Thumb

Just a short post . . . Carly has definitely mastered the thumb. She had been improving steadily, but this weekend we noticed she has it down.

A Good Week

We had a pretty good week, nothing too exciting. Carly and I were lucky enough to have lunch with my cousin Brooke and her oldest daughter Abi on Monday. They were in town for a doctors appointment and asked us to meet them. It was the most fun I have had at lunch in a long time. Abi is a beautiful girl and she is hilarious; she kept me laughing the entire time. Carly loves her cousin Abi and Abi always does such a good job holding her. Abi was full of questions, like how old "Baby Carly" is and why she couldn't have some 'pasghetti' for lunch. Abi was amazed that Baby Carly was zero. I made the mistake of telling Abi that the doctors told us the birth mark on the back of Carly's neck was called a stork bite - like you see in story books when storks deliver babies. Of course, Abi asked me if that was how we got Baby Carly. Brooke gave me that "you had to open that can of worms" look, and I quickly changed the subject. We had a very nice time and I hope we get to do it again soon.

We have a few friends getting ready to have babies this summer, and we are very excited for their arrivals. I talk to Meera quite frequently and I am so eager for her to deliver and to find out if it is a boy or a girl. She has amazed me with her patience and determination to be surprised by the gender, it is so exciting. Jon's cousin is having a girl on July 9 and we are looking forward to her arrival. It will be great to have playmates for Carly close by.

Carly has made good progress this week, she is getting interested in her feet and grabbing hold of them. She has been very vocal for quite a while, but now she is shrieking. She gets especially excited at night before bed. She gets so loud and so animated. She is also getting very close to rolling over. I think she has the strength, she just doesn't realize that she can do it yet. It's really exciting to watch her discover all of these new things.

First Date

Jon and I had a very nice evening on Saturday. We had our first date since Carly arrived. We went to dinner and a movie and really enjoyed ourselves. It gave us a nice chance to relax and reflect. We are fortunate enough to have a great babysitter. One of my friends, Ana was up for the challenge and she did a great job. I met Ana's mom, Liz, in grad school and the three of us have been friends ever since. Ana is a terrific young lady and I think she and Carly enjoyed each other. Carly fell asleep on Ana at 7:45 and somehow still managed to sleep all night for us!

We have been blessed with a happy baby who is also a great sleeper. She has her moments, don't get me wrong, but for the most part as long as you keep her dry and fed she is content. She may look like Jon, but she loves to "talk" to us and we all know where she got that from.

We went for a walk at Rockbridge State Park this afternoon, it's been a long while since we've been there. Carly really enjoys being outside and so do we. She was wide-eyed and chatty the whole time. After our walk, we went for a drive and ended up down by the river at Easley. We also went through Sapp. I had never heard of Sapp, MO before. We saw some really pretty houses and ended up along the river. The MO river was moving fast and you could tell how high the water had been. It was a beautiful day!

Wishing everyone a great week . . .

Class Intro

I thought this might be a good way to keep in touch with everyone, assuming I can figure out how it all works. So, here goes . . .

It has definitely been a big year for Jon and I. As you know, we started our family by welcoming our daughter, Carly Grace, on January 18. She and I decided to make things a little more interesting than normal, she was born eight weeks before her due date. We didn't expect her until mid-March. I spent ten days in the hospital and she spent four weeks in the intensive care nursery. We got to bring her home on February 15. Thankfully, she is doing great. Carly instantly became the center of our world and it's amazing how much joy she brings to our lives.

We've also had a few other big events in the past year. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily, the cancer was detected in its very early stages and the doctors were able to remove it - no chemo or radiation was needed. My brother, Jody, got married this month and he seems to really love married life. I hope he and Tiffany can find the kind of happiness that I have in my marriage. Jon and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary this May. It's hard to believe we've already been married for five years. We really enjoyed our time together before children, yet we are enjoying life with Carly even more.

As most of you can probably guess, the focus of this blog will primarily be Carly. I know that's the main reason everyone will check in :) So, I thought I would share some pictures of Carly to show how she has changed since January.

Hope you enjoyed our first post . . . we are looking forward to many more.