Bob had a rare occasion....a day off! With the High School State tournaments approaching and other Wells Fargo Arena events, he likely will not have another chance to visit for a couple of months. Bob and Carson got in lots of cuddle time and conversations. Carson even wore one of the t-shirts Bob had given him for Christmas. Since Carson does have the Greatest Dad, we had to include a picture with him, too!
We went to our first Hawkeye Men's Basketball game on Saturday vs. Penn State. Hawks won! Carson was awesome the first half, looking at the lights and all the people. Then the scary announcer talked throughout halftime and upset him. We got him to sleep during part of the second half and took the pictures just as he was waking up.
On Sunday, we had our last baby shower which was in Montezuma hosted by Ben's sister and aunts. We were definitely "showered" again with generosity and love. I think we are set on clothes for a year! A BIG THANK YOU to all for the great gifts! We appreciate your thoughtfulness. Carson entertained the ladies with some smiles and coos (ok, and some tears) as he was passed around to the crowd of family and friends.
Playing with his new toys of the "Jungle Jumparoo" (above) and Exersaucer (below). He fits in the Jumparoo pretty well, that left arm keeps slipping down, and he has decent head control. He can jump if we put a few pizza boxes or books under him. He really likes looking up at the birds, if you couldn't tell. He's a little too small for the Exersaucer. He was excited by the toys, so much that he headbutted one right after this picture!
Okay, this is a new smile and expression. I swear we didn't slip him anything special in his bottle!
Standing tall with Aunt Christine
Big smiles. Yes, his left eye is a little red, it's from the clogged tear duct he's had since birth. Hopefully, he'll grow out of it soon!
Cuddling with Cousin MacKenzie.
Here's two pictures from Friday morning on the changing table in his nursery. He loves to look at his "barnyard" quilt. He always is talking to and smiling at the puppy. He has such a little Buddha belly!
He almost fits into his first camo. It's a little long in the arms and legs, but he doesn't seem to mind it! :) Ben can't wait for the day to have a hunting buddy!
Carson is already mimicking mommy and the faces she makes to get her way! (~Daddy) Or is this the face Daddy makes when Mommy tells him he can't go hunting? (~Mommy)
Another smile picture, this time from his bouncy seat.
He already has learned some dance moves from G-pa Jim. I believe we were listening to Chubby Checkers when we took this picture. Either that or we were watching a Rocky movie, I cannot remember for sure.
Here is Carson after the big Michigan State upset last Saturday. He was thinking that the Hawks may go winless in the big ten during his first year, but is relieved that they pulled it together for the "W". He kind of looks like Dad after a Hawkeye football game with that distant stare. ;)
This is my first blog entry, so I thought I would include a picture of Carson and I to wrap it up!
Our Favorite Photo Yet! He was so excited and happy tonight playing with his Kick n' Crawl and "talking" to mom and dad. We love play time! He has so much more personality day by day!
His favorite toy above is the mirror (orange on back). He'll follow it around with his eyes and knock it with his hands. It's his motivation to lift his head when it's "tummy time," too.
Thursday he was showing off his smiles, but was harder to catch on camera. You can see how much his neck and head control has improved by comparing this picture to the others of him propped up on the couch.
He often gives sweet little smiles like this during his sleep, too. Sometimes in his sleep, he'll even get giggling and laughing with big smiles. 
Kelly & Nolan Kent; Megan & Carson Grier. What a difference 2 months makes! Nolan weighs just under 7 pounds and Carson weighs around 13! (We find out Tuesday at our 2 mo. check!)
Ben & Carson; Nolan & Jason Kent
Carson snoozing amongst his sea of new clothes, books, toys, servingware (plates, cups, etc.), and more books! Thank you for all of the great gifts!
A few of the gifts were personalized with Vicky Edwards' embroidery skills. Ben's favorites were the Hawkeye blanket and baseball jean jacket. (And the other baseball clothes and stuffed baseball...no pressure kid!) Mom's favorites were the books and toys and...everything!
Carson had a long day with entertaining all the ladies at the shower and the long travel. He napped the whole way home to Williamsburg and then stayed napping in his carseat in the living room for almost another hour!
Jan. 4th--I thought this outfit was cute. It's the first time he wore these bibs and this 3 mo. size is already too short! Ben was making fun of me for dressing him in shorts ("jorts"= jean shorts) in the winter.
Dec. 15th--Carson's first time playing with his Kick n' Crawl activity mat. 
Dec. 26--He had been fussy and not going down for a nap, so I carried him around in this sling while doing housework. He'd wake up every time I tried to take him out of it, so I just left him in, placed the whole bundle in his swing, and he got a great nap! 
Dec. 29--GO HAWKS! This cute sweatsuit was a gift from our Chariton Hawkeye friends, the Bisgards. We hope to take him to meet Herky sometime! 
Dec. 30--Dad's favorite outfit...the "Dad's Team"baseball onesie. With Dad being Williamsburg's baseball coach and our red team color, this is perfect. Everyone has the same thought...we have received four of these to date!
Dec. 31--Watching football with Dad. Carson was such a cuddle bug in this warm fleece outfit, and dressed for the occasion with his little football/helmet shoes!
Hello, 2008! Wow! This year has flown by! Ben and I were reminiscing of last year at this time we each were sipping on a "Jamaican Smile" frozen rum drink, relaxing on the beach in Montego Bay. Today, it's almost noon and we're still in our pajamas with baby spit-up on them, relaxing on the couch watching football...and loving it! What a difference a year makes! Our New Years' celebration was having Kelly, Jason, Macey, and "BBK" (Baby Boy Kent is due Jan. 29) over for dinner and then just a low key night of hanging out. It was nice after all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas travel to stay home with good company.
Carson is starting to sleep a little bit longer stretches of about 4 hours at a time. He did sleep through the night on Saturday night, but not again since. Our favorite activity is watching him play on his activity mat. He'll lay there entertained for 20-30 minutes cooing and looking at the toys overhead, waving up and hitting them every now and then, and he can get on a good run of kicking the ball above his feet...his record is 4 kicks in a row, like a little foot speed bag.
This next year will bring a lot of fun watching Carson grow! I'll make the resolution to try to keep this updated at least monthly. I would say weekly, but I'll be realistic that after a few more months I'll trickle down on how many pictures we take! Our other New Years Resolution is the typical get in shape and lose weight. We do have a motivation/reward. We are looking forward to going somewhere warm next New Years' to ring in 2009 (the year that we both will turn 30!) with some friends!
