Carly at two years + four months

Carly at two years & four months is a ball of energy.  She wakes up in the morning so happy to see us.  For breakfast she requests either cereal in her straw bowl or toast with an orange sippy cup of milk. (It's very important that the cup be orange.) Then she plays toys or follows me around while the boys and I get ready for the day.

She loves feeding the cats treats, but if you ask her if she likes Ramona, she will tell you, "No. 'Mona bites me.  But I like George."  Whenever she sees them sleeping anywhere, though, she always says, "Oh, they are so cute!"

Her favorite things are her paw patrol pups and her taggies.  She's always saying, "I need my feather taggie!" She says, "I love it.  It's so fluffy & nice!"  They are her comfort items, and I'm glad she has them.

She wants Mommy at bedtime, but she loooves dada the rest of the time.  When she sees him or the boys after not seeing them for a while, she says, "I found you!"  Wyatt is probably her favorite brother, but she has fun with all three of them.  I think her preference for Wyatt is simply because he has the most patience for her. When one of the boys is sad, she snuggles them or tries to cheer them up.  When Wyatt asks her if she can help him with something, she says, "I sure can!"

While I'm glad she loves her brothers, sometimes it's hard because she mimics them incessantly and that often sucks.  ("Shut up!" "Butthead!" "Oh my god!") It can be frustrating!

At the store, she prefers to sit in the back of the cart if she can.  She's the best grocery shopping buddy, loves to share a snack with me while we shop, and is always so cheerful.  I'm so glad.  

She's a little mama.  Cleaning, sweeping, wiping up messes... Caring for Wyatt when he was throwing up last time he was sick.  Saying, "Good job Wyatt," when he was done throwing up.  Anything she has seen me do, she does herself.  Including carrying a purse, and wanting her nails painted. The other day she put my keys in her purse.  Thankfully I saw her do it!

I can't even tell you how much I love that she wants her nails done.  I have dreamed for years of having a daughter and now that I have one, I absolutely adore that she is so girly.  She loves to wear necklaces and hair pretties and have pink nails.  (She always chooses pink.)  It's my favorite, and it has yet to get old.

Every day when I dress her I get a thrill.  I'm not even kidding.  I enjoy choosing her clothes every single day.  It's so fun to put together an outfit, to do her hair and choose a coordinating hair thing.  She's so cute and I just love dressing her up.

When she gets owies she says, "You kiss it?" and requests a bandaid.  We have Paw Patrol bandaids and she loves choosing which one she wants.  She's very picky.

She talks up a storm and people often think she's three.  Instead of "stop" she says "sopt".  She says "yellow" as "yeyow" and "tomorrow" as "tomoyow", and I'll be sad when she says them all right.  She never mixes up the twins, which everyone finds amazing, and if you ask her if she's a boy or a girl she says, "I'm just Carly!"

Indeed you are, little girl.
Indeed you are!

***

Throwing My Uterus Away

Well, I did it.
I got rid of my week-by-week baby, pregnancy & infant sleep books.
It basically felt like throwing my uterus away.

Alright, that's dramatic.
But also, accurate.

So, we're done.  Handing them to the man at the local Goodwill, was basically the same as handing the surgeon my fertility.  Glad to have that finished.

For a while after I had Carly (basically until she was about a year and a half) I still had occasional thoughts about having a fifth child... but now I feel total peace about the size of our family.  Four is it. We're good.  I am so blessed by our three boys and by our one girl.  The only thing (seriously, the only thing) that gives me pause is the fact that Carly will not have a sister.  But I console myself with the fact that some of my best friends don't have sisters. She'll just find really good friends.

Afternoons are when my life tends to be the craziest.  The boys get home from school and they're emptying backpacks and telling me about their day and asking for help with homework while Carly is getting into everything and tantruming that I won't let her draw on Wyatt's Parent Chat folder... and it's in those moments I know I have a little more than all I can handle. Also, when they're all sick, one after the other.  That's a lot for one mama to handle.

How did you know (or do you know yet???) that you were done having babies?  For me, finally knowing (and having complete peace about it) has been such a gift because it has allowed two things.  One, it has allowed me to get rid of all the baby things easily.  (Baby saucer? Buh-bye! Baby bath? See-ya-later!) And two, it has allowed me to really cherish every stage Carly has entered and left.  I know it will end (both the good, and the bad) so I can enjoy the good, and laugh my way through the bad, which has been really nice.

