8 months

Somehow another month has passed and today Caroline is 8 months old. 

We are pretty fresh off of an 8 day trip to Memphis for Thanksgiving (fresh enough that sleep patterns haven't quite returned to normal.)  She is also getting over a yucky winter cold with a chesty cough.  Hopefully, with winter weather on it's way we will be able to catch up on naps and snuggle time this weekend.

We had such an enjoyable, relaxing time in Memphis for Thanksgiving.  We had not been home since Julie's wedding in January.  We enjoyed seeing the city, eating good food, shopping, and being with family.  We were not ready to leave at the end of the week. 
Caroline was able to meet most of the remaining family: Poppy, Mamaw, Papaw, Gennifer, Samantha, Lesa, Uncle Doug, Mary, Joe, Jackie and a few friends: Ben and Mollie, Jason and Patty and Lucas.  It does a heart good to see your baby surrounded by so much love.  She certainly didn't mind the extra attention.

Caroline is definitely now a crawler.  She moved from the Lambs to the Bears class at school on Nov. 18.  I think the big kids in her class must be egging her on because she has taken off in the mobility arena.  She can crawl across the room and pull up on the hearth of our fireplace.  The couch is still a little tall to pull up on but with a little assistance she can stand and hang on. 

Caroline has improved her eating in the last month as well.  We were able to do 2-3 meals a day while on break.  So far she seems to prefer anything orange: carrots and sweet potatoes.  She will also eat applesauce and bananas.  We just started squash.  I think she likes it too.  Peas didn't go over real well.  We'll come back to those when she is ready for a little more texture.
Still no signs of teeth, so sadly, no turkey at Thanksgiving. We have tried to offer a sippy cup with water but so far she just gnaws on the rubber spout.  We may need to try a different cup so she can better differentiate between a teether, a bottle, and a cup.

Caroline is in a size 3 diaper.  She wears mostly 6-9mo clothes.  We've been getting the last few wears out of our 6mo sleepers.  The toes are getting a little tight. 

Caroline is a very happy baby.  She loves music, lights, ceiling fans, bath time, her Daddy, and bouncing.  She loves to play with tags (on anything-blankets, pillows, toys) and she often finds and is intrigued by the edge of a rug or blanket.  She is very interested in power cords- of course we are keeping her away from them.  We have just started playing with a musical activity table. 

Caroline is social and doesn't mind being held by other people. 
The most upsetting things to her right now are having her nose wiped and going to bed before she's good and ready (she's a night owl like dad and a play all day, no rest worker like mom).  ;)

She is very close to saying momma.  Will thinks he heard her say it, but it is not as consistent as dada.  She also started making a "buh" sound on occasion. We are working on using the baby signs for milk, eat, and all done.  I would like to add a few more. 

 We look forward to celebrating Christmas with Caroline.  She opened her first gift from Lollie at Thanksgiving.  In three weeks she should be really good at ripping into packages. 

7 months

My real Cabbage Patch Doll

I am that Mom.  I am the Mom that does ridiculous embarrassing cute things to her child and plans to hold on to the evidence of said embarrassing cute things for future cuteness, okay- let's get real, embarrassment.  Can you say wedding slide show!  :)

My first act as that Mom is C's first Halloween a.k.a. Fall Fest costume.
I considered several options for her first costume.  I won't mention all the ideas, because I could still use them in the future, but suffice it to say that I wasn't getting excited about the store bought fleece costumes..have I mentioned we live in TX and the minute I purchased one of those we would have a forecast of 85 degrees...or any other readily available polyester option. 

So, what's a girl to do?  You guessed it...Pinterest.  There I saw the brilliance that is the Cabbage Patch Doll costume complete with box.  I may not have come up with the idea but I think we executed pretty flawlessly.

We (Daddy and I) made the costume solely from items on hand...part of a cardboard box, C's stroller, paint, green fleece, a crocheted hat, and an outfit from Lollie   The only thing we had to purchase for the costume was a roll of brown yarn which cost me all of $1.50, oh and some zip ties.

