Tricky Baby

We woke up this morning to find Carina had scooched herself 90 degrees in her crib last night. She's on the move! She tried really hard to roll over this past weekend too. Now if only she could hold her head up. She's actually getting really, really good at it and fights us to let her hold her own head up when we're walking her around on our shoulder. A stubborn/independent streak already!

We started her on baby vitamins this morning. I had read in one of my parenting magazines that breastfed babies should take a vitamin D supplement so I asked our pedi. He said go ahead and start her on a daily vitamin containing A, C and D. It's fruit flavored! Carina didn't seem to mind at all. She just looked a little perplexed as she smacked her lips.

I've made new decorations for our Sunday school room next year. We'll move with our same girls to a different room starting in September. I took pictures of them all individually and then put each picture on a piece of scrapbooking paper surrounded by squares for each month so they can put a sticker up for each week they are there. It's a scaled down version of the monster wall covering we currently have in our Sunday school room. I really enjoy doing stuff like that for the girls. Peter is the teacher and I'm the craft/discipline person, haha.

Not much else going on. One week till I return to work. I'm stocking supplies like Pop-Tarts for those days when I miss breakfast, candy (just to make me feel better) and a framed picture of my darling girl. I get my hair cut tonight and it'll be nice to get out on my own for a few minutes. Peter will enjoy the daddy-daughter time too.

Party, Party, Party

We've come to the end of yet another weekend but Peter is off tomorrow so it feels as though we can enjoy the weekend for one more day. Yay!

Saturday friends of ours came to visit from New York. We went to TGI Fridays for lunch. The food was awesome, the company was even better (we love you Ted and Becca!) and Carina was pretty well-behaved. We came home and hung out a bit more. Once our company headed to their hosts' home for the evening we took a walk around the mall. I didn't intend to buy anything but I ended up with a few things for work. I tried to use a coupon at Gymboree on something for Carina but even with the 20% off I couldn't justify spending more on baby clothes than I do on my own. Ridiculous. Carina gets mostly 2nd hand anyway - it just makes more sense for baby clothes she stains up and grows out of so quickly. Plus my fave consignment shop has the cutest and best clothes ever!

Enough about shopping. Today we went to Sunday school and then came home and had lunch with Ted and Becca before they headed home. After lunch we headed my parents' way for a graduation party for my cousin Shawn. We got to hang out with family, pass the baby around and eat some good food. Plus we took some 5 generation photos that I'm pretty proud of. Carina is so fortunate to have so many grandparents, great-grandparents and even a great-great-grandma. Not many people can say that.

So now we're home and Carina is hanging out with Daddy. Asleep? Yes - Daddy says for the moment she's asleep on the couch. It was so sticky out today she'll be getting a bath tonight. Can't wait to enjoy another day at home as a family tomorrow!

Another One Bites the Dust

Another weekend gone. Another week closer to returning to work. Boo.

We had a busy but fun weekend. Saturday we spent the morning at my parents' house. Carina got to meet David, the 4 month old who lives next door. It's neat to see what we have to look forward to - bigger smiles and neck control.

Saturday afternoon we went to a party for my cousin's graduation from nursing school. Got to show Carina off to some more family who had yet to meet her. She slept pretty much all day. My family doesn't believe that she's ever awake! She was such a good little traveler and party-goer.

Sunday we made it through Sunday school and Carina was fairly content. We came home and did some house work before heading to Cracker Barrel in York to lunch with my college roomies. It was so nice to see everybody but especially nice to finally meet Celia - my roomate's daughter who is only 4 days older than Carina! Celia is only a pound or two bigger but she looks so much older than Carina and really has amazing neck control (can you see I'm obsessed with baby necks these days?).

My mom and two youngest nieces came to spend the night Sunday. It was nice to have them around Monday. Our phone and internet went out Sunday and we couldn't get them back without getting a new cable modem Monday. Then of course I couldn't get it all to work right so we had no phone or internet for 2 days and I was especially grateful to have the company. Gave me a chance to get out to pick up the cable modem, run to Target and get to the grocery store. Plus mom got plenty of time with Carina. She was so awake and sociable all day (I mean Carina but Mom was too, haha).

We're back to sleeping pretty well. She slept from 10 till 7 for a few days over the weekend but this morning she woke at 4:30. At least she goes back to sleep after a change and a snack.

Growing Like a (Very Cute) Weed

Monday Carina turned 2 months old. Holy crap. Where did the time go? She spent the day playing on her monkey mat and sleeping. Tuesday she had her check-up. She now weighs 10 pounds 2 ounces and is 20 inches long. We were amazed. She's such a little chub! She had her first shots and was NOT a fan at all. Three in her legs and she screamed like she has never screamed before. Poor little thing had quieted down by the time we got to the car but had snot, spit and tears all over her face (and my shirt).

She recovered nicely. Slept it off once we got home with Daddy. She did wake up from her nap howling again but after a snack and another nap she was back to her cheerful self. She slept well and never had any other side effects. What a zen baby we have.

