Halloween 2009

Halloween was fun this year. Justin is finally getting into the spirit of Halloween. He loves getting dressed up as whatever his favorite superhero happens to be at the moment (this year it was a red Jungle Fury Power Ranger), and going out door to door trick-or-treating for as much candy as he can manage to accumulate in one night. Matt's aunt Buff took him out this year, while Matt, Karson & I stayed home to hand out candy to the other superheroes, witches, animals, etc. who happened to show up at our door.

Did you notice how Karson is sitting on the steps with no help? He is getting so big. And isn't he the cutest giraffe you've ever seen?! I could not resist this costume when I saw it in the store. He actually didn't mind wearing it either. He certainly was the happiest little giraffe I've ever seen.

Birthday Parties!!!

I can't believe Justin is 5 and Karson is 1 already! Time truly does fly. Justin turned 5 on October 1st, and Karson turned 1 on October 23rd. We celebrated with two parties, one in Waukon and one in Sterling. They didn't seem to mind sharing their parties with each other, at least not this year anyway.

The party theme in Sterling was Monkeys because we always call the boys our little monkeys. Karson even wore an outfit with monkeys on it. Too cute!

Karson wasn't real sure what to do with his first cupcake. He enjoyed playing with it, but he wasn't sure he wanted to eat it. He seemed confused as to what the heck was all over his hands. It's funny because Justin didn't want to eat his first birthday cake either. Crazy boys! :)

Justin's only true birthday gift request was a Nintendo DS. Needless to say, he was thrilled when his wish came true (thanks to Nana Cathy & Papa Rick).

Karson didn't have any gift requests this year, but he managed to get a few things, more like a lot of things. Here he is on his new ride-on toy. It must have been the perfect gift because both sets of grandparents got him the same thing. It's tough to be so loved. :)

Two Cute Boys

It's amazing to see the love of two brothers. They always seem to make each other happy. Karson is fascinated by anything Justin does, and Justin loves to make his little brother happy. In fact, if we can't seem to make Karson happy, we call on Justin. It works every time!

Awwwwww!!! Brotherly love!!!

Justin managed to squeeze in a few last times of swimming before it got too cold. He would shiver, but refuse to come out of the water.
Now that's dedication! :)

Karson still doesn't like the swimming pool. Nana Judy dipped his feet into the water. He seemd to like it the first few times, but apparently she did it one time too many.
Check out that adorable pout face! :(

Here's my happy baby! :)

Owen's 1st Birthday

We went to Eldora for Owen's 1st birthday in August. I can't believe he is a year old already. It was a fun weekend with lots of friends and family. Owen took it all in stride. He was so cute opening his gifts. What a ham! :)

Karson loved spending time with cousin Owen. They played really well together. I can't say the same for how they posed for pictures together, but they were so cute to watch.

Papa Rick, Nana Cathy & their boys - Justin, Owen & Karson

Aunt Nic-dawg & Karson. He loves his aunt Nicole, and I always manage to get really good pictures of the two of them. So cute!

Niabi Zoo

I am way behind with our blog, so here goes. We went to Niabi Zoo in the Quad Cities with Nana Cathy & Papa Rick back in August. Justin absolutely loved it, and Karson was a very good boy while we were there. He patiently rode in his stroller as Justin ran from exhibit to exhibit.


I got a really good picture of one of the giraffes. They were my favorite animal at the zoo that day. The pattern on their fur just fascinates me. So beautiful!
















Justin got to check his "wing span" at the eagle exhibit. I can't remember what bird that matched up with, but when Matt did it, his arm spread was over 6 feet! I always told him he had monkey arms & legs, but I guess he has eagle arms instead. :)


Do you think Karson has enough toys to play with? No wonder he wasn't interested in looking at the animals.

Summer Fun 2009

It has been one fun-filled summer for us. As you can see from the pictures, we have been busy with camping, swimming, ferry boat rides, and much more. We went camping over the 4th of July weekend in Eldora, Iowa with Corey, Nicole, Owen, Mom, Dad, and Grandma Nona.








Justin got to go on his first ferry boat ride on the Cassville ferry. He wasn't sure what to think about it. He liked it, but he kept asking, why is Papa Rick driving the van on this boat?


















We all got to go the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. Justin loved playing baseball on the field. Unfortunately, the corn wasn't tall enough for us to walk out of it, just like in the movie. Maybe next time :-)














Karson doesn't appear to be like Justin at all when it come to the water. Justin has been like a fish since the first time we took him in the water, but Karson hated his first experience in the pool. He pouted and screamed the whole time, even when we held him. We thought maybe it was a fluke, but he hasn't liked it any better since then. I am determined to get him to like the water though, so we will keep trying. Maybe he will like it next year.


















Nana Judy & Papa Bud's swimming pool had a hole in it that had to be repaired before they could get it ready for the summer. To pacify Justin in the mean time, we broke out the Slip 'n Slide. He had a great time, even though the water was freezing. His lips were turning blue and he was shaking, but he didn't want to stop. He is a diehard water lover!

