Mis Suegas (My Cousins)

Last month, some of our favorite (and loudest) cousins came out to Vegas to visit, Ashley, Annette, and Lettie (named after my sweet grandma). We don't usually like to claim Lettie because she is Mexican and all...totally kidding but she never lets us forget that she is Mexican and it cracks us up. The first day Lettie was here she was really sick so she spent the afternoon in bed but she was feeling better the next day by the time that Ash and Nettie got here. We didn't do much but we had a great time and Carson loved Tia Lettie and Ashley because they did a great job at spoiling him.

Like I have mentioned before, Carson loves his Presley and he likes to hold her hand when they are in the car together. We have a picture of them doing this a few months ago but it is still on Britney's camera. Carson and Tia Lettie Ashley, Annette, and Jodi

Lettie bought Carson a HUGE cookie for dessert (even though he didn't touch his lunch) at Claim Jumper (YUM!!) and Carson was in heaven.

The morning they all left was Lissa's baby shower so this is Carson in the car on the way there, clearly he is not happy to be going.

Preggers Lissa and me

Becky isn't preggers yet, still being a newlywed and all, but we always have to take a picture if a camera is out.

Time for a Hair Cut

As I mentioned before, Carson's hair has been out of control lately. Britney, my niece who does hair, told me I had to let it grow out but after Christmas, I just couldn't take it anymore. I can't put gel in it because then it lots even more thin and it just sticks up everywhere if I don't put anything in it. So it is time to say good-bye. Here are the before pictures, we might have added some product for emphasis. With this being the first time having his hair cut with the clippers, I didn't know how he would react but he actually did amazing. He kept putting his head down for Brit to cut more. I didn't take any during or after pictures but these are the next pictures from my camera. Britney and Carson used some face paint and this is how silly they looked but notice Carson's shorter hair. I am still figuring out my camera, sometimes it takes really yellow pictures like this. I don't know what Carson is doing here but it is the best one of his hair.

Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year down in California. It was the first time in many years that my parents have stayed home so I was way excited to go down. My dad has been coming up for the last few years for the Vegas Bowl since BYU has been in it so I went down a day before Chyler with my dad all so I could surprise Chyler by making him and Carson matching pajama bottoms. But stupid me brings all of my fabric for my many sewing projects I was planning to do except the flannel. I was so upset with myself for ruining the surprise and for having to spend all of Christmas eve making the pants once Chyler got there. Or should I say my mom had to spend all of Christmas eve since she helped me so much. But everything worked out and they looked so cute. Too bad they shrunk so much after I washed them that I have to completely alter them now. I didn't finish all of my projects but I did get a lot done. Chyler was really looking forward to having the time off because this was the longest he has had off work in a year and a half. Unfortunately, all the kids gave my parents new interior doors for Christmas which Chyler agreed to hang. But it turned out to be a much bigger project then we planned so his much needed vacation made him more exhausted than his normal 70 hour work weeks. So I guess that means we need another vacation after the baby comes with absolutely no work. But we are all so grateful for his mad skills and willingness to help. I love him.

Aren't my boys cute!!

Christmas morning. We got so much for Carson, we were so excited for him to open everything. I figured I had to take advantage of presents being so cheap for toddlers. When he opened the books we gave him, he picked them up and totally left the room. And he wanted to open the boxes immediately and play with them, we had to distract him with other presents to get him to open everything. He really did love everything but like I have mentioned before, he isn't a very expressive child, he takes it all in and then gets excited. We gave Presley the cute pink hat she is wearing and I made a crayon roll for her like Carson's. But Jodi got her a doll that is motion activated so on Christmas eve while we were in there reading Luke 2, it kept making noise in the bag it was in. Carson kept having to go investigate, it was so funny. Christmas with kids is so much fun!!!

We went up to Michele's for Christmas dinner but we ran into tons of traffic so Carson and Chyler took their naps. The only problem with that was that I asked Chyler to put pomade in Carson's hair before we left my parent's but while Chyler was doing his own hair, Carson put a ton of pomade in his own hair. Then when he fell asleep in the car seat, it totally made it stick straight up for the rest of the day no matter how much water I put in it. My little family

Carson loves playing the piano so he was loving Haley's new keyboard.

This is an awful picture of us but I wanted to put it in because Chyler and I were actually on a date. I don't even remember the last time we went out just the two of us but it was so fun to hold hands and have Chyler open doors for me. And Carson had some much needed Grandma time. I am so excited for them to bond when she is here for two weeks when the new baby comes.

