A little diddy...

Last night, Garrett and Caris play a game. G is resting on the couch after a long day and lil C wants to play. So the game goes like this: Garrett pretends he is sleeping (which he kind of halfway is) and so he fake snores, dramatically, and goes 'na night'. Upon seeing his entrance into fake slumber, Caris excitedly runs over to her Daddy and utilizes various attempts to arouse him from his slumber. She's loving it.


Soon, Caris decides she wants to 'fake sleep' too. She crinkles up her little nose and makes a pretty good attempt at mimicking the 'snore', then lays her head down, peeking at Daddy. So I witness this game in action and say to Caris, 'Are you waking daddy up?' to which she happily answers 'Yes!'


Cue next fake Daddy sleep. Caris goes straight over to her Dad, taps him, and with perfect inflection, pronunciation, intonation, yells 'Wake Up!!'. Garrett and I die with laughter, because truly, it is spot on, and so perfectly invoked in timing. It surprised us.


So Garrett decides he would like a real nap; so I ask Caris to bring Daddy a blanket and let him go 'na night'. She does so and then marches purposefully off to her room. Usually a purposeful march leads to entertainment, so I just stand back to watch what she will do.


Lil C proceeds to her room and quickly returns to the living room proudly carrying her pillow. Which she places on the coffee table, lays her head upon, and fake snores.


I mean, maybe this is the kind of story that is only funny to her parents, but it sure was funny. And I wanted to remember.

17 months...

Of this girl.

Her sweet smile and joyful laugh. Eyes full of wonder, constantly amazing me with their depth of expression. Sweet Caris, your adventuresome spirt has sprung to new realms with your increasing abilities as a biped. Ever improving climbing, running, dancing. Feet seeking new adventures, new ground, new skills. Caris, you continue to LOVE the outdoors, so evidenced by our recent trip to New England when the weather allowed for ample time spent in the air of nature and in time spent in the country air of Gonzales and Albany. You came alive, my girl, and would spend hours upon hours outside if weather permitted. So much joy and love for the grass, wind, and air. You eat it up and it is as if it becomes part of your soul. My favorite.

You love new places and new adventures. Planes? Football games? Basketball stadiums? Parties? City streets? Shopping? You thrive there, my girl. Living it up and loving every minute. When mommy packs her bag and says 'let's go!' you are at the door in a flash, laughing and stomping excitedly all the way. You love adventure, crowds. But you definitely have a shy side in some circumstances, clinging to mommy when new kids are around and at morning drop-off. You are sensitive and emotional. Particularly when it comes to discipline and your things (including your mommy). You study; new faces, places, circumstances; so intently do you study. But when you come around, you are full of life. I see this that you love well and much.

You constantly amaze me with how much you understand. You are getting 'it', and have been for the past few months, my toddler lady. Things are coming together in all forms and your world makes sense to you. You follow all commands exactly and even seemingly listen and participate in conversation. You set the table, use your forks, and get your cup when you are thirsty. You talk, often. Sometimes it is in your 'Caris language' but often it more closely resembles that of your mom and dads. I love to hear your voice; singing, making animal noises, and learning new words.

Watching you learn and teaching you new things is true excitement. You take on each new quest with great zest. Studying your mom and dads movement of face, mouth, and body and imitating so precisely. You have mastered your body parts and animals. Both responding when questioned and independently asserting your knowledge. Down to your elbows and knees and your bunny and monkey, you know. And you love to know. We are learning letters and colors and for some reason, you know the letters 'F, J, and S' and love to make the sounds. p.s. your animal sounds are my favorite, especially that bunny and monkey.

You are constantly watching, observing. Every little move we make, you see. Every picture and word on a page, you soak in. I am continually surprised by your attention to detail and the minute things you observe. You pick up on so many things that we pass by. And you are focused. You love to order things precisely and complete a task. Meticulous, my lady.

