What have the Smith's been doing this week?

Well once again I think my Carsyn Belle has hit the accelerator for the next gear into toddler dome! I swear she has been running around this house like a MADMAN never stopping all week! She likes to yell all of the time! She works her bottom lip and instead of pouty face gives you a scrunched up "I'm so cute you could eat me up face." The whining and feet stomping have increased but is usually quick to end. She talks in Babynese all day long- still not really making any "real" words. I am pretty good at guessing what she wants/needs.

Carsyn's fascination with feet and shoes has continued and gotten more intense. I don't understand really- but she looks at her feet and takes shoes on and off all of the time. She also is obsessed with mine and Danny's shoes? Might she become a Podiatrist?

I know you are all on pins and needles to see if the sleep trends continued? Well yes and no. She had me spoiled there for several days sleeping until 8 and taking a 2 hr nap but that has ceased. I have tried to get it back but so far its a no go this week. She has been up and atem at 6:30 every morning and only taken 1 one hour nap from 12:30-1:30. I wish I knew how to lengthen it but I let her cry forever and it doesn't work. However for the most part she does sleep straight from 7:30-6:30 so no complaints from me on this part. We still have a few nights a week where she wakes up once. For someone reason this week the nights that I put her to bed she woke up and the nights that Danny put her to bed she didn't? Think that is a coincidence?

On the mommy front I have started back working out at the gym while Carsyn is at Mother's Morning Out. It's been rough seeing as how I haven't sweated in I know at least 16+months! I know shame on me! And I am not really going for weight loss (although losing 5lbs or a few inches wouldn't hurt!) rather just to feel more energized. Now that I am getting at least 7 hrs of sleep I can actually manage to run! Also I have been EXTREMELY busy with Senior Portraits so I am thankful for the sleep.

So that is all for now...spending the weekend doing wedding stuff for Cousin Megan. Wish us luck...oh and Megan and Martin too!

BTW here is a picture I forgot to post when we watched Maddy (Carsyn's BFF from next door) last week. Danny wanted to see what he would look like with 2 daughters...don't get any ideas just yet!

Cousin Megan's wedding shower

This weekend was pretty low-key for Carsyn and Mama. I have been trying to maintain the new sleep trend and nap times. However, on Saturday we made the trek to Bassfield for Cousin Megalicious' wedding shower. The wedding is next weekend and that should be an interesting event with Carsyn seeing as how it doesn't start until 6PM....another over night trip...duh duh duh...



Anyway I am not really sure if it was Megan's shower or Carsyn's? Nice of Meg to share the spotlight. Anyway aren't the (unedited) pics precious?


BTW I have been photographing some awesome Senior Portraits this past week or so...go take a look

Is the Madness over????????????

I haven't written about this in Carsyn's blog as not to jinx it BUT my baby is finally sleeping after 16 1/2 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once she caught back up on her sleep we have had a fairly good week of sleep. Not perfect by any means but I'll take it over the Hell we have had for the past few months. Carsyn for the most part goes down between 7:30-8:30 - She still wakes up around 5 but now she will go back to sleep until about 8 most mornings. This allows me to wake up at 6:30 or 7 which I don't mind and I have some TIME TO MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT! Also get a shower in peace! So this is how normal families live?! I ALSO love that my child is getting rest. We still have had a morning or two when she didn't sleep in but it was okay. She now naps usually from 1-3. I know my child will never nap for longer than two hours and I also know that she will probably always wake up early and return to sleep (LIKE HER FATHER *cough cough*).

Right now there is finally PEACE in our home. Now I can enjoy my daughter rather than

A. Being a Mommy Monster

B. Resenting her Sleep habits
C. Worrying about getting her to nap/bed

She really was happy to be surrounded by the flowers in our yard....even with the serious face...

Get ready for this roller coaster ride!

