Pickle Face

On Friday afternoon, we stopped over to Sara's cousins', Becky's and Jim's, house to visit the out-of-towners. Carson got to meet his Great-Great Aunt Sandy and Great-Great Uncle Bob, cousins Brad, Trisha, and Braylen; and got to see cousins Becky, Jim, and Kristin again (after a very long time). He was kind of shy at first, just waking up from a nap in the car and having a serious case of stranger anxiety lately, but he warmed up quickly and was soon showing off and playing with Braylen (who is 2). While we were there, Kristin broke out the pickles and Carson wanted to try one, so I gave him some small pieces of a dill pickle. He LOVED it! He's had a couple here at home now, too. He's our little pickle face! (And don't worry, I don't let him walk around with a whole pickle as it looks in the picture - that was just a prop for the picture).

Carson's imagination is coming out more and more lately. He's starting to make noises in his throat/mouth when he's rolling his cars around while he's playing. I also noticed him playing with his Little People the other day, holding one person in each hand and talking while moving one of the people, then looking to the other hand and talking and moving that person. Its so fun to watch him progress through all of these developmental stages! I feel like every phase is my favorite, then the next phase starts and that becomes my favorite!

Carson is loving his little four-wheeler! He's learned to push the button to make it go... he just hasn't quite realized he needs to release the button to stop yet. :) This morning he tried to run over Jet, who was lying on the floor in front of him. Since then, Jet has been much more alert when Carson is riding the four-wheeler. :-P

Carson's 1-Year Check-Up

On Monday, I took Carson in for his 1-year check-up. We had quite a long wait in the very fulll waiting room, which I was dreading with RSV going strong right now. But Carson did pretty well and sat on my lap for most of the wait. He did get down for a short while, but thankfully stayed right near me and wasn't trying to play with the toys that the RSV and common cold kids were playing with. When we got back to the exam room, we washed our hands - so I really hope we avoided most of the germs. I cannot handle RSV right now - it scares me so bad after having a rough time with the croup. Hopefully if he does come down with anything, its just a common cold and nothing worse.

Carson had a very good check-up. He is a very healthy little man and is far exceeding all of his physical and mental development milestones. He is 31 inches tall, which puts him in the 90th percentile! And is 21 pounds, 6 ounces, which puts him half-way between the 10th and 25th percentiles. I can't remember the head circumference measurement (I want to say 18"), but it was in the 75th percentile. No worries about the lower weight, though. He's almost tripled his birth weight (which is what they look for at 1 year, I guess), so the doctor isn't concerned at all. And its not like he looks skinny or anything. He has a belly and has some chubby thighs, so he looks healthy.

We now are starting the weaning from the formula and phasing in of the whole milk. And no more baby food at all now... though I will have to use some stuff up still. We generally do normal foods for Carson anyway, but I still have been buying 3rd foods to have on hand in the diaper bag and to travel with. But Dr. Akrawi said no more - that he should've been eating all normal foods for the last four to six weeks, at least. Carson did get two more vaccines - chicken pox and another installment of MMR. He's tolerating them very well this time, thankfully. He's still running around and playing hard core. Speaking of playing, he's getting so good at rolling and tossing his plush soccer ball back and forth between you and him. Its so fun! He still loves Jet dearly, giving him hugs and kisses all the time, and puts his forehead up against Jet's to look into his eyes... and wait to get Jet-kisses. Carson is the only one that seems to enjoy Jet-kisses. :) Oh, and we do indeed have eight teeth now. I'm so glad these last two teeth have seemed to come through very quickly. Its a nice change after the long-hauls on the others.

Carson's 1st Birthday Party

Yesterday we had Carson's 1st birthday party. We invited both sides of our families and Auntie Jaime and Uncle Jeff. It was a little crazy, but I think most everyone enjoyed themselves. I wish I'd have had more time to visit and enjoy things, but that is how it goes when you're the hostess, I guess. :) I've heard that all the kids had a lot of fun, which I'm very glad to hear! Just wish I'd have remembered to give the kids their treat bags - oops! Luckily we'll be seeing them all again on Saturday this week for Kevin's mom's birthday, so I'll have to remember to take them then.

