Happy Halloween!!

Carly seems to have really enjoyed her second Halloween! She celebrated on Friday night by going to Davidson's Halloween March (a parade down Main Street where the kids trick or treat at store fronts), then went to a party on Saturday, and Sunday did the real deal. On Sunday afternoon we introduced Carly to her orange plastic pumpkin and tried to mimic what would be happening later on in the evening. Later in the day we gathered with our neighbors in the pool and dock parking lot for a pizza dinner and socializing. It was great to see so many of our friends and all the cute costumes. After Carly came home and had a quick dinner (she didn't seem interested in eating much, she must have realized she was missing out on the fun), she and Dave were off. They ventured around the neighborhood trick or treating. Carly in her lion costume, riding in her wagon, and Dave pulling her from drive way to drive way. They didn't hit every house in our neighborhood, just many of our friends who would enjoy seeing her. Until - Dave went to help Carly get out of her wagon and she grabbed for his drink and spilt it all over her. The cool night, cool drink, and a soaking wet lion ended their trick or treating fun.

Practicing


Front Steps Decorated


Ready to Go!

Happy Halloween, Then and Now

One Year Ago Today:


Today:

Big Girl Morning

Carly had a "Big Girl" morning today. I needed to help with Sunday School this morning and Dave was still in Charleston, which meant she and I both needed to be out the door and in our respective classes by 9:15. (We were close to being on time.) This was also going to be Carly's first Sunday in the 1-2 year old room. I was slightly nervous about her being in this new room and not knowing any of the other teachers or children for the first time she needed to be left for both Sunday School and the church service. (Typically, she and Dave just come for the service and not Sunday School.) With the help of another teacher I ventured over to Carly's classroom between the two hours and observed Carly being played with by a high school student and smiling widely. When I picked her up, the high schooler did tell me that Carly only fussed at the very end of the time. (Honestly, this didn't surprise me. Our service ran over by about 15 minutes and was cutting into nap time.) I have to admit that the lead teacher and I were both surprised that Carly was able to stay in this new room for the entire time. When I dropped her off she did mention that typically kids may need to float between the nursery and 1/2 year old room initially as they warmed up to the idea of a larger room with many new faces. I truly believe Carly didn't see the room as a larger room with new faces, but rather a larger room with a whole lot more toys. Either way, she did beautifully in the new room. Hopefully next week will be just as successful.

Precious

Carly was absolutely precious tonight! She and I went to a Halloween party, and this little lion melted my heart. She was very cute walking around looking and playing some of the different games set up, trying to convince someone that she needed something off of the food table (in particular a mini-cupcake), and running around with the big kids. But what really melted my heart was when she wanted to "check-in" with me. She would roam around with the kids, then start going up to every female that had some similar attribute to me, brown hair, jeans on, etc. She would look them square in the face or request to be picked up once it became dark and she couldn't see the faces clearly. She would get a hug or be picked up by this other woman, play with them a few moments, and then request to proceed on her merry little way. This would continue until she found me. Once finding me, she would "run" over to me, give me a BIG hug, then want down to go play with the kids some more. While I thought this was really cute, the precious portion came when she got tired. She found herself closer to a group of men and began doing the same game she had done earlier with the women. However, this time she wasn't looking for me, she was looking for Dave. She had forgotten (probably in her tiredness) that he had not gone to the party with us. (I'm sure she didn't understand that he was in Charleston visiting his grandparents, but at the beginning of the party she did seem to understand that he wasn't there.) I could see the frustration rising in her as she couldn't find him, and she ran just a little bit faster towards me than she had earlier in the evening once I was able to make eye contact with her. I felt really bad for her that it would be another day before she would see her dad, but I did find it absolutely precious that even though she hadn't seen him in over 24 hours she was tired and wanted to be held by him. Thankfully, I would do and tears didn't erupt - but it was apparent, her first choice tonight wasn't me but her daddy!

False Sense of Security (again)

Last year I posted about how I thought the flu shot was a false sense of security. While I still feel that way, we are all set and vaccinated against the flu. Dave was able to get his shot at work last week and Carly got the first half of her's yesterday (she will get the last portion of the vaccine in four weeks. While we left Carly's doctor's office yesterday Dave reminded me that I was the only one not protected, so feeling left out - I went and got mine today. I know these shots are supposed to protect our family from the flu, and they probably will. For that I am thankful. However, the flu is not the only nasty germ floating around during the fall and winter months. I don't plan to let my guard down and invite some other illness into our home. The throw ups, earaches, and overall yuckiness can steer clear of here... it isn't welcomed this holiday season.

12 month visit

Carly had her 12 month visit today. She is currently 22lbs, 2 oz (50th - 75th percentile) and 30 inches long (75th - 90th percentile). She also felt very comfortable with her doctor during this visit. Typically she stays around Dave or I during her visits; however, this time she was reaching for him to hold her and overall quite social.

