"You're Love is Extravagant"

4 years.  Brian and I have been married 4 years. It's been a fabulous 4 years, living in 3 different homes, 2 states and 1 kid.  We've had lots of jobs, attended a few different churches, taken some really great vacations and have some wonderful memories.  In some ways it feels like we've been married forever (but that's probably because I can't really remember life without him) and in other ways it feels like we are still newlyweds.  Although we don't feel like that near as often now that we have Carly. ;)

Our first year anniversary was celebrated on the Pacific Coast of California, so we thought what better way to celebrate than to take Carly to the Atlantic Coast for her first beach experience!  We knew we weren't going to sneak away for some romantic dinner/night out, so we thought why not take a memorable day trip as a family.  And memorable it was!

We packed up and hit the road right when it was time for Carly's first nap. It's a good hour and a half drive, so we thought it would be best if she slept.  Too bad she was only out for 40 minutes.  We arrived at Clearwater Public Beach around noon and it was already packed!  We unloaded and hiked through the white sand to the water where we didn't even have a chance to change Carly into her swimsuit!  Good thing I put sunblock on her in the car!  She went straight for the water and that was the end of that!  At first we thought the whole time would be a battle...as she kept walking too far in and would face plant in the water, but refused to hold our hand.  But she realized that salt water is not fun to swallow or get in her eyes, so she was good about staying where she could still walk unsupported by us.  The tide also got real low while we were there, which meant she could really walk a long way and still be in shallow water.  She enjoyed laying in the sand and waiting of the waves to hit her face.  This girl has no fear.

She also enjoyed picking up shells, running in the sand and chasing the seagulls (ducks, as Carly thought).  We actually didn't realize she knew how to say duck, but then again she has tons of books that talk about ducks.  She just hadn't had a reason to put a name to them until now....

Since it was our anniversary, we took what I believe is our FIRST picture as a couple since Carly was born.  Crazy, huh?!  We did, of course, include her as well.

We had so much fun!  I wish the beach was closer...we would go every week!  There is so much to do....from walking in the water, getting knocked over by waves (which don't compare to the Pacific, by the way), "duck" chasing, shell searching, and sand castle building.  Carly liked that as well. :)

My and my little girl...

She was very upset when we left, but we were getting hungry and since we were in the Tampa area, decided to hit up one of the restaurants featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."  There was one on the way home called the Tampa Bay Brewing Co., so we stopped there for dinner.  We ordered a burger wrapped in pizza crust, a beer based cheese dip with ciabatta bread, and "not your mother's meatloaf," the items that were featured on the show.  They were delicious!  It was right in the middle of the historic district of downtown Tampa, called Ybor.  The buildings were pretty but we soon realized that we were in a super sketchy part of town where children were not welcome!  We thought we'd go for a little walk after dinner but after passing multiple strip clubs and adult stores, we high-tailed it out of there! An experience, for sure! ;) 

Upon arriving back home, we decided it would be fun to watch our wedding ceremony and slideshow for the first time since getting home from our honeymoon.  I cried all the way through it.  What a great ceremony! Having my Dad minister the service, listening to our wedding music again, hearing our duet ("You're Love is Extravagant"), which wasn't near as bad as I had remembered it, and watching my Grandpa pray for us was all really emotional experiences for me.  When I think about our wedding, I often have much bitterness of all the unnecessary drama that happened, that I forget to think about the positives.  So it was really good to see the ceremony again.  We also watched our slideshow about 5 times and it confirmed that Carly looks EXACTLY like Brian.  There is a photo of Brian giggling in his crib and I was like, "that's MY kid!!"  They have the same face and such similar expressions.  Too cute!

The day was really a fabulous day, filled with memories, which was exactly the goal.  We are thankful for the abundance of blessings God has poured out on our family and went to bed with our hearts very full.

"Sunshine & Summertime"

Ahh...the sweet sound of those words.  I stepped out before 9am this week for a run and said out loud to Carly, "holy hot humidity!!"  I saw a statistic this week that said we won't see the 60's again until October 6th!  Yikes!  We are in it for the long hall.  All my friends up North are rejoicing that the summer has sprung and here in Florida we just endure through til Christmas. ;)  But really, the sunshine is great and there are plenty of opportunities to get wet in Florida, so it's really not so bad.

