My Baby Girl is Three

The day Calli came into the world was a bright and sunny day. Living on a tropical island, we never knew what to expect each day; it could suddenly turn to rain at the drop of the hat. But that morning, June 29th, 2005, I woke up to have my water break a few minutes later and was relieved to see sunny skies. I knew this meant that the drive to the hospital would be much easier than if sheets of rain were falling from the skies. And I would be able to tell my baby it was a beautiful day when she made her entrance in our lives. On June 29th, 2008, that baby girl turned three and the weather was much the same. A bit hotter of course, being that it's June in Texas.

Calli woke up and came out of her room yesterday just as I was coming out of mine. "Happy Birthday, you're three!" I told her. She sweetly told me "thank you". We then went downstairs and I asked her if she wanted to go outside and enjoy her bouncehouse for a little longer before they came and took it back. So out we went to jump around and be crazy. I left her out there to come make her the blueberry muffins I had promised for her birthday breakfast. She is in love with these muffins just like her mommy was as a kid. I held the family record for most blueberry muffins consumed in one sitting: seven. I could never eat that many now though! I think Calli will surpass me someday, she would eat about four if I let her. After breakfast it was back to bouncing. Then I had to give her a bath, get her dressed and do her hair. She wore the same birthday dress she did last year and I couldn't believe it still fit. I put a special birthday ribbon in her hair that she had received as a gift at her party. Then we went downstairs and it was time for the presents I had saved. She had been receiving many packages over the week from various relatives. I had let her open the ones from her Grandma and Grandpa Ratcliff and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Ratcliff as well as some cards. But I saved the packages from her Aunties, Grandma and Grandpa Claxton, Great-Aunt, and godmother. It looked like Christmas in our living room after she got done unwrapping all her presents! She has a brand new summer wardrobe as she managed to receive SEVEN new dresses and two shirts. At least I don't have any clothes shopping to do for her for awhile!

Next came the present from Mommy and Daddy. The night before, after her birthday party was over and the kids were in bed, Richard went out to the Walmart down the street and purchased a brand new Barbie Jeep. We stayed up until 11:00pm putting it together and were so excited to give it to her. We put it out on the front stoop and I went and rang the doorbell and waited to capture her reaction on video. She opened the door and immediately ran out to the jeep and said "This is my jeep!". She asked if it was for her birthday and we told her it was. Then she asked if she could drive it to the park right away! But we just rode it around the lawn and driveway for a bit. I am sure Daddy will take her the park to ride it sometime this week.

After all the morning festivities, we went to lunch at Red Robin. This has unknowingly become a tradition for her birthday. On her first birthday (it was a Thursday) Richard was working and we met him at the Red Robin near his work for lunch. Last year my mom and sisters were out to help celebrate her birthday and we again went to lunch at Red Robin. So this year I decided to continue the tradition. The waiters sang happy birthday to her while she cowered behind Daddy a bit being shy. But when she saw the ice cream sundae, that was it! She dug right in and loved it. After lunch we headed to Toys R Us. Her "Grandma-Great" had sent a check for her birthday and we told her she could pick out a toy with the money. So she spent a great deal of time playing around in the toy store, trying to decide which toy she wanted to give the honor of bringing home to. She finally settled on a Little Mermaid bride doll and a Handy Manny book (Serena also got a new toy: a pink exersaucer).

We were on our way home from the toy store and decided to make one final fun stop for the day: Chuck E. Cheese! Calli was estatic of course and ran around playing games and winning tickets, which she finally cashed in for some lollipops and a ring. We headed home for real after that and spent time playing with all Calli's new toys. The calls from aunts and grandparents came in and Calli was so happy to hear all the happy birthdays and chat with her relatives. We ate dinner and then brought out the leftover cake from her party. I lit three more candles atop the cake and we sang happy birthday to her again. She made a wish (shouting out something about Mommy) and blew them all out. After eating some cake and ice cream and reading her new ladybug book for the twelve hundredth time that day, the birthday girl finally went to bed. It was an exhausting weekend and there is no doubt that that was one spoiled little girl. But the way I see it, your daughter only turns three once and why not make it as fun and special as possible?

