Our 1st Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was a wonderful day in the Carver household! It started with time to take a long bath while Randy and Sabrina went to get flowers and oranges. The bath was lovely and relaxing! After breakfast, we went for a little drive into the country and then stopped for coffee at Starbucks before going to Ft. Sumter. As I love boat rides, this was a perfect trip for Mother's Day! We took a ferry boat into the Charleston Bay and then had an hour to explore the fort. The museum had lots of information but we cruised through it as Sabrina needed to keep moving. Outside, the view was fantastic with clear shots of Charleston, the Ravenel Bridge, and Pickney Castle. An added bonus on the trip was the dolphin sighting of the bow of the boat! Wow! That was our first wild dolphin sighting. What a great day!

Swimming

Yesterday, Sabrina had her water dream realized. She has often crawled to the edge of the apartment pool but not been able to go in to the deep (5 feet) waters. Yesterday, she geared up with swim diapers and a onesie and had the time of her life! First, she kicked and splashed and oh, it was fun! Next her arms got into the action and Daddy moved her as she kicked and splashed! She could jump and kick and splash and giggle! What a great day!

After she got out, she did what I call the "lounge cruise" as she goes from lounge chair to lounge chair, checking out peoples' toes and nail polish! Fascinating!

An Artistic Solo

Tuesday while Randy's mom was visiting we went to the Exchange Building on East Bay Street for the dungeon tour and self guided tour of the the upstairs ballroom where George Washington had his dance with over 200 of Charleston's finest women. One tour guide on another tour suggested that this very dance almost caused a Civil War to break out once the news hit the New England papers. Dancing was not permitted in some circles and to have the President bragging about how many women he danced with was outrageous! I love the fact that we walked where he walked and in the very room where the Articles of Confederation were ratified by the South Carolinian delegates!

After lunch, we strolled down Broad Street which is famous for the art galleries. When the clouds opened and dumped rain, we would stay longer in a gallery. Two galleries stood out for the afternoon. The first had paintings that were of the area but the artist really had a way of painting light into the paintings. It would change with the lighting or natural light from the window.

The second gallery stood out not because it had cool violin sculptures, but because the gallery host was a retired member from the Minnesota Symphony and was delighted to take out his viola and play "Itsy Bitsy Spider" for Sabrina and a Sound of Music song for Joyce. Sabrina loved watching the master work his instrument and did not let one stroke of the bow go unnoticed! She danced in her Baby Bjorn to the music which was an absolute delight!

Brookgreen Gardens

Sunday while Randy's mom was visiting we treated ourselves to a wonderful day taking in gardens and the zoo at Brookgreen Gardens. The zoo had a swamp and bird sanctuaries. For an extra fee one could take in a new butterfly exhibit. We really enjoyed the vast gardens from the flowers to the oak grove! It was the best gardens we have seen! Hopefully, we will make it back to see flowers bloom in late Summer or early Fall.

More Middleton photos

Steps lead to the ruins of old house. Stepping stone is from where the carriages would unload passengers in front of main gate.

Middleton Plantation

One of the wonderful librarians gave us great advice on the plantations here. None of them has all the original house, gardens and interior. The advice was to go to several to get the full flavor of what these plantations might have looked like in their prime. Saturday, we went to Middleton Plantation. The owner was a signer on the Declaration of Independence and the name is a prominent name in the area. We first spent the morning finding a quilt shop, eating lunch downtown and then spending several hours trekking the paths through the plantation gardens. The gardens are kept up nicely, but the estate was destroyed except for the right wing. All that is standing is the gates and piles of bricks. Outer buildings such as the church and rice processing building are still up. We saw two weddings on the grounds while we were there. It was a hot and humid day in the 80s!

"Its for you."

