First trip to the dentist!

Carson had his first trip to the dentist while we were home for our summer holiday. He LOVED going! They had funny tools to clean and count his teeth and when it was all over he got to choose 2 prizes! The dentist said Carson has wonderful teeth...must have gotten those from Ryan not me! He goes every six months from now on out! My baby is a boy now!

Carson getting ready to go into the dentist office!



Getting his teeth cleaned!

Almost done!

Summer Fun!

For Father's Day we went to the Parc de Floral, it's a huge botanical garden. It was beautiful. They had live orchestra music playing at the band shelter and the park was in full bloom. They also have a huge play area for children with a few rides and at least 10 playgrounds. Carson had a blast. We rented a peddle car/bike to ride around the park in. We had a great day together as a family! Carson and I are so lucky to have such a wonderful Father and husband in our lives. We LOVE him so much!!!



Carson and Ryan taking the peddle car for a spin!



Who loves chocolate ice cream?

This kid does! The sugar rush had set in...


It's been warming up here in Paris! We've had days in the 80's and 90's! I know that doesn't sound too warm to all of you Midwest residents, but IT IS HERE!!! Apartments in Paris are not air conditioned. Actually let me rephrase that... No building (aside from office buildings) are air conditioned! We live on the top floor of our building in an apartment that gets full sun ALL DAY! So our little oven has been sweltering! The bad thing here about having no air is that you can't just go to the mall or the movies to beat the heat. EVERYWHERE IS MISERABLE! We've done a lot of walking because riding the bus and the metro in the summer with a 3 year old who announces loudly how "stinky" people are, is getting too embarrassing to deal with! So we're HOT ALL THE TIME! We've been trying to get out and play at shaded parks and spray grounds. We found a huge spray park close to our house and Carson is loving it! You'll notice in the pictures that Carson is the only child in swim trunks. He's easy to spot. In Europe all men/boys wear speedos or tight boy shorts! It's the law in public swimming pools that men must wear tight swimsuits... They claim it's more hygienic! Ryan has put is foot down about going to a public pool here. I guess he doesn't feel confident in man bikinis! I'm trying my hardest to persuade him, and if I do you will see the pictures on this blog!!! Ha Ha! Another thing I've noticed on each trip to the spray park was that little girls under the age of 10 do not wear tops, and some children wear nothing at all!!! I had to make sure I checked the pictures I posted for no totally nude children! I apologize if I missed any...



We are getting ready to leave for the month of July to return once again to the States! We are all very excited. We've got lots planned. Carson will be spending time with all of his Grandparents playing and being spoiled! Ryan and I have a float trip planned with a big group of friends a week after we are home and a trip to Vegas with another couple later in july! The rest of the time we're going to catch up with friends and family...and Ryan will be working. ; )
I'll blog again when we get back about our vacation home! Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and that you are all staying cool...

Carson Turns 3!!!!

We thought we would be spending our birthdays in France...but Ryan had business in KC and we tagged along!!! It was a wonderful surprise and a much needed trip home. We were there for a full two weeks. We got to spend lots of time with our families and were able to make it to our friends wedding! The trip couldn't have come at a better time! First we headed down to Mt. Vernon where Carson had his first family party. Grandma Laurie invited everyone over for dinner and cake! Carson opened presents, ate cake and ran wild outside. The next day we went to Springfield with Grandma to play at incredible pizza! Carson played lots of games and rode lots of rides. It was a hit! On our way home to stopped at Bass Pro to take a look around and Carson tried out a 4 wheeler for size. He still has a few years or if his Mother has a say in it an eternity till he's old enough to ride one! Next Carson headed to St. Louis to stay a few days with Nana and Papa so Ryan and I could spend my birthday at our friend's wedding! We had an awesome time and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! While on his mini vacation he went to the transportation museum, the zoo and to the pool. On Monday I went down to St. Louis to spend a few days with everyone while Ryan worked in KC. We had another small family party with more presents and more fun! While we were there we went to the Magic house and took Carson to see his very first movie...UP! He loved it and did a great job sitting in the movie. We had such a great time with our families and friends that we didn't want to come home! Good thing we'll be headed back to KC on July 11th for more summer fun!!! We got back to Paris on June 14th, Carson's actual birthday. We spent the day unpacking and trying to get over the jet lag. On Tuesday Carson had his final birthday party at school with his friends. We took a Spiderman cake to share for snack and everyone sang happy birthday to Carson for the last time in 2009! I feel like we've had a month of celebrating Carson turning 3!
Here are some pictures from our trip home and the birthday boy!

