Tired Travelers

I am exhausted! I barely slept last night as my stomach was acting up after I went out to eat. I got up this morning feeling terrible and tired and had to pack and travel all day. Callie was up at 4:50 and her schedule is all out of whack. She was a bad traveler today. She napped on the drive to the airport for 45 min and then only 10 min on the plane and 20 min in the airport at our layover. She barely napped! She cried longer than she napped today. She was THAT crying baby. Fussy, wiggly, complaining, walking up and down the aisle. Ugh, it was a long day. We left at 9 am and got home at 9 pm EST, so 12 full hours of traveling. The only good news is she went to bed so late, 6:30 in SD or 9:30 in CT! I'm hoping that helps her adjust to the time change. We will see if I'm up at 3 am. So I'm off to bed early, right now at 7:30 pm. Here is a cute photo of Callie from the airport

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Mystic Aquarium with GiGi and Grampa

Today Callie went to the Mystic Aquarium with GiGi and Grandpa. We met up with Taylor, Griffin, Miki and Ashley for a fun adventure under the sea. Callie is so curious about the fish, but she just as much likes to see the other kids. She was running all around by herself and getting into all kinds of trouble. Her favorite parts were the moorey eels and the touch and feel tank where she got to pet stingrays. I was more afraid then she was. She tried to poke it in what I think was its mouth, although I am not 100% sure and I got nervous it would bite her or she would harm it and I pulled her hand away. She would have dove right into that frigid water to touch those rays. She was so proud of herself and would have stayed for a long time, but they kicked us out as they get a break and have feeding time throughout the day. My favorite parts were the seahorses and the penguins.

Grampa stayed home from work today to take her to the aquarium and she noticed this for sure. GiGi and I were now back seat riders to Callie. She was all about her Grandpa and wanted him to walk all around with her and hold him. It was a welcome break for my arms which are constantly holding her.
After the aquarium Granpa took us to lunch in Mystic and I got to eat my favorite meal, a lobster roll. Mmmmm, classic New England at its best.
But the day didn't start out as smoothly as the rest of the day went. I fed Callie blackberries for breakfast for the first time and she broke out in a rash and hives/bumps within 45 minutes. She was very itchy trying to scratch herself in the tub. Luckily it wasn't too bad of a reaction and Benadryl worked to clear it up within a few hours. Add another food to the allergy list :( I will have the allergist test her when we go in early April to confirm. We didn't let this morning set back ruin our day though. We had a great time. And....... the day isn't even over yet. What other adventures can we get into today?

Happy 1 before 1 or 11 month birthday Callie

Today we had a 1 month before 1 year old birthday party for Callie since she won't see any of my family in CT for her real birthday. We had a lot of family and friends over to celebrate. Callie had her first cake. It was a challenge to make an allergy free cake for her but we succeeded and it wasn't half bad. (we made regular cake for everyone else, so it wasn't that good either). She really just liked the frosting the most and cried when we took the cake away. I think she would have eaten until she got sick.

 Opening presents

 Get ready to blow out the candles

 First finger in the frosting

We practiced for days getting her to blow out a candle and finally succeeded consistently before nap time today. However she wasn't able to do it on the cake with 20 people standing around watching her. Stage fright I guess. :) She will be ready for her real 1 year birthday, you wait and see. Here are some photos of our practice sessions as well as her party tonight and her successful candle blowing this afternoon. Thank you to everyone who came and for those who couldn't but still sent gifts. She is one loved baby and is lucky to have each of you in her life.

Horsing Around

Callie and Griffin went to visit the horses at the Kil's house today. Taylor and I grew up riding horses at this barn at a family friend's house. We have a lot of memories from here. Peggy, another family friend who let us keep our ponies at her house as well, came to see the kids and catch up. The kids loved feeding the horses carrots even though it was freezing outside. Callie kept pointing at the horses and making noises. What a fun time visiting the barn. Thanks Barbara!

Big girl does it by herself

Callie is very much into doing everything herself. She tries to comb her own hair, put on her own shoes, and feed herself with big girl utensils. She wants to have her own bowls and plates and does not want to eat off the tray. She prefers big metal utensils and not the plastic kid forks and spoons we give her.
Here she is with her own bowl (mug) and her combing her hair at the salon with Amber today when I got my hair cut.
She even tries to open the front door and reaches for the handle although she is obviously too short. GiGi helps her though.

Playtime with Griffin

Yesterday Griffin came over to play with Callie. Griffin was riding on the horse like a real cowboy! By was he impressive. He just held on and started riding, no fear in this little guy. He and Callie played together for awhile, in the play kitchen, with the bubbles, and in the doll beds. Here they are in their adventures. Thanks for coming to play Griffin, see you soon.