SHE...

Today was a frustrating day for mommy (and one day Carly will look back, read this posting, and agree). Carly had story time at our local library, and then I had a retirement reception to attend this morning at school. Lucky for us we had exactly five minutes between the end of story time and the beginning of the reception, and the library is directly across the street from school.

Knowing that Carly would be seeing a lot of familiar faces at both events and meeting even more faces I planned her outfit accordingly. I wanted something that was cute, easy to crawl around and pull up in, simple for diaper changes, etc. So, Carly wore a white onesie with green gingham trim on the collar and sleeves with a khaki skort that had pink and red flowers and hot pink flamingos embroidered on it and matching belt.

And off we went. Unfortunately at BOTH locations I was asked by various strangers, "How old is HE?," "How much does HE weigh?" SERIOUSLY people, are you that blind. My response was always, "SHE..." They would then apologize and comment about how beautiful some feature of Carly's was, but SERIOUSLY people - SHE is wearing a skort!! and there is PINK on it!! Unfortunately, my tone got harsher and harsher each time I had to correct someone. Which I know isn't fair to the last people I encountered, but I was frustrated. (I was even standing next to a friend of mine one of the times this happened. Her response afterwards was, "Do they not see her wearing a skirt?")

I think Carly will be wearing A LOT of pink the next time I know she is going to be around many new faces, the subtle traces today in her skirt were not effective enough!

Date Night

Dave and I went out for our first "date" night since Carly was born (thank you Kelly)!! As we drove away from the house tonight we discussed the other times we have left Carly alone with someone else -

1) Around week 4 with my mom- I went shopping for a pair of non-maternity jeans, and Dave was at work.
2) Around week 8 with Dave's mom and family - Dave, a few family members, and I went to watch part of the Eagles game at a nearby bar.
3) Around 4 months with my mom - We went to buy Dave a new suit.
4) 7 months with my parents - Dave and I attended Megan and Trey's wedding
5) Tonight!!

However, tonight was different. First we were leaving Carly with a non-family member. (Although, Kelly is eating dinner at our house about once a week. I think that is going to start classifying her as family.) And secondly, we were going out to have fun just the two of us!

We had a lovely dinner at Alton's Kitchen, followed with dessert at Brusters. We did talk about Carly (some), but we also had a very relaxing meal and dessert. We didn't have to entertain her with one hand, while trying to eat our food. Nor did we need to move all of the dishes and utensils across the table and out of her reach. Instead, she was home have a WONDERFUL time with Kelly and we were out having a relaxing dinner!

Lake

Carly ventured out on the boat for the third time this season!! Dave got the boat ready, while I got her ready. We met at the neighborhood pool to soak her and her life vest before getting on the boat and travelling through our short no wake zone. This soaking actually worked! She didn't fuss for fidget while we motored slowly out of the cove, and got a huge smile on her face when seeing friends she knew.

After a short ride we arrived at a favorite spot of ours to anchor and float. Anchoring and floating was a first for Carly. She really seemed to enjoy herself. While floating in her life vest, she kicked, dunked the top of her head and hat, and enjoyed being passed/floated between me and Dave.


Unfortunately, she became bored of floating in the lake and wasn't interested in sitting on the boat - although she perked right up during our trip home. (Maybe she just likes to cruise the lake.) Dave and I weren't able to enjoy a nice picnic on the water this evening, but did enjoy it once we returned home.

Partying Down

We went to a neighbor's house last night to celebrate her daughter's engagement and pending nuptials. They had a little singing and dancing dog that kept Carly occupied all evening. Below is a movie of the resulting antics.

8 Months

Today Carly turned 8 months old. It absolutely amazes me that 8 months ago from right now she was swaddled tightly and sleeping in her rolling bassinet, unaware of everything going on around her. And now, she is very aware of her surroundings and loves to look around and take everything in.

To celebrate turn 8 months old Carly decided to accomplish another milestone. Last night David lowered her crib to its lowest setting so that we would be prepared for when she wanted to stand up in her crib. Well, today she did it. I tried to put her down for an afternoon nap following lunch and she fussed. While fussing she managed to sit herself up in her crib (facing the wall), rotate 180 degrees (so she is facing out of the crib) while also getting up on her knees, and pop herself up using the crib rails. I entered her room, told her "no", laid her back down, and got back to the video monitor in time to watch her do it again. At this point, I caved and decided nap time was over.

Later in the afternoon she managed to repeat her standing adventure in her crib and using our sofa and love seat as her assistants. She also managed to try to walk the length of the love seat; however, her hands move slightly faster than her feet - causing her to be unstable.

It amazes me to think that in her 8th month of life she began army crawling, being able to put herself in a sitting position, and pulling herself up in her crib and with the assistance of other furniture.

