Erin Comes to Visit

This past weekend my friend from MSU, Erin, came to visit! We don't get to see
her nearly enough, and we were so excited that she had to come to USM for a school meeting because that meant that she could come see us for the night Friday. We all went out to eat Friday night, and then just us girls went shopping on Saturday. This video was taken just before Erin left on Saturday evening. Needless to say, Carly LOVES her En En!!! Oh how we both wish you lived closer!

We had family pictures, as well as Carly's 6 month pictures taken last weekend. We can't wait to get them back; however, one afternoon after Carly and I took our evening walk we decided to do some picture taking ourselves. It was just beautiful outside so this is what we got. I think they are adorable! She is our little country girl! The last picture is one of her and her daddy getting ready for bath time... Let's just say it is never dull at our house!

It's Been A While!!!

It's been a while since I have posted... Sorry - it's busy busy busy in our world these days. Since the last post we are officially crawling. It's not pretty, but we are getting where we wanna go and lots of places we shouldn't! Enjoy!

It Won't Be Long

Carly has started getting up on her knees and rocking back and forth. If she could just figure out how to move her arms and legs all at the same time she would be crawling! SCARY!!! She's growing up too fast! Here is a little look at how she is growing!

4 month check up

We went for Carly's four month check up Friday. I am very excited to say that she is growing and maturing just as Dr. Merritt said she should be. He was very pleased with her coordination and alertness. Also, she was a VERY good girl. She just layed there and let him look at her eyes, ears, nose, etc. He even made the comment that he wished all his patients were that good. ;o) I am so blessed to have such a good natured child. Carly weighed 15 lbs. 10 oz. which is somewhere between the 75th and 90th percentile for her age. She was 26 1/4 inches long which is in the 97th percentile for height. Wonder where she gets that! We are actually wearing some 9 month outfits b/c she is so tall! I can't believe how fast she is growing. She is getting up on her knees and rocking too. She will be crawling before we know it!

Every night when I rock Carly to sleep I think about how lucky and blessed I am to have this perfect child. I thank God for her each and every night. I watch the Discovery health channel alot and see all the things that could have been wrong with her but aren't. I just look at James and say, "We are so lucky!"

I am attaching a couple of pictures that Mama took with Carly's sunglasses she bought her. She is cheesing for sure!

Thoughts for the Day

I haven't blogged in a while, and I am fresh and full of energy thanks to a steroid shot I received for a sinus and ear infection this morning! I actually think I should go and get one every week in order to get all my housework done. Ha! I would just have to turn down the air b/c the only bad side effect is it is making me sweat bullets! Seriously though, I am very thankful that I only had minor problems at the doctor this morning. I have been very nervous about swine flu b/c they fear an epidemic once school starts. We already have 3 confirmed cases at our school. They are just confirmed flu, not swine flu - but still, flu in August! Can't be good. So anyway, I had a fever, sore throat, sinus mess, and body aches last night. Therefore Carly went to stay at Nanna's house, and I made a doctor's appt. for first thing this morning. Poor Nanna had Brayden and Carly! Nanna faired well though - she said Brayden was a HUGE help actually. Carly loves her cousin, and likewise with Brayden. He is a great entertainer for her!

Anywho, as I was working around the house like a chicken with my head cut off (due to the steroid shot) I got to thinking about things I have learned since becoming a mother. Some of these things people told me before motherhood, others I had no idea about! They are totally random and in no specific order...

• You really can't love another child like your own. I love Brayden, Katie, Anna Grace, and Drew (my nephew and my best friends' children) with all my heart, but there is nothing like looking in my baby girl's face.
• I DEFINITELY don't want her back in my tummy, but I do miss the magic and mysteriousness of feeling her move around inside me.
• I knew that I loved my husband before she was born, but there is something about seeing him with her and seeing him talk to her that just melts my heart. I am so thankful that God sent him to me to be the father of my children.
• Who knew one baby could actually use 10+ pacifiers???
• I did NOT know how aggravating changing sheets and matress pads on a baby bed with a bumper pad could be!!!!
• There is nothing like the smell of a freshly bathed baby.
• I had several teacher friends that were pregnant and due all within 4 weeks of one another. Who knew you would talk about such candid topics!???!!! I am very thankful for friends who were going through the same things as me at the same time though!
• You can be thankful for a poopy diaper - even a horrendous one! (usually only when they haven't been in a few days though!)
• Breastfeeding is not as bad as some make it out to be. (Wish I could have actually done it longer)
• I just THOUGHT I appreciated James doing things like unloading the dishwasher or folding clothes before the baby.... Now I KNOW I appreciate them, and try to tell him more often.