I think it turned out very well.  What we neglected to do was attach a donation jar to the top of the box for everyone that stopped us at Fall Fest to take a picture or comment on her costume.  We could have had a partially funded college account.  :)  I told someone...it never really occurred to me that people would go so gaga over C and her costume.  I was just trying to make a cute costume for my kid.  We were told numerous times how creative, cute, etc she was and that we should win the prize for the night...again, if only there was a prize.

We had a fun time putting the costume together and I'm so glad C "put up" with the costume.  She was so good the entire night.  I wouldn't say she was happy about the situation but she was very chilled out in her dressed up stroller.  She never once tried to take her wig off.  That is a win.
I can't imagine what must have been running through her head all night as hundreds (there were about 3000 people at Fall Fest, which had to be moved indoors due to heavy rain, btw) of strangers looked at her and took her picture.

So, now that you have all the info, and are chomping at the bit to see all the cuteness...I present to you...my real Cabbage Patch Doll.  Might I add, she is so much cuter than the Cabbage Patch I had growing up (which is now in C's closet waiting to be played with).  Oh, and we realized later that this year is the 30th anniversary for Cabbage Patch. 

Ok, I lied before, here she is....

1/2 Birthday

We celebrated our little girl's 1/2 birthday two weeks ago.  Really this post should be entitled 6.5 months, and that would fit with my tendency to, as my husband says, "zag when others zig," but that title is blah, I'm running low on wit and creativity, and this title was already written from the 4 other times I tried to write this post, so I'll go with it.

I said we celebrated C's birthday, and of course by that I mean Mommy enjoyed a large chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing in recognition of keeping the three humans and one fur baby alive and thriving through the newborn phase.  I don't know when the newborn phase technically ends, but I feel like...at the moment (should I knock on wood?)...we are through the big  "I don't know if we're all going to make it to the other side of this" nights/days.

Caroline did receive a beautiful bouquet of flowers (her first) from her Aunt Julie and Uncle Zach.  She enjoyed pulling the petals off of a yellow daisy while I snapped her picture sitting next to them.

Yes, sitting!! At the 6 mo mark she was able to hold herself fairly steady in a seated position for a brief time. Of course, Mommy and Daddy were ready to catch at the slightest wobble.  Today, I would say C is fully sitting up.  She is much more stable, can remain seated for a good amount of time without tripoding, and is figuring out how to gracefully go from seated to lying on her back or belly.

Another big 6 mo milestone was the introduction of solid food!  We met my goal of 6 months exclusively BF.  We are also wanting to make our own baby food and skip the rice cereal, so C's first food was mashed avocado (not counting the piece of raw apple we let her gnaw on a few nights before).  We considered our first attempt a success; successful because she actually ingested a small amount of food without ending the feeding with us and/or her covered in green mush. 

We have now tried avocado, sweet potato, banana, and oatmeal.  I would say we are still very much in the discovery phase of solids.  She doesn't get much down at any given attempt (sometimes refusing due to tiredness at the end of the day) and even when she takes some in she likes to spit it (more like blow/spew) back out.  I have been surprised by her reaction to solids.  I was thinking/hoping that waiting until 6 months to start she would be very eager and receptive to the new flavors and the activity of eating.  It'll come....maybe avocado and banana just aren't her thing...I can't blame her.  I'm learning to like avocado but I would much prefer to leave the bananas for the monkeys.

C has continued to "talk" and "sing" regularly in the morning on the way to school and when playing.  She has added the "mmmm" sound to her repertoire, primarily when she is upset.  Despite my response of saying Mmm-Momma each time she would do make the sound, on Monday, Oct. 21, Aunt Julie recorded a video of C saying dada.  She's been saying it more and more over the last few days.  Sometimes it's proceeded by a little "hhh" sound so it's almost like she's saying Hey Dad.  It's really cute and I'm excited to see her consonant sounds expand.
 

