Advanced

I'm only kidding. I really don't think Blake is advance because he can now sit, but he thinks he's pretty hot stuff. He is so content to sit and play and loves that he no longer face plants into the carpet while trying to master this move. He is crawling and getting better every day!

How can you not love those cheeks, that chub, that crooked smile and those big blue eyes!

Baby Jail

Blake is officially able to get pretty much anywhere he wants to go these days. This includes making a mad dash towards anything Carson has out to play with which usually ends with Carson yelling, "Put him in baby jail!" Baby jail consists of a blanket in the corner to keep his puke off my carpet surrounded my pillows and couch cushions to keep him contained. I know the pillows won't work much longer, but "Baby Jail" works like a charm for the time being.

He seems to love his little play space!

Boys

Have I mentioned how much I love having boys! They are the greatest. We've been having lots of fun this summer. Between friends, the park, swim lessons, etc. we keep ourselves pretty entertained. We've tried squeezing in some outdoor activities while the weather is nice (ha ha). No more park days that's for sure! I'm just grateful to have two wonderful little boys. Sure, each of them have their no so happy moments, but they can always make me smile. Just the other day I called Carson, "little bud" and he quickly replied, "I'm not little. I'm big Carson and you're my big mama." Oh, okay then. I called him something else another time and he said, "No, I'm Noodle and that is Bean (Blake)." It's a good thing I have Carson to keep me on my toes and keep me laughing.

"Bakugan Brawl"

"Bakugan Brawl" is a phrase I hear several times a day! I must have a boy, right!? Bakugan is Carson's current love/obsession. He takes this Bakugan case everywhere. We introduced his best buddy, Rome, to these and he has latched on to them as well. He plays with these all day long and has a great time.

Cool Swimming Pics

This is Matt. I'm only posting on "our" blog because I think my waterproof camera is so cool. Enjoy!

Carson, The Swimmer

Carson, The Swimmer, cont.

Blake - 6 Month Stats

I'm a little behind on posting Blake's 6 Month stats.

Weight: 17 lb 6 oz (38%) - 2 lbs. smaller than Carson was!

Height: 27 1/2 (69%) - 3 in. taller than Carson was!

This month Blake has started eating rice and oatmeal cereal and has tried pears, peaches, bananas and squash. He is still such a happy baby. We think the "trilling" he does when he is tired or upset is darling/humorous. He has started to get up on his hands and knees and will be all over the place in no time!

We love you Blakey Bean!

Friends

This morning Kapri, Rome & Scarlett came over to play. The babies took naps while the older boys played outside and the moms chatted.

Scarlett (10 1/2 months) Blake (6 1/2 months)
We've got some crawlers! Scarlett is showing Blake the ropes. He is actually getting pretty darn good! If he has something is front of him that he wants (a bottle) he'll go!

Sweet Boy

Look at that sweet face and those blue eyes! What's not to love?

I was taking Blake's picture and then he let out a little giggle. Right then a darker spot started to appear towards the bottom of the towel. I'm glad he finds it humorous to pee on himself RIGHT after I finish giving him a bath! I actually thought it was pretty funny. Such a little boy.

We love visitors!

This past week my sister Natalie and her cute boy Gavin were in town. It's always fun to see family! We tried to cram in all the fun we could between naps. Towards the end of her trip my younger sister, Annie arrived with her little boy Cohen too! Before Natalie and Annie headed off we went to Cheesecake Factory with my mom, sisters and kids. We had seven kids with us and it was officially nuts! Why did we not take a picture!!??

A family get together celebrating Dallin's 2nd birthay and Gavin's 1st birthday. This is only 9 of my parents now 21 grandchildren! Ashley, Dallin, Hunter, Gavin, Kassie, Carson, Lauren, Cade and Noah
Me and my cute sister in law, Allison.

Dallin, Gavin and Carson getting some use out of Carson's pool. This picture was the best we could do with three wiggly boys.

Gavin. This is one happy kid! Happy 1st Birthday.

I was sad to see Natalie and Gavin go. I guess there is always next year!

St. George

At the beginning of May we took a little roadtrip to Utah. We stopped in St. George and met up with Natalie, Brian and Gavin. We saw Brian Reagan at Tuacahn. Hilarious. My cheeks hurt from laughing. I had been to this amazing outdoor venue before, but Matt hadn't. He loved it! We'll definitely have to plan a time to go back.

