A Vacation Post!

I am back in the office after an amazing week and a half off. We spent a week at Hilton Head, and then enjoyed a long weekend at home in Tallahassee. So, here's a little round-up of my time away from the office!

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

Spending time with family:

We had so much fun spending quality time with my family. Caroline loves them! She loves playing with her auntie's hair, reading magazines with her Pepaw, and cuddling with her Memaw in all her cute new clothes (her Memaw has excellent taste). I'm so glad she got to spend a week with them, and that they got to spend a week with her. She loved them all!! 

  

Beach babe:

Caroline LOVES the beach. She enjoyed the way the sand felt on her feet, absolutely loved staring at the ocean, and had so much fun feeling the water on her little toes. She is such a beach babe :) She rocked her sunhat and sunglasses and was definitely the cutest thing on that beach. She snoozed in my lap, played on the beach mat, took a walk to find shells (which Hilton Head is seriously lacking), and enjoyed her bottles. It looks like she inherited the Rose/Brian families' loves for the beach!!

Swimming:

My dad bought her a float to use in the swimming pool. I took her in the water and she LOVED it. I knew she would considering her loves for baths. She kicked those little feet like crazy! I think she would have been happy staying in that swimming pool all day if given the chance. My dad even joined her in the pool the last day of vacation and she had so much fun! Watching her swim was definitely a highlight of the trip!

The food:

We ate SO MUCH GOOD FOOD on this trip! From The Crazy Crab to the British Open Pub to the Salty Dog to Stacks, and everything in between, the food was delicious! And, of course, my dad made some great breakfasts and my mom made some delicious dinners! Being married to a guy who's not a big fan of seafood, it's so nice to go to the beach and order shrimp, fish, etc. Hilton Head had some great restaurants!! Even Caroline loved the restaurants; my little piglet required a bottle every time we ate. I have gotten good at holding a bottle with my left hand and eating with my right hand.

The shopping:

We did a lot of shopping while in Hilton Head. Most stores are way out of my price range, but it's always fun to look. Caroline was not a fan of all this shopping and had to be held about half of the time. She did enjoy her Pepaw pushing her in the stroller, though, and sitting with her outside while the ladies went into the stores.

Adult beverages:

I drank some pretty awesome beers while on vacation! Holy City Porter was my favorite. Salty Dog Amber is a close second. Every other beer was wonderful, as well. I also splurged on a $10 raspberry margarita to enjoy on the beach one day. It was quite refreshing. At the condo, I enjoyed both white and red wines. We also made quite a few batches of bloody mary's, complete with celery and olives. Yes, I sound like a lush. Yes, I probably am ;)

The long drives with my six-month old:

Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting! I never got a mirror for the backseat, but she snoozed most of the time so it wasn't really needed. On the way to South Caroline, we made it all the way to Georgia before having to stop. We hung out at a Chickfila and had our milk (milkshake for me, formula for her), changed her diaper, got some gas, and were back on the road within half an hour. We did have to stop at a random Crack Barrell parking lot further up in Georgia so a bottle could soothe a backseat meltdown, but it was a quick and easy stop!

The way back to Tallahassee wasn't so pretty. We did great until Jacksonville with no stops and then a meltdown began as she woke up. I exited in Jacksonville and she immediately stopped crying and fell asleep. Well, while looking for a Dunkin Donuts (I think that billboard was lying) I got lost and somehow ended up at the airport. Thank goodness for the GPS because I was freeeeeaking out! She actually slept until we were about an hour from home and of course started screaming right before we entered the "twilight zone" as we call it... a 30 minute chunk of road with no stops, no restaurants, nothing. So she screamed for 30 minutes until I found a Wendy's. I was a hot mess express in there, guys. In summary: ordered while juggling my purse, the diaper bag, the car seat, and the baby (screaming baby had to be taken out of the car seat). Once we ate, we went to change her poopy diaper to discover there was no changing table. I made my own in the handicap stall, noticed it was a blow-out, tried to fix it while a handicap person waited for the stall (what are the chances of that, seriously?), and carried my naked baby out to the car to get her dressed in peace. Needless to say, everyone in that Wendy's was probably ecstatic when we left.