 

At her six month checkup C had grown 1 inch (now 25 inches long) and gained ~3lbs, weighing in at 15lbs 10oz, more than double her birth weight.  I didn't get her percentiles but I think she's in the mid to smaller side.  If you could predict the size of a baby by the size of their feet like is sometimes done with dogs and their paws, C is going to be sized more like Mommy.  Baby girl has some TINY feet.  I've been trying to find shoes for her to wear during the cooler months (we live in TX, people might laugh if I say cold), but her feet don't even register on the size chart.  Socks it is!


Other misc facts...
Still in size 2 diapers but if we have many more blowouts at school we're going to have to go up a size
Nursing schedule is pretty much the same
Wearing 6 mo and 6-9 month clothing; 6-9 mo are generally a little baggy
The ring stacker and shape sorter are the new toys of the month. Cell phones, tv remote, and a tag on anything are also of high interest
Hair is growing and lightening in color
Still have blue eyes
More aware of Penny Lane now.  They have had a couple encounters...PL has gotten in a few licks and C got a pretty good fist of fur once




Caroline,
Mommy and Daddy are so in love with you.  We love spending our evenings watching you explore and take in everything around you.  Daddy enjoys your morning serenades in the car and I love our evening snuggles or talking to you while you bounce and I cook.  We are amazed at your development in six months.  You still have some of the same personality traits, looks, and sounds from when you were first born but now they are BIGGER and LOUDER.  This week you are getting very close to crawling.  While I am excited for you it makes me a little sad that time is passing so quickly.  But with each new milestone comes new experiences for us as a family.  We loved taking you to Ellis Pottery in Longview to pick out your first fall pumpkin and I am looking forward to dressing you up for the fall festival at church.  You bring so much joy to our lives and we are so thankful and proud to call you ours.

Forever and Always.

MmmmMomma

Blessing

Sunday, September 15, 2013, we participated as a family in Mobberly's Baby Blessing. Baby Blessing is a time for families to stand before the church body and recognize the precious lives that we hold as gifts from God. We publically proclaim by standing there that we intend to raise our families the Lord's way. It is also a time for the church body to commit to praying for the children and parents.

We are so thankful to be part of a church that loves its people and seeks to come alongside families to raise children in knowledge of the Lord.

Caroline was presented with a red rose to symbolize her life as a gift and a pink Bible embossed with her name.

Pastor Glynn read the meaning of her name: Filled with praise; and the verse we chose for her:

1 Samuel 12:23-24 - "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you."

We desire that these words ring true in our family. Will and I have the responsibility of leading, instructing, and admonishing Caroline, and future children. The best way for us to lead is on our knees, requesting guidance for each step from the Lord.

We pray that C will come to a saving faith at an early age and she will serve him faithfully with all her heart for all her life. Each day, as trouble and pain swirl around us, I am reminded of what great gifts have already been handed to us from our Heavenly Father...and we are filled with joy.

 

Caroline wore a precious light blue cordoury dress with coral flowers and coral colored patent leather shoes that Lollie picked out for her. The shoes were a definite hit.

We were thrilled to share the special moment with Lollie, Mooie, Papa, and Granny. This weekend was the first time Granny (Will's grandmother) met Caroline.

I'm happy to say that despite fears and plenty of "in case" preparation, Caroline did not cry, loudly fill her diaper, spit up, loose clothing, or otherwise melt down on stage. Maybe stage presence is in the blood. She seemed to enjoy all the lights, and I'm pretty sure I caught her looking at the big screen.

As any good Memphian does, we celebrated the occasion back at the house with a BBQ feast. Granted, we live in Texas so we had to settle for beef, but it was a barbeque feast nonetheless.

Grateful for these memories.

A Sneak Peek

I created a photo book recently with Shutterfly's promotion for a free 8x8 book with the code SUMMERBOOK. This book is about the birth of our sweet baby girl. Since I haven't shared that story yet, I thought this would give you a little glimpse until I can write out more detail.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo Book Tip: Create an adventurous travel photo album at Shutterfly.com.

