So lets start off with the beginning of the month, we were lucky to get a decent tax refund and with that we decided to look up flights for Nebraska. We have an eventful year on the Carney side and were wanting to spend time with them. The original plan was to spend Christmas with them but at the time we were unsure of how we would get there (Dora-our Explorer- is getting old and we don't want to take her on such long travels). We found an amazing deal for a round trip for under $200! We had to book it, unfortunately it was for only one person, and since Marley got to fly free we decided we would send me out since TJ also had a lot of work to do. We really wished we both could have gone but I was so excited that I could go and spend some quality time with everyone.
We decided to have TJ google them and tell them we had a surprise for them. They immediately said "You're having another baby" Ha! Silly kids, nice try; but the looks on their faces when we walked up behind them was pure shock and joy. It was super fun to surprise them this way and super special they were so excited to see us!
We happened to book the flight the day before Kimbers' (sister-in-law) sweet sixteen party; and the next day just so happened to be prom! This was especially fun because not only did that allow us to have some time together, it allowed me to do what I love most; doing hair. Marley was uneasy the first few days and with the first three of them I was busy with Kim that I was unable to attend to Marley's comforting needs.
It did get better and she ended up loving each member of the family, she had special time with each person and I am glad that they also got that time with Marley to create special memories. It was such a good trip and Easter was fantastic, it was a little sad on my end since I was away from TJ for such a long time and on such a special holiday. Two years ago we celebrated Easter with his family and that was the time he proposed to me. I thought it would be cute to recreate that special memory in the same exact spot by taking a picture with our beautiful daughter in place of him, since she is apart of him. It was kind of an emotional day but a very happy one.
Marley was a hoot and a half that morning, she was super fast at finding the eggs and learning that if you shake them hard enough they will explode and out come candy! I was trying to monitor her intake by quickly taking the candy after an egg explosion but she learned that the Easter baskets also had lots of OPEN candy in them. We had to quickly take care of everything so she wouldn't go all crazy, haha!
That night we also had a birthday celebration for me since I was turning 22 and my birthday was two days away. It was so much fun and I cannot wait to go spend my gift and spoil myself. (they did a good job on getting something that I could only use--Any kind of gift money we always go get Marley something instead of ourselves-- "You sneaky mom!" haha!
We were both so sad to leave but eager to get home to our loving TJ, he spoiled me rotten by taking me to Olive Garden for an early birthday celebration, then the next night my parents took us out to Red Lobster for my birthday dinner. Yummy!
Now that the month is almost over and things are winding down, I am slowly catching up with my house work. I had such a busy week the week I came home and now am getting around to blogging and cleaning!
Marley Milestones: Marley is a stubborn little gal and has no motivation to walk yet. We are working on it and she will walk if we hold onto her hands and will even walk one handed but she walks sideways when we do that. ;)
Since we were in Nebraska she said a few new words: Bo-bo and papa. Bo-bo is Beau D, the great Dane. She loved crawling all over him and playing with his tail. I heard a rumor he was very sad the day we left because Marley wasn't there to bother him ;) And of course Papa is what she called her Grandpa Carney. So it stuck and she decided to say "Papa"
She will still say 'Da-da' but very rarely says 'mum' as in....never. We have been working on her saying other words and she says but nothing is concrete yet. We are still giving it plenty of time and working on some sign language with her. She thinks its silly and smiles when we do it :)
Marley is SUPER active and with that activity means she eats A LOT! When we took her to the doctor for her 9-month check up she was barley almost 19 lbs. how is that possible with her eating all the time?!!? Oh yeah, she likes to go crazy, haha! Just a few nights ago she was squealing on the floor and crawling really fast back and forth in the living room, for at least twenty minutes! She also loves pushing things now, she pushes her walker, but only when she crawls, she will grab her books and push them across the floor. Its very fun to watch her push the book with one hand and crawl while pushing.
Marley has started taking up interest in books, she will grab one and flip through the pages. We have to be careful and give her none-paper books because she still has this thing with tearing and eating paper. Weirdo.
Over all Marley is doing wonderful! She is still in the 98% in everything except for her weight, so she is going to be tall and skinny, and I am sure she will be so outdoorsy since she already is now! She is such a joy and loves to do new things and learn. I am so glad she is our little girl and we take such pride in our little offspring!
Until next time, enjoy all our pictures from our month!
Two Years ago TJ proposed to me in this spot. I brought Marley to recreate the moment.
She is such a sweet little girl, it helped that she gave me tons of kisses with her daddy absent :)
On the wonderful hunt for Easter Eggs. She thought Easter was great!
I cannot tell you how much I loved these moments. I think Sean was super happy we came and enjoyed spoiling Marley with love!
Marley liked the zoo, she got a new fluffy! Papa sure spoiled her and now she gets really happy when we give it to her :)
She also liked the quality time with her Nana. Broken arm and all. :)
She really liked this part of the zoo, its my favorite part too!
A fun filled day is always bound for a nap!
Score! We are done and I got some cookies!
Not sure if this shows AT ALL, she likes Beau D
Sure it took a lot of warming up to, I mean he is like a giant horse compared to her, but she loved being able to climb all over him and play with him.
She often would crawl over to his mat to play with him for a second and run off :)
Such a good dog he is. Now, we will have to find a dog like her 'bo-bo' We heard he was very sad the night we left, Marley was quick to replace bo-bo with a puppy puppet, though when she sees pictures of him she gets excited and screams "Bo-Bo!"
I just love how excited she is, such a precious gem :)
Just a few Easter shots and we couldn't get her to stop with the Easter Grass. Gosh, its the simple things
Lastly, you can really see her big eyes, dimples, and her two little teefers!
Ten months old, pure joy. An amazing journey and blessing to be her mommy :)
