Smiles, smiles and more smiles...

Here are just some of my favorite pics of Carly during the month of May. I love her expressions in these photos...she has such a chssey grin...Gotta love it!

Sleeping Weirdos, umm, I mean "Beauties"

My children are strange, as evidenced by the recent sleeping habits of not one, but two, of my kiddos:

I walked in to wake Ryan up the other morning, only to find him like this:

How long he had been there, and how comfortable that really was, I have no clue...

A few days later, I put Carly in her swing. She fussed and screeched, and kept turning around to look at me, but I was trying to keep myself busy so she'd go to sleep without me. Suffice it to say, a little while later, I noticed she had been very quiet. That's when I found her like this:

And Carly says, "Ta-Da!!"

As I sit here and watch Carly play for what seems like hours on end (in reality, it's been maybe 15 minutes), I have come to a realization....I spend way too much on toys...LOL. She would prefer to play with a wipees box than anything else!

Carly had a couple of big "firsts" this weekend. She ate her first honest-to-goodness real people food! She ate a cereal bar that I cut up in to oh-so-teeny tiny pieces. And she loved it! She also has started to "talk". Before, it was always screeching, but now, she says "Nunununu." Aren't you proud?? LOL.

But the main big girl accomplishment is this: Carly can go from her tummy to sitting up (ta-da)!! We were so excited that we clapped and hip-hip-hoorayed for her. She had the biggest grin on her face, as if to say "you like me, you really do"!! She started doing it Friday night, so I know that crawling is not far behind. My baby is getting so big!! And I LOVE it!

Carly: Eight Months Old

Dear Carls,

Saturday you turned eight months old. Wow--how time does fly!! You are getting to be such a big girl as far as development, but you are still my tiny little munchin. Everywhere we go, people are amazed that you are "sitting up so well" and the you "are so alert." Yeah people, she can do all that and more... You are still so little that I guess people think you are much younger than eight months old, either that or they are idiots who have no clue about developmental milestones and the fact that eight month old babies *gasp* can be small! Your "unofficial" weight (meaning mommy steps on the scale with you and then without you) is 16 lbs. So I guess that is pretty small. I am used to your gargantuan brothers who were 20lbs each at 6 months of age. But, hey, you're a girl...it's OK to be petite!

You are still a breastfed baby. As far as I know, you don't have any immedicate plans for stopping...LOL. And you still only drink about 10-12 oz while I am at work. (And, shhhh...don't tell anyone, but I don't think your daddy really knows how to give you a bottle, because yesterday you only drank FOUR WHOLE OUNCES the entire 12.5 hours I was gone.) You do love your baby food...it doesn't matter what I feed you, you will gladly open your mouth for more. Peas??? Sure, mama. Peas AND sweet potatoes mashed together? Why not? You also love your puffies and your little banana cookies. I bought you one of those meshie things with a handle and put a banana in it, you loved it! I feed you baby food three times a day now, maybe that'll pack the weight on!

You got a new tooth, that makes two ont he bottom! You sit very well, and can go from sititng ot your tummy in no time flat! You roll over like a champ, too. You get on your hands and knnes and rock back and forth. I think you will crawl in a matter of days. But the funny thing is, I will put you down on the floor with your bucket o' toys, and look up to see that you are half way across the room reaching for paper, or kleenex or some Klingon warrier that your brothers have left on the floor. And you will still be sitting! It's like you just scoot around on your tushie until you get where you want.

Stranger anxiety has kicked in full force. You used to be so good when I dropped you off at church...now you cry almost the whole time. Poor baby, but mommy always comes back!

You are still not a good sleeper. But I tell myself that you are only little once, and this, too, shall pass. But after eight months of interrupted sleep, I feel like I am WELL overdue for some quality shut eye. There have been a couple of nights that you have only woken up once, but the norm is every 3-4 hours or so, you will wake up and want to eat. Maybe you are making up for the day, I don't know.

Other new stuff: you sorta wave to people, sometimes you say "hey" (or at least I think so!!) and you can clap...it's pretty darn cute!

Anyway--until next month, my dear!

Love you very, very much,
Mommy

Reflections

I have "discovered" a band, Addison Road, from Dallas that I love...so, of course, as is my nature, I googled them to find out whatever interesting tidbits I could. Anyway, the lead singer, Jenni, has her own blog. She recently had to have a c-section, and was blogging about how God had other plans for her. Here is an excerpt from that post that really spoke to my heart:

"He stops to be present in that surgery room watching with delight as His little daughter Anniston sees the world for the first time. I am convinced He smiles. He tears up. He is overwhelmed with her beauty and gentle spirit. He stops with me when I am looking at her trying to comprehend this little miracle. He lets me know that He is there. That he is amazed. He stops. "

All at once, the bitterness and sadness that I had held deep, deep inside from Carly's birth disappeared. I did NOT want a c-section. I just knew I was NOT going to have one, God was not going to let that happen. I prayed hard every night for God's will to be done, even though I really wanted my own will to be done. I did not "give it to God," even though I professed as much. The words coming out of my mouth were just lip service compared to the feelings deep in my heart.

