Does my baby look like Valentina?

So today we went to the bank and Carsyn being the socialite that she is commenced to talk to everyone in the building. Well one customer looked at me and said "She looks just like Valentina...ya know Salma Hayek's kid." Ummm no I didnt know but I rushed home to see if my little angel did look like a celebrity offspring.... What do you think?

http://www.gossipgirls.com/salma-hayek/photo/valentina?profile=82734

Our week has been uneventful. I will post again when I have more time!

A well needed good day and sunshine

Goodbye Old man winter! You have exceeded your welcome in our warm state. We missed you at Christmas when you left us with an above average 80 degree day to celebrate our festivities, but now you can leave. Carsyn wants to play outside and your frigid temps and bitter north winds are not helping with both mine and her demeanor!

I am so thankful to have my warm sunshine and above average temperatures back today. Of course in normal Mississippi weather it will probably disappear again and return with a blasting 90 degree heat for which we will then complain again! I have noticed as a SAHM the weather has a MAJOR impact on mine and Carsyn's attitude! We both like it above 60 degrees please! I really feel for the moms in the Midwest! Gosh trying to get 2 layers on Carsyn is bad enough but snowsuits and such! ICK! Give me humidity any day!

So after my last posts (thanks again for the warm thoughts and comments from fellow miserable sleep-deprived moms) Actually Monday night (after the blog- do you think payback?) was the worse on record..she awoke at 3AM and did not return to slumber until 8AM! I was beyond exhausted the next 2 days. After that night I did not enter her room until 6AM even with the cries. She made it alive and still seemed to love me! In fact this morning when she awoke at 5:50 I went ahead and got my shower and let her cry and fuss until 6:20 to see if she would go back to sleep. She did not but at least I got my shower in and she was still fine when I went to get her. It kills me when people tell me "My kid lays in bed and talks to the animals etc etc until I come get them." Yeah right! In the past I have gone to get Carsyn quickly to stop her wailing so that she won't wake her father who will be working 12 hr days that day but not anymore. Sorry Charlie! He will be wearing ear plugs from now on!


Today we went to the local Mom's Day Out group to visit and meet the instructor. Our friends from story time, The Richardsons brought us. It was so much fun and Carsyn didnt even know if I was still around or not. She just busily took off playing. If only this morning nap would end she could jump right in! I told Jan, the instructor, that it would probably not be until March before I felt comfortable bringing her. Carsyn still most days wants her morning nap and then struggles to take the afternoon nap. Currently it is wake at 6 nap at 10-11 nap at 3-4, bed at 7:30. I can't wait for this transition, even though I didnt get a break just the 1 hr of play out of the house was exciting for me too!

And TONIGHT I am going to the St. Andrew's missions fundraiser! The event begins and ends at my husband's store, and myself and my father in law are attending. Danny is going to stay home with Carsyn. He is not such the social butterly as myself! We will be caravaned around to several nice homes in the area where we will be indulging in gourmet entrees and then will return to Lott Furniture for the silent auction. I can't wait to actually get dressed up and act like an adult again! The lack of interpersonal relations since I have moved back is not something this outgoing sales rep is used to. I also am excited to meet some new people to spread the word on my photography business! The new home studio will be complete this month! Check out my other blog for new specials and events!

And as if this wasn't enough...in unusual fashion...Danny and I are taking a spontaneous road trip to Tupelo Sat and Sun for him to network at the Tupelo furniture market. Yay for uninterrupted sleep and good food for us! This will be my 2nd overnight trip from Carsyn but Nonny will be coming to stay so all is good! This is much needed for myself and husband! We will probably be in the car for the same amount of time we are out of it but I don't care! I'm ready for some catching up on some reading and adult conversation with my hubby!

I am off to get dressed! Here is Miss Carsyn today on her favorite toy enjoying the warmth and sunshine!

