Sunny Florida in February

Seriously, it was sunny and warm (bordering on hot) when we visited Florida last week. I normally don't love warm weather but it was a welcome break from the cold winter we have had up here in Georgia. Most days were 80 degrees-- in February-- Crazy!

It was a really fun week in Bartow with Grandmama and Granddaddy. As usual, it was over far too soon.

Here is our week in pictures:

Lunch at the Stanford Inn with Mama (and Carver, of course)

For those of you who aren't familiar with this house, this is the house/funeral home featured in the movie "My Girl" with Macaulay Culkin.


Park Visit #1: Mary Holland Park

Carver trying to crawl up the slide to get to Grandmama


Hugging Grandmama

Carrying his treasures to the car.

Dinner at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City with Mom and Dad. A landmark restaurant in Florida that I had never actually been to-- it was great!

Park Visit #2 (and #3 not pictured)

Please excuse Carver's kind of random outfit...he is wearing a shirt that is too small and shorts that are too big. In my defense, it is winter so he only has cute cold-weather clothes right now.

Other fun excursions that week that didn't make it into a picture:

* Two visits to Yogurt Mountain!

* Dinner at Abuelos in Lakeland and Gators Dockside in Highland City.

* Shopping! And helping introduce Mom to the world of couponing.

* Bridesmaid dress shopping in Tampa and lunch at Sweet Tomatoes (possibly my favorite place).

Playing in the car on the long, oh so long, drive home...

Taking big gulps from the sippy cup and then letting the water drizzle down your chin to soak your shirt is SO fun!

See the wet shirt? On a side note, does anyone else think that Carver doesn't look quite like himself here? I can't put my finger on it, but he looks different to me in this pic...


Where's Carver?


There he is!

All in all it was a great week. But, as always, the very best part was getting to watch Carver with my parents. I will never get tired of watching them love on him and see how he adores them right back. Carver even chose my mom over me a few times...which better just be a short phase or I might get bitter :) I wish we all lived closer, but I am SO thankful for regular visits.

14 Months

There are so many cute kid's clothes out there, but seriously, is there anything cuter than footy pajamas? (how does one spell "footy," footie??)

This last month has brought an increased awareness that I am now the mother of a toddler. Carver just seems so much older these days. And I love it. I have genuinely loved every phase Carver has passed through, each one is just more fun, more entertaining, more remarkable. Every day I find myself looking at Carver and feeling an ache in my chest because my heart feels like it will literally burst with the pressure of all that love I feel for the little guy. Each day I feel like I couldn't possibly love him with any greater depth than I do right at that moment, but from experience I know that tomorrow I will love him even more. It's an awesome and terrifying amount of emotion.

Here are some of the things I love most about this last month:

1) Carver has become SUPER affectionate. He loves to "hug." He will just randomly lay his head against my arm or leg (depending on what he can reach) or wrap his little arms around me for a quick respite from his endless, energy-filled playing. He walks up to me a dozen times a day wanting to be held-- though only for a minute or two at a time. Then it is time to get back down and get back to his toys and whatever else he finds entertaining at the time. Words can't describe how much I love this.

2) He hugs on the dogs too. And it is beyond adorable. I'm not entirely sure that they enjoy his hugs as much as I do but they are very tolerant. He has hugged all of them several times over the past weeks. These hugs usually involve his full body being draped across their bodies with his head laying against them. It is the most precious thing. I haven't captured it on camera yet, but when I do you will be the first to see it.


(Lea wasn't in the mood to be hugged...so Carver just hugged the space in front of her)

3) Carver has completely embraced eating solid foods. This is such a relief and an answer to prayer. Two months ago I was convinced we would have to do therapy and such to get him to eat anything that wasn't completely pureed. Now he will eat just about anything. I love to watch him eat, you can tell how proud he is to be able to do it himself.

