FOUR

Tyler's birthday was this past Sunday. I still can't believe my baby is FOUR! We decided to celebrate a little early, so that we could have a fun party and still observe the sabbath. Saturday, however, was a little busy with John's final (whew...thank heavens it's over) and my community social committee activity (double whew...thank heavens it's over), so Friday night it was. We had told Tyler we'd have a party, but we didn't give any specifics simply because it's been a crazy time of year with a new baby, Christmas coming, and SO MUCH ILLNESS (I won't even go in to the details of how sick we've been lately).

Friday morning Tyler woke up to these fun balloons that John had bought the night before on his way home from the airport (yes, amidst all this craziness, John had to travel for work)

Then we had oatmeal with birthday sprinkles. Yeah, I know, we go all out. At least Tyler thought it was pretty cool.

That evening we headed off to Chuck-E-Cheese. It was perfect! Tyler loved it. He used about half of his tokens on flying "the jet." I especially loved when he added his own sound effects.

We opened presents and had pink cake with pink, brown and white ice cream as requested by the birthday boy.

I'm just so proud of our little guy. He's grown up so quickly, but I love the big boy he's becoming. He is gentle, kind, outgoing, and funny as can be. He is a great helper and a fantastic big brother. I just can't imagine my life without my little Tyler Bear!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

cuddles

It's a good thing we're getting in our fair share of this stuff because things are pretty crazy around here these days.

Nani and Papa left and we miss them already. Tyler loved having someone to entertain him ALL day and I loved having the extra help. Thanksgiving dinner would have been peanut butter sandwiches and cold cereal if it wasn't for them! Thanks for the visit, Nani and Papa!!!

Hopefully someday life will slow down a bit so that I can post some more pictures of the the little guy and some fun stories about the big guy, but until then, this will have to do!

*One quick funny story that goes with the "Cuddles" theme. I was taking a much deserved nap when I was awoken by Tyler telling Nani, "I'm going to go have cuddles with my mom in her bed." As much as I wanted the rest of my nap, I was willing to give it up for some cuddles with my big boy.

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone!

I'll save a post about turkeys, traditions, and eating too much for a later day. As for today, I wanted to focus on something a little different.

You'll be interested to know that November is National Adoption Awareness month. I find it interesting that this falls in the same month as Thanksgiving. Adoption is one of the things I am MOST grateful for. I have such tender feelings as I think about how adoption has blessed my life. Many years ago I wondered if I would ever be a mother. I wondered if I would ever hold a baby in my arms and call him mine. My heart ached for this one desire. Adoption is miraculous. Truly. There have only been a few moments in my life that have been as precious and sacred as the day when a selfless woman chose to place her baby in my arms and in my life forever. Words will never be enough to describe the kind of gratitude I have for her. That kind of sacrifice and love is sacred. Tyler is blessed to have been first given to such a strong and loving mother who knew that he needed more- she knew he needed a mother AND a father. She knew he needed the blessings of the temple. I'm sure she could have raised him and done a beautiful job, and in some ways that would have been easier, but instead she chose the harder route. The route that would provide him with more blessings and more opportunities- all at the expense of her own happiness. We love her. We love adoption. It is miraculous.

My two boys are my life's greatest gifts. Both of their arrivals have taught me much about love, sacrifice, and of God's love for each of us. They are precious, and my heart sings with gratitude when I think of how blessed I am to be their mother. Many thanks on a happy day.

(on a side note, LDS family services has re-done their website. It's still in the finishing stages, but it's amazing- with contributions from yours truly. I'll keep you posted when the final product is finally launched).

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been a bit busy doing this:

I'm really trying to savor every moment with this little guy. I think I realize this time around how quickly he'll grow up. Plus, this time around I'm also trying to divide my time between my two little guys- not just one. The dishes sit in the sink a little longer, the laundry piles up a little higher, and dinner literally gets put on the back burner. I'm loving every minute with this little angel. There is something so precious about these new little spirits sent so recently from heaven. I love his soft, wrinkly skin. I love kissing every inch of his tiny little cheeks. I love the sound of his lips smacking when it's time to eat. I love watching his gassy smiles in his sleep. I love the smell as I nestle my nose into his neck. I love the way his face grimaces and scrunches just before he starts to cry. I'm really in heaven.



Many of you have asked how Tyler is doing as "BIG brother." He's great. Really. He is soft and gentle. He gets concerned when Robby cries and says in his cutest baby voice, "Don't cry, baby. It will be okay." He also likes to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to calm Robby down. He is very helpful and quickly points out after he helps that he is a good big brother. I love it. He loves rubbing his cheek on Robby's head and was tickled pink when we were tucking him into bed the other night and we let Robby cuddle with him in his bed. That's not to say that we haven't had our moments, but all in all, I think Tyler is handling the adjustment beautifully.



