A pleasant surprise

So I had always planned on being a little bigger with each child and that's just the way it is. I meant to exercise as soon as I could after Carson was born and did for about a month or so but it didn't stick. I've never been very dedicated in that field. For the first 5 months or so I fluctuated up 5 pounds, down 5 pounds but nothing major. 8 months after birth....

I weigh less than when I got pregnant. WHAT??? How does that even happen. Oh and I have finally put on all my old pants...every last one. Even the "I'm going to fit in these some day" jeans, ya know your skinny jeans; the ones from sophmore year of high school. And every single pair fits. Well that's a lie. My most recent jeans (pre-pregnancy) are too big. My husband reminds me every time I put them on.

A pleasant surprise indeed

must be that nursing thing

Eight Months

Happy 8 months Carson

It has been a big month for our little boy. He has reached some huge milestones and learned a ton of new tricks. I hope I can list them all.

• he loves to eat Honeycomb, toast, & crackers
• he loves to chew on carrots, cucumber, toothbrushes, etc
• went through enormous pain to get 3 new teeth in. Now has 5 total-- 3 top and 2 bottom
• figured out how to sit up after being on his tummy
• moves all around the floor
• plunged into crawling. ya know, the face plants and such. BUT...he can go hand, knee, hand, knee before collapsing!!

go carson GO!

• overcame one of the worst diaper rashes I have ever seen. It burned off a layer of skin and kept him awake and crying almost 48 hours! Still have no idea what caused it
• learned to wave
• figured out how to move through the entire house in his walker
• lost some weight--he went down 2 pounds from his 6 month check up. is around 20 lbs
  
• can give out high-fives
• loves to go to the park and go down the slides and swing on the swings




• learned how much fun sniffing is. he scrunches his nose and does it til we laugh
• is a mama's boy. if he's feeling needy, we have to pry his arms off. still is ok with strangers though, he just prefers mom.
• last night he slept through the night for the FIRST time ever! from 8:30pm to 8:00am. it's amazing what a full tummy, no diaper rash and no teething can do!
• is finding his inner nerd. he doesn't want to just look like his daddy, he wants to act like him too!

How I love this boy. I can't imagine not being with him every day.

Virtue

To all past or present Young Women:

My dear sister-in-law Mindy suggested that we heed the call to complete the added value to the YW program, virtue. This 8th value was added almost a year ago and I think it's time for me to get it started. I love that Mindy reminded me of this. I welcome each of you to join in and finish this added value with me. It doesn't have to take a lot of your time. Little by little is all it will require.
Mindy included this quote in her "call" to us and I would like to also;

"I truly believe that one virtuous young woman or young man, led by the Spirit, can change the world, but in order to do so, we must return to virtue. We must engage in strict training. As the marathon runner, Juma Ikangaa said after winning the New York Marathon, "The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare." Now is the time to prepare by exercising more self-disipline. Now is the time to prepare to become "more fit for the kingdom." Now is the time to set our course and focus on the finish. A return to virtue must begin individually in our hearts and in our homes."
--Elaine S. Dalton, YW General President.

If any of you haven't completed your Young Womanhood Regcognition, it's never too late. You can start now. Good luck, and I'll try and continue to throw out updates as I go along and encourage you to also!


Complete Virtue Requirements
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12426f5e8f9c09e9&mt=application%2Fpdf&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F%3Fui%3D2%26ik%3D844e8b4374%26view%3Datt%26th%3D12426f5e8f9c09e9%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26realattid%3Df_g0fszftu0%26zw&sig=AHBy-hZNVUfMR2cQHOZvdUIrdCJEvj9aAA&pli=1

Pajama Fun

Lately it seems that all my pictures are of Carson in the morning, pajamas still on, hanging out on the bed! We've been busy taking trips to the park, going swimming, and this weekend, watching General Conference!

I love General Conference. It's a little more difficult to watch having Carson around. It hit me that in the next 20 years it might be a little hard to watch all 4 sessions. I'm grateful for a DVR so that I can pause and watch later. I'm grateful for the cable that brings it right to my home. I'm grateful for the Ensign months where conference is printed and I can read what I might have missed or forgotten. I think some of my most memorable testimony building moments have come from General Conference.

As a child I loved the fact that we were able to stay home from church, watch in our living room--usually in pajamas, and be with the family all day. Now I find that I still love all of those aspects that I loved as a child but I cherish more the words and teaching that I can recieve. There were some great talks at the 179th Semi-Annual conference. I loved the message from Elder Bednar on displaying love to our family members and what it can bring. Elder Hollands talk was powerful on the Book of Mormon and the testimony he bore of it. I enjoyed the message of the Holy Ghost from many speakers and felt edified after President Uctdorf spoke of God's Love. What a privilage we have to hear from our church leaders.

