The Baxter Bunch

We have already had a very fun and busy week!!! Yesterday Carson had his first swim lesson at the Frisco Athletic Center and he loved it ;) There were songs and splashing and cute babies “swimming” all around. He loved splashing me (in the face) and staring at the lifeguard. We’ll have swimming pictures tomorrow because Ryan will be joining us!!!

Today we went to a free Gymboree class with Brittany and Bailey (who just turned ONE!). It was so fun! Carson climbed everywhere and loved all the balls and toys. There was a part where all the babies pushed this big log together…well, Carson decided to roll with/ride the log while the others pushed. It was pretty funny! He loved the parachute and bubbles too!

Here are some pics from Gymboree :)

Here are some more pictures from Grammy & Grandpa’s visit! Ryan gave me a great camera (that’s waterproof & shockproof!) for Mother’s Day, so I’ve been playing with it :) 

From May 17th until May 23rd, Grammy and Grandpa came down from Michigan to play!!! Ryan was in San Diego for a work trip so they came to help me out while he was gone. Carson stayed home from daycare for three days while they were here and loved playing with them!!! My parents are always extremely helpful when they come visit…cooking, cleaning and helping out in soooo many generous ways. While they were here we also checked out the very cool Perot Museum…which Carson loved! Here are a few pictures from the museum :)

On April 5th Carson turned 9 months old! We were on the way to Branson, MO that day, so he didn’t have his 9 month well-baby appointment until this afternoon.

At his appointment today we found out that he should be eating more table foods, so we gave him a little bit of cheese today. He seemed to love it! We also found out that he has his first ear infection. It’s a single inner ear infection in his right ear. We had no idea! He hasn’t been fussy, hasn’t pulled on his ear and hasn’t changed any habits. His eye has been a little gooey, but we were told that was just a clogged tear duct! So, Carson will have his first medication tonight. After 10 days of antibiotics it should all be better! :) He also had one shot today. After 30 seconds of crying, he was fine. Little tough guy!

Weight: 18 lbs 14 oz (32nd percentile)…he was 18 lbs 6.4 oz last month when I weighed him.

Length: 28 inches (26th percentile)

Head size: 17.3 inches (16th percentile)

I have a lot of blog catch up to do…since last post we’ve gained a niece, celebrated Easter, traveled to Branson and met family members! But, today, I’m thinking about how last Thursday Carson turned 40 weeks old and how much he has accomplished in these 40 weeks. This means half of his existence he’s been on the outside! :) He has always been the sweetest baby, but now he’s transitioning into this amazing little baby-kid. 

Some fun facts about our incredible little man:

1. Carson started clapping on Saturday (April 13th) and now applauds for everything. He especially likes to clap after taking a bite of food!

2. He has never had a fever, earache or taken medicine. He’s never been to the sick side of the doctor’s office! In 40 weeks he’s only had a few colds and a cough, but nothing that a humidifier couldn’t fix! Healthy baby!

3. Carson is 9 months old and he doesn’t have a single tooth. And he’s not teething. We have thought before that he was (months ago), but it was just him being cranky!

4. Big, open mouthed kisses are Carson’s specialty! One day he even crawled over to me and kissed my forehead ;) 

5. Carson loves music and to stare at the CD spinning in his CD player. 

6. Sunday was his first “swim” in a pool. He loved crawling around in the one (cold!) inch of water we put in a blow up pool.Good thing, because I signed him up for 4 weeks of swimming lessons in June.

7. Yesterday Carson said MAMA for the first time!!!! It was the best word i’ve ever heard. He squealed it while crawling toward me! 

Carson loved Easter and was as excited as an almost 9 month old can be that the Easter Bunny came! Grammy made a cute fabric basket for him! I hid plastic eggs around our living room that were filled with Fisher Price super heroes. He was actually really good at finding eggs! He seemed to like the eggs more than what was inside them…

The blow up rabbit that Carson is sharing a carrot with is the same blow up bunny the Easter Bunny brought me every year when I was a kid (then it would mysteriously disappear the day after Easter). The bunny is from 1982!!! It had trouble keeping its air, but it was fun to continue the tradition with Carson.

We continued our Easter fun by going over to Nana & Bear’s house where Carson spent most of the day standing at the door yelling at their dog Molly!!! We had a yummy meal, I ate way too many jelly beans, and Carson fell asleep in his high chair :)

He also had fun playing with his cousin Violet and we went for a big group walk using the double stroller. Carson had a great first Easter :)