Aunt Joyce and Uncle Jon Visit

What a nice surprise we had yesterday! Steven's Uncle Jon and Aunt Joyce called us and said they were 2 hours away from us and wanting to come for a quick visit. All these family members coming to surprise us (Remember that my parents surprised me just two days before - see post below)...We love it! It was so nice to meet them both and Caitlin just loved Aunt Joyce and was playing peek-a-boo with Uncle Jon. Aunt Joyce has that loving Grandma quality about her. Being that she has two grand kids of her own it probably comes naturally, and I think that drew Caitlin to her. Kids somehow know these things. I have not met too many members of Steven's family, so it was nice that they stopped by to see us. They said we need to have a reunion and bring the family together. I agreed and said I'd provide the shirts! Ha ha ha... Working at Disney I would always see the family reunion groups with their matching shirts. That's it! I'll tell Aunt Joyce that we all need to meet at Disney World!

Aunt Joyce and Caitlin

Steve, Uncle Jon, Aunt Joyce, and Caitlin

I just noticed how much Steve and Uncle Jon resemble eachother. That's pretty neat!

Hey Donna, if you're reading this then you can see the school bus you bought her. She loves that bus. It's her favorite toy! She loves taking the little people out of the bus...and then chewing on them!

My Parent's Visit

What a nice surprise I had last night! My parents were going to visit, but said they would come at some other time due to the Storey's having such bad germs. Before you think that's mean, I'm the one who told them to stay away. We've been sick for more than a week now and I would hate to infect my worst enemy with this let alone my own parents! Sometimes, I've felt as if the Grim Reaper himself were going to come get me from the bed. Ok, a little dramatic, but I get that way when I'm sick!!! Anyway, my mom called last night and said she was at a nice little hotel and then started naming things that were 5 minutes away from my house. Surprise! They came to see us regardless of the germ invasion! So, I met them out last night for supper and then Caitlin and I spent the morning with them doing what we love most....SHOPPING! We had such a great time and Caitlin was a little angel. She must somehow know that Grandma's the one who will be spoiling her in the future, so she best be cute now! It was great to see you mom and dad! I hope we will somehow meet up again soon while you snowbirds are in the sunny south! For pictures, I expect my father will post the ones he took on his own blog (http://tonycrawford.blogspot.com) soon.

A Germ Infested Christmas

Here's how the story goes. The day after my last post I got a call from the daycare to pick up Caitlin because she had a fever. I took her to the doctor and was told she had an ear infection. Now a week later she still is extremely congested with a bad cold, but I've been told these things take awhile to go away. For the past week she's been waking up throughout the night, because I guess she feels miserable poor child. That's where the fun began. Next thing was that the day before Christmas Steve came down with a very bad sore throat, which then turned into bronchitis. On Christmas I came down with bronchitis and started getting fevers. Yesterday I was 103.6 off and on all day and night. Thus, we had a germ infested Christmas. This is the first time I've had any energy to do anything. I must be getting better!

Caitlin's First Christmas - Her new Animal Train Toys

The Excitement of Wrapping Paper!

On a more positive note, I lost my pregnancy weight finally! Well, I thought I had, so I asked Steve to take a photo. Then when I went to the doctor for my bronchitis situation, the nurse that weighed me said, "hmm, I didn't think you weighed that much." Thanks?!

Daycare Update

Today was a better day for our little Miss Caitlin. She wasn't screaming when I dropped her off, just crying, which was an improvement from the past two days. Actually, by the time I finished organizing her stuff and was walking out the door she had stopped crying and was playing with one of the employees who sat down with her and a toy. When I picked her up, she was crying as she shoved Goldfish crackers into her mouth. Yes, the healthy snacks these daycares provide are wonderful...NOT! So she was crying, but eating. Also, one of the daycare employees showed me photos from her phone of Caitlin playing with a ball. They wanted to prove to me that things were going better. Very nice! Tomorrow should be even better! We'll see....

