November 30, 2008

What a weekend! We are thankful to have had such a good time with family and also thankful to be home. Carmen was excellent all weekend...we really couldn't have asked for her to be any better. But I do believe she is worn out! We went to Mexico (my parents) on Wednesday until Friday morning, then went to Huntsville (Brian's parents) Friday to this evening.

I'm just posting pictures tonight...I'll have to post video tomorrow or Tuesday as they take too long to download. It's time for me to hit the hay!!!

November 23, 2008

Sorry - no pictures or video! Brian took the camera this weekend. I'm not sure what Carmen did without the flashing in her eyes for 48 hours! :)

Saturday we went to Applebee's to have lunch with a friend. Carmen was SUPER as usual! She entertained Dana (who is pregnant due in December) with her smiles & talking. We ran some other errands & also went for a run. That's quite a deal - I sometimes wish somebody could push me around in a hammock like thing while I took a nap. Ahhh! My shoulders were a little sore today - that was my first (4 mile) run pushing the little girl. I'm using different muscles since I have to keep one hand locked on the jogger.

Last night we just hung around the house - us girls! She is more interested in Baby Einstein videos now. She even chuckled a little tonight a few times. We went to church this morning. Today for some reason several people called her a boy. It must have been the outfit. If you don't have your "girl" decked out in all PINK - people think it's a boy! Why does everyone think all girls need to LOVE pink??!? :)

Just talked to Brian - he's about an hour away (have I mentioned I've missed him, SO tired of him being gone!) He did get a doe. Yeah - deer meat without a big head hanging on the wall. Austin (nephew) got his first deer last night - pretty exciting! And I hear Haley (niece) took out the brain & the eyes. Go Haley - your stomach must be made of steel.

Happy Thanksgiving - if I don't get to post again before then!

November 21, 2008

Funny noises with Daddy. Brian decided to spend some time at home after he got back from Junction City/before going deer hunting. We were GLAD. Did I mention we'd missed him? He does this hoot owl call/noise and Carmen thinks it's funny, but only for the first few times. Video is after several times so she doesn't smile as big as she normally does when he makes the noise.

Carmen has had a cold, again. Laura & I were talking about it a while back - Dr. told her that babies have about 10 colds in the first year of life. I'm thankful that she's still her happy self! She's sleeping more (longer naps), still smiling, cooing & kickin', but eating less. 4.5 oz is about the max she'll take right now (6 oz is normal). She just has junk in her throat, not really in the nose - no fever. I propped up her bed & put the vaporizer in there, and we even sat in the steamy bathroom the other night.

Thursday night when I picked up Carmen from daycare another Mom was there holding Carmen. I walked in & sat down beside them. She started squirming and even fussed a little. The other Mom said "I think she wants Mommy". And that was it. As soon as I held her she calmed down. :)

Yesterday's daycare report said that Alisa was reading her a book and Carmen coo'd & talked through the book, like she was reading it too!

Well, I better vacuum while I've got the chance! Today we're going to have dinner w/ a friend who is pregnant. Hoping I can pass on some good tips that we've experienced...

I've posted Alaina's (our niece) comments on a previous blog. She has written some pretty cute ones this week...we LOVE getting those comments!

"Dear Carmen,I hope you love me. Guess what? I am going to have a feast at preschool. I love you. Happy, Happy Thanksgiving. I'll see you next Saturday at what clock?This will be your first trip going to see lots of cats and cows and a dog named Rascal. And you know what? We love you-me, Mommy, Daddy and Anna Kate. I can't wait until you are big and you will be able to go check those cows.From Alaina Lynn Link"

Alaina - Carmen loves you & loves that you love her so much!! We cannot wait to see you either! We plan to come by lunch time on Friday. I will be sure to bring Carmen's fleece coat so taht we can make a trip to the barn. :) We love you Alaina!

November 21, 2008

Here's some video from the weekend, hadn't had time to load it until now! She's ready for a bottle - see the hands & mouth!?

