Why I Am A Blogging Slacker

Everyone has been telling me that I need to update my blog. I just can’t understand why people think that two months is a long time to go without blogging. While I will be the first one to admit that I have been slack in that area, I will say that I do have my reasons for not staying on top of things. I guess the only reason that I started this blog is because I was inspired by people like my sister who do such a good job with theirs and keeping everyone up to date on their lives. I never thought that anyone other than family would read my blog, and I usually talk to them on the phone about what is going on, so therefore, why blog about it. I suppose I really do need to keep it up to date for anyone who might be interested though. I just never know what is going to be interesting to someone else. I mean, every little thing that Taylor does is cute to me, but it might not be to someone else. So, I don’t want to bore you with all the little details. It is also more interested when I have pictures to post to go along with stories and I don’t always have a picture.

Well, enough with the excuses, here are some valid reasons why I haven’t been the best blogger. I must confess that when Daniel and I first got married and I wasn’t working I was a lazy slob. I would sleep late in the morning and then when I did get up instead of doing housework, I would get on the computer and maybe work on Mary Kay paperwork before playing Never Winter Nights. I got hooked on this game after visiting my brother-in-law and sister-in-law in Salt Lake City. We went out there for Christmas. I was sick the whole time with a cold and didn’t feel like doing much, so other than tubing, we pretty much stayed inside most of the time. I knew that Daniel and Brian (his brother) were into the game (NWN), but I soon discovered that Hollie played too. This intrigued me. I figured that if she played then it must be pretty fun.

Side note: Okay, if you don’t know what NWN is, I must explain that it is a role playing game that you play on your computer. You choose a character to be and give your character specific traits and a costume and a name. Then you take your character on adventures. It is very addictive.

Once we got home from our trip I started the game on our computer at home and I was hooked. I would sit for hours at a time on the computer playing this game. It didn’t matter that the laundry was piling up or that there were dishes in the sink or toilets to clean. I was in the zone and nothing was going to pull me away, except maybe Daniel coming home and catching me still in my PJ’s on the computer.

I never got anything done at home as long as I wasn’t working and playing this game all hours of the day. I wasn’t very disciplined at all. I had to get a job just to become a better manager of my time and to learn to be more disciplined. I have heard it said that those who stay busy are better time managers. I don’t know if that is true for everyone, but I do know that if I think I have a lot of time to get things done, I get lazy and wait until the last minute. So, now that I am a stay-at-home mom I try to pay more attention to Taylor and my housework than staying on the computer all hours of the day and night. I know that the computer is a weakness of mine, but my family and my home must come first. Kudos to those of you who can fit it all in. I am still trying to work out a balance.

Our Little Yoda

Before

After

Daniel just couldn't resist the urge to doctor Taylor's picture.

Truth & Treat

On Wednesday night before Halloween we had a Fall Festival at our church for the kids called Truth & Treat. There was a chili cook-off and dessert contest, which I entered my apple pie in (but didn't win), and we had hot dogs. It was fun to see all the kids in their costumes. All the activities were based on Bible stories and it was posted above the game what it represented and the book of the Bible and chapter it was taken from. Most of the activities were for kids a little bit older than Taylor, but we still had fun. We just walked around to the different activities and Taylor got candy. Here are some pictures from the event:

Taylor went as a UT cheerleader. We had varying comments on her costume. Some thought we were torturing her and others really liked it. Regardless, everyone thought she was the cutest UT cheerleader ever.

These are pictures of the Lost Sheep game. It's hard to tell, but they had sheep made out of cut out paper sheep and toilet paper rolls. There was a wire or something over the top of them and you had to use the staff to lift up the sheep. There was one sheep that was away from the others and the children were supposed to find the lost sheep and return it to the others with the staff.

These are pictures of Gleaning in the Fields taken from Ruth. The kids had to search through the straw for peanuts. We just threw them back since Taylor can't eat peanuts yet, but she did get some candy to take home and share with Mommy & Daddy.

The choir room was transformed into the belly of the whale. Once inside, they sprayed you with water and you had to climb up an inflatable slide and slide down the other side to get out of the belly of the whale.I tried to get Taylor to go in with me, but she started crying whenever I would nudge her, so I just gave up. Maybe she will do it next year.

Taylor mostly enjoyed playing with the other children. She likes getting attention from older kids. Here she is with my friend Anna's little girl Elizabeth.

Fingerpainting

Today I decided to pick up some fingerpaints at Wal-Mart and let Taylor have her hand at it (no pun intended). At first I painted her palm and let her do a palm print on the page. Then I just squirted some paint on the page and let her have at it. At first she just dipped her finger in it and cried for me to wash the paint off her hands. I showed her how to spread it around. She spread it around a little bit, but she didn't really seem to be into it that much. I washed her hands off and then she started acting a little more interested. She started saying "yewwow" and was pointing at the paint. I asked her if she wanted to paint some more and she said "more" and did the sign for more. So, I got out another piece of paper and let her choose the colors one at a time. This let her have a little more control and I think she liked that. She participated a little better, but she was still ready to get the paint off of her hands after only the second color. I think she doesn't like having her hands dirty. You wouldn't know this by the way she eats though. I guess she will just have to get used to it. I kept telling her that it was okay and that it was supposed to be messy. I am not sure that she understood, but maybe next time she will like it better. Here are some cute photos I took of her first fingerpainting experience.

Do I look like a monk or Yoda? Maybe this will be part of my Halloween costume next year. The long face is from just waking from a nap and not being sure about what is going on.

Trying to walk in Mommy's t-shirt.

Hmm, I'm not so sure about all of this.

Fingerpainting 101: Dip finger in paint and smear around page.

Gross! Get this sticky stuff off of my hands!

I wonder if this is edible?

