TOO much!

Oh. My. Gosh. (Sorry, Haley!) This kodak moment is just too much cute to handle. My mommy girlfriends were so sweet to meet me (kindof) halfway for a mommies and babies shopping afternoon at the outlets. We got lots of looks with our five boys, all within 10 months of each other. (Plus three identical strollers among them.) Now I can see why! Thanks so much to Tiffany for taking and sending these pics. I'm sure they'll end up on some other blogs too, but I couldn't resist. In order of age:

Carson, 16 mos; Silas, 14 mos; Ethan, 1 year this week!; Nathan, 10 mos; Henry, 6 mos.

The OTHER Tompkins

Here are some more pictures I got from the Tompkins' camera--that's Phil and Linda's cam, and Michelle's too. I will narrate:

Before Tara moved out, Michelle had this upstairs room and Carson loved going in there to watch Baby Einstein and the Polar Express. He would stand outside the door and knock until someone let him in. Looks like the girls and Riley are really into Baby Beethoven today.

I couldn't resist a couple more pictures of the snow day. I think they're even better than the last one I posted.
Last season, Carson got to go to two football games with his daddy. This one was with Michelle too. They are brainwashing him from an early age! (Also, thanks to Aunties Beck and Sarah for the outfit. Holla!) We don't have high hopes for him to be a famouse football star--it's not really in his genes. In fact, in this picture, he looks more like one of the male cheerleaders.

The creating of the charm monster....

Delayed Snow Post

These are some pics that weren't on my camera from when we got some snow around here. We took Carson over to my inlaws house (isn't it gorgeous?) and let him walk around in the snow for a bit.

He was very unsure of the whole situation. He couldn't walk very well and was very quiet. We would hold some snow up for him to hold and he would just shake his head "no."

Right after we took this family pic, Carson tried to walk in the snow and did a face plant, with his little snow-bundled arms sticking straight out in the air, rendering him helpless, his face cold and wet! It was one of those moments when you are laughing at your child, but also trying to comfort him. :)

Getting Settled

It's been two weeks since we moved into our temporary housing assignment here in Salem. :) It is easy to be appreciative for the house itself--coming from an apartment there are a handful of nice changes, especially a big roomy living room and a garage that we can park our cars in! Carson has had a rough time with the transition, and is still waking up in the night frequently, but the rest of the time he is doing much better. Trent is loving his new commute, and I'm realizing that driving an hour to see my friends and family is not so bad. Here's some pictures of Carson at the front door after we went for a walk in our new neighborhood.

PS: That's a camera pose, not a cry or grunt.

Uncle Chad gets hitched!

Our weekend was full of fun and celebration as we welcomed a new Auntie into our lives. Trent's brother Chad got married to Jess, and we couldn't be happier. Chad was only 11 years old when trent and I met, so I've known him more than half his life! He truly feels like my little brother. We were all honored to be involved in the ceremony: Trent as a groomsman, Carson as the ring bearer and I got to sing. Carson was pulled down the aisle in a silver wagon by two flower girls. on the way down, there was a sign on the back of the wagon that said "Here comes the bride," and on the way out, it said "Just married!" Too cute. I was extremely nervous about whether or not he would cooperate, as Carson's mood swings around large groups of people can be pretty drastic! But he made it--barely. In fact, I was so focused on keeping him focused (and bribed with cookies) that I forgot to take a picture of the wagon! I did get some pictures of the dress rehearsal and the wedding. The couple was gorgeous and our little guy was pretty good looking himself. Chad and Jess, if you are reading this: congratulations! We love you.

Chad is on the other side of this window playing with Carson.Hey, I could get used to this!Carson and his doppleganger.That shirt would not stay tucked in!This picture doesn't capture it, but when Carson saw Jess for the first time, he wouldn't stand posed next to her for pictures, because he was so enraptured and wanted to stand in front of her and look up at her! He was pretty adorable, and she looked beautiful.

Need your Carson fix?

I haven't posted a lot of Carson pics lately, so here's a few recent ones, mostly from our trip to AZ. I love this one--he borrowed uncle Kipp's (I think?) glasses. This one is from one of our last days at our apartment. When I took him back yesterday to finish up the cleaning, he saw the place empty and got confused, then started crying. OK, for those of you who asked me of I was getting sentimental about leaving the place where Carson came home from the hospital, learned to walk, etc. That made me really sad!
I cannot communicate to you the passion of Carson's current obsession with sitting in the driver's seat of cars. Whenever we walk into a parking lot or garage, he beelines for the door of any car, asking "please." When we are getting into our car and I am holding him, he DIVES towards the front seat, then flails and screams when I drag him to the back and his own carseat. The other day we were out and about and when we got lunch, I let him sit in the driver's seat and eat his lunch. He was SO excited. He kept looking over at me and grinning. And you better believe he knows what to do with those keys!
Uncle Mike! It might be time for some lessons!
And, taking after his uncles and daddies in other ways, Carson got some good golfing practice on Ashley's putting green.

Here he is analyzing his shot. (At least I hope that's what he's doing.)

