Christmas 2007

This is what Carson got for Christmas. It wasn't much, considering it was his first Christmas and Santa knew he was too young to remember it. We had other people spoil him, so we knew that Santa didn't have to.

This is Jackson and the twins opening their gifts from Nana and Papa.

Dave and I are blessed with very generous parents. My parents got us a filing cabinet, that picture by Simon Dewey, and a complete stocking with Jones soda, nuts, bananas, oranges, chocolate oranges, Toblerone candy, batteries, Similac for Carson, etc. His parents got Carson a Peek-a-boo Rain forest thing for his crib that plays soothing music to help him sleep. It also has cute characters that move so he'll watch them and get tired. He is still a picky sleeper at night and needs to be rocked to sleep, but he really likes listening to it for naps. Peggy and Randy also gave us a DVD player for our bedroom, a folding table for camping and a Welcome doormat, which is so much nicer than my other one. Maddie had Carson and gave him this adorable mooing cow flashligh! Thanks Maddie! Gina and Beau gave us a gift certificate to Chili's for a date night and Nate and Angie gave us a baby sign language book that will come in handy.

This is the gigantic puppy dog that Gina, Beau and my parents got for him. It's so cute. My brother Nate and Angie gave him the cutest sweater, that I need to get a picture of and add it later.

This present was from Noel. She is so creative! I am sure we will get a lot of use out of our ice cream cups and scoop! Dave eats ice cream all of the time.

This is the picture my mom and dad gave us for Christmas. It's called "He Lives" by Simon Dewey. My favorite one by him.

Gina and Beau got this for Carson for Christmas. It's a fun toy that converts into something as he grows.

This is the Jumperoo that my parents got him for Christmas. He loves to jump! He has a blast in there!

Here are the Mangums on Christmas opening some gifts. I love drawing names for the kids because it's so fun to see what they all get!

Carson had Nicolas this year. We gave him a Spider-man football. We also had Doug and Kirstin. We thought it would be fun for them to have a movie pack considering they got their new projector for their new basement!! We got my parents an itunes gift card, some pyrex bowls because they bake their chicken for their diet, and some kitchen shears, since they were using their paper scissors to cut their chicken. We got Gina and Beau and Nate and Angie Ikea gift cards because they both love Ikea. We got Randy and Peggy a hot chocolate maker with some cute mugs to go with it. Dave and I were so blessed this past Christmas season. Not only do we have such a fun little guy to share with it, but I got a new job that I hope I will enjoy and things have been going well, thanks to Heavenly Father. We were so happy to share this season with the ones we love.

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

I wanted to just to a separate blog about how Carson cut his second tooth on Christmas day. We thought it was really fun, yet we felt sorry for the poor thing!

The Petty Christmas Party

Grandma Petty with Carson

Dave and I have so much fun every year at the Petty Christmas party. It is always nice to see the Allen family and Grandma Petty. They Allen family used to live in my ward before I knew Dave, so I think it's so fun to see them considering I've known them longer than I've known Dave. We look forward to the dollar gifts because they are so fun! I got a purple flower night light, which Macey wanted, so I just gave it to her. She wanted to trade me it for her baton, but since I lack in the baton twirling skills, I decided to let her keep that one too. Here are some fun pictures.

Everyone opening their gifts.

Funny Faces

These pictures I took of Carson the other day were so funny that I had to share them. He is such a happy baby and keeps our household full of smiles. It doesn't matter how bad of a day or how long of a sleepless night we have, all we have to do is look at Carson's face smiling back at us and all chaos is forgotten.

Teething At Four Months

I can't believe that Carson is already teething! The past 3 days he has been so fussy, slobbery and tired. I didn't put two and two together until today. I looked at his gums and sure enough, there is a little tooth poking through! I stuck my finger in his mouth and he chopped on it pretty hard. I felt something sharp and hard. He also started to cry because of him chopping down on my finger over that tooth. I gave him a little tylenol and I put his teething rings in the fridge so they were cold when I gave them to him. I have been putting him in his Snugli because he won't let me put him down anywhere! Not even in his exersaucer, which he usually can stay in for quite some time. He will sit there in the Snugli and have that huge teething ring in his mouth with a huge smile on his face. I think he really likes the cold. I know that he's been chomping on things and slobbering lately, but I thought that was just a normal thing for a baby to do...somewhat. His slobbering has gotten a lot worse the past few days, so that was a huge hint. I am so proud again, of this fun, yet loud milestone!