On Sunday night, we had a girls night with some of the girls we grew up with. It was so fun to catch up. Laura, on the left end, and I should be due on the same day if my doctor had not pushed back my due date. She and Jodi are the ones who made me take a pregnancy test when we were home last summer. Chyler was totally like, we will figure it out some enough, but Laura drove me to Albertsons at 11pm to get one because she had to find out. I must say, I am more into Laura's thinking than Chyler's. And please ignore the fact that I am in pajamas, I just did not want to get dressed and I have lived with all but one of them so we don't feel the need to dress up for each other.

We put a lot of thought into what we get for Carson, we really try to buy presents that he will love and that will last for a long time. Apparently we did a good job because it has been a month since Christmas and at least once a day, he drags us into his room and says "whoa" like he does in the video. But now he thinks that we always need to play with him so he drags us in there and then pats the floor for us to sit down. I love playing with him but it just hurts me way to bad to sit on the floor for that long with my belly so big, so he gets mad at me quite often.

Cowboy Christmas

We have a state park a few blocks from our house and there was a a Christmas thing there with Santa, a petting zoo, pony rides, and a bunch more. The whole reason I wanted to go was because of Santa but he was kinda ghetto and the line was way too long so we just took Carson to the petting zoo which he of course loved.

A Couple More Things

After I made my post, I remembered some things. No: Like every other toddler, his favorite word is NO!! And not just one no but no, no, no. Which he probably gets from us because we say it multiple times when he is getting into something he shouldn't. And he even started pointing and saying no which I put a stop to real fast because it drove me crazy. Yay: He has started answering me when I call to him or saying yay when I ask him if he is okay after falling or something. I think it is way cute. Talking: Even though he isn't talking a ton, he knows so much. I can ask him to bring me something specific or find things in a book like frog, banana, grapes, water, etc. So he has never said the word, he knows what they are. So hopefully he will start talking more soon. And he still talks all the time, just no one can understand him. I especially think its funny when he says something right to you and expects you to understand him. The baby: I have no idea what he thinks is going on with my belly or if he knows what is going to come out soon but I will say, "give the baby kisses" and he will kiss my belly. And one night when we were in California for Christmas, he was laying on my belly going to sleep and the baby kept kicking him. So Carson would sit up and look at my belly and push on it to figure out what was going on then lay down again. Pretend sleeping: C has started pretending to sleep and snore. It started by him just lying down and staying still like at the end of the salsa video. But then he added the fake snoring. It is so funny. Fake crying: He is reached the age of the ever famous fake crying. When he is upset, he will pull his hands up to his mouth really fast and cry through his hands. I thought I had more time before this one started.

