Some Random Information

Okay, there are lots of updates to give and a more in-depth post coming about Carson's recent baptism.  But while I'm working on that post, I thought I'd share some of this stuff:

• My fish died.  If you knew me in college, you probably knew my fish.  This fish was almost 11 years old at the time of his passing.  I got him when I turned 21 and he was just a few months old.  Am I sad to see him go?  Yes, of course.  He had been with me a long time and never gave me any trouble.  Am I also glad I don't have to keep a 55-gallon tank up and running just because this one. damn. fish. is still alive?  Well, yeah, that too.  Any guy friends I have out there reading are probably doing a little dance right now, because it means I won't ask them to help me move my fish tank ever again.  I'm just glad we didn't give him to our nephew Patrick for his birthday a few weeks ago like we were going to (surprise, Toby & Angie!), because nothing can ruin a 2-year-old's birthday present like it dying.

• Carson has two more teeth!  Her top two broke through the skin last week, and I have to say I'm a little bummed.  I fear they will completely change the look of her face--and I have kind of grown to love her little face just like it is.  I feel like once she has top and bottom teeth, she won't look so much like a baby anymore.  And I'm just not ready for that.  Maybe the new teeth have something to do with why Carson has decided to quit eating solid food...or maybe she's just stubborn (where would she get that trait...?).

• I start back to work next week.  After an amazing summer that flew by, I have to go in for all the pre-planning madness, starting next Wednesday.  Once the students start back to school, I will be working every Monday, every Wednesday, and every other Friday.  Can't beat it!  Carson will be staying with Jana and Lila on Mondays and Wednesdays--I'm so excited for her and Lila to continue to grow together.  And we truly feel so blessed that Carson will be in the hands of such a good friend and mommy like Jana.  Not sure how we got so lucky.  The grandmothers will be trading off watching Carson on the Fridays I work, which is another huge blessing and help.  I am definitely excited to get back to work, even though my heart hurts to think about not seeing Carson all day.  For my tenth year as a teacher, I will be teaching a dream class for a language arts nerd like me--it's a class my principal basically made up.  It's called "Literature" and all we really do is read and discuss books!  (while this is my dream job, it is Brandon's nightmare class)  I can't wait to get started, meet my students, and get into the rhythm of what our new schedule will be.  I am curious to see how Carson handles her schedule changing so much from day to day.

• Pictures.  Even though Carson is just about to turn 8 months, we just got her 6-month pictures taken a couple weeks ago.  Sarah Wise, who took her newborn and two-month pictures, took them again and did another AMAZING job (granted, I might be biased, but decide for yourself)!  Thank you thank you thank you Sarah, for capturing our sweet smiley nugget so beautifully!  You should go check out her website by clicking on her name above.  Here are a few of our favorites from the session (although I had a REALLY hard time narrowing it down!):

Probably my favorite picture EVER:

Ways the Beach Was Different This Year

So the week before last (I'm really slow posting these days!), we were able to go on a week-long vacation to the beach with Grandma & Grandpa and all my brothers & sisters, as well as Carson's cousins.  My parents found an amazing house for us all to stay in--plenty of room (and rooms), close to the beach, and a pool in the back.  Perfection!

We enjoyed having so much time to spend with the family, watching Carson with her cousins, and also getting to spend some quality time together as our own little family unit.  Thankfully, Brandon was able to get away from work--and Carson was in  heaven getting to see so much of him during the day (me too)!

That said, this vacation was much different from any other we've been on, mainly because we have a baby this time.  Here were some of the differences we noticed:

1. actual time on the beach--Normally, we head to the beach at least once a day and stay for awhile, soaking up sun, playing in the water, and making sand castles/digging holes/burying the nearest sibling.  Carson, however, didn't really like the beach, so I am ashamed to say there was a day or two we didn't even go down there.
 
Here she is on the way to the beach for the first time, thinking--explain to me again why I have sunscreen, a diaper, a bathing suit, a cover-up, and a hat on....?

Her main issue with the beach was with the waves rushing toward her, even if they barely touched her.  She would sit and play on a blanket just fine, but she seemed to be confused as to why it was so freaking hot.  Her face said, "I play on a blanket all the time--INSIDE, with air conditioning.  What is the point of THIS?"