Carmen & I have been doing good on our own this week. It's fun having her all to myself, and also a little challenging. Mornings have gone wonderful - she'd play w/ the mobile while I got ready. Then I put her under the ceiling fan & turned on the spa/naptime/relaxing music. She would go right to sleep. And seems pretty relaxed, don't you think? Brian comes home today & leaves to hunt tonight or tomorrow EARLY am. We have missed him!!!

November 17, 2008

Quick report from the weekend...before I'm off to bed! Carmen had an excellent weekend & did very well on her first roadtrip! She slept 99% of the time and the musical toy/lights/mirror that we got at a shower was a hit! It hangs on the back seat so she can see it. She was a chatter box all weekend and showed off her pretty smile to everyone. She just did SO good, I was impressed (& relieved). She told Alisa ALL about her weekend today. Alisa said she "talked & talked & talked"...and that was even written on her daily report. Her 3 pm feeding she only ate 3 oz because she was so busy talking, cooing & smiling (right now she's eating 5-6 oz each feeding during the day). So when I picked her up at 5:30, she was READY for food!!! Luckily she held out until we made it home w/o complaining too much. ;) Brian made it home safely. We have him home tonight & tomorrow night, then he goes out of town for work until Friday & deer hunting again Friday.


My favorite picture from the weekend! The girl was all smiles all weekend long!



My cousin Marsha with Carmen


Marsha's son Austin trying to cuddle before the hunger cries set in.



Minta & Carmen. Minta was my piano teacher 3rd to 12th grade. We still keep in touch, she is special to me. Carmen smiled for Minta, and also mustered up a dirty diaper while we were there!


Great Aunt Suzie with Carmen

Mema & Carmen in front of the mirror, which she liked! Mom & Dad had the changing table all set up for Carmen to use. It was the changing table that I used also. Mom figured it up - Carmen was the 10th baby to use it.

Great Grandma, me & C - the girls in pink.

This picture is from Thursday evening when Brian was feeding her. This is pretty much how she fell asleep. Silly girl!


Getting dressed to go running with Mommy! This will be the last time she wears the pumpkin hat. Besides almost being out of season, it is now a little small. She wasn't sure she wanted to go, but once we got moving-- it was lights out!

November 14, 2008

I am off work today & Carmen & I are headed to Mexico to see my family! Yeah! We're excited to go. Carmen's first big road trip. Brian takes off this afternoon to go deer hunting. I am enjoying my morning with her, she is such a joy!

Here are some photos, cute expressions by Carmen. :)

Here is a clip of Carmen & I talking her language. She gets a little camera shy/distracted with the camera sometimes!

Last night we had dinner w/ some friends from our church small group. She entertained everyone by showing off her smiles & coos.

November 12, 2008

Lilly's eyes aren't really that yellow - apparently the flash reflected! Although they are yellow! This week - this has been a nightly scene - Lilly on Brian's lap w/ Carmen.

Carmen likes the swing now, and she is up to entertaining herself for longer periods of time. Last night she was really starring down the yellow kitty and then would hit it. We watched for a while thinking it was accident. It was no accident! And she was even better at it tonight!

The travel swing has lights - it's like at the disco. We were cracking up because she moves her head back & forth w/ the lights. When I shut it off, she was still moving her head back & forth looking for the lights.

She fell asleep in my arms the other night, snuggling sure is fun! She seems to flinch more during the light naps. Check out her eyes & facial expressions in this clip.

And I just happened to catch her waking up. Towards the end it kinda looks like she's wondering why the camera is on her while she was sleeping!


Tonight Carmen went down for a nap without making a sound! We just put her in her bed, she looked around for a while & listened to some relaxing music (it's like what you'd hear at the spa!) and she went to sleep. That's what she's been doing at daycare but had been fussing for at least 4 or 5 minutes before going to sleep. She also has started eating more. She is doing 5 oz more regularly now and sometimes does 6. She now gets upset & lets you know she's upset if you run out of formula before she's full. :) Sunday evening when we were at Lori & Roger's - she started a bottled at 5:45. She put down 6.25 oz in 13 minutes! Lori was stunned! I believe that was record time.