My little girl's blonde curls are growing like weeds and tempt me daily to do something fun with them.  My little girl who those locks are attached to, however, doesn't enjoy mama pulling at her hair.  Anytime I'm going to put hair ties in those curly-q's, you can bet there will be tears.  I just keep telling her beauty is pain...and doesn't she look beautiful!?

This dress is one of my favs at the moment, although she has about 6 that I just adore.  I don't usually allow her to be in them for long for fear of stains, but I enjoy looking at her while they are on, none the less.  This particular day I thought we would get all dressed up so I could take some photos of her at Animal Kingdom. It didn't really work.  She isn't so interested in posing for photos and she totally sees through me trying to make her smile.  We did, however, have a really nice time at DAK.  We let her burn a ton of energy off while enjoying the sights of the animals on the trails.  Her favorites were the Tigers, the fish & the Gorillas.  Here's my best attempt at catching some cute photos of her right outside the Tiger's domain.

After leaving the Asian trail, we headed to Africa!  She was having a meltdown when all of a sudden we came to the fish and all was good again.  She was so fascinated!!

We marched onto the Gorillas and saw the best show we've ever seen!  They were all out and about...staring us down, running through the grass and even teasing one another.  Fun sights to see...even though I don't particularly like animal captivity. ;)

Last week we also hit up the golf course with Daddy.  Since it is summertime, officially, that means the golf prices are low, low, low.  Brian played 18 holes for like $13.99...and we joined him for the back nine.  Carly was hilarious!  We thought it would be fun to tag along with Daddy...and it was for us...;)!  Brian was so frustrated I laughed to the point of tears.  He was playing great until we got there and then lost 5 balls once we arrived.  That sets a new record for him!  He now claims he needs more golf balls.  What...can't focus when someone screams during your back swing!  LOL!

Not a complete day in Florida without seeing a gator...

The other fun activity this week was a trip to the Grand Floridian to meet Brenna and her growing belly!  We are very excited to meet Adelaide shortly after our return from Iowa.  We had lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe, where Carly enjoyed my Cobb Salad and her yellow princess balloon.

We intended to let her play in the pool and walk the path to the Polynesian for some Dole Whip, but the rain kept us inside.  Turns out that was quite alright as Carly LOVED crawling up and down the staircases.  She really did this for hours.

She also added to the entertainment in the lobby.  As she ran toward the grand piano, I quickly pulled her back only to be gently told by the pianist that she was more than welcome to play a duet with him.  I LOVE DISNEY!  No where else would that have been a positive experience.  We would have had to leave to take away the temptation, but instead she played and then danced, played and then danced. :)

The completion of our week was a trip to the doctor's office and a long and tired week for me.  I had two closes followed by an open...which meant I had 7 hours in between my shifts.  When you add travel time and getting ready time to that it doesn't allow for much sleep.  Even after 8 hours last night I still had to take a nap with her this morning.  At any rate, I made it through...but one of the leaders on our team recently got a promotion, so I have to cover his closing shifts every week until we come to Iowa.  Back to closing will be tough for this mama (for many reasons!).  

Carly's appointment went well and we really love our new female doctor.  She's a Christian and has done much overseas medical work with her husband, so that's a major blessing to become her patients by default!  I haven't been doing near the reading as I did when Carly was a baby...so it was good to hear her talk about Carly's development with us.  She discussed how the two best things for brain development in young toddlers is reading, reading, reading and ample amounts of dairy fat.  That's why we give our toddlers whole milk!  So...it's a good thing I'm still nursing and she encouraged us to get her to like whole milk before weaning.  She also said yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, etc., are great substitutions and to not hold back on the (good) fat!  I didn't know that...so as soon as we left the doctors office we headed to the store for some chocolate whole milk.  She will take a few sips but doesn't love it.  At least she's not spitting it across the room!  It is heavenly, though...I've been stealing some gulps here and there and just love it!  Chocolate whole milk..what's not to like?!  The reading thing was good news, as Carly has been SO into books the past month we can't keep them away from her.  We read at least 3 times/day for anywhere from 15-45 minutes!! That sometimes equals over 20 books at once! She wants them in the car, she wants to carry them around the house, she wants to read alone and she wants to be read to.  She likes baby board books with lots of colors but also enjoys books with a story...although too many words and she'll shut the book on your fingers! 

