Nothing Much

So life has gotten a little crazy. Karl just started his LAST semester at ASU. This is going to be a busy semester for him. His "capstone" class will be extremely time consuming. But then he'll be done and have his masters! Work has gotten really slow for Karl. His company has also had a LOT of layoffs. The newest development was a whole slew of "cost" cutting. So there have been quite a few perks Karl no longer has, etc, etc. Karl has also had to cut back his hours at work because there isn't enough work to fill 40 hours a week. But, with his crazy semester it might be for the best for a little bit.

Karl and I worked on our little side yard the other Saturday. Carson loves being outside! So we are going to get some little outside toys and let him play as much as he wants. Carson loved helping us get the yard ready. Karl and I are pretty bad at the whole keeping plants alive thing. We never remember to water and every drip system we have bought has broken (3). So we have a water hose system thingy now, hopefully it lasts. We have two vines that have survived our care taking skills. We planted a rosemary bush this weekend. We have no clue what we are doing. Oh well - we'll learn through trial and error.

We have a few Carson developments. He is definitely starting to try and talk more. It still comes out as mostly gibberish but you can see how hard he is trying to communicate. I can only imagine how frustrating it is to know what you want and not know how to tell someone. Here are just a few cute pictures. He loves putting on every ones shoes. The second one was at night and I went in to check on him. He looked so funny with his legs crossed and out the crib I had to take a picture. It flashed and then I ran for it.



Here are some cute tub pics. He loves these sunglasses. Also, I was pretty brain dead - you'll notice I didn't remember to take everything off him. I laughed pretty hard when half way through his bath I saw his foot.

We have also entered the land of full blown tantrums! I am so excited for this milestone (sarcasm). He already is getting better but when he first discovered them he was pulling it 3 times a day. We are talking all out screaming, writhing on the floor spasms, kicking, and flailing for ten minutes (he doesn't give up easily). Trying to comfort him is impossible. He'll just run from you and freak out even harder. The first few times Karl and I were trying so hard to figure out what was wrong - we were handing him blankies and sippy cups and nothing was working. Then we realized it was a tantrum and we switched to ignoring him. The other night he wanted dinner but didn't want to sit in his high chair. He started a lovely tantrum! Karl and I just ignored him and ate dinner, carrying on small talk like everything was dandy. All the while Carson is in the living room sounding like he is dying. After a few minutes Carson composed himself and came over saying "sit, sit" (which is what he says when he needs help getting into a chair.) We lifted him into his chair and he ate dinner with us happy as can be. I felt like we were the best parents for five minutes. It was so great to see him respond positively.

Other Carson happenings, we've given up binkies. I think it might have been harder on me. It was sad to me to end another baby thing. He doesn't have very many baby things left. He is growing up too fast. Every time I look at him I am amazed at how big he is. Every time he does something new I just realize he's more and more toddler and less and less baby. He did really well giving up binkies though. The only annoying part was that Karl and I used it as a silencer (which was heaven for us) but then we had to deal with quite a bit of whining while he figured out other ways to comfort himself besides sucking. He since has become pretty attached to his blankies. Just like we used to have to hide the pacifiers, we now have to keep the blankies out of sight. If he sees them, nothing else matters and he will die unless he gets one (his words, not mine).

Well - that's our lives for now. Hope everyone is doing well!

Christmas and More

First things first...I passed the last section of the CPA exam with a 90! I am so excited. I am all done with the exam and never have to study for it again! I started jumping around after I opened the letter and Carson thought it was hilarious. He spent the next half hour trying to jump around and celebrate. He can't quite make it off the ground yet though so it was pretty funny to watch. Now...I just have to get my experience, 5 recommendation letters, transcripts, etc and I'll be a CPA. It feels really good to have this hurdle done with, but I still have a ways to go before I'm licensed.


So Christmas was a blast. We spent it at Karl's parent's house with all of Karl's family. There was a lot of cookies/candy, games, movies, gingerbread houses, and Rock Band. Carson was really excited about all his new toys. A little while into opening presents he just wanted to go play with the toys and didn't want to open any more. So he ran off and played while we all finished. We got Carson a little musical instrument set. He loves the drums sticks a little too much. They are dangerous weapons in the hands of a 1 1/2 yr old. Karl's family puts up a sheet into the Christmas room to avoid early peeking...Carson cheated as seen in the picture below.