Some things good and some things not so good

Well I have been blogstalking random SAHM from Mississippi today and I found a few hilarious ones in the Hburg area. They however have 2-3 children all under the age of 3 and I can not even fathom how they do it. Being a Mommy is HARD and Being a SAHM is VERY hard. It is greatly rewarding but still hard nonetheless! One of the bloggers made a comment that stuck with me..."There are good days and there are bad days and there are always days with both sprinkled in."



It has been a rough week sleepwise in our household. I do not think there is one person in my life that understands the frustrations and stress that Carsyn's sleep problems cause. I wish I could talk to someone that could relate but unfortunately I have yet to find one. As I read back on my old blogs I noticed what a significant topic Carsyn's sleep has been. I wish I could express in words how awful it is. I mostly want to make sure that there is not something medically wrong with her but every time I mention it to the pediatrician they both have said "Well do you put her to bed awake?" and I want to scream "NO SHIT SHERLOCK! She has been screaming at night for 13 months even when she puts her self to sleep!" I know as you read this you will probably come up with lots of suggestions for me but seriously I have tried them all. And you probably will think that I am not doing "something" correctly but I have done everything just like the experts have said and I have tried doing the opposites of what the experts have said. I have let her cry and cry and cry. Nothing works. She still cries. This week she woke up almost every hour or two all night every night and cried herself back to sleep after about 7-10 minutes. This can't be normal! I know babies wake up every 90 minutes or so but why does mine have to scream everytime. I don't mean wimper or cry out I mean ear shrieking screams. Towards the beginning of the morning(4-5AM) I usually have to go in because she will cry for up to an hour and not let up. What is wrong with my child! And now that we are transitioning to one nap...Lord help us! She WILL NOT take the afternoon nap so I know that she is ready for one nap. I love my child with all my being but her sleep is keeping me prisoner. I got out of the phase where I watched the clock and drove myself crazy planning outings but being relaxed and trying not to care didn't work either. Anyway I just wish there was someone who could relate because of course misery loves company!







The Good....my angel LOVES her mommy! She has become a much more affectionate toddler than she was a baby. She will run up and just grab my leg and hug it and start giggling. Hearing that laugh and seeing her smile at me makes me able to endure all of the sleepless nights. Also the new funniest thing I have ever seen is Carsyn in her squeeky shoes. She received a pair for her birthday and wore them this weekend. She has finally discovered that she has the power to make them squeak and she will do a jig and run in place to make them squeak for you. Today when she wore her ruby slipper shoes to church she proceeded to start doing her tapping and was upset when she didn't hear the squeaks! It is sooo funny!




Mystery diagnosis.....A few weeks ago Carsyn broke out in a rash all over her body and I had NO IDEA where it came from. Anyway it finally subsided and this week it came back. My mother and I were discussing it and she jokingly said " Well you know every time she visits with your father she breaks out, so maybe she is allergic to him!" It did make sense but why? Last night when Carsyn was getting ready for bed Danny saw the rash and felt it and said this is what my body does when I get around anything washed in TIDE. So when my dad walked in the room I said what do you wash your clothes with and he said TIDE!!!! So she IS allergic to him (sort of) and not only does my child look like her father apparently she is going to have all of his inherit characteristics! Aren't genes amazing! So mystery solved....Capt. Pappy has to get new detergent!




Well no blog is fun without some pics so this is just for Lawren...a few snapshots before church in a new Christmas outfit.

Carsyn at 13months

Carsyn has been a busy bee this month. Her vocabulary and understanding of words has expanded exponentially! She now knows that her favorite place is called Outside and whenever the word is mentioned, it sends her screaming like a mad man to the door. She also knows that when one puts on their shoes it usually means they are going outside so the mad man returns running for the door waving and saying BYE BYE BYE BYE. She is so cute and funny you can't help but want to take her out. This cold weather this week has caused us quite the disturbance but more on that later in the blog. Carsyn knows what milk is and will run to the fridge and point saying Ma Ma Ma when she wants some. For some reason she LOVES the fridge and wants to get in it all of the time. She has now developed a new taste for fruit so she eats grapes and apples almost daily. YEAH! I am not sure if this was on purpose but the other day she had a dirty diaper and she went and handed me a new diaper. Potty training is not something I am looking forward to! Also she loves to ride things ...her rocking horse, her bike, her FisherPrice horsey, even our pet Trey! HA HA! He is only 8lbs!

