Easter Sunday

Getting ready to celebrate Easter this year with Carver was super fun. The differences between a 4 month old and a 16 month old are enormous :)

We went to church in the morning and our church was having a musical-of-sorts. Typically not my favorite thing. Maybe the professor/perpetual student in me really likes to listen to sermons that are more lecture-ish. However, the service was great and I was extraordinarily blessed by the music and the message.

Before leaving for church we gave Carver his Easter basket and attempted to take a few family pictures. Thank God for cameras with timers. So, the results weren't great but getting a squirmy boy to be still for a picture session is near impossible.

That night Daniel's parents (Nana and Papa) came over for our Easter dinner and we let the little man hunt for some Easter eggs. As I've noted before, Carver is a "collector" so while the full concept of finding eggs and filling up the basket wasn't totally understood, he clearly loved roaming around the yard and finding the colored eggs.

Easter Sunday was a really fun family day for us and I really think Carver enjoyed himself. Clearly, the basket itself was the big winner of the day :) I really could have left it empty and I think he would have been equally excited about it.

16 Months

I think my little one gets crazier and crazier as the months go by... He is full of energy, fairly destructive, incredibly stubborn, and lately, very dramatic. But he is also just so much fun. I'm pretty sure that it is now officially time for me to invest in some parenting books so we can figure out the whole disciplining thing, because at this point he certainly understands the word "no," but he often chooses to disregard it.

Sorry sweet boy, but I refuse to be that mom that has a wild and crazy toddler. So, we're working on it. Carver is still incredibly affectionate, quick to smile or laugh, and in general just excited about life.

I love spending all day, every day with him. He's my favorite thing.

Anyway. On to month 16 happenings:

1) Size: 18 month clothes, size 4 shoes, size 4 diapers.

2) Sleeping has been a little off this month. He takes 1 afternoon nap for usually 2 hours or less. And he goes to bed at 7:30 p.m. Lately he has been waking up really early at least a couple of times a week. Like, 5:30 a.m. early. Not cool.

3) Bottles-- 2 per day, morning and evening. I am sort of thinking about getting him off these last 2 and the other part of me really isn't concerned at all that he still takes two bottles. He is SUPER excited when he hears the bottle warmer beep-- which means his bottle is ready. He races to the kitchen and it is beyond cute. Don't judge. We'll be off bottles eventually.

4) Food: Carver is finally getting tired of his daily breakfast of organic apples, oatmeal, and cinnamon. He has probably eaten this every morning for the last 8 months at least. So we're trying out new things-- cereal bars, blueberry waffles, etc.

Here is a typical lunch:

Yogurt (with 1 veg and 1 fruit mixed in), 1/2 turkey and cheese sandwich, apple cinnamon graham sticks.

Dinner he is basically eating whatever we eat, usually with 1 jar of baby food just to round out the meal. He is a little picky about what fruits and veggies he will eat whole, but he'll eat any baby food so that is why it is still around. We're working on it.

5) New teeth! At least 2 are coming in on the bottom, maybe more.

6) New freedoms. Now that Carver is a little older, and sort of listens to me, he now can go pretty much anywhere in the house. No more baby gate keeping him out of the kitchen or dining room. He loves this new freedom. For me it just means that many more rooms to clean up at the end of the night :)

7) Talking: About the same as before. Though he does have a new word: "tickle" but he says "tickle tickle tickle" like a phrase, instead of just once. It's super cute. And he is talking a lot these days, just not using actual words we can understand. He communicates very well though by pointing and making sounds, etc. He also understands most of what we tell him. Well, when we are telling him age appropriate things anyway. (Carver, take that to your room... Carver, put that in your basket....Bring me your book/ball/etc....where is your cup?....Do you want ______)

8) Current favorites:
Playing outside
Slides (at the park)
Cereal bars
Yogurt
Reading books
Unloading kitchen cabinets
Printer-- he knows what button to press to print out the "test" sheet. He does this over and over. I can't tell you how much paper and ink has been wasted in the last couple of weeks. He stands there waiting patiently until the paper comes out.
Dumping every single basket in his bedroom.
Climbing into things-- baskets, his toys, a loaf pan...

Blog

Don't forget about Daniel's blog! Cute park pics are available now.

Check it out here.

Celebration

Last weekend we attended the much-anticipated wedding of our friends, Dillon and Allison. I have been SO excited about this wedding! Dillon is like family and I absolutely love his sweet wife. And, I think Dillon is extremely lucky to have her :) It was a true blessing to get to join in the festivities with them. I only wish that wedding weekends weren't so crazy-- there just wasn't enough time to spend together.

We arrived on Friday evening, checked into our hotel, grabbed dinner at the Capt's Tavern and then got the boy in bed as quickly as possible. It had been a really long day though Carver was absolutely perfect for the entire drive. Our hotel room had a beautiful ocean view and we spent Saturday morning playing on the beach.

The view from our balcony.

The windows were mirrored! And, can I just tell you that even letting Carver walk
on the balcony made me completely nauseous?

The big orange cone was of particular interest. It was there to direct traffic-- you can actually drive your car and park right on the beach, crazy!

