9 Months

James turned 9 months old a few days ago!  We went to the doctor today for his checkup and he's a regular, thriving 9 month old!  He is 18 lbs (12%) and 28.5 in long (57%).  His weight percentile drastically went down but the doctor said that is common in breast fed babies and we will most likely see a spike around 2 yrs old.

This is what James has been doing the last few months:

• He has 2 teeth (finally) that came in around 8 months!
• He can feed himself with a spoon (this is a pretty messy task but we will let him be independent) :)
• Has decided he does not like sweet potatoes at all- and they used to be his favorite!
• He has been sitting up really well for a few months now
• He is not crawling quite yet, but definitely gets where he wants to go via rolling and now the "army crawl"
• Is more and more interested in what others are eating- he'll smack his lips and if he has a binky in, he'll spit it out and start smacking his lips (so cute!)
• Is talking more and more- sounds like "ba ba",  "ma ma", or "da da" (though we know he's unfortunately not referring to us quite yet) :)
• He loves to put things over his head, especially his burp cloth (which he LOVES).  He loves to play "peek-a-boo" by doing this as well- he'll sit there with it on his face and flap his arms until we notice and say, "Where's James?" then he'll pull it off and reveal a huge grin on his face
• He is becoming interested in other little ones-  At church one day there was a little (probably one month old) baby crying and James looked right at him and starting laughing hard.  Usually he's a little more friendly than that ;)
• He likes to copy sounds we make
• He is a true boy and laughs whenever someone belches 
• He loves it when we brush our teeth 
• He is waving now!
• He loves music and loves to join in when people are singing
• He likes to "gonk" (as we call it) heads with people     
• For some reason he gets so happy when it's time to take his fluoride! haha    
• He loves his binkies!  He loves them so much when we put him to bed he immediately swaps the one that is currently in his mouth out for one that is in his crib (we keep extras in there just in case we need to find one in the middle of the night if he fusses).     

We sure do love this boy!   Can't believe he's growing SO fast!                 

seeing the lights at Temple Square- don't mind
the white streak, it's just a crazy, dagger
snowflake :)

We now know where we will end up after graduation (actually we've known for a few months)........

Looks like we will be sticking around here!  Despite Carson's desire to get me out of Utah County, it looks like there are just too many opportunities here...sorry Carson :)

Carson accepted a job for a company called Anglepoint, a consulting firm in Provo.  It is based in California but now has a branch here.  It appears to be a great opportunity for our family.  He will start next week part time and if he likes it and they like him, it will become a full time job once he graduates (but of course they will like him).  

We are very excited to be reaching our goals and becoming real adults with real jobs :)

Ahhh a Break!!

I pretty much finished up the semester the week after Thanksgiving and have had all of December to RELAX!!!  It has been SO nice being able to do the things I wasn't able to while going to school such as, staying home with James every day (love it!), cleaning my much neglected house, Christmas shopping, being able to work on crafts that I've been wanting to do, cooking more, spending time with family/friends, etc.

In November I found out that I passed my Limited Scope of Practice Test (LPT)!  I mentioned this in a previous post.  This enables me to work part time at the hospital and some clinics and instacares around here.  It feels nice to finally be able to get paid for all my hard work at clinicals rather than paying them for working there...

Carson is currently working hard on his finals and is doing well so far.  We can not wait to enjoy this break together!  Good luck to all of you that are focusing on finals this week!

Side note:  James finally has a tooth coming through! He was ornery for a little bit but has been such a good little boy the last few days.  I am SO loving the time I get to spend with him every day!

I thought this video was cute :)

Mmmm Coookies

I was watching Studio5 last week and they made these cookies.  I thought they sounded/looked pretty good so I made them and they. were. scrumptious!  And they were super easy to make.  FYI you have to eat them warm that is what makes them so good so if you can't eat them right out of the oven, just zap them in the microwave for like 15 seconds.  They are the perfect cookie for the season!  Here is the recipe for your enjoyment:

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Ingredients:

•   1 c. softened butter 
• 1 c.granulated sugar
•  1/2 t.salt 
• 1 box (7.4 oz) Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink mix -not sugar free- all 10 packets (I found this in my grocery store near the hot chocolate mixes.)
•  2 eggs
•  1 t. vanilla extract 
• 1 t. baking soda 
• 1/2 t. baking powder
•  1 t. ground cinnamon 
• 3 c. all purpose flour
•  1 bag Kraft Caramels (14 oz)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie sheets with parchment. (You really need the parchment!)
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
• With your mixer (or an energetic spoon) cream together butter, sugar, salt and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix powder, until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well.
• Gradually add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix until just combined.
• Refrigerate for about an hour. (If you're really impatient you don't have to do this, but it makes it so much easier to work with.)
• When you are ready to bake, unwrap your caramels.
• Scoop out cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut. (I used a rounded cookie scoop-full. My scoop holds about a Tablespoon.)
• Flatten the ball of dough slightly in the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel into the center of your dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
• Bake 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Please don't over- bake! Once the cookies are done, slide the parchment off of the baking sheet right out onto the counter. Allow cookies to partially cool on the parchment. When cookies are cool enough to be firm but still slightly warm, carefully twist off of parchment and allow to finish cooling upside down (either on the parchment or on a rack.) If you forget about them and they cool too much and stick to your parchment, put them into the freezer for a few minutes and they'll pop right off.
• Yield: about 4 dozen, depending on how large you make your cookies (or how many caramels have been snitched out of your bag before you begin.) Store in an airtight container.

Family Pictures 2011

Last week we had some family pictures taken.  This is the first time doing family pictures as an actual family not a couple.  Our friend, Sarah took them.  She did such a great job!  We love how they turned out!

Getting So Close

Carson and I are in our second to last semester.  We both graduate in April and it can't get here soon enough!  It is becoming more real lately as I realize I only have a month left of school this semester(I started the semester at the beginning of August and am done just before Thanksgiving with the exception of one more week of clinicals after Thanksgiving).  I. SO. NEED. A. BREAK.  I can't wait to just enjoy all of December staying home with James!

Carson will finish out the semester at the usual time mid Dec. so he has a little bit longer than me but he's still plugging and doing great!

There are things happening in our lives lately that make graduation more of a reality for both of us.

 I will be taking my Limited test next Wednesday that will allow me to get a license to work part time.  I have a lot of options even with this limited certification.  I can pick up shifts at the hospital, some of the clinics around, insta-cares, or if I wanted even get a set part-time job.  So I can do that as I am going to school.  I'm not sure how much of that I will do since I am already very busy with school and working at Target one night a week.

Carson has been starting interviews with businesses around here.  All the prospects look great!  He most likely will be hired soon and work part-time while finishing up school and then be hired on full-time.  We will keep you updated with that!

It's crazy to think that when we are finished up with this semester WE ONLY HAVE ONE SEMESTER LEFT!!  Then we can move on with our lives- get a home of our own and be in the careers we have been working so hard for!

Also, not on the subject but wanted to update since we use this as sort of a journal:
We had James' 6 month checkup today and here are his stats:
He is 17 lb (38.62%)
He is 27 in. long (68.59%)

look at this stud!

big enough to sit up on his own in the shopping cart

6 Months Old!

Yes, James is half a year old today!

I can't believe he's that old already!  It's probably because Carson and I have been busy with school, work and raising James but it really has gone by fast.

This is what James has been up to lately:

• He has mastered rolling from back to tummy and now tummy to back as well
• He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks (he can kind of scoot around doing this but hasn't actually crawled yet)
• Can put his binky in his mouth himself (though it's not always in the right way)
• Loves to go on walks or anything to do with being outside
• Loves being on his tummy.  He even sleeps on his tummy, we put him on his back and he rolls right over to his tummy.
• He is eating cereal, veggies, meat, and fruit.  He seems to like all but peas, green beans, and chicken.
• Is ticklish especially under his rib cage and his thighs
• Can sit up on his own but is a little wobbly so definitely has to be closely attended
• Loves bath time now.  He plays with bath toys and loves to splash!
• He is definitely like his daddy...he loves technology.  He's always interested in our phones and computers.
• He loves to watch football with daddy 
• He also loves X-Men (Carson's favorite comic).  They just finished the cartoon series on Netflix :)
• He is very interested in everything we are doing especially when we're eating!
• He loves to bounce/jump
• He is starting to exercise his vocal cords more.  He loves to talk and even scream in delight.

I was leaving for work....so hard to leave this

He is such a good baby.  He's easy going and very happy.  He brings so much joy to our lives and as crazy busy as we are, we wouldn't change a thing!