So where did we leave off

So let's see what have we been up to lately in the Smith house! When I ended my last blog Danny and I were heading to Hattiesburg to do some Christmas shopping and catch up on some alone time.

Carsyn in no way can feel unloved this month with all of the attention she has been receiving!

For her first Thanksgiving we headed to Clinton to visit Danny's grandparent's new home and Grandfather Smith as he is still recuperating from his very successful surgery. Carsyn slept the entire 1 hr trip there and about 45 min home so good travels when she snoozes! She was kept entertained by the family at all times so no fusses from her. At Thanksgiving we went around the room and told what we were most thankful for this year and of course mine was Carsyn but more importantly that she has had such a healthy and pleasant year. In fact I have been feeling almost guilty with all that we have to be thankful for this year. It seems we do not lack for anything we desire lately whether it be material objects or having the ability to eat out at nice restaurants it makes me feel almost like a glutton.

On Friday my mom came to stay as she was supposed to help watch Carsyn while I took christmas portraits but I got rained out ALL WEEKEND! :( Saturday night Danny and I headed to Baton Rouge for our first night away to celebrate our anniversary (3 years this week!) We had dinner at the Melting Pot which was an awesome experience and good food then we headed to the movies to watch Four Christmases (pretty funny but not a must see). We stayed the night at the Hampton Inn which is Danny's fave hotel (I must say they do have great mattresses and comforters!) and I got my first 8 hours plus sleep in at least a year! It was nice to get away but I was ready to see my princess when we got home. My dad has come to visit several times this trip home (he works off 30 days at a time.) Check out the pics.... I greatly appreciate both of the grandmother's helping to watch Carsyn so that Danny and I could get some quality time together.

I will post Carsyn's birthday pics that I took on my next blog along with her birthday invite and a look back at the last year of her life. It is amazing how quickly the year went by! This time last year I was begging her to hurry up and come see us! Yes all of the attention is on me!

Camo twinkies....atleast its pink!



PS: If you are doing some Christmas shopping here are some websites I have been visiting that provide you coupons etc via email when you join their mailing list....I am almost half way finished!

http://www.crazy8.com/
http://www.childrensplace.com/
http://www.thechildrenswearoutlet.com/
http://www.kohls.com/
http://www.jcpenny.com/

Hopefully next time I blog i will have some family pictures to show you that a photographer friend of mine is taking this week so I can ACTUALLY be in a picture! :)

PSS: Go see my blog about my Gracie http://reflectionsphotographysite.blogspot.com/

Adventures of Carsyn

I know the bow doesnt match I was practicing getting her to keep her Christmas headband on!

Well it has been a while since I wrote because I swear life has gone in overdrive.

The smarter Carsyn gets the dumber I get! SERIOUSLY! I think my mommybrain from pregnancy has come back tenfold! In the last week I have lost the keys to the car (which I HAVE NEVER DONE!) and had to get new keys made to a whopping $125 to which I found my keys the moment the dealership left my house! SERIOUSLY?! I sat down and started bawling in the driveway! And I left the stove on today and forgot to turn it off with a pot sitting on it! Don't worry no burns LUCKILY! My vocabulary and spelling is getting worse and worse....I will be in mid-sentence and just completely forget what I am saying or the right word for what I am trying to convey. Just little things that are SO not me and my personality keep occuring and I dont like it! Any way to solve it other than calm down and stop stressing?

But Carsyn's intelligence is gaining each day. The toddler years are definitely upon us and MY GOODNESS is it a challenge to keep up with her. She can now open all doors by herself, anything from cabinets to outside doors. If I show her how to write with a pen or crayon she can do it herself. She is really into the whole nesting thing where they put things inside of things and take them out and REPEAT. She is trying to figure out shapes and on her own she will grab a top to something and try to put it back where it belongs. If I am in another room she walk throught the halls yelling "AGAHH" to which I think means "Momma where are you" and I yell back and she follows my voice until she finds me. (Don't worry its not like I leave her alone for long.) She can assoicate now the sequence of events which is cool if she hears the front door squeek open and looks to see who is there but not cool when she knows bedtime follows bathtime! HA HA!

