Carson- 8 months

Photos by Jen Neal

 Happy, Busy, and Loud

Carson is still the happiest baby I have ever met. 

He bounces with joy and is so much fun to be around.

Carson is very, very busy!

He crawls everywhere very quickly!

He is able to pull to a stand and cruise along couches and chairs! 

I have seen him let go of the couch and stand independently for 10 seconds a few times.

I anticipate he will be taking steps by his 9 month update. 

Carson is noisy! 

He doesn't babble a ton but he loves to shriek. 

He plays a game with Erik and Lainey.  

He shrieks at them trying to get their attention, 

when they shriek back at him he giggles and laughs.

Annoying and cute at the same time. 

Carson loves banging his hands on the counter, hitting pots and pans with spoons, 

pulling all of the magnets off of the fridge and banging them on the floor.

Carson is still passionate about nursing.

I nurse on demand, probably every 3 hours or so. 

He is eating solids a little better and is up to 19.5 pounds.  

 So far he has been offered.....

sweet potatoes

butternut squash

 black beans

kidney beans

Avocado

applesauce

brown rice

bananas

pear

One hunk of french bread (he was excited about this)

One frozen bagel (equally excited!)

 

 Carson is still wheezing although this has improved

significantly after starting him on budesonide nebulizers 2x a day.

He will likely be on these the entire winter as he has been wheezing since September.

He hates the nebulizer but will tolerate it if we let him watch a movie during it. (Awesome!)

Carson is still on Prevacid, 15 mg a day.  

He is still spitting up some but it doesn't bother him.

Carson is still getting up 1x a night most of the time.

He did sleep through the night 4-5x this month, he also got up more than 2x a night 4-5x this month.

Generally speaking I am only willing to nurse him once a night.

If he continues to increase his solid intake I will cut out the night feedings completely.

This month Carson struggled with bronchiolitis, went to Philadelphia to hang with his cousins,

and spent lots of time being drug from activity to activity for his siblings.  

Carson is such a joy!

I am so thankful for him!

Notable Quotes

Erik:

We went on a hike today through a local sculpture garden.  Erik was doing a "dance" so I asked him if he needed to go to the bathroom.  He responded, " Mom, stop bothering me!  I don't need to go to the bathroom this is just part of my walking process."  Okay, honey.

Lainey:

When getting her ready for bed the other day she told me, "I don't want these PJ's I want to wear my sassy pants."  Ha!

When I was Old/Twinkle Twinkle

"When I was old...."  is the way Erik starts almost all of his pretend stories.  They can be about anything... being a farmer, being a parent, shoveling snow, digging for dinosaurs, etc.  He tells me at least 2-3 "When I was old" stories daily and has been for 3-4 months now.  At times I remind him that he hasn't ever really been old but most of the time I just savor his creativity and the fun stories.

One of his buddies James is 6 and not quite as amused by Erik's imagination.  One afternoon James came over to verify with me that Erik hadn't ever been old before.  That night, he told his mom he wasn't sure he could be friends with Erik anymore because he wasn't a fan of "When I was old" stories! Ha!!  The next morning they were out digging for fossils under James' deck though.

It is interesting to see the developmental differences between a 4 and 6 year old surface from time to time.  They are both quite interested in rocks, diggers, guns (it's innate I swear), dirt and most recently Tae Kwon do so those common interests seem to win out these days.  James is a great neighbor and friend so hopefully Erik was give up the "When I was old..." stories before he really irritates his bigger buddies!



Little Lainey LOVES music!  She always has and I love it!  She sings herself to sleep most of the time.  She is very opinionated about what music I play in the van.  She also sings throughout the day.  Her two favorite songs to sing are the ABC song and Twinkle Twinkle.  Her favorite song to listen to is the "Monkey Song."  I don't know the actual name of this song but it is number #1 on the CD we got from Cullen's 2nd birthday party.  She insists we put the CD on repeat for first tract every nap and nighttime.  Lots and lots of the Monkey Song!

I have been trying to capture her singing for a month or so.  As you can see she has been a bit camera shy.  I finally was able to get her to sing through a song or two.  Of course, sibling rivalry had to kick in for that video. Oh well.  Enjoy!