Bumpdate: 23 Weeks & THE NAME!

Carson wanted in on the bump action this week:

23 Weeks!
Baby is currently the size of a GRAPEFRUIT!

Next Appointment: January 22nd.  It feels like it's FOREVER away.  I can't wait to hear Baby Boy's heart beating again!

Gender: Adding another BOY to our family!  Check out our reveal photo.  

Total Weight Gain: As of 12/23 when I was 22w4d, I was +11. 

Maternity Clothes: I've finally surrendered to maternity jeans for good.  I borrowed a pair from a good friend and I got another pair at Old Navy with a 40% off coupon.  The ones I have from my last pregnancy are still too big.  I can do my regular jeans with the belly band but they just fall down all the time so it's really inconvenient!  As far as shirts I'm wearing mostly non-maternity tops except for tanks.  I'm obsessed with Old Navy maternity tanks so I layer those under cardigans a lot!  Plus they show off my bump with the cute side ruching detail!

Sleep: Sleep is decent.  I toss and turn a lot.  The other night my husband didn't sleep well and in the morning he said "Did you sleep at all last night?!"  I was really confused and asked why and he said "You were moving ALL night!"  I guess he doesn't usually notice since he's asleep, haha!

Movement: Baby2 is still pretty active!  Just like Carson, he seems to be most active in the evenings.  When I went to my doctor's appointment last week he was super active and kicked the doppler away a few times.  Little rebel. ;)

Food Cravings/Aversions: This week I really wanted sour patch kids.  I bought a small pack and should have bought a big pack!  I also decided randomly one night I NEEDED to make candy buckeyes {click for recipe}.  I'm surprised I didn't devour them all within an hour!

Best Moment This Week: Hearing Baby2's kicks and heart beat on the doppler!  Also finding out I still don't need to get on blood pressure medicine.  Woohoo!

What I Miss: I kind of wish I could have some champagne.  It just sounds good for some reason.  For now, sparkling juice will have to do.  Drinking it out of a fancy glass is almost just as good. :)

What I'm Looking Forward To: Sharing the name we have chosen!

Extra Notes From the Week: I had a great appointment last week.  Baby2's heart rate was only 135bpm but he was moving SO much that the doctor wasn't concerned.  Hopefully it will be back up next time.  My blood pressure was great (for me) so I still don't need medicine, but I need to continue to monitor it at home and I have orders to call right away if it goes above a certain number.  Carson has started saying "ba-beh" more and more and it just melts my heart!

We made Baby2's name official and it was even on our Christmas card that I posted last week!  It's super small on the card so I'm sure nobody noticed so here is the official "reveal":  

Carson's little brother is now officially known as Mason!  I'm so happy with our choice and it's so fun to talk about MASON now instead of "the baby" or "him".  I was very rushed when I made this room sign because I wanted to get this pic on Facebook before sending out our holiday cards.  Eventually I'm hoping to find letters to match Carson's sign!  Also, every time I see this pic I envision Carson AND his brother standing at their doors (even though we may be at a different house).  It makes me so excited to have two little boys!  <3

A Look Back at December

Earlier this month I posted about our holiday bucket list.  I printed this out and hung it on our fridge and it was a fun reminder of things we could do over the month!   Let's see how we did on our Family Holiday Bucket List for the "12 Days of Christmas".  In case you forgot, here is a copy of the bucket list I made:

I'm happy to say we did ALL of this!  Here are some highlights:

1. We made holiday ornaments:

2. We went to the zoo lights!

3. We watched holiday movies!  Carson wasn't super into this activity (at all), but I turned some on during play time anyway.  I also watched one with the hubster.  Here is some of what we watched:

4. We sent out a ton of holiday cards and got a ton back, too!  Here's our card from this year:

5. I used one of my favorite recipes for peanut butter fudge to take to a cookie exchange!  Unfortunately my fudge didn't turn out right this time.  I think I boiled it too long in the beginning.  It's the thought that counts though, right?  :)

6. We decorated our tree very plain this year.  Lights and probably only 20-30 ornaments!  All of our ornaments are homemade or have some sentimental reason behind them except for some snowflake ornaments from Target.  My goal this year was no hooks since Carson was really into exploring the tree and ornaments!

7. We were able to get out and play in the snow a few times!  I'm not a huge fan of the cold but it's so much fun to see Carson exploring something new.  I think he prefers the beach like his Momma! :)

8. We read TONS of Christmas stories!  I keep a stash of "holiday/seasonal" books in Carson's room that I get out at different times throughout the year.  (Can you tell I'm a teacher at heart?!)  I was so excited to get out his stash of Christmas/winter books this year and we also got some from the library!  Here are some of his favorites (click on the picture to find where to purchase):
 

9. I definitely baked a lot of cookies this month!  I made hot cocoa cookies, M&M bars, and peanut butter meltaways. I also made peanut butter fudge and candy buckeyes!  (Click links for recipes!)  The recipes for the two pictured below are coming SOON!

