Spring!

Today is the first official day of Spring. I feel like I blink and another month goes by. I'm trying so hard to keep up with this blog but sometimes life just gets in the way :-)  We have been so busy lately. The past few weekends we have had family in town and have used that time to visit parks and be outside when we can. This past weekend we visited the US national whitewater center to see the river turn green for St. Patrick's Day. Sunday was a birthday party for Madelyn's friend Erik and she had a blast. We have also tried to get outside and walk around the neighborhood each night after dinner to get us all a little fresh air and activity. It's been nice to have the windows open and start the spring cleaning. Andy and I have been working on cleaning out the excess things we don't need and either donate them or craigslist them for some extra cash. We've got a lot done this past month! Yesterday we had to do some shopping because it's in the 80s each day and neither child had a wardrobe appropriate for that kind of weather. I had to restrain myself because the Spring clothes is adorable....I'm trying to stick with dresses for Madelyn to facilitate her using the potty and one piece items for Carson because he doesn't like things tight on his belly.
Madelyn~ My tiny big girl just stocked up on a bunch of cute new dresses in size 18 months. She will always be my peanut even though she is such a big girl these days. Potty training is going awesome! She rarely ever has accidents at home and now I am in transition to letting her wear panties when we go out. She is learning so much and so quickly. I have been teaching her letters and she knows about half the alphabet now. It's so cute to see her point out letters when we are out and she sees them on store signs or road signs. She is starting to sing her alphabet independently but skips about 1/3 of the letters, still adorable though. She can count to ten and every so often skips 5, but gets it right most of the time. She knows all her colors and is learning shapes but prefers to call things triangle or octagon. She is wanting to be really independent, getting in and out of the bath alone and brushing her own teeth. I made her snack bins in the closet and refrigerator so she can go and pick a snack by herself when she is hungry.
Carson~ The little man is growing so fast...he is approximately 14 pounds now! This is new territory for me as Madelyn was only 15 pounds at her one year checkup and we're only at 3 months :-) I love him so much though, and his little baby fat is adorable, he is my squishy. Yesterday I had a doctor appointment and it made me so sad to be there and think about all the times I was there when I was pregnant and now my little baby is so big. Bittersweet for sure. While we were in the waiting room I was bouncing him on my legs and he laughed out loud for the first time. Everyone was saying how he was a Gerber baby and it made him smile even bigger, what a ham. He is putting himself to sleep with a paci each night which is great because he doesn't rely on my. All day and at night he just dozes off for naps all on his own. He loves to look up at things above his head and watch them move, we discovered this with ceiling fans. Because of this I bought him a battery operated very bright colored mobile for his crib. It plays music for 40 minutes and has a little night light. Hopefully this will help him stay calm when I finally transition him to his crib. He still eats every 2-3 hours even at night which probably explains why he is getting so big. He is a very happy baby and smiles a lot. Lately he has been eating a little less, been super drooly, and is always looking for something to chew on. Typically these are signs of teething but I'm hoping he holds out a few more months before he starts getting teeth.
Two and a half weeks until I return to work. I am trying to soak up every minute with each of my kids. I am going to miss them, the laughs and smiles, the playing, and the cuddle time at naps so much. I have been planning menus and cooking dinners, keeping the house somewhat clean, and feeling generally happy and like a good mom and wife and I know I will lose that feeling when work consumes me again :-(