Hooray! All clean! Now, get me down from here!

Taylor In All Her Cuteness

Taylor has been doing some really cute things lately. One morning I was removing my eye makeup before getting in the shower and she was standing there paying very close attention to what I was doing. I decided to let her try it out. I pretended to put some eye makeup remover on a cotton ball for her and showed her how to use it. She then started rubbing her eyes with the cotton ball. It was so cute. She started walking around the house rubbing her eyes with the cotton ball. I would have let her play with it, but since I was getting in the shower I decided to get it back from her just in case she decided that it was something to eat and accidentally choked on it.

The day that we went to the Pumpkin Patch Taylor fell asleep in the car on the way home. I was hoping that I could just drop her in bed and she would go back to sleep. Well, that didn't happen. I let her cry for a while and then when it was apparent that she was not going back down, I got her up. She decided to get into some of my music. She pulled out a music book and started flipping through it. Here are some pictures of her looking at music and then trying to sing.

Taylor likes Daniel's gaming chair. One afternoon after her nap she was reaching for her stuffed animals and saying something that I couldn't understand. I got her bunny down for her and she cuddled it for a good while.

"Hello, can you hear me? I'm talking on my bunny phone."

These are all of the pictures I have to share, but Taylor has been doing some other cute things as well. She likes to pretend - A LOT. She loves books of all kinds, but her lift-the-flap Karen Katz books are popular with her right now. She has been bringing them to me in the morning to read to her. There is one in particular - Grandma and Me - that she likes to pretend with. When she opens the oven to see the cookies inside she will pretend to take a cookie out of the oven and eat it. At the end of the book when Grandma gives the little girl a kiss Taylor will give Grandma a kiss. It is so cute.

I know that there were other things that I meant to blog about and I wish I had them on video or written them down because I cannot remember them now. Taylor is continuing to improve in her speech. One thing I have noticed is that many of the words that she uses on a regular basis are words that she knows the signs to. Some favorite words right now are oh no, oh my, wee, no, all gone, ball, woof, star, and doll. The next step is to get her to say two words together like blue ball or big box.

Pumpkin Patch

On October 16th Central Baptist Morning School went to the Pumpkin Patch. The 2 yr. old class did not go, but we were invited to tag along since I teach music there and Mitzi, the Morning School Director, thought she might enjoy it. Well, she enjoyed it in a little different way from all the 3 year olds. I think that she will get more out of it when she is a little older. She mostly wanted to run around the farm. Here are a few pictures of what she enjoyed:

Hayride with Grandma

Cow Train - she seemed a little unsure at first, but once it got going she was fine.

Taylor loved petting the bunnies. She wanted to grab them though.

One of her favorite things was chasing the chickens. Too bad, she just wasn't quick enough to catch one for dinner.

Taylor also liked the other animals in the petting zoo. They had goats and cows.
Before we left the kids got to pick out little pumpkins to take home. Taylor insisted hers was a ball and just wanted to throw it.
Here is a picture of me and Taylor in front of the barn.

A Visit from Mamaw & Papaw

Last week we had a visit from Papaw & Mamaw (Ron & Patsy Poe). They were here from Thursday night until Sunday morning. Even though we did not have a lot of things planned to do, we had a great time just being together. Since they live about 2 or 3 states away (NC), they don't get to see Taylor that often and, of course, they have to bring gifts for her when they come. Patsy likes to shop on QVC and found these cute little books. Actually, they are not that little. They are made of cloth and the covers are stuffed. When they are closed they can be used as pillows. They came in a set of four. Taylor really liked them. She loves books anyway, so anything like that she will enjoy. These books are a little advanced for her understanding, but they will grow with her.



On Friday we all went out to the local hot dog joint called Monroe's. They are touted as having the best hot dogs around. Patsy loves hot dogs, so we figured that would be a good place to take them. Afterwards we went to the church so I could take care of a few things there and we let Taylor play on the playground.

On Saturday we were going to go to a local carnival called Cowpoke. This would have been the first year that we would go, but Taylor woke up with a low grade fever and just wasn't acting herself so we decided that it would be best to just hang out around the house. Later that afternoon she was feeling a bit better. Daniel and I had Praise Team practice at church so Ron and Patsy went with us and watched Taylor while we practiced.

Their time here went by pretty fast, but it was fun while it lasted and I know that Taylor enjoyed getting to see her Mamaw and Papaw. Here are a couple of pictures that we took of her cuddling with them.

Taylor with Mamaw

Taylor with Papaw

Ready To Potty Train???

I have been meaning to post this, but after getting a comment from a friend to potty train Taylor before baby #2 comes along, I decided that I need to go ahead and post this.

Last weekend I went on a scrapbooking retreat. A friend's in-laws have a lake house about 20 -30 minutes from Americus and invited all the girls from church who crop to come out for the weekend to work on our scrapbooks. Daniel graciously allowed me to go and spend the entire weekend while he took care of Taylor. It was so much fun and gave me a much needed break from the day-to-day. I missed them a lot, but Daniel called and gave me updates on the cute things that Taylor was doing.

The first time Daniel called he told me about Taylor and her puzzle. We bought her a Melissa & Doug barnyard animals puzzle. For a long time she was not sure what to do with it and would just take all the animals and throw them on the floor. Just recently she has started trying to put the pieces where they go, but has not been very successful. For the first time on Saturday she got 3 of the pieces in correctly. When she would get one in she would clap and say,"Yea!" Since then she has gotten all of the pieces in with help. It is exciting to see her learn new skills.

