Our Coast trip

So we returned from our trip to the Miss Coast on Saturday afternoon. Between the dog having an anxiety attack in the car, the baby screaming, and the lack of sleep I seriously almost jumped out into traffic in the middle of Delaware Ave to get out of that car BUT the beginning of the trip was nice! HA!

We departed late Thursday afternoon and stopped in Hattiesburg to have dinner with my mom. My reasons were as follows- Break-up the 2 hr trip in the car with my lovely baby, Visit with my mom, let Carsyn fall asleep in the car and transport her into the packnplay for a change to see how that worked.

All of the above was a success. We stopped in Hburg and ate at Outback and then headed on to Pass Christian. I had to get in the back seat to sing Carsyn to sleep but she passed out about 30 min before we arrived at the beach house. I ran upstairs when we arrived and cut the air down and set up the packnplay. She awoke a tad but easily went back to sleep..............AND...................she did not wake up until 6:30 PEOPLE! Not a peep! Of course I still didn't sleep well because I think I was half awake awaiting the first awakening. If you aren't familiar with this blog just know that we have NEVER EVER EVER traveled somewhere and she not wake up atleast 2-3 times if not every hour. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT! And she was such an angel baby all day on Friday. We met my bestest buddy from college, Ashley, for lunch in Bay St. Louis. I had not seen the Bay since the hurricane and I wanted to see what renovations had taken place. It is really starting to look nice! I was so happy for the Bay residents. We ate lunch in a little place that is an art gallery/boutique with all handmade items from locals. They serve lunch and have tables placed throughout the store. It was cute. Carsyn was very good...what with all of the breakables and such. Then she fell asleep on the way back over to the Pass and easily transported up to bed. She took her regular 1hr plus nap and then we headed over to the pool. The heat and humidity were INSANE and not surprisingly we were the only ones in the pool! We headed back to the house and Nonny and Aunt Jan stopped by for a brief visit. Then we waited for Danny and my dad to return from fishing. They had left at 5AM to go fishing. Every time my husband goes fishing with my dad they never really have a successful trip but since they arrived home 3 hours late I was happy to see their ice chests filled with some of the biggest red snapper I have ever seen caught on a fishing rod. We had to change our dinner plans since it was so late but the alternate which was Tripanni's was just as good! Carsyn got to bed pretty late and was so wound up that I could not get her to bed.

Finally at 9:30 I got her down which is where our story takes a turn for the worse. She awoke at 1AM and did not go back to sleep until sometime after 2. She screamed off and on the entire hour or so. I could not calm her down. I put her in the bed with Danny and me and she tossed and turned and flipped for almost an hour. It was almost like convulsions. Then at 5:15 she woke again screaming bloody murder. Pointing at the ceiling and lights and only God knows what. I was able to keep her in the bed until 6 and finally I gave up. Up until this point I was thinking maybe just maybe we have reached a new phase and we might actually get to venture on some trips without the constant fear of lack of sleep. Anyway, we had brought my 9 yr old cousin Olympia with us and thankfully Carsyn played with her so I could lay on the couch a little while longer. Long story short the little Belle was exhausted all day and extremely difficult. I also was a zombie come 2pm. After a short power nap though I was on entertainment duty as now I had 2 children to play with. We headed over to the splash pad for a bit and then after dinner I passed out shortly after Carsyn went to bed. Poor Olympia probably wished she had stayed at home.

So at least most of our trip was enjoyable. I knew the all night sleeping was too good to be true. I just don't understand how come once she is in the bed with her parents she doesn't just go back to sleep and STAY asleep!

I will do a separate blog about Olympia's visit to Mccomb when she leaves on Tuesday. It seems my computer time has been cut even shorter with 2 children in tow. Yep I definitely think Danny and I have decided one child is plenty for us.

I actually got to be in a shot with my baby
Capt. Pappy and the belle

The belle and her daddy

Capt. Pappy and his prize snapper

Playing in the crib a few weeks ago

PIGTAILS!