4) Clapping! This is something I never really tried very hard to teach him. If I had I am sure he would have learned it much earlier. One day he just started doing it every time I would say "Yay!" or "Good job!" Now whenever he does something he is particularly proud of he claps for himself. Cute cute cute.

5) Carver has started randomly taking off his clothes. Which I think is hilarious. I'll go in to get him up from his nap and he won't have a shirt on. Tonight he decided to take his shirt off at the dinner table. Pretty soon he'll probably be running around naked.

Look Jenny!! It's the clothes you gave Carver :) He wears them all the time, not just for this photo op.

6) Caver is getting better and better at entertaining himself for short spells. Which is nice because, you know, I do have a million things that I need to be doing at any given time. Getting short breaks when he is happily playing by himself has been a huge lifesaver.

7) He is finally becoming more interested in books. He won't sit and let me read to him, but he will bring me books and show some interest now when I read them to him. He'll stand there for a minute or two and then wander off to do something else.

Digging around in his basket o' books.

Reading, upside-down.

Other things, some I don't love quite as much:

* Carver has an attitude. He is definitely strong-willed and can be easily frustrated. He gets super feisty when he doesn't get his way... but don't we all? Sometimes his attitude makes me laugh, and sometimes I see glimpses of things we are really going to have to work on in the future.

* He hates having his teeth brushed. I think if I didn't demand that they be brushed every.single.day that Daniel would just not do it... It is a complete pain to do, but Hello! it isn't one of those things you can just choose to not do.

* Carver still gets 3-4 bottles a day. For selfish reasons I am not in any real hurry for him to give them up because I like to hold him when he takes his bottle. But, I can't help hold the bottle. Oh no, Mr. Independent does not like for me to touch his bottle at all while he is drinking it now. He still gets sippy cups of water and he is doing fairly well with it.

* He still loves his pacifiers. I'm not sure he would be devastated without them, but he really likes them. Pretty soon we'll probably start reserving them for bed time only...and maybe long car trips too.

This is how my house typically looks at the end of the day, and yes, I do clean it all up after Carver is in bed. But don't drop by unannounced during the day and expect a clean house.

I am so tired. All the time. I feel like my "to do" lists never, ever, get completed. My house is never as clean as I want it to be, I am never totally caught up with the classes I teach, I rarely get truly dressed (as in something other than the most casual of clothes) or wear make-up, or fix my hair, I never have time to blog as much as I would like or organize Carver's baby book and albums, I never cook dinner as often as I want to (who wants a sandwich...or cereal?), I am always late sending birthday cards or gifts, I forget to return phone calls and emails, and there are a thousand more things that I wish I did, or had more control over. I don't know how people with multiple kids do it. One kid, a job, a husband, 3 dogs, and a house to take care of overwhelm me to the point of hysteria some days. But, I wouldn't change a thing.

Because one day Carver will not need me every minute of every day like he does now. One day I won't be able to hold him in my lap, or carry him on my hip. One day it will embarrass him when I hug or kiss him. One day I won't see him every day or even talk to him every day. One day he will have a life and a family and I (and Daniel) won't be the most important people in his world anymore. It's an inevitable part of life (though I am still pretty darn close to, and dependent on, my parents). So, when I am wishing I had the energy to clean my house from top to bottom, and cook Daniel a gourmet meal, and finish all of the laundry, I am going to realize that instead of doing those things I took my son for a walk, or to play at the park, or I read him that book for the 10th time today, or I tickled him until he did his belly laugh, or I just held him and rocked him and thought about the future and what kind of boy and then man he would turn out to be. And so, all of those mundane tasks that never get totally completed will not matter so much. Because at the end of each day I know that I spent it with Carver, and for right now, that is the purpose and mission of my life.

And, it's a pretty good life.

Heading Out

We are heading out tomorrow to visit Grandmama and Granddaddy in Bartow!! Daniel has some camp shows in FL so Carver, Delia, Lea, Baby Winston, and I are tagging along. It was a spontaneous, last-minute kind of trip but we're excited :)

Probably no blog updates until next weekend....

