The Beach

Erin (and Mommy and Daddy too) had a wonderful time visiting with Grandma and Grandpa F. at their beach condo this week. It was so strange for me (Gina) to be at the beach and smell the salty air, but it was freezing cold! Erin slept very well in her pack and play...whew! We spent a lot of time playing in the condo and also ventured out to a restaurant in Calabash. Erin did great, despite the 30-minute wait! Grandma made us lots of wonderful food too, and Erin learned that she is fond of sausage patties and french toast.

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, for having us! We had a great holiday week, but are also happy to be back home for awhile. Bella had a stay-cation at the kennel that apparently really wore her out. Here's mostly what she did all last night and this morning:

Christmas!

We had a great Christmas, and it's not over yet! We had lots of fun in Concord and Erin loved playing with her aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and great-grandparents. She was so-so on opening presents, but definitely liked playing with things after they were open. Tomorrow, we head out to Ocean Isle to see Grandma and Grandpa F. for a few days. It will be fun! Here are a few pictures, and the rest (some stolen from Aunt Leslie and Grandma and Grandpa) are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bob.callaway/Christmas2009#

New house stuff

Well, this new kid is going to need a place to sleep, and Erin doesn't want to share a room quite yet, so we have been working on cleaning out our only spare room to make room for the new baby. Actually, the new baby will get Erin's room and she will get a new big-girl room. The room is almost cleaned out, and we plan to repaint it and maybe do some white beadboard/chair rail in there.

We have converted our dining room into an office/play/piano room. It's kind of crowded, but we think it will work and will help us have more room to store toys. The mess in the corner is for Christmas and will be gone in a few days:




We also got a new kitchen table today! Since the current table is pretty small and we no longer have a bigger table, we thought we'd get a nicer, bigger one for the kitchen. We ended up getting one at Wood Quarters, an unfinished store in Cary. Don't worry, we won't be trying to finish it ourselves (some of you may recall the baby furniture saga); they have factory-finished pieces. Here is a picture of the table, and one of a similar chair, except our chairs have 3 horizontal slats instead of the X pattern. We're getting 6 chairs (though we'll store 2 of them and keep the table slid up against the window most of the time) and won't use the leaf unless we have a lot of people over. It will come in around the middle of January, and we're very excited! The little table currently in the kitchen will hold the computer in the dining room.




So, we think we can make the house livable with 2 kids...just don't ask us about a third kid!

One month later

Well, here we are, a month after I quit working. My report on our new arrangement is that it is going very well. I'm not sure if it's because Erin is now a month older or if it really is due to taking her out of day care, but she is MUCH happier and calmer. She doesn't fuss and scratch at her face/ears nearly as much as before, she is eating better, she's a little less clingy, and she is just all-around happy, which of course makes us happy. Similarly, it could be because I'm in the second trimester now, or maybe because I'm not working, but I FINALLY feel less exhausted and can stay up past 8pm (but not past 9pm - keep in mind that we are all up by 6am on most days)! Bob would never admit it, but I know he is enjoying having less asked of him at home too. Life is good!

So, we feel like we did the right thing. I do miss working as a nurse and hope to go back as soon as possible. But, for now, this is so much easier for us, and Erin and I are staying busy around here between errands, chores, playing with friends, getting ready for Christmas, going to the library, etc. Bella seems pleased too, so that just seals the deal!

We had lots of fun at cookie fest this weekend - we may have left our camera in Concord, but here are a couple pictures that I stole from Aunt Leslie:

Baby #2 Update

We went this morning for our anatomy ultrasound...at 18 weeks (already?!?). We did NOT find out what it was - we stayed strong again! Erin went too and behaved very well. I think she was scared by the dark room and the strange place. Anyway, back to the new baby - I already feel bad for this kid not getting as much attention as Erin, but Bob was a second child too so he is going to watch out for him/her. The baby looked good and measured right on track for head circumference and diameter, femur length, and whatever else they measure. He/she weighs about 7 oz. We got to see the heart beating (153 bpm again), brain parts, kidneys, stomach, spine, and lots of other parts. The profile looks a lot like Erin did to me!