How could you not love this face

This little turkey woke up 3 times last night and the night before was up for 2 1/2 hours just crying!

Ah....not a great sleeper but if he had that down he would be a PERFECT baby!

It's Snowing!!

We have our first snow of the season....CRAZY!

Killers Concert

For David's birthday, back in June, I bought him concert tickets to see The Killers last week. We went to a really beautiful outdoor amphitheater and it was SO cool to see all the city lights behind the stage. We had a great view of the mountain area...not so great view of the stage:) It was pretty cool though. I only know 3 or 4 songs but I like their music and David LOVED it. He said it was his favorite concert---yay, extra wife points!

It was crazy to leave Carson so long. We were gone for 6 hours! He wouldn't eat anything and was awake when we got home at midnight--stinker! Oh well, I guess I need to leave more often so he can get the hang of it.

Happy 7 Months Baby

I can't believe I am the Mother of a 7 month old. I have a little boy at home now; he's growing out of the baby stage too fast!

Carson has been learning so many new things. He is developing more of a desire to eat solid foods. Mostly he'll eat sweet potatoes and avocado. It's not very much though, usually about 10 bites and he's done.

We still love to play on mommy's bed in the morning. He is now getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. It will be any day now and he'll take off. I'm not sure if I'm ready yet. Right now I love that he can be plopped on the floor and play with toys surrounding him. He has mastered sitting up by himself and that creates a different view of things for him.

Bath time has become a favorite. Carson will spend forever in there if we let him. Whether it's solo bath or mom & dad shower; he loves it. The water is super interesting. Splashing, drinking it, sucking on rags/toys or mom's wet hair--all tons of fun.

7 Month Stats:

*around 22 lbs!

*2 bottom teeth (i have yet to get a pic)

*sleeps 12 hours total--7 hours first shift!

*naps 2 times in the day

*started saying na na na

*started learning to sign

* is a total monkey--uses his feet just as much as his hands

*growls at EVERYTHING. if he gets hurt he will growl first and then cry

* discovered this morning that he hates the sound of the harmonica (see below)

and such a mean mom to make him pose for a picture:(

Here Piggy piggy....

Note: This post is not for the faint-hearted

So as stated previously, I have a story from Spokane that required more detail and definitely a picture.

THE PIG

This year we had our first annual pig roast. David made the suggestion a few weeks before we left and the family took to the idea.
The all day event started the night before the 4th. David, his brothers Bryce and Nathan, and sister-in-law, Lindsey, dug a 3x4 foot pit in the dirt. It was confidently proclaimed big enough. The next morning, after building a wood fire in the pit and adding rocks to generate more heat, David went to pick up the pig from a local butcher. It was quite a bit bigger than anticipated. Wilber, as I like to call him, weighed in at 142 lbs. I wasn't too sure how I'd feel about seeing a dead pig, knowing I would be eating it later, but everyone else was going out to see him so I went too.
The first thing David did was stuff the pig with rock salt for seasoning. He was then put in a wire casing so he could be hauled out after cooking. At the pit, there was a nice ash/coal/rock pile. Wilber was wrapped with banana leaves (yes the big cool banana leaves) and put in the pit. Unfortunately, since he was a little bigger than we thought, his head didn't have a place to go so my father-in-law quickly carved out a spot for him that was only a foot deep. We added a few corn husks as well, all to help add moisture so that the meat would be tender. A burlap-type blanket was placed over the pig and then dirt was piled on top. The pressure cooker was ready. David said that it would take about 8 hours so we waited.
Many of our friends and family had been invited for the pig roast. When they arrived, some were curious to see the pit, so we took them down. Upon arrival, David (who had been checking on things throughout the day) wanted to see how things were progressing. He was worried. The temperature didn't seem hot enough. It was warm, yes, and definitely cooking but not at a rate fast enough for dinner. The unraveling began. Nope, not cooked enough yet. As more and more people came down to see the pig, the scenery began to change. Instead of seeing a mound of dirt, it went to a partially uncovered pit, to seeing another pit--bigger and deeper than before.
We ended up serving beef at our pig roast. Everyone enjoyed hamburgers instead. Isn't it great having family experiment with you! So understanding:)
After we had a bigger pit, more firewood, bigger rocks, and 16 hours of total cooking, pork was finally eaten. It was really good too. We are planning to perfect the art for our 2nd annual pig roast next July.

Called to Serve

Congrats to my little bro on his mission call!!!

He is going to Norway and reports to the MTC in December.

I couldn't be happier and I'm so proud of his decision to serve for 2 years.

I love you Garrett

Lovin' Summer--Boating

We have been doing lots of boating this summer. Some in Lake Coeur d' Alene and some in Utah Lake and Lake Mantua. Carson didn't really mind the life jacket thing and usually he fell asleep from the loud crazy obnoxious boat noise. (including blaring radio music) My boy is quite the trooper...a true FacerDaines indeed!