The second time Daniel called he told me that Taylor was in the bathroom playing with the mats on the floor. He told her not to do that because the mats were dirty. Well, would you know that she sqwatted down and made a dirty diaper when he said that? I couldn't believe it when he told me. I just wonder if that is a sign that she will be ready to potty train soon. The next time I go to Wal-Mart I am going to pick up a potty chair and a book and video for her on potty training. A friend of mine told me that there is a Barney video and Taylor likes Barney, so I'll probably look for that one. If anyone has any experience in potty training and would like to share what has worked for you, I would be open to any tips.

Naptime

Okay, by now you have probably figured out that I am getting caught up on my blogging since I have posted so many times in one day. With being pregnant I just usually don't feel like sitting at the computer at night and want to veg in front of the TV, but tonight I am on a roll, so I might as well post while I feel like it.

Taylor did something kinda cute or at least interesting - in my book - today. We met Daniel for lunch at Hardee's today. We don't usually eat there, but we had some coupons and I was craving a burger, so we ate there today. We sat behind some friends from church and I exchanged pregnancy stories with her since she is also pregnant. Taylor did really well at lunch until she started getting antsy toward the end and wanted out of her seat. Once I got home with her I noticed her rubbing her eyes. Her normal nap time has been around 1:30, but she has been going down sooner than that since she has been waking up earlier. It was almost 1:00 when we got home from lunch, so I got her diaper changed and started her naptime routine. I always read her a story before bed if it is naptime or nighttime. Today I read That's Not My Dolly. It is a touchy feely book and she usually likes to touch all the pages and point to things that she recognizes. The other day she pointed out and named the eyes and the nose on one of the doll's faces in the book. Today was a different story though (no pun intended). It was like she wanted to bypass the book altogether. She was flipping the pages before I could even get them read. As soon as I read the last page she shut the book and pushed it away as if she was trying to put it back in the basket. She then grabbed her bear lovie and blanket that she cuddles as if to tell me, "Forget the story, I'm ready for bed." I rocked her for a little while and as soon as I put her in bed she went out like a light. I am so thankful that she is sleeping well these days and goes down so easily now. I never would have thought that her sleeping habits would change so dramatically just because we let her cry. She only slept for an hour today (normally she sleeps for an hour and a half), but it didn't take her as long to wake up and she wasn't as grumpy after her nap as she normally is. It gave me just enough time to do my new Beth Moore study that I just started this week. I am enjoying this age so much.

Cell Phone Flush

Taylor doesn't like for you to close doors if you are behind them, so when I am home alone with her I have to leave the bathroom door open when I am in there. When I am showering I usually try and get her distracted in the living room with Praise Baby before I jump in the shower, but she always makes her way back to the bathroom and finds me. She pushes the door wide open and the pulls back the curtain and laughs. She likes to play peek-a-boo. I can usually tell her to go play with her toys and she will leave, but sometimes she comes back again.

The other day I was using the bathroom and she came in. Sometimes I lock out my cell phone so she can play with it. This was one of those times that she had it. When I stood up to fasten my overalls I was not paying close attention to her and then I all of a sudden saw her reach down in the toilet and realized that she had my cell phone in her hand. She hadn't let go just yet, but I said, "no" or something to startle her and she let go. Fortunately I grabbed it before it fell all the way down, but it was already submerged. I rinsed it off and did everything I could to get it dry. I turned the hair dryer on it and opened it all up so it could air out really well. It still doesn't work. I ended up having to get a new cell phone. My contract wasn't up yet, so I wasn't due for a new phone, but since I have the primary number on our account I was able to upgrade at no cost. We went to the Verizon store and they were going to charge a $20 upgrade fee plus the 2 year contract price of the phone. We decided to check online and I am glad that we did because I didn't have to pay the $20 fee, plus one of the phones that we would have had to pay for at the store I was able to get for free online and I didn't have to pay shipping either. I ended up getting a bluetooth headset for only $20 too. The only really bad thing that came out of all of this is that I lost all of my contacts on my phone because I didn't have them saved anywhere. I was able to get some of them off my contacts on the computer and off of Daniel's phone, but there are still some missing.

Taylor's Speech

Taylor has been saying more words lately. We have been teaching her sign language since she was about 6 months old. Of course, she didn't start catching on until much later, but she knows quite a few signs now and is even saying the words along with the signs. She knows mama, daddy (or dada as she says it), baby, ball (although she doesn't do the sign for this one much anymore because she is usually pointing at a ball or holding a ball when she says it), more, doll (this is a new word and sign), teeth, bear, star, bath, dirty, and clean to name a few. Taylor also likes to make animal noises. I can't get her to name the animal. When she sees a picture she automatically makes the corresponding sound. She also groups objects together. For instance, everything round is a ball to her and every color is blue. Taylor's favorite fruit is bananas. Whenever I take her grocery shopping and she sees bananas she will say, "nana!" She is also imitating a lot more now. There are a lot of words that she will say once we say them. For a while now she has been repeating Amen at the end of the blessing. She tries to say apple sauce when I ask her if she wants some. It doesn't come out very clearly, but I know she is trying. She can also repeat names of colors and objects from her flash cards.

Taylor also tells me sometimes when she is dirty. She doesn't usually offer this information, but if I think she is dirty I can ask her and she will say and sign the word dirty, but it comes out "dirdir." It is really cute. If she is not dirty she won't say anything. She is not always honest with me - only if she wants me to change her diaper. I am hoping that this means that she will be easy to potty train. I am considering training her before this baby comes if she seems ready. I know that sometimes they can have setbacks when there is a new baby in the house, but I'd like to get it over with if at all possible.

