Spring Break'n

It's spring break, which first and foremost means... Grandma, Granddaddy, & Corey are here!!! Mom arrived Saturday evening (she had a flight leftover from where she had purchased a plane ticket to come out for Carigan's birth, but then Michael and I bought her a new flight when we learned Carigan would be arriving sooner than expected), and Dad & Corey (who drove) arrived Sunday afternoon after church.





Spring break kicked off Friday with a special day at Wesley & Anna Kate's preschool. Michael and I got to watch the kids sing during a very precious chapel service, and then they played games, had an Easter egg hunt, & made a special snack. I'm bracing myself for the sugar high... with Grandma & Granddaddy here it's sure to last all week!





This is our bad allergy season here in Florida, and Anna Kate has been wheezing more often lately... the Singulair hasn't been enough to keep her asthma in check, so we've had to resume nebulizer treatments. She's such a trooper though - what a pro!

Oh, and we've had to start giving her breathing treatments in our bed so she can watch TV, because the kids fried the TV in the family room. Last Wednesday night Michael was on a business trip in Texas and I was trying to get Carigan ready for church when I heard a squabble erupt in the family room. Being a single parent for the day, I decided to ignore it and continue getting Carigan ready so we wouldn't be late... it didn't sound like any blood was being shed anyway! Turns out Wes & AK were arguing over the TV... Anna Kate was turning it off because she thought it was time to go, and Wesley was not finished watching his show so he kept turning it back on. I'm not sure how many times they turned the TV on and off in rapid succession, but if I had been there to count, I could tell you exactly how many times it takes to fry a TV! I discovered Thursday morning that Anna Kate officially won that battle, because the TV is now permanently OFF.

But who needs TV when Grandma is here?! Luckily we only had to survive 3 days without TV until she arrived. Carigan is really filling out... she looks downright chunky to me now compared to how wispy she seemed at birth!





It takes so much work to get 3 kids ready for church on a Sunday morning that I've decided we must photo-document all successful on-time completions! Anna Kate still adores Carigan. This morning Wes and AK were outside playing and joking around and I said, "Anna Kate, do you love your brother?" She replied, "Noo-ooo-ooo" in a sing-songy voice. I said "yes, yes, yes," and she said, "no, no, no." So then I asked if she loved Mommy. Same answer, same playful exchange. I went right on down the list, asking her if she loved Grandma, Corey, Daddy, Granddaddy, Mimi, etc., and her playful answer was always no. Then I asked her if she loved Carigan, and she immediately answered, "Yes!" I laughed and announced, "And we have a winner!!" It's like Anna Kate was saying, "Mom, we don't even joke about that!" Carigan is her baby!





Carigan got to meet her future best friend Sunday morning... Beth brought Olivia to church for the first time! It's weird to see Carigan be the bigger child. That's a first! As you can see, Carigan & Olivia were thrilled to meet one another.

(Below) Wesley is officially reading. Like reading reading. There is a simple reader book called, "Cooking with the Cat" (A Cat in the Hat book) that he can read all by himself. He's very proud of it. The first thing Wes did when Granddaddy & Corey arrived was sit down and read them his book. I asked Mom to bring her copy of "Hop on Pop"... it was the very first book I ever read all by myself, and I have vivid memories of it. Mom brought it and Wesley has been reading it to me. So very special to have my son read to me from the very same book that I remember proudly reading to my parents!





Granddaddy has taken us everywhere that Lakeland has to offer these past two days... yesterday he took us to eat pizza downtown, then he took the kids to the children's museum while Mom and I strolled the shops. Then we got ice-cream, walked to a lake, played on the playground, went to the library, and fed the swans. Granddaddy has also been riding around the neighborhood with Wesley on the back of his bicycle, which Wes thinks is the coolest!







