Sleepyheads

The title of this post might be a little deceiving because Lesley certainly is not a sleepyhead like her daddy. Usually she wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 (not counting her typical midnight and 3am milk requests). Depending on how tired I am feeling, I sometimes bring her to bed with me and try to cuddle and snooze for a little longer. It seems lately she'll fall back asleep and give me time to take my shower. Yesterday morning, she found a comfy place laying partially on top of her daddy, between the pillow blockade I always create. At least the two of them caught an extra 45 minutes of sleep. One of these days it should be my turn, right?

Our Very Own Caged Animal

Lesley and I enjoyed a great yoga class this afternoon. So relaxing that Lesley fell asleep the last 10 minutes of class and slept on the way home. Jason was successful in getting her from the carseat to the crib while not waking her up. That's a tough feat with this little girl! After a great hour and a half nap, she woke up. This is how Jason found her when he went into her room:






Hmmmm.....I guess she has figured out how to sit up herself. We knew it wouldn't be long since we witnessed her accidentally doing it Friday night. Anyway, we promptly lowered the crib this afternoon and now she really looks like a caged animal when she's in it.

Keep on Peddling

This weekend was the annual MS 150 Bike Ride. Approximately 1,650 bicyclists rode 150 miles from Kansas City to Sedalia and back. Wow! We thought walking 50 miles was tough, but I can't imagine what my body would feel like after riding a bike for that long. We spent Saturday volunteering at Rest Stop #6 with several other Challenge Walkers. It takes a lot of manpower to support that many bicylists - we cheered on the riders, held bikes while the riders took a break, filled water bottles and gatorade containers, served lemon ice, pickle juice, bananas, oranges, and other snacks. Most importantly, I made a point to thank every biker that stopped. What a great thing to do to participate and how awesome the riders can raise so much money! As of this morning, approximately $850,000 has been raised for the Kansas City ride alone. This probably does not include company matches and late donations. We hope they reach their $1,400,000 goal!



This was Lesley's favorite sign at our rest stop. :)




Just like everywhere we go, Lesley made friends. Here she is playing with Shea, Sydney, and Kinley. Their mom's Kim and Darcy have walked with us in the Challenge Walk and were riding in the MS 150 for the first time this year. What an inspiration! Kim herself has MS but certainly doesn't let that stop her. The girls remembered Lesley during the Challenge Walk and were excited to see her again, "all grown up." They were more than happy to entertain Lesley while Jason and I helped the rest of the volunteers.




Lesley was probably the favorite "greeter" of the day. Here it was Meribeth's turn to hold her and welcome the bikers.




Volunteering is tough work! Afternoon nap time was needed.




I failed to get many good shots of the all the riders (We were busy scooping ice!). But, here's one shot of the rest stop. We always get voted the best rest stop since the bikers can't get enough of the lemon ice and our location is the only one that offers that treat. :)


What a great day to spend with our fellow walkers and support the bicyclists! Jason and I are both registered for the 2010 Heartland Border Walk for MS. Let us know if you want to join our team. We are hoping to have at least 2 people join us this year! It is hard to describe the emotions and sense of accomplishment you will have if you participant. We'll keep you posted on our fundraising goals and efforts. This story is "to be continued...."

Adjusting to a new routine

I started at my job at Swiss Re last week and so far so good. It's a little early to say one way or the other if this is a long-term employer for me, but I get really good vibes from everyone that works there, and even those that don't work there but know someone who does or has heard things about the company. I'm slowly getting settled in. I actually booked my first journal entry last Wednesday, and had booked 5 by the end of the week. As an auditor, we are never on the front end of transactions, we just look at the results so this was a very new process for me.

The biggest challenges right now will be getting used to their g/l system and learning about the company. I am working in the corporate accounting department and part of a small team responsible for the holding company and 5 other entities that roll up to Swiss Re in Zurich. Since the company is actually headquartered in Switzerland and traded on the Swiss exchange versus the US stock market, I've already had to adjust to some European "customs". First, they spell things a bit differently. See listing below for a sample that I've already run into:

cheques
behaviour
organisation
analyse
theatre
authorised
realised
enquiries

Notice a trend?

