Rain, of course

Its probably been 340 days since it rained last.  We had one day this month of cool weather.  The next day the Santa Ana winds came and its been hot ever since.  Finally it decided to cool down and rain -- on Halloween day.  Micah's costume is a cardboard box decorated in wrapping paper so we quickly wrapped it in plastic wrap.  Because of the rain we had to drive everybody to school.

I found out it is possible to pick Bradlee up from Seminary, drive her to high school, then come home and get Avarie, pick up Donavon and drive them to middle school, and then get home before Micah had to leave for school.  Luckily, Kevin was home to do it, or I would have had one pissed off baby before I was done because I don't think that schedule left any time for feeding baby.

I've been putting Carsten to bed kind of late.. 9-10 at night.  I decided Wed night to put him to bed earlier so I made sure he didn't sleep too much in the afternoon and put him to bed at 7:30.  All went great.  He woke up the next morning at 6:30 (ok, he was also up from 2-3 but that's normal.  So a good 11 hours of sleep.  Last night I tried the same thing.  I fed him at 7:00, he sonked out completely in my lap.  Laid him down at 7:30.  Eyes popped wide open.  He almost decided to go to sleep but then decided to get mad instead.  The short story is that he didn't get to sleep in his bed until 10:30.  I'm thinking that's why I was putting him to bed so late before.

He's only 3 months but I'm about ready to let him "cry it out".  I'll try to hold off a bit longer tho.  But shouldn't he be getting around 10-11 hours sleep at night???

Happy Halloween

Homecoming 2008

Homecoming 2008

Homecoming was great! My friend Amanda set up a limo. There was 22 total that came in the limo and we met up with more at the dance.

First stop was Chile's. It was so fun when we got there they had a big table all ready for us. It was so funny seeing all the people there with there families stare at us! We had a nice dinner and then got in the limo again to go to the dance.

The limo was so cool there was lots of room, music blasting, and lots of lights. This limo was equipped with amplifiers, light show and drinks in a cooler!

The dance was awesome. the decorations were great and there was an awesome DJ. There was also a free Henna tattoo booth setup. The dance lasted until 11. We all had a great time at the dance!

Video

I got some cute video of Carsten smiling, of course now that I'm trying to blog it he's getting really fussy and will be mad soon.

Let There Be Light

Yesterday we got a new light. Now we have 3 good hanging lights in the house. The light we used to use didn't hang from the ceiling. it only had four light bulbs, it is cracked and rusted, and three of the bulbs don't work. The new light is very bright! It is shiny silver with glass cups around the light bulbs. It is so cool!

-Micah

Old Lamp

• cracked
• rusted
  
• cord breaking
  
• bulbs broken

New Lamp

• shiny
• 20x brighter
• on ceiling
• cool looking

TV Time

I read BabyCenter.com a lot when I was pregnant.  I like the week by week pregnancy calendar.  But the baby part isn't as exciting, and you get advice like this.

Is it okay to nurse my baby with the TV on?

As a general rule, no -- feeding time with your baby is bonding time for the two of you.  It's a time for you to hold, snuggle, and talk to your baby.  She needs this interaction to grow and develop.

Kelly Ross, M.D.

Pediatrician at St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, and mother of triplets.

If I couldn't watch TV or read for those 5 hours a day while he's attached I would go out of my mind starring at a wall.  Anyway, he's usually got his eyes closed so what would be the point.  He is usually really happy when he's done eating and we bond plenty then, thanks.

2 months

Carsten had his two month check-up on Tuesday.  He's as healthy as can be.  He weighs 12 lbs, 4 oz and is already 24 inches.  I knew he was taller because he's outgrown all his pajamas and we've gone up a size.  He's also getting darn cute.  He's still a bit cranky in the late evening when he can't decide wether its bedtime or not but otherwise, if I keep him fed, he's pretty happy.  I guess you can tell he's well fed by the weight gain.

