Goodbye 2009!!

Well, I guess 2009 is coming to an end!  This year has had its ups and downs but it definitely has to go down as one of the best for me because it was the year Carson was born!!  I keep thinking back to this day last year - New Year's Eve 2008 - and it was the day I was put in the hospital.  So New Year's Eve last year was not so great.  I was worried and upset and definitely not expecting to be put in the hospital that day.  I ended up staying until January 9th!  That was one long hospital stay that I hope to never have to experience again!  But out of it came the greatest gift and blessing we could have ever received - our beautiful son!  

I am looking forward to a great day today...we are going to the Tigers/UT basketball game at 3.  I love Tigers basketball and know this game is going to be a lot of fun to watch!  We don't have any plans for tonight, will probably just watch a movie and some TV and just relax.  Sounds like a great way to ring in the New Year to me!  

I am looking forward to 2010 and enjoying Carson as he enters toddlerhood!  Hopefully Justin will be able to find a good job in the near future and if not, he will enjoy staying home with Carson for a little longer which is ok too!  Happy New Year to everyone out there!  I hope the new year brings great things for you!

Carson's First Christmas

Wow, it seems like Christmas has come and gone very quickly this year!  I guess I didn't really get into the Christmas spirit until school let out for the break and that was just 1 week before Christmas.  We got our real tree and decorated it a couple of weeks before Christmas.  I love getting a real tree, they are so pretty and smell so good!  We thought Carson would be pulling on the tree and trying to take the ornaments and lights off but we were wrong!  He hasn't really touched it at all, we think he is kinda scared of it.  I need to get a family picture in front of the tree before we take it down!  

We also went to Zoo Lights this year.  It was REALLY cold!  But we got all bundled up and went into the warm buildings along the way so we didn't get too cold!  We went with Paul, Anna, Greta and Jackson and had a lot of fun!  Carson was so good and all of the lights were so pretty!  The new Teton Trek is really nice too, it was the first time we had seen it.  We will definitely be going back for years to come, it is a fun thing to do for kids and adults!  I really want to go to Starry Nights at Shelby Farms too, maybe sometime this week.

Of course, we had to take Carson to see Santa.  We saw a billboard that said that you could get a free photo with Santa at the Bass Pro Shop.  I have never stepped foot in Bass Pro Shop before but figured we might as well take Carson there since we didn't know whether he would like Santa or not!  At the mall and Zoo Lights, you had to buy a package and the cheapest was $20 and we are on a budget so we decided to go with the free Santa and I am so glad we did!  This is how the picture turned out...

Needless to say - Carson was not into Santa this year...maybe next year!

The week leading up to Christmas, it was nice having all 3 of us home just to spend time together as a family.  We made some yummy food and finished up the Christmas shopping and listened to lots of Christmas music.  My best friend, Liz, came into town from Orlando so I got to spend some time with her also which was great.  Christmas Eve was a very nasty, rainy day.  We stopped by Liz's parents house to visit for awhile and then headed over to my parents house and had a nice dinner with them.  We opened some of the presents that night and decided to open the rest on Christmas Day.  

On Christmas morning, we all slept in a little (until around 8!) which was wonderful and then my parents came over to have breakfast with us and open more presents.  We helped Carson open his presents and he enjoyed his new toys as well as the wrapping paper and bows!  We then headed down to Senatobia, MS to celebrate Christmas with Justin's family.  We had a lot of fun down there eating and opening presents.  When we got back to Memphis, we headed over to my parents to finish opening presents over at their house.  When we finally got home, we were all exhausted!!  But it was a fun day!  Christmas is so much more fun with a little one around!  

And I almost forgot!!  Carson took his first steps on Christmas Eve!!  He took 3 little steps and then fell down.  I was the only one who saw it but he did it again on Christmas Day in front of Justin's whole family!  We all just started clapping and cheering for him when he was done.  It is so cute!  Each day since then, he has been practicing walking more and more!  My baby is growing up!!  We just got a new video camera so I will post a video of him walking soon.  

We are looking forward to the New Year and Carson's 1st birthday!!!  More on that soon...