They also use a slightly different format for the dates, i.e. we might key 9/21/2009 whereas they would type 21/9/2009.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

Lesley started at a new daycare lady's house this morning. After just a few days with the last one, we knew it wasn't going to work out. We did not get good vibes and there were so many things that we did not like, or questioned. We hated making a change so quickly but we were not comfortable and trusting, so that's enough reason to change our minds. Luckily, we found someone else very quickly and I think she will be a great fit. Her house is so welcoming and kid friendly, and the other parents I talked to that take their children there just seemed so relaxed and at ease which is a great sign. This lady had been a preschool/kindergarten teacher for several years and although there's not a structured learning program, there are going to be many opportunities for Lesley to interact with other children and be exposed to arts & crafts, music, etc. I think Lesley will love it! She was all smiles this morning when I dropped her off and the other kids were hugging and kissing her, and patting her on her head. Jason even commented tonight how happy and excited she was when he picked her up this afternoon. Going to work isn't quite so bad when I know she is happy and having fun without us.

Jason has a couple international business trips scheduled for the next couple months. One is to Mexico and the other to the Dominican Republic. I'm not thrilled about either, but he assures me that they are safe locations and he will be escorted at all times. Basically he got selected to go since he and another guy on his team are the only ones with current passports. So, he is going to two sites and the other guy is hitting two sites. Hopefully by the time Jason goes, we'll be in a good routine with my new job and daycare and the weeks will go smoothly for Lesley and myself.

Have a great week!

On the move....almost! Although she's not crawling yet, she's certainly everywhere and doesn't like to stay on her blankets. Too bad the hardwood floor hurts when you hit it with your head.

Daycare is exhausting! It's pretty easy to get her bed at night nowadays...we can successfully put her in the crib while she's awake and we won't hear a peep. Amazing!

A Special Performance

Lesley loves playing with her stage that Grandma Cheryl gave her. Here she is "singing" a tune to herself. You can even see her trying to pull herself up. Don't pay attention to her missing sock...we eventually found it.

6 Month Stats

I love sleeping babies.

Weight: 16 pounds, 9 ounces -- 70th percentile

Height: 26 inches -- 50th percentile

Head Circumfrance: 44.5 cm -- 90th percentile!

She's growing! The doctor was reading off the stats and came to the head circumfrance...."She has a big noggin. You can't keep cadillac brains in a pinto." We thought that was funny. She also recommended we start brushing her two little teeth. See below. She loved it and didn't want to stop. The doctor thinks Lesley will have four more teeth on the top by the time we go back for her 9 month appointment. Wow! We are also supposed to start giving her little chunks of meat and cheerios. I need to read up on making baby food with meat, haven't tried that one yet. Weekend project I guess.

A trip to the farm

We took a quick trip to the Deanna Rose Children's Farm on Sunday afternoon. Lesley was a bit overwhelmed with all the kids running around and wasn't quite sure what to think of the animals. But, we hope Lesley will get even more enjoyment out of the farm next spring and summer when she is a little older. And, even if Lesley didn't appreciate the trip to the farm, Jason and I enjoyed our Sonic drinks while walking around on the nice Sunday afternoon.

"Daddy, please don't let the goats suck on my toes like they do to the bottles."

"Um Mommy, again, watch the toes....not for sucking!"

"Hmmm...not sure I understand what you are saying about that big kitty."

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

We had some 6 month photos of Lesley taken this weekend. She was in a great mood and we had so much fun. We had over 140 photos to choose from...here are my favorites:

This was the quilt Grandma Nancy made for Lesley before she was born. We love it!

We hope by her 1 year photos she has some hair to go with her new teeth. :)

6 Month Letter from Mommy

Since the week we found out I was pregnant, I have been writing letters to Lesley. Well, at first they started "Dear Snoopy". I've got quite an accumulation now and I hope some day Lesley appreciates the memories and feelings I've recorded for her. Here is the letter I just finished documenting her 6th month. I hope you enjoy!

Dear Lesley-

Wow, has it really been half a year!? I can’t believe I’m writing you your 6 month letter from mommy. Although I think I’ve said this every month since you were born, this has seriously been my favorite month yet. You have grown up so much since my last letter and are becoming your own little person, no longer just a baby. You’ve developed a personality and even an attitude at times. Mostly when you are playing with your toys, you know what you want and you get upset if you don’t get it. Sometimes when I hand you toys, you push them away since it’s apparently not the right toy. I think we are going to have our hands full when you are going through your terrible twos.

You’ve acquired two teeth this month and you are certainly very proud of them. You like to show them off to everyone, and bite on everything including Mommy’s hand (and legs and arms and whatever at times, why, I do not know, but it’s not cool!). You have also mastered the art of sitting up on your own. I’ve even stopped putting pillows behind you. Occasionally you fall over, but nothing that a quick distraction or cuddle from mommy won’t solve.

