Baby Carroll #2

If you haven't heard already......we have an announcement.......

We are expecting Baby C #2!

Ben and I are beyond thrilled! John Michael, these days, seems VERY interested in babies (especially his new cousin Abby) so it should be lots of fun!

Finding out we are expecting is a story I will always remember............

I have been suffering from a illness since around August and have been on medication since then. I had called my doctor to get a refill on the medicine and just as a side note asked if I could be "late" due to the medication (I was three days late). She told me that it should not be causing those issues. She told me to take a pregnancy test and to tell the pharmacist if I was pregnant or not because she would call both medications in and whichever I needed to get. I told the doctor "I'm not pregnant." Famous last words!

I went to Harps Pharmacy and bought the cheapest test you can find, went to the bathroom, peed on the stick, and waited the two minutes. I was frustrated at this point.....I mean, really, I was not pregnant. I waited and I only saw 1 Pink Line (Negative). Throw the test back in the bag and in my purse, told the pharmacist it was negative, got the medication and left.

When I got into the car, I just wanted to confirm and looked at the test again......hmmmmm....is that a second line? No way, I'm just making things up in my head. Right?

I had to go to Wal-mart to pick up a toy I ordered that had come in so I decided to go ahead and pickup one of the "expensive" tests.....you know, the type that tells yous "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant". I went to the Wal-mart bathroom again and WOW......one minute later, I'm in shock.

I'm pretty sure I RAN out of Wal-mart. I had a zillion emotions running them me (mostly shock! and excitement). I had not told Ben about my adventure because I hadn't wanted to bother him at work for just a "negative" pregnancy test so I was a little worried about telling him. Not worried because he would be upset that we are expecting, but I felt like I had "robbed" him of the opportunity to be there for the test!

I called Ben and asked him if he would shut his office door. By this time, I was crying a little and he was really worried...."Allison, What is going on?!?!"

I then sent him this picture:

Ben was SO excited! I could hear him smiling over the phone!

What is really great......all of this running around was done within my 1 hour lunch break. Let me tell you, not much work was done that afternoon!

I will always have one good story to tell him OR her on their birthday every year!

This is our sweet baby due on June 21st:

Fair!

To say John Michael loves animals would be a true understatement.
Ben and I were so excited to take him to the Fair this year to see the animals that he doesn't typically get to interact with. He LOVED it.

Talking with Mr. Pig......his nose was sticking out of the catch and John Michael took the opportunity to have a little chat with him.

We were so impressed by the FFA teenagers at the fair. All of them were so nice and went out of their way to show us the animals. Many of them stopped while they were walking their animals to another stall and let JM pet them.

After the animals, there was only one ride we wanted to take John Michael....the Merry-Go-Round. At first, he was NOT into it and was very unhappy. However, as soon as the ride actually began.....he loved it! Ben and I took a turn riding with him and standing outside the Merry Go Round might have been the best part....he wanted in anticipation to see the other and waved and blew lots of kisses!

After the ride was over.....he didn't wan to get off!

After all the fun we had....we had to have a snack! John Michael's favorite was definitely the fresh squeezed Lemonade!

We had so much fun and cannot wait to go again next time!

My Boys

I went on a shopping expedition this past weekend with my two Sister-n-laws and Mother-n-law to NorthWest Arkansas.

Because of my girls weekend....it meant my boys were to fend for themselves.....

This is what they did!


Ben and John Michael participated in "Paint the Park Pink" on Saturday morning and walked in honor of my grandmother, "Mama" Anna, and her survival of breast cancer!

The boys had a great time and it made me so proud!

After the walk, they cheered on the Razorbacks! (Sadly, we lost....but no reason to dwell on that!)

I was so glad the boys got to have some "guy" time......both of them had such a good day!

John Michael sure loves his daddy!

We're Back!

I know....I know....I have not blogged in forever. Life just simply has gotten into the way......and we just enjoyed summer way too much!!

John Michael is doing great......growing every day!

We just recently went to his 18 Month Appointment and here are his stats:

Weight: 24 Pounds 12 Oz (40% Percentile)

Height: 33.5" (70% Percentile)

He can Say So Many Things these days:

Mama, Dada, Hello, Hi, Hey, Bye-Bye, Dog, More Please, Hot Bannana, Meme, Dado, Mamaw, Ops, Nana, Ball, No, Riley, Ready Go, Car

He is a VERY active and ALL boy. He LOVES to be outside, running, chasing and throwing balls, mowing the grass, and riding in his wagon.

He LOVES (and has no fear of) animals....espeically dogs.

He Gives hugs and kisses (with a pucker sound!) when asked. He also throws many kisses.

Here's to hoping I'll blog again very soon! :)

John Michael's School Party!

For John Michael's actual Birthday, Ben and I surprised him at school with a party!
We brought the cupcakes, birthday boy bib, birthday hats, and duckies for the kiddos.
John Michael seemed a little confused at first why we where both there, but quickly showed us off to all his friends!

The kids eating:

Of course, the birthday boy didn't want to wear his hat!

But Lucy Did!

John Michael's First Haircut

Ben and I where getting a little concerned about the mullet that John Michael was growing so the week before his Birthday, he got his first haircut! I was nervous about it because the boy does not like to sit still!
After grabbing a nice Chick-fil-a meal, we headed to see "Steve". Steve is so special because he has been cutting Ben's hair since he was three years old! Twenty-seven years later, Ben was bringing his son to get the first haircut! Crazy, huh?

