Pull Ups!

Lainey is so strong!

I watched her do 5 full pull ups at the playground yesterday.

She showed off some of her tricks for me on this video.

Firsts!

Erik had his first soccer "game" today.  

We are soccer parents now, I guess.

This boy has been wearing his shin guards and cleats for a month now.

Thankfully, soccer lived up to everything he had been dreaming about.

He said it was better than tae kwon do, gymnastics, cake, and movies.

If you know how much my kid loves movies this is quite a compliment.

Getting him to disrobe from his soccer gear is very, very difficult.

Such a cute boy!

Carson had his first ever cookie today.

I think he liked it as much as Erik liked soccer.

Don't get used to it buddy, the cookies were only in the house 

because I needed oreos for the strawberry cream pie I made for 

book club tonight.

Another first for Carson is talking!

He now clearly says, "All done!" in addition to uh oh and dada.

At lunch Lainey was feeding him applesauce.

When he had had enough he shook his head no, said "all done" and batted the spoon away from his mouth.  He is quite proud of himself.

A few minutes later he was walking around saying, "all done" and then looking at me

 to see if I would clap for him as I have done in the past.

Ha!

Tae Kwon Do

I took video of Erik sparring this morning.  He is the kid in the back.  He thinks it's the best thing ever!  So cute!

Cousin Line Up

The Baker cousins have been lining up from oldest to youngest for quite some time.  About 20 years ago someone decided that it would be fun to switch the line up from tallest to shortest.  I think this may work to my advantage as I no longer want everyone to know that I am the oldest! Haha!   That being said when lining up the original 13 cousins,  I would be at the bottom of the line up instead of the top,with the exception of Brandon and Aliza (11 years old), which I don't really like either.

Thankfully, there are a few short spouses around now, keeping me in the middle! :)  This line up is a little "off" as the women were allowed to keep their heels on.  This demoted Victor almost to the bottom.  Poor guy!

To get an idea of the height in the Baker family the first girl in the line up is Melanie.  She is 6'1" without heels on, so she is probably 6'3" in this photo.  Lots and lots of people taller than her still!!

Welcome to the line up Feifei!!

(Missing from the photo: Carley, Aliza, Terri, and Brandon!)

Daron's Wedding Photos!

Rehearsal

Carson was fired from potential ring bearer duties!

So Handsome!

I can't tell who looks more enthused in this photo! :)

Erik and Lainey shared a bed.  They did great, for the most part.

We visited the Space Center.  Erik slept with the rockets in his hand one night.

Waiting.  Everything went really well but as part of the wedding ensemble (Erik and Lainey) there was some waiting involved.  I really feel like the super grumpy hair dresser made me look like a poodle.  Oh well.

Getting ready for the big event.

Still not super pleased with my hair/facial expressions but we are all decked out and looking at
 the camera so it's a keeper!

Carson did not make it through the ceremony.
Poor Victor was out in the hall for about 1/2 of it.

Here we go!  They did great!

Lainey still had flowers in her basket when she got to the end.
She dumped them out one by one at our seats and announced when they were all gone.
She is so sweet!

Here comes the beautiful bride!

Groomsmen - Ted, Kevin, Colin, Chris, Nathan

Listening to the ceremony intently.

Anne, my helper with Lainey during the reception.

Julie, my helper with Carson!

Cutting the cake!

This little girl loves chocolate!

Uncle Kevin and Colin entertained Erik during the reception.

Poor Lainey crashed around 10:30.  She slept through to the next morning even when we put her in
the car and later changed her into pi's.  Sweet baby!

I didn't get any pictures of my kids with GG or great grandpa which is disappointing!! I also don't really have any photos of us with Daron or Feifei!  Weddings are busy events, not the greatest for collecting photos I guess.

The wedding was very nice.  Everything went really well and everyone seemed to have a good time.  We had nice cousin/brother helpers at the reception so Victor and I were able to dance quite a bit.  Dancing in heels is tricky!  We may have made the wedding video. :)

Traveling with 3 small kids is very exhausting but overall the kids had fun and behaved really well.  They have been sleeping in until almost 8 every morning and going to bed at normal times though so clearly they were tired too!

We're Back

We spent the last 5 days at my brother's wedding in Houston.  I have lots of photos to post but little energy so I will just leave you with this....

Chen Family Food Philosophy

You probably know we just completed a 14 week food challenge.  It was a great process.  Although I have always been fairly food conscious/healthy it was still very eye opening.  While there are hungry people in America, there is no shortage of "food".  I put "food" in quotes because I am not sure all of the crap we cram down our throats can really count as food.

Anyway, I want to continue to incorporate a lot of the food challenge rules in a way that it will be practical to maintain forever.  Here is what I would consider to be our family eating motto....

1) 2 servings of fruit/vegetables at every meal

2) Eliminate artificial sweeteners and food dyes 

                  -  I plan to never buy food with these ingredients although I won't go crazy if 

my kids get them at school or parties occasionally.  I think for holidays where they are showered with candy I will let them eat 2 or 3 and toss the rest. Mean mom, I know.

3) 100% Whole Grain bread, rice, pasta, tortillas, etc.

