"A Bushel and a Peck and a Hug Around the Neck"

Cora is here!  Carly's only first cousin, Cora!  She's been very excited to see her and from the looks of it Cora has been very excited to see Baby Carly, as she will here forth be known as. Cora is the daughter of Brian's brother, Aaron, and our sister-in-law, Kelly.  They arrived late Thursday night to their resort on Disney property.  It's so nice!  It would sleep 8 fairly comfortably and has awesome views, fun walking paths and great pools.  We were jealous that we had to come back to our place that night! ;)

Carly was a bit overwhelmed by the chaos of love that she was receiving and it was getting close to bedtime, so the first encounter didn't go quite as hoped, but Carly was ready to play the next day as we all went to Animal Kingdom!  Cora loves animals, and she was thrilled to be going to the zoo. The highlights were the safari and the Lion King show.  The first picture was a quick snap right before getting on the safari and the second picture is at lunch. :)

Aaron, Kelly and Cora have all been giving Carly lots of hugs and kisses.  It melted my heart yesterday at the end of the Lion King show when Cora came over and puckered up.  I leaned Carly into her and Kelly helped Cora get a smooch in.  Then Kel said, "She's fun to kiss, isn't she?" to which Cora nodded her head and smiled.  Cora loves to hold her Baby Carly.  The girls have matching blankets that say their name on them so we had the girls snuggle up on the couch with their blankets.  Here is the progression from successfully getting a picture to the tumble over.  So sweet! Carly doesn't really know what to think about all the cameras, but she will learn.  If only she would have looked at me for the second snap it would have been a perfect photo! (We didn't even plan the matching outfits to the blankets!) :)

After Animal Kingdom we all got some rest in and then headed to Sonny's BBQ for dinner and back to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.  I thought they were fantastic...strange, but really neat to watch.  I, of course, stayed up and watched the whole thing while Brian snoozed.

When Cora first walked into our house, she saw Carly's little set up with all her toys and blanket and immediately thought it looked like fun!  She was so good at helping Carly play with her toys! 

 Here is Carly with her Uncle Aaron, Aunt Kelly and cousin, Cora. 

We still have three more days with them!  Tonight we are going to explore DTD, tomorrow go to Magic Kingdom and perhaps take a dip in the pool and Monday is EPCOT.  We're so glad they are here!!

"The View I Love the Most...Is My Front Porch Looking In!"

We've had a great, normal, restful, laid back week of playing in the Weiss household!  It's been wonderful and has really helped Carly learn good sleeping habits.  We are preparing for 6 weeks of...don't fall out of your chair...5 groups of family and friends visiting ending with a trip to Iowa! GASP!  It's wonderful and we are most certainly looking forward to it...but a restful week, and month at that, was much needed.  Oh how I hope the chaos doesn't totally confuse our little girl.  I keep reminding myself that maybe this will teach her flexibility rather than confuse her? Ha...I doubt it. :)  So with that said...get ready for some exciting posts and pictures over the next 6 weeks!

Just to share a day in the life of Carly...

Carly wakes up between 9am-9:30am (with the occasional sleep in until all hours of the morning) and she plays in mama's bed for usually an hour before getting bored.  She plays on her tummy, enjoys sitting up on all the pillows (its good practice because when she tumbles she has a soft landing), and laying on her back just staring at that fan.  Then she tells me when she is ready get up for the day, we change our clothes and head to the kitchen to make me some oatmeal.  Then we usually clean up the kitchen from whatever mess was made the night before by her and daddy's extravaganzas (on the nights I work, anyway), or wash bottles, empty the dishwasher, etc.  Then we head for tummy time for a short half hour before she is ready for a nap.  I think she's got a pretty great set up!

After her nap she eats and then has some alone time playing in her play gym or back on the floor with all her toys.  At some point in the afternoon she takes a ride in her convertible!  She is really getting good at moving in her little car...she loves it when we walk her around the house in it and she has learned how to move it herself!  She can only go backwards but it's a start!  When she first moved it herself she was in our bathroom watching me get ready for work and before I knew it she had backed herself out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.  I caught her eye and she THRILLED with her accomplishment.  So precious!

After her stroll we usually head outside for a walk and some Vitamin D.  It seems silly to take our walk at 2pm in the afternoon...but it's when it seems to work out.  We generally walk for a half hour to 45 minutes.  She has quite the tan as a result! 

After a walk we head to the piano for music time.  I sing and play then she plays and sometimes sings.  Great fun!  Carly usually eats again in there and then goes down for a nap.