You are spirited and funny and love to perform. Your dance moves are increasing and you always ask for music to bust out your moves. You sing along to your favorite songs and light up when you hear a good beat. I truly love this about you; the joy and freedom you have in music. It too, like the air, is in your soul. And it is true joy. Your performance extends to your love to show off your skills; cutie shrugs, the 'face', animal sounds, dance moves, you love to show them off to your audience.


This stage has been a favorite; the last few months have seen such growth in your development. You are full of life and becoming such a little person. I look at you now and see a little girl, so tall and so grown up in your actions, looks, words. You run your little classroom like you are the boss. But you still love a snuggle and for mommy to hold you :) I cling to this last glimpse of baby-hood. Because it is disappearing quickly. With every new word and new skill, you are becoming a little girl. Not so much my baby Caris, but my beautiful girl.

joy

Joy.

In my soul.

In the eyes of my little C.
And the heart of her poppa G.
In the sweet, crisp air of a New England day ushering in the first of Fall.
In the consuming comfort of a humid southern day, ensuring summer lingers.
In the evening sounds with windows open, rain, cows, and birds singing lullibies.
And the peaceful comfort of a home that is ours, that we have created, and have loved.
In sweet baby kisses and warm night snuggles.

Joy.
Deep in my soul.

In the beauty of simple blessings.
And the humbling gratitude of the undeserved ones that are so great, they overwhelm my heart with the abundance of love.
In grass between my toes, and sandy feet and hands. Soaked in sun.
In the familarity of my hardwood floors.
In the calming peace a clean counter and clear table.
And the messy pile of toys and mini-clothes, evidence of a day well-played and well-worn.
In the knowledge that I am loved, and recognizing its presence, and it is unconditional and encompassing.

And that they have my heart.
Loving the life we are given, each day that we are given.

Joy.
And it is well.
With my Soul.

sorry for my mini-rant on the last post. apparently my self-edit was off that week along with everything else. needed to push the delete button on that! consider this my reprieve. and what i was trying to say. chaos = joy. when we look.

Making it Work:

Or being a Mom.

That's the phrase that keeps running through my head as of late. We all have our share of life challenges unique to our circumstances. With each new phase I know we will face many different challenges that will implore us to use new strengths and new resources. The point is, whether you are home with your babies, working away from them, sending them to college, or empty nesting, life as a mom is just that: LIFE happening and MOM trying to head to advice of Tim Gunn and Project Runway, and just MAKE LIFE WORK.

But this is my blog ;) and thus I operate from a life perspective of our unique challenges. I work, a stressful, busy job, that keeps me away from my girl from 7:40 to 5:30. We live in a metro city, thus requiring morning and evening quality time with thousands of unknown city mates (or rather with their cars) and extending the time we spend away from our humble abode. I have taken some extra work on that I try to accomplish during the slumbering hours of the rest of my crew.

And my parenting partner in crime is as busy as imaginable. The boy has completed dental school, and now medical school (YAY!), taken four sets of boards, and works the ridiculous hours that only medical residents can somehow keep up. He spends long hours away and when he is home, is faced with the busi-ness that makes up a home with two working owners. G goes into work at an unmentionable hour, is on call several times a week, and has LONG days. And he's called to a profession requiring 6 years of specialized training following 8 years of school.

So our daily lives within the aforementioned setting can get stressful. Mornings are usually just me and the lil' C. Getting the two of us put together and out the door in the morning can get, well it can get INTERESTING. And arriving home after 6 every day and attempting to prepare dinner, feed bathe and slumber the little, all while attempting to both parent and love on the lil C (and sometimes her dad) can also be INTERESTING.

They aren't great challenges, but they are my challenges. And every moment, every day, I'm just trying to MAKE IT WORK in a way that I hope is positive and purposeful. So I know this post seems 'complain-y' and that is likely because it is. But this is where I'm at right now because it's been one of those weeks riddled with illnesses, work projects, board tests, and house maintenance that has dragged on to a months worth of weeks.

And I'm trying to learn from it and create something within the midst of what seems to be a chaotic mess.

