Got some hairs cut.

It's only been 18 months (today!) and already it's time to cut Carson's hair! ;) And even then, there were only a few that got the trim. Baldie had a few really long hairs wisping over his ears that needed to go. I mean, we're talking 4-5 inches long on an otherwise bare landscape. The whole escapade took about 30 seconds. And another "first" is gone!

Visitors

We had two auntie visitors this week! Tara and Michelle both came down, and I will just go ahead and admit they came to see Carson. My camera battery was still low when Michelle came, so sorry, Mich, these pics are all from Tara's visit. Riley came too and Carson was determined to get him to use the doggy door that goes unopened most of the time. "See, Riley? You go through like this."
Carson loves his mac and cheese, just like Aunt Tara.
In a classic SMITH move (thanks a lot, Dan) Tara gets Carson to touch his head with his mac and cheese hands, smearing the yummy cheese all through his hair--or at least, what hair he has.
And look at these WAY COOL shoes that Carson got! Tara swears that Carson picked them out himself, so she just HAD to buy them for him. The timing was good, b/c he only has 2 pairs of shoes that fit him right now!

Answer:
50 hours and 9 minutes.

Question:
How long did it take Carson to break my brand new sunglasses?


Soon you will all see my new shades that were purchased this afternoon at the Dollar Tree. Among the adjectives to describe them, "flattering" and "stylish" do NOT come to mind.

Munchkin Mania

Oh yeah. We put him to work.

You may not believe, me, but there was nothing on the TV. He was pretending.
And I don't think any of us would be suprised that pretend shows are actually quite boring."Writer's block."

Ahhhh! The good life. PB & J and a fire.I love this shot of Carson running full force toward Grandpa Roy and the camera.
Maybe Carson will transcend his parents dislike of animals.

Black Butte Exposition

For those of you who aren't from around here, Black Butte is a kind of touristy ranch in central Oregon. I won't give a lot of details, because I'll probably get them wrong, but there are lots of houses and condos there, and many of them can be rented out. They have a golf course, pool, etc. The ranch is named after this little mountain/hill below, called Black Butte. Renting the places is pretty pricey, but we have lucked out in that the family of one of my mom's former students liked her so much when she taught their son that they have "gifted" us a weekend there for a few years. It's a great time to relax, eat, watch movies, eat, take walks, eat, etc.Awwww. Aren't they cute?One of my favorite parts: the fire. Above the fireplace you can see our makeshift big screen TV made with a sheet, a laptop with a DVD player, Mike's speakers and a borrowed projector.
A rare moment when Carson is controlling his urges and not pressing all those tempting buttons.Awwwww. Aren't they cute?




Also check out this picture of Trent that Mike took last weekend.

We saw a ghost at Black Butte.

Seriously. Check this out.

More backyard fun time

The sun was out today, and it's been so long since we had a semi-warm day, that I totally forgot to put sunblock on Carson's pale little head, face, neck and ears. So, for a quick fix, I decided to give him a hat to wear, hoping that he would uncharacteristically keep it on. It was a mixed result: he would wear it for a while, take it off, then want to put it back on himself. I love his expression on this first pic!

Having a backyard is fun!

We ran outside in a brief break from the rain. This is his sign for help, and it is now adorably accompanied with an actual vocal request of "elp?"
He kept sitting and scooting closer to me.
"LaaaaaAAAAAAA!"

Possession is 9/10 of _________?

