Josh and I tell Carson a lot that his number one job is to make Annelise happy, just like her job is/will be to make him happy. The other day Josh was reminding him, and Carson was matter-of-factly reiterating…and expounding.

Carson: “Carson job is to make Annay happy. And Mommy job is to make Mommy happy.”

I don’t quite know how to take that…

It all started with the Christmas music mix that Audrey and Griff gave us (thanks, guys!). All the Little Things by Ben Cocks quickly became a favorite. “You know what?” I thought. “This song would be perfect for a photo slideshow!” And this video was born.

So far since being parents of two, definitely one of our favorite things to look over and see: two kids playing together quietly and happily. :)

It’s hard to believe that Carson will be 2.5 years in just a few months. Wow! Lately it seems like he’s grown up so much, right into this adorable little boy. Here’s some things we’ve noticed (and loved) about Carson lately:

• The way he matter-of-factly says “Okay. I do that.” Example: “Carson, do you want to bring your milk and come sit at the table?” “Okay. I do that.”
• The way he “asks” for permission sometimes by narrating what he does as he’s doing it: “I eat a blue M&M now.”
• The way he says “I have an idea” a lot of times and follows up with things like “We play Legos.” Except he pronounces it more like “I have [dramatic pause] un ine-dee-uh.”
• The way he loves to watch airplane videos and read airplane books – but we’re not talking the kiddy kinds. He’s more into the raw footage/photograph deal. He has a book of military planes, and he loves to just look at and talk about the pictures. And the videos he watches are just ones we found on Youtube, often with just plain footage and no talking/music, of various planes taking off or landing – or, his other favorites, refueling mid-flight or dropping fire retardant (that’s a long-standing favorite).
• His favorite food for breakfast (or lunch) is probably chocolate granola. At least it’s granola…right? He always requests it on a plate dry. He’ll pick out the chocolate pieces and eat them first, then dump the granola into a bowl of milk and finish it off with a spoon. Super cute.
• The way he’s gotten more into giving hugs and wanting to be held and cuddled lately
• The way he says “That be silly” or “That silly” if anything funny happens or is about to happen.
• The way he basically pronounces Annelise’s name “Aah-uh-nay,” and he talks to her a lot (mostly reiterating/redirecting orders to her, but still)
• The way he’ll request one or the other of us to sing songs or read books to him sometimes. Like I’ll read him books one night for bedtime, and then he’ll ask if Daddy can come in and put him down. It’s nice to be requested. :)
• Sometimes after dinner, when he knows bedtime is imminent, he’ll ask for “a little little two more minutes” to play. Actually, he more like states it: “I almost done, then I play for a little little two more minutes.” He’s still got to learn about the whole asking permission thing. ;)
• The way he’s still learning to talk. When he asks questions, he’ll ask them like, “What deodorant is?” When he really wants to do something, he’ll whine, “Carson want to really hold that toy.”
• The way he listens to conversations and agrees with everything we say: “Yeah. Uh-huh. Carson do that too. Carson like that too.” It’s pretty funny, especially when we’re talking about things like calling insurance companies for quotes on homeowner’s insurance or something. :)
• He’s very obedient and helps clean up, get things, and is just a good boy. He’s also getting more independent. A common phrase is “Carson do it by Carson self.”
• He sings a lot, sometimes made-up songs with nonsense words but also his favorites, over and over (right now it’s “Rain, rain, go away,” no matter what the weather’s like)

We love you, Carson!