Oh and lest I forget

Forgot to mention the "MINE" phase in last post! And then as soon as she woke up she reminded me. We have now entered the possessive stage. Everything is MINE. Oh me.

She does share if you ask her to so atleast we don't have to fight that battle yet!

And I caught on video the most precious baby skipping yesterday. Carsyn ran into the room turned on the radio and started skipping across the living room. I had seen at Mother's Morning Out where they were skipping to "Skip to my Lou" one day so I assume that is where she learned it.

Oh and she has a new word that I just heard her say today....Maddy. Her BFF from next door :)

Okay I think that wraps it up....

My little monster

The only speed my little belle knows these days is FAST! If I thought she fell alot when she was learning to walk...ho ho no...she falls at least 50 times a day. Just SPLAT on the floor. I assume it is because she gets going and can't find the brakes? Also this climbing business is out of hand! We are climbing on EVERYTHING! In one morning she fell off the back off the couch onto the floor and from the front of the couch onto the floor. The back of the couch fall really freaked me out because that is a good 2+ feet backwards!

Also if you don't want something lost you better keep your eyes like a hawk. "Supposedly" Carsyn has lost her father's truck keys and cell phone 2 weeks ago that we have yet to find. Now granted her father needs NO help in losing things as he is quite good at this on his own, but she does tote things away never to be seen again. It takes me forever to find my shoes these days as she has them scattered all over the house.

And I sure do wish I got a dime for every "UH OH" I hear in a day. We say "UH OH" to everything!

This past Sunday while at Grandparent Smith's you would have thought she was a mad woman...running non-stop through their home exploring all of the new places. And outside in the pool...the child who HATES to have her hair washed...wanted me to take her down the slide..in the pool! Not once BUT twice! Oh yeah she went under all right but seemed to find it intriguing nonetheless! Unfortunately I have no pics from the day as I forgot my camera and video camera with all of the other 50 bags I had to bring...okay maybe just 5 extra bags. It is amazing what all you have to pack for a day trip much less a 2 day trip which we embark on tomorrow.

We are headed down to the Coast to visit my dad and family. Say a prayer that I don't have 2 nights of complete non-sleep. Hopefully I will remember the camera this time!

We did not have luck on our side this week...

PHEW this week has not been the best for me. I think there is a black cloud on our street.
I averaged about 5 hrs of sleep each night either due to Carsyn waking or some other random act that caused me to not get my 10-6 sleep.

1st- My neighbor had to go to the ER so I went to watch her baby from 10-12AM, of course my child still woke up at 6AM.
2nd- On Sunday night my child woke up and stayed up from 2-4 and then up again at 6AM! I called my mother to come over to help as I was a zombie and felt awful anyway.
3rd- My child woke up at 10:30 and was up until 11:30 screaming bloody murder that only God knows why because she seemed fine otherwise. I SERIOUSLY think she has sleep apnea. Then was back up at 6AM on the dot.
4th- Then the next night my child woke up from 1:30-3. Also this same night I discovered my eye was throbbing and swollen shut. When my child woke me at 6AM on the dot my eye was still shut- Pink eye Are you serious? So off to the Stat Care Dr I went to get $65 eye drops!

Thankfully my child has slept through the night the following 2 nights.

In the midst of all this nonsense we have been trying to enjoy ourselves at the pool, although when it is 100 degrees outside it pretty much is like a hot tub not a pool! I did get to go on Mother's Night Out even though my eye was still swollen and I couldn't put make-up on. And Carsyn got to have a play date with her other BFF Hannah all day yesterday at the pool and then at their church which was having a water play day with inflatable slides and sprinklers. Sorry no pics to show.

Today is chill, literally with the ac on lower than my husband would like, at the house day. Tomorrow we ride over to Clinton to see Grandfather Smith for Father's Day.

Have a nice Father's Day everyone!

Time is flying...Carsyn at 18months

OK TIME needs to SLOWWWW down!

