Family Vacation 2012 Part I- Bartow

Even though I have not lived in Bartow for the last 15 years,  returning to visit still feels like going home. In the past I have always been able to make the trip fairly regularly, but  this last year, due to pregnancy and then Carson's arrival, I have barely been there at all. This makes me a little sad. I love to go home.

We spent the first weekend of our vacation just hanging out in Bartow. Resting a little. Enjoying having extra hands and help with the boys. The drive down was pretty good. Carver is, in general, a great traveler. Carson really despises the car, but did surprisingly well for this first long road trip. We got in late Thursday night after driving for about 10 hours with only a brief dinner stop at Cracker Barrel where Carver found a new fun game to play. Too bad his little 2 year old mind just could not understand why the new toy couldn't come home with him.

On Friday we headed to Lakeland to feed the ducks-- a first for Carver. He LOVED it. I, however, was a nervous wreck. The ducks/geese/swans/storks etc. just swarmed us-- some bolder than others. Carver liked to throw down a large chunk of bread then grab it back up to tear it into smaller pieces. I was terrified he was going to get attacked. He also liked to run to the water's edge to throw bread into the birds that stayed in the water. Fine in theory, but he came very close to tumbling in on several occasions. This led to his 4th episode of nursemaid's elbow (thanks to me trying to keep him out of the gross lake water). I immediately reduced it myself (insert pat on my back here) and we went on our way.

Friday night was date night. Yay! So thankful for grandparents (both sets) that are willing to keep the boys so Daniel and I can have some time to spend just the two of us. This night was particularly special because we were celebrating Daniel's birthday at one of our favorite restaurant's, Harry's in downtown Lakeland.

I think Mama and Daddy had a pretty good time with the boys, too :)

This was actually Dad's first time meeting Carson. I think Carson liked him :)

On Saturday we headed to the park in Lakeland and then back to feed the ducks one more time.

Saturday afternoon the guys (Daddy and Daniel) headed to Gator's Dockside restaurant for wings and a little Gator football. I think Daniel was super excited to have someone to watch the game with! Mom, the boys, and I headed to Red Lobster-- Carver was great thanks to my entertaining phone :)

We got home in time to hang out for a bit before the little boys went to bed.

Sunday morning we headed to Orlando to get checked in at Ft. Wilderness. After a short delay for a new tire on the camper, we were on our way!

Carver wandering around in the school parking lot where we stopped to change the tire.

Carver "helping."

We watched from the back of the truck :)

Carver with a hammer-- scary.

"No, don't hit the truck. No, don't hit the camper. Here, hit this tree..."

Sweet baby always smiles. My heart is full. Even when sitting on the side of the road changing a tire. Well, watching Daniel change a tire.

Stay tuned for Part II-- Fort Wilderness!

Carson-- 5 Months

It is amazing how quickly Carson has become so much more like a baby than a newborn or infant. He changes weekly, and every single day I fall more and more in love with this boy. He absolutely melts my heart.

Stats:
Weight: 17.5 lbs
Height: Not Sure

New and noteworthy stuff...

1) Carson is an extraordinarily happy baby. He is happy all the time. Unless he is hungry or riding in the car. He has an enormous smile and an adorable chuckle. He loves to be held and to cuddle.

2) He has recently "found" his feet. He holds them and pulls socks off and in general, finds them fascinating.

3) He's (fairly) mobile! Not crawling yet, but he can roll and roll and roll and propel himself across the floor. I think he'll be crawling before too long. He also LOVES to climb up whoever is holding him. It's a little scary how active he already is. This has also made him a little more difficult than he was a few weeks ago. He wiggles and squirms and has trouble sitting still.

4) He still refuses to take bottles, though he did take one for my dad while we were in Bartow-- Dad must know a secret that I don't know. We've recently tried a new kind of bottle and still no luck. This is really, really, frustrating.

5) Sleeping-- still in our room, for naps and bedtime. He wakes up between 1-4 times a night. Very unpredictable. He is easy to put to bed (unlike  his older brother at this age), but I just never know what to expect on any given night. He goes to bed around 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. and usually is up by 6:00 or so, though I think he would sleep later if Carver didn't come and wake us up then :) I'm hoping to start putting him down for naps in his room sometime very soon.

6) He is starting to really like his toys. He gravitates towards them when he is on his play mat. He LOVES Sophie the giraffe. He reaches for things I am holding (cup, cell phone, etc), and he even steals pacifiers out of Carver's mouth when he can reach them. It is nice to be able to distract him a little by offering him various toys when he is fussy or squirmy. But he also gets really frustrated if something is out of his reach :)

7) EVERYTHING goes directly to his mouth these days. Possibly teething based on the copious amounts of drool that is always soaking his shirts and running down my arm, neck, etc.

Carson is such a sweet boy. He loves to smile and he watches us constantly when we are in the room. He finds Carver completely fascinating and he is the absolute perfect addition to our family. Watching him learn and grow and develop and seeing him in all of his perfect innocence gives me hope for the future. And an excitement for all that life has to bring for us in the coming months and years. I can't wait to see a relationship develop between Carver and Carson, and I can't wait to see who this little boy will become.

Crafty Stuff

I am hanging my head in shame over the lack of projects/crafts/activities I have done with Carver over the last 5 months. We have done a few sad little painting or coloring activities but that is about it. I finally, finally, feel like I have a little bit of control back over our existence. At least enough to adequately plan and execute a few activities with my precious big boy.

1) Painting with condensed milk-- when it dries it is nice and shiny.

2) Dinosaur Sensory Bin-- I personally loved this one. I bought a clear bin and filled it with brown aquarium gravel. Then I placed a couple of aquarium plants in it, some "boulders' (styrofoam balls I painted brown), and some plastic dinosaurs. Voila! He seemed to enjoy it. I hope to find some better dinosaurs in the future (like not pink and purple), but these will do for now.

 3) Stamps and Stickers-- pretty self- explanatory. I used bottle caps and foam stickers to make stamps and then gave him stickers I found at the dollar store. (Can I just say that I LOVE the dollar store. For real. I've never really been to one before but I found a ton of stuff to use for these activities.

4) Snow Paint-- equal parts glue and shaving cream. The consistency is a little like marshmallow cream (gross), but when it dries on the paper it is a little puffy-- fun! Next time we might add food coloring and see what happens.

5) Painting (Regular)-- Sidenote: found this red silicone mini-muffin "pan" for $1 at walmart and it is PERFECT for holding paint colors.

7) Bean Table-- I bought probably close to a dozen bags of beans in various shapes, sizes and colors. We have done other activities with beans (they are super versatile). For this activity I just dumped all the beans into Carver's water table and gave him a few utensils to play with. He really enjoyed this one.

8) Gak!-- This is the single most successful activity I have done with Carver, ever. It is cheap and simple to make and Carver has spent hours, literally, playing with this stuff. He likes to roll it into balls, make hand prints and footprints, tear it into teeny pieces, cut it with cookie cutters and just pull on it. Seriously, if you have a kid you MUST make this. 

Ingredients.

Even pouring the glue was super fun!

9) Coloring with markers--very exciting and original.

No, none of these are my original ideas-- I'm not creative at all. But, I can follow directions! I've had a crazy fun time planning these activities. It gives Carver and I some good quality time together--usually when the little one is napping.

Seriously, make the Gak-- it won't disappoint :)

Need ideas? This is my favorite site: http://www.playcreateexplore.com/p/activites-for-ages-1-3.html