She's growing up...

As much as I've tried to fight against her... Miss Callie has decided that she's finished nursing.  Wednesday, January 18th around 9 am was the last time Callie nursed from me... finishing the feeding with a quick bite that ended it all.  It wasn't by my choice... not by my choice at all.  This was about the 4th time in 2 or 3 days that she had bitten me... and every time it happened, of course I jumped a little, and said "no-no Callie, that hurts mommy"... which led to her crying... sad that she had been scolded.  Every time I put her to nurse after that, she would just start crying the exact same way she had after that last bite.  

So much has gone on in the last couple of weeks that I haven't had too terribly much time to really dwell on the fact that she is finished... that she is growing up... until now.  There's a part of me that never wants her to grow up (I'm sure all mothers think this!)... and I'll forever miss that quiet, intimate, snuggle time she and I shared as she nursed her few feedings a day.  I'm continuing to pump... because I still want her to get some breast milk (pediatrician's recommend babies get breast milk for at least a year for full benefits)... but my supply is slowly dwindling... so she is eating more formula than ever now.  I know that the formula is just fine... it's what my mother and I were both raised on and we turned out just fine... didn't we?  But something about that personal goal of a year... it has become nearly an obsession to me. 

Prior to Callie's birth... I was uncertain as to whether or not I would breastfeed my babies.  I was certainly an advocate for my patients... but the concept was just... weird.. for myself.  The moment Dr. Kuhlmann laid Callie on my chest and she started rooting around... my heart was melted and I was determined to give my littlest one whatever she needed or wanted.

Breastfeeding came relatively easy to Callie and I... with only a couple of setbacks... mostly on vacation to Cheyenne where the dryness and altitude nearly dried me up twice.  Callie even loved her "milky-milky-milky" pronounced "meee-key meee-key meeeeee-keeeey" (the song I sang to her just prior to feedings) so much that she refused formula up until about a month ago.

I had great support from family and friends... I can't tell you how many people went out of their way to provide a quiet place with a rocking chair for Callie and I to share our time together.  And I think I may have "blazed a trail" for my sisters to follow on.

So while this chapter closes for my sweet baby girl and I... I look forward to having my body back to myself... and not having to be quite so obsessed with what I'm eating and drinking.  And, of course, to fit back into my beloved Victoria's Secret, again. ;)

Here are the biting culprit's.  She has both of her little two bottom front teeth.  You have no idea how difficult it was to get a photo of them :)  You can see them best when she's crying... here she is fussing for me to pick her up... "Her do lika be holded all da time" (Callie-talk).

(Don't be fooled, her life is not nearly as terribly as it seems to be portrayed in this photo)

There... her a wayyy happier baby here!

A little photo editing fun... this was taken just a couple of weeks prior to Callie's birth... it's hard to remember life before her!

Love you all!!!



Noodle in the Nursery

Sunday morning, Phillip and I decided that today would be the day Noodle would go to the church nursery while he and I attended the service.  All morning the idea seemed fine to me... I had been in the nursery with her before, the attendants seemed competent and caring, they told me that they cleaned the toys regularly, and they had a set ratio of babies to adults, and the bottom line is, that Miss Wiggle-a-lot, would simply not sit still or last in our arms throughout the service anymore.  Phillip and I rationalized that, truth be told, she probably needs the social interaction from other little people her size, too.

