Last year we had NO issues with visiting Santa. Of course, Carson was 6 months old, but he even smiled for the camera, it was so precious! Not scared even a little bit.  This year, NOT SO MUCH.

We made two attempts at visiting Santa Claus before Christmas. The first was at his Daycare.  They held a "Pancakes with Santa Breakfast" one weekend last month, and I thought, YES!, this will be in a place he feels comfortable and maybe it will pretty smoothly......wow was I wrong.  We got our cute little gingerbread man overalls on and headed over to school.  I decided to head over the Santa before we had breakfast (this was strategic planning on Mom's part....syrup and pictures don't go well together).  As soon as we entered the room his grip was already getting tight on my arm.  So, I thought....Ok, we'll ease into it.......we watched some of the older kids have their visit and hung out for a little while before we even got in line.  Well, it all was wasted effort because this boy wasn't having ANY of it.  STRANGER DANGER is what my husband calls it. 




The next day our friends were planning on going over to see Santa at a local toy store.  I was doubtful Carson would cooperate any better, but at least Angela could maybe get one of me holding him?  And just maybe he would do better since his girlfriends, Ava and Emma, would be there (he loves them!). 

Well, you can see how that went over.....I did however get one of him not screaming as long as I held him.  It was such a shame too, because this Santa and his wife were SO sweet and tried so hard to get Carson to like them.  I felt bad!  Oh well, I guess these will be the photos that we bring out when he's in high school to embarass him in front of his friends!  Theres always next year!

If you have met my son, you know, one of his favorite places to be is right next to someone in the kitchen. Preferrably being held so he doesn't miss a thing. And if you let him stir, or pour something into something else......YOU ARE HIS HERO!  So I thought we would attempt a few "easy" peanut butter blossom cookies.  This kid sat on the counter patiently the ENTIRE time.  Maybe its just me, but I think thats pretty good for an 18 month old toddler who never wants to slow down for a moment. 

Anyway, he was in charge of dumping in the ingredients and stirring, and he was in H-E-A-V-E-N.  He loved it.  I guess I found one our new favorite things to do together.  In the end we made a big mess, and needed a bath in a major way, but oh how I treasure these memories I am making with my little man.  I am blessed!

Next up is Thanksgiving. James had to work this year, so we stayed close to home. Not to worry though, we still had lots of fun and way to much to eat! My family came over to our house for dinner after James got off work, and the kiddos had so much fun clowning around. Carson is really getting to enjoy his cousins now that he can chase after them.

The one thing I am most thankful for is my family. I am so lucky to have such a great one!

Well folks, I ran into some technical difficulties with my blog, and like any busy Mom during the Holidays, I promptly procrastinated and decided to deal with it AFTER the first of the year. So here I am, more than 2 MONTHS behind on posting anything.  So here we go.......first up Halloween......

Carson REALLY enjoyed  Halloween this year.  Some of his favs were pumpkin carving (he was in love with his Elmo Jack-O-Lantern), and walking around the neighborhood all by himself.  He seriously went almost the whole way.  No more carrying this boy around! 

Anyway, I think we had one of the cutest puppies in town.  And no puppy would be complete without his sword right?!  He wouldn't put it down, so our puppy was armed I guess. 

Wow!  I have been behind on blog posts before, but this is getting out of hand!  I mean it is Thanksgiving, and I have not posted anything from October yet....sheesh!  So here I sit, on Thanksgiving night, with my boys dead asleep, and I can't sleep (I thought turkey was supposed to make you tired?)......so why not catch up.  Watch out!  Here come the posts!  We have been busy, so there may be few....

Lets start with October...

One of the major highlights was a visit from The Short Family!  Christie and I went to A&M together, and she and her family now live in Alaska.  We just love them to pieces, and were so excited to get to see them while they were in town visiting family last month.  As a bonus, my college roomie made the trip down from Dallas too, and I got to meet her precious new baby boy, Mr. Keaton! One thing about us Aggie girls, we don't seem to be able to have any girls ourselves.  We just have lots and lots of handsome boys!  Christie's little boy, Hunter, is only a couple months older than Carson, and we were so excited for them to play together (they were only a few months old the last time they saw eachother).  ANNNNDDD....Christie and James (her James, not my James) are expecting another little boy!  Between Hunter, Carson, Keaton, and this new one our get togethers are bound to get more chaotic!

We had so much fun hanging and and catching up.  I got to get my baby fix, and spend some time with my girls!


Up next we have...the new splash pad!  All summer we have been hearing about the splash pad our neighborhood was supposed to be putting in.  Well, FINALLY, IN OCTOBER (can we say late?!), they finished it and had the grand opening.  We made our way over there so Carson could check it out.  He wasn't to sure about some of the water squirting him in the face, but I think it was a hit over all.  To bad it was already getting chilly, and we didn't get a go back before it closed.  Oh well, it will be lots of fun next summer!


And of course, what October post would be complete without a Fall picture. I got ONE with him looking and sorta smiling....he's getting tougher to photograph these days! He just doesn't want to sit still. So much else to see and do I guess :) Anyway, here is my handsome little dude...

We didn't get a REAL vacation this year. The summer just got away from us and before I knew it, we were smack in the middle of September, and very much in need of a break from our hectic day to day. So we decided to take a long weekend and head over to San Antonio. We found this fabulous Condo complex that was PERFECT!  I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in the area.  Anyway, having the full condo sure made traveling with a 15 month old easier, and the resort had FANTASTIC pool areas.  We got to play in a sandy beach that led into a Lazy river that went around the property, and they had wonderful fire pit areas for marshmallow roasting in the evenings!    We also go a chance to go have dinner with some old college friends who live in the area.  I got so wrapped up in visiting and looking at their sweet new baby boy, I didn't even take out my camera while I was there!  I still can't believe I did that!  We all had a great time and really got to relax.  I can't wait to go back when Carson is a little older and take him to Sea World!

So, I know, he isn't in school yet. But Carson's daycare decided to transition him to the Toddler class the week school started along with 3 of the other babies in the Infant Room. Sadly, it seems I can no longer deny that he isn't a baby anymore. At least while he was still in the Infant room I could pretend right?

Well he is having a blast during his first week in the Toddler class. They get to go outside a lot more, and have lots and lots of new toys to play with. He even has been napping on his nap mat very well instead of in a crib (insert shocked Mama face here!). Anyway, heres is my handsome little boy on his first day in the "Big Kid Room".