My little unicorn

My poor baby boy hurt himself today, the worst injury to date! He ran full speed across the living room and tripped on his feet and THUD! Fell right into the corner of the couch. Check out the damage in the middle of his forehead.

He's a strong little guy though, and has handled it well...

My Little Gap Model

Took these pictures at the park last week. I think they came out pretty cute!

Lyla Rose

Hard to believe I haven't posted in a month! Well today there is a very special announcement - my good friend Lauren and her husband Jamie welcomed their little girl Lyla Rose into the world just past midnight this morning. It was a beautiful, easy delivery and out she came in one push! Her big brother Joey is only 19 months old so they'll have lots of fun growing up together. I was so lucky to be there for her birth. Here are a few pictures of their beautiful family.

ALMOST makes me want to try for baby #2 !!! :) Almost...but not quite.

Pumpkin Patch

The weather is finally starting to cool off. So in the spirit of fall, we went to the Pumpkin Patch at Spanish River Church for a good ole gourd fest. Jenn and Bjorn are heading home to Myrtle Beach today after a short 4-day visit. As always, Carter loves the entertainment his cousin provides!

As always, more pictures are posted on picasa.

Quick Trip to West Coast

Gammy, Carter and I cruised on over to Ft Myers to visit my Mom who was taking good care of Uncle Fred after a few days in the hospital. Carter LOVED the beach and we of course loved watching him explore.

30 days as a vegetarian

Well I did it. 30 days sans bird, cow, or pig. It wasn't as hard as I expected! Eating fish helped alot. But I'm kind of feeling like I should cut that too...I read a little bit about the waste that fills our sess pool of an ocean and it isn't quite the clean salty waters I'd imagined the little fishies frolicking in. 

So I'm going to keep going meat-free for now. I lost 5 lbs which was a nice bonus. I am by no means a Skinny Bitch but I do feel good both physicially and mentally about my choice to avoid contributing to the cruel treatment of our animals that goes on each and every day in our country.

Poor little cow...

1 year checkup

Carter passed his one year exam with flying colors. As a matter of fact, doc says he is performing at the level of a 15 month old. We're very impressed with his talents.

Here are his newest accomplishments:

-he is walking very well

-he can say/point out: mama, dada, bird, dog, cat, Molly, chair, truck, light, toes, shoe

-he does the signs for eat, more and all done

-he refuses baby food, will only self feed

-lots of imitating...trying to put shoes on his feet, brush his hair, clean the floor, etc.

He weighed in at 24 lbs 5 oz (70th %ile) and is 31.5 inches tall (90th %ile).

We gave 2 shots at this visit and he thankfully had no reaction except for a few tears.

My mom was in town for Carter's birthday and we had a lovely visit. The day she left he wandered the house saying "nana? ... nana?" in and out of every room. Very cute. While she was in town, like a good greek grandmother, she shoveled all sorts of new foods down carter's little gullet. He loves avocado salad, and he gobbled down broccoli with lemon and feta!

He is still a happy little boy who loves to dance and babbles all day long in his own little language. It is such a fun age!

Now that Carter's older, I'm looking into going back to work full time while I have some time...until the next baby comes along! So this week I've been interviewing daycares and babysitters. I think he would enjoy playing with other little kids but we still may opt to have someone come into our home...to be determined.

My birth day, Carter's birthday

Today Carter turned one. We brought out the videos to reminisce - labor, birth and Carter as a newborn. Some of it makes me want another one...some makes me want to wait! We had a great time at his party yesterday. Pictures are up on our photo site. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate Carter's big day.

It just makes me realize how time goes by so fast and I wonder when my little smiley baby boy turned into the walking, laughing and dancing machine he is now.



So today I celebrate one year of being a mother - the best year of my life.

A year full of laughter and joy.

A year of discovery and exploration.

A year full of prayer.

A year of research and seeking what is 'best' for my boy.

A year of little baby smiles and sloppy drool faced kisses.

A year learning and surviving the fun that is cloth diapering.

A year of successfully avoiding formula, tylenol, antibiotics and ER visits.

A year of wrinkled clothes and ponytails.

A year of playdates and mommy groups.

A year of watching my husband gain confidence as a father. A great father.

A year filled with love and gratitude for this healthy, beautiful boy that God entrusted to Joe and me.

We are so blessed.


Thank you to all of our friends and family who have given us advice and support in the last year. We are so thankful to have you in our lives.

Before and After

So today was my due date one year ago and little doodlebug was just 'the baby' and he was officially coming late. Hard to believe how time flies, and how I didn't even 'know' him or who he was, and now I can't imagine our lives without him. He is just so sweet.

How is it that the alien waving HI in the picture turned into that little man so fast?

Today also marks Day 2 in my 30 day no-meat experiment. After reading Skinny Bitch, I really want to change how and what I eat. But I am not brave or determined enough to go vegan, so I'm trying vegetarian for 30 days. Well, I can't say for sure I won't eat fish...but so far, so good. Day 2 is looking good. Oatmeal for breakfast, black bean salad for lunch and Tofu pad-thai for dinner. Mmmmmmmmm....

Three pictures that show off how great my camera is and how cute my baby boy is!

Splash Park

We went to the Catherine Strong Splash Park today with our Nurturing Your Newborn friends. Got some pictures with my BRAND NEW DIGICAM that I am loving...

