Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Her Easter Dress

Scarlett was all dressed up for Easter lunch, but that didn't stop her from playing in the dirt Sunday evening...!

Breaking fashion laws & wearing white shoes before Labor Day! 


Before her major meltdown at Grammum's


After spending Easter Sunday as a sleepy, grumpy, monsterbaby, I was anxious to get to the doctor's office on Monday to have her checked out.  She was given a clean bill of health (yay!), so I blame over-stimulation + lack of sleep for her absolute breakdown during lunch.  Awesome.  Although it did get me out of eating lamb...!   She also had her 15 month check up and we got her currents stats:

Height:  30 1/2"  (28th percentile)
Weight:  19lbs 3oz  (5th percentile)

Scarlett's a skinny mini!  (I think that legally means that her car seat needs to face backwards.  That won't go over well!)  All in all, the highlight of Easter was Scarlett's dress and the highlight of Monday was Scarlett's health.  Or really that amazing sunshine and 60 degree weather was the highlight of my Monday!  Yay for Spring!! 

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny has come and we're waiting for Alyssa to arrive before we start our Easter egg hunt.  In the meantime, we're getting all pretty in our festive attire, taking pictues, and heading on over to Grammum's for some lamb & mint jelly!  (ew.)  I'm mostly excited for the dessert!  Happy Easter everyone!!! 

Parents,

       Don't dress your girls like tramps.  I have to say that I agree with that statement/article.  Raising little girls with high self-esteem is so important to me and, amoung other things, allowing them to grow up too soon by dressing them like teenagers is something that I fully intend to avoid! 

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Happy {early} Friday, Peeps!

I'm going to share with you, my nine lovely followers, what I'm looking at on the web.  I saw this idea here and thought it would just be fun!   Usually, I'm a wham, bam, thank you ma'am kind of web browser.  I hit the usuals: facebook, people.com, blogger dashboard.  Done.  BUT as I discover new & interesting blogs/people, I've been spending more of Scarlett's nap time perusing the web rather than watching The View.  Here's what I've discovered lately:

  • I love Shannon's run-down of celebrity news.  It's quick and to the point and I usually agree with her opinions (even though I'm DYING to watch the Royal Wedding!!!!)
  •  These are perfect for Easter!!  They look a little crazy, but I have a feeling Alyssa would have a ball making them!
  • Sads for Mary & Brian, but even depressed, Mary's still fun!
  • HELLO, motivation
  • It should be a sin to look this amazing 3 weeks after giving birth.  Not fair!  Her baby is cute, too.  (and I'm loving her quote!)
  • This is just ridiculous!  Seriously laughable.  I'm sorry in advance!
  • Now this I just discovered, but I'm totally obsessed!  Yes, yes, and yes!!!
  • I want this to hang in Scarlett's room!  Is that weird?!  
  • weheartit.com confuses me as to it's purpose, but I still like to look at the pictures!  See:
weheartit.com
    {source}
  • And my favorite find of the day?  A website completely dedicated to the Royal Wedding, obv!!!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Let's Compare...

So, there's been this thing going on in our families ever since Scarlett was born, about who she looks the most like.  And by thing, I mean disagreement.  When she was first born, she was crazy scary looking.  So unbelievably not cute that I contemplated changing her name.  Seriously.  Had I wasted my favorite name on a baby that looks like the sea creatures from The Little Mermaid?  I sure hoped not, but from day one, it was looking like she was all Tyler.  (not that there's anything wrong with that, just sayin')  He was happy that it wasn't the mailman's baby (his hilarious running joke), but was sort of hoping that she'd look at least a little bit like me.  And so the argument discussion began...!  Every new picture that I'd post on my facebook page would warrant a comment from Tyler's family members saying how she looks "soooo much like Tyler when he was a baby" or "I know you hate to hear this, but she looks just like Tyler."  One of aunts was so obnoxious that I just blocked her from even viewing my pictures.  It sounds like I am a bitter, eh?  Well, it's really a silly thing to discuss anymore because Scarlett is (finally) just a cute little lady and whether she looks like Tyler or like me, I obviously still love her bunches x100!  But let's compare...just for fun...!



We are all pretty cute little kids.  My mom and I agree that even Tyler doesn't look like baby Tyler!  I'd say that Scarlett's a pretty good mix-up of us both; my hair, eyes, and eyebrows - Tyler's lips, twinkle toes, and chin. 

