Carson at 5 1/2 months

Carson is 5 1/2 months already! He's growing fast and learning new things almost everyday. He rolled from his back to tummy the second week of January, and the Friday before valentines rolled from his tummy to back. I used to lay him down under his gym mat and he'd play for a while, but now not 10 seconds after I put him down, he starts rolling halfway across the room! He's been sleeping through the night for a while...sleep training is a wonderful thing! He also loves Brooks SO much and watches him play all day. He wants to play with B so badly and is happiest when he is in the room. B is the best big brother and plays with him a lot. Most mornings I'll put C in the jumper and B will play with him while I make breakfast...so wonderful! He started eating solids after he turned 4 mos, but didn't eat regularly til closer to 5 mos. I didn't post his 4 months stats, so I'll put those up along with the ones from today.

4 months:
Weight: 12 lbs, 6 oz (6th percentile)
Height: 24 1/2 inches (22nd percentile)
Yeah, I know, my kids are tiny :)

5.5 months, taken today:
Weight: 13.5-14 lbs (roughly, weighed on our scale)
Height: 25.5 inches (measured by my tape)

~Eats at least one meal a day, usually dinner. Has just started to want solids for breakfast too.

~Rolls like crazy all over the floor

~Reaches for things he wants and grabs them

~Laughs and smiles all the time, especially at B

~Can hold his own bottle

~Tried his first sippy cup today!

~Teething, which is always fun. Puts everything in his mouth and chews.

~Rode in the baby swing for the first time!

My boys!

1st time in the swing...wasn't so sure

Bri with Car

Valentines Day

 This Valentines was wonderful, especially in comparison to the last one. Last year Brian was still "sleeping" (aka, still in the coma), and I was a super nauseated as I was about 9 weeks prego. It started the Saturday before, when my in-laws took Brooks to Costco, they were passing by the flower section when Brooks said, "Hami, stop! I want to buy flowers for my Mommy...it will make her happy!" I never expected at 3yrs old my son would do that, so I was super excited when he came running up to me with the bouquet in his hands!

The flowers Brooks picked out for me :)

the actual day our neighbors came over for about an hour, then we went and ate lunch at my moms work. Brooks exchanged his gifts with Grandmommy and Ms. Kathy and they all played for a while. Carson was having a blast getting lots of attention from the girls :) He got presents too, but didn't really care...he only wants to be held. Afterward we headed over to Iced with some friends and had a Mommy and Me cupcake decorating playgroup. The kids ran around for a while and waited to get started while C chilled with Colton (and by chilled I mean, Caroline and I parked their strollers beside each other in hopes they would entertain themselves). They had so much fun decorating the cupcakes, but even more fun eating them! B ate the top off, then asked for me to put more icing on it (which at the time I thought, what the heck, it's a holiday, but later regretted), then he ate all the icing again. He said he was full, so I got the other cupcake plus what was left over from his...I'd say that was a successful playgroup lol! Of course then we get home and I'm trying to make a nice dinner for Bri and I and he's bouncing off the walls, all while C is crying/whining (sometimes you really can't tell the difference) and won't let me put him down. But I got the kids down and we had a great dinner together!

Brooks got a Cars lunchbox with candy and Dr. Mater in it!

Carson and Colton hanging out (seriously can't wait til they can actually play together)

All of the kids :)

Brooks' cupcakes

 We decided that we would go out and celebrate Valentines the weekend after because we didn't want to get stuck in the crowds of people. Brian planned a surprise dinner date, all I knew was what kind of clothing to wear. He got off work early and Kim came over to watch the boys, and I got to take my time getting ready (which, for a mom, is something that never happens!). We got dressed up and he took me to The Lazy Goat. The wine and food was amazing, and he had requested the most romantic table by the river! Our view was of the river and artist's row, plus the moon was almost full and it was right over the water! B definitely won the best date award ;)

Before we left for our hot date ;)

Super Bowl XLV

For those of you who know me really well, you know that I am obsessed with football and take it very seriously. Sometimes it seems a little ridiculous, but I live and breathe it from August til Superbowl Sunday. My team is the Colts (Peyton Manning is my hero :)), but I also love the Giants (Eli Manning :)). My husband and his family are from Pittsburgh, and they are crazy Steelers fans. I adopted them as one of my fav teams now, so between us, the past several years have been great! We just had his parents come down and watch the game...we like it low key because we actually want to watch the game, not socialize. It was definitely disappointing, but Green Bay was awesome and definitely deserved the win. Brooks and Carson sported their Steelers gear and I have to say, were extra cute that night :)

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Troy Polamalu is my man!!

