celebrating (soon to be) mrs. tapp

This past weekend was showers galore for my good friend Kim Johns.  It was great to celebrate her and to see a bunch of college friends that I hadn't seen in so long!  On Friday we went out to Village Tavern for dinner and then back to Kim's for a little lingerie shower.

Then on Saturday afternoon we had a linen shower for her at Marcy's house.  Here is a picture of most of Ashley Forrest (my roommates from senior year sans Shaynah) - Emily, Kim, Marcy, me, Lindsay About this picture below - Adam commented on how I appear to have a massive plate of food compared to Erin (who is also pregnant)...  I promise I was not the only one eating and it really wasn't that much food (says the pregnant lady). Yes, that is a bowling ball in my belly. Group shot -  We were going to do a silly picture (which I hate - so much pressure) but thankfully Kim isn't a fan either - so we are showing off our rings (in the style of Legally Blonde: bend and snap). It was so much fun celebrating with you girls!

a free balloon

Yesterday at Harris Teeter I got Caleigh one of the free balloons to play with and she loved it!  She kept treating it like either 1. a ball and squeezing it a little too hard, or 2. a pull toy and walking around with it trailing behind her.  

Who would have thought a free balloon could provide so much entertainment?

7 months prego (32 weeks)

I have been pregnant for 7 full months and at 32 weeks I am starting my 8th month of pregnancy.  Everyone asks if this pregnancy feels much different from the first and the only difference is that I feel SO much more pregnant.  I am 32 weeks and I am convinced that this is how big I was at 36 or 37 weeks with Caleigh even though I have gained the same amount of weight.  In addition to feeling huge, I get exhausted so much easier which may be the result of carrying a 24 pound girl in addition to ever how many pounds I am carrying with Andrew.  The biggest problem I have had with this pregnancy has been sleep - I can't do it!  I can get to sleep but wake up tons of times during the night - it is hard to describe but it feels like when I am in REM sleep and dreaming, the sleep is so light that I feel like I am actually awake.  Overall I think the second time around the newness of being pregnant has worn off and I am just so ready for Andrew to be here!

For an update on little Andrew - he was breech at our last visit but I am pretty sure he has turned around now.  He is kicking ALL the time.  He weights about 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long - he is gaining about half of a pound per week.  Several weeks ago we had an ultrasound and we could see on that he has a bunch of peach fuzz on his head!  He also has some chubby looking cheeks that look way chubbier than Caleigh's did in utero - so the cheeks may rival Caleigh's which would be impressive.  All in all we can't wait for our little boy to come out!  (I especially can't wait.)

*And another super fun thing - some of my good friends are throwing me a baby shower for Andrew (on May 9th)!  I totally didn't expect to have a shower this time around, but I am SO blessed to have such great friends that want to celebrate Andrew before he gets here.  Thanks y'all!

prayer by A.W. Tozer

This prayer by A.W. Tozer really struck me in the midst of our current financial situation.  It is from a chapter he wrote called, "The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing."

Father, I want to know Thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys.  I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting.  I come trembling, but I do come.  Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival.  Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious.  Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

free cone day 2009

On Tuesday after dinner we headed over the Ben and Jerry's to partake in a free cone.  Adam choose sweet cream and cookies for Caleigh's first cone experience and she LOVED it.

Not the best angle for holding a cone... She is a little too focused on eating the cone to bother saying anything...

Family photo op... She loved the ice cream, the cone, the fact that she was doing it herself, everything... We tried to get a good video of her because she was so funny!  She kept saying "mmmmm" and smacking her lips.  She is not big into perfoming for the camera though. What a fun spring evening!

easter weekend 2009

Caleigh started off her Easter weekend with an Easter basket (bucket) from Gammy and Grandpa.  She loved all of her treats except her Dale Earnhardt coloring book - or maybe it was her mommy that didn't love that - just kidding...  Caleigh spent much time of Friday opening and closing and organizing all of the plastic eggs. (and every day since then)

On Saturday we went to the Uptown Easter Egg Extravaganza - I look forward to this event every year!  It is a great outreach and fun to see so many kids in one place at one time.  Thankfully the egg-hunting spots are divided by age and Caleigh was in the 0-3 age group.  Here she is preparing herself to find the golden ticket. And a video of her in action...

