3 in 1

Well, we have had a nice relaxing Friday evening.  Both the boys went to sleep early tonight so Cole and I enjoyed our Chinese take-out and caught up on some TV shows.  I love it when we have nothing to do and no where to be.  It seems like these times have been far and few between lately which is also why I have been taking a bit of a blogging break.  Tonight I had a chance to catch up on a few things to share with you.  I still have a few more things coming soon.

Hannah's First Trip to Austin

Carson's Baby Dedication

Perfect Weather

Also, some of you may have already seen, but I took Carson on Wednesday to our photographer, Robin Winkles, and here is the sneak peek.  

Carson- 4 Months

I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

Happy 4 Months Carson!

Here are a few things Carson has been up to:

Averages about 11 hours of sleep every night.  He still is taking 4 naps a day that are anywhere from 1 to 2 hours.  This boy likes to sleep!

Has 5 6oz bottles throughout the day.

We go to the doctor on Monday, but I think he is probably around 18lbs already! 

Is very entertained by Connor and loves to watch him play.

Still gives the sweetest smiles and has started laughing out loud.

Doesn't mind being on his tummy for the most part.  I think he likes being able to see more of whats going on around him.

Started rolling over from his back to his stomach!  (He skipped the easy way)  He likes to sleep in this position (picture below) and once he realized he could use his legs to swing himself over he was rolling.

This month he also tried out his new jumperoo and loves it!  He usually just plays with one toy, but has started bouncing up and down.

For the most part Connor is so sweet and gentle with Carson.  I love that I caught this "stare down" on camera.  So  many times a day I see them both just starring at each other not saying a word.  I can only imagine what they will have to say to each other. :)

Happy 4 months Carson!  We love you so much sweet boy!

Perfect Weather

It is already starting to feel like Spring with this gorgeous weather we have been having.  Now if it would only stay that way.  

We have been busy mowing...

climbing...

 sliding...

 pulling weeds...

learning to ride new bikes...

 and having lots of fun!

A Few Comparisons

One of the benefits of having 2 boys is being able to pass Connor's clothes down to Carson.  Today I had Carson in a hand me down and remembered I had a picture of Connor in the same outfit at about the same age.  I get comments all the time about how much they look alike.  They definitely have their own "look", but there is no doubt they are brothers.

The other question that we get a lot of the time is who do the boys look like.  I got out some old photo albums to do a little more comparing.  I found a few pictures of me at 3 months and 2 1/2.  I found one of Cole (not sure how old he is), but will have to look for some more.  Here is what I found.

Connor- 3 months

Carson- 3 months

Kristin- 3 months

 Cole (& Amy)

Here is a picture of me at 2 1/2 and Connor at 2 1/2.  Can we look any more alike? :)

So what do you think?

Carson's Baby Dedication

This Sunday marked a very special day for our family.  We had Carson's dedication at church with lots of family and friends there to celebrate with us.  Before Connor's dedication we took a class that helped us define what our family valued and what our goals for the future were.  We put all of that together in a family covenant.  Before Carson's dedication we had a chance to look back at what we had written and were reminded of the great responsibility we have in raising our boys.  It is such a blessing to know that we have a church family that will love and support us along this journey of parenting.   

I loved that Ryan was the pastor that dedicated both of the boys.  Bannockburn has always been a special place to Cole and I (since it is where we met) and it made it even more special to have someone in our family dedicate our boys.

 I was SO nervous about how Connor would act while we were up on stage.  I even took him up on stage the week before so he could practice.  Thankfully my prayers were answered and he did great!  He hid his head on Cole's shoulder most of the time, but I love how he took a peak during the prayer. :)

Connor loves to clap and wasn't going to miss an opportunity to join in as we left the stage.

After the service we got to celebrate another special event.  Ryan's new book Walls was released and as a church we were able to celebrate with him.  Connor enjoyed his slice of cake!

Lunch with our family was at Brick Oven where they have a great room to hold our large crowd.  We were so thankful for all of our family that traveled lots of miles to be with us.

Mimi and Carson

Nana and Poppa

Momma Lou and Ed

Grandmommy

Pop & Saundra

Amy, Kate, and Hannah also were able to join us.  Their timing of Hannah's first trip to Austin worked out perfectly.  Thank you Amy for taking pictures for me!

It was a sweet day that we will never forget.

Hannah's First Trip to Austin

We were so excited to find out that Amy and the girls were going to be headed our way.  Cole and I had not seen Hannah since the day she was born so were eager to hold that sweet baby girl again.

Hannah and Carson also got to meet for the first time.  It is amazing how much busier it gets going from 2 cousins to 4, but I love having all these precious kids around.  We had a great time hanging out and can't wait for their next trip down!

Valentine's Party

Well, sickness took over this week and our guest list went from 4 to 2 very quickly.  We were so thankful that Amy and the girls were in town to come or Connor and I would of had lots of cookies to eat! :)  

Sweet cousins making some Valentine's with stickers.

After the fun of stickers wore off we enjoyed a Valentine's lunch.

The kids also decorated sugar cookies for dessert.  We loved watching their different personalities shine through while they decorated.

I made them aprons to wear while they decorated, but completely forgot to get them until the very end. 

Sweet Kate modeling her apron

Hannah was so content just hanging out and playing on the activity mat.  I was so happy to see this sweet baby again!

Carson managed to sleep through the whole party, but got to play with his cousins later on that day.  It turned out to be a fun day spending time with family.  Thanks for joining us Amy, Kate, and Hannah!

Snow Day 2011

Last Thursday morning we woke up to snow on the ground!  Connor and I were very excited to go outside and enjoy the beautiful snow that Austin rarely receives.  While we were waiting for the sun to come up (mornings start early around here) we made some "snow themed" breakfast.  I had seen a blog a few months back where a mom had lots of fun treats for her kids during their snow day. So on Wednesday we picked up a few things from the store to make our own treats.  I knew Connor would love it and it would give us something fun to do while being stuck inside. 

Connor and I quickly put on our warmest clothes and headed outside.  We didn't have a ton of snow, but it was just enough for us!

Connor loved making foot prints with his Thomas boots.

And of course the snow didn't keep him from finding sticks.

Later that afternoon we made some Snowball Cookies.  They weren't as good as I thought they would be, but still were a fun thing to make on our snow day.  I also learned that 2 year old + Powdered Sugar= HUGE mess! :) 

Later that night we were getting a little stir crazy so headed over to Mimi's house to get out and burn some energy.  It was the perfect way to end our snow day!