My big, little baby

Ok so I'm a really bad blogger. I admit. I can think of a million excuses as to why updating this blog takes me so long, but I'll spare you. :) Basically we've been having a lot of fun & any spare time I have during nap time is devoted to cleaning the house or crafting!

Seems like each time I find the time to update this thing, Johnny has gone up a size in clothes. I bought him 12 mo shorts this week!! When he went for his 4 month check up last month he was in the 90 percentile for weight, 75th for height. He's a BIG kid. He weighed right around 17 lbs then & I know he's much bigger now. That kid just grows like a weed. A real cute weed:

We have had so much fun the past few months. The hustle & bustle of work seems like a distant memory. :) I have about a bazillion pictures to share... so bear with me!

We had a birthday party at our house for my friend, Adrienne, at the end of May. I've been keeping her little girl, Storrie, a few days a week - so you will see her as a regular on the blog.

Here is Adrienne, Storrie & Dita (Krista) @ the party:

The boys (James, Doug & Dave). Why does everyone look so serious??

Rachael & Ruby:

I overheard Ruby telling Storrie that her hands were cold... So Storrie told her she could put her hands in the pocket of her hoodie. How SWEET!

R&R with Jessie (with baby Ruby in belly) & Dita. Those are Jessie's kids Zoya & Fin @ the bottom.

Piper tries to eat pretty much anything... She would draw a little on the chalkboard, eat a little chalk, draw a little, taste the chalk. I think she gets that from Bella?

It was such a fun party... we have such great friends! It was pretty wild with kids running around everywhere. I think I described it the next day to mom as a "raging party". It's pretty funny as to how that definition has changed over the years.... I think I was in bed by 9:30 that night. LOL.

Can you tell Doug dressed Johnny on this day? Stripes & plaid with knee socks. Awe.some. That outfit made my astigmatism do funny things...

Walking to the park with Storrie. She is such a big help with Johnny! I told Adrienne & Dave that I decided Johnny needed to be 9 before we had anymore kids. It's definitely easier when she is around.

One of the challenges I've had is trying to figure out how to lug this big ole baby around... Here I am trying out Kristin's pack.

It worked pretty well so I got Colleen's old pack that she used for Garrett. He likes it because he can see what's going on.

I was babysitting Fisher & Piper a few weeks ago & had a pretty interesting time. About 2 seconds after Kristin walked out of the door, Johnny started screaming bloody murder. And he is NOT a fussy baby. I tried everything & nothing made him happy. I thought maybe his stomach hurt? I'll spare you the gory details of what all we tried to do in order to help his tummy. When I finally got him home... he bit on my finger & sure enough a tooth had broken through!! I thought teething came when they were older but apparently it can start around now. So Johnny officially has his first tooth. I'll try to take a picture, but it's kinda tricky.

Fisher was a really big help that day because Johnny was "freaking out". Here he is feeding Piper her bottle. So sweet!

Aaaand I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Already trying to drink Red Rocket! Johnny had a death grip on Doug's beer & was totally trying to drink it.

Here are a few pics from a trip to the park one day when I was babysitting Fisher & Storrie.

How hilarious is this picture?? And yes mom, I was on my way over to the stroller to get him a hat... I can hear what you were thinking...

Proof:

Johnny's first mohawk:

This past Tuesday was our friend Rachael's birthday. We went to the park to have a picnic & celebrate. Here are a few pics from that day.

Everyone eating homemade blueberry ice cream & cupcakes:

Spit bubbles!!

Somebody needs a nap!!

A rare moment of stillness. This picture was "for Papaw & Bella" - so he stood still for about .5 seconds for me to take it. Y'all should feel special.

Pipey seems to have a problem keeping her right shoe on:

Johnny's first time down a slide (actually a re-enactment of the first time):

Every time Piper went down the slide, it looked like she stuck her finger in a light socket. So of course we made her go down about 50 times so we could take pictures & giggle.