Taylor has a newfound addiction to Praise Baby. One night we had her in our bedroom and Daniel had her up on the bed playing with her. To calm her down before bed he put a Praise Baby CD in. After this she discovered that not only was Praise Baby on the TV, but we could play the music in our bedroom. Lately she has been waking up before I get up in the morning and Daniel has been bringing her in our room. She doesn't go back to sleep, but she sits on the bed with me until I am ready to get up. Almost as soon as she comes in she starts reaching for the CD player and fussing. If I ask her if she wants to listen to Praise Baby she will exclaim, "Paiseby!" If she wants to watch the video she will bring me the remote. She has started saying it on her own now and a little more clearly. I am not sure why she cuts off baby because that is a word that she says clearly by itself. She'll get it though. It is so fun to listen to them talk when they are just trying to figure it out. I love to watch her face light up when she gets it and says it over and over again.

Pregnancy Contrasts

This pregnancy has been so different from my pregnancy with Taylor. It has been so different, in fact, that I wonder if I am having a boy this time. When I was pregnant with Taylor I felt great the majority of the pregnancy. I had the tiredness and only a slight amount of nausea in the beginning and again tiredness and some swelling and general discomfort in the end, but I LOVED being pregnant. This time I have not quite gotten the enjoyment out of it that I did before. From just about the beginning I have had some queasiness and a lot of lightheadedness and/or dizziness. I thought that it might be because of low blood sugar because I am constantly hungry. I get hungry about 2-3 hours after I have just eaten. I am trying to eat snacks to keep something on my stomach so I don't get sick. I just hope that I don't eat too much and start gaining a lot of weight. I feel like I am always starving. I know they say that you are not really eating for two, but I swear it feels like I am. I have had some different cravings this time and my cravings are not always consistent either. Last time I craved oranges or orange juice. This time I have craved everything from hamburgers to salad. At least when I get snacky I crave mostly healthy snacks.

A little over a week ago I sang a solo at church. During the congregational worship time I started feeling really lightheaded, so I got out my crackers which I had with me for such an occassion and started munching. Daniel and our Sunday School teacher saw me on the front row from the choir and started laughing at me and telling me to brush off the crumbs. The interim music minister got worried about me and thought I was getting sick. When it came time for me to sing I walked slowly up the steps to the platform and made my way to the pulpit and held on to it just in case I got too lightheaded to stand on my own. Once the song started I was okay, but I was praying the whole time for God to give me the strength to stand there. When I was finished and the pastor came up to preach he thanked me for the duet and proceeded to tell the whole church (and those listening by radio) that I was pregnant. I think it is funny that everytime I am pregnant it gets announced at church somehow. The last time it was my boss who announced it on a Wednesday night in front of everyone. At least that wasn't on a Sunday morning in front of the WHOLE church and on the radio. I don't mind people knowing, but I just think it is funny. You can tell that our pastor is very proud when our church is producing babies.

Ultrasound

We are going to a new doctor's office for my OB visits. Since the tornado hit, we have been losing doctors. One of the doctors is retiring and my doctor is moving away. The other two doctors who are left are not taking any new OB patients right now, so I am forced to go to Albany. My first visit was yesterday. I was very impressed with the office. It was very nice and very organized, unlike the office here. It was nice to be in a place where they knew what they were doing. I didn't have to wait nearly as long either. When I went in for my ultrasound I was surprised that it wasn't the over-the-belly kind (if you know what I mean). It caught be by surprise because I wasn't expecting that kind and I had never had one before (unless I did during delivery of Taylor and had just forgotten). Anyway, it caught me off guard. I am just 8 weeks along though, and that is the only way they can do an U/S at this stage of the game. When I was pregnant with Taylor I don't think I had an U/S until later. Right now the baby is the size of a peanut and measures right at 8 weeks. We got to see the heart beating but didn't get to hear it because the frequency is too high. When I go back for my OB exam they will let me hear the heartbeat with the Doppler. She was able to tell me that the egg came from the left ovary. I was surprised that she was able to tell that. I didn't know that they knew stuff like that. Anyway, my first visit was a positive experience and I think that I will like the practice. Here are the pictures that we were given of the ultrasound.

We have been trying to teach Taylor about the baby in Mama's belly. She is so cute because she kisses my belly when I ask her if she wants to give the baby a kiss. She will kiss me and then say,"Aww." I guess she has heard us say,"Aww, how sweet." It is really precious when she does it. I believe that she thinks there is also a baby in Daniel's tummy. She has rubbed his belly before and even tried to kiss it. We just tell her that Daddy doesn't have a baby in his belly, only Mommy. Maybe she will start to understand when I get bigger. I really need to get some video of it. I don't want to forget this time.

Speeking of kisses, Taylor has started kissing everything in sight. She kisses all her stuffed animals and dolls. She LOVES dogs! The other day we were outside with her and a couple of our neighbors walked by with their dogs. The first one didn't stop because her dog isn't really child friendly. The second one had a Pug and stopped for Taylor to pet the dog. She squatted down and gave it a kiss on the snout. I wish that I had gotten it on camera. It was so cute!

Taylor's Announcement

Taylor has an announcement to make. She is going to be a big sister!!! We are all excited about it. We just found out about a week and a half ago, and I don't go to the doctor until the end of the month, so I don't have a due date yet. I am thinking it will be sometime late May or early June though. So far I have been feeling pretty good. I have had slight twinges of nausea, but it really is just more like loss of appetite than true nausea. I have started feeling some loss of energy as well. Other than that I feel great! Here is how we announced our pregnancy to everyone.

Getting Everyone Up To Date

OK, I admit that I haven't been the best at keeping up my blog lately. I have been quite busy baby-sitting and such. Anna Kate is no longer staying with us, so I should have some spare time now. We will see how that works out though.

There has been a lot going on. We are getting ready to start discipleship training on Sunday nights at church. Daniel is going to be teaching a financial class by Crown Ministries. I am going to be leading the children's choirs. This should be interesting. I have no experience working with children's choirs, so I am just praying that God would give me the resources that I need and the grace to pull this off. We don't have a permanent music minister right now, so I don't have someone like that to go to for advice. I am pretty much on my own. I do have some good helpers though. For Christmas we are just going to do a very simple Christmas musical. The 3-5 year olds will sing a few Christmas carols at the beginning. Who knows, maybe one day I will be inspired to write some children's music.