Separation Anxiety

Well, I'm not sure who has worse separation anxiety, myself or Caitlin. I have gone back to work, currently part time, and have been putting Caitlin in daycare this week. Yesterday she apparently cried all day, except for when she was in her crib. That must have been her safe haven. Today, she screamed out for me when I dropped her off, which in turn had me break down in tears while in the daycare. When I picked her up she was playing in her highchair and they said she did a lot better then yesterday. It is very hard to have made this decision to go back to work, but I'm hoping it'll all work out. So far I really enjoy my job and the people I work with, I just feel bad for little Caitlin being in a strange environment. I start full time January 2nd, so please wish us both much happiness!

My Brother's Visit

My brother and his wife Yvonne visited us this weekend. I have not seen my brother in over 2 years, so it was great seeing him again. We had a great time hanging out and he spent some time with his niece. They then surprised all our friends by showing up at the annual Christmas party that our friends host each year.

Brian and I

The Crawford Family Juniors

Caitlin playing with her Uncle Brian

Musical Genius

Both Caitlin's Grandmother and Steve can play guitar really well. I think maybe Caitlin is on her way to following in their footsteps!

Happy Birthday!

Last night I had a little birthday party for Steve. Life changes when you have a child! Instead of going out to a fancy restaurant and then to the local pub for some cocktails, we had our neighbor's over for dinner with their two boys. It was fun, but very hectic. Three kids all under the age of three. OH MY! I made what I think was a nice meal, but it was hard to manage getting everything out of the oven at the same time, while taking care of my cranky child. Yesterday she fought her afternoon nap for an hour and then only slept for a half hour. I think she may be teething, but you never know. So of all days she was a cranky pants for Steve's birthday and my dinner party. Oh well, we still had a lot of fun and Steve said it was just the birthday he had wanted. It was great getting to know my neighbor's some more too!

Happy Birthday to my dad today!

Caitlin, Quinn, and I'm holding the two of them steady. They both want to walk, but are not quite there yet. Notice how much darker Caitlin's skin color is. Wonder where that comes from????

Caitlin, Quinn, Jack

I'm starting to have a little trouble holding both wiggle worms

Hello to My Niece and Nephew

Since my niece and nephew liked our last video so much, Caitlin and I decided to make a video just for them!

Kids these days!!!

So, we went to Circuit City yesterday and look what we found! This is a shopping cart at Circuit City for kids. It's totally cool! Caitlin might only be 10 months old, but she LOVED it! She was steering the wheel all around the store and I just had to take a photo. We never had cool stuff like this! Kids these days are totally spoiled, especially mine! Yes, I do carry my camera everywhere I go. It's in the diaper bag. You just never know when you'll find something that's blogworthy. Dad, maybe you should carry your camera around with you! Ha ha ha...

Well, I think I'm all caught up on my blogging now. Until next post...

To the Aquarium We Go

After the Moseley's left us, I went to the SC Aquarium with my neighbor Emi and her two boys Jackson and Quinn.

Caitlin enjoyed looking at all the fish

Here she is playing with her buddy Quinn

Here's a family photo of Emi with the kids at the Aquarium

The Moseley Family

My friends Donna and Gerald came for a visit from Orlando with their son David during the Thanksgiving weekend. We had a great time catching up and they absolutely spoiled Caitlin and took Steve and I out for a nice anniversary dinner. Steve and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary with them. Hopefully, it'll be our turn to go visit them soon and we can all go to DisneyWorld together!

Donna feeding Caitlin some yummy carrots and rice baby food

Donna bought Caitlin lots of toys and clothing, which was very appreciated by both Caitlin and I!

Steve and I out to dinner with Donna and Gerald. David was babysitting Caitlin.

We miss you already!!!

Caitlin Video

Here's Caitlin at the Christmas Tree! You can tell what word she likes saying the most. ;)-

Linda

My computer has been on the fritz, so I haven't been able to post. We bought a nice new computer last night, so expect lots of pics and news soon!

Thanks Von, for resisting the temptation of posting that I'm a dork! I'd better change my password!

A Balloon to Be Thankful For!

Caitlin's first Thanksgiving was a great one! She got her first balloon from a grocery store clerk and was quite excited about it. They even gave her a fancy Thanksgiving themed one. She was absolutely loving the balloon all day.

