Vacation!!

Who doesnt love a vacation?!?

We flew down to FL to visit my Uncle about 2 weeks ago. My grandparents were able to make it down and so were my parents, including my dad who had knee surgery just 3 days prior! This is the first time everyone has been together since Charles and I got married 2.5 years ago. And needless to say, it was a great time!

We spent time on the beach, in the pool, went to the zoo, my sister and I went parasailing, went shopping, and drove to Alabama all within the 10 days that we were gone. There was tons of sun, food and family!

Of course, as always, all good things must come to an end. We are now back home and back to the grind. We cant wait to be back on the east coast and with family again!

Here are a few pictures to wrap up our time together :)

On the beach

Michelle and I before we went parasailing

Autumn with her Great-Grandmama and Great-Grandaddy

The family

My sister and I

Growing up...

Autumn is growing up SO much faster than I want her to. Ive known this since the day we brought her home from the hospital, but today, it hit me.

A friend of mine is pregnant with her second baby, a girl. This is her first girl. I told her she was more than welcome to come and go through all the clothes that I have and she could take what she wanted/needed. I had 4 bins full. She walked out of here with a garbage bag full! Im glad. Autumn's not wearing them anymore, I kept the outfits that really meant something to me and I just couldnt part with and I have plenty more that she didnt take!

But, as she was looking through all those clothes all I could think of was the memories I have of Autumn in each of those outfits. Even if she wore it once, I remember. Some of the outfits she had, I hated. She maybe wore it once, around the house and that was it, but some of those outfits I absolutely loved. I probably have pictures of her in just about all of them. But watching Carrie walk out with all of that stuff made me realize just how big Autumn is getting and how much I really miss the 'baby stage'.

To be honest, I cried when I watched it all leave the house. Dont get me wrong, like I said, im glad someone is getting use out of it all instead of it all just sitting up in the attic but there's that slight thought of 'what if our next is a girl as well?' Then I remember how much shopping I did for Autumn at that age and remember theres no need to worry, even if we do have another girl, she'll still have PLENTY of clothes!

Each day Autumn is learning or saying something new and im always telling her to SLOW DOWN and like every child and teenager, she doesnt listen. I just wish that she would nuzzle up to my chest and fall asleep while we watched TV together like she did 9 months ago. I wish she wasnt capable of telling me 'no' all the time. I love that she can communicate more but that means ill never hear that 'baby babble' from her again. I thought I was capturing all the cute baby moments well, but looking back, I feel like I missed a lot. I want my little bean back!

I know there are many women out there who hated when their kids were infants. They are so glad the baby stage is over, but I actually really enjoyed it. Of course the little sleep was no fun, but I would do it again in a heartbeat just to have her be a baby again....

So...here's to hoping that our next baby (whenever that may be) will be a boy and ill walk out of Carrie's house with a garbage bag full of baby boy clothes :)

Family Pictures

Thanks to a WONDERFUL, dear friend of ours who is building up her photography portfolio, we had family pictures done a week or so ago. They turned out beautiful! Here are just some of our favorites...

School...

So, Autumn has been going to 'school' (aka Parents Day Out) for about 4 months now. Its only 2 days a week for 6 hours a day. She did great to begin with aside from not sleeping. But now, separation anxiety has set in BAD and she has huge break downs sometimes as soon as we walk into her classroom. I know she's at the age where this issue shows its ugly face, but im over it! I cant stand to hear her cry out for me when im two doors down. It just breaks my heart. I try my hardest to sneak out while she's not looking and from time to time I can get out of there without any tears from her, but its rare. After 15 minutes or so, she's fine. I always swore I wouldnt be one of those mothers who constantly worried about her child while in the care of someone else you trust, but I cant help it. I find myself checking in her classroom 5 or so times a day (while trying to hide at the same time).

