Holden 9 months

Holden turned 9 months old on July 4th. He just had his checkup on Wednesday the 13th. He is doing great. He weighed 18 lbs 5 oz (13%) and was 30 inches long (91%). I think they are off on is length I think he is only 28 inches. Here is what he is currently doing.

He has been crawling since he was seven months so he is very fast at it now.
He cruses the furniture and loves to use his walking toy.
He loves to climb the stairs.
He has two teeth and two more that are about to break through.
He plays peek-a-boo.
He gives kisses, mainly to his brother.
He waves bye bye.
He is a very happy boy and it always smiling.
He loves his brother, Carson. Carson can always make him laugh.
He sleeps 10 hours at night and does two naps a day.
He is nursing 4 times a day and eats 3 meals normally one jar at each feeding.
He has also started liking to watch Yo Gabba Gabba.

4th of July

We had our 2nd annual gathering at our house for the 4th of July. When we moved into our house a little over a year ago our neighbor told us that we had a great view of the fireworks from the park near our house, boy was he right. It is so nice to not have to fight traffic and crowds to watch fireworks. We had family over and shot off some fireworks of our own and then enjoyed some homemade ice cream while watching the fireworks show. I am sure we will continue this gathering for years to come. Here are some pictures from the evening.

Florida

So far our summer has been very busy. In a matter of six weeks we went to Florida twice. Our first trip was the beginning of May to Rosemary Beach Florida. I have been going to Florida every year since before Carson was born with my mom. Now that there are some many children it has turned into a family affair. This year it was my mom, step-dad, my family and my sister and her two boys. We stay house a few 100 feet from the beach that has a pool. Here are a couple of pictures of the house and the view.


This is the third year we have stayed at Rosemary and the second year we have stayed in this house. It is such a fun time. We spend the day between the beach and the pool and every night we go out to dinner. Most nights after dinner we end up at the kids favorite place the Sugar Shack. The name says it all they have all kids of candy, ice cream, snow cones and cotton candy. The weather was perfect and because we go before school is out it isn't crowded. We had a wonderful vacation and it is always nice to spend time with family. We can't wait for next year to do it again. Here are a few more pictures from our trip.












On our second trip to Florida was at the end of June to Panama City Beach with my dad, step-mom and Dave's parents. Once again we were very lucky and had great weather. We enjoyed our days hanging out by the beach. The water was wonderful the first day and then the rest of our trip was lots of seaweed and red flags. I had quite a few first on this trip. 1. I have never seen the waves in this are so big, it was great for boogie boarding. 2. I caught a starfish, it was really neat. 3. Dave and I went para-sailing. I thought I would be scared with the height but it was actually very calming. We saw some big fish swimming in the water. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed spending time with family. Here are some pictures from this trip.

Falling Behind

I keep telling myself that I am going to try and do at least one post a month and then the next thing I know months have gone by. Things are going well here. The boys are great. Holden is 8 1/2 months old and weighs about 18 lbs. He has been crawling for a month and a half now and he has just started walking using his walker. Here is a video





Carson is 3 and weighs 34 lbs. He is full of energy and loves to play. He just started a hockey clinic. Here is video of his first time on the ice.

My How Time Flies

It's been a while since my last update, and I have a lot to report on (I'm sure I'll miss some things).

I'll start with Holden...

He's 6 months old now, and really turning into a handful. He wants to move everywhere, but hasn't figured out crawling yet. Now that doesn't mean he can't get around; through a series of barrel rolls and scoots, he can navigate his way to pretty much anything. He enjoys sitting up and playing, as shown in the video below.



He has started on baby food, and really enjoys it.  He makes funny grunting noises while he eats, and not because he's in distress, it's because he's enjoying himself.



Carson continues his journey from toddler to boy.  He enjoys going to school twice a week and is always asking us to sign him up for soccer.  He still loves hockey and can't get enough Spider-Man.  His 3rd birthday was a Spider-Man party, including a Spider-Man cake.