November 9, 2008

Yesterday was a busy day for me & C. We had some final gifts to return to several places. We were gone 9:45 am to 3 pm and she did excellent! She slept most of the time and we stopped at the Lynch's for lunch. They were happy to see her. Carmen really liked Pat (who is my previous boss from California Casualty), she just looked at him & smiled, then she konked out. I was impressed with how well she did for as many times as I had her in & out of the car!

Last night we had a Bonfire Party with a bunch of friends from church. We bundled up - as you can see below. Carmen had on fleece pajamas, then a little fleece coat which was too big for her. The I put her in the Baby Bjorn, put on one of Brian's coats & zipped us up! She loved it - and slept pretty much the entire time. I felt pregnant again - I couldn't see my feet or anything below me for that matter. And since the coat was so big - I had a hard time getting anything on my own - if I tried to get something (like a drink), I'd knock over 5 things trying to do it. Needless to say everyone giggled. But we both stayed warm & cozy!


The 2nd picture is me proving that there was a baby in there...

This picture of the 3 of us makes me laugh. :)

Carmen has slept 9 pm to 6 am the last 2 nights. Praise God! She woke up very happy this morning. She was very chatty, we even called Pepa to talk to him. I'm glad she's getting back to her good sleeping nights! Brian got up at 6 am with her both mornings this weekend...I tried going back to sleep, it's hard when I feel like I'm missing out on quality "happy" time for Carmen. She's pretty happy most of the time, but mornings are really fun!

Tonight we went to some friends for dinner - Lori & Roger. She did super! And what could be better than ONE ceiling fan? TWO!!!! Their living room has 2 ceiling fans. She laid on the floor for probably 20 minutes watching the fans. Before we left/after her nap, she spent some time impressing Lori with her smiles.

Hoping for a happy Monday tomorrow, Mondays have been rough for me. I wonder if Alisa wonders when I'm going to stop calling every day! :)

November 7, 2008

Ok so I got to work this morning & listened to the video of her in her car seat. You can't hear the best part! After the hiccup she makes a sound like she's sticking out her tongue...you know like grade school kids do and that kinda sounds like a fart? The timing of it was comical because Brian had just said we had to cut back because Carmen was taking all of our money. I tried reposting to see if it would help.

Our niece Alaina enters comments onto the Blog Page sometimes and boy do they melt my heart! Here is the latest one.

"Dear Carmen,I love you. You will see me on Thanksgiving. How old are you? How are you at your babysitter's? You are so cute. You are special. Be as a happy as you can be. How's Tina and Brian? The cats? You are so sweet.Love Your Cousin, Alaina (age 4)"

Dear Alaina,
I love you too! And I cannot wait to see you at Thanksgiving. I am 60 days old or 2 months old tomorrow! Mommy is going to take a picture of me tomorrow, she wants to take a picture of me every month on the day I was born and put it in one book so they can watch me grow. I love my daycare provider. She loves me and takes good care of me. She reads books, helps me through tummy time, gives me toys to play with, and gives me massages if my tummy hurts. I am usually just about asleep when Dad comes to pick me up, then I see & hear him & I'm wide awake. Mommy calls to check on me at least once a day, sometimes I'm awake when she calls so I talk to Mommy. It makes her day. Alisa lays me down for naps & I go to sleep on my own. I really like watching the other little people that are there.
Mom & Dad are doing good, we spoil each other. I like to look at Simon & Lilly, but they don't pay much attention to me. Sometimes when I get really upset, Lilly will try to come check on me. She likes to try to sit on Mom's lap when Mom is feeding me. 3 is a crowd, there isn't much room for Lilly.
Thank you for your email, I think you're pretty great too & I can't wait to see you & the rest of my family again! It's time for my bath, then bottle, then bed!
Love,
Carmen

November 7, 2008

What else is there to do at 5 am other than take videos of your cute & happy baby??? She woke up at 4:30ish to eat & really hasn't gone back to sleep. Mom is going to be beat tonight!!! When she's been waking up in the night she's been smiling & cooing & kicking, kinda the same pattern as when I'd get up to go the bathroom when I was pregnant (she'd wake up rearin' to go). Night before last when I was feeding her at 3:30 she was smiling with the bottle in her mouth, she did the same thing to Brian. Silly girl!

