Non-Stop Energy

Don't you wish you could just bottle it up sometimes?

9 months old!

Carson was nine months old yesterday and went in for his checkup today. He weighs 19 pounds, 1 ounce and is still in the 25th percentile for his age. He is 29 inches tall, which was on the high end between the 50th and 75th percentiles. The doctor declared him a healthy little man. He does want us to increase his solid food intake though... basically add meat since I haven't been giving Carson much meat yet. So we'll have to work on that. I'm not a fan of those pureed baby food meats... so we'll see how it goes with some softer meats. I've smooshed some chicken up a few weeks ago to try and he ate that well, so I'll have to do that again. Now hopefully the 9-month blood work for lead and anemia return with good results.

Carson is such an active little guy. He is going non-stop. Still not walking on his own yet, but I honestly think he could if he'd try. He stands on his own and has quite good balance, but doesn't try to take many steps yet. He cruises around holding on to things all the time, though. His new favorite thing is his walk-behind toy that he takes all over the place. He has five teeth now - two on the bottom and three on the top - with a sixth tooth (on top) that looks like it'll break through very soon. He's such a sweet little man - he loves to cuddle and is starting to play the I'm shy game when he meets new people.

As we move into the upcoming holiday season, we're looking forward to celebrating our first Thanksgiving and Christmas with our little man. We are so very thankful for having him in our lives and bringing us such great joy every day.

A Trip to Grand Rapids

Yesterday, we took a trip out west to the Grand Rapids area to visit Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Van Heukelum and Uncle Justin, Aunt Mary, and cousin Rebecca. Carson had a great nap on the drive out there, so he was in great spirits at Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's farm. He enjoyed cuddling with Great Grandma, exploring their house, and playing with Great Grandpa's favorite toy from his childhood. He also had his first taste of cake and declared that Great Grandma makes a fabulous cake... he LOVED it!

After our visit to the farm, we headed over to Uncle Justin and Aunt Mary's house. We all went on a walk around their neighborhood, then returned for some play time with Rebecca and to eat dinner. It was great to have some time for Carson and Rebecca to play together and interact. Carson took along some of his toys that Rebecca had fun playing with and Carson enjoyed playing with some of Rebecca's toys. We got to see Rebecca eating some oatmeal and prunes - she's a great eater, too. Carson ate a huge dinner - we didn't think he'd stop!

It was a great trip and was wonderful to see some of our family that we so rarely see. It makes us wish we could see them more often. We'll have to make some more trips out there regularly from now on. We're realizing how important it is to just live life... rather than always working on things around the house or trying to accomplish different tasks... spending times with the ones we love is what is most important... and providing opportunities for Carson to grow his relationships with them.

Carson's 1st Swim Class

This morning was Carson's first swimming class at the Swartz Creek Middle School. Auntie Jaime provided us this opportunity as part of her gift to Sara for being her Matron of Honor in her wedding in August. She didn't even know we were thinking of putting Carson in the AquaTot class, so it was the perfect gift for us... and another opportunity to spend time together doing new things as a family. Carson has six weeks of classes on Saturday mornings. Unfortunately, the timing falls right during his normal morning nap time, so I have a feeling its going to be a little rough. They've just recently (like this week) turned the temperature down in the pool, too, as the swim teams have started practice. Carson wasn't too thrilled about the chilly water and he had some melt downs, but he also had some enjoyable moments, too. We think its good for him to be exposed to the water as much as possible. He loved swimming in the lake this past summer and absolutely loves his baths, so this will be something he'll get used to, I'm sure. Be sure to check out our photo albums for the pics from this first AquaTot class.