9 months

Carmen turned 9 months old on March 22nd.   A lot happened with our little sweetie!

Weight: 21 lbs 10.5 oz (90%)

Height: 28" (70%)

Head Circ: 18" (90%)

• Carmen has officially flown 8 flights! She is the biggest trooper ever!
• She decided to come up with her first tooth in Charleston!  Carmen's first tooth was her top left tooth.  So strange.  Most babies get their bottom teeth first.  She actually has her two front teeth now plus her two top side teeth.  They all came over two weeks. AWESOME!  Poor baby!
• Carmen now crawls everywhere!

I remember taking photos of Roman crawling these same stairs at exactly 9 months old.  Our big girl followed in his footsteps perfectly!

• Carmen has learned to eat any people food possible except for eggs, peanuts, and cows milk.  She absolutely loves people food and moans while munching on each bite.  It's so fun to watch!
• Carmen wears mostly 12 month and 18 month clothes with size 4 diaper
• She nurses up 5 times a day with a formula bottle at the end of the day.  She eats three full meals.

We love you sweet girl.  You are the biggest trooper ever!  Thank you for being so patient with us and being so easy going in every situation.  You are such a blessing to our family!

Seriously!?

The Longs had Roman, Carmen, and me over for a play date the other day.  Seriously?!  Roman ran out saying, "Momma, I'm Tinkerbell!"  Enough said.  Hilarious!  This is so rehearsal dinner material!

The house

After our Charleston trip we had to drive the rental car back to Atlanta to check it in, otherwise it would have cost another $400.  Who wouldn't like a 5 hour drive with a teething baby and potty training toddler?!  We were supposed to close on the house that Tuesday, March 27th.  Because the home was a short sale, the banks put a deadline on the home by that day or they were going to foreclose.  Matt and I ended up staying in Atlanta with the children, hoping to close on the house, and it didn't happen.  Instead we spent the night in a crappy $42 night hotel (delta rate) (price added for drama) with very cranky children.  Roman threw a fit going to bed at finally 11pm and woke up Carmen.  Matt and I were yelling at each other and we all were barely hanging on.  Needless to say, Pa flew in town the next morning to the rescue and we all survived!

I don't even remember exact details anymore that don't even matter, but we didn't close on the house by the end of March.  We picked a very conservative mortgage loan company that happened to be so picky and they didn't like the way the contract was worded at the time.  We thought we completely lost the home because  Bank of America put a deadline on the house.  We need to close by the end of March or they would foreclose.  We left Atlanta devastated, thinking we lost the house forever and almost gave up!  It was terrible to say the least!  God still had a plan...

Carleston part II

The beach was amazing! Roman had a fabulous time!  This was his first time to the beach and he talked about if for two month prior.  Needless to say, he was amazed!  We will be back!

This was a swamp that Roman fell into the first morning we arrived in Charleston.  It  was greatness.  I thought he simply peed his pants.  Matt was furious because told Roman over and over not to play near the swamp.  Sure enough, he fell!  At least mommy had an extra set of clothes!

Did I mention it was our anniversary?  Meema graciously watched the children during nap time while Matt and I went for a late lunch date to celebrate 6 years of marriage!

Charleston!

One of my best friends from home asked me to be her maid of honor for her wedding on March 24th in Charleston, SC.  It was a crazy time!  I was so honored to be a part of her wedding.  We all enjoyed the opportunity to take a family vacation, especially during the crazy time of trying to buy a home.  Did I mention our anniversary was March 25th?  We decided this would be our first 'family vacation' (trip with children) and an anniversary trip also.  Here we go!

We fly standby.  ALWAYS!  So we flew to Atlanta easily on Delta.  My mom had a ticket from Dallas to Charleston with a layover in Atlanta.  We hopped on her flight to Atlanta from Dallas and then the real journey began.  ALL flights to Charleston were completely full.  Not only were they full, but they were completely oversold for two days!  It was crazy!  They ended up paying my mom $400 to cancel her flight and we all rented a car and drove the 5 hour drive to Charleston with a 3 yr old and a teething 8 month old. It was an awesome trip!  Carmen decided that she didn't like nursing in public anymore and pretty much fussed the entire time.  Roman was pretty good as long as he was watching Dora on the "my Pad" or Ipad.  I accidentally got us a little lost and the 5 hour drive ended up being 7 hours.  Needless to say, Matt was not thrilled.  The trip ended up being amazing and we all LOVE Charleston!

Carmen and Meema in our condo

Daddy and Roman

Amy and her Bridesmaids

Rehearsal dinner

Daddy and Roman at the rehearsal dinner

The beautiful bride getting ready

Steve and Amy ( She was the most gorgeous bride I've ever seen!)

After the ceremony

Our little family

We LOVE Meema!!

The photo shoot begins!  Matt went crazy while the bridal party were taking their photos...

The beach home where the ceremony and reception took place.  So perfect!

Meema and Carmen at the beach!

It was an amazing trip!  In spite of traveling with a teething baby and a 'crazy' toddler, we had a fabulous time.  I was so honored to be a part of Amy's wedding.  She has been a best friend since childhood and I would have done anything to be a part of her wedding.   It was so beautiful and perfect!

Weekend with family

Mark, Whitney, and the triplets, Grandma, Pa, and Meema were all here for Roman's birthday.  We had a great weekend swimming at the hotel and eating at Fishmongers 3 nights in a row!