So we left early (unusual for us Van Court's :) arriving at church at 10:40 (the service starts at 10:50).  We approached the nursery and I noted that there were maybe 7 other babies in the nursery.  My first thought was, "oh, it's definitely too busy, they won't be able to give her the attention she needs... this simply isn't going to work out."  Without words, I could tell Phillip was reading my mind.  He gently leaned over and said, "I bet some of those babies are from the service that's getting out, let's just wait a minute."  Sure enough... he was right.  Shortly after that comment 3 babies were picked up by their parents... and those babies seemed OK... so maybe my baby would, too?  The lady at the check-in desk asked "who is this?" referring to Sweet Callie-girl... and then I knew it was too late to run away, clutching my baby... like I wanted to.  I introduced her to Callie and we signed in her name and ours on the sign-in sheet... and then the lady asked "any special instructions?"  I started blabbering, "that she's a breastfeed baby, but there's a bottle of formula in her diaper-bag if she's super hungry, and she has very sensitive skin, so please use the diaper-rash ointment, liberally, if she needs a diaper-change..." Phillip cut me off and simply replied, "no, there are no special instructions."  The lady smiled and handed me a bracelet with the number 800 on it, the number that was also placed on Callie's name tag and on the sign-in sheet, to match us, and then asked if I would also like a pager... I jumped at the question "ABSOLUTELY". (Why would I say no?!?  If my baby NEEDS me... I want to be notified IMMEDIATELY... if not SOONER!!!) Perhaps the poor woman realized that she was dealing with a first timer and was trying to make the process as painless as possible.  Phillip handed Callie to the lady, where Callie leaned back a little to get a better look at this stranger that was holding her, and off to the nursery they went to play.

Phillip placed his arm around my waist and said... "let's go in"... and we walked through the doors of the sanctuary.  I could feel the giant lump forming in my throat.  I couldn't believe how powerful the emotions were I was feeling.  I was just leaving her in the church nursery.  She would be fine.  I had to keep it together.  The greeter complimented us on our adorable daughter and mentioned that she had noticed that Callie "doesn't miss a beat"... meaning that Callie is very observant and likes to really take everything around her, in.  She said her 17 year old daughter was the same way and now she's an amazing artist that's very detail oriented.  Phillip and I agreed that, that sounded a little like her Grampa Steve :).

We decided to sit in the very back row... closest to the doors that open directly to the nursery... ok, well, I decided that.  We sat down, and I looked at the pager I held, white-knuckled, in my hand... and I started sobbing.  This shouldn't be this hard... right?  Ugh... I'm nearly certain that with our 3rd child... we'll be dumping it at the door at just a few weeks old.  But this first one... well... we're all learning.  And I know that Callie needed to spend some time playing with other babies... I'm just selfish enough to admit that I really missed my sweet baby.  I tried to pull myself together and Phillip said, "let me just go make sure she's getting settled"... he wasn't gone but a minute or two and he came back smiling.  Callie was playing with another little girl and was just as happy as could be.  Everything was going to be just fine.

It may have been the longest church service of my life... and Phillip's watch wasn't telling the correct time... so when the benediction was FINALLY read... I raced out the doors as quickly as I could... to get my baby.

The lady at the desk came out with Callie in her arms and said that she was a very good baby, and that the only time she even began to fuss was when another baby got their paci, but as soon as she got hers... she was completely content.  I snatched Callie out of the lady's arms and clung to her... I missed my baby!!!!!  Callie's eyes were exhausted.  She had played hard... so Phillip and I agreed to just go home, skip lunch and get out little Noodle down for a nap.  We survived.  We all survived, Callie's first time in the Nursery... at 8 1/2 months old.  Phillip and I agreed that we would do it again next weekend... and the weekend after that... and that it would get easier every time.

I can't even begin to imagine dropping off Callie at her first day of school... or her moving out and going to College... I just can't... but luckily... we've got a little bit of time on our hands before we get there (praise God!).

Phillip said, jokingly, after it was all said and done, that perhaps in the "special instructions box" on the sign-in sheet that was merely 1/2 inch in height and MAYBE two inches across, he should have written "psycho first time mom" in efforts to warn the attendants.

In other news... Callie and I enjoy taking baths together in mommy and daddy's big bathtub... so here is a shot of her getting ready to take her bath...

I could just eat that chubby tummy!!!  And her little bottom is just ADORABLE!!

ANNNND... because I let her stand there for just a moment too long without a diaper on... here is her peeing on our floor... I love that she's looking down at it, like... what on earth is happening?!  And where is my diaper mother?!

We have a tooth!!!

