The ABC Song

I haven't had a lot to post lately, but last night Carson was cracking us up. We recently had to "un-bunk" Taylor and Carson's beds. Carson has not been sleeping well at night and has been fighting us when we want to tuck him in at night. He also would end up waking up numerous times throughout the night and come into our room. He would use various excuses such as he had to go potty, or he needed a drink, etc. So we decided to put the boys beds where they could see each other. This has helped tremendously. He doesn't fight us to go to sleep and only wakes up once to go potty and then he will walk back to his bed and go right back to sleep. Last night as we were going through the bed time routine we were singing songs. Carson asked to sing the ABC song. He was belting it out and as we got the the "L-M-N-O-P" part Carson came up with his own version. He sang, "Elmo's gotta pee." We were all laughing so hard, which made Carson get even more silly and he came up with another version of the ending of the song. The actual song as we sing it goes, "Now I know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me." Well Carson was singing the bathroom version and sang, "Now I know my ABC's next time Elmo won't you go poop." I tried not to laugh so that I wouldn't encourage that type of talk/song, but I couldn't help it. After all the silliness we did end up finishing the song night with some serious songs such as Jesus Loves Me and the B-I-B-L-E song.

Brutally honest

Has your child ever made you feel self conscious about yourself? Well today I experienced that with Carson. Today we went to the gym and I had a killer cardio interval training class. I don't think I've ever been so sweaty and have been pushed so hard before. It really was intense. So I bring the kids home and get Luke laid down for a nap. I get both Carson and I's lunch made and sit down at the table next to Carson. He starts eating and is looking at me with a strange face. He sets his food down and sternly says, "Mom you need to go poop - you stink!" I about fell of my chair in shock at the comment and from laughing. I told him that I am a little stinky from working out at the gym and getting sweaty. He replied, "Then go take a shower. You stink and I can't eat." I must have really grossed him out to make his appetite disappear. Poor kid! But kids can be so brutally honest!

Spirit Week

This week is Spirit Week at Taylor's school. During Spirit Week the kids have special events each day that they may participate in. Monday was wear your pajamas to school day. Today was crazy hair day. Taylor was very much interested in participating so we came up with a crazy hair style that is sure to win a crazy hair award if there ever was such an award. Tomorrow is wacky Wednesday where you dress to clash or wear your clothes backwards and inside out. Pretty much anything goes - as long as it's in decent taste. I remember back when I was in high school we had crazy hair and clash day combined for Spirit Week. My friends and I came up with some pretty insane outfits and were brave enough to actually wear them to school. Here is the picture from my high school days and along side me are my friends Amanda and Jennifer. We had a blast! What a bunch of hotties we were!!! LOL!!! You'll have to excuse the poor photo quality. I had to scan in an actual photograph - you know back in the old days of 35mm film and flash bulbs! HA! No digital cameras to spoil you.

Is it Easter yet?

That is what I keep hearing - "Mom- is it Easter time yet?" I don't think Carson quite grasps the concept. Yesterday we went to visit the Easter bunny who was at K-Mart. The boys all liked him and were happy to see him. The bunny gave Carson a high five and acted like he fell backward which made Carson gut giggle. He couldn't stop. It was so cute. I've attached a picture for your viewing pleasure. On our way home Carson kept talking about Easter time. He would say, "When Easter comes over I am going to give him an egg." He thought that the Easter bunny's first name was 'Easter' and the last name was 'Bunny.' That one made me smile.

Family Update

I decided to take a little break from blogging, but I am back.

