July in review.

Hard to believe it hs been since the end of June since I posted anything. The summer has kept us busy - and having lots of fun! Brent's parents drove up from Indiana to visit us for a couple of weeks. We had a great visit and are looking forward to them making the trek again. While they were visiting we drove the Denali Highway, which after living in Alaska for 35 years, I have never done. It was a beautiful trip and was nice to get out of the smoke of Fairbanks for a few days. Karly was baptized the end of July. My mom made her baptismal gown and it was georgous. Karly is FINALLY taking the bottle! Brent is now able to feed her before she goes to bed and she is now sleeping about 7 hours straight. Karly has been doing her own projects in day care, she had painted her first masterpiece. I am sure there will be many more to come, but I love this one. There have been other firsts for Karly, ROLLING OVER, going to the fair, watching a parade and there will be many more to come. This time Brent is home we will be heading down to Valdez and then the next weekend we are taking the train to Denali Park. Then we have an Article Circle trip and another Anchorage trip planned in September. I hate to say it, but I am looking forward to the snow flying and snuggling up by the cozy woodstove and catching up on some projects this winter.

Floyd Family Excellent Adventure . . . staycation in Alaska

The Floyd family has been having a blast the last week camping out and exploring new sights in Alaska. We spent Tuesday through Friday morning camping in Denali National Park. Karly was a trooper on the bus and we even hiked a mountain with her. During the bus ride we saw numerous bears, caribou, and even 2 wolves! On Friday we met up with mom and dad and headed to the big town of Willow to go King Salmon fishing. We decided not to fight the combat fishing zone (I don't think dad would have been a happy camper) so we got a charter for dad and Brent to head up river about 30 minutes and the trip paid off - 2 king salmon! We cooked up one fillet for dinner tonight - it was wonderful. After we picked up the guys from the charter we went walking around downtown Talkeetna - what a blast! I had never been there before and really enjoyed it. Tomorrow the vacation comes to an end and we head home and I go to work on Monday and Karly starts her first day of day care.

10 weeks old

I love the chair that Karly is sitting in, it allows her to sit up and look around. This was at Roslynn's shower party on Sunday, Roslynn was born 5 days after Karly. I can only imagine the trouble they will cause.

Experimental gardener.

Last night mom and dad came out to help me get the flowers planted - sometimes Karly doesn't want to hang out and watch while I work. Brent made the flower box for me, I love it. I finished planting and filling in the flowers tonight and Karly did cooperate so I could finish. I have 12 cabbage planted and 5 cauliflower - I am sure that I will be getting a visit from the moose this year if I am not careful. In the greenhouse I have zuchini, squash, peppers and tomoatoes. I am hoping they all grow something? Only time will tell.

Getting bigger

Karly had her 2 month appointment yesterday (which included her shots) and she is now 12 pounds 1 ounce and 23 inches long. She did okay with her shots, she cried but it was more of an angry cry - and I swear she gave the nurse who gave her the shots a "look". But she did great. At least we won't have to go through that again until her 4 month appointment. This picture was taken while we were out camping this weekend, she has such a serious look about her. If only we knew what they were thinking about.

Thank you Auntie Susan

Summer weather has returned and Karly was able to wear her swimsuit that she got from Auntie Susan. I am loving the swim pool - only if I had one for me too. But it is nice dipping my toes in her pool.

First camping trip.

I don't know if you could really call it camping when you go out for the weekend in a camper that has a tv and microwave, but it is great! Karly enjoys being outside so we went for lots of walks and hung out by the river.

8 weeks old!

Time is flying fast - but it has been fun to see her do different things every week. On Saturday there was a fundraiser for that the Hospital Foundation put on for the Porter Heart Center - it turned out to be a beautiful day. Karly enjoyed hanging out with the family while daddy was busy blowing up the balloons for all the kids to enjoy.

Isn't she a doll?

As I mentioned to Brent I wanted to add these pictures and update the blog, although he pointed out that I would be backdating it. These pictures were taken in Anchorage at the end of April when we went down to visit my brother and sister in law. The dolls belong to my niece, Sydney, who is smiling in the pictures with her. Thank you Sydney for letting us use your dolls, these are her babies. When Brent would be walking around and burping Karly, Sydney would be doing the same thing with her babies.

Summertime fun!

I received a small swim pool as a gift at Karly's shower and last night was the perfect night to put her in it. She loves water and enjoyed lounging in the pool. It is amazing the difference in the weather from last night, tonight we have clouds, chilly wind and rain. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this weekend is nice.

Diaper Champ

I love this product, you don't have to deal with trying to thread the special bags into the deal, you just place regular garbage bags in it. You can operate it without reading the instructions. And, it keeps all the smells out. I love it! If someone you know is having a baby, I highly recommend getting one of these.