We ate dinner at a friend's house. This is actually the 3rd year in a row that we've gone to the Silva's for Thanksgiving and Steve and I are thankful every year that they invite us. I always laugh that they ask me to bring sweet potato casserole, because as most should know it is not something Canadians eat...in Canada. I love it, but I'd never even heard of it before moving to the Southern part of the USA. I have no idea if the yankees eat it!

Note that my camera is not focusing. I have no idea why, so I'll have to pull out the manual. This last picture of Caitlin in her holiday dress was in focus. The fancy black shoes came off one minute after we arrived at our friend's house. She's not a shoe fan...YET! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

The Storey House - W.I.P.

Our house is still a work in progress and poor Steve is the one doing most of the work now. I look after the tyke, which I might add is work in itself, but always rewarding! This weekend we bought some shrubbery to make our driveway round-about look all pretty. I wanted a palm that resembled a pineapple, but we could only afford the small one. It'll grow!!! A big one is over a thousand dollars! Who knew?! Steve has been busy working to build a fence around our a/c unit. We got a "you're in violation" note from our Home Owners Association that we needed one, but yet we had a permit from them to build one. IDIOTS! I worked on painting it today. It has a lot of little places tucked away that need paint and it's quite tricky. Hence, you'll see it half finished in the photo. Perhaps we'll get another nasty-gram from the HOA saying you need to paint the entire fence around your a/c unit...blah, blah, blah, Code 145, blah, blah, blah....

See the half painted fence? Do you know the shrub lady told me I could put Christmas lights on that palm? Total selling point for me!!! Ummm, I somehow don't think she meant this year.

I picked out this doorbell. Pineapples are a big thing in South Carolina, because they are a welcoming symbol. Something about how if a pineapple was outside your home it meant you were accepting visitors? Anyhoo, I thought this doorbell was cool!

Best Buds!

Caitlin and Sophia have known each other since before birth, so in my opinion that makes them best buddies! They had a play date and dinner together last night, which went very well. There was no fighting over toys. They wanted whatever the other person had, but didn't get mad at each other when one pulled the toy away. Interesting... I wonder how long that will last.

Sophia gave me a great laugh before dinner last night. She is 7 months older than Caitlin, which makes her 16 months old I think. Anyway, she wanted to sit in Caitlin's portable high chair. I asked her where's Caitlin going to sit, thinking that she would not understand that question, but she pointed to her own high chair. I'm learning that babies are much smarter than I think they are. I couldn't believe it and had a great laugh over the fact that Sophia who is a baby herself, was smart enough to know that she wanted to sit in Caitlin's chair and that Caitlin could sit in her chair. She pointed so matter of fact like too! Maybe you had to be there, but it was funny.

I WANT THAT!

FUTURE PIANIST

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

I put on jewelry and make up this weekend and had Steve take a photo, because I barely get to do either of those things very much anymore. I'd like it documented that once a month I try to blow dry my hair! If I wear jewelry, Caitlin tries to eat it. If I have time to put on make up and blow dry my hair, then I don't have time to sleep, read, watch tv, or post random stuff on this blog! I went to an arts and crafts exhibit with my friend Michelle and her daughter Sophia. Caitlin stayed home with Steve, because I wanted some me time. I'd like to mention that while he was watching her she had a 2 and 3/4 hour nap. NEVER happens when I'm looking after her!!

I thought this was a cute photo, so I decided to post it. She looks so innocent. This is where I got the idea for the blog title, "Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice". Notice I wrote she looks innocent... When she's not eating my jewelry, cable wire, floor dirt, straw, and poking her fingers into electric sockets she really is an innocent little girl. ;) TOO FUNNY, at this exact moment I can hear my husband saying, "No Caitlin! We do not play in the trash!"

U GO GIRL!

Caitlin pulled this book off of her bookshelf and started turning the pages and looking at the pictures. Impressive for 9 months old right?! I think so! I know her Grandma must be patting herself on the back right now, 'cause she bought her that book.