And what I'm learning is this:

When Caris needs an extra snuggle, she gets that extra snuggle. Because she's little and sweet and loves her momma and deserves that from me. And when I get those precious times with my little girl snuggled by my side, I stop and savor that moment. Because those moments are what we have. And when she's big and moody and annoyed at her momma, we will still have those moments tucked away in our hearts.

And when Caris needs a few minutes in the morning and get herself ready for the day, we allow them. Even if that means I show up late and work through lunch. Because we are busy and so is life, and we all need a moment from time to time. And I sense that the harriedness gets to the little. And I vote that 16 months is a little too young to feel stressed. And it seems allowing the moments make for a much better morning routine.

That when Caris would rather play with her parents than have us make an elaborate dinner, I should head the call. Because I believe in the value of PLAYING and in spending family time void of the pressures of HAVE to's. And we all know at the end of a hectic day, we could use a little downtime with the ones we love (and I'm sure the little's day spent with 11 other littles can be hectic!) So we play. And then turn chores into play.

And for the times my girl needs some extra slumber, she gets the extra slumber. Because I value providing good sleep. And because she works hard and is tired and never wants to miss a thing. And however we can get the treasured slumber, we take it. But when mom needs the little up for an early meeting, then we make that work too.

And when mom and dad need a dinner together and a moment together, we need to take it. And time alone to make me, me. Because it makes us the US that created this home, this life, this girl. In all honesty, this is probably one of the areas I struggle with the most. Sincewe have such little time with our girl, both G and myself are hesitant to spend more without the girl. But I'm learning those moments can be an evening on our porch, a run in the neighborhood, or an hour in the study.

And when my home is a little too evidenced of our weeks happenings, I TRY to not let it get the best of me. And when dinner isn't perfect and lunches aren't made, I TRY to find ways that work better. And in the same vane of honesty, these are the areas that my biggest hold-ups remain. (So any tips from the wise on how to keep these together, I will gladly accept!!) Because clutter and mess are not so peaceful, but neither is constant stress and cleaning! (can someone resolve that conundrum for me??) And I mean, I washed my iron with a load of clothes this week. So clearly my house-wifery skills are at an all time high. That, my friends, is multi-tasking.

And when I need to use my blog as a sounding board and write a 'complain-y' post, well I guess I do that too :) thanks for listening.

But every once in a while, I give myself a break from myself imposed strife to keep it all together and instead just focus on trying to MAKE it WORK within that which is seemingly apart. In the end, I just want to make a life that is peaceful and happy for my family. Because whatever the circumstances, we have precious MOMENTS. With our girl, each other, families, and life. And I want to love each moment as it comes. And when I decide what we value and focus on those, it's much easier to see clearly when those moments happen amd making things work doesn't so much seem like work anymore.

And how could it be otherwise when my moments look like this?

Here's to much needed break. A FULL WEEK with my sweet Caris, her dad, and no work. Here's to VACATION!!!

Good help

They say it's hard to find.

But I've recently acquired the best little helper.

She puts her clothes away. Girl goes straight to her room when presented with the task. Nice little use for her cart I think....

She has discovered the broom and subsequently 'helps' mommy sweep the floors when such time arises.

Click on a video below to watch it:

Untitled (2)
Length: 02:17

hope this works?? Not sure how to get these videos on here...

Video includes emotional breakdown on first attempt. Now that she has mastered the task, emotional breakdowns have minimized. In terms of the broom. We still have them related to bubbles and chairs.

Lil' C will take her school items now and load them in her bag when asked. It's a great morning distraction and has proved really helpful.

She carries her little bag of clothes to and from the car. Freeing mom up with an extra hand.