I did love being pregnant, and I'm sad about never being pregnant again. And I'm sad to never nurse another baby.  But I won't regret not having a fourth c-section and I'm so glad to know I'll never experience post-partum anxiety or migraines ever again.  Those were kind of the worst.

It's weird, though.  I was telling my mom, I spent my whole life dreaming of having babies and being a mom and POOF! In less than ten years, that chapter of my life is over. (Not the being a mom part, but the 'having babies' part.)  I'm sure glad I enjoyed it while it lasted!

***

Carly May: 21 Months

 Carly turned 21 months on the 24th.  In three short months our sweet rainbow girl will be two. 

 At 21 months, she absolutely loves being outside.  Especially swinging, going down the slide and jumping on the trampoline with her brothers. (I love how the static makes her hair stand on end. Ha!)

 She looks up to her brothers so much, mimicking them and watching their every move.  

When they swing, she wants to swing. 

When they brush, she wants to brush.

When they scooter, she wants to scooter.

 When they do homework at the table, she wants to do homework at the table.

When they play transformers, she wants to play transformers.

When they do tablets, she wants to do tablets.

 She is 100% adventurous. And fearless.

 And 100% independent.

 Her brothers adore her, care for her, watch over her and are just awesome with her.  She brings out the best in all three of them, and watching that relationship is a gift I didn't anticipate when I was pregnant with her.

 But the relationship she has with Wyatt is the most special of all.  Those two go together like peas & carrots.  He is patient and kind, always teaching; and she is silly & sweet, always learning.  It's like magic. They never fight, and he never gets frustrated with her. The most upset he gets is when she's into his stuff and all he says is, "Carrr-los!" in his fake angry voice.  It's pretty hilarious!

 For Halloween she's a Seahawks cheerleader, and it's basically the most fun thing ever to see her shake her pom poms!

 She is a mess maker, and I swear I spend half my day at home with her cleaning up after the messes she has made while I've been attempting to get other things done.

Josh was tickled pink when we found the WSU (Washington State University- where we both got our undergraduate degrees) track suit that all three of the other boys wore when they were this age.  She looked adorable in it and we had fun comparing pictures. 

Logan & Jack :: 21 months

Wyatt :: 17 months 

Her hair is so pretty and getting thicker.  She lets me do it everyday, no problem, and only sometimes pulls out her "hair pretties".

 When she's looking for something or someone, this is what she does with her hands. It's pretty much the cutest.

   She is like a celebrity at the boys' school.  During morning drop off and afternoon pick up, she walks around like she owns the joint, or she has crowds of first and fourth graders gathered around the stroller trying to get her to say their names or share her goldfish.  It's a hoot!

She can often be found "reading" to herself, sitting or laying down, and every time I see it, I think I take a picture because it just makes me so happy.  She loves to be read to, especially by Josh. 

 After naps is beginning to be my favorite time with her because it's just the two of us, and she's still so snuggly.  She loves to nurse more, or sit with me and pet the kitties.  That sweet, quiet time is just the best. 

You can just see it peeking out here, her feather taggie (a piece of cloth with ribbons that my mom made), and that's her favorite of the six taggies she has.  I wish I knew why she likes it best, but I'm not sure.  Wyatt had three when he was her age, and he had a favorite too.  Now Carly has his six, plus two of her own. (She had three, but I lost one. #fourthchildproblems)

 It is COLD in the mornings here now, but I am determined to continue walking to school as many days as possible.  (It's so good for my mental health, and for my kids!)  So Carly has quite the collection of coats, but these all-in-one zip-over-everything fuzzy fleece onesies with hoods are my hands-down favorite.  My mom bought Carly this one, and she loves it.  I love that she sticks her hands in the pockets. I mean, how cute is that?!?

 For the most part, her schedule is pretty consistent.  She goes to bed between 6:30 & 7:00 and sleeps through the night. She wakes up between 5:30 & 6:30am, and naps at 11:30am.  But when she gets off her schedule, then she tends to fall asleep in the car, which is the worst!  (Although the boys think she's pretty cute sleeping in her carseat!) 