MAN! If there were a parenting handbook I would be the first to get on the waiting list at Amazon.com! The one thing about parenthood that is so nerve wracking to me is the "I don't knows?!" AND I DO NOT LIKE NOT KNOWING!

So let's back track....we got back from Easter and Carsyn and Mama were exhausted!!! Sunday night she woke up every hour- 2hrs!!! I don't know why! Come Monday I was a zombie! We skipped Storytime because I just wanted to be a slug and I knew she would need a morning nap...Well she did take a LONG morning nap but then refused an afternoon nap! I left her in the crib for like an hour and no sleep! However come 6:15PM she passed out cold! So same bad night again Monday night and I decided to skip Mother's Morning Out because I knew she would need 2 naps again! This time she took 2 pretty long naps. Then on Wednesday night she woke up all night again! Crying bloodymurder not just whimpering! My head was spinning and my eyes were twitching on Thursday I was so exhausted. I had slept maybe a 3-4 hr stretch in the last 4 days. Not to count the weekend we had just endured! I was SOOOO relieved her 15 month check up was on Thursday. I was PRAYING the doctor would give me some answers or tell me I could give her some Melatonin! (More on the doctor visit in a bit- yes I realized she is 16 1/2 months more on that later I said!)

So Doctor tells us we MUST let her cry even uncontrollably and see if she can get over this. I was like she has 4 teeth coming in shouldn't I do something for her and he said there was not anything I could do for teething and Tylenol really didn't make a difference for teething! WHO KNOW?! Not me! Well that was all I needed to hear. So Thursday night she went to bed and started crying and we ignored her- she cried out numerous times but luckily I was so drained it was easier to turn over and go back to sleep. At 5:15 she woke up Friday morning and I made her cry until 6. I went in at 6 and picked her up and she fell back asleep. I put her in the crib and she slept until 9AM!!!!!!!! She had gone to bed at 7:15! So only one nap on Friday and then Friday night in bed by 7:30 and she woke at 6 and stayed up. Once again only one nap but a tad longer on Saturday.

So on Saturday we went over to the inlaws for a spell and she acted tired and cranky. I took her back home and went to put her down again at 3. While I was rocking her she looked up at me and threw up (out of her nose and mouth! I know YUCK!) all over me and her and Mr. Cow! It was horrible. She kept screaming until I got us both cleaned off and calmed her back down. She passed out in the rocking chair in my arms for a little while and then when she woke up was fine. In fact she started eating everything in sight (she had not eaten much all week). Weird, huh?! So anyway she didnt get to bed until 8:15 due to the late nap and then awoke at 5- I let her cry for a bit and then went in to see her and she went back to sleep at 5:40 and slept until 8:30!

I am so happy she has gotten the rest that she so desperately needs and certainly hope this will continue!

So about the doctor's visit.... I have mentioned before that I am not a BIG fan of this pediatrician office- more so the office staff than the Dr himself. No one informed me that Carsyn was to have a 15 month checkup. A friend happened to inform me that her daughter had gone for a 15mo check up and I was like there is such a thing? So I called to make it and first they blamed me for not making the appt and then they gave me an appointment 3 weeks later! UGH!
So come doctor visit day I was informed that when Mobile sent in her records she is missing a shot from her chart?! So they are going to give it to her again next checkup and we will never know if she did in fact get this shot and they just forgot to mark it down? I am ASSUMING the doctor knows if this is harmful or not?! Carsyn weighs 26lbs which is what I had guesstimated and she was healthy as a horse which also makes the throwing-up scenario weirder?! We will see them again for a 19mo check up...that is if they remembered to write it down this time!

So now it is Sunday and she is quietly napping. I feel as though we are exiting from a tunnel of fog that we have been engrossed in. Here is to a happy and restful week this week!

Easter Weekend Wrap-up

Okay so before I go into detail about our Easter weekend 2009...I want to reminice about Easter 2007!

