Christmas 2009

I hope everyone had a great and Merry Christmas this year! We couldn't have had more fun watching Carson. Carl brought him down in the morning, covered his eyes and set him down in the middle of the living room. I got new shelves for toy storage and that was the first thing he saw. He went right for his old toys because they weren't in a basket anymore. We had to keep showing him there were new things for him, it was like he had tunnel vision. He seriously lit up when he saw each new thing though. It was so cool to watch. So far he absolutely loves all his new stuff and so do we. The big things he got were a CAT ride-on dump truck, a car and train table and a play kitchen. It actually feels like we have a real play area now!

Of course, I took about eleventy billion pictures so I'll just give you the Cliff's Notes. 

Checking out the new ride.

Using his toys for evil, not good.

What's the big deal? I've got this.

The kitchen was something I really wanted him to have. Great Grandma and Grandpa Stonehocker ended up getting this for him along with a huge stock of play food. 

Of course he went straight for the phone.

I still can't figure out if this is a taco, an omelet ?????

He got lost for a minute. :)  The food has not spent much time actually in the drawers so far.

This table is so awesome. None of track is removable so he can't make a big mess. One of Carl's friends at work is a huge Hot Wheels collector and has lots of extras. Carl asked him if we could have some of his duplicate cars and he brought us 30 of them! I didn't know if Carson would like them, but that are perfect. They go so fast around the track and Carson has been carrying them around for days now. His favorite is purple with green skulls on it...

In my family we have always gotten new pj's on Christmas Eve. For as much as I love Carson's footie pajamas, I may love this big-boy style even more. He had monkey slippers to match and the top kept getting caught in his diaper. It was an adorable detail to me.

I got him this cup because he is obsessed with ours. He drank so much water from it with it pressed against his face that he had this perma-mark on his cheeks and forehead for quite a while. He makes me laugh so hard. And in this picture I asked him to look at me and smile and he really did! It was the first time and he looks so cheesy.

We got one picture as a family when I tried out our self-timer. I forget we can do this and it sure isn't easy! The picture isn't perfect, but much better than nothing!

Love. Him.

Other than that, we just pigged out on ham and potatoes and watched lots of movies. I'm really excited to have another 3-day weekend for us to spend together!

We are just staying in tonight and watching more movies since we're old now. :) Thank goodness for Netflix!!!

Weekend trip to the hot springs

On Friday we decided we needed to get out of town for the weekend. Carl wanted to find a place with hot springs so we could take Carson swimming. I found a place outside of Buena Vista called Mt. Princeton and it turned out awesome! Most places with hot springs don't let children in, but this place was super family-friendly. The hotel where the springs were was really reasonablely priced so we took off Saturday morning to stay the night. Plus, we figured most people would be out shopping so it would be quiet.

We were so pumped to go and relax. Then, about 15 minutes before we got there, Carl got pulled over and got a speeding ticket. It sucked so bad. Apparently he got clocked at 70 by a cop driving the opposite direction and he said we had just passed where it had gone from 65 to 55 mph. He wasn't rude or anything, but he flat out wasn't budging on the ticket. So, $170 later........ It sure took the wind out of our sails for a little while, but as soon as we got up into the pools we were good again.

The resort is built right along a river that is ice cold and fast-moving, then there is a large section of natural hot springs that sit right along side the river. They have built up a bunch of pools with rocks so you are right there in the natural elements. The water was as clear as you could ever imagine and it was the absolute perfect temperature. We were all in heaven. Carson loved it so much too. He was so funny because he hates to have his hands and feet dirty. He refused to step down in the sand so he sat on our laps the entire time with his feet up. The weather was perfect - under 30 degrees the entire time, but totally clear skies. 

You had to climb down rocks to get in the water so I didn't dare bring the camera down. I just shot a couple quick ones the first afternoon when the boys were down there:

This is looking down the river and all the big rocks on the right are the hot spring pools.  There were a lot more than it looks like here. The steam everywhere really set the mood. I didn't do a very good job of getting pictures of it though. :(

They also have a few actual man-made pools up on the top section that are fed from the natural springs. The main pool is about 100 degrees. It was like swimming in a huge bathtub since there weren't any chemicals or anything!

