I'm always amazed at the photos I capture from a simple joy such as blowing bubbles.
Or, in our case, tasting them.
This past weekend, I pulled out my DSLR for the first time
in months in an effort to get some pics of my boy playing with bubbles (I've been slacking, thanks to the iPhone).
This kid loves bubbles. "Buh-bull," he'll say repeatedly, as soon as he sees the bottle.
He likes watching me blow them, but really enjoys holding the wand himself.
And then...he figured out just how delicious soapy water is.
(These lashes make it really hard to say no to him)
He couldn't get enough.
And got upset if you took the bottle away...
It wasn't easy to take these pictures. I had to keep him from knocking over the bottle, flinging the soapy water everywhere, climbing up the concrete steps, running into the street, and continually wipe his face and nose.
I snapped nearly 50 photos and was sure I would have a disk full of doozies.
I chalked it up to somewhat of a loss, but was happy I'd have some fun pics of my boy blowing tasting bubbles (Seriously, this boy makes everything an adventure).
And then...while uploading the photos, I came across these two gems.
And I've been swooning ever since.
On the day we tasted bubbles, I captured one of my most favorite pictures yet.
It's been a long, sad week. I'm happy it's Friday, but heartbroken by the tragedy in this nation.
And simply astonished by all that has happened in the past 24 hours. I've been glued to the Internet since Monday, especially today.
I've read news sites and blogs all week long, hearing of people's first-hand experiences, runners and spectators who were there on that day. Reading about runners uniting and coming together to share their stories.
Tomorrow, I am running a 5k. If you know me well, I'm not much of a runner.
Sure I run sometimes, but I'm not one to sign up for a 5k the day before "just because." When I heard that two friends were doing it, I had to join. For Boston.
Please keep Boston in your thoughts as police force continue to try and find this wacko. Why can't everyone in this world be this innocent?
Nothing but love to you all. Have a great weekend.
Here's some recent Instagrams. Follow me at kutterchaos.
TOP |never appreciated a child lock button more | online shopping gone awry | smiles
MIDDLE |such a good helper | family park date | ranch dip is yummy
BOTTOM |crazy toddler for sale | so big | cookie butter + banana bagel
We recently visited Deanna Rose for the first time for their opening weekend this season.
Everyone we have talked to gave glowing reviews, but we had no idea just how awesome it really was.
It was magical.
I'm convinced this place could knock the best of Carson's bad moods right off their tushy.
He didn't nap well this day and was overly tired, and I don't think I've ever seen him so giddy.
He didn't know where to turn, where to point next, or what animal to pet or touch. He just laughed. And squealed. Ran everywhere. Bursting with excitement.
He loved the baby goats.They were so tolerable of all these crazy toddlers running around them. Carson even tried to pick one up! His finger also got nipped by a turkey while trying to touch him, but he only cried for about 10 seconds. Oops.
We had so much fun watching him explore.
The children's farmstead has been in existence for more than 35 years and offers more than 200 animals and birds of prey, vegetable and flower gardens, a schoolhouse, fishing pond, pony rides, wagon rides and more!
The best part? It's affordable. Like unheard of affordable.
Two dollars Friday through Sunday (Did you hear me? I said $2!) and FREE during the week. Kids under two are free, so for our family, we visited for under $5. Impressive if you ask me.
I would have paid $5 just to see his face when Brian sent him down this slide head first.
Yep, my husband is that guy already teaching our child how to break all the rules (don't worry, it was a small slide).
We didn't get to feed a goat or take a wagon ride this time around, but I'd be willing to guess that we will back again.
Another kid-friendly place in Kansas City to write home about!
The last time I sat down to write a monthly update about the main subject of this blog was three months ago. Three!
What have I been doing!? I'm literally kicking myself for missing several months because I feel like so much has changed (even though I said I wasn't going to do an update every month after his 1st birthday).
If you're interested in the series, it's called Watch Me Grow. I've documented his growing and changing since he was a newborn and it's seriously one of my favorite things on this blog.
Call me narcissistic, but I'm a proud mama. I love going back and reading these posts. I love looking at old pictures. I love reading what I wrote about his development. And I love experiencing it all over again.
What I was feeling at that moment.
Carson, you are officially a crazy toddler. When I said you were all over the place a few months ago, boy was I wrong. You are really all over the place now. You are a handful, but so much fun.
Your smile and laugh are so infectious and we just light up when we are with you.