Light speed ahead

The post that I just published about our gender reveal has been languishing in the unpublished folder since December.  That’s nine months, people.  I’ll try to cover some of what happened during that time at a later date.  For now, in the interest of not getting bogged down in trying to recount the past and forever being behind the times, we will start with today; well, yesterday, actually.

Yesterday, my sweet baby girl, who you unfortunately know little about, turned 5 months old.  That’s right; Caroline was born April 5, 2013, 6 days past her due date.  (I didn’t quite get the Easter baby I was hoping for.)  I’ll work on writing out the story of her birth soon.  As for today:

Sweet Caroline,

               Your Daddy and I are having so much fun with you these days.  As much as we want you to stay tiny and cute forever, we are excited to see your personality and abilities grow.  You are so bright eyed and love taking in the world.  You weigh around 14lbs and are 24 inches tall.  People say you look like, Daddy, Lollie, Mommy, even Aunt Julie.  We can't decide.  You wear 3-6mo size clothing and a size 2 diaper.  We just made the switch to size 2, probably long overdue – if for no other reason than to contain your “explosive” poo (almost daily come home in different clothing than you went to school in).  Mommy had a mental complex about this change.  It came sooner than I wanted.  You are desperate to move.  You roll all over the place – from back to tummy and tummy to back in both directions.  You love to kick your right leg, stand assisted, and play rocket with Daddy.  You can scoot backwards on your back, using your heels to push off.  When on your tummy you can extend your legs and hold your bottom up in the air.  I was recently informed of the old wives tale regarding this activity.  Just to be clear there is no sibling on the way.  J You are gaining strength in your back and are close to sitting up.  At school you have started using a jumper.  We are hoping to get you one for at home soon.  We need activities beyond laying you on the floor or holding you.  Your favorite toys right now are your feet, your hands – constantly in your mouth, a blue ball, and a red scarf.  This week you started passing your ball between hands instead of just grabbing with one hand.  You have started showing more interest in my phone.  I think you like the light and you’ve seen me on it quite a bit while nursing.  Speaking of, you generally nurse once in the morning before I leave for work, eat three 5-6oz bottles at school, and nurse a couple of times in the evening.  You are still waking up off and on at night, but I’m not pushing you too hard since we haven’t started any solids yet.  I do certainly love the nights when my sleep is uninterrupted.  You have started sitting in your chair at the dinner table when we eat.  You love music – it usually calms you when upset or when it’s one of “your songs” we can get a smile.  You are either in a very serious and quiet mood or talking up a storm.  You enjoy bath time and have started seeing how much water you can splash on Mommy.  You will not take a paci.

Caroline, you are a joy, and the best part of Mommy and Daddy’s day is getting to hang out with you.  I can never get enough of our sweet snuggles.  Some days are harder to manage than others, but no matter what Mommy and Daddy will always love you, precious C bear.

 

 

The Reveal

The days leading up to this event were a bit stressful. For weeks I had been thinking about how I wanted to reveal the gender of our baby.  I spent hours on Pinterest looking at ideas.  Some involved a surprise for everyone..colored cake, confetti lanterns, boxes of balloons.  Others required that the couple or another very lucky person know ahead of time.  I knew I wanted to experience the surprise outside of the doctor's office and I wanted to capture the moment for the future.  With the promise of a beautiful back drop from the changing season, I wanted to be outside.  All these factors in mind, the box of balloons, although not an original idea in the least, was my choice.  I went over and over it in my head.  I put a lot of pressure on "the moment."  It just had to be perfect

With all of the back and forth between everyone trying to figure out time, place, balloon box, decor, food, etc. I got really overwhelmed and considered calling it off and Will and I doing something on our own. But I am so glad that I did not let my emotions get the best of me and we surged ahead.  More on that soon...

But first, we have to have the information to be able to reveal it.  :) My ultrasound was scheduled for 8:45 am Thursday.  We were hoping for a cooperative baby so that all of the stress over the reveal wouldn't be for not.  Having heard that orange juice makes babies active, I drank a glass on the drive over just to cover our bases.  We were called back immediately.  The ultrasound tech was really good and our request for her to not tell us the gender, but to instead write it on a card and seal it, did not seem to phase her. 

