Belly Laughing Toe Taster

Below: Carson samples his delicious toes. Mmmmmm!

Here's a vid of Carson belly laughing this morning. He just did this for the first time today!

The camera work is not my best, but you can get the idea!

Snaggle tooth

Late last week, while wondering why Carson was being so fussy, I stuck my finger in his mouth only to find the presence of a TOOTH!!
His right bottom tooth is barging into his mouth like no tomorrow. In just a week, he has gone from "Stinky Fish" to "Snaggle Tooth"!
In other developments, Carson learned (just today) how to grab his feet and inspect his toes.
He also learned how to raspberry his cereal all over the place.

Evidence is below!

Above: Carson loves to play in his Bumbo seat on the kitchen table.... and tries to turn his head 180 degrees to watch the coverage of the OJ Trial on the news (much to my dismay).

Look at those webbed toes! :)

Raspberries are the new black.

Ham and Cheese

These days, Carson is a huge ham with a cheesy smile. We love our Ham and Cheese!

Rice cereal time with Dad. Mmmmm.

Playing on our bed this morning....He was all smiles after a rockin' nap this morning.

Buddies

Carson had some fun play time yesterday with his 11 month old buddy, Parker Davidson. Parker lives in Henderson, so we drove over there in the afternoon to have lunch with him and his mom, my good friend Kellie. It was great to see them...it had been forever! Pictured below is a journey in pictures of Parker swooping in to steal Carson's rattle.

Parker, with his eyes on the prize.

Dude, your rattle is sweet.

\

Parker's smooth swoop leaving Carson speechless. :)

We had so much fun. We're already looking forward to seeing them again....and teaching Carson to keep his eye on the ball. :)

Seriously entertained

Carson has taken a serious liking to his Baby Einstein Entertainer.
He wears this extremely serious face while he explores all of his entertainment options.
To those who don't have kids, this piece of excitement can be likened to "Vegas for babies".
Puppets, suns, mirrors, buttons that play classical music.....All we are missing are the Bellagio Fountains!

Did I do that?

Last week, we started Carson on a little bit of rice cereal in the afternoon. I had been itching to give him some "real food". His little baby spoons were burning a hole in my silverware drawer. Last Monday, his doctor said it was OK to go ahead and try it...so we went for it on Tuesday and he LOVES IT. You would think it was the most delicious gourmet meal in the world. He took to eating from the spoon right away and makes this hilarious "Mmmmm! Mmmmm!" sound the whole time he is being fed. Guess he was ready for the next step!

At 4 1/2 months, Carson is very active and vocal. He loves his daily schedule and responds really well to it. The weather is finally cooling down in Vegas (only 99 today!) and is allowing us to take a morning walk every day. This is huge because Carson is obsessed with the outdoors.

I took a video of him eating last week.....I'll try to stick it on the blog!

He's giant!

Updated stats from our doctor's visit the other day....Carson weighs 16 lbs., 12 oz now (75th percentile) and is 26 1/2 inches long (90th percentile). Basically, he's gigantic! I had better keep going to body pump so that I can continue to lift this big boy.

Carson and Dad

He's haute!

Here are some pics from the party last night! What a fun night! Carson was a stellar boy. It was, after all, his third party of the trip and he handled it with marvelous social graces.

More Iowa fun!

We're wrapping up our trip to the Midwest and heading back to Las Vegas on Sunday. It's been such a fun trip. There's no substitute for having family around you all the time. Carson has loved every minute of being surrounded by his grandparents, aunts, uncles, great grandparents, and cousins. Tonight, Jason's parents are hosting a "Sip and See" party at their country club so that their friends can come out, have a cocktail, and meet Carson. The rest of the weekend will be spent relaxing in the beautiful weather!

Four generations of Smith men, including a Great Grandpa Edward that can golf his age. Great genes abound!

Mommy and her little Hawkeye

He even has Hawkeye PJ's now!

A Hawkeye in the Hawkeye State

On the 31st, we headed west on Interstate 80 and arrived in the great State of Iowa.

Carson is here to meet his Iowa family, many of whom have been waiting a long time to meet him. It's been a fabulous time so far!

Carson meets his cousin Jakobe Sitrick...they are just 3 months apart!

Carson meets his Great Grandma Beverly.

Bathing in the same bath that Daddy bathed in 30 years ago! Note the strategically placed faucet. :)

With his Aunt Trudy and cousin Molly Shlaes...

He loves his Grandpa Dave!

Baptized!

Carson was baptized at Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Church on 8/31/08.
Father Mike, the priest that married us, also baptized Carson. It was a very special day for all of us. The ceremony was beautiful and Carson was such a good boy!

He is now has proud godparents who will guide him as he grows up...Uncle Mike, Auntie Jen, and Sarah and Dean Oliver.

Carson also rolled over for the first time on the same day...All of the love around him on this day made him do a flip! :)

Carson takes Chicago...

We are having a great trip to the Midwest! Here are some pictures from our adventures.

Carson and his godfather, Uncle Mike

Meeting his "Grandma" Marge

Daddy came to Chicago on the 29th - Carson missed him so much!

Carson meets his cousins, Will and Bennett Maunus and Chase Ritchie.

Carson spent lots of time hangin' with his buddy, Grandma Caryn. Grandma Caryn taught Carson to do raspberries while he was in Chicago. Now if you raspberry to him, he will raspberry back!

Carson enjoying some tummy time in Mommy's childhood room.

He totally loves it now!

Hangin' out at Lincoln Park Zoo with friends Jill and Zack Huebsch.

We went to Indiana to visit Great Grandma Edna.

Carson with his Grandpa Dennis, Auntie Annon, and Auntie Felecia.