HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, CARSON!

We can hardly believe that it is already Carson's First Birthday! It is been such a whirlwind full of laughter, curiosity, growth and LOVE! We love love love this boy!

We have quite the array of activities to commemorate this big day. Mom Mom, Aunt Deedle, and Cousin Nick fly in tomorrow night, shortly followed by Grammy and Grampa Moose on Friday to help celebrate the big ONE!

Saturday, we are having a close family and friends party at a local farm, where we are sure to enjoy a hayride, corn maze, petting zoo, and all sorts of other Fall fun!

Sunday, our family has been invited to the "October Babies" birthday party for my playgroup, where Carson will celebrate being ONE with his good buddies Zoe, Nadine, and Makenzie.

We couldn't let this important Wednesday go by like any other day however; so we had a little mini family celebration of our own at home tonight after dinner. Here is the start of what I only can assume will be many fun pictures of Carson's First Birthday Multi-Event Extravaganza!

More cake to come at his party...but we couldn't not give him a cupcake with extra bright blue frosting this evening!

Carson opened one present from hi great grandparents, 

Gigi and Grape. It was a puzzle!

He also opened one present from Mom and Dad...a Tug Boat!

 

Thanks for my present, Daddy!

Of course the wrapping paper is always the biggest hit...

Walkin' and Talkin'!

Carson has made some huge developmental leaps just this past weekend! Before the weekend was over, we noticed that he had solidly figured out how to put one foot in front of the other, and is now fairly proficient at walking with assistance! Prior to this, he was exhibiting a "step, together, step, together" type of pattern if we were to hold his hands. He gets better and better every day!

Also this past weekend, we almost missed the fact that Carson apparently is talking!! On more than one occasion we have heard him say "HI!" to someone in an appropriate scenario, although he has yet to perfect his wave. He also will crawl up to us and say "UP!" when he wants to get out of the bathtub, or snuggle on the couch. We asked daycare about it, and they informed us that he has been saying these things for weeks! Way to be observant, Mom and Dad :)

The count down is on for Carson's First Birthday, and the arrival of Mom Mom, Deedle, Cousin Nick, Grammy and Grampa Moose! Can't wait, two more weeks to go!

Favorite September Shots

 Just call me Spiderman

 So good at standing!

Chomper the Spotter

 First PB & J

 Daddy gives the best rides!

 Happy Boy!

 Sleepy Boy...

 Sleepy boy with Daddy!

 Apple Picking!

 T-R-O-U-B-L-E

 Baby Blues

So Handsome!

Labor Day Visit!

Carson, Ryan, and I traveled down to Maryland over Labor Day Weekend to meet our new baby nephew, Dylan! Not sure how this happened, but between our camera and Aunt Deedle's camera, we managed to not get a single snap of the little guy! So thanks to Heaven for letting me steal one from her...

Carson had a great time visiting with his big cousin Nick, crawling after him wherever Nick went!

Carson was lucky enough to spend time with 

all four of his grandparents on this trip!

 Mom Mom

 Pop Pop

Grampa Moose

 Grammy

Again, due to lack of camera usage on this trip, we failed to document all of the fun he had with Uncle Alex, Aunt Heaven, Aunt Deedle, Great Grand Parents Gigi and Grape, Great-Great Aunt Leila, Great Uncle Larry and Great Aunt Mimi, as well as other great Curtis family friends!

We also had a surprise visit from Aunt Kristen and Uncle Sam in NH right before we left for Maryland, and Aunt Kristen even scored a seat on our same flight back to Maryland, which Carson greatly enjoyed! Over all we had a great trip! We can't wait for when most of them make it back up to NH for Carson's BIRTHDAY!!

CRAWLING!

On the eve of his 10 month birthday (8/26), Carson took the plunge into the wonderful world of mobility...he started crawling! First a few scoots at a time, but now he is able to follow Chomper all around the house! (Chomper hid upstairs for most of the first night that Carson was crawling!) Carson perfected his crawling technique during Hurricane Irene, as we lost power early on and there was not much else to do. He still is fairly slow and deliberate with his crawling...but we are prepared for speedy crawling at any time!

We have had to make a lot of changes around the house since the start of Carson crawling, such as the instillation of baby gates, and the rearrangement of furniture, etc. Carson quickly discovered Chomper's dog bowls, which we moved from one part of the kitchen to a more secluded location. As you can see, this did not last long...

We also had to relocate the recycling bin...

Carson is so proud of his crawling and so are we!

Future Wolverine Cousin!

Carson's can't wait to meet his future Wolverine cousin who is set to arrive in early 2012! We had a fun visit with Cousin Tim and his wife, Lauren, this past Saturday. We passed along a bag full of baby clothes, as they are having a boy! Tim and Lauren's little one will give us a total of 3 new Meyer boy cousins, all within about a year of each other! Should provide some fun times up at Higgins Lake watching 3 little boys run around!

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!