So my dad has been over several times to deer hunt this month. Not many deer to show for his efforts but I secretly think he just likes coming to see Carsyn. When I went into the playroom/guest room the next morning after he left to hunt this is what I found




HA HA

These are some leapfrog learning letters like the kind you put on your fridge. Well instead of having little letters all over my kitchen I got this idea from another mom's blog. You get cheap baking sheets and hang them on the walls in the playroom and put the magnetic stuff on them to keep them in place! I think it is a neato idea!

Before the really cold weather hit I tried to let Carsyn play outside as much as she could. Here she is modeling one of her new birthday/Christmas outfits!

And today with the temperature below freezing what do Carsyn and Mommy do to entertain themselves???? They PLAY DRESS UP! You will be seeing more of this tutu come the spring when I do some actual portraits of her. Of course we know she does not like to cooperate with my photographing efforts. These are some I managed to capture!

Our weekend update

My weekend began on Friday afternoon. I left Carsyn with CiCi and headed to Florence to photograph one of my best friends from highschool's maternity pictures. It was a lot of fun and I was so happy to share in this important time in her life. After picture taking I ran by some stores that I no longer have access to now that we live in Mccomb...Hobby Lobby (AKA Heaven!), Old Navy, Victoria Secret, and a cute frame shop called Nesbits! Then Lauren and I were driving down Lakeland when I spotted Schlotsky's Deli. This is the only location I know of that remains and I had flash backs to highschool when Martha Ann, Marie, and Lauren used to work there and Sarah and I would go get free sandwiches! We would put them in our purses and go across the street to the movies to eat them! I HAD to have one to see if they were as good as I remembered and they were! Next we went to Sarah's new house to visit and then to Jerry's Catfish for a 10yr reunion meeting. It was so good to see everyone and catch up. These first 10 years out of college haven't really seemed to affect our aging as everyone looked the same if not better!



In the meantime CiCi had handed Carsyn off to Nonny who took her to the Florence/Mccomb soccer game in Mccomb. I hear she had a blast and was very well-behaved. I am pretty sure she will play some type of sport because she loves balls and tries to get on the field/court during all games. Carsyn loves to start clapping when she hears the crowd cheering!



Saturday we scurried around getting ready to go back to Jackson this time with Carsyn in tow to host Lauren's babyshower. Once again we got to reunite with our old gang and let our babies play with one another. It was a really sweet event. Lauren talking to Kaydence in her belly almost made me nostalgic about being pregnant until I snapped out of it recalling the leg cramps, swelling, and lack of breathing! Just kidding it really was sweet. Candise had painted Lauren a canvas for the nursery and I almost teared up. Pics below....



Sunday which is my favorite day was quite and relaxing. Since this is the only day that Danny is home I love to get in quality family time yet I always have a honey-do awaiting him! We played with Carsyn outside on her new bike and let her see the neighbor's dogs(SHE LOVES DOGS BIG AND SMALL!). If she hears a dog on TV or wherever she will start yelling in excitement. She did not want to go down for her afternoon nap so I finally gave up. That evening our neighbors grilled for us....I love when I don't have to do the cooking or cleaning! Thanks guys it was great! Maddy who is only 3months old still can't play just yet but we are getting there! Carsyn just sat watching her play on her playmat. Oh that is another thing Carsyn has rediscovered her "baby" toys the exersaucer and playmat and has wanted me to get them down! As if she doesn't have enough toys as it is!