We got pizza at a new brewery there for dinner and then stopped for small town ice cream. 

The coolest part was seeing all the deer up there. They were seriously EVERYWHERE. Right along main street, in people's front yards, everywhere. We saw coyote, foxes and there were critter tracks in the snow everywhere you looked.
This guy was sleeping under a tree right in front of a house:

We watched this herd for awhile right up by the resort before they took off out in front of our car. Carson thought they were so cool!

Carson was kind of a brat the entire trip though. He wouldn't nap on Saturday, he refused to sleep in the Pack N Play (the hotel had them which was great!) and then was up from 1:45-4:45am in bed with us. We were so tired on Sunday morning. 

We went swimming again at 9am even though it seemed way too cold. Everything was covered in frost so I was scared it would be miserable. Somehow the water warms you up enough and there is enough steam that the cold air feels great. 

Anyways, to all our Colorado pals, you should really go check this place out if you want a close trip. It was so worth it and this is the perfect time of year. Apparently in the spring the runoff makes the water too cold in the spring and summer so the temperatures are ideal right now. And she told us they are hurting for business so they are offering some good deals too! The room was really nice and they had great service.

 www.mtprinceton.com 

Photo Friday

Happy Friday to Everyone!!!

In honor of this glorious day, I thought I'd just post some randomness.

I caught Carson playing and reading by himself the other morning and finally got some of his talking/noises on film. He can say so many animal names and sounds now so it makes reading a whole new experience! And he loves Elmo now, much to my detest. So my mom came home with this Elmo book which he now loves. Enjoy a little taste:

Just for fun, I thought I'd share our other children (they actually sat still for long enough so I could snap some shots this week!). Yes, we have 3 cats which some people act like we have a zoo. And yes, we can tell the two black ones apart. :)  I don't take many pictures of them because they are literally SO hard to photograph. Now that I know more about my camera I can get decent pictures, but for years they have just looked like black blobs with glowing eyes on film.

This is Spooky, the one that our guests don't believe exists:

He has always been pure black, except for the white tufts of whiskers in his ears, on his chest, under his little kitty armpits and on his belly. He is like a scared little old man.

This is Sophie, our troublemaker. Who has to lock their bedroom door at night so their cat doesn't break in and play with nail polish? This girl.

My mom usually leaves the box from whatever shoes she wear that day laying on her bed. This is wear Sophie sleeps most of the time.

And last but not least, my old lady, Lily. I've had her since I was in 7th grade. She is by far the noisiest cat you can ever meet, but she is a sweetheart. Most of the time that I am on the computer she is right behind me curled up in the chair.

I just got one of her baking in the sun the other day:

Finally, I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't share this cuteness. 

Our next door neighbors asked me if I'd shoot some Christmas shots of their 4-month-old son, Cole. I was more than willing to shoot such a cutie who actually holds still!!!

We took lots of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites. Look at his huge brown eyes. I told them this was a new experience for me because literally every person I've ever shot has blue eyes and everyone in my family does too. They are gorgeous!

Babyproof, Shmabyproof

The last few days have been especially trying in our household. Carson has managed to outsmart almost all of our babyproofing efforts and we are somehow two steps behind him. The things we now have around to keep him out are getting uglier and uglier as the minutes tick by.

On Friday he figured out how to open the gate into our office. Carl had to secure the office gate door with zip ties (but really, what mechanic doesn't try to zip tie everything?!). You can't really see these, but now we can't open that door at all anymore. It wouldn't seem like a big deal that he's in here, but you wouldn't believe the damage he can cause in a matter of seconds. 

Let's move onto later in the day when he got the front door unlocked and open, multiple times.... On Saturday we ventured to Lowe's to get something to at least secure the front door so he can't escape. He figured out he can push any box or toy up to it, stand on them to turn the lock and the door opens right up.