When Danny and I decided we would not prevent against pregnancy we thought it would take several months to get pregnant. After I had been off birthcontrol 2 weeks Danny was so anxious he made me go get a pregnancy test. So on a Thursday I went to get one- I "thought" it read Negative. So on Saturday morning when I awoke at 6AM I felt the need to take another one. I don't know why. And this time I actually waited long enough for it to turn and with shaking hands I saw the Positive sign! OMG! I ran and woke him from his sleep shaking the test in his face. I couldn't not believe it. I ran back to the bathroom to retrieve the test from Thursday which was still in the trash and it was positive too! I had not waited long enough for it to finish changing! He made me take 3 more to make sure. Anyway I had to go take Easter Portraits all day that day with my first session being a maternity shoot. When I got home my dad called and asked if I knew what the Easter Bunny stood for....um no?....Fertility he said as if he knew what was going on! So he got to be the first to find out the pregnancy news and the Easter bunny will always have a special meaning to us in addition to the real reason we celebrate Easter!

So 2 years later.....

On Friday my mother and Carsyn and I ventured to Mobile to visit old friends. Mind you it took me several weeks of decision making and mind preperation to make the 3 hr trip because I KNOW how my child travels. But I had put it off too long so I forced myself to go. Carsyn was a perfect angel all the way down. After a late lunch I headed to check into the hotel so she could take a nap. Of course my child doesn't take naps in unformiliar places so after several attempts I put in the car to let her fall asleep and rode to my old house. The new owners have not kept it up very well. :( After a 50 minute car nap we ran a few places that the metrolpolis of Mccomb does not have and then it was time for dinner with my Mobile girls. Yum for Carrabas! Once again Carsyn behaved pretty good and my mom took her back to the hotel for bed while I ran to Melissa's new home. By the time I had arrived back Carsyn had already woken up once after 30 minutes of sleep and continued waking up every 30 minutes to an hour the remainder of the night! I am NOT KIDDING> I even put her in the bed with me which did not help and then caused me to wake up every 10 minutes to make sure she was not falling off the side of the bed. At 4:30 AM she awoke and decided not to return to sleep until 7:30! So began the sleep deprivation. Instead of continuing to shop we headed back to Hattiesburg. It was such a pretty day and in an attempt to still make good of our time we went to Kamper park for a picnic lunch and the zoo. It was nice and Carsyn slept the entire way back to Mccomb.

Sunday we got ready for church and planned to head straight to my aunt's for Easter dinner and egghunt when it was over. I hoped Carsyn would stay awake until time to go, but NO for the first time EVER she fell asleep in church in my arms in the pew for a 30 minute nap. And then was cranky and awake the entire 45min ride over. We had an enjoyable time with my family but my poor belle was so exhausted. But did she take a nap there that afternoon? Not really.

So while we had some good times and good photos the usual sleep issue caused for some big problems. It kills me when people tote their children all over the place and their kids seem fine and adjust to wherever they are. It has been weeks and weeks since Carsyn has slept for more than 4 hours or more without waking and then this littly doozy of a weekend has sent the poor child into sleep deprivation.

We are still in nap limbo...I was still trying to give her 2 naps a day which she easily took morning but faught afternoon. Usually if she went to sleep in the afternoon she awoke 30 minutes later grumpier than when she went to sleep. She can barely make it to noon for one nap because she wakes before dawn..usually at 5:45ish...but if she does make it to one nap she only sleeps for 1 hr even if I let her cry for a bit when she wakes. I know I have written about this countless times but seriously I am at my wits end. I am so sleep deprived and I don't feel my child is getting the healthy sleep she needs. Tonight she passed out at 620PM from exhaustion. So tonight begins a serious attempt at crying it out- completely not entering her room until 6AM in the morning. Pray for us. (For example she has already woken and cried out 3 times since she went to sleep and its 9PM)

Not to put a damper on the good times we had this weekend but to give an accurate account I had to discuss it. Please feel free to give me any travel tips that might help my little one learn to take the fun trips her momma plans for her!

