Carter's 1st Christmas was wonderful. The spoiling began on the 23rd when Carter got to meet the cheerleaders...and Travis was there! The girls passed Carter around and only handed him off when he started crying:) It was wonderful to see all my girls, Travis and asst. coaches...as well as Switz, Lauren, Jennayah & some of the cheer parents. After the party, Carter and I headed home to celebrate Festivus for the rest-of-us with Uncle Kevin, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Kirk, Aunt B and Gavin. We played Partini and sampled lots of Christmas cookies!
On the 24th we spent the afternoon and night at Grandma Darlene's and Grandpa Terry's house. It was his cousin Lance's first time to meet Carter. The spoiling continued as Grandma, Grandpa & Aunt Tricia, Uncle Jeff & Hey Kid gave him wonderful gifts. Thank you:)
On Christmas morning, Carter gave his mom and dad a whole new appreciation for the holiday. We have always been thankful to God for sending his son on Christmas Day...but now, having a son of our own, we fully understand the sacrifice God made. Carter was so awake and animated...he smiles in response to my silly voices and daddy's silly faces:)
After Carter, Josh and I finished exchanging gifts, we headed up through the ice storm to Grandma Wendy and Grandpa Randy's house for breakfast with the Tharans. Again, Carter received so many wonderful and thoughtful gifts to honor his first Christmas. Uncle Kevin took lots of pictures. Although Carter slept through most of the day, his cousin Gavin entertained us all thoroughly...between his bitterbeer faces, fauxhawk and rose-colored glasses, he had us in stitches!! It makes me look forward to all the little ways Carter will entertain us at that age! It also overwhelms me at times to think that by the time Carter is Gavin's age, he will have been through his surgery--he seems so young. Uncle Kevin asked Josh to stop making all the dads look bad--i.e. Josh is super helpful in taking care of baby Carter: diaper changes, soothing him to sleep or entertaining him when mommy needs a nap, getting up through the night, and basically waiting on mommy hand-and-foot (including cooking, cleaning, etc). Josh, as I expected, has been amazing and as a result, having Carter in our lives is PURE JOY:)
As the ice changed to rain, we headed back to Barkeyville to see the Coursen Great-Grandparents as well as the rest of the extended Coursen family. Again, Carter was bestowed with many beautiful gifts and lots of attention.
The day after Christmas, Carter got to meet his Great-Great-Grandma Mabel and got a 5 generation picture taken with Great-Grandma Violet, Grandma Darlene, Daddy and her. After that visit, we headed to Kings to celebrate Christmas with the Dyes. Carter got to see Aunt Diane again and got to meet the rest of the Dye/Filer family. He got a picture taken with Grandma and Grandpa Dye and Lance, Ashley and Jordan...all of the Great-Grandchildren.
To wrap it up...Carter turned a month on Christmas Day. I cannot believe how much he has changed already. Hope you enjoy the pics of Carter's First Christmas!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Carter is 1 month old & his 1st Christmas
Our Family
Carter is 1 month old!!!
with his new keepsake blanket from The Fulton's & stocking from Krenma
Our Family
Oh Dad:)
Too precious
Checking out Krenma
Carter's 1st Christmas
Carter and Lance with Grandma and Grandpa Coursen...Carter is giving a little smile!
Carter checking things out
Grandma & Grandpa Dye with their Great Grandchildren: Lance, Ashley, Jordan & Carter
Four Generations: Gene, Darlene, Joshua & Carter
Carter meeting Great-Great-Grandma Mabel Rust
Five Generations: Mabel, Violet, Darlene, Joshua and Carter
Grandma Mabel gets her 1st look at Carter
Great-Grandpa Bill Coursen checks out Carter
Great-Grandma Dale Coursen holds baby Carter
Carter's 1st Christmas
Dear Santa, It's my first Christmas, and I've been so good!