10. We visited Santa and Carson just loved it (insert sarcasm font).

11. We "built" a fire by flipping the switch on our gas fireplace.  I know some people think that's lame but I LOVE it.  It's so convenient and I can turn it on/off whenever I need to!  We never need to worry about having wood and we don't have to worry about letting the fire burn out (I remember that from when I was little).

12. Obviously I wrapped our gifts!  I didn't do the best job this year because I usually wrapped during Carson's nap time so I was a bit rushed.  Next year I want to use some cute paper and add more ribbons and bows!

Merry Christmas! {Our 2013 Card}

Merry Christmas, Friends!

Here's a look at our 2013 holiday card:

Chip and Dixie had to have a card, too!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday full of love!

Bumpdate: 22 Weeks

I though it would be fun to do a bump comparison this week.  The pic on the left was taken at 22w1d and the pic on the right was taken at 21w6d (pregnant with Carson)!  Fairly similar I think!

22 Weeks!
Baby is currently the size of a PAPAYA!

Next Appointment: December 23rd.  I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner!

Gender: Adding another BOY to our family!  Check out our reveal photo.  

Total Weight Gain: I was +7 as of 11/25 (18w4d).  At that point I didn't really have a bump so now that I have a bump I'm expecting to be up a bit.  We'll see!

Maternity Clothes: My pre-pregnancy jeans are definitely too tight.  I can button them but it's not flattering.  I've been using my belly band but it's really pretty annoying.  My maternity jeans from last time are way too big so I'm kind of in the middle right now.  I'm on the look out for some maternity jeggings to fit my chicken legs.  (Don't hate!)

Sleep: Sleep is good.  It's sometimes hard to find a comfortable sleeping position because my hips/lower back have been hurting a lot.

Movement: Baby2 is still moving a ton!  I can now see him moving on a regular basis which is so fun!  I can't remember when I could first see Carson moving, but I know it wasn't this soon since I didn't even feel him until about 21w!

Food Cravings/Aversions: Hot chocolate was a big craving this week!  I didn't need anything fancy, a swiss miss packet did the trick!  I'm still craving fruit and smoothies too.  Meat still does not sound good but I eat it sometimes anyway.

Best Moment This Week: Watching Baby2 move and wiggle around.  It's so great to feel him move but it's even more special to see him moving!

What I Miss: Lunch meat.  Jimmy John's is calling my name!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Sharing the name we have chosen!

Extra Notes From the Week: I had a few interesting nights.  One night I felt SO sick I went to bed almost right after putting Carson to bed.  I felt like I was in the first trimester all over again.  Plus our Tums were old.  :/  Oh, and I also spilled my can of Sprite all over the nightstand when the lights were out. :(  Luckily I felt much better when I woke up in the morning!  I also had a night where my lower back hurt SO bad I could barely walk.  I felt like a middle aged lady who threw her back out (whatever that means).  I had to hold on to things for support if I wasn't standing on both feet.  I took a hot shower (with my husband as a supervisor because he just knew I would fall over in the shower).  The shower helped and then in the morning I was mostly better.  So weird though!  (It's probably since I shoveled our entire driveway but don't tell anyone....)

Christmas Arts & Crafts for Toddlers

With Thanksgiving being so late this year, Christmas really came quickly!  I realized last week that the only Christmas craft I had done with Carson was our hand print Santa ornament!  {clickable link}

Last year I made this cute little reindeer foot print craft.  I love how it turned out, but I wanted to do something a little different this year.

{DIY instructions}

I checked Pinterest (where else?!) and found a lot of cute inspiration for some holiday crafts.  Here is what we came up with....

Hand Print Reindeer:

My husband already informed me how this is "incorrect" because Clarice has a black nose and no antlers.  Men!

Thumb Print Christmas Lights:

Carson Anthony: 19 Months

It's hard to believe Carson is 19 moths old.  That's MORE than a year and a half.  His personality shines through more and more each day and I just love it!

  

What Carson Loves Right Now: 
-Carson loves still balls (I don't think this will ever end).  He's becoming quite the pro basketball player, even making one-handed shots!  He also loves playing "catch" with Daddy with a football!  
-Last month I mentioned how Carson loved playing with his Leap Frogs Letter Factory toy.  He still loves it and also loves his magnetic letters.  Here's a video of him practicing some of his letters.  It amazes me how quick he catches on!

-Carson still loves books.  I have some Christmas books I get out every year and he loves that he has some new special books!  usually I give him a book to take in his crib during nap time and my heart melts when I see him "reading" on the video monitor!

Reading during nap time!

He covered himself up this night! :)

-Carson also loves coloring!  So far he's been pretty good about only coloring on paper (knock on wood) but I still don't trust him alone with crayons yet!  I bought a pack of Crayola crayons to put in his stocking but I couldn't resist giving them to him early!  