Those are the main highlights. I am feeling good - in that wonderful stage in between fatigue and super-heartburn! My only complaint right now is eczema...yuck! I go back on the 31st for the next appointment, but all is looking good!




I can't help giving a short Erin report - she said "mama" this morning! She continues to practice her walking and is much more confident now. She has been busy reading her Christmas books, especially the ones that play music. She is really getting into the Christmas spirit. Riding in the car on Sunday, she was playing peek-a-boo with her blanket, and it was lots of fun. She's also excited to have her big girl bed from Grandma and Grandpa A. (though she won't be using it for awhile; hopefully we can keep her contained in the crib for a long time!).

Toddling Video!

Here's a video of Erin "toddling" around tonight! She was getting tired so she's extra floppy, but you can get the idea.

From

Toddling!

After much debate, we have decided to count Erin's 4-5 steps at a time as walking. She will stand up in the middle of the room and go as long as she can before falling over. We are so proud of her, and she is really proud of herself too! Look for more pictures and video coming soon.

We had a great Thanksgiving - Erin got to go to 2 parties, one at Aunt Maria's family's house and another one for Aunt Pam's baby shower. Of course, she also had Thanksgiving dinner, which was kind of a party as well. She also go to go to her cousins' favorite restaurant, Pizza Hut...and she liked it a lot too! The Mexican restaurant was less of a hit, at least with Erin. She got to see 3 of her 4 grandparents, 2 of her great-grandparents, and all of her aunts, uncles, and cousins! What a great week! She got caught up on sleep last night and is in full Christmas decorating and shopping mode. The tree will be lots of fun this year.

New Tricks

Erin is being her usual entertaining self these days...here are some of her newest tricks:

- Answering "no" or "yes" to most questions, though the answers don't really correlate to her feelings!
- Drinking from her sippy cups like a champ, usually one-handed. The bottles have been put away - they were just being used at daycare anyway. Now she is easily getting in all 20-24 oz. of milk a day, so she can also have some "juice" (watered down). Therefore, another new trick is:
- Wetting the bed at night...she soaks through her diapers. We got some special Huggies overnight diapers, and are 2 for 3 on those working so far this week.
- Lots of distinct babbles, but still just "da" for daddy and doggie.
- She will try a lot more food now, but her favorites are by far spaghetti and cheerios. We will still supplement with baby food if she doesn't get enough from real food - I hope that's not a bad thing.
- She will hand us her sippy cup from her high chair when she's not using it, because it cannot take up valuable real estate on her tray.
- She continues to be a big bookworm and is happy to bring us books all day long and throw them at us until we read them.
- Still not walking yet, but she will stand still for awhile before she falls over.

She and I had a great first week together without daycare. We stayed busy by going to library storytime, ran several errands, went on walks every day, went to the park, and also to Chick Fila with our neighbors. She had a blast in the play area! She's ready for a fun week ahead with her cousins and family from both sides. We're hoping attempt #2 at family pictures goes better tomorrow.

No?

One of Erin's favorite new skills is shaking her head no. She does it very emphatically when we ask her certain questions. I don't think she really knows what she's saying, because if she says "no" to something and we offer it to her anyway, she will take it. It's pretty funny though. We haven't seen any "yes"es yet. She is starting to condition for those Terrible Twos already!

Most mornings, she is already up, diaper changed, and downstairs drinking her milk and playing before Bob leaves for work at 6:30am (don't you wish you lived in our house?)...but he left a little early today because the girls started waking up at 5:30am, which of course woke us up. Anyway, once we got downstairs, Erin crawled into the kitchen, saying "Da?". I had to explain that he had already gone to work, but it was super cute.

She is spending a lot of time practicing her standing, and I did see her take 2 steps this morning - before she crashed into the couch! She's less wobbly on her feet, but is still pretty shaky. She looks so funny (and tall!) to be upright instead of crawling. Such a big girl!