Since I last blogged as I was departing for my mama's beach get-a-way time has seemed to be in fast-forward! Getting away and only having to take care of myself was beyond fabulous. (Hopefully I can post pics taken by fellow mama soon *hint hint girls!)

Sure I missed my family but I definitely had no problems relaxing. Although since I have returned my Carsyn Belle has seemed to want UNDIVIDED attention and once bedtime arrives I am too tired to blog plus the extensive photo editing I am having to do. She has not helped me out lately by barely napping! So Alas her 18 month blog is 5 days late.

At this point in time I believe 18 months is my favorite age so far. Carsyn is so affectionate and loves to act the Barney song "With a great big HUG and a kiss from me to you." I think she tries to mimic me when I say "I love you...you love me." She even gave our dinner guest last week, a furniture rep, a goodnight kiss.

Discipline- Our tantrums are still not THAT bad in my opinion. She does throw her arms up and scream but usually a quick "Do you want to go to your room?" will stop it. As far as time-out, I have used that threat for several months now the only problem is that I don't really have a "time-out spot." If I just make her sit in her room she will get up and leave. I don't want to put her in the crib because HEAVEN knows we do not need ANY negative association although I know people say it is not perceived that way but you don't know my child! So at the moment I am still up in the air as to where time-out should be.

Sleep- For the most part Carsyn's sleep has been okay. She usually sleeps through the night atleast 5 nights out of the week. If she gets off schedule or is not put to bed on time it is Hell to pay. This is something that I don't think people understand about my child. While some children can bounce right back mine takes days and days to get back to sleeping well. I will truely jump for joy the day she outgrows this although I am sure it will not be for about 8 more years!

We still struggle with naps- she will go down for them but staying asleep is the problem. She usually naps for an hour-to two but that is it.

Food- Carsyn is not a big eater. I have not concerned myself too much with this as she obviously is healthy. She mostly grazes during the day never really eating much at one sitting. Luckily my child does not want juice often so milk and water are her main beverages during the day. I do have to battle with her wanting sweets often. She is not a big fan of many fruits but I think she will outgrow this.

Potty- Carsyn has been interested in the potty for several months. She sometimes will tell you when she needs a new diaper. Her Mother's Morning Out instructor was blown away that she came and told her to change her. My thoughts on potty-training at the moment are just to introduce her to the potty and pull-ups. She LOVES wearing pull-ups and HATES diapers but I just don't think she is able to understand the concept yet. I am not going to try to do a whirl-wind potty-training effort and expect her to be trained in 2 weeks. I do however intend and think that she will be trained by the end of the year. As of now I am just letting her lead me. It seems when it is my idea she does not want to participate but if she does it on her own she will. ( A personality trait I think will probably last the rest of our lives.)

Summertime- It seems we were waiting forever and a day for school to get out so Nonny and playmates would be able to play but now it seems Summer is FLYING by! We have joined the country club and have been swimming several times but just last week was the first time she interacted in the pool with the other children. Also with summer fun comes bugbites....they love my child and she is covered in them within minutes. Then she itches and itches all day and night- it also has caused a new sleep disruption. Benadryl has become part of our bedtime ritual most nights! I guess I am going to have to tuck a dryersheet in her pants everytime she leaves because I hear they ward of the bugs. It is really out-of-hand and she scratchs to the point of scabs.

Two Firsts- we did have 2 firsts this month. Her first wasp sting which I was not present for so I do not know how she handled it although she seemed to be fine a few hours later. AND pigtails! Carsyn has never allowed me to put them in her hair but at the furniture store she was distracted long enough for one of the saleslady's to put them in. It was THE CUTEST thing I ever did see! AND she kept them in for several hours! I only got a quick snapshot but maybe we can get them in again.