Spring 2009

Karson got to have his first experience with a kitten recently. We were in Waukon for Memorial Day weekend, and my aunt & uncle had kitties for us to play with. Karson was mesmerized by the white & black on you see in the pictures. He kept reaching for it, and trying to pull it closer to him. The only problem was, he thought he could lick the kitty. I think because the kitten's fur was so soft, like his blanket, he thought he could suck on the kitty, like his sucks on his blanket. Funny!

When I was on maternity leave, I watched an episode of "The Doctors", and I sent them an email. In return, they sent me a new bath seat for Karson. It is really nice too. Here is a picture of the first time we used it, and he loved it. He was absolutely laughing throughout his bath. Such a happy baby!

Justin got one of the best experiences of his life so far. Daddy took him to see Monster Trucks in the Quad Cities. It was a last minute thing, but he had a blast. I happened to hear it advertised on the radio when Karson and I were on our way to Walmart, so I called and had Matt check it out online. Sure enough, it was going to start in about an hour. It takes an hour to get to the Quad Cities, so Matt threw Justin in the car, and they were off. Justin said it was loud, but he really had a great time.

Justin also had his final soccer game this week, so they all got their medals. His team was the Lizards, and they were all so cute. The boy standing next to him is his best friend, Owen. T-ball starts next Saturday, and Justin can hardly wait for that.

Soccer & Grass

Justin started playing soccer at the YMCA again this spring. This year, his team is the green Lizards. It is so much fun to see how much better he has gotten since last fall. What a difference a year makes. Last year, he was easily distracted, and he needed a lot of guidance. This year, he follows the ball no matter where it goes. He has scored at least 5-6 goals already, along with several "assists". We are just happy that he is participating and having fun. Karson discovered grass for the first time at Justin's soccer game. He wasn't real sure what to think of it, but I think he liked it. He definitely loves being outside as much as possible. If he gets fussy, and nothing else works, we take him for a walk or we sit on the front porch with him. He just loves looking around and taking everything in.

Karson's Baptism

Well, we finally managed to get Karson baptized. For those of you who didn't know, we tried to get him baptized the Sunday before Christmas, but church was canceled due to bad weather. We had everyone to Mom & Dad's for lunch anyway because Mom had all of the food prepared. Then last weekend, we did it all over again. Only this time, church wasn't canceled, and all of Karson's sponsors were able to be there. Jenny Rixen was pregnant with Cael and only a few short weeks away from her due date, so she wouldn't have been able to be there in December. I guess things really do happen for a reason. Not only were Jenny & Jonathan able to be there for the baptism, but we all got to meet little Cael for the first time.

Karson's godparents are Jonathan & Jenny Rixen and Heidi & Ryan Anderson, all very good friends of ours. Uncle Corey performed the baptism, and he also sang a beautiful solo. Karson cooperated throughout the service, except about half way through when Corey was talking, he decided to suddenly just stick his tongue out and spit.

We all went back to Mom & Dad's house for another big lunch of pork loin, mashed potatoes, scalloped corn, homemade rolls, and all kinds of wonderful salads and deserts. Thank God Mom enjoys cooking for large groups. Between my family, Matt's family, and a whole bunch of friends, it was a full house. It was wonderful getting together with everyone.

We also managed to get some cute Easter pictures of Karson & Owen in their bunny ears, since we never got around to doing it the weekend before. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

Karson's Surgery

Karson had surgery to remove the partial 6th digit on his right hand this past Thursday. We had to be at the hospital at 6:00am, but since it was an outpatient procedure, we were back home by 10:30am. The surgery went well, but it was still nerve racking for Mommy (and probably for Daddy too, but he's the strong one). The hardest part for Karson was not being able to eat for so long, but he took it pretty well. All of the nurses just loved him and thought was so cute. He "talked" to the OR nurse a lot, so she must have been his favorite. As you can see from the pictures, his arm is bandaged up to his elbow, so he can't get it off. It looks like a baby cast, but it doesn't seem to bother him too much. He does get frustrated when he tries to suck on his fingers on his right hand because he can't get to them. Daddy is hoping this forces him to be left handed. ;-) I will take him back to see the orthopedic surgeon on Monday, and hopefully they will remove the bandage. We haven't seen it, but I assume they put one or two stitches in his hand. Hopefully he will leave them alone once they take the bandage off. Nana Cathy & Papa Rick came down to visit us on Thursday night, so Karson has been plenty "spoiled" (and Justin too). We hated having put our baby through a surgery, but we are so glad it is over and that everything went so well.

March 2009

Well, there isn't a lot new happening, but I had some cute pictures I wanted to post. We did have Karson's hand x-rayed today, so now we should be able to get the surgery scheduled to have his sixth digit removed from his right hand. I don't like the fact that they have to put him out to do it, but we are anxious to get it done and over with. Hopefully it all goes very smoothly. Justin is doing well in his swimming lessons, and school is still going well for him. Grandma Larson and Bev came to Sterling to visit us last weekend. We all had a good time, and the boys loved being "spoiled" by them. Here are those cute pictures I promised.