And the crowning help achievement: UNLOADING THE DISWASHER!!! Woo hoo!! Remember, I've been grooming her for this...jk. Well, she puts her dishes away in her drawer. But now my least favorite task is now much more enjoyable as Caris really does help put her dishes away and, BONUS adds entertainment to the chore. And as an aside, I recently ambitiously (okay, was to do so forced because of the exterminators) cleaned out my kitchen cabinets and pantry and in doing so, rearranged a few things to create: THE CARIS DRAWER. It's been one of my favorite 'child-proof' arrangements. We have these great deep drawers in our cabinets, and I had stocked the lowest two with plastic ware and paper goods so when we were working in the kitchen, Caris had a place to do her thing. Well in our transformation, I decided to Caris-fy the drawer even more and place her dishes and cups along with a few kithen related toys in the drawer. Now, Caris gets her cup when she's thirsty and proceeds to the fridge and says 'milk?', brings me her plate when hungry, and yes, puts away said items when unloading the dishwasher. And perhaps 'hides' some of her favorited items (i.e. crayons) in said drawers. Awesome. And useful.

But really, the girl loves a task. Any task will do. And it's a pretty great way to keep her occupied when mommy has to complete a chore. And it really is helpful. Plus don't you think my help is pretty darn cute? She certainly makes me smile. And is also tax-deductible. So I think I may even give her a raise.

And speaking of good help.....we have the best grandmas on duty these week! Hepling take care of Caris while her school in in inservice. Thanks Grammy and Machita! Hopefully Caris helps them as well!!

Favorite

Some of my favorite Caris things....

- Caris' use of crayons. She will meticulously take each crayon from one location to another, then return. This is how she finally decided to walk. And she will do this endlessly.

- That she calls her Daddy 'Poppa'.

- And that she loves to sit in his lap at his desk and study with him.

- Her elephant sound.

- And her puppy dog sound. which is less of a sound and more of an action; tongue out, pant pant.

- And her obsession with all things puppy.

- And the kitty cat sound.

- The time when Caris became obsessed with grapes. Saw them at the store and wouldn't part with them. thought about them all day. We hadn't provided them yet. So she concentrated so hard and finally looked at us with determination said 'Grap?' then repeated for the remainder of the day.

- Her piggy tails. And that she asks for them. Finds her little rubber bands, puts them to her hair, and says 'pig?'

- Her cutie shrug. An all-time favorite.

- the 'face'

- High fives. Girls loves to give them.

- That her favorite foods are broccoli, fish, and blueberries 'bubery?' and raisins.

- How she says 'mmmmmmm' when eating something she clearly likes.

- That she will eat a banana whole. and a whole banana.

- How every morning she wants to see and talk to her butterfly, name, and pictures of her friends.

- The way she says 'book' and climbs to my lap. Only to take over 'reading' them to me and turning all the pages.

- How she loves to talk. And is starting to make sense...(to me at least). The time she tried to talk over a well-known talker and continued to excitedly escalate until she took over the attention.

- That she says 'skoo' and gets excited to see her nap-mat.

- That she loves a momma snuggle.

- The way she studies new people so intently. Big blue eyes so focused and sincere.

-Mainly, Caris your our favorite little lady.

post script....I literally wrote this a month ago. There are sooo many changes and new caris favorties since it's inception. But I kept adding and changing, and decided it will stay in it's originally state. Hopefully a favorites update coming soon... So imagine this as Caris one month ago....

Swinging in the rain

In an afternoon rain shower, I taught Caris the beauty of playing in puddles and singing in the rain. And then she insisted on swinging in the rain. I guess whatever floats your rain boat.

p.s. Video translation: Caris was attempting to sing 'Singing in the Rain'. Or being a kitty cat. Your pick.

And in a funny follow-up to our clothing post, apparently Caris does not like her rain jacket. She begged (i.e. BANGED ON THE DOOR AND SAID OUTSIDE???) to go outside but refused to put her rain jacket on. Finally, after much convincing and realizing she could not go outside without adorning the dreaded jacket, she relented. But she wasn't happy about it. Funny thing is, she has also flat out REFUSED to put on this precious little red dress Grammy Jane had made in China (I mean it is adorable) but she will NOT put it on. But really has only done this with these two items. I have two theories: She either a) hates the color red, or b) is big on textures, or most likely c) a combination of the two theories. Either way, it's pretty funny. But I did not manage to get the super cute matching lady bug red rain boots on her feet. so pink crocs it was.

