Halloween 2013

For Halloween Carly was a little Lady Bug.  She didn't mind wearing it or having the hood on her head at all!  Halloween night we had a few couples over for chili and to take pictures of the kiddos.  It was really fun and the babes looked adorable in their costumes.

It was a bit difficult to get all the kids to look at the camera. Parker (8 months) was really happy and accidentally poked Lucy (2 years) in the eye so she was a little sad for a bit and then Carly was a bit overwhelmed by it all and started shaking when the flashes went off so we wrapped up that photo session pretty quick.

Parker, Lucy, and Carly

5 Months

I can't believe how fast time flies by!  Carly is growing up so fast.  I feel like she is learning and doing something new and more advanced each day.  It's so exciting to see what she discovers next!  Here are pictures, videos, and some things that Carly has been up to this past month:

-She goes to sleep in her crib great!  I hum "I am a Child of God" as I swaddle her and carry her to her room, give her a kiss, and lay her down.  She falls asleep within a few minutes while sucking on her binky.

-Carly goes to sleep at about 7:30 each night and wakes up once during the night to eat.  She doesn't really look up at me until I am changing her diaper and although I am so tired and don't want to get her excited I find myself smiling back at her.  It makes her so happy that she starts to kick and arch her back.

-Sleeping other places doesn't really happen except for in the car.  This makes 3 hour church difficult but I have been able to have her sleep for 30 minutes for the past few weeks.

-Carly is now rolling over from her back to her tummy!  When she plays on the floor she lifts her legs in the air and then lets them drop to the side (usually the right) and will play on her side for a bit and then go to her tummy.  She doesn't like being on her tummy that much still so if she can't get to her back again she gets a bit upset.  A few times I have found her sleeping on her side while in her crib.  I'm not sure why but she looks even cuter sleeping on her side than on her back.

-Carly loves eating!  I started feeding her rice cereal at the end of the month because she was getting a little jealous of Nick and I always eating in front of her and she started waking up twice in the night to eat.  Her first feeding was hilarious!  She was a little confused with the first couple bites but then she realized it was pretty good and was smacking her lips!  Every night when I feed her she gets so excited.  She jabbers and smiles and is really good about opening her mouth when I come close with the spoon and sometimes she will move forward and chomp down on the spoon.  Unfortunately she thinks that it's a good time to try eating her hands and then things get messy.

-She likes to look at her hands.  For a while she looked at her fist but now she will open and close her fingers and rotate wrist and just stare.

-She has always enjoyed her baths but she is starting to get excited and kick while in the tub.  She cries a little after I take her out, probably because she gets cold but she always calms down when I put the baby lotion on her.  It probably feels like a little message.

-When she is tired she rubs her eyes with her hands and rubs her face into my shoulder or chest.

-She likes to eat her fingers.  She doesn't really suck on them but she sticks them in her mouth and drools everywhere.

-She is starting to grab toys and put them in her mouth.

-She will probably be sitting up on her own by Christmas.  She can sit for 5-10 seconds on her own and then starts to lean to one side.

-When rocking Carly before putting her in her crib for the night she likes to makes little sounds to sooth herself.  It is the sweetest sound ever!

-Carly is a talker!  Not as much when we are in public but at home she is vocal and is progressively getting louder.  She often makes somewhat of a roar.  While changing her diaper during her middle of the night feeding she can sometimes get quite loud that I'm afraid she'll wake up Nick.  I try not to react to it but I can't help but smile at her because it is just so darn cute!

-She attended her first service project as a family.  Nick volunteered at ConAgra to bag bread and take it to a homeless shelter.  We tagged along to help him and Carly just chilled in her car seat watching Nick and I bag bread.  The ladies that worked at the company loved her and were so excited to have a baby visit.

-She has a toy bird that squeaks when you squeeze it and when I first started using it to play with her I would squeak it while moving it closer to her until it was in her mouth.  Now whenever I squeak it she opens her mouth right away expecting it to go in but then when I put it in she has a confused and disgusted look. Oops!...but cute!

