The Joy Dare - Day 22

• A husband who is patient with my technology inept-ness
• Watching my son take two steps tonight. Oh that made me (and him!) so excited! 
• The ability to be crafty and make valentines for the sweet people I love.  

Day 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Catching up.... 

• I love when Rich thanks me for making dinner. 
• I'm blown away that out of all the girls in the world, Rich chose me. 
• I think it's funny that Rich can be a morning person when his son wakes him up. :) 
• I'm glad for a husband who sees a problem and comes up with a solution
• It brings me so much joy to hear my husband talk about how much he loves discipling students.

• I love watching my son sleep. Precious. Peaceful. And cuter than CUTE! 
• I'm blown away that God has entrusted Carson in our care. Thank you Lord!
• I think it's funny to watch Carson learn to problem solve... "Hmm... Mommy put me in this box. I wonder if I can climb out?" 
• I'm glad that Carson likes music so much. A fun trait we share in our family. 
• It brings me so much joy to watch Carson enjoy life. Today, he got to see birdies and "ditties" at the pet store and he enjoyed it so much! 

• I love having matching socks to wear because it means that I'm caught up on laundry. (Currently, one of my socks is white and one is blue...)
• I am blown away by how much food I have to sweep off the kitchen floor after Carson eats... but at least I have a healthy little boy who likes to eat...and checks that gravity is still in place each day. 
• I think it's funny that my husband finally had to tell me that I had been singing the same Les Mis song all day, and if I didn't stop immediately, he might go crazy. :) 
• I'm glad that I got to enjoy a fun afternoon out with a friend, a yummy lunch at Panera, and a trip to TJ Maxx. Seriously...one of the funnest stores out there! 
• It brings me so much joy knowing that in the morning, there will be FIVE clean sippy cups in the dishwasher, ready to be used over the next couple of days. Yes! Mommy joys! 

Thank you Lord!

The Joy Dare - Days 14, 15 and 16

• I love when my husband is home. And when he got home from his trip, Carson and I were both overjoyed! 
• My poor hubby is sick today, but he apologized several times for nMot being able to help with our very busy son... and that meant a lot to me that he recognized that it was going to be a tough day or two while he recovered. 
• He offered to load the dishwasher, despite not feeling well, because the ones that go in the dishwasher will be sanitized. :) He's the best. 

• I get so much joy when Carson says new words. He is such a talker for being 12 months old! This week, I taught him "please". He loves this word because it usually means he gets something to eat.
• He found a toy phone that I had planned to pull out on a rainy day. Because he was so clever in finding it, I let him play with it today. And without me showing him it's a phone (you know, the typical "Fisher Price" curly corded, ringing dial phone...and he's only really ever see flat, rectangular cell phones)--- he held it to his head and started "talking". Adorable. 
• As much as I groan when he wakes up after going to bed, I do treasure those moments of rocking and singing to him... because someday, he will be too big to rock. So I reminded myself to enjoy those few minutes with him tonight because someday, I won't remember that it interrupted my end of the day "me time".... I will just think about how much I enjoyed snuggling him and smelling his sweet sleepy baby smell. 

• I'm so thankful that I disciplined myself to get the house clean over the weekend so that I could enjoy the freedom of a clean house on Monday! 
• I enjoyed a few minutes looking through pictures from a year ago... I'm so thankful for the memories in those photos.
• A fresh haircut. It had been 7 months and it wasn't lookin' pretty. I have got to cut it more often...! It feels literally 5 lbs lighter and my hubby has complimented me today. Win! 

One Year Old

Carson Davis, you are 1 year old!

By the numbers...
Size 12 mos clothing (although you can fit into a few 18 month shirts), Size 4 diapers, 2 daytime nursings and 1 before I go to bed (time to drop that one...), 2 cups of whole milk a day (although you only drink a few ounces), 1 cup of "juice" (1 inch juice to 5 inches of water!), 4 solid meals a day (Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime snack).

Carson, at one year old, you are saying lots of fun words: Daddy, Mama, Baby, Doggy, Kitty, Fishy, Eat, Bubble, Mimi, Papa, Pop, MomMom, Hi, Byebye...
And you repeat us so often, even if you don't know what we are talking about! Today, you even said "Pizza!"

Although you are not yet walking, you cruise around the furniture and across the living room with your shopping cart. You get around quickly and efficiently! You occasionally stand for just a moment without holding on to anything!

Favorite foods: Banana, black beans seasoned with cumin, taco meat, spaghetti, cheese, bread, enchiladas, peach and pear bites, banana bread, and chocolate cake!

Favorite toys: Piano pop-up toy, Piggy Bank Fisher Price toy, kitchen spatulas, electric guitar, fish and net bath toy, and anything that makes noise!

You get in trouble for: Touching things that have buttons like our computers, Daddy's Xbox, the TV remote, the space heater and power strips.

Your favorite books: Have flaps or touch and feel pages, or your favorite Sesame Street books with baby Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie, and Big Bird. You've loved their big black and white eyes since you were a small baby!

You are a people person who enjoys getting out. You love to play in the nursery on Sunday mornings and Sunday nights. You are not afraid when I drop you off and you jump right in the fun. You also enjoy quiet days at home, playing and reading with Mommy and Daddy.

Your future professions: Carpet cleaner and vacuumer by day (you squeal with excitement when we use the vacuum and despite how loud the rented carpet cleaner was, you loved it!), and musician by night... You love listening to music, watching Daddy and Mommy play guitar, and playing music on your piano, guitar and xylophone.

What I'm looking forward to this year:
Our new family routine of reading you a Bible story from one of your Bibles before you go to bed each night. Most nights, we'll read out of The Jesus Storybook Bible with Daddy, but if Daddy is at work like tonight, we'll read out of The Beginner's Bible. You like to listen and look at the pictures. Our prayer for you is that you will follow and love Jesus with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Happy 1st Birthday, Carson Davis! You bring so much joy to my heart. Every squeal, cheesy grin, hug, and ornery laugh reminds me of how blessed I am that God has chosen to entrust you into our care. Love you so, Baby!

After a 30+ week break from the blog world, I would like to introduce the newest member of our family:
Carson Davis ~ Born January 5, 2012.
 

    Much to my surprise, I went in for my normal 38.5 week doctor's visit and found I was 4-5 cm dilated, which in many cases means active labor! I had felt a little funny that morning and hadn't slept well the night before, so I hoped that meant progress and indeed it did! My doctor predicted he would see me again later that day and by 2:30pm, I was being admitted to the exciting Labor and Delivery unit with regular contractions. Just 6 hours later, our little one came into the world! 

                      Carson weighed 7lbs 1 oz... a tiny little bundle in our arms. 

1 month old with a lot of personality brewing already!

2 Months Old 

3 Months Old 

4 Months Old

5 Months Old 

Mommyhood has been a dream come true. Carson has so much personality and brings so much joy to our family. I look forward to sharing some of our stories and experiences with you in the upcoming months!