Two New Things Carson Does

I've been working on a longer post with a bunch of C's new "talents" in it, but I caught this video today and had to post asap.  Here's a preview:

 In the video, you will see Carson doing two of her new favorite things:

1. Sitting Up--the Boppy pillow is sort of a buffer and a soft landing spot, which you can see she utilizes in the video.  But she does a pretty good job on her own!

2. The Raspberry Sound--she buzzes her lips together like it's her job.  Even when she tumbles over, she keeps on spitting.  I particularly like the end where she seems to suddenly realize she's being watched.

Rock & Roll

So Carson achieved an amazing feat last week.  Well, okay--you can all probably do it too.  But Carson learned to roll from her back to her front, and we were so excited to get video of her second time doing it..



There are several things I love about this video:

1. That we actually got it.  Carson (and a lot of babies, from what I'm told) was born with this innate sense of what a camera is.  Every time she's doing something we want to capture, we rush to grab the camera.  Lens cap off. Camera on.  Image focused.  Then she sees the camera and immediately stops whatever awesome thing she was just achieving/performing/doing/saying.  I can't tell you how many 20-second videos we have of her right after she did something really cute/cool/funny.  Looking back through them goes something like this:  "Oh, this is just after she started smiling for the first time," or, "I remember--she had just stuck out her tongue 192437892 times in a row," or, "Right before that, she was splashing around and laughing in the tub."

To capture the action you've just seen, Brandon sat halfway across the room and hid behind a plant (not really) and zoomed in so C wouldn't spot the recording device.  It worked!

2. Carson's pants are unsnapped.  I love these pants and am in total denial about her outgrowing them.  So I keep putting them on her, only to undo them part-way through the day.  Please don't judge.

3. Carson's mullet.  You can catch a good glimpse of it each time she starts to roll over.  We don't know why her hair is growing like this, but it's fairly entertaining.

4. The hiccups.  They don't even phase her.

5. The way I completely ignore Brandon's suggestion to move the mailbox toy--and then Carson's head pays the price.  I am the kind of person who won't do something unless I understand why I should do it.  This drives Brandon NUTS.  He wishes that just sometimes--not even every day or every time he makes a suggestion--but sometimes, I would trust that he knows what he's talking about without him having to explain why.  I'm working on it.  In this specific instance, I was thinking he wanted the toy further away so Carson would reach farther for it.  But she was reaching just fine with the mailbox where it was.  So I ignored his idea.  He had the foresight to predict what would happen when she actually completed the roll.  I did not.  Sorry, C.

6. Our insane cheering, coaching, and commentary throughout.  Thanks for still being friends with us.

7. I love love love that Carson keeps trying. And trying. And trying.  She had been at it for a bit before the video even started.  I am so proud that she didn't give up, and I hope that trait stays with her forever.

Vote Please!

If you follow many of the same blogs I do, you probably already know about a website called Communal Global (http://communalglobal.blogspot.com/).  If not, here's the deal:

*Several women from around the world post pictures there of various aspects of their lives and days.
*It's VERY interesting to see how women around the world respond to the topics (my favorite outfit, bedtime, etc.)
*They had a contest recently where anyone, not just the regular contributors, could enter a picture of their "today"
*My mom entered a picture of Carson's hands after getting to spend some time with her one day.
*IT MADE THE TOP TEN!

So now, what I would love for you to do if you have time is

1. go to this link

http://www.pollsb.com/polls/p2158030-picture_favorite_today_open_one_week

2. Scroll to the bottom.

3. Vote for the pic called "Sweet Baby" posted by Grandmothering (my mom's blog)

4. Repeat once a day until the end of this week.

Thanks : )

Two Things I Just Had To Do Today

1. Change the name of the blog.  I was hesitant at first to call it this, because I wasn't sure if I could do every post as a list.  I'm still not positive, but I've done it so far, so I'm going with this title for a bit.  We'll see if it sticks.

2. Put a ridiculously large flower on my daughter's head.

A Different Kind of Spring Break

So in the past 8 Spring Breaks (not sure if that should be capitalized, so I'll just mix it up here) that I have been a teacher have consisted of these kinds of things:

• sleeping in--I mean really sleeping in--like 11:00
• napping--every day if needed
• trying new recipes I've had my eye on
• working with/for Brandon--cleaning pools, cleaning furniture, pulling pool covers.  This used to be the only way I'd get to spend time with him on spring break
• errand-running--catching up on groceries, returns, and general, pointless shopping
• getting the house really clean--dusting, mopping, organizing
• watching stupid television

This year, spring break has gone much differently. 