Carson got so many nice gifts - tons of new toys, a savings bond, some Veggie Tales videos, and some very cute clothes, too! Several books, some Little People sets, a mailbox with letters, a wagon and blocks, sand toys, a big truck to push around outside, a remote-controlled car, a mini tool bench toy, an outdoor playhouse, lots of balls, and his first four-wheeler! (And I'm sure I forgot to list some things, too) He has enjoyed playing with every single one of them at different times this morning already. He'll have lots of fun with these new toys over the coming months - and especially when we can take the outdoor toys outside to play! We're so looking forward to summer this year!

Aunt Mary made Carson's birthday cake for us - it turned out AWESOME!! Thanks, Aunt Mary!! Everyone loved it! Carson didn't really feel like digging into it and getting very messy, but he did enjoy eating a few bites during the party. And I'm sure he'll love it today when we share a few bites with him again.

Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate this special day with us! It was great to see everyone and we're so happy that everyone made it! Thanks to Auntie Jaime and Uncle Jeff for taking so many great pictures! And thanks again to Aunt Mary for making a deliciously wonderful cake!! Thanks for all of the great gifts, too! We'll be having fun playing with them today while the three of us are home together!

I'll be uploading all of our party pictures today, so watch for them in the albums!

I also should mention that Carson now has 7 teeth! He woke up yesterday morning with his third bottom tooth (to the left of his two center teeth). The tooth to the right of the center two looks like it'll be through today or tomorrow, too!

Little Man is ONE!

Can you believe it?! We sure can't! It doesn't seem like it was that long ago we were bringing our little guy home from the hospital. Though some things haven't changed all that much... for instance he still rarely sleeps through the night. ;-P Although that is getting much better. There were four nights this past week he slept through - like 9-11 hours straight. So hopefully that trend continues. Carson it at such a fun stage right now. Its so fun to see him develop. He's trying to say so many words right now. He says "up" clear as day when he climbs up on things or when he wants out of his high chair. He tries to say "on" and "off", but they usually sound a little like "up" just not as strong of a "p" sound at the end. He says "eye" clear as day, too, and can point out your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. He still doesn't quite understand where his are yet, though. Carson has started saying "Dah-EE" for Daddy. Still the "Ma-Ma" for Mama. He says "Ded" for Jet and still just says "bah" for ball - can't quite get the "l" sounds yet. He tries to make most sounds, they're just a little difficult to make out still. I'm sure in the next month or so, we'll be understanding more and more of his language. He's also making lots of animal sounds when you ask him what the different animals say - his favorite is the lion since he loves to growl. :) About three weeks ago, I taught him to hold up his index finger and "tell us one" - as you can see in the picture. Hopefully we'll be able to get him to tell us he's one tomorrow at his party.

Carson is quite the climber these days. We're back to the times of not being able to get much done while he's up and running. We just can't leave him for a second now. If we do, we're likely to find him standing on the arms (yes I said the arms) of his rocking chair trying to reach into the pack-and-play for a toy... or standing on top of his children's table... yes on top of it... or sitting on top of his musical table... or standing on top of his chair trying to get over the baby gate. He has fun doing it - and it is fun to watch... but I also know it could be very dangerous.

Carson goes for his 1-year check-up on Monday. We're anxious to see how much he's grown. I'm assuming we'll be starting the phase-in of the whole milk next week, too. Hopefully that goes well and doesn't mess up Carson's little system too much. He still just has the six teeth he's had for awhile now. Lots of them look so close, but none have broken through. And his teeth haven't seemed to be bothering him too much lately, though I've noticed today he's been chewing on things a lot more than normal.

Tomorrow we are having his first birthday party. Both sides of the family and Auntie Jaime and Uncle Jeff. Should be a good time! We're looking forward to seeing everyone, I just hope Carson does well and isn't too overwhelmed.