I just love the look of pure joy on their faces! LOVE these kids!

Kristin, The Picnic Tinker:

Whew. That was a load off my camera! I would say that I'll try to be better about updating this thing... but who am I kidding? ;) Hope you have enjoyed the pics!!

xoxo,

Carly

NC!!!

Well we are back from North Carolina & starting to feel recovered. We had such a good time! Johnny loved hanging out with his Papaw & Bella!! I was mildly nervous about the plane ride. Kristin prepped me well & Johnny cried *maybe* 30 seconds the whole time. He was such a little rockstar about it. On our trip back we traveled for 12 hours & after all that he was still up for flirting & giggling & laughing. He's such a happy baby. Melts my heart. :)

We were gone for a week & a half & it's amazing how much he changed in that time. Doug was shocked at how much his motor skills have improved. He is starting to shove anything & everything into his mouth (I wiped yucky baby smudges off of my glasses about 5 times today... blugh)! Fun times. And he continues to grow unbelievably fast... the 6-9 mo clothes are already getting snug! He's such a chunk.

Here are a few pics from the trip. We had so much fun... Time always seems to go by so fast.

Just landed! Really I'm including this picture so you can see the FABULOUS skirt I made from one of Doug's old Avett Bros t-shirts... =)

Jackson giving Johnny knuckles.

We went & ate lunch with Melanie & Jackson the day before we came back home. When Jackson talks, his Fs sound like Ps. Melanie said when they got home Jackson said "I had so much pun (fun) with Johnny. He's my best pend (friend)." Awwwwww!!!

Michelle & the kids playing. Soon enough Johnny will be running around with these guys!

Best buds.

Meeting Mamaw Rena.

Don't you just want to squish those big ole cheeks?!

Papaw is really good at capturing my favorite moments... (btw, most of the artsy pictures were taken by him. I'm so not this talented with a camera.)

Rocking a robot onesie & chin strap on a walk with Bella & Papaw.

Hanging out with Ami - one of my friends from high school who I haven't seen in TEN years! And her sweet little boy Eli.

Going for a walk with Bella.

Swinging with Papaw. Johnny LOVED swinging with his Papaw!! Pretty much every day they would go outside for hours & would swing while Johnny napped or just looked around at the beautiful backyard.

Emily, Kevin (her bfriend) & Harriet (my second momma) came over for lunch & to meet Johnny. Aunt Em loved the little man!

I took several pictures of Aunt Debbie holding Johnny & he was blurry in EVERY one because he kept jumping up & flapping his arms!

Cuddling with his Bella.

Whew. That was a lot. Hopefully you're still with me. :) Lastly, I'll leave you with a video of Papaw getting Johnny to laugh. <3>

xoxo,

Carly

Johnny D Sings The Avett Brothers

Last night I was making dinner & singing some Avett Brothers. Johnny started "singing" with me & Doug took a video (he took it on his phone so the quality isn't that great). It's pretty cute. Today is Johnny's 3 month birthday! We are going to Babies R Us to buy him some more 9 month clothes. Yes, 9 months. He's still a gigantic baby. One of my friends said I look like a 4th grader carrying around a big ole baby. Amusing.

We've had a very full few weeks - tons of playdates. I have not taken very many pictures (Argh!)... So I need to do a better job at documenting. We will be in NC next week so I should have a ton of pictures to post! April 22nd was my LAST day at Verizon! I'm officially a stay at home mom now. Best. Job. Ever.

xoxo,
Carly & Johnny

I'm Hanging Up the Power Suit...

Oh yes... it's true. I have hung up the power suit:



In exchange for a new boss:


Looks kind of intimidating, huh? Yesterday I turned in my resignation to Verizon after nine long years to stay at home with Johnny! It's very exciting & emotional... It's the end of an era. An era I'm happy to say goodbye to, but I've invested so much of myself into this company over the last 10 years it's still a little bittersweet.