Carsyn now goes to bed at 8 and sleeps until 6 with no problems so apparently she doesnt need the "required" 11-12 hrs at night. So far so good this week. Naps on schedule also.

Carsyn and her puppy Trey have become best buddies. They play all the time and they console each other when needed. Trey has started going into her room to check on her by himself which at times has caused him to wake her as she is an EXTREMELY light sleeper.

Along with the frustrations of entering toddlerhood I find myself being nostalgic lately as we wait for her 1st birthday party to arrive in less than 3 weeks!

Well lots to do as we head to Hattiesburg tomorrow! :)

I just keep repeating what my mamommy used to say "This too shall Pass!"

Sleep

Ahh sleep I wish I could remember what it was like. After 11 months and 2 weeks I am at my wits end. I give up I surrender I will never know the answer.

I have read every sleep book; Babywise, Healthy sleep habits, Healthy child, The Sleep answer. NOTHING has WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The "EXPERTS" say babies need 11-12 hrs at night and 2-4 hrs of naps. Well not my child. What we have been dealing with lately is waking an hour before she is supposed to wake which makes it around 5-5:30. Sometimes I can get her back to sleep with a bottle but what happens in 4 weeks when I take the bottles away?! I have let her cry and cry to no avail. I have put her to bed earlier because the EXPERTS say sleep begets sleep to no avail. I have put her to bed later because ALL family members including husband and gparents think this is the answer to NO AVAIL! Then if she does go back to sleep we are off of our schedule all day!

Naps are usually only an hour if we are lucky. I am almost ready for her to get to one nap a day so I dont have to struggle with getting her down 2X. Most of the time she does go down for the naps and bedtimes without a fuss but it is keeping her asleep that is the problem. And "They" say that when she goes to one nap she will sleep longer for this nap...yeah I will bet money that it will still be one hour.

Yes I crave routine and I can only get things done with a schedule but more importantly I want my baby to get the rest and nutrition she needs and I just dont feel she is. I haven't obsessed over it like I have in the past but it still upsets me and I still cry right along with her when she cries. She is the most restlesss sleeping baby I have ever known and it would make me feel better if there were any other mothers with this same problem.

Our Weekend

Friday Capt. Pappy (my dad) came to visit. He brought us a ton of fresh shrimp yumm yumm! Anybody who wants some HUGE Fresh shrimp let me know! We can get you some! Friday night Danny and I went to eat dinner with his parents and grandparents at the Country Club...good food, good company, and a night out! That is TWO Fridays in a row people! Ms. Mary Lou was kind enough to sit at the house. I know it is not fun to babysit when the baby is asleep!
Capt. Pappy always the goofball

What is THAT?



Getting the shrimp ready to freeze

Saturday was uneventful except for some Christmas portraits I took that afternoon. Aunt Mo came to watch Carsyn for me.

Sunday the usual church, lunch, and then my mom came to visit for a bit. At church Carsyn saw Addison (the 18mo old in her baby class) and she waved and said Hey to him during Church. HA HA!

Here is our weekend in pictures....
Helping Daddy on the tractor

Just out of church with my shoes STILL on!
I CAN NOT believe my baby actually laid down on her own!
BUT HERE I GO AGAIN!


Carsyn got adjusted to the daylight savings time pretty quickly, however, it seems she might be going through a bit of seperation anxiety again. One of my MANY baby books on sleep discussed how when children reach a MAJOR milestone such as walking that they begin to wake up again at night. Well for the last 2 nights she has done so at 2AM. Danny was so excited he got her to go back to sleep last night for the first time ever without my intervention. I had failed at my attempt, even after letting her cry for a while. Finally he went and laid down on the floor in her room and she fell asleep knowing someone was there. She also is switching from a mommy's girl to more of a daddy's girl these days...which makes Daddy EXTREMELY happy and proud! She loves to make him feel bad when he leaves.