The one object Sabrina cannot resist is my cell phone. If she sees it, she will crawl towards it and will eventually after much determination, get it. Yesterday, was one such occasion. She crawled to my phone and had it in her hand. I asked her to hand it to me. And she did! I was in shock and wondered if it was a fluke or a real transaction. Later in the day, she picked it up and then handed it to me when asked! She understands and follows directions! Its a miracle!

Now if I could get her stop flushing the toilet for entertainment!

I'm watching you

From last September, just in from the folks are some photos of Annie the German Sheperd watching Sabrina carefully!

Stepping with help

Yesterday, we noted that Sabrina will position herself between the couch and ottoman and stand. From that position, she will take steps forward with her body perfectly supported. Too cute! All this on her eleven month birthday!

Isle of Palms with Wycoffs

Today was a beautiful day and we spent the afternoon with the Wycoff family on the beach! Sabrina had a chance to put her toe in the ocean while Randy and cousin Joey body surfed with Uncle Allen. Aunt Alison and Claire played with Sabrina under a yellow umbrella. Claire's truck became a source of entertainment for Sabrina! In fact, Uncle Allen heard her say "truck". All I know is that everyone had fun and got their full dose of Vitamin D!

The little Southern Belle

Yesterday, Sabrina and I drove down to Charleston to meet the Wycoff family near the market. Sabrina modeled her pink hat which drew lots of attention from everyone. Alison and Claire treated us to a carriage ride and while we were waiting a grandmother with a Flat Stanley had her picture taken with pink hatted Sabrina! (Flat Stanley is a character from a book who gets flatted by something and then is mailed to family for adventures. I guess schools often have kids make Flat Stanleys in class and mail them to relatives who then record adventures and take pictures. The Flat Stanley was a picture which was laminated for adventures and a good thing as Sabrina wanted to eat him!)

Sabrina is really enjoying her time with her cousins and aunt and uncle. Last night they played and played until Sabrina could no longer hold her head up! Randy and I went out on a dinner date! This morning Sabrina slept in to energize for the next cousin session! She is having too much fun!

Feeding Horseshoe crabs

At the Aquarium, there was a tidal pool where people were encouraged to interact with critters. The Wycoffs had opportunity to feed horseshoe crabs. Guess it was pretty neat!

photos from Aquarium

Yesterday, Sabrina had fun with her Seattle cousins at the Aquarium! While waiting for a fish feeding show, she crawled up stairs for the first time!

Enjoying the Seattle Cousins

For Spring Break, Randy's sister's family flew out for the week. Yesterday they saw Sabrina for the first time since September! All united famously! The cousins are trying to teach Sabrina new words. "Mirror" was said clearly for all to hear and Joey said Sabrina said her name. Today we went to the Aquarium and had a blast! While waiting for a fish feeding show, Sabrina decided to climb up the stairs of the auditorium! This delighted her cousins who watched her with trained eagle eyes! It was an exiting, yet exhausting day.... pictures will be posted after Sabrina wakes from her nap. The camera is in the diaper bag which is in her room!

The sky is not falling

This afternoon we kept hearing fighter jets going above our apartment on their way to the Air Force Base. I thought there was some sort of security drill or something. Relieved to discover they were Blue Angels practicing for a weekend air show. Apparently, they will be doing tricks near the Arthur Ravenal Cable Bridge both Saturday and Sunday. My next question is why they choose to fly over at 9:30pm?

The Girl in the Net Bubble!

Earlier this week we decided we had had enough bug harassment so yesterday we journeyed to Target for a bug net to go over the stroller. Not only can it go over the stroller, but it can also go over the car seat... and I bet the baby backpack if we tried. On our trial run yesterday, I was amazed to see how many small bugs landed on the netting and then flew away! The best buy for under ten dollars I have seen in a long time! It is even chemical free!

Now if only I could find a way to buy some stock in bananas!

Purple Dress and flowers

Today Sabrina picked out her dress for church. It was a beautiful lavender dress which had a matching flower clip. However, once church was over, the clip was removed by Sabrina. She looked like she matched the flowering bushes by our condo so we had to take photos.

