Zoo Visit

Carly and I travelled down to Columbia yesterday in preparations of today's zoo visit. Carly has begun playing an alphabet game on the internet that uses zoo animals to help teach letters and their sounds. Her enjoyment for this game and my current memorization of all 26 animals and the letters they are associated with led to me think that a field trip to the zoo would be perfect. It would give her a chance to see a live alligator, lion, tiger, bear, kola, etc.

Carly, my mom, and I arrived at the zoo shortly after 9:00am and had the zoo almost to ourselves at first. Carly travelled through the zoo in her wagon. We first saw the baboons, and then the lions, and then the tigers. All three of which excited her. During these first three exhibits Carly got accustomed to riding from exhibit to exhibit and then standing up in her wagon to get a better view once it came to a full stop. During our 2+ hours at the zoo she was able to see the kola bears awake and playing, the gorillas outside and playing (until they banged on the metal entry door - at which point we couldn't see them anymore and Carly repeatedly said it was because they had a boo boo). She also saw all of the other large exhibits, and was occasionally interested in a smaller bird exhibit if it was making noise.

Following our visit at the zoo we were fortunate enough to be able to meet Mimi and Uncle Robert for lunch before heading back to Charlotte. Carly is still a girl with little words, but with the use of verbal words, sign language, and gestures she was able to tell them both about her visit at the zoo. Her excitement also continued tonight when we got home. She told David about it before, during, and after dinner. Her favorite story is still the one about the gorillas. I'm sure we will be hearing about it for a while.

2 Years Old Well Visit

Carly had her 2 years old well visit this morning. She weighed in at 30lbs, 5oz (75 - 90%ile) and measured 35.5 inches long (75 - 90%ile), with a head circumference of 19.75 inches (97%ile). She got quite antsy waiting in the room for the doctor; however, followed all of his directions very well during the exam. She with a clean bill of health and two shots, we were told to return at the age of 3.

Happy Birthday

What a difference a year makes

Turning 1:

Turning 2:

Football Signals

She doesn't say much, but she knows her football!

Fall Pictures

Rest here

12 Weeks

Today Baby Orr #2 and I had our 12 week check up. This visit was a physical, blood work, and a flu shot. Nothing too exciting or too long; however, I did get to hear his/her heartbeat, 161 beats per minute. I get to hear the heartbeat again on November 17th, and then David and I get to see Baby Orr #2 again on December 1st!

Potty Training - Day 2

Today was Day 2 of Potty Training and it was accident free! We did venture out to the library today in a pull-up, but came home with it still dry. Tomorrow we will be venturing out to music class and for an evening walk with a good friend. Hopefully both outings and Day 3 will be just as successful as today!

Potty Training - Day 1

This weekend David and I began discussing a handful of the things we need to accomplish prior to Baby Orr #2 arriving. One of the big things on our list is getting Carly potty trained (at least during the day). On a slow day Carly uses 5 diapers, which is at least $1 a day (if I find an amazing sale with a coupon). This week is a slow week for Carly, so I decided it would be a great week to try her out in big girl panties. Monday we headed off to the store to stock up on our supplies and got everything prepped to start when David got home from work. Carly tried out the panties and had a successful evening, so today started her first full day in panties (except during nap and bed time). During our morning she used the potty twice and was accident free. Following her nap she also peed twice and ran a short errand wearing a pair of pull-ups; however, didn't wet it. She did have her first and only accident durning dinner. The remainder of her evening was dry, and she used the potty prior to bed. She is now sleeping soundly in a diaper, but will be diaper free again tomorrow while she is awake.

Excited?!?

To say that David and Carly are excited about Baby Orr #2 would be an understatement.

Evidence

• Carly points and says "baby" very happily to my stomach when asked where the baby is.
• Carly loves to give my belly (which is starting to bump out, especially in the afternoon and evenings) hugs and kisses.
• David has begun reading to our new baby nightly, and is working hard on trying to get Carly to sit still for the special baby story too.
• David announced very loudly to our friends that we were pregnant again during a quite moment of our tailgate. (I'm just a few days past 11 weeks, so this was slightly shy of exiting the 1st trimester.
• David encourages Carly on a regular basis to hug, kiss, or point out Baby Orr.
• After we got home from church today, David and Carly played outside. One of their activities was sidewalk chalk
  
  
• During nap time today David decided to post a subtle photo on Facebook, just to see if anyone got it!
  
  Our subtle photo

I love being able to see how excited they both are on a daily basis! It makes these last days of my first trimester so much fun!!

Football Buddy!

Carly is David's little football buddy! On Thursday night she was randomly standing with her hands on her hips, so he decided it was a great time to teach her a few football official signals. She already knew touch down, but along came off-sides, illegal procedure, safety, and field goal. She practiced these signals on Friday and woke up Saturday morning signally for a touchdown when David entered her room to wake her up.

Our little family then piled into the van and headed off to Clemson. While there Carly continued to perform the signals on command, impressing one random viewer enough to get his wife's attention and then ask us to do it again. Carly lasted the first half of the Clemson game and used these signals on occasion when she heard the announcer or anytime someone pointed out that it was a time to us it. Carly also really enjoyed waving her new Clemson hat while she cheered (just like the boy in front of her).

Carly may never play football, but she sure will understand it - especially if it makes her Daddy's Little Football Buddy!!

Photo Shoot!

Baby Orr #2's first photo shoot was today! His/Her heartbeat was 168 bpm, and he/she was quite active. David and I thought I was 9 weeks and 6 days; however, we were slightly off. Our little baby measured to be 10 weeks and 6 days and was very actively kicking during our ultrasound. I think we may have a soccer player on our hands.

Here is a link to how Carly and I told David about our little addition to be: August 26th.

Chili

We are slowly adding more foods...

Carnival

One of the local preschools hosted their annual fundraiser carnival today on the greens in Davidson. Carly's best friend's mom told me about the carnival, and we thought it would be a great time for the girls. We arrived a few minutes before Carly's friend; however, that did not stop Carly from immediately finding the fun she wanted to join. Our plan was to make a quick loop around to price out the different games and activities prior to me going to buy tickets; however, Carly was quickly side tracked by the large moon bounce and willing to stand in line and watch until it was her turn. So, she stayed with my mom (who popped up to help since David's flight home from China was delayed 24 hours) and I dashed off to the ticket station. Two tickets later we were set and Carly was still waiting patiently in line. After a few moments it was finally her turn to climb in. During her first turn she was not real sure about how to stand up among all of the commotion; however, she loved sitting and just bouncing on her bottom.

Once her time was up she was immediately attracted to the large inflatable slide. At first she was very slow and cautious while climbing up the stairs to the top. However, she did hold her ground about not letting the 4 and 5 year old boys push around her to get ahead. Once to the top, they were able to sneak around her. She watched the long line of children go down the slide before deciding to go down herself. She then proceeded to slide down 3 more times.

First Time

Second Time (video)

Third Time (video)

Fourth (and Final) Time

Carly wrapped up her amazing time at the Carnival with another trip in the bounce house. While in line with her best friend, we also so Carly's music teacher from Toddler Tunes. She was there with her preschool aged daughter, whom Carly knew from music class. This was a huge HELP in the bounce house because she helped Carly get into a standing position when she first entered the bounce house!

Carly did decide a few moments before her turn was officially up in the bounce house that she was hungry and all done. So, like a very big girl she walked to the exit and slid out. Carly liked my suggestion of going to get pizza at a local pizza spot in Davidson for lunch, so walked to the car very willingly.