Riding Buses

We (being the moms of 2 year olds interested in all forms of transportation) decided our three studges might enjoy a morning of riding the buses around town, so we headed out with the kids for some bus riding fun. The three kids were so excited waiting at the first bus stop and were shouting in glee as our bus approached. We rode that one and two other buses. At first they were a bit unsure, but by the end seemed to be bus riding pros! It was a fun morning and they all seemed to get a big kick out of it!

Not so sure at first...

The three studges on the bus.

The bus riding pros chill as they cruise around the town.

Carson Moves into his Big Boy Room!

On Saturday I finished working on the "construction" and painting of Carson's Big Boy Room (OK, well, truth be told, I still have some minor details to finish up like the center lines on the roads and the runway designation numbers - I am still trying to locate our compass so that I get it right - don't want any aircraft landing off the runway, which could very well happen if the numbers aren't correct!! :). Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Weston had helped to paint the blue and green of the walls for the airplane themed room and then I came in and built the bed frame, 3-D hill and bridge and did the painting of the airplanes, etc. It was a fun project and so fun to see Carson's reaction as each new detail was added. He was super excited about the room and could hardly wait to move in. It was a big day on Saturday as we moved his crib in there (he will move to his big boy bed a bit later once he has adjusted to the new room). He loves it and wants to run up there and play many times a day.

Carson applauds the completion of his new room.

Carson sends a construction vehicle racing down the hill toward the bridge.

Carson sits on his big boy bed surveying his new domain.

Carson's Second Birthday Party

We celebrated Carson's second birthday with a little party on February 7th. His best buddies Nicholas and Adeline and their families joined us for a morning party and Grandma & Grandad Betts, Aunt Erin & Uncle Matt, Aunt Brooke & Uncle Billy & Cousin Aiden came for a weekend of fun.

Following Carson's main interest, the party had an airplane theme with airplane sticker art and airplane and helicopter cakes that the kids decorated with sprinkles (also one of Carson's favorite things to do). The weather was so nice that we were able to play outside for a bit.

Playing outside with Adeline

Carson & cousin Aiden work at Carson's new workbench.

It's Hard to Believe He is 2!

On Carson's birthday, January 30th, B.J. and I could not believe that it had been a full two years since he was born. He has grown and changed in so many wonderful ways and is such a fantastic little guy with lots of his own ideas and plans! In so many ways the two years flew by and yet, watching him it is hard to believe that he has accomplished so much in such a short time. What fun it is to watch him grow.

We started his birthday day with his favorite breakfast of waffles with whipped cream! Then Carson and I headed out to the airport observation area at the General Aviation ramp to watch planes on the tarmac, taxiways, and of course on the runway taking off and landing. (Some of Carson's favorite things are aircraft of all sorts and he would happily go to the airport everyday). His two friends Adeline and Nicholas and their moms joined us for the airplane watching fun and lunch in the neat little observation restaurant. Dinner was Carson's favorite fish sticks and of course desert - ice cream with colorful sprinkles! It was a fun day!

Carson and his buddy Nicholas watch the airplanes.

A special birthday "lap-sit" with Carson's friend Adeline and her mom.

It SNOWED!!

Upon waking up on Tuesday morning, we found ourselves surrounded outside by a beautiful white wonderland. About two inches of snow had fallen overnight and I couldn't wait for Carson to have his first real experience playing in the snow.

He was so excited to see the snow out the window when he first got up and just kept saying "Snow EVERYWHERE!" and listing off the things that were covered in snow. Shortly after breakfast we got all bundled up and headed outside to play a bit. As it was still snowing, Carson enjoyed looking up and seeing the snow falling and feeling it tickle his face. Then we got out the sled and rode down the hill next to our home. Carson absolutely loved "snow sliding." Here are the photos:

Snow EVERYWHERE!

"Snow sliding"

Carson Gets a BIG boy bed!

