A Day with Nature

Thursday this week we took our first major outing to see some nature- butterflies, wildflowers, desert plants, oh yeah, and some Chihuly glass sculptures. This was all at the Desert Botanical Gardens. Gigi (or G.G. for Grandma Green) had an annual membership which let us in for free. Yay! It was very crowded on a beautiful Arizona spring day. It got incredibly windy later that afternoon, so thankfully we were done before that hit.

All Snugli-ed up and ready to go! He was practically the only infant there in a baby carrier. Everyone else had strollers which only clogged the busy pathways. Go Mommy for thinking of this! But Carson's poor little feet were a slightly blue at the end :(

First up, the butterfly exhibit. I was especially excited about this because I'd been to one back in Pennsylvania before and it was amazing. However, I was a little let down here in Phoenix. The butterflies were in an outdoor environment (rather than indoor with humidity levels cranked up and monitored), which probably limited the types of butterflies and the quantity. I expected hundreds to be flying around and landing all over us, however that didn't happen. Bummer. But there were a couple cool ones to see.

My favorite little butterfly, of course! Too bad his eyes were closed, haha

Now, on to the Chihuly glass sculptures. There were many different displays there and I didn't get a picture of all of them. You can visit his website to see some more professional shots. There were way too many people around and some of the glass was in shaded areas that didn't let the line shine well and really show off the sculpture. These were some of my favorites.

"Agaves" at the entrance

"Hornets" - I love the texture on these. How does he do that?!

"Float Boat" - looks like a bunch of marbles with cool swirls of colors

"Blue Flamingos" - these are actually sitting in a little stream, but I didn't photograph that well enough

"Red Trumpets" - probably not the official title, but Carson was getting tired at this point, so we wrapped it up. I love the vibrant red!

He was zonked out in the end. We had only been walking for an hour, but it was way past his sleepy time. We had a great day. Thanks Gigi!

A Week of Firsts

Last week was pretty eventful, in terms of Carson's new experiences, skills and abilities. And of course, we didn't have any video or camera in hand to document all of these, so you'll just have to take my word for it (and look at pictures that are similar to the event itself).

March 19th

Yup, off with the little mullet....

Before

After

So it's not perfect hair, but hey, it's an improvement. Good job, Daddy!

March 19th

He rolled from his stomach to his back -- FINALLY! We have been working on this for almost 2 months now, and while relaxing in the backyard one afternoon, he got enough momentum to complete the roll to his back. We've been having the dogs show him how to rollover on command, but Carson still doesn't get it. Maybe that's because the dogs usually get a treat afterwards :) We haven't developed a reward system for Carson other than enthusiastic praises of "Good Job!" "Wooo--hooo!!" "You did it!" He usually smiles at those - which is a good enough reward for him.

Using the arm to push off

Arching the back

March 19th

It was a great day! I put him down for 3 naps, and each time he didn't make a single peep!! He just pulls this little yellow blankie over his eyes, and was O-U-T before I could even walk out the bedroom. Could I ask for anything more sweet than that? Yes, actually, because he did it again when it was time for bed that night. I just love my little man.

So March 19th was quite an eventful day. Too bad we haven't had more of that since, (especially in the napping and bedtime department) but hey, I'll take 1 day if I can get it!

A Glance at the Past

I thought it would be interesting to put together a collage of pictures to see how Carson has changed over time. Wow! Funny how soon we forget what they used to look like when they were just born.

Starting from top left corner, going clockwise:
0 weeks, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 4 1/2 weeks, 5 weeks, 6 weeks, 6 weeks (happy), 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, 5 months (middle picture). I seem to have forgotten the 2 month pic in the collage. Oh well... you get the idea.

I did this using Shutterfly for the first time. Sorry the images aren't larger. I had to be creative in getting a jpg version to paste on here because they wanted me to order a print. Um, no thanks! Just didn't want to figure out how to do a collage in Photoshop at 1:30 in the morning :)

Mirror Magic

On Sunday, Carson was having a cranky day. He didn't nap at all during the entire 3 hours at church so he was t-i-r-e-d! To help cheer him up and stop the fussing, I initially filled the bathroom sink with water so he could put his feet in and kind of splash a bit. Then he discovered a cute kid in the mirror and he was all smiles! Thank goodness for the magic of mirrors.

"Gosh, who is this cute baby I see?"

"You look familiar...have I seen you before?"

"Maybe if I make a face he'll make one back."

"He's copying me!!"


Look closely and you'll see the drop of DROOL that his constant companion

"I see you, Daddy!"

"What's all that noise you're making? You're interrupting me."
(notice the "mullet" patch in the back...Danny wants to shave it off.
I'm trying to hold him off from doing that!)

"Are you taking pictures of me?"

"Ok, I'll do a good pose for you."

We love him to pieces! He's 5 months old now and is quite a character some days.

If You Got It - Flaunt It!

One thing our son has it hair, and quite a bit of it compared to some other infants. So after a bath last night, Daddy styled Carson's hair in the traditional mohawk that we've done basically since he was born. Mostly because his hair doesn't stay down. And because we think it's cute.

But later today I noticed it was curling over and starting to look like a wave, so I decided to fix it and comb it down. Doesn't he look so handsome? :)


And then the hair dried...and it looked like this.


A kind of comb-over going on here? Kind of reminded me of a picture I've seen on the internet...

Just kidding! I think Carson is so much cuter than Donald Trump's dog!

Growing Like a Beanstalk

That would describe our son! Carson has been growing fast in the last couple months. At his 4-month checkup (2 weeks ago - I'm late posting) he had grown 2 inches. That's an inch a month! Which would explain why his pants are usually looking so short, haha!

At this rate, his height is what keeps him growing out of his clothes, and that means he'll be wearing some 6-9month clothes pretty soon. I would have thought for being born such a big baby, his weight would have kept up, but apparently not as much. To which I am thankful!!!! It's still a workout carting around a nearly 15 lb baby in a carseat (which adds another 10 lbs). His pants might be loose around the waist and fall down every now and then, but I can deal with that.

"Look how long I am!"

"I love to blow spit bubbles!"

"My mom's funny and makes me smile"

"But no one makes me laugh like Daddy!"

Finished!

I realize the high temperature today in Arizona was about 87 degrees. However, I will still post a picture of my finished patchwork quilt.


It's been 2 years in the making, after all, and my husband had no idea he married someone who likes to start projects, but not really finish them :) So this is my proof that I can finish a project! And yes, even though the weather is warm here, I use blankets year-round. My family can attest to that! I'll most likely be sleeping with this blanket on top of my bed tonight too. Sweet dreams!