My dad...such a great man, grandpa, dad, boat driver, etc

The model sister (aka Andelyn) with C

This was Utah Lake with Kellie and Madison in towI was very excited this summer not to be pregnant---it meant a was able to do more than just ride in the boat. I love to tube and my new water sport is wake surfing. I didn't even wakeboard--crazy! Mom showing me how its done......(hanging loose) So you want me to let go? ok, sure; I got this. Maybe

Lovin' Summer

I'll probably be playing catch up for the next few posts. We have been having adventure after adventure all summer long. I'm not really sure where to start so I will just dive in and let the pictures do most of the talking.

Carson is getting HUGE! Today we had his 6 month check up and he's still in the 93th percentile for weight and 90th for height! He is growing so fast and has had lots of "firsts" this summer. I hope to remember them all

(June 29, 09)

It is tradition in David's family to give a pickle to a baby for their first food introduction. Yes, I followed along and gave carson a pickle before any other solid food. He probably didn't have fully developed taste buds because he didn't even pull a face! A few days after that we gave him rice cereal and he had much the same reaction then. He has since stopped eating it altogether. Carson actually refuses all the solids I've given him since the middle of July. No bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, applesauce, pears, or cereal for my baby. (Just mama's milk)

We spent the first part of July in Spokane, WA with David's family. It was so much fun. I have a few stories that need pictures to go along with but don't have them yet so I'll have a continuation there.

(July 4th, 09) We had a fun Independence Day. There was paintball games, swimming, a slip n' slide, food, and fun. Plus we finally go an updated family pic!

6 month stats:

* 20 lbs 7.5 oz

*27 3/4 in

* sleeps 5 hour blocks

* one tooth!! bottom left

*does not like solid food
* loves to roll over and scoot along the floor

(Aug. 6, 09)

We have one cool baby at our house --excuse the wetness, we had been playing with mom's water bottle

I love....

I love how you always make me smile

I love when you make me laugh without even trying

I love when you play with our son

I love that you are patient with me

I love your side smirk smile

I love your mad computer skills

I love when you hold my hand

I love your ambition

I love that you dream, and dream, and dream

I love that you work hard for our family

I love when you tell me I'm beautiful and I'm not even dressed for the day

I love how you sacrifice your time for your calling

I love that you always forgive me

I love that you are a worthy priesthood holder

I love that you are super good looking

I love how you keep me calm

I love when we talk

I love that you make me mad but never sad

I love that you cook and it is good

I love that we are different but have the same goals

2 is better than one. we are better together.

Happy 2nd anniversary babe, I love you!

Rollie Pollie Ollie

Pics as promised....

So not only can you see my son's fat rolls but yes, he is a roller. He rolled last week from tummy to back and has done it a few times since. aw, kids grow up so fast.

Found this gem off my mom's camera

Hot tubin'

the original "c" with little "c"

4 Months

Happy 4 Month (a little late) Birthday Carson!!!

C is so BIG i can't believe it. he is learning so much every day. especially now that he stays up more than ever---to the dismay of his mother! oh well. you can't make the kid sleep, might as well play.

last week he rolled over from tummy to back for the first 1st time. he's had a few more instances but has yet to let his mommy see it. carson loves to play with his toys. he lays in his crib and looks at all his animals on the mobile (heaven forbid he should ever sleep there!) no, c likes to play and play and growl. it's his new favorite game to play...he loves it when daddy will growl with him. at first he seems a bit scared but then the smiles & laughter come out.

now when i said big...i meant BIG. our doodle went to his doctor's appointment on monday and he is growing fine. real fine. he is in the 95th percentile for weight and 90th for height. his little head is in the 50th. love it! perfect child really. big headed babies are great and all but i'm pleased with his normal size!

you would think that if the kid weighs so much he just might sleep through the night. um, NO! the best he has done in the last month is 4 hour blocks and that my friends is rare. usually i am graced with a carson interruption every 2 hours. ah, motherhood. no, he doesn't eat every time but the stinker can't seem to self soothe. (no advice please) i know what i could do...what i will eventually do. but in the mean time the crying will have to wait. wait til he is out of mom & dad's room so they don't have to hear it. yes, we are working this minor kink out

and since i have no pictures on this computer, i will close with the stats and post my son's face another time.

4 month stats:
*17 lbs 9.5 oz
*26 inches
*sleeps ave 2.5 hours
* laughs
*rolls from tummy to back
*sometimes takes a bottle of pumped milk
*seems to like to play with water in the bottle
*splashes in the tub
*has his mother wrapped around his finger

WE LOVE YOU CARSON