At 8 months Carly is eating:
~ apples
~ avocado
~ banana
~ butternut squash
~ carrots
~ Cheerios
~ green beans (Gerber only)
~ oatmeal
~ peaches
~ rice cereal
~ yogurt (mixed with banana)
~ zucchini

At 8 months Carly makes sounds that sound like:
~ mamamama (mama)
~ dadadada (daddy)
~ nana (banana)
~ aa don (all done)
~ a (hey)
She doesn't say these sounds with accuracy, but she does start with "mamama..." when she wakes up, then transitions to "dadada..." if there isn't an immediate enough response for her (as in a response within 15 - 30 seconds). She says "nana" when we tell her she is eating a banana, and any other time she feels like saying it. The same is true with "aa don", and everything else is "a".

At 8 months Carly's favorite toys are:
~ bobble sports balls hatching various fowl animals
~ tiger piano
~ shape sorter (she just carries the shapes around, no sorting yet)
~ wooden puzzles (they make fun noises when you bang the pieces together and on other things)
~ books
~ Jake
~ her hands

Applauding Herself

One of my favorite times with Carly is listening to her wake up from nap and bed times. She typically will sing and babble to herself or play around with her hands/feet. Today she woke up from her afternoon nap and began playing. I then noticed she became silent, then I started to hear her clapping. Using the video monitor I was able to see what what her applause was for - she had gone from her belly to sitting up all by herself.

She had completed this feat once yesterday for her daddy (what a great trait to show off just for Dave on Father's Day), but hadn't repeated it. Last night Dave and I discussed needing to lower the crib during next weekend since she would probably be doing this with more regularity soon. Well, her regularity started as soon as Dave got home today. She would crawl, then sit herself up, and then applaud at her accomplishment. We would applaud as well. This attention from me, Dave, and our friend - Kelly, led Carly into going into her crawling position then immediately back into a sitting position (without travelling anywhere) - so that she could applaud herself and receive our applause.

Big Weekend!!

Our family had a big weekend, at least for us!

Friday we went to a neighborhood pool party, Carly's first. We all had a wonderful time. Dave and I ate pizza, and Carly enjoyed being held by a neighborhood mommy while we ate. Then she and Dave ventured into the pool with her new alligator kickboard, and I joined them later on. We all played in the water, with Carly splashing, kicking, and "jumping" off the side.

Saturday Carly was left with "babysitters" for her longest time period ever. We have left her before to go watch a bit of football over Christmas and another time to buy a new suit for Dave; however, Saturday night was her first extended time without us. She had a wonderful afternoon and evening with my parents; however, only seemed to want her parents to put her to bed. Luckily we returned home just as my dad was putting Carly down. Her tears were big, wet, and loud. And eventually we did get her up and repeat the last portion of her bedtime routine.

Sunday was Dave's first Father's Day!

We began the day with having our membership to Bethel Presbyterian Church announced to the congregation. After a warm welcome we had a wonderful lunch at McAllisters. Carly rewarded Dave for being an AWESOME dad by taking a 2+ hour nap while I went grocery shopping. Dave's first Father's Day also consisted of of yummy rotiseree porkloin from his grill and a trip out for ice cream. Carly also gave Dave his Father's Day present early - a canvas print of a photo from her spring photo shoot with him.

Swing

Carly and I went to the park this morning for a nice, shaded walk. While we waiting on our company we ventured over to the swing set and had a little fun. (Please excuse the quality of these photos, they were taken with my cell phone.)

Cute Request

Tonight Carly and I were reading a few books in her room when she crawled over to her book basket. She pulled out her Daddy and Me book from Uncle Jamie and Aunt Sharon. This book has a photo of her and Dave from the day she came home from the hospital. Each page shows a picture of a baby animal with its dad, then at the very end is a mirror so that Carly can see her with her daddy again. Since she picked the book, I called Dave into the room (since it isn't a mommy/daughter book) to read it to her. Each time he read a page, Carly would flip back to the front cover and photo. It was absolutely precious to watch her and Dave together and he fulfilled her cute little request.

Babble

Carly has been quite the talker recently. Dave and I aren't really sure what she is saying to us, but she sure is convinced that we understand. We like to pretend we know what she is saying. Last night while I was feeding her slices of banana it sounded like she was saying, "nanana". Then tonight during dinner it sounded like she said, "appa". Apple does appear to be one of her favorite foods and she ate it at lunch today, but it wasn't part of tonight's dinner.

Carly also tells us stories while we are on walks, in the grocery store, and eating. Eventually we will understand what she is saying, but I think we have quite the little talker on our hands.

Adding More Color

We are continuing to add more color to Carly's diet. Tonight she tried steamed and pureed zucchini squash and LOVED it!! Adding another green vegetable to her growing rainbow of foods.



At the moment she eats: rice cereal, oatmeal, cheerios, green beans, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, avocado, golden delicious apples, bananas (slices and pureed), and zucchini squash.

Next we are adding peaches (since they are coming into season) and then probably peas.

We Survived!!

