added most of the other stickers himself.  The pumpkin actually turned out really cute!  And, a couple days later, he took all the stickers off the pumpkin, and scattered them everywhere throughout the house.  It was fun, but short lived, I guess. 

We had a lot of fun this Halloween season, and I can't believe that it is November already!  Holy smokes, where has this year gone?!