-I play a game with her where I have her sitting on my knees facing me and I hold her hands and bounce my knees up and down singing William Tell Overture and will randomly let her lean back a little bit and feel like she is falling.  She gets the biggest smile and starts laughing and giggling.  She also really like our "row, row, row your boat" game where we sit facing each other and while holding her hands I pull and push her to the song and at the end I gently let her fall back.

-Every day Nick grabs the guitar and plays and sings for Carly while she sits in her bumbo.  Her favorite is "Here Comes the Sun" and "Blackbird".  With the strum of the very first cord Carly recognizes the song and just lights up.  She gets so excited that she starts to shake.

-Nick occasionally plays the piano and has Carly sit in her highchair and watch.  She of course loves it!

-I have been trying to play the piano everyday so after dinner while Nick studies I pull her over in her highchair to watch and listen to me play.  She doesn't find me as entertaining as her daddy, probably because I play all the slow hymns since they are the easiest but she quiets down if I sing along.

-We discovered that Carly likes listening to us beat box. haha!  She likes it most when Nick beat boxes while bouncing her to the beat and me dancing/bouncing with them.  Kind of weird but it's so fun!

-Another game she enjoys is a mini/safer version of airplane.  I lay on my back and fold my knees up to my chest and lay Carly belly down on my shins with her head poking above my knees.  I hold her hands and I keep my knees bent and lower my feet to the floor and then lift them up to make her go up and down.  She LOVES it!  The other day I had her laughing really hard and smiling so big.  We sure have a blast together.

-So maybe I'm just weird but when Carly starts to fuss I will sing or do anything weird to cheer her up.  A few times the song "La Cucaracha" has come to mind and just recently she thought it was hilarious.

4 Months

Carly is 4 months old today!  We have loved every second with this sweet girl!  I'm with her all day but still find myself missing her cute smile when she goes down for the night.  Here are a few things about Carly:

She loves babbling!  I think she likes the sound of her own voice.  The other week she started doing this cute little dinosaur roar.  She talks the most right before bed, when she is on our laps looking up at us, and on her play mat.

She loves a knuckle sandwich!  Eating her hands is one of her favorite pass times.  It creates a big slobbery mess.

She is starting to get a bald spot on the back of her head.  She has become so observant of everything!  When she is on the floor on her play mat she spots me walking to the other side of the room and then follows my every move.

She is starting to get ticklish up by her neck and on her sides.

When I make a fishy face she gets a little confused and shocked and stops smiling or talking.  It's pretty funny.

She loves to play with her spit and blow raspberries.  This again makes a slobbery mess but is kinda cute.

Occasionally while nursing she reaches her arm up so I kiss her little hand and it makes her pause and smile and sometimes she'll say something (I like to think it's "I love you!").

When she gets excited she makes a gasping sound and squeals like a little pig.

She LOVES her daddy!  She gets the biggest smile on her face when her daddy gets home from school.  Daddy is nice enough to let Carly study with him.  It is pretty cute.  The other day Nick was reading his notes to her in the "baby voice" so it was kind of funny.  She is going to be a smart little kid if those two keep this up!

Carly laughed for the first time on September 6th. I was just holding her on my lap while talking with my friend Janna and out of no where Carly started laughing at her.  It took by such surprise and made me so happy that I almost cried!

Carly also loves it when her daddy sings and plays the guitar for her.  It's one of my favorite parts of the day when we all three sit on the couch with Nick singing and playing the guitar making Carly smile and laugh.  I love my little family!

She gets really happy and excited when he first starts, then she gets fascinated with his hands moving up and down that she just stares, and then she gets bored and eats her shirt. Haha!

I love my little girl!