Carson update:

We have been struggling with sleep for Carson during the last week - ever since the time change. It all started with him waking up in the middle of the night screaming and running into my room saying that there were mannequins in his bed. Earlier that day we had gone shopping at Kohl's and while I was looking in the shoe department my mom and the boys were in another part of the store when Carson noticed the mannequins. He just stared at them. No fear at the moment, just curiosity. Well, whatever it was about the mannequins, it freaked him out that night and that's when it all began. Every night since then he will not go to bed. He throws a fit, screams and cries. This has also affected his naps. It's the same situation. So I believe nap time is now over for Carson - which I am very sad about. In order to get Carson to bed at night we end up having to sit with him in the recliner until he falls asleep which doesn't take long because he is pretty much exhausted from not having a nap during the day. I hope this doesn't last much longer. I am getting very frustrated! Just the other day during a nap time struggle regarding mannequins in his bed I said, "Carson, get it out of your head." He replied, "No they're not in my head, they're at Kohl's!"

Luke Update

I am happy to report that Luke seems to have conquered being able to sleep through the night. He still occasionally wakes up, but he now is able to put himself back to sleep. I decided to not use the baby monitor at night so I am less likely to hear him if he is up and crying. I am enjoying longer stretches of sleep at night. It's been a long time coming. Also, Luke is now enjoying a broader variety of food. I have been hesitant to give him "solid" food as opposed to jars of baby food due to one episode of minor choking he had a month or two ago. But, I have overcome my fear and Luke is now a happier and fuller boy. He enjoys cheerios, toast, crackers, spaghetti/noodles and more. We are finally getting there. I always feel like I am behind the times, but what am I in a hurry for? Luke is getting closer and closer to walking. He has excellent balance and will stand by himself, but has yet to take steps outside of his playpen. He will walk from one end of his playpen to the other, but outside of that safety zone it's not happening. Soon enough I am sure. He is babbling a lot more too and his favorite words are Bob and Momma. Not sure who Bob is, but I think it's probably just a fun word to say.

Taylor update:

Taylor brought home his report card just the other day and is excelling at 2nd grade. He is such a bright student and we are so proud of him. He received all E's (which stands for Excellent Progress) and one M in handwriting (M stands for Meets requirements). His teacher left him a very nice comment, "Taylor continues to be a very responsible and cooperative student. He is progressing beautifully and is such a pleasure to have in class!" Way to go Taylor-bug! He also entered the schools Discovery Fair and made a project about the metamorphosis of a frog. He really did a good job.

Lynette and Jason Update:

Jason and I just celebrated our 8 year anniversary. We are planning a night out to have dinner and go see a movie, just haven't had the opportunity to do so yet. Jason and I have decided to join a local gym that is right around the corner from our house - quite convenient! The two younger boys really enjoy going and playing with the other kids while I take my classes. So far I think my favorite is the kickboxing. It's a great stress reliever - punching and kicking and sweating your butt off! Since I have started working out again I have this renewed sense of energy and I am not living off or craving as much coffee as I usually do. I am sleeping more sound and just feel healthier. Plus I am eating healthier foods the majority of the time. Last night I just couldn't resist a small bowl of M&M's while we had family movie night! Overall I just feel so much better.

A windy day

Just a short entry for the day:

Today Carson and I were playing outside. Carson wanted to ride his bike, but it was very windy out. A huge gust of wind came and Carson started screaming and crying, "Mommy, Mommy I am blowing away." He was really panicked so I picked him up and held him so we wouldn't get blown away. Mom to the rescue!

Coffee trouble

We took our entire family of 5 out on Sunday to do a little shopping. On our way home we stopped at the Starbucks in town and I got a grande caramel latte and Jason got a grande house blend black coffee. I was driving the van and Jason was sitting in the back seat with Carson to help keep him occupied. It was past nap time and Carson did not want to sit still and behave himself. He kept wanting to grab Jason's coffee to have a drink which obviously was irritating Jason. So my husband goes to take a sip of his very hot and completely full cup of coffee and gets a drip on his hand. He goes to lick it up and at the same time Carson kicks his foot and knocks the very hot and completely full cup of coffee out of Jason's hand, into his lap in which the lid pops off and spills all over Jason's lap. He stood the rest of the ride home with a look of anger and pain in his face. I was afraid he got burned from the spill. Taylor plugged his ears and said, "If you need to cuss go ahead I have my ears plugged." We got home and Carson immediately went to bed for a nap and Jason went to clean up and survey the damage from the spill. I went out to the van to soak up the remainder of the coffee from the seat cushion, but I think Jason's lap took the brunt of it. Jason ended up being okay besides being very upset at Carson. He had a talk with him about the situation and Carson felt remorseful and told his Daddy he was sorry.

