Terrible 1's?

Lately life with a 1 year old has not just been exhausting, but very confusing.

The routine that we had, the simpleness of our life, was going great. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, went smoothly, nap times; smooth with some thunderstorms in between and bedtime was the same.

It seems as if when Carson turned 1, he also gained a complete independant mind of his own. If Carson wants down, Carson will immediately be "jointless" and wiggle his way until he can get down, whining the entire wiggle down your body until he gets to the floor, only to be picked up again, "jointless". When I say "jointless" I mean as if all of a sudden, his arms come out of his sockets, he becomes dead weight and unless you pick him up around the waist, there is a chance he is going to win the battle, yet again.

Another example, if Carson doesn't want to be in the high chair, he knows what to do to get out. He arches his back, reaches and reeeeeeeeaches for you to get him out. If it is the highchair at home, if he is not ready to eat, he arches his back so you cannot get him in the highchair. Then once you get him in, he won't eat until he is good and ready. Is anyone sensing yet that there is no doubt that this is Geoffrey's child? haha.

Nap time has been a little bit more difficult now that he knows what really goes on during the day. He doesn't want to miss a thing, he got that from his momma. From what I have read, this may be his way of transitioning out of 2 naps a day, but I swear, he needs it. He is a monster if he is tired.

Nighttime routine has always been the same and he has always been a pretty good sleeper other than when teeth are coming in or he isn't feeling well. It is almost as if we went back in time and he is 6 weeks old again. Goes down at 8:30 and is back up to 3 or 4am, then sleeps until 7:30/745am. Whereas, he use to sleep from 8:30 until about 6:30/7:00 am and then snuggle until about 7:45/8:00am. Maybe we have been spoiled. I drag my feet into work M-F, lately with bags underneath my eyes hoping for some extended sleep in the near future.

On top of this all, my poor poor baby has an obscene amount of teeth coming through. Since day one, he was a bad teether. We knew when a tooth was coming. All the symptoms. Runny nose, fussy, cranky, low fever, won't eat, won't sleep and just wants to be held. He has more top teeth coming in, so not only is my little baby trying to become a boy with his independant, I can rule the world mind frame, but he is in pain from his teeth and HYLANDS TEETHING TABLETS ARE RECALLED! Augh!

In conclusion, there really is no set routine. There is no one MASTER GOLDEN BOOK that says every child will do this and every child will do that. Instead, one morning you just wake up and realize the baby, who is becoming a boy, became a pint-sized Ruler of the World and you are his disciple, that is until he gets a boo boo or needs a little snuggle time.

Life as a parent isn't all rainbows and butterflies, its food throwing, water splashing, I don't want to wear this diaper, you can't make me eat, hug hug kiss kiss, snuggle with me Mommy, no I don't want to snuggle, no I want Daddy, no I'm tired, no I want "juice".. kind of life.

After all this, I wouldn't trade it for a thing........

Happy 1st Birthday Carson

12 months old!!!

Height: __________

Weight: 21lbs 5oz

New albums added into the Carson's photo album on the right

Has it really been a year? Has the time gone by this fast? WOW! This past year was so much fun! WE SURVIVED! CARSON SURVIVED! As Diego would say.. We did it, we did it, yeah yeah yeah, we did it!! That should say how our lives have changed. 1 year ago I would never have known who Diego is, but now, we watch because Carson likes the songs.

Carson started to walk on September 24, 2010 and then stopped. He went across the room a couple of times, across the living room and then that was it. He got a BAD ear infection and we weren't sure if that had anything to do with it. He is taking off now a little bit more, but hasn't really since that one day. The one thing he has done since his ear infection has cleared up, he has perfected standing on his own.

He'll just bend his knees and stand up on his own and just stand there.

He has also started eating with a spoon. Not an expert yet, but we are definitely getting there.

He now has 5 teeth and from the way he has been acting, alot more are coming.

He has added "Juice" to his vocab. Still no MaMa. Along with saying No, Carson has added the head shake.. "No".. Just has he thinks No is comedic, shaking his head No is just as funny, to him.

For the day of Carson's Birthday, we took him to Metro Zoo for the day. He really notices the animals now, so needless to say, we had a blast. The weather was GORGEOUS!

That evening we had dinner at my parents house and had the grandparents, great-grandmas and Uncles over for dinner to celebrate. It was a very nice evening and was very special as Bubba and Grandma Max (Carson's Great Grandmas) got their own very special time with their first great grandson on his first birthday.

We celebrated BIG on Sunday, 10.10.10 at Tree Tops Park. We had our closet family and friends join us in celebrating Carson's First Birthday. We had 80 balloons, all for Carson. He LOVES Balloons and by his reaction, I knew I did good. We had a monster truck bounce house for the older kiddies, thanks to Uncle Joey. Tons of food cooked by amazing family that LOVE Carson. Thank you to Nannie, Miss Cathy, Nicole B., Dada, Jay, Uncle Bradley, Auntie Eva and Auntie Nicole. Thank you to all my wonderful helpers, Mo, Eva, Sam, Jeanie, Elaina, Nicole..Couldn't have done it without you.

We had help from everyone from decorating to food, to cleaning up. We had family from all over and a big thank you to the Leonard's and Aunt Carol and Uncle Charles and Uncle Ronnie and Brigitte who traveled from out of town to celebrate with us. We love you so much and were soo happy and honored that you came all that way for Carson.

As for the most talked about gift. The Boat!! Wow!! How they kept this a secret, I have no idea. Miss Cathy has been Carson's babysitter now for 3 days a week since he was 3 months old. Mike is Cathy's husband and has such an AMAZING talent. They are both such wonderful people and we are beyond blessed to have them in our lives. Mike or as Carson calls him, Mr. Mike, made this boat especially for the Birthday Boy. It is unbelievable and so beautiful. The detail, everything. The back of the boat has a little wood propeller and also says, "Carson Craft" on the back. It is so beautiful. We love love love it!

Thank you to everyone who added a new toy to Carson's toy box, money into his savings for his real boat (ha) and thank you for coming and sharing this milestone with us. We were so happy to have everyone there.

This may be my longest post yet, but as it draws to an end, may also be my most emotional. I had to take a break and walk away because Carson woke up and is now in my arms. It seems like yesterday I was holding this tiny baby in my arms with tears streaming down my face, astonished that this little baby was all mine. Now I have this little boy who watches my every move, listens to every word I say, kisses my cheek and wraps his arms around my neck. He follows his Daddy, wants to figure things out with his daddy and loves going anywhere with his daddy. When he hears Geoff come in from work, he barrells towards the front door to get to him.

Friday nights aren't always what they used to be. Taking time out to see friends isn't what it used to be either. Our world has evolved around Carson and neither Geoffrey or I would change it for a second. As more and more friends have children or who are around children more, they begin to see and understand how it changes. Carson can make you smile on a bad day, he brings tears to your eyes with his innocent smile and laugh. I don't know that I could ever find the words to say how much I love Carson and how much I love Geoff for being such a wonderful father to my most precious Angel.

Carson Michael Ellison, thank you a million, gazillion times for choosing me as your Mommy. I will be eternally grateful. Love you forever my Angel.

Thank you all for being there this year. I hope you enjoyed watching Carson grow from the peanut in my belly to the boy in my arms. Stay for the ride into year 2, I can only imagine it is going to get better!!!!