Thanksgiving in Rockwall

Saturday morning we headed out again - Carli's feet never touched the floor in our house that day! We got up and got ready to go and got her straight from her bed to the car seat - she was okay with that b/c we bribed her with milk and goldfish, a baby's dream! Our 1.5 hr drive to Rockwall was a piece of cake and we meet up with Naggy, Pappy and Uncle Kevin for breakfast at IHOP.

After breakfast, Carli had some bonding time with everyone while Keith and I set out on a mission to find Yo Baby Drinkable Yogurt - we were successful and very proud of ourselves! :)

While we were gone, Carli wooed Uncle Kevin into feeding her more goldfish...

With our mission complete it was time to join the rest of the family and start in on our second Thanksgiving celebration. I did a horrible job of picture taking. I was a bit tired and out of it most of the day - but we did manage to get the few important pics: Carli with Naggy and Carli with Pappy!

We had this feast at Emily and Nathan's house in Rockwall, and Carli had a blast with all the new toys. I wish I could say she and her two year old cousin, Isabella, hit it off and played wonderfully together - but alas it was not to be. They wanted each other's toys and even the ppl they were playing with. After a little while, a truce was reached and everyone pretty much just entertained themselves...we were able to snag on picture of the girls together:

We once again headed home at bedtime and Carli had her bath at the hotel before we hit the road. We got home by 9:45 and put Carli straight to bed - her feet never even hit the ground! Thanks so much to Emily and Nathan for sharing their home and to Aunt Sarah for all the food! It was wonderful to see everyone!

Thanksgiving Christmas

This year on Thanksgiving Day, we headed to Waco to celebrate Thanksgiving Christmas with my family. We got up Thursday morning, seriously scooped Carli up out of her bed and put her in the car seat and off we went! Carli did really well on our 3 hr drive - she read books, drank her milk and sang the first two hours.

After two hours she had had enough and thankfully we were in Fairfield. So we made a pit stop at Aunt Carolyn's and let her play a bit with her cousins Jake & Allison and of coarse their puppy dog, Miley. After running some extra energy off, and getting a frantic call from Pa to hurry up and come rescue him! Logan was wearing him out - we loaded back up again, and took Allison and Jake with us and off we went!

Thanksgiving Christmas is when we celebrate our family Christmas at Thanksgiving. Only the little kids get presents and the adults do a Chinese Gift Exchange. I got the best gift in that deal - a basket full of snickers - mmmmm! Nobody even tried to steal a basket full of chocolate from the pregnant lady! Carli had a great time, she got some books (which she loves), some money, candy and look below - she got hooked up with a 4-wheeler AKA the Vroom-Vroom as she calls it!

She seriously was little Ms. Social. She loved Logan's playroom and all his books. She had just brought Uncle Andy a book to read and was sitting there so nice and sweet and then I tried to get a picture and off she went...go figure. One day I'll get a picture of the two of them together!

Allison was the best little baby sitter. I seriously thought I had the day off! She didn't need any help from me and kept Carli quite busy the whole day! The only time she came to get me was when Carli discovered the dog bowls and was soaked from head to toe with water - and I'm pretty sure had a few bites before I got there! :)

Overall - we had an awesome Thanksgiving Day - Carli had an absolute blast! We only made a day trip, but really it wasn't too shabby. We spent Friday working outside and Carli enjoyed her new Vroom-Vroom!

Carli Speaks Gorilla

Keith has taught Carli another animal sound!

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Yearly Hair Cut

Yep, I did it - I finally got my hair cut. One year ago, almost to the day - was when I last had my hair cut. Most of the time I prefer my hair long b/c I can throw it in a pony tail and be on my way. And with a normal pregnancy, my hair should quit falling out and grow even longer! But alas, I like to do things differently and my hair is coming out by the handfuls and driving me nuts! So, off I went to get it cut and layers so it would not be so thick. I'm not the best picture taker, but I got a cute picture buddy!

Saturday Morning - Before

Peek-A-Boo!
Sunday Morning - After
(The sun was in our faces)

Back view

The lady swore she would fix it for me curly, but it was straight...weird. I do think I have lost some of my curl in two pregnancies - you never know what you had until it is gone!!

The Best Alarm Clock

Saturday mornings Keith and I take turns. Who ever gets up early with Carli gets to go back to bed later that morning when Carli goes down for her nap. Keith got up this morning - and my little alarm clock came banging on the bedroom at 7:45 demanding that I get up! Who could resist this face?

It must be the 13's

What a week it has been. It seems that things just keep needing to get done, but no extra time appears in the day for me to get it all accomplished. Or rather, the energy just isn't there to get it all done! Granted this week has been my most challenging in dealing with a 13 month old and being 13 weeks pregnant - it must be the 13 thing. I had my fair chance to have a pity party but Grammy rescued all involved on Tuesday and I've decided to find the good in the chaos - why not?

Tuesdays *Positive* Thoughts:

• I got to take a morning nap when Carli took her nap - even if it was just 20 minutes long.
• Carli and I got to eat lunch with Keith before we headed to Alto & Carli slept in the truck all the way to Alto and thus we avoided WWIII of nap taking away from home.
• I forgot my wallet, Keith just gave me a peck on your check and his debit card so I wouldn't be without cash.
• I then lost the debit card on an emergency trip to the store to get a Dr. Pepper and Snickers, and when I gathered up the courage to give him a call and break the news to him, he just laughs at me and says it will be okay. (Probably helps that Keith rarely gets angry at anyone.)
• Grammy finds the debit card in the truck within minutes of surviving the dreaded call, we are all relieved - but still owe Grammy $5 for the gas she put in the truck so we could get home!
• Crashed Grammy's UIL practice after school b/c I just needed to get out and she took Carli while I watched little munchkins take their practice test - really, I just sit there and did nothing. It was nice.
• Grammy helped me finish my work, find a debit card and told us it would all be okay even after she had a crazy day too, thank goodness for Grammy's!

Other "Obvious" Positives

• Carli thinks standing on the couch is funny and even more so if you tell her to sit down sternly. It seriously cracks her up!
• Grandma, Pawpaw, and Aunt Carolyn came by to visit yesterday. We were very happy to see them all. Carli sit in Grandma's lap and sang Bye-O-Baby with her.
• I got to go to the chiropractor yesterday, a must when pregnant!
• I can't stand whining, it drives me nuts! Carli is slowly learning a little sign language that is helping get rid of some of her frustrated whining. So far we have accomplished: More, Please and All Done.
• I think I'm going to cut my hair off. I've defeated all the odds of being pregnant and my hair is falling out in handfuls...I can't take it any more!!
• Morning Sickness (All day sickness for me) is pretty much passed! Woohoo! As long as I eat every two to three hours, we are all happy!
• Sunday mornings are the hardest on the nausea and I forgot to bring a snack to have in class so I wouldn't get sick, but our good friends Kori and David brought donuts to class! Woohoo! Awesome!
• I came home from the grocery store with powdered donuts and Promise Land Chocolate Milk and had absolutely no regrets eating it for breakfast all week!
• If you tell Carli we are going to change her diaper, there is a 50/50 chance she will walk into her room to her changing pad.
• If you get her on the changing pad there is a 50/50 chance when you ask her to lay down, she will!
• We have been truly blessed that although we found out we bought a "lemon" of a car, the dealership is picking it up today and we are only out our time and frustration. That I can handle!
• Big thanks to Grammy and Pa for the use of the reliable "Hooptie" until we find another vehicle. Sure makes life easier!

And do you know what one of the best things in the world is? Clean sheets and shaved legs...makes any "challenging" day so much better! :)

No Words Needed...

Fall Leaves

Last Saturday it was so nice outside that all three of us headed out to enjoy the weather. Keith was going to "work" in the garage and Carli and I were just going to play. We had lots of leaves in the front yard, so I grabbed the rake and made a pile for Carli. She walked around it, she ignored it, she even added one leaf at a time to the pile. Finally after about an hour, she ventured over and figured out that it was kind of fun to play in a big pile of leaves!

When Carli got tired of the leaves, she wanted to go help Daddy in the garage. She thought it was really funny to crawl all over his block of wood and saw as he tightened bolts...

Couch - Check

Carli has conquered climbing the couch on her own. She doesn't do it often but this weekend she did it when we asked so we could capture it on video. Our couches sit a bit low to the ground, so she has that advantage. Her trick is to get her belly above the cushion and then she can swing her legs up on the couch. Pretty cute. Keith got her to do it the first time and said she turned around and walked right off the couch! He caught her and the next time she got up there he got her to turn around and lower herself down like she does on her poof chair.

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Crazy Baby!

Every Saturday or Sunday evening I usually make the weekly trek up to the grocery store and Carli and Keith stay home. A few weeks ago I walked in from one of these trips to hear Keith saying "Woo-woo" followed by Carli saying "wee-wee!" and Keith dying in laughter. It was pretty funny! So the next week I get back from the grocery store to hear Keith asking Carli, "Are you a crazy baby?" to which Carli responded by shaking her head back and forth and grinning. Every since then, crazy baby will pop up at the most random times. She will do it on command and sometimes I just glance in the rear view mirror and she's just shaking her head like crazy grinning from ear to ear and sometimes she adds to it by kicking her legs. ha! Yep, we teach her important life skills!

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Lemons and Stitches

We've been busy this week and a little stressed, but have survived thus far.

