2013 Project 52

Sunday, September 25, 2011

All Me

I picked out my own outfit and I am so proud of myself!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Soccer Time!

Fall is here, so it's soccer time!  Calder tried soccer a year ago and it didn't go over so well.  So we skipped it in the spring but decided to give it another shot this fall.  So far, he's having a great time!

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And while Calder was lovin' the soccer field, big sister was lovin' on little sister...

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The Paper Mama

Big Helper

Tessa is my big helper when it comes to feeding Alyse. She loves to help. And I have to say...she gets great results!

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Monday, September 19, 2011

He Pledges Allegiance

Calder agreed to recite his kindergarten morning routine, complete with the Pledge of Allegiance.  (I love the way he says "Pledge of Allegiance".)


I Pledge Allegiance from courtney on Vimeo.

Did anyone else notice that he could have a prosperous future as a ventriloquist?

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Sisters in PJs

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Baby Loves Crackers

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Sweet Love

On Friday morning Calder popped into our room extremely early, as usual.  And, as usual, we asked him to go back to his room and listen to a story on cd or read a book and then start getting dressed for the day.  He disappeared and a little while later I dragged myself out of bed to go check on his progress.  He wasn't in his room...but I heard his little voice coming from Alyse's room.  I opened her door and found this:



He had brought the rocking chair over to her crib so he'd have a place to sit while he read her a book.  He even gave her some toys in her crib.  Oh, how this boy loves his baby sister.  My heart swells!  

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Kindergarten!

Our big boy is a kindergartner! So far he is really loving it and enjoys being a Rockin' Robin. His teacher seems great, and we are looking forward to an exciting year. Because of our work schedules, he's enrolled in before and after care at school. I was kind of worried that he wouldn't like it, but so far it is his favorite part of the day! What's not to love about a room filled with games and legos as well as extra recess time?




He did amazing on the first day. We got to school a little early so that we could go check out the SACC (before/after care) room and then we walked to his classroom together. He was getting a little clingy in SACC, but once we arrived in his classroom the excitement took over! While I was the one getting teary-eyed, he found his seat at the 'yellow bear' table and immediately sat down and started working on a matching game that his teacher had left for him -- totally ready to get on with this kindergarten business!  He did ask for an extra hug and kiss before I left though... That's my sweet boy!

He apparently already got a lesson in time management.  Every day during the first week, the first thing he told me upon picking him up was that he didn't have enough time to eat his lunch.  Now that he's in week 2, he seems to have figured out that more eating and less talking = full tummy.  And a lesson in responsibility came when he "lost" his lunch bag and was devastated because he thought it was gone forever.  In reality, he left it in his classroom, forgetting to bring it with him to SACC.  He was thrilled to get it back the next day. 

Although he loves school, he wasn't the least bit upset when he had his first "snow day" -- the first week of school! We had a crazy amount of rain due to Hurricane Lee, so many of the area's roads were flooded. Hey, who doesn't love a good snow day?

Monday, September 5, 2011

Calder Lost a Tooth!

Just 2 weeks after turning 5, Calder lost his first tooth!  It had been loose for about 3 weeks before it finally came out.  He was very excited when it finally did.  It was actually pushed out by the adult tooth coming in behind it, and the adult tooth was completely in within a few days!


And talk about good timing!  I finished this tooth fairy pillow for Calder about a month ago.  I had seen one like this on etsy a long time ago and loved it.  It was super easy to make and I can't wait to make girly ones for Tessa and Alyse. Calder already has a 2nd loose tooth, so I'm sure it won't be long before the tooth fairy makes another visit to our house!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

7 Months

We've had some slightly cooler weather this week, so seven month old Alyse happily posed outside for a little photo shoot while Mommy got in some practice using her camera in manual.  

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She's finally back on track in terms of sleeping, for the most part. It was a very rough 1 1/2 months, and I ultimately had to let her cry it out. But after 2 nights of 70-80 minutes of crying it was all worth it! She's starting to take more regular naps now as well, which is really nice.

She's a happy, giggly, good-natured baby who loves the constant attention from her big brother and sister. She's not sitting up yet, but I think she's slowly getting there. I'm not sure how long I'm supposed to use the "she was 6 weeks early" excuse but I'm not worried. No teeth yet either, but she's working on that as well! She loves to play with musical toys and her teething rings. She gave up her pacifier, and I'm totally aware of how lucky we are that we have 3 kids who all gave up the pacifier on their own as babies!

She loves to pull hair. Really loves it. And this time I'm not the only one on the wrong end of that -- poor Tessa has been the victim more than a handful of times.

Next week is a big week -- I return to work and she starts daycare. We love our daycare center, so I have no qualms about it, but I sure will miss my baby. I haven't been separated from her for more than a few hours in the last 7 months (oops! 6 months! Have I forgotten our 27 days in the NICU already?), so it's going to be a tough adjustment for both of us. I know how lucky I am that I have such a flexible boss who allowed me to take such a long maternity leave (but not without a few reminders of how much they are looking forward to my return! She's asked more than a couple of times "You ARE coming back, aren't you???") Our biggest issue now is that Alyse flat out refuses to take a bottle. Yep, that's sort of problematic since the big day is just 3 days away! EEEEK! We've been trying for about 3 weeks and she just will not have it. So, that just adds to my nervousness about returning to work. The one thing we have going for us is that she loves baby food. She loves carrots, yogurt and all fruits. She'll tolerate peas and green beans, but doesn't eat as much of those. I've heard the worst that will happen is that she'll keep me up all night wanting to nurse. GREAT. ;)

The Paper Mama

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