1 Month Old...

Grandpa Dave and Grandma Barb left yesterday. We were so sad to see them go! Carson was lucky enough to have them here for most of the last month. He also had a great visit with his Auntie Jen when she was here. We feel so blessed that they were able to be here to share in the beginning of his life. All three of them got in plenty of snuggle time, but it's never enough! Thanks to his Papa Dave and GB for all they did for us and him when they were here!

Carson's name plaque came in this week and Jason hung it up in his room. A wonderful woman from New York named Joy Borah makes these adorable signs. We saw them at USA Baby when I was pregnant and decided that he had to have one.

Carson is still obsessed with his hands and arms. Here he shows us his biceps...He has tickets to the "gun show"!

There's nothing quite like a nap with daddy while watching an NBA Playoff game.

This week I've noticed that Carson is starting to be able to see better. He is really studying objects and checking things out. Today during breakfast, he was checking out this giraffe...probably wondering what the heck a giraffe was doing in his baby papasan!

We have some exciting family visits coming up. Carson will meet his Great Uncle Mike this upcoming weekend, followed by his Grandpa Dennis on June 11th and his Grandma Caryn on June 17th. Carson has such a great family and we can't wait for him to meet everyone!

3 Weeks

Lock up your daughters!

Here are some random pictures of Carson looking super cute this week....

Carson's Hawkeye outfit is just a tad too big at this time.

But this didn't stop us from putting him in it!

Carson received some sweet "Big Kahuna" PJs from his good friends Robyn, Brian, and Alex.

He looked so cute in them, I kept them on him until noon one day.

Thanks Hammy family for helping me look so studly!

Here is Carson pictured after his bath today. His baths are going better and better...Today he cried only briefly when I put him in the bath sling, and then looked at me like I'm crazy the rest of the time. We're gettin' there! I think he looks so cute in this picture.

Carson weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz at his doctor's visit on Monday. He's a growing boy!

He loves his arms...

One thing we know for sure...Carson LOVES his hands and arms.

They are in constant motion!

He sleeps with them up by his head. When he's not sleeping, his hands are moving around, grabbing his face and anything else he can reach. His arms go wild any time he is awake.

Other developments this week include Carson learning to enjoy and keep in a binky and two big trips out - last night he went to his first restaurant for Papa Dave's birthday (BJ's Pizza!) and today's trip to Fashion Show Mall and Ra Sushi. Carson is so hip - he has already hit the epicenter of fabulous Las Vegas in his short life!

Carson also makes several faces that we have nicknames for. He has a "stinky fish face" and a "little old man face" that are both incredibly cute. I will try to get pictures of them to show everyone.

All in the name of progress

This morning we completed our first bath sans red-faced crying and thrashing arms and legs!

And I did it all by myself.

After peeing on himself about 6 times yesterday, a bath was in order!

Carson is all content to be smelling good once again.

Pee is the new black

On Tuesday, I took Carson to a breastfeeding support group at the hospital where he was born. We got him all decked out to visit the nurses in Labor and Delivery that took such good care of him when he was being a stinker.

On Wednesday night, Carson was paid a visit by friends Kelly and Bob Davis and their daughter Riley. We can see by Riley's expression that Carson needs to work on his game with the ladies.

We've been enjoying nights together when Jason comes home from work. Carson has been enjoying family nights of watching "Idol" and the NBA playoffs.

Since Carson's circumcision, he has taken to peeing all over the place every time we change his diaper. For instance, today he is on his fourth outfit of the day. Laundry is happening a lot these days. Today he peed all over me and himself during a feeding, even though his diaper appeared to be secure. Yesterday I invested in some "Pee Pee Tee Pees", so we will see how those work.

He loves his Daddy....

Yesterday was Mother's Day and we had a great time. Barb made a nice dinner here at home and we shared it Sarah and Isaiah. I so enjoyed being a Mom for the first time on Mother's Day!

Even better than that has been watching Jason as a father. He is the best dad to Carson! He gives him baths, swaddles like a pro, and can change poopy diapers with his eyes closed. One of the best parts for me has been enjoying watching Jason transition to his role as a dad. He is incredible! You can see how great he is by Carson's expression in this picture.

Carson had his circumcision today. :( He was very brave and didn't cry much at all, but today is not his best day. Poor little guy! The good news is that we found out that he now weighs 8 lbs, up from last week's weigh in at 7 lbs, 6 oz. He is eating very well and gaining weight as a result. Momma loves to see that!

Carson - 1 Week Old!

The Smith Family

Now, I know that our one week old son doesn't smile or know he is smiling.

It is probably gas.

But he does practice smiling quite often! It is irresistible!