After a long afternoon nap (yes...she is actually taking a long afternoon nap...hooray!), she eats again and we have some play time before daddy arrives home.  She sits in her Bumbo or plays by herself while I make dinner (unless we are grilling...and then she helps daddy with that...ie watches the grill light on fire!).  We all sit down at the table together and she observes us as we eat.  Boy is she becoming interested in that!  We actually bought some food this week just to have it on hand to start her in a few weeks.  I must say, my favorite part of dinner is when we all hold hands while daddy blesses the meal.  I'm so excited to teach her about God's love for her and every time we pray it's a precious moment.  Her little fingers grasp around ours and sometimes we end up holding hands for quite a while because she wont let go. :)

After dinner she takes one more quick snoozer than it's up until bedtime (the transition from 4 naps to 3 naps has been a difficult one...still working on that).  We generally go for a walk in there to break up the night.

Then it's bath time (3 times/week), pajama time, massage time, cuddle time with books, a song, a prayer and a bedtime snack and off to dream land! 

I would say 2-3 times a week we hang out with friends and we also have some fun adventures on our one day together as a family...but other than our outings that's what a day in the life of Carly typically looks like...and that's what our last week has been filled with!

PS-Did I mention Carly is scooting all around?  Here she is doing her thing on the couch (the second picture is just to show off her deep dimples).

"You Are My Sunshine" {5 Months}

Carly is 5 months old!  She is still the perfect little size although quickly becoming heavier and longer!  There are so many new things in her life from her 4 month update, so I think I will have to bullet point them!  Her schedule has remained the same as it was a month ago, still eating every 2.5 hours and sleeping only 30 minutes at a time.  We had a week where she slept for longer, but have concurred that it was just a growth spurt.  She sleeps longer when she needs it, and otherwise wakes up happy and playful.  She goes to bed every night at 10pm, wakes up at 6am, we shush her back to sleep until 7am when she nurses and goes back to sleep with me in my bed until 9am.  I thought I was going to stop letting her sleep with me in the mornings, but she just loves it and so do I.  It's been the perfect mommy-Carly time and I will FOREVER cherish all these mornings I've gotten to have her curled up in my arms.  It hasn't negatively affected any other time...she still sleeps in her own crib for 9 hours each night and goes down well for naps and at bedtime.  It's really great and one of my favorite parts of being her mom.  I look forward to those two hours every morning!  She naps at 11:30am, eats at noon, naps at 2:15pm, eats at 2:45pm, naps at 4:45pm, eats at 5:15, naps at 7:30pm, eats at 8pm and we begin her bedtime routine at 9:45pm ending with a bedtime bottle at 10pm.  She is eating 28-30 ounces per day and has developed a nice bit of chub on her.  She's not a chubby baby, however, and I love that.  I think babies hit their ultimate cuteness around 6-8 months, and I can see that she is getting to that place:

Other things we adore about our little Carly:

-She is incredibly flirtatious and has the most precious little grin while she bats her eyes and dives into the chest of whoever is holding her.  It's the sweetest thing and makes people feel really good.

-She scarfs her food down so fast these days!  Her record bottle is 6 minutes and record nurse is 10 minutes!  Sometimes I feel like she hasn't gotten enough so I will continue to offer and she just lets out a huge grunt and will turn her head as far from me as she can.  "Ok!"  I guess she's had enough. ;)

-Up until this month, we have literally gotten hours of free time by putting her under her play gym.  Well, she has decided she doesn't like that anymore.  It's really a matter of her not wanting to be on her back.  She wants to sit up SO bad I am just sure that will happen at any moment.  She also loves to stand at the music board Chris & Nikki got her and press all the buttons!

-She is no longer a champ about getting dressed!  She doesn't mind us changing her diaper, but don't you dare try to put a onsie over her head!  She giggles when we take her clothes, off, however.  Weird.

-We've started this new game where Brian or I pat her mouth and she yells as loud as she can.  It's like an Indian call.  She loves it and all we have to do is put our hand close to her mouth and she will open it and start yelling.  Hours of entertainment. :)

-She has figured out that her feet are the best thing since bread and butter!  She loves to be able to grab them and fling them up into the air.  So cute!  We play a game called, "toes to the nose" that gets her giggling the hardest.  I think the game is pretty self-explanatory.

-We have to work hard to get her to giggle, but the most effective way is to ask her how big she is, lift her arms above her head and tickle those armpits.  Going in for a smooch on the neck is also highly effective.

-At 4 months old, she would look at something and it would take her a minute to remember she could reach out and touch it.  Now looking and touching are a simultaneous thing.

-Her method of soothing herself to sleep besides sucking on her paci and snuggling with her monkey is to stroke her own hair.  She twirls it around her fingers and I'm always pulling hair out of her hand when she wakes up.  She's lost quite a bit of hair this month and I think that's partly due to her yanking it out!  Sheesh!

-She loves to sit on my lap while I play the piano and sing to her.  One of my favorite things to do!

-And lastly, Carly desires to be close to us more than she ever has before.  She loves to be held facing in (for those of you who have held her know that's very unlike her), but only when Brian or I is holding her.  She wants us to walk around while holding and snuggling her all day long.  On the one hand, I keep telling myself that she is too needy and by carrying her so much she isn't developing independence, but on the other hand, is it really bad for me to oblige her snuggling desires?  She just wants to be close to me and I feel like I should soak it up and enjoy it while I can!  But it is strange that it took her 5 months to decide snuggling is fun. 

I feel so blessed to hold the title of Carly's mommy, and I can see that both Brian and I fall more in love with her all the time.  As she continues to develop personality, she becomes more and more fun to play with, take places and experience things with.  We are so thrilled to be able to walk through life with her.  Here are the rest of her 5 Month shots:

Thank you, Jesus, for choosing US to take care of your child while here on this Earth.  You have blessed us abundantly.

"Rolling, Rolling, Rolling On The River"

Just wanted to get a quick post in about our weekend together.  We've tried to stay home for the most part to help Carly with her sleep, so we've done a lot of being in the house. We've watched some TV on DVD, baked cookies as a family, gone for walks, worked in the yard, had Todd & Brenna over for dinner, and did escape the house one evening for a fun dinner at Sonny's BBQ.  We love that restaurant...Iowa should consider opening a few of those!  We also went to Lowes and picked out some edging and mulch for the front yard.  Brian has been doing a nice job slowly putting money into making our outside look as homey as our inside!  Someday we will have lots of grass for Carly to play in.  Until then we just have patches of it.  It was so cute...as Carly and I were watching Daddy dig around the tree to put in the edging, our neighbor Felix came out with his shovel and started digging, too!  He always comes out to say hello when we are in the yard!

I think the most exciting thing of the week is that Carly can now roll from front to back AND from back to front.  One moment she is facing East and the next moment West.  She rolls and scoots so you never know where she is going to end up.  She certainly isn't mobile...I don't want to make it sound that way...but she does get herself in some funny situations.  She can't always get the job done yet, but she is becoming fairly consistent.  I will note that she does not like sleeping on her back, however, so when she rolls over in her sleep she usually calls for us to come flip her back.  She'll get there!  We cut her some slack since she just started rolling from her back to her tummy this week! ;)

The other highlight from this week was getting out to go visit Daddy at work!  Tren-D (one of the stores I manage at DTD) was putting on a HUGE designer bag event, so I felt like I needed to make an appearance.  After all, my boss, his boss AND my boss' boss were all there on a Saturday!  So after the event we picked up some sub sandwiches and headed to Coronado Springs.  Brian's housekeepers were THRILLED to see Carly and almost every single one of them said, "Oh , she looks just like her Daddy!"  We also got to eat lunch with his staff, so it was fun to chat with them for a bit and observe the dynamics of his team.  This photo is of one of Brian's housekeepers.  When she saw us walking down the hall with Carly she came running out and scooped her right out of my arms!  So precious!

Well tomorrow is back to work for me.  We don't have a babysitter who has committed yet and I've asked probably 7 different people.  I hope someone says yes or I will have to be late!  After I get done with my work week my baby will be 5 months old!  Craziness!

"Goodnight My Someone, Goodnight My Love"

Sleep training has begun and is in full fledged mode!  We have been thinking and praying about when to sleep train her for months now, and we felt a conviction that it was time.  We feel like we owe it to her to teach her how to sleep well...especially as she will be starting daycare in the fall.  It would be totally unfair for her not to know how to self soothe and then put her in an environment that she is unfamiliar with and expect her to succeed.  But we also didn't want to start too early.  So we fervently prayed over the matter and God most certainly put it on my heart to start. This will probably be a long post....so consider yourself warned! 