And her stats continue on the predictable curve they are suppose to.  Her 12 month measurements were off, though, and she just reached 30 inches and 21 pounds, which puts her in the 27th percentile for weight and the 60th for height.  Makes much more sense.  We were warned that both her growth and her eating habits will drastically slow the next few months, and she gave us some light reading on how to combat a picky eater.  The article also talked about how toddlers are cluster feeders, so just keep feeding until she is full and if the next day she barely eats anything at all not to worry.  She reminded us that they are excellent at listening to their bodies and if we all ate on the cues of our bodies like toddlers do that we would be much healthier.  Fun info if you ask me!  I need to take up reading again soon...but it seems all my time is taken up by playing and when Carly's sleeping, I'm usually blogging. ;)

"Mold Me & Make Me" {Mother's Day 2013}

It's been one week since my not-so-great Mother's Day, and I've gathered my thoughts and realized that it really wasn't so bad.  I've also realized that I am very much still being molded by God as a mother and my sweet daughter is as well.

To preface the day, I must first remind my readers that although I am thankful for the life we lead in Florida, there are emotional challenges that I have to ride out pretty continuously.  One of those is every single Sunday.  I know I've written about this before, but going to church without my husband sometimes feels like the world is coming to an end.  Not having that sacred time together certainly doesn't contribute to a healthy marriage, and going alone really sucks. No other way to say it. Who wants to walk into church each week looking single and alone?  No one.  That's why so many shy away from church.  Even though most of the people at church know me recognize me, and of course aren't judging me, it still feels that way.  To them I am a single mother and I don't fit in with the other couples or families.  I hate it.  Sometimes I just choose not to go because there is no use in me sitting in the service with tears streaming down my face.  I've been attending church alone for 2 years now.  2 years.  Enough is enough.  On top of hating going alone, I SO miss E.Free.  I miss being on worship team, I miss having people pour into my life who really care about me, I miss sitting with my family, I miss Pastor Staff and his challenges from the pulpit, I miss Sunday afternoon lunches out to eat with my family or on Brian's parents back porch. Friends, I can't even write this without having tears streaming down my face.  So, you see, because Mother's Day was on a Sunday, the day wasn't set up for success.

The other thing I have to endure is every single holiday.  Who do you spend time with on holidays?  Family.  When you don't have family around, you spend it with the people who you live with.  When the other adult you live with is at work on holidays, you spend it alone.  So, when Carly came into the picture, it certainly helped, as I no longer have to spend holidays alone.  But, we still aren't with family, even our little family.  I think you get the picture.  I also have very fond memories of our Mother's Day celebrations growing up.  Each year we would meet at the same restaurant (I believe it was called the Bavarian) and would march downstairs to the private room my grandparents had reserved for us.  The...what was 18 of us, back then, would sit all facing one another at what was 4 tables put together to make a square.  I remember the huge buffet line, the man playing his accordion, the delicious egg popovers and the sweet waitress who would remember what age each of the kiddos was year after year.  I remember my Grandpa always tipped her well because she took such good care of us.  We always brought 3 cards, one for my mama, one for Grandma and one for Nana.  I assume my Grandpa's mom (we called her G-mama) used to join us as well, but she's been gone too long for me to really remember.  We stopped meeting there years ago, but we continued to get together as a big family.  Each holiday that passes, my family has a tradition for...so each holiday that passes, I am sad I'm missing out on whatever it is. 