As you have probably noticed, I have been inspired to write some lullabies lately. Hmmm, I wonder where that inspiration came from? Sometimes Taylor's books will give me a jumping off point. I have always wanted some lullabies to sing to Taylor at bedtime, but I didn't know any, so I just started making them up. It kinda came pretty naturally. I am in the process of having a friend of mine arrange one of my songs for me. If he has time, I may have him work on the others too. My goal is to one day record all of the songs on a cd for Taylor. I also have some other ideas for how I want to use them.

Daniel got me a keyboard for our anniversary and I downloaded a program called Finale off the internet that allows you to type out your music and print it. The version I got is supposed to allow you to scan in music and edit it. So far I have had trouble getting the program to recognize the scans though. Sometimes the music ends up all jumbled up or the notes are all in the wrong places. I am still working on it though. Daniel wanted me to be able to record my songs into the program to create sheet music. I think you are supposed to be able to create MP3's too. When I get my songs arranged with accompaniment I will post them on my blog.

Taylor has been making some progress over the last month in her speaking. She has started saying baby and ball while doing the signs. She also says all gone when she is done eating. She is saying bye-bye a lot more clearly too. I can't remember if I mentioned her animal sounds or not, but her favorite is the tiger. She does that one everytime she sees a picture of a tiger. She can also moo. At one time she said quack, but I have had a hard time getting her to say it lately. She has a book of nursery rhymes that starts off with Baa, Baa, Black Sheep and it sounds like she is trying to quote it while she looks at the pictures. The only thing understandable, of course, is baa.

Taylor is also starting to show more interest in her shape sorter. I have been a little concerned because she has not mastered it yet and she gives up really easily. I have been meaning to talk to her therapist about that, but she hasn't seen her in two weeks. Hopefully she will see her tomorrow.

I am sure that there is something else that I am forgetting to blog about. Maybe now that things are a little bit quieter around here I will have some more time to blog and won't get so far behind. (Yeah right! That's what I always say about scrapbooking!)

Lull-a-bye, My Little One

Lull-a-bye, my little one.
Close your eyes; the day is done.
Go to sleep; don't make a peep.
May you dream something sweet.
Lull-a-bye, my little one.

Lull-a-bye, my little one.
Sleep, my child for night has come.
Angels at your bed at night
Keep watch 'til morning light.
Lull-a-bye, my little one.

Words & Music by Carrie Poe

Sleep, My Little One

Lull-a-bye, close your eyes.
Go to sleep, my little one.
Lay your head upon my breast.
It's time to say "Good-night" to sun.
Moon and stars are shining brightly in the sky above.
And God is watching over you, so sleep, my litte one.

by Carrie Poe 08.03.08

Mommy's Little Blessing

It's not always easy to know just what to do,
So I cry out for wisdom in taking care of you.
God alone gives me the strength I need for every day
And grace to know what's best for you in each and every way.

You're Mommy's little blessing, you're Mommy's gift of love.
I cherish every moment that God grants us from above.
I understand that letting go is part of loving you.
You're Mommy's little blessing; I hope you know it's true.

When I hold you in my arms I pray a simple prayer;
That God would take your little heart into His loving care
And mold you into the woman that He wants for you to be:
A woman of great faith and love and true integrity.

You're Mommy's little blessing, you're Mommy's gift of love.
I cherish every moment that God grants us from above.
I understand that letting go is part of loving you.
You're Mommy's little blessing; I hope you know it's true.

by Carrie Poe 08.03.08

TGIF!!!!

Whew! Thank goodness this week is finally over! It has been rough at times, but God has been faithful to get me through it. Baby-sitting has been a harder task than I initially thought. Anna Kate had 3 rough days out of 5 this week. She is one of those babies who gets really worked up once she starts crying and you just have to let her calm herself down. She will cry hard for 30 minutes until she will let you have the satisfaction of figuring out what it is that she needs. It was very frustrating. I think part of the problem was that she missed her mommy. This was the first full week for her without having mommy around all day. I am sure that she was a little out of sorts because of that. Today was much better though. She took longer naps today and stuck more to her original schedule at home. I was definitely tired when her mother came to pick her up though.

Taylor has had a bit of a rough week too. Both babies are teething, so that has been a bit of a nightmare. Taylor has been more whiny this week than I have seen her in a long time. She has gotten a lot more clingy with me since Anna Kate started staying here. It has been nice to have her sit in my lap while I'm watching TV, but it is a bit annoying when she won't leave me alone to put AK down for a nap. I have to close the door and then Taylor ends up standing outside the door crying. It is pitiful.

Taylor has also become quite the acrobat this week, but not on purpose:

• On Monday she came in the bathroom with me and was leaning over the bathtub and reaching for a toy or something while I was waching my hands. The next thing I knew she was falling into the bathtub. Thankfully there was no water in it. She wasn't hurt or anything - there is a soft mat in the bottom of the tub to keep her from sliding around in it - but she cried anyway. I think it just scared her. It was really funny.
• Yesterday I had a squirmy Taylor on the changing table and was just about to give Taylor some Benadryl for her cold when she flipped off the end of the changing table backwards. Her suitcase was there beside the changing table, so that kinda broke her fall, but it really scared her and I think she must have busted her lip a little because she got blood on my shirt. I couldn't see anything bleeding though. She screamed and cried a little, but after rocking her for a few minutes she calmed right down and was ready to play again.
• Today I was holding AK on the couch and Taylor always wants on the couch with me. I pulled her up on the couch hoping that she would sit quietly beside me. Oh but no! She had to start standing up and crawling around on the couch. I was doing my best to spot her, but as soon as I didn't have my hands on her she fell backwards once again off the couch. I caught her by the leg before she hit the floor, but it still scared her and she cried for a little while.