2. the pool--It was incredibly convenient having the pool at the house, so we were able to get in the water when we felt like it without having to "gear up" for the beach and lug everything down to the sand--only to decide 20 minutes later it was too hot for the baby and do it all in reverse.  The pool was definitely more Carson's style.

Diva!

Come 'ere, float!!!

Do you think these two ladies are related, with their hats and their lips?  :)

3. Napping--Normally a trip to the beach involves a LOT of napping.  I'd say daily napping, really.  This year, there were naps every day, but they were taken by Carson, not by Brandon and I.  Okay, so maybe we still found some time to nap.

There was only one day the whole trip when all 3 kids were napping at once--so what did we grownups do with that valuable time?  Play Marco Polo in the pool, of course!  Really, it was one of our favorite parts of the trip, getting to goof off and play around, while Grandma and Grandpa listened for the babies.

4. reading--Usually, I finish about 3 books during vacation week, depending on how many puzzles we work on. This week, I finished about 3 chapters. There just wasn't the time to sit and read like usual, unless it was a board book covered in drool!


5.  this guy--Patrick provided entertainment the entire week.  We never got tired of talking to him, watching him with the girls and in the pool, or playing with him.  He is a true joy--so excited, so smart, and so loving.  He made us wonder why 2-year-olds are notoriously terrible, because he is anything but. 
Also, I think it's funny that we have so many pictures like this.  He loved to say, "Whatareyoudoing, Carson (or 'Car', or 'Carson Bean')?" and wanted to be as close as possible to her as often as possible.  What a sweetie!

Pucker up!

6. Carson and Madelyn--Our girls played and played and played together, and we had so much fun watching!  Carson was pretty sure whatever toy Maddy had was the better one and would quickly take/trade with her repeatedly.  It was fun to watch them watch each other and react.  And here's a conversation I'm pretty sure took place:

C: (whispering) Come here, let me talk to you.

C: YOU get up at 1am tonight, and I'LL get up at 3am.

M: Good idea! And then tomorrow, we'll just start our day at 5am.  Deal?

(I love this picture--looks like they're doing some serious secret-sharing!)

C: Deal.  Oh! Play it cool, here they come.

7. these guys--The search for oil was definitely on in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida!  There were constantly workers walking up and down the beach with nets, as well as tractors driving back and forth, delivering supplies.  Thankfully, they said there were no signs of oil washing up so far.

8. how fast it went by--I think, more than ever, the days blurred together and raced past.  Before we knew it, the week was over!  Thank you a thousand times to my parents for such an enjoyable and special time together!

And here's a slide show of some more pictures from the week:

Introducing...Ongoing Lists

Okay, so I've decided to add a few ongoing lists to the blog.  I'll add to them over time, as new material comes up.  If you come to this blog solely to see pictures of Carson, you probably won't care too much about these.  I promise to try to include pics of her if they are relative to the story :)  So far, I have two ongoing lists in mind:

1. Important Things I've Learned as a Mother So Far

2. Failures at the Grocery Store


And here are the first few installments of each.

Important Things I've Learned as a Mother So Far

1. It is critically important, when your child is shoving his or her hands into their mouth and sucking on nearly everything in sight, to determine the difference between "desire to eat" and "desire to teethe" before attempting to nurse said child.

2.  A child's drive to prove their parents wrong, generally associated with adolescence, actually begins much earlier in life.  Do not EVER claim your son or daughter is a good sleeper, sleeps through the night, goes down well for naps, or anything similar to these seemingly harmless statements.  Your child is listening and will immediately prove you to be completely and painfully incorrect.

3. My colonoscopy was worth every moment in exchange for the glorious nap I got after arriving home.  Best sleep I've had since before I was pregnant!  Can't wait to do it again next year.


Failures at the Grocery Store

1. I feel like I should be carrying something....
I'm 8 months pregnant, waddling through the grocery store with my cart.  I'm trying to hurry because, really--the grocery store is one of my absolute least favorite places on the planet.  Grocery shopping is by far my the chore I hate most.  But I digress. 
I'm huge, I'm hungry, and I'm trying to quickly select only the things I need to make dinner for the next few nights.  Survival is the key word here.  I get to the checkout lane and everything goes smoothly--finally, I'm finished!  I go to my car, drive home, park, and get my keys out to open the front door.  That's when I get this feeling like I'm missing something.  Like I left the house with more than I am coming home with--or that I just ran some errands and should be bringing something besides my purse inside the house. 
Then it hits me--yes, I left EVERY SINGLE bag of groceries I just purchased sitting at the checkout lane.  I paid for them, took my receipt, and walked out without another thought.