His Santa Costume
With Grandma Darlene on Christmas
Smiling on the morning of Christmas Eve
Festivus wore use both out!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Carter update
Carter will officially be a month old! He is starting to reveal some personality. He talks to the Christmas tree, which is adorable, and he is finally focusing on mommy and daddy's faces when we talk to him..which is constantly. He's been shopping twice and like me has an aversion for Wal-Mart...bawls as soon as we pull into the parking lot! haha. He still enjoys sleeping the most, but when we hold him he holds his own head up now for 30-45 seconds with a lot of control. He has had a strong neck since the first time I held him, so it's no wonder he is holding it up and looking around now. He hates baths...cries like we are putting him through a torture chamber...but loves being snuggled in the big soft towel afterwards. He is also starting to lose some of that gorgeous hair...looks like he's suffering from male pattern baldness:) He's happy and healthy, though, so that's what matters! Josh and I are SOOOOO excited to share Carter's first Christmas with him and our families!
Merry Christmas All!
Merry Christmas All!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Carter fell into the Gap...it seems to make him happy:)
Caught him sleeping like this last night...he often eats with the one hand up by his head, too.
Couldnt believe I caught a pic of him sleeping like this...he's saying his prayers:)
Fast asleep...really, he does a LOT of sleeping...
Daddy and Carter ready for bed...how cute is that hat!!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Baby Coursen has arrived!
Well, I'll be the first to admit that I didn't fully understand how having a baby was going to change me or my life...I treated the whole thing so nonchalantly...then I saw Carter and my cup runnith over. It's been almost three weeks and I can still burst into tears just thinking about how much I love him. He's amazing and Josh and I LOVE being parents. So...although I am ready not to give up everything from my "old life"...like teaching, coaching, attending athletic events, concerts, etc...Carter & Josh are my first priority. TO make a long story short..."I get it" now--I am officially baby crazy!!!
Carter William was born at 9:45AM on Wednesday, November 25, 2009...the day before Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful holiday...having a healthy baby boy to be thankful for:) I got his first name from Dylan McDermott's character on this summer's Dark Blue (show on TNT) and his middle name is in honor of my grandpa William Tharan and Josh's grandpa William Coursen:) He weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 23 inches long...surprisingly his stats were identical to his cousin Gavins (except Gavin was 23 1/2 inches long). I had a C-section, which initially really upset me because I was feeling like a failure, but it turned out to be a really cool experience:) Josh got to be in the O.R. with me...and he was fine till he decided to "LOOK" over the drape on his way out of the O.R. with Carter and Joy (our nurse). He recovered before I made it back to the maternity ward:) The best part about having the C-section was having Dottie Whitmer with me in the recovery room to take care of me...and above all else she was the perfect person to talk to, encourage & comfort me--she was awesome. My recovery has been better than I ever expected, too:) As of now, I feel great and don't have too many restrictions!
Carter was born with a little surprise. He was born with a cleft lip on the left side. It's not a severe case, as you can see from the pix below, so we're thankful for that, too:) We know God has a plan for us through all of this. I think God wanted us fully understand how much our little one needs us, how deep & immediate a parent's love runs and how we'll do anything to protect him.
We're VERY lucky that it only affected his lip and not the pallet. My cousin was born with a cleft pallet (34 years ago), and I know my aunt and uncle went through a lot in her childhood. However, since it is just the lip, he can nurse, swallow, and ultimately grow:) He was back to 8 lbs 7 oz when he was 12 days old and today weighed in at 9 lbs 7 ozs (just a week later at 19 days old)! We met his UPMC Children's Hospital team (surgeons, speech pathologists, nurses, etc). when he was 5 days old. Dr. Losee (lead cleft surgeon) and his team are AMAZING....they answered all of our questions & really put us at ease with the process of surgical repair. Carter has a 3-month appt with them in February just to make sure that his growth is on schedule and to finalize his surgery. He is scheduled to have surgery on May 20. I'm sure Josh and I will be a wreck...so keep us all in your prayers! I plan to keep this blog posted on Carter's progress, too:) We are excited to see modern medicine at work, but nervous about the fact that our son will have a long surgery when he is only 6 months old. Nonetheless, I know God will take care of him and be the rock that Josh and I cling to through this.
Lately, Josh and I just enjoy spending time together watching Carter grow and learn. He's so beautiful...and looks just like his dad. He "rolls his eyes" and gives some attitude, so my mom says that he has my personality-lol. He does a lot of sleeping...and I have a hard time putting him down...I just want to hold him ALL THE TIME! We have received a lot of help...thank God my parents live a stone's throw away...Krenma helped Josh and I get some sleep in those first two weeks! We really appreciate all the cards, emails, and texts as well as the food. It's been a wonderful first three weeks...thank you!