This visit did include 4 shots, one of which was a flu shot. We discussed her progression with table food - at the moment she is eating all table food, except for pasta and vegetables. She prefers to have her vegetables pureed or blended. Dave and I both have decided we'd rather not overly push the issue since she does eat her vegetables this way, and many toddlers just flat refuse vegetables. Her doctor thankfully didn't seem concerned. His advice was to keep trying, and know that many parents wish their kids ate a more balanced diet. (At least we know Carly's is balanced, as long as I blend/puree those veggies for her.)

In the past few weeks she has added strawberries, beef, cake, pita, fruit cocktail, pear slices, and peanut butter (only once or twice) to her diet. She continues to eat meats on occasion, cheddar cheese with some regularity, but will eat fruit and bread until she is about to POP. She has also been doing really well with using a sippy cup. Today we drank over 6 ounces. She is continuing to nurse before each nap (most of the time) and before bedtime. We are continuing to work on increasing her milk intake from a cup prior to going upstairs for a nap or bedtime, so she will continue to nurse less and less before these times.

Overall Carly is doing well. She is healthy, happy, and now officially a TODDLER!!

Celebrations

Carly has had four straight days of celebrations. While they haven't all been for her, she has been partying right through them all.

On Friday we celebrated Carly's birthday with her friends. We invited a few friends over for cupcakes and playtime. While the kids ranged from 4 years old to 7 weeks old, they all seemed to have an enjoyable time.

Cupcakes


Carly's First Bite


She ate it all!

After the celebration and a nap the party continued with a pizza dinner out at Brooklyn South and home for Carly to open a few gifts.

Shortly after opening these gifts Carly crashed hard for the night. This put Julia, David, and I to work. David got to work putting together Carly's new wagon, while Julia and I got to work decorating Carly's birthday cake and cupcakes for Saturday's celebration.

On Saturday Carly celebrated her birthday again. This time it was with her grandparents and "adult" friends.

"Smash" Cake made by her Grandpa.

Sarah thought the cake was yummy too!


Playing (Carly needed an outfit change after feeding herself cake.)


Going for a ride in the new wagon!

Saturday's festivities were followed up with another party on Sunday. This one was not for Carly, but rather her BFF who is only 5 days younger. The girls had a wonderful playdate and were able to enjoy even more cake!


Our celebrations didn't end on Sunday. Monday we attended Carly first Halloween Party!! She had a blast. She made a ghost, played with toys and other children, and tried fried Cheerios and Jell-O for the first time. She did try to weasel her way into getting more cake (four days in a row wasn't happening under my watch). She very nicely walked up to another mom who was enjoying a cupcake and raised her arms up. (Very much like Oliver in Oliver Twist... "Please sir, may I have some more?") The mom politely told Carly she didn't think I wanted her to have any cake at the moment, so Carly sat down and tried her request again. When this didn't bring about the outcome Carly was hoping for she really turned up the cute factor. She stood up, gave the mom a great big hug on her leg, then sat down and repeated the begging position. Thankfully this series of events did not end with Carly getting cake or with a tantrum!

I think all of this celebrating has finally caught up with Carly. Yesterday she was not interested in napping, I'm sure she thought she would miss another party or opportunity for cake. Today she has SLEPT! She didn't wake up until 10:15 this morning and went back down for a nap around 12:30. Life will be low key for the remainder of the week, so hopefully we can get back on schedule. But I'm sure as soon as we do, this weekend's Halloween festivities will start up and mess it all up again.

Birthday Pictures

The pictures from the weekend are now up at our photo site.

One Year

One Year Ago



Today

One Year Ago, from right now...

At this moment one year ago the car was packed and ready to go to the hospital. The pack and play was set up in the master bedroom and the house was as ready as possible for us to leave for the hospital. Dave was asleep and I was taking cat naps in between my contractions. They were coming every 10 minutes and lasting 45- 60 seconds. I would then fall back asleep for 9 minutes and wake up to go through it all again. I eventually just got up around 5:00am to shower, eat breakfast, and go for a walk around the neighborhood before needing to meet the doctor at the hospital at 7:30. (I was determined to help speed up the labor and delivery process by walking around the neighborhood before leaving home.) Unfortunately, my walk didn't happen. In the hour I was getting ready, packing last minute items, and eating a protein filled breakfast (a hint from our doula) my contractions jumped from coming every 10 minutes to every 6 minutes. So, instead of heading around the neighborhood for a walk we headed to the hospital. Thankfully there was no traffic, so we were early for our check-in. Thankfully the nurses didn't seem to mind.

One Year Ago Today

It is amazing how much life can change in just the course of a year. One year ago today was my last day in a classroom. I had administered a first quarter formative assessment and taught through the day. I left school that afternoon to head to my weekly doctors appointment not realizing I wouldn't be standing in front of my students the next morning. During my visit we learned that Carly was low (like really, really low), seemed to not be showing any signs of growth from my appointment a week earlier, and I was continuing to dilate without anything stronger than a Braxton Hicks contraction every so often. The "stress tests" monitors showed that Carly's heart beat was strong and I was contraction free for the most part. So, the doctors sent us home with the impression that I could go into labor at any moment. I was told to keep track of her movement, to keep an eye on my Braxton Hick contractions (in case they turned into real ones), and to return in two days- if we hadn't gone into labor yet. So home we went.

