Happy Birthday Pops

A few weeks ago we were playing outside at my cousin's house and Caroline had a fit to sit on this tractor. Seeing her sit up there like a big girl made me think of me and my Daddy. I sent many hours on my Daddy's tractor. Sometimes we would be together working in the fields or riding across the road to put out hay. Other times I would sit by myself and play while he was working on something else. We shared a lot of time together on the tractor and I have great memories that I will always cherish. I know that if my Daddy was here today, he would have Caroline on the tractor too! He would love to make fun of the fact that she is a "city" girl! He would do his best to make her a country girl, make sure she got good and dirty before he brought her home. Well Pops, this is just the beginning...

Happy Birthday Pops! Not a day goes by that we don't think of you and miss you.

Neil and Megan's wedding

This weekend our neighbors and cousins had a beautiful wedding and we were able to be a part of this special time in their lives. Andy was a groomsmen in the wedding and I was the stand-in-bride. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun. We enjoyed spending time with our family. We wish Neil and Megan the best of luck in their new journey together!

Caroline and Papa (great grandfather)

our sweet little family

Daddy and Caroline on the dance floor

Andy and Caroline with Brad and Perrin

(neatest thing-during the father/daughter dance, the bride and her daddy invited all the daddy's and their daughters on the dance floor)

Danielle and Perrin

Our first sick day!

what I found when I went to check on her during her morning nap...

Yesterday afternoon Caroline began running a low grade fever-100 to 101. She did well and slept all night. However, when she got up she still had a temperature of 100. So Andy and I decided it would be best to keep her home. We spent the morning rocking, reading and playing in baby jail. I took some books with me in baby jail Caroline has a habit of wanting to read her own book while I am reading our book. So, I put the stack of books behind me, out of her sight. When we finished our first book, she got out of my lap and walked behind me to get the books. I was so impressed, she doesn't miss a beat!

We spent the afternoon in the Drs. office. It was packed! Lucky for us, we had one of the first appointments after lunch. Baby girl was really tired and just did not feel well. The two hours we spent in the office were TOUGH! However Dr. E couldn't find anything wrong. Ears looked good, throat looked good, nose was a little "cruddy." Therefore Dr. E wanted to do a flu test. Thankfully it was negative. He told us to watch her and if the fever continues, call back.

Poor baby was so tired. She didn't want to be held, she didn't want to be put down. The only thing that made her happy was playing in the bathtub with Daddy! She went down around 6 and has been sleeping since then. We are hoping for a good night. Daddy's staying home tomorrow and we are hoping and praying that she will be better by tomorrow afternoon.

Crazy hair and lot's of fun

So in case in haven't noticed, Caroline has a head full of beautiful CURLY hair. Sometimes it gets a little crazy, especially in the mornings and at bath time. I got some really fun pictures of her and had to share.


Also her little personality is shinning through everyday. She loves to laugh, chat and sometime throw a little fit. Her new thing is to feed us. She loves to gives us some of what she is eating. Now she has started a new game. She tries to feed us and just before she puts it in our mouth, she takes it away... She thinks it is hilarious! She loves for Daddy to play with her in baby jail. She thinks that he is one big toy/stepping stone. Her new thing is to stand on his head and look over baby jail. She also enjoys throwing her toys "overboard!"

yep, look closely, that's Daddy's head she's standing on!

Now that Caroline is walking, she's a lot of fun and can interact/play with her friends. Friday her friend Catherine came over to play. The girls had a great time playing outside on Caroline's toys. I look forward to many more fun play dates ahead!

Catherine pushing Caroline

Very serious about them Gamecocks!!

Caroline's bathroom "update" is done!

With about a week left of summer vacation, I decided to finally "update" Caroline's bathroom. I found the shower curtain in March and never got around to finding the other "stuff" to go with it. My friend Angie came over and gave me some ideas. I headed out to Kohl's and Target and found everything I needed, at a great price!! :0) The hardest part was finding a curtain for the window. While shopping at Hobby Lobby for some material for pillow case dresses, I found something that I thought might work. Came home, got it almost finished and realized I cut the fabric too short... BUMMER! (Of course, Andy wasn't home and Caroline was taking a VERY long nap!) Once she got up, we went to Hobby Lobby got the fabric and within 30 minutes of being home, the curtain is done and hanging. Not 100% sure that it's the perfect match but it works for now. I am very excited with how it turned out. YEAH, one more room done! :0)

before...

after! :0)

Laundry room done!

I decided over the summer that it was time to update and organize our house. I started with the laundry room-smallest room, has a lot of junk, horrible lavender color with border... Since I was planning to paint Caroline's bathroom and our laundry room isn't too big, I decided to use the same color. I finally hung the ironing board organizer that my mommy bought me many, many months ago. I found some really great storage containers at Wal-Mart and sorted everything accordingly. Finally, the laundry room is done!

before...

after!! :0)

I think I have made a revelation...

