Carson is 2 mo...Nope 3 Months!

This kid turned 2 months old at the end of February. Can you believe? Time just flies. He isn't getting any better sleeping at night. We wake up at least 4-6 times for an hour each time. It is quite exhausting. 

 But this cute guy does make it worth it. We just sit and watch Netflix...or well he listens and I watch. He goes to sleep pretty easily once he's done eating. But after he's down I have to pump. Which is why it takes a whole hour each time to feed and pump.

On March 2nd, this handsome boy made his first appearance at our ward in Manti. We only stayed for the first hour, but it was just what we needed. 

He takes after his Daddy - both are just too handsome. 

 
Mady is getting quite good at drawing people. Here is our family - I know its hard to see, but you can make out four people. Too cute to not take a picture. :)

We also took Carson in for his shots in the middle of March. He has been sleeping most of the day, which was super great. I got a lot done. :)

Despite how colic-y this kid has been, There are lots of moments when he just smiles and looks at me that makes it all completely worth it. 

Or when he holds on tight while I put him to sleep.

 One of those small moments happened on March 14th when Carson laughed for the first time. It was just what I needed to hear after a long and overwhelming day.

 
 Mady is such a big help to me. While I ran downstairs to switch the wash and bring some clean laundry up, I asked Mady to watch Carson for me. This is what I came back to. She is just too sweet.

  Happy 3 months to this smiley boy! I love how he responds more and more each day.

 His colic is getting better everyday. However, if you ask my husband, you'll get a different answer.

 I'm sad he is growing up too fast, and yet I love each new phase. But there are moments such as below, that I wish I could just go back to and stop time for a bit. Just so I can soak it all up.

Carson's Baby Blessing

Thank you all who came to Carson's blessing! We sure appreciate the love and support from our close friends and family. It meant so much that you were there for the blessed event. I really wish I would have taken more pictures of everyone who came. But sometimes as the hostess, you don't have time to do so. And with 30+ people, there was just no way. 

 But look how cute this kid looks in a tux!

 I could just eat those cheeks!

 Such a handsome little man

At least I got a picture with Carson's favorite cousin - Kaslo. 

These two are just six weeks apart.

They are going to be trouble makers. 

 
After Mady's birthday, once things settled down, we took the kids on a walk.

 And we let Mady try out her new birthday present.

 She did so god.

 And that's the last of my pictures. I'm super sad I didn't get any family pictures, but no use crying over spilt milk. So I'll just leave you with one last picture of Carson.

Our Curious Little Mady Turns 4!

Mady went back and forth on what theme she wanted for her birthday party. But she finally settled on Curious George. I had Jemma make the invitations. Didn't she do such an amazing job? Mady was so thrilled when she saw them. 

Since Mady's birthday was close to the first of the month, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and do Carson's Blessing as well. So I had Jemma do those, along with his birth announcement. She is seriously so talented. 

I had a hard time coming up with something fun to go along with Curious George. I read blog after blog trying to come up with a cute idea. There were none that would be perfect for a 4 year old party that would hold their attention. So I came up with my own. 

Of course, it involved many hours of preparation. In which my husband was so fed up with me. Especially because of front room looked like this for countless days. 

 Cardboard shreds everywhere does not look good on white carpet.

 Finally, the day before her birthday, I got to do the fun part - the cake!

 Of course, that just involved more messes that Ray had to put up with. He must love me or something.

 And finally, the masterpiece! Or something like it.

 Note to self - more straws to hold up the fondant.

 Another note - find a different fondant recipe that doesn't tear as easily.

 After the cake was done, I started decorating the house. Mady wanted to take a picture in front of everything. Doesn't she look super cute?

 I love how cute the plates and cups turned out - if you don't get it, its supposed to be the Man in the Yellow Hat's hat. :)

 Because I had lots of company and doing multiple meals, plus a big shin dig the next day for Carson's blessing, I kept the refreshments simple. Cake, cupcakes, tootsie rolls, and a veggie tray.

The books were Mady's party favors - cute and cheap!

 It was too cold to decorate outside, so this was the "front door".  

 Here's a really dark picture of the party room.

 We had a ton of extra balloons, so we just put them up top. It was the perfect touch, I thought.

This is what our living room looked like. 

And as long as no one turned on the fan (which I taped the light switch) we were good. 

 

 Here is our little birthday girl with her cake. She was in love with it - which is what my overall goal was.

 She then wanted a picture with her cupcakes too. What a cheeser.

And here's our party boys - Carson and Kaslo!

While we waited for all the party guests to arrive, I had printed out Curious George coloring pages to color. I also laid out the veggie trays so the kids could snack on those while they drew.

 
They were all so excited!

These are the books I had the party themed around. 

 
I would read a book to the kids, and then we would go do our own version of the book. The first book we read was Curious George's Dinosaur Discovery.

I had all the kids head outside and make their own dinosaur discoveries. Each kid found plenty of dinosaurs - they loved it!

 
The next book on our list was Curious George and the Pizza Party. I had already made dough for the kids before hand. Once we were done reading, each of the kids made their own pizzas. They thought it was so awesome.

While our pizza's were cooking, we read the next book - Curious George Takes a Trip. And while we couldn't exactly go on an airplane....

 We used our imagination!

These turned out cute, even though they totally were not worth the time and effort I put into them. Oh well, you live and learn. Oh and Ray - you were right. :)

We had lots of fun playing in our airplanes, but all the kids were beyond ready to eat their pizza's! They turned out great and all the kids loved them!

 Even Carson was excited! Haha

 After our pizza, we read our last book - Curious George and the Birthday Party Surprise. We opened presents.

 And of course we sang happy birthday.

 And had her blow out the candles.

 Overall, it was a great birthday party. One, I'm sure, Mady will talk about for awhile.

Madelynn, my sweet little Madelynn. You are growing up before my very eyes and with each new day, you learn something new - and whether its good or bad, we are still so proud of you. You are such a big help to me and Daddy. You are the sweetest big sister to Carson and we sure appreciate how you are always willing to help us out. You have such a big heart and you use it in so many ways. Never forget how loved you are, my sweet little Madelynn. We love you more than you know.