In an effort to prepare for child #2 on the way, we were hoping to get Carson into his "Big boy bed" in his new "Big boy room" sometime in February. When asked what he would like to have in his new room Carson immediately replied "Airplanes!" So we are working on the airplane theme. Uncle Weston & Aunt Stephanie painted the sky and mountains on the walls and now Mommy just has to finish up the detail work. We have the transition all mapped out and took the fist big step toward the new sleeping arrangements with the purchase of his new bed. Carson was very excited and had to try it out immediately. It passed the test and he thinks it is very cool. Now all we need are awesome sheets and for Mommy to finish the comforter she is making for it. Here are some photos of Carson enjoying his new bed:

Carson tests out his new big boy bed for comfort in sleeping...

and more importantly, in bouncing.

He decided it passed inspection in both categories!

Baby "W" is a GIRL!

On January 2nd we went to Duke Hospital for our "big" ultrasound. Being 18 weeks, 1 day we were told that we would most likely be able to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl! Our ultrasound technician did a very nice job of showing us our little one and let us know that she was certain the baby is a little girl! We are both so excited and looking forward to meeting her in late May or early June (Due date is June 4)! It is always so thrilling to see the baby and hear its little heart beating! As my parents were in town and we were celebrating my mother's birthday we asked them to join us for the ultrasound appointment so they were able to experience their first ultrasound (they did not have ultrasounds with me or any of my 3 siblings as it was not nearly as common back then!!) with us and get a sneak peak at little Baby W! Here is a sneak peak for you of our little angel!

2-D Profile - you can see her face and her little hand is resting on her tummy.

This is a 3-D ultrasound of her face with her arm tucked behind her head.

After the apointment we made a quick stop at Macy's to pick out our fist little girl outfits - girl clothes is so much fun!

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween this year with a party at B.J.'s office and Carson's first real trick-or-treating. Carson was a bee, Aubrey was a bee keeper (of course), and B.J. (in his subtle style) was a lefty (someone who writes with their left hand - he switched his watch to the other wrist for the day :) Carson enjoyed all the festivities, especially trick-or-treating with his friends Nicholas (aka Baby Einstein) and Adeline (aka Lady Bug).

Carson, the Honey Bee

The Bee Keeper and Her Little Honey Bee

Honey Bee meets the Queen Bee (aka Josie)
at B.J.'s office party

The Halloween Trio

Lady Bug & Honey Bee

Our New Front Yard!

After 2 1/4 years of thinking about what we wanted to do with our front yard and slowly cutting the forest back, we have finally gotten our front lawn seeded! Our crew of wonderful landscapers finished leveling and laying seed today. Thanks to Mom & Dad Whisler for buying us our much needed chain saw and to Mom & Dad Betts for bringing down another chain saw down and helping with the felling, bucking & hauling of tons of trees! Here are the before and after shots.

A view of the front of our house & front yard at our home insepction about a week before we closed and moved in and then this morning just after the landscapers left.

A look out into our front yard from the house on the same inspection day and then our front yard today (sort of small so you can see the whole thing). Yeah! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. We still have a lot to do in our bed areas (now that we have beds)!

Carson had a blast watching the men working with the backhoe and landscaping tractor. He even got to make the dump truck dump! Lots of fun!

Carson Goes to School!

Carson getting ready to go out the door for "school."

Carson shows off his cool jungle backpack.

Carson headed off to his first day of "school" today! He spent an hour in his new classroom with his 2 new teachers and 8 new friends. He had fun playing with all the cool toys - trucks, cars, strollers, neat chairs in the reading area, and lots of music, dancing, and musical instruments. They also had his favorite snack - nilla wafers and goldfish! What fun it will be to go to school one day each week while Mommy gets some time to get a few errands done!

Out and About

As the weather warms up in NC and everything blossoms and turns green, Carson and I are having a wonderful time getting out and about. We enjoy going to the parks, museums, and on walks on the bike paths and hikes in the Eno River State Park and Duke Forest, both near our home. Often we have the great pleasure of doing these activities with our friends. Here is a photo of Carson and his good buddy Alex on an afternoon walk while sipping their "shlaw" (translation from "Carsoneese" = water) in our new double kiddo burley bike trailer/stroller. What fun!

