Goodbye Charlotte

I never know how to begin these posts. I guess that was as good of a beginning as any.

I just put the kids down for naps. James is just the sweetest little bundle of baby I've ever seen! I'm really loving this kid. He's such a sweetie. I was playing with him on the bed for a few minutes before I laid him down, he was giggling when I would pull his toes up to his nose and touch it. It was so cute. He's just getting to be so much fun. And he's just so chubby and yummy and snugly:) Naomi wanted James to sit in her baby stroller and he just fit. Barely. He thought it was great, so did Naomi. And I had to put up this picture of James in Zach's homemade baby sling-thing. He wanted a carrier to hold James on his hip facing out. He used a long-sleeved T-shirt. It was funny but creative. And it worked really well!

I've been having so much fun this past week! Especially the past few evenings I've had a baby sitter so we could go out to a few different things. Naomi especially fell in love with one of them, Leslie, who is also a summer intern with Zach at MVA offered to watch Naomi for us. She was fantastic, Naomi couldn't stop talking about her. She still asks for Leslie, but she says it: "Les-o-lee" three syllables:) We went to a couples baby shower for our friends Heather and Robb, it was actually a lot of fun, despite what Zach thought about guys attending a baby shower;)

Last Sunday we took the kids to POPS in the park. It's a symphony concert at a park in South Charlotte area. They were playing Broadway hits and it started out really great and the weather was beautiful. Then it suddenly started pouring rain! So we all ran for cover- it got rained out last year too. But we had fun for the little while we were there.

POPS in the park with Heather

We also went to dinner this week with a couple from the firm, Zach's mentor and his wife. The restaurant was nice and the food was so good! It was fun to have a nice night out to dinner and it was especially fun to get to know them better.

AND, (it keeps on going- I've been spoiled), last night we went to a progressive dinner with people from the firm. We did appetizers at one place, mixed the groups around a little for dinner at another persons home and then everyone met for dessert at one house- it was a partner at the firm, and their house was just amazing, so was the house where we had dinner too. I was so glad I got to go, it was great to finally meet some of the people Zach talks about and also to see some of the ones I already knew and get to know them better. And really it was just cool to have such a fun evening out! Our babysitter was great, she was someone I had never met before, so I was a little nervous but she did a great job. She fed Naomi dinner, James a bottle, managed multiple messy diapers and got them both to sleep on time. AND she straightened up the kitchen and family room. Yeah, she did a good job:)

And yesterday morning the kids and I met some friends at a place downtown called Discovery Place. It was really awesome. I was having as much fun as Naomi! They have all kinds of science and math hands on displays. Building blocks and right now there is a huge display all about Dinosaurs, and puppet theater. There is also a mini aquarium. Each tank had really interesting fish, eels, and even a nurse shark in one. We found Nemo and Dori too! Naomi especially loved the ocean pool. She got to put her hands in the water and touch/pet some hermit crabs, star fish and other cool things.

There was a KidsPlace room. Naomi spent a good hour there playing. It has a huge water table, tree house, doll house, train tables. It was really fun. I could go on and on, I have actually. It was just pretty cool and I'm definitely getting a family membership if we do move here. There is also an IMAX theater there too.

Ok, enough about that:)

Right now I should be packing. I'm flying out of here tomorrow morning at 7:45 a.m. getting to SLC a little after 10 a.m. Zach (bless his soul) is driving our car filled with stuff back up to DC and then flying out at 5:30 p.m. So, it's going to be a busy day! I'm really excited to get to Utah and see family and some friends. But really I've had a great time here in Charlotte. Zach had a good internship and I think he feels good about how it all went.

Naomi is not really potty training. I've let it take a back burner. But she still sits on her potty regularly- after every time she wets or poops her diaper! She's actually started taking off her diaper herself when it's not clean and sitting on her potty. Note the diaper on the table in the picture...

I might be going on a bit of a blogging hiatus once in Utah. Being around family does that to me for some reason. My goal is to post weekly, however small.

We've been playing...

James- 3 months


Naomi- 6 months

I happened to snap a picture of Zach and James that looked so much like a favorite I have of him and Naomi!


Thing one and thing two.

My friend Jonette gave that onesie to James. It's pretty sweet.


We met Zach UPtown for lunch yesterday and I stayed a while at the park near where we ate so Naomi could play in the fountain. She ended up completely soaked. Dripping wet.
I love this picture because it shows how absorbed she was making her hand prints on one of the giant fish -that spouted the water. She would run to the middle, get her hand all wet and run back as fast as she could to make her mark:)

I'm asking for advice

Potty training.

