Grandma's Fire Truck

Grandma S bought this fire truck a few years ago and brought it out when Spencer was only two. I got it out for the boys to play with the other day and they loved it. Unfortunately Spencer still can't figure out how to pedal forward consistently, so he just walks it up and down the sidewalk.

Here's another cute fireman.

They kept disagreeing (to put it nicely) on whose turn it was to sit in it, so they came up with this arrangement on their own. They both seemed to find it acceptable, so I didn't intervene. I have a feeling this sort of thing may continue in a variety of aspects.

Just Carson

Here is Carson trying some new things....

Getting used to using crayons and a desk--fun! (Now we need to learn to write on the paper ONLY)

Sitting in a BIG boy chair (barstool). Note the proud face....

Trying on Grandpa's shoes--a little too big, but he'll grow into them.

Testing our new furniture with Daddy. We got a new couch and a large chair with an ottoman. The chair is perfect for storytime. I can even fit a boy on either side of me!

Construction Baby--we'll see if that lasts.

Just Spencer

Here are some pictures of Spencer in his natural habitat.

Slippy (the cat) is finally beginning to trust him a little bit. At night, after Carson is in bed, she sits by us while we read bedtime stories. Occasionally, she even lets Spencer pet her for a few minutes! He is very gentle and careful with her. I think she appreciates that!

He truly wears himself out every day. If only I could be comfortable as easily as this!

Watching a little football with Dad. It doesn't take long to "assume the position."

Vogue! He had to try on my new boots. It's quite a look.

Showing off some interesting invention with his building set that Aunt Kami gave him for his birthday.

Busy Day

Whew! We had quite an eventful day today. First, we took Carson to the doctor for his18-month checkup. He is very healthy, weighing a very average 25 lbs. 10 oz. and a little tall at 33 1/2 inches. He got two shots which he handled well after getting his first sucker. He has yet to learn to keep his mouth shut while enjoying the sucker. Slobber galore!! He sure liked it though! After lunch and a long nap, we were off to his last physical therapy appointment.

This is Mary Ann, our wonderful physical therapist. She was so nice, she even posed for a picture! She has been so excited for Carson to walk and was thrilled to see his progress. She did great work and we will be sending her this picture as a thank you.

Then we went to see my Uncle Clynn, who is a truck driver. He called to let my mom know he was in town for the night and we could bring the boys to see his truck. What a thrill! Spencer said later, "It was AWESOME!!"

He got to sit in the driver's seat and even honk the airhorn. (He gave it a good, long yank!) Another trucker saw us walk by and honked at us, too. Spencer has now changed his career goal from a race car driver to a truck driver.

Superheroes

Last night I was brushing Spencer's teeth and had to chuckle at his image in the mirror. He was my sweet little blonde boy with the innocent eyes wearing his jammies, bathrobe, and his Superman cape. It was straight out of a Norman Rockwell picture. He asked why I was laughing. I said, "Because you're cute." He responded very sternly, "Superheroes are NOT cute!!"

Carson is quite the little traveler now. He is so happy to be able to go wherever he wants. He is making some animal sounds now. He does a dog, a cat, and a bird. Only if it's his idea, of course. His favorite is the dog sound, and he starts going "ruff, ruff" whenever he sees something furry, including Slippy.

The other night we were "Boo'd," which means someone in the neighborhood anonymously left a plate of cookies on our doorstep. There was a note indicating that now it was our turn to "Boo" two other houses. So Spencer and I made some cupcakes and set out after dark to deliver them. We had to take Carson too, since Andy was off at an appointment that night. Let me just say that it is a challenge to be sneaky with an excited 5-year-old and a baby. The first house went relatively well, although I was concerned that Spencer might step on the cupcakes in his anticipation to ring the doorbell. At the second house we hid around the corner, but were quickly discovered by the family dog, who stood there barking at us while Carson barked right back at her. So much for being "secret!"

Denver Trip

A couple of weeks ago we went for a family vacation to Denver. Andy had some business meetings there and we also wanted to visit our friends, the Stewarts. Here is a chronological record of our trip. Hotel baths are always more fun! Carson needs to be on a billboard for Little America.

Here are some cute little birds just outside Spencer's window in Denver. I don't know what they are exactly, but they were fluffy and cute.

Popcorn party with Dad after Carson went to bed in his too-small crib. I put Carson down for a nap shortly after we got there and discovered he was in there watching TV! (Sleeping was difficult away from home.)