Wesley's close encounter with a swan! Wesley is usually not my brave child... I was so surprised! Immediately after I snapped this pic I had a chat with Wes about keeping a little more distance! Anna Kate's usually my brave child... her high squeal kept swans & ducks alike at a safe distance though! She kept running after the ducks yelling, "Duuuuuucks, come baaaaaaaaack!!"





Today Granddaddy took us bowling. Wesley has been begging to go bowling since I took him for the first time this past summer with some preschool pals. This is the first time Anna Kate was old enough to play. But she spent most of the time protecting her pink balls. She didn't want anyone to touch her pink balls!! (Thus, the pic of Wesley jokingly taking them over).

By the way, those jeans fit when she was in diapers! Even her training panties aren't thick enough to hold them up now! And if you're wondering where we stand on potty training, AK is 100% potty-trained with pee-pee (and has been since about day 3 of potty training), but is 0% potty-trained with poopy. Yes, we clean poopy out of panties every. single. day. Thus the thicker training panties. Wesley was so easy to potty train. But here we are with Anna Kate on day 30 of potty training, and still no poopy success. I'm bamboozled. She just hasn't figured out the warning signs yet. She doesn't hide... she just doesn't feel it coming, I guess. I'm sure you wanted to know that.





Anna Kate continuing her quest to keep anyone else from touching them the rest of the game. If you haven't figured it out yet, AK is our stinker pot... That's just the way she rolls!

Tomorrow we head to the beach for two nights! Michael has to stay behind because he has to stay in Gainesville tomorrow night. He's had to stay in Orlando the past two nights for a meeting for work, but don't feel too sorry for him, because he's been at the Ritz Carlton. Without me. How wude!

Remembering Uncle Buddy

This is what Carigan thinks of being stuck in an airplane for nearly six hours before even taking off:

(At least that gave me plenty of time to photo-document her first flight. When I first got on the plane I decided she was just going to have to get the 3rd child shaft, because it was going to be way too hard to try to fish for my camera while holding her... luckily, I had nine hours to attempt it. In the 30+ flights I've taken with one or more of my kids, this is the very first flight that I was not permitted to bring my infant carrier on the plane. My arms felt like Jello after that flight!). The morning after our late-night arrival in Lexington - Carigan was wiped out! I had to wake her up to get her dressed for the funeral.

It was comforting to spend time with the whole family, sharing stories about this sharp-shooter, my Uncle Buddy. My very favorite story about my dad when he was a kid is one about Uncle Buddy trying to annoy him... they actually have an audio recording of it (created with some audio device that pre-dates anything I know. Dad used to play the recording for us by turning something with a pencil!). As a kid, it was too funny to me to hear Uncle Buddy get my daddy all riled up!

It was truly heartbreaking to see Grandmother and Granddaddy weep as the casket was closed... I can only imagine the agony of knowing you are looking at your child for the very last time. Praise God that Heaven is real. As my dad says, "Aren't you glad that God is good? Wouldn't it be awful if God weren't good?"

(Below) From youngest to oldest... and only 89 years and 362 days apart (Carigan was born three days before Granddaddy's 90th birthday). Despite the sad reason for our unscheduled trip, everyone was happy to get to meet Carigan sooner than planned. I'm glad that Granddaddy & Grandmother were surrounded by sweet great-grandbabies to dry their tears after the funeral service.

The first great-grandbaby and the newest great-grandbaby... with 8 more inbetween and 2 more on the way!

My sister Erin got to see Carigan a week ahead of schedule (they had already planned a trip to Florida to meet Carigan in mid-March... I got home late Friday night and Erin and Andrew arrived at our house the next evening. We enjoyed the extra time together!). Me & my sis... dark & light. It's looking very probable that Carigan & Anna Kate will be the same way. (Below) Erin's sweet kids Caleb, Gabe & Abby. All three of them were so attentive & loving with Carigan.

Sarah, Ashley, me, & Erin. If you count Asa as represent'n for his sister Ali, and Arie as represent'n for her mommy Jana, we'd have all 6 granddaughters/granddaughters-in-law. (Below) 4 of the 6 great-granddaughters - Idina, Abby, Carigan, & Arie. We were only missing Anna Kate and Lily!