So now we are sporting a circa 1980s hotel chain!!! At least it is silver, right? It was the only option that would physically fit the door and molding: 

 We thought that was a good solution to our current problems.

Then comes yesterday. 

We have plastic door handle guards on all of the doors on the main level. I don't have the time or energy to keep him out of the garage, cat food, toilet, garbage, etc. so these were a must. I see him swing open the pantry door and assume that I just didn't click it back into place when I shut it last, so I go secure it. A minute later he brings me a bag of cereal. I am VERY curious at this point. I grab my camera and find this:

When he figures out something like this he gets totally obsessed and absorbed in it. It is the only thing he has wanted to do for two days now.

I also forgot to mention he has destroyed two separate stick-on locks on our lazy susan cupboard. Since it's been unlocked for a week or so, this was his obsession. That's where we keep the blender, toaster, decorative dishes etc. so its the stuff he really can't have. In the last two days between all the appliances and the bottom two pantry shelves, my counters look like this:

And tonight the pantry looked like this (I just noticed his sippy sitting there, haha):

Today was also "Play in the bathroom day!"  We have had the garbage in there for awhile since it doesn't really lock. I double-checked and I don't think anything ended up in there or the toilet. I'm pretty sure he got some soap in his mouth though. Arg.

He took two of Carl's shoes from the closet right across the hall and wore them every time he stepped foot in there which was so adorable.

 I have been so busy that I almost don't even care right now. Hopefully tomorrow will be quiet and I can get everything put back together. Carl bought a real lock to screw into the lazy susan with a key so we can really keep him out of there. We figure that it can't hurt to have that in the long run to put stuff like alcohol in when he's older. He also stopped and bought big rubber bands tonight that he tied around all the door handles so there is a lot of tension on the latch. It's really hard for us to lift the lever now so it is impossible for Carson to, at least at this moment. :)

Oh, I'm not done.

He also decided that he can flip the sliding door lock AND the bottom push lock and open up that door. He got it all the way open today. At least for now he can't unlock the screen, but it was so cold and he kept opening it!

 

We can't even be mad at him though. I absolutely adore watching him figure this stuff out and learn new things everyday. If he wasn't doing this stuff I'd probably be worried I guess. He also started saying SIPPY and DIAPER in the last two days to make up for everything. :)

AND - this current scratch on his chin is from him banging a pitcher lid and a blender lid together on his own face. How do you even pull that off??? This was today and it looks much better than it did at first. 

He already thinks the Christmas boxes are more fun that what came in them! We are ecstatic for Christmas this year!

Between really irregular naps and our active child during a super busy work schedule.......

I. Am. Pooped.

How could I forget?

I completely spaced that Carson has said two very cool things too!

He has started to say MILK and actually comes to me to ask for his milk. It is freaking awesome to have him verbalize something he wants all the time instead of just whining at my feet. He says, "Mel!" which is so cute.

The other thing he says is PEE PEE and POO POO. That might not seem like much, but I've been waiting for signs that he was ready to start practicing on his potty and this is the first step. He totally discovered his pee pee and tells me all about it any time it's out. :) Then the other night he was standing in the corner in the kitchen. I asked him what he was doing, he pointed to his diaper and said pee pee. I asked him if he made a pee pee or poo poo and he yelled poo poo. Sure enough, by the time we got upstairs he had gone poo! (This feels so weird to type out...) We were so proud of him! HaHa

And here's a cute video of him playing at the museum on Tuesday:

Some of everything

 I have a ton of random stuff and pictures to post (and I have been slacking), so here goes one biggie.

  A couple weekends ago we took Carson to a restaurant called Casa Bonita. People from Utah, it is the original version of The Mayan at Jordan Commons and is always described as the must-do tourist thing. It was snowing one Saturday night and Carson had been couped up all week with his cold so we figured we could eat and play there. It didn't disappoint! So cheesy, horrible food and men in gorilla suits. Awesome.

The reason I am describing this is that we came home with Carson's first light saber. Carl took him to play that night and came back with it. Carson was absolutely in love. In two weeks he has already killed the batteries.