One of these days Taylor is going to start tumbling all over the place and she is going to think it is fun. Needless to say, this has been a crazy week for me. I am glad that it is over and looking forward to a little rest so I can get over this cold that I have.

On a positive note, Taylor is getting used to taking only one nap a day and has been a lot less sleepy in the morning hours. She is also imitating us a lot more, which is the first step toward talking. She is imitating sounds and some words. She says "yep" everytime you ask a yes or no question. She is always pretending to talk on the phone too, and kissing her baby dolls. I want to get her a nice baby doll with a bottle and a paci and see if I can teach her to feed the baby and put it to sleep. My grandfather made me a cradle when I was a little girl, so I am going to get that back from my parents and see if she will play with it.

Adventures in Babysitting

In my last post I mentioned that I just started keeping a friend's baby during the day yesterday. I will have her for the next month until she starts at the day care. My friend is a teacher in another county. Evidently the daycare where she is going to be going doesn't start until school starts in our county. My friend had to go back yesterday, so she needed a sitter for about a month until school starts here. I will be keeping her for about 7-8 hours everyday. She is 4 months old. At first I wasn't sure if I'd be up to it. I was afraid that Taylor would be jealous because she is already clingy with me at times, but so far she has done really well with it. I decided to go ahead and commit to keeping her because I thought it would be good preparation for when we decide to have another child. We are not planning on getting pregnant soon, but I thought it would give me a good idea of how it will be to have two.

Although things have gone fairly smoothly, let's just say that I am glad that I didn't have mine 14 months apart. After all the trouble we had getting Taylor to sleep and dealing with all the crying, my nerves just aren't ready to deal with that full time again. Anna Kate does go down a lot easier than Taylor ever did, but she doesn't seem to stay asleep for long periods at a time. I don't know if it is the new environment or what. She is supposed to be on a 3 hour schedule, but her napping has been a little eratic and so her schedule has been more like every 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I am sure that the longer I keep her the better she will settle back into her regular schedule. I tried to get her to sleep in the bassinet of the pack 'n play but she only slept there for about 30 minutes. I then progressed to the bouncy seat since it is probably the most similar to her seat that she sleeps in at home. The longest she has slept there is 45 minutes. Both of these were placed in a quiet part of the house - my bedroom. I put her in her car seat with Praise Baby on while I put Taylor down for a nap. I was just hoping that it would keep her happy while I tended to my own child. Would you know that when I came back in I found her asleep? It wasn't even time for her naptime again. Oh well, I am sure she needed it since she hasn't been napping very long. I guess we will see how long she sleeps this time. At least I can get some quiet time in and relax myself while they are both sleeping. This is nice. :)

Oh, by the way, here are a couple of pictures of the two girls together:

Makin' Progress

I am already seeing some progress in Taylor's speech. Some of it may be that I am just understanding her better, but I think she is also saying some new words and imitating me more. It is really cute to see her say new things and make new sounds. It is also very encouraging. A couple of days ago Taylor was walking around saying "Mama" all day long. Yesterday she started doing the sign along while saying it without me saying anything first. That was the first time she has signed anything without me saying the word first. She has also said "yes". We are trying to teach her the signs for "yes" and "no". This morning I was reading her a book about baby animals. I was making the animal sounds and after I did the duck sound she repeated "quack!" She has also started whispering when you whisper to her. She is also learning her body parts. Yesterday I was reading her another book called "Where's My Nose." I asked her where the child's eye was in the book and she pointed to her eye. I proceeded to ask her where her nose and mouth were and she pointed to them. I then asked her where her belly button and toes were and she knew them too. I just started keeping a friend's baby during the day while she works. She is a school teacher in a neighboring county and her first day back was yesterday. The little baby is 4 months old. Yesterday Taylor found her belly button and was tickling it and saying "goochy goochy goo!" It was so cute! Sometimes I wonder how much she is understanding when I read to her, but she catches on a lot better than I realize. That will be some good news that I can pass on to the speech therapist when I see her in a couple of weeks.

Rediscoveries

Warning: This post contains material that may be offensive to some.

The other night I was rocking Taylor to sleep and she was having trouble getting in a comfortable position. I had already gotten my comfies on and was not wearing a bra. Sometimes she grabs my shirt to pull up on me, but this time she grabbed my nipple. Ouch! After that she kept repositioning herself. She doesn't seem to have as much trouble finding a comfortable position on Daniel. I think that my breasts get in the way. Well, she did the funniest thing. She sat straight up in my lap and pressed her hand against my breast and just looked at it as if she didn't know what it was. It was like she was feeling it out and trying to see if she could press it down. I told Daniel about it and he thought it was hilarious. I guess that is probably the only time I have ever wished for a flat chest...when I am rocking my baby.

Excitement at the Doctor

Warning: This post contains content that not meant for those with a weak stomach.

Yesterday Taylor had her 18 mo. checkup with the pediatrician. Usually Daniel goes with me to Albany for these visits, but he was unable to get off of work this time since he was filling in for a co-worker who was on vacation. This is not the first time I have had to go without him, but usually I have someone else go with me if he can't go. This was only my second time going by myself. I wasn't as nervous about this visit since Taylor didn't have to get any shots, so I didn't expect her to be fussy on the drive home. I expected the visit to be a little less eventful as well. Boy could I ever have been more wrong!