Ear infection

Poor Erin has not been sleeping well all week. We blamed it first on the time change, then on her new big-girl teeth that are coming in, but last night she started having a fever and I noticed some yucky yellow stuff in one of her ears. So we called the pediatrician this morning and Bob got to take her in while I went to my OB appointment. Apparently one of the times she scratched her ears, it got infected, so she has middle ear infections in both ears, kind of like swimmer's ear. The doctor said it is painful, but her eardrums look good, which is a relief.

It's super sad - she does pretty well most of the time, just is more tired than normal because of not sleeping well. Oh, and we can't even think about going near her ears with fingers, washcloths, or bathwater! She even screamed when water ran down behind her ears when I washed her hair last night. She's got amoxicillin and antibiotic ear drops (ofloxacin), and they said to give her tylenol for pain and if her fever comes back.

Now I feel bad for trying to take her to get her pictures taken yesterday...no wonder it was a big disaster! We'll try again in a couple of weeks.

Here's a picture of her favorite new trick - walking on her knees!

Here we go again!

Well, if you haven't heard our big news (or if you haven't pieced it together with all the new car talk), here it is: we are having another baby! May 13th is the date, and we are so excited!

Let me go ahead and answer your questions for you and save you some trouble: YES - they will be a year and a half apart. NO - it wasn't a surprise. YES - we are staying in this house for now (we might be crazy for that). NO - we won't find out what it is, though Bob has started to waver in the past week. YES - we might be crazy for having them this close together, but we are both close in age to our siblings and have loved having it that way. NO - I haven't been too sick, just super tired (same as with Erin; I am very lucky that way...until the heartburn sets in!).

In related news, we have decided that it is best for us for me to stop working as a nurse...effective November 13th (next Friday!!!) and stay home with the kids. I plan to go back to work in 2-3 years, while keeping my license current in the meantime. I did look into working "as needed", but my unit doesn't need help on weekends, and I wasn't too excited about working weeknights and taking care of Erin + sibling during the day. Plus, I'd have to keep current with all the classes/meetings, and that would be difficult with no daytime childcare. A large portion of my check was going to daycare, and daycare was really rough on all of us...a LOT worse than we thought it would be. I figure we gave it a 9-month shot. We have debated this over and over and looked at lots of options for the past, oh, 9 months, and have lots and lots of reasons to go ahead with this now - since we are up here by ourselves, we figure why make things harder than they need to be?

So, that's the latest from us. We are very excited about everything, and are already nervous about trying to handle 2 kids!

A year ago today

Happy Halloween!

The life of the party

I think this picture speaks for itself:

12-month checkup

Erin went to the doctor yesterday, which was very upsetting for her. She is now well aware of who the doctor is and what happens to her when she goes there! She weighed in at a feather-weight 19 lbs. and 15 oz. She is on the verge of cracking the 20-pound barrier. It's just in the 25th percentile, but she has been between the 25th and 50th percentiles her whole life. The doctor wasn't worried because she eats well and gets enough formula/milk and always has lots left over, um, at the other end. He said that's just her, and to expect her to slim down even more once she starts walking and burning even more calories. She is 30-1/4" tall though, which is in the 90th percentile! It helps to be tall and thin for getting into things, which suits her just fine. Her noggin is almost 18", which is just about in the middle.

She also got her hemoglobin checked (a finger prick, good results), and 3 shots - MMR, flu, and chicken pox! Poor little girl. On top of that, she has a cold and a new tooth just broke through on the bottom, so she has a lot going on right now. She is handling it like a champ, though.

In the spirit of growing up, I made her a cheese toastie and scrambled eggs for lunch, two things she has devoured in the past, but she wasn't too interested in either one. We got some whole milk at the store today, so we'll try that after naptime. I'm sure she will notice the change!

Birthday Weekend!