Update on our naps- well there is not much to report. She definitely only wants to go down for one nap. When she awoke at 5AM last Monday I let her cry until 6 and when I went to get her she fell back asleep in my arms instantly and slept until 8. The other days of the week she woke at 6:30ish and stayed up. On Saturday she awoke at 5 again and went back to sleep with my assistance until 7:30. On Sunday she awoke at 6:15 and stayed up. Today she awoke at 5:00- I didnt let her cry and I went in. She went back to sleep on me and when I went to put her in the crib she cried for 30 min before going back to sleep at 6:30 and sleeping until 8. UGH! It is like she needs some assurance or some milk at 5ish and then goes back to sleep fine. ANY TIPS PLEASE HELP!!! I need her to have a regular wake up time!!!! So now it is 12:15 and she just went down for her one nap I am sure. Hopefully it will last almost 2hrs...fingers crossed.



Carsyn has gotten pretty good at manipulating when it comes to nap time. Instead of crying bloody murder she now bats her eyes and giggles and talks to me and tries to play with my face to encourage me to hold her as long as she can get away with. When I say "It's time to go nightnight and get in the bed" she throws her head down and grabs onto my neck for dear life! She even lookes over at the crib and then up at me and shakes her head and curles up in my arms. JEEZ! I love that she loves me so much but who knew that the crib was sooooo terrible! She usually only skawlks for a minute or so before curling up with Mr. Cow and going to sleep.



For some reason Blogger wont let me post the pics from the shower so click this link to see them.... CLICK HERE

Combo blog

As I go about my day several blog worthy topics float through my head but each one does not seem to have the significance to stand on its on so here is a Combo blog....



#1 Re-living childhood

It seems as though many of the same toys that I enjoyed playing with as a child are still around. As I purchased Carsyn's Christmas gifts I would recall that I received these same presents at one point or another. The see and say farmer (not as good as the original but fun nonetheless), rocking horse, cabbage patch kids, blocks, puzzels, etc etc are all still favorites of mine and Carsyn's. Of course technology has advanced as Carsyn's horsey now connects wirelessly to the TV to provide educational stimulation as well. Every person who enters our home is taken by Carsyn to her playroom where she proceeds to get on the horsey and show them how it works! Too funny!



Recently I discovered our local PBS TV station, and they still run the same favorites such as Sesame Street, Clifford the big red dog, Curiuos George, etc etc so we now keep it on in the background every morning. Who needs Baby Einstien when these classics are still playing the same episodes from the 80s!? I do not believe that Carsyn minds them much attention yet but I sure do enjoy them! HA HA!



#2 One nap or Two

Anybody who is a reader of this blog knows what an AWFUL sleeper Carsyn Danielle is. So bad to the point that I will probably never be able to consider having a 2nd child. Well now we have entered the yucky one nap zone! As I stated previously I have been trying to get her on a set wake up time which has gotten better but still wavering. Wake up can be anywhere from 6:30-7:30 now. When she awakens earlier I feel she needs 2 naps. The morning nap is a necessity while the afternoon nap she seems to just want to ignore. When she slept until almost 8 one morning this week I let her only take one nap at 11:30 and she seemed fine the rest of the day after only napping for 1.5hrs. She slept through the night and awoke at 6:30 the next morning which set us back to the 2 nap schedule for this day. I hate not having a routine but I have read that during this phase sometimes you have to waiver back and forth for a few months until they can achieve enough wake time to get them to one nap. Once we achieve the one nap Carsyn can attend Mom's Day out and I can take her to this new Stay-at-home mommy biblestudy I have been invited to. I think we still have a couple more months yet before it is!

Okay a more fun blog next time after our weekend in Jackson!

:)

Some Randomness for your new year

For New Year's Eve we did not get to have our annual party at Ms.Pam's due to her mother's health so we had a quite dinner at home with the Taylor's and their little girl Hannah who is 18mos old. Carsyn did not make it past her bedtime as she was a tired little girl so Hannah lost her playmate at 8PM! Hannah amazes me with her vocabulary and actions...is there really that much difference between 18mos and 12mos? I guess so since there is a big difference between 6mos and 12mos! I can't wait to watch Carsyn become more of a little person. Oh what is in store for us for 2009?!