Grandpa H's Birthday

Yesterday we headed west to Grand Rapids to meet up with most of the Holleboom family to celebrate Grandpa Holleboom's birthday (which was Friday). We all went to a Calvin basketball game. Much of Kevin's family attended Calvin College - his dad, both sisters, and one brother-in-law. This was Carson's first time at any type of sporting event. We were quite worried about how he'd do at the game - whether or not he'd be content sitting in the seats for any portion of the game. We anticipated not seeing much of the game, rather walking around in the concourse with Carson most of the time. But he surprised us and did very well! He was just fascinated with all the lights and sounds and liked watching the ball on the court. He was also a little intimidated by the hundreds/thousands of strangers all around us. I think that was our saving grace. :)

After the basketball game, we all headed over to Aunt Mary's and Uncle Justin's for a yummy taco dinner, cake, and time to visit. Carson and Rebecca had fun playing together again. Although this time Carson was having some issues with sharing. He got quite upset when Rebecca took her turn on her bike toy. Luckily he got over that fairly quickly. He also didn't really like sharing his Grandma Holleboom with her. :) We'll have to work on that one. It was great to see everyone and we're looking forward to see them all again next Saturday for Carson's birthday and again the following Saturday for Grandma Holleboom's birthday. There are just a few pictures here, but check out our photo albums for more.

The War Zone That Is Our Front Yard

This past Monday, we had a tree guy come to cut down three trees in our front yard, one tree in the back yard, and trim/re-shape one huge tree in our front yard. While it is great to have the trees gone and the huge Maple looks so much better and we're not worried about it falling on the garage or our cars anymore... we have quite the mess to clean up now. All before Carson's party this-coming Saturday... :)

Little Mischief Maker

Carson is becoming quite the little mischief maker these days. He's definitely good at trying Mama's and Daddy's patience - testing us to see how far he can go with things. I guess that is all part of learning and developing, though. He knows what "no-no" means - and has generally been very good at listening to you, leaving things be, and going to do something else when he's told "no" so far. And he still is when its anyone else but Mama and Daddy. Our biggest struggles with him are getting him to sit down (not stand) in his rocking chair and to leave his night-light in his bedroom alone. He's also turning into quite the climber these days. Trying to climb on everything he can. He still can't climb onto the furniture yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before he does.

I also finally caught him on camera feeding Jet his food. For quite some time now, he's been feeding Jet his food. Especially once he's full and doesn't want anymore. But even when he's not, and you're not looking, he'll feed Jet a few pieces here and there.

Cousin Charlie's and Great Grandma's Birthday Party

Today we went out to Sara's Aunt Sharon's house to celebrate cousin Charlie's 16th birthday (which was on January 27th) and Great Grandma Burge's birthday (which was on January 17th). Carson had a lot of fun playing with everyone, wandering around everywhere and playing hard-to-get... his latest game. He enjoyed his nap with Great Grandpa very much. Aunt Sharon found either Becky's or Charlie's old rocking chair and brought it out for Carson. He loved it and thought he was such a big shot sitting in it. He even figured out how to get in and out of it all by himself! He loved it so much that Aunt Sharon gave it to him! He'll have lots of fun sitting in it and rocking. Here are a few pictures, but there are also more in the Shutterfly albums. I also uploaded all of the January 2009 pictures if you're interested.

Poor Little Man

Our poor little man got his first fat lip tonight. I'm sure this was just the first of many. He was running around, having so much fun, carrying his blankie around. As he was running, he tripped over his blankie and boom he went. His two front teeth went into his upper lip. Poor guy! It really scared him (and me!) with all of the blood, but he was a trooper and calmed down much quicker than I expected him to. He was smiling and on the go again within probably three minutes. But he did manage to give me this poor, pathetic look when I took a picture. :) His little lip is so swollen and red. Hopefully it'll look a little better tomorrow.

Cousins!

