My Little Artist

Carson enjoys drawing smiley faces. Last night he was really in the drawing mood so I thought I'd share a few of pieces of his artwork with you.

This one is Carson.


This one is Mommy.


This one is Daddy! (Notice the awesome hair going on. =)


And Carson said this is his friend, Isaac.

Winter Activities

Carson has a new love - PUZZLES! For the last week, he has spent more than half the day putting puzzles together, tearing them apart, and putting them together...over and over again. I also enjoy puzzles so it's been fun helping him and watching him put them together. What a great thing to do on a cold winter day!

He got a few 25 piece puzzles for Christmas and to our amazement, he mastered those after just a few days. Since then, we've gotten him some 63 piece puzzles (for 5 year olds) and he can almost complete them all by himself! I think it's about time for a 1000 piece puzzle (just kidding)!!!

Most of his puzzles are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Winnie the Pooh but his all time favorite is Tinker Bell. In case you are wondering who would buy him a "girly" puzzle - he picked it out all by himself at the Dollar Store this week! :)

It's a Mickey Mouse Breakfast!

I made Carson some Mickey Mouse waffles for his birthday breakfast yesterday. He thought it was such a neat surprise! The birthday celebration is over but he still runs around the house singing happy birthday to himself.

It's official - we have a 3 year old in the house!





P.S. Thanks Aunt Melissa for letting us borrow your Mickey waffle maker!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Carson!!!

Tomorrow Carson turns 3! Where has the time gone? It's been such a fun 3 years and he just seems to get more and more fun each year.

Carson requested a Mickey Mouse cake for his birthday. It was such a fun theme to plan around. His party was last weekend and we were so glad that our good friends and neighbors could join us for the celebration. Enjoy the pics from the party.















HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARSON!!! You are such a blessing to us and we love you so much!
~ Mommy and Daddy

New Years in Indiana

What a fun time we had in Indiana as well! Carson was so excited to see his grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins!!! The day after we arrived in Indiana, we went to a Hiatt get-together at my grandma's house (Carson's great-grandma). We had a great time visiting with relatives that we hadn't seen for a long time. That same evening, we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family. It was a white, snowy day so Uncle Mike took Carson sledding for the first time! He loved it!!!









We also got to visit with our old neighbors The Herringtons and The Marshalls (who were in town from St. Louis). It was great reminiscing with them and watching the kiddos play with each other. Anson had to work that day so we made a trip to the fire station to see him. He gave us a personal tour of the fire station where Carson got to sit on a firetruck and Ryan got his vitals checked!









The following day we had an appointment at the Castleton 3D 4D Ultrasound center. We were determined to find out if #2 was a girl or boy! To our surprise IT IS A GIRL!!!! Ryan and I were overjoyed with the thought of having one of each and the moment was even more special because my mom and sister were there to witness it with us. Afterwards, we went to Red Robin to celebrate and to meet up with Jeff and Kelli who were in town from Arizona. It was great being able to meet up and catch up with them.

On New Year's Eve my parents were so kind to watch Carson overnight so Ryan and I could go to Indy to bring in the New Year with more of our friends. The morning after, I even got to have lunch with some of my beloved MOMS Club girls. =)

On our last night before heading back to New Jersey my sister and my brother's families joined us at Mom and Dad's house for an evening of pizza and games. It was such a great way to end an amazing trip back home. I just love seeing how excited Carson is to watch his grandpa run his model train set in the basement and how happy he is when he gets to play with Johnna and Tori. Makes me wish we didn't live so far away. We are already looking forward to the next trip! =)

Christmas in Chicago

We were so blessed to be able to spend 2 full weeks with family this holiday season. The first week was spent in Chicago with Ryan's brother. Carson was so excited to see his cousin, Ethan. You could see the excitement in his eyes every morning as he'd wake up, and run into Ethan's room yelling, "ETHAN!!!!"

Some of the highlights of the week were: celebrating Ryan's birthday at The Melting Pot (thanks Alan and Melissa for the gift card and for watching Carson that evening!!!), Children's Museum, playing games at Chuck E Cheese, celebrating Christmas at Alan and Melissa's and then meeting Justin and Catherine downtown for dim sum, bowling, two visits to Buffalo Wild Wings, and also lunch at the new Choo Choo Johnny's. The boys loved this restaurant because there are model trains set up all over and they also deliver your food by train. We also had a great time visiting with Ryan's cousin.

Here are some pictures of the week:


















Alan was kind enough to let us get some family pictures taken in his basement studio. Thanks Alan!!! =)