So, until then I'll leave you with this cute face.

This Week...

Since I am sure that all of my avid readers are dying to know the play-by-play of my week (since I lead such a fascinating life) here you go, a recap of my week:

First, Monday was a good day. I cleaned out my closet. Don't scoff. It was invigorating and liberating and my newly cleaned and organized closet has made my world feel realigned. Seriously. You see, I have a tiny obsession with clothes/shoes/handbags, etc. And my closet was filled to bursting. I regularly clean out my closet so technically most of the stuff in there wasn't too old, but I have to admit, I was only wearing about 1/4 of the total. Time to Spring Clean! Carver helped too. And by "helped" I mean he unloaded all of the things out of my closet that he could reach--most were things I didn't want to be removed. Then I spent an impressive amount of time searching the house for my missing belongings (he really likes my heels...don't tell his daddy!). One thing that precipitated this cleaning spree was the BIG NEWS that I am almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Hooray!!! Still a ways to go but maybe the end is in sight. I wonder if that means I can quit exercising 3-4 days a week? I hate exercising, it is torturous and miserable and a nightmare...but I digress.

Monday was also Valentine's Day. Which is, in itself, not a big deal to me. I do, however, love flowers, so these made my day!


Jump ahead to Thursday night. (Tuesday and Wednesday were unremarkable). On Thursday night my MOPS group met at the Black Dog Bistro for appetizers and a night of painting. A local artist led us through painting a picture and it was super fun despite my complete and utter lack of artistic talent. Apparently it skipped me and went straight to Julia :) But, my painted canvas is now gracing the shelf of my newly clean closet. It's a cheerful addition that only I will see-- which is a good thing.



On Friday Carver and I had a day on the town. In Buford actually. We perused the wonders of Babies R Us, which never gets old. I could spend days in there. Then we headed to the mall and did a little shopping, played in the indoor "playground," and ate lunch. The best part was saved for last...we stopped by Tutti Frutti for some frozen yogurt on the way back home. I LOVE frozen yogurt. It's an obsession and I may need a 12-step program to end the addiction. But not yet. It was Tart and Strawberry with granola for me and a little dollop of Tart for Carver. (He loves it too).



But, I have saved the very very best part of my week for last...

Are you ready?

Daniel started a blog. Really, I swear. I couldn't believe it either. He has a blog! That means I have a new blog to stalk. And, can I just say that it makes my heart feel full to bursting to read first-hand Daniel's thoughts on fatherhood and Carver and such. I love it. Love, love, love it. I hope he keeps it up.

Check it out here.

Bucket List

Lately I've been thinking about what I would put on my "bucket list" if I actually had one...which I don't. Until now...I am making it as I go. I'm surprised I've never really thought about it before. For the last couple of days things have been floating around in my head so I decided to formalize it and make a true list of all the things I hope to do before I die.

So, here you go:

1) Commit to vegetarianism.

2) Attend culinary school.

3) Earn another degree- preferably my Ph.d. or at least another master's degree.

4) Get published.

5) Speak/give a presentation at a conference or symposium (for historians).

6) Run a marathon...or a mile...

7) Return to London and Oxford but spend some time in rural England also.

8) Travel to Greece, especially Athens. I want to see the Acropolis.

9) Travel to Italy (Rome).

10) See the pyramids in Egypt. (might wait awhile to head there...)

11) Own a cat. (This may seem minor, but if you understood how Daniel feels about cats you might realize that this could be the one thing on my list I never cross off).

12) Return to Hawaii and Seattle.

13) Commit to recycling, buying locally, and other earth-friendly things.

14) Find mission work to commit to, at least annually. Abroad or here...anywhere, really.

15) Move back to Asheville.

16) Buy a car. As in, not Daniel buy me a car, but be able to purchase one all by myself. Financial independence, I guess you could say.