So, this year to combat these two things, I was very excited to spend the day with the Voss' gallivanting around WDW, as Chris & Nikki, along with the entire Voss clan, was in town on vacation.  I thought it would be the perfect getaway and help me pretend like I wasn't missing another holiday.  Our day started very early...I was more than happy to skip church and meet them at Magic Kingdom at 8:30am so Chris' niece could get her hair done at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  The major downfall of WDW parks is the parking situation.  It just takes a day and a half of walking to get anywhere.  It's just so big.  I think if I could navigate it with a golf cart it would be much easier. ;)  Nevertheless, parking, taking the tram, walking, taking the monorail, walking into the park and then walking down Main Street to the castle in itself is exhausting.  Carly didn't want to be carried and refused a stroller, so our day was stressful from the moment we entered the park.  She very much cares about her needs and exerts her opinion in every situation (she get's that from her daddy...JK!), so she was frustrated with me for carrying her and I was frustrated with her for not being patient and making carrying her rather difficult.  Shortly after Katie got her hair done, it was already time for nap #1, so we hit a couple rides and had to essentially turnaround and do all the walking/carrying all over again.  We finally made it back the car and she fell asleep on our way to Hollywood Studios, where the rest of the clan was. Here's us riding the Carousel, which was not fun because she hit her lip on the handle and it started bleeding....

We were able to spend a little bit of time with the Voss clan once arriving to DHS.  We went to one show and had lunch before Carly was completely done with being told what to do.  The next 45 minutes was the best part of the day...as I just followed her around the park.  I let her go wherever she wanted to go and she was delighted to be making her own decisions.  She walked into a street show and literally became a part of the entertainment, she went into a merchandise location and pulled all the stuffed animals off the shelf, she put her hand prints on their sparkly clean mirror, she smelled the flowers and she waved to everyone passing by.  We weren't trying to keep up with a group and she wasn't having a meltdown, so this mama was happy.  We re-joined the group for "Beauty & the Beast," which Carly loved, and then it was already time for another nap.

Here comes the really bad part.  I tried to let her play some more, but she was being a bit defiant and wasn't willing to be re-directed, so I was just trying to get through the moment, which meant letting her do what she wanted.  She stumbled upon a tree who had just shed some leaves and was gathering them in her hand very sweetly.  She was also eating them.  This is a battle that I decided I just wasn't going to fight.  Yes, if she puts something very yucky or dangerous (like a rock) in her mouth I will force her to spit it out, but a leaf, my goodness, is fine.  Other adults, however, did not think so.  I got scolded more times than I care to count because my child was "eating" (she was only licking them...no swallowing going on) leaves.  For CRYING OUT LOUD PEOPLE, STOP parenting me and STOP parenting my child.  You don't know her, you don't know me, you most certainly do not understand the situation and you need to MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!  And it wasn't just leaf eating...people would comment that she was running to fast, getting too far away from me, sitting on the hot cement, getting wet by slashing in puddles, etc, etc.  IT'S MOTHERS DAY for goodness sakes, I'm her mother and I'm doing a fine job.  So here's the deal folks...I was so upset I wanted to cry.  I scooped her up and found the baby care station so we could attempt a nap.  But please, if you get anything from this entry, it is that you need to mind your own business and not parent other people's children.  I am SO SORRY if I have ever parented your child!  It was unacceptable and I will not do it again.  Also, you can clearly see that when someone parents Carly, PARTICULARLY in front of me, I become very upset, so please refrain from doing so in the future.  Thank you.

Ahh, so nap time is where we both melted down.  You see, at four months old, I worked very hard to sleep train my child, with hopes that I could teach her to be a good sleeper for years to come.  It has worked out wonderfully for us and when you lay Carly down in her crib she goes down without a peep 98% of the time.  She, however, was not trained to fall asleep while cuddling or rocking, so attempting to put her to sleep that way does not work. I was foolish for thinking that it would, and should have bypassed the baby care center and walked back out to the car.  I didn't, though, and I created tears for the both of us.  At first she was giving into the idea of being in a dark room rocking with me, but she quickly realized that she was missing out on fun that she could hear outside and would not concede.  She was sitting on the floor screaming and refused to even sit on my lap.  I tried nursing her (which I don't do during the day anymore), tried singing her bed time song, completely turned off the lights, everything, and it didn't work.  She was so mad at me, that she decided to bite me while nursing as hard as she could.  I flicked her on the cheek as most mothers do when their child bites and she just clamped down harder.  I couldn't get her off.  I had to smack her decently hard to get a release, which made me feel like the worst mother in the world.  How could I have let it come to this?  I was so frustrated with her for not conceding and allowing herself to fall asleep.  I picked her up and off to the car we went.

