Bring It 2011!!

In 2010
~ Carly learned how to walk,
~ Dave ran his first 10k, which was then followed by the swimming portion of a sprint triathlon, another 10k, and a 5k pushing Carly, and
~ Sharon ran her first 10k, which was then followed by a 15k and half marathon.

In 2011
~ Carly will loosen up her stiff running stance,
~ Dave will run another 10k and his first half marathon (and maybe his 2nd half marathon), and
~ Sharon will run another 10k and her first marathon (and maybe a 2nd half marathon)

So bring it on 2011, we are ready!!!

2010 Photo Review...Part One

Here are the pictures and memories from the start of 2010

Full Screen Slide Show

The Second half will be here soon.

All Done!

It is official! (I think) Carly is finished nursing. I have been fretting this moment since she was about 10 months old. I wanted her to wean herself, but I also was not very excited about the idea of nursing her for another 10+ months. I loved the bonding time she and I had with each feeding, but also longed for a nap or evening when someone else could put her down calmly and with minimal tears. By Carly's first birthday she was only nursing before nap times and bed time. By Thanksgiving she was only nursing at bedtime. She had chosen not to nurse December 19, but was very adamant that she would nurse the next evening. However, on Christmas Day she decided she didn't want to nurse anymore. Dave and I bathed her and got her all ready for bed like normal; however, when she and I sat down she immediately put her head down on me and made herself comfortable. She and I sat like this for a minute before I picked her up and held her. We swayed in front of her pack 'n play, with her head resting on my shoulder for a few minutes before I put her down.

The next night Dave and I got Carly ready like normal, but wasn't too sure about how our routine would progress between getting Carly in her pajamas and putting her down in her bed. Again, she wasn't interested in nursing, just going to bed. On December 27th (night 3) we decided Dave would try to put Carly down, again - no nursing, no tears. The following night wasn't quite the same. Carly had "run" on the beach and was VERY tired. I was anticipating needing to nurse her to help her settle down; however, Carly had a very different plan. Dave and I got her ready for bed, and as he turned to walk out of the room, Carly began to fuss. As soon as he turned back around and walked towards her the fussing stopped and she nose dived for him. Obviously, she wanted her daddy to put her to bed again.

We returned home tonight from our Christmas travels, so I was again curious about how our bedtime routine would go. Would she revert back to our "home" routine (which included nursing) or our "traveling" routine (which hasn't been including nursing)? Dave and I decided we would let him put her to bed again, to help her not revert back. However, she again showed us how she is slowly becoming an independent little girl. Once in her pajamas, Carly fussed a little bit for Dave, dive bombed for me, sat on my lap to finish her cup of milk from dinner, and then went to bed fuss free.

We are officially on night number 5 of no nursing, at this point there really is no going back.

I am completely blown away that the books were right (again). When Carly was done nursing she would just stop. I never in my wildest motherhood dreams thought she and I would have nursed for 14 months and 2 days, and that she would never be served formula. There were days/nights when it was VERY difficult. I pumped exclusively for 2 months to increase my supply, until Carly went on a bottle strike, eventually was able to create quite a freezer stock that was going to be used when I returned to work; however, is now being used on her cereal and morning cup of milk, and avoided having to give money to the formula companies!!

12 Days of Christmas

Okay, so maybe our Christmas wasn't 12 days long; however, it also wasn't only 1 day.

Our celebrations began on Thursday, December 23 as we travelled down to Columbia to visit with my parents and brother. We spent the afternoon celebrating my dad's birthday, but then loaded up in the car to begin our Christmas celebration by looking at spectacular Christmas lights in nearby neighborhoods.

We awoke on Christmas Eve and celebrated Christmas with my family, just like it was Christmas Day. A BIG breakfast (which included pancakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse's face) and a few presents. We then reverted back to our Christmas Eve traditions and packed up to head out to my grandmother's home in Blackville. There we were able to visit and celebrate with more family, eat our traditional Christmas Eve's spaghetti dinner, and watch Carly run circles around the house.

Unfortunately, our visit in Blackville was very short. We packed up again that afternoon to head down to Seabrook Island to begin our Christmas celebrations with Dave's family. During our visit we managed to spend a lot of quality time with family, take a trip into Charleston, walk the dogs on the beach, and spread out our Christmas gift opening for 3 days. (Apparently that is what happens when there are 3 children under the age of 3 celebrating together, maybe next Christmas we will synchronize their naps a little better.)

Our family had a FABULOUS Christmas vacation and are very grateful to have so many family members to celebrate with during the Christmas season; however, we are also very thankful to be home safe and sound tonight and ready to sleep in our own beds.

Overall Christmas Statistics:

Trip Length - 7 days, 6 nights

Cities Visited - Columbia, Blackville, Seabrook Island/John's Island, Charleston, Mt. Pleasant

# of Family Members Visited: 22 + 1 dog

Dave has posted many of the pictures from our big adventure on our photo website. Click here to view these photos.

Merry Christmas

The Christmas Marathon is half-way over and it is only getting started. Here are some pictures to tide you over until Sharon can put up a proper post.

Full Gallery

Merry Christmas

Discovery Place Kids (Again)

David is "off" of work for the next two weeks, so in celebration we headed to one of our favorite family spots - Discovery Place Kids.

During this trip we explored many of the same exhibits, yet every trip still seems to be uniquely its own. This time Carly and David decided to explore the Club House to its fullest by climbing all the way to the top. The Club House is an inside playground connecting the first and second floors. Kids (and adults) can climb, slide, crawl, and explore through this playground as they travel between floors. David and Carly chose a more direct route, climbing the platform stairs to the top, stopping only once to wave to me from a look out point.

Carly also spent a lot of time playing in the house. She made a meal in the kitchen area, took care of the baby, and picked up (aka moved around the play ware) the area.