I have many more thoughts on this, but I need to dry my hair and try to go to bed. The shot may be worn off in the morning!!! I will post some recent pictures soon!

video of Carly rolling over!

YAY!!! I FINALLY GOT IT TO UPLOAD!!!

New Trick!

My baby is growing up - entirely too fast, might I add. In an earlier post, I told you guys that she had mastered rolling from tummy to back, but did it on the sly. James and I would just find her on her back. Well she is still doing that; however, we have a new trick now. For several days now she has been getting from her back to her side and alllllmost over, but not quite. Well, this morning I put her down on her play mat to play on her back. She tried for like 10 minutes to roll over and was unsuccessful so I went to get something out of the dishwasher. Well, lo and behold when I came back, she was on her tummy!!! She was just a smilin' and so proud of herself. Well, I flipped her back on her tummy and over again she went! So pushing my luck, I got the camera. This is usually when Carly decides to stop all action, but I guess we like rolling from back to tummy b/c I actually caught it on video!!! Now if I can just figure out how to post a video on here. Every time I have tried before it has never successfully uploaded. ;o( I will post this and try to post the video in a separate post. Wow - I really don't wanna go back to school!!!

1st Time Eating with a Spoon

Carly helping Mommy pick Granddaddy's tomatoes

In the watermelon patch

This is better!

Very first time... We didn't like it very much!!!

Carly has been getting cereal in her bottle since she was about 3 wks. old. We decided it might be time to try eating some cereal from a spoon to get us ready for eating fruits and veggies after our month appt. Our very first time, I mixed the cereal with water, and she absolutely DID NOT like it, as you will see in the pics. The next time, I mixed it with formula, and she did better. This morning I mixed it with some juice, and she liked it even better. She has a very short attention span though, and gets tired of sitting in her seat so I can feed her. We are learning though. I have attatched a couple of pictures of our adventure. There are also some from when she went to help me tend to Granddaddy's garden while he and Nanna were on vacation this past week.

1st wedding and rolling

Brayden and Carly playing in his new playroom at his new house in Madison

Carly before going to her first wedding

Just about the only decent pic of the both of them before the wedding

Carly attended her first wedding on Saturday, and she did great! Of course, it could have helped that the ceremony only lasted like five minutes! But hey, we gotta start somewhere... An older couple, that both of their spouses have died, got married on Saturday. It was a very sweet ceremony. Anyway, Brayden and Carly both attended with me, Nanna, and Granddaddy. We attempted taking pictures of the two cousins before the wedding, but since it was only like 109 degrees with 200% humidity outside, we didn't fare very well. We got a couple of decent ones, but not like I had hoped. We will have to take pictures in the evening time next time.

Carly Jane has recently learned to roll over... As I told you in an earlier post, she chose to be at Nanna's house when she rolled over for the first time. Since then, she has rolled over several times very sneakily. I would come in and she would be on her back. I have actually seen her roll from stomach to back twice now. It's still very new to her and surprises her when she ends up on her back. She is allll most rolling from back to front also. She gets on her side and can't get her arm out of the way to end up on her tummy. All in all, I have a very happy baby on my hands - thank the good Lord! I am really not wanting to go back to work in a couple of weeks! Luckily, Nanna will be keeping her, and she won't have to go to daycare.

Here are a couple of recent pictures!

4th of July

James, Carly, and I went to Wayne County for the 4th of July to spend some time with some of his family. He has twin uncles that live side by side in Wayne Co., and we love to go over there to visit. Carly has not been to Wayne Co. since she has been born so this was special trip for her! It was also special b/c she got to go to the creek for the first time. The Porters' have land on the Buckatunna Creek, and there is a wonderful sand bar. Carly, me, James, Uncle Donald, Aunt Kathy, and Natalie all decided to go to the creek to swim (well more like wade) and cool off yesterday afternoon.

We came back to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Donald's to watch the race, and wow what a race it was!!! It really is sad when you are glad that somebody (namely a Busch brother) wrecks on the last lap!!! Carly had a bath and went to bed over at Aunt Kathy's, and we left for home about 10:30. This was the first time she has gone to bed somewhere, and then come home. I was afraid the interruption to her routine would mess up our routine of sleeping all night. She did great though!!! We got home, I took her out of the carseat, changed her diaper, flipped her over on her tummy, and she slept til 7 a.m. I have such a good little baby!!! Thank you Lord!