Carson went to the dentist for the first time recently.  He was a bit apprehensive at first, but once things got going, everything was great.  He enjoyed holding the suction tube the best.  On his way out of the office, he got to pick a toy from a jar.  To the surprise of absolutely no one, he picked a spider.

Two things Carson enjoys are Kinect on the XBox and his Harley Davidson Power Wheel.  Here are videos of him enjoying both.





Carson loves his baby brother Holden, and Holden loves his big brother Carson.  They both light up when they see each other (Holden more than Carson).  Carson is the only one who can make Holden laugh and smile pretty much any time he wants.

As for the rest of us, Brittany turned the big 3-0 on the 5th of April.  We had a party at Triumph grill with our friends and had a great time.  Other than that, she continues to do the often thankless job of a stay-at-home mom.  It doesn't go unnoticed though, we all love her and are very thankful to have her in our lives.

As for me, I'm still plugging along.  I started a new position at Boeing in February, moving from Engineering to IT.  So far it's been great; I like the work and the people.  I will miss my old group though, they were a great group of people to work with.

As I said earlier, I'm sure I missed some stuff, but that's all for now.  I would like to post on a more frequent basis, so stay tuned and see if I actually do that.

Also, I started a garden in my yard and I'm documenting the progress.  You can follow along here

Margarita Chicken in the crock-pot

I made this the other day for the family and Carson really liked it. I got the recipe from another blog that I read. It was really good and super easy to make.

6-8 chicken breast
3-4 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
2 T soy sauce (I used the lower sodium one)
juice from one lime
zest from one lime
onion chopped
broccoli

* you can add whatever veggies you like

Mix soy sauce, mustard, honey, garlic, lime and lime zest in a bowl. Place the chicken (can be frozen) and onion in the crock-pot. Poor sauce over chicken and onion. Add broccoli to the crock-pot when there is about an hour left to cook (if you put it in in the beginning it gets to mushy). Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Serve with brown rice.

Next time I make this I am only going to use 4 chicken breast because it made a lot more than the 3 of us could eat. I hope you enjoy this.

Holden laughing at Carson

Tuscan White Bean Soup

I made this soup the other night and it was a big hit, even with my picky eater Carson. Another plus is that it was easy to make and only took about 35 minutes. So, I thought I would share the recipe.

Here is what you will need:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed with a press

1/2 small onion chopped

1 cup baby carrots chopped

2 cans cannellini beans or great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 carton 9 (32 oz) vegetable broth or chicken broth

2 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, crushed

1 package (6 oz) fresh baby spinach

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Parmesan cheese

In a 4-quart saucepan heat oil. Add garlic, onion and carrots and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lightly mash half if the beans . Then add beans, broth and seasoning into the saucepan; heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Add spinach to saucepan, stirring until spinach wilts. Stir in pepper and salt if desired. Place soup in a bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Makes about 6 cups.

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we did.

Holden in his room 4 months old

Carson Swimming 2010

Carson was 2 years and 3 months old when I took this video. I can't wait to see how well he is swimming by the end of this summer.

Carson and Holden

First Day of School

Carson started school at the beginning of September. He is doing a Mother's Day Out program 2 days a week for 4 hours a day. He seems to really enjoy it, I know I do. It is nice to have some time during the day to run errands and not have to take Carson with me. I also think it is important that he has some social interaction with others when I'm not around. Here are some pictures from this first day.



Carson is doing very well, he is all boy. I call him the wild man. He loves to run and play outside on his play set. He also really likes movies. He loves Jurassic Park, Avatar, Return to Oz, and lots of Disney movies. He pays attention to them and understands them, it is amazing to me. He also knows how to count to 20, say his ABC's and recognizes shapes and colors. Carson also speaks very well and you can understand him, he has a large vocabulary. He acts excited about meeting his baby brother, only time will tell how that goes.