Just to let you know, I DO NOT show up to her 'school' to check on her :) I just so happen to work there :) Its been great. Im in the same building as Autumn, I know the ladies who care for her everyday and im just 2 doors down if sometimes happens to her. Its a blessing and somewhat of a curse all at the same time. It'll be interesting to see her in my class if we stay in OK long enough!

When I first started out at this job, I was just a substitute and I just so happened to be in her class for about 3 weeks. I learned how everything works, I know what she's doing at what time and I learned the 'tricks' for her in that environment. Things like, having to hide her behind a partition just so she'll take a nap. Even if it is only 30 minutes!

All in all, I think this is a great experience for both of us. She's meeting new friends, learning how to be away from me and im learning to be away from her and getting some adult interaction. Its also just enough work that im not worn out at the end of the week and hate my job. I love my class and actually look forward to going back the next day :)

TEETH!

Autumn has never been one to be fussy while teething. I NEVER know when she has another tooth coming in unless I see it or she actually lets me get my finger in there and feel around.

So needless to say, I though she only had 7 teeth. 4 on the bottom and 3 on top. Well, I was wrong. Its seems as though she has about 9 teeth and has 2 molars coming in! Seriously? I feel like a bad mom for not even noticing. But I will admit, the fact that it doesn't even phase her is pretty nice :) I noticed these new teeth while brushing them last night, which is one of Autumn's favorite things to do. As soon as she sees the tooth brush she opens her mouth up wide and giggles the whole time. Hopefully it'll be that easy in her rebellious years!!

Wordless Wednesday

New words and Major!

So, like I said before, Autumn is learning new words everyday! This morning she brought me a banana and very enthusiastically said 'nana. nummy!'. She clearly wanted that banana, and she got it :) She also pointed right at Majors tennis ball and said 'ball' then proceeded to pick it up and throw it right at Majors face. Thank goodness her big brother is used to getting hit in the head seeing as he is horrible at catching!

Speaking of Major, he celebrated his 4th birthday last month. Well, we actually have no idea when his birthday is. Charles and I adopted Major from the Pitt County Humane Society on August 12, 2006. We were told he was 3 months old. So we decided to celebrate his birthday on May 12, which was 3 months before we adopted him. We normally take him to get a hotdog from Sonic but never were able to do it this year. Maybe that'll be whats for dinner tomorrow!?!?!!

Major a few days after we adopted him!

April 2010

Congratulations Charles!

A HUGE congratulations to my wonderful husband, Charles on his promotion last Tuesday! He is no longer a LT. Autumn and I are so proud of him!!!

During a ceremony at Charles' battalion, Charles removed his LT rank and put on a Capt. rank. I put his Capt rank on his beret and tried my best to put it on his head, which was somewhat difficult since im a whole foot shorter than him. Following the ceremony I fed about 30 soldiers brisket and smoked sausage. The day went off without a hitch and now we dont have to worry about another ceremony for at least 5 years!

Autumn's Vocabulary

Autumn is just talking up a storm these days, and everyday she is learning something new. I thought I would make a list of the words she says and what she really means and add to the list as she learns new words. I think it would be a cool thing to be able to look back on in about 20 years :)


Side=outside
Oof Oof=woof woof/puppy/any kind of animal
Nummy=yummy/hungry
Up/Down=up/down/in/out/on/off


She also clearly says:
Night Night
Uh Oh
Juice
Puppy
No
Hi
Bye
Sit (which Major does whenever he hears her!)
Thank You

She can sign 'more' and 'all done'. We're working on 'please' but she just gets frustrated and gives up quickly.

15 Months Old!

Its hard to believe that Autumn is already 15 months old! Its crazy how fast she is growing.

She had her 15 month check-up on the 4th. She weighs 24lbs 8oz (40%) and is 30.75 inches long (just under 60%). She says 'mama', 'dada', 'mommy', 'daddy', 'thank you', 'up', 'woof woof', 'juice', and 'sit'. She climbs on EVERYTHING. She is into everything and is constantly pushing my buttons to see how far she can go.