Last Saturday, we took a trip out to Grand Rapids to visit family. I'm finally just now uploading the pictures from the trip, so I figured I'd post about it, too. We first stopped by the farm to visit Great Grandpa and Great Grandma. Aunt Julie, Uncle Jason, Anna, and Joel were there, too! Carson had lots of fun playing with Anna and Joel - and I think Anna had fun watching out for Carson. She is such a little mommy - so cute! It was nice to see everyone. Even though we live so close to them, we don't see Aunt Julie, Uncle Jason, Anna, and Joel very often, so its always fun for Carson to play with them. Great Grandma and Great Grandpa got a big kick out of how much Carson has grown since they saw him at Christmas. The still can't get over how he just runs around constantly.

After we left the farm, we headed over to see Aunt Mary, Uncle Justin, and Rebecca. We ate a yummy dinner with them and had lots of fun watching Rebecca and Carson play together. Carson didn't know what to think when Rebecca wanted to check out his pacifier, but he handled it ok. He had lots of fun playing with all her toys and crawling around the floor with her. We can only imagine how crazy it'll be when they're both running around after one another like crazy little munchkins! :) We always enjoy our visits with Aunt Mary, Uncle Justin, and Rebecca. We definitely don't get to see them often enough and when we do the time goes by way too quickly. We'll be seeing lots of them in February, though - three weeks in a row!

Carson *hearts* Rachael Ray

Lately, Carson has been loving Rachael Ray's talk show. He doesn't pay too much attention to her on her cooking shows, but lately he just stares at the tv during her talk show. I think he may have his first crush! :-P Not really, but there is something about her show that intrigues him. He'll stop what he's doing and just stare at the television, sometimes walking up to the tv to point at and try to touch Rachael. He also likes her music. Whenever the show cuts to a commercial and their music comes on, he starts dancing. Its quite funny to see. :)

Here he is entranced with the show...

Is he really 11 months old?

We are truly in disbelief that our little man is going to be a year old in less than a month now. How did the time go by so quickly? Where did our little baby go? It just feels like Carson has grown up so fast, especially these last few months with all of the changes in attitude since he's been walking. He thinks he's such a big shot. He's mastered the skill of walking up and down half-size steps. He still can't do full-size steps, but then again he doesn't get much practice on the full-size steps. If he knows there is a half-step around, it will keep him occupied for the longest time. He just steps down and up, back and forth, over and over again. He can even walk up the step with no hands, though he most often will hold onto the wall with one hand just in case.

Carson is on the go non-stop. He rarely will sit down and just play anymore. He may stop for 30 seconds here or 2 minutes there, but rarely will he sit down for more than a couple of minutes. His favorite toy right now is probably his plush soccer ball. Its light-weight, soft, and easy to hold onto, so he can carry it with him as he's running around. He also likes to play fetch. He'll bring the ball to you and wants you to throw/roll it away so he can run to get it and bring it back. He likes to toss it and roll it to you, too, but he has more fun running after it. He also really likes his mini basketball hoop. He picks up the balls now and almost immediately takes them to the hoop and puts them through and then gets all proud and claps that he made the basket. So cute! He still likes carrying his baseball bat around like a little Bam-Bam. And his golf clubs, too. Looks like we're going to have a little man that loves sports on our hands. He enjoys his Little People toys. He likes to put the people in and out and then crash them together. And he loves blocks. He doesn't really build things himself, but he loves to send the things we build crashing down. He thinks that is a super fun game! He still loves his musical toys, as well. He's learning to enjoy his ride-on toys, too. He'll sit on them now and loves it when you push him around on them, and he'll use his feet to scoot them around a little now, too. We'll have to keep working on those ride-on toys if we hope to get him on a dirt bike or snowmobile one day! :-P

Carson still just has the six teeth he's had for awhile now (4 on top, 2 on the bottom). His eye teeth still haven't emerged, even though we've been able to see them now for the last two months. The poor guy just cuts his teeth so slowly. I think most of his teeth have taken 6-8 weeks to actually cut through once we've been able to see them. He's eating just about everything we eat now. Its nice to not have to make separate meals for us and him every night. Although all of the different kinds of foods have been giving him terrible gas these last couple of weeks. He has a hard time sleeping for too long because the gas builds up and I'm sure is painful, so we've had some rough, sleepless nights for the last couple of weeks.

