17 Months!!!

Is our little man really just ONE month away from being a year and a 1/2??? Not. Possible.

Anyways, so here's the scoop on what he's been up to...

The ONLY picture where he was sitting still long enough to take a picture...(i.e. he is BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!)


Sitting still on the couch with Mr. Monkey just wasn't happening, so I thought I'd stick Mr. Monkey in the Cozy Coupe. This ended with a Hit & Run incident.


-Had tubes put in his ears December 20th and seems totally back to normal.


-Very affectionate. He hugs and pats on everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Paper. Sippy cup. Toys. He LOVES when Andrew and I hug. He I LOVE that he recognizes affection and likes to show it. So sweet.

Carson showing how you hold and hug


-Is TOTALLY into climbing on anything and everything. He gets up on boxes, yoga blocks (that pretty much don't get used for anything else), dining room chairs, his rocking chair (so much for his room being the 'safe' one in the house), any of his push/ride-on toys that have a seat, his music table. Good thing Nana bought him a climber/jungle gym for the backyard and my parents got him a toddler trampoline for Christmas. I think we will be using both. A LOT.



-Just when I thought we were over the cup-throwing, he started it back up again.

-Getting better about the food throwing. Now, if he throws food, he gets one warning. If he does it again, the meal is OVER.

-LOVES balls. You give him a football or soccer ball, he's entertained for quite a while. He loves to throw them and can catch them too now! His basketball goal from Becky for Christmas has been a hit too!


-Has a new food obsession - yogurt covered raisins and other dried fruit (cranberries, apricots, regular raisins).

-He's more picky than he used to be. He almost always eats breakfast and his teachers say he eats really well at lunch. Dinner is hit or miss though.

-Sleeps from about 7:30pm to 7:00am. Some days he's in bed closer to 7 though. He's usually pooped when he gets home from school.

-HATES having his teeth brushed. I mean HATES it.

-LOVES books and blocks... I find them all over the house.


Reading WHILE standing on a box (he's talented)


-ALWAYS recognizes dogs and ducks and tries to say those words.

-LOVES elephants and giraffes. Makes an elephant and monkey sound.

-His favorite song is probably "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." He used to just start dancing when you sang it, but lately he's been trying to mimic the moves.

-Says "yes" when is told no. When he wants to say "no", he repeats it over and over while shaking his finger. That's going to get him in trouble some day!

-Loves to say "this" and draw the "s" out.

-Is quite the copy cat these days.

-Is really trying to talk more since having his tubes.

-Loves trucks.

-Loves watching movies of himself and looking through picture albums. He likes books with real pictures more than those with drawings.

-Loves school and the church nursery.

-Is afraid of no one and isn't very clingy. He definitely has his moments when he wants just his mommy though.

-Loves digging in our nightstand drawers. He came out of our room like this one day...with Rosary beads around his neck. He also likes to hang them from the drawer pulls.


-LOVES to splash in the toilet... we are trying to remember to keep the lid down and door closed but sometimes forget.

-Likes to gather up as much as he can of anything and carry it around.

-Has a mop head even though he got his second hair cut this month.



-Still has to have his blanket. It is definitely a security blanket (no pun intended) for him. Jolee is even making him a second one for school so I don't have to bring it back and forth every day.


I'm sure there's a ton more I could write, but I think this is a pretty good list. We love our little man SO much, and he certainly keeps us entertained and on our toes. Did I mention he can take the outlet covers off and figured out the childproof lock under our kitchen sink??? Yep, we've got our hands full (and LOVING it)!!!

Merry Christmas!

Full post to come later... Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Here's a little Christmas Eve cuteness for you!

Trooper!

We all got through Carson's little surgery yesterday. Tubes are in and gunk is coming out. He did really well and didn't really start crying until he was waking up. He wasn't too happy when I came into the recovery area. By the time we got home, he was ready for his Whataburger breakfast...which he happily scarfed down.

