Father's Day Weekend

Well, it's Wednesday and I am just now getting around to re-capping our Father's Day weekend!  Better late than never, huh?

We had a great weekend at home for once!  On Saturday, we went to the little Farmer's Market in our town. Got some fresh veggies, fresh shrimp, boiled peanuts, and hot dogs. That's a good round-up, right? After that, it was off to Babies 'R' Us to stock up on baby-proofing supplies. Now that we have a little crawler, it won't be long before she figures out how to open cabinets. Best to be proactive!

On Saturday night, our friends, the Pennys, came over for dinner. I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but my friend Holly recently had a baby boy. Walker and Charlotte are exactly 6 months to the day apart in age. It is going to be so much fun raising them together! Charlotte decided she wanted to hold Walker's hand...so sweet!

Until, she went in for the kiss. Ahem, Daddy was NOT happy about this one. No kissing boys, Charlotte Ruth!

On Sunday we went to early church and then out on the lake. Charlotte went swimming for the first time in her new float, and she LOVED it!

My parents came for dinner and WEG cooked shrimp and grits (yum!) and we went out on the boat to see the purple martins at sunset.  Lake Murray has the largest migration of purple martins in the world, and between June and September, they come in to roost on one of the islands on the lake. Right at sunset, they all descend on this island. It is quite the show!

Such a great weekend as we celebrated WEG's very first Father's Day! He has been the very best daddy I could have ever asked for to Charlotte. The adoration is mutual between those two. It warms my heart that she has a daddy that she will love and adore as much as I love and adore my own.

Beach essentials for baby?

We're heading to the beach in a couple of weeks for a ten-day vacation. (I CAN'T WAIT, btw) Seeing as how this is our first big trip with our precious baby girl in tow, I'd like to know if anybody has any suggestions of what works well and what does not work well for the beach.

I am hoping Charlotte will tolerate the sand. We took her in the lake for the first time yesterday in her little float, and she absolutely loved it. She splashed and even stuck her face in the water, which scared me but did not phase her.

So, anybody braved the beach with an 8 month old? How did it go? What are our "must-takes" and what can we leave at home?

I'll be back tomorrow (hopefully) with a recap of our weekend and Father's Day, but I need to download the pictures from my camera.

A sticky (or should I say stinky?) situation

Disclaimer: If talk of bodily waste bothers you, you might want to skip this post.

So, picture the scene. It's Sunday night. I feed Charlotte her dinner, go upstairs and make her bath. By the time I get back downstairs, WEG has stripped her down to her diaper, so we're ready to go. As I do every night, I get to the bathroom, pull off her diaper and toss it in the trash, and turn to put her in the tub. Only on this particular night, my foot squishes as I step towards the tub. Looking down, I see it....poop all over my foot, in the rug, and on the floor.

Um, GROSS. Obviously when I pulled off her diaper, I did not realize that she had left a prize for me, and when I tossed it in the trash, out flew a bit of poop. So, I did what any sane mother would do....started yelling for my husband. He ran up the stairs to my rescue- probably thinking something was wrong with Charlotte. As I handed her off, he proclaimed how gross the whole scene was and didn't stick around to watch me scrape the poop off my foot. The rug went immediately in the wash, and nobody is worse for the wear. But, I've gotta tell you. This thing called motherhood...at times, it ain't glamorous!

In other news, my Gamecock baseball team claimed the Regional, and we're headed to Chapel Hill for a battle of the Carolinas. Charlotte's ready, and pulling for a South Carolina victory. On to Omaha!

The Watermelon Crawl

Does anybody remember that song? "She rocked back on her heels, dropped down to her knees, crawled across the floor, and then jumped back to her feet. She wiggled and she giggled, beat all you ever saw. Said this is how you do the watermelon crawl."

I don't have a picture or a video because when my child sees a camera, she immediately goes all serious or quits what she was doing. It's as if she's telling me, "Mommy, I am not a trained monkey and will not do ______ on command." Haha. She's quite the little stubborn one when she wants to be. Her daycare teacher told me it wasn't being stubborn, it was knowing what she wants. Okay, Mrs. Ann...if you say so! (wink, wink)

But, in any case, Charlotte crawled for her daddy and me last night! And speaking of monkies, her little crawl looks just like one! It is the cutest thing.  She's certainly not going to win any races right now, but I know she'll be zooming all over the place soon. And I better get things baby-proofed!

Charlotte's been crawling at daycare for a week now, but just would not do it at home, so I was completely surprised last night when I put her on her rug in her room to play and started putting her clothes away and looked down to find her crawling.  I clapped for her and then scooped her up and ran to get daddy so she could show him. And, luckily, she did it again for him.

So, at just shy of 7 months, my baby is crawling! And she is also showing interest in pulling up on the couch, she just can't get a good grip on the leather. It won't be long before we have to put her crib down. 

I'm loving watching Charlotte grow and learn new things, but there is this twinge of sadness in me that time is moving so quickly. Where did my little tiny baby go? She'll be 7 months last week and it still feels like yesterday when we were headed to the hospital to have her.  Time marches on, I guess!

We're headed to MeMa and Poppy's for the weekend.  Hope everyone has a good one!