When she was just a few days old, I told you, sea. creature. 

Yeesh. 

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

My Big Girl

Little Miss Katie Scarlett is FIFTEEN months old!  Time is going by too quickly for me, but we are still nursing at nap time and bed time, so I'm cherishing it while it lasts.  (I am a little concerned that it may never end, too!)  As a 15-month-old, Scarlett's favorite thing to do is anything that I'm doing; works for me!  She follows me around the house and mimics what I'm doing.  She'll "help" me put the dishes away by taking tupperware from the cupboard and putting it back into the dishwasher and she empties her clean clothes from the basket by picking them up, whipping them in the air (like she sees me do when I fluff them before I fold them) and then just drops them on the floor and dives in for the next piece of clothing!  When I change her diaper, Scarlett likes to have a wipe, too, that she uses to wipe herself while I do it.  So sweet and I just think she is the smartest baby ever!  So far, I'm enjoying 15 months as the best age...!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Top 2 Tuesday: Things You Collect




Go link up!
 1.)  Coffee Mugs!  And I don't mean the average-sized cup, I'm talkin' should-be-a-soup-bowl-but-it's-passing-as-a-coffee-cup-sized mug.  16 oz, at least.  They're even better with witty sayings or fun girly-ness to them!  My Marilyn Monroe mug, my "Queen of Everything" mug, and my Bath & Body Works "Yum" mug are my 3 faves!

{source}
2.)  Nigella Lawson cookware!  For Christmas, I asked Santa to bring me her measuring cups, and they came in the prettiest robin egg blue.  Now I want to paint my kitchen walls the same color and collect the rest of Nigella's cookware for my collection!


{source}

Raining Day Fun

Baking with my {almost} three year old niece, Alyssa, is lots of extra work, but well worth it.  The reason it's so much more is because Alyssa demands wants to be the one to pour all of the ingredients into the bowl AND it's more work because Scarjo is left unentertained.  Not cool.  Soooo, that just means that Scarlett is all up in my business and needs to be given a job if our baking creations are ever going to make it into the oven.  So that's just what I did:
Clearly, she takes her work seriously!
I gave Scarlett the important job of playing with chocolate chips in the measuring cup.  She thoroughly enjoyed it!  And while Scarjo snacked on chocolate chips, Alyssa "unwrapped" the butter...
Yummy!
Don't worry, Alyssa germs never hurt anyone!  I needed to add a little bit extra butter due to the chunks missing off of her stick.  It was more work, but definitely worth it in the end; oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies are heavenly!  We used this recipe and the end result may not have been as pretty, but they sure were delish!

I gave each girl a wand with a little cookie dough left on--they were happy!


My finished product!

The oreo middle!

Chocolate everywhere!
These look amazing; I'll have to attempt them next...!

(And, yes, we had to run around the house a few times to work off all of that sugar!)

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Birth Story {Fifteen months later}

Here is my birth story, {almost} 15 months later.  I am really happy to have it all written out for Scarlett to read someday.  I am also sharing some SCARY ugly pictures of myself.  (Thank goodness I don't look like this anymore AND they're really great motivation to sticking with my calorie counting!)  You've been warned... 

We were ready!

The last picture on the right was taken right before we left for my 41 week appt

Monday, January 18, 2010

My sister was living in Texas at the time, but came up to Maine for Christmas and Scarlett's birth, so she was with me as I drove to my 41 week appt for an ultrasound.  (My first due date was January 17, but at my 20 week ultrasound, it was changed to the 13th.) During the ultrasound, the technician explained that the baby was fine, but there was low amniotic fluid and she wasn’t taking consistant breaths. When there are two or more things from a checklist that doctors go by that are not okay, the doctor told me, then they’re likely to induce. They sent me straight to the hospital for a non-stress test and to start the induction process. I wasn’t really feeling nervous at this point because I was too excited! We were driving the jeep and it had really started to snow! We called Tyler on the way to the hospital. He was about a half an hour away and just had to finish up, and then he said he’d meet us at the hospital. Because they made me go straight to the hospital, all of my things were still at the house. (When we had left for my appt, I never in a million years thought that I would have to be induced.  I was 41 weeks pregnant, so I'm sure when I thought I'd be having the baby!) We called my mom to have her meet us at the hospital too.

