Happy Birthday to our sweet Caroline!

Happy 12 Months Caroline!!!

I can't believe it has been one year already.  365 days ago my heart doubled in size and love... far beyond I could ever imagine.  Your, not so calm, entrench into this world forever changed me and our family and we couldn't be more thankful for the last year with you... the one who made our family complete!  We are now a complete family of 4!  We are far from perfect, but we are perfectly happy and thankful for two happy and healthy kids!

 

Caroline, as I look back on the last month and your exciting happenings the list goes on and one... you have really opened up this last month and have started to explore your world in new and fun ways.  You are quite the independent little one and often go off on your own to find something fun to do and play.  You don't have to be entertained or played with to be content.  You love to ready, play with any and all toys, including big brothers, "cook" with me in the kitchen and you absolutely love bath time.  I think you are going to be a little fish this summer... can't wait to take you to the pool and splash pads!

 

As for sleep... you still stir and cry for a bottle between 5-6am... but thankfully go right back to sleep when I lay you back in your bed.  You then will sleep till 8-9... then it is up and ahem for the day!  Breakfast, another bottle around 10 then depending on the day... might be time for a morning nap or time to run some errands and nap will be in the car.  Lunch around noon and another bottle around 2. You always take an afternoon nap... but again depending on the days activities it is anywhere between 1-3pm when you go down and you have been sleeping 1-1.5 hours.  Nothing great but gives momma a little down time to relax or get other house work finished!  Then more playtime and dinner at 5:30.  Bath right after dinner and bottle and bed around 7:30-8pm.  A great schedule for now!  Know it is always changing and molding to what is best for you!

 

As for food... you LOVE anything we give you... since you turned 1 you have enjoyed fish, lobster, crabs and shrimp!  You still only have 2 teeth, but the top two are coming in... just very very slowly!  You have also loved whole milk.  We transitioned you the week after your birthday and you haven't skipped a beat!

New tricks... you love to clap, listen and dance to music, say "Horray" and lift your arms, stomp your feet, and have take a few first steps.  You need a little more confidence to walk on your own, but you cruise around pushing your toys and around furniture.  You pull up on everything and are starting to climb on things as well.  You LOVE to climb the stairs at poppy and nanas house and are so proud of yourself when you reach the top!  You have started throwing food and toys so that is something we are working on!  That is a no no!

We love you to the moon and beyond and couldn't imagine a minute without you!  You love so openly and freely and embrace life as God intended!  Fully of JOY!  Thank you for each and every second and we can't wait to see that the next year brings... I'm sure filled with adventure and love!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Happy 11 Months Sweet Girl!!!

Happy 11 Months sweet Caroline Grace!!!  You are growing up so fast!!!  In a blink of an eye you will be one and the "baby stage" will be officially over!  I'm so proud of you and the many new things you are doing and learning but with sweet tearful eyes I can't but think of the past 11 months of your precious life with such joy and gratitude!  You are my precious baby girl and I'm so blessed to be your momma!

Stats... You are a little over 20#'s and wearing 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diapers.

Sleep... You are doing about the same as last month... you have been waking up between 6-7... closer to 6 and have a bottle then go back to sleep till 8-9ish.  Not the best, but thankful you go back to sleep for a few more ours!  And since you are sleeping in a bit more your morning naps are not as normal as they were... most times you fall asleep in the car for a short cat nap, 15-20 minutes and then are good till 2ish for a good afternoon nap.  Then you are ready for bed around 7:15!

Food... I have officially finished pumping and you are 100% on formula.  I was only pumping once a day for and just not getting enough to justify the time and energy spent... so I made the decision to stop a month shy of my 1 year goal, but I know it was the best decision for our family.  And you haven't minded one bit!  You are one easy going and go with the flow little girl!  You still love to eat and are really doing well at feeding yourself with the fork.  I help you get the food on the end and you do the rest!!  You still take 4 bottles, 7-8 oz each along with breakfast, lunch and dinner and a few snacks on the go!

Play... Your playful spirit has defiantly come in to the light this past month.   You love to play peek a boo and cover your self up with your blanket!  You also love all things brother and light up like a shining star when he talk to you!  It makes my heart so happy to see you two play so well with each other!  You love to babble and are saying new sounds each day, but still no momma!  