When in doubt, consult your caddy. But don't hit him in the crotch with your club. It makes others laugh, but he might not carry your golf bag/diaper bag anymore that day.

I'm back, baby!

Camera is up and running, people. Here are some pictures you've missed out on. They are mostly of our trip to AZ. I will narrate when appropriate:

Our excuse for a reunion with all of our college buds in Phoenix was that our friend, Jaime, was throwing her husband, Ashley, a surprise 30th birthday party. (And yes, I did get the genders right--Ashley is the husband.) He was surprised. Job well done, secret-keepers!

This is us at the party--a continuation of our unusual family photo experience. You'll have to ask Trent why he is clawing me like a kittycat.

Here's me and the girls--including one of our newer members.
No get-together is complete without a forced group photo of all the children, no matter how competent they are to sit/stand/hold their siblings. Carson enjoyed being the only "blue" representative amongst all the girls. My favorite part of these pictures is Kenadee--furthest to the right. Big sis is holding her like a cabbage patch kid, and she doesn't make a peep!

Photo-less

So, we've been back from our vacation for a day and a half, but I've been procrastinating updating the blog because I don't have pictures. Long story--still trying to get them off of the camera. BUT! We had a great time in Phoenix. The central excuse for meeting up with our college buddies was a suprise 30th b-day party for our friend, Ashley. He was very surprised, which was fun. He thought he was going to a kiddie carnival. We spent the rest of the weekend all playing slumber party at Ashley and Jaime's house, and had so much fun playing poker, watching movies, going out to eat and keeping the kids busy. Carson was the lone male representative of the non-fetal kids present (Baby Tanner is still cooking in his mommy's tummy for 6 more weeks.) There were four other girls and Carson. He traveled pretty well and other than his usual poor sleep habits, he was very mellow and loved being entertained by lots of aunties and uncles and kiddos around. Uncle Kipp taught him how to do the "pound" fist thingy--what is that really called? Think Howie Mandell on D.O.N.D. He also learned to say "uh-oh." Yeah! Exciting stuff, that! Hopefully pictures will be soon to follow. It was a treat to come back to SNOW!

This one takes the cake. I HOPE.

Let me set the scene for you (and I've included some re-enacted self-photos): It's a busy, messy morning in the Tompkins' apartment, about 10:55 am. Carson woke up about 4 times during the night crying, so Mommy and Carson are both a little tired. But, we have lunch plans, so life goes on, clothes must go on, teeth must be brushed, lunch must be packed, hair must be combed, etc. However (as you can see by the stacks of boxes) we are in the middle of packing up the place to move and packing for vacation, cleaning up from breakfast and making lunch to go--so chaos reigns supreme. There is a strong knock at the door. I'm immediately embarassed that some good-intentioned friend has decided to pull a drop-by and I'll have to invite them into my disaster house. When I look through the peep-hole, I see no face, but just an arm of a man. I ask "Who is it?" "THE TUALATIN POLICE." Hmm..is this a joke? No? Must just be a mistake--it's not like someone could have filed a noise complaint about us. (This actually has happened before, and it was a mistake.) I open the door: "Hello!"

The two officers kind of start to walk in, uninvited. "That's wierd," I thought. "Ma'am, we received a 911 call from this apartment." "Really? Are you sure? It must be a mistake, because I don't think tha-----"
"GASP!"
"Oh. My. Gosh: Carson!"
I immediately started apologizing profusely, and told them that sometimes my son plays with the phone, and he must have dialed it without me knowing. Yes, Mother of the Year Award? Right here. Thanks! They kept asking me: "Are you OK? Are you sure you are alright?" Then Officer #1 said, "I'm sorry, we have to search the apartment." "OK" I said in a little voice, through my utter humiliation--not only for my stellar parenting, but also at my housekeeping, which could also win some awards, but not the good kind. While #1 was "searching," #2 said, "You don't mean this little guy, do you?" Oh-ho-ho, yes. I do. He's deceivingly innocent. And then I said "I'm so sorry!" approximately 123 times. They were more forgiving than I deserved and never made me feel guitly (or like a slob). So, all in all--an exciting day. Do not wish to repeat any time soon.

Another mystery of the toddler mind:

Why, after owning them for several months, did Carson decide to take big bites out of his nerf soccer and basketball?

WHY can we not take a good family picture?!?! Part 2.

Seriously! I feel that we have some sort of a curse. We have posed for at least 50 pictures this Christmas, and I haven't been happy with any of them. Entertained, yes, but not happy. Is it me? Am I too much of a perfectionist? I'll let you be the judge.

Someone doesn't want to be here--I won't mention any names, but it's the bald kid.

Why do I look like I'm having a difficult procedure performed off camera? But how cute is Carson?BTW, yes, I did plan the matching outfits. It was Christmas for crying out loud. And Trent and I look pretty good in this one! Too bad our child is running from us like he's on the start line of a big race.Now we enter the section of photos which, and, Babe, please forgive me, but my husband had a serious case of the Chandler Bing. He could not get a natural smile with his eyes open. There are several more you don't see here. I need a photoshop expert to come and perform an eye-transplant from a better photo.

Sigh.