4) Buy organic when reasonable and affordable

5) Buy local meat, produce, eggs, and honey

6) Limit fried food 

                   - I like having chips occasionally which are fried, otherwise I could cut fried food out completely

7) Limit added salt

8) Limit store bought food to 5 ingredients or less

9) Limit sugar to dessert (1-2 servings a week)

                  - I am still in SHOCK at how much sugar an average American consumes.  Gross!  I was pleased at how easy it was to cut out/limit. Try cutting all sugar/sweeteners out for a week - easier than you might think.

I think eating healthy is SO important.  I can't imagine that Americans will be able to maintain superiority over other nations in regards to innovation, economics if 30% of our nation is obese.  If we, as a nation, do not  take a vested interest in our own health I am certain 50+% of us will be obese in the near future.  

Of course, the food challenge isn't really about weight or body image (I weigh the same now as I did 14 weeks ago).  It's about health.  We certainly can not control our future completely or prevent every health crisis (oh how I wish we could - thinking about you Daron) but I plan to give myself and my kids the best chance possible at living a long, healthy, productive life.  Eating healthy is just one part of living a well balanced fulfilling life.

If you haven't examined your own eating habits I challenge you to do so!  It is really a rewarding process.

So cute!

 Carson's one year photos are this morning.

I am in love with his shoes!

Carson - 12 months

Carson is such a sweet baby!  

Here is what he is up to at 12 months...

Eating:

Carson is a good eater.  He is really just starting to eat meals, rather than small "snacks" but he will eat a variety of foods.  He does choke pretty easily so everything is very diced up quite small still.  If I had to pick a favorite food for him I would say it is cheese.

Carson is still nursing about 6 times in a 24 hour period.  I won't make any attempt to wean him until we get back from Daron's wedding.  Even then I plan to let him wean slowly over the next few months.

Sleeping:


Carson sleeps well.  He goes to bed between 7:00 and 7:30 and gets up between 6:00 and 7:00.  I do still nurse him once before I go to bed (10:30ish).  This will be the first feeding to be dropped.  It actually makes my sleep better though because on the nights he doesn't wake up for that feeding he gets up frantic for food by 5:30 or 5:45.

Carson takes 2 naps a day.  He usually goes down for the first nap 2 hours after he gets up.  Some days it is in the stroller or car seat.  His afternoon nap is usually from approx 1-2 pm.

My beautiful boy!

Development:

Carson started babbling this month.  Phew!!  He jabbers quite a bit and uses the consonants da and ba all day long.  Occasionally I hear mama but this is infrequent.  Hmph!!  He mimics us by saying, "Uh!" when he drops something but other wise doesn't have any real words yet.  They will come.  He figured out how to shake his head NO which is funny.

Carson has mild separation anxiety and cries briefly when I leave him at the gym or church daycare.  He also cries at times when Victor or I leave the house.

Carson walks everywhere.  He can crawl up and down the stairs independently.  He loves to throw balls and play chase.  He loves to be outside.

Carson loves to dance to music and clap his hands.  I hear him clapping over the baby monitor when he gets up from this nap.  Haha!

Carson puts everything in his mouth!!  Way worse than any of my other kids.  I am constantly digging sticks and rocks out of his mouth when we are outside.

Erik was being silly.

Carson thought he was sooo funny!

Personality:


If I had to pick 3 words to describe Carson they would be....  laid back, happy, and sweet.  He has been such an easy baby.  I think I am still kind of shocked at how much easier he was than the other two.

That being said, the toddler 'tude has started to appear.  He is very determined to get what he wants (95% of the time he is laid back though) and will fight for it.

If you do something that makes him mad he arches his back and flops himself on the ground.  This makes me laugh (so far).  It's so funny to see your sweet tiny baby turn into a person with thoughts and emotions.

Carson is really playful.  He loves both Lainey and Erik.  He relates differently to each of them though.

Lainey is so sweet to him most of the time.  If he is sad she automatically goes and gets her most prized blanket and gives it to him.  She's been doing this since the first moment we brought him home from the hospital.  He LOVES her blanket too and snuggles his face into it whenever he sees it.

Carson also fights with Lainey more than he does with Erik.  I think it is because they are interested in some of the same toys.  It is not uncommon to hear loud shrieking from both of them throughout the day.  Lainey at times, pushes him over in frustration, which doesn't seem to upset him, but does earn her an automatic time out.  Lainey loves to play peek-a-boo in the car with Carson (her seat is directly behind his and he is facing backwards).  He mimics her "ambulance" sound which is quite cute.

Erik is more of a general helper with Carson.  He will entertain him if I need him too, runs and get diapers or other things if I ask, etc.  If I need to run upstairs for a minute I feel fairly comfortable leaving Carson downstairs with Erik watching out for him.  Erik likes to give Carson hugs and kisses.  Carson, like his sister, does not seem to enjoy this.    (Erik is my snuggler for sure!)

Carson just makes me smile.  

I am so thankful for our sweet boy!

Present opening!

What is that??

I can do this!

This baby loves balls.  

I'm so happy mom!

We let Lainey and Erik each pick out a present for Carson's birthday.   That was all he got from us.  They were excited about it, so was he!  He did get the cardboard fort, a family member ship to the Baltimore children's museum, and some college fund money from his team of grandparents though so don't feel too bad for the boy!!  (Thanks to the grandparents!)