Upon returning home I completely freaked out on Dave. I didn't know how I was supposed to monitor Carly's movement, my contractions, and give the final formative assessment. Plus go to a morning appointment in two days and have all of my grades for the quarter submitted by the end of the week. Needless to say, I took two "sick days". One to monitor Carly and me, while grading from the comfort of my own bed. And a second to go my follow up doctor's appointment - which the office sandwiched at that perfect time where I couldn't just take a half day off of school.

I guess things have a funny way of working out. We found out at this appointment that Carly would be making her appearance sooner than later, and I would not be returning back to work until after she arrived.

Thinking back to my last day of work, I can't help but wonder - "Would I have done anything different that day had I known it was my last?" And honestly, no. Towards the end of my pregnancy I treated each day like it was my last, especially if a doctor's visit was involved. I made sure to have fun with my students, praise their hard work and accomplishments, and make sure they left each day knowing how much I cared for them.

There are moments in my day when I miss teaching, but then I watch Carly and can't imagine missing so many special moments with her. I am truly blessed to have such a supportive husband who understands how happy these moments make me. Even if it does mean we won't be going on vacation anytime soon, and that he needs to continue to drive around his 9 year old truck while many of our friends have upgraded to newer, shinery models.

Boo-Boo

Carly really took a tumble today. This wasn't her worst looking tumble, until she got up from the floor. A few weeks ago she tumbled while playing outside. When I picked her up I was expecting to see a face scraped up, instead there was just a little red spot on her forehead. Today was the opposite. She was "running" towards me with a new book in hand when she tripped. As she fell towards the floor the board book turned so that the corner of it scraped her forehead. I wasn't expecting there to be much of anything there, but she looked up and my heart melted. I felt so bad.

Luckily for Carly the boo-boo bunny was able to save the day. And thankfully the boo-boo bunny only needed to give Carly's hands kisses. She wasn't interested in putting the bunny on her forehead, or letting me put it there. Oh well, I guess it bothered me more than it did her. Go figure!

Playful Fun!

This weekend we all went down to Atlanta for some family fun and to celebrate Carly's Papa's 60th Birthday! In addition to getting to celebrate with her Papa, she also got to have a lot of family fun!

Playing at the park on Friday afternoon:

Going down the slide!!



Snack Break!


Discussing who is boss!

The REAL Play Time Begins:

Samuel jumping right into the fun! (And Carly being open to sharing, this was a positive surprise.)

Benjamin isn't too far behind!

Helping Uncle Jamie!

"Petting" the universal baby "hello" and idea of acceptance.


"Carly are you coming?"

"Don't worry Samuel, I'm right behind you!"

Carly was REALLY glad Benjamin and Samuel were willing to share their stroller!

Taking Baby Steps in a Big Girl's World!

As Carly's first birthday approaches (OH MY!) Dave and I have been trying to transition her into more table food (or as much as you can with a toothless infant) and into using her sippy cup.

Last week we started to make some progress with her sippy cup. I found a toddler water bottle that looks similar to her neighborhood friends' bottles that she took to quickly after playing at the park. She then was willing to use her sippy cup more and more. (I'm using the cup for milk and the water bottle for water.) However, she wouldn't drink more than 2 ounces at a time. When she should be drinking 20 - 24 ounces a day, I thought we had a LONG way to go until she would be done nursing. Then, yesterday Carly drank 4 ounces from her cup with no fuss. And honestly, she probably would have drunk more had I brought more with us to the library. The afternoon and evening only brought 2 ounce sittings again, but I was still holding out hope with the morning's success.

Today Carly ate her breakfast as usual, went to check out new books at the library (it is too busy on story time days for us to look for books and get new ones checked out), and came home for her morning snack. She ate a few random items of table food while drinking from her sippy cup. She drank just over 2 ounces, which had me slightly distraught. UNTIL - we went upstairs for nap time. The doctor and I had spoken Monday about needing to give Carly some "tough love" soon about milk from a cup and eating table food. So, I turned on her musical seahorse and stood over her crib rocking her. She let me rock her for a few minutes before starting to squirm, at which point I placed her in the crib. She fussed for about three minutes and was asleep!

I know that tomorrow may not bring such success with her going down for a nap without nursing, but maybe she'll drink more than 2 ounces in a sitting from her sippy cup. We have a long way to go before she is a full time independent sleeper, eater, and drinker, but I'm not complaining. I chose to stay home to spend time with Carly during these early moments and milestones, I don't want to hold her back from the development she needs to make but I'm also not going to push her into growing up faster than she needs too.