New Year's Eve was also fun. Kari and Garrett came over and we partied like never before...or I fell asleep on the couch at 11:40 pm and they woke me up 1 minute before midnight and handed me a glass of sparkling cider. Then I toasted the new year and went to bed. Wow...I'm really that lame. I can remember the excitement of New Year's Eve as a kid and staying up way past midnight to bang pots and pans. Hmm...times change.


New Year's Day we headed up to Flagstaff so Carson and Kenzie could experience the snow. We all had so much fun. We went sledding and played in the snow. Carson and Kenzie loved it. Carson ate a bunch of snow. Yes, I made sure it wasn't yellow. And yes, it seems he likes to try everything (sand, snow, etc).

Yesterday we went to the Zoo. Carson really liked the lions, the warthogs, and the snakes. A lot of the animals were asleep or hiding, but anything that moved he liked. He was really sweet and would say bye to all the animals as we moved on. We took him to the petting zoo thinking he would like it but he could care less about the goats. He was more excited about the cool benches he could climb on. I kept trying to get him to pet the goats and he would just walk off.

Carson also has a new favorite activity...don't ask me why, I have no clue.

Happy Holidays

So our Thanksgiving was great. Nothing burned, the turkey massaging I did worked great (it was juicy and delicious...not dry). All the food was perfect. Jessie made some creative center pieces after I failed and ran out of time. Vickie did great on the rolls. Our Martha Stewart/Snoop Dogg mashed potatoes were so good that they are what I'm making every year now (it was a MS recipe that she made on her show with Snoop Dogg and he loved them...so they had to be good, right?). Carson loved the yams (well, the marsh mellows) and the stuffing. You can see my beautiful bird in the background (it was sitting before we carved it).

Karl and I (or maybe I should just say I) got Guitar Hero World Tour. Carson loves the drum set. He used to try to play the guitars with us but when we pull the drum set out, no other instrument matters. Here's a pic of the cute little rocker.

Karl and I had my work Christmas party Saturday night. It was fun. Karl and I don't go out on dates much so it was nice to get all dressed up and go out together. The food was really good and I even got a dance out of Karl.

Carson has picked up some new words and he is working on so many I've lost count. He now says "cracker" and "pepper". You may think "pepper, do you pepper his food a lot?" The answer is no, it's the name of the dog where he goes during the day. He usually whispers pepper though, maybe he's still unsure of himself. He also will say "more". He is also trying really hard to say "thank you". It usually comes out as dane do...but we know what he's going for.

Carson legally went to nursery on Sunday, without Karl. We've been taking him to nursery for months but Karl always has to stay because Carson wasn't old enough. He is now legal and we are all as happy as can be. He's definitely not a cry for my mom kind of kid. He just sees the open door and leaps out of my arms, takes off running, and doesn't look back once. Karl got to go to priesthood for the first time in a long time so I know he appreciated this new development. Other than that, the kid always has teeth coming in and he's as crazy as ever.

We are getting ready for the Christmas season and I'm getting excited. Hope you all have a great Christmas...I probably won't get to blog again before then.

Hmmm...who cares about titles

I'm getting a little nervous for Thanksgiving. This is my first year hosting...dun dun dun. There is just so much hype put on the turkey that I can't help but try to cover all my bases to make sure my turkey is good. I spent 30 min massaging salt into the dead bird this morning (to start my brining), every time I open the fridge I give it a positive little pep talk ("You're doing so good in that little brine...keep up the good work")...perhaps I should play it classical music. If it turns out crappy....not my fault. It was just a bad bird. (I'll have to apologize to it for that one tomorrow). I am also really excited for Thanksgiving though. The meal plan looks delicious and yes, I'm shaking it up a bit. No one in attendance is a big fan of pumpkin pie...so I'm cutting it. Also, I've traded apple crisp for apple pie at the majority vote of my guests. Why not eat what we want, right? There were a few other creative directions I wanted to explore but got vetoed...and apparently I'm the only one that loves green bean casserole (that one will never be cut). I'm sure I'll have pictures later of the beautiful event.