My cousin-in-law Ashley gave up the fine name Rogers to join this crazy family!

My granny (my mom's mom) also got to meet Carigan for the first time during this trip. It was thoroughly agreed on by all 4 generations (Carigan concurred, I'm sure) that Carigan looks just like me. Which is fitting, because I'm my mom's 3rd, and if you haven't noticed, I look just like her!

I didn't have time to warn any friends that I was coming to town, but I still got to spend some time with my closest friends from Lexington. We got to eat lunch with my friend Jerri Ann and her daughter Lyla. They also got to meet Anna Kate when she was just a newborn. Lyla's big brother Luke was the ring bearer at our wedding. And Lyla was born exactly 9 months after our wedding, so I've always been a little proud that some friends found our special day to be so inspiring. I can't believe that Lyla will be 7 this year!

Thursday evening (March 18 - five days after the funeral) was Grandmother & Granddaddy's 64th wedding anniversary. I'm so glad we were able to spend it with them. We took them to dinner and then we went back to Richmond with them and stayed up late visiting. At first I worried that they weren't up to it after such an emotionally exhausting week, but all night long Granddaddy and Aunt Gail (who had been staying with them that week) kept commenting on how wonderful it was to see Grandmother up and dressed and smiling. I think Carigan was just what Grandmother needed to begin to pull her out of her depression. She stayed up late rocking her for me and she started laughing and tell stories. I think it will always be a special memory, and it was an honor to be with them on their spend 64th anniversary.

(Below) Carigan smiling at Dad (this was the same night at Grandmother & Granddaddy's house). Dad also got to meet Carigan for the first time this trip, but I did fail to photo-document him holding her for the first time. I came off the plane carrying Carigan in a sling and I was pushing a stroller and pulling a carry-on suitcase. Dad took Carigan straight from the sling for me and Mom, Corey, Erin, Andrew, & their 3 kids were there as well, so amidst all the greetings it would have been hard for me to stop and dig for my camera. I do kind of regret not stopping to make sure I documented the moment though... how unHannah of me!

It was great to spend a week in my "homeland" and especially great to spend time together remembering Uncle Buddy with my family... but I really missed Thing 1 and Thing 2!! Wesley and Anna Kate had a blast at Mimi's house and they seemed to miss Carigan more than me (they both ran to me and started to give me a hug when I got off the plane, but went straight for Carigan when they realized she was in the sling... then I was chopped liver! We had to find a chair to sit down in right then and there so they could both hold Carigan!), but it sure was good to be back with all of my babies!! I brought both Wes & AK a new Webkinz and had them wrapped in my carry-on. Here's Wesley on the drive home from Tampa, holding his new Webkinz. It was about midnight... Anna Kate was still going strong, of course. I guess I missed that too. :o)

Two Months Old!

Carigan is two months old today!! She's smiling a lot now, but the goofier we got trying to take her picture tonight in an attempt to make her smile, the more she looked at us like we were crazy!





I can't believe I'm related to these weirdos!





And just for fun... Anna Kate on the day she turned 2 months old (Sept. 12, 2007) and Wesley on the day he turned 2 months old (Oct. 16, 2005). I can't believe how little hair AK had!! I remember honestly believing she had a lot of hair when she was born, but I also remember that it fell out quickly. Now compared to Carigan, even AK's newborn pics look kinda bald to me! I'm hoping that the fact that Carigan has not lost any of her hair yet means that she will keep the dark hair... I gotta have one that looks like me (and Michael, for that matter!). Both Wes and AK lost their hair almost completely between 3 and 6 months of age & it came back lighter (which is beautiful, but neither Michael or I had light hair as babies. We've both always had very dark hair, so it's strange that we ended up with two light-haired kiddos!). Oh my handsome little man - still makes my heart melt! I look at these pics and I can't help but be overcome with emotion at how beyond-my-imagination blessed we are. Three beautiful babies, and each one doubled the joy in my heart!