Caroline you are our sweet baby girl and we Thank God everyday for the gift you are!

Happy 10 Months Caroline!

Happy 10 Months sweet Caroline Grace!!!  You have grown leaps and bounds this last month and you are growing out of the "baby stage" and into the "toddler stage" oh to quickly!

Stats... You are a little over 19#'s and moving into some 12-18 month clothes and still in size 3 diapers and 4 nighttime diapers.

Sleep... Well we were doing better... you have been waking up between 6-7... closer to 6 and have a bottle then go back to sleep till 7:30-8ish.  Not terrible but I wish you would split the difference and just sleep till 7!  We will get there!  You are still not the best napper, but most of that is our crazy morning schedules.  Get what you can in the car while we run errands, take brother to school or any other activities we have going on.  And then take another nap in the afternoon around 2-3:30.  Then you are ready for bed around 7:15!

Food... You have moved to 1/2 momma's milk and 1/2 formula and don't mind it one bit!  You love to eat and are really doing well at feeding yourself.  Some of your new favorites include carrots, meatballs and noodles!  You take 4 bottles, 6 oz each along with breakfast, lunch and dinner and a few snacks on the go!

Play... Your personality and love to interact and play has defiantly shined through this month.  We took our annual beach trip to South Padre and you did awesome.  Even despite the week before you had an ear infection and bronchitis.  Not fun but you were such a trooper and did amazing at taking your  meds and breathing treatments.  Your first real sickness by the way!  You kicked it well and were back to your happy self in no time!  You still love to play with brother, but you have become more and more independent this past month.  Not sure if it is coming out more since brother started school or you are just leaning and exploring more on your own.  Another new happening this month is you are now crawling on all 4's and moving fast.  You love to talk, but still no momma!  Of the celebration it will be when I hear those sweet words for the first time!

Caroline you are our sweet baby girl and we Thank God everyday for the gift you are!

Happy 9 Months Sweet Caroline

Happy 9 Months sweet Caroline Grace!!!  I can't believe you are 3 months away from your 1st birthday!  How can that be?!?!?!  The summer and this last month have gone by so quickly... please slow down little girl!

Stats... You are 18# 12 oz, 60% for weight, 28 inches, 65% for height and 43 cm, 20% for head!

Sleep... Well we were doing alright... you have been waking up one time in the middle of the night... usually round 3ish and have a bottle, off and on the last week.... Not sure if you are teething or this is just a little bump in the sleep journey, but I look forward to you going back to your normal 12 hour nightly sleeps ASAP!  As for naps... you are not the best napper... but an excellent power napper!  But with school starting next week my hope is to get back on a more "normal" routine and nap time will hopefully improve!

Food... Still mostly momma's milk with a few formula bottles mixed in along with your baby food and lots of yummy table food!  You love to "do it yourself" and it is fun to watch you develop your pincher skills and feed yourself.  The last week or so we introduced chicken and shredded beef and you were a huge fan!  You take 4 bottles, 6 oz each, (5 if you wake in the middle of the night) a day along with breafast, lunch and dinner.

Play... You absolutely LOVE to play and your favorite thing is to play with your brother!  You adore him and light up like the sun every time you play together.  I think your favorite thing to play with your brother is tug a war with your blanket!  You just giggle and laugh and it is pure joy for me to watch!  Another new happening this month is you are now crawling!  You are on the move in your super cute army crawl way.  You are getting faster and faster each day.  You are still working on pushing up to the sitting position, but closer and closer each day.  You love to talk and say "dada dada" all the time!  No moma yet but we are working on it!

Caroline you are our sweet baby girl and we Thank God everyday for the gift you are!

Happy 8 Months

Happy 8 Months sweet Caroline Grace!!!  Time is flying by and you are growing up way to fast!  You are doing so many fun and new things... we are so blessed to watch you grow and learn!

Sleep... Well we were doing great... about the same as last month... but we have started a new morning routine... I call it our summer time morning routine!  You wake up between 6-7ish and you take your bottle and go right back to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed!  Momma gets a few extra hours of sleep till brother wakes up around 8:30 and then you wake up around 9-9:30 and we get going for the day!  Slow summer mornings!!!  So since you sleep till 9:30ish you usually take a short cat nap around noon then a longer afternoon nap around 3 then down for bed at 7:30.  I know we will have to get back on a "normal" schedule soon since school is starting in a month or so... but we will enjoy these lazy days as long as we can!