Our Easter Weekend in snapshots....

MAN was this a busy weekend- I am going to go into detail about our adventures...the good and the bad but for now just enjoy some Carsyn snapshots! She is beautiful if I do say so myself! :) I am sooo over eggs until next year!


Where is the egg Aunt Jane?

Gracie got to the eggs before Carsyn did!

This is what people in South Mississippi put in their eggs for a surprise!

Cousin Adam, Meaghan, and baby Aiden in the tummy!

Daddy's Girl

On a mission to find the egg

Hmmm how come Gracie has more than me?

Mommy's angel in our Easter best

Carsyn LOVES the slide

And here we go...............

Bye Bye Momma

What have the Smith's been up to

Well let's see

Teething/Sleeping
The Smith's have NOT been sleeping! For 4 nights in a row the longest stretch of sleep I got was 3 hrs and up by 5:30ish most mornings! But luckily last night she only awoke once and was back asleep until 6:30! YEAH! My body had become accustomed to waking so I awoke after 4 hrs in a panic and wide awake! I attribute this waking to her 4 (possibly 5) teeth coming in!

Carsyn's knowledge
Carsyn continues to amaze me daily with her understanding of our world. She now will go get her towel and rag out of the drawer in her room and bring it to the bathtub when I say "It's time for a bath!" I did not instruct her to do this- she did it on her own!

Love thy neighbor
We have the best neighbors! Lyndsay is a SAHM with a 6 month old and it is comforting to know someone is just a few feet away doing the exact same thing you are. It also helps that she is a GREAT cook and has been providing me with SCRUMPTIOUS and (fattening!) foods. Her Cajun heritage really shines in her cooking. Below are some recipes from her blog. We have been spending a lot of time outdoors and grilling with the Webbs. I am so thankful to have a young couple with child that can relate! Of course their baby sleeps- dang it!

Crawfish bisque stuffed baked potatoes!

(This is a Frank Davis recipe)

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, parsley mix
1 cup diced Portabella mushrooms (I used plain old white mushrooms)
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp Soup
1 lb. Louisiana crawfish tails
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. salt and pepper mix
2 tsp. Frank Davis Seafood Seasoning ( didn't use- crawfish was seasoned enough!)
6-8 pats unsalted butter
1 bunch green onions, sliced for garnish
2 cups Italian Shredded Six-Cheese Blend


Start off by taking a heavy, non-stick, high-sided frypan or Dutch oven and heating the olive oil
until it just begins to smoke. Then drop in the onion-celery -bell pepper-garlic-parsley mixture and sauté it—stirring constantly—until it wilts and begins to soften.

Next, toss in the Portabella mushrooms and quickly stir them around in the seasoning mixture.
Then stir in the can of soup, taking care to thoroughly mix all the pan ingredients into it until uniformly blended. (Note—all the while the fire is still on high).

At this point, drop in the crawfish tails , along with the heavy cream. Then harmoniously combine everything in the pan until all the ingredients are completely blended. Immediately, though, reduce the fire to medium-low, stir the “bisque” continuously to fully blend the cream and soup mix, and sprinkle in the salt and pepper mix and the seafood seasoning. After about 8-10 minutes of simmering, the dish should be tasted and the seasonings readjusted if necessary.

When you’re ready to eat, whisk in the pats of butter to create a creamy consistency in the bisque, ladle out generous portions of it into warm soup bowls, and garnish each serving with a sprinkling of green onions and a handful of shredded cheese. Toasted bread sticks make a nice accompaniment.

Variations: If you would like to serve the bisque as a more essential entrée, it can be heaped over a bowl of rice, ladled over a plate of your favorite pasta, or liberally poured over a supersize baked potato.