I texted Brian bawling before I began driving and informed him I was going home.  She fell asleep within 90 seconds of turning the car on, so I changed my mind and went and sat in the parking lot of his work, instead.  As soon as I saw him, my day was instantly better.  We had been reunited as a family and he had brought me out a flower and a chocolate rose.  We drove to the Polynesian where I made myself a very large bowl of Dole Whip Pineapple and Vanilla ice cream, and we sat whispering in our running car so our little girl could stay asleep.  We drove over the the Voss' resort and let her walk around the lake while we waited for them to get back.  It was very lovely and the temperature was perfect.  Carly enjoyed walking up and down the path and Brian and I caught up on my day (I actually hadn't seen him since Friday, so we caught up on our weekend).  Here are some pictures we took with the iPod:

Chris & Nikki joined us on the path and the four of us had a nice time catching up.  I was so excited to spend time with them but because my daughter couldn't go-with-the-flow, I ended up missing out on most of the day with them, so it was nice to finally get to chat.  We ordered some Giordano's Pizza and ate with the Voss clan while watching Carly run around the hotel enjoying playing with Katie & Collin (Chris & Nikki's niece & nephew).  It was a really nice night.

After contemplating our day, I realized that I was wrong to be so upset with Carly.  She's 15 months old and as sweet as can be.  I'm thrilled that she has an opinion, I'm thrilled she's outgoing, I love that she's so active, not a push over and exerting some fine independence.  She's strong-willed, and ultimately, that's a pretty great quality if pointed in the right direction.  And whose job is it to help her navigate?  In this case, on that day, it was solely my responsibility.  There were parts of the day that I did a good job of doing that, and other parts that were really lousy.  I was talking to one of my friends about all of this and she pointed me to these set of verses:

Proverbs 13:24:

"Whoever spares the rod spoils their children,
    but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them."

Ephesians 6:4:

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; 

instead, 

bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.:

I've been mediating on these all week and have come to the conclusion that God is doing a fantastic job of molding and making me into the mother He desires for me to be to however many children he blesses us with.  I'm not perfect, but I better do my best to be.  And when I inevitably fail, I must turn to my Father, my husband & my daughter for grace.

So my Mother's Day was exactly what it should have been; a day of pouring into my child, learning from her and evaluating myself, just like every other day.  And that's why we celebrate mothers...we thank them for their love and all the ways they've worked to mold themselves into the best mother they can be.

Happy Mother's Day, 2013.

"Baby I'm Amazed By You'"

Here's an update and my favorite pics from the past few weeks...I'm not even sure which days were which this week, but I know I took quite a few pictures so I figure I should share them before they are completely out of date!  Here are the top highlights from the past few weeks that have not yet been blogged about:

• Play Dates:  I know we had one at our home, one with Jenny and her kids at a park in Celebration, one with Carrie & Holden (9 months) at Typhoon Lagoon and one with a new friend, Elizabeth & her 17-month old, Erica at the Splash Pad, but of course I don't document everything on camera (despite popular opinion that I do).  I do, however, have some super great pics and video to share from our weekly venture to the water park!  Carly loves water I think more than life itself, so I was brave enough to take the iPod in the wave pool for some documentation.  Holden is still a little young to enjoy it the way Miss C does, but we love being with them.  I'll start with this cute pic of Carly trying to wake Holden up from a nap and then move on to the wave pool experience!

She's always freezing but wont get out!

• Cirque du Soleil:  Brian had a team day last week which entailed lunch out, bowling at the new Splitsville in DTD & concluded with seeing this fabulous acrobat show.  I have no pictures, as it is illegal to use photography in the theater, but I do want to note that our little Miss sat on my lap the entire show.  Can you believe it?  Our little busy-body sat still (or stood on my legs while clapping profusely) and watched the performance.  She's a performance nut...melts my heart!  It was a very fun family activity and it was a blessing to get free tickets!!
• Swinging:  A daily activity, here's some photos of her enjoying life:

So Big!

