Favorite Summer Shots

Here are some of my favorite summer photos
that didn't make it onto any other posts!

 Fun with Mackenna

 Love those goofy faces!

 So Handsome!

 Why should I crawl when I can do this??

 So in love!

 Lookin' like Mommy!

 Dressin' like Daddy!

Bunny Wunny X 2

As recommended by Grammy and many other friends, we purchased a second "Bunny Wunny" to have on hand in the event that Bunny Wunny #1 is unable to be located. Instead of sticking Bunny Wunny #2 in the closet until needed (as my mother did with the "Fake Paddington Bear" which I could sniff out in an instant), I decided to interchange the two snuggle buddies, so that they both become warn and loved. I think this plan my have backfired on me however; as instead of switching back and forth, we ended up with this scenario:

First Swing!

Do you think he liked it?! 

Fun with Dean in RI!

Ryan and I were invited to his boss's daughter's wedding in Newport, RI a few weekends ago. Our amazing friends, Stephanie and Slade (and their 8 month old baby, Dean!), agreed to travel to RI with us to watch Carson while we were at the wedding. We ended up finding a beach house for the weekend, and all had a blast! Here are some fun shots from Carson and Dean's awesome RI adventure:

 Watching the Red Sox!

French Toast by the Sea!

Stephanie and I didn't even plan

the matching pajama outfits! So cute!

They play so well together!

 

I scored this double stroller for $20 at a yard sale!

We also were excited to meet up with our old friend, Jay Massie, 

who is currently in the Navy, stationed in Newport!

Bubble Bath Fun

Big Boy Car Seat!

We recently made the switch from infant seat to toddler seat as Carson is officially too long for his current car seat. We decided to go with the Britax Boulevard, which is somewhat the "Cadillac of Carseats". This brand came with great recommendations from close friends, so we splurged and got the safest option that would fit in our car. Carson is less than thrilled with the switch, and cries every time we strap him in...hopefully he will get used to it soon!

Brusha Brusha Brusha!

Now that Carson has two teeth (or "toofers" as we are calling them these days!) our pediatrician has recommended that we start brushing his teeth! Apparently the key to good dental hygiene is starting babies early, getting them used to the process. We have begun integrating it into Carson's bedtime routine...he seems mildly interested in it...

Self Feeding!

NINE MONTHS OLD!

Carson is 9 months old today! We can hardly believe it! He celebrated by breaking in another tooth, bringing the grand total to 2! (Both on the bottom).

Carson has reached so many developmental milestones in the last 9 months:

• 6 weeks - first smile
• 2 months - sleeping through the night
• 3 months - first full blown giggle
• 4 months - rolling over from stomach to back
• 5 months -solid foods
• 6 months - breast milk to formula, sitting up
• 7 months - da da dadada da dada....ma mamama mama
• 8 months - clapping, dancing, and standing
• 9 months - two bottom teeth!

We don't have our 9 month check up until later in August, but we did weigh the little guy (or should I say BIG GUY) tonight before his bath...19 lbs 7 oz! I can barely lift him in his car-seat anymore. We are thinking he is pretty close being to big for his infant car-seat, and have started to research our next car-seat purchase.

Another big change in recent weeks was dropping Carson's crib mattess as low as it could go. One morning, I woke up to a very scary view in our video monitor! Carson has both hands up on the crib rail, and one knee propped up on the crib bumper...he looked like he was about to dive over!

Ryan and I never considered that it was time to lower the mattress, as Carson shows no interest in crawling, sitting up from a lying down position, or even rolling over on to his stomach from his back! The things babies do when left to their own devices...

 Usually I sneak in his room before I turn in for the evening, and kiss him goodnight one more time...now I can't reach him :(

Six months ago, this first time Mom was very worried about SIDS, and all sorts of items that should NOT be placed in a crib with a baby at night...those days are long gone :) We find that the more Carson has in his crib, the longer he will let us sleep in on Saturday mornings! Luckily, he has pretty much grown out of that scary SIDS stage.

The last 9 months have been absolutely fabulous...we can't believe they have flown by so fast. We feel like we have a decent baby routine, and everyone knows their role, including Chomper. She is well aware that her place is below Carson's highchair during all meal times. She even sits by it around 9 PM at night as if to say "can we feed him again guys, please, pretty please?" Here she is taking full advantage of other baby perks:

 Why else was this lovely quilt placed here?

We are excited to see what the next three months bring us, before Carson turns 1 years old! Maybe he will crawl! Maybe he will skip crawling all together and go straight to walking! 

Keep checking in to the blog to find out!

BATHTIME!

We used to get away with 2-3 baths a week, but since the introduction of self-feeding and sunscreen, we find our selves having bath nights almost daily! Special thanks to Carson's friend, Mackenna, for teaching him to splash! This is pretty much what happens for about 10 minutes straight during bath time: