carson taylor: six months

welp! those were the fastest 182 days of my life! 

i can't get over just how quickly these first six months of your life have passed and how much you've changed!  i've nearly forgotten just how small you were and how it felt to have you kick and squirm inside my belly.  

it was an eventful month for you, little man.  you battled another nasty cold, celebrated your first easter, started a new daycare, learned SO many things, started eating solids and truly annoyed allie for the first time since birth.  phew!  

this month you started attending a new daycare.  it is a center near daddy's work.  you have adjusted really well and are considered 'happy' most days.  the center provides a sheet in the infant room which indicates when you eat and sleep, what you learn, and notes your overall demeanor.  only a couple days have they circled fussy.  your teachers are fantastic!  and you have a crush on one in particular.  each day when i pick you up you are super chatty, in fact we get comments often about how much you 'talk'.  the center is great and will grow with you.  each room is dedicated to development and provides educational curriculum until grade school. yes, even the babies have a curriculum.  i love it!

with a new daycare comes new germs and you definitely made friends. within your first week at the center you had a terrible cough and another bout of pink eye.  seriously kid!  your cough turned to croup and it meant several sleepless nights.  you hated it and it broke my heart.  i just hate when you are sick.  the good news is that the weather is shaping up and getting outside on a consistent basis has really helped keep you healthy the past few weeks!

these days your biggest smiles tend to be shared with daddy and it melts my heart.  you two certainly have a bond...and according to dad, secrets.  hmmm.  you are now eating solids and while i had hoped this would help you sleep better that is certainly NOT the case.  you still wake 1-2 times a night and are often ready to party and tell stories - needless to say at 4 AM i am not amused but can't help but smile.  you've tried bananas, rice cereal, squash and peas.  according to your daycare you are only one of two babies they have ever had to actually like and eat your peas.  good job!  you've liked everything so far and gobble it right up. 

at your most recent doctor appointment doctor dodge commented on your chunky physique, noting again just how much you've grown since those first days.  you are most certainly not a preemie anymore. you've grown a whole inch since your last appointment and are now on the charts at 24 inches (1st percentile)!!  as for your weight you're nearly 16 lbs (19th percentile) and that head is in the 25th percentile.  it seems you've stalled out on the lengthening side of things which means for the most part you are still in 3-6 months pants and 6 month tops.  this in between stage has kept me busy with laundry since there are only a few things that fit well.  several of your six month duds are still too big and some of the 3-6 month stuff is too small. 

it's safe to say that you certainly have personality.  you are quite the talker and are generally a happy little guy unless you are hungry or tired.  you routinely screech and squeal when you're excited.  you have become very aware of your surroundings often leaning or looking toward whatever is of interest to you - even if that means ignoring who might be wanting your attention.  you take tremendous pride in yelling your 'stories' in the morning.  morning time is still your favorite and you've become so much more expressive in the last month.  it is constantly cracking us up!  your faces, your sounds, your motions they're all so much more intentional these days and when you bury your head in my chest because your tired or reach for me when someone else has you it makes my heart full.  i love watching you learn new things and explore this great big, crazy world!

you have just recently started to give open-mouth kisses and have started to hold your bottle.  you know where it needs to go but coordinating your arms with your mouth is still posing a challenge.  you discovered bubbles recently and your favorite toy is the o-ball.

stop growing baby!  happy half birthday!

a basket bigger than you at grandma's

first time eating rice cereal ... you like it much better with veggies or fruit mixed in

playing outside with dad

holding your bottle

you love wearing your sunny g's

flirting with the nurse at your 6 month check up

sooo big!

sooo little!

i can't help but tear up - you've grown so much since that first day!

funny moment of the month:  discovering allie.  like really pushing her buttons!  not only does she get annoyed by all the attention you are getting you've recently started touching her.  she is somewhat tolerant but, the day you gripped and ripped out a handful of her fur (which incidentally almost wound up in your mouth) she made a point to move as far away from you as possible.  watching you two interact makes us laugh.  you are two peas in a pod! 

chasing that 'balancing act'

this post has been months in the making.  even before having carson i dedicated ridiculous amounts of time to thinking about how i planned to balance life post baby.   as someone who is fiercely ambitious i often set high expectations for myself and as a working mom i was afraid I’d over commit.  i feared that we’d let the baby be the center of our universe instead a part of it.  i thought that i’d lose myself and drive a wedge between cody and i by expecting him to pick up the pieces.  and at six months in here’s what i’ve discovered – the perfect balance doesn’t exist but in finding what works for you and your family you can get closer to juggling it all. 

since the time that cody and i decided to have kids i knew that returning to work was in the cards for me.  i have always found work satisfying.  finding a balance between what is realistic and what isn’t has been a challenge I never expected.  what's balance anyway?!

i’ve come to the realization that i’m not great at this whole balancing act thing but i'm sure doing a good job of chasing it!  settling into a routine over the past three months has brought with it clarity in terms of what it takes for me to feel wholly satisfied and fooled into thinking balance is possible.  don’t judge – this is what’s working.

generously love me – setting aside a few hours a week for ME helps me stay sane.  i’m lucky that i have a husband who supports this and isn’t afraid to assume responsibility of the babe – something i’m appreciating more and more these days.  call me selfish but my days start at 5 AM and end around 9 PM and they are jam packed!  i’m sure any working mom can relate.  being able to run to target, grab coffee with my girlfriends, go for a long run or get a manicure allows me time to recharge which… helps me be a better wife, friend, and mommy.

accept help – back to that husband of mine.  these days i’m welcoming his help and the offers of others.  i’ve realized, somewhat painfully, that i can’t do this on my own.  to all the single moms out there – YOU ROCK!  this has been a humbling experience but a growing one as well. 

commit to priorities – this means saying 'no' which is always easier said than done and being fully vested in commitments.  i have a tendency to overextend myself.  these days i’m much more selective in what i do, with whom and when.  this has been my biggest challenge to date. 

maintain perspective – especially when life gets crazy. for me becoming a mom has been uniquely liberating.  organization no longer rules my life and striving for perfection has become a thing of the past.  having a baby has forced me to put things in check on the daily.  i still get frustrated; it's just different.

start everyday with coffee – lots and lots of coffee!

xoxo 

life lately: via my camera roll

maybe i’m the only one but lately i’ve found myself scrolling through pictures that i’ve taken at random times throughout the week.  i snap photos all the time and more often than not do nothing with the images though occasionally one or two will make it to insta.  the past few weeks have been busy ones for our little family so here’s a glimpse of life lately via my camera roll.  enjoy!

every night.  this is my view. <3

and every morning this is carson's view.  catching up on world events. 

allie's toys/scraps of toys and one puppy who's ready to tug.

breakfast at cj's 

carson had milk. :) 

we snapped a lot of pictures at cj's - behind us were cody's initials.  he wanted a picture.

i don't take many selfies but, THESE GLASSES!

a surprise lunch date with my favorite guy.

the wallpaper!  and the letters!  i love me some whiskey river.

  lately carson LOVES his baths and has become quite 'helpful'.

these two love to look out the window.

our pj family - all trying to survive the cold we're sharing.