• Pool time: If we are being honest, she looses interest in this rather fast, but can you blame her after watching the above video?

We are still learning not to bury our face in the water

• Eating: Carly has been begging to feed herself using a spoon, so I caved a few weeks back.  She's been feeding herself for months and months, but I wouldn't let her do cereal, yogurt, etc. on her own because it's just so messy.  Anyway, I knew I had to let her start learning to use silverware sooner or later, so why not sooner?  A mess really isn't the end of the world. (I realize she is sitting on the counter here...but of course I didn't leave her side!)

Carly how did it get on your foot?

Guilty. ;)

I would say that is a very comprehensive report on what our day-to-day lives have entailed the past few weeks.  I'm sure we also did something very fun as a family last weekend, but I can't even remember back that far.  Oh well, must not have been too fun. ;)

I chose this song as my title today because these activities that we do we've been enjoying for months, but each and every week it is a different experience, as her understanding and her physical capabilities improve and as she becomes more comfortable with each activity due to practice.  It just amazes me that we can go to a water park and the next week she will be willing to try something new, or see the water in a different way.  When we first started going about a month ago, she didn't like putting her head all the way in, and today when we went she was purposely dunking herself!! I think she's figured out how to hold her breath under water because when she dunks herself she doesn't come up choking!  She has also been hesitant to try the slides and today she was crawling up the steps and going down the slides head first. Head first!! A man asked me how old she was, and when I replied 14 months he scolded me and said "you need to be more careful!"  Grr...sir you do not know my child, don't tell me what to do!  You also don't know that she is a water pro and can you not see I am 6.2 inches away?  Sheesh!  Today was just delightful and she was in the water for 2 hours non stop!

One more story for this week...Carly has not been sleeping well at night the past weeks and she woke up in the middle of the night a few nights back.  Brian had to work the next morning, which would usually mean that I get up with her, but after crying for about 5 minutes she started yelling, "Dada, dada, dada!"  Brian's covers were off and he was on his feet in seconds!  I thought it was just adorable that he wanted to react so quickly to her plea for him.  Ha...I guess she now knows what to do if she needs attention in the night! "Dada!!" 

"Oh, We Got Trouble!"

I don't know whether to write about Mama's Day, my boundary-less daughter or our crazy last few weeks, but since Mother's Day was a rather rough one this year, I think I need to take a few more days to gather my thoughts and find a way to make them positive. :)  So...I suppose I will write about something that has been consuming my thoughts...discipline. 

The little miss just went through a growth spurt, physically and mentally.  We have a neighbor girl who is 3 weeks younger than Carly and has been towering over her in height the last 6 months but this week they were the same height!  Her mama commented right when they came over, "Wow, Carly's grown a lot!"  I should have snapped a picture of them, since the girls LOVE to play together, but I didn't.  We try to get together with Jenny (mom) & Jenna each week, but it usually ends up being a bi-weekly thing.

At any rate, Carly's mental growth spurt has been her figuring out how to really push our boundaries.  I think she is toying with right and wrong, although on a very small scale.  She knows what she can & can't do around the house, and before she does something that she's not suppose to do, she will make sure we are watching and then go for it with a big grin on her face.  I suppose she's been doing that for a while, but it's intensified this week.  She also is becoming increasingly more upset when we say "no," take something away or prevent her from walking/touching/climbing whatever she is after.  Some days I feel like all I'm doing is re-directing her to something else, but it's much harder to do these days.  She sees right through me and is beside herself when I don't let her do what she wants.  It's so often for her safety...like a majority of the time, but she is still so upset.  I've done some examining of this part of parenthood and discovered that learning to discipline and teach effectively is much like learning how to care for an infant.  When Carly was born I was so confused about how to best care for her needs.  Should I listen to what the books are saying, all the advice being thrown at me, or my motherly instinct?  Once I learned that it was a balance of all three with favoritism toward my motherly zen, I became a pretty confident mama.  Fortunately, I'm not going to beat myself up over my parenting during this phase.  Brian & I will have to use a bit of trial & error and ask Carly and one another for grace as we figure it out.  All three of us are going through a growth spurt together! ;)

