A trip to the movies--Date Night!

Yesterday I surprised Mike and took him to see "Ironman" after he got home from work. He has wanted to see this movie so bad because he remembers reading the comics when he was little. It didn't go over very well when we were talking about it and I said; "Who is Ironman????". He had this hurt look on his face that said to me--"how do you NOT know who Ironman is?????"!

ANYWAY, this movie was great! Very entertaining even for the people who didn't know a thing about this superhero. You should check it out.
It also doesn't hurt that Robert Downey Jr is pretty smokin' hot--very easy on the eyes in this one. :) Don't worry--Mike already knows that I was pleased with Ironman's appearance!!

Good date night...Great movie. Life is good!

The Doobie Brothers and Chicago Concert

Mike and I went to the Chicago/Doobie Brothers Concert at Fiddlers Green on June 11th. This would be the 8th time Mike has seen the Doobie Bros, and I really enjoyed seeing Chicago in Vegas--so we got tickets with some friends and headed to the "Green".
The Doobie Brothers played first, and I was surprised. I thought they would be last. As it turns out--they should have!! They sounded better and really rocked the house, and then Chicago came out and tried "Hard Habit to Break" and "You're My Inspiration". The Doobies just sounded better.

Here is the kicker though--we told Mike's parents (who were babysitting) that we would be home around 11 p.m., and so we ended up leaving the concert early to make it home in time. Our friends told us that after we left, the bands PLAYED SIX SONGS TOGETHER on stage. So, we missed the best part of the whole concert.

Welcome to parenthood, I would assume. :)

It was a fun date night!!

What book is on the nightstand?

I make it a point to cut my ties with a lot of academic reading during the summer, because I do enough when I am teaching. This Summer, I have been fascinated with a book called "The Wonder of Boys" by Michael Gurian (Thanks, Mom!!). This book reflects on the different learning styles of boys and girls--and really focuses on the fact that boys have been somewhat left behind in the education process while everyone determines how to meet the needs of girls. I distinctly remember learning about how to reach girls in my classroom when I was getting my degree in education. I don't remember learning any specific techniques that cater to the learning styles of boys. Now that Carson is here, I am VERY motivated to understand what boys need at a young age to help them learn better, and at the very least what they need to unlock the potential in their brains!
Here are a couple of my favorite little tid-bits so far:

1) The Corpus Collossem in the female brain is 25% larger than in a male brain. This means that information travels faster between the two brain hemispheres for girls, and that boys need a little bit more processing time when changing tasks.

2) The male brain has less Serotonin than a female brain. Serotonin is the chemical responsible for calming anxiety and allowing for stretches of time where the body can sit quietly. In adults, a lack of Serotonin causes insomnia. For kids, this means that boys can't sit still as long as girls. In school--this is rarely accounted for! Also, it is predominantly boys who fidget and move around--which is mostly looked at as disruptive. In reality, boys ARE paying attention even though they are moving around and tapping something on a desk.

3) This is my favorite: for young boys, there is a technique called the "Ball Bounce" to help them access and verbalize their feelings. When a boy is frustrated or angry (or positive emotions I would guess as well), take a ball and bounce it between you and him while you are asking him about his feelings and processing. Bouncing the ball stimulates blood flow to his brain, and this will open up more access to emotions, and teach him how to express these feelings!

Cool stuff, eh? I am having a great time learning all about it! :)

Happy Father's Day!

Wow. Mike's FIRST Father's Day!! I wanted this day to be special, because Mike is truly a great Dad. I love watching Carson and Mike together, and I especially love to see Mike's face right when he gets home from work and Carson crawls at record-breaking speed to see his daddy.

I tried to find a Wii gaming system for Mike--he has been talking about getting a Wii for some time now, and it is actually really fun to play. WELL, it is still kind of hard to find the Wii still, and I was getting frustrated...so I went for something else...and it was brilliant.

Two Words:
I got Mike Guitar Hero for Playstation 2, and we have had SO MUCH fun rocking out to 80's hits, trying to become the next guitar legend. If you haven't heard of Guitar Hero--check out this link to the Ellen Degeneres Show where a this kid is playing at EXPERT level, and doesn't miss one note:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibrn50Ny17w&feature=related

I have gotten better on guitar, but at first I got boo-ed off the stage trying to play "Talk Dirty to Me" by Poison. Mike is already on "Medium" level!!

One thing I really wanted to do was cook on Father's Day, because as most of you know Mike does all of the good cooking around these parts! It took me a few days to actually plan out a menu for the Barbeque--knowing that I was going to prepare everything. We had chicken and steak ka-bobs, salads, and ice cream sundaes for dessert. It was a success!

Here is everyone eating on the deck. It was a great day!
Carson drew scribbles of love all over a card for his Daddy. We also went to the pool (again), and--of course--played some more Guitar Hero before we went to bed! :)

Summer Fun

We are having such a great time this Summer--just hanging out and enjoying the little things. We love the pool, eating on the back deck, and finding cool things to do like the movie night in our neighborhood or listening to the local bands that play at the new mall near the house.

One thing we always do is celebrate birthdays with a "special day", and Crystal's birthday was June 7th. She wanted to go to Heritage Square. Heritage Square is a tourist attraction in Golden, CO with an amusement park for kids, an Alpine Slide, and an "old west" town to walk through.

Carson and I are up and ready to go in the morning, although Carson still looks a little tired...

When we got to Heritage Square, it was a little sketchy--either we were early, or we had just walked into a "Carnie Trap", because it was deserted and kind of scary. Things were much more run-down than I remembered as a kid. (Must be those darn gas prices!!!).