So...sleep training, you ask?  Well there are all types of sleep training methods, and like most things baby-related, you can bet I've done my homework! I've done so much reading that as I research I've started to stumble upon the same articles again.  There are methods that range from just leaving the room and letting them cry all the way to nursing and rocking them until over a year.  If I was a stay at home mom, I think I would have thought differently about it, but its just fact that she wont get to be rocked everyday, so I knew I had to phase that out.  There were two authors I enjoyed reading the most.  The first is Tracy Hogg, the author of Secrets of the Baby Whisperer.  The second, author Kim West in Good Night, Sleep Tight.  Both authors encourage the parent to offer reassurance as they comfort the baby each time they cry.  Hogg states to leave the room, come back every five minutes, pick the child up, soothe and put immediately back down.  West talks about a "shuffle," beginning next to the crib using touch to soothe and slowly moving away throughout a 3 week time period.  So the first 3-4 days you can touch the babe, the next 3-4 days you can only  use verbal coaching and by the 7th day you need to be sitting in the chair and not next to the crib.  By the end of the shuffle the goal is to be in the doorway or even in the hall.  So I liked that both of these ladies offered a solution that wasn't just letting her cry it out.  I knew that Hogg's method would be confusing for Carly, so although this is my favorite baby book I've read and would recommend it to ANYONE, I decided to go more with the "shuffle." However, I have done so much reading on the subject that I am also supplementing with other helpful tidbits I've picked up along the way.

We started the shuffle by setting a bedtime.  None of this..."we will put her to bed when she gets fussy."  We were essentially letting her take her naps as she needed them, and then putting her to bed 2 hours after she woke up from her last nap.  Sometimes that was at 8pm and others that was at 9pm.  So she was going to bed anywhere from 9:45pm-11pm.  Not okay.  Her bedtime is now 10pm plus or minus only 10 minutes.  As I transition to working daytime in September, that bedtime will move up to a more normal 8pm, but right now 10pm still works great.  We also established a bedtime routine of a bath or a warm rub down with a cloth (we only bathe her 2-3 times a week), powder, lotion, fresh diaper, sleeper, two books (Goodnight Moon & Goodnight Baby), a lullaby, a prayer and a bottle (or nurse if I'm home).  Then, after we got the bedtime straight we payed close attention to how long she could go without food.  One night she slept 9 hours without it...so that's what we agreed to stick to.  She had started waking up once or twice in the night...and I was so tired I just caved and brought her to bed with me.  I was feeding her when I really didn't need to be.  So for a week we worked hard to help her soothe herself back to sleep without food AND without picking her up.  That was such a long week as I was up with her a lot trying to get her back to sleep.  Sometimes 3 times in one night.  One night I didn't even go to bed until 5:15am!  It had been a late night at work so when I crawled into bed at 2:30am...that was the first time she woke up.  HA...it's okay though.  That week was so worth it!  Now she sleeps 9 hours straight almost every night.  Every now and then she wakes up before her 9 hours but we just offer the paci and she goes right back to sleep.

After bedtime and nighttime sleep were trained, we decided to tackle naps.  We were so scared as we knew there would probably be lots of tears.  We introduced a "lovey" to her and that was the best decision we could have made in starting the process!  It's a monkey and is so special because her Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Aaron, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Nathan AND cousin, Cora all stood in a store and picked it out special just for her!  Cora made the final decision and she chose Monkey!  I think a picture speaks louder than words, so as you can see Monkey is well loved (or maybe I should say Carly is well loved by Monkey):

 Doesn't that just warm your heart?  Our babysitter actually texted that to me this week.  So precious!  Alright...back to my story.  One day I just explained to Carly that I was going to put her in her crib and introduced Monkey and told her he wanted to sleep with her.  He gave her a kiss then he jumped in the crib and I asked her if she wanted to join him.  I set her down next to him and she immediately put her arm around him.  I melted.  Then I rubbed her back, gave her some shushing noises and placed Monkey's leg on her back for support.  I think she feels more secure with the pressure of his limbs on her.  I also figured out that she likes her head to be stroked with his hand.  It took her about a half hour to fall asleep, but she only full out cried for about 5 minutes.  The rest was just this little whine.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  It worked! It really worked!  She had put her self to sleep with little help from me!  The next nap she cried a bit longer, but was still successful at falling asleep without a major meltdown.  Unfortunately, she took the frustration of having to sleep on her own out on daddy that night.  But I promised him it would get better and after only 5 days of nap training it totally has!  Guess how long it took us to get her to sleep yesterday for all her naps??  Under 5 minutes!! We have already moved to the phase of not offering touch...so we are well on our way to putting her down and walking away, knowing that she and Monkey will figure out how to get themselves to sleep. :)

Carly has also lengthened her naps to 40 minutes rather than 30 and for three days in a row as taken a nap longer than an hour.  HOLY COW!  Seriously...that is incredible for her and hope she can keep it up.  I'm just so happy that all this work is totally paying off!  I bet in a month from now she will be taking naps at totally predictable times just like we know what time she will go to bed and what time she will wake up.  It's really nice.  I am sure there are still many hurdles in this process, but I am going to enjoy the calm moments we are having with it right now!