I had pre-registered the Tuesday before, so when we arrived at the hospital, we took the elevator straight up to the 3rd floor and by 1pm, I was all hooked up to the IV. Having my IV put in was SO painful! An older nurse, Annette, came in to do it. She decided to try putting it into my arm, but couldn’t find the vein. Next, she put the needle into my hand. This time it worked—thank goodness.



My mom and Mary were there for the IV and a few minutes after it was in, Tyler showed up. He had brought me a Subway BMT because that’s what I’d been craving for so long, but it had been off limits to me during pregnancy. He was clearly celebrating just a bit prematurely (Did I mention that we had opted not to take childbirth classes?!  Clearly, someone needed them...!)   I had decided not to take the classes because they seemed too expensive for something that I had witnessed 20 months earlier when my sister had her baby and thought I knew exactly what would happen.  This is not always the case, but luckily for me, it turned out that Molly and I did in fact have similar births.

So here I was hooked up and hanging out in a post-delivery room because the labor & delivery rooms were full while Tyler left to go drop off his IRV (work vehicle) and pick up my car. When he was gone, a L&D room opened up and I was officially registered and given a room. Once I was settled and Tyler was back, Mary went to the house to get our overnight things. It was really a waiting game at this point; my doctor just had to actually start the induction. At 5pm, Dr. Griffin induced me using a balloon thingy (nice technical terminology, huh?!) that was placed in the cervix and began contractions. My contractions were so painful, and I had planned on having an epidural, so as soon as the doctors would let me, I wanted it! Around 8pm, I was 3cm dilated and in quite a bit of pain, so they called Dr. Landry, the anesthesiologist. I kicked everyone (even Tyler) out of the room because I was just nervous about the needle; I didn't want an audience. It was WAY less of an ordeal than I had imagined it to be. He inserted the needle into my back, I felt a painful twinge down my entire right side, told him about it, and he adjusted everything, so that the pain went away. I didn't feel my contractions at all after that!


Hand IV=PAINFUL

I labored throughout the night while trying to get sleep. My mom and Tyler both stayed at the hospital and slept in chairs. The night nurse was my favorite, but I cannot remember her name. She gave me my catheter, which I had also been wicked dreading, but it was as uneventful as the epidural!  That nurse just did a really great job of keeping me calm and upbeat – even in the middle of the night!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

By 6am, I was ready to get this whole labor process over with, but Dr. Mullally (the on-duty doctor that day from my OBGYN office) didn’t check on me until 8 o’clock. I was getting restless, but the epidural was doing it’s job, so I felt no pain. I was only 5cm when I was eventually checked, so it was decided that I was going to get some pitocin. We waited and waited until it was finally started. Dr. Mullally came back to touch base and let me know that she had a c-section to perform, but that she would be back later to check me. With the epidural and pitocin going, all I had to do was wait and entertain my guests! My sisters, Molly and Mary, had brought labor essentials (hair clips, chapstick, tons of fashion mags, and candy, which Molly ate!) and we just chit-chatted all morning into the afternoon. The swine flu was causing panic around this time, so the hospital policy only allowed a patient to have three guests at a time and NO children under 16 unless they were a sibling to the new baby.  With Tyler and my mom being permanent visitors, only 1 of my sisters was allowed at a time.  We followed the rules mostly, but as it became closer to delivery, we just broke the law and snuck Molly in! 

A medical student checked me around noon and told me that I was 8cm. I had been checked less than an hour earlier by the nurse and had been told that I was 6cm, so I found it very hard to believe that I had dilated 2 cm in less than an hour, so I asked the nurse to check me again. Sure enough, I was right! I felt so discouraged because even though I knew it couldn’t happen that quickly, I still had felt hopeful that it may have. I asked to not be seen by that medical student again as she had done other things that were rubbing me the wrong way all morning, the incorrect cervix check was all I could take!

Around the same time that this mishap had happened, the baby’s heartbeat started to drop. Since I was on an epidural, I could barely move, so two nurses came in to roll me into different positions that the baby “liked.” A HUGE concern for me all along had been that they wouldn't like the fact that I couldn't move because I was so numb and would turn down my epidural, so while they were rolling me around, I tried to use my mind to remember how my legs would feel moving and then try my hardest do those movements, so the nurses didn't realize exactly how numb I really was!  I was FREAKING OUT about the erratic heartbeat; I really thought I would be forced into an emergency c-section.  (But I was so uneducated, what did I know!?) Tyler had gone out to the waiting room to see his parents (only 3 visitors at a time...his parents were not in the top 3) The nurses gave me an oxygen mask to wear that just made me worry even more. It was a terrifying half hour, but finally her heartbeat regulated and was beating at a normal rate. Phew! I was crying because the nurses had even called Dr. Mullally to check out the situation.  Once Dr. Mullally arrived, she checked the situation on the monitors and told me that everything was okay.  She was so calm and sure of herself - it made me feel so much better that she wasn't concerned about the baby.