Bulbous Bouffant

I'm not sure why but this cracks my kids up.

ROAD TRIP

Carsten had a couple of firsts yesterday. We are visiting grandparents in Concord this weekend so we got to enjoy an extended 8 hour road trip. In our mini van. Without air conditioning. In 98 degree weather. JOY. The weather was cool and overcast through Santa Barbara but an hour and a half into the trip, at Santa Maria, we were already too hot. So we stopped at Chuck E Cheese. We decided the pizza tasted OK, but for $30 it should. Actually the pizza was only $20, the other $10 was for tokens. We cooled down, played some games and had fun.

The rest of the trip went pretty well. The temperature cooled down for a while and then heated up again. We made a stop at Taco Bell in King City and cooled down again, and then had to stop about 1/2 hour later to get Carsten to calm down and go to sleep, then he slept the rest of the trip.

As you can see, Carsten is growing up fast. He had fun at Chuck E Cheese and he smiled for his grandparents when he got here. Then he set a record and slept for 6 hours straight. I don't know if it was all the screaming in the car that did it or the 1/2 hour we spent smiling at each other before I put him down for the night.

I think it was the smiling.

Cute Pictures

Healthy Lunch

Micah has a field trip today to the Camarillo House and City Hall. She was excited because they had a assignment to pack a "Healthy Lunch" for the trip. She started with carrots. Good job. Then she added graham crackers. OK, not too bad. Then came the bag of Cheeze its. She and Avarie measured out a 1/2 serving, so not too many at least.

Last came the package of Oreo Cakesters. Its the first time I brought these home. They looked good. Avarie and Micah read the nutrition facts to me as they ate breakfast. "Mom, it has 250 calories, is that good" "Not really, how much fat?" "12 grams"

Oh, well, maybe she'll get an "A" on her math worksheet instead.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 package (57g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 108 Calories 250
% Daily Values*
Total Fat 12g		18%
	Saturated Fat 2.5g	12%
	Trans Fat 0.1g
Cholesterol 5mg		2%
Sodium 250mg		10%
Total Carbohydrate 36g		12%
	Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
	Sugars 24g
Protein 2g
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 2% Iron 10%

SMILE

More Carsten

Sorry, I had a cold all week and didn't get anything posted.  But Cate did so I'm sure you've all seen the pictures from Carsten's blessing already.  Also, the first OFFICIAL smile picture.  He's been smiling all week but we had trouble getting a good picture.  I think Bradlee finally got a good one this morning.  

Carsten is on a pretty stable sleep schedule for the last couple of nights.  Down between 8 & 9, up between 2& 3 and up again around 5:30-6.  Then unfortunately I have to wake him up at 7:30 if he happens to still be asleep to get Avarie & Donavan to school.  Some days we come home tho and get a nap in right away.

The girls are doing good in school.  They help with Carsten a bit.  Micah will pick him up when he cries and deliver him to me.  Avarie will hold him for about 5 minutes if I make her, and Bradlee will take him whenever

Ok, on to the pictures:

Carsten Checks In

My mom has been trying to type this all week, but there isn't much time for her.  I'm either awake and she's holding me or feeding me or changing me or I'm asleep and she's lucky if she can get a shower.  Wednesday I let her shower but I woke up before she could get dressed, heh, heh.  Right now I'm sitting on her lap and getting fussy so maybe we'll just go for some quick one month picutres.

Also I'm getting blessed by my dad tomorrow in church.  Hope to see you there.

Love, Carsten

1 month old!

Carsten isn't that exciting yet but he is getting bigger by the day. At his one month check up he was 10 lbs 2 oz and 22 in. We thought we had his sleeping schedule down but this week he changed on us. not just for one day though. Every day he has changed the time he wants to go to sleep resulting in a very tired and grumpy mom. He is pretty much eating 24/7  and seems to gain another two pounds each time he eats. Also we are starting to see the start of smiles! We'll try and get a pic!