Food... Mostly momma's milk with a few formula bottles mixed in along with your yummy baby food (we have gone through all the fruits and veggies and you like them all) and we have recently started small pieces of table food (strawberries, bananas, puffs, rice cakes, and yogurt bites and you are doing great!  Your "pincher" skills are really developing and you make it to your mouth 8 out of 10 times!  You take 4 bottles a day along with lunch and dinner... we will start breakfast soon... (my least favorite meal to add... but we will start soon!)

Play... You absolutely LOVE to play... you will sit and play on your blanket with your toys for 30+min at a time and love to explore and examine each little thing.  You enjoy your toys that play music and have entered into the "banging" stage!  You have learned to roll from your back to your tummy this month and are enjoying your tummy a bit more since you figured out you can roll around to get the toys you want!  You lung and try to scoot, but are not crawling/scooting yet... but I'm sure it will be very soon!

Things you love... 

1.) Your brother - You LOVE to watch him play and are over the moon happy when he comes and plays with you!  And you don't seem to mind when he is a little too excited/rough with you either... you are just happy he is playing with you!

2.) Bath time - We have moved you out of your "baby tub" and into the big tub and you LOVE it!  You could play in there for hours if we let you.  You love to pick up each toy and examine it!  It is so fun watching you find things for the first time... like when you figured out you can scoot on you butt to get closer to the drain... you were so proud of yourself!

3.) You blanket - You love to snuggle your blanket!!  And you know when we give you your blanket it is time for nap or bed!  You nestle right into it and just get the biggest smile on your sweet face!

4.) To swim - Other than the first time we took you swimming you LOVE to swim.  You love your little float and kick your legs like a big girl.  You watch everyone and everything around you like a watch dog and have a grin from ear to ear!  You are our little water baby!

5.) Your Daddy - You have him wrapped around your sweet little fingers and he melts each time you play together!  You LOVE him and light up each day when he gets home from work!  It brings so much joy to my heart to see your relationship.

Things you don't love...

1.) Teething... You do not have any teeth yet, but we can see the bottom two teeth buds... and you defiantly have let us know you do not like the way they are making you feel.

2.) Having your face cleaned off after meals... yep... you don't like anything about it!

Your little personality is really coming though and we love to watch it come out more and more each day!  You love to the moon and back and thank God everyday for the gift you are!

Happy 6 & 7 Months sweet Caroline!

Happy 6 & 7 Months sweet Caroline!

Time is flying by and I am amazed you are already 7 months old... hints why the update is together... wish I could press the pause button!  

Sleep... You are doing great!  Your schedule is something like this... wake up around 7-7:30 and have a bottle then 1st nap around 9:3ish for an hour to hour and a half (if we are out you typically only sleep an hour in your car seat), then bottle around 11ish and lunch around noon, then nap around 1ish... if we are out this is your short cat nap, then bottle at 3 and nap at 3:30-4:30, dinner 5-6ish then bath and a little play time before books and final bottle and bed at 7.

Food... The last few weeks we have gradually introduced formula but you are 90% on mommas milk.  And you are doing great with oat meal and your baby foods.  Some of your favorites include peas, sweet potatoes, carrots and squash... you were not the biggest fan of green beans or apples... we will continue to press on and go through all the fruits!  In the last week or so we have started giving you puffs and other snacks and you are getting better and better at feeding yourself.  Working on those fine motor skills! :)

Play... You LOVE to play and you GRAB everything in sight!  You have started lunging forward to reach things, but are still not fond of being on your tummy.  You push up and have started rocking... but you don't last very long before your roll over.  We are working on getting your knees under your belly and to get you to rock more... I know you will be much happier on your belly when you discover you can scoot and crawl!  In time sweet girl... in time!

You are the sweetest and happiest baby girl and it is pure joy to be your momma.  You love your big brother and always keep your eyes on him watching his every move.  Your sweet giggles and noises are music to our house and your wet kisses are the BEST.  You are beautiful inside and out and we are so thankful of your sweet life.  Can't wait to see more of your personality come out in the weeks to come!  We love you to the moon and beyond!