Chad and Crystal posed for a pic--how cute!! Carson isn't really big enough for any rides, so we walked around trying to find the Alpine Slide. Here is our cute family...from the back! :)
Mike saw this great backpack at a track-meet this Spring and found it online. It is so neat, because you don't have to worry about lugging a stroller around, and it has a nifty canopy to keep Carson out the sun. Carson LOVES riding on Daddy's back when we go places like the zoo--or Heritage Square!
Here is our little guy checking things out. He is so alert now--always looking at everything. I would love to catch a small glimpse of what is going on in that head of his!
Carson might take after his Mom in terms of a love for amusement park rides. I actually only like thrill rides like roller coasters--spin rides will make me puke. But I digress...Carson was fascinated with the merry-go-round. When we first sat on a horse, he let out a shriek of joy and when it was time to get down--I literally had to pry him off like a little gecko. It was so fun to watch him though.
With Carson, each new thing is the COOLEST THING EVER! So fun!
Good thing there is a merry-go-round at the zoo also--I'm sure we will ride it quite often!
Ahhh. The Alpine Slide. Anyone who hasn't ever ridden an Alpine Slide needs to put this on their list of things to do. The slide in Breckenridge, CO is much better than this one, but it was still fun nonetheless. I was glad I went first (what the heck to you need brakes for????), because Chad went at a more leisurely pace behind me and there was a traffic jam at the end. It was really funny to watch, actually.
Why did Crystal pick Heritage Square for her birthday extravaganza, you ask? Here is why--she wanted to get an old fashioned picture taken of all of us!
Even though these pics are quite pricey, we love them. Our guest bedroom at our house has a bunch of pictures that we have gotten over the years. Mike and I got our picture taken when we were first dating, and since then we have gotten more taken along the way. It is so fun to dress up, and this time we got to pick out some duds for Carson as well. :) We decided that the whole family would be "packing" a gun--a family affair if you will. Here are the pics:
The guy told us to smile, and apparently I am the only good listener.
This is my favorite picture--except that Carson is falling over a bit. Ugh! It would be perfect if he was sitting up more. Oh well--this is the first of many pictures for him. They gave us one proof in color (why anyone would purchase an "old fashioned" picture in color is beyond me). It was a fun excursion, and the pictures are a great memory of Crystal's birthday. I'm glad no Carnies jumped out at us, because Heritage Square ain't what it used to be! :) ha ha ha

Carson goes swimming!

We have a wonderful swimming pool in our neighborhood, and Carson went swimming yesterday for the first time. We had a blast! Carson loves the water, and I even took him into the big pool and he went underwater pretty easily. It is a good thing that he is a little "fish"--because this family loves swimming! :)

Carson locates the toys I am bringing with us , and as usual he goes for "Scuba Steve" first...
He checks him out a little bit...

and promptly puts Scuba Steve in his mouth. Yum Yum!

Carson says his goodbyes to Kava--which is sometimes emotional for both of them. They are such good buddies!

Here we are at the pool! I couldn't wait to get Carson in the water to see if he liked it. It was 93 degrees, so it was the perfect day for some swimming!

Carson borrowed a floaty from our friend down the block--I am still trying to decide what water toys to buy for Carson, so this was a good test run. At first...he seems a little timid. But soon he was kicking and walking all over the baby pool in this thing!

Carson definitely enjoyed playing in the water--and relaxing a bit at times...

I knew he loved it when he would just spontaneously start laughing. It is so much fun to see him try things for the first time. :)

Jeff and Crystal came over to see Carson swim, and he had a great time hanging out with them.

After some good kicking and swimming around, it was time to go home. Carson could barely keep his eyes open when we left--and he took a GREAT nap when we got home.

It was a fun day!

My Summer Schedule

I love SUMMER! It is so fun to just spend time with Carson, and also get some things done around the house. Everything is set up in our backyard, so we eat a lot of our meals out there and just hang out during these pleasant summer evenings.

I am still taking classes for my Masters degree, so Grandma and Grandpa are still watching Carson a few days each week. Carson shrieks with joy when he sees Grandma and Grandpa, so it seems to be a good situation all the way around.

When I am not going to class at University of Phoenix, I am hanging out with Carson. Here is a typical day for us:

7:30 a.m.--Carson yells "Ma Ma" from his room, which means it is time to get up.

8:00 a.m.--We eat Breakfast; Carson splits time between baby food and whatever I am eating, and Kava eats the food off the floor. Everyone is happy! We usually have a playlist on the ipod going, so there is some dancing involved with our meals around here...

8:30-9:30--Play time. Carson and I play with his toys, read his books (he LOVES books!), and play hide-n-Seek. Sometimes crazy Mommy takes pictures with the camera!
Carson can pull himself up on anything, and he tries to grab onto things and walk rather than crawl. He CAN crawl very fast--but he needs to be motivated to actually crawl around. This kid wants to WALK!

Hide-n-seek is one of our favorite activities. There are a lot of laughs, and ocassionally some surprises!

What a cute kid!

9:30-11:30--Carson takes his morning nap after we read 2 or 3 books.

11:30--Lunch

12:00--Time for errands or being outside. Carson LOVES being outside, and it doesn't matter what we do. If he is outside, he is so happy!

2:00-4:00--Afternoon nap...sometimes for Mommy too! :)

4:00-5:00--wait for Daddy to come home. Sometimes we go outside and play with the other kids, or sit outside on the back deck.

5:30--When Daddy gets home, Carson is so excited that he tenses up for a second and lets out a shriek of joy. I love watching this! We eat dinner together, and then do something (or nothing) until it is time for Carson to go to bed.

8:00--Time for bed! Carson takes a bath, then we read "Guess How Much I Love You" , and he is out for the night.

8:30--Mike and Lisa light some tiki torches and enjoy the backyard. :)

I LOVE SUMMER!!!