I am so grateful that I get to stay at home and take care of my little girl.  While I don't like the poopie diapers I sure do love the beautiful eyes and smile that stares up at me.  We have so much fun together talking, playing, and cuddling.  I love my sweet Carly. :)

3 Months

Each month just keeps getting better and Carly is getting even cuter!  Here are some things about Carly:

• She loves to cuddle as I sing "Families Can Be Together Forever"
• She like to talk to us especially at night
• She sucks on her hands quite a bit
• She is our little drool baby and makes lots of spit bubbles for fun
• She rolled from her tummy to her back at 11 weeks
• She has been sleeping from 10pm-6am
• She is starting to look at her hands

Carly likes to lay on her belly draped over our legs.  She often has kicked her swaddle apart by the end of her nap.  There is just something so precious about a sleeping baby.

She really is such a happy little girl.  This was right after her first time to the zoo.

I love these two!

That smile

I love playing dress up

Her first cupcakes.  It will be fun to have her along side me in the kitchen when she is older.

She has a strong neck but I can only get her to do tummy time on the boppy.

Fist in mouth... Tasty!

I love her facial expressions.  I wish I knew what she was thinking!  I can't wait for her to talk!

2 Months

Carly is starting to do a little more than just eat, sleep, and poop!

The first week in July we went on a family reunion with Nick's family to a cabin in Sun Dance.  Carly was barely a month old so we were a little worried about how she would do or rather how we would do with her.  Prior to the reunion Carly had not been sleeping well in her crib and we had to have her sleep almost the whole night in her vibrating chair.  Surprisingly she slept very well in her pack and play bassinet.  She slept for 5-6 hour stretches at night which was great for me!  Carly was a bit spoiled during the Dueck family reunion because everyone wanted to hold baby Carly which also gave me and Nick a break.

Kate sat next to me while nursing waiting to hold Carly and let me know multiple times that she washed her hands so she was ready. haha!

Right after the Dueck reunion we went to my family reunion up in Sun Valley, Idaho.  Carly wasn't as spoiled there because every one of my siblings had their own baby to take care of and were used to being around the cuteness of a newborn.  There Carly slept 7 hour stretches at night and I thought I was going to burst (grateful for the rest but in a bit of pain).  Well at this time Carly was 5 weeks and started to smile when we played with her, liked to cuddle on my chest, and started to follow our movement more.

She usually falls asleep in the car.  So peaceful.

Carly is starting to stay awake a little more in car rides and on walks.  She likes to look around.
She is really starting to coo and smile so much more.
Some positions that she likes are on her stomach on our laps and when we hold her on our laps she likes to be seated facing out so she can see what's going on.

Sometimes when I lay Carly down to change her diaper she stretches by arching her back and lifting her arms up by her head but still bent at the elbows.  It's my favorite!

At the end of July we moved out of our apartment in Provo, UT that had been home to us for 3 years and moved to Omaha, NE.  Before Carly was born I packed everything that we wouldn't need to use like all our books, most of our clothes, everything in the storage...  The final few days before leaving packing and cleaning took a lot of time.  Carly spent most of that time in her bouncy chair if she wasn't sleeping or I wasn't nursing her.  Aunt Heidi came a few times and helped us by holding Carly which made a great difference and we are so grateful for her love and service.  Carly was a great sport and did great on the two day drive to Omaha.  My mom came with us and kept Carly company in the back seat.  We stopped to feed Carly about every 3-4 hours and she slept almost the whole time while in the car.

Carly loves it when we talk and play with her.  Her eyes get so big and light up and she Oo's and Aw's.  It is so precious.

She sometimes snores.  Isn't it cute!?

Baby Blessing

On June 30th Carly received a beautiful blessing given by Nick.

 Nick blessed her that she would:

• Gain a natural desire to do what is right and discern right from wrong
• Understand the promptings of the Holy Ghost
• Have a desire to read the scriptures and gain her own testimony of Heavenly Father and His restored gospel
• Desire to marry in the temple
• Recognize Heavenly Father's hand and be grateful for her blessings

We are so grateful to have had so many family members join us on that special day for Carly.

My side

Nick's side

Carly is so lucky to have such loving grandmothers

With Nick's parents

All the priesthood holders who participated in the blessing

And my little nephews were just so cute patiently waiting on their makeshift bench.

