'Sup?

Carson has this super fabulous Bumbo seat. We busted it out yesterday for the first time.

He's still a little wobbly in it...but he seems to enjoy supervising me from this fresh perspective.
I picture him watching many a Iowa Football game with his dad from this "baby lazy boy" if you will.

Thanks Grandma Caryn, Grandma Barbie, and Grandpa Dave!

We just finished with our family visits for the summer. Grandma Caryn left us the other day, and Grandma Barbie and Grandpa Dave left last weekend. It was so sad to see everybody go. It isn't easy to live far away from family. We were so lucky to have all of Carson's grandparents visit him this summer. To be able to say that Carson's first few months of life were spent surrounded by love from all of his grandparents is pretty special to us. Thanks to all of the GPs for making the effort to come out here to spend time with us. We love you all so much and we are counting the days until we see each other again!

Latest pics...

Little Polski!

He's got legs....

And he knows how to use them!!

Carson's new feat

Yesterday, Carson began to pull himself up to a seated position.
Check out his muscles!!
Also, listen to this boy complain!

12 Weeks

Look at our big boy!!

Chunky Monkey

We have a certified chunky monkey on our hands.

This picture gives you an idea of just how chunky Mr. Carson has become in recent weeks.

As of Tuesday, he weighs 13 lbs., 5 oz.

Note the double chin and thigh rolls!

Peace out everybody!

Weekend update...

Aunt Jenny visited Las Vegas this weekend. She accepted Carson's invitation to be his godmother!

Aunt Jen and Carson in their Mets shirts

Carson is NOT starving for attention this week. Both Grandmas are here as well as his Papa Dave! There is a lot of love going on. Here he gets a hug from both of his grandmas - what a lucky guy!

Here is a photo of Carson WATCHING TV. This is a new thing he does. When we are on the couch with him, he turns his head to watch TV. The photo below is of him watching the British Open with his Dad. It's really funny because he watches it as though he really knows what is going on. All the research that babies should not watch TV prior to the age of 2 is null and void, apparently. Carson is too curious!

In other news, I have made the decision to stay home from work until further notice. I informed the doctors that I work with last week that I am going to stay home for awhile. They were nice enough to extend my leave indefinitely so that I can return to work there at the School of Medicine should I decide that I want to. But for now, I am going to stay home and enjoy this precious time of my little boy's life. I am blessed to be able to and I am going to soak up every minute of it. I am so lucky to be Carson's mom and Jason's wife and doing that job full time is going to be the best career change I could have imagined. Now, everyone can refer to me as the CEO of the Smith house. :)

We have a question for you, Uncle Mike...

Call my mom and tell her if you will!

If you would, we would be so excited!

I wore my White Sox outfit just for you.

11 Weeks

New developments in Week 11:

Carson now sucks on his fist, in desperate search for his thumb. I think in the next few weeks, we will have a thumb sucker!

New sounds continue to develop...This week, Carson looked at Jason and said "Goo Goo!!"

Goo Goo? Really?

This must be from all of the new sounds and words that Grandma Caryn is teaching him. Right now they are working on "sconce". I imagine Carson going to pre-school and explaining to everyone what a sconce is.

Yesterday, we went to the Springs Preserve here in Las Vegas. For everyone that lives in LV and hasn't been there, you should go. We explored the outdoor trails and checked out the museum ORIGEN which is devoted to water conservation in Las Vegas. We saw a desert fox and many bugs...Carson wore his bug outfit from Auntie Annon and Auntie Felecia to match. :)

Also, Carson is wearing 6 month clothes! He is wearing all those clothes that I never imagined would fit him.

11 Weeks Old

Little smiley bug

Grandma Caryn and Carson at Springs Preserve

Father/Son Love

10 Week Busy Body

Have you ever heard of a baby that won't sleep during the day?

All I had heard was that babies ate, slept, and pooped.

During daylight hours, Carson just eats and poops, and then eats again.

This little Curious George of ours has serious disdain for napping during the day. Unless, of course, he is in his stroller. He will sleep for hours on end while out somewhere in the carseat and stroller. Otherwise, there is so much for him to look at that he has little interest in closing those baby blue eyes.

Yesterday, my mom and I spent an hour and a half trying to get this little guy to sleep in his crib.

A nice daytime siesta was all we were asking for!

After a tight swaddle, a binky, and a blanket on his head, all we got was a wide-awake baby that looked like Chief Illiniwek.

Suggestions are welcome from anyone who has expertise in making wide-awake, curious, smarty pants babies take daytime naps!

A sample of sounds....

Just a sample of some of the sounds Carson is making this week...

Enjoy!

Carson - Mountain Man

Yesterday my mom and I took Carson up to Mt. Charleston during the day. It was only 85 degrees up there (and 112 down here in Vegas) so we took the 45 minute drive to see how Carson would do on a little hike. My friend Lori, experienced in hiking with kids, was nice enough to recommend a short hike to us that was about a mile long and ended with a waterfall. Sounds great, right?

Wrong.

It seems that baby Carson is not quite ready for hiking adventures in the Bjorn. Maybe next time! You can see the lack of excitement on his face in our lone picture together in the Bjorn. Not sure if it was the hat....the sunscreen....the Bjorn itself...but pure annoyance commenced the minute we started out on our adventure. All hiking shannanigans will have to wait for the moment!

We did enjoy a nice afternoon of lounging in the fresh air by the Mt. Charleston Hotel. You can see below how things turned around. Carson loved the mountain air and the beautiful scenery. Now that we can make him smile, he rewards us with a huge grin almost every time we interact with him. It's so cute!

A photo op in the Bjorn, a mere 25 paces from the car.

Grandma Caryn with her buddy

A nap for Carson in the fresh air...

Here come the smiles!

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Everyone's Favourite Boy

Carson just happens to look particularly cute today. Not that he doesn't every day! The boy could wear a paper bag and look cute. But as you can see, he is getting cuter by the day!

Carson's updated stats from yesterdays doctor's appointment: 12 lbs., 10 oz (75th percentile for weight) and 24 inches (75th percentile for height).

9 Weeks - Carson hears a "Hooooooo!"

This week has been another fun one in the Smith house. We are enjoying tracking Carson's development and also continuing to enjoy our visit with Grandma Caryn. She is such a big help to us and we love having her here! This week, Carson is making more sounds than ever before. His favorite is "Hoooooooooooooo!" He "hoos" around the house all day long. This week has also seen the development of many more rolls of fat on Carson's little body - he is getting super porky! His smiles come more often now and his arms and legs are in constant motion. Also this week - a morning schedule! Carson typically naps from 9:30 - 10:30 and he does it pretty consistently.

Yesterday we took a family field trip to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Not that Carson knew he was there....he slept the entire time in the stroller (aka "the tranquilizer dart")! But we had a blast and Carson had a chance to meet up with some fellow stinky fish faces.

The Griswolds take the Shark Reef

Carson with some stinky fish

A fan favorite...this fish was awesome!

Carson playing with Grandma on the bed yesterday...

Batter Up!

Carson's latest thing is to bat at objects with his arms and hands. Here's a video of him chillin' on his play mat and doing some batting.