Today Carson was telling my mom what happened yesterday. She asked if daddy was okay or if he had to go to the hospital. Carson replied, "he went to the hospital and had to get new legs."

On another note, today we had new carpet installed in our front room and it looks so awesome! While it was being installed Carson was next door at my parents house. When he came home he saw the carpet and says, "Wow, we got new carpet." He ran around in the room and started rolling around on it. I was going to try and add pictures, but so far it's not letting me. I'll try again later. Wednesday we are having the back room carpeted. Yeah!

Today's observations

Taylor and I were playing a card game of war, but we made it into our own version called physic war. One of us would first lay down our card and say a word then the other person would lay down their card and say the first word that came to mind. There were some that made sense and others that I have no clue where they came from. Taylor made me laugh on one in particular. I laid down my card and said Pina thinking Colada would be the next word to come out. But Taylor's reply was "butter". He thought I said "peanut". I like the word Pina Butter better!

On a different note, today Carson was coloring using Crayola's new Color Wonder markers at the coffee table. Luke was in his baby walker watching and wanting to grab the markers which made Carson mad. These markers are such a great invention because they only work on color wonder paper, nothing else, so there is no mess. Well, apparently there was a non-color wonder marker in with the others that I was not aware of. Guess how I found out? I went over to get Luke out of the way so Carson would stop getting mad and saw a big yellow marker streak from Luke's hairline down his forehead ending above his eye. Carson colored Luke's head!!!! I can't leave him alone for a second! Luckily the marker wasn't black and I was able to wipe it off Luke's head. Ugh!

We went out to dinner tonight at Strongbow's and after dinner we all had dessert. Carson got a scoop of chocolate ice cream. As he took a bite his response was, "this is delicious!" Guess he really enjoyed it. He told me he needed to go potty so we headed to the bathroom. As we entered the stall Carson noticed the seat to the toilet - it was black. His reply was, "I've never seen a black potty before - Wow!" It really impressed him. What a nut!

Our poor dog

We have a very sweet dog whose name is Sasha. She is the most laid back, gentle and lovable dog I've ever known. You wouldn't think so being that she's a mix breed of pit bull and boxer. We've had her since Taylor was a baby and she is excellent with kids especially around Carson. Sasha has put up with a lot from Carson and has never bit or nipped him. Sasha has her own chair in our house in which she spends 75% of her day sleeping in. Carson likes to sit with her or I should say ON her when she is in her chair. The dog doesn't seem to mind even when he stands up on her. Luke has a fascination with the dog too. He likes to pull himself up to a stand when she's in her chair and play with the dog's toenails. I have even seen Luke taste test the dog's tail and she just lays there puts up with it. Just this morning Sasha walked past me and had a chip clip clipped on her fur. Once again - she didn't seem to mind. We're very fortunate to have such a great dog!

We've got a smart one tonight!

Carson is so much smarter than I give him credit for. He proved that point last night. We've been practicing numbers, names, letters, etc lately. When I asked him his name of course he said "Carson". When I asked him his middle name he said, "papa." I was a little confused at first, but then I figured it out. Carson's name for my dad is "Papa" and my dad's first name is Lee. Carson's middle name is Lee so that makes sense now. Carson Papa (Lee). Next I wanted to practice our phone number which I have never practiced with Carson before. I said to Carson, "Let's learn our phone number. Repeat after me Carson, say 5 4 8." And do you know the next thing Carson said? Without saying the 5 4 8 he instantly finished our phone number saying the last four numbers. Jason and I just looked at each other in amazement and shock! How in the world did he know his phone number when I've never worked on it before with him? It was crazy. We've got a smart one tonight!