I saw Twilight today. I know I may lose friends over this but 1) I'm kind of over the books and 2) I hate ruining my beautiful imagination pictures with what some director feels I should think. So I didn't want to see it. But I did, because I had to...that I knew. There were a few scenes I LOVED and I thought my imagination had underachieved by so much. But there were parts I hated. Cedric Diggory (as he will forever be known to me) grew on me as Edward. Although I got tired of his crazy eyes. I thought Bella was pretty good. The depth wasn't there though and I think someone who hadn't read the books would be lost or at least missing so much. I felt like the director/producers didn't have enough time to make the movie or they just called it good enough because they knew no matter what all the fans would go see it. I say - go see it, but don't expect your life to be changed. Will I see the sequel? I really can't say...but yes. (Office quote again for those of you always confused at my random quotes) - here's the video for enlightenment.



Carson is working on a few new things. His two new words are shoes (sues) and snack (nack with a really really soft k sound at the end). I don't know when kids start to count but it's one of his favorite games right now. He'll line up his toys and say a gibberish sounds as he points to each one. He then celebrates by throwing them all on the ground. Here's a video of him counting and doing a few animal sounds. I only asked him four animals and then I couldn't think of anymore animals. But he's got 7 or 8 now. Kitty is my favorite. You can't quite hear it in the video but he does it all soft, like he's really trying to sound like a cat. Enjoy...

Give me some candy you will

So Halloween was a blast. Carson was Yoda (hence the blog title). Karl saw the costume and really wanted it for Carson. So then I found a Darth Vader candy bucket thingy and a cheap light saber (gotta love Walmart). We added the scarf belt because even after I tacked his sleeves, the holes were too big and he kept taking his arms out.

We planned on taking Carson Trick or Treating, but deep down inside I thought it would be 5 minutes of us chasing him around and stopping him from eating rocks and then we'd give up and go home. AMAZINGLY...it went really well. He was a little nervous about the whole situation at first, but with a lot of coaxing and his older cousin Kenzie to watch, he started to love it. He realized that if he put out his hand they would give him candy. Then he would slowly and carefully put the candy in his bucket. We ended up being out there for an hour! He would do a little happy dance after he got the candy. By the end, his bucket was so heavy that he couldn't carry it anymore. Here is our little Yoda showing off his light saber skills.

And him carrying his little Darth Vader bucket...

Last house - he was pooped and needed a little break. This is in the middle of some one's driveway...

This is the after Halloween candy pic - one Three Musketeers

Here's a video of him demonstrating his new found favorite activity. You can see his smile as he walks away.

Halloween in AZ is definitely different than in Washington. First of all, it's not freezing. I can remember it snowing as we were Trick or Treating. The problem every year was "how do I work a winter coat into my costume?" In AZ...I was sweating...at 7:00 pm (crazy). I can also remember people yelling at you to get off their lawns...no one yells at you to get off their rocks.

I really think Halloween is fun and it always makes me reminisce. My mom would make, or help us make, our costumes every year. There was only one year in my entire childhood where my mom let me "buy" a costume. Some might think this was sad as a kid...but we loved it! Halloween became this creative project. We'd pick what we wanted to be and then brainstorm how to put the parts together. I think my sister Jackie was most creative - for example: one year she was grapes. Purple sweat pants and sweat shirt, then we blew up 50 purple balloons and attached them to her all over. Anyway, we bought Carson's costume this year. I felt like I was cheating. It was pretty hard for me to do. But maybe when he's older and Halloween means a little bit more I'll start the creative Halloween projects.

In regular life - we aren't up to much. We are redecorating our house. We painted all last weekend. We started Sat at 8:30 pm and just kept going thinking we could finish. At 4:30 am we decided to go to bed and finish the next day. Day time is always slower though cause Carson is running around and him plus wet paint doesn't equal a fun time. So we worked here and there during the day and then went strong once he went to bed. At 9 pm Sunday, we had finished! But our house was a disaster. So we saved the clean up for Monday. I finally ordered curtains for our downstairs...yes we've lived here 2 1/2 years and never had curtains. We might be put together soon. I'll post a before and after pic once it's all put together.

We're only mostly dead

Miracle Max gave me a chocolate covered pill...and I'm back and ready to storm the castle. A lot of things have gone down in the last month; I'm not even sure I'll remember everything.

