24 Months

Carsyn is officially 2 years young as of 10/28. She's an intelligent, curious, loving, dolphin giggling, energetic, sweet little girl.  We love you so much Car-Car, Happy 2nd Birthday!

Carsyn had her 2 year checkup on Friday (10/30) and passed with flying colors.  The Dr is really happy with her progress; 28 percentile for weight (25 lbs) and 65 percentile for height (34") with a head circumference at 86 percentile (49cm).  She did receive 1 shot and the flu mist, overall she's a very healthy average sized kid.  :)

checkup 10/30

Carsyn is definitely a child of electronics.  She knows how to work a tablet and our phones.  It's kinda cute too when she makes a swiping movement with her hand in the air to try and 'swipe' away a TV show.  She loves her Disney movies and prefers to watch those over cartoons or anything else.  She admires her big brother, Ryland, and tries to copy him in all things.  Recently I bought Ry a pair of shark slippers and she started stealing them to wear, so I had to buy her a pair of her own!

nap time at daycare 10/2

Have I mentioned that Carsyn is an excellent cuddler and loves to take naps, preferably with someone. It also takes her a while to fall asleep at night, there's been many of times that one of us has ended up sleeping 1-2 hours with her at night in her big girl bed.

she loves to nap 10/8

We celebrated Carsyn's birthday the weekend before at Safari Champs with monkey themed cupcakes surrounded by friends and family.  You can read the full recap on my previous post.

I'm ready for my cake, mommy!

Carsyn is an excellent eater, sometimes out eating Ry.  She goes to town on meatloaf and spaghetti, mac n cheese, pizza, cereal, cheese, fruit and has  a deep love for lollipops and Popsicles.  She is, however, NOT a fan of chocolate.  Although she will eat cookie dough and brownie batter.  :)

pint house pizza 10/3

making waffles for dinner 10/13

she's got a hankering for a burger 10/18

ice cream!  10/20

ICEEs at the Corner Store 5K at the Dell Diamond 10/11

 Corner Store 5K at the Dell Diamond 10/11

Carsyn is such a strong little girl!  When we took her bowling she would get quite upset if we tried to carry her bowling ball for her.  She has become very independent and prefers to do things herself.  Carsy is such a joy and I can't wait to see the little lady she becomes.  Hugs & Kisses little one.

Bowling 10/25

Halloween decor doesn't scare us!  10/4

They love Halloween 10/21

Happy Halloween!  10/28

Happy Halloween 10/31/2015

Carsyn's 2nd Birthday - Safari Champs!

Carsyn's 2nd birthday was originally setup for Kiddie Acres this past weekend, and then Hurricane Patricia happened and the forecast showed rain all weekend long.  By Thursday evening I made a last min call and changed the venue to Safari Champs, an indoor playscape for kids.  Thank goodness I did because it rained non-stop that Saturday and her party would have been ruined.  Of course this meant I only had Friday to completely change her theme!  Luckily both locations were all inclusive and I really only had to switch up her evite and cupcakes.  Safari Champs was a complete success!  Everyone was still able to make it despite the rain soaked road conditions and the kids had a blast.

The evite:

**Due to the rain filled forecast we are switching venues to Safari Champs (indoor jungle gym/playscape, BRING SOCKS).**     

Friends of the Jungle have gathered to say

Please help us celebrate

CARSYN'S 2ND BIRTHDAY!

We have the LION ROOM from 9-11am.  Pizza, hotdogs and fruit trays will be served around 10am with cake to follow.  You can stay as long as you want as there's really no end time, however we only have the LION ROOM from 9am-11am.

Favors:  Each kid will receive a balloon and a free one day pass.  Please make sure you get this from me before you leave!  :)

Since the party started so early it made for a quick morning.  We barely had enough time for breakfast before arriving at Safari Champs around 8:45am to setup.  The nice thing about Safari  Champs is they took care of pretty much everything; provide table clothes/plates/utensils and even tied a balloon to each chair for the kids to take home.  They handled the clean up too, which was awesome.  All we did was bring in some appetizers and a cooler of extra drinks.  The kids played to their hearts content. Pizza, hot dogs and soda were served as an early lunch and was part of the birthday package.  Each kid also received a free one day pass to use at their convenience. 

I'm ready for my cake, mommy!

I found the idea for the monkey cupcakes on the Internet.  Super easy!!  I bought the cake mix/frosting, eyeballs and vanilla wafers from HEB.  It actually went together fairly quickly and the kids were even able to help add the ears and eyeballs, they had a blast helping mommy decorate.  The safari monkey theme was perfect, this girl loves her monkeys!  

Carsy loves her monkey balloon (from party city)

Our girl is 2!

Opa and Juju with the birthday girl

Happy Birthday to you!

Safari elephant came by for a visit

family

and friends

bro-bro made it!  the college kids

Mia

Ry and Jude - best friends

We waited until we were back home to open gifts.  Carsyn loved everything she received and began playing with it immediately.  Ry was also a fan of all her new toys.  :)  A huge thank you to everyone that was able to join us and celebrate Carsyn's 2nd birthday! 