-Carson has really gotten into his puzzles this month, too!  He liked them before but now he's a pro!  We can dump out the pieces to any of his puzzles and he can put the shapes back into the right spaces.  Proud momma right here!  Here some of Carson's favorite puzzles (click on picture for link):

-Carson also loves music and dancing!  When we were in Fort Lauderdale for vacation in early December he heard some music and started busting out he moves at the beach:

-Carson's favorite foods are still very similar.  He loves his fruit and will eat almost any kind!  Applesauce is a favorite and he now will ask for it without even seeing any!  He still loves chicken nuggets (but only veggie nuggets or Tyson), peanut butter sandwiches, waffles, pancakes, Annie's mac'n'cheese, etc.  He has also discovered he loves grilled cheese but always insists on peeling the bread apart before eating it.  We tried craisins for a new snack choice and he loves them!

In Florida with his friend Hallie!

Practicing his big bro status with friend Sadie!

What I Love Right Now: I'm loving watching Carson explore.  He is at the age for some separation and stranger anixety, but he does pretty well normally.  Sometimes he'll act a bit shy, but eventually comes out of his shell.  The thing that's funny is if we're with a big group of adults he'll start out shy, but if we go to a place with tons of kids, he's totally comfortable right off the bat!  I love how Carson wants to show me the world.  He takes my hand and leads me where ever he wants to go.  I also love when he brings me a book and plops down in my lap.  Melts my heart!

Random reading pit stop in the middle of the hall!

Exploring Fort Lauderdale Beach

Checking out the first big snow of the year!

Some of our Biggest Struggles: I think our "struggles" are the same as last month.  Carson is still a fairly picky eater and it's hard to get veggies in him!  He still eats pouches and he'll eat veggie burgers/nuggets so at least that's one way!  I'm going to try a few new recipes this month with veggies incorporated so I'm crossing my fingers he'll like them!  Carson also still has little "tantrums" or melt downs when he can't do something on his own.  He's at the age where he wants to be able to do it all himself and he gets really frustrated when he can't!  This usually results in a high pitched shriek or scream.  It's hard that he can't communicate what he wants all the time too, but we're fortunate that he knows words/signs for important things like eat, drink, help, etc. 

Stranger danger! 

Exciting Milestones & Physical Changes: Carson has added a few more words and even a sign for "I Love You".   

He also has yet another tooth!  He got his second lower lateral incisor which puts him at 12 teeth total!  He just needs his fangs (haha) and 2 year molars now....no rush though!

Carson also got yet another haircut! 

19 Month Word List:

• "all gone"/"gone" (always with upturned hands and a shrug)
• "done" He hasn't been using this word anymore, he usually just says "gone"
• "up" (sometimes sounds like "uhhhh")
• "Mama" He has said this in the past, but it's not consistent enough to make the list!
• "Dada" and "Daddy" (so cute!)
• "duh" (dog)
• "bird"
• "book"
• "ball"
• "vroom vroom"
• "duck"
• "wawa" (water)
• "shoooos" (shoes)
• "puh" (pillow)
• "tuh" (truck)
• "trsssh" (trash)
• "mm-bah" (apple)  Not sure where he got that pronunciation!
• "yea"
• "boo!" (are you surprised he learned this around Halloween?!)
• "whoa!"
• "cah" (car...with a Bostonian accent, haha!) 
• "Ho Ho" (he loves Santa in books but not in real life!)
• baby

**This past month Carson started saying "Daddy" (but still says Dada most of the time) as well as car, "ho ho" for Santa, and baby!  

Animal Sounds (11): Cow, Elephant, Pig, Fish, Duck (although it doesn't sound like a quack...more like "duck! duck! duck!"), Sheep, Chicken (which really sounds like he's clearing his throat for some odd reason!), Snake, Dog ("bow-wow!"), Owl, and Cat (sort of sounds like he's saying "awww" in a high pitched voice, haha!).
*He can sometimes roar like a tiger/lion!

Body Parts He Can Identify (16): Head, Hair, Ears, Eyes, Nose, Cheeks, Mouth, Tongue, Hands, Fingers, Feet, Toes, Tummy, Belly Button, Knees (he usually thinks I say "sneeze" so he'll give me a fake sneeze and giggle!), Shoulders.  
*We're practicing elbows but it's very confusing!

Signs Carson Uses: eat, more, milk, all gone, help, "I love you" <--- TOO CUTE!
*We haven't been teaching new signs since he's starting to verbalize more!

Things We're Looking Forward To: Christmas for sure!  Last year Carson was fun because he was interested in his presents enough to tear some paper and pull out tissue paper.  This year he understands the concept of actually opening a present and has a genuine reaction about what's inside.  I can't wait to see his face when he opens gifts!  I also am really excited to visit with our family and see how he does in the group settings with tons of attention on him!  

Here's a throwback to Christmas last year: