Potato Balls

Carli thinks potatoes are balls. So yesterday at Grandma's she found a whole basket full of potato balls. So we took them in the living room to show Pawpaw and keep her entertained. She dumped them out and put them up. She gave them kisses, she threw them and well, she sat on them and thought that was hilarious too!

Pinkie Update

This morning we got up to find a whiny baby with a 101 fever. Great way to start the day. We are praying that this is just related to her teeth - heaven knows if we say that enough, she just might get one! She refused to eat, I got her some Tylenol and she was back asleep within an hour. When she got up the second time, her fever had gone down a bit and she actually played a little, but still she wouldn't eat.

At 11:45 we saw our hand doctor. We were kind of dreading this appt b/c we were afraid they would have to put her in the Papoose thing (straight jacket for babies) in order to do anything with her hand. We were pleasantly surprised that Carli just screamed in protest (not pain) and let them cut the cast off. And then, when the doctor came in, she just yelled at him the whole time while he cut the stitches out. She never screamed like she was in pain. The cute and kind of pitiful thing is, that she was perfectly fine until she looked at her pinkie and then she would start crying. He said we didn't have to cover it up or bandage it that it would be okay - but after having to talk over the frequent crying fits Carli was having every time she saw her pinkie, he bandaged it up like a mitten and told us to do that as needed until she got okay with things.

So, the finger doesn't look as bad as I imagined. It wasn't a perfectly straight cut - rather, it was at an angle. So it went under her nail bed, but then came up so that she still actually has a lot of the pad of her pinkie. It makes sense now why she didn't get any bone and why they are so confident that it will grow back.

He also said that it shouldn't cause her much pain even if she falls on it. It might hurt a little, but she has to go through that in order for it to heal and such - that we can't keep her in a cast the whole time b/c it wouldn't heal really well and would take longer.

We go back in three weeks for him to take a look. Right now, the only unknown is whether or not her nail will grow back.

So, we got home and Carli was asleep so I got her in the bed. Within an hour she was awake and pitiful. So I got her up and tried to get her to eat to no avail. She just wanted to be held. She slept for 2 hrs on my chest - it was hot afternoon for me. She did okay the rest of the evening and Daddy stayed long enough to help us with our first bath without any bandages on the hand. She did just fine as long as she didn't look at it. When she did, she cried. Keith had a softball game at 8:20 and Carli was in bed by 7:45.

No pics tonite...we spent the afternoon snoozing and were in no mood to be photographed. Send up some prayers for our Carli - that she gets use to her little pinkie and that it heals quickly. And that pls, let this fever be related to her teeth and she start eating for us...big party this wkd, can't have our guest of honor ill!

Dancing

Naggy and Pappy sent Carli a "Thinking of You" card in the mail. She LOVES it! It sings to her and she carrys it around dancing when she has it. In this video, she brought the card to me to open it for her (excuse the talking in the background, we were doing a mtg for wk too). Thanks Naggy and Pappy for the awesome card, Carli loves it!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just Like Logan

Carli's cousin Logan loves his shoes. First thing in the morning, he has to get his shoes on. Carli really has never worn shoes much. When she was little, her foot was so small, at 6 months she could still wear newborn shoes. Now we are moving on and are in Size 2/3 but she only will wear her Sunday sandals and crocs. After breakfast this morning we were playing in the floor and she picked up her pink crocs and brought them to me. I wasn't sure if she really wanted them on, but she sat right down and stuck her foot up for me to put them on! She has worn her crocs nearly all day, just like Cousin Logan!

Climbing, Climbing, Climbing

Carli is going to be a climber - no doubt. Obviously her curious tendency is what led to our purple cast but that incident did not slow her down in the least. The other night Keith and Carli were "wrestling" on the floor when Carli figured out she could use her Daddy as a step up to the couch. Of coarse when I got the camera out she quite using his foot to get on the couch and thought she could "will" herself up without help.

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Did you notice her tongue in the last part of the video? That is her current "thing." She walks around with her tongue out jabbering away...she's a mess. And as Keith said earlier in the video - she didn't learn from her fight with the stool - Little Miss No Fear! Apparently, she is a bit stubborn and determined - someone said she got that from me...I dunno what they are talking about!

New Cast Pictures

**Finally got the rest of the July pictures on her picture site, as well as all of August.**

Carli with her Daddy before going to see the Pedi - they both look thrilled!

Carli - how do you feel about the whole situation...

Notice how blurred this picture is? It's b/c the child never, never slows down! It was the best we could get! She walked around the exam room talking and sticking her tongue out. It was pretty cute.


I tried to get a pic of her new cast when we got home, but she either wouldn't let me put her down or was going 90-to-nothing. There was no in between. So, I did a video instead. This one minute pretty much sums up what Carli does all day...

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Carli's Finger

This morning Carli woke me up at 6 a.m. Sweet child of mine. She had slept all night and was ready to tackle the day. We loaded up to go to the pediatrician at 9:15. Of coarse they had to work us in, but they did and Carli did good. With her heavy little cast she weighed 19.2 lbs. Heavy one she is. They made us take off the bandages, and Keith wouldn't let me look at her finger. Carli did fine as long as it was just Keith and I but she knew who the doctor was and was so not happy to see her! Our pedi is awesome - she looked it over and said to hang tight that they were going to try to get us in to see a hand orthopedic surgeon. Carli just played contentedly after the doctor left. I did get a glance at her pinkie - it wasn't pretty.

By 11:15 we were off to see the specialist - we went right in pretty much and he was good. He said that he was really surprised that the Rusk E.R. doc sewed her finger back on and didn't send her to Tyler to have a hand surgeon do it - but that the guy did a really good job. I think he said that like four times. Carli screamed any time anyone looked at her finger but it was a "GET AWAY FROM ME!" cry and not one of pain.

He told us that she would lose the tip of her finger. The good news is that it will probably grow back - the only thing that might not come back is her nail. We can live with that. No surgery, no infection - not too bad. Thank the Lord that her bone was not affected! If it had been we would have been in Dallas scheduling surgeries. So, in a week we will go back and get her stitches out of her finger. At that point, the tip may come off or it may not. He didn't really say what the next coarse of action would be. He just said for now, we would put a cast on her and let nature do it's thing.

So Carli has a pretty awesome purple cast! It is a bit smaller than the club she was sporting earlier. She even uses it more than the other. She took an amazing nap this afternoon and besides being a little clingy the afternoon was good.

We did figure out what #3 on our catastrophe list was - Carli's antibiotic has given her tummy problems and a major horrible diaper rash. I feel so bad for her. Her tummy just cramps up - I think I changed 5 dirty diapers this afternoon alone. She is really fidgety tonite and has woken up three times already. May be a long night...

No pictures tonite - got lots to do - and I wish I was sleeping! Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement. Pls continue to pray for Carli has she still has some major recovery to do!

One Year Ago...

I should have been having a baby...but alas, she made us wait 10 more days.

Today - to celebrate her due date anniversary, we are headed to the pedi to get her finger checked out to make sure there is no infection. Then she will hopefully refer us to a specialist to see what we will do next. Will keep everyone posted.

Things come in sets of 3's right? So, Carli had her accident, our garage door attempted to fold in half today and is now broken...what could be next? I hope it doesn't cost any money - b/c we'd be out of luck at this rate! ha!

Hello E.R.

Well, our Saturday didn't quite go as planned. We are thankful for our family, we are thankful for our little girl and we are ever so thankful that in 11 months, this is the first major catastrophe we have had. Today, Carli made her first trip to the E.R. And when she does booboo, she does it big.

This morning we headed off to Alto. Keith was going to do a little work and Carli and I were going to play with Logan. It was an awesome arrangement from Carli and I's point of view. The morning was great. The kiddos had fun and they played so good together. Logan is learned "Yes, Sir/Ma'am" and "No, Sir/Ma'am" and he is so funny!

We had an awesome lunch cooked by Grammy. It was really, really good. Carli even ate well - she has been on a food does not interest her kick. So I was pleased that meat and veggies were disappearing off her plate. She finished before everyone else and wanted down to play. So we let her down and off she went talking and playing. Mom and Dad were eating at the bar, sitting on stools and keeping an eye on Carli as she walked this way and that. Dad got up to help with something at the table and Carli decided she should take his spot at the bar stool - only the bar stool would have none of that. It tumbled on top of her before Grammy could grab it or Carli. At first we thought we just had a bloody nose. After all, what damage could a lightweight stool inflict - but we were so so wrong. Finally we figured out that Grammy was covered in blood and it was coming from Carli's left pinkie. Uncle Andy took a look and declared we should leave for the E.R.

Yes, I broke the law. Yes, I held my baby close singing in her ear and trying not to cry with her all the way to the E.R. Grammy and Pa were awesome. When we got there, they had called ahead and we were whisked back to the room. It took a long time though for them to determine what to do. Thankfully, no bone was involved. It somehow severed her finger just below the finger nail all the way around. After calling a specialist in Dallas - they determined it just needed to be sewn back on and bandaged up and hope for the finger to heal itself.

Logan was very concerned about Carli and we visited through the reception window a few times to help Carli get her mind off what was happening and well, us too.

Carli really did well. All they gave her was some Tylenol when we got there.

Talking with Logan, Pa and Uncle Andy through the window.

I admit I got really, really frustrated b/c it was taking so long. I called our pedi and got some nurse in Dallas. But props to them as they were very nice and they called the local pedi on call and he in turn talked to the local Tyler orthopedic guy who reassured us that they E.R. was doing all they could. That helped my attitude a little...but still it didn't fix it.

Keith and Pa stayed in the back when they actually started the stitching. I couldn't take it. They had her in a papoose thing where she couldn't move and she screamed the whole time. My heart broke in 100 pieces. It took 30 minutes or so to do 4 stitches. They got it stitched back on and put her little fist in a ball and then gave her a "mini" cast.

We are going to call our pedi first thing Monday and go in to see her. Then hopefully she will get us in the see a pediatric orthopedic something or other so they can double check everything and make sure there isn't anything more that can be done. Also, maybe they will give a more permanent cast so that I don't freak out so much with her attempting to walk.

We got her meds and got home around 8 pm. She did eat and was very happy to see her puppies. Got her a spit bath and to bed in the strangest PJ outfit we could find that would fit over her cast. We had to cut off the onesie she had worn.

Please send up some prayers for our little girl. Nothing hurts worse than not being able to fix what hurts her so badly. Please pray that her little finger will heal and she not be in any pain. We are very thankful that it didn't involve her bone and we are very thankful that she still flashes us a huge smile and gives wet kisses tonite after all she went through. God is good - and we know that He will bless her, no matter the outcome.

Our Kitchen Helper

We go to work in Alto every Tuesday and Thursday. This past week, Aunt Betty was there also. We were helping Grandma clean up after lunch and Carli decided that she needed to help. Aunt Betty turned her back to get some dishes out of the sink and when she turned back, guess what she found! We finally had to give up on the dishwasher and just rinse dishes for them to put in after Carli and I left. Carli thought the dishwasher at Grandma's was pretty fun!

HONK!

If you have a nose! Carli loves to honk your nose and thinks it is hilarious if you honk her's back!

Carli's New Ball

We had Carli's pictures taken on Labor Day at Sears and brought some balloons with us for them. We have had one of those balloons in the house ever since and Carli has pointed to it and called it ball but hasn't really shown any interest in it. Well, since she has decided that walking is a piece of cake, her new favorite ball is no longer Chuy's tennis ball, it is her purple balloon! It was quite impressive that she just strolled around the living room with the thing that was almost as big as she was! Also, trying to get good pictures of a walking 11 month old is not easy to do!

She loves her balloon so much, she gives it kisses as she walks, now that is talent!

Taking off...

Carli has been "walking" since August 18th - but this wkd was the first time she just took off. She spent the whole wkd just waddling around. It was pretty funny. She'd go get a puff, one in each hand, walk over to her daddy and eat them then go back for more. She wore us both out just watching her! She only got more confident and daring as the weekend wore on! More on that later - here is a picture of Ms. Carli on Sunday morning before church. We pulled off the mini pony tail again!

Rocking on the Porch

These two crack me up. They have a special bond that is pretty awesome. Pawpaw has been taking Carli out on the porch while I help Grandma clean up after dinner. Usually she walks around holding his finger chasing cats. Yesterday, she decided or rather, Pawpaw decided that Carli should sit on the porch and rock with him. They are a funny pair!

Woof!

We finally got Carli "barking" on camera. Just this week, she has really started responding to her "Baby Can Read" books and videos...it is kind of fun! :) Not all the time, but she has done the following at least 3 times:

- Nodded Yes, to the word yes on the video
- Lifted her arms, to show the word arm or if asked where her arms are
- Woofed at a picture of a dog (this includes the Weight Watcher mascot, she thinks he is a dog on TV).
- Put her hands on her head, toes, and ears when shown those words.

Like I said, she doesn't always do it, but small progress! It is really fun! She will go get he "dog" book when asked. Her new favorite word is "ball" - and that includes anything round, including cantaloupe and balloons!


(Facebook friends, you will have to come to the blog to actually see the video)

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Our First Pony Tail

Well, you can kind of see it. It took a miracle to get her to stay still long enough to put the clear rubberband in, but once we got it in it held pretty well and we were able to add a bow. She left the bow alone all day! We just put her to bed, without a bath as she fell asleep in the car and was down for the count. I took the bow and rubberband out and she had a nice little Alfalfa spike going on! Kind of looked like one of the little munchkin looking babies off of the The Grinch Stole Christmas. ha! Didn't get a picture of that - her staying asleep was way more important!

Safe, Reliable, Stylish

Whatever could I be talking about? Volvie of coarse. Our Volvo S60 is up for sale. We love good 'ol Volvie, but we have out grown him. The older Carli is getting, the more of a challenge it is to get her in and out of the back seat! Volvie has as much room as those new Ford Edges - how do I know this, well, we test drove those Edges and they look pretty cool but have as much room as good 'ol Volvie. So if you are in need of a good looking, reliable car that gets pretty good gas mileage, hit us up! Volvo's are known for the amazing safety and reliability. Did you know the average Volvo lasts 17.5 years and past 250,000 miles! We have started the price out at $7,500 but are more than willing to negotiate. Pass along the word, give us a little help! Here are Volvie's details:

Year: 2002
Model: S60
Condition: Good Used
Body: Sedan
Title: Clear
Exterior: Black
Cylinders: 5 - Cyl.

Interior: Tan
Transmission: Automatic

Mileage: 92,000

Economy: City 24 MPG / Highway 34 MPG

To see pics: Pics of Volvie

Tutu Much Fun!

Carli and I had some fun this afternoon - trying to decide if we want to pay for pictures or just do our own for the Big '1'!

Eat a leaf or Smile?

Here ya go Momma! Try it out!
It's a funny tasting leaf!

Not sure who she was waving to!

CHEESE!

Enough of this!

One of my favorites!

Really Mom, come'on!

Okay - I'll smile!

How Can I Help You?

Carli got to spend a good hour and a half with her Daddy at work yesterday while I went to the doctor. She had a blast and thoroughly entertained everyone!

Carli's Namesake

Carli is very lucky to get to see her great grandparents twice a week. My Pawpaw's memory isn't so hot these days, but what is very cool is that he knows I should have Carli with me. He might not remember that Carli is a girl or even her name. But when I pull up, if he is on the porch he always comes out to help me. And by help, I mean he usually goes for Carli and leaves me with the other stuff! Carli is always happy to see him and give him a big grin. They go in the house and say hi to Grandma and Pawpaw tells Carli she must weigh a ton! ha!

I tried to get a good picture of them sitting out on the porch yesterday. You thought getting a baby's attention was hard - try getting the baby's attention and Pawpaw's too!

Kind of got them both looking my direction...it was a fleeting moment!

I LOVE this one! It's like they are both saying - "What does she want us to do?"
Carli's not smiling, but Pawpaw is and his face says it all!

Yep - Carli is a very, very lucky gal.