Karl had a birthday...shout hooray! He turned 30! We had entertained the idea of a big party, but he just wanted to relax. So we went out to dinner with his parents and had a little celebration. Here is us at dinner.

So as some of you may have read on Karl's sisters' blogs, their Papa (grandfather) passed away September 11th. Karl, Carson, and I were all able to go over to Charleston, SC for the funeral. It was a really quick trip but we were all so glad we went. The funeral was really nice and it was good to see Nanny (Karl's grandma). She got to see Carson again although he wasn't a tiny baby like last time. This time he and his cousin Kenzie were running all over her house trying to destroy. It was nice to be with Karl's family too. We got to spend one day at the beach and the water was still really warm. Here are a few pics of the kids at the beach. It was low tide so there some little pools and rivers for them to play in. Carson also helped himself to every one's lime-ades. Apparently he thought they were all for him and also very delicious.

I took the 4th and final section of the CPA exam on Monday. I didn't feel as prepared as I did for the other ones, but hopefully I still passed. If not, then I'll still have one more section and I'll have to take it in January or February. I got back my score for the audit section and got a 93!! That's at least exciting. I've also been working for 3 weeks now. Carson seems to have adjusted really well. I've adjusted too. I'll be honest, the first week was EMOTIONAL! I was a crying wreck everyday when I'd get home and would wallow in my guilt every night. I've calmed down about most of my fears though and I really feel like everything is going to be fine.

Carson has learned the meaning of time out. We started them a few weeks ago and they have worked wonders. We only do it for 1 minute, but he knows the words "time out" now. We'll tell him no a few times and then if he keeps doing it I ask if he needs a time out. He usually just freezes the minute we say the word. And then of course there are the times where he completely ignores me and then we have to follow through. But I was amazed at how in 2 or 3 weeks that word had so much meaning to him. His new favorite thing is to do something he knows he's not supposed to do (like hit) and then look at me and say "NO!" really seriously. It's like he's trying to beat me to the punch or something. It's actually pretty funny and it's hard not to laugh. He has yes (ya) and no down. He says them all day long. He may not understand what I'm asking him, but he understands the tone of voice for a question and will reply yes or no just depending on how he is feeling. But if you bring out a fruit snack, he starts saying ya over and over and shaking his head yes as frantically as he can.

Karl's birthday money + trading in our Play Station 2 and Game Cube + 20 games + 6 controllers + probably some other things = A brand new Xbox 360!! Karl is like a little kid at Christmas. I'm happy too because the first game we bought was Guitar Hero. I have to say I'm pretty much an amazing rock star. At 8 pm, the fog machines turn on, I strap on my leather pants (or sweats), pick up my guitar, and transform into the artist that I am. And, in true rock star fashion, I save the dishes or laundry for another day. I might as well live the life style...now that I've found my true calling.

I can't think of anything else cool that has happened so I may supplement this later. Here is a video to say goodbye, or perhaps I should say goodnight.

Lame Post

Okay - So I don't have the time to do this post justice, but I thought I should say something. I've started my new job!! It's definately fun and exciting. What?? Accounting...exciting? Well, I like it and it's excitingly new. It's an adjustment from spending all day with a 1 year old to spending all day with adults. Instead of "Is that a ball?" and "Do you want some cheese?" I get to ask "Where are the K-1's?" and "Can you help me with this Foreign Tax Credit?" Everyone is really nice though and I haven't been eating lunch by myself. I take that as a good sign. Carson seems to be adjusting well too. I miss him way more than he misses me. He's only 1, but I'm pretty sure he'd be happy to move out and start supporting himself...if he could get paid to point and say "whoa."

I'm crazy busy right now though. I work all day, get home an hour later, spend 2 hours playing with Carson (I plan dinner and then Karl is sweet and makes it), Carson goes to bed and I spend 3 hours studying for the next CPA test which is on the 13th. Then I get up at 5:30 and start it all over. I think I'll be a lot more on top of things once this test is out of the way - one more week! I'm actually really needing to study right now but Jessie (sister) reminded me of my lack of recent blogging.

This is all I have time for right now - but I've got a funny video coming and some pics. Look for it sometime after the 13th, once I'm sain again.