I am really hoping that I am not typing this too prematurely and jinxing myself (David should be home by 1:00AM from his business trip), but here goes:

Carly and I SURVIVED our first solo week!! This week was David's fifth week away since Carly was born; however, it was the first full week Carly and I flew solo! In the past I have had my mom and Julia come and assist with days and never completed a full business trip alone. (Of course I was forced to go solo since Julia is still in Oxford and my mom is recovering from surgery.) Carly and I ventured to the store, went on many, many walks, played (A LOT), sang silly songs, went to school to pack up some of my stuff, and hung around.

I do have to admit that I did have help from some wonderful friends with entertaining Carly at various points of this week, but I did complete four bedtime routines in a row solo this week. I know that there are many moms who completed a feat similar to this well before their baby was 7.5 months old, and my hat goes off to them. But, I've earned my gold star for this week!

Crawling, Take 2

Carly performed her army crawl again this afternoon. This morning I had the same toys out from last night, hoping it would spark her memory of crawling and allow me to catch a better video. Unfortunately, this was not the case. After her lunch we tried again. She continued to seem uninterested in crawling for the book, shaker, and duck toy I had out, so I pulled out her balls, wobblie toys, and a butterfly bath toy. Well, that did the trick. She saw me pull these out and got into motion. She was in the center of her quilt and took off to where I was. So being the mean and desperate mom for a video; I let her reach the toys, play with them for a minute, then scooped them up and put them on the far other end of her quilt. While she spun herself around I got the camera ready, and here she went:

We have a Crawler!!

Tonight Carly crawled for the first time! She had been quite frustrated with herself and fussy, so I felt like it was only a matter of time. And then, it happened. She was getting tired of the blocks she was playing with so I rolled her a crystal light container that I had filled with Cheerios and taped shut (instant shaker for music time). Unfortunately, my roll wasn't 100% successful. So, Carly picked her legs up, pushed forward while sliding back to her belly, and then repeated. I was able to catch a video of the tail end of her first crawling journey. Hopefully I will be able to catch more tomorrow.


She only crawls at the very beginning and actually began on the edge of the quilt, the rest is just me waiting and hoping to catch more. (Will edit later.)

I like to eat, eat, eat Apples & Bananas

While Carly has no teeth yet and it doesn't look promising for the near future, we have starting giving her food to chew on/ gum to death. It started with Cheerios and now we have moved on to banana chunks with her smashed spoon feed bananas. She wasn't doing badly until she got a bit full and then they started popping back out. I thought it was funny so I snagged a quick video of the banana shooter. Hope you like see-food.

This is How I Stroll

Carly took a stroll tonight in her new stroller. It's a great stroller for running errands, but not for our bumpy sidewalks. Either way, it holds Carly in safely and doesn't take up my ENTIRE trunk area.

This is how I stroll...

T-daa

Carly has made it a point to not "perform" her tricks on command; however, there is one that she is quite proud of and will perform continuously if we allow her. After days of frustrated crawling attempts she moved on to trying something else. (Don't fret, she still attempts to crawl regularly.) She has begun to use my arms to brace herself when going from a sitting position to a standing position.



Tonight she also used the edge of her whale tub to perform the same trick. I'm really hoping she won't be repeating act in the tub again for a while. I don't really want to think that my baby is growing up and is starting to pull herself up on objects, and I'm not eagerly awaiting the need to baby proof.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a lovely weekend with David's grandparents and cousins this weekend. Our trip out of Charlotte was quite smooth (for leaving during rush hour); however, the trip from Columbia to Orangeburg made up for it. It was a very slow stretch on the interstate with hundreds of our closest friends.

Saturday morning was low key with Carly showing off for her great grandparents. Then while she napped David and Papa went off to the airport to pick up Bart and family. The arrival of four new family members seemed to make Carly's day! She loved playing with them. Stella is a few months older than Carly and was great at snatching a toy back when Carly snatched it from her! (Carly has to learn to share her toys.) Thomas was great with both girls, making them laugh, reading to them, and overall playing with them on the floor and in the pool. (He is a fish living on land in a boy's body.)



During our visit Carly went to the pool three different times and really enjoyed splashing and playing with everyone. She also ate her first round of solid food in a restaurant setting. On Sunday evening we had a wonderful dinner at the Pelican's Nest after our afternoon swim. We anticipated that after swimming, smelling our yummy dinner, and watching Stella eat would entice her to want to eat too. So we packed butternut squash, green beans, and applesauce and sure enough the hunger cues began. She did very well for her first public eating experience.



On Monday we played around the house before departing on our trip home. Again, our trip was smooth sailing - except from Orangeburg to Columbia. We did take a short detour in Columbia to visit my parents. Carly made sure this visit was just as eventful as her visit in Seabrook was. She ate pieces of banana (not pureed) and talked her grandpa into giving her a ride on grandma's walker. (NOTE - My mom is using a walker due to foot surgery, nothing major.) These rides invoked the giggle monster again.



Additional Pictures from our Memorial Day weekend!!