Perhaps the reasoning for our sweet baby not eating or sleeping lies in her little bitty mouth!  Yesterday, while at the grocery store, Callie was gnawing on the cardboard of some medicine I was purchasing when I looked down and noticed that she had gotten a piece of it in her mouth.  So as I was "sweeping" her mouth clean, I noticed something hard and sharp.  Sure enough, on her lower gum line, on the right side, in the very front, was the beginnings of a little bitty tooth!  We weren't going crazy!!  After having spent a week in Wichita, coming home our little Callie girl wasn't herself.  Refusing to eat, nearly everything, except puff-puffs of course, and hardly sleeping for longer than 2 hours at a time through the night.  The poor baby had been making a tooth this whole time!  I felt terrible... I hadn't even offered her any baby oragel or anything to help ease the pain of teething.  Needless to say... we went straight to the "teething pain relief" section and stocked up.  I had noticed her gums were maybe a little swollen... I guess I'm just such a "newbie" at this, that I didn't know I could do anything about that swelling until my mother said "put some oragel on those gums!"... Mother knows best!

We attempted the oragel last night... along with the Hyland teething tablets (some girls/nurses at work had recommended them)... but, poor baby still only got about 2 hours max of sleep before waking up miserable.  The left lower front tooth region looks swollen now too... so perhaps, before long, our sweet little gummy smile will be gone forever (a little saddening for this mama... my baby is growing up!)

I have tried to get a photo... I've even tried to show Phillip the tooth... but holding her down for anyone or anything is like wrestling an angry bear... it's incredible how much strength our little 17 pounder has!  Sooo... as soon as I get a photo... you can rest assured that I will post it.  Until then... here are some silly photos of our little cheese-ball.

Just playing with the tubes to mommy's pump... these are SOOO much fun!

SUPER CHEESER!!!

Seriously... I don't need any toys... I could play with these for hours!!

Some of you may have received this as a text/picture message... I LOVE playing with the beads that go on the tree... Helping mommy decorate the tree before Christmas

She's talking here... or blowing bubbles... either way... her little face cracks me up!

Smiling... because I know EXACTLY what to do when a camera is pointed my way!

My little "Stinker-Face"...

She does this when we are out and about to random people... like the manager at Dillons, who just thought she was so cute when she kept smiling like this at him, that he gave her a balloon!  Maybe she got some of Daddy's charm in her genes?

And here it is again... as she's crawling towards me... in her super cute Under Armour outfit... Daddy thought she looked like she was ready to go play tennis, it was like 65 degrees out this day!



 Gotcha Mommy!!!  What is this new thing that flashes to bright at me when you're taking my pictures?  Let me see it Mommy!!

Her little nose is soooo orange from all of the baby food!

Watching the Cotton-Bowl Game: K-State VS. Arkansas game with Daddy...

And then I heard Mommy taking pictures... so I gave her my best "Stinker-Face"



SAVE THE DATE!!!!!

Alright everyone... I want you all to get this date on your calendar, because I already know, between birthdays and graduations for April and May, that the weekends are quickly filling up!

Callie's first birthday conveniently falls on a Saturday this year... so we're having a big party at our place!  The more, the merrier! Should anyone want to stay overnight, any part of that weekend, they are more than welcome at our place!  Between guest beds, couches, and air-mattresses, we can accommodate quite a few!  Just let us know!

So Save the Date for our Sweet Caroline (I can't believe I'm even posting this yet!)... to celebrate Princess Noodle turning 1!

Love, Licks and extra drool-y kisses to all!

Christmas 2011: the perfect gift

Christmas was, simply put, AMAZING.  Over the last couple of years, Phillip and I agreed that there's just something different... something was missing... our little Callie was missing.  Having a little one there for the present opening and exploring all of her new things truly made the experience SOO much better!

One of our favorite new tricks of Callie's was when she opened her packages, she would rip the paper and immediately stick her right hand in her mouth... with the paper.  But it HAD to be ripped prior to placing it in her mouth.  It was certainly tricky keeping up with her little hands... but hilarious to watch!  Our guess on her favorite gift for this year, would probably have to be her stocking filled with paci's (aka- pacifier's) from Santa.  She would take them out one at a time, put one in her mouth, and as soon as she found another one, spit the first one out and put the new one in!  She had one in each hand and her mouth as often as she could!