Erin had a great birthday weekend in Concord! Friday, she played with her cousins and warmed up for the weekend. Saturday, she played some more, went on a walk, helped make her birthday cake, and had a Halloween party with her cousins. Today, she tried some of the cake (it got two thumbs up) and opened lots of great presents from her family. It was a mega-birthday celebration with Aunt Maria, Uncle Chris, and Great Grandad's birthdays too. She had such a great time - thanks, everybody!

Here are some pictures, and more can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bob.callaway/ErinSFirstBirthday

From Erin's First Birthday

P.S. We took the new car (which finally got returned from a "2-hour" repair job, 3 days later on Friday afternoon) and all enjoyed having lots more space. Bella lounged on the back seat and was quite comfy.

1 Year Old!

WOW! We made it! Erin turns 1 today! What a wonderful (and exhausting, and worrisome) year it has been. We are so lucky to have this fabulous little person in our lives.

New tricks:
- Cruising up a storm and occasionally standing for a few seconds on her own.
- Waving on command...her whole body gets into it!
- Sitting forward in the car, which she loves.
- Getting into everything - the dishwasher, boxes of checks, toy containers, her closet...
- Drinking formula from a sippy cup...cow's milk is next (thank goodness, before we go broke)!
- Eating lots of new foods - she will try most things, but some are more favored than others. Fruits are still not her favorite, but she likes most veggies, breads, and meats. She loved my Smithfield's bbq sandwich the other day, which was bittersweet for me because I didn't want to part with it.
- Climbing, or trying to climb on things. She is a little monkey!

We are having so much fun and are really enjoying her at this age. It just keeps getting better, which is a relief because the first few months weren't all that much fun! She is headed to Concord today for her birthday bash weekend. Stay tuned for pictures!

New Car

Well, poor Bob finally gave in and agreed to get a new car. I have been bugging him ever since Erin was born about the Ranger not being kid-friendly without any back seats. We did some searching and checking out various crossovers, SUVs, and minivans (yes, minivans) and determined that the Ford Taurus X was right for us. They are not making them anymore, but we really like their design, safety record, and have heard lots of good things about them. Plus, Erin's cousins have one, so she wanted one too!

It had decent storage space, but wasn't huge-feeling like some of the other ones and gets good-enough gas mileage. One of us has trouble parking (ahem - it's not Bob) and was nervous about trying to dock some giant thing at the grocery store. So, yesterday, Erin and I went to check out a 2008 dark gray "X" SLE with 11,500 miles that I found online at a dealer near us, and we both loved it. We had our eyes on a couple of other ones, but those were out of town and had 4-wheel drive and leather seats, 2 options we weren't sure we wanted.

So Bob went back after work and test-drove it for himself. We agreed that it was in good shape and was what we wanted, so he made the deal after some tough negotiating! They offered a good price for the truck, so we let them take it off our hands for us. So long, Ranger...you were so good to us the past 4 years, hauling many a load of mulch, wood flooring, furniture, and so many other random things. You treated us well, and we hope you find a good home. Sorry, I could not quickly find a better picture to do you justice:



We have a few pictures from our garage last night, but will get better ones soon. After being cozy in the garage last night, it had to go back to the dealer today to get a few minor things fixed and will get to pick it back up tomorrow, complete with repainted bumper, new weatherstripping, and some fixed molding. It does have a few small scratches, but otherwise is in really good shape. We love it, and Erin does too!

The Name Game

We have been trying to figure out what we want Erin to call people (non-family adults, that is). I was raised saying "Mrs. Smith" or whatever to everyone, and it sounds like Bob had a combination of "Mrs. Smith" and "Miss Mary". I hear a lot of kids now using first names. Is it not customary nowadays for kids to call someone "Mr. Jones"? Or is it a regional thing that isn't done here? Maybe it is related to their age? I know some people feel old when they are called by their last name, so they may not like that. I don't want her to be embarrassed, but I also want her to be polite!

All these decisions! Being a parent is so hard...but definitely worth it, of course.

Spaghetti!

Look what has surpassed scrambled eggs as Erin's new favorite food (notice the nearly empty tray):



The kid won't touch a banana to save her life, but she scarfs down spaghetti like she can't get enough. Who knows?