Eight months later I *thought* I was over it, but I guess inside I still wondered "why?" Why did God not answer my prayers the way I wanted Him to. God knows my heart better than I do, and, today, He needed to remind me that He was there. That His will WAS done. That He stopped to be present in that sugery room watching with delight as His little daughter Carly saw the world for the first time. And now, for the first time I really do feel at peace.

Now instead of feeling "cheated" when I look at this picture, I marvel at the wonder that is Carly. That God gave me this little girl to grow under my heart for nine months. That THIS right here is the very first time I saw her. And that God's will was indeed done!

Carly update....

I write these things mainly to remind myself of the dates so I can go back and fill in her baby book later...I know, I know, I am cheating!

Her second tooth broke through Saturday, May 16th
Carly started clapping last week...May 13th
She can scoot now...pretty funny to see her scrunch all up and then go backwards!
Carly can also "semi" wave. She started waving last Friday (5/15), but I don't know if she realizes what it means!

More updates as they come!

True Ladies Man...

So today I was getting on to Ryan for hitting his brother for the umpteenth million time today. I got down on his level and was giving him a stern lecture.

"Ryan, hitting is unacceptable. If you hit brother again, you are going to time out."

Ryan looked me in the eye and said, "Mommy, your eyes are pretty. And your hair is pretty."

Oh my! Where did this *charm* come from and to start it at age two??!! Like he knows just what to say to diffuse the situation.

Ryan, little buddy, you learned a very valuable lesson today...flattery will get you EVERYWHERE!!

The downside of owning a home...

Steve called me at work the other day to tell me that one of the trees in our backyard fell down. We had been having pretty rainy, bad weather, and I guess the tree just couldn't hack it anymore. Fearing the worst, as Steve is prone to exaggerating just a little bit, this is what I cam home to:

Not as bad as I had imagined, but the tree did need to come down. The wood was rotted and we ran the risk of the rest of it falling (and possibly hitting the house), if we didn't cut it down. So we paid handsomely for some guys to come over and make tons of noise and mess with their chainsaws. End result:

It will take some time to get used to the yard being this bare and non-shady. And that ugly, old fence in the background?? It's now gone. Patrick from work built us a pretty, brand-spanking new fence. Pictures to follow.

So, as any homeowner knows, each action causes a domino effect of reactions. Tree falls down...pay to have tree removed...now that shade is gone, pay to have new windows installed to cut down on heat...pay to have new fence built since, now that tree is gone, imperfect old fence really stands out...new fence leads to probable new deck...probable new deck leads to new landscaping...oh, and since all this newness is going to lead to more time spent in the backyard, have to buy new swing set for kids and new lawn furniture for the adults. Yikes!! The simple act of a tree falling causes hemorrhage of cash...LOL!

"The Boss"

And, no, I am not talking about Bruce Springsteen!

The other day Ryan was ordering me around as he is wont to do these days. I told him that I was not his slave. You know what he said?

"Yes, I am the BOSS"

WHAT????! I honestly do not know where he learned that.

He really is turning into a bossy little thing. I don't really remember how the other boys were at this age (motherhood has a funny way of blurring the bad times), but I assume they were just as bossy. Must be a (almost) three year old thing.

Speaking of almost three, Ryan is excited that his birthday is coming up. He says he will be three and gets to eat cake. As a matter of fact, whenever anyone mentions his birthday, all he talks about is eating cake. Really, Ryan? Cake?? He is SO my child!!

The Princess Rolls....

Carly FINALLY rolled over from her tummy to her back tonight! And it only took her 7 1/2 months to get to this point...LOL! She has been rolling from her back to her tummy for a couple of weeks now, only to get "stuck" on her tummy. Oh how she does NOT like that. Makes her scream and cry. (Makes Mommy cry when it's in the middle of the night)

Anyway--tonight she was on her tummy playing, and when I turned back around, she was on her back. I wondered if one of the boys was messing with her, but, nope, Carly did it herself!! She spent the rest of the evening rolling over and over and over...she ended up across the room from all her rolling!!

So she can now officially roll however, whenever and wherever she wants!! I guess the Princess decided it was time to grace us mere peons with a new trick...such entertainment!