Carsen the Cowboy

Toy Story has been a must see at our house lately. Carsen's favorite character is Buzz. I think it's b/c he can say that easier than Woody, but who knows? Anyway, we were at Walmart last week and he saw a picture of Buzz and started saying his name. We go back to the toy department and found a plush Buzz that talked. He smiled but wouldn't hold it so I put it back on the shelf (no way I'm going to spend $10 when he didn't like it that much). On the shelf across the aisle was a stack of cowboy hats. Carsen went crazy, "Hat! Hat!" I put it on his head and the boy was in love. He wore it all day and of course demanded to ride the horse right inside the front door. I think we're going to have to start going in the other doors at Walmart from now on to avoid a massive fit throwing.

The first time ever he's stacked anything instead of destroyed it.

Eric made Carsen's name out of twistable sticks the restaurant gave w/ their children's menu instead of crayons. Of course, the sticks went right into Carsen's mouth. When he found out he couldn't eat them, all interest was lost.

Smiling our SUPER cheesy smile and giving what looks like an "OK" sign. Notice the bandana around his neck. We were in an emergency lunch situation and tied a cloth napkin around his neck. What a Super Mom!

Tulsa Aquarium

We'd planned to take Carsen to the Aquarium all summer. We were finally able to squeeze in a weekend in October. He loved seeing all the fish and especially the tide pools. Unfortunately Eric and I weren't able to see much of the fish. We were too busy chasing Carsen all over the place.

Pumpkin Patch

At the end of September we took Carsen to the Pumpkin Patch. You can see he had a great time.

Rows and rows of pumpkins. Where do I start?

This one looks good! Dad showing Carsen a REALLY big pumpkin. (We didn't come home w/ it thankfully.)

Helping push the wagon.

Garage, Check!

We've been able to park in the garage now for about 2 weeks. I took the after pictures awhile before that but haven't had time to upload and post them. As you can see from the pictures below, we had our work cut out for us. The garage didn't look like the below pictures when we moved in, just when we went w/ our realtor to see it. There was still work to do when we moved in. Eric did a great job cleaning and organizing our things. We even bought a giant rack for all of the totes we have that sits against the back wall.

All nice and neat.

Eric's nice and neat work bench.

Master Bedroom

The closet in the master bedroom of our old house was awesome. It was wide enough to fit all of our clothes and still have room for our hamper and my shoe organizer. The new closet had a closet system in it that made things a tighter fit. I hated it right away so Eric made some modifications and we compromised. I got rid of my shoe stand and purchased one that slides under the bed. It's not as handy but sure is a space saver! Eric took out the system and hung the old shelves in our furnace room for storage. He replaced them with 2 long shelves for our clothes to hang on. Plus the shelf is hung high enough our hamper fits nicely. Our room is finally looking like someone lives there!

The old system (not our clothes).

Our new and improved system.

Kitchen Makeover

The kitchen is the first room we tackled and took up the most of our time. I think we spent 2-3 days just working in the kitchen washing out the refrigerator, scrubbing inside and outside the cabinets, and putting in the new microwave/range. The floor still isn't as clean as I want, a little sticky, but it's a big improvement compared to before. See for yourself.

The cleaned up version.

You can see the countertops!

The Boy Can Dance and Sing!

As most of you know, Carsen loves to dance. Grandma Carol showed him the idea of a microphone w/ a block. Eric and I found a microphone used as a party favor at Target, the kind that echoes when you talk into it. It took him a few times before he understood what he was supposed to do. Enjoy.

Entryway is complete!

A month has passed since we've moved into the house and A LOT of work has been completed. We're finally at the stage, in some rooms, to post pictures of the finished product. A few rooms still need some work and will be shown later so keep checking!
We knew right away that the entryway needed a table so the banister wouldn't get cluttered. We were at last able to agree on a style and price range and ordered from JC Penney. As you can see the end result is a big improvement and looks wonderful.

Before wallpaper stripping and painting.

The opposite angle.

The end result.

We looked at every rug known to man before finding this one at K-mart of all places.

Little by Little

When we were at the house in June for our inspection, the oven had a rack of ribs in it. It was hard to tell how long they'd been in there. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to removing the racks, scrubbing them in the sink, and wiping out the inside. I couldn't put it off any longer. It's a self cleaning oven so I ran it and then scraped the remainder out.

Carsen's room is the only one that's completely finished. It looks nice and he loves it as you can see.

Not fun. Plus it smelled a little funny too.

Our $5 thrift store find.

A lot of the books end up on the floor at the end of the day, but it's worth it b/c now they're not all over the living room.

He loved the step ladder we bought. He cried and cried when I folded it up and put it away.

Block Fest Fun

Carsen and I attended Blockfest this morning which is a program linked w/ Parents as Teachers that focuses on block play and how children can develop math and science skills. I was in conjunction w/ the All About Kids Fair that is put on every year here in Independence. There were several stations set up w/ different kinds of blocks: wooden, foam, cardboard, small cubes, long planks, etc. We had a lot of fun stacking, learning colors and knocking them over. I'm not sure which station he liked best. He seemed to enjoy them all.

Playing w/ Brady and Brynlie.

Looking thru a colored block.

Making Progress

After we got back from vacation, Eric went right to work on refinishing the tub/shower in the guest bath and replacing the toilet. He tore out the carpet and pulled up tile. It smelled so bad of mildew and cat pee. Then after applying the refinishing mix we all got high! Right now the yellow toilet is on the front lawn waiting to be disposed of. It's so nice to have that yellow finally out! Now all that's left is to position the toilet in the guest bath, pick out paint, pick out new accessories and replace the baseboards in both bathrooms. We're almost there!!

The lovely yellow both showers and toilets that were probably original to the house.

Carsen had to take a bath in the sink b/c the tub was unavailable. He thought it was great!

A new tub is born.

"I can't turn on the water, Dad!"

The new floor.

10 Days Without Carsen

After 18 months, I'm spending not only one night but 10 nights away from Carsen. Eric has spent time away from him but not me. We're leaving for Hawaii early in the morning and decided not to take Carsen w/ us. I took him to Bogue on Sat. and stayed for the first night of the rodeo. Carsen had a great time seeing all the animals. It was strange driving home w/o him yesterday but I know he's having a great time w/ grandma and grandpa. It's good for both of us to be w/o each other for a few days.

Watching the Grand Entry w/ Papa Scott.

Eating a popsicle that was passed out in the parade.

Riding the train w/ Dad the night before leaving.