Monday, December 29, 2008

What we've been up to....

We had an amazing Christmas! Thanks to everyone for all the thoughtful gifts and Christmas cards.. We feel so blessed to have such amazing family and friends! Hugs! Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to over Christmas break....

What happens when you're 3 & have an older sister
At least she chose "boy" colors!
Packed and ready to head to Grandmas (princess heels and all)
Sledding in Breck (it was a chilly 4 degrees)
So cute!
Daddy and his snow bunnies!
Our Snow Princess
The cousins at G-Ma Shirley's Christmas Eve
Allison and Bryn with their matching dolls and dresses!

Our little clown
With Cade, Heather and Family! (it was so fun to see you guys!)

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas!!


Dearest Family & Friends,

Welcome to the 2008 Carlson Christmas letter! 2008 has been a year of family fun, life changes, business challenges and spiritual growth, for which we are thankful. Brooklyn (4) and Boston (3), our dynamic preschool duo, are our resident comedians, fort-builders, mess-makers, snack-eaters and art-crafters. We are also expecting NUMERO TRES in March because we are currently getting too much sleep and not enough stress! To the shock and disappointment of certain friends and family we are not finding out the sex of the child until its birth (AGHAST)… hey, you’ve gotta shake something up the third time around, right?!? Amber’s motherly intuition says it’s a girl, Brooklyn and Boston can’t decide and speculate it’s a hamster, puppy or eagle, and I’m for all for another boy! We’ll have to see…

The theme of this years letter is: A Day in the Life of the Carlson Family – Through the Eyes of Brooklyn and Boston. Below are a few choice quotes from our crazy kids… ENJOY and have a wonderful holiday season!

“Dad, can you get me a snack?” “Boston, you just ate dinner and I can’t anyway because my legs are broken (jokingly).”
5 minutes later…. “Boston, please throw that in the trash.” “Dad, I can’t… my legs are broken!” Touche, touche!

“Dad, did you know that when people die they go to hot lava?” “Brooklyn I don’t think so, who told you that?” “DAD, [cousin] Allison told me that when people die they go to hot lava and she knows because it’s IN HER DISNEY BOOK and SHE KNOWS HER LETTERS and SHE IS MY FRIEND!” Wow… hard to argue with those sources! We later clarified that people die WHEN they go into hot lava, not when people die they go to hot lava… a very subtle, yet important distinction!

Boston, very concerned one evening commented, “Dad, the moon is BROKEN!” Turns out half moons need fixing to a 3 year old!

“Welcome to McDonalds, your total is $7.53.” “HEY MOM, WHY IS THAT LADY SO FAT?” inquires Brooklyn at the top of her lungs. To quote the Southwest Airlines commercials… “Wanna get away?”

“You Bat-string!” “Good morning little Fluff!” “You little Pus!” – some of the disturbing things Boston, self-made comic, calls people.

“Mom, when is your tummy going to open up and your baby come out?” innocently asks Brooklyn. She’s VERY excited for the new baby!

“Boston, where is mom?” I ask early one morning. “Dad, mom is DEAD,” says Boston matter of factly.

“Dad, I DON’T want to see the WOLF this morning!” says Brooklyn. “Dad, I DO want to see the WOLF!” counters Boston. Every morning, after singing songs, counting numbers/months/days of the week, commenting on broken cars, the power plant, oil refinery, and Boondocks and arguing about snacks, we drive by the WOLF in Eastlake. The WOLF is a large, white, wolf-looking dog that lives near the kids school. The kids are terrified of the WOLF… so, being the good father that I am, we drive by the WOLF every morning, sometimes even rolling down the windows so the WOLF can jump in for a nibble if he would like! Oh the joys of fatherhood! ☺

“DAD, WHEN YOU AREN’T WITH US MOM GETS ME WHATEVER I WANT FROM TARGET! YOU ARE HURTING MY FEELINGS AND BREAKING MY HEART!” says a hysterical, in timeout Brooklyn after getting told she couldn’t get a Barbie Princess Nintendo Wii game. Her tirade was entertaining yet disturbing on so many levels and we now have a ZERO PLACATING PURCHASES POLICY at Target so Amber and I are both equally mean and heartbreaking! Gotta love parenting!

One afternoon Amber and I had a lengthy discussion about when to start Boston in school (his birthday is right on the deadline), its effects on academics, sports, dating, mission, college, and so we turned to Boston and asked him what he wants to do. Frustrated he replied, “Mom, I just want to go to Kindergarten!” Isn’t it amazing how kids can distill things down to what is really important?

“Mom, can we paint your car pink?” Brooklyn asks, dead serious!
[After watching Cops with Grandpa Kevin] “Mom, I want to take my handcuffs with me to the airport [tomorrow] in case we see any bad guys!” “Brooklyn, WHAT are your handcuffs?” asks Amber. She then proudly holds up her pearl church bracelet! ☺
“Brooklyn, WHAT happened to Boston’s HAIR???” [think berserk weedwacker] “Mom, Boston SAID it was okay…” Oh in that case…

“Dad, who goes to jail?” asks Brooklyn. “Bad people, mean people, people who steal things,” I reply. Boston immediately spouts off, “DAD, MOM STOLE A SHIRT AND A CANDY BAR FROM OLD NAVY!” “WHAT?” “Mom stole a shirt from Old Navy… are the police going to take her to jail?” Wow. I later confirmed that Amber had not shoplifted, reconfirming that Boston isn’t the most reliable source of information. The week earlier Bos and I got pulled over by a cop one night because my new registration stickers were missing and as soon as we got home he reported to his mother, “Mom, dad got pulled over by a policeman and he said dad is GOING TO JAIL!”