We are now planning Carson's 1st birthday party next month. Hard to believe. It'll be a fun time, although I think we'll be a little sad that our little man has grown up so fast.

He still likes to play with Jet... here he is so excited that he stole Jet's bone toy from him and is running away with it with Jet chasing him. :)

Winter Wonderland

Carson had his first experience in the snow this afternoon. He didn't really know what to think. He didn't think he could walk too well, with all the gear on and the depth of the snow, but he stood there on a patch that was packed down pretty well looking around for awhile. We tried out his sled finally, too. He didn't hate it, but he didn't love it either. :) It didn't help that he was getting tired and ready for his afternoon nap. But he tolerated it and even started to fall asleep towards the end of the ride. We'll have to try it again on another day. Today was just so beautiful, with the fresh snow sticking to all the trees. It was cold, but the wind wasn't blowing, so it actually felt pretty nice out. Jet had a lot of fun in the snow, as he always does. You can definitely tell he has some husky in him with the way he loves snow. He is like a child and gets all excited when he sees it snowing outside from the window. He just can't wait to go outside and play.

Family Room (a.k.a. the Breezeway)

During our vacation during the holidays, we were busy converting our breezeway from a storage area to a family room/play room. Its not perfect, but it'll do us well for now and it'll be nice to not have to worry about things being spilled or ruined. We did the conversion for pennies compared to what we could have spent. The furniture is from my cousin Becky, the carpet is from my Aunt Sharon's house - she got new carpet last month and we just pieced some of the old stuff together. You can see the seams on some of it and the carpet cleaners couldn't get the stain from the coffee table out, but it'll work for us for now. Kevin and his dad replaced the door to the garage with a steel exterior door - there had only been a hollow wood door before that was very drafty. They still have to do some trim work to finish it up, but it made a huge difference. We also purchased an electric stove heater to go with the rustic feel of the knotty pine. Its the kind that doesn't get hot to the touch (unless you reach underneath), so it is perfect for Carson. We also purchased the toy bins for Carson's toys and we'll need to work on decorating, but that will come in time. For now, we're loving having this extra space to play. Its nice that it has carpet, too. Makes for much softer landings on Carson's part. :)

Crazy Boy

Our crazy-haired little boy has been a very sick little man for the last 9 days. He caught what has now become the Holleboom family "itis," as it is being called by Kevin and Danny, after being exposed at Christmas. The "itis" has reared its sickness in all four households of the Holleboom family, as well as some of the extended family, too. While older children and adults can handle the "itis," it has wreaked a lot of havoc on Carson's little body and airways - as well as with his cousin, Rebecca, who is two months younger than Carson. It ended up turning into croup for Carson and we've had some very scary times when his airways would constrict. Auntie Jaime has been our hero - helping us out during some very scary times and helping us out with her connections in the Genesys Emergency Room (she works there as a P.A.). Thankfully the steroids he received in the ER really helped him through the worst of it all. He is almost back to normal now and we're so glad to have our happy little guy back with all his energy again! I think he's trying to make up for all the lost time while he was sick, too. He now only has one speed - super-speed - when he's walking/running around. His little legs just get going so fast. He has also mastered the squat to pick something up in the middle of the floor and return to standing without holding on to anything move. Little man is just growing up way too fast!

I wanted to share some pictures of Carson drinking out of a "big boy" glass, too. He doesn't like to use sippy cups or straw cups anymore - rather he wants to drink out of the same glasses we use. The only problem is that he's been watching Jet drink from his bowl a little too much and thinks he is supposed to lap up the water with his tongue. He also smashes his little face into the glass so hard (hence the red marks in the last picture).

Bam-Bam

Just had to share some more pictures of Carson carrying around his baseball bat. He truly is turning into our little Bam-Bam. He's now starting to figure out that its a lot of fun to hit things with the bat... and chase the dog with it. :)