Once she got out there she panicked and focused on opening one or two eggs. Looking through her stash... Mass of people... Family photo op... And then Saturday night we headed down to the Adams' house to do some more egg hunting and to enjoy a fabulous Easter dinner.  Karen hid the eggs for Caleigh and after some encouragement she got into the egg hunting spirit. With her Gigi and Pop-pop... In action with a basketful... And then on Sunday it was a gorgeous day for worshipping the Risen King.  But this is not a gorgeous family picture.  A couple of questions: 1. Do I look tired? 2. Does Caleigh look happy?

This might really be the worst Easter picture ever - at least Adam looks good in it. Next year I will have to take more pictures of Caleigh in her Easter dress and we will have to do it before church (ie before she is starving and exhausted).  We did enjoy a picnic lunch of Bojangles in the grass in front of our condo building after church.  All in all a good Easter weekend!

new Brad Paisley song

I absolutely love Brad Paisley's new song: Then

I love the lyrics - it talks about how he thought he loved his wife when he first met her and how much his love has grown and how he loves her so much more now.

16.5 month update

I probably won't do another Caleigh update until she is 18 months (her next MD appointment) and really close to my due date, so I wanted to do one now.  Caleigh amazes us - she really does.  She seems like such a small and compact little person and seems too little to be able to understand all that she does... She really understands most of what we say to her.

• *Naps: We are working again on dropping the first nap - since our last post on this she has been napping twice on most days but for about the last week or so she is down to one nap again.  She did 2 days of 30 minute morning naps and then no nap on her own (instead she just had playtime in her crib)... Our current problem with the one nap is that she will sleep hard for about 45 minutes or 1 hour and then wake up screaming - after you go in and comfort her she is back asleep for another hour or so.  We are working on napping 1-3:30 without waking and she is doing it as I write this.  Maybe the waking is from teething...
• *Teething: Caleigh is getting some big, fat molars and has been working on getting them for quite some time.  It is really impossible to look in her mouth but I can feel them just below the surface... shouldn't be long now.
• *Eating: Caleigh has been eating on her own plate for quite some time (13 or 14 months) and drinking out of a cup with a straw with no problems (since probably 13 or 14 months).  We have recently started giving her a fork and/or spoon at meals that require them and it is a messy task.  She loves it but rarely gets food on the utensil, up to her mouth, and into it.  She does better with a fork but often food falls off the second before it enters her mouth.
• *Talking: I doubt I can list the words that Caleigh will say... most times when we say, "Caleigh, can you say ____" she will repeat most anything.  The exception is mama.  She still won't say it - she just calls me dada in a higher pitched voice.  Lately she has started saying help, more, thank you, love you, diaper, cold, hot, snack, tv (she says that alot even though she hardly ever watches it), open, dirty, plus all the other words she has been saying for a while.

One funny thing Caleigh has started doing lately is saying uh-oh when she has pooped her diaper.  It took us so long to figure out this is what she meant.  She has known the meaning of uh-oh and said it properly for 3 months or so but in the last 2 weeks she had started saying uh-oh when she hadn't dropped anything.  We would go get her up in the mornings and say 'uh-oh' as soon as you walk in her room but there would be nothing dropped outside her crib.  Then last Sunday on the way to lifegroup she said uh-oh for no reason again... when we got to lifegroup we realized she had pooped in her diaper and even since then every time she says uh-oh for no real reason it is always because she has pooped.  She also says it when she pees in the bathtub and every time I get worried that she pooped in the bathtub but gladly that hasn't happened yet.  She has also started grabbing her diaper when it is full so I really feel like she is starting to notice its discomfort.  I wasn't planning on potty training until this time next year so I hope this isn't any type of early indicator...  It seems so smart of her to realize all of this and to find a way to verbalize it.