When Carson was only a few days old, my sister-in-law Tara came over and made a plaster mold of his hand. It was so incredible! We forget how TEENY those little newborn hands are! The palm was like the size of a quarter. We loved it and put it up on our entertainment center. A few weeks ago, I was hanging up some pictures, and I bumped the mold with my elbow, it fell, and broke into many pieces. I was crushed. I cried hard. I was so angry with myself! Why couldn't I have knocked down just another picture frame? This was something that was precious to me, and can never be replaced. It was a real souveneir of a time in Carson's life that will never return. Truly, I was just sick about it. After the initial disappointment (and the bummer of telling Tara!) I started thinking more about this piece of plaster. I comforted myself by pointing out (yes, to myself--we have long discussions) that this was just a possession. Carson, my living, breathing son, was unscathed! His actual hand was perfectly healthy and chubby, and, well, currently getting into all kinds of things he's not supposed to be near. This got me thinking even more about our stuff, and the word possesssions. For some reason, that word itself implicates (at least to me) a kind of "secular" vibe. As in, store up my treasures in heaven, and anything purchased with money here on earth is refusing to comply to that order. But I don't necessarily think it is wrong for us to be attached to certain things that we own, as long as we never forget Who has provided everything we need. Right next to the mold of Carson's hand is a wood carving that I got in Africa--also pretty irreplaceable. What about the scrapbooks that I have spent hundreds of hours and dollars putting together to capture memories? (I won't lie--I've had dreams in which our house is on fire and I tell Trent to get the baby so I can save the scrapbooks.) And ALL of this train of thought led me to think about some of the victims of the hurricanes and tsunami, who LITERALLY lost all of their possessions. I'm sure that in the aftermath, there were some possessions that they missed more than others, but for those who lost loved ones, don't we all know that they would gladly trade every thing they had ever owned for that life back. I know we would feel the same way. There's really no point to this rambling, other than a moment of gratitude for ALL that God has blessed me with. Above all, the people in my life, and their health. But also, I am very blessed to have things like a roof over my head, food on my table, books on my shelf, a little extra money to scrapbook, and a new replacement molding of Carson's 17 month old hand. (That's this one.)

Just because.

Slumber Party!

We had a treat this weekend when Mike, Becky and Lilly came down for a spontaneous slumber party. The nice thing about being a little further away is that when we do spend time together, we really spend TIME together! Carson loved playing with his auntie and uncle, and especially having Lilly around to torment. ;) Uncle Mike, as usual, was ready with his camera to get some great shots of Carson's current obsession and most clearly pronounced word: bubbles."Oh yeah. I've got her wrapped around my little finger!"

Silver Falls Hike

Today the three of us drove over to Silver Falls, where there are about 10 waterfalls and trails all around. We decided to go for the South Falls, and it soon brought back some memories of going there as a kid.

Bummer. Bad lighting.
This is Carson in the lodge for our pre-hike diaper change/potty break. I love rosey cheeks!

These pictures are at the top of the falls, which is unnervingly high, but gorgeous.

This viewpoint is about halfway down, and you can see it is already getting pretty misty!

One of my favorite memories was the fact that you can walk under this huge waterfall. (Last of the Mohicans, anyone?) While I stopped to take these next pictures under the falls, Trent said "Should we turn around here?" "No!" I said! "We need to go all the way under! It's fun!"You can see the trail along the left of the pic. I mean, look how cool this is!

What cannot be captured on film, is that about 15 feet beyond this spot, all hikers get SOAKING WET! I mean, Splash Mountain has nothing on this drenching. Oops. Did NOT remember that part. Trent and Carson were walking quite a ways in front of me, and as I was running through what felt like an actual extension of the waterfall, I began to hear the cries of my soaking wet baby boy and husband, with "I told you so" face on, waiting in a small cave covering. But we all laughed about it (well, not Carson--but he got over it quickly). The real bummer is, the camera battery died at that point, so we don't have any shots of us and our soppy clothes/hair. It was a good memory!

Welcome to the club.

Yeah, Sarah!

Ashamed? Yes. Slightly proud? A little.

The picture below really has nothing to do with this post. It's just a funny pic of Carson in our new family room with his newish chair. But, back to the topic at hand, I had two nice long drives today, which is becoming a regular thing, and I began thinking back on all the wierd things I've done while driving. Especially when I lived in So. Cal. and would be stuck in traffic everywhere I went. Now that I have a child, I have toned down my risky ways, and limit myself to my two driving vices: drinking ($4 coffee, water or pop, people) and talking on the phone, but I try to limit that to long, straight stretches on I-5. But these are some things I can remember doing while driving in the past:
Eating, of course
Putting on make-up
Changing clothes
Changing PANTY HOSE (which, and the ladies will back me up on this, is harder than clothes)
Adjusted the seat cover, below the seat
Buttered a bagel
Signed a card (with message and signature, and, obviously, sealed card in envelope)
Wrapped an entire gift (with wrapping paper--not a gift bag)
UNwrapped gifts and also FedEx boxes
Made a bottle; gave bottle/binky/snacks to my son in the back seat (OK, that one was after the kid was born, but it was for his benefit--and I was really careful)
Searched for CD's in all corners of the car
Read a magazine
Read sheet music along with CD in stereo
Paid bills

So, what have YOU done while driving that you are ashamed/slightly proud of?