Christmas Presents

Just what Danger Baby wanted for Christmas...
A shiner!

Sofa + tired baby = lots of crying

Christmas cards

Thank you everyone who gave me tree names. I was looking for Spruce. I really needed the help too as I still hadn't thought of it until I got emails and messages. So Cheers!

On Monday we went to the mall and took our family Holiday portrait.

The good: We had lots of fun and took some great pictures of the baby.

The bad: It was late in the afternoon so Melly was getting cranky.

The ugly: Way too many people at the mall.

The positive... holiday cards are all done and mostly all sent as of this morning.

Cheers!

Driving me crazy...

What is that other kind of Christmas tree...the Douglas Fir and the ???

A Christmas Poem

'Twas a month before Christmas and so don't you see,
It was the perfect time to go get my tree.
My mom took her camera and I took my dad
For just down the street good trees could be had.

Soon I was strapped in, all snug in my stroller,
We started the walk there before I could smolder.
With mom and her keen eye and me dressed like an elf,
I got so excited, I can't help myself!

Away to the tree farm we went like a flash,
past all the cows and little bits of trash.

The sun on the needles of the freshly cut trees,
made them sparkle and shine, surely to please.

When what to my wondering eye should appear
but the perfect tree and a man with some gear.
He fixed up our tree so lively and quick
I knew in a moment he knew every trick.

More rapid than eagles my daddy he came
to carry my tree home was his only aim.

As dry leaves fly before the wild hurricane fly
we made that tree stand straight into the sky.
Mom spoke not a word but went straight to work
and decorated my tree then turned with a jerk.

And kissing me gently all over my face
and giving a nod, into my PJs I race.

And now I will sigh as I'm tucked in tonight,
"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing... Could a girl get any luckier?

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are thankful for our friends, our family, and that our dinner will be big and sweet.


Hope your turkey is just as yummy!

This week in the news

I have another job interview. It's funny, I didn't get the job I did apply for, but apparently I made a great impression as my resume was passed (unbeknownst to me) to a sister agency. They called me up last week and told me that the man I interviewed with really liked me and thought I would be a great fit with their agency. You know, this is how I ended up with the job at EHC. It's strange the way the world works. So we shall see how that goes.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day as I have the interview in the morning, Melly has a playdate in the late morning and I have to make munchies for the adults. Wednesday should be fun too as I have a dentist appointment int he am and yoga in the late am. Why did I pack this week so full of stuff? I don't know. I guess when you have a holiday coming up everyone wants to get things done before it happens.

And now a moment of delight...
Melly's new outfit brought to you by Grandma D

Please ignore the bizzar picture on the TV screen in the background...it was not intentional.

Late is better than never

Grandma D sent us some pictures that were taken way back in July. So without furth ado....

Your face may stay like that.

Much better.

Four letter word

S N O W

Today it snowed.

At my house.

Outside my window.

I blame Mr. C.

Alone again

Yesterday Mr. C went off on a business trip to MI. He will be gone until Thursday...and we miss him.

We also got our one year shots today. Let me tell you, it was not much fun. There was crying involved and lots of dirty looks. However the now 22.2 pound baby is doing quite well... sound asleep... for her first nap this week. *sigh* Yesterday was not fun.

But tomorrow will be better.

And we made up for it by sleeping through the night.

So all is not lost.

Sign up now!

So last night we took Melly to get her one year pictures. It was lots of fun. The lady said "I can take any pictures as long as she will sit still for a moment". At which point Mr. C and I started laughing. Sit still! Yah, right! However after many escape attempts, several tense moments of deciding to cry or not and a few pokes at the camera... we have some wonderful pictures. (No, I haven't scanned them in yet...give me a little time, will ya?)

So if you would like some of these magical moments, let me know and I will send you a few of my favorite ones.

Cheers!

Smartest baby ever!

Yesterday Ms. Melly decided to go after a remote control on the sofa. So she climbed up and played with it for a moment. Unfortunately, she then dropped it by accident and it fell on the floor. So, smart baby that she is, Melly took one look at the fallen remote and threw a pillow on the floor. As I contemplated why she would do that, her father said that she was making a soft landing place. I scoffed and said she threw it just because she was mad she dropped the remote. But low and behold, a few seconds later little Melly rolled off the sofa and onto her pillow for a soft landing and got back her remote!

It was, quite possibly, the best thing she has ever done.

Way too smart.