There you have it...the story of how we've begun to sleep train Carly. I hope it continues to work and that we set her up with the skills she needs to be a successful napper while at daycare.  Any transition is always rough, but with the right encouragement it can be a quick transition rather than a long, hard one.  Carly is SO much happier during the day when she has had good sleep.  I've learned that, according to West, "sleep begets sleep."  And she's right. Praise God for guidance and reassurance to us as parents that we are loving and taking care of His child the way that He desires.

"If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands!"

Carly has been such an angel this week (when she gets enough sleep)!  She is so fun to be with and such a smiley little girl.  Every now and then she is super moody...but we won't focus on that. ;)  Just take a look at this happy girl!

Three things that she has thoroughly enjoyed as of recently.  First is her love for the piano.  I sit with her almost every day and we sing and play together.  I have a huge binder of worship music organized alphabetically and we have made it to the "H's" this week.  It's fun for me because I am brushing up on my skills while entertaining her.  Plus, there are few things that I enjoy more than singing worship songs.  That time is so special and one of the few times she will just sit on my lap!

She also loves to shout!  She will shout at her toys and wiggle & squirm to try to grab at them.  She also likes to lay on top of us and the big bouncy ball as we move it around as if she is on a roller coaster!  You can commonly find us playing with her this way:

How stinkin' cute is that?!  She loves it when we give her our undivided attention!

Lastly, our girl has perfected those grabbing skills!  Last week, when we would show her a toy, she would look at it for a while then remember that she could reach out and touch it.  But this week, as soon as it's within reach she has it in her hand!  When we sit her on the counter in her little Bumbo she will grab everything around her...so watch out!

Singing, talking, playing...that's our girl this week.  There is also some whining and complaining in there, but we are still trying to figure out how to get her more sleep.  I think some of her whining will go away once she feels more rested.  But sleep has always been a struggle with her, so I suppose that is nothing new.  We have finally begun sleep training...but that deserves a post of it's own!

This week has been filled with play time!  We had a play date with my friend Jenny and her kiddos Karis (2) and Issac (one week younger than Carly).  We hung out with John & Jodi from Iowa twice and had Mitch & Kelly over for dinner.  We love spending time with so many friends! 

Brian snapped this photo of Carly and I yesterday...My hair was kind of crazy but the photo turned out really cute.  She is such a sweet heart.

"And I'm Proud to be an American"

Happy Independence Day!  We had a wonderful celebration yesterday and were gone the entire day!  Being that we weren't at Clear Lake this weekend and in Humboldt yesterday where we would have liked to be, we had a really great day.

I have been so sick this week I thought all our plans might have to be cancelled yesterday...but Brian got up in the morning and got me so Mucinex and that seemed to help a lot.  My throat has never hurt so bad in all my life...and I totally mean that.  Since I have now had the experience of labor pains, I think of pain differently, and whatever I've been dealing with is very painful.  But anyway, the medicine helped and off we went to meet one of my dear friends from college, Jodi, and her husband, John, at EPCOT.  They are both teachers in West Union, IA, and were in Orlando for a conference.  It was so great to see them!  They have a little boy, Silas, who is 8 months old, and this was their first time leaving him for a week, so they enjoyed getting to spend some time with Carly.

EPCOT was certainly a great place to be for the 4th.  Brian and I actually said it was the first time in our lives that we really celebrated the 4th for what it is, and not just a BBQ.  I don't mean that what we normally do is bad, but what we did at EPCOT was educational and actually moving.  You see, we went to the American Pavilion and first watched the Liberty Singers sing a medley of great American songs.  Those of you who have been to EPCOT know that they sing under the dome on the main level.  But this performance was extra special.  For the last song, one of the singers stepped forward and told the story of Francis Scott Key and the morning he wrote our National Anthem.  We all stood as they began to sing.  Then, from the upper level there was an echo, and 8 more singers stepped out and joined them.  It's hard to do it justice in writing, but it was very moving.  Afterward, we watched the American Adventure video that is played daily, but it was extra special watching it on Independence Day.  We took this photo inside by a flag hanging from a pillar.  You will notice we are wearing red, white & blue. (I am grateful I have a husband who is willing to oblige in my memory making) :)

After we left EPCOT, we met up with a group of friends from church in Celebration and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, played some games and then headed to fireworks.  We actually ducked out as everyone was heading downtown because we wanted to make sure Carly got to bed, but we were able to see them going off all over central Florida on our drive home.

It was a really nice day and it was fun that the 4th happen to fall on the one day we get to spend as a family.  Next year it will probably land on a Thursday and maybe we will be fortunate enough to get that weekend following off so we can celebrate in Iowa!