I'm back from Kentucky, Michael is back from D.C., and the kids are back from Mimi's house... I'll post about our time honoring Uncle Buddy when I finish unpacking and folding my 5th load of laundry!

Carigan's Mommy & Me Portraits

My uncle passed away last week, and Carigan and I are in Kentucky this week following Saturday's funeral. It's terrible to see my grandparents grieve the loss of a son, but my uncle fought illness his entire adult life, and it's comforting to know that illness can no longer touch him. Michael had a business trip in Washington so he took Wesley & Anna Kate to Mimi & Grandpa's house in Georgia before flying out to D.C. I can't go home until he's back to get me, so Carigan and I are hanging out in Kentucky. I'm enjoying the extra time with my family, but I really miss Wes & AK!! I've never been away from them this long.

It was an adventure getting here... Carigan and I sat on the plane in Tampa for over 5 hours before taking off last Friday. Atlanta had us on a weather hold and we were continuously under the impression it would be lifted in the next 30 minutes. Missed my connection in Atlanta and literally begged my way onto the next flight to Lexington. They put me on stand-by and I did not make it on, so I asked the gate agent if she would go on the plane and see if anyone would be willing to give me their seat since I was traveling with an infant. A man actually got off the plane for me! I was told later he was not the only one to volunteer. It's good to know that chivalry isn't dead!

I left my camera accessories at home & can't download any new photos from this week, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the rest of the pics from Carigan's first portrait sitting. I've chopped my hair off since then... it had gotten way too long! Also posting Carigan's birth announcement, which was created by my friends Dana & Whitney. Thanks, girls! Please keep my dad and my grandparents and the rest of the Rhodes family in your prayers.

Potty Training & 7 Years!

Have I mentioned that Anna Kate loves her baby sister?? AK likes for me to put Carigan in her crib with her for a couple of minutes when I'm putting her to bed. I've decided that six weeks is plenty of time for the newness of having a baby to wear off for Anna Kate, so I'm pretty confident now that we've officially been spared the jealousy I feared AK would feel following a honeymoon period with Carigan. Anna Kate still loves her baby more than just about anything, so I think we're good until Carigan gets big enough to actually take AK's toys (Wesley never had anything but love for Anna Kate until she got big enough to beat up on him!). Michael and I have always joked back and forth with the kids, asking Wesley if he's Mommy's boy or Daddy's boy, and asking Anna Kate if she's Mommy's girl or Daddy's girl. Both answer they are Mommy's about 95% of the time (just had to get that in there!), but lately Anna Kate always says she is Carigan's girl. So true.

Carigan is still a really easy-going baby, but she's starting to have longer awake periods during the day. Much like my other two, she prefers to be held all the time. I remember other people always trying to put Anna Kate down when she was a baby and she'd instantly cry... I'd look at the putting-down culprit and say, "Don't you know she's a held baby?" Being my third, being a held baby is not as much an option for Carigan. I have a new trick for when she won't let me put her down - I put her in my Hotsling and continue my chores until she falls asleep and my shoulder starts to hurt, and then I carefully remove the sling, Carigan and all, and set it down. Works like a charm! (Although I'd pay good money to get Carigan to take a binky!! Sometimes I can get her to suck on one for a few minutes, but only after much gagging. I get really, really tired of being her pacifier!)

I took this picture of Anna Kate because I thought AK looked like Jonny Depp in those creepy Alice in Wonderland previews! (Below) I painted Anna Kate's toenails for the very first time last week. She is very excited about matching Mommy. I've been wearing slippers around the house because it's been cold again, and she keeps taking my slippers off so she can see my toes. Then she says, "we match!" AK is very into color matching these days (thanks to her teacher, Miss Barbara!). If I have a speck of any color she is wearing on me anywhere, she'll point and say, "Look, Mommy, you have blue, and I have blue... we both have blue! We match!"