The Beach!

Erin got to go visit Grandma F. at her beach condo this weekend. We all had lots of fun visiting with her and being at the beach! It was such a nice time to go, without all the summer crowds. We went out on the beach, went to the museum at Ocean Isle, ran some errands, went out to eat one night, and played a lot with Grandma. Grandma and Grandpa's place is so nice, and we had such a wonderful time! Erin is a big beach bum, so she was right at home.



Oh, and I also enjoyed a vacation from Bella, who went to the kennel and came back with a positive test for roundworms and antibiotics for them. Bella has had a knack for costing us money lately!

Pumpkin Patch!

Erin had such a fun weekend in Concord with her cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We went to a pumpkin patch on Saturday that also had a petting zoo and plows to climb on. She had a lot of fun! She also played with her cousins' toys at their house and practiced climbing Grandma and Grandpa's stairs (her favorite new trick) and cruising around their living room. Luckily, she managed to get a few naps in between all that busy playing! Mommy and Daddy also got to go see Uncle Dale and Aunt Maria's new townhouse that is under construction in Charlotte - very nice! We still haven't had time to make it to the new Ikea store, but maybe next time.






(Holding hands during our picnic at the pumpkin patch)

11 months old!

It's hard to believe - our sweet baby is almost a toddler! Erin is 11 months old today. Here are some of her new tricks:

- Pulling up on everything and letting go for just a second before falling down
- Cruising for just a couple of steps
- Whining until she gets what she wants, which is usually for us to read her a book (we're working on that one)
- Eating Cheerios and peas like a champ - her 2 favorite foods! She will eat other things too, especially cookies and rice...she really only avoids fruit for some reason
- Drinking out of the sippy cup...we are going to try formula in it this week so we can make the switch to cow's milk next month
- Turning on her mobile music in the crib
- "Power crawling" if she really wants to move!
- Sleeping 10-11 hours at night (ahhhhh)
- Playing "kissing monster"...if we crawl towards her making kissing noises, she will squeal and hightail it away from us
- Hide and seek (she hides and giggles until we find her)
- Climbing the stairs and jumping on the bed - baby gates are up!
- Biting - we are definitely working on that one...nobody likes a biter!
- Talking up a storm...she is really working on her words!
- She is also infatuated with the camera, so it's really hard to get good pictures of her...plus, I'm not the best photographer in the world!

She is feeling better after a stomach bug and runny nose last week. We are glad to have our sweet girl back! She is such a good girl and is super busy these days!

Nap troubles again

Erin thinks now that she doesn't need to take a morning nap...which is fine, except she will only sleep for 30 minutes in the afternoon! We try morning naps without any luck, and I don't really know why she is waking up so soon in the afternoon. The sleep book says to start putting her to bed earlier at night if this happens, which we did last night and worked great - we started her bath at 6:30 and she slept from 7:15-6:30! Tonight, I had her in the crib around 7:00, but she just now fell asleep at 7:30. I don't think going any earlier than that is going to help, since she isn't ready to go to sleep any earlier.

So, if anyone has any ideas of how to make the naps better, please let us know! She is super grumpy all afternoon because she's tired, but then gets a second wind around 5:00, which lasts through bath time. Does this look like a girl who is ready to go to bed?

Our teams

Erin is ready for the Wolfpack to keep up its winning streak (of one game):



The outfit came with a matching turtleneck, but it was too warm for that. She might just use this for Halloween and be a cheerleader!

And she and Daddy were pretty upset about the Panthers' loss on Sunday, but are hopeful for next week.

Girls' Week!

Bob had to go to San Jose for work this week (Tuesday-Friday), so we have had girls' week around here. It's been nice, but of course we miss him and are excited to have him coming back tonight around midnight...but I doubt anybody will wait up for him! Grandma A. came up to babysit yesterday while I worked my evening shift, and Erin got to show her all her fun toys. Today, we went on a walk and went to get things for Christmas dresses that Grandma is going to make for the girls.