We are so grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed us with Carly.  She has such a sweet little spirit and has already brought us so much joy.

1 Month

Well we have been parents for a month!  I love being a mother even though my sleep has become fragmented.  It is amazing how instantly I have fallen in love with Carly, even before she was born I loved her and felt connected.  I would do anything for Carly (I actually killed a bug with my bare hands the other day for her ...it was a little gnat)!  Nick is loving being a daddy!  He is so protective of her and also very helpful especially with changing diapers.  I didn't even change one diaper until she was 4 days old!  She has made a few messes with him and one day with me during three diaper changes she peed during the middle of it!  It traveled up the mat to her hair which wouldn’t be such a big deal to bathe her but since her cord hadn’t fallen off yet it’s a bit trickier. She is still as cute as can be though!  

These first few pictures were taken by my sister Rachel (she did an awesome job) on a little American Girl Doll bed when Carly was three weeks old.  So cute!  Thanks!

My mom was in California at my sister's when I had Carly so she didn't get to our place until day two from coming home from the hospital.  That first night home with Carly was really hard (we couldn’t figure out what she wanted) so we were very grateful when my mom arrived.  The fragmented sleep was hard but getting in and out of bed so much when trying to heal down there is what was the hardest.  Well my mom came to the rescue and was an enormous help!  She cooked us meals/desserts (so delicious!), cleaned up the apartment, and taught us how to take care of Carly and get her to sleep (she has quite a few tricks up her sleeve).  She would also get up with me in the night so that after I finished nursing I could go right back to sleep while she burped Carly, changed her diaper, and got her to fall back asleep.  She stayed with us from the 4th-8th and then came back after the weekend and stayed from the 10th to 14th.  Those 10 days were so much easier with her here and it was fun to spend so much time with my mom talking and having her teach me how to take care of a newborn.  I love my mom and am so grateful for her (Carly is too)!

After my mom left Nick's mom (Cathy) came in town to see Carly.  She was Carly's first babysitter!  Nick and I went to a birthday dinner for a friend and left Carly with Cathy and our niece Alexis.  Carly did great for them and Nick and I had a fun time with our friends.  It was nice to get out for a bit but I did worry about Carly getting hungry or crying too much for them (she was actually a perfect little angel).

We survived our first couple of weeks on our own but it was hard!  There were some bad nights but Carly is getting better and I'm taking more naps.  Nick got sick (probably from lack of sleep) so we were a little worried Carly would get sick but she is holding strong (I transferred some good antibodies to her!  Go breastfeeding!).  It is crazy how time consuming caring for a newborn is.  I don't know how the heck women take care of multiple children!  Good thing they come one at a time (usually)!  I really hope I don't have twins (props to all the mothers of twins).

A few things about Carly:

-She loves to sleep and can go 4 hour stretches at night

-she likes to fall asleep while nursing so I have to tickle her feet or under her chin to get her to keep eating

-She falls asleep on my shoulder after burping and slides down and will sleep on my chest

(2 weeks old)

-She like to be swaddled tight and suck on her binky (we have to roll up a burp rag and prop up the binky to keep it from falling out and having to keep sticking it back in)

-For some reason at night she won't sleep unless she is in the vibrating chair.

-One trick to get her to fall asleep is to lay her on our lap with her head at my knees and then move my knees side to side for a rocking motion.  My mom taught me this one and it is great especially when exhausted because it doesn't require a lot of energy.

-when she stretches she puts just one arm up above her head with her hand still in a fist.  It reminds me of the "black power" sign. haha!

-She can mimic our faces: sticks tongue out, lips in the shape of an 'O' (our favorite)

-Carly didn't have her first real bath until she was a little over 3 weeks old because her cord would just not fall off.  She really liked it until the end.

More pictures:

These were taken her first week.  I love her!

Nick is so sweet to little Carly and loves to hold and play with her.  She is going to be a daddy's girl.