I felt my water break around 2:30pm and by 3pm, I was fully dilated and ready to push! My mom, Mary, and Molly stood behind the curtain, but stayed in my room.  I had really planned on having at least my mom in the room for the delivery, but that was when I thought my modesty would be out the window.  In my completely numb state, I was not about to flash my lady bits and hairy legs to anyone who wasn't necessary.  (In my defense, I had not been planning on having the baby so soon.  The plan was to shave for the poor delivery nurses!)  Behind the curtain, my mom and sisters were giggling and having a party, so the mood in the delivery room was very happy and excited!  Tyler and my nurse, Tammy, each held a leg.  We had to watch the monitor to tell if I was having a contraction (they MAY have been catching on to how completely numb I was by this point...) and I pushed with all I had.  My sister, Molly, had pushed for 30 minutes with her baby, so I was out to beat her!  Unfortunately for Scarlett's head, I ended up pushing for an hour.  At 4:01pm, Katie Scarlett came out!  Dr. Mullally put her right on my chest. I just stared at her, taking her all in, talking to her, and describing her features to my family through the curtain.  Tyler kept asking the nurses and doctor if I was alright - I think the amount of blood he saw freaked him out a little!  Scarlett was crying when she came out, but once I started talking to her, she just stared at me and made the funniest face. I felt so much relief and I was just so happy that she was here.

After I delivered the placenta (It's very really weird looking; I asked to see out of pure curiousity!), I was stitched up. I told Dr. Mullally not to worry about using a numbing shot (AFTER she already had...clearly still numb from my epidural) though I'm not sure what I was thinking because the epidural was wearing off and recovering is the worst part of the whole experience!  My mom had tried to warn me, but I was too freaked out by the thought of the "ring of fire" to care about the aftermath...little did I know...!





I tried nursing for about an hour. Scarlett never latched on, but at least we did get skin-to-skin time. Then my mom and sisters came in to see her. They helped me gather my belongings and carry them to my recovery room while Tammy brought me to the bathroom.

Once I had gone to the bathroom and Scarlett was all wrapped up after having been weighed, measured, and checked out by her pediatrician, Dr. Stone, we made our way to the recovery room. Tyler, Tammy, Mary, Molly, my mom and I all walked together. Mary & Molly left, though, to go get me some much-craved Subway turkey subs while the rest of us got me settled. 

Auntie Mary & Katie Scarlett!
Auntie Molly & baby Scarlett



grumpy old man.


After everyone left, Scarlett and I got into bed (Tyler was sleeping on the pull-out couch - lucky guy!), and I looked down at my swaddled grumpy old man baby and couldn't believe that she was all mine and that the nurses were just leaving her with us!  It was the most surreal, wonderful feeling in the world!  We left the hospital on Thursday, January 21, 2010.

The day we went home!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Top 2 Tuesday...Favorite Drinks


Here they are, better late than never...! 

My #1 favorite all-time drink is an extra dirty martini!!!  Mmmmm!  (It's even better with extra olives!)


My #2 favorite drink is Diet Moxie!  It's just a little bit better than Diet Coke!





Thursday, April 7, 2011

Happy When Caffeinated

Today didn't start out as a fantastic day, but it's shaping out to be pretty fun, in an uneventful, happy baby type of way. 