We discovered on Sunday that our Ford Certified Mountaineer was a lemon...well, not that bad, but it definitely was not qualified to be certified. Back in Sept, we sold our Volvo and found this 08 Mountaineer online at a dealership in the metroplex. We basically bought it sight unseen b/c it was Ford Certified which means it was as close to new as you could get! It had low miles, leather seats and a 3rd row. Originally, I had wanted a Volvo XC90, but they are way more expensive and this car had everything we needed. After, over a month of dealing with mishaps from the dealership not filling out paperwork right, sending the car back once to fix a misaligned door and other fun stuff. We had decided to file a complaint against the dealership and took the car to our Mechanic (an awesome guy) to have him look things over "just in case." I really expected him to find a few minor things...but he came back with disappointing news. Rust on the undercarriage, gouges in the seat, leaks under the hood, bad tires, need new brake pads...and the list just goes on. Very disappointing and frustrating. Thankfully, the dealership is stepping up - Keith is talking to them again today. We are not keeping this car - it will come down to if we get our money back or if they find us another vehicle. I have mixed feelings about trusting them...but decided that I was a bit emotional given the hormones...so I am leaving it up to Keith. Send up a prayer for us if you think about it. We are blessed that the dealership is stepping up and trying to make things right and that we are not stuck with a vehicle that was not worth what we paid for it. And that is how our week begin!

Monday afternoon, I was scheduled to have my birthmark taken off. I had put it off a long time. I even played the "but I'm pregnant" card and my OB had no sympathy and told me to have it taken off. Bummer. It was in the shape of a diamond and at it's widest point was as tall as a quarter and about as long as the short side of a credit card...not sure that makes sense...but it was large. It had changed during my pregnancy with Carli so it had to go. My one defining mark...gone. :( I really was kind of sad. The surgery part didn't scare me as much as the shot they give you to numb it up. I had had that shot in the bottom of my foot more than once and it hurt, it hurt bad. Apparently that is one of the worst spots to get such a shot in...and the back really wasn't bad. So I survived. Two hours, 20 inner stitches and 14 external stitches my birthmark was gone. They only let me take Tylenol for pain...and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I am surviving. It feels like there is a huge ball on my back, but we rebandaged it last night and it looked really good - no excessive bleeding which is what the doc was concerned with. I go back in two weeks to "see" about have the external stitches removed.

So - thus has been our week thus far. It's been fun! Thank goodness for Aunt Carolyn who came and watched Carli for us while I had my surgery. They had a blast! And thanks to Dad for all his advise on the car situation. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful support system!

Have a Happy Hump Day!

Just a Long Hot Shower!

Once upon a time, I took my showers at night. Then I had Carli and for about 6 months...it was give or take if I got a shower in. Sometimes it would be at 3 am just b/c Carli was awake and refused to go back to sleep and she liked to hear the water running and it helped me stay awake! Now-a-days, I still don't take my showers at night b/c usually I am falling into bed completely exhausted. So, I take them in the morning.

Carli has gotten really good at entertaining herself these days. She climbs, she plays, she reads to herself...so we put a small basket of toys in the bathroom for her and I take my shower while Carli plays. Like any smart little 13 month old, baby toys will not suffice and she goes on the search for something better...

Caught in the act...

Is that what I think it is?
Yep - you guessed it.

For the first time in I don't even know how long, I took a nice long, hot shower in total silence! I enjoyed it, but never really relaxed glancing out of the shower door trying to figure out what she was doing that was keeping her so busy. Yes, she found the feminine supplies and she emptied the whole drawer - in Daddy's closet on top of that! It took me a good 15 minutes to get it all put back up - but Keith was still pulling tampons out of his laundry hamper this morning...oops!

Peek-A-Boo

Carli loves glass. She likes to press her face against it and peer to the other side. Tuesday she discovered that the entertainment center had a door with glass and so begin our game of Peek-A-Boo!

Pug Nose!

Ha ha!
Can you see me?
I do clean the glass, but after 5 minutes of Peek-A-Boo it looks quite smudgy!

Funny Face...

Did you see me?!

Here we go again!

Fort Worth Zoo

After we spent Saturday of last weekend sharing our news, we took Carli to the zoo Sunday after church. Just like with the pumpkin patch, we had a really hard time getting a picture of her smiling b/c she was in complete awe of everything she was seeing. It was fun, we will have to go visit the zoo more often! **Lots of pics to follow**

Whoa - Look at the monkey!

Uncle Kevin was a HUGE help in carrying Carli around...
She really loved the elephants!

Pretty close to a smile! She was actually talking about the elephant.

See Naggy? We did A LOT of pointing!

What's that?

Very serious!

She did stay in the stroller a little - flamingos!

Uncle Kevin took Carli on the carousal.

Waiting for the train...

Mommy was there!

One of my favorite! ha!

So was Daddy - Carli was too busy to smile!

Look Pappy!