And just because she's so cute, I'll leave you with a picture

Memorial Day weekend

I know I'm a little tardy on my Memorial Day Weekend update, but oh well...here goes!

 

We had a great weekend, that kicked off with an early dismissal from work on Friday. I never complain about that! Since I got off early and so did WEG, we decided to go for a boat ride. Yikes, it was windy! But nice to be out for a little bit. The boat puts Charlotte right to sleep and she naps pretty well. That's a major score since she is not the best napper in the world.

Saturday WEG went down to the coast so he could offshore fish on Sunday, and Cha and I headed to the park where my friend Holly took some pictures of her. They turned out so cute. Surprising since it was VERY hard to get her to crack a smile. That is one serious girl when a camera appears.

 

MeMa and Poppy met us at the park and then we went to eat at Atlanta Bread. Charlotte LOVES a restaurant. She looks around at all the people...quite the nosey child. Can't imagine where she got that trait! After ABC, it was home for a nap and then to the roadside stand for fresh produce, followed by a quick trip to the mall. Saturday evening finished up with take out dinner from Alodia's...yum!

 

On Sunday we headed to the early service at church and then to Cracker Barrel for brunch, followed by the zoo. This was Cha's first trip to the zoo.  It was crowded and she had just awakened from a nap, so at first she was a little unsure.  However, by the middle and end she was having the best time.  She was able to see some of the animals, and she loved riding in the stroller. All in all, a great first trip!

 

 

My mom and dad left on Sunday afternoon and Cha and I got a little run in. WEG made it home late that night, exhausted from a successful fishing trip. On Monday, he went in to work for a little bit, and because Cha's daycare was closed, I took the day off. She and I went on a Sam's trip- again, the child loves to ride on anything...the boat, stroller, car, shopping cart. She played in the shopping cart while I shopped in Sam's. She laughed, babbled, kicked her legs. I even had one shopper comment on what a content baby she was while I was checking out.

 

When we got home, WEG was back from work and he and Cha took a nap while I laid out a little on the dock. Then we went over to my friend Julie's for a cookout.  Charlotte got to see her new friend Walker who is 6 months to the day younger than her.

 

It was a great weekend filled with good friends, family, food, and fun. I wish we had more like that! And I could always use a 3 day weekend. As a working mom, working 4 days instead of 5 would make such a big difference!
 

The days when being a working mom is hard

Today is one of those days when being a working mom is especially tough for me. One of the days when I am green with envy when I think about moms who are lucky enough to be able to stay home with their children. Moms that get to see the milestones their children hit first, before anybody else does.

 

Yes, today I am jealous, a little bit bitter, and a little bit sad...all of which are not stellar qualities to possess, I know.

 

You see, Charlotte has been working on this crawling thing the past two weeks.  She has been so close.  She gets up on her knees and rocks back and forth, and she can scoot herself clear across the room.  But, she has yet to crawl for me.  I've been waiting, watching, and encouraging, but she just won't do it.

 

When I dropped her off at daycare this morning, her sweet teacher asked me, "Did Charlotte do anything new movement-wise last night?" It was in that instant that I knew she had crawled at daycare yesterday. Daycare is so good about not expressly telling you when your child reaches a major milestone, but I know her teachers are so excited and proud and want to share the joy. And I am joyful that my sweet girl is reaching these milestones, and reaching them ahead of schedule in most cases, but it is still a little sad that I'm not the first one to see it.

 

So, today I will carry that little twinge of jealousy in my heart, and tomorrow I will get over it. But, some days you just need to throw yourself a pity party.  Today is one of those days.

Oklahoma

As a mother, I can not fathom what is must feel like for the people in Oklahoma that have lost children or whose children are still missing after that horrible tornado. Just like I could not fathom what it must have felt like for the parents in Newtown, Connecticut. And, I hope I never have to endure the searing pain of loss that they are feeling right now. My heart just breaks for them as I think of my sweet baby girl. There is a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat when I imagine a mama dropping her baby off for school one morning not knowing that will be the last time she sees him. That, to me, is gut-wrenching...sickening...heart-stopping scary.

Every day is a gift that should be cherished, and I intend to remember that when I'm frustrated that Charlotte is spitting out the peas I made yesterday.  The same peas of which I have 16 meals worth. And I intend to remember that "this too shall pass" when she fights sleep at bed time. Those things are just minor frustrations... frustrations that many mamas and daddies today wish they could have back.

Again, I'm just sick over yet another tragedy. More lives lost. It's almost as if I hold my breath when I look at news reports because I fear what might have happened during the day. Did another bomb explode? Was there a natural disaster? Did a plant explode? Did a crazed gunman enter a school and kill innocent children? These things make me feel raw, exposed, scared. And yes, I have to admit, sometimes it is even hard to trust God in the midst of tragedies such as these. But, that is what I must do. As a Christian and a beliver and a child of God, I have to trust Him. I have to believe that He holds us all in the palm of His hand. That it is He who giveth and taketh away. But it is also He who will comfort us when the pain seems too much to bear.

So today, I hope that the people of Oklahoma are clinging to Him and seeking refuge in His arms as they process what has happened. And may their memories sustain them until they meet again the loved ones that they have lost.

And may everyone put aside the things that frustrate you today and hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight and cherish the present because we do not know what the future holds.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.