Last night for dessert I made these yummy apple dumplings! I love when people share recipes on blogs or emails so here is one for you to try! They are so easy and DELICIOUS! And I LOVE this website for quick ideas for dinner!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Country-Apple-Dumplings/Detail.aspx

Carsyn and Mr. Cow...you may recall seeing Mr. Cow in a photo from the summer when Carsyn first became attached to him. I put him in her crib with her when she was about 3/4mos old to use him as a barrier from rolling over and a security cuddly. Well now Carsyn and Mr. Cow have developed a VERY fond relationship and she LOVES him. He is really a pillow/stuffed animal that my previous boss brought to Carsyn from a trip to Los Angeles. She carries him all over the house!

Carsyn received several cds for Christmas and now she is a dancing machine. Nonny taught her how to do the chicken dance and she gets jiggy with it ALL the TIME! I will try to upload a video of it later because it is HEELARIOUS!

Carsyn, Nonny, and I took a roadtrip to the MS Coast on Saturday to visit the Elchos family. We ate lunch at the casino and Carsyn was mesmerized by all of the lights! She also thought the sounds coming from the slot machines were music so she would just start dancing in the middle of the aisle. One of the black jack dealers started laughing from her table across the way! As we all know Carsyn does not like to travel but the trip wasnt too terrible...she would have napped longer on the way had an 18 wheeler decided not to come into our lane and try to run us over and we had to honk the horn! Guess how happy I was at him!

I spoke too soon regarding the morning visits to the sitter. Carsyn's schedule did not jive with the other babies routine at the sitter and I like the way we have it so she will not be going anymore. I will have to wait until she drops this morning nap to take her to Mommy's day out!

Also regarding the schedule....Carsyn has always had a problem sleeping past 5-5:30ish. It is like she wakes up and can't get herself back to sleep but as soon as I come in she falls back asleep in my arms in the chair. No matter how early or how late she goes to bed it is still the same. Well I wouldn't mind except #1 It wakes me up early and #2 she doesnt have a set time she gets up which messes up our schedule sometimes and #3 she wont always let me put her in back in the crib so I have to sit in the recliner until 7ish when she awakens. Anyway wish me luck because starting tomorrow morning I am treating it as if any wake up during the night and I am not going to get her until 6:30 in hopes that she finally figures out how to get back to sleep on her own. When she does drop the morning nap she is going to have to sleep a tad later in the morning to be able to make it to her 1 nap?! Also I haven't quite figured out how I am supposed to get dress when Carsyn doesnt have that 1hr nap in the morning? She is not the type to play on her own and she LOVES to be in the bathroom while I try to get ready?! Here we go worrying again!

Carsyn did finally have her 1 year appointment the week of Christmas. The dr was pleasant and I did inform his nurse of the front desk mishap. She told me she would have fit me in...oh well. Carsyn received the 4 shots which was not pleasant for either of us, but she recovered quickly. She weighed 24.5 lbs which I thought would be more. Her health was in great shape! Now, however, she has broken out into a rash all over her body for the past 2 days and we dont know what it is from. It doesnt seem to bother her but it sure is not pretty!

In regards to my health.....I had an appointment scheduled for my yearly last week. My mom drove down to keep Carsyn. Are you ready for this? I am not kidding?! Yes you have heard it before. I show up for the appointment which was already rescheduled once due to a

C-section...and THEY HAVE NO RECORD OF MY APPOINTMENT! Turns out they did find my appt and they had marked it down for a different day than we discussed so I have to go back this week. I am so over even getting mad....I am going to blame this on holiday season stupids and PRAY that they REALLY aren't all this stupid at every medical facility in Mccomb.

Capt. Pappy, Me, Carsyn, and Olympia (Carsyn doesnt look like an Elchos but we 3 do!)

Carsyn found Santa he is still on the Coast!

She really was happy I guess she is going to have the same problems her dad has with keeping her eyes open for pics!