Fun in the sun!

The last few weeks have been very busy as Mark is recovering from surgery on his left shoulder. He had a torn ligament due to an injury and work and needed surgery to repair it. I don't think either of us realized just how difficult the recovery would be for him. He has to keep the joint stationary for six weeks so he is in a sling to keep it still. Unfortunately, the pressure of the sling on his neck caused a herniated disc in his neck which is causing even more pain. He is having a rough time. We are hopeful that things will get better quickly so he can have some relief from the pain.

Because of this, we have been hanging alot in the apartment the past few weeks. Alexa has been a trooper, but I know she gets a little antsy just staying home. So last Sunday we took Alexa to a little park next to a church in Decatur. It is perfect for young children because they have a lot of Little Tikes plastic toddler toys for children too young for the playground equipment. The weather was beautiful, and the park wasn't too crowded. We all had so much fun! I can't believe how quickly she is growing up! Mark and I got a little teary eyed while watching Alexa play with another little girl. She seems to already understand how important it is to share- which I know is unusual for a child this age. The other girl, a three year old, was playing with a ball. Alexa loves balls, so she gravitated toward this one when the girl threw it. She grabbed it, and then walked up to the little girl with the sweetest little look on her face, and handed it to her. They played together for awhile like this. I was so proud of her! I loved watching her play so nicely with another little one!

Here are some shots from the park:
Sliding...





Playing with the cars




Swinging...






Having fun with Mama and Daddy...






Does life get any better?

Staying home... staying busy...

So, the last few months I have been a little frustrated in my role as a stay at home mom. Don't get me wrong, I love the time with Alexa, but I do feel like I am missing something- almost like I am floundering a little. Part of this feeling, I'm sure, has to do with my depression which still isn't quite under control. But I have come to realize that in all my years of school and work, I was used to "accomplishing" things- in school, I'd get a grade (hopefully it was an A) and while teaching, I would see my students learn a new task, or get observed and "graded" on my teaching. I always have put a lot of emphasis on my outward achievements-- probably more than I should have. I have been praying a lot about placing more emphasis on my inward state of mind. After my dad died, I really struggled with being angry at God- I had experienced the loss of my baby and really felt like I was getting the short end of the stick. I have never really recovered from those feelings, although I am slowly able to say that I am beginning to trust God again.

That being said, I have realized that being a stay at home mom IS a job- I may not get a paycheck, I may not get a piece of paper grading the job I am doing with Alexa, but I am still going to be accountable for the job I am doing. I have felt called to be a stay at home mom for about as long as I can remember- but then after I had Alexa, I was a little disappointed. I remember thinking, "Is this what I have been looking forward to?" Having a child was amazing, staying home with her was just exhausting. I lost the feeling of accomplishment I would get while teaching. In my head, I knew I was teaching Alexa daily, I just didn't see it as clearly. After praying about this for awhile, I realize that I need to be more structured in my time with Alexa- mostly in order to feel like I am accomplishing something by the end of the day.

In September, Mark and I are moving all of our stuff back to Woodbine- back to our house. I'm excited to be back in a bigger space, with a yard to play in, but it will be hard to say bye to Mark every weekend. He will be staying in Atlanta to continue to work at the hospital. As hard as that will be, I have decided that I am going to start "Tot School" for Alexa. I first read about Tot School when looking around at different mom blogs and I came across this one: http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com. The mom there has taken the play time her children naturally have every day and planned at least one hour of intentional playtime that is educational in nature. I don't think Alexa should be spending hours in "school" but there is no reason that we can't work on different skills at different times. My friend Kaidi starting working on the alphabet with her son when he turned two. He knew most of his letters by 2 and a half. Alexa loves books, flash cards and seeing new things. Most of the things that I have learned about Tot School are things I do with Alexa already, but it will just keep things a little more structured. At this age, children are hungry for knowledge and so curious. I want to take advantage of the time while I have it!

As we get started with Tot School, I will post ideas and a weekly update about what we are doing. I am excited to get started!

Like mother, like daughter....

The title says it all-- and it terrifies me... now that Alexa is older and learning more everyday, I realize how much of myself I see in her. She is a perfectionist... well, as much as you can be a perfectionist at this age, but she is... just like her mama.