She also had an eye Drs appointment in Oklahoma City this past Wednesday. The Dr said she was probably the healthiest kid he would see all day! Her birthmark is not affecting anything with her eyesight. In about 10-20 years we'll need to keep an eye out and be worried about glaucoma, but if thats all we have to worry about, im happy!

Autumn now has 6 teeth and at least 2 more trying to make their way in. She's running and walking backwards and loves to climb stairs when we let her. She LOVES taking showers and im looking forward to taking her to the spray park here on post this summer. She hates sitting in the stroller, car seat and high chair for more than about 5 mins. She would much rather be running or walking around wherever she pleases.

Major seems to like her a little more each day and that Autumn can really interact with him, he enjoys it. She thinks its hilarious when he runs around outside and she loves to 'pet the puppy'. She's starting to throw a ball and once she gets that down, Major is going to be her best friend! :)

Autumn Update!

As some of you may know, Autumn was sick this past week.

While at work on Monday night I realized that Autumn felt extremely warm. I took her temperature and it was 102.6. I decided not to take her in that night and to see if maybe she would sleep it off. Tuesday morning she woke up with a fever of 102.3. I called and got her an appointment that morning. After looking her over, the Dr said he's 95% sure she had the flu. Apparently only 25% of kids who have the flu also have all the symptoms to go with it. He told me to alternate motrin and tylenol every 3 hours and to come back Wednesday morning if she still had a fever. Well, wednesday, she still had a fever. I took her back in and the Dr said it just looks like it was going to affect her a little longer than it affects most. Luckily, she went to bed Wednesday night and woke up Thursday morning without a fever! :)

Her energy has come back and so has her appetite. Now, she seems to have developed a cough. She's waking herself up at night but does good with putting herself back to sleep. She has a really runny nose as well. She is VERY happy to have daddy home after having him in the field for 2 weeks!

In happier news, Autumn now says 'up' whenever she wants you to pick her up or even put her down! She's doing great in 'school' with the other kids. She's doing all kinds of art projects and my walls are slowly becoming covered with them!

Easter 2010

We started off the morning with our traditional holiday breakfast, sweet rolls, and letting Autumn check out her Easter Basket! She loved being able to explore the basket and not be told 'no'. Her absolute favorite part was shaking the eggs from her basket and making noise! :)







After checking out the goodies from the Easter bunny, we got ready and headed to church with some close friends of ours. We put Autumn in the nursery for the first time and to be honest, my eyes were on the little number screen just waiting to see Autumn's number pop up and for me to have to leave and go get her. But, as always, she did great and I lived! When I went to pick her up the ladies told me that she is super sweet, very loving but tired, ha. It was an hour past naptime!







After church we came home and put Autumn down for a nap. Later that evening, we had some friends over for a cookout. We had a great time and are so blessed to have everyone in our lives. Needless to say, we all slept like rocks that night!

Skinned Knees

Autumn skinned her knees for the first time yesterday! And like any good, blogging mom, I took pictures! HA.

Right before she fell down

Autumn's first skinned knees!

A Day in the Life of Autumn

I woke up at 8:30 this morning. Mommy finds me with my pajamas half off a lot these days! Mommy got me ready, fed me breakfast real fast then we headed to the gym for her class.

After mommy's class at the gym, she lets me out of the stroller and play in the gym. I was NOT happy when mommy told me it was time to go and she put me back in the stroller!

After the gym, mommy put me down for a nap. I slept from 11am-12:45pm. After my morning nap, I had a cheese sandwich and fruit for lunch!

After lunch, mommy turned on the radio and we danced in the living room!

Mommy and I had a fun time dancing.

After dancing and playing, I took another nap. My afternoon nap lasted from 4pm-5:30pm. After that nap, I ate dinner. Daddy made me a bowl of carrots and gave me some chicken

I have a little bit of a diaper rash so I get naked time before bed! After naked time, Daddy read me a book while I drank my milk and then mommy and daddy told me goodnight. I was asleep by 9:15! Playing is hard work!

Wordless Wednesday