This past year I have really struggled with managing my time. It seems like there are 500 things that need to get done in the 4-5 hours between the time I get home from work and go to bed. Therefore I feel extremely overwhelmed and very little gets done because I don't know where to start... So Andy and I sat down and looked over the daily and weekly things that need to happen in order for things to run smoothly around here. We took responsibility for certain things and it really seems to be helping. Andy knows what he needs to do and I know what I need to do. When we have to take care of the major stuff, it's nice not to have all the little things added to it. It's really working well for us. To bad it only took a year to realize this...

So today was one of those days when the "major" things had to be completed. It was great! I was totally and completely productive! I cleaned house more today than I have in the past year. How was I able to get so much done? What was different? Oh yeah, Caroline took a 3 hour nap!!! It was awesome! Andy headed out to visit his Dad at the hospital and I had the house to myself. I had the music blaring in the kitchen and our bedroom. It felt like old times. I forgot how good it feels to start out with a "to do" list and get EVERYTHING done! No interruptions, nobody needed me. I think that it helped that I only had certain things to do and that I could concentrate on those...

Through all of this I realized just how important organization and priorities are. If the house is organized and things have their place, it's easy to clean up. Just put everything where it belongs. And if I have my priorities in order, then I know what needs to be done first. Aside from house hold cleaning and such, I have to have my "me" priorities in order. I have really had to sit down and see what's most important, what really matters. What really makes an impact on my family-me, Andy and Caroline. What makes a difference at the end of the day. I would love to say I have it all figured out, but I am still working on it. We will see how it goes...

1 year check up

Caroline had a great check up! Everything looks right on track. She is 23 pounds and in the 80th percentile. She is 31 3/4 inches long and in the 98th percentile. She received the first round of the flu shot. She has to go back in a month to get the second one. (I wanted to get a picture of her battle scars but she had the band aids off before we got home...) Dr. Elder was very pleased with her and what she was doing.

This appointment made me realize just how much my baby has changed. She was 19 1/2 inches long and 6 pounds 9 ounces when she was born. She has grown 12 1/4 inches and gained 16 pounds! WOW! We are looking forward to another great year!

Birthday fun

We've been celebrating almost a week now! I love birthdays. They have always been very special and very important to me! So Caroline's birthday is just another reason to celebrate our sweet baby girl! When we got home from her party on Saturday, her birthday package was waiting on the front porch! YEAH! Lucky for Andy, Aunt Lill and Uncle Ed were here and Uncle Ed is very good at "fixing" things. He and Andy worked for about 30 minutes and Caroline's play set was ready. She's quickly mastering the rock wall and loves playing on it.

Sunday night my cousin Richard invited us over for dinner. Caroline loved playing with the boys. She thought she was just as big as they were! She really enjoyed their big boy slide. At first she went down with William but soon wanted to do it on her own. It was a super fun evening and so nice to catch up with them.

Monday was Andy's birthday. We worked in the garage and put everything in it's place. It's so nice to be able to park in the garage again. After that we went out to lunch with Andy's family. After that, we came home and enjoyed the day together as a family.

Tuesday night Andy had to go out of town for work. Peep came to stay with us and we had a fun girls night. Wednesday morning Caroline woke up and had a yummy birthday breakfast-grits with cheese, yogurt and peaches. She enjoyed every minute of it. She is such a good eater. We are so blessed. We took cookies and juice to Mrs. Jerri's to celebrate.

Wednesday night we went to Red Bone for dinner. Caroline had a great time and enjoyed the attention. She enjoyed playing in the kids areas and riding the car with the big kids. She tried a little bit of everything off every one's plate.

Still can't believe my baby girl is a year old! We are looking forward to a great year!

Loves being able to see what's going on!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Dear Caroline,

Happy First Birthday baby girl! Mommy and Daddy can't believe that it's been a year since you came into our lives.We spent 3 years praying for you and 14 weeks getting to know B and falling in love with you through her stories and your ultrasounds. (You weren't always well behaved so we got lots of time with the ultrasound tech...) Every day our heart grew a little more. The moment we saw you, we were in love. However, nothing could have prepared us for the love we have for you today! You are truly a gift from God and we wouldn't change one thing about you or our journey. You have taught us more about love, compassion and understanding than we could have ever learned on our own.


You have been such an easy baby! (parenthood is tough, but you were good to us this first year...) You adjusted to a 3 hour schedule very easily. You took to the first formula that we tried, never had a lot of trouble with gas or stomach issues. You love to eat anything! Your paci and lovey are your very best friends. As long as you have your paci and lovey, you can fall asleep almost anywhere.

There is so much about you that we love! Below are just a few of our favorites...