I can't get enough of your kindhearted spirit and innocence. Don't get me wrong, you have your ornery moments, but your affection and love is simply addicting. You've become extremely snuggly in the past few months and will give us open-mouth kisses all.day.long. I love it. Please don't stop until you're at least ten. Mmmkay?
Our time on the weekends is always special because I get to fully experience you. I know that sounds weird since I'm your mom and all, but I miss out on so much time with you when I'm at work.
Sometimes, I wish I was a stay-at-home mama, but other times I appreciate the things you are learning at school and the independent toddler you are becoming. It's pretty common for you to come home with a new trick and show off for us. I'll say "Wow, good job buddy, I definitely didn't teach you that!"
You recently went through a phase (about 2 weeks) where you cried when we dropped you off. Leaving you when you are upset is hard, but I think the arrival of some new teeth were contributing to your fuss-pot-hold-me-all-the-time attitude.
You now have 12 teeth buddy! All your first molars are through, and let me just say, we had some extremely sleepless nights because of it! As I already mentioned, you went through quite the needy phase, but seem to be back to your normal self...waving bye-bye to us and saying it as we exit your classroom.
Speaking of you saying things...you finally say and use mama correctly! You have said here and there for quite sometime now, but instances were few and far between and you never said it in the right context.
Well my sweet son, you now say it to me when you want something, when I'm not in the room and you want me, or when I'm gone and you are looking for me.
I was feeling a little left out with all your "da-da" talk, so I may or may not have teared up when you said it over and over a few weeks ago.
And yes, I caught it on video. I was seriously so overwhelmed with happiness at his moment.
I'm not gonna lie, when you say mama, it just melts my whole heart. I can't wait until you can tell me you love me back. Until then, I'll continue to tell you ten thousand times a day. And kiss you all over. Are you sick of my overly obsessed affection yet? Good, cause I'm not either.
Other words in your vocabulary include da-ga (doggy), more, yeah, no, go, duck, ba-ba (for your sippy cup, water bottles and regular cups) cracker, bubble, ball, book, uh-oh and yellow. An older girl in your class loves the color yellow and always points it out, so I think you picked up on it from her. You also moo, baa, quack and roar. My fave is the roar. Carson, what does a lion say? And you'll let out a low growl. I die every time.
Playing outside, bath time and reading books are by far your favorite activities. After dinner we say, "Carson, do you want to go take a bath?" And you'll run down the hallway screaming with excitement to the bathroom. It's the cutest.
Story time has become quite the family soiree. Most nights, we settle down in your room (Jakey boy too!) and struggle to escape without you trying to get us to read every book on your bookshelf. You're so intrigued and curious by the images, and taking in every word we read.
You love turning the pages and pointing out things you know. Sometimes you say them. Favorite things to find and point out are dogs, or "da-ga" as you call it. Your receptive language has really taken off. You can point out a bird, duck, dog, sheep, fish, cow, lion, zebra, giraffe, baby, sun, crab and ball.
The routine goes like this: you bring me a book, climb into the chair on
my lap, we read it, you get down to get another...repeat, repeat,
repeat.
Every time we finish you say, "mama, more." I think you know how to work things in your favor because I always give in.
You would stay outside all day long if we let you. You love the park. You love the driveway. You love the deck. Heck, you even prefer the garage over playing inside. You cry when we go inside.
The park is a new adventure for us. Sure, we've been going to the park since you were a baby, but you can now climb the stairs of the play equipment all by yourself (without giving me a heart attack) and you go down the slides by yourself. Oh, and I can't even try to help you or hold your hand...or you throw a hissy fit.
Mr. Independent I tell ya.
Doing things on your own is all you want to do these days. And you want to do it just like the adults do.
Remember when I wrote about you loving the stairs so much at 12 months? Well, yeah, that hasn't changed one bit. You.Love.Stairs.You've mastered going down them by yourself on your belly (feet first of course), but have thrown a wrench in our progress by trying to go down like we do. Living in a split-level house doesn't come easy, and you've definitely taken some tumbles, but I'm glad you've found something you love so much. Stairs. How exciting son.
I think everything you come in contact with screams at you "Hey Carson, climb me!" You climb on everything. And every time I see you climb something, I see an ER trip flash before my eyes.
You're pretty opinionated these days. You aren't shy about
telling us yes and no. Carson, do you want to take a nap?
No no. Do you want to go outside. Yeah Yeah.
It's all happening too fast for me.
Everybody talks about how fast they grow up, but I really didn't know what that meant
until now. All these memories and moments I already cherish so very much
and you're only 16 months.