22 Months

These are all the happenings since the 19 month post. Jodi always tells me how much she is not looking forward to Presley at this age and don't get me wrong, sometimes having an almost 2 year old is so hard but it is also the funnest time since he was born. He learns new stuff every day and does some totally funny things. I guess you just have to remember the cute, funny times while he is throwing his 5th tantrum of the day!!! Some of the things he has been doing lately is: Kisses: I seem to be the main recipient of his kisses and he does not give them on demand, just when he is in the mood. But if you are lucky enough to get one, you know he loves you. He also kisses in random places, like your arm, your leg, whatever is available when he gets the urge to give kisses. Also, he will kiss each of your cheeks then your lips, its way cute. Grunts: When he knows that he can't reach something or open it, he will go to the counter and stiffen his whole body, arches his back, stands on his tip toes and grunts until you get what he wants. I have no idea where he gets it but it cracks me up. Peek-a-boo: He loves to play peek-a-boo with us or Presley, I tried to get a video of it but of course he stopped before I could. Toothbrush: Every night while I brush my teeth, he sits by the sink and brushes his own teeth, getting water on his own and everything. Crib: Carson has been able to climb out of his crib for a while now which drives me crazy. So we were putting him in the guest room but we have had so many visitors that I made a bed for him at the end of my bed and he loves it. He will lay down and put himself to bed/nap all the time. Showers: We are no longer able to take showers without him. The second we even open the door to the shower, he comes runny and starts to take his clothes off. The only thing he can't take off himself is his shirts so one day when I was in a hurry, I wouldn't take it off for him so after screaming for a minute, he decided he didn't need it off and just got in wearing it while I was washing my face and had my eyes closed. Being Mean: Carson has had his mean moments just like any other kid his age, but for some reason he has a lot of resentment to Britney, my niece that moved in with us in Nov. When she first moved in, he loved her but not so much any more and I have no idea why. He will shut the door on her face, try to stop her from coming up the stairs, stare her down, try to pinch her, and just be mean to her. But then he loves going places with her, hanging out in her room, and playing with her rollers for hours. I hope he gets over this soon because I feel so bad that he is so mean to her. Words he says regularly: toothbrush, brush, book, shirt, socks, shoes, Presley and Diego (these are the only names he will say) cow, duck, cat, dog, bear, toddles and cheers (from Mickey Mouse Club), juice, milk, no, no, no, stuck, dark, here you go, what's that, Jesus, thank you, please, 1-2-3, stinky, gawky/yawky, fish, hello, apple, bubbles, go. Carson loved to help me craft while I was doing it before my show, but one night he was playing on the floor by my chair and he stubbled and hit his eye on the leg of the chair and it gave him this nice shiner. But I love this picture of him. We went up to St. George for Thanksgiving but a couple of days before we left, Carson and Chyler were walking down the stairs and Carson fell and hit his chin on the bottom wood of the stairs. He could hardly eat or drink from his sippy cup for days. It was one of his worst falls because he cried forever which he usually doesn't do. But he didn't get much sleep while we were there, he kept waking up at like 5 in the morning. So he passed out on Thanksgiving night watching TV in Trina's room. Here is a close-up of his horrible bruise. I wanted to take family pictures while we were up there but this threw that idea out the window. One day while we were out and about, we stopped at In-n-Out for lunch and Carson was playing with the boy on the other side of the glass for a while. Begin to notice Carson's hair growing out and how crazy it is. Britney left her make-up out when she went to church and Carson had a little fun. Carson got an early Christmas present from a family in our ward. They were getting rid of this and I jumped to take it off their hands. We had to buy a new battery for it but we were thrilled to get it. He loves it, especially now that he knows how to work it. Once again with the crazy hair. Jodi just brought over my baby bath and of course Carson thought it was just his size like he is with the bouncy and the walker.

He always gets in the walker since I brought it out for Presley. He is so tall, he will stand up and carry it.

One night, Brit and I were in the kitchen and all of the sudden, Carson grabs the salsa from the pantry and makes a mad dash with it. I have no idea why but it was so funny and I was lucky enough to have my camera ready. Notice how my house was still a crazy mess from the boutique.

Sad Day in Las Vegas

I don't normally post about me but today has been a really sad day. To give you some background, I am almost eight months pregnant and always uncomfortable, Chyler's truck died a few months ago so now he takes my car all day every day, and earlier this week, Carson dropped Chyler's phone in the bath so Chyler now has my phone. In Carson's defense, it is so cute that he always has to make sure that each of us has our phone at all times so if he sees it without us, he immediately drops what he is doing to take it to us. So he didn't realize that daddy couldn't have his phone in the tub. Regardless, I have been really emotional the last couple of days but today my camera was arriving so I had something fantastic to look forward to. For the last month and a half, Chyler and I have been looking online and going to stores testing out all the cameras and reading all the reviews because I need a new camera for Christmas. My camera is four years old and almost every picture I take now is blurry and when I try to switch between features, it becomes possessed and just starts going through all the options for several seconds and not very often does it get to what it is supposed to be on. So I finally made a decision and ordered my camera last Saturday on Amazon at a GREAT price and it was supposed to arrive before Christmas. Then I logged on to check the status and it said it would be here between Christmas and New Years. So I called and they change the shipping for free so it would be here on time. So today was the day and I heard the knock on the door and went running. I opened the box right away and was so excited and put in the battery and set the date and time then I realized that the lens was broken and wouldn't open. I wanted to cry. I hurried and called Amazon to see if they could send me another one but they are all sold out and said there is nothing they could do. Then I went on to Amazon and saw that there was one, just in a different color so I called back but they still couldn't help me because in their computer it is a different product because it is a different color. SO LAME!!! So I had to buy another camera and pay for two day shipping to my parents house (where we will be for Christmas) and send back the broken one and wait for at least two weeks for them to credit back my account. They did give me a $15 credit to cover the shipping costs but I don't get to have my pretty pink camera. So sad.