1. Your hair-You came into this world with a head full of jet black hair. In the beginning, we tried to get pictures of your hair when it was wet so that we could prove that you really had curly hair. Little did we know, a few months later, the curls would really show up. Then Mommy didn't know what to do with them. Luckily Mommy's hair stylest found some great shampoo and conditioner that really help to "tame" the curls. You do really well when we wash your hair. Daddy usually washes it and you love it! You sit still when Daddy combs through it while the conditioner is in. When your hairs wet, it hangs past your shoulders; however, when it's dry, it's a curly ball on your head. Mom my loves to put bows in your hair to match your outfits. Sometimes you leave them in all day and others you pull out on the way out the door. We've lost lots of bows because you pull them out when we don't notice or you shred them...
   


2. Your eyes-Your eyes are absolutely beautiful! Depending on what you wear, determines what color your eyes are. Sometimes they are grayish green and other times extremely blue! When they are wet, they sparkle, reminds me of marbles. Your eyes and hair are the first things people recognize about you.



3. Chunky little legs and arms-You have the cutest, chunkiest legs. When you crawl, you crawl with your right leg out like a crab. Your arms looks like you've been lifting weights. This summer at the beach, the rolls didn't get sun and remained white while the rest of you tanned really well. It's so cute! :0)



4. Your smile and your laugh-Your smile can brighten any situation! You only had two teeth for so long. They looked like two little tic tacs. (teething was/is NO fun-we feel so sorry for you) Your laugh is precious. Sometimes you laugh so hard, you snort! It's hilarious! For the most part, you are a very happy baby girl.



5. Sleep-You LOVE your sleep and we are so thankful! You have always been a good sleeper. You took to a 3 hour schedule pretty easily. As you got older, we started putting you down earlier and earlier and you loved it! We've had you on a 6:30 pm-6:30 am for quite sometime. Daddy gives you a bath and mommy gets you in your jammies and gives you your bedtime bottle. As long as you have your pink lovey and a paci, you are good to go. We lay you down in your crib while you are still awake. You roll around for a while, sometimes longer than others, until you fall asleep. When you wake up in the morning, you will play for a while. If it takes up too long (longer than 30 minutes), you get very upset.
6. Walking with daddy-You and daddy love to take walks together. Daddy loves to say "tell them" and you will wave good bye to whoever is in the room... You guys will go for 30 or 45 minutes at a time. You talk the entire trip.
7. Baby jail-We introduced baby jail when you were about 7 months old. We put all your favorite toys in there. You will play by yourself for 30 minutes or more. Sometimes you want company but for the most part you play very well by yourself. It's nice because you crawl so fast, at least in baby jail, mommy or daddy can leave you to cook dinner or go to the bathroom and not have to worry what will happen while we are away.

Caroline we thank God everyday for you! You are truly a blessing in our life. You are so loving and so sweet! We have enjoyed watching you grow and change this past year and look forward to watching you grow in the coming years. Happy Birthday baby girl, Mommy and Daddy love you very much!

Caroline's First Birthday Party!! :0)

What a day! Today we celebrated Caroline's first birthday and had a wonderful time! The park was shaded and the weather was absolutely perfect!! Caroline was an absolute angel! After we ordered the invitaions, I realized I scheduled the party right in the middle of her nap time, but she had a ball! She got so excited when we placed her cake in front of her. She dug in, face first. She took "chunks" out of it before she ever started putting her fingers in. Once the fingers went in, she was eating it by the fist full. She was covered in cake-face, fingers, hands, arms, neck, etc. She played in/ate her cake for about 20 minutes. When she was finished with her cake, Uncle Greg gave her some ice cream and she loved it! She liked the vanilla more than the chocolate. Once all done, she played on the slide for a little while and thought she was such a big girl!


I can't begin to explain the excitement that the day brought us. It was so much fun watching her interact with her friends, enjoy her cake, play on the slide, etc. She was all smiles and as happy as can be. We are so blessed with amazing people in our lives who love Caroline so much! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us today!

As we have said before, Caroline is the most perfect, most precious, most amazing gift we could ever recieve. We thank God everyday for her and for B who gave us the greatest gift ever. God has blessed us with a healthy baby girl who truly has so much. In lieu of gifts for Caroline, we chose to ask for donations to Epworth Early Intervention Center in honor of Caroline's good friend Clara. Clara goes to EEIC and has made amazing progress. Due to budget cuts, the EEIC will be responosible for operating cost until 2011. I was a little nervous in how people would recieve the letter with Caroline's invitation. However, we were humbled by the generosity of our friends and family. We collected almost $500 for an amazing cause. YEAH!!!!!!!! Praise the Lord! Thank you to everyone who helped us help Clara and EEIC!!!


Our good friend John took pictures of the big day and they are awesome! I hope you enjoy!

Mommy made 5 dozen cupcakes

and 5 dozen cookies

Caroline wasn't too sure about the hat...

this looks yummy

I think I'll have some more

this really is good stuff, anybody want to try some...

Caroline's first time on a "big" slide

enjoying Aunt Lill's ride while she hobbles along on her crutch

Caroline was alseep before we got a mile down the road

Every girl needs a good nap after a long morning of fun!!!