We have had so much fun the last few weeks since I've updated you all. Our days are filled with play dates, crafts & (my favorite) nap time. Here are some pics:




Sitting on Grandma Vicki & meeting cousins Ethan & Abbey for the first time!


Totem pole of snuggliness with Aunt Kristin!


Fisher & Maybelle


Piper & the baby


A little owl I made for Johnny when I was feeling kinda crafty


Overstimulated?


Getting some hair on top!!!

I'm going to try & post a video from Doug's computer soon... Until then,

xoxo,
Carly

Oh My What Cuteness!!

Doug had a photo shoot with the baby boy for a jewelry project mom is working on... Thought I would post them here in case you didn't see them on Facebook! I thought they turned out really well. Johnny has started smiling up a storm - which is just ridiculously cute. He's such a sweet baby!

Johnny @ 6 weeks:

Questions in Which the Answers Elude Me......

* How do you keep little baby socks on little baby feet?
* How do you keep pee out of the bath water?
* How do you keep a little baby hat from sliding down over their eyes while you are driving to your destination? Did you know babies whine when their eyes are covered?
* How do you make a baby bend it's arm when you want it to? Like say, when trying to get a onesie on?
* Why does a recently fed baby with a clean diaper scream his head off the entire time you get your hair cut? And then fall asleep as you are walking out of the salon??
* How did I produce a baby so big?? (He's already in 3-6 month clothes & in the 80th percentile!) Maybe Doug was a big baby? Vicki will have to let us know... :)

* How do you slow down time? I can't believe it's been six weeks already...

xoxo,
Carly

Happy One Month Birthday Baby Johnny! (A few days late)

Wow I can't believe it has taken me a MONTH to write a post on here!! And I can't believe my baby boy is already a month old!!! When I created this blog, I thought I would have SOOO much spare time while my baby was peacefully sleeping....Ha. He peacefully sleeps, however he must be sleeping on my chest! :) Kinda limits what you can do. The past few nights he has gone a few stretches sleeping on his back... we're making progress!

We are definitely getting into the swing of things. I've had what seems like a long recovery after the birth - I'm getting there. Still not 100% but feeling much better. One day I would like to write about my birthing experience, but it all ended a little too traumatically for me to want to revisit it just yet. So maybe later. :) I definitely don't regret having a home birth, but I doubt we will ever do that again. We got to see how scary it was to need the modern conveniences of a birthing center/hospital while being @ home. Not fun.

On the bright side, Johnny is doing great! He is such a little chubby guy. He's been packing on weight like a champ & it's getting harder to lug him around! But he is very healthy & that is all I ask. He has such a sweet temperament... And is a very easy baby. He pretty much just cries when he's hungry, needs a new diaper or wants to be held. I feel pretty lucky the universe took it easy on me this time...

I am so thankful for my family! They have made this sooo much easier than it could have been. Mom & Dad came out here for a few weeks to help out when he first came & to let me heal. And Kristin has been a life saver in helping me figure out what the hell I'm doing & providing some much needed grown up talk throughout the day. I don't understand how people do this without a ton of support from family! I would be lost.

So after my first month of motherhood, here are a few of my favorite things:

* baby snores (especially when they come while they are eating! That must be awesome - semi-napping while getting your belly full!)
* smiles when he's sleeping/eating/and yes, pooping
* a little face buried in my neck
* the noise that he makes while he's asleep that sounds like a goat (we REALLY need to try & get this on video... its super funny)
* a chubby little hand wrapped around my finger
* the 5 minute farting session when you lay him down on the changing table (as my brother-in-law, James, says - "I don't care who you are farts are funny." So true.)

And I could keep going & going.... :) But I'll leave you with some pictures from the last month. And I'll try to post another update before another month goes by!

xoxo,
Carly & Johnny




Days old with Daddy



Pipey & Johnny kicking it in the kitchen (just ignore the vacuum in the background)



Fisher LOVES Baby Johnny. Every time Piper walks up to him she pets his head & says "Pretty! Pretty!"