The girls hanging out

Anna Kate really is like this with Carigan all. the. time. ...Sometimes it's a little more than Carigan can handle! By the way, did you notice the training undies in the last pic??

Yup, potty training boot camp started bright and early on March 1! (Okay, lots of detail to follow... mostly just for my memory's sake. Feel free to skip over all the poopy and pee-pee details!) As soon as she woke up, I put Anna Kate straight into panties and informed her that diapers were a thing of the past. She has tinkled on the potty randomly (sometimes a few of times a day and then not again for weeks) since last fall. But I was too big & fat & miserably pregnant to put her in panties and work on not going in a diaper.

Over the weekend we went to Target and picked out an incentive toy. I don't think Anna Kate understands the concept of picking out a special toy... she kept picking up the first thing she came to and then would trade it out for the next thing she came too. She finally settled on a set of small Cinderella figurines. We took a picture of her holding the box, then came home and made a potty chart and printed the picture to glue at the bottom. I wish she had her heart set on something (like Wesley and his GeoTrax two years ago!!), because the incentive went a long way in motivating Wesley! So the toy isn't playing nearly as big a role in AK's potty training as it did in Wesley's, but she's still doing great! She only had a handful off pee-pee accidents the first couple of days, and she hasn't had a pee-pee accident in almost a week now. However, she's only gone poopy on the potty two times, so we have a lot of work to do in that area! Hopefully something will just click soon. I don't think she realizes it's coming until it's too late, because she really, really does want that praise and recognition of putting it in the potty!

The first time she went poopy in the potty was actually at school! On day 1 of potty training boot camp (Monday), she went poopy in her panties. Then she held it in all day Tuesday and Wednesday (despite me spending literally hours perched on the edge of the bathtub holding Carigan & reading books to Anna Kate while she sat on the potty). So when I delivered her to school on Thursday, I was nervous about an accident. But when I picked her up, Miss Barbara reported that Anna Kate had gone poopy in the potty!! We were so proud! Unfortunately, she has mostly poopied in her panties since then... she usually goes when she's outside playing. But she has gone poopy in the potty once at home, and she did it all by herself... we realized she had been gone and quiet for a few minutes and went looking for her, and we found her on the potty! So hopefully she's beginning to recognize the feeling that precedes the need to go sit on the potty. She's still wetting in a Pull-Up every night, so I'll have to figure out a way to work on that after we get the poopy down. Not sure what to do about that, because Wesley never even needed Pull-Ups. The reason I knew he was ready to potty train was because he always woke up in a dry diaper. Always. Anna Kate has never woken up in a dry diaper. I guess she goes at night without realizing it. Oh well... in one week we've gone from a 5-7 diapers a day habit to a 1 Pull-Up a day habit. I'll take it!

In other random news, Monday was our 7th anniversary. To celebrate I decided to... be very, very sick. I went through 2 Kleenex boxes before Michael came home and went straight to bed when he walked in the door. Poor guy! I did manage to make him a Derby pie, washing my hands a gazillion times. The children's ministry at church is hosting a parents' night out Friday, so we can go out and celebrate then.

I flipped through the wedding scrapbook I made looking for a picture to post, and although this is a low-quality photo (it came from my mom's disposable camera... one of those cardboard things you click and wind. She used to always carry one in her purse!), it's one of my favorites because I remember exactly how I was feeling at this moment. Mom snapped it as Michael and I were getting ready to head out the door of the reception (all the guests were waiting outside with sparklers) to get into the limo. I remember feeling so excited and lucky and happy and blessed. And 7 years later, Michael still makes me feel that way. And 7 years later... baby #3 is snoozing in our bed!





I realize my posts have been heavy on the girls lately and light on Wesley, but he's slightly less enamored by Carigan (he loves her too & hugs & kisses & coos over her as well, but it only lasts a minute and then he's off again! I never have time to get the camera). And by the time I do get the camera, he'd rather do this. That's my boy!