We found a cool aquarium to visit there. Here we are sitting by a big shark! Spencer wouldn't pose alone, so Carson and I went with him. He was still a little wary.

Are our mouths as big as this shark's? Close, but not quite. We look just as scary, though.

Carson enjoyed watching all the fish too. He kept trying to grab them through the glass.

The octopus (left) was my favorite. I find weird, somewhat disgusting creatures fascinating.

The boys are standing on a little bridge overlooking a couple of amazing tigers. I'm not sure why they had tigers at an aquarium, but they were beautiful.

This one didn't turn out very well. It's too dark to see, but behind us is a HUGE fish, as long as me and at least twice as fat. He was a gross looking thing. There was also a tiger shark to my right.
It's hard to see this, too, but right behind me on either side, two otters are swimming up and around. They kept swimming in the same pattern over and over again. Maybe they're practicing for a performance....

We went to visit Ben and Marci and their family. Spencer and Alison are the same age. They had a blast! They both enjoy giggling and have similar senses of humor. They talk a lot! We went to the park for a picnic and playtime, then we had a fun dinner with Ben and Andy that evening. We only wish they lived closer!

Carson had no trouble kicking back in their little rocking chair. (He's getting one of his own soon!)

We also visited a candy factory where they make old-fashioned style candy canes and lollipops by hand. It was pretty amazing. They showed us a 5-pound lollipop and Spencer got to hold a 2-pound candy cane.Spencer is showing off his small candy cane. He also brought home a small lollipop. It will still probably take him a year to eat it.

We started for home and stopped in Wyoming to visit Andy's former Scout leader from Spain. They enjoyed reminiscing about campouts and people they knew while the kids and I tried to occupy ourselves and be quiet. (It didn't last long.) We left there feeling very grateful that we don't live on 11 acres of swaying grass in Cheyenne!

The last hotel we stayed at had a cool lobby area with lots of taxidermy. After much coaxing, I convinced Spencer it would be okay to stand next to this bear for a picture.

Are you scared yet??

Carson really got into the roaring thing....

We liked this wolf. If we had a dog that looked like this, maybe the Winder Dairy man would leave us alone!

Carson really does enjoy his bath. I don't know what this face is all about, but it was cute anyway.
My boys have officially and completely entered the stage of sibling "jiffling," as we call it. Jiffling is what kids do constantly to make each other laugh and then cry and then laugh, all the while driving their parents crazy. It's the reason that only one hour into the road trip, we stopped to separate their seats and I sat squished between them the rest of the time. I'm glad they have fun together, but sometimes the noise makes me nuts! I now publicly apologize to my parents for the chaos I helped create as a kid!

More Firsts

Carson finally took off last night. He is now busily walking all around the house with no help. He is so proud of himself, he often wears a big grin and giggles as he goes.

Just in time for Halloween--it's Baby Frankenstein!! He walks with stiff legs and both arms out in front of him.

Watch out--here he comes!!

He's a little tipsy, but he'll get there.

He can even do it with a drink of water in one hand!

And if that wasn't enough, today was Carson's first professional haircut. As you can see, it didn't start off so well. He started crying as soon as the cape went on. I had a sucker ready, but it did absolutely nothing for him, so Grandma got some Smarties out of my purse and that saved the day.

He wasn't thrilled about his beauty procedure, but he tolerated it (barely). Poor Rich (our stylist) was very nice about the whole thing.

First Snow of the Season

On Saturday, we had a sudden blast of winter. Some of us were more happy about it than others. Spencer thought it was great! Here are all the boys outside in the white fluff.


Carson didn't mind, and even thought it was a little bit fun, but since he wouldn't let me put mittens on him, he didn't get to stay out long. He couldn't exactly move anyway.

This is how he felt about coming inside.

Grandpa and Grandma Redden

A couple of weeks ago, we were privileged to have Andy's grandparents out for a visit from Michigan. It's a long, difficult trip, but they love their grandkids so much they made the trek anyway. Here are some of the fun pictures we got while they were with us. The boys are CRAZY about them, as you will see. This was Carson's first visit with Grandpa Redden. It took a little while to warm up, but by the next day, he had definitely bonded.

Showing Grandpa how to walk....

Here they all are together. Hope we have more opportunities for pictures like this.

Grandpa is a great story-reader! Spencer could do this all day.

And here is another picture of Spencer with his beloved marigolds. Too bad it snowed and froze them all on Saturday! (More pics of that later.)