Thursday, January 28, 2010

Papa's Got a Brand New Blog!

Check out my Daddy's new blog, "Rockets and Robots!" http://rocketsrobots.blogspot.com/

Monday, January 25, 2010

A Fun-Filled Weekend

Anthony's busy social calendar is wearing us out. What a weekend we had!
On Saturday, we went to baby swimming class. After a nap, Anthony's buddies Harry and Claire came over for a playdate. Harry and Claire are twins! We first met their parents at our childbirth class. We didn't see them again until after the twins were born. They came a little early and had to spend some time in the NICU. So that's where we ran into them again!
Portland really is a small town. What a couple of cuties they are- Anthony loved hanging out with them.
(That's MILK on Anthony's overalls, by the way.)

Claire, being a girl, is a bit of an overachiever. So the fellas found they had more in common. Here they are playing "Chopsticks" on the piano. ("No, Anthony, I'm sure it's a C-sharp.")

Harry doesn't let any obstacle get in his way- he just goes right over it!

We learned a new game the twins' moms made up to encourage crawling. It's called "Whale and Krill" and consists of throwing cheerios (or puffs) on the floor and watching the babies go after them! (Of course, our floors are always very, very clean, so this is no cause for concern.) Arnold likes this game too.

On Sunday, Anthony had the pleasure of attending his buddy Isaac's first birthday party. We forgot to take pictures, but trust us, we had a good time. Anthony partied so hard that he fell asleep before getting any birthday cake. But...
...then he took Grandma Jeanne out to dinner for HER birthday. He got to have his first taste of whipped cream from her key lime pie, to make up for missing out on birthday cake.
Today we're taking it easy and hanging around the house. That's fun too!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Happy Birthday Grandma Jeanne!

Some little-known facts about Grandma Jeanne:
  • Grandma Jeanne Bruerton was born in Wolverhampton, England 87 years ago today. Wolverhamptom is Northwest of Birmingham. Her first name is Mabel, and her middle name is Jeanne.
  • During WWII, Grandma Jeanne was a "Rosie the Riveter", helping the war effort by working in a factory.
  • One day towards the end of the war, she met an American soldier named Paul Carson through a friend who was dating Paul's friend. At a dance, she discovered Paul "had two left feet" but he was tall and handsome, and she liked him. Soon, they got married and she moved with him to America. They travelled by boat to NY, and then by train to Oregon, where they made their home.
  • Jeanne and Paul moved to Yamhill County to be near Paul's family. Yamhill County is rural even today, so you can imagine what it was like in 1945. Picture a young woman transplanted from a good-sized city in England to live in Dundee, Oregon with her in-laws. As Jeanne puts it, "I thought I'd go mad."
  • Eventually, Paul and Jeanne moved to Portland. Jeanne worked for the founder of U-Haul when he was just starting out, and eventually helped Paul with his real estate business.
  • She joined a club, the Daughters of the British Empire, and made many expatriate Brit friends who had also married American soldiers.
  • After 16 years of marriage, on their wedding anniversary, little Paul came along (Anthony's Daddy!).
  • After Paul grew up, Jeanne decided she'd like to learn how to paint. She took lessons and found she had a real talent. She gets offers to buy her paintings even today!
  • Jeanne has kept up many, many friendships for decades. She still keeps in touch with friends from grade school in England. One of her lifelong best friends was someone she met on the train from NY to Oregon when she first came to America in 1945.
  • She taught Paul how to read and Susan how to knit.
  • Anthony loves to sit on Grandma Jeanne's lap.

Even though we have to keep reminding her that Anthony's name is "Anthony", and not the English "Antony", we still love her. And so does he!

Sigh...






Monday, January 18, 2010

Guy's Night

Anthony and his buddies Anant and Isaac got together for a playdate yesterday.

The Dads (and the big brother) got to come too, for once!

The pictures came out a little blurry, so here are some better shots of the handsome fellas from a couple of months ago at Anant's house.

Look out...we think these three are going to get into a lot of mischief together someday!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Guest Post from Aunt Pat

Anthony loves to play. Last week I spent four days with my wonderful nephew. While Paul and Susan went to work, Anthony brought me up to date since I last spent time with him three months ago. No more binky - he has found his thumbs and can even suck his thumb and drink a bottle at the same time. He has a great appetite and showed me how to pick up crackers, chew them and then spray some of the same chewed crackers on my face. He can do the same with yogurt, avocados, peas or sweet potatoes. Arnold stopped by and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Anthony has found his feet and can remove his socks without any struggle. We played with all the toys from Santa. He seems to like toys that he can make noise with like the maracas and a spinning top. The rings are always a favorite and have multiple uses (teething, sound and stretching exercises behind his back). Anthony loves his books and can get very excited over a good story plot. But his favorite time is when his Mommy and Daddy come home from work and he is wrapped up in hugs and kisses. The Carson home is full of the laughter and love of this little baby boy. He is growing so fast - he babbles, giggles and wants to explore. He gives kisses on the cheek (almost) and can wave hello and good-by. I miss cuddling with him and can't wait to see him in March.. . .and his hair is blond...and his bedtime is 8 o'clock - he looks so sweet in those footsie pajamas...

Monday, January 11, 2010

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Happy Birthday, Aunt Peggy!


Remember how much fun we had when you came to see me?

I'm much bigger now- just wait 'til you see me when I come to NY! You'd better start training now because otherwise you might not be able to keep up with me during our floor exercises.

Love,
Anthony

PS- Mommy told me this story: She had a lot of older sisters (I've lost track of how many). When she was a little girl, someone asked her which sister was her favorite. Mommy said, "Peggy. Because she always says hello when she comes home." I just wanted to tell you that was nice of you.

Monday, January 4, 2010

More Photos of our Dapper Little Man

Because you can never have too many pictures of a little boy in a tuxedo!