The Baxter Bunch

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 :)

On March 5th Carson turned 8 months old! I am a little behind on posts and measurements, and Carson has hit new milestones just since his 8 month birthday last week! This kid is growing up way to fast!

Carson’s big milestone this month was learning how to crawl!!! He is all over the place now. He will crawl across the entire house without stopping and is always very determined in reaching his destination. His new big thing is pulling up on furniture, including when he is in his crib. My mom and I lowered the crib yesterday because of this! In fact, Carson is peering at me from over his crib as I type this :) He can also “walk” around furniture when holding onto it. My mom thinks he’ll be walking by the time her and my dad visit in mid-May. Slow down Carson!!!! (I do take solace in the fact that Carson will still cuddle up with me and fall asleep in my arms, so he still has sweet baby qualities).

Carson did not have a doctor’s appointment this month, so we had to once again do our own measurements. His next appointment isn’t until April 19th (we’ll be out of town on his 9 month birthday). I can’t wait to know his actual measurements since mine are always way off!!! 

Weight: 18 lbs 6.4 oz (10-25th percentile)…he was 17 lbs 12 oz last month. I think all that crawling has made him lose some baby chub!

Length: 27 inches (10-25th percentile)…he grew half an inch!

Head size: No head measurement this month.

Here are some pics of the super cute baby kid!

Today Carson turned 7 months old! 

Carson’s big milestone this month has been trying to crawl. He is definitely doing some sort of scooting thing and we wouldn’t be surprised if he was crawling by March! Carson’s mobility is fun to watch, but i’m suddenly realizing that we haven’t done any baby-proofing. Guess i’ll be adding that to our to-do list VERY soon!

He also LOVES to play with his toys and tries to climb over us when being held. He can also feed himself a bottle and prefers to spoon his own food into his mouth (we’re working on it actually going in his mouth). As independent as he seems, he’s actually more interested in being in our arms and won’t let us get too far away. He begs to be held by flapping his arms, holds our hand when we feed him, falls asleep in my arms at night and lays on Ryan’s chest and falls back asleep on Friday and weekend mornings. He’s a perfect blend of cuddly baby and explorer :)

Carson did not have a doctor’s appointment this month, so we had to once again do our own measurements. His next appointment isn’t until April 5th. 

Weight: 17 lbs 12 oz (25-50th percentile)…he’s gained a pound and 2 ounces since last month!

Length: 26.5 inches (10-25th percentile)…he grew half an inch!

Head size: No head measurement this month.

Although 7 months seems like a pretty long time, Ryan and I agree that it’s still surreal that we’re parents and this funny, sweet, energetic baby is ours!

(i’ve been having some blog issues…user error…so it’s taken me a while to post this!)

Being a working mom is tough. I think being a working mom who is a teacher is even tougher. Until summer, my days just aren’t flexible and I spend all day with 120 teenagers! My hours are so scheduled, literally all day, that somedays I barely have time to breathe. But, I can’t really see myself doing anything else as far as work goes, so I guess it is what it is =) The point of this is, I have somehow found the time to be a full time mom, a full time teacher and a baby chef!

For my birthday my mom bought be a Baby Brezza. It steams and blends baby food and it is amazing. You should go watch the video…http://www.babybrezza.com 

It’s really neat! It takes just 25 minutes to make 5 meals worth of food. Carson does not know what store bought baby food tastes like. No preservatives here! So, I have had fun making Carson homemade baby food and (sometimes) he has fun eating it. Here is a list of what he has tried so far!

Rice Cereal

Oatmeal

Apples

Butternut Squash

Green Beans (his second favorite!)

Sweet Potato

Banana (his favorite!)

Avocado

Lately, his favorite method of eating is grabbing the spoon from me and trying to suck on the spoon. He does end up eating some food this way and, of course, he ends up wearing some food too, We’ve found that the best way to feed him is with just his diaper on!

He has also “snacked” while watching Ryan play video games…