B loves playing with Car

Hami, Carson, Brooks and Papa

Hami's boy :)

Sanity Vacation: Rehab weekend

One day at the end of December the kids were driving me crazy as usual...no naps and a LOT of whining and crying. We were headed to my parents house to hang out for a while (and for me to get some help with the kids), and as I walked through the door my Mom saw I was quite frazzled. Actually, that was an understatement. I was about to lose my mind...no really, I felt like I needed to go to the crazy hospital because I was mentally unfit to be living a normal life and take care of 2 young kids. My mom said, you need a break! It was as if the angels from above came down, lit up the room and sang hallelujah! I was like, why yes, that's exactly what I need, so she told me I should go and visit my best friend Leanna (who just moved to Florida) for a weekend and let her watch the kids. I looked at her and said, you better be serious because if you are, as soon as I get home I'm booking the flight! And that's exactly what I did. I left on a Friday and didn't return until Monday evening! It was pure euphoria. Leanna's parents have owned a condo in St. Petersburg since before we were born, and I used to go there with them every year up until about 10yrs ago when I moved to Greenville. She moved there at the end of August and is seriously living in paradise! We stayed up late drinking wine and sat on the deck talking for hours every night. We slept til about 10 every morning! We went to the beach, shopping in Tampa and out to some really nice restaurants. The weather was beautiful...it was 83 degrees the day I left. I came back to 47 degrees and rainy/overcast. But, it was so nice not to have to be woken up early, hear whining and hold the baby all day, put down 2 kids for naps/bed, then have to listen to their excuses as to why they can't go to bed,  just to turn around a do it all over again. I definitely needed this break, it was way overdue! We've decided that we'll do this at least once a year, but I'm really hoping for more ;)

This is the view from Leanna's deck...shes about 20 feet from the water :)

Another view from the deck...in the background is a guy parasailing with a motor attached to him!

Sunset from a spinning restaurant. It spins you around so you can see ocean and city views!

Fort DeSoto Park...our fav beach hangout growing up

Leanna and I at Spinners restaurant. It felt so great to dress up!

Sister Wives

I took the boys to Winston-Salem to visit my sister-in-law, Helen and nieces, Anna and Mia for 2 days in the middle of January. Brooks says he's gonna marry all 3 of them, so I call them his sister wives. He can't choose just one of them, but they're happy to share him :) It was Carson's 1st overnight trip, so I was a little nervous, but he did great! Brooks on the other hand was the whiny one who cried for the last 30 minutes of our trip home. It was so nice to spend some time with the girls and to have real girl talk! I swear Helen and I save up everything until we see each other, then talk for hours. I truly cherish those talks and feel like I get some of my sanity back.

B and Mia

B, Mia, Anna and Car

Car and Anna

Snow Day, I Mean Week

We had a TON of snow during the second week of January...way more than we have had in a while! My In-Laws came down from the mountain to stay here with us and we all were snowed in for 5 days. Brian was off for a few days, so it was extra special to have him home. Some might think, "snowed in with my in-laws, ahhhh!," but it was actually awesome! I'm pretty lucky to have awesome in-laws and they love to play with the boys as much as possible, so I saw it as I had 5 days worth of babysitters! I had a cruddy sinus infection during that week too, so I actually go to take a nap...I had forgotten what that was like. Brooks had a blast playing out in the snow and Brian built our 1st igloo! At the end of that week Bri and I went out on a date! My Mom came over to watch the boys and we went to dinner and a movie. I was super excited because it had been since August 1st since we last went on an actual date! It was wonderful and we are going to try and make it happen at least once a month. Well, we'll see :)

He looked like the kid from A Christmas Story

Catching snowflakes

Playing in the igloo

Hami and Car