“Boston, where are you?” “Mom, I’m in here!” “Where?” “IN HERE MOM! [office]” “BOSTON, WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?” “I took them off,” he says matter of factly. “WHY” “Mom, I peed in the bent!” “The bent?” “I peed in the bent, Mom!”
Yes, in the midst of potty training Boston earlier this year he did some target practice in the heating vent in our office (he does have a good aim) and 1 gallon of Clorox later the house smelled normal again! He later eventually potty trained himself on Father’s Day in what we now call the Immaculate Urination! Our most effective parenting method thus far is definitely divine intervention!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Love,
Amber, Tyler, Brooklyn, Boston, ???

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Help!I

I'm looking for a new breast pump and car seat cover (obviously neutral) any recommendations? a

Sunday, December 14, 2008

It's beginning to look a bit like CHRISTMAS!

I'm so excited! I LOVE Christmas! I love the weather, the decorating, the family & friend gatherings, the smells, the Christmas Pj's and all the yummy treats! We finally had our first big SNOW last night and it's still snowing!



(I had to post this picture for my Sister who was recently complaining about how cold it was during her morning run in ARIZONA! I think it was probably 65!.. Now lets talk COLD Sis! )

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Best Buddies


Brooklyn had a playdate with her best buddy (her cousn Allison) yesterday! I think it's so cute how much they adore eachother... already coordinating their outfits, shoes and hairbows for school! Wow, we are in TROUBLE!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Surgery Pictures!

The night before surgery we went to see Santa! Where's Brooklyn???
Being wheeled out to go home!
A little play time after surgery!
Showing off his "tubes!"
Literally seconds after he woke up... Such a happy camper!
Daddy took him into the OR while he was put to sleep... It was a little too much for Mom!
All ready to go in his hospital gown! (Notice his truck that went with him to the OR!)

Warning: A very LONG post!

My little Red Head!

Wow!! I don't even know where to start... yikes! As you have probably noticed by now, things have been a little crazy around the Carlson house - - between traveling to Arizona to visit my family, Enrichment during the holidays, making stars, surgeries, doctor's appointments & holiday decorating I have had ZERO time to sit down and post!! Wow! Here is a quick re-cap of November 2008 through today...

We traveled to Arizona (and of course I forgot my camera) to spend time with my family because this is the Carlson Christmas Year... Thanksgiving dinner was so fun (except for those suffering from the Stomach Flu) as we all prepared a dish & dessert, (including all the men, this was the best part!) from our childhood... The following morning my sisters got up at 4am and went shopping... Amazing how pregnancy can totally diminish the excitement of shopping! Haha! Tyler is not complaining! The following day we were able to meet up with some of our best friends from Grad School the Copples and meet their new addition Drew! Brooklyn loved being able to see her long lost partner in crime Talli Chicken while the rest of us devoured our Cafe Rio! Yum!

In my Mom's Kitchen preparing our dishes!All the girls (including BC) checking out the ads for Black Friday!

While in Arizona (I apologize to those who have heard this story multiple times but for my own journal I need to write it down) we were out running some errands and my Mom needed to make a quick stop at Michael's... by this point in the errand running I was tired and so were my kids so we decided to stay in the car and let her run in... Meantime a good friend of mine called from Colorado wanting to borrow something from my kitchen...As I was explaining to her in which cupboard she would likely find it in, Bryn unbuckles herself and proceeds to open and close my Mom's sunroof.... Frustrated because it is pouring rain (which happens 2 days a year in AZ) I yell at her to close the sunroof and leave it closed... Unannounced to me, Boston has also climbed out of his car seat and has his right hand gripping the edge of the sunroof.. Long story long... Brooklyn did as I said and closed the sunroof with 4 of Bostons little fingers in it! The window locked up and was completely jammed so tight that his fingers were beginning to turn purple.. I thought for sure he was going to lose all four fingers.. Just picture me, pregnant in the pouring rain sitting on the roof of my Mom's car trying to loosen his fingers, outside of Michael's hysterical explaining to the 911 operator that my Son is stuck in a sun roof! My Mom comes out to this scene... At this point it has been about 10 minutes, several people have offered any help they could give & numerous prayers have been said... She hits the button one last time to see if it would release and it pops right open, just in time for 7 firefighters to roll up.. Wow! It was traumatic! His fingers were fine... A few minor cuts, some swelling and blisters, I doubt either of my kids will touch a sunroof again!

I was thrilled to get back to the 20 degree Colorado weather (I never thought I would say that) so I could actually put on my sweaters and jeans (NONE of my summer clothes fit at this point and wearing maternity sweaters and jeans in Arizona when it's 85 is slightly uncomfortable..yikes!) Although we had a total blast in AZ, it is always so strange to be there for the Holidays because it's so warm, I would definitely miss the seasons and the snow around the holidays!

Boston, Maddux and Brooklyn

Boston went in for a minor urology surgery (this I actually took pictures of) this past Monday.. he was such a champ..you couldn't say the same about me! Wow, was I a disaster! I was so nervous for him to be put to sleep and not being able to feed him for 24 hours... I swear this kid is going to give me an ulcer! Between pushing beans up his nose, smashing his fingers, getting his teeth knocked out and now this surgery I think he has aged me 5 years over the past 6 months! The procedure itself went great and he is healing up perfectly! There were a few complications during the surgery with his airway (nothing like an anesthesiologist coming out of a surgery to tell you your sons airway collapsed to throw you into hysterics) but he woke up a happy healthy little camper! I am just so glad it's over, I have been dreading it for months now!