17)

18)

Surely this list will continue to grow, so I'll leave some space at the end :)

Playing at Camp

We have had a really cold, rainy, snowy, icy, windy winter here in northeast Georgia. So I am beyond thankful for sunny, mild days. Now that the little one is walking we really need to get out of the house more and burn some energy.

Yesterday, Carver, the girls, and I loaded up in the car and headed to Strong Rock to see Daniel and baby Winston. Daniel was in the middle of one of those weekends where he is working so much that he leaves the house before Carver is up and gets home after Carver is in bed at night.

And, who could go very long without seeing this cute face?


Carver loved visiting his Daddy at work and he really loved the wide open field to run in. He took a number of tumbles but he was a trooper, he got right back up every single time and got right back to playing.

It was a beautiful day, a short visit at camp, but sweet moment together; watching our now-toddler son "run" and play outside. I can't wait for many more of these days.

Family Time

Last week Carver's Nana and Papa came to visit him. Carver absolutely loves having family around, he loves the extra attention :)

Not only did Carver get to spend a lot of time with them, but Daniel and I also were able to have a date night in Helen at the Hofbrau Restaurant (German fare) while the grandparents played with the sweet boy-- we had a really great time trying a local restaurant and being able to spend the evening together. Thanks to my Mom and Dad for the gift certificate!

Nana also brought Carver a Raggedy Andy doll that she handmade especially for him. I love it! It is super cute and he seems to like it as well :)

Sharing

I think all parents worry about teaching their kids to share. I mean, who wants to have the mean, selfish kid who hoards his toys or steals other kid's toys, you know?

Well, even though Carver is an only child at the moment, it looks like he is starting to figure the whole sharing thing out.

Evidence: Carver likes to share his snacks with the girls. Sometimes he will take a "cracker" (i.e. crunchy Gerber snacks that look like cheese puffs) and give it directly to one of the dogs. Sometimes he likes to chew on said cracker for a minute and then remove it from his mouth and let the dogs eat the mush out of his hand. And sometimes he likes to throw his food on the floor and then lean over the tray of his highchair and watch the dogs scramble for the food.

Thinking about it...

Here you go "Wee-ah"! (i.e. Lea)

Look at how much they love me!

There are a couple of pros and cons to this new habit:

Cons:

1) The girls are on diets and actually losing weight. Getting a lot of random treats from Carver is not going to help with further weight loss.

2) Carver (for the most part) eats organic snacks specifically for babies. And, they aren't particularly cheap. Definitely not economical to feed half of his snacks to the girls.

Pros:

1) The girls will actually "play" with Carver when he has food. i.e. They don't ignore him or try to pretend like he doesn't exist. I also think that they know it is technically his food because they never try to snatch it away from him.

2) In fact, the girls in general seem more tolerant of Carver. Of course, the way to their hearts is definitely through their stomachs.

I am hoping that this first attempt at sharing will carry over into actually sharing with other kids. I'll keep you posted.

Under Construction

The blog is "under construction" right now. Hence the random changes. I'm working on it...it may take awhile....so be patient.

Date Night

A couple of weeks ago Daniel and I had an honest-to-goodness date night, all thanks to Rebecca who was willing to come and babysit the little one for us. Rebecca is officially our first non-family-member babysitter. It was so nice to be able to go out for several hours and not worry at all about Carver. Rebecca promised that Carver was good for her, and I really hope he was-- especially since the day was a little rough for him. He was just starting to show signs of an oncoming sickness and he hit his head on his dresser about an hour before we left for the evening. He had an enormous bump and bruise on his little forehead. Sad.

Sweet Lily Belle even came along for the evening. I love it that Rebecca knows that Lily is always welcome here, just like I know that if I'm invited to Rebecca's house that the girls have an open invitation as well.

It was great to spend an evening with Daniel. We went to see "The Dilemma" and then to dinner at the Black Dog Bistro in Clarkesville. All in all it was a really fun night and a much needed evening together.

Not that I didn't miss Carver because I did. Intensely.