Taylor had to have her finger pricked to have her iron checked in her blood (at least I think that is what they were checking). As soon as the nurse grabbed her hand Taylor started crying. She does not like band-aids, so as soon as she got the bandage on her finger Taylor pulled it right off. By this time I was taking her into the exam room. As soon as I realized the bandage was off her finger I noticed blood going everywhere. Blood was all over her hand and her leg. She had gotten it several places on my shirt and there was some on her face. I got another band-aid and was trying to use cotton balls to stop the bleeding, but I wasn't sure which finger the nurse had pricked. I was freaking out! I opened the door and cried out to the nurse, "Can I get some help in here!" She saw what was going on and immediately came in and we put Taylor's finger under cold water. That stopped the bleeding. She got some we paper towels to clean up the blood and I tried to console Taylor while I was cleaning her up. I am not nursing her anymore, so I tried to give her a sippy cup of water to help calm her, but that didn't work. She finally stopped crying and got interested in the books in the room. Finally the doctor came in. He is a very good doctor and has a very calming presence and is quite jolly, but for some reason Taylor is afraid of him. She did not like the stethescope. She cried the whole time he was examining her and tried to fight him off. I felt so bad. He said that all children 15 -18 months hate him and that by age 2 they start warming up. I wish I knew what I could do to make doctor visits less scary for her. I read her a book about going to the doctor before we went, but that doesn't seem to help. She even cried when they weighed her and checked her height. Other than all the crying and the bleeding Taylor's appointment went well and she was given a clean bill of health. Maybe her next visit when she is 2 won't be so bad.

Taylor's Eyes

OK, so I guess you have probably noticed that I went a little crazy on the blogging today. I guess I just have a lot to share. I am trying to get caught up too for not having shared very often in the past. I am sorry if I am overdoing it.

This is the week of doctor appointments. Taylor had her speech therapy this morning and we just got back from the eye doctor. Most of you already know that Taylor has an eye condition called a strabismus. All it means is that when her brain gets tired of focusing it causes her eyes to cross outward. Basically one eye strays out. It is not critical and does not require surgery or therapy. Dr Tu is confident that Taylor will outgrow this. I think one of her cousins had this same problem and his eyes are fine now (he is 3). I really notice it more when she is tired or not feeling well. Her vision is fine and she doesn't even need glasses. We are glad for that. So, for now we are just keeping an eye on it (no pun intented) and she is to go back in a year. That is good news.

Taylor has her 18 month well visit with Dr. Evans on Friday. Usually Daniel goes with me to all of her appointments but he is having to cover for a coworker this week and will not be able to take off early. This means I'll have to drive to Albany by myself. What fun! I am planning to take her to a little shoe store there to look for some more sandals. She needs some dressier ones for church. She is growing so fast! Well, one doctor down, one to go.

Speech Therapy

Taylor had her first speech therapy session this morning. I felt like it went well. She didn't come out with a bunch of words or anything, but Becky took a lot of notes and gave me some pointers of what I could work on with Taylor. Taylor seemed to lose interest in what she was playing with fairly quickly. She would get distracted by some of the other things that Becky brought with her. Becky was very patient with her and tried to get Taylor back on task. One thing I have noticed her doing is actually taking Taylor's hand and making her do what she wants her to do instead of doing it for her. She told me to take her hand and make her point to things. She also told me to practice taking turns with her like rolling the ball and putting snap beads back in their container and even making noises. This gets her used to imitating and hopefully will encourage her to imitate words. She is doing that some but not a lot yet. Another thing she wants me to do as time permits is silling things like putting one shoe on Taylor or getting her ready for a bath without putting water in the tub. The idea is to get her to point to tell me what's not right. I am skeptical that Taylor will catch on to that one right now, but we will see. Becky will come back next week for our second session.

The Phenomenon of Teething

I am never sure what is blogworthy, but my sister heard this story and said that I definitely needed to post it, so here it goes. I must preface this story by saying that Taylor is one of the happiest and most contented children I know. She is hardly ever fussy. The only time she gets fussy is if she doesn't feel well. For the last few weeks she has been teething and getting her molars in. She has her good days and bad days. For the most part it hasn't been too bad and teething tablets usually work right away, but if you mix teething pain on top of being tired, then you're in for a rough day. This just happened to be one of those days.

On Monday I had a meeting at church at 9:30. Taylor normally takes a nap at 10:30, but she missed it because the meeting lasted until almost 12:00 and she was being watched at the church along with other children much older than her. Usually she does okay if she misses her morning nap. She never gets one on Sundays. Usually she is just a little tired and then takes a longer nap after lunch. Well, she did great for the babysitter. After the meeting, the babysitter, who is a friend of mine, and I went to lunch. Her parents happened to be at the same restaurant where we were eating, so we sat at the booth just behind them. After they were finished eating lunch they came over and sat and talked with us for a few minutes. When my friend's dad got up to leave Taylor started wailing and the tears were pouring down her face. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. It was as if she didn't want John to leave. John had been talking to her and playing with her and she seemed to really like him. He has a beard and so does her grandpa, so maybe she was getting him confused with Grandpa. I am not sure what it was, but it took me a while to get her calmed down after they left. I got her out of her highchair and finished feeding her in my lap. I also gave her some teething tablets just in case her gums were hurting. Once she was done eating she was okay and ready to get down. She spotted an older woman who we frequently see at this restaurant (there are not many places to eat in Americus) and she went straight over to her and started "talking" to her. It was so funny. It was as if nothing had happened.