Photos- you would think that one of the benefits of having expensive photo equipment and the knowledge to use it would be fabulous photos of your child. NOT! Carsyn HATES my camera and refuses to look at it. There were 3 photo looks I wanted to do for her 18month photos. The frist one was in her tutu- the next was in a field- and then finally at Mynelle Gardens in Jackson. It is an absolutely beautiful location for photography but of course Carsyn did not want to cooperate. I did manage to get a few only with serious looks of course- tons of back and side views! Here are my faves from the collection.

Okay so that is a wrap up for now...hopefully I will be able to post more frequently next time!

Beach Mama

This weekend starting tomorrow is my beach weekend get-a-away with some girlfriends from High school. Up until today I have been half excited/half nervous. It is the first time I will be away from my baby for more than one night. My mom will be here to help take care of Carsyn while Danny works. However, that in itself causes its own anxiety...son-n-law and mother-n-law together for 4 days! I am sure they will be fine! :)

Anywho as I said up until this morning I was apprehensive about my departure...that is until my baby awoke at 5:30- whined all morning- we got locked INSIDE the house- the pest man woke her up as I was putting her down for nap- my sister-n-law dropped by and stepped on a half-dead bat in my yard! All before 12:30! I had almost put in a full days work and the day wasn't even half over!

I am sure I will miss this drama while I twiddle my thumbs at the beach trying to remind myself how to relax and do "Me" things. Some things I am looking forward to at the beach....

• Reading several mindless novels
• Basking in the sun-perhaps even sleeping in the sun
• Sleeping past sunrise- however I will probably be up by 7 at the latest
• Eating in Peace without an 18month old picking food off of my plate
• Going to the bathroom by myself
• Taking a bath/shower by myself
• Enjoying adult conversations 24hrs a day
• Spending time on the Internet learning about new photography skills and choosing my new photoshop program
• Seeing Mobile peeps and taking their precious family portraits on the beach

I am sure I will still wish my family was with me though despite the aggravation that they cause me from time to time!

Off to pack my bags! Email me if you need me! :)

Mother/ Daughter trip to Global Wildlife

We made it to Global Wildlife this past weekend. Only about an hour from Mccomb so a great activity for the chilin' around here! Myself, Carsyn, Allison, and Gracie took off in the AM on Saturday. Hoping to get Carsyn to nap for the way down, however, she fought it with all she had finally caving in 20 minutes before we "thought" we would arrive. Luckily we drove around for another 20 minutes looking for a restaurant *note if you plan to go to Global Wildlife there is really only ONE restaurant in Folsom, LA! So we finally decided to stop at this "hole in the wall" for lack of better description that advertised that they served pizza. Actually the sign said Pizza Poboys and Daiquiris (how very Louisianian ;)). Once inside we found a quaint little pizzeria and bar that served much more than the sign described. Only after noticing the P.O. Boxes under the bar did we discover that the name of our little hideaway was the Ole Post Office...how very fitting, no? Anyway the owner was extremely nice and even turned the flat screen to iCarly on Nickelodeon for the girls! Secretly Allison and I enjoyed watching it too! :)

So after our bellies were full we headed down the road to Global Wildlife. I will let the pictures and link to the website explain in more detail. The ride on the caravan through the "terrain" was supposed to be 1hr and 1/2 and it ended up being about 2. A little too long for my Carsyn belle as she was done after the first hour. Surprisingly we had a nice breeze so the heat and humidity could have been worse!

Here are the pics of our adventure...btw please do not judge my photography skills by the unedited snapshots. Do you know how difficult it is to take pictures in a moving caravan, holding on to a moving 18month old, taking pictures of moving animals, holding a very heavy zoom lens? I was so afraid Carsyn was going to topple over the side of the cart! Or get bitten by a zebra...which btw they caution against feeding as they are known to be biters! Depending on your child's attention span and maturity I would say it is best for those over 2-3 but Carsyn still did enjoy it.

Awww sweet Cousin love...

Showing off her shades

Getting ready to feed the animals

Gracie and the camel have the same expression!

HA HA!

The caravan in front of us

Observing the animals

Blurry but still cute!

Mommy-daughter love!

Giraffe #1

Giraffe #2