That morning he was being really funny and cracking us up.

He was working on his cup mastery. It's a slow process.

This is what his hair looked like when we got him out of the crib that morning. I love the surprise every morning of what kind of kid we'll find!

This last two weeks have been full of new words too! He has repeated so many things and says a bunch of new things all on his own. Since he has figured out the word apple, that's all he wants. He yells apple all the time and begs for them (we keep them in a bowl on the counter so that doesn't help). He loves trains and says Choo Choo any time he sees one. He has called  my mom Bob and Pat which is hilarious. He can't seem to get Grandma or Grandpa down yet. He started saying "isit" in one noise and pointing, which is him asking What Is It? I wondered when that would start. There are so many that I can't even talk about them all though! He is so much fun!!!

Onto Thanksgiving.......

Our friends Scott and Jeanette and their two kids were here in Colorado staying with Scott's brother for the week. They were up in the mountains so we decided to meet half way for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. Half way turned out to be Blackhawk and Central City which is CO's casino destination. It was such a cool place! Tons of little and some big & new casinos all built into a mountain pass. Central City was much older and you could feel the history there. We ate at the breakfast buffet at the Isle of Capri.

Luckily the put us back in the corner (I wonder why) and the kids played for quite awhile. When I tried to get a picture of them all sitting together, these were the three I managed. I laughed so hard when I looked at them. How do photographers do it???

For dinner we went to my Uncle Tom's. We got to see my Uncle Chuck who lives in Orem and he is always the life of the party. We had fun seeing everyone and the best part was that I didn't have to cook! Carson only wanted bread and mashed potatoes. He went from loving meat to a total vegetarian. He picks all around meat and if you put any in his mouth he immediately takes it off his tounge and hands it back. He's getting lots of beans and eggs right now!

Carson wasn't into smiling that night, I guess.

I've been making much more of an effort to get us out of the house almost everyday and playing outside a lot more. Carson gets in such a bad mood when he wants to leave. You can't even mention the word shoes around him because he starts gathering our stuff and running around in anticipation. I got a new iPhone last week which helps out more than I ever thought. I always feel so tied to the house, but now I can sneak away every day and still know what is going on at work.

He is morphing into a little boy right before our eyes.

I asked my mom to get us a family pass to the Children's Museum for all of our Christmas present. We have so much fun there and I can't wait to go all the time! We discovered the 0-4yo section which is awesome because he doesn't get bowled over.

His new thing this week is taking off all his clothes and his diaper. This was the first day he did it in his crib, zipper down, diaper down..... Two days ago I went in to get him and he was laying in the crib, zipper down, diaper off and poop all over his legs. Luckily I got to him before he got it anywhere else, but it was horrible. He is in onesies 24/7 right now, even under his pajamas!

We were at Wahoo's the other night having dinner and he wanted the limes. It's so funny that babies like them! He didn't used to make faces, but he sure was this time.

That night while we were eating he started signing MORE correctly! He has always signed it when we asked him if he wanted more, but he did it wrong. We've tried to teach him you bump your finger tips together and he always has pointed to his palm. We were sitting there and he wouldn't eat anything. Out of nowhere he must have realized he was hungry and started signing more. He really did want more so it was awesome!
I caught a quick video of his signing MORE and ALL DONE.

I came across this picture I took and it seemed very fitting. Carl lost his wedding ring last night in grand fashion for the second time....and found it for the second time. His ring is tungsten so it can't be resized and it is too big for him now that he has lost weight.

The first time was last summer while up fourwheeling with Scott in the mountains. He was sliding down a big hill, it slipped off and he didn't realize until he got home that night. He knew exactly when it had to have happened and where to look. They headed back up early the next morning and somehow came back with it. 

Last night I knew when he left work and wondered why he was taking so long.  He was driving home with his hand hanging out the window, got about a 1/2 mile from our house and felt his ring slip off. He heard it his the road and couldn't believe what had happened. He walked up and down the road and gutters and after 30 minutes saw it shine by a weed in the dirt.

We are definitely going to get him something to tighten the ring ASAP!