23 Months

Only 1 more month to go and Carsyn will be 2 years young!  Every time we go to day care the front office ladies stop us and proclaim "we can't believe how big she's getting, she's so grown up!"  Even her teachers have said she seems older and more independent.  She now weighs about 27 lbs, has BLONDE hair that's long enough to pull back into a ponytail or pigtails and sleeps in her own big girl bed.  Carsyn finally enjoys taking baths and she and Ry will play together quite nicely in the tub.  She also gives the best hugs and kisses.  In the pics below she's wearing our traditional German picture outfit, a dirndl.  It fits, so it's time to schedule those pictures!

my fierce face 9/16/2015

cheese

Some of Carsyn's favorite things are:  birds, swinging, Disney movies (Aladdin, Tangled, Tarzan, Wreck-It-Ralph, Beauty & the Beast), cheese, fruit, her baby doll and playing in the water.  She also loves to try and play games on our phone or the tablet, though that doesn't usually end well as she's still a bit too young to fully understand them.  Ry and Carsy do play with each other and Carsy always wants to copy her big brother.  It's so much fun to watch, but they also have their bad days where they steal each others toys, use that horrible word "mine" and cry...oh the crying!  It's especially draining when they both must have mommy at the same time.  It's good to be loved :)

climbing after big brother 9/19/2015

Carsyn is an excellent eater.  She has her favorites and is also very willing to try new things; mac n cheese, chicken pot pie, lollipops, Popsicles, lasagna, eggs and sausage links, cereal...pretty much any breakfast food.  Carsy has a mouth full of teeth and puts them to good use, we are foodies!  The kids also love to eat raw cookie dough and brownie mix (they get this from me).

we love brownie mix 9/6/2015

I found a great deal on Groupon for the Austin Aquarium, so one weekend we headed on over for some fishy fun.  They added a lot more stuff since the last time we were there (a year ago).  The kids loved feeding the stingrays and petting the iguana.  The place even had a playscape in the back that they spent a good 20 mins climbing on.  There were also birds, snakes and plenty of other attractions that are great for 2-6 yr olds. 

feeding stingrays 9/19/2015

September is also grandparents month, the kids were able to enjoy some quality time with Nana, Opa, Juju and Baba.  It's so nice to have family close by.

Nana time 9/25/2015

grandparents brunch at KRK 9/14

Baba with all the grandkids (except Evan who's at college)

22 Months

Growing leaps and bounds!  We really noticed that Carsyn has been talking a lot more this past month.  She's stringing together 3-4 words now.  The other day she said "Ry-Ry where are you?".  Some of her favorite words are 'paci', 'cereal' and of course 'mama'.  Her favorite movie is Wreck-It-Ralph and it must be watched at least 2x's a day on weekends, and every night during the week.  She loves her big brother Ry and must copy him in all things; such as climbing walls & fences, eating the same snacks and playing with dinosaurs.  I love that she's such a tom boy.  :)  This girl's got spunk, character, smarts and will bust a move to music at any time. My tiny dancer.

Hook em - ready for football! 8/13/2015

stacking extraordinaire 8/4/2015

earning her keep 8/26/2015

At the beginning of August we took the kids on their first airplane ride to Cincinnati to visit my brother's family (Uncle Steve & Aunt Lil C, Mason & Harper) and meet the newest addition to their family, baby Harper.  The kids had a blast and flying didn't phase them one bit.  It was great to visit with family and check out the local zoo and aquarium!

Visiting family in Ohio 8/7/2015

extended family! 8/8/2015

all the littles - cousins/2nd cousins

monkeying around at the zoo 8/7/2015

at the aquarium

under water tunnel

This month we upgraded Carsyn's room from a crib to a full sized bed!  It took a couple nights for her to adjust and sleep through the night in her new bed, but it was totally worth it to be done with that crib.  It still takes a while to put her down because she wants you to lay there with her until she falls asleep, which sometimes takes a good hour!  Poor daddy gets stuck with this routine the majority of the time as Ry-Ry now wants mommy to take him to bed.  All in all a successful transition.  Next up is potty training, we still haven't mustered up the energy to tackle that new adventure.

new bed for the little lady 8/25/2015

Lots of changes for the little lady (and family) this month.  The last of Carsy's teeth finally broke through, all 4 canines at once!  That made for a rough couple of nights and lots of Tylenol.  Then we took a trip to San Marcos to visit Bro-Bro's new college apartment and stock up his fridge.  The littles got a nice taste of college life.  And finally Ry-Ry started pre-K in a new school, so Carsy is on her own now at daycare and at Opa & Juju's.  They are growing up way too fast!

They are like an old married couple...in their rockers with their blankets at Opa & Juju's  8/11/2015

sleepy girl 8/22

Visiting bro bro's apartment at college 8/22/2015

college beanbag chair...big enough for 2 littles!

Towards the end of the month we bought the kids a new toy, a bike trailer!  I've been wanting a bike trailer for a while now to cart the kids around, I can also use it to take Ry to pre-K as its only 1 mile away from our house.  The kids LOVE it, especially when mommy goes fast.  They rode in it all weekend long, mommy took them out in the morning and we hit up all the parks in the neighborhood.  Tons of fun for the kids, lots of exercise for mommy.

2 peas in a pod, Wheeeee! 8/29/2015

Carsy & Ry, must climb all the things together 8/30/2015

tunnel adventures 8/30/2015

Next up is planning Carsy's bday.  I've already confirmed the location, found her birthday present and sent out invites.  Now I just need to figure out her cake!