The Big One!

Height: 31 inches (95th %)

Weight: 21 lbs 2oz (50th %)

- You have 12 teeth :)

-  You are walking! Since 11 1/2 months

- Your favorite foods are mac n cheese, avocado, waffles, granola bars of any kind, cereal of any kind, fruit and veggie pouches, chicken, ground beef, turkey We are working on getting you to eat whole fruit and veggies instead of mashed in pouches, but I don't think you like the texture yet.

- You have quite a few words now: dada, mama, go, no, uh oh, dog, baby, more, Minnie (the mouse), moo, boo, a da (all done), agi (again), bock bock bock (chicken), if i ask you to say anything you usually respond with the correct inflection or the correct number of syllables. I have a feeling your vocabulary is about to explode.

- You love to dance, you wave your arms around, twist, bounce up and down on your knees, and you love to dance with me in the kitchen while we wait for Daddy to come home. You definitely have my love for dancing but unfortunately my skill level too ;-)

- You are beyond silly, especially before bedtime.

-You love to have me read books to you and you usually want me to read them over and over. You get a little upset if I don't. Your favorite books are touch-n-feel books and Peek-A-Who.

- You love to push toys around the room and enjoy you stuffed animals and baby dolls the best. You love to hug, kiss and dance with them. It's so sweet to watch.

- You love to eat paper products... toilet paper, card board, books, but your favorite are baby wipes...gross

- You like to give kisses, especially if it makes us laugh. Then you will just keep doing it until you are laughing too.

- You sleep with two blankies and your sound machine going and will sleep from 8:00pm-7:00am

-You have definitely been a snuggler lately. For awhile now you have been too busy to sit and snuggle with me. Oh my goodness these past few weeks you have done my mommy heart some good. Maybe its the molars you are getting in but I'll take whatever I can get :)

-  You and Rollie have turned a corner. I think you affection for her is mutual now, especially that she knows where you are food is near by.

 You made me a mommy. You gave me purpose. I will forever be grateful to God for such a wonderful beautiful gift.

Happy First Birthday Sweet Girl. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Happy Halloween

Caroline- 9 Months Old

Your Personality is in full swing. You are so silly and sweet, please stay that way! 

Stats:
You are in size 3 diapers, but we might have to move to size 4 for overnights soon. We are trying to consistently get you on three meals of solids a day, you are at two right now, and you are drinking 4- 6oz bottles a day. 

Things You Do:
Clap on Command. You love to clap, you will do it if we ask you to or if we say "Good Job" or "Yay" or if you hear applause on tv
Open Mouthed Kisses. You know how to plant a slobbery kiss and as gross as they are, they are the best. You also love to kiss your reflection, on any surface you can find!
Grind your teeth. Since you got your top four front teeth all at once I guess you are still getting used to them. (worst sound ever)
Splashing at bath time. We need an extra towel these days.
Copy Cat. You like to copy noises we make like blowing kisses, or raspberries, growling, lip smacking, tongue clicking or any other noises we make
Four Words: Dada, Mama, Dog, and Ball
Laugh: We are finally getting some good belly laughs out of you. The most recent thing you thought was funny was when Mommy had the hiccups
Wave: You wave bye bye to people, you move your whole arm up and down, its really cute


Things you Love:
- Daddy throwing you in the air
- Bath time
- Your Peek-a-Who Book
- Jimmy Fallon 
-Playing in the Kitchen Pantry


Things you Don't Like:
-Being in the car too long
-Getting your nose cleaned out

4th of July

So after a few days of comforting a miserable Caroline who has an ear infection and just cut her 3rd tooth, this week, Ben and I decided, spur of the moment, to make a quick trip up to College Station for lunch. Caroline was feeling better, fever was gone and now that we are just under an hour away from CS it was an easy decision. We really wanted to go to Potato Shack, its by far our favorite place to eat in town but they were closed for the 4th of July Holiday. So we went with our second favorite, Layne's Chicken Fingers :)

What's not to love, your options are chicken fingers or chicken fingers on a bun. We opted for the chicken finger and they are just how I remember them, extra salty with chilled ranch on the side. Yum! The ranch alone with worth the trip :)

 Caroline had a good time sitting in the booth with us, I think that was a first for her! It was also, believe it or not, Caroline's first College Station experience outside the womb. So we stopped at the Former Student Center to snap a few pics by the Aggie Ring and Fountain.