Discipline update:

We have just gone through a season (last 2-3 weeks) that have been really difficult discipline-wise.  Caleigh has been disobeying a lot and it has been a struggle for us to figure out what to focus on for right now and what to let go for the time being.  The biggest thing we are still working on is, "Caleigh, come to Mama (or Dada)" and often she will smile and turn in the other direction and walk away.  We only hand pop/ spank for direct disobedience and hand pops haven't been working lately so we have been resorting to spanking at times.  It is so hard (emotionally) to spank her.  I feel the attack of the devil so often in it - questioning/doubting that I am doing the right thing...  I have been praying lately for wisdom in knowing what to discipline, perseverance and persistence to be obedient to God to discipline her, and hope/encouragement that I am doing the right thing.  It is so obvious to me that "Folly is bound of in the heart of a child..." Prov 22:15a - especially when I see how (at times) she delights to disobey and thinks it is funny... it is harder for me to believe that the second half of that verse is true, that "the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." Prov 22:15b.  Also I know that if I love Caleigh I will discipline her, "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." Prov. 13:24 

caleigh's first (real) haircut!

Caleigh's hair was getting really long in the back only again and instead of attempting to do it myself we went and got her first haircut!  I mean I can only do straight across and I can't even do that very well.  I asked for a little bob with it slightly stacked in the back and a little longer in the front (and no bangs!).  I was wondering how Caleigh would even do getting up in the chairs, but as they are equipped with steering wheels (which are some of her favorite things at the park these days) she loved it.

The lady cutting her hair did a fabulous job and Caleigh was extremely still and happy the whole time. And she did a little french braid in the front just for some cute pictures - it looked super cute... I am going to have to learn how to do that. Riding in the taxi was so much fun that Caleigh wanted to try out all of the other cars/ chairs.  We decided on one and she hopped up in the police car.  Here she is showing off her 'cheese' smile. Caleigh was in a great mood and loved every minute of getting her hair cut.  They did an awesome job and so we will probably go back (even though it is pretty expensive).  Her hair really does look adorable.  What a fun experience!

discovery place with the kulps

On Wednesday, we headed to Discovery Place with the Kulps (since our usual Wed. AM bible study was cancelled due to spring break week).  Caleigh loved the under 6 year old room and especially the water table.  Unfortunately she was too small for the big water smocks so she sported this measly bib which did nothing to keep her dry.  She was absolutely soaked by the time we went on to the next exhibit.

A fun shot of her and Milla playing together. Caleigh loved this room - she also loved looking at the big bears... When you ask her what a bear says she says Mmmmm ("No Caleigh, that is what a cow says")... animal noises are a little confusing.  She also loved looking at the fish and pointing to them all and babbling away in a language I couldn't understand.  We had a great time and a great morning there!  A family pass is definitely in our future.  Thanks Kulps!

NCAA 2009 Champs!

Let's start with the most important news: I won our lifegroup online bracket.  I was hoping to win the cool million from yahoo.com but I still haven't heard back yet.  I picked Michigan State and UNC in the final 2 with UNC winning.  Genius.  We were so excited with the Final Four win on Saturday night that Caleigh sported her cheerleading outfit at church on Sunday.

Then she wore it again Monday just to show her team spirit for the big game. On Monday night after she was in bed (and typically I would have been too - the game started at 9:20 pm!) we settled in for the big game.  Adam partook of a UNC tradition: blue cups.  Only I'm positive that when we did it in college there was not a Better Homes and Gardens magazine in the background (which I don't read, just to make that clear - I still haven't figured out why I get those).  And then victory was sure by around midnight on Monday night/ Tuesday morning.  GO HEELS!!!  

finger painting

Last weekend Caleigh made her first attempt at finger-painting.  As a girl who doesn't like to be dirty, she wasn't so sure of it at first...

What is this stuff on my hands? Yikes, Mom, I'm all messy... Well I guess if I clap my hands -  it will be a little more fun... Action shot... Yay, that was fun... Thinking about her drawing... (love this picture!) I was actually impressed by how easily the paint came off of everything and of her.  It was a fun experience, even though I did it mostly for the pictures.