After we got back from Colorado, you all of a sudden decided that being on your tummy wasn’t so bad afterall and you like to roll from your back to your tummy. And, then from your tummy to your back, and then your back to your tummy….and over and over. Your cousin Lilly teaches you wonderful things. Watch out! You’re everywhere these days. It has made yoga interesting since you pretty much refuse to stay on your blanket and we’ve had to block you in with bolsters. I found that Evan’s toys are a good distraction even though I wish you’d stop stealing his toys and making him cry. He just needs to toughen up, right? Not really, he holds his own and steals them back.

A few of your favorites this month have been remote controls and cell phones. What can we say, you are your daddy’s girl. You have even figured out that just because something is out of sight, it still exists. If I try to hide the remote behind my back, you lean around me to find it. Grandpa Keith was playing with Frank and he’d hide the puppet but you weren’t fooled. You knew if you leaned over Grandma Nancy’s shoulder Frank would be there. What a smart girl! Whenever I am on the cell phone, you want to be involved. When it’s your daddy, I’ll put him on speaker phone so you can hear him, and sometimes you even “talk” to him. You get huge grins on your face when you hear him, although I’m not convinced you actually know it’s him, I think you just like the phone. Mommy found you an Elmo play phone at a garage sale yesterday and you have certainly got the $.25 use out of it already.

You are starting to sleep a little better, but still not very consistent. Most nights you don’t wake up for milk until 3am, but occasionally you get up at midnight and my favorite nights are when you don’t wake up until 5am or even later. I am hopeful that when you start daycare, you will have so much fun during the day that you’ll need more sleep and we can eliminate those midnight and even the 3 am milk requests altogether. Speaking of daycare, mommy found a new job and starts in a couple days. I am very excited and I think it’s just what our family needs right now. You will still have to go to daycare most days, but with this job, mommy hopes to have a more flexible work arrangement so we can make sure and spend the late afternoons and evenings together. And, with mommy’s new job we might be able to move to a bigger house a little sooner. That’s exciting for me since our living room just accumulates more and more toys for you to play with. My return to work has mostly been motivated by the possibility of a bigger house since the thought of someone else watching you every day is sad to me. But, I think you’ll love it, you are very social and will have new friends to play with.

Just this week you’ve started saying “Ba, Ba, Ba”. We haven’t heard “Da, Da, Da”, or “Ma, Ma, Ma”, but I think soon. I keep telling everyone that you are going to say Mama tomorrow. They just laugh, but one of these days I’ll be right. You are most chatty in the mornings and during church, or if we are out to eat. I guess you just have a lot to say. Your cousin Lily says “Da, Da, Da” and I think your daddy would love it if you played copycat and did the same. According to daddy, “Lesley, you can’t let Lilly beat you.” We know it’s not a race to hit these milestones but it’s fun to hear stories from friends and family and look forward to when you’ll do some of these things. But, don’t grow up too fast.

Mommy is very thankful that we finally had your appointment with the dermatologist. He prescribed some miracle cream – that’s what I think of it anyway. Your eczema problems appear to be solved for now and we are so relieved! No longer do you look fragile and putting you in the carseat isn’t such an ordeal anymore since your skin isn’t always broken out.

Almost every day there’s a time when I look at you and get tears in my eyes. I think daddy gets the same feelings of joy and happiness, although I don’t think he cries like your mommy does. I still cannot believe how much we have fallen in love with you and how wonderful our lives are with you in them. You are the best challenge we have ever had and we hope someday we can look back on these first months and smile. What a blessing you are!

Love,

Your mommy

P.S. After I finished this letter, you started saying Ma-Ma! Daddy didn’t believe me but then he heard it for himself…Ba-Ba-Ba is still the phrase of choice right now, but Ma-Ma was in the mix for at least one day.

Just Ba-Ba-Ba here, couldn't get the Ma-Ma-Ma on video.

Happy 6 months and 50 years!

Today is Lesley's 6 month birthday. This past month has been so much fun and she has changed a ton. Tomorrow is my Aunt Denise's 50th birthday and since Lesley adores her great aunt and going to her house, I wanted to include a photo from a few weeks ago. Aunt Denise's house is so much fun, you just never know what cool toy she is going to pull out of her stash. And, the tall ceilings with fans are so mesmorizing. Aunt Denise has the touch with kiddos, she's had a lot of practice since she's been teaching preschool and kindergarden for many, many years. We love you Aunt Denise! Have a great birthday trip with Uncle Mark to Niagara Falls!

Changes for...