An afternoon with daddy in Delta

Karly and I drove to Delta to see Brent for the afternoon. The farmer's market was open there and they were having extra activities for the Memorial Day weekend. We visited the farmer's market after eating at the Buffalo Drive In (the best place to eat during the summer in Delta) and while at there we picked out some vegetable starters to put in the garden and greenhouse. I am keeping my fingers crossed we have a warm summer so that the garden grows. Karly loves to be in the front, but as it is with the car seat, as long as you are moving - she is doing fine.

Pops and Karly

Last night, while I was at mom and dad's, Pops was holding Karly and watching his 6:30 show, Wheel of Fortune. Karly was really enjoying the show - and the picture opportunity was too cute.

First week at work.

When I was hired on at my job I was promised that I could bring my baby in to work with me. So for my baby gift from my boss I got a pack n play and accessories for my office. The day I went into labor my co-worker rearranged my office and they set up the pack n play. This week has been my first week back and it has been pretty good. I am only going in part time right now and Karly is usually napping or hanging out on my lap helping me on the computer. I plan on doing this for about 6 weeks and then I have Karly on the list to attend the day care located on the hospital campus, so I'll be able to see her during the day.

7 weeks old!

The time is flying fast but I am enjoying every minute of it. I have been doing my best to take either a picture or video everyday that Brent is gone at work for the 2 weeks. Karly wakes up in the morning with a big smile, but of course trying to capture that smile on the camera does not work out. She has been such an easy baby, she falls asleep on her own and is now sleeping about 4 hours at a stretch, I can't complain. On Saturday we are going to drive down to Delta and see Brent for a couple of hours, and the drive in is open there as well. They have the best burgers and shakes and I will take a look at the Saturday market there and buy some vegetable starters to plant in the garden and we'll see what my greenish/brownish thumb can do?

Almost 6 weeks old.

Tomorrow marks the 6th week birthday for Karly, time has gone by fast. Brent left for work this morning, that was hard. But hopefully the two weeks will go by fast. On the shifts that he is working days - I'll go down to Delta on the weekend and see him so he doesn't have to go 2 weeks without seeing Karly. We took Karly in yesterday for a checkup and she weighed 10 lbs. 11 oz and was almost 23 inches. She is growing fast - considering that she weighed 7.5 at birth and was 20 inches. Karly and I went for a walk this afternoon - she loves to be outside. But as soon as you put her in the car seat - you must be moving. She loved her walk and came home and is now enjoying her seat and staring at herself on the mirror that is on the underside of the leaf. Better go and take some advantage of her enjoying her "me" time and finish up some laundry.

Karly,Kenda and Kara

Karly and friends - I got the name Karly from my friend Julie who was thinking of naming Kara Karly - but when she chose Kara - I decided that whenever I was going to have a child, that Karly would be one of the names for a girl. Attached are pictures of Kendra with me while I was in labor and then the next day after she was born. Also is picutrs of Kara and Karly. Kendra is going to be a great babysitter when the time comes.

Getting the hang of it

We gave Karly her second bath and as you can tell by the picture, she was pretty relaxed. Hopefully she will continue to enjoy her baths and maybe grow to enjoy swimming? It is amazing to see how fast she is growing the changes she is making every day. Gee, do I sound like a first time parent or what?

Karly's first Easter

Amazingly enough Brent, Karly and I made it to church on time for the 8:00 am service, and Brent was worried that we'll have to start getting up 4 hours before we have to be any where. But we made it with only 2 hours prep time. It was a special Easter as babies were abound. Family friends Luke and Alisa Butcher had a baby girl on April 6 and another girl from church had a baby on April 3. It will be fun to see all of them grow up together. Attached are family pictures of Brent, Karly and I as well as Luke, Alisa and Roslyn.

First Bath

Brent and I ventured to give Karly her first bath. She wasn't too happy about it but she survived it. It is still up in the air whether she has blond hair or light brown - washing her hair you can see more blond. Time will tell. Hopefully she will tolerate her second bath a little better.

And Karly makes three . . .

On April 1, 2009 at 9:47 pm Karly Jeanette Floyd was born. After a long labor she made her appearance on her time. Brent was a trooper during the entire labor and was by my side for each contraction. We were able to have my family and close family friends in the room with us during the labor - it was nice to have everyone there and I was able to be distracted with the different conversations. During the delivery my mom and good friends Julie and Trinka were able to be there with the rest of the crew out in the hallway. After a couple of nights in the hospital Brent and I brought Karly home - with only our parental instincts on what to do. We are blessed to have Karly be such a good baby, she sleeps for 2 - 3 hours at a time and other than letting us know that she is hungry on needs a diaper change, she does not cry. During her awake time we get lost in time just staring at her and watching her take in her surroundings and seeing what is going on. We look forward to seeing what each day brings us and will enjoy this time while she is so young.