On another note, Carson has just begun to let go of things and walk unassisted over the last couple of days. He shows obvious pride and excitement over his new found ability. He is still a bit wobbly, but getting more and more steady and confident by the day. I will post some photos when I get some. As of now, all I have is video and it seems I am not an accomplished enough blogger to have figured out how to upload that yet.

Baby Steps

Yesterday afternoon, back inside after a long romp outside holding on to Mama and Dada's hands, Carson decided it was high time to take his first three independent steps! He walked from Mama to Dada several times taking a few steps on his own each time. He could not seem to make the return trip from Dada to Mama and would just lean forward never taking any steps until Mama caught him. So, Carson is baby stepping into walking! He is on his way!

No walking photos yet, but hopefully some will be forthcoming as Carson gets better at doing the walking part on his own.

Fish

Yummmy! After smearing a healthy lunch all over himself Carson bemoans the fact that he only gets 10 goldfish crackers on his tray. He has gotten really good at saying "more, Mama" now that he is all well and has a BIG appitite. He crawled into the kitchen yesterday and said "More nanana Mama" (that is Banana in the middle there). In the mornings he likes to go in and see Daddy as he is getting ready for work. The shower is especially facinating. When B.J. has already finished his shower, Carson disappointedly points at the shower while looking at B.J. and saying "shwer." This morning B.J. said, "I'm all done in the shower" and Carson looked at him and then at the shower and said, "Dada shwer done!" and that was the end of it (for today).

A Box is a House for Me!

While visiting a friend earlier this week we noticed one of thier neighbors recieving a new refrigerator. The delivery man was just about to throw the empty box back into the truck when we asked if we could have it to make a box fort. I think he thought we were a bit crazy, but said "sure, cool idea." We folded it up and put it in the car and brought it home. After some minor construction efforts we got the box all homey with windows a front and back door and even a front porch! Carson is loving his new playhouse (so are Sassy & Vera).

Day At the Museum with Grandma!

Carson and I had a wonderful time with Grandma yesterday exploring one of our favorite Durham play-spots! Carson showed Grandma the farmyard animals. Then we walked down to the butterfly house and saw thousands of beautiful butterflys from around the world. Carson liked the black ones with red spots on thier wings. One almost landed on us! Finally we walked to see the tiny sailboats on the fountain. It was a wonderful day in our beautiful 70 degree NC spring weather! Wow!

Carson says "hello" to the goats in the Museum farmyard.

Carson looks at the beautiful butterflys in the butterfly house.

Grandma and Carson watch the sailboats.

Grandma helps Carson with his walking practice as they stroll around the fountain.

A Wonderful Easter

My father posted the photographs from our Easter at thier home in Virgina and Carson and I sat here looking at each of them and reliving the fun and special moments of our weekend. Here are a few photos I wanted to share:

Brooke, Bill, and Aiden, B.J. and I and Carson with Grandad in Grandma and Grandad's backyard.

Carson enjoys his new "popper" on Easter afternoon.

Carson eats Easter lunch.

Carson was great at "driving".

We hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

The Serendipitous Sandbox

Last week while visiting his friend Nicholas, Carson learned that playing in the sand in Nicholas' sandbox was tons of fun. As the weekend approached I kept thinking that I should try to set up a temporary sandbox at our house for Carson (Grandad is planning to build a big one for Carson, but that will be a bit longer in the making). So, I started looking on craigs list for used sandboxes and also considered spending some Toys R Us gift card money on a sandbox purchase.

On Saturday afternoon B.J., Carson and I headed out for a walk around the neighborhood. At one of the first houses we pass, the family was out in the driveway and they all waved to us and shouted "Do you have a sandbox?" Surprised, B.J. and I looked at each other and laughed and replied, "no, but we were just discussing getting one this morning!" The family had a 9 year old son who was pleased that Carson would enjoy his sandbox. They cleaned the old sand out and we loaded it into our car and brought it home. All set up on the back deck the ship sandbox is great! Now we are working on learning that sand is not so delicious to eat!