I'll try to post more pictures, but for now, I gotta go have some cuddles.

Update

Who knew John was such a great blogger? I might have to have him contribute a post or two more often. Thanks everyone for all of your well wishes and congratulations. We appreciate your love and support.


We are one day shy of weathering our first full week as the parents of two cute kids. Here's how things have gone:




Grandma left yesterday. Tyler cried all the way home from the airport after dropping her off. He kept saying, "I weally, weally miss my grandma." I felt EXACTLY the same way. She was sooooo good to us, and we couldn't have survived without her. She cleaned, cooked, did laundry, held the baby, lifted my spirits, and entertained Tyler. She was such a good sport. She read several dozen of Tyler's favorite books, played games, watched cartoons, took trips to the park, and even let Tyler read his favorite toy catelogs in bed with her after he convinced her that it was only dark at 6:30 am because "it's cloudy today, Grandma" and not because it was way too early for him to be awake. Oh and not to mention the fact that she was a good sport and let Tyler help do her hair every day. We miss her already.




Here is a little bit more about what each of us have been up to this past week:

Tyler has discovered that he enjoys being a big brother and he is fantastic at it. My heart melts every time I see these two together. He has been good about respecting the boundaries we've set with the baby and he tries to be quite helpful. Whenever Robby is crying, he'll yell from wherever he is in the house, "Mom, the baby's crying!!!!" He loves giving Robby kisses on the head and smiles real big when it's his turn to hold the baby.







John has perfected the art of "super dad." He two does it all from moping floors to changing diapers. I'm just glad with all the added responsibilites he's had this past week, he still has a moment or two to enjoy sweet moments like this.

John has taken such good care of all of us. I am so appreciative of his gentle ways and his ability to assess our needs and meet them. I was so grateful to have him by my side during our hospital stay.

Love you, babe!


















Robby has had the endless job of keeping us entertained with his sweet cuteness. Who doesn't love simply sitting and holding a baby?

As for me, I discovered my new best friend this week.

All in all, we're doing pretty well.

Recipe for a Baby

Having been with this precious baby for 3 days, I decided to recreate the recipe that is Robby.

Base:
1 forehead -- John
2 eyes -- Carrie
1 tongue-- Carrie
1 nose -- Carrie
2 ears -- Bob*
7 lbs wrinkles

Topping:
a handful of expressions -- Bob*

sprinkle of sneezes -- John

dash of indegestion -- Carrie

In a large bowl (uterus) add ingredients and mix gently. Season with toppings liberally. Bake at 98.6 degrees for 9 months and check.

Perhaps a tender mercy recognizing Carrie’s opportunity to finally birth her own, Robby is undoubtedly hers.

* Bob is Carrie's father.

Coming Home

Yesterday we made it home from the hospital. A few more pics....

Way to go Mom!

Robert Telford Carson is born.

Robby was born yesterday afternoon (Nov. 3rd), weighing 7.0 lbs. He is doing very well (very content). Both he and Mom are still in the hospital resting.

This was an induced delivery. We arrived at the hospital at ~6:30am. Things went well with hard labor beginning at ~2:00. The doc and nursing staff were very good to us.

Robby was an uncertain name 24 hours ago; i was thinking different thoughts. However, with one look it was clear he was a "Robert." He shares his mother's eyes, nose, even the same birthmarks on eyelids and forehead. In fact, his face has the same petite shape as Carrie's face. Carrie has all the dominate genes. I'll be lucky if Robby has my same pancreas.

Tyler is a smiling and willing big brother. He wore a shirt to the hospital saying "I'm the BIG brother." He has looked forward to this event for some while now. We remember Tyler being a baby goat, grunting for food. Robby is more of a mouse. No noise during his circumcision/checkup and very little queaks otherwise.

Happy Halloween

Sorry, no explanations. I'm too busy. I need to go get ready for this thing I gotta do tomorrow...

We're having a baby!!!

Autumn

We've been blessed with some truly beautiful weather over that past couple of days. It's much cooler and the evenings are crisp and chili. I love it, but I have to say that it is this time of year that I really miss autumn bike rides in Utah and gorgeous fall days in New York. I was reading my friend's blog who still lives in New York. It made me yearn for beautiful fall foliage and crave yummy apple cider doughnuts. Seriously delish. If anyone finds any here in Texas, please let me know.