Yesterday, I bought Alexa a shape sorter from the store. I had wanted to get her one for awhile, but hadn't ever gotten around to it. I know they are good for fine motor skills, and she has gotten so much better the past few weeks, I thought it would be a good time. We sat down on the floor and I showed her how the shapes would fall through if you put it in the right spot. Now, she is only 16 months old, so obviously she doesn't know her shapes yet, nor does she know how to match things up perfectly, but she got the basic idea about what she was supposed to do. I helped her put the first few through, and she wanted to take over. Of course, she didn't get the star shape through the right spot, but she sure tried- over and over and over... And when she couldn't get it through, she threw it on the ground and screamed out of frustration. So she picked up a new piece and did the same thing. Even after I showed her where to put it, she still was determined to do it her own way. She had the most precious face in the world, sticking out her tongue, determined to get it in. I could tell that she was getting frustrated when she couldn't do it by herself- which is totally me.

I have always been a perfectionist- straight A's, officer in any activity I was in during school, etc. My parents encouraged me to try different activities, but when I wasn't good immediately, I would quit. I didn't like being mediocre at something- I wanted to be the best. I still tend to feel that if I can't be great at something at the beginning, I don't want to participate. I know that I miss out on fun times because I am scared of failing... and I do not want that for my daughter. I want her to know that it is ok to not be perfect at something the first time, and that working to improve at something is sometimes better than just being good to start with. With God's help, I'll be able to show her that it is ok to fail- the most important thing is picking yourself back up and trying again.

Crazy month...

What a month... I feel like it was just the 4th of July and here we are almost to mid-August. Wow! The month of July seemed to just fly by! Alexa went to her 15 month appointment on July 6 and we had a good report on all accounts! She had gained almost 2.5 lbs making her 19 pounds 4 oz which put her in the 5th percentile for her weight. She was off the chart for a few months, so it was good to see her back on the charts this last appointment. She only had to get one shot and handled it with minimal tears. Her sign language seems to have helped her with her language development because her doctor said she was about three months advanced with her language skills. She is growing up so fast!

As of July 6, she had about 6 words she used regularly: mama, daddy, eye, done, puppy, fish, and shoe. She had said about 18 up to that point but didn't use them with any consistently. She has continued to use her sign language (she LOVES signing "baby") so she can communicate relatively well for a 15 month old.

The latter part of July is always time for Mark's tournaments; he fishes two tournaments a year with his dad and brother on their boat "Marty R." It's a lot of work for the guys, but they love it. They didn't place this year, but they had a good time! Because of his tournaments, Alexa and I have been on our own a lot of the time. We have been having a great time reading books, playing, dancing and singing. It is hard work taking care of Alexa on my own- I realize just how much I rely on Mark to help out when he is here. Mark being away certainly helps me to appreciate him even more.

I have had a bit of health scare the past few weeks. Without going into too much detail, I have an issue going on with one of my breasts that could possibly be cancer. I have had a few tests done, and so far everything is coming back normal, but there is still a chance that it is breast cancer. It has been a harsh realization that I may have to fight something that I have no control over... and that has certainly helped me to try to trust God more then ever. Even though I still have one more year til 30, the reality of my aging body, and the various ailments that can occur with age, is scary. I know I am still young, but I realize more then ever the importance of being and staying healthy.

Independence day for my independent girl!

I love the 4th of July- it has always been one of my favorite holidays. So many happy memories from that day: watching fireworks sitting in a dental chair at Dr. Steury's office, going to the AHS stadium with friends, holding hands with Mark at the St. Simons pier (knowing I was going to marry him), and watching Alexa, at three months old, seeing the colors in the sky and the hot air balloons light up at the Balloon Glow. It is a special day for me... this year, Mark's family was all in town from North Carolina, so we had a very busy weekend for the fourth. On the actual 4th, we had a cookout for a cousin's birthday during the day and got together with friends on the beach for fireworks. We were able to see about 7 cities fireworks displays from where were sitting, plus people had their own fireworks they were lighting on the beach all around us. Since Alexa has a pretty set bedtime, she was a little cranky and tired, but we still had a great time. She was scared of the sand and wanted us to hold her the entire time--

She had a great time taking fun pictures with daddy





So we now have a new memory to add to my favorites for this holiday-- walking on the beach at night, holding hands with my husband, holding my amazing little girl, listening to her laugh as we watched the fireworks in the distance... a perfect day.