I'm not sure I'm up to the task.

Yesterday Naomi and I made a "potty chart" to put stickers on when she used the potty. She LOVES sitting on her potty. But she has actually gone pee or pooped on it maybe 5 times. Maybe.

Today I asked her/put her on the potty about every 20-30 minutes and she never was able to go. But the minute her pull-ups were back up, she would wet them or poop. THEN she wanted to go and sit on the potty. Arrrgh.

She has all the signs for potty readiness, she wants to go on the potty, she pulls down her pants on her own and sits there but never can/will go.

I don't really get it. There has got to be something I am missing here.

And we keep it fun too, if she doesn't want to, no big deal. We sing songs or read a book while she sits there too. She gets an m&m if she actually goes. She really, really, really wants to wear underwear- not diapers or pull ups.

But she won't go on the potty.

I going to keep trying for a few more days. If this keeps up though I'm going to take it as she's just not ready. But then will I be messing her up and then she'll never want to potty train???

I need advice all you veteran potty training moms!!!

In other stuff, we went to a really great park nearby, called Latta Park. It has a Sprayground. It's a fence enclosed cement area with fountains of water all over for the kiddies to run around in. Naomi really loved it. In fact she asked to go back today, after naps:)

And last Saturday Zach and I took the kids to another park to play then out for pizza. It was a really fun evening out. I put James in the baby swing and he loved it! He's way too small for it but he enjoyed his 2 minutes of gentle swinging. Naomi loves playing with Zach on the playground, it's cute to watch her with him.

alarms

This morning the fire alarms were going off in the hall way and I decided to look out side (no one was leaving, and no fire truck) and we stayed in our apartment. I know, bad mommy. They turned off after a few minutes and I got absorbed in conversation as I was chatting with my sister Aimee and simutainously nursing James.

Suddenly the fire alarms were going off IN our apartment! Oh my word, they were so loud. I though James and Naomi were going to have their hearing impared- probably did.

I got off the phone quick and took James to my bedroom, it was a little bit less loud in there and I told Naomi to get her shoes on quickly. She ran for them in her room and came back about 5 seconds later with them on and close to tears. It was really scary for her. I don't blame her, it was crazy loud! The poor thing had no idea what was going on! James was just looking around like it was all mildly amusing.

Charleston~ South Carolina

I thought I would post a few pictures from our fun, short trip to Charleston last weekend. We went with our friends, the Jenkins- Heather, Robb and Claire. The plan was for me and Heather to leave Friday morning with the 3 kiddos, spend the afternoon exploring downtown Charleston, maybe go to the children's museum etc. Zach and Robb were going to leave from work at about 5 and make it by the kids bedtime or so, and then spend the evening hanging out with their awesome wives. Well, it didn't work out quite as we planned, but does anything?

It took me forever to get out of the apartment and after making a trip to the car with stuff I came back to find Naomi GONE. She had unlocked the door and made a run for it down the hall. She came prancing back when I (freaking out) called her name, saying "It's ok Mom, it's ok!" No, it really wasn't. Ugh. So we picked up Heather and Claire but I had to feed James before we left there (read: delay). So we got out of Charlotte and started on our 3 hour drive and finally arrived in Charleston later than planned, thanks to my lateness- with two tired mommies and two toddlers who missed their naps! Everyone was doing fine though so we headed out for some exploring and stopped at a beautiful park to play. Heather played with the girls while I fed James. I couldn't get enough of the gorgeous old houses. Charleston has some amazing architectural style. Naomi and Claire played and ran and jumped to their hearts content and we then headed off to find some dinner. Funny thing is that we were looking for something a little more family friendly and everything seemed to be more tavern-bar-like. So we opted for sandwiches from the deli at the grocery store. Naomi took it upon herself to pour her milk chug out all over my feet once we were outside and eating. Nice.

Zach and Robb were at this point STILL at the office. Zach was finishing a memo and it was taking FORever. Robb was a good sport, and good friend and kept him company. The guys ended up leaving way, way, way later than planned but came anyway, and I'm so glad too.

Heather and I went back to the hotel, (that my cool brother in law hooked us up with deals at) to find out that they still have not delivered the pack 'n plays to our rooms. At this point we have asked for them and about them probably 10 times! I called a few days in advance to request them and then also upon check-in. They kept saying "We'll bring them right up!" Hmmmm. So after much insistence on our part the front desk guy finally brought one up to Heather, at about 9 p.m.!!! They apparently only had one and he was sorry for the inconvenience.. I'm so sure he was very sorry. We were totally fine, Naomi slept on the pull out couch anyway and I just had James sleep on the floor on a bed of towels. Seriously though, it was very unprofessional of them to not follow through with their commitment. I was SO annoyed.