I got some good video this morning! She made a new noise today - a squeal. Just wish it wasn't so stinkin early. I pray she takes good naps today...or we're in for a treat tonight! ha.

November 6, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA LINK!!!!!!!!

Carmen likes looking at the cats, they get a little nervous though. Not sure why!

Carmen is now kicking her legs & flailing (is that how you spell that?) her arms a lot. She is getting stronger! Good times under the mobile!

Sunday we were headed to church. Brian decided he wanted to take some coffee creamer (liquid kind) with us. I wouldn't let him stick the big bottle of creamer in my purse or the bag, so he got out something smaller to put it in. Which just happened to be one of her bottles that has a lid on it (no nipple). I told him people were going to think he was putting formula or better yet breastmilk in his coffee! We laughed...somehow I just managed to get some video from it. He's saying "we had to cut back at the Link household because Carmen takes all our money, we have to use formula in our coffee". Be sure to watch & listen all the way to the very end. It's worth the giggle you will get!

(SEE 2nd posting of 11/7 for video)

So we're not sure what the noise after the hiccup is but it sure does time out just right! We've watched it over and over & laughed each time.

Carmen's sleep pattern has been different the last few nights. We are spoiled though so it just seems worse than what it is. Tuesday night she was up twice to eat, last night up once. It didn't take her long to get adjusted to getting up earlier (by 6:30) when Brian went back to work. It stinks because we have to put her in bed earlier, which means less time w/ her in the evenings. She didn't nap well today at all, Alisa said she just didn't seem comfortable all day so we were thinking it was her tummy? Dr. Morrison said she can eat 4-6 oz/feeding now. Sometimes she takes 5 oz but most of the time is still around 4-4.5oz.

2 month check up

23 7/8" long
11 lbs 8 oz

Another good report from the doctor. She did really good, she laid on the table & wowed the nurses with her talking, smiling, & cooing. Her cold is just about wrapped up I think...how annoying it must be to not be able to blow your nose!!??

I read in an article that babies like to hear the sounds they are making. So I tried it last night - just repeating the sounds I heard. Carmen & I had a long conversation about ooo's, ahh's, eee's. It was pretty cute. Brian got her to do it again at the Dr. office, she really likes it!

The time change has messed her up a bit but she is still sleeping through the night. We are thankful and lucky! :)

November 1, 2008

Ahhh, the weekend. They are going to have an entirely new meaning for us now! More time with Carmen! :)

Brian & I were both proud of Carmen & excited. Last night we went to the neighbor's to hang out. We did the nighttime routine at their house (which is at 8 pm now) & put Carmen down to bed. She never made a peep, slept right through the transport back to her own bed at 11 pm and woke up at 6:20 am! Wahoo! It was her first time going to sleep for the night somewhere besides her own bed.

Carmen has experienced her first cold. You can tell in her eyes in the pictures below. She is a trooper though, she doesn't seem to feel bad, just less energy. You can tell those smiles & coos are harder to squeak out. She hasn't fussed much about it - even when we suck her nose out (do you suppose it's possible that she figured out it helps? She was quite mad the first few times but doesn't scream with it all the time now). She did really good at daycare yesterday...I called Alisa yesterday afternoon to check on Carmen. Alisa had just gotten done feeding her and she was resting her eyes. Alisa put the phone up to Carmen's ear so I could talk to her. Alisa said as soon as she heard my voice she popped open her eyes & smiled really big. :) Now if that doesn't make a Mom's heart smile! Alisa has commented several times on what a good baby Carmen is and how blessed we are that she sleeps & eats good and just goes w/ things.

Halloween was fun. Alisa liked her little outfit...Laura gave Carmen the "I love My Mummy" shirt. We never really got to show off the glow in the dark part but that's ok!

Carmen went to her first birthday party today! Logan, my neighbor/friend's son (that I walk with all the time) is 3. There were 5 other babies there & about 5 toddlers, Carmen was the youngest (though not the smallest - there was a little guy there 12 weeks old but was smaller than her!) She did excellent even amongst the chaos, even took a 30 minute nap (someone remind me of this if I mention a big birthday party for Carmen!)