Very happy and WIDE awake at 6:00am


Checking out Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital


In the prep area, hospital gown and all


What's this bracelet thing?


Pretty cool!


Cutie Patootie!


Hopefully, he'll feel much better from here on out!

Make Ya Smile Monday - BOXES

Carson has a new obsession... BOXES. He's not necessarily climbing IN them, but more ON them. His favorite is to put one in front of the TV (closer to the On/Off button, I guess.) Buttons are another obsession.


We've got quite a few boxes around the house these days and he has been up on every single one of them. I think he thinks the bigger ones are a stage because he gets up there and starts dancing. He's busted it a couple times and still hasn't learned. No Fear.

Happy Monday! Tomorrow he gets his tubes... say a little prayer everything goes smoothly. Thanks!

Cold as H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

The week after Thanksgiving, Andrew and my brother headed up to Kansas to do a little hunting. The take-a-ways I got were:

1. It was COLD.
2. It was a long drive.
3. It was VERY COLD.
4. It snowed 8" one day.
5. They actually shot some ducks (as compared to last year's trip with Andrew's dad).
6. They shot a lot of mallards.
7. Shooter prefers mosquitoes over snow.
8. It was COLD.








Wood duck with a stick through its wing


Did I mention it was cold?


Did I mention Shooter does not like snow?






Defrosting decoys in the shower

Christmas Sweater

Carson had his school Christmas party today so I wanted to dress him appropriately. I have a precious smocked Christmas outfit that he wore to see Santa; however, they said at school that the buttons kept coming undone, so I nixed that outfit. I got him a red sweater with little green Christmas trees for cheap at either Zulily or Totsy and it was quasi-cold this morning, so I went with that. Too bad I couldn't get a cute picture of him...

The "BOO, I'm taking a picture of you" picture...


The "okay, let's try in front of the tree but don't mess with the ornaments" picture...


The "okay, you turned around but didn't smile" picture...


The "forget it, I'm over this" picture...


Ah, the joys of trying to take pictures of a toddler...especially by yourself.

Totally Tubular!

I'll keep this short & sweet...

Our precious boy is getting tubes in his ears next Tuesday. He's had quite a few ear infections AND has had thick fluid sitting in his ears for at least 4 months, probably more. Every time I took him to the pediatrician for something else, he always ending up having an ear infection too. This makes me think he's had more than he's even been diagnosed with.

Anyways, a couple weeks ago we went back to have his ears looked at after a double ear infection and the pediatrician said it was time to go to the ENT. So, that Friday, that's what we did. Dr. Jordan was great! They gave Carson a hearing test that showed he had about 35% hearing loss due to the fluid. The good thing is that it is 100% reversible {or at least is should be!}. It was funny sitting in this little sound-proof room with him. They had little stuffed animals that lit up and played drums/cymbals, but I was supposed to sit still and not look. It was hard not to and not laugh.

So, wish us luck and say a little prayer for Carson next Tuesday. From what I've heard, this should make a world of difference!

DIY Upholstered Headboard!

As I mentioned in this post, I got started on a DIY upholstered headboard while the hubby was out of town a couple weekends ago. Well, this past weekend, I FINISHED IT!

Let me tell you, for a DIY project, this was seriously one of the easiest things I've ever done! Seriously.

My inspiration/guides were this...

Source: hgtv.com via Emily on Pinterest

and this...

Source: casasugar.com via Emily on Pinterest

A little background...The reason I went ahead and decided to do a DIY headboard was mainly because I couldn't find a pre-made one that was low enough to go under the window in our master bedroom. Not wanting to spend a minimum of around $300 was also some serious motivation. Our window is only 46" from the floor and the lowest headboard I could find was 51". I guess we could have gone above the window, but then our bed would be another ~4" from the wall. There already isn't that big of a walking space, so decreasing it by another 4" wasn't ideal.