Wow - Leave your kid for ONE night, and she grows up!

I have officially spent my first night apart from my baby! I survived, and it was not TOO bad. My brother and his wife's family were on vacation in Gulf Shores and invited me down for a day or two so I left Carly Jane with Mama early Tuesday morning and headed out for a mini vacation. I planned to go down Tuesday morning and come back Wednesday night. James was working down in Pearl River County and would be spending the night with Paula so he didn't have to drive all the way back home. I thought this would be as good a time as any to leave her for her first overnight adventure at Nanna and Granddaddy's house. I did and had a great time visiting with Wesley, Lindsay, Brayden, and the rest of the Hazelwood family. I did miss "Tootie" (Carly) awfully bad though.

After getting home on Wednesday night, Mama and Daddy report that Carly has learned to roll over and laugh out loud while I was gone. She rolled over from stomach to back about 15 minutes after I left her with Mama on Tuesday morning, and of course she hasn't done it since. She gets part of the way, but never all the way while I am watching. Then she apparently found Granddaddy and his shaving cream face hysterical. She laughed and laughed until she lost her breath. She laughed a little for me when I got home that night, but James has still not heard her laugh out loud. Oh well, she will do things as she gets ready. I am in NO hurry for her to grow up. She is already growing up too fast! I weighed with her today, and she was 14 lbs. at 12 weeks old! I have a sneaking suspiscion that going back to school in August will not be an easy thing for Mommy to do!

Brayden playing in the sand at LuLu's

This after I got home with her on Wednesday night. She was watching LSU play baseball on TV. I think she likes baseball b/c this is not the first time she has attentively watched a college world series game. She watched the USM game in her swing for like an hour without going to sleep or fussing!

James' 27th Birthday

We recently celebrated James' 27th birthday, or according to James, we re-celebrated his 21st birthday!!! I thought women were supposed to be the ones who struggled with getting older. I think his is an issue of not wanting to grow up though!!! It was during the work week so we just ate supper at my mom's house, and I baked him a special "Dale, Jr." birthday cake. I tried to make it with fondant icing (the really smooth pretty icing) like I had seen "Cake Boss" on TLC do, but mine didn't exactly turn out like the ones on tv! It was still fun to make though, and I will probably look for another recipe and try it again in the future. Might not have looked exactly like I wanted it to, but it tasted pretty good!

Brayden, Wesley, and Lindsay were also in town to help us celebrate James' birthday. They were on their way to the beach on vacation. Brayden was very excited to sing the Happy Birthday song to Uncle James! He even helped to blow out the candles - in other words, he christened James' cake. ;o)

Brayden helping blow out the candles

Mommy, Daddy, and Carly

This is what happens when Daddy drives the stroller! Wheelies!

Daddy and his little girl on his birthday!

OUCH!!! Shots!

This is actually the dress she came home from the hospital in. We had to wear it to the Turkey Banquet, but forgot to take her picture that night so we wore it to church last Sunday for revival.

Kinda blurry b/c she moved, but too cute. (I have to figure out what setting on my camera to do to prevent this blurriness when she moves!)

Who you lookin at????

We went for Carly's 2 month visit to the pediatrician today, and yes, she had to get the dreaded SHOTS!!! ;o( She did very well though. We gave her Tylenol at the doctor's office, and every 4 hours after that until bedtime, and she seems to be doing fine - a little fussier than usual, but not bad at all. She is sleeping peacefully now. We hope that she sleeps her normal 8 -9 hours! She is an angel for sleeping that long at night - I am so blessed to have a good baby.

Carly really was a trooper today. After her doctor's appointment, I had several errands to run in Hattiesburg. She slept and was very well behaved for most of the time. The only time she got upset was at the end of our Walmart run, but she had a tummy ache and a dirty diaper - who wouldn't be upset??!! After all the errands, we came home and had corn to put up. She slept out in the shop with Nanna for the most part while Granddaddy and I shucked and silked, then woke up and played with Granddaddy while I helped cut the corn off the cob. Hope she's feeling up to the same thing tomorrow morning!!!

Dr. Merritt said Carly was growing just fine. She weighed 12 lbs. and 10 oz. and is 24 1/2 inches long. That is the 80th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height. She doesn't have a choice but to be tall!!! She was also very alert and strong for her age, according to the pediatrician.