Yesterday I felt good enough to go for a short walk. It was Carson's first trip in his buggy.

Carson chilled on the couch yesterday with his dad and watched some NBA games.

Mom and her boy

Recent debacles in my adventures of motherhood have included:

1. Waking up to find that Carson had peed all over his pajamas, only to find that I had forgotten to fasten one side of his diaper during a 4 AM feeding. Nice!
2. Arising to find that Carson had migrated completely out of his sleep positioner to the lower edge of his crib. I had decided not to swaddle him after a feeding because he seemed like he was warm. However, when he isn't swaddled, he sees this as permission to use his positioner as a slip n' slide to migrate to other areas of his crib. I nearly peed my pants when I saw where he had ended up. Jason said it was his "first vacation".
   

I'm sure this list will grow by the day. Motherhood is quite the amazing adventure so far.

Carson's first doctor's appointment

Baby Carson had his first doctor's appointment yesterday! He got a clean bill of health from his pediatrician. He weighs 7 lbs., 6 oz. which is only 2 oz. from his birth weight. He is a great eater! Jason is home this week and we are really enjoying our time together as a family. Jason's mom is here helping us and it has been awesome. The whole experience of being a mom has already far surpassed my expectations. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be a mom to this sweet little bean. We love him so much! Here are some new pictures of him:

Tummy time with Daddy

Lookin' fly in his Nike football onesie and golf sock shoes...

Chillin' in the Moses basket this morning while we eat breakfast

Coming home - A Smith Family at last!

Above: Ready to go home in my outfit from Grandma Caryn and my Chuch Taylors from my Great Uncle Mike!

Thankfully, Carson and I were both doing well and our respective doctors decided to send us home on Sunday afternoon. Needless to say, after 9 days in the hospital, I was so ready to go home!

Our first few days home have been great. Carson is so much fun and we are loving our routine (which is about as far from a "routine" as possible!). We gave him our first bath today, which he totally hated. He cried bloody murder throughout the whole thing (maybe because he was chilly), but he made his mark by more than just screaming because he decided that the short walk from the changing table to the bath locale was the perfect time to pee all over Jason and the floor!

Carson is a great baby. He is a pheomenal cuddler and loves his "sunbathing" time with Daddy -- his doctors (his pediatrician AND Auntie Sarah) told us that a few minutes of indirect sunlight each day would help with any possible jaundice. Daddy is also in charge of tummy time, or as he calls it, "individual workouts", to develop Carson's back and neck muscles. He is already able to hold his head up for a few seconds.

All we can say is parenting is so much better than anything we could have ever imagined. Here are some more pictures of our precious little bubba.

Hello World! Carson David Smith is here!

Carson David Smith was born on Friday, May 2, 2008 at 6:21am. He weighed in at a healthy 7lbs., 8 oz. and was 20 inches long. As many of you know, we had Carson scheduled for a noon delivery on Friday, but he just couldn't wait! He let out a nice loud cry immediatately upon arrival, letting mom and dad know he was ready to party!

Carson has been a great boy in his first few days. He is nursing well, sleeping during the day, partying all night long, passed his newborn hearing screening (the pic with the headsets on his ears), and he is certainly assisting Huggies & Pampers to meet their May sales numbers! Jason's parents and sister were here to help celebrate with us. Dave and Jenny left today, but Grandma Barbie is going to stay with us to help out (i.e., cuddle with Carson all day long!).

Here are some pics from Carson's first few days. Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful flowers, gifts, e-mails, text messages, and calls. We love you guys and cannot wait to share our new little buddy with you!

The End...

Hopefully this final bump picture doesn't scare anyone.

This is a picture of me today, hooked up to the fetal monitor. The paper coming out of the computer depicts my contractions and Carson's heartbeat. He is on surveillance 24/7! I affectionately call the monitor "the babysitter". Carson hated being on the monitor last night. Our nurse had to keep coming in and putting him back on because he kept moving away from it.

I think he is trying to tell us that he wants to come out!!

Here is us last night at Jason's 30th birthday party in the hospital room. They moved us to a HUGE hospital room so that we would have enough room to accomodate all of our friends. I should note that we had four one year olds and a four year old at Jason's birthday party! Our room was full of fun and he loved it. It was a memorable birthday for Jason. Tomorrow will be our best day ever!

Thanks to everyone that checks up on us. We are so excited for Carson's arrival tomorrow. I can't believe the time has finally come for us to meet him.

We will post a picture of him tomorrow when we are able to.

Just as soon as we are able to, we will do phone calls and have visitors. I am going to take my time and recover as best I can so that I can bond with this little boy. We can't wait to see his little face!