The Lord of the Dance

I'm so excited, today I bought tickets to see the Lord of the Dance and got 8th row center! Woo-Hoo!!! I was online the moment the tickets went on sale. I've been wanting to see this show ever since I saw it with my mom 10 years ago. I loved it! I was so excited when I found out they were coming to Charleston (barely anything ever comes to Charleston) that I was Irish Dancing around the kitchen. For those of you who are wondering if I really know how to Irish Dance I totally do! I took lessons as a child....for a few days...maybe one day...

Lumber Jack Steve

Steve is cutting down a tree today. I think he is actually enjoying it! Ladies this is what happens when you give a man a saw, they will start cutting things down and they don't want to stop, so you have to be careful!

The not so fun part was digging out the root. Although Steve says it was no big deal, because he tied it to his truck.

Our home is almost finished. I'm so proud of myself, because I painted the front door and put the numbers on. Yay me! We just need sheetrock put up all around the house where it has come off the walls due to all the banging.

On a side note, we did not end up going to the Fair. The traffic was horrible and we were starving, so we went out for a nice dinner at the Crab House downtown Charleston. It was wonderful!!! I had the Alaskan King Crab legs. Soooo Good! The babysitter said that Caitlin was great and that she was a very easy going baby. Hmmm..... Why do I never meet that baby? Just kidding!

Going to the Fair

Steve and I are going to the Carolina Fair tonight. I'm nervouse and excited. I'm nervous about the babysitter. She's going to have to feed Caitlin dinner and I'm not sure how that'll go over. I'm the only one that usually feeds the little tyke. I'm excited, because I'm going to the Fair!!! No pics, because I plan on going on a ton of rides and don't want to bother with a camera!

I'm it!

I was tagged by Yvonne Crawford
1. Who is your man? My hubby Steve
2. How long have you been married? 2 years
3. How long dated? Dated for 1 year and engaged for 1 year I think.
4. How old is your man? Older than me.
5. Who eats more? I think he does.
6. Who said "I love you" first? He did and I think I was shocked, but then I said it right back.
7. Who is taller? He is.
8. Who sings better? We both think we can sing!
9. Who is smarter? Steve reads a lot, so he has a much better vocabulary and he retains all sorts of knowledge. What counts as smart? My GPA was higher, but I forget everything!
10. Whose temper is worse? Me - hands down. I'm like my sister-in-law I think.
11. Who does the laundry? ME!
12. Who takes out the garbage? Steve when I remind him.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Steve
14. Who pays the bills? Both, but I balance the check book.
15. Who is better with the computer? Both the same I think.
16. Who mows the lawn? Steve mostly
17. Who cooks dinner? Both, but Steve likes cooking and I don't.
18. Who drives when you are together? Steve
19. Who pays when you go out? Both - we share money.
20. Who is most stubborn? ME
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Steve
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Steve's dad lives 2 hours away, mine live in a different country.
23. Who kissed who first? I don't remember
24. Who asked who out? Steve asked me, but he botched the first date!
25. Who proposed? Steve did.
26. Who is more sensitive? ABSOLUTELY ME!!!!!
27. Who has more friends? I think I do.
28. Who has more siblings? I do - he has none.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? I can't say. Steve reads my blog!
I would tag Tony Crawford, but he wouldn't reply to this kind of thing!

A Day at the Park

Today is a gorgeous day in sunny South Carolina! It is sunny with a cool breeze and the air smells crisp. My favorite type of day. My good friend Michelle and I took our daughter's to the park.

Now, for those of you who read a previous blog about my friend Michelle and her daughter Megan, that is a different Michelle. This Michelle has a daughter named Sophia. Sophia is 7 months older than Caitlin, so it is from this Michelle whom I get all my advice from. Here's a shout out that I also get tons of advice from my sister-in-law too!

We had a great afternoon at the park. The girls had a picnic, played with bubbles, went on the swings, and then we all went for a scenic walk. What a nice Sunday afternoon!