I have an interesting story to share. Carly has an adorable polka dot swimsuit from Gymboree. Since Jamie and Mark are getting a pool I decided she will probably be swimming and needed a sun hat to go with it so the sun wouldn't be in her eyes. The only polka dot hats they had left were 12 months and older, so I asked the lady to check in the back for smaller sizes. A manager came out and said she didn't have any more in the back so she came and double checked the shelf for me. No luck. She thought for a minute and said she had some hats in the back from last year and she would go check to see if she had one that matched the bathing suit. She also said they were really cheap. I was thinking like five dollars or something. She comes out with several in her hand. We try matching them to the bathing suit and narrow it down to two that are really cute. She says she is going to go ring them up to see how much they are.. Are you ready???? The darn things rang up for 19 cents a piece!!! That's right, 19 freaking cents!!! I walked out of Gymboree after having spent 40 whole cents on two absolutely adorable sunhats that probably orignally cost 13 or 14 dollars each! I started to ask her did she have any clothes from last year back there, but I decided not to press my luck. I just might next time though. ;o)

I am attaching a few recent pictures. I have some from tonight of her smiling, even after shots; however, I have not gotten them loaded onto the computer.

First Sick visit to doctor ;o(

Well, we have officially had our first sick visit to the doctor. We made it 8 weeks without one though. Saturday morning when Carly got up she took her first bottle fine, and when she got back up I automatically gave her her second one. She kept spitting it out so I just thought she wasn't hungry yet. OH NO! Quite the contrary, when she had gone 5 hours without a bottle, I knew she should be hungry and she was crying like she was. However, when I gave her the bottle she screamed even louder. This broke my heart!!! I got to looking and she had some bumps in the top of her mouth. I called FGH On Call, and the nurse said it sound like thrush. I wasn't sure that that was it b/c it didn't exactly look like it and the bumps were only on the roof of her mouth and not on the cheeks. Anyway, she called in a prescription for some Nystatin to help her. It didn't seem to be helping any, and she was not eating well so we decided to go to the Pediatric Clinic on Sunday afternoon. We didn't get to see Dr. Merrit, but we have made another friend at the clinic - Dr. Richardson. We both liked him very much. He said it didn't really look like thrush but more so like hand, foot, and mouth disease. Basically it was just ulcers in the top of her mouth making it painful for her to suck her bottle. It's viral so there isn't anything we can do to help her other than give her tylenol.

I am very relieved to report thought that she is MUCH better today. She fusses a little before taking her bottle because she thinks it is going to hurt. She has eaten much better and actually played in her bed and on her playmat today. Thank the good Lord! She has napped on her own today, unlike Saturday where I basically held her the whole day. I actually managed to get my car washed, straighten the kitchen a little, and she is currently napping so I managed to get a pizza made and it is cooking in the oven now. My good little girl is coming back! Yay! I often tell James and other people I am scared to have a 2nd one because she has spoiled us. She is such a good baby!!!! I just pray she continues to get better, and doesn't have another round with this for a long time or ever again!!!

Here are a couple of pics from when she was laying her bed playing today.

Cousin Brayden Visits

Mommy and Carly chillin by the pool

Brayden having a ball in the pool

CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!

Carly's first trip to the zoo. She must have been bored. ;o)

Nanna and Brayden on the train at the zoo

My nephew Brayden has been staying with Mama and Daddy since Monday, and Carly has had lots of firsts while he has been visiting. She has gotten to wear her first swimsuit, and she has gotten to go to the zoo for the first time. She has also learned a new trick! She discovered, by accident I think, that she could make a popping noise with her mouth and tongue. She has figured out how to do it over and over again. After she does it, she is so proud of herself - she just grins and grins. She can even be prompted to do it if you do it to her! Our little girl is so smart, already. ;o) I have a video of her doing it, but it is on Mama's memory card so I will have to get that from her later and post it. Hopefully I can catch her on mine sometime soon.

Mama and I took Brayden and Carly to the Kamper Park Zoo in Hattiesburg today. It was H-O-T, but I think Brayden really enjoyed it, especially the train ride. Carly was oblivious to the whole experience - she slept! However, that was great. She really is a good traveler. I am scared for the 2nd baby b/c she has been so good. We may be cursed next go round!!! After our trip to the zoo, we were all hot so we decided to come home and get in Brayden's blow up pool at Nanna's house. The water was still a bit cold for me and Carly so we just sat in the yard and let him splash us.