Monkey Bread

Ingredients:
3 (12 oz) pkgs refrigerated biscuit dough (I used 2 16oz pkgs)
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (I didn't use the walnuts or raisins)

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease one 9 or 10in bundt pan.
Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag.
Cut biscuit dough into quarters.
Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix.
Arrange pieces in the in the bottom of the prepared pan.
Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan.
If using nuts or raisins, add them in now.
In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over med heat.
Let boil for 1 minute.
Pour over biscuits.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes. Bread should pull apart.


Well we have a BUSY BUSY BUSY weekend planned starting tomorrow! I have been mentally preparing myself for our road trip to Mobile with my mom! Please pray Carsyn enjoys the trip also! When we return we will head to my aunt's on Easter for a mini-egg hunt. Oh yeah- Carsyn has quickly caught on to the concept of egg hunting and the CANDY that is inside of them! Sorry no pics on this blog but hopefully I will make up for it when we return!

My baby is the brightest crayon in the box!

Okay so maybe I am partial but I tell you MY little girl is SOOO stinkin smart! It baffles me! She cracks me up everyday with the secret knowledge I did not know she possessed.

Every day I tell myself Oh You have got to put that in the blog but alas busy takes over and I do not get a chance and then I forget what it was. I will try to recount some funny scenarios from this week.

#1 Diaper
It seems Carsyn is getting very close to beginning to potty-train. She knows where the potty is, what her diaper is, when it needs to be changed etc etc. Her great grandparents bought her a stepstool-seat to put on the regular potty so we are going to try and get that set up to use rather than her own separate potty. I feel I will have issues with having to dump a separate bucket out...ick...Anywho the other night during dinner I noticed she had a stinky so I said "Belle, we have to go change your diaper." She hopped down and ran to her room and laid down on the mat with the new diaper and wipes. After we cleaned it was close to bath time, so I said well "Why don't you just ran around naked for a bit until bath time...BUT don't teetee on the floor!" And low and behold what did she do before I could get the words out she teeteed on the floor! Not a first but still I yelled "OH NO!" So then I thought. well since she just teeteed she probably won't go again until bath time. Well I ran into the living room to check on something and I hear "UH OH!" and looked and she had teeteed EVEN MORE on the dining room floor! "OH Belle Don't MOVE," I said! I ran to the bathroom to get a towel and when I got back to wipe it up she took off to the bathroom! What did she go get? Toilet Paper of course to wipe herself with! HA HA HA!

#2 Bathtime
I know Carsyn knows what and where bath is...but I couldn't help but chuckle when she ran to her room tonight opened the drawers with the towels and bath rags and get both of them out and took them to the bath! HA HA! Thank goodness the crying during bathtime phase is over!

#3 Roger
If you recall I got a mini-lop rabbit a month or so back to use during my Easter portraits. Ultimately I did not end up using him so he now lives freely in the backyard and under the house. Surprisingly he does not run away and has yet to be eaten by a predator. Anyway he comes out in the morning and evening to eat some grass. This evening she ran outside and sat by the edge of where the opening to the house is and reached out her arms in the "come hither" motion and said "UGH UGH" for him to come out of hiding. Still not verbal yet but I thought it was humorous that she knew where he was and remembered he would come out at this time.

#4 Mother's Morning Out
Ms. Jan the director at MMO told me this week that she is very impressed with Carsyn's understanding of words and directions. They said she was trying to repeat what they said and would imitate their sounds. She also told me that there is an 8month old that Carsyn is infatuated with and likes to rub and pat and love. The baby can crawl and Carsyn patted her hand to thigh and made the "come hither" motion to the baby to follow her. When she turned around and baby was not following she put her hand on hip and said "UGH" "come hither motion"! HA HA!

While my child looks like her father- Danny has decided she is going to have my personality. Of course he draws these conclusions based upon her independence, strong-will, assertiveness, and observation skills. These skills, of course, can cause much frustrations for us as parents so is he saying my child got all of my negative qualities? I think not! Although I will take credit for her intellect!
HA HA! J/k!

Anyway that Carsyn Belle she is fixing to be 16 months going on 3! What fun is in store for us!