I gave in...

I offically have given in to the Christmas Lego train. After another tearful afternoon of tummy time I asked Dave to set up the train again. And like magic tummy time became a happy experience all over again, like before. So while the Christmas season only has two days left officialy our house will continue to have the Christmas train running the tracks.

Playful Night!

Carly has had a playful evening. She is currently NOT a fan of tummy time and we keep trying to trick her into it. Dave had her on her tummy earlier today and she began screaming, then he flipped her onto her back, and once she realized she wasn't on her tummy anymore and stopped crying he flipped her right back onto her tummy for a few more minutes. After this not so enjoyable experience for Carly she really did have a playful evening. She is really enjoying her activity gym from her Uncle Jamie and Aunt Sharon. She loves to bat at the elephant bell and giraffe rattle while also kicking the musical board that is slightly elevated from the floor.

After about 15 minutes of this fun (which is a long time in Carly's world) she then was tricked into more tummy time; however, this time it was on her Daddy's chest. She really is becoming quite strong and is really pushing herself up off of the floor (or in this case her dad's chest).

I think we may need to set up Dave's Christmas Lego train again to survive tummy time...

Here's to 2010!

As the first day of 2010 comes to an end I have to admit that I have spent the day sad to see 2009 gone. At this time last year I was celebrating 2008 finally coming to an end and praying very, very hard that 2009 would at least be a little better, and I was MUCH better. This was the year that we found out we were pregnant (and on my birthday!), prepared for Carly's big arrival, and then celebrated her arrival. While I'm not wanting 2010 to come with that much excitement, I am hoping this is at least a fun and healthy year for us all!

Dave, Sharon, and Carly's Christmas Adventure

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We are still recovering from our big Christmas adventure (travelling with a two month old) and Carly's first New Year's Eve Party!
Here is a synopsis of our trip:
December 17 - 20: We all traveled to Atlanta to drop Jake off for his "Christmas Vacation" and Carly got to sleep in her daddy's old crib. She was also able to meet some of her Daddy's friends from college and Parker.
December 23: We traveled to Columbia. Carly got to meet Danny (Dave's college roommate) and she spent her first night in my old crib.
December 24: Christmas Eve! Carly got to celebrate Christmas and meet my Mimi (grandmother) and my aunts Nancy and Donna with my family's traditional Christmas Eve spaghetti dinner.
December 25: Carly's FIRST Christmas! Santa came and brought her blocks, a hair bow holder, a tummy time mirror, books, and a few stocking stuffers.
December 26: We packed up the car with our new presents and continued our Christmas adventure down I-26 to Seabrook Island. This road trip brought A LOT of excitement. While en route we heard Carly filling her diaper so stopped at a rest area outside of Charleston. Dave changed the passenger side front seat into a changing station and prepared to change Carly's first "on the road" diaper. Upon removing her pants he realized we had a BLOW OUT... I started pulling out our disposable bags to wrap everything up in when I heard, "Are you serious?" followed by "Are you done peeing yet?" and the site of Dave holding Carly's naked body outside of the car while she continued to pee. At this point all we could do was laugh, and realize that a state trooper may be concerned about the type of parents we were (if he/she didn't have children). Once we were all cleaned up we continued our trip. Once we arrived Carly was able to see her Grandma, Papa, and Aunt Julia and then meet her Great Grandma and Papa, her cousins Jonathan and Patrick, and her Great Aunt Bubble and Uncle Earl. Shortly after our arrival she also got to meet her Uncle Jamie.
December 27: Carly got all dressed up and went to church with the whole family. She looked so cute in her Christmas dress and was very well behaved.
December 28: Carly got to meet Mrs. Peel (a friend of her Great Grandma and Papa).
December 29: Carly had to say good-bye to her Great Aunt Bubble and Uncle Earl and cousins Jonathan and Patrick. She was then able to meet Mr. and Mrs. Smith (friends of her Great Grandma and Papa).
December 30: We started a trip home, with Jake and even more presents. We stopped in Columbia to feed Carly and to clean up another BLOW OUT!
December 31: Carly attended a New Year's Eve party. She wasn't awake to see midnight, but she was sleeping nicely in the Baby Bjorn so that mommy and daddy could stay at the party to ring in 2010 with friends.

Merry Christmas!

ROADTRIP!!

Carly had her first road trip last night!! and did GREAT! Dave came home from work yesterday afternoon and was in a wonderful mood. He was done going into the office for the entire year (NOTE: not working, just going to the office). His celebratory mood had him eager to get on the road to Carly's Grandma and Papa in Georgia. He was also slightly concerned about the weather forecast for Friday (threatening of snow always causes NC and SC roads to come to a complete stop). So at 5:30 Dave fed Carly a bottle, I pumped a new bottle for our big trip, and we were off a few minutes after 6:00. After a stop by the gas station and dropping off a DVD we were on the interstate, where traffic proceeded to CRAWL... Once we started moving Carly was asleep and we decided to drive until she woke up for a feeding. When we got to Anderson we had to stop, there wasn't another big exit until we were well in Georgia. So through a drive thru we went, and she continued to sleep. As we approached the Georgia welcome center Dave asked if we should stop and wake her up for a feeding or try to push through the trip. Not wanting to wake up a sleeping baby I told him to push through. On the outskirts of Atlanta she started to stir, but didn't wake up until we were in her Grandma and Papa's house. At this point she was starving and drank her 3.5oz bottle before nursing for 30 minutes.

The 3.5 hours of sleep in the car not only resulted in a hungry baby but a very awake baby. Dave and I settled in to the notion that she (meaning us too) would be awake for the remainder of the night. Luckily she played for about 2 hours with her Aunt Julia and was out like a light! She then slept for 3.5 hours before waking up for a quick feed and going back to sleep for another 3 hours. While I missed a long sleep period from the previous two nights, I am very glad we were not up playing for the entire night due to her sleeping in the car.

Today we seem to be back on a semi-normal schedule (or as normal as you can have with an 8 week old), so hopefully tonight will be unfussy and restful for all!

Where's Carly?