Mommy lets Erin jump on the bed when Daddy is gone:

Dog and Car Sorta Falling Apart!

Poor Bella started rubbing at her right eye yesterday afternoon, so I took her to the vet this morning. She's got a little infection and scratch, so ($135 later) we are now armed with antibiotic eye drops, steroid eye ointment, and oral antibiotics for us to give her 4 times a day for 2 weeks. Oh boy! I'm sure she will love the eye stuff - at least pills are no problem.

Oh, of course I put Erin on the scale at the vet, and she weighed just under 20 pounds! (19 lbs. 13 oz.)

Leaving the vet this morning, the Taurus wouldn't start. It did this to us about a year or so ago, and Bob replaced a switch under the steering wheel. He suspects that the same switch isn't working since it won't make any noises to start. That's odd, since the switch is only about a year old. Let me remind you that he and Chris spent 2 weekends recently working on it and were able to replace 2 parts to get rid of the rattling sound (unrelated to this problem). I wonder if someone is trying to send us a message to get a new car! The only thing is, we were going to get rid of the truck and keep the Taurus, which feels wrong since the truck has never given us an ounce of problems in 4 years!

Bob, here is a little picture for you...just food for thought:

Update:
My best guess as to the car trouble is that oil is leaking from somewhere near the oil filter, and is dripping onto the solenoid on the starter. When we are attempting to start the car, the switch in the solenoid can not make an electrical connection because of the oil (it would act as an insulator), and thus the starter motor would never run. Wait long enough, and gravity fixes the problem, and the car starts up a few hours later. I've confirmed that it's not the ignition switch, starter motor, or relay.

Fun weekend and nap drama

Erin had a busy and fun weekend as usual. She went to the Holly Springs farmer's market yesterday, then went on a walk and also did some shopping up in Crossroads, then more playing at home, dinner, and bed. Today, she went on a walk, went to church, and then Uncle Dale, Aunt Maria, and Rio came to visit! She loved seeing Rio race around and chase her ball, something she is not used to her dog doing. Bella was exhausted after...watching Rio from the couch.



Then she went to the neighborhood park where she played with the kids next door, had dinner, and even found time to help Daddy with some work before bed.



We have noticed an alarming trend the past 4 days - Erin only wants to take 1 nap a day. It's been about 10:30am until noon or so, which is nice, but not so nice when she refuses to take an afternoon nap and then starts melting down around 5:30pm. The sleep book said if this happens to put them to bed earlier at night, but she already is in bed by 7:30pm. I'm scared to go earlier in case she starts waking up at 5:00am (5:45am is early enough!). If anyone has any ideas, please let us know! I might start leaving her up there longer in the afternoon and just letting her rest. I usually leave her about 20-25 minutes...her music has shut off by that point, and she is usually angry at us for leaving her in there when she's not going to go to sleep. It's hard to be a baby - especially one who is so busy!

Pool party and 10 months!

Erin and her cousins had a pool party in Concord this weekend. It was lots of fun!



They also went on a wagon ride, and did lots of playing together. She was really tuckered out tonight when we got home!



Erin is 10 months old today. It's hard to believe that she will be a year old in 2 more months. Her favorite new tricks are pulling up on tables and chairs to stand, and trying to let go and stand on her own - but that usually doesn't end very well. She also likes to clap when she is happy or excited, and sometimes she will wave at people if they wave at her. She's been very talkative lately, and we are starting to wonder if she is trying to say "dog" because when Bella is around, she says a lot of "da".

She is crawling up a storm and does not like to be held, even to read books. Also, she has figured out how to lift all the flaps in her books and touch the touch-and-feel pages. She is getting closer to using the sippy cup, but still hasn't quite figured it out. She also loves to feed herself and will eat mostly anything, though some foods end up mostly on the floor while others she is much more careful with! Oh, how could I forget dancing?!? She will bounce up and down if she hears music that she likes. Unfortunately, it looks like she has her mommy's rhythm (or lack thereof)!