"Good Times Never Seemed So Good"

This past week has been a lot of ups and downs in the Weiss household.  For me, personally, I am trying to find balance and contentment.  I really love all the components of our life: I love my job and I enjoy working, I am grateful for a home that isn't burdensome on our wallet each month, an amazing daughter who I just can't get enough of, two reliable cars that also don't burn a whole in our pocket (although I think we did just put $400 into the Impala...came out from work at 1am last week with a flat tire--rim touching cement--turns out the alignment was WAY off and tires that had 20k miles left on them needed to be replaced...but we don't need to talk about how frightening that was), sunny weather (it's HOT here), lots to do with Disney just down the road, etc, etc.  BUT, the kicker for me is that although each component of our life is great, somehow it doesn't all work together the way I wished it did.  But that's where I need to be content.  I want to love the stage that we are in...someday I will likely look back on this time of our lives and wish I could come back.  I just find myself yearning for the normalcy that so many families have.  It's been two years since we had a weekend off (not including vacations) and two years since we've had a holiday off (minus Easter this year).  I know there are plenty of families who are in the same boat as us year after year, but not the families I grew up surrounded by.  It's tough not being able to have outings with other families on a Saturday afternoon, and especially hard to go to church alone each week.  Sometimes I just don't go because it makes me too sad.  It's always been hard going 3 days without seeing Brian, and each week I wish we had a few more evenings together.  I wish we could put Carly to bed at 8pm like normal families and have an hour to spend as a couple, but if we did that we would be sabotaging my ability to perform at a level I need to at work (because let's face it, she can't get up everyday at 5am when I don't got to sleep until 2am).  Contentment.  I'm working on it.

Miss Carly has also had kind of a crazy week.  I measured her this morning and she is 25 inches long and 12 pounds (although I'm probably not as accurate as the doctor)!  Goodbye to more clothes!  She has been a tough cookie this week.  Nap time isn't going near as smoothly as it did last week.  She is fighting and screaming every time we lay her down.  What's the deal, hunny?!  For 3 weeks she went down like a champ and now she decides she doesn't want to?  Also...the 10 hour nights have gone bye-bye for the time being.  I know they will come back, but the last 3 nights have only been 8 hour nights.  Bummer.  We have increased the amount of milk we give her before bedtime but that doesn't seem to make a difference.  Being the parent of a newborn is so much trial and error!  Another change is that all of a sudden she is fine in the car.  Every time we've been in the car this week (which as been a lot) she has fallen asleep before we even get onto the interstate.  I just don't get it.  The other thing that has thrown us off is her ability to be smiling one second and burst into tears the next.  It's a new cry...not tired, not hungry, not a bored whine.  We think it just means that she is tired of looking at us and needs some time alone.  Still, though, its weird.  So this week has been a bit frustrating but that's part of having a baby.  I'm sure next week we will settle into a new phase and run with that for a few weeks until she changes it again.

But there really have been more "ups" than "downs" this week.  We have had a little adventure every day.  Monday we just hung out before I went to work, Tuesday Daddy was home so that was the day we celebrated our anniversary (Oh...I have to say...Brian's Uncle Dick & Aunt Crystal had sent us a card, too...I just hadn't been on my email to see it...so Brian's family officially rocks at remembering special occasions), Wednesday we went to Adam & Amanda's for small group and met a new couple who is having a little boy in September!  Thursday we had a play date with some gals from church.  Here is Carly with her friend, Issac.  Issac was born 9 days after Carly, and his mom (Jenny) and I looked like twins during our pregnancy (I've attached a picture of Jenny and I when we were 36 & 38 weeks pregnant): 

Friday we got meet Brian for lunch at Disney's newest resort opening at the end of this month, Art of Animation.  It was AWESOME!  Disney is so fabulous.  Anyway...they handed out tickets to the property executives as the resort was doing a trial run on food & service before they officially open and because Brian's area received 2nd place in the guest satisfaction reports his boss gave him two lunch vouchers.

Today our big outing was the first time that I took Carly to the grocery store...alone.  Every time she has gone in the past we have both been there and every time she has had a complete meltdown and we've had to take her outside.  I was so nervous but we needed groceries really bad and since Brian golfed ALL day on Wednesday (yes...you can all remind him how great of a wife I am that I let him play from 7am-6pm that day) I didn't have a chance to get them.  Well...it was a success!  I made it in and out in record time, practically running up and down the aisles.  $120 spent in 27 minutes!  Success!  Good job, Carly Bear!

Carly has really started grabbing at things, including my hair, her clothes, toys, etc.  Here she is in her cute little dress and bloomers pulling her shirt up and sucking on it.

My favorite "up" from this week is that Carly has started chatting up a storm!  She has different tones and sometimes is more aggressive with her talking and others very gentle.  She talks all the time and we just can't get enough of it.  Here are two videos.  Sometimes the camera isn't fully on her face, and that's because if she sees the iPod she gets distracted and will stop talking.  So I have to hold it on the side and apparently my hand drifts sometimes. :)
 

So there is our week in a nutshell.  I must say that I really do love our life.  We are really happy here, happy together and happy as a family.  We also continue to miss our extended families, the day to day activities that we would see them at, and of course, holidays.  But we aren't ready to give up the adventure that we are on here.  I love being with Carly and know that as she grows I will get more alone time with Brian.  We are so blessed and our life is "So good! So good! So good!"