Alright. On to the fun stuff. Saturday morning we spent at the beach! It was awesome. The water was so warm and the weather was lovely. Zach spent a fair chunk of time trying to put up a sun shade tarp thing he bought. It wasn't really happening. The wind kept whipping it off it's poles and then finally one of the poles bent and broke. I was trying not to laugh:) Robb, trying to be supportive, helped for a bit but could see it was a hopeless cause. Zach rigged it up somehow and we were able to lay James on a towel under it in the shade. Naomi tried to lead Claire into deeper water and they both ended up falling over, getting good and wet, and sandy. The girls loved it, they were playing so cute together. I really haven't had such a fun time at the beach in a long time. Naomi loved the water and playing in the sand. James loved laying in the shade and taking a nap:)

After the beach we went to lunch and wandered downtown a little more before we left for home. We stopped at a water fountain that Naomi and Zach got soaked in, it was so funny to watch Naomi being daring and just getting drenched with the water! It was overall a very fun weekend (despite getting there late Friday), we love the Jenkins, and I'm really glad we went. I think we all felt that Charleston is worth revisiting, maybe without kids so we can see a little more.




The Jenkins. Heather is 7 months pregnant and she didn't complain about it once! She looks so good too.

Claire


James in the 6 months+ stroller....


My favorite house!

Being a Mom today

I went in the room to find James wiggling with the blanket over his face. I pulled it off and he flashed me a big grin as if to say "that was silly, wasn't it!?".
James is discovering his hands. I catch him trying his best to focus on them, they're a little close. He also loves to suck on his fist, especially when I change his diaper, which for some funny reason he just loves!
He loves attention, if you're not visible to him he starts complaining. Sometimes I can get Naomi to entertain him, but that's short lived. He loves to be held and talked to. He gets SO excited sometimes, he gets his whole body into the kicking and basically just spaz-ing out. It's adorable. Also, he ALWAYS gives Zach a BIG smile when he sees him. But I'm pretty sure I'm his favorite, I do have the food after all:) Jkjk.
Naomi is finally down for a nap today, almost 2 hours after I put her in her bed. That's what we get for having a "big girl bed." But there's no turning back now, she would rather die than have to get in a "baby crib." Naomi is such a good helper, but she's also two.... I find myself expecting too much of her sometimes. She likes to ask why but doesn't really understand what she is asking. Sometimes I answer the why, sometimes not. Naomi is talking so much and so well, she surprises me all the time. I love when she tells me how she feels. For example she will tell me she is happy, or sad or she is "being nice" which means not naughty:)
Zach watched her put her sandals on yesterday and asked me if I taught her how to do that. I didn't know what he meant because she's been putting her shoes on by herself for a long time. He had me watch her put on her second shoe to show me what he was talking about. Naomi pushed the strap that goes around the back of her foot/ankle down under the sole/heel of the shoe so she could then slip her foot into the sandal without getting it caught on the back strap. It was so smart of her to think of a solution like that all on her own!
Back to James, he is sleeping all night, BUT he wakes up at about 4 am every morning and wants a binky. I swaddle him and by then he has wiggles out and is rubbing his eyes and needs a little help getting back to sleep. I re-swaddle him quickly and give him his binky and we're good to go until about 6 when he wants it back and then we usually get up around 7. So not bad for 3 months! Really I am so pleased with the amount of sleep this boy lets me get. I know I am totally lucky. He goes to bed around 8, give or take. Next step is weaning him off being swaddled and needing a binky. But we'll get there eventually:)

Lazy 5 Ranch

North of Charlotte about 45 minutes you can find the Lazy 5 Ranch. It is complete with water buffalo, pigs, giraffes, ostriches, llamas, camels, etc, etc, etc.

Zach's firm, Moore and Van Allen took the summer associates on a "field trip" last week. The firm sponsors a group of 3rd graders, and each year they take them to the Lazy 5 Ranch. Well, Zach had such a great time that he insisted that we go the following Saturday as a family. So away we went.

We took the horse drawn wagon ride complete with our own bucket of "food" that Naomi got to hand feed all those crazy animals. The animals are all free range except the giraffes and a baby bear. Anyway, we had a great time. James slept through most of it and Naomi squealed with delight as these big mangy animals licked her hands clean. We used LOTS of hand sanitizer...