• sleeping in--until about 8am when Carson has been waking up--but I am definitely grateful for those 2 extra hours!
• napping--for Carson--while I take a shower or accomplish about one-half to one of the house-cleaning/organizing tasks on my list

• working with/for Brandon--at his office.  As much as I'd love a picture of Carson in her front carrier and me with a vaccuum pole in my hand standing next to a pool, it's just not happening this year.
• doctor appointment--Carson's 4-month visit, where she weighed 13 pounds, 7 ounces and got her second round of shots--which she did pretty well with.  Clean bill of health!  Yay!
• going to the park--we had a fun day with Angie, Patrick, and Madelyn, where both Angie and I forgot our cameras. Despite the lack of photographic evidence, I swear it happened! Ask Patrick. He did a lot of bee-shoo-ing, sliding, and climbing. And he also feels that the plural of bee should be bees-es. Which I LOVE.
• hanging out with my baby girl--the best part!  It's fun getting to be with her all day, every day.  We have played and talked and laughed a lot, and I can't wait for summer to do it all the time!

Thank You for a Big Weekend

First an apology--sorry I've been a slacker about blogging lately.  Brandon got on my case.  I told him I was having trouble thinking of something to write about.  He informed me that most people just look at the blog for pictures of Carson, so that's not really an excuse.  But it's all I got.

Second, a year ago on Easter weekend, Brandon and I told our families we were expecting a baby.  I have lots more to say about that, the passage of time, and how unbelievable it all is, but I'd like this post to be a manageable length.  So I'll wait.

Now, the post.

Brandon and I sort of goofed up and "double-booked" ourselves for Easter weekend.  A few months ago, Brandon's family began planning a long weekend at a cabin in Blue Ridge, Georgia, which would include his family from Mississippi, South Carolina, and Georgia.  Not realizing it was Easter weekend, we committed to the get-away, since it was one of the only weekends that worked for everyone involved.  The original plan was to stay through Monday.  In the meantime, we began planning for the 5th year in my family's tradition of alternating hosting the Easter festivities with my brother Toby and his family.  It's our year.  Or it was supposed to be.  Eventually, we realized the two events we were looking forward to actually coincided and overlapped. 

Oops.

So our first thank you goes to our families for being so understanding, accomodating, and generally great about the mix-up.  We cut the weekend at the cabin a day short, and my parents agreed to have Easter at their house, so it all worked out, to say the least. 


Thank you also to Uncle Jon (seen here holding Carson's hand) who watched our dogs all weekend, making the cabin trip possible.

Thank you to Brandon's mom (a.k.a. Gram), who planned and organized the weekend at the cabin. It was gorgeous, relaxing, and fun.  We know how much work went into making it happen, and we all have some priceless memories because of it.

Thank you to all of Brandon's family for making the trip to Georgia--we had so much fun hanging out with everyone! 

Thank you to all the bears in the woods for leaving us alone on our hike.  I was pretty sure we were going to get eaten.

 

Thank you to Chad and Courtney for putting together a super-fun Easter spread and spoiling Carson rotten.

Thank you to my parents for having the crew at their house for Easter--I think my head would have exploded if I had attempted to get ready for both Carson's first overnight trip AND having everyone at our house.  And nobody likes a blown-up head.  Here are Grandma and Grandpa holding a tired Carson.

Thank you to Carson for being such an angel all weekend.  Her first vacation was a true success.  She stayed in a good mood, let everybody hold her, and had at least as much fun as we did.  She has pretty much done nothing but sleep since we got back.

It's weird--I feel like I know her better after the weekend.  I mean, I spend a lot of time with her, and it is strange to think I didn't already know everything there is to know.  But seeing her interact with so many new people and explore an unfamiliar environment for a few days somehow taught me more about who she is.  And I am even more in love with her now than when we left.
 

And finally, thank you to Uncle Toby

for showing me how to insert a photo slide show into the blog so I could share the rest of the pictures from the weekend.