Family Christmas 2010

We had our family Christmas early this year. We will be in Eldora next weekend to celebrate with Corey, Nicole & Owen, and then we will be spending the entire week of Christmas in Waukon. The boys didn't mind opening gifts early at all. :)

Karson's new "hat". He thought he was pretty hilarious, and we thought

he was pretty darn cute.

Mommy's new coat from Daddy & the boys. The sure did an excellent job picking it out.

I didn't have one say in it, and it is absolutely perfect!

You just have to love Karson's cheez face. It is just too darn adorable.

Justin was very happy with his new Mario & Sonic Olympic Games video game

for his Nintendo DS.

Santa Claus Came to Nana & Papa's!!!

Santa Claus comes to visit the boys every year on Thanksgiving weekend. Needless to say, he is a big hit with all the boys. Owen & Karson were a little leery at first, but it didn't take them long to warm up to Santa.

Owen was his usual serious self. He definitely thinks hard about things, and you can see it in his face. Karson is happy and easy-going most of the time, and seeing Santa was no exception.

I love the look on Justin's face in this picture! He is really listening intently to what Santa Claus is telling him. It must have worked too, because he's been a pretty good boy this year.

Bike Riding

We got Karson the cutest trike for his 2nd birthday. It doesn't have any pedals, so it helps him learn how to balance. It should also work to strengthen his leg muscles, which will hopefully help him learn to walk. You can kind of tell in this picture, but he makes the "vroom, vroom" sound the whole time he's riding his trike. So cute!

So happy to be outside riding his new trike.

Vroom, Vroom! We really need to find a helmet small enough for Karson, so he can ride outside more often. So far, this is the only time he's ridden his trike outside because

as you can see with Justin, we insist on helmets. Safety first! :)

Trike riding is serious business.

Justin is long past riding a trike, but he hasn't quite figured out how to ride

his bike without the training wheels yet. Maybe next year.

Fall 2010

Matt and I planted a tree in our backyard a year or two after we bought our house, and it has really grown. It is an Autumn Blazing Maple, and the leaves turn the most beautiful shade of red every fall. Luckily, Matt reminded me to take pictures of the boys in the tree before we got all that crazy wind a couple weeks ago. The leaves had just turned red a few days earlier, and a few days after I took these pictures, all the leaves were gone. Good thing Matt was thinking ahead. :) Just one of the many reasons I love him.

Justin always loves having his picture taken in the tree, and I mean literally, up in the tree. The leaves are always prettier when they are still on the tree, so having him sit in the tree is really the only good option. Isn't he handsome?

Karson, on the other hand, did not want anything to do with being in the tree, so I settled for some pictures of Daddy holding him near the tree. This is his newest cheezy smile, and I love it. He could not be any cuter!

Two happy boys sitting beneath our beautiful tree. Karson was much happier having his feet on the ground. Maybe next year he will be more interested in sitting in the tree.

Halloween Party 2010

"Iron Man" Justin and "Bumble Bee" Karson

This is Karson's newest face, and I absolutely love it. He is the cutest!

Justin, Mommy & Karson on the hay rack ride.

Karson loved it so much that he fell asleep part way into it.

Iron Man roasting a giant marshmallow

This may have been the best shot of the night. Karson eating his very own giant marshmallow with the massive bonfire in the background.

Birthday Party in Iowa

Our boys are a little bit spoiled. They get two birthday parties every year - one in Illinois and one in Iowa. I guess that makes up for the fact that we make them share their parties with each other. I'm sure that won't last forever, but right now it works out very nicely.

Karson cheering for his very own cupcake.

Justin showing off his new shirt.

Our adorable 6-year-old!

Our precious almost 2-year-old!

Selmi's Pumpkin Patch 2010

Every year after the boys' birthday party in Sterling, we go to the local Pumpkin Patch called Selmi's. The boys always have a blast picking out pumpkins, and doing all the other fun stuff there is to do there, like the Petting Zoo, Haunted House, Hay Rack Ride, Face Painting, etc.

They provide Red Wagons for hauling pumpkins. I think we go the best pumpkin in the patch!

They also have a growth chart that we take advantage of every year. Justin wasn't standing up totally straight, but he is about 48 inches tall already!