I am sad that her birthday weekend is over. We had planned and looked forward to everything for so long and it all passed by so quick. And now I have a three-year-old. It seems like not too long ago that my days were consumed with nursing, crying and little sleep. Oh, things haven't changed too much, but now it's a different little one I am devoting those things to. I feel sad sometimes when I think that I'll never get back my little Calli. I love watching her grow and learn and do new things. But she is turning into a little girl now, not a baby or a toddler any longer. In just two short years she will be going off to school. I can't bear to think of that day, I will surely cry buckets. I am just trying to enjoy all my time with her while I can. These years are certainly the most fun and I love having her around (well, most of the time!).

At 4:46PM on June 29th, 2005 at the Naval Hospital in Guam, my first child was born. There is no feeling in the world like giving birth to your first child. Two days overdue, she was a tiny little thing at six pounds eight ounces and seventeen and a half inches long. She had a small head full of hair and I was in love with her. Right there I decided all the bigger babies were chunky and roly poly and the bald ones looked like little old men. My baby was the standard and anything else just didn't compare to her. She was beautiful. She was sweet. She was mine. The doctor held her up when she was born and before Richard could even get out the words, I had squeeled "it's a girl!" They placed her on my stomach and she just stared at me, at her mother. I was a mother! This day will forever be the most important of my life because it is the anniversary of the day I became a mother. So thank you Calli for making that possible, for making all my dreams come true.

Mommy loves you. Happy birthday baby girl! And no matter how big you get and how many times you tell me you're the "big sister" and not a baby, you will always be my baby...

Calli all ready for her birthday party on Saturday

The cake I made. I was so proud of how it turned out!

Calli and her cake

Calli and Serena with the balloons, just waiting for the party to start

Pinata time! The birthday girl got the first few swings, but that ladybug was tough!

Finally Richard had to break it

She dove into her presents before I could even grab the camera!

Opening her presents

Cheese!

Happy birthday to you!

Blowing out her candles

Calli and Natalie playing in her sandbox

Enjoying her bounce house on her birthday morning

Opening her presents

A Cinderella barbie from Grandma Keri and Grandpa James!

Ladybug girl!

Calli in her new Barbie jeep

Lunch at Red Robin

Serena in the exersaucer at Toys R Us. Yes, she has us wrapped around her finger because she convinced us to buy it without saying a word!

Calli got a balloon and crown at Toys R Us since it was her birthday. Here she is riding Garfield on the way out

Me and the birthday girl!

Calli showing Serena how to play with her new exersaucer

Singing Happy Birthday one more time on her real birthday

Calli's Birthday

Happy 3rd Birthday baby girl!!!

Happenings

Serena is just 2.5 months and rolling onto her side already. I am not ready for this!! She is a very laid back baby. When she has tummy time she doesn't like to lift her head up off the ground much. However, when we hold her in our laps or arms she has great head control so I'm not too worried about that. I just thought maybe she would take a bit longer to do things since she is just a go-with-the-flow kind of baby. Who knows though, maybe she will be content just rolling onto her side for awhile. I am in no hurry. Once they start rolling on their bellies I get super paranoid at night and can hardly sleep worrying about suffocation. I didn't sleep much until Calli learned to roll from front to back again and I knew she would be fine. Oh well, the joys of motherhood I suppose!

Last week was very busy for us. My sister Brittany was here visiting for the week. She slept in Calli's room on an air mattress on the floor so every morning she got to wake up to Auntie Brittany with her. Sometimes she would just stay in her room playing all morning while Brittany snoozed away somehow managing to sleep through the racket. I don't know how she does it, being such a light sleeper myself. Brittany got to see Calli's dance recital on Saturday night, which I will have to post the pictures of soon and the stories. Calli did so fantastic and I can't wait to get the performance on the DVD I ordered and watch it again. We have a two month break until dance starts up again in August and this time she will have graduated to the Level II class! My little baby is growing up. She turns three on Sunday and has her birthday party on Saturday. So far we only have one RSVP so either a lot of people will show up without having done that or we won't be entertaining a lot of guests. I don't know which I would prefer honestly. I am sure there are a lot of people going on vacations since it's summer and all so I kind of expected it. But she will still get all her ladybug decorations and the ladybug cake, plus the bounce house to jump around in. I am looking forward to jumping myself!