I can't imagine what's in store for us big boy. My heart is happy.
Love, Mama
Carson at16-months:
In the Closet: Mostly 18-24 months Diapers: Size 5 Teeth: The number of teeth you have has doubled since the 13-month update. You have 12 teeth! Six on top, six on bottom. Grub: Anything, but peanut butter. You are getting really good at using a spoon, but primarily still use your hands. You love dipping. Pita Chips + Hummus, Chicken Nuggets + Ketchup, Chips + Salsa. You want to do everything just how we do it. Favorites: any fruit (clementines are a new fave), meatballs, mac and cheese, spaghetti, string cheese, green beans, sweet potatoes, marshmallows (oops), chocolate bunnies (double oops), yeah, Easter was not the best for your eating habits. Sleep: My good little sleeper is missing. In fact, it's been about a month since you have slept through the night. You still sleep 10-11 hours at night, but with at least one, sometimes two wake up calls. Teeth? Training us to have your way? I don't know, but will my good sleeper please come back? New Activity/Development: Lots of babbling/talking, pointing for communication, knuckles, jumping (it's so cute to watch you try and jump), pointing out not only your belly and your foot, but now your head, nose, fingers, toes, ears, mouth tongue and teeth!
Loves: Being outside, bath time, story time (your favorite books are Goodnight New York City and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?), stairs, Jake, playing chase, being tickled, sweets, balls, babies, dancing, jumping Hates: Haircuts, getting dressed, getting diaper changed, coming in from outside, daddy's drill (figured it out while he was putting together book case)
Ledbetter's Army was up and at 'em bright and early this past Sunday to participate in the Brew to Brew running event.
For having a team that had barely trained (well...the better half of us), I'd say we did pretty darn good. We completed the 43.5 mile race in 6 hours and 27 minutes, averaging right under a 9-minute mile.
We ran on pavement, dirt and gravel, and one team member had to cross a river on a boat. Some members got stuck with legs that had endless hills and nearly died, but I think we made our team leader proud nonetheless:).
You see, our team leader is an athletic-doesn't miss a day-fit bad ass that happens to have a rare form of cystic fibrosis. He is definitely an inspiration to all of us.
He ran four legs of the race (totaling 18 miles) just because he's a nice guy and wanted to give his wife, mom and brother-in-law a running buddy.
We had a great time, lots of laughs, and not too much complaining:).
Great job team! Next year, I think we'll train. Right!?
If that's the case, we should probably veto Brian and Josh cracking open beers at 5:30 AM.
Thirteen months. That was the last time I did a Watch Me Grow post on big boy.
That was three months ago. He's learning and growing and changing right before our eyes.
And continuing to steal my whole heart.
That kid just makes me melt. I can't even begin to explain how special motherhood is or how it has so very drastically changed me as a person, but it's days like today that I am thankful for.
I had a cookie butter and banana bagel for breakfast, which was pretty awesome, but that's not it.
Today is just another ordinary Friday, but the day that I get to go home and not come back to work for two whole days.
It's a day that means I get to soak up quality time with my boy where maybe, just maybe, we won't be running around frantically trying to accomplish our nightly routine to get ready for the next day.
A day that I'll head out early to take my boy to the park. Because nothing is better than seeing his smile. Nothing.
It's a day where we look forward to all the things that follow this day.
Daddy's pancakes. Time outside. Exchanging laughs. Watching our boy figure out something new. Extra snuggles. Teaching him. Watching him. Sleeping in (well...when he lets us). Much needed time that I don't get during the week.
Days like today are just the best.
I've lacked the time to document our fun-filled weekends together this past month, but it's been jam-packed.
We had a great Easter with Nana Jana and really enjoyed being outside. We went to the park four times in three days.
I am so thankful for the time we had with her. It was low-key, relaxed and just what we needed. Mom and I got away so we could gossip over coffee, and the hubs and I got a very unexpected date night on Saturday.
Watching Carson try to understand the concept of hunting for eggs was amusing and seeing him with his Easter basket made me giggle. He wanted to eat the chocolate AND the foil, and got mad when I didn't let him:) I'm already looking forward to next year's Easter.
This weekend, Gammy is visiting and we are hoping for nice weather!
It's days like today that I feel so very thankful. Happy Friday!
TOP |mama gets to drink a beer in peace | mmm...tim riggins and sangria | fwends
MIDDLE |teething is no fun | three musketeers | mom is working late
BOTTOM |lets go haul some stuff da-da | shark hunting | breaking the rules already