Thankfully we had a very cooperative, and healthy, baby. We were able to see the baby's four heart chambers, pumping strongly, at a rate of 166 bpm.  We saw the stomach and kidneys.  We also saw two eyes, a little turned up nose, and a mouth.  I don't know for sure if it was the orange juice, but activity wasn't an issue.  The little legs were peddling and we saw several different arm positions, one of which was very reminiscent of one of Daddy's sleeping positions.  We got several good pictures in 2D and 3D. 

At the very end of the ultrasound, the tech had us look away while she checked the gender.  The secret was then sealed in an envelope along with the accompanying pictures.  Will was so anxious about the whole thing he was afraid he might be able to figure it out by the number of pen strokes she made when she wrote the information of the card.  :) Whoo. We made it through the first step without finding out.  Well, mostly. Will told me after we left that he had seen something pop up on the screen just before the technician told us to turn away, but he wasn't sure if it was real or just a default that comes up when it is time to enter that information.  I was then trying to judge his reaction to the potential information, but I really couldn't.  He just said he was excited. So really we still were in the clear.

Next I had bloodwork, yuck, and a check in with my OB.  I gained a couple pounds and the baby's heart rate was a similar 165 bpm.  He had the details of our ultrasound report that showed good fluid levels and measuring a little ahead, at 20 weeks and 2 days, shifting my due date to March 26, but we'll leave the official date at March 30.  Dr. D was also successful in keeping the secret to himself.  Another one down.

The "event" didn't come until the next day, Friday. To avoid the risk of the secret escaping in the final steps,  Mom handled the balloon order and purchase.  I'm told she threatened the party store employees within an inch of their lives if they messed this up.  :) Thankfully no party store employees were harmed in the process and Mom also remained blissfully unaware of the secret.

Friday afternoon was hairied, frought with wardrobe crisies, and
The family, Mom, Jules, Zach, David and Jenny, gathered in an open lot around the corner from the Bishops' house.  We had planned to be in the Bishops' backyard, but I wasn't happy with it and made a last minute change of plans to a more open, colorful area in their neighborhood.  We got set up and started taking some "pre" pictures of us, us with the box, us with blue and pink balloons, us with the "BOY," "GIRL" banners, etc.  One thing I had not counted on or planned was the wind.  It was a bit breezy and the balloon bouquets, and my hair, were therefore not quite cooperating.  What can you do?

It was finally time to open the box.  Will and I got one on each side of the box and Mom cut the securing tape while we held it down (popping one of the balloons in the process).  With cameras poised and ready we counted down and opened the box to reveal.....

It's a GIRL! 

The balloons didn't quite fly out of the box as I had hoped.  One balloon was free, but the rest were tied together and got a little stuck in the box.  A little tugging, I wanted those things out of there, and they were on their way.  Being tied together did allow them to float away in a nice little clump and give us a minute to watch them climb higher and higher, never to go back in the box. 

To be honest, I was in total shock and maybe had a twinge of let down in my spirit.  Don't get me wrong, I am very happy, but I have felt for years that I was going to be a momma to boys.  So to see pink inside the box was not the image I had put in my head.  My sister, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier.  You can hear for yourself in the video she shot.  She and my soon-to-be brother in-law were both thinking girl.

After a few tears, Will processing the reality that one day he would walk our little girl down the aisle, (yeah, he has big thoughts), and a quick check of the card from the ultrasound to be sure that the right color balloons got put in the box, we took some "post" pink pictures.

The card from the ultrasound tech

Daddy and his girls...boy is he in trouble.

Julie and me with one of the many outfits she had already bought for the baby. 

And yes, we match.  That's what happens when you have to borrow clothes from your sister's closet because you don't like anything that you packed. 

We then went to the David and Jenny's for BBQ from the Commissary and cupcakes from Muddy's. 
We also played a quick game of hangman, although I don't think we ever actually drew any of the body, to tell the name we had chosen.

We had a great time and I'm so thankful everything worked out for us to be with our family.