So anyways, I'd been debating doing this for a while, but they only thing holding me back was obtaining the piece of plywood, CUT to the right size. I hadn't been successful in convincing the husband to cut a piece, so what did I do, ask the nice gentleman at Lowes to do it for me... and he did, with a smile on his face. We barely got it into the car though... didn't really think about that one. Let's just say, it wouldn't have worked if C had been in his car seat.

So, this is how seriously easy it was...

Supplies Needed:
1. 1/2" sheeting plywood. I went with this versus particle board. This is real wood, but not quite as fancy as the expensive plywood. A sheet of this was about $12. (Lowes)


2. Painters canvas (6'x9' for a queen) - About $10 (Lowes)


3. Spray adhesive - About $4-$10 (Lowes) I went with the medium hold just in case, but easily could have gone with the lighter hold.



4. Quilt batting - I got enough for a queen quilt and then a crib size just in case. I'm glad I got both. I forgot how much this was...not expensive though. (Walmart or any fabric/craft store)


5. Staple gun - already had
6. 3/4" upholstery nail heads - I went with the bigger ones (at the advice of Wanda...good advice, Wanda!)... Hammered Oxford A/B LARGE Upholstery Nails 100pc. Most are 1/2" inch. (Ebay Seller upholsterystuff_com... great prices and fast shipping). I had to do a little algebra to figure out how many I needed. Measure the total length you will be putting them (top & sides) then divide by the nail head diameter. In my case, 60" + 24" + 24" = 108" divided by .75" = 144 nail heads. Then get a few extra just in case you mess some up. I messed up 3-5. This should be a good estimate.


7. Mallet and/or hammer for nail heads
8. Saw horses - way easier than trying to put the headboard on the ground and flip it over.

Okay, here we go...

1. Lay plywood on saw horses
2. Unroll the batting and cut so that there are a several inches hanging over each edge. You'll need enough to pull under and staple in place. I think my queen batting was enough to make two layers and then the crib batting made the third.

Once I got everything cut and made sure it all fit right, I used the spray adhesive to hold everything in place. I sprayed a light layer on the board and then put the crib batting down first since it was a little smaller.


I then sprayed another layer of adhesive and then put the next piece down. Repeat for the third layer. You could certainly do another layer of batting, or I've also seen a layer of thin foam first. You don't want to go too thick though that your nail heads can't reach the wood. Just check the length on the nails. I'm happy with how the three layers turned out.


Now that the batting is in place, you'll need to staple it down. I started with the center of one of the long sides then did the center of the other long side. Then I stapled the centers of the shorter sides, being sure to pull the batting tight as I was stapling. After I got the centers done, I can't remember if I worked to the corners or did them next. I think as long as you keep the batting pulled tight, it doesn't really matter too much. I didn't have any issues. When I did do the corners, I just folded it into a triangle so it looked neat and the part of the corner that would show looked neat as well (see below).


Trim any excess batting so that there isn't much hanging past the staples (see below).


The next step was adding the canvas (or your choice of material). The only negative to the painters canvas was that it was pretty wrinkled right out of the package. I had to iron it. It ironed easily, but was a little tricky because I didn't cut the size piece I needed first. That would have eliminated quite a bit of excess material. Again, you'll want several inches extra on each side when you cut it. Anyways, once you have a pretty, wrinkle-free piece of canvas or other material, follow the same process for stapling like you did for the batting.

I trimmed up any excess canvas and/or batting so that it was pretty uniform all the way around.


There you have it!


If you don't want to add a nail head trim, you're done. If you do, it's easy, it just is a little more tedious and time consuming. It was probably the part I enjoyed the least, but it makes SUCH a difference!

When I added the nails, I mostly just eyeballed it, but I did keep a ruler handy and was constantly checking to make sure I was the same distance from the edge. The good thing about these nail heads was that they were so easy to adjust. Just tap a little here, tap a little there to get them in the right place. Once I was done and had it behind the bed, I went along and tweaked a few more to get it just right.

Finished project!






I'm SO happy with how this turned out and how seriously EASY it was. Non-crafty people, do not be scared! You can do it!