In conclusion:

It was a WONDERFUL vacation and I wish it could have lasted longer. We had fun in Hilton Head and surrounding areas (outlet shopping and historic Bluffton!). Caroline loved spending time with her Memaw, Pepaw, and Auntie and misses them so much already. Her mommy misses them, too :)

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Joshua was so happy to see his baby girl on Friday (and I suppose he was happy to see me, as well)!! His first words were, "SHE GOT HUGE!" It's crazy how much they grow in a week. He held her a lot this weekend.

Saturday, we finally used a Best Buy reward and got three movies for $5.00. Horrible Bosses, The Big Labowski, and Tropic Thunder are all ours to enjoy! We drank some brewskies (I highly recommend the Sam Adams Summer Variety Pack) and relaxed! Saturday was Caroline's SIX MONTH BIRTHDAY! I cannot believe we have had her for half a year already. Time flies!

Sunday, I had a headache for most of the morning which was a drag. We did end up going for a walk and once again relaxing around the house.

Monday, we took Miss Caroline for a walk around Lake Ella (she snoozed the whole time) and then took her to the pool! She LOVED swimming with her daddy. She splashed, jumped, and sat in the water. She loved watching the older kids swim and they were all amazed by her. We had such a fun time and will definitely do it again!

 

All in all, there isn't much to report from the weekend, which is just the way we wanted it! We had a quiet weekend at home enjoying each others company. It was perfect :)

Stage 5 Clinger.

So, I haven't done a random "what's going on in the world of baby development" post in a while, so here we go!

Stage 5 Clinger

I believe Caroline is beginning the "clingy" phase I have read oh so much about. I think it is better titled the "woman, if you put me down I will SCREAM" phase. It comes complete with planking (see below). Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad phase. I love that she loves to be held. I love that she loves me and Josh so much. However, I also love being able to get things done. This phase does not allow that to happen. If I put her down in her swing, she'll plank (again, see below). If I put her down in her activity saucer, she arches her back to see me and cries (it's the cutest thing, actually, but extremely sad). If I put her on her piano gym, she will cry and somehow manage to roll over so much she is facing the other direction, face-down on the carpet. If I put her in the highchair (unless there's food involved) the aforementioned planking begins. This has made evenings where it is just me (if Josh works late) difficult. But, like I mentioned, I love snuggling her so this phase isn't too bad. Dropping her off at daycare usually involves a moment of "OMG, where are you going, mom?" but she quickly realizes she's in a fun toy and starts jumping around.

Planking

For those who do not know, this is planking. Basically, they straighten their entire bodies so they are one, long plank. Caroline has become quite skilled at this. Her favorite places to plank: car seat, high chair, and swing. When she's being a "stage 5 clinger," she planks. She doesn't want to be put into the car seat, high chair, or swing; she wants to be held. So she stiffens her entire body to the point that it is impossible to sit her in these objects. She then gets her way and continues to be held. She's quite the smarty pants! This has also resulted in her having to be buckled into the swing so she doesn't flip herself out.

"Mmmmmm"

She is still in an "mmmmm" phase. I read that babies get fixated on one sound and make it repeatedly. She constantly goes "mmmmm" which turns into "mumumumum" which often sounds like "mumu" (mama) and once she yelled out a crystal clear "MOM" which was all kinds of amazing. We were in Target yesterday, and she seriously spent the entire 15 minutes in the cart going mmmMmmMMMMMmmmMMmmMMMmmmm. We call her our "zombie baby" or our "frankenstein baby" :)

Foods

She is doing so well with her big girl foods. She loves pears and apples the most. We tried sweet potatoes last night. I got the most adorable "WTF IS THIS?" face at first, but she ate quite a bit. She's still not a big fan of rice cereal, so we are going to try oatmeal next. She makes the "mmmm" sound while she eats. Did I mention how cute she is?