Karson didn't really stand up straight either, but it made for a cute picture. He is really about 32 inches tall. They are growing up so fast!

Our herd - Karson the Cow and Justin the Pig. Could they be any cuter?

Birthday Party in Illinois

Ozzie, Karson, Justin, Maggie, Carter & Owen at the boys' birthday party in Sterling. What a great looking group of kids, don't you think? :)

The Larson Family

We had to go with two separate party themes this year since Justin insists on having a mind of his own. I wonder where he got that from. :) Justin had a Mario Bros. theme, which he loved.

Karson's theme was Football. In case you haven't seen him when a game is on, he just goes crazy. He actually sits and watches it for fairly long periods of time, and the whole time he is bouncing up and down, clapping, and yelling at the TV. It is really quite comical.

Susie did a wonderful job on both cakes, like always. Thanks Susie!

Karson's Ankle Braces

Karson finally got his ankle braces this week. His physical therapist suggested that he should be evaluated for them by a pediatric orthotist back in June. We met with him, and he agreed. Karson's ankles roll inwards a little bit (pronation). The braces will help strengthen the muscles in his ankles and feet, and hopefully he won't need them very long.

As you can see in the pictures, he doesn't mind them at all. The first time the doctor put them on him, he sat perfectly still, and just watched what was happening. He even sits still while we put them on him at home, which is very nice.

Here's a closeup shot of the braces. Of course, they are mostly covered by his adorable new shoes, but you can get the idea of what they look like. The just look like really tiny athletic ankle braces. They are made of flexible plastic, which is nice. We chose a sports theme for the pattern on them, since Karson loves football so much. He gets very excited every time we watch it on TV. So cute!

Karson sitting on the steps. Isn't he just the cutest?

Mommy & her boys. :)

Summer Vacation!!!

Karson was petrified of the swimming pool last summer, but it's a whole other story this summer. He absolutely loves the water, and that may be an understatement. He smiles and soon as he sees the water, and he starts kicking and splashing as soon he hits the water. He still doesn't like getting his face too wet, but he's getting better about that too.
Justin has been a little fish from his first summer when I dunked him. I guess that worked because he has never been afraid of the water, and he really does swim like a fish. Here he is coming down the water slide at the Waukon pool. He must have gone down that slide like 50 times this week, and he is headed back to the pool today with Aunt Keri. I guess our next house needs to come with its own pool. :)

Daddy & Karson coming down the water slide.

We also went to Niagara Cave in Harmony, Minnesota while we have been on vacation in Waukon. It was very interesting, and the boys loved it. We thought Karson might be scared since it was dark in the cave, but he enjoyed every minute of it. He kept pointing up at things, and "talking" with his hands. So cute! If you want to know anything about the cave, just ask Justin. He remembers almost everything the guide told us. He is such a smart cookie!

Karson doesn't look too sure in this picture, but he really did love the cave. Of course, he loved it even more since he got to be carried the entire time. It was a long walk out of the cave, and with a LOT of steps. I think we were all wishing we could be carried by the time we got back out of the cave.

Karson's Surgery & Misc.

Karson doesn't look like he just had surgery, does he? He has absolutely no idea anything even happened to him. Luckily, they were able to just blow him down, which means no IV. As far as he knows, some nice lady took him away in a warm blanket for a short nap. The nurse carried him back into his room about half an hour after they took him from us, and he was awake and smiling at everyone. That's our little peanut!

Do you think he is trying to break out of the hospital? He was so cute in his little clown hospital gown. His surgery went really smoothly, and we definitely think he is hearing better. The doctor said he had to clear a whole bunch of gunk out from behind Karson's ear drums. No wonder the poor baby couldn't hear much. Hopefully he will hearing perfectly from here on out.

Karson loves Justin's trampoline. He usually just sits on it and bounces up and down, but I stood him up for this picture. He was so excited to stand there and bounce.

Karson also loves Justin's drum set. Thank you to Uncle Corey & Aunt Nicole! He will sit and play for several minutes. Luckily, we keep it in the back bedroom, so Mommy & Daddy don't lose their minds.

One of Karson's favorite things to do is to make a "nest" for himself with lots of pillows and blankets. He snuggles himself right in, and just sits there looking at a book or "talking" to his hands. So cute!