Look at that belly!

I love that you can see our reflections in the water.

My guys.

Chasing the lone seagull we saw. Can you spot it?

After beach time we met up with Lyle and Mom as they were arriving in town. We ate at a fabulous restaurant, Aunt Catfish's. I may make a special trip to Daytona just to eat there again.

Saturday afternoon was spent trying, unsuccessfully to get Carver to take a nap. Then it was time to get ready for the big event. Lyle was nice enough to play with Carver some while we were getting dressed.

Carver entertaining himself (with Daddy's help) at the wedding

Dillon's wedding was held outside in some pretty gardens, with the reception site only about a block or so away held at a historic home in Ormond Beach. I completely failed to get many pictures and I am miserable about that.

The weekend was a really fun time of reconnecting with old friends and spending time with family. The weather was beautiful and it was great to get away to the beach for a few days and spend time together.

Congratulations Dillon! I am thrilled for you and I pray that God blesses you beyond measure in the coming years. Thanks for inviting us to celebrate with you.

Picnic at the Park

Carver and I took advantage of the warm and sunny weather and headed to the park today. First we walked the Cornelia Park Trail which is not too long (20 min or so to walk the full loop) but it is fairly mountainous. OK, it has some hills. Regardless, it burned some calories and entertained the boy.

Here are some of the highlights.

Searching for treasures. The best part of playing outside.

Found a stick.

And some rocks.

Even some trash.

Cute boy.

My Lunch.

Carver's Lunch.
Waiting (not so patiently) for Mama to get lunch started.

I live for days like these.

The Girls

My girls have not been getting a lot of blog time lately so I am making up for that today.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I adore these girls. Love them. They make my life better, every single day.

And, they really provide a ton of entertainment. For one, they have very distinct personalities.

Lea is incredibly affectionate. Almost to the point of neediness. She loves to climb into my lap to be loved on and at night she sleeps right by my head (though usually with most of her body on Daniel's pillow). She is an extreme hoarder. As I blogged about before. She loves her "treasures" and will take just about anything she can carry into her crate. She seems happiest when her crate is full.

Delia is my baby. Plain and simple. When most people meet the girls they are more drawn to Lea, I think it is because she genuinely loves everyone she meets. Delia is not quite so widely affectionate or trusting. She will always choose me over anyone else. She is my trusty sidekick. Delia is incredibly food motivated and her favorite way to spend the day is sleeping on the couch. She rarely obeys commands and pretty much acts like she can do whatever she wants. Both girls love to ride in the car and despise being left behind.

One of my favorite things is the dynamic of the girl's relationship with each other. It is usually a very amicable relationship. They are almost always together. Choosing to sleep together on the couch all day. Or share a seat in the car. They often lay or sleep pressed up against each other. Most days you rarely see one without the other.

But, they have their moments, like all siblings do. We learned early on that they cannot have toys or any type of bones that take awhile to finish or a fight will certainly ensue. Both are dominant, Delia more than Lea. And, Delia is almost always the one to start a fight. Lea, won't initiate it but nor will she back down. Their fights are infrequent but brutal. Sometime even bloody-- Delia lost a tooth during their last encounter.

Delia actually has an evil streak. She loves to steal items from Lea's crate. Not because she wants them, but rather because she likes to harass Lea with them. She makes a big production out of it. Last week she stole a squeaky toy out of Lea's crate. (My fault since I mistakenly thought maybe they could be trusted with toys again). Delia ran around the house with it, squeaking it. Lea would sit and watch her, too intimidated to take it from her but desperately wanting it back. Then Lea would wander out of the room and Delia would just ignore the toy, guarding from a distance. Sure enough, as soon as Lea appeared again Delia would grab the toy and squeak it enthusiastically, just to torment Lea. Evil.

There is little that Delia can do to make me truly angry. She runs away outside and completely ignores me when I call her back and she gets into the trash if there is food to be found. Sometimes she even has "accidents" on the floor. All of these things don't really upset me. However, she occasionally likes to push open Carver's door while he is sleeping-- waking him up. Then I feel complete and utter wrath. Violent anger.

In general, Daniel goes to bed before I do. Most nights Lea goes to bed with him. Delia waits up with me. She always has. Even if I stay up until 2:00 a.m. she just waits patiently. Recently, however, she has TWICE gone to bed without me. Broke my heart. Does she love me less now? Is she upset with me? Is she (gasp) starting to prefer Daniel? It was a sad sad day.

I get that not everyone (ok no one) is going to find a long post about my dogs interesting. So, if you read all the way to the end-- thanks! These girls are a big part of my world, though, so they deserve a post devoted solely to them.

Teaching Tools

I am always looking for ways to make class interesting for my students. This little gem is my new favorite thing. I can't imagine a more perfect intro to my post-1500 class which kicks off right at the time of European exploration and expansion.

I can't wait to get back on campus, just to show this clip.

(Disclaimer: I think this is ridiculously funny. Partially because I teach history and enjoy satire, and also because I have become familiar with Dora the Explorer in recent weeks now that my child occasionally watches kid's shows on t.v. The similarities are uncanny. I fully understand that not everyone will be as amused as me).