...Abby:

I guess you could say there are a lot of changes going on at the Carlin house these days. You probably noticed the new blog layout. I am just experimenting. The biggest change for me though is probably my new job that starts next week. After 5 years working at Deloitte in public accounting, I took the plunge and found something different. I didn't think resigning would be as difficult as it was, but overall I feel a huge sense of relief and a burden lifted. My last busy season was horrible and just the thought of another one would make me cry. When I started at Deloitte, my goal was to make it 5 years and become a manager. Well, I made it the 5 years and was promoted to manager a couple weeks ago....about the time I found a job working somewhere else. I'll be working in the corporate accounting department at Swiss Re, a reinsurance company. It will be a big change - no more auditing (I'll be on the front end of the financials instead of the back end), no more people to supervise (I'm looking forward to this as we all know managing people is hard and after running the engagement with 3-6 staff for 3 years, it will be nice to get out of that role for awhile), and no more busy season (yes, we'll have some busy times during quarter end, but not to the extent of what I faced in public accounting when we worked 55-65 hours a week for 2 months straight). So, wish me luck on this new endeavor.

...Lesley:

Lesley will be starting daycare a week from today. We visited the daycare lady to get all the scoop that we'd forgotton, i.e. does she provide diapers, food, etc., and to make final arrangements. We are confident that Lesley will adjust well, she is a very social person and I think having a few other kids to play with every day will be good for her. She's also started getting a little clingy to us, wanting us to sit on the floor and play with her all the time versus playing by herself every once in a while. Hopefully going to daycare will help with that.



And, the biggest thing I am hoping for is a better sleeping schedule for Lesley. She has stretched out her sleeping a bit and just the other night slept until 5:30am. I'll admit, I heard her stirring and whimpering a couple times during the night, but she never really fully woke up and wanted food. So, we're making progress, but just need a little more work to officially say she sleeps through the night, consistently. Nap times are still a disaster and we've pretty much just given up on them. Most days she will only sleep 45-60 minutes from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to bed. The 45-60 minutes is never consecutive either, 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there...you get the picture. Overall though, she is ALWAYS smiling, even when she hasn't slept much. My parents and grandparents just laugh since apparently I was the kid that was always the last one to bed at night, the first one to wake up in the morning, and refused to nap most days.




There's nothing special about this photo. I just saw Jason holding her yesterday while she was asleep and it made me do a double take. Can she really be that big already?! So much change in the 6 months since her birth.

....Jason:

Jason really has nothing to report on a personal front as far as changes go. He has been working on updates/changes to the house. We are excited about possibly moving to a bigger house next year so right now we are focused on getting our house ready to sell - some fresh paint, some minor repairs, etc. He painted the doors inside the house yesterday. It took a long time for them to dry so we were trying to get Lesley's bedroom door up last night before she went to bed. She was a little impatient and wanted her milk. So, I put her in the crib and gave her the bottle. She really is growing up since she proved she could drink it herself. Although it was nice to have free hands to hang the door, we aren't ready to give up feeding her just yet.

We hope everyone had a great long weekend. Lesley has been fighting a runny nose and cough. We went to play with Kate and Evan on Friday morning and I think they shared some germs along with the toys. Poor baby.

A walk in the park

Cruising around with my feet up and Dolly's hair braid in my mouth

The weather has been absolutely fantastic in Kansas City this week. Lesley and I have been able to enjoy several walks around the neighborhood and in the park. We've observed the quiet, empty playground and leaves falling from the trees. I guess this means that school is back in session and apparently the season is changing already. Wow, where has the summer gone?


Yesterday we decided to make a trip to Antioch Park. It was so much fun to take Lesley to a new park with LOTS of kids running around and playing. Historically, her favorite part of going to the park has been watching all the kids. This time we introduced her to the swing and the slide. She's still young, but we think based on her smiles she enjoyed the playground.

The swing was the best

First (and only) trip down the slide was a success according to Lesley

I'll admit, Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love football season and soup weather. And, I'm always amazed at the beautiful colors the leaves change.

A few more photos from the week....

Daddy giving Lesley a manicure. He still refuses to paint her finger nails even after knowing that cousin Lilly had her nails painted - Maybe someday Lesley. If you look closely Lesley is holding a toothbrush. We decided since she now has 2 teeth, it's time to introduce good toothbrushing habits. Actually, we found it was a good distraction while clipping her nails.

Showing off her teeth - Lesley has now been introduced to various kinds of squash, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and prunes. Okay, we'll admit that she's also had some yummy ice cream. Just a few bites. Grandpa Keith introduced her first, and now she insists on tasting when we eat any.

Linus now "plays" with Lesley on the activity mat. I caught the two of them rolling around together the other day. We still have to remind her that we don't eat kitties, but it's better and she loves petting them. They are very tolerant. Charlie Brown swatted at her once when she was swinging her arms, she just giggled.