2.  The Reusable Bag Debacle
I have been driving around with these reusable bags in my car, intending to take them into the grocery store to avoid using plastic bags when possible.  The problem is, I keep forgetting to actually bring the reusable bags into the store.  Der. 
So on this day, the planets aligned and God smiled down on me and I was able to have the forethought to bring the bags inside with me.  I'm smugly patting myself on the back for saving the planet and whatnot, and I go about my grocery shopping as usual.  Being new to the whole mesh bag scene, I apparently didn't have enough reusable bags to contain all of my groceries.  Really, I have like 2.  So when the baggers ran out of room in these bags, they literally stopped and looked at each other and said, "What do we do now????"  Completely dumbfounded.  I told them it was okay to use plastic bags for the rest of the groceries (which of course I would bring back and recycle later).  So they did.
Upon arriving home, I found that one of the items that didn't fit in a reusable bag was a carton of milk--you know, with a handle.  You know, one that probably didn't need to be bagged, since it comes with its very own carrying mechanism.  Only, my gallon of milk was DOUBLE BAGGED in plastic bags, virtually annihilating all the good I had done by using my reusable bags.

3.  The Organic Failure 
There I am, rolling through the produce department of the grocery store, with my little Bean sitting sweetly in the cart.  She "flirts" with various strangers and stares wide-eyed at all the shapes and colors around her.  She loves to crinkle paper--loves the feel and look of it as it changes shape in her hands--so I have given her the grocery list to play with as I grab the last few things that remain on it. 
I am secretly, again, smugly patting myself on the back, as I carefully select organic fruits and veggies to be part of my daughter's all-organic, completely homemade diet.  I am proud that I have stuck with the organic thing so far, and I'm really enjoying making her food while I have the time this summer.  As I carefully place two perfectly pesticide-free, all-natural sweet potatoes in the cart and gaze lovingly at my precious angel, I realize (from the pulpy mush hanging from her lower lip and the tiny scrap of paper clenched between her fingers, reading only ---et potatoes, now) that she has eaten the grocery list.
I wonder if there's a way to find out if that paper was organic.

A Few Firsts for Carson

Over the last couple weeks, Carson had some new experiences, including her first...
1. Hibachi--Brandon chose a Japanese steakhouse for his first Father's Day dinner, and then Gram picked it also for her birthday dinner later in the week (so Carson has been making onion volcanoes at home constantly).  She wasn't so sure about the big flames or the really loud parts, but she did great and it kept her fairly entertained!

2. Mohawk--for Christmas (yes, 6 months ago), we (the "kids") gave my parents a membership to the Chattahoochee Nature Center and a promise for a visit as a family.  Last weekend, we finally delivered on that promise.  The whole group got together and explored one of the trails at the center, as well as all of the cool educational stuff they have inside.  Watching Patrick run around excitedly, trying everything out and taking it all in was probably the most fun part of the trip.  He would shout, "Come on everybody!" and lead the way.  He particularly liked the "honks" (hawks) and the ramps we used instead of the stairs.  Well really, he liked it all.  But back to the mohawk.  We put sunscreen on Carson's head, which rendered her hair ridiculous--but also easy to style.  So Brandon felt the mohawk was the most appropriate hairdo for her.  I think I agree....

You can click here to get to my brother's blog, which has lots more pictures from the day toward the end of the post.

3. Pool--while Brandon works with swimming pools every day, there isn't one in our neighborhood for us to attend.  So Meme and Papa (Angie's parents) were gracious enough to let us join them at their pool.  Carson was very tentative at first.  Quite serious and unsure of it all.  But Cousin Maddy let C borrow her pool float while she was napping--and the float made all the difference!  She was instantly having the time of her life, and we can't wait to go to the pool again!

4. Standing Up Alone--so I told you awhile back that Carson has started pulling up, and now she spends most of her day just seeing where she can get while holding onto various furniture and toys.  She will pull up on anything--even her buddy Lila :)  And lately, every once in awhile, she just lets go.  The other day, she was holding onto my fingers to help her walk, and she just pushed my fingers out of her hands and stood there for a bit before plopping to the ground.  Brandon and I just don't feel ready for all this mobility!