Expectations

It's often true that the expectation for an event is better than the event itself. And unfortunately I found this out this weekend. The family made the 2 hour drive to the Carolina Ren faire. It was...well... it was. I guess my problem was expecting it to be like the California big faires. I expect people in the street annoying me..ummm I mean talking to me. I expect more than half of the paying public to be in costume (of some kind). I expect to be amazed by the quality and quantity of handmade art and crafts. And sadly, I didn't get it. We had conversations with two whole street giggers and one was at the opening gate. We saw a few things that were very nice (I love the feather wreaths!) but mainly I saw things that could be gotten on ebay. I did see a few of my favorite shops (go bi-costal shops!!! But for the most part there was poor costuming choices by the people working, few street giggers, and little to no audience participation. *sigh*

I had no idea that working for the CA faires would make me this jaded.

Do I want to audition for next year at this faire? I have no idea. It would be a lot of work and not a whole lot of people wold agree with my methods... Where is my guild? Where are my girls? I want my faire back.

Extra added bonus

Little Melly just discovered that she too can get on the sofa...all by herself.

Now if she could only figure out that face first is not the way to get down...

Faire garb, take one

This weekend Mr. C and I will be visiting the NC faire. It's something we both like to do and I want to get a good look at it to see if I might be interested in working at it next year. And because I hate going to faires not in costume... I made a quick little costume for Melly. And it has turned out to be the cutest thing ever!!!

So for your entertainment...
(This is a little out of focus, but you get the idea.)





I think my favorite part is that it is the leftovers of a costume I made for someone else last year. So I didn't have to buy anything for this thing. She is so cute. I am so proud. Too bad she will out grow it in a month. :) I guess I will just have to make more...

If you give a baby a cupcake...

When you throw a baby a party, you must first make sure the decorations are up to her standards.

Then you must feed her wholesome foods such as potato chips and bread.

After that, you must offer the baby a cupcake while singing "Happy Birthday".

Then the baby will discover that the cupcake is just about the best thing ever and will devourer it.

At that point all bets are off.

Except, of course, that a good time will be had by all.

Cheers!

Early voting

This morning I finally put into words what I have been thinking for the past few weeks....early voting is the same as getting all of your shopping done before the holiday rush. You people who went out and started buying things in September...I bet you were voting last week! I know your kind: Too good to be rushing out five hours before the gifts are given. No last second voting for you. No, that would be too late.

*sigh*

Making us who waited until the correct day look like late-comers.

You know who you are.

I'm watching you.

A year in the life of Melly

The difference in a year.

Proud Uncle

(I think they like each other.)

Halloween pictures!

And here we are in all our glory! The family Halloween theme.


Here is Melly and Mr. C having a paci fight. Who will be the victor? Only time will tell...

Birthday pictures!

Here are just a small taste of the recently promised pictures:

For her birthday I made Melly a little heart shaped cake with sugar dots all over it. I made a larger version for the adults...expecting that my child would be a "cake all over the place" kind of kid. I was wrong.

After a little encouragement from me... (like physically smashing her hand into the cake a little) Melly was convinced to lick her fingers and poke at the sugar dots.

*sigh* Well I tried. And she really liked the frosting... More to come!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today my baby is one.

She is such a big girl.

The festivities included Grandma and Grandpa D. Some shopping for the party on Saturday. Lots of wonderful new toys and outfits. And the careful mooshing of cake all over our face and hands.

A great time was had by all.

(Sadly, my camera died and we have no batteries to save it. So everyone will have to wait until tomorrow to see the wonderful cuteness that is my one year old baby girl.)

Good night. And party like it's 1999!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One year ago today...

I was very pregnant. I woke up and something wasn't right. So I went to work and it didn't get better so I called the OB and went in for a check up. After a full exam I was informed that I was fine and no where near labor. But my blood pressure was high (imagine that?) so I was sent off to the hospital to be hooked up to fetal monitors and blood pressure machines for an alarming five hours. I slept. The doctors dealt with actual emergencies. And after all that they sent me home with a pee kit and instructions to return in 24 hours. I was a bit angry. My whole day was ruined and I had to pee in a cup all night. *sigh*

Little did anyone know that at 2am Melly would finally listen to me and come out to play...

Happy October 29th everyone.

Today is Melly's last day of being a newborn.

Tomorrow she will start to conquer the world!

