Rice Cereal

This little guy hit another growth spurt and we decided it was time to start trying solids.  I mixed up some rice cereal and he loved it!  

Not sure what is going to happen, but he is getting his mouth ready.

 I think I like it!

He wasn't too thrilled about there not being a continuous flow of cereal,  but chewing on his thumb seemed to help pass the time between bites. :)

His first try at eating solids was definitely a success!

A Few I Forgot...

I thought the great-grandparents of these two sweet boys might enjoy seeing a few more pictures that I forgot to post.

Carson and William were being rather quiet in the back seat so I peeked to see if they had fallen asleep.  Instead I found William reaching as far as he could to hold Carson's hand.  They couldn't really see, but they would wave their hands around until they found each other.

William was sweet to even offer his paci. :)

Love

For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.

Psalm 117:2

No Surprises For Us

Like most children, Connor thrives on a routine.  Even to the point that for a while he thought he didn't have breakfast unless I gave him milk and a cereal bar.  He loves knowing what is going to happen and when.  I have learned over the past years that when we are going to do something new we need to talk about it a lot!

Well, my brain must have been on vacation this morning and I had a lesson in Parenting 101.

I had the brilliant idea to give the boys a bath together.  Not only was I going to save time, but I only had to run the water once!

Not even thinking I plopped down Carson's seat and set him in the tub.  Of course I had the camera close by to snap a few pictures of their first bath together.  I looked through the lens and saw this look of distress on Connor's face...

Then the crying began.  All I could hear was "Oh no!  Oh no!  Oh no!"  Which in Connor's world means... Get this baby out of my tub!

In 2 seconds Connor was standing on the rug dripping water everywhere shouting "How will I ever take a bath!"  

His world had come to an end and I forgot to let him know it was going to happen!

I'm not sure what I was thinking and I definitely didn't have a plan on how I was going to get both of them out at the same time.  

Carson joined in on the crying and we had a good 15 minute cry fest following bath time.  Who knew bath time could be so much fun? :)  

Later, I started thinking about how Connor reacted to the change and could clearly see that I am the exact same way.  I can't tell you how many times I have had some type of unexpected change in my life only to find myself asking "God, what are you doing?  This is not how it is suppose to be."  Thankfully His plan for me is perfect in every way... even when I can't see it at first.

I am happy to report that our day ended on a much better note than it started.   

Can you feel the love? :)

Let the Countdown Begin

Plane tickets bought... hotel and rental car booked...

Meeting my new nephew

+

Disneyland

=

One GREAT Family Vacation

My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their sweet little boy to be here sometime in the next 2 weeks.  We can't wait to meet you Owen!

Happy 5 Months Carson!

Now that Carson is 5 months:

Still a great sleeper.  He sleeps about 11-12 hours at night.  Takes 3 (2-3hour) naps a day if we are home, but completely content if he misses one.

Takes 4 bottles a day (8oz).  We haven't started any cereal or baby food yet.

Most clothing is 12 months with a few 18 month and  size 3 diaper.

Loves to kick and stretch.  Tries to get up on his knees to move forward.

Has started being able to sit up with very little support.  He still has a ways to go.

 Is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen.  Every time I glance over at him he gives me the biggest smile or giggle.

 At night after we put Connor to bed Carson thinks it is his time to shine and will basically start yelling happily.  It is the funniest thing to see this sweet, calm, quiet boy get so loud!

We love you, Carson!

A Mile A Minute

Whew!  I feel like we have been on a roller coaster that has finally come to a end.  We have had so much fun, but have been on the go non stop.  Tomorrow we are staying home all day and I could not be more excited. 

It all began when we decided to do a few projects around the house.  We had crown molding installed as well as some painting.  I have lots of pictures to share.  We love how it turned out!

The other major event (well... major to me) was a broken dryer.  I never thought I would miss being able to do laundry, but boy do I have a new love and appreciation for clean clothes. :)  After a week and a half with not being able to dry clothes due to ordering parts and certain companies not letting us know when they changed our appointment we finally got it fixed!  You can just imagine the mountains of laundry that I had around my house.  Thankfully my mom let us wash and dry clothes at her house during our wait.

But now it's time to get to the fun stuff...

Home Improvements

Amy, Kate & Hannah

Carson's First Sunday in the Nursery

Kaci & William

C-O-N-N-O-R

Kaci & William

Last weekend, Kaci and I were on the phone and decided that it was time for her to make a trip down to Austin.  She came on Monday and stayed through Wednesday.  We had the BEST time!  It was so much fun just letting the boys play and catching up with each other.  Here are a few pictures from our time together...

William (9 months), Carson (4 months), Connor (2 years)

Mitchell Girls

Amy and the girls were in town this past week and we had lots of fun getting the kids together.  Connor and Kate were so cute with and really seemed to enjoy seeing each other.  Carson and Hannah were as content as could be watching the big kids play.  I thought I would share a few pictures of these sweet cousins.

 There was lots of tickling...

 and hugging :)

So thankful for all of these sweet kids!

Home Improvements

Cole and I have several things that we would like to do to our house, but we started with installing crown molding and a fresh coat of paint.  We had crown molding put up in the front entry, kitchen, and living room.  It gave it a nice finished look and we are so pleased with how it turned out.  We also had almost everything repainted.  I had already had the playroom painted in Spice Vinegar and loved it so we continued that throughout the rest of the house.  Since we were getting new trim we also had them paint all the base boards.  The only places we didn't paint were Carson's room and the laundry room.  

Here are a few Before and After...

 Kitchen:

Before

 During

After

Living Room:

Before

 During

 After

Playroom

 Both bathrooms were painted.

 Our bedroom

 Connor's bedroom

Thanks to Mimi for letting us stay with you while all the work was being completed.  Both boys had so much fun while we were there that I think they are ready for us to have some more painting done! :)