Carson's Spiderman cake for his school party!

Blowing out the candles and eating cake with friends!

Building and digging at the Magic House in St. Louis!

Climbing the beanstalk and posing with penguins!

Riding the train with Papa and playing with trains at the Transportation museum!

Bouncing at Incredible Pizza and posing on a 4 wheeler at Bass Pro!

Riding Go Carts with Daddy at Incredible Pizza and trying out his new fishing pole at Grandma's!

Opening presents and posing with his cake at his party in Mt. Vernon!

Easter!

Carson was very excited for Easter morning to come. He knew, because we've been talking about it, that he was going to get a present from the Easter Bunny! Presents are always a good thing in Carson's world. When he woke up that morning (bright and early) and the first words out of his mouth were "I get my present now...it downstairs!" He came downstairs and his eyes lit up! "Cannnny!!!" So exciting! Carson did pretty well this easter. He got an Easter bowl from Mommy and Daddy. No basket this year...they don't have "Easter Baskets" here in France. So we had to improvise. In his "bowl" he got some candy, a few toys and a Toy Story sticker book! It was a big hit! He got an easter package from Nanna and Papa with a Wubbzy movie, fruit snacks and stickers! He also got another package from Grandma and Keecaw with Pinocchio, Bolt, a chocolate bunny and a stuffed animal! Pretty lucky guy! Easter was a lazy day for us, Carson ate candy for breakfast and we watched his new movies! Ryan had the next day off from work because it's a holiday over here. We all made another trip to Disney Land. This time we got to ride lots more rides and had a really great day! Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter too!

Euro Disney

We went to Disney Land Paris on Sunday. It's about a 35 minute train ride to the park. We bought year long passes so we can go back several more times while we're here. The park is very similar to the Florida park, it's just a much smaller version. We only rode a couple of the rides... the lines were super long. The day we went was one of the first really nice weekend days we've had this season, so EVERYBODY had the same idea we did. Carson was really excited to meet the characters. He's been obsessed with Toy Story since December. He got to meet Woody and Jessie!!! He also loved riding the Buzz Lightyear ride. We had a great day but were all very worn out by the end. Family fun sure takes it out of you! Next time we head out there we're going to check out the other park they have next to the main park. It's called Walt Disney Studios and has all the big rides for Daddy!





On the Buzz ride with Mommy.




Happiest kid at Disneyland!




Daddy and Carson waiting to ride the rockets.




Daddy and Carson meeting Woodie and Jessie!




Goofy and Pluto!




It's hard to wait in line!




There they are!



Mickey and Minnie!!!

Date Night!

Anniversary night!!!

Le Chalet des Iles.

Sunday April 5th was Ryan and my 6 year anniversary. On the 4th we had our babysitter come over to watch Carson so we could go out for the evening to celebrate. We made reservations at a restaurant that I had read was fun and romantic. It definitely was both! This restaurant is located in the Bois De Boulogne the largest park in Paris. It sits on the center of an island in the middle of a beautiful lake. The only way to get to the restaurant is to take a boat over. The inside of the restaurant was beautiful with chandeliers and large windows that overlooked the water. They had a piano player who played lots of recognizable music. He played the Beatles, some current music and even Stairway To Heaven! Our meal was wonderful and our waiter was funny. This was the best meal I've had in Paris and hope to get to come back again sometime soon! It was a wonderful night with my amazing husband. It's been 6 years of marriage and couldn't be happier. It's been an adventure so far and I can't wait to see what's in store for us down the road!

Nana and Papa come to Paris!

My Mom and Dad came to visit for two weeks at the beginning of March. We had a great time with them. We tried to cram in as much of Paris as we could during their visit. We saw lots of the major sites and hit up lots of museums! Here are some pictures of their visit!

At Versaille

Sacre Couer

Fred in front of The Thinker and Pam at the Louvre

Waiting for the train to take us to the Garden.

Taking a boat tour.

Mom and I at the Musee D'Orsay.

Nana and Papa visited Carson's school!


Mom, Dad and the tower and a picture at the Luxemburg Gardens.