My favorite holiday

Halloween if finally here!!! Or the weekend before Halloween. Today was our first party. So we decked the baby out. (And I can finally post the baby in costume pictures that I have been hording for the past few weeks)

(And now a word from Melly)
At the party we got to play all kinds of games, and walk around. Lots of my friends were there and we had a great time.

I explored some of the play equipment with dad...

And made a picture frame with mom.

And had a great time. Halloween is great! And we are only five days away from my first birthday!

Not to be outdone...

I feel as if there needs to be an explanation for this post and the last one. For some reason both Grandma C and Grandma D are sending me baby pictures of myself and Mr. C. This being said, I am dutifully putting them on the blog for everyone to consider and weigh in on. Have fun!

For your consideration...

But according to Mr. C... "I don't see any similarities"

A year ago today...

was Melly's baby shower.

There was cake and skee-ball.

What a wild year it has been since then.

Cheers!

Thank you Fluffy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the sweater!

And the card is pretty tasty too!

However, I do not recommend wearing padded envelopes as hats. They cover your eyes and you end up walking into walls and daddy's.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Visitors

Starting off the birthday festivities...
Great Grandma and Grandpa S came to visit!!!!

We went out to eat. And played. There were several attempts at eating watches and earrings and a good time was had by all.

Thank you for coming out to see us!

Thank you for the birthday presents!

Fine, fine, fine...

I went to the interview yesterday. It went pretty well. I am having a problem reading people out here though. The people from the South are so nice and peaceful that I can't tell if they like me or if they are just being friendly. But I was told that I would hear from them sometime around the end of the week or the beginning of next week. So we'll see. He still had some interviews on Wednesday.

I'll keep you posted.

Promise.

Missing: 5 pounds

These pounds are sneaky and hide in unassuming foods like pizza and ice cream. They may attempt to blend in with the rest of your body without you noticing until it is too late. Pounds are more fertile than bunnies and will multiply every time you blink. If spotted, call for help.

(Four weeks, five pounds? I am now back to where I was when Melly was first born. Now all I have to do is lose the other 50. That's not so hard.)

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa D

I just love getting new clothes! I can throw them all over the living room!!!

I can't wait to see what is in my birthday box!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa D!

Jobbie-job-job.

For those of you wondering what I chose... I called up the nice people and explained that I would love an interview. Unfortunately my temporary childcare was out of town on a business trip and I would not be able to come until Monday. Which they agreed to. So, on Monday morning I will be interviewing for a job. My first in NC. Wish me luck!

Bubble Bath

I had no idea.

And if I had known... I would have done this weeks ago.

Apparently bubble bath is the best thing ever.

When there are bubbles the baby is forced to giggle,

Splash,

Babble,

And stomp her way back and forth across the bath tub.

If I had only known.

We gotta work on this communication thing.

Thank you Grandma C!!!

I just love all the neat Halloween stuff. Especially the books! (Except that mom keeps taking pictures of me and won't let me read them in peace)

The problem with applying for jobs

As most of you know I have been out of work since July. And since I am getting unemployment, I have been looking for jobs. I have been sort of looking for a job. Well, really I have been half heartedly looking for a job and applying for positions that I would love to get, but are pretty much out of my league. I like being a stay at home mom. I like being able to do things with my baby.

Now comes the hard part. I just got a call back for a job. According to my contract with the state, I have to be seriously looking. SO I need to do this. It's a part time position. And if I were offered it I would still be able to spend time with my baby. But Mr. C is out of town this week and I need to call them back to schedule the interview. What should I do? I don't have anyone to watch the baby this week... SO I will call back and ask if next week is OK. And then figure out how to deal with this if they actually offer me the job... it would be good for my resume... good for my self esteem... not so hot for the wallet... and possibly not good at all for the baby.

What to do.

What to do.

What to do.

One year check up (a little early)

Because we moved we had to find new doctors. And, because there is a nationwide shortage of one of the vaccines that Melly needs I found her a doctor right away to get her on the list. So we went in to see the doctor yesterday and here are the results (for those of you keeping score)
50% for weight (a huge jump for a mighty eater) 20lbs 12.8oz
28 1/2 inches
and 19in head circumference (Which is completely off the charting curve).

Melly is healthy! She is doing really well according to the doctor. Eating right and with an extremely high level of motor skill. (She spent most of the visit walking around in circles clapping and babbling at us)

We will be going back after her birthday to get some one year old shots (the doctor would not give them early) and hopefully the one she is missing from her 6 month check up.

Grow baby, grow!