The story doesn't end here though. Taylor took a good nap when we got home, but when she got up I could tell that she still wasn't quite right. She fussed a little, so I thought maybe she was hungry. I set her little table and chair up in the living room and she sat there quietly and ate her snack. When she was finished she got up and tried to pick up her chair and move it. I don't know if it was just awkward for her or what bothered her but she got upset. I took her table and chair back into her bedroom and tried to distract her with toys. She played for a little while and fussed off and on. I finally gave her some teething tablets. I guess I should always do that first to rule it out, but for some reason I do it as a last resort. She was acting tired, so I tried to get her to go down for a second nap. By this time it was just too late and she wouldn't go to sleep. I decided to get her up and let her watch Praise Baby. That always calms her down. We have been having trouble with our DVR and had to leave it off for 24 hours, so I took her into our bedroom to watch it. She laid on the bed with me for the whole 30 minutes and watched Praise Baby. When it was over I turned the TV off and she started fussing again. I took her back into the living room and distracted her with toys and turned on the TV for some background noise to see if she would not fuss so much. She did okay, but the real turning point didn't come until later.

Would you know, that as soon as Daniel walked in the door everything changed. She always runs to the door when he comes in. It reminds me of myself when I was a little girl and would get excited when Daddy came home from work. She loves her daddy. He got down on the floor and tossed her around and she was happy and playful. It was like she had flipped a switch. I couldn't believe it. It was as if she had it in for me all day. She did good for the babysitter and was excited to see her daddy, but she wasn't happy with just mommy. I am sure that the teething has a lot to do with it, but it was interesting to me that she reacted the way she did. I guess she was feeling better.

Yesterday Taylor didn't seem as bothered by the teething as much as on Monday. She got an okay nap in yesterday morning. I tried to get her down for an afternoon nap but she wouldn't go to sleep. She would be quiet for a little while and then I would hear her talking and squealing. Then the fussing started. After about 30 minutes I went in to rock her some more and then put her back down for round 2. By this time it was after 3:00. She usually doesn't go down much past 2:30 and this day was not much different. She screamed for a little while and then silence. I thought it had worked, and it had. About 30 minutes later I heard her crying again. I went in to get her and she had been laying in vomit. I felt HORRIBLE!!! I immediately started cleaning her up. I gave her a bath and stripped the bed. After her bath and a snack she felt much better and was fine for the rest of the afternoon. I did check her temperature, which was normal, so I knew she only vomited because she got herself so worked up. She hasn't done that in a long time. Needless to say, I am ready for an uneventful day today.

Trip To Chattanooga

I must admit that I have been lax in posting lately. Taylor has not been napping well and that is usually the time that I take to write. She is actually not asleep right now, but at least she is quiet and hopefully she is on the way to being asleep. I think she is transitioning from two naps to one and it has been difficult. She has been going down okay for her morning nap, but the afternoon nap is a struggle. She just lays there and fights it. Yesterday she only got one 30 minute nap in. She was so tired by bedtime. If she would sleep longer then I would consider dropping her morning nap altogether in hopes that she would take a long afternoon nap. It doesn't always work that way though. Sundays are good days to test that theory since she doesn't get a nap in the nursery.

Well, that was just a preface. Now on to the meat and potatoes. My friend Lyndsey from church went with me and Taylor to Chattanooga last week. We decided to go up there and get out of Daniel's hair so he could get some work done on the kitchen. The biggest improvement that I could see when I got back was that he had painted the laundry area including the cabinets. The rest of the work he did was detail stuff that wouldn't make that much of an impact to just anyone. It does look better though. We still have the floor and the lighting to do, but that will come later.

We had a great time in Chattanooga. We drove up on Monday and got there just in time for Taylor's afternoon nap. Taylor did really well on the drive up. While in Chattanooga we did some shopping. I took Lyndsey to the mall and a couple other places around the area. Alicia let me borrow her stroller so I wouldn't have to bring mine with me. That was really nice. On Tuesday we went to one of the places where I used to work. A lot has changed in the past 6 years. There are not many people left there that I used to work with. I did get to see the ones I was closest too though, which is what mattered.

On Wednesday we went to Alicia's house to swim. She has a baby pool and a kiddie pool. My best friend Tina and her baby Caleb were also there. I tried to put Taylor in the kiddie pool with Rebekah because Joshua and Caleb were both in the baby pool, but Taylor would not sit down. I think it was a little too deep and too cold for her. She is very picky about the water temperature. When I put her down in the baby pool she was happy as a lark. Joshua didn't stay in there long though. He crawled out and was wanting Alicia. He seems to be on the clingy side lately. Part of it may be because he is teething and doesn't feel well. Taylor ended up staying in the pool longer than anyone. She loved it!

On Thursday we went down to visit my grandparents in Huntsville. This is my grandmother who I mentioned in one of my previous posts has Parkinson's. We recently found out that she doesn't have full fledged Parkinson's but has Parkinsonism. She is doing some better. She is eating better on her own and is using a walker with help. She is continuing to gain strength. She does have issues with balance though and still needs help with basic things like taking a bath and getting dressed. I wanted to take Taylor down to see her great-grandparents while we were so close. It is only 2 hours from my parents' house as opposed to 6 or 7 hours from ours. I was so glad that we went. They really enjoyed Taylor and she warmed up to them really well. I wish that I had not forgotten to take my camera. I could have gotten some cute pictures.

On July 4th we had an early dinner at Alicia's house. Once again the kids had fun playing together - especially Rebekah and Taylor. Rebekah treated Taylor like a miniature version of herself. She didn't understand that even though Taylor was walking, she was till small like Joshua. She thought that Taylor could do all of the things she could do. It was really cute watching them though. Alicia has a precious picture of her playing ring-around-the-rosies with the girls. Here are some pictures that I took while we were there.

Taylor loves playing with balls

Lyndsey hangin' out with the fam

It is impossible to get all the kids to smile for a picture.

I thought this was sweet with Rebekah putting the big squeeze on Joshua and Taylor.

Grandmommy and the girls

Aunt Alicia and Taylor

Taylor enjoying the baby pool

Sisters and cousins