Above is a picture of the four of us before the show. Matt says Natalie and I don't look alike. Some people think we look like twins. I sure do love my sister! Natalie, am I just a smidge taller than you?! :)

1st ER Visit

Yesterday I felt like I should be given the title "Worst Mom of the Year" after our little mishap. I put Blake on our bed to put his clothes on and the phone rang. I pushed him into the center of our bed so I could turn around and grab the phone without him rolling off. The next thing I knew I heard a thud right behind me and Blake started crying. I would have felt really bad, but been fine if that was it. I quickly scooped him up while he was crying and then his eyes rolled back and his little body went limp. That's when I lost it. I didn't know if I should call 911, call my dad, call Matt, etc. I quickly dialed my parents house and got my mom. I was crying, Blake was screaming and my mom went into crisis mode trying to figure out what happened. By the time she got to my house Blake had calmed down. Everything was fine. My dad had called and told me to call my pediatrician. My dad told me that Blake falling off the bed was like me falling off the roof. That didn't make me feel any better. My pediatrician recommended I take Blake to the ER just as a precaution. Matt met me there where they checked Blake out and everything was fine. I knew five minutes after it happened that everything was okay, but watching Blake go limp in my arms was absolutely terrifying.

Beds are off limits for our squirmy little boy. One really cute thing I have to mention is how Carson reacted to everything. Carson ran into my room immediately after it happened. He was asking, "What happened to our baby?" I was crying and told Carson he rolled off my bed and got hurt. Carson ran into his room and was back in a flash with his stethoscope and doctor kit. Talk about a sweet boy. When I told him to get ready because we were taking Blake to the hospital (which Carson calls a "hos-ta-ble") he was sure to grab his stethoscope and bring it along.

Otter Pops

It just wouldn't be summer if we didn't have a box of Otter Pops in the freezer. Carson has been loving them! He calls them "Water Pops" and will correct you if you say anything else! He was eating this green one and told me it was his favorite color. He then ate a blue one and told me that was his favorite color. I think which ever one he is eating at the time is his favorite color. I keep laughing looking at this picture. Carson crossed his fingers like this and said, "Mama, that was pretty tricky."

Baby Brother

Carson has been very into his "little brother" for the past few weeks. He loves to introduce him to random people at the store. He says, "Hi. I'm Carson. I have a baby brother and his name is Blake. Do you like my baby?" People get a kick out of it.

Carson decided to get into Blake's exersaucer the other day. I told him he would get stuck and he climbed in anyway. Of course...he got stuck. Instead of rescuing him right away I went and grabbed my camera. He wasn't amused.

Check out Carson's face! He has had enough camera time and really wants out.

He finally gets out and amazingly wants to take a picture with Blake. This picture makes me laugh because you can see such a difference in their skin tones. Carson has always been able to tan easily. I don't know if Blake will be like that.

Carson apparently forgot he needed to hold Blake in this picture.

P.S. Just for the record...I do dress my children every day! Blake must have just puked all over himself (the kid seriously has puke issues) and Carson refuses to be dressed while in our house. At least he has some Batman pants on. Typically he runs around in his undies. I've decided it's not worth arguing over. He knows he has to be dressed to go out of the house at least.

Bounce

I have found the place Carson and I can spend some time this summer out of the heat! He loves bouncing on all these things. The first time I took him we were there for about three hours and then two days later we went again for another couple hours. The people who work there are really on top of things. They watch out for the younger/smaller people and make sure they don't get trampled on.

Carson's buddy Rome.
They had such a good time! We will definitely be going back soon!

Do I say that?

I often wonder where Carson gets some of the things he says. My sister has been in town and we went out for gluten free pizza. Yum! Carson was sitting next to Gavin (who will be 1 tomorrow) and he kept throwing his napkin on the floor. Carson kept picking it up for him only for Gavin to chuck it back on the floor. This happened several times and Carson finally said, "seriously, Gavin" in a quiet but stern voice. We had a good laugh. He had obviously had enough of Gavin's playfulness.


Then, yesterday we went out to Cheesecake Factory with my mom. Carson picked up his own napkin (which was cloth) and dangled it in front of my face. He said, "Does anyone need a hankey?" Now that word is not in my daily, weekly, monthly or yearly vocabulary!

I love this little boy of mine! He definitely keeps us laughing.

Dirt vs Junk

I just had the following exchange with Carson:

Me: Look, you have some dirt on your leg.
Carson: NO! It's not dirt.
Me: Well then what is it?
Carson: It's just a whole (pause) bunch (pause) of (pause) JUNK! Not dirt I said!

Glad we got that cleared up. Whew! In the future I'll be sure to not confuse dirt and junk.

Father/Son/Papa Campout

For the past two years Matt has taken Carson to the ward Father/Son campout and luckily they have had Papa join them too! Carson is still talking about his camping trip and about the fish he caught. From what I understand, Carson LOVED the worms and HATED the lifejacket.

Dad and Carson with "Carson" the fish. What an original name for a fish!

Carson & Papa

Getting ready to head out!

I'm sure this is the first of many future fishing trips!

Grandma Renie & Papa Jack's House

When we arrived at Matt's grandparents house in Utah lots of family were there for a BBQ. We don't get to see our Utah family often enough and had lots of fun visiting and catching up. Carson was thrilled with the mountains just out the back door! He immediately insisted we buy him some better "rock climbing shoes" so we did that the next day and he was in heaven!
Carson with some of his 2nd cousins-

Jaxon, Savannah, Quinn and Carson