Some Ramblings of the Smith's

Phewww what a week. Enjoyable while tedious at the same time...but this is life, no?

Monday was Monday I can't quite recall it other than I had a follow-up Dr. visit. For the FIRST time I was impressed with a dr. visit. WAY TO GO Mccomb OBGYN! I was in and out in less than 30 minutes....less than 30! I have never been to the doctor and it not take more than 1hr to 3plus hrs!!!! Let's hope my results are clear.

Carsyn had a new babysitter, Katelyn, that kept her while I was the Dr. It seemed to go well. Katelyn is saving me from losing my sanity until "school" starts back. I am terribly missing Mother's Morning Out! And I think the Smith's are over Summer and ready to hit fall! It is our favorite season with the weather and all. Also including all 3 birthdays! Since we have been having below normal temps this week it has hinted to us that fall is coming soon even though we have to get through dreadful August!

So back to our week....Also on Monday we had a lunch date with some new found friends. Our 1 year anniversary of moving to Mccomb is approaching next weekend and finally after 1 year we have a handful of "friends." Hopefully we will continue to increase our circle. Also my photography business is spreading well. I have given myself some specific goals to reach by my 30th birthday in 2 years.

Speaking of fall- Danny and I had an opportunity come to us to take a cruise in October out of Boston and up the New England Coast. It took me quite some mulling over to decide to leave my baby for 6 days and get on a boat but I had decided that it was too good an opportunity to pass up and my marriage would benefit greatly. Welllllllll turns out the day I called to start the booking process I found out my 10 year reunion was the same weekend! Dang it! We still plan to go somewhere on a trip but the destination is still under discussion. The last real trip we had together was our "baby moon" in which I was 8 1/2 months pregnant.....NOT A GOOD IDEA. Fun for the husband- yes- fun for me -HECK NO! He still talks about Savannah, GA.

On Tuesday my mother came to visit and help with Carsyn. This has not been a good sleeping week for us. I don't understand my child and I suppose I never will. I "think" we might have been having some teething issues because she has been quite the fussy pants lately. Anyway we headed over to Brookhaven were I racked up on some SERIOUSLY good clearance items at Expectations and Macy Taylors. That is always fun! Then Tuesday night Danny and I got to go on a date night. We were going to try our hand at Tennis- since Danny has never played I thought I might have a smidge of a chance of not getting creamed by him. But the rain (which we gladly welcomed!) had a different plan for us so we just had a quite dinner alone with no toddler knocking over glasses or throwing fits.

Then on GLORIOUS Wednesday it rained ALL MORNING until almost 2PM. And since my mother was here to tend to Carsyn I tried to be lazy and lay in the bed watching tv with my husband who also had the day off. So it was pretty much pajama day in the Smith house. Eat, sleep, watch tv, eat again, hang out! LOVELY!

Thursday morning I took Carsyn to the Mccomb Railroad museum because our beloved Ms. Mattie was holding a special storyhour and train tour. Carsyn was in one of her fussy moods and got overwhelmed by the crowd so it didn't go so well. After lunch with the other Smiths we headed home where Carsyn took a mililsecond of a nap. It was ridiculous. And I had to take Carsyn to her 18 month check up (almost 2 months late). I am not a big fan of this clinic and this visit sealed the deal- definitely making a switch. However, I am leery to make a switch until we resolve Carsyn's records. You see, supposedly the Mobile records indicate that she didn't receive her polio vaccine so we are not sure if she got it and someone forgot to write it down or if she didn't get it at all. Lovely. The two shots she did receive were the worst she has gotten. Every time she saw the band aid she started screaming again. Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo over and over. My little belle has become quite the drama queen! While she used to not shed a tear at a fall or hurt now she makes a dramatic scene. She also gets dramatic if her daddy tells her no sternly and sometimes when I do it. but for some reason Daddy's nos hurt more.

Luckily I had Mom's Night Out that evening so I got a break! The food was terrible but the company was great and I had the best time. Hopefully next month we can have good food and good company!

And today Carsyn belle decided to start our Friday at 5:15AM. Needless to say she had to have 2 naps which is fine by me except what happens when she has to go to school one morning in 1 month and she wakes up at 5 and can't make it until 11:30. These are the things that pass through my head. I didn't even ask the Dr. about a possibility of her having sleep apnea at her visit because they always seem to make you feel stupid. Plus I know he didn't get a good look at her tonsils. I wish I had a pedi I could talk to that didn't just brush off what you felt or thought. We did enjoy lunch at the country club with Daddy and a quick swim (wout Daddy).

Mommy has lots of pictures to take this weekend and a visit to the Grandparent Smiths. Stay tuned!
BTW my new favorite thing Carsyn has started doing this week is trying to snap her fingers to songs like I do. Oh and tickling- she tickles me and daddy and says "tick tick tick". That little Belle is growing so big.

OH and I forgot to mention Pottying! Today was definitely a record- tee tee in the potty atleast 5 times and the first time to potty in public at the country club TWICE! We have had a couple of accidents on the floor beside the potty this week but that was my fault. I have got to learn some more patience...potty training is difficult for the parents too!

Ok I am gone this time.

19 months park and trip to Science museum

Carsyn turned 19months on the 11th...so I am a few days behind...as usual.




We have yet to have our 18 month check up which we will have next week- stupid Dr. offices don't even get me started.


My Carsyn Belle is quite the entertainer. She LOVES to sing. I prayed that I would have a little girl who could and would want to sing. My voice is not awful but when my mom tried to convince me to take lessons and join Choir I refused...not cool in Junior High! Now I regret it deeply and I hope that Carsyn will want to get singing lessons and enjoy it. She surely loves music as of now! I wish there was kindermusik class in Mccomb! Carsyn's latest song to sing- Ice Ice baby. HA HA! Since her favorite word is Ice at the moment and she can say Baby she loved getting to sing this chorus in the car!


We had some excitement this past weekend...our beloved Mr. Cow was almost lost forever! As I was driving down I59 with the windows rolled down I looked in my mirror and saw Mr. Cow dangling out...just as I screamed for Carsyn to put him back in out he flew onto the interstate. The drop I felt in my stomach was vocalized by Carsyn's PIERCING SCREAM!!!! I slammed on the brakes moved over to the service road and reversed all the way down the Interstate watching him get run over by car after car and even an 18wheeler! I jumped out and grabbed him up and do you know he didn't even have one scratch or dirt on him? Lucky little fella- or lucky mama!


Carsyn's car traveling abilities have advanced in leaps and bounds in the past year. When once she could only make it about 30 min before she lost it...now she travels quite nicely most of the time. This weekend on a return trip from Laurel to Mccomb (roughly 2 hrs) she did not make a peep- and awake the entire time. I did entertain her most of the time, but seriously not one PEEP!


My little chatterbox is finally starting to speak more words more clearly. We now say Thank You most of the time.

She also is obsessed with stickers and band aids- I think she thinks they are one in the same and why not they both stick to you? Anyway she runs to the bathroom every morning and gets out the band-aids and yells BO BO BO BO BO over and over wanting me to give her a band aid. She also gets stickers as a reward for going potty but somehow she is getting this mixed up and thinks she should get stickers whenever she wants.


Speaking of the potty- she has successfully gotten me and gone to the potty on her own will about 5 times to tee tee. It is definitely not consistent but I think it is great progress. She has also poo poo in the potty a couple of times but this is because I threw her on it when I noticed the signs.


As I wrote this blog I had to stop and come back of course. When I ended we headed over to a new park in Mccomb I had never been to before. It is very cute and quite. I am having visions of Carsyn's next birthday party being here, however, with a December birthday the weather is always a risk. The year she was born it was almost 80- last year it snowed on her birthday- possibly this year we can just have an average 55-60 degree day? I think I may risk it- I seem to enjoy risky behavior in December. I got married outside in December and it was a perfect 75 degree December day! Anyway here are some pics I snapped of her playing with Aunt Mo.

And also since I started this blog on Tuesday we went to Jackson and had lunch with Grandparent Smiths and to the Science Museum . We went to see the new exhibit(link previous) however Carsyn enjoyed the fish tanks and stuffed animals more. Also we lucked out and they opened the pre-school room as we were about to leave so she got to run around in there too. Watch out though- that slide is SUPER slippery! It was a wonderful outing to get out of the house for several hours.

Two heads are better than one? Yes this snake has 2 heads!

Carsyn and GreatGrandma Smith

Carsyn and 2 of her favorite men in her life.

Slippery slide!

She loved climbing on this frog!

ME and my baby!

Love turtles!

She was hilarious! Jumped right in and put her face in the circle- can you tell it is a shark's mouth? I love how her nose is smashed against the plastic.

Aww

She makes my heart melt

Top 10 Ways my Carsyn Belle makes my heart melt...

When she reaches out to hold my hand... it is sooo tiny.
When she sings Jesus Loves Me along with me at bedtime.
When she runs up and hugs and kisses me when singing I love you- you love me- we're a happy family....
When she makes the snoring noise to let me know she wants to read "Goodnight Gorilla" at bedtime
When she licks her fingers to turn the page in the book like mommy does
When she clears her throat repeatedly while reading bedtime books- apparently I do that often?
When she runs to the door and yells "DAY- DAY" for our dog Trey to come inside
When she acts out the words in a book
When she says "NUMMY NUMMY NUMMY" when she sees food or I am preparing her meal
When she dances...all the time...:)

Adventures of Potty Training

So our 4th of July holiday was pretty uneventful. Nonny came up and we headed over to the Country Club to swim and eat lunch. They had lots of fun activities set up including the same inflatable slides and sprinklers like at Dawne's church we had been to. It amazes me that the child who throws a fit in the bathtub when she gets her hair washed also threw a fit to go up on this BIG inflatable slide and go down into the water TWICE! With me of course! It was actually a little scary in my mind because it is pretty steep climbing that ladder while also holding onto your almost 19month old. No fireworks for us this year maybe she will be able to stay up to watch them next year but probably not!

The main news that has been going on in this household is potty training. I had said previously that I would let Carsyn lead me and well she is taking the reigns. Last week she went to the potty all by herself. I heard the ladder clinking on the potty and by the time I made it down the hall she was hollering at me to come in. I thought she was just climbing up there as usual with no intentions but to my amazement I heard the tinkle tinkle in the potty! This has been our last successful trip since last week although we have teeteed and poopooed several times on the floor! BLAH! Anyway she is breaking my wallet with the diapers and pullups because she now thinks the slightest wetness deserves a new diaper. Sooo I think I am pushing foward and going to try to speed this process up. She HATES HATES to wear her diaper so I went ahead and bought her some big girl panties. I am sure there are lots of yucky messes in my future but I am going to see how this goes! Maybe since I didn't luck out on a good sleeping baby this will be my easy battle!


I snapped this one earlier- Mommy instincts start early ;)
God Bless America the home that I love!

Perhaps waiting for a parade to come by?

TTFN! :)

Cousin Olympia and a date night

Since I am the oldest grandchild on the Elchos side almost by 10 years for most, except Allysa, I often think of the cousins as more of my nieces and nephews. One cousin in particular, Olympia, I have always had a connection. We were very close when she was a baby and toddler. She was 5 when she was one of my flower girls in my wedding and as I was walking down the aisle she turned to the lady holding my train and said "THAT's MY COUSIN" with such pride. It was so sweet. I have the cutest picture where she is looking up at me while we are dancing but I do not have a scanner to show you. Anyway fast forward 4 years and I have not gotten to see much of her since I started my own family. When we left the Coast last week I asked her if she wanted to come up with us to Mccomb for a few days.

My thoughts were -1st I would get to spend time with her since I have neglected her the past few years. And 2nd she could play with Carsyn and help me out a little! Well let me tell you #1 I definitely achieved because apparently Olympia presumed I would be her devoted playmate for 3 days 24/7 I am NOT exaggerating. And well #2 while she did help me out from time to time the foreshadowing of what having 2 children would be like scared me to death! This child wanted to be outside playing ball in the 100 degree heat all day! I feel I disappointed her in my lack of playing ability that I once had when I was 18. And usually when Carsyn naps that is my 1 hr of solitude but not while Olympia was here..nope we HAD to be doing something at all times! NO tv watching for her. Finally on the last day before I took her back I was able to entertain her with less energetic activities. We went and bought her a couple of outfits and had a photoshoot where she got to be silly in front of the camera.

So while I know it wouldn't be exactly the same as if she were my own it definitely made me REALLY think about whether I could deal with 2! But then again when I saw Carsyn and her cousin Gracie(6) playing so sweetly the other day it did shine a brighter light on the idea. Oh well I guess it is in God's hands and we shall see what the future holds.

Well on Tuesday I headed to Hattiesburg to meet my dad to switch Olympia. While I was there I had arranged with my mom to leave Carsyn with her for the night so that Danny and I could have date night and I could recoup from the last few days and get a few hours to myself plus some sleep make-up. I can't lie I was soooo excited to get to be by myself for 24 hrs...is that bad? I figured if Carsyn wasn't going to sleep at home she might as well not sleep for her Nonny! But of course she did...yes 7:45-6 with only one cry out at 4AM in the pack n play. Anyway I spent my time playing on the Internet, reading my new Southern Living, eating by myself, and going to dinner and movie with my husband. It was the first movie we have been to since November! We saw The Proposal and it was one of the best movies I have seen in a long long time! Danny felt the same and even though he is a fan of chickflicks I think most any guy would get a kick out of it. We will definitely be purchasing this one for the movie archives.

Since I returned from picking up Carsyn on Wed we have been quite lazy and trying to stay cool in the AC. I can't remember a more hot and humid summer than this one. And the rain- could we please get some of that?! My water billed doubled this month trying to keep the landscaping alive!

Carsyn (like her father) has become addicted to eating ice. She runs around the kitchen yelling "I" "I" "I" until I give her a cup with just ice. Also she has started eating lettuce which I find odd for an almost 19 month old but also Salad is her father's favorite food.

AND THE BIG news update.....last night I heard her climb up on her ladder and before I got to the bathroom she started hollering. She was trying to get her pull-ups/diaper off. I took it off and she sat there. Now she has been just sitting on it for a few weeks now but has yet to go in it. Usually she goes and gets on it after she has already gone in her diaper. So I waited and nothing happened so I went to get her off and she fussed wanting to stay on. And then a few moments later I heard the tinkle...my baby had gone to the potty by herself! I think these are pretty big advancements and I have made our goal to be trained set for September when she starts her half day preschool. She will be 21 months at this point.

Okay until next time! Have a safe 4th! We have no big plans so we will see what the weekend unfolds for us!