I'm pretty sure Carter likes Christmas movies (just like his mom and aunts Abbie, Lauren & Tricia) b/c I've been watching them all on Hallmark, ABC Family and Lifetime and he seems pretty content when they're on:) Other than that, I take a million pictures of him. He makes the cutest faces, and I dont want to miss a thing! We are excited for our FIRST Christmas as a family:)
Enjoy the pictures--theyre in no order as I am just figuring this out--but theyre from his 1st 2 1/2 weeks!
Carter William was born at 9:45AM on Wednesday, November 25, 2009...the day before Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful holiday...having a healthy baby boy to be thankful for:) I got his first name from Dylan McDermott's character on this summer's Dark Blue (show on TNT) and his middle name is in honor of my grandpa William Tharan and Josh's grandpa William Coursen:) He weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 23 inches long...surprisingly his stats were identical to his cousin Gavins (except Gavin was 23 1/2 inches long). I had a C-section, which initially really upset me because I was feeling like a failure, but it turned out to be a really cool experience:) Josh got to be in the O.R. with me...and he was fine till he decided to "LOOK" over the drape on his way out of the O.R. with Carter and Joy (our nurse). He recovered before I made it back to the maternity ward:) The best part about having the C-section was having Dottie Whitmer with me in the recovery room to take care of me...and above all else she was the perfect person to talk to, encourage & comfort me--she was awesome. My recovery has been better than I ever expected, too:) As of now, I feel great and don't have too many restrictions!
Carter was born with a little surprise. He was born with a cleft lip on the left side. It's not a severe case, as you can see from the pix below, so we're thankful for that, too:) We know God has a plan for us through all of this. I think God wanted us fully understand how much our little one needs us, how deep & immediate a parent's love runs and how we'll do anything to protect him.
We're VERY lucky that it only affected his lip and not the pallet. My cousin was born with a cleft pallet (34 years ago), and I know my aunt and uncle went through a lot in her childhood. However, since it is just the lip, he can nurse, swallow, and ultimately grow:) He was back to 8 lbs 7 oz when he was 12 days old and today weighed in at 9 lbs 7 ozs (just a week later at 19 days old)! We met his UPMC Children's Hospital team (surgeons, speech pathologists, nurses, etc). when he was 5 days old. Dr. Losee (lead cleft surgeon) and his team are AMAZING....they answered all of our questions & really put us at ease with the process of surgical repair. Carter has a 3-month appt with them in February just to make sure that his growth is on schedule and to finalize his surgery. He is scheduled to have surgery on May 20. I'm sure Josh and I will be a wreck...so keep us all in your prayers! I plan to keep this blog posted on Carter's progress, too:) We are excited to see modern medicine at work, but nervous about the fact that our son will have a long surgery when he is only 6 months old. Nonetheless, I know God will take care of him and be the rock that Josh and I cling to through this.
Lately, Josh and I just enjoy spending time together watching Carter grow and learn. He's so beautiful...and looks just like his dad. He "rolls his eyes" and gives some attitude, so my mom says that he has my personality-lol. He does a lot of sleeping...and I have a hard time putting him down...I just want to hold him ALL THE TIME! We have received a lot of help...thank God my parents live a stone's throw away...Krenma helped Josh and I get some sleep in those first two weeks! We really appreciate all the cards, emails, and texts as well as the food. It's been a wonderful first three weeks...thank you!
I'm pretty sure Carter likes Christmas movies (just like his mom and aunts Abbie, Lauren & Tricia) b/c I've been watching them all on Hallmark, ABC Family and Lifetime and he seems pretty content when they're on:) Other than that, I take a million pictures of him. He makes the cutest faces, and I dont want to miss a thing! We are excited for our FIRST Christmas as a family:)
Enjoy the pictures--theyre in no order as I am just figuring this out--but theyre from his 1st 2 1/2 weeks!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
peek-a-boo smile
meeting Sydney
lil peanut
Gavin checkin out his lil cousin
Smiling at mom:)
Looking @daddy:) 
Love this smile!!
Gavin reached over and held Carter's hand!!
Dad & Carter...sooooo sweet
Carter & Great Grandpa Coursen meeting
Great Grandma Coursen with Carter
Daddy comforting Carter when we got home
Mommy's Fav pic
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