 She is getting "so big", and that includes a growing vocabulary.  She talks and talks and talks, all the time.  I love it so much.  Most words she struggles with, she uses a "g" at the beginning.  

Phone = gone 

Milk = Gilk

Logan = Gogan

It's adorable.

 She offers me kisses whenever she feels shy, is meeting someone new, or is feeling especially affectionate.  It's my favorite.

  When she sleeps, I can still see the tiny baby she once was. 

I just love those lashes resting on her sweet cheeks.

 Before bedtime, she always gets a little crazy. I'm not sure why. 

She loves when I use the flashlight on my phone to do shadow puppets.

Now when we go to bed every night, she screams, "Quack! Quack!" cause she wants to make a duck shadow. Haha!

She follows me everywhere, which means she is with me in the kitchen, in the bathroom, and in my craft room.  She signs "potty" when I go potty, and loves to play with the toys in the bathtub.  When we're in my room, she asks to wear my bracelets or goes through my bedside table drawers.  In the kitchen, she sits on the bar stools and "cooks" with me. I think if she were my first, her constant messes and our constant togetherness might drive me nuts, but since she's my fourth and my last, I am enjoying all of it.

 Randomly, Carly will touch my face softly and say, "sweet".  She will also say, "I Lauuuu", which is her way of saying "I love you".  While she's nursing she will often pull off to hug or kiss me, or do snuggle nose or "big squeeze" where she hugs me extra tight.  

She gets really upset if someone is crying and wants to help.  She also gets upset if she makes a mess.  I often have to tell her it's okay. We can do teamwork to clean it up.  

I can't wait to see more of her personality develop.

Carly, you are such a blessing to this family.  

We are so grateful for everyday we get to spend with you.

We love you so much.

Big squeeze,

Momma

Carly at 19 Months

Early glimpses of 2 year old Carly:

{"Go night-night" anywhere}

Carly's Uncle Samuel made this rocking horse for Carly from a kit.  

She loves it! 

Carly at 19 months is an explosion of words & signs.
Some new signs include:
Home
Boots
Car
Bye bye
Work
Play

And New Words:
Pretzel
Buckle
Nose
Eyes
Teeth
Mouth

This summer I have discovered that parenting her outside our house is really challenging as she is super independent and wants to keep up with the big boys.  My sister helped her ride one of the boys' scooters at my mom's house and you could tell Carly thought she was the best ever!

She is super brave in the water. She doesn't flinch even if she falls in. But for some reason she hates the bath tub. I imagine it's cause she has to actually sit still to be washed. Silly girl. 

We are still nursing, and she now pulls off and snuggles me, then goes back to eating. I feel like it's her way of saying, "Thanks mom. This is nice." :)

Her hair is getting really long, and tomorrow I'm going to give her a little trim. I want to even it up and have it look a little less crazy when it's not up. Currently if she doesn't have a bow or pony tail in, she can't see cause it's in her eyes and it's all uneven. I think a little trim will help a lot.

She loves to go to the pantry and tell us what she wants: pretzels, fish, cereal, crackers...  Her favorite foods are grapes, raisins and cheese.

At my mom's she fed the dogs and then would sign "thank you" on behalf of the dogs. It was adorable!

While school clothes shopping for the boys with my mom, we did a lot of shopping for Carly as well, and we are both (still) a year and a half later, elated to be shopping on the other side of the store. To be able to look at glitter and sparkles and hair accessories is just amazing after nearly a decade of boy clothes.  My mom bought her some hair bows (see the pink ones above) and every morning at my mom's house she would bring them to me and say, "Pretty", holding them up to her head, wanting me to put them in. I am loving every second of this.

When I first got pregnant with the twins, back in 2007, I was 24 (turning 25) and I imagined we would have a little girl. Her name would have (most likely) been Bailey Kate, and I was so excited about the idea. We were in for a much bigger surprise when (at 20 weeks) we found out we were expecting two boys instead!  Same with Wyatt, I had thought we'd have a girl, but he was a boy. And then by the time I was pregnant with Carly, I was resigned to the fact that it'd probably be another boy.  But it wasn't. It was a GIRL! Something that I am daily excited about and grateful for. 

***