18 months

Our baby is sure growing up! He really isn't a baby anymore, he's a full-blown toddler complete with temper tantrums, a stubborn streak, new-found independence, mess-making, climbing everything, and a vocab that seems to expand everyday.

Here are Carson's stats as of today when I took him to the doctor for his 18 month check-up:

Weight=31 lbs (95%)

Height=34 1/2 inches (92%)

Glad to know he's not a runt! Here are some recent things about Carson and his latest endeavors:

1. Carson still loves to shake it, especially to certain movies like "Madagascar 2"(one of our faves) and his Baby Einstein musical book.

2. He's still obsessed w/ balls. In fact, we have to strap him into the stroller at Austin's soccer games because if we let him out, he runs after the ball and all the kids. I guess we'll have another athlete on our hands!

3. Some of the words that Carson knows (which is about 20 now): Mom or "Ma" (which he says all the time for no reason), Dada, Ball, No, Mine, Bubbles, Jesus (pronounced "JeJe"), Wow, Whoa (another word he says all the time), Cheese, More, Hi and Bye.

4. He's gonna be a biter, darn it. When he gets frustrated, he tries to bite anything close to him. Even his big brother (Austin's finally getting a taste of his own medicine). Gotta love that.

5. Carson's favorite toys besides balls are stacking cups, trucks, airplanes, and pretty much anything Austin is into. He even knows all the sound affects, including guns. Swell.

6. So far, he loves Nursery. We have no problem putting him in there. No tears, no clinging onto our legs. He goes right in and plays with the other kids. He also loves song time and playing Red Light, Green Light. Carson is very social and definitely has a way of drawing people to him. It probably doesn't help that he's got a pretty irresitible smile w/ dimples!

7. I love that Carson is the first person to remind us to say our prayers at meal time. As soon as I put him in his high chair, he quietly folds his arms. How cute is that!!!

8. One thing Carson has started doing the past few months is screaming when he's not getting his way. Yeah, it's really annoying and we're hoping he will get over that soon. Does he really have a choice though? :)

9. He's finally down to 1 nap per day (most days) which is nice because it frees up my mornings a bit. Still a good sleeper during the day and night though, but I have to say, a lot of that is our training.

10. Last, but not least Carson is turning out to be just as busy as Austin is. He gets into everything, wants to climb everything, makes messes everywhere (esp with food), and runs from one thing to the next without thinking. I'm afraid this is a good thing and a bad thing.!