Look Who's Two!

Very hard to believe that it was just two years ago when my incredible baby, little Carini was born. I always say that with Samantha, she never had that mischievous look in her eyes that some kids have when you know they are up to something.  With Carina, I'm familiar with that sparkle in her eyes because I see it every morning when I look at the mirror.  Carina from the start has been bursting with this personality and dazzle that is hard to describe.

Because of her big blue eyes, and blonde hair, people mistakenly think she looks like me.  However, while she may have many of my personality traits, she is a little version of her Daddy with lighter features.  With those adorable dimples and crooked teeth, she could win anyone over with her infectious smile.

Carina is a tough little peanut.  She is always in the lower end of weight and has the tiniest little body yet, she truly eats more than anyone else in our house.  She has incredible strength and can pull herself up in a pull up on the dining room table or the railing on a door.  After she falls she hops right back up and says "I'm okayyyy!" and you can usually see her with a fat lip, a bruised knee or a bump on her head because of her wild acrobatics off the bed, couch or wherever she can find a challenge.  She loves music and has some impressive dance moves when the right moment hits.  Definitely has her Grammy's dancing blood.

I've talked a lot about how vocal she is, my favorite two things she does these days happen at bedtime.  Every night after reading books, I sing to her the same three songs: You are My Sunshine, Love You Forever, and Skiddle a Rinky Dink.  About a month ago she started to sing along with me  There is nothing more endearing than hearing her belt out "Skiddle a Rinky Doooooo, I loooove youuuuuu".  Then I lay her in her crib and say "I love you Carina" and as I walk out, I hear her say "I love you too Mommy".  Melts my heart every time.

Every child is a gift and Carina is such a special one to us.  She is a bright ray of sunshine in every one of my days.  Happy second birthday to my baby girl, Carina Jean Brantz.

So Much to Cover

I know I've been in yet another blogging slump.  Dave has agreed to help contribute to the blog which I am really looking forward to and I am going to try and make more of a commitment as well.  We will see if we can keep this thing going a bit longer.

Since I last wrote the big highlights have been:

• Our friends Ashley and Don and their son Mason were living with Ashley's parents for 3 months and we spent all our time together! Carina has a special place in her heart for Ashley and when they weren't around she would constantly ask "Where's my Ash?" We all miss them terribly since they moved the long trek to Denver.  
• Dave and I got into what I would say was our biggest ever marital disagreement for months about where Samantha would attend elementary school next year.  Long story but after many arguments, school tours and advice from others, we decided and feel good about her attending Columbine, the same school Dave went to as a kid.
• We spent Thanksgiving in Florida visiting Tia Molly, Uncle Brian and Baby Lucy in Florida. The girls love Lucy and play very well with her.  We then had a fun, packed holiday season celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas and the new year.  
• Our incredible Broncos season came to a much too early end with Samantha yelling at me during the game that I needed to "Calm down!"
• I went to Mexico on my company kick off event. I am incredibly happy at my job and have the best coworkers.  We had an amazing time until everyone was wiped out by a horrible norovirus which caused about 80% of the company to be violently ill.  

I have a few more weeks until my crazy travel schedule kicks in again.  I make myself so anxious leading up to travel times and I hate thinking about being gone so much.  Then the trips happen, Dave is super dad with the HUGE help of super Grandma and Grammy and everyone is just fine.  

Best Buds

The girls have entered a new phase where they truly play with each other.  Being an only child for 15 years I have very little experience with this sibling experience but it amazes me every day. They really play for hours together; playing make believe, jumping on the bed, dancing, wrestling, hugging, coloring and debating on which show to watch.

Of course they have their battles as well. They both know how to push the other's buttons. I've seen Carina grab something important of Samantha's and run like the wind (it is pretty hilarious).  And of course Samantha can be a bossy older sister and Carina is not always receptive.  I know they will have their moments throughout the years but I hope they will always love each other and recognize what a special friend they have in each other.

Travel Times

I had a crazy couple of months of travel for work, I was gone for at least some of four of six weeks in a row which was pretty intense.  I was in Boston, New York City, San Francisco and San Francisco again.  Now I am back at home with no plans of travel until January which is great.

Work travel like that is confusing because as a guilty person by nature I have guilt no matter what is happening.  When I'm traveling and enjoying myself - eating out, going out with coworkers, feeling the thrill of speaking in front of others I feel guilty that I am  missing out on my time with Dave and the girls and all that is going on in their lives. It's one of those no-win scenarios of life.

I was at a birthday party in the midst of all my travel and one of the moms said to me, "Oh my, you work full time and you travel? That must be so terrible for you, and so difficult leaving them."  I didn't want to tell of the reasons why I enjoy it too.

I do think there is something to be said to owning the enjoyment.  It is great to travel without kids, to go to interesting places and do work that is fulfilling. It is also gratifying to doing that and being a huge part of the girls' lives and showing them how to be a successful woman who works.  I'm going to focus on the enjoyment rather than the guilt and see if I can't turn things around. Plus, my next trip will be with the entire family in tow, I'll enjoy that too for completely different reasons. As the french proverb states: "Gratitude is the memory of the heart" and I'm planning to keep it all very close to mine.

Chatty Carina

I've been meaning to write for months about Carina and her speech.  Primarily because it is another way she differs so much from Samantha.  It has also been a great lesson for me about how different kids can be while neither being "right" or "wrong".  Sammy, as we all know, was a late talker, she did communicate though with a wide variety of signs but she didn't do a lot of trying to communicate with words until she could really do it perfectly.

Carina on the other hand tries to say just about everything.  You ask her if she can say book, baby, dog, cow, etc. and she will attempt it almost always.  I loved when my Papa and Grandma Modina were visiting and Carina could say "Papa and Grandma Mo".  She babbles away constantly and once you get the hang of her dialect, much of it is understandable.

It is frustrating for us, and more so for her when she is trying, really, really trying, to convey something but can't quite get it across.  The other day she wanted to brush her teeth and was saying repeatedly what sounded like "stay stoooo".  I could see her getting more upset as she continued to say it more, and more, louder and louder when I finally understood she was asking about her "step stool".  (Note to Aunt Diane, those step stools are big hits around our house!).

Recently, Carina has started to string two and three words together now too, my favorites are her latest "Look at me, look at me!" or "I need that!" - such a character already.