Carsyn's walking has progressed so much in the last month. She now practically runs (well as quickly as an 11 month can run)from room to room! Her chubby thighs are going to disappear soon! :( This also comes with LOTS of bumps on the head and many tears! As you will see in her pics she got a strawberry on the forehead today!

ALSO I have found shoes that she will actually keep on her feet! PEDIPED brand! They are a bit pricey but worth there promise to stay on your children's feet! Go check out their website. They are great for new walkers! I have been able to keep a couple of other shoes on her lately but these are by far the best!

Okay time is flying by on to another week!

Life is Flying BY!

Today is November just the other day it was August! Where is the time going?! Fall is such an exhilerating and fun time yet it makes life fly by! I loved our cold snap that we got early this year(however I also enjoy the average 75 temps too!). I love opening my door and watching the leaves float down from the trees. But I have already been to my first Christmas open house of the season! I recall last year being painfully pregnant during this time and becoming aggrivated with the early celebration of Christmas before Thanksgiving but this year I enjoy seeing the decorations already adorning the store windows! As many of my readers know...I was not thrilled with Carsyn having to share her birthday with Christmas time but I guess it just adds to the excitement because in December we will celebrate everything exciting in our family; mine and Danny's anniversary, Carsyn's birthday and CHRISTMAS!

Not to get a head of myself and totally skip November because the reason for this post is to reflect on how quickly life is flashing by. When I worked at the magazine in Mobile I worked 2 months in the future on monthly issues so I understood why life went quickly but now my weeks are just disappearing watching my baby. She is learning so much so quickly! She mimics a lot of what I do and say which causes you to look at yourself and realize that you better be a good role model because she is already watching everything. Carsyn's walking has gone from a few wobbly steps to practically trying to run in 3 short weeks. It is so cute when she walks towards me and just as she is about to reach me she starts running and laughing excited to have arrived at her destination!

Carsyn will also now start a game of peek-a-boo on her own by hiding behind the chair and poping her head out with a squeal. She also has learned how to turn around and stand in her stroller if she is not buckled in(which I now have to do all of the time now!) She and I have a new game where I strum my finger across her lips and she realizes that if she makes a hum noise than her mouth makes that funny vibrate noise...hope yall know what I mean.

Anyway life is fun but it is going by quickly at the moment. As a planner I have to tell myself to slow down and enjoy the present sometimes.

Carsyn's 1st Halloween

We have been playing dress up for the last few days and Carsyn Belle (as we like to call her) was a BEAUTIFUL butterfly! I had her wear the costume pretty much all day Halloween to get my money out of it! And it looked SUPER CUTE! Nonny came over on Friday night to go trick or treating with us. We only hit up a few houses. It was past Carsyn's bedtime!

Speaking of Bedtime this daylight savings change is YET another bump in the road to sleepiness that we are dealing with. My lovey hasn't had a great nap in ages and now this has really sent us into a tailspin! She awoke at 4:30 this morning!

Back to Friday night...since Nonny was here, Danny and I hightailed it out of the house. We went to Dixie Springs Cafe (AKA Mallard) and then to see the movie Fireproof. Great movie! Very touching and a must see for all married couples. If you can get past the low-budget film making and actors the plot should touch anyone with a heart! Since we didnt make it in until 12 I paid for it the next day since my body is used to going to bed at 10ish. I was in bed by 8 Sat night! Saturday was spent goofing around with Nonny and a brief trip to the Mccomb mall (yes we have one) where I found Carsyn TWO precious Christmas dresses! I CANT WAIT to take her pics in these! (Speaking of Christmas pics if you want me to take her Christmas family picture you better grab your spot!)

Today we traveled to Clinton to see Danny's grandparents. They bought a new house we wanted to see (their other is still for sale in Crossgates if anyone is interested!). Gpaw Smith is not in the best health and we wanted to visit before his operation. Keep him in your prayers. The most gentle man on Earth! Traveling with Carsyn is always a challenge. Enough said! Poor angel needs to get back on her routine!

Enjoy our Halloween pics!


Trick or Treat Ladybug I am Butterfly Can I have your lollipop?!
Time for BED!

I got a ball from Ms Donna instead of candy!

Check this out too!