Chattanooga Aquarium and a new nephew, what more could a girl want?

For a Father's Day present, I planned a trip to Chattanooga, TN to check out the Tennessee Aquarium there. I had heard that it was supposed to be a great one, and Mark loves aquariums, so I thought it may be a good surprise! To make it even better, my mom's dear friend Jane was able to hook us up with free tickets to the aquarium and the IMAX theater. So, we were able to have a great day together, for the cost of food and gas only! You can't beat that!

We have a season pass to the Georgia Aquarium here in Atlanta- and we've been there 3 or 4 times- so I wasn't sure what we would think of the one in Chattanooga. I knew the GA one has the biggest single aquarium in the world. It is beatiful, and it is definitely worth checking out when you are in Atlanta, but it doesn't compare to the experience in Chattanooga. Each exhibit is an experience- complete with sound effects, temperatures similar to what you'd experience in nature, and even live trees and plants throughout. You would walk through the doors and feel like you are in a rainforest in South America, or in the Everglades in Florida with gators! The Tennessee Aquarium is smaller, but you get to experience the different aquariums from all levels to really see the fish. They also have a butterfly exhibit, which was my favorite part of the day by far- not only are there beautiful butterflies all over, you can actually see them coming out of their coccoons! I have never seen that in person- and it was pretty amazing, especially since butterflies have been so meaningful to me for the past few years. Alexa was scared of the butterflies- which was adorable! The whole aquarium was amazing- we really enjoyed every minute of it. The IMAX movie playing was a 3D ocean one- Alexa didn't really care to watch it. She made it through about 30 minutes of it (which is an improvement over the first movie she watched) but was really wriggly and squirmy. So I let her daddy finish the movie while we walked around outside. All in all, it was a perfect day!







To add to our good day, we got the news while we were at the aquarium that Alexa had a new baby cousin! Thomas Christian Kauffman (T.C.) was born at 3:04 pm on 6/28/09 (on the actually due date, amazingly enough). Megan did a homebirth, and considering TC was 8 lbs. 15 oz, I told her she was superwoman! That was a big baby, especially with no pain medicine at all. But he was healthy, so that is all that really matters. It was very hard for me to be gone during that time, but I know I will get to see him soon. I think it is so wonderful that he is named after my dad- who was Thomas C Kauffman- I know it would have made my dad so happy to have the first grandson named after him. I only wish he could have been here to hold him.

Impromptu trip to Ashland!

So, I haven't done much better at updating my blog, but this time, at least I have an excuse! On a whim, on June 11, Alexa and I decided to make the long drive to Ohio to see my family! Christen (Matt's fiance) was graduation from OSU and I just missed my mama! The anniversary of my dad's death is June 11, so I think that had something to do with it. Mark was working really late hours that week and had to work all weekend, so it seemed like a good time to get to Ohio!

The drive was fine, a little longer then I expected, but Alexa was not a happy traveler. She usually sleeps great in her carseat, but on this particular trip, she decided she would only be happy if she was holding my hand. I had to be a bit of a contortionist to reach her in her rear facing carseat from the driver's seat, without putting our lives in danger. I was so excited to finally make it to Ashland!

We headed down to Columbus to surprise Christen- which was very fun. She took one look at us and said "You're not supposed to be here!" It so nice to be able to see them. Matt, Christen, Mom, Alexa and I went to the Columbus Zoo, which rocked! So much better than the Atlanta Zoo! Alexa was a little cranky, so we didn't get tons of great pictures, but here are a few highlights!

Seeing the baby elephant:


Up close and personal with kangaroos:










Seeing Aunt Christe and Uncle Matt:




We got to see Uncle JT and Aunt Megan during this trip, to short of a visit with them, but nice regardless of the length. Megan and JT were expecting the birth of their son anytime (he was born Jun 28, 2009- more on that later) so we took a trip to Babies R Us to get a few last minute things.

Uncle Curt made the trip to Ashland a few days later- Alexa LOVED reading with him! They sat and looked at books for a really long time- the two of them really seem to have a special bond.







It was a bit of a short trip, but totally worth it. I can't wait to go back in a few weeks to see everyone again and to meet my nephew! I always love showing off my amazing little girl too.