I will share some pictures from our time while Brayden was here. He goes home tomorrow. He has missed his Mommy and Daddy, and I am sure they have missed him too! We will be looking forward to his next visit b/c he is such a sweet cousin! Anytime Carly cries he says, "It's ok, Carly, don't be sad!"

Graduation, Meeting Cousins, Sleeping all Night, and Smiles

Half smile

Couldn't you just eat her up???

Marlee, Aunt Cindy, and Carly

Daddy, Mommy, and Carly at graduation

I haven't posted in a while, but things have been busy, busy, busy! I officially have a master's degree now. James, Carly, Mama, Daddy, and Mrs. Linda all came to watch me get me diploma that we have all waited so long for me to get. Too bad Carly didn't really want to watch, and Mrs. Linda had to take her out. ;o( She normally does really well, but she had other ideas that night.

Carly Jane got to meet her cousins Marlee and Jordyn this past Saturday. They are the granddaughters of my Aunt Cindy that lives in Gonzales, LA. Marlee thought Carly was great until her MawMaw got to holding Carly and couldn't hold Carly. She warmed up after a little while though. I can't wait until Carly is big enough to run around with her. I think they will be great playmates.

I am happy to report that Carly is sleeping through the night now - kind of. She just started this this week. She usually gets a bath and goes to bed around 10 o'clock, and she sleeps until about 3:30. She wakes me up whining and stirring. I go pop the pa-pa back in her mouth, and thankfully she goes right back to sleep. She then sleeps till about 5:30 when she is ready for a bottle. After her bottle, I usually can put her back down, and she sleeps till about 9. So, I really cannot complain about her sleeping patterns. They could be sooo much worse!!!

Carly has also started smiling back at us in the past couple of weeks. It is so much fun to see that little face light up with a smile. I have tried to catch a few pictures of her smiling, but I always seem to not have the camera close by when she is really showing out. I did manage to catch a couple of half smiles the other night, and I will share those with you.

First Mother's Day

Our little family after church. Carly was snoozing...


Mother's Day is forever changed for me - I am a mommy now! It's great. God has given me a perfect little person who calls me Mommy (or she will when she learns to talk anyway). We went to church, and I got a corsage for having the youngest child at church. Grandmother got the one for being the oldest mother at church, so that was kind of neat. She will be 88 years old next Thursday. ;o)



We had a great day. We ate lunch at Mama's, and most of Carly's family was there. All of her grandparents and great grandparents were there so that was great!



Carly is growing more and more everyday. I weighed with her on Mama's scales last night, and she was a whopping 12 pounds! Can't wait for her 2 month appt. to see how much she has grown since her 2 week appointment. She is becoming more alert everyday and beginning to smile, not only in her sleep but in response to people. She is making more and more noises, and I think she will be laughing out loud before long. She also has a very strong mouth!!! This morning I put her in the bed with James while I was getting ready for church, and she was a little fussy. Apparently she was in search of something to eat b/c when James went to get ready for church I looked at his chest, and he had a hickey!!! She was rootin around for breakfast, and Daddy didn't have what she was looking for. She sure tried though!

5 Weeks Old

I love my stroller!

Konked out!

Chubby cheek smile! Love her!

Pretty girl!

I can not believe my baby is 5 weeks old today! When people say they growup fast, they are not kidding!

Carly has been staying awake for longer periods of time, so I decided it would be a good time to take some new pictures. So we took some pictures in her monogrammed gown, and then we went for a walk. She loves her stroller! The only problem is when I stopped pushing it, she would start screaming! We definitely have a drama queen on our hands. She did settle down for a short nap though. I have posted some pictures that we took during our "photo shoot" and from our walk.

First Trip to Big Church

Aunt LeAnn and Carly (I am going to change the next pictures to vertical before I post them!)

Mama, Daddy, and Carly at church

Carly's great-grandmother had to come say hey at church

Carly Jane went to big church for the first time on Sunday morning. She had gone to an evening service last week, but this was her first official trip to church with Mommy and Daddy, and I might add that it was an eventful one!!!! While we were in church, a storm blew up unexpectedly. The lights flickered and went out one time, there was hail, and to top it all off, a limb hit my car making the car alarm go off during the service. The limb did minor damage to the door of my car, but it could have been much worse!!! I am glad we were at church with James because if we had been at home in the trailer by ourselves, we, or rather I, would have been freaking out!!! Carly had a bottle and slept the whole time though! Let's hope this behavior continues!!!

Aunt LeAnn also got to hold Carly for the first time today. Here are a few pictures from our day.