I know, I know...I'm a bad blogger

I promise we are all alive and kickin'. We've had a busy summer, and haven't had as many opportunitites to blog. Here are some quick updates:

VICTORIA:
Victoria attended Summer Pals in June and loved her class. She studied dinosaurs and can now tell you our state dinosaur, as well as facinating facts about these beloved creatures. She has even adopted her very own dinosaur, Marisol, and helped host a dinosaur baby shower. Victoria will be in 2nd grade this fall, and is thrilled to be possibly sharing the same teacher with Kaylei.

CAROLINA:
Carolina is now approaching her 5th month, and is a very happy baby. She has been sleeping through the night (8pm-5am), and enjoys rolling from her back to her belly. She has discovered that she is delicious, and therefore "eats" her hands all day long. Bibs don't stay dry very long in our house, but she manages to make saliva look adorable. Carolina will start going to a sitter when her mom goes back to work in the fall.

JEFF:
Jeff has taken over as Southwest Sports Editor for CPI, working with two other sports reporters on three publications, covering eight schools. Check out his sports blog @: southwestsports.wordpress.com. He is getting close to attaining "Apprentice Barista" status at Kaldi's and is also carving out time to train for his second 1/2 marathon.

MELODY:
Melody taught summer school in June, and despite popular belief, she LOVED it! She taught the Developmental Speech and Language class, and had 9 students. She learned a lot about teaching, and hopes to teach the class again next summer. She has also started worked prn (as needed) at Cox South Acute Care Therapy Dept. as a Speech Pathologist. She loves the challenge presented in the acute setting and will work one weekend a month and occasional holidays throughout the year. She will continue to work for Springfield Schools full-time.

Pictures to follow!

First of many

Carolina had her first of many vaccinations today. 7 years ago, I remember Victoria receiving 2 shots at 2 months, but Carolina received 4 vaccines--3 shots and 1 oral vaccine. She has been pretty fussy today. I can usually calm her down when she is crying, but it's been a bit more difficult than most days. I took today off from work, and I'm glad I did!

It's been one week...

I have been back to work for 1 week now, and I must admit it's been easier than I expected. Other than feeling extremely sleep-deprived, I have managed to see my kids at work, and keep a smile on my face around my coworkers. Carolina is now 2 months old, and I have 13 workdays left until summer break!

Mother's day was a treat. Carolina (and Jeff) gave me my 1st gift--Jeff fed Carolina a bottle at 3 am so I could get 5 hours of sleep. Despite walking with every cry, I still managed to sleep most of those 5 hours. Victoria and Jeff gifted me with a gift certificate to Grove Spa and breakfast. Then, Jennifer and I took the girls shopping and to the park. Eric made us lunch, and we finished out the evening at Ocean Zen for an amazing dinner and Andy's for dessert.

Taking to the bottle

No, I'm not talking about Jeff or myself taking to the bottle. Carolina took her first bottle of breastmilk today. There was a lot of whining, crying, and one huge scream...and that was from me! Carolina was confused at first, but after I held her and the bottle for a while, she figured out that this bottle-feeding thing wasn't too bad after all. I, on the other hand, still felt saddened by the fact that my daughter was now taking a bottle. This is the beginning of my personal wheening from my daughter. A week from today, I will be back at work, and throwing my own little fits that I am not with my daughter 24/7. But, I think that I too will get used to it.

A sad milestone:(

You read correctly, Carolina has reached a developmental milestone...

Carolina cried her first tears. While I was changing her diaper, Carolina had a bit of an accident, therefore her diaper change took longer than expected. She started crying, and before I knew it, her tiny little eyes were welling up with tiny tears. They did not leave her tiny eye sockets, but they did pool up. I knew it was developmental, but it still made me sad that I made my baby cry tears.

More friend pics

These pictures were taken on Carolina's first official day of life. She's "hanging out" with her new friend, Asher.

First "playdate"

From left to right: Melody with 2 week old Carolina, Sarah with almost 3 month old Asher, and Kim with 3 week old Luke



I think the adults enjoyed the playdate more than the kiddos, but we will label this event their first "playdate" nonetheless!