The rest of the pictures of carter and his friends are posted on our photo site.

He Got Me Good!

Okay so after days of stewing over the fact that my husband got me a Red Lobster Gift Card ($25, at that) for my birthday...today came in the mail a little surprise!! Check it out!! My new camera! I am SO excited!

THANK YOU HONEY!!!

Turning 29

Today is my 29th birthday!! I had a really nice day. Funny how presents, cake and parties aren't as important as you get older. Nothing beats the gift I receive every morning when I walk into Carter's room and he immediately starts laughing and hiding in the crib. He loves me to try to catch him and he squeals when I do.


I spent the day with family and some of my best friends. I feel so lucky to have so many people in my life who love me! It was a really nice day.

My day pretty much revolved around eating from morning till night. What could be better?

830am - homemade pancakes a la Jaclyn. Yum! Doodle ate 'em up, too!
1230pm - Chili's for bottomless chips and salsa with Lauren (Lyla in tow), Jac, Susie, Tess, Jacqui (who gave me a gift of perfume coincidentally named Fleur de Coco #821 - how cool is that?) and Alfie.
3pm - hair appt (thank you Tess for the much-needed highlights and Jac for doodle-sitting!)
630pm - Carraba's for dinner with dad, mel and brianna. Tess watched Carter for us so we could have a nice, relaxing meal without a screaming child. Carter does not like restaurants right now.
9pm - back at the house for yummy Publix cake compliments of Susie and Jac.

Thank you for all the phone calls, emails, text messages, birthday hugs! XOXO

Big boy pictures

I took Carter to Kiddie Kandids and got some pictures for his one year birthday. I didn't expect him to be such a ham in front of the camera. Check out this cutie.

Hunker Down!

We were lucky to survive the storm with very little problems. Just a flicker or two of the lights and lots of wind and rain. Hopefully the family up north fares as well cause Fay is heading their way now!

All better

Carter's rash is all gone and he's finally gained his independence back. He's not being so clingy anymore. Back to walking all around. He's really getting good at it! Check out the new video I posted.



It's pouring rain right now. They say Hurricane Fay is heading for us. I hope it turns out to be minor. If we lose power and my freezer defrosts, I'll just cry with every bag of 6 months worth of pumped and frozen breastmilk I'd have to throw away. Maybe Joe's FPL connections will keep our power on. Wishful thinking.

Roseola Strikes

No Pictures Please

Poor Carter had a fever all weekend. We were up Saturday and Sunday nights. It got up to 103.2 degrees so you can imagine he didn't sleep very well. Then Monday it broke and he seemed fine...we even went to Jaclyn's for a quick play date with the boys. Then the next morning I noticed a rash forming on his chest. By lunchtime it was on his face. So he definitely had the roseola virus. He's been a greal GRUMP dealing with it. The little guy wants nothing to do with crawling, let alone walking. So mommy holds him alllll day long. Right now he is sleeping on my lap, actually. He's so sweet. I think I'll take a picture of him right now and post it so you can all see :)

roseola rash

Eight oh eight oh eight

I came home from work yesterday to find my boy walking ALL OVER the place!! I was so sad to be gone and miss his first real confident steps. But luckily Gammy and Joe got some cute video. Check it out on our Picasa site pictures . He still realizes he can get around much faster by crawling though.

We just dropped Bjorn and Gammy off at the airport. We're really going to miss them. Now the bank is giving them the run around on the house down the street. I think they are waiting for a higher bid which is nonsense, since they got over asking price!! I pray it all works out and they are soon living down here!!

I'm excited about Carter's birthday coming up...I'm thinking of having the fam and some friends over for a pool party!

Step by step, ooh baby

Check out my little walkin' boy! He is so cute taking his first steps. Still quite wobbly but getting better every day. I can't believe he'll be 11 months old this week. Time sure is flying by! We're trying to figure out what to do for his first birthday. We'll probably have local family and friends over but I don't think he'd really be able to appreciate a true party being so young still.

Gammy and Bjorn fly home this Friday. We'll be very sad to have them go, but Bjorn is missing his mommy and his home in Myrtle Beach. He entertains Carter all day and for the most part they play very well together. It's been fun seeing them interact and really get to know each other. Carter imitates Bjorn a lot, too. He's making all sorts of grunts and shouts and sounds I've never heard before!

Good news! Gammy and Gampy made an offer on a house in our neighborhood and they accepted!! Cross your fingers that the inspection goes well... we're hoping that no surprises are found and soon we'll be neighbors!! :-)

Many firsts...

Carter took his first real steps today. It was so sweet, I started crying! He was standing up by his toy box and just started walking! 4 steps, then he lowered himself to sitting. He was so proud of himself. Joe, Gammy, Bjorn and I were all there to see it. Up until then, he had only taken 1 or 2 small steps and that was with encouragement and prompting.

Last week we went for his first haircut. He was such a good boy. Just sat in his little truck chair very quietly as the lady snipped away. He only started to cry at the end. He got a certificate with a lock of hair and some great before and after pictures. I think you'll agree he looks quite handsome.

He's using his words a lot more often now. His first official word was BALL but now he makes attempts at dog, duck, cat, shh and of course he is a pro at dada which he says constantly. Every morning when Joe leaves for work we say 'bye bye da-da' and Carter waves to Joe and says dada. It's so cute.