Mosh Pit Baby
Time in her saucer used to be spent pleasantly sitting and playing with toys. She now turns that thing into a freaking mosh pit. She knows how to start the music so she gets that going. And she proceeds to jump around like a maniac. It's SO CUTE. Heavy metal baby! If we wave our arms around while she's in there, she will wave hers around, too. She's getting really good at copying our movements.
 

Sitting Up

She is getting so good at sitting up on her own. I put a toy in front of her and she sat up on her own for well over a minute playing with it before she became the "leaning tower of Caroline." The strength is definitely there, but the balance still needs a little work. So, she never sits unattended. She's doing great in high chairs and shopping carts, which is nice. I'm still bringing her car seat in during quick shopping trips because taking her out and buckling her back into that thing is such a hassle.

Sleeping

She rarely wakes up at night. I'd say 80%-90% of the time she sleeps through the night. It's SO NICE. She rolls around like a wild child during the night and is never in the same position we put her to sleep in. She loves sleeping on her side. We always put her to sleep on her back and she often immediately rolls onto her side and falls asleep. It's adorable.

Car Seat

As seen in the photo below, Caroline is quickly outgrowing her infant car seat. The shoulder straps are now on the highest setting and the headrest is officially dunzo. We may be in the market for a full-sized car seat in the near future. Plus, that thing is getting heavy with her in it these days!

Packing for the Beach.

As I have excitedly mentioned on my blog, next week Caroline and I will be spending an entire week with my family and we are so excited. Not only do we get to go to the beach (it will be her first time seeing the water and feeling the sand), but we get to spend a lot of time with my family. Did I mention we are so excited?

Now, I knew I would need to bring a lot of things on vacation to make sure we can properly take care of Caroline for a week, but I didn't imagine my list being quite so long. I'd rather not go through the hassle of buying anything for her while we are there, so I have been stocking up and have started packing. I should have taken a picture of my "pack for baby" list, but let me just give you a glimpse of all the things I need to cram into the car:

Pack n' Play, highchair, boppy pillow, tripod (we have to get a good family picture), camera, iPad so we can video chat with daddy, formula, nursery water, baby food, spoons, plates, rice cereal, spoons, plates, bottles, baby laundry detergent, diapers, wet wipes, sunhats for her and me, baby sunglasses, baby sunscreen, towels, beach blanket, diaper bag, gas drops, tons of bibs, baby clothes, baby bathing suits, sleep sacks, blankets... and all of my clothes and toiletries!

After seeing how much room all of this takes up in the Altima, I guess it's a good thing Josh isn't coming along! I don't think he would be able to fit into the car. I'm still trying to figure out a way to watch her while I drive. It makes me nervous to drive for 5+ hours and not be able to see what she's doing in the backseat. Josh's car has weird headrests, so we haven't found a mirror that works. I guess I can just creep on her whenever we pass a rest area :)

And because no blog is complete without a picture:

My First "Official" Mother's Day!

I say "official" mother's day because I count last year's mother's day, as well. To me, pregnant ladies, or anyone who has ever been pregnant, are mommies. But, I guess this weekend was my first "official" mother's day! It was absolutely perfect. It definitely made up for the obnoxiousness that was Saturday. Allow me to explain.

Saturday was going well. Josh made us eggs and bacon for breakfast, we had a relaxing morning around the house, and went to Chili's for lunch (we split potato skins, southwest eggrolls, and boneless buffalo wings, and I downed two blue moons; this is not vital to the story, but food is always important). Our plan was to go to the mall after lunch to find our moms their mother's day cards (there's only one Hallmark in Tallahassee; lame). But first, we needed an oil change! Everything was fine until we tried to leave to find new error messages on Josh's dashboard. They then tried to figure it out while Caroline and I shopped next door. I get a call from Josh that his car will now not go any faster than 10 MPH. LOVELY. So, he calls around to find me and Caroline a ride home because she was quite bored and fussy at this point. One of his coworkers happened to be eating next door, so he gave us a ride home. Josh then drove the car at 10 MPH to a service station, only to discover the dudes at Superlube had unplugged something very important in the engine. At least it was an easy fix! This ruined our whole Saturday, but we did manage to make it to the mall, where I ate gross Chinese food for dinner.