The toughest part about parenting, to me, is parenting in public.  Doesn't it stink?!  This topic is one of the reasons why Mother's Day was the worst one I've ever been a part of, but again, more on that later.  I will say, though, when you have a strong-willed, overly-curious, independent 14-month old who does not understand that there are social expectations in the world, it makes taking her anywhere very stressful.  For example, today we were at the grocery store and what are the things she wants to do?  Not sit in the cart, run around the store pulling items off the shelves, seeing a grapefruit and thinking it's a ball that she is more than welcome to play with, pushing the cart, following strangers, sitting on the conveyer belt and opening the bags of food I'm placing in the cart.  There is nothing positive that could have possibly come out of the trip.  I was essentially setting us all up for failure.  But, our household needed a restock on items (I can usually go 10 days without going to the store and buy in bulk each time [with a few quick trips to Target in between for fresh fruit & milk), but that's still 3 times/month we have to do this activity).  So what's a mom a to do?  My future-predicting mother (I say that because she is accurate like 90% of the time when she predicts how I will feel or what I will go through in the future) commented about a month ago that I might find I stay home more with C between the ages of 12-18 months, due to the toddler's lack of understanding about the expectations of the world around her and not yet being at a place to discipline in public...and she was right.  Although I'm not staying home any more than before (Carly and I both just love getting out in the afternoons), she was correct that taking her places is often times no fun for either of us.

Is this a phase that will pass rather quickly, just like all the others have, or will this be a battle for the next several months?  What were your strategies when taking your toddlers out and what were your methods of discipline?  Now when I use the word, discipline, I'm not talking about "getting her into trouble" but am referring to teaching her the social expectations of the world around her.  I often think of the Von Trapp Family in the Sound of Music, and how those children were so well behaved, or disciplined.  Of course I will not be running any sort of home that way, but I do want Carly to get to a place where she does behave in public, and to a place where she can respond positively to me saying "no" and explaining my reasoning behind that word.  The poor girl really just wants to explore her surroundings, and touching each and every thing around her, as well as interacting with the people she sees is all part of learning.  I don't want to discourage her from being curious, but unfortunately it's not okay to pull everything off a shelf in a store, push a stranger's cart, pick the neighbor's flowers, pet a stranger's dog, eat the chemically treated grass, swim in the mall fountain, or run in the street, just to name a few.  It's also not okay to throw a tantrum when re-directed to something else. 

I love being Carly's mama, and parenting is a fun and exciting challenge that takes a long time to become great at.  My solution for now is to put her in as few of those positions as possible, fully acknowledging that she does someday have to be able to behave.  Fortunately for us, we often spend time at Disney, where anything goes for little ones!  She can do anything she wants at Typhoon Lagoon, so we will just keep spending our days there! :)

"Dancin' Queen"

Friday evening we welcomed Grandpa & Nana to Florida with open and excited arms and already this morning we bid farewell.  I think this is their shortest trip they've ever had, but we packed in lots of fun over the long weekend.  Friday I was running a Chamilia Charm event at Tren-D, so I had a 2-hour earlier start time than I usually do on Fridays, which meant I was off in time to pick my parents at the airport at 5:30pm.  Carly was a bit thrown off when so many bodies walked into the house after an 11-hour day with nanny Jen, but she warmed up to them faster than ever.

Saturday it was back to work for both Brian & I, so my parents and Carly spent the day exploring the outdoors.  My Mom made her lovely lasagna (plus 3 bonus ones for the freezer) and we had a nice evening setting this Climber up for Carly.

I was so excited to get it set up, knowing she would love it.  Love is probably an understatement.  She quickly figured out how to climb up the ladder and sit on her booty to go down the slide.  Guess how many times she went down consecutively? Guess.

31.  She went round and round 31 times in a row before we distracted her with something else.  She stayed up way past her bedtime as a result but I think the laughter we got from watching her was worth the stimulation right before bed. ;)

Sunday & Monday were both full days for us!  Sunday we went to church, of course, then came back so Carly could nap in her crib.  Once she was up we were off to EPCOT.  It's the last week of the Flower & Garden Festival, so we thought we'd enjoy playing on the super great playgrounds one last time.