I woke up thinking about the Dunkin' Donuts coffees (yes, plural!) that I was going to get as soon as Scarlett woke up and we could drive to the nearest drive thru.  I had decided to get the usual Great One with a turbo shot and then to get a small iced coffee to drink on the ride home.  This time of year is tricky because it's finally so sunny, buuuut it's still pretty chilly, so I can never choose between hot or cold coffee...decision, decisions, I know.  Ok, so I was clearly excited for my gallon of coffee...until I got this call:

T:  "Ihaveyourkeyinmypocket.  I know, I can't believe I took it.  It was still in my pants from last night.  I am wearing the same pants.  I called you at 8 o'clock to get this convo over with assoonaspossible, but you didn't answer."  (I have no idea why he wears the same pants 2 days in a row.  I don't do his laundry.  Maybe that's the problem!)
M: (surpirisingly calm) "Are you serious?"
T:  "Yes, I'msosorry.  I cannot believe it!"  (he knew I was excited for coffee)
M:  "Murdermurdermurder.  I was cleaning the toy room, not sleeping when you called.  FYI."  (I could totally hear the judge-y-ness in his voice!)
So, needless to say, DD was not in my immediate future.  Saaaaad for me.  But then my day started to look up...I found a bag of ice and decided that I would make my own coffee.  I cleaned my entire kitchen.  It's super-sunny here and so Scarlett and I are heading to the playground soon...after I blog with insane amounts of caffeine coursing through my veins!  

Yesterday was pretty nice, too.  Scarlett took her first walk around the neighborhood.  She was hilarious as she teetered her way over the uneven sidewalks.  It made me so happy that we are deciding to fix our house instead of move; we live in the best dead end neighborhood that is perfect for kids who play outside all summer!


 
There were neighborhood kids riding their bikes outside and Scarlett kept looking at them, willing them with her eyes to come play with her.  They were busy.  (Luckily for Scarjo, Lulu will be here soon, so she'll have a playmate whether Lulu wants in or not.)

On top of being ignored by the neighbors, Scarjo had a spill once we got inside.  It was a rough one for her!  She climbs on her pink adironack chair in our livingroom all the time.  Normally, she's pretty smooth, but last night she tripped on the carpet and bashed her face into the corner of the chair.  :( She has a bruise on her cheek...poor baby!


Ok, off to the playground...

PS--My daughter chews on paper towels, napkins, diaper wipes, you name it...is this normal??  Fruitcake baby!  I literally have to catch her before she eats it!



Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Top 2 Tuesday: Songs on your Ipod


Go link up!

I'm going to do my top 2 songs in my iTunes instead because my sister, Molly, has stolen my Ipod.  (just one of the benefits of having sisters!)

#1 is Adele - Someone Like You
I just love her voice and this song is really fantastic; sad and happy at the same time!



#2 is Shakira - Hey You 
LOVE THIS song and Shakira just rocks!!!  And watching Scarlett dance to it  is hilarious absolutely makes my day!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Self-weaning?!

       Scarlett will be 15 months in two weeks.  We are still co-sleeping and breastfeeding.  She doesn't nurse to eat, she mostly just lets it soothe her to sleep.  We nurse once during the day and she falls right asleep for her nap.  (The upsides are that is she is my little baby again for that 1-2 block of time and she's on my lap, so it's impossible to clean!  Ahhh, hello blogger!)  And then we nurse periodically throughout the night when she wakes up; I use nursing to soothe her back to sleep quickly.  (she never took to a pacifier)  Once she hit one year old, I started to warm up to the idea of weaning, but I honestly just love nursing and never want it to end, however, I was beginning to get nervous that Scarlett would never self-wean.  On top of nursing and co-sleeping, during Scarlett's entire life, I've just been following her lead.  We never had a set schedule; so she would sleep or eat whenever she wanted/needed to.  This worked for us because we were lucky enough to have me stay home with her full-time.  (obviously, hence the name, "Staying Home with Scarlett.")  If I could know that Scarlett would wean at a certain age, I would not be worried at all, but weaning seems to be creeping into my thoughts and blogs that I've been reading a lot lately and Scarlett still seems content to nurse.  Baby-led weaning has been the way I had always envisioned the end to Scarlett nursing, but then I stumbled across this article and have been really considering it for our family.  I love that Dr. Gordon encourages a family bed and that his method is not about complete weaning, just nighttime weaning.  For the past three nights, I have been putting off trying to start the twn day process until there was a night where I wasn't too exhausted to have enough patience.  And then an amazing thing happened...Scarlett put herself to sleep!  Just like that.  We did our regular bedtime routine and I still nursed her, but she was restless and kept flipping herself onto her belly and make silly faces at me or singing until I joined in (I know it was counterproductive to join her singing and giggle at her silly faces, but she is just irresistable!).  The fourth time that she flipped herself over, she scooched right up, rested her head on my pillow, and just layed there snuggled up against me.  Eventually, I felt her heavy, rhythmic breathing and knew she had asleep.  Words cannot describe how happy I am!  Going forward, I'm going to continue to trust my instincts and trust that Scarlett will lead the way in what works for her! 
PS--Although, if she's still nursing and I'm STILL not sleeping through the night and it becomes an issue, I'm so using the nighttime weaning method...fingers crossed it doesn't get to that though...!