Our apartment in New York (Albany area) was less than a couple miles from several small farms, most of which had a quaint country store associated with it. There were dozens of apple orchards and pumpkin patches to choose from and we enjoyed sampling each of their apple cider doughnuts. It was just too easy to run out on a cold, autumn Saturday morning to one of our favorite local farms to pick up a few warm doughnuts along with a couple cups of fresh apple cider. Oh they are sooooo good! I'll never forget Tyler's first experience with the delicious dessert. I was one of those crazy moms who didn't want my child eating french fries and sweets, but I couldn't resist sharing this culinary delight with him. He was about 9 months old and we gave him a small morsel of the sugary good stuff. His eyes bulged out and he flapped his arms, grunting for more. We gave him a bit more and then tried to hide the bag with the rest of our doughnuts. We couldn't fool him. Every time he caught a glimpse of the white bag he'd squeal with delight and grunt for more. He was focused and fixed on that bag and nothing in the world could distract him. It was hilarious and oddly enough, some things never change.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of some of our fall outings that year.

These pictures make me laugh at the Texas attempt at a pumpkin patch with it's evenly spaced rows of pumpkins laid out on some grassy field, bounce houses, and wooden cut-outs of popular cartoon characters all while pushy moms chase around their children dressed in matching Halloween or autumn outfits trying to get "the perfect shot." Oh and it's usually blasted hot and the kids are more about climbing and playing and not so much into posing for their photo opp. That doesn't mean we won't be going to the pumpkin patch (check back in after Friday) it just means all the while I'm there, I miss the quaint, beautiful lifestyle we enjoyed in lovely New York. Oh and I miss this adorably kissable baby boy! Who said he could grow up so fast?

Birthday #30 and Baby #2

Thursday night two of my dear friends, Jen and Kristina, threw me a surprise birthday bash/ baby shower. It was fabulous! Jen had to inform John of the surprise and earlier in the week John feared he had spilled the beans. Lucky for him, I am a little slow to piece things together. I thought I had figured out that Jen and Kris had invited a few extra friends out to ice cream instead of just the three of us going out to celebrate like they had told me. Little did I know that when we arrived at Jen's house to pick her up for our "ice cream outing," several of my sweet friends had gathered to surprise me. And surprised I was!!! It wasn't at all what I was expecting and what a fun change of plans. Although I was thrilled that we were still having ice cream because you just can't change food plans on a pregnant lady like that, especially when it comes to ice cream.

It was so fun to celebrate this little miracle with so many of my dear friends. I was touched by their outpouring of love and support, even though this is my second boy. I loved sorting through and looking at all of the adorable, soft blue baby things. It's like therapy for a very uncomfortable pregnant mommy. It's a sweet reminder that good things are soon to come!!!

I also enjoyed the "baby shower experience" with a different paradigm this time. For so many years, baby showers have been the source of some intense emotions. There were years when we were in the midst of our infertility struggles and it was all I could do to send a gift and my regrets that I wouldn't be able to attend. My feelings were just to raw to participate in such an event. It wasn't that I wasn't happy for the person, it's just that my happiness for that person was entangled too deeply with jealousy, hurt, confusion, desire, and sadness. The years passed and it became a little easier to learn to separate the emotions and set aside my despair and focus on the good.

Then along came Tyler. Of course this made attending the dreaded baby shower much, much easier. At least I had something in common with all the other mommies and I had the desire of my heart. It didn't hurt so badly to see all of those tiny, soft baby clothes and wonder how long I would have to wait in order to have such things for my baby. However, there was still one part of the baby shower that never got easier- the pregnancy and labor and delivery chitter chatter. I get it now. It's part of what we are there to celebrate. It's common to most every one there, and it is such an immensely interesting experience- you can't help but talk about it.

But there was a time when I likened this type of small talk to a trip to Egypt. I felt that every time I attended a baby shower, all of the other attendees had at one time or another been on a trip to Egypt. They talked about every aspect of their individual trips in detail. They compared experiences, events and feelings. And yet I had never been to Egypt, and as far as I knew, I wasn't going. I had come to terms with not going to Egypt because I had been someplace else for my trip, but I still felt the social awkwardness of not having had the same experience. Sure, I was still sad and a little jealous, but I was okay emotionally. I just hadn't figured out how to conquer the social awkwardness that I felt. I asked questions about Egypt and listened politely to every painstaking detail about everyone's trips, but didn't have a whole lot to contribute to the conversation.

So now I'm on my way to Egypt! I'm thrilled in every way possible. I loved my "other trip" but feel so blessed now to enjoy the fullness of experiences that life has to offer. I will always attend every baby shower with the thoughts and feelings and sensitivities that I used to harbor, especially as I consider many dear friends who may never enjoy the same experiences. Life sure is interesting with all of it's twists and turns.

Thanks again everyone for your well wishes and loving support!