Well Serena is awake from her nap as I hear her crying out to me. I will post the lion pictures from recital later!

On raising girls

I have two daughters. Oh. My. Gosh. Yes, this is just dawning on me. I thought about it as I swept the kitchen floors this morning. Two beautiful little girls. Two angelic faces to wake up to in the morning. Two princesses to clothe in pink dresses, take to ballet class, teach to kick a soccer ball. Two sweethearts to paint my toenails with, take shopping, talk to about boys. Two sisters who will, inevitably, have many, many disagreements and fights over the years. Any woman who has a sister or is blessed with two daughters knows what I am talking about. I am going to go out on a limb and say that two or more girls are the hardest to raise. God bless my mother for taking on three of us and managing to mold us into great women who love each other and her.

Do you even remember your teenage years? I do. Allison is three years younger than me. Boy did we used to get on each other's nerves back in the day. I can say that now because we got over it and love each other today. "Why don't you talk to your sister more?" I used to hear from my parents. How could they even ask such a thing! What could I possibly have to say to someone who stole the clothes from my closet, copied the things I did, and was, basically, just doing what a younger sister is supposed to. Why is it that we could pilfer through our best friends' closets, borrowing anything and everything from each other, but God forbid our own sister took something. That was cause for war. Now I am sure there are exceptions to the rules and there are some sisters out there that went through their teenage years confiding about first kisses, boyfriends, fights with Mom and Dad and what not.

"I love Serena, she's my best friend"
"She's so cute and cuddly"
"I'm going to teach Serena to play tag and hide and seek when she gets bigger"
"I'm the big sister. I love my little sister"

These are just a few of the phrases Calli has on repeat about her new baby sister nowadays. I need to record her and play it back for her in a few years when she might be feeling a bit less enthusiastic about her younger sister.

I can only hope my girls will love each other dearly as they grow. But I know most likely in thirteen years time I will hear "Moooooooom, how could you force me to take my sister to school!" I will have to endure the bickering, the hormones running wild, the emotions of these sisters. If they make it out of their teenage years alive I have no doubt they will love each other unconditionally as sisters do. But until then, what have I gotten myself into?

Five years!

You know what I hate? Waking up to rain in June. Waking up to rain on the first official day of summer. I will be the first person to tell you that I am not a summer person. Something about sweating and not being able to take my kids to the park because it's too hot. I just don't like it. But rain in the summer? I think I hate that even more. I am not used to these summer rains. Where I come from and what I consider normal, the chances of rain in June are slim to none. Very slim to none. But the weather can change on a dime here because yesterday it was 102 degrees out (which means the humidty made it feel like about 120). The weather forecasters keep saying that these high temperatures in June are "abnormally hot". Well, two out of the three summers I have spent here it has been like this. When do new "normals" happen? How many summers does it take of hot temperatures before they finally say that this is the new "normal"?

So today Richard and I celebrate five years of marriage. In that five years of marriage, it seems we have done so much already. We have lived in Guam and now Texas, had two kids and made lots of memories. In some ways it feels like these years have gone by in the blink of an eye. But other times, that day at the JOP in Alabama feels like centuries ago. Here's to many, many more years together!

We look so young back then (and I look so skinny!)
Eating lunch before the ceremony

In the courthouse before the ceremony

Outside

Getting married

Mom, we're married!

Here is us on our first anniversary

And here is the most recent picture I can find of us. It was taken on Thanksgiving last year and I was five months pregnant. Needless to say, I need to get a more recent one!

Happy Birthday Momma!

My mom is the best mom ever! Today is her birthday, but I won't tell you how old she is turning ;).

My sister is here visiting. She got here late Saturday night and is staying until next Monday. We are excited to have her here. Calli loves doing puzzles, playing hide and seek, reading books and just hanging out with her Auntie. I know she will be sad when it is time for her to leave.

Other than that, I am just getting ready for Calli's birthday and her party. She had her last dance class yesterday and I was able to give out all the invitations to her friends so hopefully some will be able to go. The last twenty minutes of class yesterday they had a little party with tons of treats. Needless to say, with it being 5pm Calli might have spoiled her dinner just a little. Now she is looking forward to her recital this weekend and after that we are done until August. I signed her up again for the Pre II class this time (she was in Pre I this year). She'll also be doing soccer in the fall so she'll have a busy schedule.