Oh so Opinionated.

So go sing in the rain! And catch a falling drop and put it in your pocket. Or something like that.

Shopaholic

This little lady loves clothes. Lucky for her, so do her grandma's and aunties. Lucky for lady's momma too. Grandma Machita sent down several boxes of 'new school clothes' for lil' C and she went crazy! Crazy, like good. not crazy like bad. you know. She wanted to hold ALL of them and kept hugging her new clothes. And also eating the tags. Yumm.

Pretty. Caris has become quite opinionated about what she wants to wear these days. Which makes getting ready for school extra fun as you might imagine. But the girl literally lights up and shy smiles so sweetly when chosen attire is adorned and she feels 'so pretty'. She particularly loves it when her Daddy thinks it is 'so pretty'

We've got our back-to-school outfit picked out, cleaned, and ironed (or my version of ironed which means I used the refresh button on my dryer). We're ready to head back to school in style! Don't you remember the excitement of new school clothes every year and picking out a new outfit every day? Fun times. We are initiating Caris into that tradition early :)

ummm.....can you say sticker shock?? Thanks again Machita!

Guest Post!

In keeping with my as of late theme of not really creating new posts of my own and instead using other bloggers to supplement my very-lacking-blog-activity, I decided to recruit for my first ever guest post-er! I had just the person in mind; my sister Tara who is funny and charming and creative and entertaining and witty. Well, Tara was not only one-step ahead of me, but she one-upped me and created a blog of her own! (sisters, always doing that...) So instead of a guest post, you get a new blog! And a really great one at that; I already love it. So even better.

Check her out at: tjandb-dub.blogspot.com

Go there now and read the first few posts. You will be glad you did.

But more than the blog itself, we are SOOO excited for the reason behind the blog. If you haven't clicked over and read it for yourself (why haven't you?? read this!!), Caris will give you a preview in her own words....

But I have I mentioned you should go read her blog? I can't express it any better than she did.

What's that say on my shirt???

umm...."Is this from Lulu?'

(true story, that's what I said when seeing the shirt. um duh camille. I was suprised to say the least, give me a break!!)

What!!! Is it true??? Me?? A Cousin???

YAY!!!! A Lifelong playmate is coming in February!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

And given Caris recent obsession and newest vocabulary word 'Baby?' loves her babies; I think she is ready!

Have you figured out the reason behind our excitement both in and out of the blog world?? Congrats to Tara and Robert and new baby squirm!!!

p.s. squirm isn't quite ready for Facebook publicity yet....so just keep that in mind!

Copy Cat

blogger is not my friend this week. I have literally been working on a post all week, but in my mind, this post requires video. And no matter what I do, I CANNOT get the video to work!

So in a minor act of rebellion, I'm copying. Or more accurately, linking to blog posts from better bloggers who have recorded some of our shared memories.

(in case anyone hasn't noticed, I gave up trying to document our adventures. Apparently, I wasn't so good at that. I would get a post of one event up and in the interim, two more had passed, so I was always behind. I ended up with pictures from some events, but not others, even thought I loved both events. all this bad blogging inadvertently led to some hurt feelings. and regardless, here I am. Not blogging about most of our events. )

So luckily, other people are better at this and I thought I'd link to their recounts:

Fun with friends in Houston with visitors from Alabama! So fun to finally meet sweet Sophia, eat chocolate, and dance with the girls. Loved visiting with Sarah and I love her blog :) next time, reunion + boys.

Waco celebrations with the Cook's. Boys + kiddos + zoo + birthday+Waco = great weekend. And yay! the Cook's are welcoming baby boy in December!!

Caris has her first crush here. Brooks, watch out, Caris has some new moves for the next reunion. no one can resist her cutie shrug.

And Caris' first race as recounted by mommy of next year's competition in the 3 and under category at the Fandangle 5K back home in good ole' Albany. (did I ever mention the story of how I jacked a third place medal from a 10 year old in this race? no? well good. i'll keep that one to myself)

Thanks to all my blogging friends for helping us record some of the memories!!