Attempted Crib Caper

It's a scary thing when you walk in your infant's room and see hands on the crib edge ...

... and your baby standing up!

Over the past month, Parker has been pulling up to standing on the floor and now figured out how to do it in his crib!

After snapping a few pics, I had Dustin lower it immediately. 

You can tell he buys into the mantra "the crib is for sleeping."

Family and Sibling Photos

We also had family and sibling photographs taken!  We love how they turned out!!!

My mom made Carleigh's dress, bow and Parker's onesie to coordinate with my gray and yellow theme!  They turned out precious!!!

Parker was off and on for these pictures due to the time of day but he's always smiling, so seeing some other faces was okay.  Carleigh, on the other hand, has had a bit of a challenge these past few years with professional photography shoots and I am happy to say, good things come to those who wait.  

Parker's 6 month pics

My friend Kim, of Modern Bebe Designs and Modern Bebe Photography, took Parker's 6 month photos.  They were actually more like 6.5 month photos, but still, captured him at this time in his life!  We were so pleased with them and even with a 7:30 pm (normally his bedtime) shoot, he did terrific!  Here are a few of our faves!

Mother's Day Traditions

Mother's Day this year was a relaxing weekend for me.  I got to lay out and swim a bunch at Mimi and Papaw's and Gigi and Bubba's.  We had a fun gathering of family on Sunday and enjoyed lunch and pool time.  Dusty got me a Lululemon gift card (can't go wrong with that) and Carleigh continued a tradition I did as a kid.

When I was a child, my dad would give me and my sisters $5 and let us pick whatever we thought our mom would like at Eckerd's.  It was so funny to see our personalities come through with our choices.  Well, this year Dusty remembered me fondly recalling those Mother's Day memories and continued it with Carleigh.  I am not sure she truly understood but she told him she was excited to pick out a gift for Mommy.  Dusty gave her $10 and let her shop with abandon at Walgreens.  He didn't encourage her or give her any suggestions.  Only a dad would bring their daughter to the store in her jammies :).

So many choices!!!  Candy???  No.  Mama doesn't like candy. Well she does, but doesn't like to eat it.

A ball?  I sure would like one, but Mama, no ... she's not big into team sports.

Ooh, this!  A Fur-Real animal.  Mama loves animals!!!

And her choice was made!

Hmm.. maybe some pony windchimes, too?  Ah, but not enough money for both.  What did she pick for me????  Guess.

I was delighted with my new mini Fur-Real seal.  I thought it was precious how she took her time to think about my likes and combined them with hers.

My Fur-Real animal is on loan to Carleigh for now, but she tells me when we play with it that it's her gift to Mama.  I hope in the coming years, I have a shadowbox full of kiche gifts from the kids like my mom did.  I remember asking my mom in my teen years why she kept all those silly trinkets and she said one day I would understand.  Well, I do now.

I'm so grateful to have the most amazing mother and a terrific mother-in law, too.  I also feel like the luckiest woman ever to be mother to Carleigh and Parker.  Happy Mother's Day to me, indeed.

My Little Gremlin

Most days these days, Carleigh is a great girl.  She's helpful, thoughtful and oh so sweet.  But she's also 2 and the reality of that is that she falls apart when she doesn't get her way or if she's overtired.  Do you all remember the movie, "Gremlins?" from the early 1980s?

They were super cute and nice until they got wet, ate after midnight or were exposed to sunlight.  Then they turned into this:

Well, Carleigh is somewhat similar.  She super happy and sweet...

... until she gets too tired or doesn't get her way.

Most days I have to remember that reasoning with her isn't possible because of her age.  Her mood can switch instantly.  Especially when the words "nap" or "bedtime" come up.  She protests wildly, thinking she doesn't need a nap or doesn't need a realistic bedtime.  This is often what we see.  She throws her body on the ground (usually on her back) and kicks and screams and cries.  It's really quite lovely, I assure you.

Part of the problem is me, I know.

Carleigh's gotten accustomed to Mommy laying in bed with her reading her stories or watching a show together and the bedtime ritual has gotten a bit ridiculous, I'm not going to lie.  I love that she wants me but I know we've enabled these behaviors.  Here's a look at what we're doing wrong:

The process usually begins for her at 7 pm at which time she bathes.  Because we are swimming almost daily, she needs to wash her hair with chlorine removing shampoo because her ends are green.  After bath time, we usually watch a 30 minute show together, just me and her.  It's usually Bubble Guppies, Team Umi Zoomi or Dora.  Then it's book time.  She picks out 4, not 3 and not 5, but 4 books and we read them together.  She usually likes to do the reading and starts every book with "Once upon a time" and finishes with "and they lived happily ever after."  I'm sure I'm screwing her up by not correcting her and allowing her to believe life's a fairy tale, but she's only 2.  Why ruin it for her?  After reading, she says a prayer, turns on her ladybug star light, turns on her lullaby bear and then has me sing "Love You Forever."  Then she wants me to snuggle with her until she falls asleep and to help her sleep, I scratch her arms very softly.  I usually don't come downstairs until after 9:15 or later.

When there's a kink in the routine (ie Parker needs me or I have some things to do that are pressing), she has a major meltdown, often resulting in waking Parker because she screams so loud.

We have to change our routine.  She won't let Dustin do this with her so he's left to bathe and put Parker to bed and I miss time with Dustin in the evenings!  I need an intervention!!!

Orsinger Park

Last week, Carleigh, Parker and I ventured out to Orsinger Park for some park fun!

Since Parker is still too small for our backyard playground, he enjoyed getting to do some things and explore.

Carleigh had a HUGE milestone ... she got in the sand box!!!  Even though they disgust me, it was a big deal because she has up to this point despised sand.  She was a bit skeptical at first but other kids were having so much fun, she had to see what it was all about.

Another boy shared his trucks with her and true to Carleigh form, she lined them up.

The sandbox perimeter made a great balance beam so Carleigh practiced.

It was a perfect outing in perfect weather and produced perfect behavior from the kids ... even if only for a brief time.

Happy 7 months!

Look who is 7 months old!!!

It's getting harder to get him to sit for pictures... because he is weeks away from being mobile.

Here's what been going on with Parker this past month:

- Took his first crawl steps!  Funny how he crawls with one foot up like Carleigh did.

- FINALLY, we can say he sleeps through the night.  Consistently giving us 8 hour stretches.  He goes down at 8 and we dream feed at 10 and then he'll sleep until 6 am.

- He is still in 3-6 month clothing but we plan to move him to 6-9 month this month.  He is wearing size 3 diapers.

- He loves balls.  Other toys really don't hold his interest unless they can assist him in standing up.  Cups are also a big hit with him.

- He is still toothless.

- He began pulling himself up onto furniture and other things.

- Walks slowly around furniture.

- Stands up unassisted for a few seconds before lowering himself to seated position.

- We've had a rough time with his eating and finally got put on Pepcid as an add-on to Prevacid.  He has done remarkably better going from less than 15 oz. intake per day to 30 oz per day!  He has a pediatric GI appointment this week to check his reflux and see if any other adjustments need to be made.

- We've found that he is fussiest when he is eating poorly, which is most likely attributed to hunger or reflux pain in the esophagus.

- He moved to his crib in his room permanently for all sleep.

- He naps 3 times a day for about 45 minutes each time.

There have been some huge hurdles overcome in the last month and we all feel happier and more rested!  Bravo, Parker for becoming an easier baby!!!