Eight Year Anniversary

Erin, Janel, Carson, Christine, Cindy and Gina

Not Pictured: Shalea and Amber

Looking at the title, one could wonder what on earth am I talking about? A eight year anniversary? For what? Well, every year since 9th grade (1999), all of my friends and I get together for our annual Christmas party. It all started at Erin Wadsworth's house (the cute girl with the glasses) and we have done it every year since then. We even had the party at her house this year! We have seen people come and go, but there are 7 of us who have remained faithful to this wonderful tradition. Shalea unfortunately couldn't make it this year and Amber left before I remembered I had my camera. Of coarse this year Carson was probably the biggest addition and attraction to this party. They all begged me to bring him, so I did. He was such a well behaved boy during the whole thing. The funnest part about the whole thing is drawing names for presents. This year I had to get Cindy a gift(the one sitting next to me). I gave her a gift certificate to Maurice's, which is her favorite store in the mall. Erin had me! Erin gave me the most creative and most useful Christmas present. She gave me a cupcake cookbook with decorating ideas. That will come in handy for my monthly family home evening with Dave's family when we have to bring the dessert. She also gave me the cookbook called "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld, which is Jerry Seinfeld's wife. It shows you how to sneak veggies into your food without your kids knowing it when they won't eat them. So, basically, I need my blender a lot. That will come in handy when Carson gets older. This Christmas season has been hard. I know I have to go back to work after all the fun and excitement is over, so I've been dreading it to come and go. I applied and had an interview at Utah Surgical Center, so the hours will be the same, but no call!! They are also offering me more money, so I am happy about that. They are going to let me know by this Friday if I got the job. It's going to be a hard adjustment, but I am glad it's only 2-3 days a week. That will still give me a lot of time with my cute little baby boy!! I hope it's not for long!!

Sitting Up...Well Sort Of

Carson is so strong. That is one thing I know that Dave and I are both very proud of. I know all parents are proud of the smallest things, but I think this is a very big milestone for him. He is starting to sit up pretty well. After a few seconds he will start to lean forward. It is so cute how he wobbles to keep his balance. He loves to sit and stand up. When I change his diaper, he cries because he sits there and does crunches trying to get himself to sit up. So, I let him and took some cute photos. I am sure he will be sitting up in no time.

The Ward Christmas Party

Last night we went to the ward Christmas party. It's always nice to go eat some free food, talk with our friends and neighbors and see our primary kids perform the nativity scene. The funnest part of the whole thing was Santa coming to see the kids. One of the kids in our primary class, John, sat there forever and named about 100 things off the top of his head. Totally John. We got some cute photos of Carson with Santa. The funny thing is, is that Carson has found his tongue! All day yesterday he was sticking out his tongue. So, when we got these photos, Carson had to show off his new little trick. It was a lot of fun.

Four Months Old

As you all know, Carson is four months old now. He is getting so big. We took him to the doctor today to get his four month check up. He weighs 16 pounds, 12 ounces. The doctor told us his eyes will probably stay blue. He also said that his strength is advanced for his age. He is really amazed how strong Carson is. He said he may be an early walker. We will see! We hope, but then I want him to stay a baby forever! I also need to put Carson on his tummy a lot more. It was just hard because he spit up so much, but now that he's on a bottle, he really hasn't spit up. I am glad Dave came with me today because the poor thing got his shots again. He did really well. He didn't cry. He fussed like he does when he gets tired, but he didn't cry. We are so proud of him. He is such a good boy! I am also proud of him because after he woke up from his nap today, he took a bottle from me! I was ecstatic! I am glad he didn't want to nurse. It's sad in a way to break that bond, but yet I am so happy because now, I can give him to Dave in the morning and he can get a bottle ready and feed him while I sleep!! Hallelujah! I know I did many posts about his bottle feeding, but this is for sure the last anyone will hear of it because he's on a bottle and that's it! It finally happened! I am still grateful that Dave gave him a blessing. We are so happy that Carson is doing so well!

The Millionth Blog

Okay, now he'll take a bottle from his dad at home. I should have been more patient to blog about the whole bottle fiasco. I used to top him off before bed, but we stuck a bottle of my milk into his mouth when he was falling asleep so he would learn not to depend on me now for bed. I am so happy this is all happening, but he does get his shots tomorrow so I'm wondering how he will react to the bottle. I'll let you all know how it goes...if you aren't sick of hearing about this bottle fun!