Carly took a snoozer in the car while Dad & I walked around the Boardwalk in the afternoon (thanks, Nana, for sitting in the car with her) and then we all played at the beach while waiting for Brian to get off work.  We then went back into EPCOT for our dinner reservations at the Biergarten, and thoroughly enjoyed our experience.  Carly was totally worth the price of admission on this one!  Check out our little dancer!!

She was certainly the center of attention, and little hands kept grabbing hers to steal a dance.  She was getting a lot of attention from the little boys, in particular.  Can you blame them?

It was also interesting to me that she was the only child on the dance floor who was actually giving attention to the performers.  It melts our hearts that she loves music so much.

She also loved her meal and became quite silly after having a full belly, too much sugar and a crazy amount of stimulation!  A lady even came up to Brian and said, "Is she German?"  Brian replied, "Oh ya!" Haha!

Can you see anything out of place in this photo? ;)

And here's the best from her dancin'! Enjoy!

Monday we had a relaxing morning at home and then hit the road after lunch and headed to Altamonte Springs.  I have been patiently waiting for my eyes to stop changing so I can have Lasik surgery and they have finally stabilized, so I thought I'd go see if I was a candidate while I had some help in town.  Lasik Plus is a fabulous clinic and was recommended to me by my eye insurance company, so we decided it was worth the 45 minute commute North of Orlando.  This is actually my graduation from college present, so my parents were also thrilled to finally be able to gift that to me!  Turns out I'm a GREAT candidate for Lasik and I have my surgery scheduled for June 19th.  There is little risk these days and the Doctor performing the surgery has done over 60,000 procedures!  I don't even think I've gone to the bathroom that many times!!! The clinic was so clean, the staff was very friendly and the whole 2 hour consultation was incredibly efficient! I am more than excited to get to see again!!

The only downfall is that I am on steroids for 7 days following the procedure, so my little miss has to be weaned from nursing before the surgery.  I am so nervous to take something that has been her nourishment and comfort for her entire life away, and I'm not at all ready to lose that attachment with her.  I have exactly one more month of this precious time with her and to prepare my heart, as we will be weaning her the next time we have visitors (which will be Brian's parents in June).  We've attempted weaning before but she throws herself on the ground in utter distress and pleads with me to nurse, so I'm going to have to disappear in the mornings and evenings until she forgets that was ever part of her routine (which is why I need someone else to get up with her in the mornings).  I really think she is too smart to forget in only a weeks time, but my Mom nursed Tiff til she was 18 months and it only took her 3 days to forget.  Anyway, I've had tears over thinking about doing this, so I'm hoping it goes well.  I've even considered postponing the surgery until she weans herself, but at this rate it would be never, and I realize it's not socially acceptable to go beyond about 18 months.  Many of my friends have nursed their baby girls way past a year, and they all successfully weaned, so I suppose we can to.  Okay, enough on that.

After my appointment we met our Realtor at this soon-to-be-hope-to-be-house that I've been talking about for....6 MONTHS NOW.  About a month ago we got a call that said it wasn't looking good so we had dealt with the fact that we were not going to get the house and had begun making plans for little upgrades to do at our current place.  Then, on Tuesday we got a call that with 2k more the home was ours and to move forward with an appraisal and inspection!  So...we have to close by MAY 17TH (which we all know is not going to happen) or else the bank's approval will expire and they can choose to get it re-appraised and counter offer 20k more, which we would then have to walk away.  SO....prayers on that subject would be greatly appreciated.  ANYWAY...we played at the playground and walked the house again, then headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge for a WONDERFUL and DELICIOUS dinner at Boma.  This buffet was the best I've ever had in my entire life and it immediately jumped to our top three restaurants on property.  We WILL be dining there again!!

As you can see, we had a delightful time with my folks in town and were spoiled with great meals out & a new play place for Carly.  It wasn't too hard to say goodbye knowing we will see them again in less than 7 weeks!!