Perks of Having a Child

I have figured out that one of the perks of having a child is that you get invited to some really fun parties. Last night we went to our first adult-kid Halloween party. There was a jump castle, bobbing for apples, a photo taking spot, and all sorts of fun games. They had huge spread of appetizers that looked as though Martha Stewart herself had decorated. For example, cobweb shortbread cookies, cheese sticks that looked like fingers, chocolate covered strawberries made to look like skeleton heads. These people went all out! We had a lot of fun, but it is no treat (just tricky) bringing a 9 month old to an evening party!

Caitlin's a butterfly and I'm a barmaid

This was the photo taking spot. They had done their garage for this purpose. Great idea, but didn't actually work for us. Steve's a bartender, since I was a barmaid.

This is a little boy who we were trying to take a picture with Caitlin, but he was shy. Hence, the photo had to be taken inconspicuously.

This is one of the houses all decorated. This party was hosted by two neighboring families.

By the end of the night, Caitlin was pretty exhausted, but I had to get one more photo. We had changed her out of her butterfly costume about 15 minutes after we arrived at the party.

So you would think that my child would have slept in today, but NOPE she got up an hour early! Why?! We're going to the park today for a playdate, pictures to be posted soon....

Weekly Lunch Date

Being a stay at home mom can be very boring sometimes, so every week I go out to lunch with Caitlin. This photo is Caitlin and I at Locklears, where a friend of mine works. This way I get to hang out with my friend Amy, eat lunch, and have Caitlin entertained!

Another thing about being a stay at home mom is that you can either sleep in while your child is still sleeping or get up and do your hair and make up. As you can see from this photo, I chose to sleep! Construction is still going on at my house and Caitlin is teething. Can you see the bags under my eyes from the lack of rest? She, of course, looks very well rested!

Boone Hall Fall Festival

On Sunday we went to Boone Hall Plantation for their Halloween festivities. They had a pumpkin patch filled with tons of pumpkins and great spots were set up for photo taking. We also took Caitlin on her first hay ride. She enjoyed playing with Steve's entrance wrist band more than the ride itself, but we had fun!

She looks cute, but she's a mischief maker! She is grabbing a handful of straw with the right hand and eating it with the left.

Here we are on the hayride. See how fascinated our daughter is with all the sights!

Bath Time

Caitlin used to hate the bath. She wouldn't cry, but she'd have this 'deer in the headlights' look throughout the entire bath. Now she can't wait to get in it!

Big thank you to my niece Mia for giving us her bath seat! Caitlin loves it!

Mother of the Year - Application Denied!

Well, it appears that my application to become the Mother of the Year for 2007 has been denied. It turns out you are not supposed to leave your 8 month old unattended while you load up the car for an outing. They might pick up a heavy toy, while you've left the house for that tenth of a second, and it could fall on their head and give them a black eye. Who knew?! When I entered the house and heard the screaming I wondered what could have happened and then I saw this within seconds:

The bottom of the right eye is the bruise from the toy. The top redness is actually a couple mosquito bites. In my defense to those Mother of the Year judges, I guess even if I was in the room I would have had to probably dive across the room and onto the floor in order to save her from this little incidence! Two days ago she got a hold of my earing and put it in her mouth. This child is going to give me a heart attack, I just know it!

Under Construction AAARRRRGH!

Yeah, it's a madhouse. New photos though. Construction schedule is as follows: 7:45am banging begins; 12:30pm banging stops; 12:35pm banging begins again; 7:00pm banging stops. 9:30pm dust begins to settle--Steve. (This is per Linda who calls every 18.3 minutes to keep me updated as to how much noise is bouncing through the house; how much sheetrock has been knocked off interior walls [yes really]; and how she wishes she were in...take your pick of Canada, Canada, or hmm let's see Canada).

Coca-Cola has yet to pay us for this web ad.

Egg Face

Caitlin loves feeding herself puffs, a type of baby cereal that melts in the mouth, so I decided to put cooked egg yolk in front of her to see if she would like it. Here's what happened:

Yup, she liked 'em! Notice how she is mushing them in one hand and shoving them into her mouth with the other? I tried feeding them to her with a spoon, because they were all over the place, but she only liked them when she got to feed herself. She's my little Miss Independent!