Steve was VERY patient and did a great job on the Haircut! Don't worry....we saved some hair!


All three guys after their Hair Cuts........Three Generations Cut by Steve!

1st Birthday Party

John Michael's 1st Birthday Party was a Success!

We had a close family party at our house. Because both Ben and I come from large families....there was about 20 people there! We are very blessed!

The Menu included the Birthday Boy's Favorite.....Chicken Nuggets from Chick-fil-a.
This is the only family picture we got with all of us looking at the camera!

Ben and I went for a useful present....we got him a backpack....I think he liked it!


We where all very excited about JM digging into the cake. He, however, was not quite sure about it.......

John Michael showed out the entire time (no breakdowns, yay!) and he LOVED playing with all his cousins!

He also enjoyed unwrapping his presents!

Turning One is So Much Fun!

John Michael is Officially 1 year old!!

Ben and I are in awe! Someone asked me if I was sad on his birthday and honestly, I wasn't. I was excited and encouraged that this little bundle of a baby that was handed to us on February 16th, 2010 survived one whole year with us! :)

Here are so fun facts about John Michael at 1 Year Old:

* John Michael is officially a walker! He will occasionally crawl to get something, but most of the time, he is up and about. Just the week of his birthday, he began bending down and picking up items and straightening back up! We have slowly been child-proofing everything. We never knew how many things can get into those little hands so fast!

* 6 Teeth! 2 on Bottom and 4 on Top. When he grins, you can see them!

* John Michael can say: Mama, Dada, Hello, and Hi

* John Michael also does some great hand motions! (Pre-reg: He must be in a good mood to show you these!) If you say "Touchdown"....his two arms shot straight in the air! And if you say "How old are you?", both hands come up with one finger up!
(Picture Below: JM eating Spaghetti while practicing "Touchdown".....felt like I needed to explain the mess!)
* The boy LOVES music! No matter if it is just a commercial or the radio on, as soon as he hears it....he starts clapping and dancing. His favorite songs: the "Veggie Tales" Theme Song and (funny enough!) the "Catfish Cove" television commercial. He also loves to make music. For his birthday, he got a toy piano. It has found its way to the kitchen and he usually plays for us while we are cooking dinner!

* Food: We have mastered the sippy cup! YAY! And in the past week he has been refusing his bottle (except for the last feeding of the day). We did start adding Whole Milk to his diet on Saturday, but we are still doing some formula due to the iron levels (see below). His favorite foods are: Yogurt, Pasta Pickups, Cheerios and Applesauce. Here lately, he REALLY is interested in what his mama is eating...he wants that over whatever he has on his plate!

* He still LOVES Gravy and (recently our house guest) Gritz (the dogs). Gritz is more puppy than Gravy so the two of them (Gritz and JM) have become fast buds. They wrestle, they kiss, JM Feeds him the foods he doesn't want to eat, and they are very rough with each other....but lots and lots of laughter comes from JM.

* Haircut: Right before JM's 1st birthday, he got his first haircut! The man (Steve) who cut his hair, has been cutting Ben's hair since he was 2 Years old! It was definitely a full-circle moment!

* He is ALL boy. Just in the last month, we have received 2 phone calls from his Daycare with "Accident Reports".....none serious, but they just want to let us know (a busted lip and a bonk on the head). The boy wants to go fast, be chased, wrestled with, crawl into the smallest spaces, knock over things, and (most recently) get very very dirty outside.

* John Michael loves being outside! We have some great grass stains on his jeans! We have taken him to the local park a few times in which he loves people watching and climbing up the slide the wrong way! He also loves to go on Wagon Rides around the neighborhood and wave to all our neighbors!

* Sleeping: He goes to bed anywhere between 7:45 - 8:15 PM and sleeps until 5:30 AM. He is still our early riser (every day of the week!). He also still takes 2 naps a day.....one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

* Mama's Favorite Activity: When he gives me kisses (you know those open mouth, full of slobber kisses).
* Dada's Favorite Activity: When John Michael "reads" to us. JM will find a book, open it up and start "reading" it in his own language. Cutest. Thing. Ever. (and smart too!)


* 1 Year Doc Visit:
-- Weight: 23.2 Pounds (50% Percentile)
-- Height: 31 3/4 inches (90% Percentile!)
-- He took 4 shots like a champ!
-- At one year, our doctor does a finger prick to test the iron levels. They had to do this twice because the first prick came back too low. With the second prick, it did confirm that his iron levels where a "border line". The doctor told us not to be concerned but to try to "pump up the iron". So, we are keeping formula around a little longer, started feeding the baby cereals again (i.e., rice) and searching for all fun foods (baby cookies!) that say "iron-fortified". We will go back at 15 Months and they will test it again.

John Michael has had SUCH a big year! We cannot wait to watch him grow and change even more in this upcoming toddler year!

Thanks to everyone who has prayed for our little family throughout this first year and we continue to ask for prayers for a healthy boy and one day for John Michael to understand salvation and ask Jesus to come into his heart!

" I Prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me

what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27

Snow Snow Snow

What is it about a cold door, white snow flakes, and a little boy?

LOVE.

Although we didn't get to enjoy our snow (it was entirely TOO cold!), John Michael and Gravy really enjoyed watching it come down.