 

It's going to be fun to come back and recreate some of the shots we got when we is bigger and even a student at A&M.  Whoop!

And just to show how much Caroline is growing up, she figured out how to stand up in her car seat and find herself in the baby mirror. She is such a little person and not a baby anymore. She always finds some way to remind me daily that she is NOT a baby. Makes me just a little sad ;-) It was a fun quick trip and it was nice to get out of the house. I hope we make these day trip more often, we miss Aggieland!

Family Reunion/Concan

 

Back at the beginning of June we took our first trip of the Summer. We went my grandmother's family reunion in Frederickburg. We got a late start that Friday night and stopped at Ben's brothers house in Seguin for the night. The next morning we got up and finished the journey to the Reunion and ate lunch and caught up with cousins for most of the afternoon. That evening we make the rest of the trek to Concan, where we spent the next few days having a mini family reunion with my immediate cousins and Aunt and Uncle. We had a lot of fun with my nephews too, it was our first vacation with all of the kids including Caroline, and it was a success, we had a lot of fun and were not ready to leave.

These two crack me up, they are always sharing secrets. Jackson was really excited Caroline could sit next to him in James's chair. So much fun watching them grow :)

Ready for the River!

This is the Life

Family Pic in the River

Sleepy Baby, Sleepy Mommy

There are so many things I could say about this photo haha

 Milestone at ConCan she sat up and played by herself several times this weekend. Usually she lays on her belly to play. Such a big girl!

 Mmmm Yummy Rocks!

Giggling with Melissa

Chillin' with Monica

Godson giving me the evil eye because I wanted a picture of him :)

Exhausted and ready to head home.

6 Month Joy

I always knew I would have a Caroline. I feel like I have loved you and have known you forever.  I think God put you on my heart long before you were a thought or a dream to me. He knew exactly what he was doing when He gave us you. You are the perfect fit.

Oh Caroline, how did we get to your half birthday. You have been with us for 6 whole months (plus 9 months). And it has been amazing. You are so loved.

You look just like your Daddy. It's hard to look at you and not burst into tears with all the love I have for you and him. You have a sweet little grin that is him and when you really get to smiling that is your daddy's laughing smile too.

You scrunch up your nose when you are really excited about something. This is always the smile that your Daddy and I love to see the most. It is pure joy.


Some things you love: Your Daddy he's your favorite, but at a close second (no offense Benjamin) is your puppy Rollie. When you come home from school you immediately look for your furry sister. Rollie loves to lick your face and hands and feet when you first get home. It is so sweet. You love mirrors...oh goodness girl, you know you are pretty :) You and I like to make funny faces in the bathroom mirror before and after your bath. You also LOVE bath time, it is easily the best part of the day for you. You kick and squeal and laugh and your new mission is to pull out the drain stopper. You squirm your way over there like your every happiness depends on pulling the plug and watching all the water drain out. You love to snuggle in the morning, and this one is Mommy's favorite. You are so sweet when you first wake up. It's like I am seeing you for the first time all over again.

A few dislikes, you do not like being cold. We have known this from the very start. Once you are tired you do not want anyone fussing with you. You want and need a nap. You play hard and sleep hard too. Being in the car too long, you have too many things you want to see and do to be strapped down in a car seat for road trips. Can't blame you there kid. You HATE green beans. You have a skill for eating/gulping and enjoying pretty much every food I have provided for you but you draw the line at green beans (to the point of gagging). Note taken sweetheart, never again.


You are so good, you make Daddy and I scared to give you a little sister or brother some day because you have been so easy on us. Thank you for being such a blessing and teaching us about simply loving life and being in the moment. Some parents are glad to be out of the newborn stage, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.