One already?

Cara tunred one this week! I can't believe how completely fast this year has flown by! We celebrated her birthday yesterday (I spent sat, her actual birthday at an all day scrapbook retreat, it was WONDERFUL!) My sister Lyndsay and her boyfriend came over to help us celebrate. She slept during mosof the party which allowed us to eat a nice dinner without having her beg, then we woke her up for cake. She didn't like the outfit I tried to make her wear but liked the fire... In the end, her demands won out and she was allowed to eat like she prefers, mostly naked...

Hey, look Jonas... this is yummy!!1

She crawled back for more after she left the first time... It was really fun celebrating and the boys were super excited for it! We gave her a push walker thats a baby doll stroller. i'll have to post those pics later, she is so stinking cute walking behind her baby (whom i have named Kensington, since John didnt let me use that name for a real child of ours...)

Heres what she does: She weighed in at 18 pounds 5 ounces this morning (15%) and was 29 inches long (75%). she doesnt walk yet and MAY have cut her first tooth today (its the upper front, but she hasnt let me get a good look yet) She throws her arms up for touchdown whenever she sees a football game, or a hokie anything. she loves to blow sloppy kisses and thinks spitting is super funny. bath time is her favorite part of the day, and she still doesnt sleep through the night. we get a 5 hour stretch from 7-11 or midnight, then she gets up every 2 hours afterwards... it's killing me!

Bed head! she takes a great afternoon nap for us (2-3 hours) and is really cheerful when she wakes up

she goes to school with me 3 mornings a week and loves watching the big girls in the class play. her favorite part of school is the child size sink and she washes her hands all morning.

she loves to do whatever her brothers are doing and thinks she is such a big kid. steps are a recent discovery and we cant keep her off them.

if you're willing, she will swing for hours! she has been suhc a joy this past year! Happy birthday baby!!!!!

no more waiting on her faithful (but slow) servants

I don't know if I am slow to meet her needs, or if we have a fiercely independent child on our hands, but she has been so whiny lately as a result of frustration in not being able to do things for herself. Feeding times have become a nightmare and a constant battle with this child. She tries to grab the spoon and loves rubbing the wall with gross hands. After several evenings of annoying dinner time issues, I finally gave in and let her do it herself.... She loved it! (almost 9 months, rice and applesauce)

She has also hit so many milestones recently: she learned to sit herself up from her belly to criss cross applesauce around 8 1/2 months. She also quit putting herself back to sleep then because she would sit up in her crib to cry and won't lay back down. She also started clapping for herself. Yesterday she figured out the game of peek a boo and LOVES it! She will cover her eyes with anything cloth and laugh when you say peek a boo... I LOVE this age!!!

and finally: On the day she turned 9 months, Carrington figured out the art of crawling. She had been butt scooting for a while but wasn't making a lot of progress with it.... In all her glory.... Here is her version of crawling!

mullet no mo

It had gotten bad.... She got a bang trim in feb. but we didn't touch anything else. In the past few weeks as her head has gotten bigger, she has lost a lot on the sides, and is rubbing a bald spot on the back. john gave the OK for a trim, and I cut it before I chickened out..

It was so long and straggly....

she looks a little bit more like a boy, but I think it will grow out nicer now!

pics

Carrington is finally starting to hit her milestones! She rolled over front to back for the first time at 4 months, but then wouldn't do it again... this past week she started rolling over front to back and back to front! She laso FINALLY started grabbing for things! I feel so much better now that she is doing things she was suposed to do weeks ago...

lovey lamb

This is a sshlumpie. Douglas makes it, and true to every parents need, they sell it either as a single, or for the wise parent, in sets of 2 for a 10% discount. Upon the birth of Carrington, we received no less then 4 "loveys"... 2 bears with blankets attached, a sshlumpie (which we call lovey lamb) and a duck that was generously handed down by Sullivan. I have done my absolute best to ger Carrington attached to lovey lamb, and mostly because i liked it the best...

I started making her cry it out this past week. I have been so tired (she sleeps in bed with me and is up every 2 hours to eat) and I needed the space. I have also recently started her on solids, in hopes that she would sleep better. Last night, for the first time ever, she ate almost a full jar of bananas, went to bed at 7 p and didnt wake up until 1230 a... that is GREAT for her!! I was so excited. Also last night was the first night she didn't cry.

Tonight, I fed her (sweet potatoes, and she's a pig!) bathed her, and put her to bed EXACTLY like last night. She screamed and screamed. John fixed her, I fixed her but to no avail. This totally stresses me out... After a few minutes, John ran out to the car and returned with lovey lamb. She immediatly fell asleep after she snuggled it up to her. Amazing! I totally work so hard to ger her attached- every time she cries because she's tired, I rub this on her cheek so now she does it to put herself ot sleep. When she gets hurt (like when van accidently head butts her) I hold her close and rub it on her cheek.... Why is it that when i put her down for bed I forget?? i felt so bad for her! I totally underestimate the power of a lovey item, as none of hte boys ever had anything they were super attached to... Its magic!!! (now if the toystore that i ordered these from would hurry up and get my 2 extras in stock, we'll be good to go! If I lose this, i am in so much trouble now!!)

our fat baby weighs in at 14 pounds now!

the most smartest girl

in the room... (in the whole wide room)

John was saying "I love you" to Carrington and she (several times) made the sounds back to him. The one we actually got on tape isn't nearly as good as what she had been telling him... She is so chatty!