PPS--On an unrelated note, I gave Scarlett a cloth and told her to wash her face.  Instead, she opened up her mouth and started "brushing" her teeth.  We clearly still need to work on our body parts...!

Funniest. Morning. Ever.

With my camera on the fritz and still waiting for my new one to arrive in the mail, I feel like I'm missing TONS of crazy Scarlett-isms (all of her cute outfits, too!)...so I'm whipping out a quick post about the funniest morning ever...

Scarlett has always loved mirrors.  She stares at herself in every mirror she spots, she gives herself love and kisses, she makes funny faces at our reflections and her's.  There is a full-length mirror in our upstairs hall, so she has lots of time in front of it!  Well, this morning, I was walking into her room, but she had stayed behind to play with her bath toys outside of the tub (I had just rinsed them and she was throwing them back into the tub.  Awesomeness.).  To grab her attention, I started singing, "Come see Mum!  Come, come see Mum!"  You know, your typical mommy rap.  Well, she started to walk into the hallway, spotted her reflection, started bopping her head and swinging her arms, and shaking her biscuits!  She was full-on dancing to my mommy jam while watching herself in the mirror.

It was hilarious!  Maybe you just had to be there, but it started my Monday of well!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Dear Britney

I seem like a total blogging slacker due to my lack of posts, but really I'm an over-achiever blogger who never can seem to get the post actually typed out from what's written in my head.  I wake up most nights around 3am and write post after post.  Last week, I wrote letters to Britney.  Her new album was released last Tuesday and I really felt, at 3am, Britney needed some serious advice (something like, "Um, you're almost 30 and a mother to two young children.  Let's chill with the dance club tunes and get a little more creative/mature.")  I love me some Britney Spears, but I also want her to grow up.  And, on top of her cheesy dance music, she seems to be not really all there.  Like she's taken just a few too many anxiety pills and she's reeeeally mellow.  It makes me sad to watch her performances because, to me, it looks like she'd rather be doing a million other things.  She reminds me of a circus elephant.  Sads for Britney; if only she lived closer, so we could do play dates!  ;)

Anyway, my point is that I blog LOTS...in my head.  That sorts counts!  I read this post a minute ago and realized that I don't really need to make sacrifices to be a more active blogger and I should not use it as an excuse to quit the gym, but I am not the only one who struggles to make time to blog and that instead of stalking, I should write a post, so here I am...

A crazy thing happened today.  I read Parenting magazine, from cover to cover, in one sitting.  How did I manage that with a 14 month old, you might ask?  Well, it was really amazing!  Alyssa, my niece, was still napping, so Scarlett and I had to be really quiet.  I just grabbed the magazine and Scarlett and headed up to the playroom.  I sat on the floor and started reading and Scarlett walked around the room playing and managed to ENTERTAIN HERSELF for an entire hour!  It was heaven!  Every once in a while, she'd mosey on over and we'd look at the babies and she would say, "Baby!" in her high-pitched squeaky voice that she uses for any baby, kitty, or puppy.  Cuteness!  And then she'd just move on to the next thing that piqued her interest.  It was the first magazine that I have read since Scarlett was born!  This is huge!  I feel like we've entered into a whole new stage and I'm excited about it! 

My old camera has DIED.  It may have something to do with the fact that I let Scarlett and Alyssa take their own pictures with it (I love to see what they see from their perspective!  Tyler doesn't appreciate it as much!) or that I drop it all. the. time. Either way, my picture selection is pretty slim.  Luckily for me, I have a sister with a camera and pictures to hijack until my camera arrives in the mail!  Enjoy a view into our 2 weeks with the Clunies!


Scarlett's new thing...at least she's entertained while I shop!


Sprinkles everywhere!


Cousin photos; only Alyssa was missing...


Thank you, Auntie Mary, for the cutest pigtails ever!


Little Baby Hulu!


Scarjo, Auntie Mary, Uncle Brian, Tyler's sister, Shannon, and Louisa


Scarlett decided to share...!


Typical of Lulu AND Scarjo's grump face!


Scarlett's version of dramababy.


Scarlett and Louisa