Last night we had dinner with friends at their home. They grilled burgers, we took pasta salad and chocolate peanut butter cake. Carina was mostly awake all evening so I wasn't really surprised when she slept 9 hours last night. Uninterrupted sleep is heavenly. We've been waking up once per night for the past week and a half while she has adjusted to the sleep sack. Maybe this means she's back to sleeping through the night!

Had a good day today. Lots of playing and sleeping. Three weeks till I return to work and I'm trying my best not to think about it.

South of the Border

Yesterday we took Carina on her first interstate trip. We visited Peter's grandma Yoder in Maryland - about 90 minutes away. Overall is was a very successful trip. Carina was well-behaved in the car, as usual. We ate Chick-Fil-A on the way down and Carina ate once we got there. We stayed about 3 hours, fed Carina again and headed home. She was still asleep when we got home so we took her out for a walk in the stroller. After 3 hours in the car and 3 hours of sitting and visiting we all needed to stretch our legs.

This morning Carina was very well-behaved for Sunday school but started kicking up a fuss about 5 minutes into church so we just went home. Our church has a parenting room for fussy babies, nursing mothers, etc. and eventually it will be equipped with AV feed of the service but it isn't quite ready yet. I would have liked to stick around and hear the service in the parenting room but since that's not an option yet I figured I may as well miss the service from home instead of missing it from church, haha.

Tomorrow Carina turns 2 months old! We have our two month pedi appt on Tuesday and we can't wait to see how much she has grown.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Another busy but fabulous weekend. Friday after Peter came home I went grocery shopping by myself. It's more fun with Peter there with me (and I always appreciate help lugging the bags) but it's nice to get out of the house for a little bit too.

Saturday we all slept in a little. My parents stopped by and my mom stayed overnight while my dad went to my gram's overnight to try to fix some sink leaks for her. Peter and I went to see "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" while my mom babysat. It was really nice to get out for an actual date (popcorn and all!) but we both missed Carina and I couldn't help but worry about her a little. She was sound asleep when we got home and mom said she had been a bit fussy but overall just fine. She took her bottle like a champ and even gave mom time to make my birthday cake.

Yesterday was my birthday (25 w00t!) and my dad's family reunion. We had a really nice time and good food and Carina was a little angel all day. We gave her a bottle at the restaurant and she did great with it. She'll have to get used to that before I go back to work in a month. For my birthday present Carina slept 9 hours but then later in the day pooped all over me so I'll take the good with the not so good, haha.

Speaking of... sounds like somebody is waking up! (the burp cloth on the head in the pic below was mom's idea, haha - trying to keep the wind out of her ears)

Weekend: Part II

Sunday wasn't quite as fantastic as Saturday, haha. Carina was fussy as soon as we got to church so I spent much of Sunday school alone in the parenting room with a screaming little girl. Needless to say, we didn't stay for church. We had a nice lazy afternoon at home. My parents came to visit and we ate pizza and passed Carina around. We had a small group meeting in the evening and Carina slept through most of it but woke up cranky again so we left a few minutes early. We've come to expect this now that we have a newborn feeding schedule to contend with, haha.

Still, as our evenings continue to be consistently fussy, our nights tend to be amazingly quiet. Last night Carina ate at 10, was in bed by 10:15 and was just barely starting to wake up at 7 this morning. This kid is seriously amazing. I don't know how we got so lucky.

I had my 6 week post-partum check up on Monday. Peter and Carina tagged along but again - little miss decided to be fussy so they hung out in the car a bit. Everything looks good! I'm back to what I weighed at my very first pregnancy appt at 8 weeks along. I would like to shape and tone it up a bit but I'm very happy in my own skin. Sadly I didn't get to see the midwife who delivered Carina but I did leave her a birth announcement and we did swing by the hospital to drop one off for my main nurse too. She was pleased to see me and Carina. Who doesn't love to see a baby?!

Not much else going on this week. Tuesday we went to Coldstone for my free birthday icecream (sign up for your free birthday icecream on their website!). I couldn't resist buying a 6 pack of chocolate icecream cupcakes as well. I've been craving them since Valentine's Day and never got any! They were more than worth the wait.

Carina and I ventured to Target yesterday. Couldn't resist buying her a onesie "Sweet as Can Be" that was on clearance. We plan to put her in it for my Dad's family reunion this Sunday. She has outgrown the Gerber brand newborn onesies but this onesie I bought from Target yesterday is newborn size and huge. It's funny how every brand is so different. I have her in a Carter's size small (whatever that means) right now just to see if it fits and it's really big on her. We started using size 1 diapers this week too. They look huge on her but the newborn diapers just weren't cutting it anymore - especially for 9 hours overnight, haha.

I've been reading "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" to Carina for the past few days. I want to re-read the entire book before seeing the movie. My mom is spending the night Saturday so we're hoping to get out and see it while we have built-in babysitting. Can't wait! It'll be our first date post-Carina.