Serena is doing great, happy and healthy. She had her two month check up last week and she is 90th percentile for both height and weight (12.5 pounds, 23.5 inches). She doesn't look like a fat, roly poly baby though, she is just long and well proportioned. I think she is going to be exactly like Calli, who is pretty tall and very lean. I am excited for Serena to get bigger and see exactly HOW much she looks like Calli as she grows. I have a feeling they will look very similar like my sisters and I do. It will also be fun though to see her distinct features, unique to just Serena. Watching them grow is so much fun!

It's been awhile

So I thought I would update finally! Although my internet is acting up this morning so I hope that I can get this to post.

Everything here is good for the most part. We are very busy this month, June is just that time of year I guess. I don't dread the month, but I hate feeling overwhelmed by it. I want to be able to enjoy it because it is the month of Calli's birthday, the anniversary of me becoming a mother and it's a very important time to me. I just wish there wasn't quite so much action.

This year is even more busy than usual this month. My sister, Brittany, is coming to visit for a week and gets here on Saturday. I am picking her up from the airport at the fantastic time of 10pm at night. The next day is Father's Day, Richard's first with two kids. My mom's birthday is on the 18th (though I won't disclose her age). Richard and I celebrate our fifth year of marriage on the 20th. Calli's dance recital is the following night. Then on the 28th is when Calli will have her birthday party (as well as it being Richard's mom's birthday) and the following day, the 29th, is when my baby turns three years old. THREE YEARS OLD! I find myself saying this many times a day for many different reasons, but WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?! It seems to pass by too quickly.

Calli's last dance class is next Tuesday. They will be having a small party at the end of it with treats and such. I can't believe she has been in this class for almost a year. When she first started out she didn't know much and was very hesitant to join. In fact, she clung to me when I took her there and wouldn't let me leave the room. Of the four girls in the class that day, mine was the only one with the cold feet. All the other moms left the room and took their positions at the window to watch the dancers and snap pictures and videos. Calli, however, did not want me to leave her side. She would not join the other girls and just sat on my lap. My mind was quickly starting to fill with regret about signing her up and paying the nonrefundable fees for the class. Ten minutes into the class, the teacher told the girls they were going to pretend to be princesses. She turned and asked Calli if she wanted to be a princess too. Well that was all the encouragement my little one needed. Having discovered Disney princesses a few months before and beginning her obsession with anything princess, she needed little coaxing to be a princess herself. Calli left my side and never looked back. I was able to sneak out and be with the other mothers and just observe her doing her own thing for the first time. It was her first adventure without me by her side and I was so proud of her. I have not had a problem getting her to that class since. She loves it. Which is why I will probably sign her up again in the fall. So the dance recital next Saturday will officially end their dance season. I am excited and anxious to see Calli up on that stage. They just got their costumes in class yesterday and they are adorable little lions doing a dance to the "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight" song (I don't actually know the title). I am so proud of all she has learned and accomplished in her class and all the new friends she has made.

I am in the process of putting together Calli's birthday party as well. I just rented a bounce house for the backyard and some tables and chairs as well. I am crossing my fingers and saying lots of prayers that it doesn't rain and that it might, just MIGHT, not hit 100 degrees that day. June is not the greatest time for a birthday here, but what can ya do. I ordered a bunch of ladybug party supplies online and did a trial run of her cake last weekend. It turned out better than I expected and I was proud of myself. I was glad, however, that I decided to try it out beforehand because I found some things I will need to tweak. I didn't buy enough black icing and forgot to leave some icing white for the eyes. But it turned out very well. Cake decorating runs in my family ;).

So that is about it from us. Serena is now two months old and smiling a whole bunch. She is sleeping well most nights, but I keep having to remind myself that a bad night with her is anyone else's dream night with a two month old. Sometimes she sleeps just seven hours instead of going all the way to nine or ten. But I can't complain much. I just wish I was sleeping better now! She goes to the doctor tomorrow and I can't wait to see how much she weighs and how long she is. I can wait for the shots she'll get though. That is always hard.

Here are some pictures from the last week or so...

My internet is being a butt so pictures will have to come later!