The Camel Bridge

We are not sure of the real name of this brigdge, but we call it the Camel Bridge. It connects Daniel Island with Mt. Pleasant. One of our favorite walking/ jogging paths takes us right by the Wando River where this bridge arches over to safety. Sabrina loves riding in the backpack and will actually crawl into the closet to seek it out. That is her sign for she wants to go for a ride.

The little Mirror

Sadly, yes, there was a realization that Sabrina most likely picked up "no" from me. Now that I am tuned into the word and paying closer attention to what is being said, I realized that I am the "no offender". Sabrina is shifting into a really active phase. Yesterday she grabbed an end table with a lamp on it. "No" came out of my mouth as an impulse. Later she crawled over to the monster big screen TV in our living room and started to pound on it. Again, no. Putting my shoe in her mouth. No. Unrolling the toilet paper onto the floor. No. Trying to get the plug protector off the outlet.....no..... sigh.

I guess the only time I can really relax is when she is asleep. I see now that time will be limited.

Coincidence Maybe

Two nights ago we when we were done reading several books to Sabrina, I said "Are you ready for bed now?" and Sabrina looked me in the face and replied, "NO!"

I sat shocked and then asked Randy if he heard the conversation which he had. Both of us were amazed as Sabrina really hasn't said anything super clearly yet.

She waves her hand from the high chair and makes a close attempt at "All gone" or "All done".

Babbling she will say "dadadadadada" or "mamamamama".

She uses her arms to make a sign similar to "more" in sign language.

And she uses her secret language to make her cardboard and stuff animals "talk" as they hop around the apartment.

Right after she was born she would say "hi" on the changing table.

But none of these attempts to communicate appeared so purposeful and used correctly as the "no" of the other evening. The funny thing is that we were intentionally trying not to use the word "no", but using phrases like "not for the hands, or mouth" or "let's try this instead". We were trying to prolong the introduction to the terrible two word! Lot of good that did!

Laundry Lady

Sabrina's new fascination is with the dirty clothes box. She is compelled to take out all the clothes and dump them on the floor where she "sorts" them. I have put the clothes back in the box several times to find them back on the floor a little later in their floor piles!

The toothy news is that her top center teeth have been making appearances. They showed themselves and then disappeared again. Today the right front tooth was definitely cutting though. That would explain why EVERYTHING is going into Sabrina's mouth!

Meow, Bark, Hop!

This morning, like yesterday, Sabrina is starting her day over by the bookshelf. There she selects her book with her animal friends. These cardboard cutouts of a bunny, kitty, elephant, penguin and puppy are freed from the book and have wonderful morning adventures with Sabrina. She has them hopping around the room. Three or two in each hand, they are very portable. Some of them even migrate into the living room. Her favorite is the bunny. Bunny is first to be freed and sometimes is the only one freed from his page in the book! Sometimes he even has adventures with the bunny puppet Grandma Joyce gave Sabrina. Too much fun! Wonder what secrets are being told to her new friends?

Botany 101

Today Randy and Sabrina studied the progress of the plants outside our apartment! She is a natural scientist! Later we took a walk and when we stopped to take a picture by a bush, we scared an alligator into the lake. Kind of scary that we didn't see the gator before we heard the splash! He was most likely about eight feet long!

The Banana Kid

Lately we have noticed that we can't eat a banana without Sabrina watching and pleading with her eyes for some of the fruit. She loves them. While I was out running this afternoon, Randy took photos of Sabrina with her favorite fruit. Afterwards, she played with her cardboard animals that pop out of a book. She is starting to make them hop and interact! Too cute! Could you resist giving this child a banana?

Happy Easter!

This morning we started the day with the children's Easter service. It was a nice thirty minute service where the children brought flowers to put on the cross at the front of the church. This cross was later taken outside where we took photos. The church provided a nice egg hunt for the children and it was a great way to start the morning!

Around the living room with Dad