Sunday, however, was wonderful. Caroline carried my mother's day card to me (she is getting very good at carrying things). It included a brilliant drawing by her (Josh said she had so much fun using the pen) and a $50 giftcard for mommy to go get her nails done. Perfection!!

We then used the self timer and tripod to have a mini-family photoshoot for mother's day. It was SO fun and I will forever love these pictures. Not bad for self portraits!

We then went to brunch. It was... interesting. Our waitress, who was clearly late to work, appeared to be hungover and still had the stamp on her hand from whatever club she had gone to the night before. The food was so-so (although, my Bellini was delicious). At least my meal was free for mother's day and I had good company!

We got home and took a walk around the block, bathed miss caroline, and then called our moms to wish them a happy mother's day. Josh brought me a beer for this event, and it was delicious. I then headed to Target to get essentials for our beach trip (which ended up being a cart filled only with $75 worth of baby supplies). We then headed out so I could use my giftcard to get my nails done. Silly me didn't make an appointment, soooo that didn't happen! Oopsies :) Joshua made me some amazing steak for dinner.

It was an absolutely perfect day, and the husband and the baby did an amazing job making it special. Happy belated mother's day to all you mommies who read my blog!

Now, I must work, because I actually have things to do. Positive thoughts, though, because in only five days I will be at the beach with my amazing family!!!!

Foodie Post!

I'm changing the titles of these food posts to "Foodie Post!" Why? Because "What I Cooked this Week" is all kinds of boring and dull. Also, I need to change my table cloth. Sheesh! Moving on...

Saturday
Husband and daughter were sick, so we had lazy dinner. I grabbed steamed dumplings for myself and a pepperoni pizza for Joshua.

Not very pretty, but super tasty!

Sunday
Cinco de Mayo!!! We didn't party since the husband was sick. I drank some brewskies but they were just Yuengling Lites. I made gorditas!! They were very delicious and pretty, oolala!

Monday

I took advantage of Fresh Market's Buy One Get One Free deal on sirloins, so we had steak night once again! I sauteed some french green beans, and melted gorgonzola cheese on my steak. My husband is awesome at grilling steaks!

Tuesday

I walked into Publix with absolutely no plan as to what to buy. I ended up buying a honey mustard pork tenderloin. Easy dinner! Just took it out of the package and stuck it in the oven for 50 minutes. I sauteed the rest of my Fresh Market french green beans and cooked some couscous. Delicious and easy!

Wednesday

I was bad Wednesday. Sorry diet, I ate PIZZA! The plan was to eat leftover pork tenderloin, but neither Josh nor I wanted that, so we ordered a pizza. Josh's favorite pizza spot, Gumby's closed their doors forever this week. He is devastated, so we are on the hunt for a replacement pizza joint. Attempt 1: Marco's Pizza. It's right by our house, I thought it was tasty (Josh says it didn't even compare to his precious Gumby's), but it was freaking $11.00. No, thank you.

Thursday

Josh went to Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers meeting and wasn't home for dinner. Our plan had originally been to eat leftovers, but I always take advantage of "fend for myself" nights and get some sort of food Josh would never eat. Thursday night's selection: salmon! I melted butter and mixed it with dijon and parmesan cheese. I had a small caesar salad on the side. It was delicious! However, Caroline was quite fussy, so between every bite of my dinner, she got a bite of pears. Silly baby :)

Friday

I made baked chicken parmesan with pasta and caesar salad. It was very tasty, although I made it with chicken tenders since Publix had no chicken cutlets. Such a yummy dinner! And I got to enjoy cheesecake for dessert (an early mothers day gift from my Caroline)!

Gotta go!! Husband is making bacon :)