On the move

Leo has figured out how to get to toys and other objects that he wants. It's a little squirmy and not so smooth, but he's getting the hang of crawling. It all started with him going from belly to sitting. Now he is moving and grooving--somewhat. Well, you can see for yourself. I managed to get his first few combat crawl attempts on video.

The only setback of all this is his complete satisfaction and obsession with himself and his new found talent. In other words, he is not sleeping very well during nap times. Yesterday he kept sitting up and getting mad that there was nothing to play with. I kept placing him back down--he didn't like that either. It was a battle of the wills. Mommy lost.

Today it was more of the same. I think he was just so tired that he conked out after only three "repositions" by mommy in bed. He slept 20 minutes then woke crying again for the second day in a row. If I remember correctly with Carmella this lasted a few days and the novelty of it wears off. I am hopeful that naps will return to normal by week's end.

If only we could get him to stop spitting up. Now that I cannot keep him on a blanket, my carpets are going to suffer even more.

Apple Orchard

Today, for our 6th anniversary Mark and I decided to embrace this wonderful cooler weather and take the family apple picking. Hillcrest Orchard is a fun family place a little over an hours drive away. They had all sorts of fun things to do.

First, we picked apples.

Then took a wagon ride through the property. After the ride, Carmella got to milk a cow.

She also got to bounce on some large air pillow and ride in a derby with a tricycle.

Then, to end our time there, we watched a pig race. Carmella even got chosen to stand up on the platform and race a pig. Her pig, Kevin Bacon, lost, but she still came away with a red ribbon for her participation.

Go pigs, go.

Little Drummer Boy

Precious Rewards

We have been having some major drama at bedtime lately with miss Carmella Rose. As sweet as she is during the day, the opposite became true at night. Our little girl mysteriously turned into a little monster just when it was time to say "good night". It became such a heartache for us because we would have such a lovely evening, fun story time and sweet good night kisses. But just when you thought she was snuggled in bed, the nightmare began. It wasn't just her getting out of bed a million times. We could handle that if it wasn't accompanied with full on tantrum screaming. We finally figured out the root of the problem...she was too wound up and simply wanted more of us.

See, daddy gets home around 6:30, we have dinner right away, then it is basically time to get ready for bed. Daddy always puts Carmella to bed. They have a blast singing songs, and reading stories and saying prayers. Who wouldn't want that time to go on forever. So every night turned into major drama, making everyone miserable.

To remedy the situation we did our Bible story right after dinner, downstairs. We took away songs all together and simply got jammies on, brushed teeth and said prayers before kisses and hugs and lights out. We put into place a rewards system because we exhausted all other consequences and punishments. And frankly, we were sick and tired of fighting with her. So Mommy made some fun numbers and each night that she went to bed without fussing at all she earned a new number. We stuck each number she earned to her bathroom mirror so she could easily see her progress. When she reached the number 5 she was allowed to pick out a princess doll at Target.

It took her about 8 days to reach the number 5 and still had two more nights before we could get to the store to purchase her doll. She did awesome! We are so proud of our little princess. She decided that she wanted Belle from Beauty and the Beast and couldn't wait to get her.

On Friday we had a very busy day. First we stopped by Carmella's school to check out a consignment sale because Mr. Leo is growing so fast I needed to get some size 18 month clothes (even though he is only 8 months old!!). I know that he will be in that size very soon and most definitely for the cooler months of winter. At that sale I found a Belle princess dress complete with high heal shoes and a wand for $8. It was is great shape and looked really cute.

Carmella was beyond excited about the dress. She wanted to hold it in the car on the way to swimming class. After swim lessons we had lunch then went to Target to get her doll.

When we walked in the store she started dancing and skipping down the aisle. Then she stopped, looked up at me, pumped her hands in the air and squealed, "Mommy, this is so exciting!" Then we walked as fast as we could to the toy section to find Belle.

I asked her: "So do you know why you are getting Belle?"

She replied (very intuitively I might add), "Because I have been such a good girl and didn't cry or scream at bedtime. And I got to number 5, Mommy."

So here is the end result. A very happy princess. A very happy mommy and daddy. And a very quiet house at night. Thank you to those who have been praying for our little girl and this situation.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend Excursion:

Tallulah Gorge State Park in Tallulah Falls, GA

One of the most spectacular canyons in the eastern U.S., Tallulah Gorge is two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep. Visitors can hike rim trails to several overlooks, or they can obtain a free permit (limit 100 per day) to hike down to the gorge floor. A suspension bridge sways 80 feet above the rocky bottom, providing spectacular views of the river and waterfalls.

Mark and I did over 3,000 stairs down the gorge and back up. Carmella did about 200 stairs and Leo did none. He had the best ride in our company...even fell asleep in the baby Bjorn on the way back up. What a beautiful place. The whole family enjoyed the time out in nature.