My favorite gift for her would be her Cabbage Patch Baby Doll... for anyone that hasn't heard the story yet... here it goes:

I knew I wanted Santa to get her a Cabbage Patch baby doll, it's a family tradition that the girls always get a doll from Santa for Christmas, and I wanted to carry that on with Callie.  I knew EXACTLY which doll I wanted and thought... how hard could it be to get this doll?  It turns out... that it was EXTREMELY difficult to get the one I wanted.  (As Phillip would point out... yes, the one KRISTIN wanted, not Callie... but that's beside the point).  I wanted the Cabbage Patch Kids Newborn Surprise, bald with blue eyes... I was hoping for a girl... but I wasn't going to be particular.  So go ahead, Amazon.com that... or even EBay it... IT DOESN'T EXIST!!!  It was impossible.  With all of the power of the Internet... I couldn't get the doll I wanted for my baby.  I had people in different cities, Kansas City, Salina & Wichita, all looking for this doll, while Phillip and I frantically searched online (mind you, Phillip was doing this, simply to appease his wife).  At the Cabbage Patch Kids website, you could only specify if you wanted Caucasian or Black, but no other details, it was "shippers choice" as far as what you got.

Well... Phillip, being the numbers man he is... calculated up what my odds were of getting the doll I wanted if I ordered it online (you know, calculating all of the different eye color options and hair options).  Basically, if I ordered 10 dolls (at $19.99 a doll), I would have a 90% chance of getting the one I wanted.  Phillip saw the idea flash across my mind... should I order 10?  I COULDN'T do that... but a piece of me certainly understood how crazy those parents get when they want something so badly for their children on Black Friday.  Finally, after I felt defeated, I decided to place an order from Cabbage Patch.com... I would get... whatever they sent to me.  I ordered on the Sunday before Christmas... praying it would get to Derby in time.

As we were driving to Derby on Friday afternoon from Salina, my mother called me, a box had arrived for Callie from Cabbage Patch Kids.com... I told her to open it immediately and to either send me a smiley face or not smiley face via text message.  It took about 15 minutes and she called me back... A Cabbage Patch Newborn Surprise Baby Doll, Bald with Blue Eyes, and it was a girl, and on her adoption certificate... her birthday was April 28th.  UNBELIEVABLE!!!  It just couldn't have even been true... I told Phillip I was happier with this baby doll than I would be winning the lottery... he just rolled his eyes, but he knew how happy I was... squealing with joy.  So someday I will share this story with Callie, about her Cabbage Patch doll that I took a chance on getting, with every odd stacked against me... and got the most perfect doll for her... just like my Sweet baby girl!

Phillip's gift to Callie:

Mayorlyn, a little girl that was also born on Callie's birthday, April 28th, 2011, in Guatemala, that Phillip chose for us to sponsor through World Vision.  I was truly touched that he decided to do this, it was something we had talked about doing for a while.  I just know that this is a wonderful gift that we will cherish for years to come.  We don't really know a lot about her yet, but we look forward to getting to know her family and living situation.

(OK, his gift makes me seem terribly materialistic... :/)

A few other Photos of Christmas:

A few of Sneebie's favorite Things... Yes, Grammie Lou, he did get a new Monkey Head... so hopefully he won't keep carrying the creepy old one around that you dislike :)

 Stocking Stuffers from Phillip:

Also from World Vision, and new mother and baby kit and labor support for a mother in a third world country that would otherwise have to do it alone.  These were wonderful.

 Daddy and his baby girl on Christmas morning...
My sister's kept calling Callie "the grinch" because her little outfit made her look like a "who" from "who-ville"

Beans amongst the wrapping remains...

The year of the Scoular pint glasses!!!  Two for EVERYONE!!!

(it's hard to read but the Scoular logo is etched onto the glass)

Twas the Night Before Christmas... as read by Poppa in his Victoria's Secret Santa hat... because SOMEONE misplaced Poppa's original cap...
(look... Uncle Dalton came too!)

The Littlest Noodle Bug... LOVING looking at herself and playing at Gramma and Grampa Meyer's house... I seriously think she could've done this for hours!
(the face she is making is "the bratty-face"... she just looks so ornery!)

A package from Dan... I just thought the label was cute :)

We were absolutely Blessed (/spoiled) this holiday season... it was just so wonderful to be with family and to get to share it with our Sweet Callie-girl... thank you to everyone... we love you all!