The Only One

Well, my dad is the only one who can get Carson to take a bottle. We don't know why. I think every time Carson gets hungry I'll take him over to my dad and let him feed Carson. Strange.

Babies Are Smarter Than We Think

Well, Carson will take a bottle at grandma and grandpa's house, but not ours! He refused!! I finally had to nurse him because he was going onto 6 hours, so I was starting to worry. I guess he knows when he's home he gets nursed and at grandma's he gets a bottle. Smart cookie. I called Kirstin and Dave called his mom and we were celebrating...guess we'll "pop the bubbly" later.

The Last Bottle Update

I just wanted everyone to know that this is the last bottle update because Carson has officially taken a bottle! We decided that it would be best for us to start pushing for me to go back to work. So, Dave gave him a father's blessing this past Sunday and we went out of sight. We stayed at my parent's house, but we went downstairs and waited out of sight. He drank it when he became really hungry, but he would only drink my milk. We tried again when we came home from my parents and didn't have any luck, so I nursed him before he went to bed and he drank a lot. He was happy that he got to drink from something familiar. So, today I went to turn in my application at Utah Surgical Center and then I went to get Dave and go get something to eat on his lunch break. My mom started to feed him some Similac, which didn't make him break out since we weren't using a Playtex bottle, and he wouldn't take it. Then he got really hungry and drank the whole 4 ounces. He did really well. Then, later on, my dad fed him a bottle and he drank 6 ounces! He is latching on really well now and drinking formula! I don't like having to teach him how to eat a bottle so I can go back to work, but I am glad that I don't have to be home or somewhere where I have to go hide and feed him. I am so excited to be able to get a full 8 hours of sleep! I deserve one!! I want to thank Heavenly Father for helping us because that is the whole reason why Carson got on a bottle in the first place. I see the Lord's hand in many things now that we have Carson. He has helped us with all of our prayers and concerns we have had with him. I am thankful for Dave's faith and giving him the blessing when my mom and I asked him to. He's a great dad! We are so proud of our little boy. He has so much patience and he has the sweetest spirit! We have a video of Carson on YouTube.com. He is laughing at Dave while playing peek-a-boo. Just type in "pajama peek-a-boo" and you can look at it! Dave can make him laugh a lot more than I can. I put it on there so extended family and friends can look at it.

Rice Cereal

The past couple of nights, we have been introducing a little bit of rice cereal to Carson. I decided that was how I would top him off at night. I will feed him and then an hour later give him a little bit of cereal. It worked because he slept 8 hours. This was the third night we gave it to him and he seems like he is starting to understand a little better what to do with the white, tasteless mush. He really didn't like it the first night we gave it to him. He was only sleeping 4 hours each night, so that is what made us decide it was time for him to move on. That and me wanting to not have to nurse as much. He does seem to get a little hungrier sooner too. Plus, my sister in law said that is how she found out that her boys needed something a little more substantial. I put 5 drops of Karo syrup in it tonight so it would be a little sweeter like breast milk. He seemed to eat more of it. Pretty soon I will replace one of his meals a day with it and see how he does. We hope like crazy he'll like it more than a bottle. I can't believe he is already at this stage. He is growing up so fast!

More Fun

I didn't know that having a baby would be so hard, yet so rewarding. Carson is getting more fun as he gets older. He is starting to talk a lot. He is so cute. Instead of waking up and crying in the morning for his breakfast, he just lays there in his crib and talks. It's so funny. I delay going and picking him up because his cooing gets louder and louder for me to hear as I wait. He then gets frustrated and then will screech, but yet he doesn't cry. He is starting to rub his eyes when he gets tired as well. That is also another new thing that he does. I say"ahh" every time he does. He really likes his exersaucer as well. He gets so excited when he finds a new toy he can move on to. My parents bought him a jumperoo for Christmas. Of coarse we have already have set it up, but they are keeping it at their house until Christmas. It's so fun to see him shriek in delight when he sees the lights, then shrieks when he sees something else, then shrieks again when he sees the lights again and shrieks again at something else. He waves his arms when he gets really excited. He is such a joy to have in our home. Another cute thing he does is when he yawns, I will pretend to yawn with him and he will start to smile or laugh and not finish his yawn. He responds to peek a boo really well. He is also starting to suck his thumb really well. He would do it once and a while, but he is just going for his thumb now. fHe is really strong. He still needs a little support and he can't sit up very long by himself. He does remind me a lot of my nephew Jackson because he was so strong. We are happy to have another voice in this house besides mom and dads!